Jiuxi

Chapter 847 Chapter 845 [Lin Yuan]

"What does Duke Qin think about Ding Hui's assassination?"

The emperor's calm voice broke the silence in the hall.

Lu Chen replied calmly, "Your Majesty, Governor Ding was attacked by bandits when he first arrived in Dingzhou. This is extremely bad. The court should investigate thoroughly and give Governor Ding justice. Such provocative behavior must not be tolerated. No matter who the person behind the scenes is, he should be severely punished."

This is a standard answer.

Li Zongben asked calmly, "My dear, do you think this assassination was secretly instigated by someone with ulterior motives?"

Lu Chen said with a little surprise: "Your Majesty, Governor Ding did not take up his post alone, nor did he encounter murder in the wilderness. According to the messenger, Governor Ding and his subordinate guards stayed overnight in Gushu City, and there were at least a hundred people accompanying them. As a result, they were drugged and fell into a coma. The thieves did not harm other people accompanying them, but only Governor Ding. This is obviously a long-planned assassination. I have thought about it, but I can't figure out who has such great ability, and I don't understand why this assassin wants to harm Governor Ding, so I ask Your Majesty to send someone to investigate."

Li Zongben's eyes were deep and obscure, and for a moment he couldn't tell whether Lu Chen had a clear conscience or was fearless.

In fact, the important officials in the palace knew very well that the emperor transferred Xu Zuo back to the capital and sent Ding Hui to take over as the governor of Dingzhou because before the Northern Expedition the year before last, Xu Zuo made a memorial to the emperor and took exactly the same position as Lu Chen on this matter, which made the emperor feel resentful.

The emperor did not doubt Xu Zuo's loyalty, otherwise he would not have continued to promote Xu Zuo to the position of right prime minister. He just felt that this loyal minister was too upright and might be bullied by Lu Chen, so he replaced him with Ding Hui, an old fox who had been in the officialdom for decades and had a thick skin and a hard heart.

To Lu Chen, Ding Hui was obviously an unpleasant colleague.

At this time, the Minister of Revenue Jing Qingshan said, "Duke Qin, there is something I don't understand, and I hope you can enlighten me."

Lu Chen said calmly: "Minister Jing, please speak."

Jing Qingshan said slowly: "May I ask, Duke, who in Dingzhou has such great ability to quietly take down all the followers and guards overnight and murder the governor of a state?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became solemn.

Li Zongben sat upright on the dragon throne, staring at Lu Chen with his eyes slightly narrowed.

The ministers had different thoughts. Some looked solemn, some were lost in deep thought, and some were secretly suspicious.

On the surface, if Ding Hui died in Dingzhou in a confused state, the court would most likely not be able to find out anything in the end - it is thousands of miles away from the capital, and it has been less than four years since it was returned to the rule of the Great Qi. The court's control over Dingzhou is far less than that over Huaizhou, let alone Jiangnan.

If we follow the hidden meaning in Jing Qingshan's words, there are indeed not many people who are capable of killing a governor in Dingzhou, and there just happens to be one standing in the hall at this moment.

Lu Chen asked calmly, "Minister Jing, do you mean that Governor Ding was attacked because of someone I secretly sent?"

All the ministers were shocked. They did not expect Lu Chen to say it directly, even though this was the suspicion in some people's minds.

"The official has no such intention."

Jing Qingshan was respectful but not fearful. After all, his current position in the court was only below the two prime ministers and the Minister of Personnel. Moreover, because he was able to implement the Jingjie Law to fill the national treasury, the emperor's trust in him was growing day by day.

There is an essential difference between him and people like Ding Hui. Although the latter has certain abilities, he must rely on the help of the aristocratic families. Jing Qingshan came from a humble family, and his greatest reliance is his ability to manage the Ministry of Revenue in an orderly manner.

In a sense, he is the God of Wealth of the Great Qi court. It is also due to his credit that the border troops have never lacked logistical supplies. Obviously, no one can replace his role for the time being.

Under the gaze of the emperor and other important officials, Jing Qingshan said sincerely: "I am just curious about who has such great ability, not accusing the Duke. In addition, the question that I am most puzzled about is that the thief's actions are obviously not for money, so who would regard Governor Ding as a thorn in the eye and must harm him?"

Although he said it very tactfully, the question about motivation and ability was actually directed at Lu Chen.

Not everyone shares similar skepticism.

Xu Zuo said sternly, "Minister Jing, why do you have to beat around the bush in front of His Majesty? You just want to say that only Duke Qin has such ability and has reasons to harm Governor Ding? I can't help but ask, if this was really planned by Duke Qin, why did he wait until Governor Ding entered Dingzhou before taking action? It's thousands of miles from the capital to Dingzhou. Couldn't the thief find a chance to strike on the way? The case is still unclear, how can you speculate and slander the Duke of the current dynasty?"

Jing Qingshan frowned slightly, but when he looked at Xu Zuo, he noticed that Li Shizhi lowered his head, so he changed his tone when he spoke: "Prime Minister Xu is teaching me that I was in a hurry and did not think about it. I hope the Duke will forgive me."

Lu Chen looked at the Minister of Revenue, who was known as a capable minister, and his judgment became clearer in his mind. He said lightly, "Minister Jing, don't blame yourself. In fact, I can understand your doubts very well. In the eyes of the adults, as the Grand Commander of Dingzhou, in charge of 120,000 elite border troops, it is not difficult for Lu to create a perfect accident in Dingzhou, but at least he has the ability to do so."

Li Zongben coughed lightly and shook his head, saying, "Mr. Lu's words are too serious. I believe that you will not be so careless."

"Your Majesty, I really want to know who did this, so I beg Your Majesty to send someone to Dingzhou to conduct a thorough investigation."

Lu Chen remained calm and bowed.

Li Zongben pondered in silence, as if thinking about who to ask to investigate the case.

An eunuch walked into the hall cautiously. Upon seeing this, Yuan Yuji, the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, stepped over and reported, "Your Majesty, the Master Su from the Textile Bureau wants to see you."

"Xuan."

"The slaves obey the order."

A moment later, Su Yunqing hurried over, stepped forward and saluted without looking away, saying: "Your Majesty, Dingzhou has an urgent report that the new governor, Lord Ding, was assassinated in Gushu City. Fortunately, his life is not in danger." "I already know."

Li Zongben looked at Su Yunqing steadily, and suddenly raised his voice and said, "Why is the Weaving Department of Su Qing's family so lax and lazy?!"

This question came so suddenly that even though Su Yunqing was experienced, he was still distracted for a moment.

Li Zongben said coldly, "Dingzhou is the territory of Daqi, and it is also the area that the Weaving Department focuses on. You have told me many times in the past that the Dingzhou Yamen of the Weaving Department is strong and capable of gathering intelligence on the enemy and helping the border troops, and deterring the villains and protecting the common people. Now, the governor was attacked in the inn, and the Weaving Department did not notice anything. Is this what you told me?"

Su Yunqing quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I have failed to live up to your high expectations and bear an unshirkable responsibility for this matter."

"You are far away in the capital, and it is impossible for you to control your subordinates in the border areas. I am not ignorant of right and wrong, but someone must be held responsible for this matter."

Li Zongben looked gloomy and said without question: "Dingzhou Prosecutor Yang Jingxuan is guilty of negligence and dereliction of duty. He will be dismissed from his post immediately and ordered to return to Beijing for further treatment. You and the two supervisors will nominate one person to take over the Dingzhou government office."

Su Yunqing's heart trembled, and hesitantly said: "Your Majesty——"

Li Zongben interrupted him and said in a deep voice: "Why, I have no right to appoint and dismiss officials of the Textile Bureau? Or do you think that the Dingzhou government led by Yang Jingxuan did not notice Ding Hui's assassination before it happened, and then allowed the thief to disappear without a trace. This is a forgivable omission?"

"I don't dare."

Su Yunqing bowed his head and said, "I obey your order."

The appointment and dismissal of a mere inspector of Dingzhou in the Weaving Bureau would not be so serious as to make the important officials in the palace take it seriously. Moreover, the Weaving Bureau had always been independent of the court, and the appointment and dismissal of all officials were decided by the emperor alone. No one thought there was anything wrong with it.

Li Zongben's gaze passed Su Yunqing and stopped on Lu Chen's face.

Others may not know, but he certainly knows who Yang Jingxuan belongs to.

As early as when Qin Zheng resigned, he wanted to dismiss Yang Jingxuan from his post, but the border was unstable at that time and he had to consider Lu Chen's attitude, so he did not take any action.

Now that Ding Hui had been assassinated, the reaction of the Dingzhou Yamen of the Weaving Bureau from beginning to end was more than a beat slow, and Li Zongben certainly would not miss this opportunity.

At the same time, he was somewhat curious about how Lu Chen would react.

To his surprise, Lu Chen did not react at all, as if Yang Jingxuan's dismissal had nothing to do with him.

"fair enough……"

Li Zongben finally took the first step to weaken Lu Chen's strength. He did not want to push Lu Chen too hard, so he changed the subject and said, "Ding Hui was assassinated on his way to take up his post. As Lu Qing's family said, this is a provocation and humiliation to the court. I absolutely cannot tolerate such a madman. No matter who is behind this, I will investigate this case thoroughly. Prime Minister Xue."

The left prime minister Xue Nanting bowed and said, "I am here."

Li Zongben thought for a moment and said slowly, "The Secretariat drafted an edict, ordering Yin Bo, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, as the imperial commissioner to investigate the case, Wu Zhisheng, the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple, Gong Yangyan, the Chief Censor, and Shi Haoyang, the Supervisor of the Textile Bureau, as deputy imperial commissioners, to lead the officials of the three bureaus to Dingzhou today to thoroughly investigate the case. In addition, the Imperial Guards were ordered to send 500 soldiers to accompany them for protection."

Xue Nanting responded: "I obey the order."

Li Zongben then looked at Lu Chen and said thoughtfully, "Lu Qing's family should temporarily postpone their return to Dingzhou and wait until the case is fully resolved."

The ministers felt nervous, as these words were quite meaningful.

Xu Zuo frowned, but before he could speak, Lu Chen said calmly, "I obey your order."

Li Zongben looked at his calm expression, then stood up and walked towards the back hall.

All the ministers bowed respectfully.

After a while, everyone walked out of Chongzheng Hall. Lu Chen and Xiao Wangzhi walked side by side, and said with emotion: "Fortunately, Governor Ding is a lucky man. If he had been killed this time, I'm afraid there would be a huge storm in the court and the country."

Xiao Wangzhi agreed and said, "That makes sense, but I wonder who is so bold?"

Lu Chen sighed, "Who knows? Perhaps only Minister Ding himself knows, but the messenger said he was seriously injured and unconscious. It seems we have to wait until he wakes up."

The two men walked forward while chatting, their tone neither light nor heavy, which inevitably sounded a little strange to the ears of the important officials around them.

When Jing Qingshan questioned Lu Chen just now, there were actually many people who had similar thoughts, because they felt that Dingzhou was Lu Chen's territory, and who else except him had such ability?

But Xu Zuo's rebuttal was not without reason. After hearing the conversation between Lu Xiao and the others, coupled with Lu Chen's calm reaction in the hall, they couldn't help but ask themselves, could it be that this matter really had nothing to do with Lu Chen?

Among the crowd, Li Shizhi naturally heard those words.

His expression was normal and his steps were steady, but his hands in his sleeves were unconsciously clenched.

(End of this chapter)