If there hadn't been a series of incidents later, it would have been reasonable for Sun Tu to be targeted for killing the horse at the south gate. But now that people were using weapons and even bows and arrows in Xingzhou City, it would be a bit of a fuss if the emperor took out the crime of killing horses and held him accountable.
Could it be that the emperor wanted to encircle Wei and save Zhao, so as to exonerate the prince? Sun Tu suddenly had such an idea in his heart, but he did not dare to say these words. He even lowered his head in a panic and said: "I know that I am guilty. I really shouldn't disobey the prince's wishes like this. But I still want to say something."
"Say." Li Qianshun glanced at him indifferently and responded casually.
"The day before yesterday at the south gate, it was because of the honor and disgrace of my young master that I had to take this step. And although the prince is the king, I am not a court official after all... I thought that my identity was first a retainer of the Xifeng clan, and then I I am a minister of the Xia Kingdom. Since someone wants to insult my lord, I must stand up to protect my lord even if I know the consequences will be serious. I hope the emperor will learn from it!" Sun Tu said, no longer bowing his head, but raised his head and looked back at Li Qianshun. He looked very loyal.
After saying this, the expressions of the prince and Mo Chihe changed. The latter looked at Sun Tu with a little more appreciation. As for Xi Fengchang, his body was trembling slightly at this moment, but it was not from fright, but from excitement. His face was a little red, and the fear and uneasiness he felt when he first saw the emperor miraculously disappeared at this moment. !
While the emperor was also surprised by Sun Tu's words and was a little stunned, he mustered up the courage to take a few steps forward, knelt down and said loudly: "Emperor, everything Qian Li said came from the bottom of his heart. He really did it for me. He offended the prince's authority by rescuing the siege. If the emperor really wants to blame him, I am willing to take my own life to do it!"
The emperor's expression changed slightly, and then he laughed: "Okay, what a master-servant show of unity, it is really rare. So, if I want to convict him, you Xi Fengshi is Must it be stopped?" He deliberately did not call Xi Fengchang by his name but instead called Xi Fengshi, which was obviously a hidden warning.
But Xi Fengchang was already full of blood at this time and had already risked everything. He immediately said: "I only want to share the same sin with Sun Qianli, and I hope the emperor will grant me permission!"
Now, things have really come to a standstill. Even though the emperor was angry, he really didn't want to attack Xifengchang just because of this matter, because behind him, Xifeng Yechang and the entire Xifeng clan were a huge force that could not be ignored in the Xixia Kingdom. Even he, the emperor, could not ignore it. Be wary of three points.
Seeing that the emperor's face darkened and he didn't know what to say, Mozhihe finally spoke: "Emperor, please calm down. In my opinion, although Sun Qianli's previous behavior was lacking in etiquette, it was for a reason and it was excusable." What's more, he also suffered the consequences later and was almost killed. If such a loyal person is killed, it will probably make everyone in the government and the public feel chilling!"
Li Qianshun was feeling a little embarrassed. Now that Mo Chihe gave him a step, he went down the stairs and snorted: "Get up, let's put this matter aside for now. But Sun Qianli, you really dare to take this step." Can I identify the prince as the mastermind behind the previous attack on you?" As he spoke, his eyes once again covered Sun Tu, who had just stood up, with the emperor's majesty like
The pressure of the mountain is about to pass.
Sun Tugu just wanted to withstand the pressure, but suddenly his heart moved. He quickly lowered his head, pretending not to dare to look at him, and then said hesitantly: "Of course I don't dare to confirm, I just listen to them. Just talking about it. And this is also an inference based on what happened before..." He thought that after all, his identity was just a Han Chinese from the Liao Kingdom who had been exiled to the Xia Kingdom. Naturally, he did not have the courage to confront the king of a country, so he immediately Made a move to show weakness.
"Hmph, what a good inference. Is this how brave you are from the Liao Kingdom?" Sure enough, the emperor suddenly mentioned his identity as a "Liao Kingdom", which obviously meant something.
Naturally, Sun Tu couldn't argue with him at this time, so he just stood there a little aggrieved, silent, and gave Mo Qihe the opportunity to respond to the emperor's words.
And Mo Chihe did not disappoint him, and immediately said: "Emperor, although Sun Qianli was not from our Xia Dynasty before, he had already belonged to the Xifeng clan earlier, and he has always been loyal, so it is a bit unreasonable to question him about this. You're nitpicking! In my opinion, although there is no conclusive evidence to prove that the prince did all this, the prince is still to blame! If he hadn't allowed his subordinates to make things difficult for them earlier, how could he have done it later? What about the various changes?"
Sun Tu glanced at Mo Qihe, who was talking eloquently. In addition to being brave enough or powerful enough to compete with the Emperor of Xia, this man also had a very clever strategy in attacking the enemy. He actually took half a step back as if he was showing weakness on purpose, but at the same time he continued to criticize the prince, and it was really hard to get rid of the charges this time!
As expected, the emperor fell silent and turned his gaze to the prince, which contained some dissatisfaction that he hated iron. In his opinion, what the prince did before was indeed too Meng Lang, and it was really not what a prince of a country should do, so this time he suffered some hardship because of it, which was what the emperor wanted to see.
As if feeling the emperor's disappointment, the prince also panicked, and immediately said: "Father, my son was indeed a little indulgent before... But that was because he was bewitched by Xifeng Yao... "
"Prince, you have always boasted that you are well versed in the learning of the Han people. Don't you know that the virtuous ministers and the small talents are the foundation of a king?" Mo Xihe immediately seized the opportunity and suddenly asked, which made the prince speechless again. , I was a little confused about how to deal with it.
At this time, Sun Tu stood aside and watched with cold eyes, gradually getting a taste of it, and finally saw the true purpose of Mo Chihe. I don't know if it was because he was frustrated when he accused the prince of being unreasonable last night that he understood something. He felt that the emperor had no intention of touching the prince because of such things, so he decided to build a plank road to cross Chencang secretly.
He seemed to be menacing, as if he wanted to defeat the prince completely, but in fact he was just trying to ruin the prince's reputation and shake his status in the eyes of the emperor! And because of his previous behavior that seemed to push the prince down, when he suddenly withdrew his troops, it was easier for the emperor to accept it. Even if the prince was afraid at this time, he chose to settle the matter out of self-preservation!
Sure enough, after some struggle, the prince stood up and saluted and said: "Father, my son knows his crime. I was indeed deceived and acted a little loosely, which led to today's failure!"
After hearing what the prince said, Li Qianshun's expression suddenly sank, and then he glared at his son fiercely. The prince didn't realize Mo Chihe's intentions, but he had already tasted it, and was thinking about how to deal with it, but he didn't expect that his son would give up at this moment.
As the saying goes, don't be afraid of opponents who are like gods, but be afraid of teammates who are like pigs. At this time, in Li Qianshun's eyes, his son is a pig teammate! In this case, he could no longer excuse him. He could only say with a straight face: "The fact that you are aware of your mistakes proves that it is not hopeless. Even though this matter should not be caused by you, you should still accept it." Severe punishment! Mozhihe, tell me, how should we deal with the prince?"
When Mochihe heard this question, he was shocked. He knew that the emperor was expressing his dissatisfaction and wanted to use it to beat himself up. If he really followed this question and said something about how to punish the prince, he would be accused of slandering the emperor. Although this little thing won't hurt him at all, it will weaken the momentum he finally won.
So as he matured into a mature man, he immediately started practicing Tai Chi and gave a gentle push: "The prince is the crown prince. I dare not talk lightly about his crimes. Everything is left to the emperor's decision!"
Hearing these words, the prince wanted to beat him to death, if he could beat him. You were just thinking of ways to convict me, why are you trying to shirk it now? You are so good at pretending!
The emperor also sighed secretly, this old guy Mo Chihe should be cautious, today is going to let him benefit after all. So he said with a straight face: "In that case, I will confine the prince to the palace for half a month because he has lost his moral character, and fine him a year's salary. I will also issue an edict to the world. Mo Chihe, are you still satisfied?"
"The emperor is wise." Mo Chihe once again avoided a pitfall and just praised loudly. Sun Tu and Xi Fengchang followed suit and praised loudly.
Just when everyone thought that today's matter was about to end, Mo Xiahe said: "Emperor, I think this incident has exposed some officials' incompetence. For example, the Capital Inspection Department He failed to show up in time during these two incidents, which is really an unforgivable crime! His chief minister, Li Kan, should be dismissed and severely punished, otherwise how can he convince the public?"
As soon as these words came out, the prince's face turned pale again, and he suddenly knew that something was wrong. Perhaps this was Mo Chihe's biggest goal in entering the palace this time. He came here for the position of Sizheng, the Inspection Department!
Many of the government offices in Xixia were learned from the Tang or Song Dynasties. The Inspection Department is the main office that patrols the security of the capital, and it can also be regarded as an extremely important government office in the capital. In order to let himself have more power, the prince spent a lot of effort to support one of his own to be promoted to the position of Chief of the Inspection Department. Unexpectedly, Mo Zhihe took this opportunity to attack him!
The scary thing is that now that he is guilty, it is really difficult to speak for Li Kan. The only way is to look at the emperor pleadingly.
The emperor also frowned, but when he met Mo Chihe's eyes, he knew that it was impossible for the other party to give in on this matter! Why is he willing to let the prince go easily and only damage his reputation? In the final analysis, it is for the position of Sizheng of the Inspection Department. If he interferes again, I am afraid that Mo Xichhe will rebound, and then the gain will not be worth the loss...