Hou Sizhi hurried to the Ding Ding Gate. As soon as she saw the scene, she was secretly alarmed. In her anger, she went to look for the owner of the cow who had crashed into her carriage. That 'commoner' had already taken advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was focused on the carriages filled with beautiful embroidery to slip away.
Hou Sizhi had no choice but to put on an indifferent smile. She walked up to Tang Zong and cupped her hands in salute, saying: "Ah! Young Master Tang, to be honest, these brocades were gifts from my colleagues and friends when I took in the Ninth Madame last month. There are too many of them, exceeding the limit set by the Imperial Court.
I supervise the officials and enforce the law for the country. How can I knowingly break the law and store brocades? I was thinking of selling these brocades, but I don't know where my wife heard that Luoyang brocades are not as expensive as Yangzhou brocades. Women are greedy for small profits, so they wanted to ship the brocades to Yangzhou for sale.
Hai! Just like that, my wife found a silk merchant and promised him some benefits, asking him to ship the brocades to Yangzhou for sale. Who would have thought that I would cause such a big trouble for your Young Master Tang. I am ashamed, ashamed. Young Master Tang, please look at this official's thin face and be magnanimous, haha … "
When Tang Zong heard this, his cheeks twitched a few times.
These brocades were to be shipped to Yangzhou for sale? You motherf * cker, you want to ship them to Hangzhou for sale? You don't want to go by water but by land, and you want to use several ox-carriages to ship them there? Can you afford the wages of these people? Moreover, you have an enchanting beauty in one carriage, each of them sweating profusely. Could it be that you, Imperial Censor Hou, are also a human trafficker?
Fine, even if these two reasons barely make sense, but you said that Yangzhou brocades are more expensive than Luoyang brocades. Is there any justice in this? Could it be that the brocades are produced at a higher price than other places? Even a ghost wouldn't be fooled by these words!
"Young Master Tang …"
When Hou Sizhi saw Tang Zong's hesitation, his smile gradually froze into a touch of cold frost. He said coldly: "Brother Tang, are you not willing to give me face?"
At this point, Hou Sizhi's ruffian aura returned. It was as if he had returned to Chang 'an City and had become an arrogant and aggressive ruffian. Seeing his cold eyes, Tang Zong couldn't help but shiver. He hesitated and said: "This … Since it is for consignment, who is the owner? Does he have 'city registration'?"
When Hou Sizhi heard this, the frost on his face immediately turned into a warm spring breeze. He smiled and said: "Young Master Tang, don't worry. I will not make things difficult for my friends. As for the city registration and the owner, I will personally send them to you. How about it?"
Hou Sizhi was famous for being ruthless and had a strong aura. Standing in front of him, Tang Zong immediately lowered his head. Hearing that Hou Sizhi would not make things difficult for him and that all the formalities would be completed later, Tang Zong gritted his teeth and was about to go with the flow and let the Hou family's carriages leave the city when he heard the sound of galloping horses approaching. Then, with a long neigh, a burly man jumped down from the horse and landed firmly on the ground. He shouted angrily: "Who is smuggling large quantities of brocade out of the city? Xu Zifeng, come forward and answer! "
The ten-man who had hidden the chickens just now hurried forward and saluted: "Your humble servant Xu Zifeng pays his respects to the commandant of the gate. These are the carriages that were used to smuggle the brocade. Now that we have caught the goods, please punish them accordingly! "
When Tang Zong saw that an officer of the Jin Wu Guards had arrived, he immediately heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly said to Hou Sizhi: "Censor Hou, it is not that this Tang is unwilling to bend the rules, but … as you can see, this commandant of the Jin Wu Guards has already seen everything. If he is unwilling, then this Tang …"
Hou Sizhi raised an eyebrow and a murderous aura surged out from between his brows. He sneered disdainfully: "He is merely a commandant of the gate, what need is there for Young Master Tang to worry about? As long as one is in Luoyang, who is not under the supervision of the Imperial Censorate? This official will go and meet him! "
Hou Sizhi flung his sleeves and boldly walked up to the burly officer. He cupped his hands and arrogantly said: "This official is the Left Censor Hou Sizhi. May I ask the name of this commandant of the gate?"
"Oh? Someone from the Imperial Censorate? "
The officer raised his thick eyebrows and revealed a slight smile on his face. He cupped his hands and said: "This one is the commandant of the Jin Wu Guards, Chu Kuangge. Greetings to Censor Hou."
Hou Sizhi did not put Chu Kuangge in his eyes at all. In terms of power, the two were worlds apart. If he sold his friendship today, it would be of great benefit to this commandant. He did not believe that this person would give up on such a rare opportunity.
Hou Sizhi repeated what he had said to Tang Zong and reservedly said: "Young Master Tang has already agreed. How about Commandant Chu also make things convenient for this official? After today's matter, this official will hold a feast at the Drunken Golden Hairpin to thank the two of you. From now on, we will all be friends! "
Chu Kuangge smiled: "Censor Hou, this Chu is willing to give face!"
A trace of a smile appeared on Hou Sizhi's face, but Chu Kuangge's tone changed and he said: "However, I do not dare to violate the laws of the country, nor do I dare to violate the laws of the military! As the commandant of Luoyang, I do not dare to violate the laws of the nine factions. Censor Hou, these carriages of brocades are suspected of being smuggled. I do not dare to say whether or not they are innocent. It is better to hand them over to the Ministry of Justice to investigate. This way, Imperial Censor Hou's clean reputation and my duty will be justified. "
Hou Sizhi's eyes slightly narrowed and a needle-like light appeared in his eyes. He said: "Hand them over to the Ministry of Justice? Which yamen would dare to interrogate me? "
Hou Sizhi was not unaware of the seriousness of this matter. Otherwise, he would not have been so careful.
If the Imperial Censorate was still at the peak of their arrogance, not to mention storing a few carriages of brocades, he would not be afraid even if they were to be domineering. But now, he could not. There were people in the court waiting to catch him by his weak points.
However, many years of arrogance and the dignity of a high-ranking official prevented him from showing an expression of begging for mercy in front of Chu Kuangge. Even if he was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, he still hid it very deeply and did not let Chu Kuangge see the weakness in his heart.
He stared coldly at Chu Kuangge, hoping that Chu Kuangge would yield like Tang Zong, but Chu Kuangge's gaze went past him and looked behind his shoulder.
Hou Sizhi was furious. He could not stand this kind of contempt, but he immediately realized that Chu Kuangge did not want to show disdain for him. Instead, he was really looking at something.
Hou Sizhi suddenly turned his head and his expression immediately changed.
Yang Fan was riding on a red horse next to an ox carriage piled with brocades. There was another horse beside him, and the person sitting on the horse was the one who had captured Wang Hongyi in the Council.
Hou Sizhi's eyes narrowed to the size of a needle. At this time, he finally could not conceal his fear. Yang Fan acted as if he was coincidentally passing by the city, but how could Hou Sizhi not understand that he had already fallen into Yang Fan's trap? It was impossible for this matter to be resolved peacefully.
Yang Fan 'very coincidentally' passed by the Ding Ding Gate and 'very coincidentally' saw several ox carriages piled with brocades. He also 'very coincidentally' saw Tang Zong and went up to chat with him.
The current Yang Fan's authority was far above Hou Sizhi's. He was not as feared as Zhou Xing or Lai Junchen, but everyone knew that within the three departments of law, the Ministry of Justice was the most powerful. Within the Ministry of Justice, it was naturally this Minister of Justice who suppressed all other heroes. If Yang Fan wanted to, he could immediately be as awe-inspiring as Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen.
Therefore, Tang Zong did not dare to hide anything. He embarrassedly explained what had happened. Yang Fan's expression immediately became serious and he lectured, "Then why are the carriages still parked here? We are enforcing the law for the country. How can we allow officials to protect each other and corrupt the laws of the court? A few days ago, the court had just issued an order to reiterate the crime of keeping brocades. Today, there are people who are knowingly breaking the law. Young Master Tang, if you show mercy, be careful that the law's net is wide and will eventually fall on your head! "
Tang Zong's head was full of sweat and he could only obey. The willow catkins flew over and hung on his eyebrows, slightly tickling, but he did not dare to brush them away. At this time, Chu Kuangge excitedly came up and shouted, "Erlang, are you going out of the city?"
Yang Fan turned his head and saw Chu Kuangge. He could not help but be startled. He really did not know that Chu Kuangge was on duty today. It was obvious how dangerous the battle with the Censorate was. Today, he indeed wanted to drag someone down with him, but that person was not his good brother. Otherwise, he would not have needed to arrange for the bailiffs to "expose" Hou Sizhi's secret. He only needed to instruct Chu Kuangge to stand guard here, and the ox-carriages would not be able to escape.
"Brother Chu, are you on duty today?" Yang Fan hurriedly dismounted and greeted Chu Kuangge. His eyes, however, fell on Hou Sizhi's face.
Hou Sizhi clenched her teeth and said, "Yang Fan, how are you!"
Yang Fan smiled and said unconcernedly, "Censorate Hou, I have always been very good, but it seems that my foot is not so good!"
…
In the Political Affairs Hall, Li Zhaode sat high up, his face full of anger.
The three ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Works sat beside him. They looked like the Three Pure Daoists on the altar, their expressions unfathomable.
In front of the hall stood Yang Fan, Tang Zong, Chu Kuangge, and Hou Sizhi, whose face was ashen.
Today, Li Zhaode had summoned the ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Works to discuss the same thing: money!
He hoped that the Ministry of Revenue could squeeze out a little more money, and the Ministry of War and Ministry of Works could save a little more, at least until the war in the Western Regions was over. Now that spring had just begun, it was the time when the young and the yellow were in short supply. As long as they could last until the autumn harvest, they would be able to ease the financial strain.
However, every yamen had their own difficulties. The three yamens all complained about their difficulties, trying to make it more beneficial for themselves. Li Zhaode mediated in the middle, and just as he was busy, Yang Fan came with the Jin Wu Guards and Luoyang Prefecture as witnesses. He also detained Hou Sizhi from the Censorate and asked Chancellor Li to deal with her.
Li Zhaode's expression was very ugly. It was not that he could not deal with Hou Sizhi, but once he did so, his power would be pushed to the forefront, and he would directly confront the Censorate.
According to his original plan, he wanted Yang Fan to be a pawn, and he would push it from behind the scenes. If he succeeded, he would unify the court, and no one would be able to compete with him. But what if he failed?
Yang Fan was not stupid, and neither was Princess Taiping. In order to eradicate the Censorate, Li Zhaode could even sacrifice the three prime ministers of the Political Affairs Hall. If he had to betray Princess Taiping and Yang Fan, he would not even blink.
How could you expect a politician to be loyal and sentimental to you? In his eyes, there were only advantages and disadvantages.
If Yang Fan reported this matter step by step, there was no doubt that in the end, this task would still fall on him, and he would directly bear the crazy revenge of the Censorate.
Li Zhaode wanted to use Yang Fan as a spear, but this spear had its own independent will. Now that Yang Fan had turned against him, he had no other choice but to walk from behind the scenes to fight side by side with Yang Fan!
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