The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 566 Taking Advantage of the Situation
"The people can be made to follow it, but they cannot be made to know it. You and Li Aiqing are both my most trusted ministers. How can you publish these things in the newspapers and make them known to everyone just because of a minor dispute?"

The memorial was delivered on the 25th day of the first lunar month. Although it caused some stir, it did not cause much waves, so Zhang Yun逸 had no choice but to publish it in the newspaper.

Emperor Wanlong did not mind the open and secret struggles among his ministers. He even welcomed it.

After all, Li Congwen was also a Jinshi and was appointed Shangshu, which formed an opposition with Zhang Yun逸. In a sense, it was also an opposition between the imperial examination and Taoism.

However, Zhang Yun逸 reported the matter to the newspaper, which made him somewhat dissatisfied. After seeing the newspaper, he immediately summoned Zhang Yun逸 to give him a lecture.

Zhang Yun逸 did not refute the emperor's statement, but bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, I do have some selfish motives..."

At this point, he changed the subject: "It's just that I am not doing this for my own selfish reasons, but for the stability of your Majesty's kingdom. If there is any selfish motive, it is indeed because of the immortal learning and Wang Hui."

"Wang Hui?"

"I dare not deceive the emperor. This garrison commander is Wang Hui's cousin and the son of Zhang Jian, who designed the crossbow."

"When did you know that?"

"I dare not deceive the emperor. Last year, Wang Hui joined the Immortal Academy with the purpose of asking me to file a complaint with the emperor on his behalf!"

"How dare you!" Emperor Wanlong slammed the dragon case so hard that it shook the ground, and shouted angrily, "If that was the case, why didn't you report it then?"

"Your Majesty, please understand! It was only Wang Hui's one-sided statement at that time. I am not on good terms with Minister Li, and I am afraid that I will be accused of taking revenge..."

"Oh! Are you not afraid now?"

"Your Majesty, please allow me to report this. Although I am worried that I have wronged Minister Li, if he seeks justice in front of you..."

At this point, Zhang Yunyi showed a trace of embarrassment at being exposed for his cleverness, and said, "Because I value his talent, I granted him a chance to see the emperor, so I asked him to wait outside the palace gate. Unexpectedly, he ran into Minister Li..."

Some things cannot be hidden, even if the emperor has not noticed it now.

If the relationship between Wang Hui and Zhang Songyuan is still concealed at this time, once it attracts the emperor's attention, it will easily lead to a crisis of trust through clues.

Lies are 70% true and 30% false. The ironclad facts are hard to conceal, and Zhang Yunyi has no intention of concealing them, but he can cover up his thoughts as he pleases.

"Then why didn't he confront him? Why did you help to hide it?"

"I thought he knew he was in the wrong and had already been given the chance, but he came out and said he was worried about alerting the enemy and causing Minister Li to take the initiative and kill his family... I dare not listen to one side of the story because I know that Chang'an Jiedushi Yun Guang was originally a member of Rongguo Mansion. I was worried about wrongly accusing a good person, so I asked Rongguo Mansion's Jia She's son to inquire Yun Guang about the news."

At this point, he prostrated himself again and said, "Even so, I am still not at ease. I asked Wang Hui to write a letter and asked his cousin to go to the Chang'an government office to seek justice. Unexpectedly, the Chang'an prefect married the niece of Minister Li. A dignified fifth-rank garrison commander actually has nowhere to turn to. It is really shocking!"

"Strike first and kill his family? Although Li Congwen allowed his son to do evil, I have also read Yun Guang's memorial. Brother Jin hanged himself. I'm afraid you have said this, my dear minister?"

"Your Majesty is very perceptive. I did not believe it at first, but Jia Lian from Rongguo Mansion came back and mentioned something that forced me to be careful..."

"what's up?"

"Zhang Songyuan is the garrison commander of Chang'an after all. Yun Guang submitted a memorial to the emperor last year, but the memorial fell on deaf ears... I have no choice but to believe it, Your Majesty!"

After hearing this, Emperor Wanlong's expression finally changed.

After a long pause, Fang raised his hand and sighed, "Forget it, stand up! Li Congwen is so eager to protect his son, so it is understandable. Send someone down immediately to stop selling the unsold newspapers. I will make a decision after I find out the truth!"

Emperor Wanlong seemed unwilling to dwell on this topic, and interrupted, "The disaster in Jiangnan this time was a matter of fate and also a man-made disaster. Do the immortals in the immortal world have any worries about land annexation?"

On the one hand, he wanted to change the subject, but at the same time, Emperor Wanlong was also very clear that although the incident in Jiangnan was caused by pests and diseases, he had made so many arrangements beforehand, but it still almost caused civil unrest. The reason was still due to land annexation.

This has been a problem since ancient times and has been difficult to eradicate throughout the dynasties. So he asked the immortals casually if they had any solution.

Seeing that the emperor changed the subject, Zhang Yunyi did not dwell on it, but smiled and said: "Land annexation is a long-standing problem for Daxia, but for the immortals, they have already dealt with it..."

"Oh?" Emperor Wanlong was overjoyed, "Tell me about it!"

"It's a long story..."

"It's okay! Speak quickly!" Emperor Wanlong urged hurriedly.

Zhang Yunyi did not answer but asked: "Your Majesty, where do you think the root of land annexation lies?"

"Desire! Food is the first necessity of the people. Only with land can there be food!"

Emperor Wanlong also thought deeply about this question and blurted it out without thinking.

"Your Majesty!"

Zhang Yunyi flattered him a little, but then changed the subject and said, "However, in my opinion, the people's will is like iron, and the official law is like a furnace. Although desire is the root cause, the crux of the problem lies in the fact that the imperial power does not reach the countryside!"

To be honest, Zhang Yun逸 did not want to discuss this sensitive topic with the emperor, but if the tiger is not killed, it will surely be bitten back.

Now the feud with Li Congwen has become increasingly serious. If we cannot kill him with one blow, there will be endless troubles.

However, the emperor obviously did not want to dwell on this issue, so he had to find another way.

He knew very well that the emperor had the ambition to be a wise ruler, so he threw out a hook and saw whether the emperor would take it or not.

"Keep talking!"

Emperor Wanlong's face was as gloomy as water.

"The fact that the imperial power did not extend to the countryside, although it avoided the redundancy of the court's institutions to a certain extent, it also caused the entanglement of local gentry forces. It was even common for them to collude with and hold local officials hostage.

Although the imperial court also had corresponding measures, such as officials were not allowed to marry local people while in office to avoid collusion, in reality it was counterproductive and had little effect.

After all, if an official wants to achieve political achievements, whether it is to maintain law and order or collect taxes, he cannot do without the assistance of the gentry..."

He talked about the various drawbacks of the imperial power not extending to the countryside and the gentry class being too powerful to be eliminated.

The more Emperor Wanlong listened, the more his brows furrowed.

Zhang Yunyi pretended not to see it and continued, "It is not uncommon for the people to only follow the clan law and not the royal law. The court, due to the overall situation, can only turn a blind eye. If this continues, it will only make them more unscrupulous and bring disaster to the village, and even..."

At this point, Zhang Yunyi paused for a moment and said in a loud voice: "You regard the imperial court as a decoration!"

Emperor Wanlong took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Tell me how the immortals solved it!"

……

(End of this chapter)