The entire court was in an uproar. Li Zhaode was usually arrogant and despotic. Even those of the same rank as the Prime Minister were often humiliated and scolded by him. The court was silent!
Even many of the officials who were still attached to Li Zhaode were secretly pleased to see him in such a difficult situation because they had been ordered around and humiliated by him. They deliberately pretended to be deaf and dumb and refused to come forward to help him argue. Only a very small number of officials whose honor and disgrace were completely tied to Li Zhaode jumped out to argue with the Prince of Wei, Wei Chengsi and his lackeys.
Wu Zetian saw that there were people attacking Li Zhaode, whom she had always doted on, and her face immediately showed an extremely unhappy expression. But as the three officials fervently stated their views and continuously listed Li Zhaode's words and examples, the unhappy expression on Wu Zetian's face gradually disappeared.
Especially Zhang Jiafu's words: "Ever since His Majesty has lived a long life, he has grown weary of petty politics. The important matters of the court are all entrusted to Li Zhaode. Foreign and foreign memorials, Li Zhaode approves, His Majesty has no reason not to approve! Li Zhaode does not approve, His Majesty has already approved, and according to his request, it is changed to not approve! "It deeply touched the most sensitive nerve in Wu Zetian's heart.
The foundation of Wu Zetian's power was to let herself be in charge of politics. Riches and honor can be given to others, but the dagger to slit one's throat must never be in the hands of others. Zhang Jiafu's words touched Wu Zetian's reverse scale.
Wu Zetian opened her mouth coldly and interrupted the arguments of the officials on both sides: "Alright! All of you, shut up! "
The court immediately quieted down. Wu Zetian continued: "Have the Censorate investigate the memorials of Deng Zhu, Feng Hongmin and Zhang Jiafu! Dismiss the court! "
Li Zhaode bowed deeply and said sorrowfully, "I request that you withdraw and retire from your post!"
A trace of a smile appeared on Wu Zetian's face. She gently comforted: "Prime Minister Li is my arm. How can the court leave my beloved subject? I do not believe in these accusations, but this is the law of the court. Since there are accusations, naturally we must investigate. This way, my beloved subject's innocence can be restored. Zhao De, don't worry about it! "
If these words were used by Wu Zetian in private to comfort an old official, it would be extremely appropriate. However, right now, the people who had impeached Li Zhaode were still there, and the entire court of civil and military officials were still present. The Emperor's words were simply openly biased.
Li Zhaode was so excited that his face turned crimson. He bowed deeply, but his chest was so agitated that he couldn't say any words of thanks.
Wu Zetian flicked her sleeves, stood up, and walked to the back of Dan Emperor. The eunuch hurriedly waved his horsetail whisk and announced loudly, "Emperor, the court is dismissed!"
Those officials who had not spoken up for Li Zhaode earlier saw the Empress openly show her bias towards Li Zhaode and hurriedly tried to think of ways to remedy the situation. The Emperor had just left the court when a large group of officials pretended to be filled with righteous indignation and shared a common enemy. The ceremonial eunuch glanced at them, and with a horsetail whisk in the crook of his arm, he chased after Wu Zetian.
The officials who knew the contents of the southern border's official selection list were very clear why Wu Cheng Si was making things difficult for Li Zhaode. For them, the southern border's official selection had little to do with them. If they could successfully curry favor, it would be great to find a place for their relatives and nephews. However, seeing the situation of both sides fighting to the death, how would they dare to get involved?
Thus, their focus was on the question of who would be able to topple between Wu Cheng Si and Li Zhaode. Wu Cheng Si had only been the prime minister for half a year when Wu Zetian first ascended the throne. His evil deeds weren't obvious. Although the officials were afraid of the Wu Clan, they didn't have too much disgust towards Wu Cheng Si.
On the other hand, Li Zhaode's reputation was already in tatters. Most of the civil and military officials didn't have a good impression of him. In this current situation, it was already very good of them to not throw stones at him while he was down. How could they still wholeheartedly protect Li Zhaode? Li Zhaode wasn't worth protecting, and Wu Cheng Si was even more so not to be offended.
This rare political storm in the court also spread to the Imperial Court at the fastest speed. Once the Minister of Defense, Zhao Gan, was informed of what had happened in the court, he immediately realized that the reason why these two influential figures had come to blows was because of the southern border's official selection, and this matter was specifically handled by Yang Fan.
"The Clan Lord has just sent an order for me to gather evidence and prepare to impeach Yang Fan. Wei Wang has already started to make things difficult for Yang Fan's backer. Could it be that … the Clan Lord has already joined forces with Wei Wang? "
Zhao Gan's eyes suddenly lit up. He had always believed in the Clan Lord's ability, and the first person to make things difficult for him was a colossus like Wu Cheng Si. This gave him boundless confidence.
That night, Minister Zhao stayed up all night in his study. For the sake of his bright future, he busied himself just like he did for the imperial examinations back then. He lit the lamp and boiled the oil to prepare dirt on Yang Fan …
…
There was no morning court the next day. Wu Zetian woke up early and had her breakfast. She was chatting and laughing with Zhang Yi Zhi and Zhang Changzong as they sat on the Lovely Spring Terrace. Suddenly, the eunuch came over with a memorial wrapped in yellow silk. He came to Wu Zetian's side and whispered in her ear, "Everyone, the Shangguan Imperial Court has sent an urgent messenger to impeach!"
The Shangguan Wan 'er could read and approve ordinary memorials, but military and national affairs had to be forwarded to Empress Wu. The other thing was the' impeachment of impeachment '. This kind of memorial had to be opened by the Emperor himself, and the content of the memorial could only be known by the Emperor alone. If the Emperor felt that it was insignificant and left the memorial unpublished, then no one else would ever know about it.
Wu Zetian casually took the memorial and handed it over to Zhang Changzong with a smile, saying, "Sixth Lang, open it for me!"
Zhang Changzong complied and examined the wax seal. He took out a jade knife and opened the memorial. He did not hand it over to Wu Zetian, but sat on the side of Wu Zetian's bed and read it. Wu Zetian laughed and said, "Sixth Lang has crossed the line, he deserves to be punished!" She raised her hand and patted his buttocks affectionately.
"Ouch!"
Zhang Changzong pretended to be in pain and cried out in alarm. He jumped up and handed the memorial to Wu Zetian. He said with a smile, "Sage, take a look. This man has eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall. He dares to impeach Prime Minister Li."
"Oh?"
The smile on Wu Zetian's face turned cold. She took the memorial from his hand.
After Wu Chengsi, Princess Taiping's men also made their move.
However, no one knew that he was Princess Taiping's man because this man was not an official of the imperial court, but an official of the former imperial court.
His name was Qiu Ming, and he was a military officer of the Lu Palace.
The King of Lu, Li Lingkui, was the 19th son of the Tang Gaozu, Li Yuan, and the brother of Li Shimin. After the King of Yue, Li Zhen's rebellion failed, Li Lingkui was also implicated and exiled to Zhenzhou, where he committed suicide. Most of the officials in the Prince of Lu's household were implicated, but this Qiu Ming was originally an official sent by the court to monitor the Prince of Lu. Strictly speaking, he was not one of the Prince of Lu's people. In addition, he had an outstanding reputation in the scholarly community. Therefore, he was only relieved of his official position and stayed at home.
He used to be an official of the imperial court, so he always had the right to submit memorials to the emperor. Therefore, this secret memorial was sent to the palace. In terms of literary talent, Old Master Qiu was much more brilliant than Deng Zhu, Feng Hongmin, and Zhang Jiafu. Every word in the memorial was as sharp as a sword.
This subject has heard of the mistakes of a hundred kings, and all authority belongs to you. When the Prime Minister was in charge of politics, his power was often the bane of his life. Wei Ran's execution of the commoners to appease Qin was not a sign of disloyalty. It was also a meritorious deed for a weak feudal lord to strengthen a strong state. However, he acted on his own, broke Wuji, awed the ruler, and did not hear of a king …
Zhao De's temperament was arrogant, unyielding, blind and deaf people were like dogs and straw. He was harsh and unjust, the country relied on little, but the harm was great. The world was silent, no one dared to speak a word. His prestige was impressive, and the sun was blazing …
"Han Guang's generals favored Pang Meng, and could entrust him with an orphan. Emperor Ming of Wei wanted Sima Yi to pacify the country, but dared to rape back. Today Zhao De is ruling the country, dominating the court. Love, hate, and plunder, as if there was no one else around. His Majesty's kindness is deep, and his cover is very thick. This subject has heard of ants burying a dam, and needles writing qi, trickling without end, will become a river … "
After Wu Zetian finished reading the memorial, she was stunned speechless.
Qiu Ming was old, and he had retired a long time ago. He was a famous scholar in the literary world. What reason did he have to attack Li Zhaode, who had power over the court? It was impossible for him to have any connections with the various factions in the court. There could only be one motive: he was sincerely serving the country! However, Li Zhaode … Had he really become so domineering?
Thinking of the examples of powerful officials in Qiu Ming's memorial, Wu Zetian felt a chill in her heart. The wind blew her white hair, gently brushing past her wrinkled face that could no longer be concealed. There was not a trace of expression on her face.
Zhang Changzong whispered the contents of the memorial to his brother. Zhang Yizhi rolled his eyes and laughed, "This surnamed Qiu is really bold. He even dared to impeach Prime Minister Li. He must be tired of living!"
"Oh?"
Wu Zetian slowly raised her head and looked at Zhang Yizhi. She said without batting an eyelid, "Why? Does Wulang think that this Qiu Ming is arrogant and ignorant?"
Zhang Yizhi said, "Of course. Prime Minister Li assists His Majesty and is in charge of the country's affairs. He is conscientious and conscientious, and is respected by all. He is the right-hand man of the Saint. I don't know who has bewitched this old dog to dare to slander Prime Minister Li with his greedy words. He really doesn't know what death is. "
Wu Zetian's body trembled. She turned to Zhang Changzong and asked, "Wulang, do you also think so?"
Zhang Changzong had already understood his brother's meaning. He quickly tilted his head and thought. He pretended to be naive and said, "Changzong is still young and doesn't know much about the affairs of the court. However, even though Changzong has been in the court for a long time, I have heard of Prime Minister Li's reputation. Prime Minister Li is the pillar of the country. How can he allow this ignorant man to slander him? The Saint should punish him severely to appease Prime Minister Li!"
"Haha …"
Wu Zetian laughed for no reason. She waved the memorial in her hand and said slowly, "It is not easy to know a person, and it is not easy to know a person. Zhao De, as the Minister of Internal Affairs, has a special honor. If it is as this memorial says, then he … has let me down and let the country down. "
Zhang Changzong blinked and asked with "surprise", "Is the Saint saying that Prime Minister Li is guilty?"
Wu Zetian slowly shook her head and said, "You don't understand. Leave, I want to be alone for a while!"
"Yes!"
Zhang Yizhi and his brother didn't dare to say anything else. They left together. Wu Zetian put her hand on her forehead and was silent in thought.
After a long time, a servant quietly walked to her side. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Li Zhaode requests an audience!"
Wu Zetian looked like she had just woken up from a nap. She shook her body and said calmly to the servant, "The Prime Minister has been slandered and has not met the Son of Heaven. Isn't this giving the truth to others? As long as you have a clear conscience, your heart will be calm. What is there to panic about? Let Prime Minister Li return home in peace! "
…
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