Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 81 The Candidate for the Powerful Aristocracy

Li Zhi was handling today's official business. Seeing his two capable generals asking for a meeting together, he hurriedly asked them to come in and raised his hand to signal them not to be polite.

"My two beloved ministers have returned to Chang'an. I wonder if your tasks are going well?" he asked with a smile.

Lu Chengqing knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am an incompetent old minister. We have encountered some troubles with the Sanmenxia reef breach."

Li Zhi raised his hand and said, "Stand up and talk. What happened? Please tell me slowly."

Lu Chengqing then told the story of someone dumping mud and sand, causing the ship to run aground and later causing rumors.

After listening to this, Li Zhi nodded and said, "I understand this matter. I will send someone to help you solve this problem as soon as possible. How is Minister Du doing?"

Du Zhenglun reported the work results.

Li Zhi nodded in satisfaction and said, "Very good. Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Du."

Du Zhenglun continued, "Your Majesty, I have heard about the incident between Du Chong and Gao Youdao."

Li Zhi's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked, "What does Du Qing think about this?"

Du Zhenglun said sternly, "I implore Your Majesty to severely punish Du Chong to reassure the scholars of the world!"

Li Zhi was slightly surprised, then smiled and said, "It's rare that you can understand the big picture. Very good. You all may leave."

He thought Du Zhenglun was sacrificing his own family for the sake of justice, but he didn't know that the other party was just trying to take advantage of the situation.

Cui Wenhan's case has been tried and closed. Because he finally cooperated and confessed, Di Renjie submitted a memorial requesting that only Cui Wenhan be executed and his family not be held accountable.

Li Zhi agreed to his wish.

As for Du Chong's case, Di Renjie is still handling it and will close it in the next few days.

Li Zhi planned to wait until Di Renjie finished trying this case before letting him investigate the Sanmenxia case.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, Di Renjie came to report the case as expected, but he brought bad news.

"You said Du Chong is dead?" Li Zhi frowned.

The Tang Dynasty Law on Litigation stipulates that if the harmful act causes the victim to suffer broken bones, blindness or dislocation, the offender shall be sentenced to three years in prison.

In other words, Du Chong's crime only warranted three years of exile and was not punishable by death.

Even if we take into account that he instigated Cui Wenhan to prevent Gao Youdao from passing the imperial examination, the main crime lies with Cui Wenhan, and he is only an accomplice, with a maximum sentence of one year of exile.

Di Renjie said, "Your Majesty, he committed suicide, and it was related to Du Zhenglun. This incident has caused a sensation in the city, and I'm afraid the noble families will cause trouble."

Li Zhi was surprised and asked, "How is this related to Du Zhenglun again?"

Di Renjie said, "The place where the Jingzhao Du family lived is called Dugu. There is a canal near Dugu..."

The Ministry of Works had a Ministry of Construction under it, and under the Ministry of Construction was a River and Canal Bureau. After Du Zhenglun took his leave and left the palace that day, he went to the River and Canal Bureau.

The River and Canal Commanders were in charge of the supply of rivers and lakes, as well as fish and meat paste. They were responsible for the opening and blocking of canals, and the prohibition of fishing.

Near Dugu in the south of the city, there is a canal that was supposed to go straight through Dugu. However, due to the intervention of the Du family, the canal had to bypass Dugu, winding around and causing a lot of trouble to the surrounding people.

Du Zhenglun had long been eyeing Du Gu, believing that all the luck of the Du family had been sucked away by Du Gu. Only by destroying Du Gu could the Huanshui Du family prosper.

Now that Du Chong had just committed a crime, he felt that this was a good opportunity, so he went to the canal commander and ordered him to dig the Du Gu to connect the canals.

The Canal Commander was just a small ninth-rank official. How could he resist Du Zhenglun? Besides, Du Zhenglun was in favor, so he had to do as he was told.

When the Jingzhao Du family learned about this, they were shocked and hurried to stop it. However, because Du Chong had offended Zhangsun Wuji and was not tolerated by the aristocratic faction, no one helped them.

Du Gu started to demolish the house. The Du family was devastated and sent someone to tell Du Chong in prison about it.

When Du Chong learned about this, he was so angry that he hit his head against the wall and committed suicide.

The most crucial point in this matter is that Du Zhenglun is deeply trusted by the emperor, and the aristocratic families all believe that it was the emperor who was pushing this matter behind the scenes.

Before Du Chong died, they watched the fire from the other side of the river with cold eyes.

However, after Du Chong's death, they began to feel grief for the loss of their loved ones and were so excited that they all wanted to impeach Du Zhenglun and Di Renjie!

After listening to this, Li Zhi remained silent.

First it was the Sanmenxia incident, and now it was the Du Chong incident. He had already sensed that the aristocratic families would act more and more aggressively.

He stood up, walked back and forth in the hall, and said to Di Renjie, "Mr. Di, don't worry about what's happening in Chang'an. I want to tell you something else."

I told him the details of what happened in Sanmenxia.

After Di Renjie finished listening, he bowed and said, "I obey your order." He then withdrew. Li Zhi then ordered people to call Liu Rengui, Li Yifu, Shangguan Yi and others over and said to them, "Have you heard about Du Chong's incident?"

Li Yifu said, "Your Majesty, I have heard that the Secretariat has also received many memorials impeaching Du Zhenglun."

Li Zhi said, "You should have noticed that after Zhangsun Wuji retired, the aristocratic families are all ready to make a move. I want to hear what you have to say about this matter."

Li Yifu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, these noble families are only in a state of panic due to fear and worry. Why not select an official from a noble family and appoint him as prime minister? They should then settle down."

Li Zhi glanced at him and said, "Who do you think would be a better choice to appoint as Prime Minister, Mr. Li?"

Li Yifu hurriedly said, "I dare not speak rashly. I will leave it entirely to Your Majesty's judgment."

Li Zhi said: "It's okay, just tell me what you think."

Li Yifu observed Li Zhi's expression and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, what do you think of Xiao Rui? His father, Xiao Yu, was once the prime minister and was deeply trusted by the late emperor."

Shangguan Yi looked at Li Yifu in surprise and was secretly amazed.

Li Yifu was classified as a supporter of Empress Wu, and the Xiao family was Empress Wu's mortal enemy. How could he recommend Xiao Rui?

Li Zhi remained silent, saying, "I will consider your opinion. Shangguan Qing, what do you think?"

Shangguan Yi pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I believe we should deal with them according to the law. The aristocratic families are simply disregarding the Yonghui Law because the court was too lenient with them in the past. We must not compromise with them at this time."

What this means is that Changsun Wuji spoiled them.

Li Yifu said, "This isn't a compromise, but an attempt to appease the enemy. The fighting on the front lines is tense right now. If Chang'an were to fall into chaos, wouldn't that affect the morale of the army?"

Shangguan Yi frowned and said nothing.

Li Zhi looked at Liu Rengui again and asked, "Mr. Liu, do you have a way to achieve the best of both worlds?"

Liu Rengui said, "I believe we should select an official of high prestige and impartiality to serve as the Grand General of the Jinwu Guards and inspect Chang'an. Only then can we intimidate the aristocratic families!"

Li Zhi's eyes lit up and he said, "Mr. Liu, are you willing to take on this responsibility?" In his heart, he had always regarded Liu Rengui as a military general.

Liu Rengui hesitated and said, "Your Majesty has ordered me to do my duty. However, I have no reputation in Chang'an, so I am afraid I cannot control those people."

This is also the truth. He does not have any outstanding achievements now. He spent more than ten years in the province before he made a name for himself.

Except for Li Zhi, everyone just regarded him as an old man who worked diligently and conscientiously.

After listening to this, Li Zhi frowned and thought.

If you think about it carefully, there is only Li Ji who is a military general like Liu Rengui described.

He has been at odds with the aristocratic factions for a long time, and the other party is already hostile to him. It should be no problem for him to control them with an iron fist.

However, it is somewhat difficult to ensure the stability of Chang'an City.

At this moment, Liu Rengui said: "Your Majesty, this old minister recommends someone."

Li Zhi asked, "Who?"

Liu Rengui: "Duke Lu, Cheng Zhijie!"

Shangguan Yi and Li Yifu were both shocked when they heard this.

Cheng Zhijie has always been a headache for the emperor. Now that the emperor has recalled him to Chang'an, it is obvious that he is planning to deal with him.

Liu Rengui's recommendation of him at this time was equivalent to pleading for Cheng Zhijie. Wasn't he afraid of angering the emperor?

Shangguan Yi was secretly anxious. He knew that the emperor was not confident about Cheng Zhijie's influence in the army, so he transferred him away from Chang'an.

Now Changsun Wuji has only retired and has not gone into seclusion. Not only is the emperor worried about Cheng Zhijie, but the upright officials are also worried about him.

Recommending Cheng Zhijie as the General of the Jinwu Guard at this time would not add another hidden danger to Chang'an City?

He kept winking at Liu Rengui, but Liu Rengui seemed not to see it.

Li Zhi stared at Liu Rengui and asked, "Why do you think Cheng Zhijie can control the aristocratic factions? Is it because he is close to them?"

Liu Rengui said proudly, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, Cheng Zhijie has never associated with the aristocratic factions, and has not met much with the Grand Marshal Changsun."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "You haven't answered my previous question yet."

Liu Rengui: "Your Majesty, do you still remember the first year of Yonghui, when you first ascended the throne?"

(End of this chapter)