Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 506: Furious Jia Xu, Liu Xie's Plan
“When did these rumors originate?”

Liu Xie casually placed the bowl on the table and asked calmly, not angry at the news.

Guo Jia bowed his head slightly and replied, "It has been widely circulated in Chang'an in the past few days and has had a significant impact."

"But it is not known where this rumor first came from."

After Guo Jia finished speaking, the other ministers all frowned. The person who spread the rumor was really bold to slander the emperor.
Moreover, this rumor contained strong malice and was directly targeted at the Imperial College, which shows that there must be someone behind the scenes deliberately pushing it.

The people were all superstitious, and whenever a major disaster struck, the emperor would issue an edict to blame himself, and it was common for him to dismiss officials or the three highest officials.

This is a drought that occurs once in a century. Even if the imperial court is well prepared, the people will inevitably be affected.

At this time, someone suddenly came out and said that this was a disaster sent by heaven, and put all the blame on the emperor and the Imperial College, which could easily lead public opinion.

Ever since Dong Zhongshu proposed the theory of the correspondence between heaven and man, celestial phenomena have been closely related to the emperor. If the people all believed that the drought was caused by the emperor's disdain for Confucianism and emphasis on new learning, it would be very troublesome.

Although Liu Xie's reputation and prestige were extremely high and his status in the hearts of the people would not be affected by these rumors, it would certainly be extremely difficult for the Imperial College to continue operating.

This incident happening at this critical moment when the debate was about to begin was extremely disadvantageous to the Imperial College.

"The people who spread these rumors have ulterior motives!"

Lu Su, who was usually steady, actually got angry. His face looked very ugly and his words were full of anger.

The emperor spent countless money and food to ensure peace for the people, so that this drought, which was rare in decades, did not lead to the tragedy of cannibalism and corpses everywhere. This alone can make him a wise and enlightened monarch!
However, this move did not win praise.

Instead, I was slandered!
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will send someone to investigate thoroughly. No matter what means are used, this matter will be investigated thoroughly!"

Jia Xu said this with a gloomy look and a serious tone.

The fact that he, who usually never shows his emotions, showed such an expression showed how angry he was.

All the ministers in the hall were extremely angry, but Liu Xie, who was being slandered, looked calm and didn't care.

"Your Majesty, do you want to issue an order to strictly prohibit the spread of such rumors and arrest all those who discuss them? As long as we follow the clues, we will definitely find the source of the spread."

At this time Fa Zheng proposed to Liu Xie.

However, Liu Xie shook his head and refused: "There is little point in using such means. Besides, those who are innocent are innocent. I have done nothing wrong. Why should I care about these rumors?"

"Most people are ignorant and like to follow blindly. Using force to stop the spread of rumors will only backfire."

"Besides, these messages may have been spread deliberately by someone with ulterior motives. If I pay too much attention to these rumors, it will just play into their hands."

"Let's wait and see what happens."

Seeing that the emperor was so calm, the ministers had no choice but to agree.

……

After finishing their government affairs, the ministers left the palace and went home one after another, while Jia Xu went to the Southern Court alone.

The North Yamen and the South Yamen were originally the garrisons of the palace guards, but now the South Yamen has been changed into the office location of the Embroidered Uniform Envoy. It is also the place that all the officials in the court are afraid of and even avoid when leaving the palace after court.

The Southern Court looks unremarkable, just like an ordinary courtyard. The vermilion gate is always closed and few people go in or out.

Jia Xu arrived outside the South Yamen without knocking. The tightly closed red door opened directly and then closed again after he walked in.

He walked towards the main hall with a gloomy face. On both sides of the road, embroidered robes were kneeling in a row. At this moment, everyone had their heads lowered, looking as if they were facing a great enemy.

Jia Xu seldom came to the Southern Court, and today he looked like this, obviously something big had happened.

For the Embroidered Uniform Envoys, an accident means someone will die.

It's either someone else or them.

However, Jia Xu didn't even look at them, and walked to the only chair in the main hall and sat down.

An envoy in embroidered clothes immediately stepped forward to serve him hot tea, but after Jia Xu picked up the tea bowl, he smashed it directly on his head.

"roll!"

The scalding tea splashed all over the face of the man in embroidered clothes, but he dared not complain at all. He endured the pain, staggered outside the hall and knelt down.

Jia Xu's eyes swept over the group of embroidered-robed emissaries kneeling outside the hall, his expression gloomy as if he was ready to devour anyone.

"Why, the news of the rumor was not reported."

"Whoever is responsible for this, stand up!"

As soon as the words fell, the eunuchs in embroidered robes were trembling all over. They all remained silent, but their slightly trembling hands revealed their inner fear.

Seeing this, Jia Xu suddenly laughed and said, "Why, no one admits it? That's easy, everyone, draw your swords and get rid of your hands."

"They are just a bunch of trash anyway. There is no point in keeping them. So why not just get rid of them?"

After these words were spoken, one of the embroidered robes finally couldn't help himself and stood up and said, "Your Highness, Lord Jia... I am your humble servant."

Jia Xu's eyes fell on him and he said expressionlessly, "Answer my question."

The clothing rank of this Embroidered Uniform Envoy was General of the Central Army, which was a very high position. There were only seven Generals of the Central Army in the entire Embroidered Uniform Envoy organization.

The General in Embroidered Uniform pursed his lips and replied, "I heard about this rumor half a month ago, but it was not widely spread at the time, so I thought it was unnecessary to bother Lord Jia with such a small matter. I sent someone to find out the source and then report it to the court to arrest the perpetrator..."

"Have you found the source?"

Jia Xu interrupted him and asked simply and directly.

The General in Embroidered Uniforms shook his head with difficulty.

Jia Xu laughed: "So you are thinking about me. It seems that I misunderstood you. Should I give you a credit?"

The Embroidered Uniform Lieutenant Colonel's scalp tingled, and he immediately knelt down, kowtowed heavily on the ground, and said in a deep voice: "I admit my guilt!"

Blood slowly seeped out of the bluestone floor.

Jia Xu stood up from his chair, walked up to the General, stepped on his head, and crushed it hard again and again.

"I'll give you three days. If you can't figure it out, your Fengzi Group will no longer exist. Come to see me with your head on your shoulders."

"Don't worry, I'll report you to the martyrs and carve a tombstone in the cemetery."

The embroidered-clothed lieutenant general pressed his face to the ground. Even though the pain was unbearable, he dared not say a word and said in a muffled voice, "Yes!"

Only then did Jia Xu move his feet away from his head, and then looked up at the other embroidered robe envoys.

“Is the play good?”

All the embroidered clothes emissaries felt nervous and said in unison: "We dare not!"

Jia Xu said coldly: "I don't kill him, not because I am kind-hearted, nor because of his merits, but because he eats too much salary, killing him would be a waste."

"The Southern Court doesn't support idlers. Each of you has a minimum salary of 100 dan. The court doesn't give you this money to live here in your old age!"

"I don't care if you take bribes or embezzle money secretly, but if anyone doesn't work hard for me, I promise to make him spit out double what he ate!"

Jia Xu's tone was extremely ferocious, and his eyes were as sharp as a knife.

The Southern Court pursued the policy of high salaries for officials. Ordinary people consumed three to four hu of rice a month, and the monthly salary of an ordinary grassroots official was only about eight hu.

The salary of the Embroidered Uniform Envoys was, at most, 100 dan per month, or 800 coins, plus 5 hu of grain. With each promotion or meritorious service, the salary would increase, and the salary of the Embroidered Uniform Lieutenant General would reach 600 dan!
This is already the salary of a county magistrate in a large county with more than 10,000 households!
To be honest, this salary has already surpassed that of most officials in the court, not to mention that as Embroidered Uniform Envoys, they would receive bribes when doing their work, or take black money while handling cases.

And this is why Jia Xu felt so angry.

It’s okay to be a little greedy, it’s human nature, but the job must be done well, otherwise how can you have the face to accept this salary!

The backs of many embroidered robe envoys were wet with sweat.

I didn't even dare to take a breath.

After a burst of anger, Jia Xu's anger subsided a little, and then he kicked the Embroidered Uniform General in front of him hard.

"Get out of the way!"

The General in Embroidered Uniform hurriedly made way.

Others also gave way.

Jia Xu walked towards the outside of the South Courtyard, and all the embroidered robe envoys breathed a sigh of relief only after his fat figure disappeared with the closing of the red gate.

Working under this Mr. Jia is like walking on thin ice.

If you are not careful, you will lose your head.

The general in embroidered robes crawled up from the ground, blood was flowing down his face, mixed with the dust, making him look extremely miserable and terrifying.

But he had no time to care about these things. After wiping his face with his hand, he looked at the group of embroidered robes behind him with a fierce look.

"You all heard what Lord Jia said, go down and investigate! If I can't survive, you won't survive either!"

The tone of the Embroidered Uniform General was slightly crazy.

Jia Xu always kept his word. He never failed to deliver on his promises of rewards, but he also never failed to follow through on his harsh words.

If he can't find out who spread the rumor about the emperor, he will surely lose his head!

"Yes!"

The embroidered robe envoys from the Feng Group did not dare to neglect the request, and they all agreed and left.

The General from the Wind Group also left with a gloomy face.

The other groups' Generals of the Household and Embroidered Uniform Envoys could not help but shake their heads upon seeing this, secretly rejoicing in their hearts - fortunately, they were not the ones who were in trouble.

……

At the gate of the palace, Guo Jia had been waiting for a long time.

After seeing Jia Xu coming out of the palace with a gloomy face, he walked up to him and asked, "Are you scolding your men again?"

After leaving Xuanshi, he saw Jia Xu walking alone towards Nan Ya, and he knew that the other party must be going to cause trouble for his subordinates.

The main thing was that he didn't expect that Jia Xu, the Embroidered Uniform Envoy, didn't even know about the rumor. It was really a slap in the face when he said it in public today.

"That bunch of rubbish! How come I have so many stinky bastards!"

Jia Xu was still furious at this time, and he kept cursing and swearing, he was almost about to explode with anger.

As the controller of the intelligence organization, the Embroidered Uniform Envoy, he had to learn about the rumors through Guo Jia.

How would the emperor view him?

If he didn't need to keep some people to do the job, he really wanted to kill a bunch of people under his command.

Guo Jia comforted him, "Calm down, calm down, this is my fault, I should have told you first."

Jia Xu said impatiently: "Okay, stop talking nonsense here. The results will come out within three days. When I find out who is spreading these rumors, I will screw his head off!"

"Your Majesty prepared for the disaster with good intentions, but a bunch of ruthless people dared to spread such rumors. They are really tired of living."

Hearing Jia Xu's angry remarks, Guo Jia couldn't help but ask, "Who do you think is spreading rumors?"

"Who else could it be?"

Jia Xu snorted coldly, his eyes flashing with murderous intent, "Who is the one who least wants to see the opening of the Imperial College? That's who!"

"When I have the chance in the future, I will settle accounts with those families one by one!"

Guo Jia stroked his chin, pondered for a moment and said, "I don't think they can be so stupid. It's too obvious to do this."

"Even if it's just to build momentum for the debate a month later, it shouldn't be so excessive."

Insulting the emperor's reputation is no small matter.

Where do those noble families get the courage?

Jia Xu frowned, glanced at him and asked, "Who do you think it is? Do you have any idea?"

"No."

Guo Jia shook his head and then said, "Forget it, don't think about it. Let's go to your house. I remember you have a few bottles of precious green plum wine."

Jia Xu's eyes twitched, and he threw away his sleeves and said, "Get lost, no! The debate is about to start, and you still don't prepare well. Do you still have time to drink?"

"Preparation is preparation, drinking is drinking, how can they be confused? Don't be so stingy."

Guo Jia glared at Jia Xu with dissatisfaction.

However, Jia Xu was too lazy to pay attention to him and got on the carriage directly. Seeing this, Guo Jia hurriedly climbed up.

But before getting on the car, he looked back at the palace, thoughtfully.

……

Weiyang Palace, Greenhouse Palace.

After all the ministers had left, Liu Xie still did not return to his bedroom to rest, but stayed in the greenhouse hall to read.

At this time, Gao Lan walked into the hall, bowed and asked, "Your Majesty, the rumor has spread. Do you still want to send people to spread it?"

Liu Xie did not take his eyes off the book and said without raising his head, "No need, this is enough, withdraw the people."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Gao Lan responded respectfully, then hesitated for a moment and continued, "Your Majesty, there is one thing I don't understand... Why do you want me to spread such rumors?"

"If the people really believed the rumors, wouldn't it damage your Majesty's holy name?"

He didn't understand why the emperor wanted him to do such a strange thing. It was clearly throwing dirty water on himself, which would do him more harm than good.

Liu Xie said calmly: "You don't need to ask why, just do it. I have my own plans, and you won't understand even if I tell you."

Gao Lan scratched his head and felt that this made sense.

So he bowed and left.

After Gao Lan left, Liu Xie stood up, stretched, hummed a little tune, left the Greenhouse Palace, and walked towards Zhen Mi's palace.

If he doesn't do this, how can he have sufficient reasons to take action later?
(End of this chapter)