On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, near New Year's Eve, a storm hit Bianjing.
Although there is constant wind and snow today, it does not affect people's steps to go out. The entire Bianjing City is still full of the flavor of the New Year and the flow of people is endless. Especially the markets represented by Daxiangguo Temple and Dongxi Market are overcrowded and packed with people. There are too many people purchasing items needed for the New Year, which makes the whole city glow with strong vitality.
Nowadays, there is perhaps only one place in Bianliang City that is much deserted than usual, and that is the major government offices. Because the Song Dynasty always tolerated scholar-bureaucrats and officials, and the current officialdom is extravagant and frivolous, all major yamen had closed their offices as early as the 20th day. Only yamen with such important responsibilities as the Ministry of War, the Privy Council, and the Kaifeng Mansion would continue to appoint People stayed behind, and this also included the Yintai Department, which sent and received various government orders and documents every day, allowing the court and the emperor to know the people's affairs in various parts of the world at the first time.
However, due to the special day, there were only two or three big cats and kittens left in the Yintai Department today. Among them, Liu Yong, the chief officer, was in charge of the overall situation, while other officials helped with some chores. As for the memorials and official documents from various places that have been sent to the Yamen recently, as long as they do not really threaten the safety of the Song Dynasty, they will put them away after checking them and only wait until next year's Lantern Festival to deal with them.
In this way, even if he stayed behind in the Yamen, Chief Liu was not really busy. He could still leisurely read and play chess in his mansion and enjoy himself. But around noon, when a clerk moved a rather heavy wooden box into the public house, his leisurely life was completely interrupted.
Looking at this wooden box that was three or four feet in size, Liu Yong was a little confused: "What is this, and how come it was sent to our bank? Could it be that someone in the local area wanted to use our hands to transfer something heavy?" A gift to a high-ranking official?"
"Back to the boss, this is a memorial that was urgently delivered from Lingzhou, Shandong. It also has the seals of many officials." The clerk who brought the box in hurriedly explained in a low voice, and then pointed to the special sticker on the top of the box. Only then did Liu Yong understand, but the look of confusion on his face did not diminish.
He has been in the Yintai Department for two or three years, and handles as many as eighty memorials and official documents every day, but he has never seen such a large number of memorials. After waving his men away, Liu Yong, who was curious, stepped forward and opened the sealed wooden box with a knife. When he took a look inside, he found that there was not any valuables inside as he thought. It was indeed a thick stack of Thick writing.
"It's really weird, even a thousand words of memorials don't have so many burdens..." As he said that, he took out the top memorial and saw that it read clearly on the cover: "I would like to report the serious evils of Lingzhou" written on the cover. A few big characters made Liu Yong's heart suddenly sink, and a bad feeling emerged. Then he thought about it again, and found that Sun Tu's name was somewhat familiar.
While thinking about it, he had gently opened the memorandum, and after reading only a few lines, Master Liu's expression changed even more. After a moment, his body started to tremble slightly: "This... how is this possible? ? How could the Lingzhou Magistrate collude with foreigners? This is a serious crime of confiscating a family and exterminating a clan..." After looking down with an uneasy mood, he realized that compared with what was reported later, the Lingzhou Magistrate mentioned earlier The various crimes committed by the Litongjin people are not worth mentioning at all, because what is mentioned later in this memorial about this man
The prefect's crime was actually related to the current Grand Master Cai Jing, and he directly explained all the crimes of Prefect Weng, who was responsible for causing trouble, plundering people's wealth and bribing Grand Master Cai.
When Liu Yong's back felt cold and his forehead was sweating, he read all these things. When he reached the end, he realized why he had received such a big box: "Your Majesty, officials and herdsmen are actually for me. The barrier of the Song Dynasty. What Mr. Weng has done today has deeply harmed the country, and the people's resentment is boiling. The court should deal with it strictly to calm the people's hearts. Today, 32,000 soldiers and civilians of Lingzhou have jointly signed a memorial, begging Your Majesty to put the country and the country first. , Far away villains, chase away traitors and sycophants, then the world will be settled and the people will be safe..." Behind them are the names of a large number of local officials headed by Sun Tu...
Liu Yong felt that the memorial weighed more than a thousand kilograms, which was too heavy for him to hold in his hands. His hands began to tremble slightly, and his breathing became rapid. He simply couldn't believe that there were still people in the world who dared to target the current prime minister, Grand Master Cai Jing!
Who is Cai Jing? He was a truly powerful minister who had won the favor of several emperors, held the power of the world, had disciples and former officials all over the world, and could decide who was selected for the central committee with just one word. In the early years, there were still people who dared to speak against him and even impeached him for some things. However, in the end, the fate of those people was very miserable. They were either convicted and sent to the frontier, or they were demoted to common people and never used them. It can be said that in the officialdom of the Song Dynasty in the past ten years, no one could be the opponent of Grand Master Cai, and now in the past two years, no one dares to be his enemy.
But today, a small local official actually dared to defy Cai Jing in such a big way. Although the impeachment memorial mentioned very little about Cai Jing, the last few sentences were directly directed at the other party. This was completely intended to openly contradict him. It means being an enemy. This is simply a move on Tai Sui's head, pulling out teeth from the tiger's mouth.
Not to mention writing such a memorial, Liu Yong felt panic just looking at this thing, as if he was holding a time bomb that could explode at any time. He knew very well that if he really dared to submit this memorial to the emperor, it was hard to say what would happen to Sun Tu who suggested it. His official position as the head of the Banking Department would definitely be stripped to the end, and he might also be detained. He was convicted of something and then demoted to a remote place where a bird never shits, for the rest of his life.
"This matter must not be sent to the palace. Even if it is a book of thousands of people, it cannot be known to His Majesty!" Liu Yong quickly made a decision. Fortunately, the Yintai Division still has the power to refute. Although this power is not aimed at hundreds of officials, it must be used inappropriately at this time and returned. This may also help the man named Sun Tu. Official Leng Touqing did a big favor and saved his life.
But just when Liu Yong secretly made up his mind and planned to return this memorial, a thought suddenly popped into his head: "Sun Tu... Could it be that Sun Tu from Qingzhou..." At this time, he finally turned a corner. , and after recalling the contents of the previous memorial, he became more and more certain that his judgment was correct: "It is indeed him..."
In today's Song Dynasty court, Sun Tu can be regarded as a well-known figure. He can train troops, fight, and has made many achievements, but these abilities are not enough to attract everyone's attention. The real reason why officials all over the dynasty were extremely familiar with the name Sun Tu was that he was too brave and his methods were too ruthless.
There are hundreds of Qingzhou officials under his command.
In the eyes of all civil servants, this guy who didn't take any official rules seriously and even trampled on them was a terrible lunatic. For this reason, many people targeted him and impeached him. But in the end, they were all blocked by Tong Guan and others, so that everyone later acquiesced in the existence of this special military attache.
But today, this guy who was afraid of chaos in the world actually did such a thing again, which had a huge impact on Liu Yong. After thinking of this, a thought that made him even more panic arose in his heart: "This Sun Tu has always been Tong Guan's person. Could it be that he was also instigated by him in this incident? Could it be that Tong Guan has already Are you planning to fall out with Cai Jing, and there will be another turmoil in the court?" Thinking of this, his hand trembled, and he finally couldn't hold the memorial, and let it fall on the case with a clatter.
This judgment was indeed enough to make him feel flustered, because if it was true, the situation of the bank department, especially him who was unlucky enough to receive this memorial in the Yamen today and open it to those who had read it, would become extremely dangerous. .
If Tong Guan really wanted to attack Cai Jing, he would not be able to use just this one move. There must be a steady stream of moves behind him. By that time, if he conceals this memorial, he will definitely become the target of their attack. In the battle between the two giants, a low-ranking official like him is not even considered cannon fodder.
But the question is, how dare Liu Yong send this memorial to the palace? If Tong Guan wants to eat people, will Cai Jing stop eating people? It can be said that what is before him now is a dead end road blocked at both ends. No matter which one he chooses, he will definitely die!
Deep regret kept rising in Liu Yong's heart: "Why did I agree to be on duty today? Even if I offend those superior officials, it would be much better than the current situation. Now I don't even pretend to know the content of this memorial. No, I've already taken apart everything and looked at it, and there are so many people watching in the Yamen, what should I do?" For a moment, he had the idea of death.
After pacing the room in anxiety and panic for a long time, Liu Yong still couldn't make up his mind. Finally, he gritted his teeth and decided to find someone to discuss it. Fortunately, it was the Chinese New Year, and there were not many people in the yamen, so things could still be delayed for the time being. He still had half a month to think of a solution.
Of course, he couldn't really be so calm, so he left the Banking Department in the afternoon, then went to the door in person and invited a long-time friend to a famous private room in a famous restaurant in Beijing. In order to reminisce about old times, I actually asked the other party about this problem.
His friend's surname was Lu Mingzhen, and he was a member of the Ministry of War. His status was much higher than that of Liu Yong. He had seen much more of the world and had many more ways to deal with various problems.
But despite this, after drinking for three rounds and Liu Yong worriedly revealed the problem he was facing, Lu Zhen still had a look of fright on his face: "Are you serious?"
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On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, I wish you all a happy holiday and may your next study and work be as successful and smooth as the full moon tonight. . . . Presumably after today, the epidemic that has troubled us for a long time will come to an end just like this new year... I hope so. . . . .