I am a thief in the Tang Dynasty

The candle flame rose, illuminating Zheng Jihong's wrinkled old face.

Wow!

Fang Xuanling humbly poured him a cup of mutton fat ginger tea.

"May I ask why the elder of the Zheng clan is visiting you so late at night?"

Zheng Jihong pursed her lips, without any hesitation or pretense, and took out a booklet from her bosom.

The leather rustled on the wooden table, and the booklet was pushed in front of Fang Xuanling.

Zheng Jihong stared at Fang Xuanling's puzzled expression and said to herself:

"Your Majesty is a man of great talent, wisdom and benevolence."

"The Tang Dynasty is already thriving. It is foolish for the Five Families and Seven Nobles to hope to share the throne with Your Majesty by relying on their reputations."

The words were so blunt that they couldn't be more blunt. Fang Xuanling's expression suddenly changed. While he was shocked, he also guessed the purpose of Zheng Jihong's visit.

The horror in his heart had turned into joy.

Fang Xuanling continued:

"What the Zheng clan elder said is ridiculous!"

"The world is ruled by Li Tang, and the rest are subjects."

"It can't be said that they are dividing the world."

Zheng Jihong sneered and straightened his back.

Although he was old, he still had the bearing of a leader of a noble family, which far surpassed Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling couldn't help but frown slightly.

Seeing this, Zheng Jihong bent down again and returned to his previous hunched posture.

He continued, "Duke Wei is right. We are all subjects of the Li Tang Dynasty."

"I know the purpose of Duke Wei's visit."

"This is what you want. If you need it, I, the Zheng family of Xingyang, will send someone to help you secretly."

"I hope that Duke Wei will return to Chang'an and speak well of Zheng Clan of Xingyang to His Majesty."

"I can open up the court and give some positions to the descendants of Zheng family in Xingyang."

Exchange of benefits.

Fang Xuanling did not answer. He then picked up the book that he had been curious about for a long time, opened it and began to read it carefully by the candlelight.

At just one glance, Fang Xuanling's heart was filled with shock.

It clearly records the numerous crimes committed by the three families: Zhang from Songyang, Han from Songzhou, and Cao from Xuzhou.

Annexing land, persecuting the people, forcibly abducting women, and colluding with officials are nothing more than this.

The murderous intent lingered in Fang Xuanling's heart.

These three companies were all on the letter delivered by Diezi.

However, there are no records of the most hateful Ximen family in Songyang and the Song family in Zhengzhou.

There are no records of the other several families whose crimes were no less than those of the three Zhang families in Songyang.

Fang Xuanling knew it immediately.

Zheng Jihong's move was a heroic act of sacrificing one's own arm to save the king.

Pick three scapegoats and save the rest of the nobles who had the best relationship with Zheng family of Xingyang.

This would allow Fang Xuanling to complete his tasks and also allow him to show goodwill to Li Shimin, thereby achieving an exchange of interests by giving the descendants of the Zheng family of Xingyang more opportunities in official careers.

But what if there is no detection of the plate?

If there hadn’t been the assassination attempt by Zhu Shangzong this afternoon.

Zheng Jihong's move might be successful.

pity!

There are no ifs and wherefores.

Fang Xuanling put down the booklet, changed his previous modesty, stared at Zheng Jihong coldly and said:

"Zheng clan elder, you underestimate Fang, and you also underestimate His Majesty!"

Chapter 521 Thank you, Duke Wei. Zheng Clan of Xingyang will fully cooperate.

Zheng Jihong's face instantly turned ugly, and he asked in a deep voice:

"What do you mean?"

Fang Xuanling directly took out the letter sent by the plate, placed it in front of Zheng Jihong and said:

"Your Majesty is wise and powerful. You have already investigated the criminals in Henan Province."

"I am going on this trip to pray for rain for your majesty at the famous mountains and rivers."

"By the way..."

Fang Xuanling paused, looked at Zheng Jihong's ugly face, drank a sip of sheep oil ginger tea leisurely, and said with a smile:

"Supervise the officials of the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to see if they have thoroughly investigated corruption among local officials and redressed the grievances of the poor people, and whether they have failed in their duties."

Just a few simple sentences.

There is not a single word about the gentry, but every word and sentence reflects them.

Zheng Jihong's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and there was fear in his eyes.

Both the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice have officials from the five surnames and seven families.

As Fang Xuanling said, none of the Five Surnames and Seven Families got the news.

It was only through messages passed on by the clansmen who served as officials.

We know that Duke Fang Xuanling and other dukes went to famous mountains and rivers to pray for rain on behalf of His Majesty for other purposes.

Combined with the information his grandson Zheng Zhongchun obtained in Chang'an.

Only then did we come to the conclusion that praying for rain was a pretext, and suppressing the nobles was the real inference.

But the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple have been investigating secretly and have found evidence.

Did those clan members who were officials betray their family?

still......

As soon as the last thought came to his mind, Zheng Jihong's face turned pale instantly.

With his hands trembling slightly, he picked up the letter.

Look at the detailed and clear records above.

The last bit of hope in Zheng Jihong's heart completely disappeared.

Each family above is marked with the degree of evil they have committed.

Especially the two leading families, the Ximen family of Songyang and the Song family of Zhengzhou, who were related to them by marriage.

It also included words such as hiring someone to kill someone, oppressing the people, annexing land, and harming good officials.

Zheng Jihong's throat trembled and he couldn't utter a word.

Some of his bodies were hunched over, completely bent over, and looked extremely decadent, without any more the spirit and energy of an elder of a noble family.

Fang Xuanling took the letter from Zheng Jihong's hand and stamped it on the folded paper.

He looked at Zheng Jihong and said with a smile:

"Zheng clan elder, your Xingyang Zheng clan is worthy of being a model of aristocratic and powerful family, and is a role model for the gentry!"

"However, please do not leave my side from now on."

"How about just watching this wonderful show?"

Zheng Jihong pursed her lips, picked up the mutton fat ginger tea with white smoke, and drank it all in one gulp as if she were drinking wine.

He took a deep breath, looked at Fang Xuanling with sparkling eyes and said:

"Duke Wei, how can you give Zheng Clan of Xingyang this chance?"

Fang Xuanling smiled even more, pointed at the booklet and said:

"Those people from the Zheng family in Xingyang who colluded with these despicable people, clan elder, please arrange for someone to deal with them yourself."

"Don't disturb His Majesty's prayer for rain this time!"

The Ximen clan of Songyang and other noble families would not have been able to do such things without the support of the Zheng clan of Xingyang.

Fang Xuanling's words undoubtedly saved face for Zheng family of Xingyang and preserved the reputation of his family.

Zheng Jihong breathed a sigh of relief, raised her hand and saluted Fang Xuanling, saying:

"Thank you, Duke Wei! The Zheng family of Xingyang will definitely cooperate fully."

......

Day two.

Fang Xuanling asked Fang Yiyi to call Diezi and handed the booklet to him.

If there are three fewer families to find, there will be a lot fewer tasks for the discs.

It can also help find evidence of other people's crimes more quickly.

May twenty-fourth.

It is advisable to demolish the house and offer sacrifices, and do not do anything else, and destroy the walls.

Taboo, moving, shipping money, opening warehouse.

Chapter 522: Ximen Qing? No, it’s Ximen Qing!

The weather is fine and the sky is clear.

Ever since people knew that Guanxi Zhuzi of Songyang had profound Taoist attainments, he was highly respected by the dignitaries of Henan Province.

The place for sacrifice was directly set in Songyang Temple on Mount Song in Central Vietnam.

Fang Yiyi changed into the purple official robe, and looked solemn and majestic.

Chai Xueying also changed into the Ming Guang Armor. There was no trace of tenderness on her stunningly beautiful face, only sonorous and sharp sound.

One civil and one military, they performed a grand sacrificial ceremony on Mount Song for Li Shimin, the Emperor of Tang!

After recuperation, Xizhuzi's complexion returned to normal.

He changed into a Taoist robe with a blue base and purple edges, which was magnificent and majestic. He wore a lotus crown on his head and held a peach wood sword in his hand.

In the main hall square.

At the grand sacrificial rain-praying ceremony, flags were waving and yellow gauze was floating.

The Taoists all looked solemn, making hand gestures and chanting scriptures loudly.

Following the ringing of a loud bell.

The rain-praying ceremony officially begins.

Fang Yiyi stood at the edge of the square and glanced at the solemn ceremony that was taking place.

His eyes were fixed on the edge of the square, surrounding a group of extraordinary people from the Zheng family of Xingyang.

Behind him, the disc that collected intelligence was reporting to him in a low voice:

"Sanlang, the evil-doers listed in the list, including Ximen of Songyang, Zhang of Songyang, Song of Zhengzhou, and Cao of Xuzhou, are here."

"The Lin family of Zhengzhou, the Han family of Songzhou, the Lan family of Bianzhou, and the Zhang family of Yingzhou did not come."

Fang Yiyi asked, "Who are the people of Ximen clan in Songyang?"

Diezi said quickly: "The man in the blue round-collared robe behind Zheng Clan of Xingyang is Ximen Lin, the head of the Ximen Clan."