Chapter 13: The Illegal Tomb

"Qilang, how did you get to know He Jian and Li Bai? He Jian is easygoing and friendly, but Li Bai is arrogant and pretentious. The ministers in the court have many complaints about him!"

While riding on horseback, Li Shizhi saw Li Xuan, Li Bai and He Zhizhang greeting each other, so he asked.

"Maybe it's because they recognize my poetry!" Li Xuan responded to Li Shizhi while riding a horse parallel to Li Shizhi.

"Haha... Qilang, don't joke."

Li Shizhi laughed loudly. No one knows his son better than his father. Although his seventh son had learned martial arts since he was young and was good at riding and shooting, he was never serious about studying. The words he wrote were so beautiful that it was hard to read them.

Fortunately, during these two months, Li Xuan worked hard on literature. Li Shizhi believed that Li Xuan was young and so resourceful, and as long as he was willing to learn, he would definitely surpass others.

Poetry requires learning the rhythm, rhyme, and parallelism, and more importantly, it requires talent.

All the literati in the Tang Dynasty could write poetry.

Not to mention Li Shizhi, even Li Linfu couldn't help but recite a few poems to show off his taste for elegance.

But there is a huge difference between poems. A poem that is written mediocrely is like a piece of waste paper.

"I have written six poems so far, one of which I dedicated to the great scholar Wang Wei, and one of which I recited in front of the great poet Li Bai to satirize officials like Lu Xuan and Fan Ling who relied on Li Linfu to commit crimes."

As for writing poetry, Li Shizhi knew it sooner or later, and Li Xuan did not hide it.

"Wang Wei's noble character is also extraordinary. How about letting your father listen to Qilang's poems?"

Li Shizhi was skeptical and asked Li Xuan to recite the poem he had written.

"I met Wang Wei in the spring rain on Zhuque Street, and presented him with "Presented to Wang Buque in Early Spring". The rain on Tianjie Street was as soft as butter..."

Li Xuan slowly introduced the background of these poems and recited them to Li Shizhi.

"Father, how is my poetry?"

Li Shizhi was so absorbed in listening to the poem that he finally came to his senses when Li Xuan called out to him. He then asked Li Xuan, "Did you write this?"

It was not long since quatrains became popular, and Li Shizhi had rarely heard such catchy poems.

Because it was written so well, Li Shizhi couldn't believe it was written by Li Xuan.

"It was written by a child. Who would give his poem to others?"

Although Li Xuan blushed, he insisted.

He was not afraid of having no reasons. He could recite hundreds of poems and articles after the prosperous Tang Dynasty word for word.

Moreover, Li Xuan will learn the rules of poetry in the future. Even if he does not have amazing talent, it will be fine at least to learn some poems in response to orders and poems in response to poems.

Li Xuan is not yet an adult, so even if the emperor asks him to write a poem, he can refuse.

"The Book of Changes says that God will reward those who work hard. In the past two months, Qilang has been like Su Qin and Sun Jing, who worked hard and got up at the sound of cock-crows like Zu Ti and Liu Kun. That's why he has the talent he has now. If you have any new works in the future, let me read them first."

Since he said so, Li Shizhi naturally believed Li Xuan.

He saw Li Xuan's room brightly lit in the middle of the night many times.

Zhao Zong said that not long after he attended the morning court every day, Li Xuan would get up and brandish his spear, even earlier than the servants.

With such progress, Li Shizhi believed that Qilang would become the prime minister like him in the future.

Li Shizhi had many friends, many of whom were poets and celebrities. Although he could not write good poems, he could show off with Li Xuan's poems, and at the same time, he could enhance his son's fame and pave the way for his official career.

On the way to the tomb of Fan Ling's deceased son, Li Shizhi kept reciting several poems written by Li Xuan, with an fascination. The more he pondered, the more he found them to be full of aftertaste.

This is his son's poem, and he is proud of it!
Before they knew it, after an hour's journey, they arrived at Weiyin Township in the northeast of Chang'an.

This place is adjacent to the Wei River to the north. Although it is not as good as the towns of Chanchuan, Changle and others in terms of tombs, it is also a famous Feng Shui treasure land in Chang'an, and tombs of officials and nobles are everywhere.

Fan Ling was unwilling to guide them to the tomb of his deceased son.

No matter what you ask, he doesn't say a word.

But such a huge commotion made the people in Weiyin Township know that the Left Prime Minister Li Shizhi had come personally to dig up the grave of the deceased son of the Jingzhao Shaoyin.

The people were very happy and called their friends to gather in Hongbi.

For a moment, the road leading to Hongpi was crowded with people.

One of the village heads led the way for Li Shizhi.

"Father, the people of Weiyin Township all know that the Jingzhao Shaoyin buried a living person with him, but Wannian County didn't know about it, Jingzhao Prefecture didn't know about it, and the court didn't know about it. This is under the feet of the emperor!"

Li Xuan spoke to Li Shizhi in front of Zheng Yan, especially the second half of the sentence, emphasizing each word.

"I will report the matter of Weiyin Township to the Saint truthfully."

Li Shizhi was moved and knew more clearly how to write a letter to Li Longji.

Only Zheng Yan was standing aside, sweating profusely.

He didn't know what the father and son were thinking, but he always had a feeling that Li Shizhi only looked at the outside of people, while Li Xuan's gaze went straight into their hearts.

After another quarter of an hour, everyone arrived at Hongpi Village, Weiyin Township.

At this time, the area around the Fan family's ancestral tomb was crowded with people, who were pointing and talking at the tomb.

God has eyes, and Fan Ling finally got his retribution.

The people all praised Prime Minister Zuo for his wisdom and impartiality in handling cases.

Although Fan Ling was not a large family, their family tomb was extremely luxurious and even had a building on the ground.

Through the tombstone, Li Xuan confirmed the grave of Fan Ling's deceased son.

Looking at the tall and majestic stone carvings around the tombstone, Li Xuan said sarcastically: "If you say this is the tomb of a third-rank official, some people will believe it!"

"Qi Lang is absolutely right!"

After hearing Li Xuan's words, Li Shizhi's subordinates all nodded.

The tombs of some third-rank officials are not as large as those of Fan Ling’s deceased son.

"Fan Ling, as the Junior Yin of Jingzhao, have you never read the Six Codes of the Tang Dynasty? Your son has no official position or job. If the burial objects exceed the regulations, you will be guilty of an unforgivable crime."

Li Longji had strict requirements on the burial objects of officials, including the size and dimensions of ceramics.

There are corresponding regulations for civil and military officials of each level, and the number can be too few, not too many.

"You so-called nobles, don't you often kill slaves? I am just not as powerful as you, so I became a victim of your political struggle."

At this point, Fan Ling no longer argued. He knew that Li Linfu would not come forward to protect him. He also knew why Li Shizhi personally came forward.

Because the sword was pointed at Xiao Jiong and even Li Linfu behind him.

"I have heard too many fallacies like yours. If you can be loyal to your duties and become the parent official of the people, even if you rely on Li Linfu, the people will respect you. Instead, the people around you are pointing fingers at you. Isn't this the same as being pointed at by thousands of people?"

Li Xuan is a time traveler and has seen too many remarks that sound like "scams".

People will belittle and despise things that they cannot get, and make malicious speculations about them.

They will find all kinds of excuses for the mistakes they have made, evade the main issues and make specious excuses.

Fan Ling is such a person.

Fan Ling blushed and wanted to argue, but Li Xuan ignored him and returned to Li Shizhi.

Li Shizhi had already notified the Ministry of Justice, and when they arrived, they would start digging the grave.

"Father, look at the man next to Zheng Yan."

Li Xuan remained calm and looked at Ji Wen.

"He's wearing green clothes, just a county magistrate."

Li Shizhi didn't know Ji Wen.

"He is the nephew of Ji Xu, the prime minister of Wu Zhou. He has a fierce heart and is not a good person. Find an opportunity to banish him from Chang'an." Li Xuan suggested to Li Shizhi.

Li Xuan would not allow Li Shizhi to recruit such a person for his own use.

Because Ji Wen became arrogant when he gained power, he had no bottom line in his conduct.

"Ji Xu is too far away. Even the sons of Yao Chong and Song Jing can only protect themselves. I see that he keeps his head down. He doesn't look like a brave man. What can he do to me?"

Li Shizhi didn't take it seriously.

What Chang'an lacked the most was the descendants of prime ministers. During the Kaiyuan period alone, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang appointed more than 20 prime ministers.

Not to mention the prime minister during the Wu Zhou period.

Because during the Wu Zhou era, Wu Zetian appointed nearly eighty prime ministers.

During the reigns of Zhongzong and Ruizong after Wu Zetian, there were more than sixty prime ministers in total.

The Tang Dynasty was a "group prime minister system". In the court, there were not only fixed right and left prime ministers. If the emperor favored him, even a fourth-rank assistant minister could enter the political hall and participate in military and political affairs, and become a prime minister, with titles such as "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi", "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin", and "Sanzhi Zhengshi".

Li Longji had already controlled the number of prime ministers. In each term, he appointed a maximum of three prime ministers, and most of the time there were only two.

Before Ruizong, it was common for five or six prime ministers to enter the Council of State in one term.

"The reason why a knife can hurt people is because people hold the handle of the knife. Li Linfu has always wanted to get a hawk or dog to be his pawn. Ji Wen has always lowered his head, but his heart is on the clouds in the sky. He is the person Li Linfu longs to find."

Li Xuan pointed to the sky and told Li Shizhi solemnly.

As long as Ji Wen made a big mistake and was seized by Li Shizhi, Gao Lishi would not protect him.

"I believe in Qilang's ability to judge people."

Li Shizhi hesitated for a moment and nodded slightly. He glanced at the plain-looking Ji Wen again and memorized the name.

After a while, officials from the Ministry of Justice arrived.

Of course, the Minister of Justice and Prefect of Jingzhao, Xiao Jiong, is also indispensable.

After he got the news, he rushed over without stopping.

"Left Prime Minister, why would you do something like digging up someone's grave to tarnish your own reputation?"

As Li Linfu's number one general, Xiao Jiong did not give Li Shizhi any face at all.

He did not dismount and questioned Li Shizhi.

The other officials in the Ministry of Justice, on the other hand, dismounted and bowed obediently, after all, Li Shizhi had just left the Ministry of Justice less than half a year ago.

"Minister of the Ministry of Justice, I notified the Ministry of Justice to provide evidence. You have no right to dictate to me."

Li Shizhi shouted at Xiao Jiong in a deep voice, and then ordered Zheng Yan: "Zheng County Magistrate, take your people to dig the grave. The coroner is ready to enter the tomb for verification!"

"As ordered!"

Zheng Yan dared not disobey, as he had seen Li Shizhi's determination.

"Zheng Yan, take your people back, the Right Prime Minister will be here soon."

Xiao Jiong's face changed and he gave orders to Zheng Yan, calling him by his name to express his dissatisfaction.

He had been a military governor, and his words were very powerful.

"The prime minister is worshipped by the emperor. Didn't Minister Xiao attend the banquet held in Hua'e Xianghui Tower? You didn't dismount and pay respect to the emperor. You dared to obstruct the prime minister, which was disrespectful to the emperor. You shielded the officials who committed the great disrespect, which was contempt for the emperor. Please ask father to add three more charges to Xiao Jiong's impeachment tomorrow."

Li Xuan directly criticized Xiao Jiong for his rudeness.

His words were resounding.

When the hat was put on him, Xiao Jiong's body trembled. He didn't know who this young man was, but his sharp words made him feel uneasy.

Xiao Jiong realized something was wrong and dismounted immediately.

But he stared at Zheng Yan, as if to say, if you dare to dig graves, I will make you go back to farming.

Zheng Yan was filled with grief. On the one hand, he was very afraid of Li Linfu, but on the other hand, he did not want to go against Li Shizhi's wishes.

And Xiao Jiong happened to be his boss.

"In the early years of the Kaiyuan period, Wang Jun, the chief clerk of Luoyang, was beaten to death for taking bribes. Wei Cou, the then governor of Henan, was demoted for indulging Wang Jun. The Spring and Autumn Annals states that if subordinates are guilty, the chief commander should be punished. Isn't the Tang Code also the same? If the crime of Fan Ling, the junior governor of Jingzhao, is found out, it is much greater than Wang Jun's."

Li Shizhi also showed the aura of a prime minister and looked at Zheng Yan.

This is a very serious statement.

It was not only a powerful counterattack against Xiao Jiong, but also a serious warning to Zheng Yan.

Xiao Jiong broke out in sweat when he heard this.

Because he had Li Linfu's support, he had always been arrogant, and this was the first time he discovered Li Shizhi's strength.

(End of this chapter)