In the Martial Achievement Hall, Lai Junchen stood respectfully. He first presented the confessions of the prime ministers. After Wu Zetian finished reading them, she was silent for a long time. In a low voice, she asked, "The prime ministers … have all confessed?"
Lai Junchen said in a clear voice, "Yes, the facts are there and the evidence is conclusive. How can they argue? The Prime Ministers are all intelligent people. Once they were arrested, they knew that the situation was hopeless. Even if they delayed it for a few more days, it would not help them escape punishment. Thus, they all confessed to their crimes! "
Wu Zetian pointed at the confessions and asked doubtfully, "Why is there only the sentence 'the confession is the truth'? There is no list of accomplices or details of the rebellion? "
Lai Junchen's heart tightened. He hurriedly pretended to be calm and said, "Your Majesty, the Prime Ministers have been blessed by Your Majesty, but they have betrayed Your Majesty. Now that the matter has been exposed, they are ashamed. Thus, I only need to interrogate them and they will admit to their crimes. At this point, the Prime Ministers only wish for a quick death. What else can they say? After all, they are the Prime Ministers of the country. I can't force them too much. However … "
Lai Junchen stole a glance at Wu Zetian. Seeing that she was listening attentively, he said, "Criminals are all like this. At the beginning, most of them still have the thought of taking responsibility and protecting others. Moreover, as Prime Ministers, they are second only to the Emperor and above tens of thousands of people. How could they be willing to confess everything so easily? However, as long as they admit to their crimes, the guard in their hearts will be lifted. Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will first lock them up for a few days to temper their minds. When the time comes, I will interrogate them again. I will definitely make them confess to all their crimes. "
Wu Zetian nodded and said with a gloomy expression, "We must find out who their accomplices are. I don't want to keep a group of ingrates by my side. Who knows when they will bite me!"
Lai Junchen licked his lips and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, please rest assured. Your Majesty, please take a look. Si Li Official Pei Xuanli and Feng Ge Ren Lu Xian are not as difficult to deal with as these Prime Ministers. They have already confessed some of their accomplices! "As he spoke, Lai Junchen handed over another confession.
"Hmm …"
Wu Zetian stared fixedly at the names that Lai Junchen had deliberately circled on the confessions. Her lips gradually revealed a trace of a sneer, "Minister of Winter Official Li Youdao, Minister of Autumn Official Yuan Zhihong, Minister of War Official Cui Shenji … Haha, these are all people that I have put in important positions after I ascended to the throne!"
Lai Junchen hurriedly said, "Your Majesty's candlelight illuminates tens of thousands of li, illuminating the world. In front of Your Majesty's pair of wise eyes, no crafty person can hide. It's just that these people are glib with their words and are the best at covering up. Your Majesty is busy with a myriad of affairs every day, so how could you have the time to investigate them one by one? That's why they were able to take advantage of the loophole. Now, aren't they still seen through by Your Majesty? "
Wu Zetian smiled faintly and said, "You, don't flatter me. I only have a pair of eyes, how can I see through the hearts of the people of this world? Now, you are the eyes and ears that I have placed beside the hundreds of officials. You have done a good job! "
Lai Junchen was in fear and trepidation. He hurriedly kowtowed and thanked her, saying, "I have received Your Majesty's great kindness. I have become the Minister of the Imperial Censor with a commoner's body. I have received Your Majesty's trust and entrusted with the heavy responsibility of supervising the hundreds of officials. I am willing to do my best for Your Majesty, until my death!"
Wu Zetian lightly said, "Get up. There's no need to kneel down for no reason! Capture all these people and interrogate them carefully one by one. However, how many demons and monsters are there? I want to sweep them clean and clean my imperial court! "
"Yes!"
Wu Zetian looked at the signature at the bottom of the confessions and said, "Is the person in charge of interrogating this Pei Xuanli Imperial Censor Lai Zixun?"
Lai Zixun was Lai Junchen's cousin. Both families lived on Vermilion Bird Avenue in Chang 'an City and grew up together. They were a pair of bad guys who got along very well. However, because Chang 'an City was divided by Vermilion Bird Avenue, the east was under the jurisdiction of Wannian County, and the west was under the jurisdiction of Chang' an City, the two families lived on the east and west sides of Vermilion Bird Avenue respectively. Therefore, in terms of birthplace, they belonged to two different counties.
After Lai Junchen made his fortune, he needed a large number of trusted aides. Naturally, he also brought this cousin who grew up with him to be his confidant. Hearing Wu Zetian's words, Lai Junchen hurriedly said, "Yes, Pei Xuanli originally refused to tell the truth. It was Lai Zixun who guided him patiently and used the Great Way of ruler and minister to influence him. Only then did he suddenly repent and confess to his crimes."
Wu Zetian nodded and said, "Yes, Lai Zixun is a capable official. He is now an Imperial Censor? Promote him to a Supervisory Censor! "
Lai Junchen hurriedly said, "I thank Your Majesty on behalf of Lai Zixun! Your Majesty, here is the confession of Lu Xian from the Phoenix Pavilion! "
Wu Zetian took over Lu Xian's confession. After a few glances, her face darkened. Just now, Pei Xuanli's confession only confessed to officials in the capital. But in Lu Xian's confession, the number of people he confessed to was much more complicated.
Lu Xian had been in mourning for his father for twenty-seven months. Now, Ding You had just returned to the capital. He had only been in the capital for less than ten days, but he was already involved in such a matter. The changes in the capital in the past two years were too great. Officials rose and fell, and Lu Xian really didn't understand such frequent changes.
If he were to confess to officials in the imperial court, he was too familiar with the situation in the capital. It would be very difficult for him to give a convincing confession. Hence, under the torture, other than being induced by the cruel officials to confess to some of the enemies that the cruel officials wanted to get rid of, in order to avoid suffering, Lu Xian could only randomly confess to some of his close friends and colleagues in the officialdom.
He confessed to Imperial Censor Ren Zhi, who had been promoted to the Imperial Examinations in the same year, and Steward Fan Yunxian, whom he had met in the Phoenix Pavilion, as his accomplices. He was also induced by Wei Suizhong to confess the Secretary Li Xun and the Imperial Military Officer Zhu Bin. The other two people were the Provincial Governor of Lu Province, Li Sizhen, who had a close personal relationship with him, and the Chief Administrator of Yi Province, Ren Linghui.
Among these people, the ones that Wu Zetian cared about the most were Zhu Bin and Fan Yunxian.
Although the Senior Supervisor of Imperial Censor was not the main general in charge of security in the palace, he still had hundreds of men in his hands. He was responsible for the ceremonial duty of the ordinary posts and the inspection of the ceremonial guards. If he was an accomplice of the rebels and was in the palace, he would be a force that could not be ignored. Fortunately, they had discovered their conspiracy in advance. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
There was also the inner palace steward, Fan Yunxian. He used to serve the former Emperor. Although Wei Tuan'er was now in charge of everything in the inner palace and Fan Yunxian was no longer in charge, he still had a certain amount of influence in the palace. If the rebel army entered the palace and he acted as a spy, opened the palace gates and led the rebel army in, he was afraid that he would be turned upside down in his sleep.
As for Li Xun, the Provincial Governor of Lu Province, and Ren Linghui, the Chief Supervisor of Yi Province, they were clearly their accomplices in the various prefectures outside the capital. The secret letter said that if the forced abdication was successful, the local officials would coordinate with each other to build momentum for the Crown Prince's ascension to the throne. If it failed, the Prime Ministers and the conspiring generals would protect the Crown Prince to escape from the capital and establish a new court.
It seemed that the letter was true! If the three Prime Ministers were to protect the Crown Prince and escape to establish a new court, the impact of the turmoil would be ten times greater than Xu Jingye's rebellion. After all, they had Li Tang's Crown Prince in their hands. If she had not discovered it in advance and they had started a mutiny …
The more Wu Zetian thought about it, the more scared she became. After looking for a while, she said in a deep voice, "Capture all these people and interrogate them strictly!"
"Yes!"
Wu Zetian looked at the name of the interrogator and said, "Wei Suizhong is the deacon of the Taiyuan? Yes! Wei Suizhong has done a meritorious service in eliminating the traitors. He will be promoted to the Imperial Censor! "
Lai Junchen was overjoyed. He bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
…
In the past few days, people in the court were constantly being arrested and the number of accomplices of the rebels was increasing.
For the sake of caution, Wu Zetian would change her lodging place every night. Except for the two trusted armed forces, the Hundred Horsemen and the Internal Guards, no one knew where the Emperor would stay that night.
The armed forces responsible for guarding the palace were also adjusted every day. Except for the armed forces under the personal command of Wu Youyi and Wu Youji, who controlled several key places in the palace such as the Xuanwu Gate and the Duanmen Gate, the other armed forces would be changed every day.
The generals of the Sixteen Guards of the Southern Yamen had completed the mutual transfer. The general of the Longwu Guard was transferred to the Jinwu Guard, the general of the Jinwu Guard was transferred to the Hou Guard, the general of the Hou Guard was transferred to the Leading Guard, and the general of the Leading Guard was transferred to the Valiant Guard. Through this unconventional emergency rotation, Wu Zetian separated the generals from their subordinates so that the soldiers did not know the generals and the generals did not know the soldiers to cope with the current dangerous situation.
The Left Featherwood Guard led by Yang Fan belonged to the Six Guards of the Northern Yamen. This was the most trusted armed force of Wu Zetian and had been responsible for guarding the palace for the past few days. Even so, Wu Youyi would adjust the area he was responsible for three times a day in case there were rebels among the armed forces guarding the palace. If they stayed in one place for too long, they would collude with foreign enemies. With such frequent adjustments, it was difficult for people inside and outside the palace to collude with each other.
It was not until three days later, when Li Duozuo, the general of the Right Featherwood Guard, was ordered by Wu Youyi to lead the Right Featherwood Guard into the palace to exchange with the Left Featherwood Guard, that Yang Fan was able to leave the palace.
Yang Fan could not stay at home for a long time. At such a critical moment, he had to stay in the army and be on standby. However, because his home was in Luoyang and he had a special relationship with Ye Huli, he asked for a leave. He just went home to visit and give a few instructions so that his family would not be worried. He had to report back to the barracks before evening.
After handing over the defense, Yang Fan was about to leave the palace through Zuoye Gate when he suddenly saw a group of officers and soldiers and servants of the Censorate coming over with two people in custody.
One of them was nearly sixty years old, with gray hair, a thin face full of wrinkles, and no beard on his chin. It could be seen that he was a eunuch of high rank. Yang Fan had met him several times but had never talked to him, so he did not know his name. However, Yang Fan recognized the other person. With just a glance, Yang Fan was shocked. This person was Commandant Zhu Bin.
"I'm not guilty! I'm not guilty! You bastards, you even dare to frame me, Eunuch Fan! Do you know who Hubby is? Hubby is someone who served Emperor Gaozong! Back then, when Emperor Gaozong was still a young prince, Hubby had accompanied the emperor, studied, and served the prince. Later, when the prince became the crown prince, Hubby became the chief steward of the crown prince's palace. You dare to capture Hubby? Hubby served the late emperor and worked hard and made great contributions! When the current Empress became a monk at Ganye Temple, it was Hubby who went to Ganye Temple to bring her back to the palace by the late emperor's decree. Hubby has worked hard for so many years, Hubby … "
Slap slap slap!
One of the Censorate's attendants jumped up and gave him a few big slaps on the face, hitting this' husband 'until his cheeks were red and swollen like a monkey. A few of his remaining teeth also fell out, and his mouth was full of blood foam. Immediately, he could not get up from his' husband 'anymore.
Zhu Bin was tied up and shackled. His expression was extremely dispirited. Seeing Husband Fan being beaten, his face turned pale. Seeing this, Yang Fan was also secretly shocked. "Another person from the palace has been captured. Even a eunuch and Zhu Bin are involved. Looking at this situation, could it be that there really is a rebellion?"
Zhu Bin turned and saw Yang Fan standing on the side of the imperial road. He could not help but reveal a smile that was uglier than crying.
"Let's go! What are you waiting for? "
Zhu Bin's footsteps had only slowed for a moment when a servant of the Imperial Censor used his Wind Fire Rod to stab him in the back. Zhu Bin was in pain and did not dare to stay. He was quickly escorted away by a group of servants and soldiers.
Yang Fan stared blankly at their backs and thought to himself, "This is big trouble! It was still unknown if Grandpa Di and the others really had a plan to start a rebellion. However, the situation this time was very different from the time when the Grand Chancellors and Wu Chengsi were fighting. Now that the Emperor was panicking, even Princess Taiping would not easily intervene.
It would be a great thing for Wu Sansi if he could get rid of all these officials who were unwilling to flatter the Wu Clan. It would be good enough if he did not add fuel to the fire. He would definitely not intervene to stop it. Moreover, if Grandpa Di and the others did not have the intention to rebel, this matter might have been orchestrated by him. This person could not be used either.
Shen Mu was not in Luoyang now. Even if he was here, he might not have the ability to intervene in such an important matter. His Hidden Sect had always been operating in the Western Region. His hands might not be able to stretch so far. Moreover, he was a representative sent by the aristocratic families after all. His ultimate goal was for the interests of these aristocratic families.
Their usual method was to silently guide the direction of the imperial court. As long as the development of the imperial court was in line with their interests, these aristocratic families who hid their forces in the Nine Earths would be fine. It was impossible for them to go into battle and directly participate in the imperial court's struggle.
Moreover, Shen Mu and Grandpa Di had only formed a temporary alliance because of common interests. Such an unforeseen event in the imperial court would not affect his strength. Even if he was here and had the ability to intervene, the current situation was unclear. He might not be willing to get involved in this mess. What should I do?
Seriously speaking, I am considered to be on Shen Mu's side. So many influential figures in the imperial court have been harmed. Those who can intervene are all watching from the sidelines. What can I, Yang Fan, do as a mere Lang General? Could it be that … I should really listen to Wan 'er and stay out of this matter to protect myself? "
Yang Fan pondered for a long time but could not think of a solution. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
What he didn't know was that while he was sitting at home, trouble came from the sky. Even if he didn't want to participate in this matter, he would soon be involved in it.
Wu Chengsi, Wu Sansi, Princess Taiping, and the other influential forces would never have thought that just because Lai Junchen coveted Yang Fan's wife, he had conveniently dragged Yang Fan into this political whirlpool that had engulfed countless influential figures. This added the biggest variable to this storm. Not only would this political storm, which was already destined to end, be changed because of this, but there would also be another unpredictable variable in the Battle of Zhulu in the next few years.
Although the weight of a steelyard was small, it weighed a thousand catties!
…
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