Jiuxi

Chapter 374 Chapter 372 [The human heart cannot be deceived]

After Luo Jiujiu's miserable statement, an atmosphere of excitement immediately appeared in the Hall of Wende.

Those mid-level officials who were not deeply involved with the Jiangnan family, as well as young and passionate low-level censors, immediately stepped forward and implored the emperor to order a thorough investigation of Hou Yu's actions during his tenure in the Chengzhou Dudu Mansion.

In their view, the truth of the war in the western border was already obvious. It was clearly the Chengzhou military commanders represented by Hou Yu who lied about the military situation of the Seven Shazhou Divisions invading the Daqi border. In fact, they continued to actively provoke wars and obtained information through this method. The heads of Shazhou people were exchanged for rewards from the imperial court in order to seek promotion.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, Li Duan did not give a direct answer. He just looked at Qin Zheng, the warp weaver who was standing not far away.

The focus of the warp weaving department's management strategy is the Gyeonggi region and the vast territory of Jiangbei. The Gyeonggi Division and the Huaizhou Division are the most important subordinate yamen. It is understandable that it is difficult to take full consideration of other places. After all, Qin Zheng's manpower and resources are limited. He is limited and cannot monitor all aspects of the country.

The problem is that the Warp Weaving Department also has a Chengzhou Department, and the Chengzhou Inspection School is also among the four major inspection schools.

If it were just a trivial matter, it would be nothing. As Luo Jiujiu said, the entire Chengzhou Governor's Office was deceiving the superiors and subordinates to obtain military honors, but the Chengzhou Yamen of the Sutra Weaving Department did not respond at all, and the time span was very long. This was obviously not a sentence that could be accepted by others. Faults that can be explained by deception.

Qin Zheng looked at the emperor's gaze as if he had a tacit understanding.

Li Duan instantly understood the solitary minister's eyes, and then looked at the woman in red standing in the center of the hall, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Ning Yuanfu said slowly: "Miss Luo is indeed an honest person. This number is not much different from the data our court has. According to the official document sent to the court by the Chengzhou governor's office last year, the current population of Shazhou Yalong tribe is ten There are more than 20,000, and the total population of the entire Shazhou Seven Divisions is probably more than half a million. Miss Luo, you just said that the Shazhou Seven Divisions do not have the ability to invade the Daqi border. Judging from this number of people, your words may not be trustworthy. ah."

Ning Yuanfu said calmly: "Miss Luo said that among the heads I captured from the border troops, there were almost no young men, and most of them were old people and children. Their condition was so tragic that it almost made people cry. However, I can't understand. What’s more, the seven tribes combined have more than half a million people, and these are all old people and children. Are there not many young people?”

Luo Jiujiu couldn't help frowning and said angrily: "I didn't lie!"

Luo Jiujiu subconsciously felt that what this official said was wrong, and there must be some loopholes in it. However, she had rarely experienced such scenes of verbal battles, and she had never faced a high-ranking official who could climb to the position of heavenly official in such a large empire. For a moment, it was impossible to refute.

After hearing Ning Yuanfu's analysis, many courtiers immediately came to their senses. Could it be that the dignified General Nanya of the Beijing Army could be convicted based on just the words of this foreign woman?

Luo Jiujiu bit her lower lip and asked, "Sir, could it be that your Qi State's border troops crossed Yunling to kill people, and we Shazhou people can't fight back?"

Li Duan raised his eyes and saw that it was Ning Yuanfu, the Minister of Civil Affairs. He nodded and said, "It's accurate."

Luo Jiujiu said angrily: "It was your border troops from Qi who killed first, we are just for revenge!"

The conflicts and contradictions on the border between Daqi and the Seven Tribes of Shazhou are a confusing matter that is difficult to sort out. Especially under the premise that Daqi is ashamed of the Seven Tribes of Shazhou, some things that are normal to the people of Shazhou In the eyes of Daqi officials, the retaliation was tantamount to a bloody provocation.

At that time, General Wang Yan came out to question Luo Jiujiu: "Miss Luo, you said that your Shazhou Seven Divisions have never harassed our border in the past ten years. Are you serious?"

Ning Yuanfu bowed to thank him, then turned to look at the woman in red, first identified himself, and then asked: "Miss Luo, I would like to know how many people your department has now? In fact, our court also has records in this regard. Just to avoid too big a gap in the figures, I will confirm it with Miss Luo today in front of His Majesty and all your lords."

The courtiers of Da Qi are no strangers to the Seven Tribes of Shazhou. They know that all adult men of these barbarian tribes can be counted as warriors. It is not difficult at all for a tribal alliance of more than 500,000 people to assemble an army of 20,000 to 30,000 people.

There is no doubt that what Qin wanted to say to Luo Jiujiu was a bit of a betrayal. Hou Yu may indeed have done similar things, but Shazhou Qibu was not as completely innocent as Luo Jiujiu said.

Luo Jiujiu intuitively felt that the high official in front of her was not a good person, and she was vaguely aware that his question had bad intentions. However, she had been impassioned in the hall before, and if she avoided the other party's question now, it would be a guilty conscience, so she said loudly: "Specific details I don’t know the number of people, but it’s probably around 100,000 people.”

This is a bit ridiculous.

At this moment, an important minister in purple clothes came out of the class and said: "Your Majesty, I have a few words to ask this girl from Luo. Please allow your Majesty."

Wang Yan did not answer her question and said indifferently: "In other words, you Shazhou soldiers did invade the Chengzhou border."

Wang Yan stopped talking. With his identity and status, he obviously didn't bother to argue with the woman in red, not to mention that he had achieved his goal. Those words were enough to defend Hou Yu's behavior.

Ding Hui, Minister of the Ministry of War, was extremely disgusted with the appearance of Luo Jiujiu. If this woman in red hadn't disrupted the situation, the investigation against Lu Chen, Mo Yuan and others had already been launched. The Jiangnan clan could successfully hold back the emperor's radical steps, and the two sides once again Return to the previous balanced situation.

Therefore, seeing that Ning Yuanfu and Wang Yan had dispelled many of the courtiers' suspicions about Hou Yu in just a few words, Ding Hui came out again and said: "Your Majesty, regarding this Miss Luo's accusation against the Marquis of Nan'an, I think it is extremely suspicious. Many. Marquis Nan'an guards the country's borders, so he will inevitably attract the hatred of the people of Shazhou. Any slander and slander are possible, not to mention that this woman is the daughter of the Yalong tribe leader in Shazhou. How can her words be accepted as evidence?" He raised his head. Looking at the emperor on the dragon throne, he said sincerely: "Your Majesty, I kindly ask you to carefully examine this woman and find out who is behind her. She actually dares to openly frame the commander-in-chief of the Beijing army in the court hall!"

The words fell to the ground, and there were many people who agreed.

Hou Yu himself came from a Jiangnan family, and now he holds one-third of the military power in Nanya. He must keep his position as general no matter what.

Rather than interceding with the emperor on his behalf, it would be more appropriate to directly clear out the charges and suppress the matter without any worries. This was the tacit understanding reached by many important ministers in the court in a short period of time.

Luo Jiujiu watched this scene with cold eyes. There was not much anger on her smooth face at this moment, only the coldness of thousands of years of ice.

Is this supposed to be the so-called protection between officials?

At this moment, she just felt that she was still too naive. Why should she obey the arrangements of the young prince? Since she entered the palace, the other party had not said a word.

Faced with these intricately connected Qi officials, how could she, a foreign woman, bring down a high-ranking prince and general with just a plaintive complaint?

I'm afraid if revenge fails, I will die miserably in the end.

Ha ha.

Luo Jiujiu sneered in her heart, and at this moment, a clear voice came into her ears.

"Ding Shangshu, if Marquis Nan'an has indeed done those things, are you planning to take the blame for him?"

The voice was not loud, but it easily suppressed the noise in the hall.

Luo Jiujiu suddenly turned around and saw Lu Chen stepping out and walking a few steps in front of her in a leisurely manner.

Ding Hui looked at Lu Chen who was standing in Yuan Ting Yue, frowning slightly, but he did not want to lose his momentum in public, and immediately said in a deep voice: "What does General Lu mean by this?"

Lu Chen stared at him indifferently and raised his tone slightly: "I'm asking you, if the Marquis of Nan'an did lie about military information and use weapons without authorization, do you want to take the blame for him?"

A fierce momentum rushed towards him.

Ding Hui bit the tip of his tongue and said forcefully: "The general's words are very unreasonable. Do you want to convict the Marquis of Nan'an because of the one-sided words of this foreign woman?"

Lu Chen said slowly: "Whether Marquis Nan'an is guilty or not needs to be investigated by a court official. I will not convict him just because of Luo Jiujiu's words, but I will not conclusively say that he is innocent like Ding Shangshu."

Ding Hui's lips moved, but in the end he was unable to refute Lu Chen's words.

Lu Chen turned around and looked at the emperor on the dragon throne, and said seriously: "Your Majesty, regarding the grievances between Daqi and the seven tribes of Shazhou, the root cause is the tragic battle at Yanziling in the northern suburbs of Heluo nineteen years ago. I feel that Daqi I made a mistake in this matter, and since I made a mistake, I should admit it.”

The emperor's expression was extremely solemn, but he did not interrupt his words.

Lu Chen continued: "Of course, Da Qi's fault does not mean that the Seven Shazhou tribes can cross the border to kill our people. These are two different things, and they are not the focus of what I want to say today. What I want to say is, if the Marquis of Nan'an did what he did, Those things show that he does not have His Majesty or the imperial court in his heart at all, and only cares about human life for his own selfish desires. Such a character is not worthy of a foothold in the Qi court."

He looked around at the officials in the hall and said earnestly: "My lords, protecting one's shortcomings is indeed something that everyone does. I have done similar things, but there must be a bottom line to protect one's shortcomings! What is the truth about the war on the western border? I don't know. It’s clear, I believe most of you don’t know, so it’s even more important to find out.”

"If Marquis Nan'an really doesn't care about the stability of the border, and just wants to get promoted and make a fortune, he crosses the border again and again to kill Shazhou people. I don't need to say how bad this will be for the stability of the border. It's even more outrageous. What’s more, he has been rising through the ranks by relying on these violent acts. How many people were involved in it? How many people helped him hide it?”

The whole hall was silent.

Lu Chen took a breath, his eyes were determined and calm, he raised his hand and pointed to the woman in red behind him, and said solemnly: "She traveled thousands of miles across mountains and rivers to come to the capital, and assassinated the Marquis of Nan'an alone to avenge her people. Now she is not afraid of life and death." Standing in the Daqi court, she just wants justice for her tribesmen who died tragically."

"In this case, Daqi should give her justice!"

(End of this chapter)