Chapter 54: The golden mean

Qi Shijiao said that Sima Zhao's intentions were known to everyone, and his intention was very obvious. It was to say that Wei Zhongxian and Gu Bingqian deliberately created rumors of a rebellion by the bandits in order to save Wei Guangwei and the others, which was alarmist.

Wei Zhongxian coughed lightly and said: "Your Majesty, I don't have any conclusive evidence here for the time being, but last night, Dongchang stationed in Shandong Jiti Yanghe Xingye returned to Beijing to report that he had received news that Xu Hongru, the leader of the White Lotus Sect, intended to rebel. Such things

When it comes to major events, it is best to believe in them. Don't believe in them. Taking precautions early is the right way. Once you neglect to take precautions, the bandits will rebel and attack the city and plunder the land. The people's lives will be ruined, and the imperial court will lose a lot of money and labor.

Huge."

Zhu Carpenter nodded and said: "What Wei Qing said is true. It is better to believe in the existence of such a big thing than to believe in it. Gao Di, you are now going to draw up a strategy for dispatching troops to station in Shandong. As for Wei Guangwei and the others,

The case..." At this point, Carpenter Zhu pondered for a moment, then looked at Yue Su. Just as he was about to speak, someone interrupted him and said, "Your Majesty, please think twice..."

Zhu Carpenter and the ministers looked together, and the speaker was Qi Boyu, the right minister of the Ministry of War. He bowed and said: "Whether the religious bandits will rebel in Shandong is still unknown. If soldiers and horses from all directions are rashly deployed to garrison,

It will inevitably bring panic to the people. In addition, the three armies will go ahead without using food and grass. Once the soldiers and horses from all directions are sent out, the court will definitely spend money on food and pay. The military expenditures of the nine sides have already overwhelmed the court. If they send out troops again this time, it will be light.

It cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Let me ask Gu Shoufu, if there is news somewhere, the court will send troops to garrison there, how much more food and salary will be spent in that year. Furthermore, there are also garrison troops in Shandong, as long as you are careful

Be careful, just teaching bandits is nothing."

Although Qi Boyu was not from Qichu and Zhejiang, he was close to Fang Congzhe. Now that Fang Congzhe returned to Beijing, he immediately joined Fang Congzhe's family. Who doesn't want to climb up? As long as he overthrows Wei Guangwei, how many high positions can he free up?

With such qualifications, why haven’t you found a chancellor?

However, what he said is not unreasonable. Now that there is just a little bit of news, the imperial court will send people to garrison with great fanfare. When the troops and horses are mobilized, how much food and salary will it cost. Moreover, by that time, even if there are religious bandits who want to rebel, they will see

We have to retreat from this posture, and maybe turn around and go to other provinces. We can't hear that the imperial court will send troops to station wherever they are, and what the local garrison will eat.

"Your Majesty, what Mr. Qi said is true. Now that the treasury is empty, it is best to reduce the number of wars. Since Wei Eunuch said that Dongchang has received rumors of religious bandits plotting to cause "rebellion," the imperial court can ask Shandong to be on guard. More

Send people to inquire around, find out the lair of the leader of the religious bandits, and then send out troops to wipe it out in one fell swoop. The mere religious bandits are not worth mentioning. As long as the local soldiers are on the lookout, they won't cause any trouble."

It was Fang Congzhe who spoke back. Two of his key men had already spoken, and it was his turn to make a concluding speech.

As soon as he finished speaking, officials from the three parties responded one after another, expressing their agreement with Mr. Fang Ge's words. We should not mobilize troops and mobilize people just after hearing some rumors. We should find out the details first.

The Three Parties and the Eunuch Party were just like the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party in the past. If the other party opposed it, they would agree, and if the other party agreed, they would oppose it. Seeing that the Three Parties did not agree to send troops to Shandong, officials from the Eunuch Party stood up to refute.

I strongly expressed my belief in Eunuch Wei's words and Dongchang's investigative capabilities. The religious bandits will definitely start an uprising in Shandong. The court should take precautions now. Once the religious bandits succeed in their uprising and attack the city, the loss will be huge.

Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

The two sides went back and forth, and started a war of words in the Huangji Palace. As soon as Zhu Carpenter arrived at this time, he became confused. He was so disturbed by them that he couldn't make up his mind. He couldn't bear it.

When he could bear it no longer, he finally slapped Long An hard and shouted angrily: "That's enough! If we keep arguing like this, when will we get a result?"

Seeing that the emperor was furious, all the officials shut up. The superior Zhu Carpenter looked directly at Yue Su and said, "Yue Aiqing, what do you have to say about this matter?"

In Zhu Carpenter's heart, Yue Su is the most trustworthy person, and he believes that Yue Su will definitely give the most effective advice.

Yue Su had already guessed that the emperor would ask for his opinion, so he kept thinking about countermeasures when others were arguing. He understood what Fang Congzhe and Gu Bingqian meant, and just because of Eunuch Wei's casual words, he let

How could it be willing to stop hearing the case of Wei Guangwei and the others? But if that was true, and if Wei Guangwei and the others were punished, the government and the public would be shocked, and the White Lotus Sect took the opportunity to cause "rebellion", the consequences would definitely be worse than if Wei Guangwei and the others were not punished.

Much lighter.

He is also a man who is devoted to the public good. Party fighting is an act of necessity, and his quarrel with Wei Zhongxian is a personal grudge that cannot rise to the level of the country. If he loses a lot due to small things and shakes the country's foundation, how can he be worthy of the emperor's regard for him. Yue

Su hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I just heard from Eunuch Wei that the news was sent by Jiti from Dongchang stationed in Shandong. I would like to meet this person and verify the authenticity of the news."

Yue Su's words were quite satisfactory, but they were the most truthful words in the whole court. Don't worry about how to respond first, let's verify the authenticity of the information.

Zhu Carpenter also thought it was reasonable, turned to look at Wei Zhongxian, and said: "Wei Qing, what Yue Qing said is true, you will bring Dongchang Jiti, who has returned to Beijing to deliver a message, to the palace."

"Old slave, I obey."

Wei Zhongxian not only took a high look at Yue Su because Yue Su did not say anything to directly veto him. Although he was caught in a party dispute, he was not confused about major matters and he was regarded as an outstanding person.

Wei Zhongxian was ordered to go down to the palace, and not long after that, he brought Yang He to the palace. Wei Zhongxian did not go to stand at the foot again, but bowed and saluted at the foot of the steps. Not to mention Yang He, he knelt down and kowtowed.

Said: "Weichen Dongchang stationed in Jitiyang River in Shandong came to see the emperor. Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!"

"Pingsheng!" Zhu Carpenter is a very kind man. He treats most of his ministers politely, regardless of their rank.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yang He stood up, but still bowed and did not dare to raise his head.

"Are you Yang He who rushed to Wei Qing last night to report the Ming Cult bandits' intention to rebel?" Zhu Carpenter asked.

"It's Wei Chen."

Carpenter Zhu nodded and said, "Xueshi Yue has something to ask you. When I ask you later, you must answer truthfully."

"I obey my orders."

"Very good. Yue Qing, if you have anything to ask, just ask."

"I obey." Yue Su agreed and said to Yang He, "Are you Dongchang Jiti stationed in Shandong?"

"Exactly." Yang He replied simply.

"Where in Shandong did you find out this news?" Yue Su asked.

"This news was overheard by two lowly subordinates. That day they were drinking in Dongchang Mansion Tavern and met four people acting suspiciously and speaking in code words, so they listened carefully. The four people were talking in a different way, "

When his identity was revealed, he should be from the White Lotus Sect, and they also said that Maitreya came to the world to save the world." Yang He said.

Yang He had just finished speaking, and before Yue Su could ask any more questions, he heard Qi Shijiao say: "Such deceptions by gods and Buddhas are common in the market. You won't just say that the White Lotus Sect is going to rebel based on these words. You know,

Nowadays, wherever you go, you will encounter people inviting gods and ghosts. If the court heard about one and sent troops there, it would be too busy."

"My lord, even in his humble position, I know that this news is not very reliable, but those four people mentioned a name called Mahayana Saint Master. The leader of the White Lotus Sect, Wang Sen, who was beheaded in the capital that year, claimed to be the leader of the Wenxiang Sect. His subordinate

There are three major disciples, among whom Xu Hongru, the eldest disciple, is known as the Mahayana Saint Master. Therefore, I believe that this matter is definitely not groundless." Yang He said neither humble nor arrogant.

"Okay, since you said that, let me ask you again, your two subordinates suspected that the other was a bandit of the White Lotus Sect, why did they capture and torture them severely?" Qi Shijiao asked again.

"Your Excellency, you don't know. Those four people were carrying weapons, and they didn't look like good people. The two subordinates who were humble in their positions did not dare to act rashly. When they realized that their behavior was serious, one of them went to Dongchang Mansion to look for reinforcements.

, leaving one person to stay and stare. Who would have thought that those four people ate too quickly and left without waiting for reinforcements to arrive. My subordinates continued to follow me, and I don’t know if anyone noticed that I was following them.

A few streets later, the four of them parted ways. One-on-one, my subordinates still had some confidence. They planned to follow one of them and capture him wherever they were. Unexpectedly, the terrain of Dongchang Mansion was very familiar. After three turns, he actually followed him.

Lost it." At the end of the sentence, Yang He shook his head reluctantly.

"You haven't been caught yet. The evidence is just empty talk. Who knows if it's true or false. Once the imperial court sends more troops to Shandong, it will definitely spend a lot of money and cause panic among the people. If the news is true, it's better to say that if it's false,

Who will bear this responsibility?" Qi Shijiao asked loudly.

"I know I am responsible for this responsibility, but my duty is to monitor the Shandong area. Whether it is private or government, if there is any abnormality, it must be reported truthfully." Yang He said righteously.

From Yang He's expression, Yue Su couldn't help but see some reflections of himself. In his heart, any "treacherous" person would never have such an expression. But this matter was too important. Yue Su could not help but see some reflections of himself.

Su did not dare to be arbitrary and make decisions that were detrimental to the country.

The courtroom froze. Zhu Carpenter looked at Yue Su and said, "Yue Qing, I'm here to ask, what do you think is the safer way to do it?"

"Ah... Report back to Your Majesty..." Yue Su finally made a moderate idea. He said: "I think it is not a good idea to send troops hastily, but it is also wrong to ignore it. It is better to join forces with Dongchang and Liumen.

Send personnel to Shandong for a thorough investigation. No matter whether it is overt or covert, if there is any trouble, a message will be sent to the capital immediately. Then the local officials will be ordered to cooperate. If a bandit nest is discovered, troops will be dispatched to quell it in one fell swoop. As for the case of Wei Cifu and others

, I think we can continue the trial, and if you are all found guilty, you can all be released; if you are really guilty, you can also decide the case first, and the punishment results will be announced after the truth in Shandong is found out."

Chapter 54: The golden mean
Chapter completed!