Chapter 14: Powerful Minister Li Linfu

"Subordinate to obey!"

Zheng Yan no longer dared to refuse and immediately ordered his men to dig the grave.

Xiao Jiong was furious, but he couldn't stop it. The prime minister was right above him.

If Zheng Yan didn't listen to him, the officials and county soldiers of Wannian County would not listen to him either.

Xiao Jiong hoped that Li Linfu would come quickly. He firmly believed that Li Linfu could intimidate Li Shizhi.

He knew this clearly, Fan Ling had indeed buried five people alive, and he reprimanded Fan Ling for this matter at the time. But Fan Ling was his confidant after all, so he just handled it with care.

In Chang'an, slaves were often beaten to death due to minor faults.

Xiao Jiong always makes light of big things because he is not clean either.

Although the tomb is quite large, it can be dug up by dozens of people working together in a few hours.

During this period, Xiao Jiong kept looking in the direction of Chang'an.

He thought Li Linfu would come.

By the time the tomb was dug up, it was already dusk.

There were crowds of people around, but there was no one on the road.

Li Linfu never arrived.

Xiao Jiong's heart gradually turned cold...

A wave of panic surged in his heart. He had experienced this feeling before.

It seemed as if he was killed by the Tubo and fled on horseback, leaving his weapons and armor behind.

It was as if he had been tied to a pillar by Jiwen and whipped.

“He’s so smart!”

Li Xuan whispered in Li Shizhi's ear.

When Li Linfu learned that Li Shizhi had taken the initiative to intervene, he knew that the matter was already settled.

He couldn't stop it.

If he insisted on stopping it, Li Shizhi would definitely write a letter to Xingqing Palace immediately.

The emperor could not tolerate such a thing.

At that time, Li Linfu would not be able to end it.

After weighing the pros and cons, Li Linfu recalled his carriages and horses, ready to take drastic measures.

"As long as Qilang is here, I feel at ease!"

When he came to Weiyin Township, Li Xuan asserted that Li Linfu would not come, and it turned out to be true.

At this time, Li Shizhi's love and trust for Li Xuan were beyond measure.

"Boom..."

There was a sudden shout at the place where the grave was being dug.

"call……"

Inexplicably, another gust of wind blew. It was clearly spring, but it felt like autumn, with the grass and trees shaking.

The tomb chamber has been opened.

"Reporting to the Left Prime Minister, the tomb of Fan Ling's deceased son has been opened."

Zheng Yan ran over to report to Li Shizhi.

Li Linfu didn't come, which made him feel relieved. Otherwise, he would have to bear the pressure from both sides.

"Well, logically I should 'ask the cow' like Han Dynasty Prime Minister Bingji, instead of supervising such things." Li Shizhi did not go over. After looking at Xiao Jiong, he slowly said: "Wan Nian Ling, do it according to your own ideas!"

Although Zheng Yan was worried, he had to send his subordinates into the tomb.

The tomb chamber is divided into main and secondary.

The main tomb chamber is more than twice as large as the secondary tomb chamber.

In the secondary tomb chamber, there were five skeletons, tied up tightly with ropes.

There were five skeletons, two men and three women. The skulls had their mouths open, indicating that they died in great pain.

Looking at the friction around the secondary tomb chamber and some dark red blood-stained soil, it can be seen that these five skeletons were struggling to survive.

A slave when alive, a slave when dead.

The main tomb chamber is larger, and in addition to some gold and iron objects, it contains some colorful ceramics, brocade and silk.

Among these ceramics, some are as tall as one foot and three inches.

After all the burial objects were taken out, Li Shizhi brought Li Xuan to the tomb.

"Reporting to the Left Prime Minister, five bound skeletons were found in the secondary tomb chamber. The coroner confirmed that they died of suffocation. They all had fractures on their bodies, which means that their limbs were broken before they died..."

After Zheng Yan received the news, he reported it to Li Shizhi immediately.

"How dare you! You are so cruel and inhumane, you are unworthy of being an official. Ministry of Justice, arrest Fan Ling. Tomorrow morning, I will immediately write to the emperor to punish Fan Ling!"

Li Shizhi became angry and formally ordered the arrest of Fan Ling.

At this moment, even though Xiao Jiong was extremely anxious, he could only watch from the side, speechless.

He no longer had the arrogance he had when he first arrived, and now looked like an eggplant hit by frost.

As Li Shizhi said, it is very normal in today's politics for subordinates to commit crimes and their superiors to be implicated.

In this way, the distraught Fan Ling was held down by two executioners.

"The ceremonial cavalry figurines, the musician servants, the military servants, the civil servants, the military servants... are all over a foot tall. Is this something your son can use? Even after you die, you are not eligible to be buried with these pottery figurines."

When Li Shizhi saw more than a hundred burial objects of various kinds, he reprimanded Fan Ling again.

"I know my crime. I beg you not to destroy the tomb and let my son rest in peace."

Fan Ling knelt down and kowtowed to Li Shizhi.

It was because he doted on his only son that he did a series of absurd things after his son died of illness.

I thought all the dead were slaves, except for one concubine.

Even if the unruly people in the village knew about it, they would not dare to report it to the authorities.

Because he is an official.

Unexpectedly, it would be exposed due to an assassination attempt.

Fan Ling regretted his decision.

"How can the bones in the tomb rest in peace without a coffin?" Li Shizhi sneered.

At this point, Fan Ling's deceased son must be moved out and buried according to the customs of commoners.

Li Shizhi waved his hand, and the two executioners took Fan Ling away.

"Wannian Order, remove the bones from the tomb intact and bury them in a proper place."

Li Shizhi explained his final arrangements to Zheng Yan.

Then he ordered the Ministry of Justice to collect the burial objects and take them away.

At this point, Xiao Jiong was no longer able to destroy the evidence.

From beginning to end, Li Shizhi ignored Xiao Jiong and did not say a word to him.

"Ji Qi, what should I do?"

Xiao Jiong saw Li Shizhi in front of the tomb, so he called Ji Wenwen aside and asked for countermeasures. "Minister, the left prime minister impeached you, it is inevitable. You must insist that you had no knowledge of the matter at the court meeting tomorrow. If you fail to supervise, you will be demoted at most, but if you cover up, it will be treason."

Ji Wen answered to Xiao Jiong.

"Is there no other way?"

Xiao Jiong asked again.

He was unwilling to give up. His goal was to become prime minister. Li Linfu had personally promised him that when the time was right, he would recommend him as prime minister.

Even if he is a vassal like Niu Xianke, a prime minister can still go down in history.

But now it’s like this, there will definitely be no more chances.

"You have experienced ups and downs, and the Right Prime Minister trusts you so much. Stay out of the spotlight for now. You may be able to make a comeback in the future like Xie An of the Eastern Jin Dynasty."

Ji Wen comforted Xiao Jiong.

He felt very unbalanced. Xiao Jiong had average ability, but he could be the governor of a military governorship and the minister of justice. Why didn't he have such an opportunity?
"Ugh!"

Xiao Jiong stared at Li Shizhi and clenched his teeth, but there was nothing else he could do.

"Fan Shaoyin cannot escape death. With the character of a saint, his family members must be made slaves. The Shangshu can use this to threaten Fan Ling and ask him to take the blame, otherwise his family members will be punished."

Ji Wen reminded Xiao Jiong again.

"Ji Qi, I wanted to promote you to Jingzhao Prefecture, but now I can't do it. I have done something that disappointed the right prime minister again."

"You are a talented person. I have decided to recommend you to the Right Prime Minister. You will surely rise to the highest position among the ministers."

Ji Wen's suggestion was crucial to Xiao Jiong, who hated Li Shizhi and his son to the core and hoped that with Ji Wen's help, the Right Prime Minister could defeat Li Shizhi as soon as possible.

"Ji Wen will never forget the Shangshu's kindness."

Ji Wen was overjoyed and bowed to Xiao Jiong.

He has been waiting for this day for a long time.

Xiao Jiong just helped Ji Wen up. There was a rock on his body, so he could only force a smile.

On the other hand, Li Xuan asked Li Shizhi to come forward to inform the surrounding people that Fan Ling had been brought to justice, and to spread morality and appease the villagers.

The prime minister is respected, he is with the people and is gentle and approachable.

The village elders were flattered and their evaluation of Li Shizhi rose to the level of Yao Chong and Song Jing.

"Father's reputation will spread from here. From now on, it will be all good name."

Li Xuan's goal was to help Li Shizhi gain reputation.

Be a prime minister that is supported by the people.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Shizhi prepared to go home.

"Prime Minister Wannian, the plan you just gave Minister Xiao is very good."

Li Xuan mounted his horse and when he passed by Ji Wen, he suddenly said something to Ji Wen.

Then, without waiting for Ji Wen's reply, he rode away.

The horse raised a cloud of dust, leaving Jiwen with a heavy face.

When he was talking to Xiao Jiong, the people around them were far away and it was impossible for the news to leak out.

At this moment, Ji Wen, feeling guilty, began to fear Li Xuan.

……

When I returned to the mansion, it was already evening.

That night, Li Linfu, who lived with Li Shizhi in Pingkangfang, came to see him.

But Li Shizhi followed Li Xuan's advice and turned Li Linfu away.

Li Xuan recommended himself and went out in person.

He wanted to meet this most powerful official of all time.

"Greetings, Right Prime Minister. My father is drunk and cannot meet with you anymore. Please forgive me."

Surrounded by dozens of household servants, Li Linfu stood at the gate of the Left Prime Minister's Mansion with his head held high and his chest puffed out. There was another person next to him, a person Li Xuan was familiar with.

Li Linfu's most insightful son, Li Xiu.

Li Xuan had only seen Li Linfu from afar before, and this was the first time he had close contact with Li Linfu.

Although Li Linfu was a member of the royal family, his family background was ordinary. As a prime minister, he was not ashamed to ask questions from people below him. Under the heavy workload, he was still diligent and studious, constantly improving himself.

Li Xuan remembered that later historical books gave a very high evaluation of his abilities: he was extremely cautious in everything he did, organized all affairs, improved the rules and regulations, and was always consistent in his moves both at home and abroad.

Li Linfu also presided over the revision of the Kaiyuan Code.

However, he deceived his superiors, was jealous of talented people, repeatedly launched large-scale purges, and promoted Hu people.

In terms of military affairs, politics, and the people, everything was based on self-interest. He would do anything to achieve his goal. He was the culprit for the decline of the Tang Dynasty and one of the main figures in the An-Shi Rebellion.

From this point of view, he was indeed a treacherous minister and left behind a bad reputation for all eternity.

"You must be Qilang! You are truly a rare talent."

Li Linfu stared at Li Xuan with his experienced eyes. Seeing that Li Xuan was unmoved by the politeness, his expression changed slightly. However, he changed the subject and said, "The left prime minister just came back half an hour ago. He is known to everyone in the court for his huge capacity. How could he get drunk so quickly?"

Li Linfu had people standing guard at the gate of the Zuo Xiang Mansion. When Li Shizhi came back, the servants reported to him.

"My father encountered some troubles today, so he drank heavily and got drunk." Li Xuanzheng stood behind him and gave a lame excuse.

"I'm not involved in politics. I just want to drink with Zuo Xiang. Qilang, go and have a look. I believe Zuo Xiang's alcohol tolerance is not that easy to get drunk."

Li Linfu had to meet Li Shizhi.

He believed that as long as he met Li Shizhi, based on his understanding of Li Shizhi and explained the pros and cons to him, he might be able to persuade Li Shizhi to give up impeaching Xiao Jiong.

"The left and right prime ministers live in the same neighborhood, serve in the same government hall, and are both members of the royal family. We see each other every day. When the court ends tomorrow, father will welcome him with open arms. It is indeed inconvenient today."

Li Xuan kept smiling and refused Li Linfu to enter.

"According to seniority, I am Li Shizhi's uncle. Is it appropriate to exclude me like this?"

Li Linfu has been in power for many years and has a strong desire for control. His presence to meet Li Shizhi was considered a gift to Li Shizhi.

Now that he was stopped by the junior Li Xuan, he was furious.

In Li Linfu's plan, Li Shizhi's position was originally occupied by Xiao Jiong.

It's a pity that Xiao Jiong was not ambitious enough and failed in the war with Tubo, otherwise Xiao Jiong would have been the prime minister.

During the Kaiyuan period, many generals were demoted after being defeated in battle. Few were promoted after being defeated, Xiao Jiong was one, and another was An Lushan.

"According to seniority, the Right Bride is one generation older than the Emperor. Doesn't that mean he doesn't need to report to the Emperor before he can enter the palace?"

When Li Xuan saw that Li Linfu was using his seniority to put pressure on others, he retorted without hesitation.

There is no family affection between them.

"good very good!"

Seeing Li Xuan's sharp words, Li Linfu clapped his hands, waved his sleeves and turned away.

"Go slowly, right sir."

Li Xuan knew that he had angered Li Linfu, but he still bowed to Li Linfu and watched him get on the carriage.

Li Linfu saw a figure standing like a door god in the darkness through the gap in the carriage curtains, and a sense of crisis arose in his heart. Everything today was because of this young man.

He was determined to completely get rid of Li Shizhi and the ignorant Li Xuan.

Everyone has weaknesses, no one is impeccable!
……

(End of this chapter)