Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 275 You brat, when did I grant you this power?

"Your Majesty, this is slander from the magistrate of Gaoyang! I... I have only guards in my household, how could they be private soldiers!"

Zheng Yuanzhu knelt below the steps, his graying temples trembling slightly with anger. Dust from the mansion gate still lingered in the folds of his brocade robe, indicating that he had rushed here.

His forehead pressed against the cold gold brick, his voice hoarse with excitement, yet still carrying the arrogance unique to aristocratic families.

Wen He stepped forward, the hem of his black court robe drawing a slight arc on the floor tiles. The young man stood tall and straight like a pine tree, his eyes clear as if tempered with ice: "Guardian? General Zheng seems to have some misunderstanding about the word 'guardian'."

"Within Chang'an City, the Jinwu Guard patrols day and night, and the Sixteen Imperial Guards guard the four directions. The defense is so tight that it can be described as an impregnable fortress."

"But the guards of the Zheng family mansion, armed with sharp blades, move in neat formations, advancing and retreating with measured steps. They are clearly elite soldiers who have undergone rigorous military training. I ask you, which aristocratic family in Chang'an is qualified to keep such guards? And which family dares to keep them?"

"Don't try to confuse the issue!"

Zheng Yuanzhu suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Wen He, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

“It is common practice for prominent families to keep guards to protect their homes! My Zheng family of Xingyang has a history of hundreds of years and a distinguished reputation. Can’t we even tolerate a few guards?”

"Standard practice does not equate to legality!"

Wen He stood firm, her voice suddenly rising and echoing in the empty hall.

These words struck Zheng Yuanzhu like a heavy hammer blow.

He opened his mouth, but found that his throat was blocked by something, and he couldn't speak for a moment.

The practice of privately keeping soldiers is an open secret among aristocratic families. The emperor usually turns a blind eye, but once it is brought to the forefront, especially when Wen He exposes it in public, it becomes an indisputable flaw.

The atmosphere in the hall froze instantly. The aristocratic officials lined up on the left all lowered their eyes, some of them exchanging tense glances.

They couldn't help but suspect that Wen He's true intentions were not what they seemed. While he appeared to be arguing about the difference between guards and private soldiers, he was actually taking the opportunity to put pressure on the entire Guandong gentry.

Zheng Yuanzhu took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He knew he couldn't let Wen He lead him by the nose anymore.

While the private army was a weakness, it was difficult to find conclusive evidence. However, Wen He's trespassing and massacre of the guards were undeniable facts.

"His Majesty!"

Zheng Yuanzhu turned to Li Shimin on the throne, kowtowed heavily, and spoke with a deliberately feigned sense of grievance and indignation.

"The magistrate of Gaoyang County disregarded the laws of the court and led a hundred cavalrymen to break into the residence of a third-rank official, killing more than a hundred guards and causing a river of blood to flow! If such atrocities are not severely punished, the nobles of Chang'an will live in fear in the future. What will become of the court's reputation? What will become of the dignity of the law?"

He no longer dwelled on the difference between guards and private soldiers, but instead pointed the finger at Wen He's "trespassing" and "slaughter," attempting to occupy the moral and legal high ground.

Li Shimin sat upright on the dragon throne, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest, his gaze calmly sweeping over the assembled officials with their varied expressions.

The aristocratic officials on the left mostly had their heads down, each one seemingly indifferent, as if they hadn't seen or heard anything.

"Vice County Magistrate of Gaoyang," Li Shimin's gaze finally landed on Wen He, his voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable authority.

"Do you have any rebuttal to what General Zheng said?"

Wen He glanced at Zheng Yuanzhu, a barely perceptible sneer playing on her lips, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, a hundred cavalrymen urgently reported today that a fire broke out at my wool workshop in De'an Ward. The fire is fierce and suspected to be arson."

"I immediately led a hundred cavalrymen to investigate and arrested three arson suspects at the scene. The leader, Cui San, confessed without hesitation, saying that he was instructed by Zheng Yunhao."

He paused, then said in a calm tone, "I am aware that this matter is of great importance and dare not be negligent. Therefore, I led a hundred cavalrymen to the Zheng family residence to invite Zheng Yunhao to the court for questioning."

"To everyone's surprise, the gatekeeper not only refused to report the incident, but also secretly informed the mansion. Moments later, dozens of armed guards rushed out of the mansion and attacked the hundred cavalrymen with swords and arrows without fear. The hundred cavalrymen were forced to fight back in self-defense, and casualties were inevitable in the process."

"Nonsense!" Zheng Yuanzhu retorted sharply.

"Yunho stayed in the manor all day yesterday, studying and never stepped out of the residence. How could he have ordered someone to set fire to the house? You must have tortured him into confessing and fabricated evidence to slander the Zheng family!"

"Whether it's a forgery or not, we can find out with a simple investigation." Wen He said calmly, "Cui San's confession and Qingyuelou's accounting records can both prove that Zheng Yunhao is related to the arson case. Your Majesty only needs to summon the manager of Qingyuelou for questioning to find out the truth."

Just then, Li Jing suddenly coughed lightly, his silver beard twitching slightly, and slowly stepped forward: "Gaoyang County Magistrate, if it was merely a workshop fire or arson, why send someone to the palace to urgently report 'treason'?"

"A mere wool workshop, even if it were burned down, would only result in some financial loss. How could it be related to treason?"

These words, seemingly questioning Wen He, were actually a clever way of steer the conversation toward a more serious level.

Fang Xuanling immediately understood and stepped forward, feigning nervousness as he asked, "Duke of Dai, you may not know this, but the wool workshop in De'an Ward doesn't store ordinary wool!"

"That wool is specially prepared as raw material for the winter clothing of the 10,000 soldiers in the northern border this year. His Majesty promised a few days ago that the soldiers in the northern border would be made to wear thick and warm winter clothes to resist the severe cold. Has the Duke of Dai forgotten this matter?"

Li Jing feigned sudden realization, raising his voice abruptly: "So that's it! I almost forgot! The northern border is bitterly cold, and temperatures plummet after winter sets in. If the soldiers' winter clothing is inadequate, they could suffer frostbite and become disabled, or worse, trigger a mutiny. The materials for the winter clothing of ten thousand soldiers will be destroyed. This not only puts His Majesty in a position of dishonesty, but also chills the hearts of the border soldiers!" He turned to Zheng Yuanzhu, his gaze sharp as a knife, carrying the chilling killing intent unique to a veteran general: "Unsettling the morale of the army and endangering the border defenses—how is such behavior any different from treason?"

"As the leader of the Guandong gentry, Zheng did not think of sharing the country's burdens, but instead committed such a vicious and ruthless act. His heart is deserving of condemnation!"

There was an uproar in the hall.

What was originally just an ordinary arson case was instantly escalated into a case of undermining the foundation of the state and plotting a rebellion, thanks to the coordinated efforts of Li Jing and Fang Xuanling.

Zheng Yuanzhu's heart skipped a beat, and a hint of panic flashed across his face, but his years of political experience allowed him to quickly calm down.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and thought to himself: 'Wen He, Wen He, do you think you can bring down the Zheng family like this? How naive!'

"Your Majesty clearly shows you!"

Zheng Yuanzhu kowtowed again, his voice firm and powerful.

“This matter has absolutely nothing to do with the Zheng family. I dare to guarantee with the Zheng family’s thousand-year reputation that Yunho would never have instructed anyone to set fire!”

He had already devised a plan in his mind.

According to the original plan, this matter had nothing to do with the Zheng family.

Although Zheng Wu was born into the Zheng family, he is now a member of the Cui family. His household registration and land ownership are all under the Cui family's name, and he has no further connection with the Zheng family.

Moreover, Zheng Wu was secretly sent out of Chang'an last night, and he is probably already buried in the wilderness, becoming food for wild beasts.

Without Zheng Wu, a key figure, Wen He lacks solid evidence even if he wants to implicate the Cui family.

If the Cui family then turns around and accuses Wen He of false accusation, Wen He will be unable to clear her name even if she has ten mouths.

Thinking of this, Zheng Yuanzhu felt even more confident. He raised his head, looked directly at Wen He, and his eyes were full of disdain and mockery: "You, scion of Gaoyang County, are trying to pin the charges of arson and even treason on my Zheng family with your bare words and without any evidence. You are just being delusional!"

"As for you, the evidence for your crimes of trespassing on the minister's residence and slaughtering the guards is irrefutable. I want to see how His Majesty will exonerate you today!"

Looking at Zheng Yuanzhu's confident and fearless demeanor, Wen He curled her lips into a cold smile.

He chuckled inwardly, thinking to himself, "This old fox is so sure he won't find Zheng Wu's clue."
It's a pity, he no longer needs that Zheng Wu.

He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze piercing Zheng Yuanzhu like a sharp sword: "General, is it that you are hard of hearing?"

"What...what do you mean by this?" Zheng Yuanzhu frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart, as if he had overlooked something important.

Wen He chuckled softly, her voice not loud, yet it clearly echoed throughout the entire hall: "As I just said, your son Zheng Yunhao bribed Cui San to commit arson. Now that Cui San has confessed and accepted punishment, his testimony is irrefutable. How could I be making baseless accusations?"

He paused, then his tone suddenly turned stern: "As for what you said about trespassing on a minister's residence and slaughtering the guards, that's utter nonsense. Those people deserved what they got. His Majesty granted me the authority to act expediently, and when I went to investigate the case, they dared to obstruct me with weapons. How is that any different from treason?"

"Wha...what?"

Zheng Yuanzhu was struck dumb, and he looked up at Li Shimin on the throne with disbelief in his eyes.

They didn't even care that Wen He deliberately called Zheng Yunhao a worthless son.

The right to act expediently?

How could that brat have such power?

The civil and military officials in the Liangyi Hall also showed surprise, whispering among themselves as they all turned their gazes toward Li Shimin.

His Majesty secretly granted Wen He such great power.

Did His Majesty already plan to take action against the aristocratic families?

If that's really the case, then they should at least offer some advice.

But when everyone turned around, they suddenly realized that one person was missing from the Liangyi Hall.

Wei Zheng is not here!
I wonder who will be willing to be the first to stick their neck out.

Even Li Shimin was slightly taken aback, muttering to himself.

What nonsense is this brat spouting now?
When did he ever grant such power? Although he did dislike the arrogance of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, he also knew that now was not the time to eliminate them.

Wen He had advised him to proceed gradually before, so why is he suddenly so aggressive today?
Li Shimin's gaze darkened, and he asked sternly.

"You brat, when did I grant you this power?"

(End of this chapter)