Huang Jingrong's face darkened and he said, "Provincial Governor Zhang, this imperial envoy has arrived at the Feng prefecture. As the provincial governor of this prefecture, you did not come to welcome me. This is already lacking in etiquette. Today, the imperial envoy is investigating the case of the rebels, yet you are interfering. What is your intention? "
Zhang Jianzhi sneered, "The imperial envoy has already decided to execute all the rebels. Let me ask, where are the testimonies? Where is the evidence of their rebellion? Who is the mastermind, who is the accomplice, who is the accomplice, where are the armors, weapons, supplies, money, and rations? Could it be that the rebels that the imperial envoy is talking about are these scantily clad, emaciated women and children? "
Hundreds of old people, children, and women huddled together, shivering under the gleaming swords and spears. This is the rebel party that is plotting to rebel? Just a group of people would be able to kill them all. Would such a group of people want to rebel? Under Zhang Jianzhi's righteous and stern questioning, the weapons in the hands of the soldiers gradually lowered.
Huang Jingrong was enraged and shouted, "This official is following the imperial court's orders to inspect the rebels. How I decide the case is my business. It is not up to you, Zhang Jianzhi, to interfere!"
Zhang Jianzhi said tit for tat, "The imperial court has appointed me as the provincial governor of Feng prefecture. As a parent, since this matter involves the people of this prefecture, this provincial governor has the right to interfere!"
Huang Jingrong disdainfully took out the imperial edict from his bosom and held it high in his hand. He shouted sternly, "This imperial envoy has the imperial edict in hand. Why are you all still not making a move? Are you also planning to rebel? Kill them all! Kill them all! "
"Who dares!"
Zhang Jianzhi drew his sword and roared, "Whoever dares to make a move will have to step over this old man's dead body!"
The officials under Zhang Jianzhi were old people who had been by his side since he was the district magistrate of Qingyuan County. They were loyal and devoted to him. Even though there was an army in front of them, they showed no fear. They all drew their swords and stood in front of him to protect him.
Luo Shudao saw that both sides were at daggers drawn and quickly persuaded, "Imperial Censor Huang, Provincial Governor Zhang, please calm down. If there is anything, we can talk it out."
Huang Jingrong angrily glared at him and said, "Governor Luo, this imperial envoy is investigating a case by imperial decree. As this prefecture's governor, you have the responsibility to assist me. Quickly chase this old man away and execute him immediately!"
Zhang Jianzhi also glared angrily at Luo Shudao and berated, "Governor Luo, you eat the blood of the people and receive support from one side. Yet, you can't ensure the safety of one side and protect the people of one side. Instead, you're helping the evildoer do evil. Aren't you ashamed?"
Luo Shudao was caught in a dilemma. Of course, he didn't like Huang Jingrong pointing fingers here, but he was even more afraid of the imperial envoy pulling him in. Wasn't this Zhang Jianzhi sent by the imperial court to seize power while the former Provincial Governor of Feng Province had no sons and ignored the pleas of his nephews? If he made a mistake and gave the imperial court an excuse, it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn't end up in the same situation. After all, Huang Jingrong had the imperial court standing behind her.
Thinking up to this point, Luo Shudao steeled his heart and shouted in a deep voice, "Imperial Messenger Huang is the Imperial Envoy, I will naturally carry out his orders! Men, act according to the Imperial Envoy's orders! "
Once the soldiers saw the Governor give the order, they immediately pressed forward with their spears in hand. Immediately, miserable cries rang out from the crowd. Zhang Jianzhi trembled all over and desperately brandished his longsword to stop them. The soldiers didn't fight with him either, leaving only a dozen or so people to surround Zhang Jianzhi and his subordinates with their spears, forcing them into the center. They allowed Zhang Jianzhi's longsword to slash at their own spears. They didn't advance or retreat, only focused on stopping them.
Zhang Jianzhi shouted in despair, "Don't attack! You guys are so heartless. Huang Jingrong, this old man wants to sue you! Luo Shudao, this old man wants to sue you! "
Luo Shudao turned his face to look elsewhere, pretending not to hear anything. Huang Jingrong curled her lips and smiled.
"All of you stop, the Imperial Envoy is here!"
Those soldiers raised their butcher knives, and just as they were about to start killing, a loud shout suddenly exploded like spring thunder. A date red horse suddenly dashed out of the forest, and a person sat upright on the horse, holding a roll of yellow silk in his hand.
Yang Fan had actually arrived earlier than them and had been hiding in the forest at the side. The terrain of the Qiong Sea was uneven and there were all kinds of hills and short mountains that were covered with vegetation. The group of people had been arranged to stay in an open space between two hills.
Yang Fan saw that Huang Jingrong was about to kill and wanted to appear to stop him. However, Zhang Jianzhi rushed over from afar and passed right in front of the forest where Yang Fan was hiding. Yang Fan heard Zhang Jianzhi yell for him to stop, so he paused and wanted to see what was going on. If there was someone else who could stop the killing, he wouldn't be in such a hurry to act.
When Zhang Jianzhi rushed in front of Huang Jingrong, the two of them exchanged a few words. Yang Fan was too far away and couldn't hear clearly, but just from his actions, he knew that this official wanted to stop Huang Jingrong from killing. Seeing that this official couldn't stop Huang Jingrong from killing, Yang Fan spurred his horse and rushed out.
Suddenly the soldiers saw a rider dashing out of the thicket and immediately raised their guard. But hearing his loud voice, and seeing that he was alone, they did not stop him, they did not release any arrows to kill him, they only stepped aside to make a path for him to come near. When Yang Fan arrived within three 'zhang's from Luo Shudao and Huang Jingrong, he was stopped by a spear and could not go any further.
In a loud voice Yang Fan said, "I am the Minister of Justice of the Great Zhou, Yang Fan. I have received an imperial order to be the Inspector of the Various Paths, to investigate the case of the Various Paths Liu people's rebellion! There is insufficient evidence in the case of the Liu people's rebellion, I'm afraid there is more to it than meets the eye. Human life is at stake, this cannot be a child's play. I want to reopen the case, we will talk about it again when we have concrete evidence. "
Huang Jingrong recognized Yang Fan; as soon as she saw him suddenly appear in front of her, she was really startled. She also saw that he was alone, dressed in ordinary clothes, both man and horse were drenched in sweat. She could not help but feeling suspicious. "Yang Langzhong," she shouted, "Where did you come from?"
Yang Fan sat upright on his horse and said in a loud voice, "There is a rumor that the Various Paths Liu people are responding to each other by raising their flags and rebelling. The Sage sent the Imperial Censors out of the Capital to investigate, but was afraid that they would overcorrect and kill the innocent. Therefore, he sent Yang Fan out of the Capital to rectify the mistake and investigate the traitors, to put them in jail, to show the Sage's mercy!"
Huang Jingrong was puzzled, "You are wearing casual clothes, you look like you are in a sorry state, you do not have any guards of honor, you do not have any entourage, why is that?"
Yang Fan said, "I received an imperial order to leave the Capital and escort Princess Taiping to Chang 'an to worship the ancestors. However, I was entrusted by the Sage, I did not dare to tarry. Therefore, as soon as I escorted the Princess to Chang 'an, I immediately rushed here on horseback, taking small paths the whole way, I was travel-worn, even my bodyguards were left behind. "
Hearing this, Huang Jingrong immediately found a loophole in his words. "If that's the case," she questioned, "Sire has just arrived, how can you be sure that there is a discrepancy in my verdict?"
Yang Fan calmly said, "It's very simple. As soon as I arrived at the capital, I went to the Governor's Mansion and the Provincial Governor's Mansion to seek an audience with the local senior officers. Coincidentally, there were people complaining of injustice, moreover, they were two children. I asked them a few questions, and found out that there is something fishy about the case."
Huang Jingrong was about to ask again when Yang Fan raised the imperial edict in his hand. With a smile that was not a smile, he said, "Imperial Censor Huang seems to be suspicious of my identity and intention in coming here. I wonder if Governor Luo and Provincial Governor Zhang are here? Please examine my imperial edict!"
When Zhang Jianzhi was demoted from the Capital, Yang Fan was still a lowly soldier in the Palace. Zhang Jianzhi did not recognize him, but upon hearing that he was an imperial envoy, and seeing that his attitude was that of protecting exiled people, Zhang Jianzhi was pleasantly surprised. Hastily he dismounted from his horse, tidied his robe, and cupped his fists toward Yang Fan, saying, "I am Zhang Jianzhi, the Provincial Governor of Peng Province, greet the Heavenly Imperial Envoy!"
Seeing him dismounting from his horse, Yang Fan hastily dismounted as well. Stepping forward to help him up, he politely said, "So it is Envoy Zhang. Envoy, please rise. This must be our prefecture's Governor Luo, right? "
As Yang Fan spoke, he purposely glanced sideways at Luo Shudao, who was fully armored. With the help of the guards, Luo Shudao dismounted from his horse and stepped forward to pay his respects. Seeing this, Huang Jingrong could only dismount unwillingly.
Luo Shudao and Zhang Jianzhi unfolded Yang Fan's commission and read it carefully. The seal was stamped without error. Zhang Jianzhi glanced at Huang Jingrong and said, "Would Imperial Censor Huang also let me take a look at the commission."
Huang Jingrong angrily said, "Isn't it enough to have Governor Luo as a witness?"
Zhang Jianzhi solemnly said, "How can we be careless when it comes to state affairs? Even if I am familiar with sire, the documents that should have been checked should have been checked! "
Huang Jingrong angrily took out his commission from his sleeve and flung it to Zhang Jianzhi. Zhang Jianzhi unfolded it and immediately discovered the problem. Actually, Zhang Jianzhi did not suspect Huang Jingrong's identity. He only wanted to diminish his prestige. Unexpectedly, when he unfolded the imperial edict, there was only the Emperor's imperial seal and not the seal of the Hall of Governmental Affairs. Zhang Jianzhi couldn't help but be furious and shouted, "If the order doesn't come out of the Hall of Governmental Affairs, what kind of imperial edict is it!"
Huang Jingrong was shocked and angry. He said, "How dare you! The Sage's imperial seal is on it. You dare to say that this isn't an imperial edict. Zhang Jianzhi, are you rebelling? "
Zhang Jianzhi boldly said, "If the order doesn't come out of the Hall of Governmental Affairs, it is chaos! I don't recognize your identity as the imperial envoy. This is according to the laws and regulations of the state. Imperial Censor Huang, don't randomly accuse me! "
Zhang Jianzhi dared to say this because he really had something to rely on. The power of the Tang and Song emperors was not unrestricted. The highest state decree of the Tang Dynasty was called 'imperial edict'. The Hall of Governmental Affairs issued the decree. After the Emperor agreed, he wrote the word 'imperial edict' and then sent it to the Ministry of Governmental Affairs. If the Ministry of Governmental Affairs objected, it was more powerful than the Emperor's opinion. It had to state the reason clearly and the Ministry of Governmental Affairs had to rewrite the edict. This was called 'alteration'.
Even if it was approved by the Ministry of Governmental Affairs, it still had to be sent to the Ministry of Governmental Affairs. The Ministry of Governmental Affairs had jurisdiction over the six departments of Rites, Arms, Punishment and Works. The Ministry of Governmental Affairs added the seal and sent it to the corresponding yamen to execute. Without the seal of the Ministry of Governmental Affairs, although it wasn't a fake imperial edict, it wasn't legal. The officials at all levels had the right not to execute it.
The reason was like this. The law was also like this. There were very few people who dared to ignore the Emperor. However, this Zhang Jianzhi happened to be one of them. When he was in Jing, he dared to directly refute the Emperor's edict, let alone here.
The two of them immediately began to argue about Wu Zetian's imperial edict that didn't have the seal of the Ministry of Governmental Affairs. Huang Jingrong wanted to reason with Zhang Jianzhi, but how could she argue against this old man? Huang Jingrong was pushed around by him until she couldn't restrain her anger. She could only turn to Luo Shudao for help. In a loud voice, she said, "Governor Luo, what do you say?"
Luo Shudao was standing at the side. He had long seen through the situation. Under his rule, the refugees and tribesmen were unjustly killed. He instinctively felt conflicted. It was just that due to Huang Jingrong's status as an imperial envoy, he didn't have the courage to resist. Now, not only did Provincial Governor Zhang step out to refute it, an imperial envoy had also jumped out. The imperial edict he held was even more legitimate than Huang Jingrong's. Luo Shudao had an idea in his heart.
The moment Huang Jingrong asked, Luo Shudao immediately replied in a righteous tone, "This imperial edict of Imperial Censor Huang came from the hands of the Saint. This imperial edict of Yang Langzhong also came from the hands of the Saint. As long as it is the edict of the Saint, Luo Shudao definitely has no reason to defy it! However … "
Luo Shudao's tone changed. His expression was still solemn, but the content of his words was very vulgar. "This imperial edict of Imperial Censor Huang precedes Yang Langzhong's edict. This means that the Saint also felt that there were some omissions in the previous edict. That's why he gave the edict to Yang Langzhong to remedy the situation. It is better for the two imperial envoys to discuss and come to a conclusion first.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
