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Chapter 333 337

【337 chapters】

Chi Heng joked and said: "Is Jing Han tired of watching it? I have been thinking about the affairs of the court these days, and it is very troublesome. The Yan family is too powerful, so I should suppress it. Does Jing Han have any good advice?"

"The Yan family?" Luo Jinghan was stunned, and slowly sat down and said, "The Yan family has experienced the disaster of the previous dynasty, but everyone above this generation is not publicized. Yan Jian and Yan Yi have great military achievements, but this The two have been stationed at the border all year round, and they have not acted arrogantly and domineeringly; King Yan served in the Ministry of War, which is not an important position, and Shi Wei has never said that he has done anything excessive. Moreover, before moving to Leizhou, and then to Anzhou, Yan's family The children are almost scattered, but there is no obvious party formation."

"The Yan family's power is still deeply rooted in the capital, and any movement will shake the foundation of imperial power."

Luo Jinghan pondered for a long time: "Ziyan is the fourth prince, and he is favored by you, so there are courtiers who are obviously on the side of the Yan family. Although Ziyan is kind-hearted, but has a reckless personality, if you start with him, it will probably be difficult for you. It is the fastest. However, I don't like this, and the Yan family has no major faults. Compared with many courtiers, the Yan family can be said to be a rare family with both integrity and talent."

Chi Heng smiled and said: "Jinghan thinks too much, it's just weakening but not deliberately suppressing, the Yan family is the Great Wall of the country, how could I destroy it with my own hands?"

Luo Jinghan breathed a sigh of relief: "Ji Ce was the first to disagree, he was raised by the Yan family."

Chi Heng tilted his head, pondered for a long time, and suddenly sighed: "The Yan family has indeed been suffering from innocent disasters, and it shouldn't be destroyed by me again. They didn't make any mistakes, and even ordinary officials' families are easy to breed. There is nothing wrong with it... I am shocked, I am going to become the person I have always hated, but I can’t do it if I don’t.”

"It has to be balanced, otherwise it won't work."

Chi Heng smiled wryly, lowered his head and subconsciously stroked the memorial.

Because of Chi Heng's "abdication", the competition among the four princes is once again turbulent.As Luo Jinghan said, the princes are only fifteen or sixteen years old, but they are backed by their own forces, and gradually there are factions in the court.Those who were still hesitant to wait and see before had no choice but to choose the eaves to live in now.Of course, there are also a few courtiers, such as Ji Ce, Luo Jinghan and others, who never show their attitude easily and keep silent, making the situation even more obscure.

But Chi Heng didn't have any attitude towards this situation.

Once the emperor's acquiescence was obtained, the competition among the princes quickly became fierce, and the previously secretive situation became clear.Among the princes, Yan Ziyan and Mei Yu fought the most fiercely. The power behind them had already overwhelmed the others, but gradually it became clear that the power of the other princes was hard to contend with.Mei Yu has a weak personality, even if someone provokes him, he just smiles weakly; Yan Ziyan is careless and has a wild temper, once provoked is like being stabbed by a hedgehog.

For example, on this day, when Mei Yu and Yan Ziyan were out on a trip, a few disagreements opened up.

As soon as Yan Ziyan made a move, Mei Yu's nosebleed came out, and he made rude remarks.Immediately, someone read a book out of context, saying that Yan Ziyan was arrogant because of his favor, and that he was domineering and endangering the common people.With a cold face, Chi Heng threw the memorial in front of Yan Ziyan's eyes, and said: "Reflect on yourself!"

Yan Ziyan naturally refused to reflect on it, and argued with his neck.

Chi Heng was furious and scolded him nicely.

Yan Ziyan, who had been trained so dejectedly, just left the palace, and was dragged by a man who usually played with Wan Da, who forced him to relax, and was encouraged to go to the most prosperous Chunjiao Building in the capital.The Chunjiao Building is beautiful, with warm fragrance and jade, singing and singing, Yan Ziyan is so drunk by Wan Da, it is indispensable to ask the oiran to come out and sing.However, the courteous oiran who was usually courteous suddenly became hypocritical and couldn't come out after a thousand calls.Wan Da said a few words, saying that Mei Yu had taken a fancy to the oiran, so he took Qiao.Yan Ziyan was furious, he slapped his sword on the case, and yelled at the bustard.

When he made a fuss, as usual, the old bustard would say a few words and it would be over.

This day was strange, the old bustard taunted Yan Ziyan into a rage, raised his hand and lifted the table of Chunjiaolou, raised his arms, and after a while, seven or eight young and strong young men surrounded Chunjiaolou.After a lot of flirting, the Chunjiao Building was smashed to pieces.

This thing has completely blown up.

The madam sued the government with a pleading.After a thorough investigation by the government, Yan Ziyan was found.When the yamen servant came to the door, Yan Ziyan was still drunk and snoring loudly.

Without waiting for Chi Heng to be held accountable, Yan Jingtong escorted Yan Ziyan to Chunjiao Building to apologize, and offered gold and silver as compensation.Chunjiaolou refused to let him go, so Yan Jingtong simply sent him to the government, where he was beaten more than a dozen times, and Yan Ziyan was beaten until he cried for his father and mother.

A day later, Yan Ziyan was still unable to get out of bed, and Yan Jian, who was recalled to Beijing, carried him to Qianyuan Hall to apologize to Chi Heng.

Chi Heng kept a cold face and said nothing.

But it's strange to say that everything goes wrong and everything goes wrong.Yan Wang also made some mistakes in the Ministry of War, whether it was big or small, but he was stabbed to Chi Heng.Yan Wang had his own ideas and argued hard, but Chi Heng didn't take it seriously. In the end, Chi Heng naturally gained the upper hand, and Yan Wang was quite depressed. He has a straightforward personality and is inevitably full of complaints.Fortunately, after three or two days, I said behind closed doors and thought about my mistakes, and there was no disturbance.

In the world, there are many people who observe words and deeds, more people who fall into trouble, and more people who fall when the wind blows.Inexplicably, more people joined Yan Jian and Yan Yi. The two fought at the frontier, and Yan Jian was already a general. There were inevitably omissions in salary, official salary, military rations, general dispatch, etc., and they were all found out.One thing is that Yan Jian flogged a heavy soldier three years ago, causing him to die; another thing is that there was a discrepancy with the original delivery, and three tons of military rations disappeared inexplicably; A sergeant's attack broke out in a certain place. Because the army was owed seven or eight months of salary, the matter was left alone, and the leading general died inexplicably.

Chi Heng was not annoyed, and confronted Yan Jian about these matters.

Yan Jian was covered in cold sweat.After thinking about it, Yan Jian explained these things one by one.He has been busy with the battle, and he did not take some things to heart, and he was indeed negligent.But there are some, Yan Jian categorically denied, insisting that someone was deliberately carping and sowing discord.

After Yan Jian left, Chi Heng meditated.

Luo Jinghan came in and couldn't help but said: "The Yan family is indeed powerful and should be suppressed, but you really don't need to be so eager. After all, Yan Jian and Yan Yi are both powerful fighters, and they have made great contributions to Yuan Xi."

Chi Heng shook his head: "You think I found out all these things?"

"Is not it?"

"I don't need to look for it, I just need to give some hints, hinting at Yan Ziyan's fall from favor, hinting at the loss of power of the Yan family, hinting at Yan Jian's great achievements, and naturally some people will try their best to look for it, and take the opportunity to stir up trouble." Chi Heng frowned, "If an emperor is upright, his subordinates dare not show favoritism; if the emperor himself is suspicious, then his subordinates must be uneasy, guessing the emperor's mind, either for self-protection, or for flattery, or for the old resentment, or out of self-interest, they will do some behaviors that are detrimental to the imperial court."

Luo Jinghan picked up the memorial and looked at it carefully, it was the impeachment of Yan Jian who lost his military rations, the more he read it, the more he became more puzzled.

Chi Heng could see what he was thinking: "These things definitely happened, and they don't dare to fabricate them out of thin air. But some of this is Yan Jian's fault, and some of it is Yan Jian himself. It still needs to be investigated carefully. Moreover, why it is exposed now, and it is a targeted exposure, is because I revealed this tendency, and someone took the opportunity to add fuel to the flames."

Luo Jinghan nodded: "This Shu Qie, who wrote the memorial, is a stern and honest official, it is impossible for him to make false accusations."

"A little truthful and deadly information is enough to attract the attention of an upright official. It is the most terrifying thing to be used by a serious and responsible person, because he will chase after him and be unselfish - no one is perfect Flawless, especially as a general, Yan Jian can't cover everything." Chi Heng pondered for a while, "Jinghan, this matter is beyond my expectation, I need to wait and see what happens."

People are lost in the matter, Chi Heng can't see through the whole situation at a glance.

What's more, in the whole situation, some people are secretly provoking troubles, some people are eager to put out the fire, some people want to spy on the truth, some people want to cover up the facts, some people look left and right, and some people are confused.Relevant people, irrelevant people, people who contributed to the flames, and people who made things peaceful were all mixed together, making the whole situation even more foggy.

You can only watch quietly, let the hustle and bustle roll, and you can see more clearly after all the bulls, horses, and snakes are tossed out.

Chi Heng smiled and said to Ji Ce: "It's getting more and more lively. I haven't done anything yet, it's like a big mess; if something happens to me, I'll be in trouble!"

"The culprit is not you!"

In the previous seven or eight days, Yan Jian ran around for those things, so busy that his feet never touched the ground, and he could be seen in all six departments.But on the ninth day, he suddenly became quiet, no longer explaining and no longer looking for the truth, he suddenly hid quietly in his home, as if he was thinking behind closed doors.Yan Jian's eldest son, Yan Jingtong, occasionally went in and out of the military department to ask Shi Wei about some old things, that's all.

Chi Heng was very curious and asked Ji Ce what he was doing.

Ji Ce rolled his eyes at him and said, "Fifth brother is going crazy from all that nonsense, don't let him take a break, even if there is a big injustice, it's useless to just shout for injustice."

"Your idea?"

"You want to watch a play, how can I tear down the stage? Brother Wu is brave and resourceful, as long as he turns his head around, he will naturally understand it."

"Zi Yan hasn't come for several days."

"I can't come. Jing Tong just tossed him into prison. According to the most severe criminal law, Ziyan will have to stay in prison for another three months, eating steamed buns and pickling vegetables every day to reflect on himself." Ji Ce smiled, "This matter I'll know first, because what happened just now—you said, isn't Jing Tong smart? He pushed a cannon directly into the water."

Yan Ziyan is a gunner, as long as someone clicks on it, he dares to explode, and he explodes in succession.

Putting him in prison is like tying him with a rope.

Chi Heng stroked his chin and said, "It's really possible! I'm afraid Ziyan hated him to death in prison. Jing Tong was quick with his hands and feet, and he grabbed the most likely to cause trouble first, so that those who wanted to start with Ziyan had no choice. At least it is impossible for anything to happen in the prison. It seems that it is also Yan Jingtong's opinion that Yan Jian stays behind closed doors—to be honest, I think Yan Jian is exhausted because of these things, and he can't bear it. If things go on like this, he will definitely It was destroyed. However, now, I must make a decision to punish Yan Jian, otherwise, I will not be able to suppress the criticisms of the officials."

Ji Ce meditated: "And then?"

"If Yan Jian is indignant and eager to rehabilitate him, more truths will be uncovered, and he will fall into the trap, getting deeper and deeper; if Yan Jian takes it calmly and accepts punishment, someone else will jump."

"Fifth Brother is not a person who accepts everything."

"I'm afraid, Deputy Envoy Ji will guess wrong this time."

Ji Ce guessed wrong.

Yan Jian suppressed his anger, clenched his fists, almost closed his eyes, said nothing, accepted all the punishments, took off his armor, and begged Chi Heng to allow him to contemplate his mistakes behind closed doors.Such an attitude is confusing, and the officials who thoroughly investigate the case are more cautious for fear of accidental injury.

And Yan Yi, who was guarding the northern border, did not give birth to any rumors of changes because of this.

At the same time, Yan Jiaben had found a piece of land in the south of the city. The foundation building had just laid a foundation, and it stopped quietly at this time. Even the four or five-year-old children stayed at home obediently to study and read, let alone It is said that the children of officials should be cautious in their words and deeds.

For a while, there was a hustle and bustle, and for a while, the water was quiet.

The Yan family's non-defensive behavior is puzzling.

At this moment, the government arrested Wan Da, who had been making trouble with Yan Ziyan in the Chunjiao Building and then fled, and came back for questioning.Wan Da trembled with fear, and began to tremble and say that Yan Ziyan was too hot-tempered. After being slapped with a few gavels by the official, he immediately said with snot and tears that there was another person behind him.

Ask further.

An unexpected thing happened, the person behind Wanda turned out to be Wu Chen.

Not to mention other people, even Wu Chen himself turned pale with shock, and immediately confronted Wan Da on the spot.Wan Da was timid again, and later tried to bite his tongue to kill himself, but was rescued by the yamen servants by prying his teeth open.

This matter made a lot of noise, and everyone knows it.

Wu Chen was furious.

If you have to talk about it in detail, Wu Chen and the third prince are on the same side.

Yan Jingtong said to Wu Chen with a cold face: "Although Ziyan has a grumpy temper, he is definitely not an unreasonable person. I don't know when he offended you. As an elder brother, I apologize for him here. However, my brother is still young. , even if there is something wrong, you shouldn't be so ruthless, if someone dies that day, Zi Yan will pay for his life with his life!"

Wu Chen gritted his teeth and said, "Jing Tong, you and I have a friendship, you still can't trust me!"

"There are all witnesses, how can I believe it?"

Wu Chen said angrily, "Don't you believe it? I, Wu Chen, am upright, and I don't even bother to do such a thing! I don't know who is framing me behind the scenes! But, I don't believe that black can turn white and white can turn black! Sooner or later I will Prove it to you!"

Yan Jingtong calmed down for a moment, and said, "It's possible that Wan Da is talking nonsense! But since he has bitten you, it's hard for you to clear yourself..."

Wu Chen interrupted him: "Of course I have a way to find out about this and clear my name!"

Regardless of the chaotic situation, let's just talk about Wu Chen.Wu Chen knew that this matter was no small matter, if it could not be washed away, it would definitely not be a simple crime of instigation.Even if the big family of the Yan family is keeping a low profile now, they will definitely settle their old scores in the future.Wu Chen immediately used all his connections to investigate the matter.He is already very popular and intelligent, and he has already opened a corner.However, it was said that at this moment, Wan Da died. Wu Zuo said that he died of an infection after biting his tongue, but more people suspected that Wan Da was murdered to death.

Now there is no proof.This thread appears to be broken.

But Wu Chen is not an ordinary person. He looked into the matter again from the clues, and gradually found some clues. All things are most afraid of finding the root.Wu Chen was eager to dig out the truth to clear himself up, so he went forward without any taboos. If he kept going hard, there was nothing he couldn't dig out.In less than a few days, he really dug up some signs. It turned out that this matter was inextricably related to the Mei family behind Mei Yu.

With his shaking, the water in the pond became cloudy again.

Wu Chen and Qin Yiwang, the third prince who was related to Wu Chen, could not stand alone, and the forces behind him were dragged into the water involuntarily.The third prince, Qin Yiwang, was not very close to Chi Heng. Because of this matter, Chi Heng frequently called him to see him, but he only asked questions. Qin Yiwang told the truth to outsiders. The blame is still on the emperor's other intentions, so he waits and sees more and more.

Qin Yiwang and the fourth prince Ruan Yue were the weakest.

The desire to fight for power is not that strong, so the power struggle is not bloody.But in this situation, it is impossible not to fight, someone makes you have to fight in order to protect yourself.Although there are only a few main forces, more than half of the courtiers are more or less involved, and many things that have not been revealed before are scrambling to emerge.

At that time, it was mid-December, and Chi Heng fell ill for a few days.

With a slight cough, I sat by the window and thought hard.Ji Ce came over and brought a medicine jar to feed him, Chi Heng took a mouthful of the black medicine with a bitter face.Ji Ce wiped the concoction from the corner of his mouth for him, and he was in a good mood: "You don't go to court these days, so you don't know how exciting it is, but it's still good to move around. It's a good story. It would be great if this official can always be as clean and conscientious as he is now."

"One piece, one relaxation, the way of civil and martial arts."

"You are leisurely, when are you going to close the net? This situation can clear the water for a while, but it will inevitably be chaotic for a long time. If you often walk by the river, there is no way that your shoes will not get wet. Everyone will have omissions more or less, so we can't expect it. There is no dust on the court hall."

Chi Heng sighed: "Although this situation was brought about by me, it is quite different from what I imagined."

"what happened?"

"In the past, like Deputy Envoy Ji, I was also optimistic about Wu Chen. But Wu Chen's power is a little weaker. The Yan family and the Mei family are two heavy mountains. Once they join forces, he will definitely not be able to hold back." Chi Heng rubbed the space between his brows, " My great country cannot be in chaos after I leave. Therefore, I thought of breaking up the power of the two families to clear the way for him to succeed in the future. However, once the situation is opened, it will not be like this."

"The great things made you disappointed in Wu Chen?"

Chi Heng smiled suddenly: "No. Wu Chen's method and ability to thoroughly investigate this matter made me like him even more. It is rare to see such a flexible, decisive, and resourceful person. But, I am even more curious about the leading behind the scenes .”

Ji Ce also smiled: "Tell me about it."

"I absolutely don't want to suppress the Yan family. As long as they can separate the Yan family and weaken their power, I will go along with the flow and give them enough fertile land of gold and silver to keep them in one place. Once Yan Jian's mistakes are unfolded, it will be terrible. Big or small, he knows it well, if he is smart, he will automatically be demoted to protect himself."

"Stiffness is easy to break. You took advantage of Yan Jian's strengths."

"That's right. People from the Yan family are upright and have a clear sense of right and wrong. They shouldn't be treated like this. But in the long run, after Fu Wuchen came to power, the Yan family will definitely be dissatisfied. If this happens again in the future, I can't control it." Chi Heng took a sip of tea, "I am very aware of the contention among the princes below. So, I just picked on Ziyan's fault, and someone immediately caught him and made him make an even bigger mistake. Before everyone The Yan family, who can't face it directly, was pushed to the front all of a sudden. Fushi Ji, I really didn't expect that there are so many things behind Yan Jian, it's too scary."

"The bigger the official and general, the more things in his hands, many of which were not done by him."

"I mean terrible, not what happened to Yan Jian is terrible, but how long someone has been staring at him, waiting for an opportunity to overthrow him all at once - this is terrible, the last thing I want to see is someone stirring up trouble behind his back, The whole court was disturbed, and there were bad intentions. So, at the beginning, when I saw all the affairs of the Yan family were opened up, I was very angry and worried. Fortunately, what makes me happy is that there are still people in the Yan family who can suppress Don’t worry!” Chi Heng knocked on the table with a smile, “At first, I pressed Ziyan, then persuaded King Yan, and then persuaded Yan Jian not to rush to justify and investigate these things—how many members of the Yan family are there? Stubbornness, I know best, can hold them all still, and the people behind it definitely have a hand - what I need is this kind of person, who can suppress the overall situation, and know what is the most beneficial to do in the most chaotic time."

Ji Ce rolled his eyes and smiled, "Jing Tong? He really surprised me!"

"Yan Jingtong's magic trick was to press Wan Da on Wu Chen. If Wu Chen dared to investigate, it means that he is innocent. Wan Dahui confessed to Wu Chen. I thought it was his behind-the-scenes signal to Yan Jingtong to deal with Wu Chen. ——But now, I feel that I was wrong. Wan Da's confession is more like Yan Jingtong's plan. Yan Jingtong knew that it was not easy for him to make a move, and he might not be able to find out if he did it. Therefore, he chose a powerful person to do it for him. Check, this person is Wu Chen! Wu Chen and him are not on the same side. If you say it directly, it is definitely impossible to help, but now this method of almost framing forces Wu Chen to go to investigate, indirectly muddying the whole court. !" Chi Heng tilted his head, "Yan Jingtong's move is quite reminiscent of Deputy Envoy Ji's demeanor when he was young!"

Ji Ce rolled his eyes at him: "Is this a compliment or scolding me?"

Chi Heng smiled brightly, reflecting the white hair on his temples faintly flickering, and replied slyly: "I'm flattered! It's amazing to be able to pull a thousand pounds! Besides, Deputy Envoy Ji should see it better than I do." Let's go! Who can start, who can disrupt, and who can end, it's still unclear, Deputy Envoy Ji, let's wait and see what happens!"

"...I always thought you were an honest man!"

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