Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 115 I want it, I want it so much, I think about it even in my dreams!

After shocking Yuan Wei, Liu Bian narrowed his eyes slightly, and the sharp phoenix eyes inherited from Empress He also looked at Han Fu and Hu Wuban.

Dog bites dog, this kind of scene is a rare fun to see.

As for these two people, he would not give any respect.

"Where is the Chief Justice?"

Liu Bian shouted loudly, and his voice seemed to carry an invisible pressure that made people's hearts tremble.

"Your Highness Cui Lie is here!"

Cui Lie, who had been watching the excitement, trembled when he heard the prince's stern shout. He quickly stood up from his seat and walked to the prince to bow and salute.

"What crime should be committed for roaring in the court and engaging in private fighting during the court meeting?" Liu Bian asked Cui Lie.

Cui Lie hesitated slightly after hearing this.

It's not that he intended to favor the two of them, but he was thinking about what charges to convict them of.

If roaring in the court or fighting in the court is regarded as "improper conduct in court", the lighter punishment is reprimand and salary deduction, while the more serious punishment is only demotion or even dismissal from office.

But the Emperor is the monarch, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is also the monarch. Such misconduct in front of the monarch can be regarded as disrespect to the monarch and can also be punished as "great disrespect".

The severity of the crime of treason is far more serious than a mere misconduct in court. The lighter punishment is dismissal from office, and the more serious punishment is exile or even banishment.

During the Factional Dispute, many party members were exiled or executed for the crime of "great disrespect".

Now the prince asked Cui Lie for advice. In addition, Cui Lie was a famous scholar of the ancient literature school and held the position of the Chief Justice. He had great say in the treatment of Han Fu and Hu Wuban. Just one word could set the tone for the severity of the treatment of the two, which is the so-called one word decides life and death.

But when the prince saw Cui Lie hesitating, he just raised the corners of his mouth slightly, with a playful smile. He just looked at Cui Lie without urging him, waiting patiently for Cui Lie to speak, as if he was sure that Cui Lie would not give any answer other than the "reference answer" he had identified.

Cui Lie was born into the Cui family of Boling. His ancestor was Cui Zhu, the protagonist of the story "Cui Zhu killed his king".

But when he heard people mention the Cui family of Boling, Liu Bian's first reaction was Cui Jun of Boling, Cui Zhouping, a good friend of a prime minister, and it happened that this Cui Zhouping was the youngest son of Cui Lie.

The Cui family of Boling is famous for its Confucianism and character. The "Zuo Zhuan" has been passed down through the generations. Most of the children in the family are upright and honest. For several generations, they have shown amazing pride under the courtesy of people like Wang Mang, Liang Ji and Dou Xian, and are highly praised by scholars of both modern and ancient literature.

By the time of Cui Lie, his level of knowledge on Zuo Zhuan was extremely high. Lu Zhi and Fu Qian, two ancient literature school members who worked on Zuo Zhuan, were greatly impressed. Fu Qian introduced Cui Lie to his good friend Zheng Xuan, who was also amazed by Cui Lie's level of knowledge on Zuo Zhuan and made him his friend.

Thanks to the reputation of the Bo Ling Cui family for their upright character and his own high level of Confucian classics, Cui Lie's official career was smooth.

However, this smooth road was cut off after reaching the Nine Ministers. Anyone who could become one of the Nine Ministers of the current dynasty must be a famous scholar with a profound family reputation and an extraordinary reputation among the literati.
Therefore, Cui Lie stayed in the position of Nine Ministers for many years. Although he was promoted to the Minister of Justice, he was already fifty years old. If nothing unexpected happened, his official career would end here.

However, a person with superb skills in studying classics does not necessarily have a high moral character. Beneath the appearance of being a great scholar and having high moral character, there is a heart that will do anything to climb up the ladder.

After he abolished the theory of correspondence between heaven and man and announced that the three highest officials would no longer be dismissed due to disasters, Cui Lie could not wait to meet Gao Wang in private to ask him whether the prince still had plans to sell official positions and titles.

Are you kidding? He has reached the age of 50. Does he have to wait for the three ministers to die of old age before taking over?

The Tingwei was ranked fifth among the Nine Ministers. Above him were the Minister of Rites Liu Yan, the temporarily vacant Guanglu Xun, the Weiwei Fan Ling, and the Grand Coachman Zhang Wen. This meant that, in addition to the Three Dukes, he had to outlast three of his fellow Nine Ministers! Of these three, Liu Yan was fifty-two years old, yet looked vigorous and energetic, with few silver hairs visible. Weiwei Fan Ling was three years younger than him. Three years ago, as the Prefect of Jingzhao, he personally carried earth and stone to oversee the construction of an irrigation canal along the Jing River. Grand Coachman Zhang Wen was also fifty years old, but he enjoyed horseback riding and hunting, and was much more robust than he was.

With these three, it's not certain who will outlast whom. Cui Lie felt that if nothing unexpected happened, he would be the first one to be outlasted.

After receiving Gao Wang's negative answer, Cui Lie immediately paid a visit to the prince. He was the first among the Nine Ministers to express his submission to the prince in private.

However, the surrender at that time did not have much practical significance. The nine ministers such as Cui Lie would not completely side with the prince at that time, but would only be slightly biased.

But now it is different. The prince not only gradually grasps a lot of power, but also has a standing army of 20,000 people stationed in Luoyang. He has the support of the ancient literature school and top aristocrats of the Hongnong Yang family such as Yang Ci.

If the Crown Prince had promised him the three highest positions before, he would not have believed it, because unless His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was like the Emperor who sold official positions and titles, he would inevitably face obstruction from the court officials if he wanted to appoint anyone as one of the three highest positions.

But now, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the person in the entire Han Dynasty who is most capable of fulfilling his political promises. In other words, the political promises made by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, such as granting official positions and titles, are the most feasible and credible in the entire Han Dynasty!

When the prince asked for his opinion, Cui Lie heard it, as if he was asking him kindly, "Mr. Cui, do you want to be one of the Three Dukes?"

Cui Lie said, "I want it so much! I even...I dream about it!!!"

Then there is nothing to hesitate about!
Therefore, after receiving the prince's inquiry, Cui Lie was actually a little excited!

He hesitated about which crime to punish Han Fu and Hu Wuban with, just wondering whether the prince wanted to punish them severely or let them off lightly, and how to determine the charges without being reproachable.

However, Cui Lie suddenly had an idea in his mind, and he keenly realized the words the prince had just used - private fight!
What is private fighting?

Fighting for personal reasons!
"Your Highness, these two people roared and fought privately in front of the king, which is a crime of 'great disrespect'!"

Cui Lie's voice was loud, surprising the scholars who were waiting for him to exonerate Han Fu and Hu Wuban, but Cui Lie knew that his mission was not yet completed.

It is easy to determine the crime of the two, but it is a real achievement to sentence them to death without any blame from the officials!

"In the Spring and Autumn Period, when hearing a case, one must first understand the facts and the intentions of the person." Cui Lie had naturally heard the officials' surprise and whispers. He put on the airs of a righteous scholar and said solemnly, "Han Wenjie and Hu Wujipi were disrespectful in their academic dispute. This was not for justice, but for personal gain. They should be severely punished. Otherwise, everyone will follow their example. What dignity will His Royal Highness and the imperial court retain?"

Cui Lie's voice was high-pitched, his beard trembling slightly as he spoke, his eyes wide open as he glanced at all the officials in the court. When he finished speaking, he waved his sleeves heavily, making a rustling sound.

It must be said that Cui Lie was indeed a respectable celebrity at home and abroad, at least on the surface. If Liu Bian had not known from the beginning that if he had not taken over the government, this old man would have paid five million yuan to buy the position of Si Tu, just based on his words and behavior, he would have really believed that Cui Lie was an upright celebrity like Tian Feng.

Cui Lie avoided the law and simply used the "Spring and Autumn Judgment" of the Modern Literature School to convict Han Fu and Hu Wuban. He quoted from classics and even though he was a famous scholar of the Ancient Literature School, the scholars of the Modern Literature School could not find any trace of bias in him. Everyone could not help but sigh that "Mr. Cui is truly a famous and upright scholar."

The prince looked at this scene and felt secretly emotional in his heart.

The overly comfortable political environment of the Later Han Dynasty and the fierce resistance of scholars after the two Party Persecutions made these scholars forget about wise and capable rulers like Emperor Xiaowen and Emperor Xiaowu, and even forgot their awe of imperial power.

It is time for them to recall the cautious attitude of their ancestors when they crawled with their tails between their legs in front of Emperor Xiaowen and Emperor Xiaowu!

(2414 words)
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PS: In order to protect my brother, here is the second update!
(End of this chapter)