Chapter 209: The Sage Rewards Zhuge Liang with a Sword, a Potential Prime Minister

"Doctor, this is torture to extract a confession!"

Seeing that the soldiers were about to torture him, Lu Hyun uttered these ridiculous words in panic.

Normally, these words were shouted at him by others.

He used his power to bully those who had offended or were dissatisfied with Li Linfu.

The wind and rain are like obscurity, and cock crows endlessly.

There is never a lack of upright people in prosperous times. Those naive officials thought that by impeaching Li Linfu, they could let the saint know that Li Linfu was playing power games.

However, most of the memorials never reached Li Longji and were intercepted in the Secretariat.

Not everyone has the opportunity to leave their name in history books like Du Jing.

The surrounding censors such as Chen Lun and Dugu Yuan were terrified when they saw that Li Xuan dared to use a donkey to pull out the peg.

Especially Dugu Yuan and Zhang Zhiliang, their crimes were "divorcing their wives because of wealth" and "making friends with the extremely wealthy."

There is nothing to hide and it can be easily found out.

Yang Shenjin's betrayal made them realize that the Right Prime Minister might also be in danger and unable to come to help them.

Their wealth and power all came from Li Linfu.

From the end of Kaiyuan to the beginning of Tianbao, they could get whatever they wanted.

They were not without self-awareness, and thought that would have to wait until "Huo Guang died", but they did not expect the crisis to come so soon.

"what……"

Li Xuan did not respond to Lu Hyun's words, only the shouting in the court responded to himself.

The shackles were already on his body, his hands were holding his feet, and the wood had been pressed between his feet.

Before the torture, a soldier raised his head, saw Li Xuan's cold eyes, and immediately started to carry out the torture.

After all, Lu Xuan was usually very arrogant in the Censorate. After Luo Xishi's death, he became the number one "censor" in the Censorate.

As for other Imperial Censors and Imperial Censors in the Palace, as long as they did not rely on Li Linfu, he would find ways to squeeze them out.

Last year, Wang Wei was appointed as the Imperial Censor. Although he clearly did not want to fight for power, he was still spoken rudely to by Lu Xuan.

Finally, Wang Wei could only be forced to go on a diplomatic mission to Yulin and Xinqin counties as an Imperial Censor.

You should know that the people who usually supervise the local areas are the Censors, and the Assistant Censors are the officials who supervise all officials in the capital.

When Wang Wei came back, he immediately resigned, but Li Longji naturally refused.

Wang Wei was the current leader of the literary world, the face of the court, and the symbol of peace and prosperity. So Li Longji gave Wang Wei a more leisurely official position, the Deputy Director of the Treasury Department of the Ministry of War.

"Clang clang clang!"

As the soldiers continued to hit the handle of the shackle, Lu Xuan felt the pain and screamed even more miserably.

"Lu Hyun, are you going to confess?"

Li Xuan looked at Lu Xuan's body gradually stretching out and walking down from the court, and asked him.

"What do you want me to confess? I never tortured Wang Zhongsi!"

Lu Xuan refused to confess. He gritted his teeth and looked at Li Xuan with hatred.

He is a talented man after all, but you actually use such despicable means to slander him.

"Still being stubborn! Step up your efforts."

Li Xuan gave orders to the soldiers.

Then he turned to look at the other censors and said, "Let's see if your mouths are as hard as Lu Xuan's!"

The imperial censors were even more heartbroken when they saw Lu Xuan's miserable condition.

Lu Xuan improved the donkey-pull-out-pegs torture invented by Wu Zetian, but ended up shooting himself in the foot.

The soldiers struck again and again, and it was obvious that Lu Xuan's waist was getting longer and longer.

It seemed that all of Lu Hyun's internal organs were in trouble, and blood was flowing out of his mouth and nose.

He wanted to faint, but how could he do that in this situation?
As soon as I fell into coma, I was awakened by the pain.

He finally understood the pain of the officials he had tortured before.

"Stop... I confess..."

No matter how strong Lu Xuan's will was, he could not withstand the constant torture of the donkey pulling the peg. Without a clear mind, Lu Xuan weakly begged for mercy from Li Xuan.

It is not known whether he admitted to murdering Wang Zhongsi, or to the unjust killing of the Xianyang Wei, or the numerous crimes he had committed in the past.

Yang Shenjin immediately took out the charges he had prepared in advance and put the pen in Lu Xuan's hand.

Lu Hyun was in so much pain that it was difficult for him to sign, but at this moment, Li Xuan did not torture him. He had to write his name on the paper in unbearable pain. His eyes were blurry and he could not even read the content carefully.

"As the Imperial Censor in the Palace, Roh Hyun knew the law but broke it. He made the Censorate lawless, the court lost its discipline, officials died unjustly, and the people sad. He had no faith, no sense of shame, no respect for elders, and was obsessed with money. Roh Hyun relied on his power to do evil, alienated the emperor and his ministers, was greedy for money and lustful, and bullied the people. He tortured and killed people, which is unforgivable. He used the torture of the Queen Mother's court to turn the world upside down and cause chaos in the court and the country. This is against heaven and law, and he tortured others according to the order of the saint."

"Use the maximum torture and execute Roh Hyun!"

Li Xuan took the charges presented by Yang Shenjin, read them, enumerated Lu Hyun's crimes in detail, and gave orders to the soldiers.

After saying this, he returned to the court.

"Li Xuan, you... you don't keep your word..."

When Lu Xuan heard that Li Xuan was going to execute him, he suddenly woke up. Regardless of the pain, he shouted hoarsely to Li Xuan.

He called Li Xuan's name directly and looked crazy.

"I never said I would let you go! Do you still want to live after committing such a crime?"

Li Xuan stared at Lu Hyun.

Although he had personal grudges, he never took small figures like Lu Hyun to heart.

This time, Li Xuan killed censors like Lu Xuan for the sake of the world and to warn the world.

"Li Xuan...you will die a miserable death..."

Lu Hyun's shouting and cursing soon died down.

Because blood was flowing from his eyes, he was in so much pain that he couldn't even scream.

His waist became longer.

I have reached the limit of human endurance...

Censors such as Chen Lun and Dugu Yuan were sweating profusely. They turned their heads away, not daring to look at the miserable plight of their former colleagues.

They are more worried that they will be the next to arrive.

Li Xuan killed as many people as they did. Only then did they realize that the number of people they had killed was only a fraction of what Li Xuan had killed.

Gradually, Lu Hyun's shouting could no longer be heard.

No more moans from Lu Hyun could be heard.

Finally, there was no more breathing...

"My Lord, Censor Lu has died..."

The soldier sniffed Lu Xuan's breath and reported to Li Xuan.

"Well! Drag the person away and leave the torture instruments behind..."

Li Xuan waved his hand.

The saying that a donkey can pull a person in half with a peg is just a scare tactic. This torture device is not strong enough to pull a person in half.

When it reaches a certain point, people will die in pain.

When Li Xuan said the four words "leave the torture instruments behind", the censors turned pale, their legs trembled, and they could not control themselves.

"Chen Lun, you framed Wannian Wei for no reason. Do you admit your guilt?"

Li Xuan slapped the table and called on the Imperial Censor Chen Lun.

"I know my crime... I ask the doctor to be lenient with me..."

Chen Lun fell to his knees on the ground and begged for mercy.

"I also admit my guilt... Please forgive me, sir..."

Other censors also begged Li Xuan for mercy, fearing severe punishment.

Especially for crimes like those committed by Zhang Zhiliang and Dugu Yuan, they were merely dismissed from their posts.

Others, even if they are severely punished, do not want to die in court.

They thought Li Xuan dared to use a donkey to pull out the pegs to deal with them.

In this way, all the Imperial Censors and Imperial Censors in the Palace signed and sealed.

Li Linfu's affairs were very secretive, and they were not clear about them. They were just a knife for Li Linfu.

For many things, Li Linfu didn't even have to say a word, they helped him settle them.

There was also a Censor named Li Yan. Although he pleaded guilty, he only pleaded guilty to his own crime.

It must be Li Linfu who instructed him to fabricate the charges. Li Xuan asked Yang Shenjin to interrogate Li Rong strictly.

When the Censorate was almost cleared, Li Xuan came to the prison again.

At this time, no one in the Censorate could stop Li Xuan!

Even if there are still some of Li Linfu's men, those minor officials are insignificant. As long as the Assistant Censors and the Assistant Censors in the Palace are cleared out, Li Linfu will lose his power in the Censorate.

The Censor who was sent out over there is nothing but a rootless duckweed.

"General Wang, the prince has already admitted to sending slaves to Taiyuan. Please take a look..."

Li Xuan handed the petition signed and sealed by Li Heng to Wang Zhongsi.

Puzzled, Wang Zhongsi reached out and took the petition.

He was a little skeptical when he saw that Li Heng sent someone to deliver Lihuachun wine to him.

But since the prince has said so, what can he do?

According to the law, just doing this is not a sin.

But the saint's suspicion remains.

It is impossible for a saint to just imagine pear blossoms and fine wine, and then the case can be closed.

As for the punishment of the crown prince and Wang Zhongsi, it all depended on Li Longji's decision.

"General Li, I sign!"

After some hesitation, Wang Zhongsi admitted something he had never done.

He was able to use counter-espionage tactics to sow discord on the grassland and destroy the Turkic Khanate, so he was naturally a smart person.

I know Li Xuan wants to make a big deal out of a small matter. If it continues to drag on, it will implicate their children.

"General Wang will be safe!"

After comforting Wang Zhongsi, Li Xuan left with his assistants.

Whether it was contacting Wang Zhongsi or the crown prince, Li Xuan always brought along assistants such as Yang Shenjin.

He did not meet with them alone, so as to avoid any doubts in Li Longji's mind.

"Doctor, I heard that the right prime minister fainted in Xingqing Palace and was rushed back to the palace. The saint also sent an imperial physician to treat him."

After Li Xuan was released from prison, Yang Shenjin told Li Xuan the news he had received.

"Only in this way can the right prime minister step down and win the sympathy of the saint. The saint favored Li Linfu, and he was wise. But Li Linfu successively lost the power of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Personnel, the Supreme Court, and the Censorate. His minions and followers were constantly brought to justice. What else does he have to lose! Just wait and see! It won't be long."

Li Xuan nodded slightly and said to Yang Shenjin.

The Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate were Li Linfu's weapons to intimidate local officials and eliminate dissidents.

Without the Three Departments, Li Linfu's power in the local areas and at the court would be rapidly reduced, and his orders would no longer be as effective as before.

As the Ministry of Personnel was responsible for selecting and assessing officials, without these, Li Linfu would not be able to cultivate a large number of followers.

Li Xuan also heard that Li Longji had deprived Li Linfu of the power to recommend envoys for interviews.

This made Li Linfu, the right prime minister, less powerful than any of the ministers of the Central Secretariat during the Kaiyuan period.

Even if Li Longji did not punish Li Linfu this time, his position as second only to the emperor would no longer exist.

Li Xuan also instructed Yang Shenjin to inform the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple of the results of the interrogation.

He went to Xingqing Palace...

The next day, morning.

This fellow Li Linfu could actually attend the court early in the morning, under the pretext of attending the court while ill.

Li Linfu knew that he could not escape at this critical moment.

Even if the saint wanted to punish him, he would accept it humbly in the court.

After a night of consideration, Li Linfu made preparations to make a comeback.

At this most difficult moment, Li Linfu remained calm.

At the beginning of the court meeting, Li Xuan reported the details of the Wang Zhongsi case to Li Longji.

The case that had been difficult to handle was solved by Li Xuan in a short period of time.

Yesterday, Li Longji received a memorial from Li Heng.

The only thing Li Heng can do on weekdays is to be filial.

From the memorial, we can see Li Heng's tearful confession, thinking that he should first hand over the pear blossom wine to the saint, and then have the saint send someone to give it to Wang Zhongsi, so as to avoid the suspicion of conspiracy between the border generals and the prince.

Li Heng stated that he has always taken "filial piety as a son" and "loyalty as a minister" as his motto. He works diligently and dares not do anything wrong.

Combined with Li Xuan's explanation, Li Longji believed that Li Heng had no intention of treason.

But he did not dare to use Wang Zhongsi again.

Because Li Heng and Wang Zhongsi had such a good relationship that they secretly sent wine to each other over a thousand miles, this made him very uneasy.

"The Crown Prince has lived in the palace for a long time, so he won't have any other intentions. However, sending wine to the border generals privately is against the law. I will exempt the Crown Prince from his salary for one year as a punishment."

"Order the Taiyuan Magistrate to uncover the murder of the Crown Prince's servant as soon as possible!"

"Wang Zhongsi secretly accepted the prince's fine wine, which is suspected of being a scheming person. He will not be reinstated, but will be appointed as the governor of Yongjia County, and his title will be restored."

Li Longji demoted Wang Zhongsi to a distant place.

Yongjia County (now Wenzhou) is located in the south of the Yangtze River. Although it is a prosperous place, it is no longer possible for Wang Zhongsi to come into contact with the army.

After the pirates were wiped out, there were only a small number of county soldiers there, and it was purely a tax-paying county.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

All the civil and military officials bowed to Li Longji in unison.

Some ministers were relieved that the crown prince was not deposed.

It is a pity that the famous general Wang Zhongsi was demoted to a land of plenty.

Since Wang Zhongsi took over the defense of the border counties, he has never been defeated in any battle, big or small.

His father, Wang Haibin, died for his country in the Battle of Wujie, and was summoned to the palace by Li Longji when he was nine years old. He was demoted in his prime.

He started with tragedy and seemed to end with tragedy!

If nothing unexpected happens, Wang Zhongsi will travel around the counties in the Jiangnan area in the future.

After Yongjia County there were Jinyun County, Yuyao County, Yuhang County, and so on.

Of course, Wang Zhongsi will also have a chance to turn things around.

That is, the prince succeeds to the throne!

After Li Heng succeeded to the throne, if he was not a fool, he would re-employ Wang Zhongsi, gain Wang Zhongsi's loyalty and stabilize the situation!
Civil and military officials alike could not help but wonder what Li Xuan, who had completely replaced Wang Zhongsi and was full of vigor and invincibility, would do.

Li Xuan was helpless in the face of Li Longji's announcement.

The moment he entered Chang'an, he knew that the best outcome for Wang Zhongsi, who had a brotherly relationship with the prince, would be to be demoted to the position of prefect.

The incident was more serious than the Stone Castle incident in history, but the outcome was better than in history.

Yongjia County is much more comfortable than Hanzhong County.

Yesterday afternoon, Li Xuan entered Xingqing Palace to brief Li Longji in advance. He hinted to Li Longji that Wang Zhongsi had made great contributions and had never been defeated. Killing Wang Zhongsi would make the soldiers at the border feel disheartened and dare not risk their lives.

It also reminds that the Shuofang Army and Hedong Army cavalry are now going to fight a big battle with Tubo, and Wang Zhongsi's death will definitely have an impact on the Heshuo Cavalry.

Li Longji had basically eased his intention to kill Wang Zhongsi because of the theory of shooting wormwood with wormwood arrows. After Li Xuan's suggestion, he planned to let Wang Zhongsi live in the south of the Yangtze River, far away from Chang'an and the border, to enjoy wealth and glory.

The one who felt the most bitter was Li Linfu.

He went to great lengths to kill two birds with one stone, deposing the crown prince and preventing Wang Zhongsi from becoming prime minister.

Now Wang Zhongsi has been demoted and has barely achieved his goal, but the prince is still fine.

He will not have peace for a single day until the crown prince is removed.

The most crucial thing is that Li Linfu himself was in trouble. He knew that Lu Xuan was dead and the censor had confessed everything.

What would the saint do with him?

He is likely to fail miserably. Li Xuan is simply his nemesis.

Next, Li Xuan reported the crimes of the Assistant Censor and the Assistant Censor of the Palace to Li Longji and presented the charges.

After reading it, Li Longji ordered that Zhang Zhiliang and Dugu Yuan be dismissed from their official positions for life, and all their properties be confiscated.

Zheng Heshang, Lu Hu and Chen Lun were convicted and imprisoned, and the Ministry of Justice determined the sentence.

Without completing the interrogation of Li Yan, Li Longji ordered Li Yan to be exiled to Jiannan on the charge of "false accusation".

It means he wants to close this case.

Li Xuan didn't say much, as he expected this result.

"The Right Prime Minister recommended a treacherous person, which brought shame to the country and disaster to the people. I feel that the Right Prime Minister has a heavy responsibility, which is why he is so negligent. I will remove the Right Prime Minister from the posts of Hanjia Granary Receivables, Guannei Salt Pond Envoy, Guangyuntan Transport Envoy, Minting Envoy, Xianshuang Envoy, Qujiang Palace Envoy, Changchun Palace Envoy, Guanzhong Helian Envoy, Heshi Helian Envoy... and fine him one year's salary as a punishment."

Li Longji dismissed Li Linfu from twenty diplomatic posts in one go.

Li Linfu's diplomatic posts had already been taken over by Li Xuan, and now there are less than ten diplomatic posts left.

In particular, the loss of such key posts as Coin Minter, Idle Stables Envoy, and Guangyuntan Transport Envoy brought his authority to a new low.

Even when Li Linfu was the Minister of Rites and concurrently the Prime Minister, his life was not so miserable.

"I thank your majesty for your forgiveness. I am convinced and will do my duty to serve the country and the saint in the future."

Li Linfu came out of the ranks and bowed to express his gratitude.

Fortunately, the position of chief prime minister was retained.

However, his power continued to decline, and he even considered giving up his autocratic rule.

Since the Huashan gold mine incident, he has lost miserably time and time again.

If it weren't for his ten years of achievements as prime minister, he would have retired to Lingnan like Wei Jian.

But there is no turning back now. If he doesn't kill the prince, his family will be destroyed in the future.

At the beginning, when Li Heng just became the crown prince, he showed his goodwill to him, hinting that Li Linfu was a pillar of the country and that he should learn from Li Linfu in the future.

But how could Li Linfu believe Li Heng’s lies? Could the revenge for his mother’s murder be forgotten so easily?
Now that his attempts to plot against Li Heng have failed many times, the conflict between the two cannot be resolved.

Even if he doesn't seize power, he will look for opportunities to cause trouble for the prince, but he won't take the initiative this time.

Li Linfu was now in a state of paranoia. He believed that the crown prince had made so many mistakes that he was only one opportunity away from being deposed.

"General Li is pragmatic and capable, with outstanding talents, and he is even better than his father in handling affairs. A few days ago, General Li was awarded the famous sword Zhangwu in Jinchang, and he once wore the sword for Zhuge Liang, a famous prime minister of the Han Dynasty. Zhuge Liang governed the country with a clear mind like a mirror and a calm mind like water. The people feared and obeyed him, and respected and loved him."

"General Li has the same character as Zhuge Liang, so I will give the Zhangwu Sword to General Li and order the attendant to deliver it to the Duke of Song's mansion after the court session."

In order to reward Li Xuan for solving the Wang Zhongsi case, Li Longji gave Li Xuan the sword of Zhuge Liang.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Now that I have the sword, I will devote myself to it like Zhuge Liang did, and I will not stop until my death!"

After hearing what Li Longji said, Li Xuan came out to express his gratitude.

Looking at Li Xuan's heroic figure bowing in the solemn hall.

Li Linfu was heartbroken and Pei Kuan was a little disappointed.

The civil and military officials were solemn.

This time, they could clearly see an irreversible power draining away from Li Linfu.

This power did not flow to the Left Prime Minister Pei Kuan, but to this young hero who had not yet reached adulthood.

I don’t know if it’s an illusion.

The civil and military officials actually felt a sense of power from Li Xuan.

The potential to become prime minister!

A perceptive court official could guess the candidate for prime minister before the emperor appointed him.

Whatever the reason, these candidates have a tendency to become prime ministers.

In terms of achievements, the talented Li Xuan already had this potential.

However, princes and ministers did not think Li Xuan was qualified because of his age.

But now I have this feeling, which means that Li Xuan's achievements, actions, character and talents have offset the disadvantage of his age.

This is all that can be done after being appointed as Prime Minister.

(End of this chapter)