Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 516 Liang Guangchuan's Plan
"Master, my face still hurts." Hu Ji said in a coquettish voice.

Li Jie smiled evilly and said, "You didn't look like you were still in pain just now."

"Master~"

Hu Ji was pouting and pushed Li Jie away unwillingly.

Li Jie felt his bones almost soften as he listened to Hu Ji's coquettish voice. Unfortunately, his body had been hollowed out over the years, and he was exhausted from the battle he had just experienced. He was really powerless.

"Okay, I'll have someone buy you some farms and shops later."

"Everything the master said..."

"boom!"

At this moment, the door of the outer room was suddenly kicked open, scaring the two of them.

Then a burst of hurried and chaotic footsteps entered the house.

"Who is it? Do you want to die?"

Li Jie came back to his senses, propped himself up and cursed angrily towards the outside.

"Master, could it be the eldest son?"

"He dares!"

Li Jie cursed: "I haven't dealt with him for yesterday's incident yet, if he..."

Before he could finish his words, the bedroom door was kicked open and a group of soldiers rushed in.

"Yeah~"

Hu Ji screamed and quickly pulled the thin blanket to cover her body.

"Who sent you? Do you know where this is?" Li Jie shouted angrily while fighting with Hu Ji for the thin blanket.

"Prince Consort Li is really in a refined mood, he is so elegant in broad daylight...tsk tsk..."

Just then, a sarcastic voice came in.

Yin Hanzhang clapped his hands and walked into the room, looking with interest at the clothes thrown casually on the floor and the two people fighting for the thin blanket on the bed.

"You are...Yin Hanzhang, the Chief Inspector of the Imperial City!"

Li Jie looked at Yin Hanzhang and felt that he looked familiar. It took him a while to recognize him and he said with a look of fear.

"It's an honor for Prince Consort Li to recognize me!"

Yin Hanzhang smiled and said, "Since Prince Consort Li recognized me, he should know that the Imperial City Department is directly under the command of His Majesty. Prince Consort Li should quickly put on his clothes and follow me."

Although Zhao Xing had been making use of the Imperial City Administration since he ascended the throne, due to the special nature of the Imperial City Administration, Yin Hanzhang did not need to attend court and rarely appeared in public.

Li Jie did not hold any real position, and the two had no intersection and had never met.

But Li Jie was able to recognize him, which means that Li Jie must have paid attention to him.

"Although I have some conflicts with the princess, there is no reason for the government to directly send the Imperial City Bureau to arrest me, right?" Li Jie said gritting his teeth.

"It's already this late, Prince Consort Li, please stop testing me. I'll tell you the truth, your crime has been exposed, and His Majesty has ordered me to arrest you!" Yin Hanzhang said with a smile.

Li Jie was still hoping for a lucky break, but his face turned pale when he heard this.

"Prince Li lives a life of luxury and it seems that he can't dress himself. Someone, help Prince Li dress himself!" Yin Hanzhang said.

"Yes!"

Two soldiers immediately responded, sheathed their swords, picked up the clothes on the ground, and roughly put them on the distraught Li Jie.

The original duty of the Imperial City Bureau was to protect the emperor's safety, and they were the close guards of the imperial army.

Responsible for collecting intelligence, a position also given by Emperor Taizu later.

These soldiers only obeyed Zhao Xing and didn't care whether Li Jie was the son-in-law of the emperor.

However, these soldiers were all rough men and had no idea how to serve others. Although they helped Li Jie put on clothes, they looked messy.

"take away!"

Yin Hanzhang waved his hand without caring whether Li Jie's clothes were disheveled or not.

As soon as he walked out of the yard, Yin Hanzhang saw a beautiful woman in her thirties walking towards him, supported by two maids.

"Greetings, Princess Funing!" Yin Hanzhang bowed.

"Prosecutor Yin, there's no need to be so polite. You... cough... cough cough..."

Li Jie, who originally looked ashen, saw Princess Funing coming over, as if he saw a life-saving straw, and hurriedly said, "Madam, save me!"

Princess Funing ignored Li Jie, coughed for a while, and her face became paler.

"Inspector Yin, why did you arrest the prince consort?" asked Princess Funing.

"Prince Consort Li participated in the minting of counterfeit coins. I have been ordered to arrest him."

"unambiguous evidence?"

"conclusive!"

Princess Funing was silent for a while after hearing this, and then made way.

"Thank you princess!"

Yin Hanzhang bowed and left with his men.

Li Jie was unwilling to ask Princess Funing to save him, but Princess Funing ignored him.

Of course, it is impossible to arrest only Li Jie this time.

However, there were dozens of officials from Bian Jing involved.

It was just because of Li Jie's special identity that Yin Hanzhang was worried that Princess Funing would come forward to stop him, so he had to bring people here in person.

While Yin Hanzhang led people to arrest Li Jie, the people sent to arrest other officials were also taking action.

For a time, the whole of Bianjing was in a state of panic.

The unknown is the most terrifying thing. With such a big commotion, no one knows what happened or whether they will be implicated.

When Mr. Li learned that the Imperial City Bureau was out arresting people everywhere, he was terrified.

He didn't feel relieved until he learned that the arrested officials had nothing to do with him.

…………

"Your Majesty." An eunuch walked into the hall and saluted, saying, "The Emperor has sent someone to ask Your Majesty to go to Xingming Palace."

"I understand."

Zhao Xing waved his hand.

He knew without thinking that it must be related to Li Jie's matter.

No matter what, Li Jie is the nephew of my father's biological mother and also the son-in-law of the emperor. It is impossible for my father not to ask about it.

When he arrived at Xingming Palace and entered the main hall, Zhao Xing heard a cry and the voice of Queen Dowager Cao talking.

Zhao Xing looked in the direction of the voice and saw Queen Mother Cao comforting Princess Funing. There was a young man beside her, who was Princess Funing's son Li Wen.

"Your son pays homage to the Emperor, Father, and the Empress!" Zhao Xing said with a salute.

Princess Funing, who was crying, wanted to stand up and salute, but was held down by Empress Dowager Cao.

The emperor waved his hand and frowned, "What's going on with Li Jie?"

"Father, do you remember what I told you before about the rampant counterfeit money among the people?"

Zhao Xing had no intention of hiding it, and his father would know the truth with just a quick investigation.

"Are you saying that Li Jie did it all?" The emperor frowned.

According to what Zhao Xing said before, the counterfeit currency incident had already occurred a long time ago. How could it be related to Li Jie?
"We can't say he did it. He should have been pushed out by those people," said Zhao Xing.

The emperor breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. He already knew how Li Jie treated Princess Funing.

Although he was angry and wanted to kill Li Jie, he felt even more guilty towards his biological mother.

His biological mother, Li, and the late Empress Dowager Liu died at about the same time.

Li died several months earlier than Liu. It was not until after Liu's death that he learned that his biological mother was not Liu but Li.

One can imagine the guilt he felt when he thought about the fact that he had not been able to recognize Li until her death.

Even though he posthumously conferred the title of empress dowager on Li, he was still filled with guilt.

Therefore, even though he was very angry at Li Jie for treating Princess Funing in such a way, he did not want Li Jie's life.

But if Li Jie participated in the minting of counterfeit coins, he could not let Zhao Xing show favoritism.

After all, Zhao Xing had treated his own uncle ruthlessly, so how could he expect Zhao Xing to let Li Jie off easily?

However, since Li Jie was pushed aside by those people to take the blame, the charges could be either light or heavy.

"Father, although Li Jie was used by others, he knows it in his heart and is not ignorant. Even if he was just used, he is guilty of a capital crime!" Zhao Xing said.

"you…"

Upon hearing this, the emperor pointed at Zhao Xing and was very angry.

He didn't believe that Zhao Xing didn't know that he wanted to save Li Jie's life.

"Have you ever thought about what would happen to Funing and Wen Ge'er if you executed him? They are your sister and nephew!"

"Father!"

Princess Funing stood up and knelt before the Emperor, saying, "The state has its own laws, and the family has its own rules. Since the prince consort has made a mistake, he must be punished according to the law. Your Majesty, by doing this, you are helping your daughter vent her anger."

"Fu Ning is right!"

Empress Dowager Cao said angrily, "Your Majesty, didn't you hear how Li Jie treated Funing? Funing is your daughter, and he dared to be so neglectful. This alone is a capital crime."

Fu Ning was also raised by her for some years. Because she had no children, she always treated Fu Ning as her own son.

Upon learning that Princess Funing had suffered such a great injustice, she wished she could kill Li Jie.

Before Zhao Xing could even open his mouth, Princess Funing and Queen Mother Cao stood up and demanded severe punishment for Li Jie.

He glanced at Princess Funing. He thought that Princess Funing came to plead for Li Jie, but he did not expect that Princess Funing actually demanded severe punishment for Li Jie, which surprised him.

But after thinking about it carefully, he understood that Princess Funing didn't want to make things difficult for him.

Otherwise, if Princess Funing really felt wronged and resented Li Jie, why didn't she sue him before?
"What about Brother Wen?"

When the emperor saw that Princess Funing and Empress Dowager Cao both supported severe punishment of Li Jie, he pointed at Li Wen standing beside him and said.

Li Wen faced the gazes of several people with a helpless look on his face. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.

Although he was dissatisfied with the way his father treated his mother, he was still his father after all.

Even though he was still young, he could roughly guess what happened to his father from Zhao Xing's tone just now.

Zhao Xing frowned slightly. This was indeed a troublesome matter.

At that time, Zhu Xi and Cheng Yixue had not yet appeared, so it was not a big deal for a woman to remarry.

Not to mention a princess.

But what about Li Wen?
Zhu Yuanzhang was a ruthless man. He killed all nine clans of Li Shanchang, but spared only one son.

It was not because Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to leave some bloodline for Li Shanchang, but because Li Shanchang's son married Zhu's daughter.

Even a figure like Zhu Yuanzhang was not immune to this, let alone my father.

"Father, this matter has not been investigated clearly yet. Let's decide how to deal with it after it is investigated clearly." Zhao Xing said after a moment of silence.

The emperor opened his mouth, but finally sighed and said, "Let's do as you say."

…………

"Your Majesty, many officials have filed petitions to impeach the Imperial City Office!"

Zhao Xing returned to Longtu Pavilion. Sanshui bowed and pointed to the pile of papers on the table and said.

"Humph."

Zhao Xing looked at the pile of documents on the table. He roughly estimated that there were dozens of them. He sneered and said, "They are in a hurry."

There were dozens of officials involved in minting counterfeit coins in Bian Jing alone. How many were there in the entire Song Dynasty?

Later generations said that through six people, one can know everyone in the world.

Zhao Xing forgot what theory this statement was, and he was not sure whether it was true.

But he was clear about one thing: so many officials were involved this time, and almost all officials in the court had some connection with these relationships.

Be it students or former officials, or relatives, or even those who have been promoted.

If anything happens to these officials, they may all be implicated.

It is precisely because of this that these people wrote a letter of impeachment in an attempt to stop this.

Zhao Xing simply flipped through a few of the documents. These people were smart and did not defend the officials who were arrested.

Instead, they impeached the people of the Imperial City Bureau for taking the opportunity to extort benefits when arresting officials. Some people also said that this matter should not be left to the Imperial City Bureau.

"Put it away first." Zhao Xing waved his hand.

The rest should be similar, and he was too lazy to look at them.

…………

Western Xia, Liang Family Study

Liang Guangchuan looked at Liang Yimai and said, "Now facing the attack of Hehuang, we are losing step by step. Those people have no intention of monitoring my Liang family. This is a godsend opportunity."

"I will have someone send you to quietly leave Xixia and head to Song Dynasty. No matter what method is used, your sister must be rescued! Otherwise, my Liang family will be finished!"

Although Li Mingxiao was also dead, the power of the Tangut nobles in the court was stronger than that of the Han officials.

All the Tangut nobles whom he had secretly won over also stabbed the Liang family in the back.

They were won over by Liang Guangchuan because Li Liangzuo valued the Liang family and wanted to gain benefits through them.

Now that Li Liangzuo is dead and Empress Liang is in power, they will not stab him in the back.

Because Empress Liang's son succeeded to the throne, Empress Liang became the empress dowager and was able to control the power of Western Xia.

However, Queen Liang was abducted by the Song Dynasty. How could they still be controlled by Liang Guangchuan?

Isn’t it nice to be the master of your own house?
Although these people did not know that it was the Liang family who killed Li Liangzuo, they still knew that the Liang family had murdered Li Mingxiao.

They exposed the Liang family's plot to murder Li Mingxiao, and the Tangut nobles united and directly abolished Liang Guangchuan's position as prime minister.

Fortunately, they were only united in dealing with the Liang family. When they felt that the Liang family was no longer a threat, they started fighting among themselves.

In addition, Hehuang sent troops to attack Western Xia, and these people had even less interest in caring about the Liang family.

"My father sent people to the Song Dynasty before, but he didn't even see the Emperor of Song. It's obvious that he has no intention of releasing people. Even if I go, the Song Dynasty may not agree." Liang Yimai said.

"The world is in turmoil, all for the sake of profit."

Liang Guangchuan said: "The Song Dynasty won't release them just because the benefits are not enough. Go to the Song Dynasty this time and tell them that as long as the Song Dynasty is willing to release them, Xixia is willing to return Lingzhou City to the Song Dynasty!"

Lingzhou City was captured by Western Xia during the Song-Xia War.

The reason why Liang Guangchuan was so confident and felt that the Song Dynasty would definitely release the people after hearing the conditions was because Lingzhou City had a very special status.

Although Lingzhou City is neither a strong city nor rich, it is the only way for the Song Dynasty to reach the Western Regions.

Although the Song Dynasty was blockaded by Western Xia and Liao in the past, it was still able to obtain war horses from the Western Regions.

It was precisely because of the loss of Lingzhou City that the Song Dynasty completely lost its way to obtain war horses and could only purchase them from Western Xia and Liao at high prices.

This is also the reason why the prices of war horses sold by Liao and Xixia to the Song Dynasty became increasingly higher.

Since the Song Dynasty doesn't buy them, there is no other way to obtain war horses.

Moreover, the Western Regions is also a must-pass route on the Silk Road.

He didn't believe that the Song Dynasty would not be tempted if Lingzhou City was used as a bargaining chip.

Even if the Emperor of Song Dynasty is unwilling, as long as the ministers of Song Dynasty are moved, they will persuade the Emperor of Song Dynasty to agree.

"But Lingzhou City is not in our hands. The Song Dynasty may not believe it easily." Liang Yi frowned.

(End of this chapter)