Thief Emperor

Chapter 335 Soul Questioning
The new emperor has ascended the throne in the capital. Because the previous emperor passed away in the winter at the end of the year, the process of changing the reign title was very hasty. Fortunately, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince seemed to have been prepared, so the reign title Zhaoding was quickly decided.

By the time the reign title was decided, there was not much time left until the New Year, and many of the post roads from the imperial court to various places had been cut off.

Under such circumstances, the documents concerning this matter were not sent to Jiangdong until after the Chinese New Year, so that some time ago, the prefectures and counties in Jiangdong were still using the reign title of the sixth year of Xian De, but now they have all been changed to the first year of Zhao Ding.

"Zhaoding, Zhaoding..."

Mr. Fei lowered his head, repeated a few sentences, and then sighed silently.

He was on the road all the way and just found out about the new year name.

When a new emperor changes the era name, it is natural that everything will be renewed and there should be a new atmosphere. However, at present, all parts of the Great Zhou Dynasty are plagued by various problems.

The character "Ding" in the word Zhao Ding most likely refers to the new emperor Wu Yuancheng praying for peace in the world.

But can it really be settled?
It's too difficult.

Even Fei Xuan, a steadfast minister in the court, had lost his confidence at this moment.

Li Yun led the newly appointed Jiangdong Surveillance Commissioner to the largest restaurant in Jinling City. They sat down and chatted for a while. Soon it was noon, and all the officials of Jinling Prefecture arrived one by one and took their seats according to their positions.

Du Qian, who is now the actual ruler of Jinling Prefecture, and Song Zhen, the nominal Yin of Jinling, came together. After entering the private room, Song Zhen first looked up at the Duke of Fei Mansion, then bowed his head and said, "Your subordinate Song Zhen, pays homage to the Duke of Fei Mansion."

Du Qian was looking at Fei Xuan, then he smiled and bowed, "Master Fei."

Fei Xuan was lost in thought. After hearing Du Qian's words, he suddenly looked up at Du Qian, a little surprised: "Du Shouyi, you..."

"Why are you in Jinling?"

After saying this, he waved his hand again: "You are not worthy of being called a teacher."

Li Yun was also a little surprised and asked, "Brother Du and Mr. Fei, are they master and disciple?"

Du Qian pulled Fei Xuan to sit down and said with a smile: "Master Fei is a famous iron-faced man in the Ministry of Justice. When I just passed the imperial examination, I worked in the Ministry of Justice for two or three years and learned how to investigate and solve cases from Master Fei."

After Fei Xuan sat down, Du Qian continued, "Master Fei is famous for his ability to judge cases. There are very few cases of wrongful imprisonment that he has handled."

Fei Xuan frowned and looked at Du Qian. Du Qian looked calm and said, "Master Fei, you should know that I worked with Envoy Li for a period of time in Yuezhou, so we got to know each other. Later, there were many disturbances in Jiangdong, so Envoy Li was appointed as the Recruiting Envoy. However, there were too many things to do, so he asked me to come to Jinling to help him."

At this point, Du Qian smiled and said, "The states are in chaos, so we should act swiftly and not stick to the old rules. Master Fei, do you agree?"

The relationship between Du Qian and Fei Xuan is actually not as good as he said.

The two had indeed worked together in the Ministry of Justice, but they were only in a superior-subordinate relationship. Even though they had some interactions, they were far from being master and apprentice.

At least when Du Qian was in the capital, he never called Fei Xuan "Master".

And now he calls him that, naturally, to build a closer relationship.

If there was no Li Yun in Jiangdong, then his way of calling Fei Xuan in this way could be understood as currying favor with the powerful. But now there is a Li Yun in Jiangdong, and Fei Xuan's life and death are not in his hands. Du Qian calling Fei Xuan in this way is actually...

Just to protect him.

Although Fei Xuan was upright, he was not stupid. After all, a stupid person could not handle a case. He quickly understood what Du Qian meant, so he accepted the title without saying anything more.

In his opinion, Du Qian was most likely forced to go to Jinling.

After everyone was seated, Fei Xuan was pressed to the main seat. Li Yun sat on his left, and Du Qian sat on his right. He filled the glass of wine for Master Fei and said with a smile, "Two years ago, when Min Zhan was exiled by Master Fei, my father said that Master Fei would be banished from the capital sooner or later. Now it seems that my father's words have come true."

Speaking of this, Fei Xuan first looked at Li Yun, then stroked his beard and said, "It's my job title, so I'll be demoted. There's nothing to be afraid of."

At this point, he glanced at everyone present and said slowly: "As a man, all you need to do is to live with a clear conscience."

Du Qian offered him a glass of wine. After they drank it all, Du Qian smiled and said, "Min Zhan will not stay outside for a few years. He will return to the capital intact. His exile is probably very different from other people's exiles. He has a minister in the court to take care of him. He probably doesn't even need to wear shackles. He can eat and drink well all the way."

Having said that, he looked at Fei Xuan with a smile.

Fei Xuan was silent. He raised his head and drank the wine in the glass without saying anything.

He knew very well that what Du Qian said was true.

But he had no way to change anything. As the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, it was already very difficult for him to withstand the pressure and sentence Min Zhan to exile.

As for how the punishment was carried out and whether it was carried out effectively, he could not ask, and the important officials in the court would not allow him to ask.

"Okay, let's not talk about these trivial matters." Du Qian picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "Master Fei is now the governor of Jiangdong. There is no prime minister in charge. For cases in Jiangdong, Master Fei can judge them however he wants."

Fei Xuan frowned, looked up at Du Qian, and said seriously: "The inspector only supervises and handles officials, and does not review the case files. At most, he supervises the prefectures, counties and districts to try cases."

"Besides, all local cases must be reported to the Ministry of Justice."

Fei Xuan said very seriously: "There is still a prime minister above Jiangdong."

Li Yun, who was standing by, took a sip of wine after hearing this and said calmly, "The Central Plains is in chaos now, and the post roads are cut off. If everything is done according to the court's reply and the court's wishes, Jiangdong will not be able to accomplish anything."

The muscles on Fei Xuan's bronze face twitched, but he held back.

Du Qian smoothed things over and said calmly, "The Prime Minister is probably very busy right now, so he doesn't have the time to ask about Jiangdong's affairs. Master Fei has been on the road recently, so he may not know the situation in Guanzhong. I just received the news a few days ago."

"It may only take a few months to break through Tongguan."

After hearing this, Fei Xuan's expression finally changed.

He looked at Du Qian and asked in a deep voice, "Really?"

Du Qian smiled bitterly and said, "The court has already started preparing for the relocation, so what is true or false? Master Fei, this kind of thing cannot be hidden from others."

Fei Xuan sat there in a daze, not saying a word.

There was a table full of food and wine, but he didn't touch a single chopstick.

The entire dinner table fell into an eerie silence. Li Yun frowned slightly, shook his head, and said, "Things in the capital are certainly important, but Mr. Fei should take care of things in Jiangdong for now."

Li Yun looked at Fei Xuan and was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. Li Yun and Du Qian looked at the door at the same time and saw Meng Hai standing outside with an anxious look on his face.

Li Yun stood up and said, "Maybe there is some official business. You guys eat first. I'll go out and take a look."

After that, he walked out directly. After chatting with Meng Hai for a few words, he turned back, looked at everyone, and said, "Many states in Jiangdong are experiencing unrest. The situation is urgent. Everyone, eat first. Li will not accompany you any longer."

Hearing his words, Fei Xuan suddenly looked up at Li Yun. Even Du Qian stood up, walked to the door, and whispered, "What happened?"

"Shezhou, Muzhou, and Changzhou, which is the closest to Jinling."

Li Yun also frowned and said, "There were riots in three states at the same time, and the scale was not small."

Du Qian took a deep breath.

"Although this is to be expected, there must be a reason for the trouble, right?"

"These state governments may not obey us now, and the imperial court cannot control them. What's so strange about them doing things that arouse public resentment?"

After Li Yun finished speaking, he paused and continued, "But it is indeed a bit strange that the chaos happened at the same time. Logically speaking, even if the news from the capital has spread to the various prefectures and counties in Jiangdong, it should not have spread to the people yet."

"This matter..."

Li Yun frowned and said, "Maybe someone is behind this, or someone is instigating it."

Du Qian almost immediately whispered: "Pinglu Army?"

"do not know."

Li Yun said calmly: "But since the incident has happened, it must be resolved. It is good to have some incidents like this, so that the prefectures and counties in Jiangdong will not forget me as the Recruiting Envoy."

He looked at Du Qian and said decisively: "Leave the affairs of Shezhou and Muzhou to Su Sheng. I will personally lead the troops to Changzhou. The affairs of Jinling will be left to you, Brother Du."

At this point, Li Yun looked at Fei Xuan and said with a smile, "This Mr. Fei, please also trouble Brother Du to take some time to help."

Du Qian nodded silently, the two of them greeted each other, and Li Yun turned around and left the restaurant.

After thinking about it, Du Qian returned to his seat. Seeing Fei Xuan's questioning expression, Du Qian thought about it and said, "The three states in Jiangdong were in turmoil at the same time, and Envoy Li went to quell the rebellion."

Fei Xuan glanced at the other officials at the table, pulled Du Qian away and came to a corner. He had a serious expression and lowered his voice.

"Was it Li Zhao who did it?"

(End of this chapter)