Chapter 4763: Perfunctory

Chapter 4763: Perfunctory
The Jingzhao Prefecture was still surrounded by the troops of the Right Jinwu Guard, and permission was required for entry and exit. The person in charge of leading the guard here was Wang Xuance, the chief officer of the Right Jinwu Guard. As Fang Jun's "henchman", he naturally recognized Fang Jun's most trusted personal soldier. He personally brought the guard hawk into the yard and placed it in a room. He instructed his soldiers to take good care of it, and then took his leave to deal with matters.

Jingzhao Prefecture is the largest prefecture in the world, but because the government office is located in Chang'an City, where every inch of land is valuable, the place is not very large. The officials of this government office are often crowded in one room, and the working environment is very tight. Now the yard is crowded with officials from the three judicial departments. As there are too many people and not enough houses, many people have to set up tables against the wall to work on the spot. When they saw the guards in armor being placed in the houses in a swaggering manner and even handed tea, some people were immediately indignant.

The way of the world is not to worry about scarcity but inequality. Originally everyone was squatting in the yard, enduring the scorching sun but having nothing to say. Now suddenly some people are getting preferential treatment, and they feel unbalanced.

"Who is this guy? Judging from his attire, he is just a captain. He actually came into the house like this. He really doesn't know his place!"

"That's right. We are working under the scorching sun and sweating all over the floor, but they come in and drink tea. Why?"

"He looks like someone's trusted subordinate, not very old."

"No matter who it is, if they want to be resettled, they should be resettled according to their ranks, right? We, the officials of the sixth and fifth ranks, are squatting in the yard, while he, a mere lieutenant, is drinking tea in the house. There is no such rule!"

"Haha, where do so many rules come from? Didn't you see that this person was personally placed by Wang Changshi? He must not be an ordinary person. Your rules cannot be applied to him."

Many people in the courtyard didn't know Wang Xuance, and were shocked when they heard this: "That guy just now was Wang Xuance? It is said that he is the number one 'hawk dog' under Fang Jun. When he was in charge of the 'Eastern Tang Merchants', he went on a killing spree overseas. Now he has been transferred back to Chang'an and is directly appointed as the Chief of the Right Jinwu Guard... Hiss, could the guy sitting in the room be Fang Jun's personal soldier?"

Several people who had talked a lot about "rules" before were frightened and trembling. Now there is a consensus in the officialdom of Chang'an that "it is better to offend Fang Xuanling than to offend Fang Yiai". Fang Xuanling is a gentleman who can be deceived with tricks. He has a gentle personality, steady actions and a broad mind. If you spit in his face, he will respond with a smile, because he will not lower himself to argue with you, just like a person who is bitten by a dog will never bite back.

But Fang Jun is different. He is narrow-minded and vindictive. If you anger him in the morning, he will never delay revenge until the evening, and he will never wait until the next day... If you offend the soldiers around such a person, it is equivalent to slapping Fang Jun in the face. Who would dare to do such a thing?

……

Wei Ying sat in the room drinking tea, watching the participants of the attack on Jingzhao Prefecture last night being brought into the courtyard and escorted into the main hall one by one. Although he could not hear or see the details of the interrogation, the officials working in the room probably knew the purpose of his visit, so they would go out for a walk every once in a while, and after returning, they would tell him the situation casually. Therefore, Wei Ying sat still but knew the entire interrogation situation very well...

At three quarters after the hour of Wei, no more prisoners were brought into the yard, and the three chiefs of the judicial department in the main hall went off duty and went home. Wei Ying, who was sitting in the room, saw Li Shenfu coming out on crutches, and then, supported by his two sons, he went out and got into the car to leave. The officials who gradually dispersed in the yard pointed and talked at the backs of Li Shenfu and his son.

"He has become a bit unscrupulous due to his seniority. He secretly instigated the royal family and nobles to attack Jingzhao Prefecture. After the failure, he denied it flatly and pushed the younger generations who trusted him to take the responsibility. This is beneath his dignity."

"Has anyone confessed that the Prince of Xiangyi was behind this?"

"No, we are not fools. With the tablet of Li Shenfu here, Your Majesty still has some concerns. If this tablet is overthrown, the royal family and nobles will probably be purged. It's too late to protect him, so who dares to give him up?"

"There's actually nothing to judge about this kind of thing. It's about the loyalty between the monarch and his subjects, and we always judge by heart rather than by deeds. As long as Your Majesty determines that he has evil intentions and intends to rebel, he will have a hard time whether he did it or not."

"But if we do this, we will have to face the purge of the entire royal family and noble group, which will shake the foundation of the empire and cause unrest. That is something Your Majesty does not want to see, so this warning is more of a warning, and we will not pursue it to the end."

Listening to the discussions in groups of three or four, Wei Ying stood up and went out to the toilet to distribute the tea he had drunk in the afternoon. He then walked out of the city as light as a swallow and returned to the commander's tent outside Mingde Gate in high spirits, reporting everything he had seen and heard.

It was already evening, and the temperature gradually cooled down after the sun went down. Fang Jun grabbed a handful of mugwort and threw it into the bonfire beside the general's tent. A faint medicinal fragrance drifted in the air to drive away mosquitoes. He returned to the tent and sat down, asked Wei Ying to sit down as well, and asked, "Can we interrogate Li Chongxu today?"

Since he had accepted Li Xiaogong's commission, he had to do his best. However, with the three judicial departments holding a joint trial and Li Shenfu from the Zongzheng Temple "supervising" from the side, there were too many variables. If someone targeted Li Chongxu, Dai Zhou alone would not be able to control the overall situation.

Wei Ying laughed, "We did interrogate him. He was probably warned beforehand, so Li Chongxu knelt on the ground and cried loudly before he could say a word. His nose and tears were all flowing. Dai Siqing asked him if he was crying because he regretted it. He said no, it was because all the family property was confiscated by Jingzhao Prefecture. It didn't matter whether he lived or died, but his brothers and nephews would be in poverty. Their father went astray and did wrong things, and he deserved it. Emperor Taizong was magnanimous and forgave them and did not confiscate their property. However, now they have squandered their property in his hands. Since a member of the royal family has to endure poverty and even sell his daughter for dowry in the future, he only asks for a quick death."

Fang Jun pondered for a moment and praised, "That's a good explanation. Li Chongxu's father died supporting Li Jiancheng, and Emperor Taizong was generous and did not harm his descendants. Now that Your Majesty has ascended the throne, he has ruined his family... Li Chongxu is safe."

Just as when Emperor Li II launched the "Xuanwu Gate Incident" and ascended the throne, his greatest wish was to prove to the world that he was more suitable to be the emperor than Li Jiancheng, Li Chengqian's mentality was roughly the same. He also wanted to tell the world that he was a good emperor, and that Emperor Taizong's repeated attempts to change the crown prince were a wrong idea.

Li Chongxu's father died in a battle with Emperor Taizong, but he was unable to bring disaster to his descendants or preserve his family business. Li Chengqian, who always prided himself on being "generous and kind", couldn't possibly be more excessive than Emperor Taizong did, right?

If you even abandon the virtue of "kindness and generosity", how can you prove to the world that you are a good emperor?

Civil and military strategies?

Ambitions?

"Then Dai Siqing scolded him for being extremely stupid and having no opinion. Since he remembered that his family had made a big mistake, why didn't he behave properly and do things steadily instead of breaking the law? He suggested that he be punished more severely."

"Haha, it turns out that the old ones are the wisest. Since Li Chongxu said that before, Dai Zhou's words will force Your Majesty not to severely punish Li Chongxu."

Wei Ying nodded and said, "His Royal Highness the King of Han said that this person is a fool, who was bewitched by others and did not understand anything and just followed others to make trouble. However, he was always behind when the Jingzhao Prefecture was attacked, and he did not participate in the arson. His crime is not obvious, so he should be punished lightly and warned, and it is not easy to punish him severely."

Fang Jun was completely relieved and asked again: "How was Li Jingshu's death investigated? Did they find out who did it? Was it intentional or unintentional?"

"From what I heard, no one admitted to being involved in Li Jingshu's death. They all said that the scene was chaotic and everyone was busy trying to escape, so no one noticed. Later, the Right Jinwu Guards blocked all the exits, and then someone found Li Jingshu lying on the ground, and it was unknown whether he was dead or alive."

"So many people didn't see why Li Jingshu fell to the ground?"

"No one admits it anyway."

"This will give Li Shenfu a headache. Li Jingshu's identity is different, and the cause of death must be found out. Otherwise, the royal family will definitely not let it go. Li Shenfu is behind this matter, so Li Shenfu must give an explanation to the Prince of Dongping's Mansion and the entire royal family."

He followed you around and charged into battle under your orders, but ended up dying in such an unclear manner without even an explanation. This was a fatal blow to Li Shenfu's prestige.

The leader lacks prestige, so naturally his subordinates will become demoralized.

Once people lose their morale, it will be hard to lead the team...

There was a sudden sound of hoofbeats, and a horse galloped out of Mingde Gate, raising a trail of dust. In an instant, it arrived in front of the commander's tent. The knight jumped off the horse and walked quickly to Fang Jun to report: "General, there was a riot in Daci'en Temple. Many pedestrians were trampled. There was a conflict between tourists and monks in the temple. Many tourists were injured. The Wannian yamen runners tried to enter the temple to arrest the criminals but were blocked by the monks. The yamen runners, tourists and monks were in a standoff. County Magistrate Lai Ji did not dare to act on his own. Please go over and suppress the situation."

"Heh, this old fellow Lai Ji never shows up normally, like a turtle hiding in the water. Now he can't hide anymore?"

Since Ma Zhou was in charge of measuring the land of temples and Taoist temples under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Prefecture, he urgently needed the cooperation of various counties. As a result, Lai Ji, the magistrate of Wannian County, avoided the task in order to protect himself, and returned all the affairs of the county government to Ma Zhou for him to handle.

Da Ci'en Temple was a national protection temple built by the order of Emperor Taizong to pray for Empress Wende. It has a lofty status. As the most famous Buddhist temple in Chang'an, it has extraordinary political significance. Now that there is a riot in Da Ci'en Temple, Lai Ji cannot avoid it no matter how unwilling he is to get involved.

Fang Jun stood up and asked Wei Ying to prepare his horse. He said to Cen Changqian, "Gather a thousand soldiers and follow me into the city. Wear only armor, swords, and shields. Don't bring any bows, crossbows or firearms."

"Here."

Soon, a thousand soldiers gathered, and Fang Jun led the way into the city and headed straight for Jinchangfang.