Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 581 I Want to Kill People, No One Can Stop Me (Part )
In the Zhenguan Hall.

Under Li Chengqian's unusually cold gaze, Xiao Jun steeled himself and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, according to Tang law, those who steal without gaining any property shall be flogged fifty times, and those who gain possession shall be caned sixty times a foot long. For every additional piece of wood, the penalty shall be increased by one level; for five pieces of wood, the penalty shall be one year's imprisonment; for five pieces of wood, the penalty shall be increased by one level; for fifty pieces of wood, the penalty shall be exile with forced labor."

Li Chengqian frowned slightly.

Xiao Jun pleaded, "Your Majesty, according to Tang law, stealing and selling grain from the treasury is still considered theft. The maximum penalty for theft, no matter how much, is exile. The crime does not warrant the death penalty, and the law does not require the death penalty. I request that Lu Wencao be spared the death penalty."

Li Chengqian looked at Xiao Jun, and his expression gradually calmed down.

According to Tang law, this should indeed be the case.

But if the emperor wants to kill someone, can the law stop him?
Xiao Jun should obviously know this, but at this time, he still stood up to stop it. Is there some hidden secret here?

There was a hint of doubt in the eyes of the ministers when they looked at Xiao Jun.

Li Chengqian leaned forward slightly on the Danbi. After a moment's thought, he turned sideways, looked at Niu Jinda, and asked, "General, what do you think?"

Niu Jinda, a powerful figure, stepped forward and bowed earnestly to Li Chengqian, saying, "Your Majesty, the Luoyang granary is responsible for transporting grain and fodder to the front of the army. Stealing from the Luoyang granary is equivalent to stealing military rations. According to military law, the person should be executed."

Li Chengqian looked up at Liu Dewei standing to one side and asked, "Duke of Pengcheng, although the Grand Court Justice and the Imperial Censor are not here today, you were Grand Court Justice in the early Zhenguan period, and now you are the Minister of Justice. So, is sentencing Lu Wencao to death by beheading according to military law in accordance with the law?"

"Your Majesty!" Liu Dewei stood up and bowed, saying, "Since the 17th year of the Zhenguan era, a large amount of grain has been transported from the Luozhou granary down the Yellow River to Liaodong and the military headquarters every year. Although there is a difference between the military granaries and the civilian granaries that are directly transferred to the military headquarters, due to the severe floods in the past few years, the military rations have been insufficient, and several times, they have been transported from the civilian granaries. Moreover, if the heavy rains continue next year, these civilian granaries will continue to serve as military reserves. Therefore, according to the law, he should be executed."

Li Chengqian nodded and looked at Xiao Jun. "Xiao Qing, if I remember correctly, before I came to Luozhou, I issued an order to thoroughly investigate all the granaries. He is now using civilian grain to pass it off as official grain. I am convicting him of deceiving the emperor and sentencing him to death. Is that too much?"

Xiao Jun wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a word.

"If that's not enough, then charge him with stealing grain, impose military law, and behead him for deceiving the emperor. Is that enough?" Li Chengqian slammed his fist on the imperial desk.

With a "bang", the hearts of the ministers couldn't help but start beating.

Many people looked at Xiao Jun again. Shouldn't he stop now?

"Your Majesty!" Xiao Jun took a deep breath, his eyes filled with worry. He bowed again and said firmly, "Your Majesty, according to the law, officials should have the right to discuss the eight issues."

"Does Lu Wencao have a title, military merit, or is he a royal relative?" Li Chengqian looked at Xiao Jun with a smile.

Royal relatives, if they are royal relatives, how could the emperor not know about them.

"Your Majesty, Lu Wencao holds no title nor military merit, but his father, the late Lu Jingming, the Grand Master of the Imperial Palace and Earl of Qiu County, did have military merit." Xiao Jun looked up at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty, we can discuss the matter and pardon his death sentence."

"Discussing marriage, Lu Jingming?" Li Chengqian frowned and looked up, "Why does this name sound familiar to me?"

Imperial Censor Gao Zhizhou stepped forward and calmly bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Qiu County Earl Lu Jingming is the younger brother of Lady Lu of Liang. During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he stayed behind to guard the Prince of Qin's residence. Your Majesty may have met him."

Li Chengqian's mouth twitched slightly. What kind of military achievement is this? One can even say directly that this person doesn't dare to go to Xuanwu Gate at all.

Because that night, all the soldiers who really dared to fight rushed to Xuanwu Gate, and only the old, weak and sick were left in the Qin Palace.

It was only afterwards that he got some military credit for his accomplishment.

Li Chengqian looked up at Xiao Jun.

At this time, Xiao Jun did not argue anymore, but just stood there calmly.

Now, Li Chengqian and all the ministers in the palace understood.

The reason why Xiao Jun insisted on fighting was because Lu Wencao was Fang Xuanling's nephew. Now that Fang Xuanling had just died, Li Chengqian took action against his nephew. This would inevitably make Fang Xuanling's lineage and the lines of other meritorious officials feel disheartened.

Li Chengqian's gaze gently passed over Yang Sina behind him.

My heart trembled.

What a good idea!

First, she seduced Lu Wencao, causing him to spend lavishly, even to the point where his family could no longer support him, and finally she lured him into stealing and selling grain from the warehouse.

If Li Chengqian really wanted to kill him, Fang Xuanling would probably be implicated.

It is inevitable that people will think that he is not sympathetic to his meritorious officials.

Li Chengqian gently turned sideways, looked at Niu Jinda standing beside him, and asked, "General, have any soldiers in Liaodong died due to lack of rations in the past year?"

Niu Jinda was startled, then nodded seriously and said, "Yes, two soldiers froze to death while on duty during the winter of the previous year when their food and fodder arrived half an hour late. This incident is recorded in the military report."

Yang Sina looked up in disbelief.

Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "Discuss merit, discuss title, discuss marriage. Xiao Qing, you overlooked the word 'discuss.' The system of eight discussions is that after eight people commit crimes, they can use their power to petition the emperor to re-judge their crimes. It is I who will reduce or exempt their punishment based on their status... If I do not agree, even if they are princes, they will be executed."

"Someone come here!" Li Chengqian shouted.

"Yes!" The two guards at the door bowed at the same time.

"Lu Wencao, the treasury officer of Luozhou, has been convicted of stealing and selling military rations and deceiving the emperor, and has been sentenced to death. His brother has been dismissed from his post and reduced to a commoner." Li Chengqian glanced at the ministers in the hall and said coldly, "My lords, I have finally realized that the laxity of the Tang Dynasty's laws until now is due to the Eight Deliberations.

Today I am in a good mood and do not plan to do anything, but if this happens again, don't blame me for changing the Eight Discussions system."

"We, the ministers, will follow the Holy Instructions." All the ministers bowed in unison.

The moment Yang Sina lowered her head, a hint of regret flashed in her eyes.

The emperor's approach was very thoughtful.

If he had only targeted Lu Wencao, then the people behind Lu Wencao would naturally be dissatisfied, but now, he even dealt with Lu Wencao's brother.

Then no one will say anything.

Of course Lu Wencao has an older brother.

Lu Wencao did not have a title. His father was a founding earl. Although he wanted to take advantage of Fang Xuanling's military achievements, the title was eventually passed on to Lu Wencao's brother.

Now, let the two brothers deal with it on their own.

Fang Yizheng will most likely not care.

As for the army, Luoyang was the place where military supplies were transported. Lu Wencao was the military officer in charge of the Luozhou treasury. When he was in office, some soldiers in the army died due to lack of food.

No matter how many direct reasons there are, once this reason is revealed, the soldiers in the army will have no sympathy for him and may even blame him.

And most importantly, half of Yang's plan for military supplies in the court was wasted.

Fortunately, it’s only half.

……

Two guards had already strode out of the hall, followed by the sound of more footsteps.

I believe that Lu Wencao’s head will be brought up soon.

Li Chengqian raised his head, looked at the ministers, and said calmly, "By the way, there's also the matter of the six grain merchants. Yang Qing, you are the Minister of Justice. How should this matter be handled according to the law?"

Yang Sina looked up in surprise. Why did the emperor ask him about this?

Behind the six grain merchants involved this time stood the Wei, Du, Yang, Liu, Wang and Lu families.

Among them is his Yang family.

Yang Sina paused for a moment, then stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty!"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Mr. Yang, these six grain merchants colluded with Lu Wencao to steal and sell grain from the treasury. According to Lu Wencao's crime, please decide how to punish these six grain merchants. As the Minister of Justice, how should you deal with them according to the law?"

Complying with Lu Wencao's crime is a serious crime.

The charges against these six families cannot be lightened in any way.

Yang Sina took a deep breath and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, according to the law, all the properties of these six grain merchants must be confiscated. At the same time, the heads of the six grain merchants must be exiled three thousand miles away, and all other persons involved will be severely punished."

Li Chengqian glanced at Yang Sina, then sighed softly and said, "I've already killed someone today. I don't have the heart to punish him any more severely. From now on, the Ministry of Revenue will investigate how much grain Lu Wencao has stolen and sold from the Luoyang granary over the past few years, and how much each family was involved in. Based on the amount involved, he will be fined three times the grain."

After a brief pause, Li Chengqian sneered, "Of course, the grain in the granary doesn't count. Furthermore, an additional fine of three times the grain will be confiscated, and the heads of the six grain merchants will all be exiled to Liaodong. As for the others involved, I will show mercy and not punish them."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed and said, "Your Majesty is benevolent."

Yang Sina lowered his head and tried hard not to grit his teeth.

He himself became the bad guy, while the emperor became the good guy.

Moreover, the heads of the six grain merchants were exiled to Liaodong, and it is likely that none of them will survive.

Moreover, this is three times the amount of grain that Lu Wencao stole and sold in the past few years. This is not a small amount. Even if the granaries of six grain merchants are emptied, it is probably impossible to collect so much grain.

It has to be transferred from outside.

They suffered heavy losses.

Although they would not reveal the truth of these things to the emperor, they would definitely cause trouble for Yang Sina.

Li Chengqian looked up and continued, "Also, Luozhou Chief Clerk Xiao Jun has been penalized for failing to monitor the situation properly and will be fined three years' salary."

"Three years!" Yang Sina looked up in surprise.

The emperor had already stood up and waved his hand, saying, "Dismiss the court."

"Farewell, Your Majesty!" All the ministers bowed.

……

The night sky is clear and the air is hard and cold.

The Milky Way hangs low over the Luo River.

A small boat was sailing slowly on the Luo River.

Li Chengqian, dressed in a black robe with a golden dragon pattern, stood at the bow, his hand on the black-sheathed Thousand Ox Sword. He looked towards Luoyang City on both sides and said softly, "I have been in Luoyang for over a month, and only tonight do I have time to come out and see Luoyang. In three days, I will return to Chang'an."

"Your Majesty is benevolent." Xiao Jun stood behind him and sighed.

The emperor's travel during the day would make too much noise and disturb the people too much. It would be basically impossible for him to tour the streets like an ordinary citizen.

Only after curfew, when I can quietly take a boat ride on the Luo River to enjoy the night view on both sides of the river, do I feel satisfied.

"Have all the officials and clerks involved in the Lu Wencao case been apprehended?" Li Chengqian asked sideways with a restrained expression.

"They've all been taken down." Xiao Jun bowed earnestly, saying with guilt, "I'm guilty. I've served as the Chief of Luozhou for so many years, yet I didn't even notice this scoundrel."

"Fang Xuanling's nephew, who would have thought that someone like him would do such a thing." Li Chengqian shook his head and sighed softly, "So from now on, when investigating things, we can't just check the practicalities, we have to look at the people as well. See if each of them lives an extravagant life, or if they have many concubines. These things will cost a lot of money over time."

"Yes!" Xiao Jun lowered his head guiltily.

"Also, in the future, you need to keep a close eye on the clerks in charge of granaries, treasuries, prisons, and filing rooms. If the lives of a large number of people are improved at the same time, you should know what this means." Li Chengqian's face became serious.

"It means they have all been bribed." Xiao Jun looked ashamed.

It is impossible for Lu Wencao to steal and sell so much grain from the warehouse by himself. There are so many people guarding the grain warehouse. If anyone saw it and reported it, there would be big trouble immediately.

So, Lu Wencao bribed almost everyone involved.

"No matter how strict the court's rules are, they can't resist people's greed!" Li Chengqian shook his head slightly.

The Tang Dynasty had very strict supervision over its warehouses.

It can even be said that since ancient times, every dynasty has been very strict in guarding granaries.

But when have you ever seen less cases of stealing and selling grain from warehouses?

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Don't worry about the Fang family's affairs. I will take care of them myself."

"Yes!" Xiao Jun bowed and asked, "What about the six major families behind the six grain merchants: Wei, Du, Yang, Liu, Wang, and Lu?"

(End of this chapter)