Aspirations

Chapter 26
Gao Jianyuan also knew that Yan Hao could not get down on a tiger now. He and Yan Hao were Xing Wang's subordinates. If they obeyed Jian Wang's order to kill people in the street, things would really get worse. In order to protect themselves, Xing Wang would definitely abandon him and Yan Hao.But now it seems that things have become big, and Xia Xiang's remarks have already aroused public anger.

What a powerful Xia Xiang, who seems to be cowardly and withdrawn, but is actually the most scheming, making full use of the dislocation of the people's support and the dislocation between him and Yan Hao who are not under the king's subordinates, to find a fulcrum for himself that can retreat, defend, advance and attack. It's really amazing to be so good at taking advantage of the gap between the relationships between all parties.

Zhang Hou and Shen Bao looked at each other, and the same thought flashed in their minds, Xia Xiang is really a master!

When Zhang Hou and Shen Bao joined hands to deal with Xia Cunxian, to be honest, Xia Xiang's indifference greatly disappointed them.Zhang Hou felt that Xia Xiang was too cowardly and had neither the courage nor the responsibility when encountering a problem.What Shen Bao thought was that Xia Xiang is not a cowardly person, nor a person who is greedy for life and fear of death, why is he so useless?Isn't it just a little see the king, why fear it?The laws of Daxia are strict, even the prince must act according to the law.

They didn't want things to get out of control. In other words, Zhang Hou and Shen Bao overestimated Wang Xia Cunxian's arrogance. Xia Cunxian was so angry that he dared to kill in public. Only then did the two realize that the matter was completely beyond imagination and beyond. In terms of power, the capabilities of the two of them are far less than one ten thousandth of that of Jian Wang, and in terms of force, they are not the opponents of Yan Hao and Gao Jianyuan.Therefore, when Yan Hao raised his sword to assassinate Xia Xiang, the two were so angry that they could no longer have the courage to stand up for Xia Xiang and block the sword.

The bravery of the individual is for a while, and once the momentum fades, it will be difficult to raise morale again.Zhang Hou only knew that he was stunned on the spot, opened his mouth, not to mention that he took a step forward to save Xia Xiang, and he couldn't even say a word.Shen Bao was okay, he wanted to take a step, but his legs trembled slightly, unable to move, but he shouted: "Stop!"

At this moment, the two have completely changed their views on Xia Xiang. Compared with the bravery of the two just now, the current Xia Xiang is the real strategist.

Yan Hao hesitated in his heart, Xia Cunxian's persecution made him in a dilemma.Not killing Xia Xiang would mean disobeying Xia Cunxian's orders, and he couldn't make a deal.Gao Jianyuan obviously didn't want to speak for him. Obviously, Gao Jianyuan also wanted to understand the stakes and didn't want to jump into the trap.After killing Xia Xiang, he was almost certain that once he entered the gate of Shangjing Fu Yin, he would not come out alive, nor would he expect Xia Cunxian and Xingwang to save him.

How to do?Yan Hao narrowed his eyes. In all fairness, as far as his original intention was concerned, he really wanted to kill Xia Xiang with a single sword.Although Xiao Wu's martial arts are strong, he doesn't take it seriously.But there are a hundred secret ways to kill Xia Xiang, not in the public eye.

"Don't do it yet, Yan Hao, do you want this king to do it himself?" Xia Cun became anxious and grabbed the sword from Yan Hao's hand. The tip of the sword was horizontal, and he was about to stab Xia Xiang.

"Seeing His Royal Highness, you want to kill me, which one of the six murders?" Xia Xiang still responded calmly, and even the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, revealing a smile.

Of course, if you observe carefully, you will find that Xia Xiang's left hand behind his back is trembling slightly, and he is actually very nervous.The other party is the prince, even if he really kills him in public, and how to punish him afterwards, he will not be able to resurrect.

"Anything, my dignified lord, what is the big deal to kill you, an unnamed person?" Xia Cunxian raised his sword again to stab, "You obstructed this king's handling of the case, blocked officials and horses, and nearly killed this king. The above crimes are enough for you to die a hundred times."

"His Royal Highness, please wait until I finish speaking before killing me. I won't run anyway. After finishing speaking, I will die, so that I can be a sensible ghost." Xia Xiang swept his eyes and quickly responded to the current situation. After making a judgment, what he said just now shocked Yan Hao and Gao Jianyuan. Both of them were afraid of the will of the people and the laws of Daxia, and did not dare to act recklessly, but Xia Cunxian had no scruples, because as a prince, he went to Beijing Fu Shaoyin, the governor of the government, would not condemn him to death.

The death penalty can be forgiven, and the life crime cannot be escaped. Xia Xiang continued: "I believe that the lord loves the people like a son, and will not be satisfied with a small request before my death. Fathers and villagers, do you think His Royal Highness loves the people like a son? good lord?"

"No..." There were a few sparse voices in the crowd, obviously angry but wanted to fight for Xia Xiang, but did not dare to be too loud.

"It's a good prince who loves the people like a son." Shen Bao was the first to react and took the lead in applauding, "Seeing His Royal Highness is a good prince who sees the virtuous, thinks about the people, loves the people like a son, covers the sky like the sky, and looks like the earth."

"Love the people like a child, cover the sky like the sky, and tolerate the ground like the ground!" Zhang Hou also understood something, and also applauded and shouted.

Afterwards, Shi'er and Xiao Wu also echoed, and the onlookers were also led by a few people, so they reluctantly shouted a few times.Although there are not many people, it has also formed a great momentum.

Xia Cunxian had a smug look on his face, pressed the tip of the sword in his hand, and said proudly: "Alright, let's listen to you."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Xia Xiang did not forget to bow his hands to Xia Cunxian, but secretly wiped a cold sweat and stabilized his mind, "Fangcai Wangye was riding a horse in the busy market, knocked over five vendors' stalls, and injured three people. Really brave."

Xia Cunxian rolled his eyes, and snorted disapprovingly: "Not to mention knocking over the stall and injuring passers-by, but even killing someone, what can you do to me?"

Xia Xiang knew very well that if something happened to the dead, Xia Cunxian's father, King Jing, would spare no effort to protect Xia Cunxian.But if something big or small happens, and it spreads, there will inevitably be a censor who will not let it go, causing a lot of uproar.Daxia officials have always been high-minded and dare to speak out with justice.If Xia Cun was to be put before his death, perhaps no official would dare to impeach him.However, if it is possible to get a clear name that is not afraid of the powerful, and not to offend King Jing in the death, I believe that many officials will dare to impeach Xia Cunxian for the crime of hurting people in a busy market.

Xia Xiang's decision was made, and he felt a little more at ease. Although he was still a little nervous, he was also a lot more confident. He bowed his hands to the crowd around him and said, "The laws of Daxia are written in the streets and alleys of the city and people. Among them, those who drive horses and chariots for no reason shall be given fifty guards; those who kill and injure people for a reason shall be reduced to the first class; those who kill and injure livestock shall be compensated for the reduced price.”

The so-called chariot horses are galloping horses or driving galloping.If there is no reason for the horse to gallop in the downtown area, it will hit fifty boards.If riding a horse and wounding a person to death, the punishment shall be reduced by the first class in accordance with the crime of fighting and killing.

Xia Cunxian laughed: "If you say that, this king is very sinful? Fifty is definitely not enough, and you have to compensate for the stall that was knocked over, and count the number of people who were injured. Is it going to be exiled for [-] miles?"

Xia Xiang gave Xiao Wu a wink, Xiao Wu was puzzled and scratched his head at a loss, but Shi'er understood something in an instant, grabbed Xiao Wu, and whispered a few words in his ear.

Shen Bao also guessed a few points, and came to the crowd with Xiao Wu.Zhang Hou was still stunned on the spot, for a while, he didn't understand why Xia Xiang avoided the important and took it lightly.By the time he figured out the link, Shen Bao and Xiao Wu had already found from the crowd the merchants who had been knocked down by Xia Cunxian, Gao Jianyuan, and Yan Hao, as well as the passers-by who were knocked down, a total of seven people.

Among the seven people, three had blue noses and swollen faces, two had ear and nose bleeding, and two had broken fingers.Several people stood behind Shen Bao and Xiao Wu, glaring at Xia Cunxian.

"Why, do you want these people to sue this king?" Xia Cunxian smiled contemptuously and looked at a few people, "Do you know who this king is? This king is the king. You can report to the officials and see who has the guts. Catch the king?"

Xia Xiang ignored Xia Cunxian's arrogance and continued: "Da Xia's criminal law is to see blood as a wound. If the punishment is based on the injuries of the few people in front of you, it would be enough for the prince to be exiled for [-] miles. But the prince is the honor of the prince, naturally will not be exiled..."

"Exiled? Hahahaha." Xia Cunxian laughed loudly, with an indescribable arrogance in his laughter, "Since the founding of the Great Xia Kingdom, has there ever been a precedent for a prince to be exiled? Xia Xiang, what else do you want to say?"

Xia Xiang said calmly: "During the reign of Emperor Taizong, Han Xi went to the capital. Gao Ya Nei rode a horse and injured a child in the busy city, and Han Xi took it down. Early the next morning, Han Xi asked the governor who was in charge of the case to join the army to fight first. In the evening, Zhilu joined the army to report that the execution was over. Han Xi didn’t believe it, so he went to the prison to check and found that everything in Gao Ya was the same as before, how did it look like he was beaten? He had bought the officials and wanted to deal with it. Han Xi was furious and immediately brought the officials and Gao Yanei to trial. On the second day, Gao Yanei was charged with fifty charges, the officials were guilty of the same crime, and he was expelled from public office and never hired. Xi then went to the table to impeach Zhilu Shi for joining the army and Gao Yanei’s father, the emperor was furious, Gao Yanei was exiled for [-] miles, Zhilu Shi joined the army and was exiled for [-] miles, and Gao Ya’nei’s father, Minister of Work, Gao Shentang, was demoted to Beijing…”

Xia Cunxian's expression did not change at all, and he sneered: "This king also knows about this matter, how can a small Gaoya Nei be compared with this king? Xia Xiang, you are talking about this, just relying on these anecdotes to save your life? Seriously? Very naive."

"I'm not trying to save my life, I'm trying to protect the reputation of the prince." Seeing that the effect was achieved, Xia Xiang calmly threw out the key points. The foreshadowing in front of him was enough to set off the atmosphere, and his eyes drifted to Gao Jianyuan and Yan. Howe.

At this time, Gao Jianyuan and Yan Hao stood aside, with no arrogance.They could hear Xia Xiang's words just now.In addition to being shocked or shocked in Gao Jianyuan's heart, Yan Hao was in shock and extremely frightened.Fortunately, I didn't kill Xia Xiang with a sword just now, otherwise he would be a dead man now.Thinking about it again, no wonder when he first saw Xia Xiang, he felt that Xia Xiang was not easy to deal with. Sure enough, Xia Xiang was more than easy to deal with, he was a genius at all!
The most powerful thing about Xia Xiang is not how talented he is, but his resourcefulness.Xia Xiang is so good at taking advantage of the situation. As a commoner, he knows the affairs of the officialdom before he enters the officialdom. If he is not a wizard, if there is no expert guidance behind him, he will not believe that Yan Hao is killed.So who is the master behind Xia Xiang?It must be Li Dingshan, the most talented person in the capital.

Yan Hao strengthened his previous inference that even if Xia Xiang was not Li Dingshan's student, he would have had close contacts with Li Dingshan and was deeply influenced by Li Dingshan.

"Preserve this king's reputation? Xia Xiang, are you out of your mind or stupid? This king is famous and loves the people like a son, so do you still need your ants to save it? What nonsense and sleep talk are you talking about." He smiled, and after laughing, he held a sword in his hand, "Hurry up and die, this king has no time to talk to you."

Xia Cun stopped listening to Xia Xiang's explanation, and stabbed with his sword.However, at this time, most of his murderous aura had been vented, and the sword was weak. Xia Xiang had been prepared, and he ducked to the side.

"Wait, your lord, calm your anger, and let me finish." Xia Xiang smiled and flicked his right index finger on the sword, "Everyone knows that King Jing loves his people like a son, and they know how much King Jing is. Among the princes, he is the most generous and caring person. In the past ten years, there has never been a royal history to impeach King Jing once. If the royal history were to know that the king was hurting people by horses in the downtown area, he would have thought about seeing the king. , how many imperial historians will impeach King Jing?"

Xia Cun was stunned for a moment, but he was still stubborn: "The Censor is just a group of crows croaking, it's nothing to worry about, just ignore it."

Since the establishment of the country, Daxia has opened up a wide range of speeches. Although the censor has no real power, he is extremely noble and can impeach anyone on the table. The Taizu has an edict, and the speaker is innocent.The Censor's scenery was the same for a while. Because the place where the Censor's Terrace was, was planted with pine and cypress trees, and crows fell on it, so the Censor's Terrace was also called Wutai.

"In the imperial history book, the emperor can ignore it because of King Jing's brotherhood. But if the imperial censor impeaches Fu Zang as the Shaoyin of the Shangjing government for inaction, will Fu Shaoyin not submit a letter to defend himself?" Xia Xiang Step by step, what he wants is to let Xia Cunxian know the pros and cons. "Fu Shaoyin has always been upright and fair. Under his rule, there is a case of hurting people by riding a horse. Whether it is the Yanei or the prince, he will ask for orders for the people..."

Xia Xiangchao clasped his fists and saluted the people present: "Fathers and villagers, today's events are very clear. If Fu Shaoyin hears the case of His Royal Highness's horse hurting people, who would be willing to testify?"

"Me!" A burly man with a beard raised his right hand with a look of resentment, "I kill pigs, I don't know any big truth, and I haven't read many books, but I know that God is at ease in the heart. Brother, you ask for your life for the people and fight for the people's injustice. I have fought for this low life, and I will also seek justice for you. Every time you come from the butcher's generation, you are mostly a scholar!"

If there is no last sentence to add, the bearded strong man's words can be regarded as impassioned, and the last sentence is superfluous, but it arouses the righteous indignation of the students present.

"It's really full of nonsense! Scholars of my generation, reporting to the court to establish a character that lives up to the people, how can we say so?" A round-faced and big-eyed scholar said angrily, "I don't want fame, but I have to show up." Testified that Zhengxia Cunxian was arrogant and violent as a prince. Not only did he gallop his horse to hurt people, but he also intended to kill people in public. I think that since the founding of Daxia, there have been more than a hundred princes. Seeing that His Royal Highness is the No. 1 deserved. Daxia established the country with virtue and benevolence , King Jing is honest and kind, but it is a pity that his famous name was destroyed by the hands of a child. It is a pity, a pity, pity..."

"I testify."

"I also testify."

"And I."

"Add me!"

The words of the strong bearded man did not arouse much repercussions, but the words of the round-faced scholar who aroused righteous indignation by him, such as water pouring into a frying pan, immediately aroused the scrambling response of the onlookers.It is also a remark from a round face scholar, which is quite provocative.

Xia Xiang nodded in admiration secretly, and cast a grateful glance at the round face scholar.The round-faced scholar pretended to turn a blind eye to Xia Xiang's gesture, turned his face slightly and looked up at the sky, obviously not wanting to accept Xia Xiang's affection.

Xia Xiang didn't take it seriously, seeing that Xia Cunxian's face was already blushing at this time, he knew that King Jing's reputation and Fu Huanwei's reputation had indeed pointed to Xia Cunxian's weakness. Back then, Su Gu dared to take the emperor's sleeve and write to the face, and insisted that the emperor listen to it. Only by playing the table can he retreat from the dynasty. Although King Jing is noble, he must be afraid of the will of the people and the prestige of the law.What's more, Fu Zan's uprightness is not much worse than Su Que's.

Xia Cunxian's killing intent was completely gone at this time, and he remembered that if Fu Zang really made a big fuss about his horse and hurting people, not only would the emperor be angry, his father would not spare him lightly, and if Fu Zang insisted on grasping the matter If he doesn't let it go, he will naturally not be exiled for three thousand miles. Once the matter becomes serious, it is necessary for him to apologize, and he will become the laughing stock of Shangjing City.I'm afraid that the other princes and the little prince will have to laugh off their big teeth.

What a good Xia Xiang, he really has a set, and he has no way to retreat. Xia Cunxian gritted his teeth with hatred, his arms were sore when he held the sword in his hand, he couldn't pierce it and was too embarrassed to take it back.

Zhang Hou secretly nodded his approval, and admired Xia Xiang so much.It should be said that he knows better than Xia Xiang the forces of all parties in the capital and the temperament of the princes, but when he encounters an accident, he still loses in being overly aggressive and quick, and he doesn't know how to detour.

Shen Bao's admiration for Xia Xiang rose to an unprecedented height. At this time, when he looked at Xia Xiang again, there was nothing but admiration.

"But then again..." Xia Xiang stopped when he saw it. He was not afraid of King Jing's power, but it was the smartest way not to offend any party before he really understood the forces in the capital, not to mention Xia Cun first. People are young and energetic, and although they are arrogant, they are not completely useless. "Seeing His Royal Highness riding a horse and hurting people is a public business. The law of Daxia stipulates that if there is a public or private person who wants to leave quickly, do not sit; , as negligence; those who kill and injure people because of the unstoppable horror, the second class of negligence is reduced.”

(End of this chapter)