Kou Liu stood there in horror, looking at the scene in the distance.
He was about to go out when he heard someone climbing up the wall. He hurried out to check, but saw a red-clothed ghost rushing towards him.
Kou Liu had never seen anything so terrifying.
The guy was all red, and had a long tongue that flicked around as it ran.
Kou Liu was so frightened that he froze immediately and did not dare to move.
But at this moment, the red-clothed ghost took the initiative to jump off the wall. The next moment, he saw his brother fly out, directly hit the red-clothed ghost, and then hit the opponent with two bangs and punches.
Even from a distance, Kou Liu could feel that his brother had used all his strength. The sound of those two fists was so loud that Kou Liu could hear it so clearly.
Kou Liu took a deep breath, emboldened himself, and then quickly walked down the wall and came to his brother's side.
As soon as he lowered his head, he saw his brother pulling off the mask of the ghost in red.
Under the mask, it is a monk.
Liu Taozi threw the mask to Kou Liu, and Kou Liu picked it up, only to find that the mask was broken.
Monk Hu's face was covered with blood at this moment, and he fell to the ground motionless.
Tao Zi punched him a few times, seemingly knocking him out of bliss.
"Brother, are you here for assassination?"
"It's here to scare people."
It was not Taozi who answered Kou Liu, but a figure in the distance, and someone slowly walked out of the shadows.
This person is none other than the county magistrate Shi Yao.
At this moment, Shi Yao's face was extremely solemn. He looked at Tao Zi and said, "It doesn't matter that you broke my door, but now you want to break into my courtyard in the middle of the night. How unbecoming is it?"
Liu Taozi ignored him at all. He looked at Kou Liu and said, "Pick this man up and let's go."
Shi Yao quickly followed them, and Liu Taozi let the other party follow him. Kou Liu took the monk Hu into Liu Taozi's house and threw him on the ground, but he didn't wake up.
Shi Yao was standing aside at the moment, observing Tao Zi's residence.
Kou Liu looked at Liu Taozi and said, "Brother, you are a little too harsh. How about I go find Chu Jian and come over?"
"What are you going to do to save a ghost who is harming people?"
Shi Yao spoke immediately and looked at Liu Taozi, "Even if he was rescued, he would not reveal anything. I have arrested him in the past and they all committed suicide."
Kou Liu looked at Taozi, who took a step forward and stepped directly on the ghost's neck. He heard a click, and the 'ghost' tilted its head and was completely gone.
Shi Yao was startled. He looked at Liu Taozi in front of him again, "What's wrong with you?"
He shook his head and took back the next words in his heart. He ordered: "Please close the door, please."
Kou Liu glanced at Taozi, who nodded, and then he stepped forward and closed the door.
Shi Yao lowered his head and looked at Monk Hu, "They are doing this again. Where are the ghosts? In the entire Liyang, ghosts are all in the south of the city!"
"Those Hu monks colluded with the prefect. They occupied a large amount of cultivated land. Half of the cultivated land in Liyang fell into their hands. A large number of people became their slaves. They also engaged in other activities and many evil deeds. I honestly say
No export!!”
Shi Yao suddenly became excited.
"The government, wealthy families, and temples colluded with each other, and the entire Liyang was divided and eaten by them!!"
"The three parties have an orderly division of labor and use various methods to plunder. This theory of ghosts is the most basic one."
"First, Monk Hu pretended to be a ghost, and then the government came forward and used the food from the county treasury to find monks to worship Buddha. These monks pretended to be there. When the people learned that the evil ghost had been killed, they went to pay homage one after another."
"A year ago, the temple said that there was an evil ghost that could eat people and that ten boys and girls were needed. I was so angry that I led the people into the temple, but they were subdued."
The more Shi Yao talked, the more excited he became. He suddenly possessed him, tore off the red clothes from the evil spirit, and then stroked the red clothes with compassion, "The people are so innocent."
Only then did Kou Liu notice that the red dress was a real women's dress, worn during a wedding. For a moment, Kou Liu thought of countless disgusting things.
Liu Taozi signaled Kou Liu to take the body out, and then called many of his subordinates in. She took Shi Yao and sat aside.
Shi Yao was still calming down. Soon, many of Liu Taozi's minions came in. Most of them were shocked when they saw the county magistrate sitting next to Taozi.
When everyone arrived, Kou Liu told them what happened tonight.
Everyone was shocked.
Tian Zili hurriedly said: "Brother! What a great opportunity. Monk Hu is here and wants to assassinate the officials. Let's use this as an excuse and just go in!"
Shi Yao glanced at him and said to Liu Taozi: "This gentleman under your command has courage, but little strategy."
"As I said just now, Chongguang Temple colluded with the prefect. If you want to attack Chongguang Temple now, are you smuggling or smuggling?"
Tian Zili was taken aback, "How about going away from home?"
Shi Yao shook his head and said: "If it's a case of betrayal, it means publicly reading out the evidence of the other party's crime and using the power of the temple to arrest the person. However, in Liyang, the biggest official is that thief Lou Rui. As long as he is still there, no official
It is not the county government's final say on the matter. If the county government says that the other party is treasonous, the prefect can absolve them of their crimes with just one word."
"So what if it's smuggling?"
"There are more than 700 monks in Chongguang Temple. The county government can't make up more than 65 people. Liyang is not a Qiwei County. There are no county captains in the county. The county soldiers are all controlled by county captains. You can use more than 60 people
, how to attack Chongguang Temple, even if everyone can fight one against ten, it is not enough, not to mention, the prefect can send people to intervene at any time."
Tian Zili finally frowned and said no more.
Looking at the people who were bowing their heads in deep thought, Shi Yao sighed again.
"If it's really so easy to deal with, how could I end up in this situation? I'm useless, my official position is not as good as my opponent's, my military force is not as good as my opponent's, what else can I do?"
"We can only wait for the prince to inherit the throne. With Prime Minister Yang's virtue, he will never condone these evil thieves. Once he drives out the chief culprit, we can take action."
"What if Yang Xiang didn't take action?"
"What should we do?"
Liu Taozi suddenly interrupted the other party.
Shi Yao was stunned, and he opened his mouth, "Then me."
Liu Taozi continued: "You can't accomplish anything just by thinking about others coming to help. Mr. Shi has been in this county for two years, so he knows everything about the city, right?"
Shi Yao understood what Tao Zi meant. He looked at everyone again and began to speak slowly.
"The prefect's name is Lou Rui. Well, he can also be called Pi Lou Rui. His courtesy name is Fulen. He is the nephew of the current Queen Mother."
"He followed Emperor Shenwu to raise troops in Xindu, made many military exploits, and was awarded the title of Governor of Guangzhou. However, he committed corruption and evil while he was in office. He was reprimanded and demoted by Emperor Wenxiang. A few years ago, he became a prefect after being tired of his official duties. When he came here, he began
Keep doing evil."
"He is cruel, violent, extremely greedy, demanding, and doesn't care at all about the life and death of the people he governs."
"Liyang was originally wealthy and was the most important grain-producing county. Since this person came to power, the situation has deteriorated year by year. You have all seen this situation."
"The Chongguang Temple was built less than ten years ago. It was built by Master Atu, a Hu monk. This man had a great reputation. Later, Master Atu died and his disciple Ayana became the abbot. He acted unscrupulously, especially
It was after Lou Rui took office that the two parties colluded."
Shi Yao really knows the situation in the city very well, from officials at all levels to the history and current situation of Chongguang Temple.
He finally said: "There is another family, the Marquis of Li County, who is the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The Marquis of Li County was an upright man. When he was still alive, he often controlled his people and made them do good deeds. The Li family had a very good reputation. But after his death, Li Xianhou
Everyone in the family began to associate with Lou Rui, Ayanna and others to eat and drink with the common people."
Through this person's explanation, everyone finally understood the major forces in Liyang.
The room was quiet, and everyone was deep in thought.
Shi Yao looked at Liu Taozi beside him, "Do you understand now?"
"With the collusion of these three people, unless there is thunder from heaven, there is no way to deal with it. Even if we file a lawsuit in the temple, it will have no effect. No one dares to touch the Queen Mother's relatives."
Liu Taozi remained calm, "What kind of Dharma assembly is that Dharma assembly you just mentioned?"
"Oh, originally, it was a Dharma conference. When Master Atu was still there, he often debated with great monks from various places, attracting crowds of people to watch, and this grand conference was born. But now, it is a dirty conference, sharing the spoils, lewd, evil, and extremely ugly.
!!”
Shi Yao added: "You were not surprised when you heard about Lou Rui's origin, let alone fear. You must have someone to rely on, or you have elders in the court. I have a lot of evidence of crimes. Can your elders make the decision to punish the thief?
"
Liu Taozi raised her head, "There are no parents."
"Liu Jun is not a scholar. If he has no parents, then who does he rely on for this official position??"
Jinyang Palace.
The prince stood timidly, wearing mourning clothes, his eyes dull, looking straight ahead.
Gao Yan, Gao Zhan, Gao Shi, Gao Yun, Gao Min, Gao Ji, Gao Ning, Gao Run and other kings stood behind the prince.
All these people are handsome, tall, and handsome in various ways. Standing together like this is really pleasing to the eye.
Most of the people, led by Gao Yan, stood on the left and right of Gao Yan separately, with solemn expressions on their faces, looking not far away.
A group of people appeared in the distance, surrounded by many warriors, and were walking quickly towards the prince.
After a while, the faces of the people on the other side became clear.
The leader was none other than Prime Minister Yang Min.
Yang Min walked at the front with a big belly and long strides. Behind him were Yan Zixian, Zheng Zimo, Song Qindao and many other important ministers.
The Yecheng warriors who followed Yang Xiang and others walked in, constantly occupying the sentry posts on both sides of the hall. The Jinyang warriors' eyes flashed fiercely, and the two warriors looked at each other.
Finally, Yang Min led the people to the prince.
"Bang."
Yang Min suddenly knelt down in front of the prince, "Your Majesty, Yang Min, pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince!!!"
As soon as he took the lead, all the officials knelt down in front of the prince and shouted "goodbye".
At this moment, the prince suddenly woke up from his sluggish state. His eyes finally had some light. After seeing Yang Min, he seemed to come to life. He timidly looked at the many ministers in front of him, "Yang,
Yang, Prime Minister Yang, please stand up."
Yang Min bowed again and then stood up.
Gao Yan stepped forward, waved his sleeves, and said loudly: "Come here, take the princes to see Emperor Daxing."
At this moment, the expressions of several ministers changed greatly, their eyes were wary, and they almost drew their swords.
Gao Yan suddenly lowered his voice and looked at Yang Min gently, "Let's go see Emperor Daxing for the last time."
There was no fear in Yang Min's eyes. He looked at the prince and said, "Your Highness, come to my side."
The prince walked a few steps and stood in front of Yang Min. Yang Min took his hand and led the ministers. Without ducking, he walked directly towards the kings in front of him. Seeing that the two sides were about to collide, Gao Min
Yan took the lead to get out of the way, and all the kings gave way one after another. Yang Min led the prince and strode away from them.
Gao Zhan stood next to Gao Yan with a rather unkind look in his eyes, "Brother."
"Don't talk too much."
Gao Yan interrupted him and immediately led the kings to follow the people in front.
Everyone came to Gao Yang's body.
"His Majesty!!"
"Your Majesty!!"
"How can I survive?"
The important ministers began to cry loudly, and even the warriors on duty at the palace gate could hear their cries.
They all covered their faces with their sleeves, but if you look carefully, there were no traces of tears or grief on these people's faces. In fact, they looked like they were relieved and could only cover their faces with their sleeves.
Only Yang Min, at this moment, he was sitting in the front, looking at the motionless emperor. He was not crying or howling, but as he sat there, his tears couldn't stop flowing. He just sobbed in a low voice, with tears streaming down his face.
The whole person felt extremely sad.
The ministers were still crying, but Yang Min began to issue orders at this moment. He made preparations to take the prince and his majesty back to Yecheng to carry out the enthronement ceremony in Yecheng.
Gao Yan stepped forward again at this moment and said, "Xiang Yang. Emperor Daxing has passed away, and the country cannot be without a master for a day. I think it is best for the prince to ascend the throne in Jinyang Palace."
Yang Min looked at him with sharp eyes, "That's not right. Yecheng is the capital of the country. Why did he ascend the throne in Jinyang Palace? He should have gone back earlier."
“Please don’t try to dissuade me, Your Majesty!!”
Yang Min's words were not very polite, but Gao Yan was not angry at all. He slowly took out the edict from his body and handed it to Yang Min in front of him.
Yang Min took the edict and asked, "What is this?"
"This is the Queen Mother's order to enthrone Her Majesty in Jinyang Palace. In addition, His Majesty's state funeral will also be held in Jinyang Palace."
"Does Mr. Yang still feel something is wrong?"
Yang Min was silent for a moment, then looked at Gao Yan again, "That's in Jinyang."
Everyone dispersed, and Gao Yan also returned to his temporary palace.
As soon as he came back, someone was waiting for him.
The person who came was none other than Gaoyang King Gao Shi.
Gao Shi looked quite nervous. When he saw Gao Yan, he smiled and narrowed his eyes, "Brother Six, you are finally back!"
Gao Yan was a little surprised, so he changed his clothes and led him to the inner room, "Shi, why are you looking for me?"
Gao Shi lowered his head and tried to speak several times, but was speechless.
Seeing his appearance, Gao Yan guessed his concerns and said, "Are you afraid that the kings will seek revenge on you?"
Gao Shi hurriedly knelt down in front of him, his face full of grievances, "Sixth brother, I didn't do it intentionally before, it was the second brother, and the second brother insisted on beating someone, what can I do? Now that the second brother is gone, the rest
The brothers ignored me. Today they gathered together to chat, but as soon as I walked up to them, they walked away."
Gao Shi sobbed, "How could we, brothers, treat me like this?"
When Gao Yang was still there, Gao Shi often flattered Gao Yang and even arranged the kings in front of him, so that Gao Yang would often find opportunities to beat the kings. Sometimes, Gao Shi would simply let Gao Yang beat the kings himself with a stick.
But now that Gao Yang was gone, the kings looked at Gao Shi with something wrong.
This made Gao Si extremely panicked, and then he thought of seeking refuge with Gao Yan.
Gao Yan sat down in the upper position with a sullen face, "Back then, I advised you to put your brothers first and not to harm your brothers for some rewards, but you didn't listen, and instead told His Majesty what I said!"
Gao Shi trembled all over, "I, I."
"Brothers hate you so much now, isn't it because of your own fault?"
"Brother Six!! I know I was wrong!!"
Gao Yan sighed, "In the future, please don't forget what happened today. Only when brothers are harmonious can great things be achieved. I will tell them not to seek revenge, but you also have to correct your mistakes. Three days a day
Think about it, can you do it?"
"Yes! It must be possible!"
"Then get out!"
Gao Shi stood up and just walked to the door when he suddenly turned back and said, "Brother Six! There is one more thing!"
"you say."
"My eldest brother, Gao Changgong, was very rude to me. In order to pursue fame, he actually recruited a large number of dead people, which made Cheng'an full of thieves and bandits, and the public security in the capital was chaotic. Now that His Majesty is no longer here, please punish me severely, Sixth Brother!"
Gao Yan was furious, "I just told you not to do anything to your own family again. Aren't the children of your eldest brother's family your relatives?"
"Get my riding crop!!"
Gao Yan immediately whipped Gao Shi several times. Gao Shi repeatedly begged for mercy and promised that he would never deal with his relatives again, and then Gao Yan drove him out.
After handling these matters, Gao Yan only felt a headache. He was rubbing his forehead and wanted to summon a few brothers, when another guest came to his residence.
The messenger came from Liyang and brought a letter from his cousin Lou Rui.
The envoy sat on his knees on the ground. King Changshan read the letter seriously. After reading it for a moment, he frowned and pondered for a moment.
"Then Mr. Liu County Cheng is really outrageous! How can he use his power to bully others?!"
Gao Yan suddenly spoke. He looked at the messenger and smiled, "I'm busy with things, so I won't reply. You go back and tell your cousin. I will definitely control Liu County Cheng in the future and won't let him
It caused too much trouble to my cousin."
"But, please help me to take care of my cousin, so that my family members will not be bullied by Xiaoxiao."
The messenger trembled all over, trembling and received his order, turned around and ran away.
After the messenger left, Wang Xi stepped forward and picked up the letter. His face was full of astonishment, "The county magistrate? How could the king know such a small county magistrate?"
"I don't know him."
"Then the king is just now"
"This Lou Rui relied on my mother's influence and was greedy and brought trouble to the place. My eldest brother scolded him several times, but he never corrected the problem. Liyang is now short of food and cannot afford to pay the tribute. Maybe this is his reason."
"And Lu Yao is my relative. I know what he is like. He is a decent person, generous and good at governance. He is a wise minister. The person who can be recommended by him so hard must also be a good person."
"Why not help good people suppress traitors and solve local bad governance?"
"Your Majesty is wise!!!"
ps: The emperor is intelligent and discerning, has a profound ability to judge, and cannot be detected. He is eight feet long, has a belt of ten circumferences, and has a handsome appearance. He is very unique. He lives in Taiwan, pays attention to political skills, is idle and bright, and does not catch the officials. He is upright.
He lives in a permanent place, has a lot of restraint, does light corvee and pays little in taxes, is diligent and considerate to others, is selfless at home, and accepts people from outside. Even though his father is the successor, he is also very advanced. - "Book of Northern Qi: The Benji of Xiaozhao"
Chapter completed!