Taiji Palace, Imperial Palace.
The officials arrived and divided into two sides according to civil and military officials.
Li Er put down a memorial and looked at a young official in the civil official line. He asked, "Minister Yuan, do you want to impeach the son of Li Jingmo, a wealthy merchant in Chang 'an?"
The young official hurriedly stepped out and bowed.
"Your Majesty, I do want to impeach Li Zexuan, the son of Li Jingmo. According to the East Market Bureau, this person has been buying chicken seedlings in Chang 'an for the past two days. Not only has the price of chicken seedlings skyrocketed, but the price of eggs has also more than doubled. This person has disrupted the market and driven up prices. I implore Your Majesty to punish him severely. "
This person was the Taifu Temple's Vice Minister Yuan Wendao. The Taifu Temple was one of the nine temples of the Tang Dynasty's central government. The Chief Minister of the Taifu Temple was a secondary third rank official. The Vice Minister of the Taifu Temple was a secondary fourth rank official.
Taifu Temple was in charge of the country's finances and government decrees. It was in charge of the officials in the four cities of Jingdu, Pingzhun, Zuozang, and Changping. In addition to managing the country's finances and treasury, it directly led the four cities of Jingdu and Pingzhun in the market management. It provided macro guidance and used measurement and balance to implement specific regulation.
The East Market Bureau was only a sixth-rank official. Of course, he was not qualified to attend court. He could only report the abnormalities in the East Market to Yuan Wendao.
Li Er curiously asked, "This Li Zexuan is just a commoner. Why didn't Taifu Temple directly punish him?"
"Your Majesty, according to my investigation, this Li Zexuan has a close relationship with the eldest son of Duke Lu and the Crown Prince. I don't dare to make a decision without Your Majesty's permission."
Yuan Wendao originally wanted to arrest Li Zexuan directly, but then the East Market Bureau reported to him that Li Zexuan had a close relationship with Cheng Chumo and Li Chengqian. Yuan Wendao was not sure about their relationship, so he directly reported it to Li Er.
When Li Er heard this, he looked meaningfully at Li Chengqian, who was standing below. At the same time, he was somewhat dissatisfied with Yuan Wendao. This person held a high position, yet he was so timid. When interrogating someone, he actually treated them differently based on their status. He was really unqualified.
Li Chengqian hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to look at Li Er.
Yan Lide, who was in front of the civil officials, was shocked when he heard that someone was impeaching Li Zexuan. Just as he was about to defend Li Zexuan, he heard an angry shout.
"Bullsh * t, you're full of nonsense. Is it illegal for Li Zexuan to spend his own money to buy things?"
Cheng Yaojin was so angry that he was the first to jump out and scold Yuan Wendao.
Yesterday, when Cheng Chumo returned home, he repeated Li Zexuan's advice to Cheng Yaojin about raising chickens. Hearing this, Cheng Yaojin thought carefully. After pondering for a while, he waved his hand and slapped the table.
"Since that's the case, our family will also raise chickens. Tomorrow, we'll have the housekeeper buy thirty thousand chickens and distribute them to the farmers. Let them raise one or two hundred chickens per household. The conditions for raising chickens will be the same as Li Zexuan's family."
Cheng Chumo was flabbergasted. In his mind, his father would at most agree to raise seven or eight thousand, but he never thought that his father would be so bold as to ask for thirty thousand. Cheng Chumo muttered, "That's right. That's right.
"Father, aren't you afraid that when the time comes, you won't be able to sell the chickens and lose everything?"
Cheng Yaojin patted Cheng Chumo's head and laughed:
"Chou Niu, you're still too inexperienced. You haven't seen through it yet. Do you think that Li Zexuan is someone who is willing to suffer losses? Since he dares to raise eighty thousand chickens, why should we be afraid of raising thirty thousand chickens?
Haha, I dare to conclude that there must be a big secret that no one knows. It's just that Li Zexuan doesn't want to talk about it. Our family will just follow behind that kid and make a small fortune. "
Cheng Yaojin's appearance was rough, but in fact, his heart was as meticulous as hair. He understood the twists and turns in this matter with a little thought. At this time, he proudly pinched his beard, walked two steps, and continued:
"Besides, you forgot who that kid's master is. He is an immortal figure of the Taoist lineage. Li Zexuan's unreasonable actions this time may be a heavenly secret revealed to him by Taoist Priest Spirit Void when he was alive. Alas, if it weren't for the fact that our family isn't as rich as that kid, I also want to buy eighty thousand chickens. Haha, this kid is a little interesting! "
After listening to Cheng Yaojin's analysis, Cheng Chumo couldn't help but admire his father. The older the ginger, the spicier it is.
.....
In the imperial court.
Yuan Wendao's face was tragically sprayed by Cheng Yaojin's spittle, and his ears were buzzing because of Cheng Yaojin's loud roar.
He wiped his face and angrily said: "High Duke Lu, how can you deliberately cover up for Li Zexuan just because he has a good relationship with your son? Li Zexuan drove up prices and affected the people's livelihood. The evidence is conclusive. High Duke Lu, do you want to bend the law for personal gain? "
Cheng Yaojin was extremely angry. According to Yuan Wendao's words, his family also bought a large number of chickens today. Wasn't that also breaking the law? Cheng Yaojin was too lazy to argue with him. He directly hit Yuan Wendao's nose with his uppercut.
"I'm your mother. You're a villain who is twisting words and forcing logic. I'm not afraid to tell you that my Cheng family also went to the East Market to buy tens of thousands of chickens today. Are you also going to punish me for my crime?"
Yuan Wendao was just a weak scholar. How could he withstand Cheng Yaojin's big fist? He was directly hit by this punch and flew far away. His nose was bleeding and he almost fainted. At this time, he knelt down to Li Er and cried:
"Your Majesty, High Duke Lu maliciously hurt people in the imperial court. He also intended to protect the suspect. Your Majesty, please punish him."
Cheng Yaojin was furious and wanted to come up and beat him again. Qin Qiong, who was standing next to him, quickly came over and stopped him:
"Zhijie, you're not allowed to be presumptuous in the imperial court."
Qin Shubao's old injury in the past two years was acting up. His legs and feet were not very good. Cheng Yaojin did not dare to struggle. Only then did he calm down and looked at Li Er pitifully:
"Your Majesty, I was rude in front of you just now. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Li Er was angered by this reckless guy:
"Cheng Zhijie, why didn't you think of asking me to forgive you when you hit people before? In the imperial court, you actually hit a minister. It's really outrageous. "
Qin Shubao quickly bowed and begged for mercy:
"Zhijie was just confused for a moment. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Niu Jinda, Yuchi Gong, and the other generals in the army also pleaded for mercy for Cheng Yaojin.
Although Li Er had a good relationship with Cheng Yaojin, Qin Shubao, and the other old generals in private, he could not disappoint the other ministers. He shook his head and said:
"Cheng Zhijie, your salary will be deducted for three months. We will see what happens next!"
Well, he had taken out so much money to buy chicken seedlings. Now his salary was gone. It seemed that he would have to tighten his belt in the future. But Cheng Yaojin also knew that this punishment was very light.
Cheng Yaojin bowed and thanked him: "Your Majesty."
Li Er looked at Yuan Wendao and asked: "Shaoqing Yuan, you said that Li Zexuan was driving up prices. Did he use this to make profits?"
Yuan Wendao covered his nose and replied in a muffled voice: "Your Majesty, I didn't notice this."
Li Er muttered: "Since he didn't use this opportunity to make profits, then he didn't disturb the market. But he needs to explain why he bought such a large number of chicken seedlings. Guards!"
A big Han General immediately walked in from outside the hall and bowed: "This general is here!"
Li Er ordered: "Go to Yongle Lane and bring Li Zexuan here!"
"Yes!"
Although the big Han General did not know Li Zexuan, he still bowed and hurried out to find Li Zexuan.
.....
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