After hearing the reply, the emperor couldn't help but frowned: "You said that Wusun'ang was killed by bandits. How is this possible? Weren't those bandits already hanged to death the year before last?"

The official of Dali Temple looked a little solemn: "Your Majesty, according to my investigation, not only have the bandits not been hanged, but they have grown stronger in the past two years, and their number has increased. They are working in Pingde County.

, oppressing the people, the people complained but were angry but dared not speak out, so they acted more and more aggressively. This time, I am afraid that they saw the eldest prince wearing rich clothes, so they killed people and robbed wealth."

"If that's the case, why don't the people report the case to the government!" The more the emperor listened, the more angry he became.

"This...when I was investigating the news, once I asked about the bandits, no one was willing to answer our questions, so I'm not sure about it yet..."

Another official also said: "Your Majesty, we have just rushed back to ask the Emperor what to do next. If we only rely on my current military strength, I am afraid we will not be able to deal with these bandits."

The emperor's face turned livid, he slammed the memorial onto the table and shouted: "Go and call the third prince over!"

Everyone was shocked by the emperor's anger, and they lowered their heads and did not dare to say anything.

The third prince, Si Quan, was initially responsible for suppressing the bandits. Not only did he arrange for the ministers to lead troops to suppress the bandits, but the subsequent officials in Pingde County were also arranged by the third prince to succeed them.

Bandits are now rampant in Pingde County, which shows that the suppression of bandits was different at that time.

The most important thing is that the bandits oppressed the people, but no news was sent back to Kyoto. Even when they went to the local area to inquire, the officials said they had no idea. It was obvious that the officials and bandits were colluding, which cut off the people's livelihood.

When Wu Sunang died unexpectedly in Pingde County, Si Qi was afraid that this matter would be implicated, but he sent two groups of people out to investigate, but they all lost the news.

Now that he was called over by the emperor, he had a rough idea in his mind. He could only bite him to death because he didn't know the situation, so he saluted and greeted him calmly: "I wonder why the emperor called me here?"

The emperor stood up and threw the investigation documents directly at Si Qi: "Look at the good things you have done."

In the silent hall, the only sound left now was the emperor's rapid and angry breathing, which was like a muffled thunder exploding in everyone's ears, making people afraid to speak out.

Si Qi looked puzzled and picked up the document on the ground, which detailed the investigation results of Dali Temple in the past few days.

One of the major evidences that Wu Sunang died at the hands of bandits is that all the property on the body was missing, and even the outermost clothes were taken away. But later his jade pendant appeared in a pawn shop in the county town.

among.

Because of the excellent quality of this jade pendant, the owner of the pawn shop was deeply impressed. According to his testimony, officials from Dali Temple tracked him all the way to a mountain outside the county town, and based on the squatting, they discovered that this person was one of the bandits.

.

And these were naturally arranged by Simoli's people.

Finally, according to the investigation by Dali Temple officials, this group of bandits has set up camp in the mountains outside Pingde County and has grown to a small scale.

The third prince's eyelids twitched, and his heart became heavier the more he looked at it.

"Father, this... I don't know why!" The third prince pretended to be calm and analyzed: "Even if there are bandits, they may have been newly formed in the past two years."

"The imperial court has just led troops to suppress bandits here. How could there be bandits running to Pingde County at this juncture? Besides, this group of bandits is huge. You said it would be built in a year or two. Do you believe this nonsense?"

"The emperor's voice rose a little higher, and the oppressive feeling frightened the surrounding ministers to not dare to speak for the third prince.

"Father, my son and I are not talented, but suppressing bandits is related to the people's livelihood, the country, and the majesty of the court. How dare I deceive the superiors and deceive the subordinates? But it was Master Sun who led the troops to suppress the bandits in the first place. I will tell you when I come back."

All of my subjects have been strangled. Could it be that Master Sun deceived my subjects? Please let me know more clearly!" The third prince was already hoarse as he spoke. His expression was filled with sadness, as if he had been wronged.

The emperor snorted coldly and ordered the eunuch on the side: "Go and summon Sun Desheng to confront you!"

The imperial study room fell into silence for a while. Everyone was waiting for Sun Desheng quietly with one mind in mind.

After a while, the eunuch ran back in a panic: "It's not good, Your Majesty, I sent someone to the Sun Mansion according to the order, but when they arrived, Mr. Sun... Mr. Sun, he may have known about the incident and committed suicide out of fear of guilt.

, has hanged himself at home!"

When the third prince heard this, he felt relieved. Fortunately, arrangements had been made on his way here, otherwise he would have been in trouble at this moment.

"Okay, okay, great!" The emperor was not angry but smiled: "Search the house! I've confiscated the Sun Mansion! Even if it means digging three feet into the ground, we must find out the truth of the matter! All the people in the Sun Mansion will be imprisoned.

The prison is under guard, no one is allowed to be let go!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The eunuch wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly ordered.

As soon as he left, the emperor's eyes turned back to the third prince Si Qi, and his voice was cold: "Until this matter is investigated, you should stay in your palace for the time being, and don't go out unless you have nothing to do. Regardless of this

Who did this happen? You at least failed to supervise. I will give you one year's salary first, and then make a decision after the matter is found out!"

Whether he is fined or not is a small matter, but once he is banned, he will lose the right to speak in the court, which is extremely detrimental to him.

But under the current situation, the third prince could only grit his teeth and kneel down and thank him: "My son, I will obey my father's order."

The Sun Mansion was raided, and the third prince was fined and grounded. The emperor decided to appoint new people to go to Pingde County to suppress the bandits, and the most proud of this was the imperial concubine and the sixth prince.

The matter is of great importance. As long as the charges are proven, the Third Prince and his faction will surely suffer a heavy blow. By then, no one in the court can compete with the Sixth Prince anymore.

But the problem now is that Sun Desheng died. At that time, the county government of Pingde County had already executed him for colluding with the bandits. The Sun Mansion did not find any clues, and a year or two had passed since the suppression of the bandits. Many

The matter is difficult to verify.

There is not even enough evidence whether these bandits are the same group as before.

The matter reached a deadlock for a while, but at this moment, someone actually beat the Denwen drum.

What surprised everyone was that this person was a delicate woman.

The Dengwen drum was set up at the entrance of the palace. Even ordinary people could beat the drum to complain about grievances. By beating the Dengwen drum, they could directly meet the emperor. However, the price was that the drummer must first be punished with a rod for thirty years.

When some people saw the woman's thin figure, they couldn't help but sigh: "Oh, look at her like this. If thirty sticks are used, she may be dead. There is no chance of seeing the emperor."
Chapter completed!