Lin Shiling felt that every part of his body was not shaking or scared. He just recounted what he just said according to His Highness the Prince's exact words, and he already felt cold sweat, liver and gallbladder split, and his legs were trembling. Can't do it myself.
If he hadn't been afraid that he wouldn't be able to fulfill His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's order and forced himself to just narrate and not imagine, he might have collapsed on the ground before he could finish speaking to Suo Yuanli.
In my heart, I couldn't help but sigh at Suo Yuanli's calmness. He was able to face such torture and remain calm and calm. Although he knew that he was also afraid, his mental endurance was probably a hundred times stronger than his own. .
The court hall became even quieter as Suo Yuanli walked in. Zhongshu Ling Pei Yan, Menxia Sheng Cen Changqian, Shangshu Sheng Zhang Wenguan, Cui Yuanzong, Xingbu Cui Zhiwen, Dali Temple Di Renjie, and Yushitai Li Qiao were divided into two rows. Standing in the center of the court, the person in charge of the trial was naturally Di Renjie, who personally investigated the case.
The other officials and nobles looked at each other in shock, watching Suo Yuanli walk into the Xuanzheng Hall, and couldn't help but think: 'If this person really killed the students of the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall, then the Jinyang Wang family is really doomed. '
And some of them also began to consider, if Wang was really convicted, should they consider how to distance themselves from Wang
When the other officials recommended by the Jinyang Wang family looked at each other, they also saw deep worries in each other's eyes. The Wang family's situation was over, would the imperial court's punishment also affect them
Yan Zhaofu's face was livid. He had been kept in the dark from the beginning. Kong Zhiyue privately changed the imperial examination papers and impersonated the successful candidates. He lobbied himself to go to Di Renjie's residence with him, hoping that for the sake of the reputation of the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall, the impact of the scholar's murder case could be reduced, or even the case could be closed hastily.
I originally thought that these were all done by Kong Zhiyue for the sake of the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall, but now it seems that I was used by Kong Zhiyue as a tool to force Di Renjie to close the case this morning.
Li Zhi and Wu Mei behind the screen looked at each other when they saw Suo Yuanli walking in. Isn't this the same barbarian who followed Princess Qianjin and brought a few warlocks with him a few days ago? The family members of Princess Qianjin's family will ask for a gift of yuan.
Wu Mei looked worried. The collapse of the Wang family was naturally a good thing for her, but Li Hong chose to convict in court. How many people in the world would believe that the Wang family deserved it? Doesn't Li Hong seem a little eager for success and a little urgent
At least after the four families and six surnames came to court, for the sake of their respective reputations, they would definitely help the Wang family to absolve themselves of their crimes in front of the world's scholars. They are not doing this for the Wang family, or because they are so good or close to the Wang family, but they obviously understand the principle of both prosperity and loss.
If the Jinyang Wang family murders a scholar and is recognized by scholars all over the world, then the scholars will definitely think that the same thing will happen to the other four surnames and six families. In this way, the reputation of the four surnames and six families will also be damaged, so they obviously I won’t choose to sit on the sidelines after the next court meeting.
And in this way, with the mediation and justification of the four surnames and six families in front of the world's scholars, Li Hong's grand trial in the court today became weak and powerless. By then, it was just the replacement of the Jinyang Wang family. Just a family head.
Li Zhi listened to Wu Mei whispering his worries and nodded in agreement. Indeed, it is too difficult to kill the Wang family of Jinyang all at once. The other four surnames plus the meritorious wealthy families, etc., and the court The officials above were also recommended by the Wang family. After the next court, after their explicit and covert excuses, the Wang family was still a century-old family and still enjoyed great reputation among the scholars in the world.
Since Li Zhi and Wu Mei behind the screen can think of these disadvantages, there are naturally people in the front hall who can think of these disadvantages, and one of them is Wang Yuan!
The originally gloomy and solemn expression became a little panicked after Suo Yuanli came in, but after a while, he obviously figured out some of the pros and cons. As he just said, for the sake of the Wang family's century-long existence, even if it is a ride. What's the point of taking this old life of his
If you can exchange your own life for the Wang family to continue to enjoy supreme prestige among the scholars in the world, then what's the point of being imprisoned? Although he cannot have a reputation of incorruptibility among the court historians, at least in the Wang family tree, his personality will become even greater in the eyes of the Wang family's descendants.
"No, Li Hong will not let the Wang family succeed. This is not in line with Li Hong's style. He must have a back-up plan, and there must be a way to completely kill the Wang family, but we don't know it yet." Wu Mei murmured to herself, although she said so, she really couldn't think of any other means that could give Wang a fatal blow above the court and among the scholars in the world.
Li Zhi was a little curious, and the queen was actually nervous. Although he knew why the queen wanted the Wang family to decline, he still couldn't help but be curious: "Then what else does the queen think Li Hong can do? Even if Wang Yuan admits it now, for the Wang family, The century-old foundation of Maimai may not be severely damaged..."
"What did we miss?" Wu Mei suddenly interrupted Li Zhi and asked.
"What is missing?" Li Zhi became even more confused.
"In the front hall, the emperor's relatives live here, the nobles and nobles live here, hundreds of officials are arranged on both sides, the lower right corner is where the five surnames and seven families are, the great scholars of Hongxue live in the lower left corner, and there are people standing in the four corners of the Xuanzheng Hall "What's the use of such a big gap between the royal family and the wealthy family? What's the use of the gap between Hongxue Daru and the Five Surnames and Seven Families?" Wu Mei smiled, and she smiled calmly. I admire the little brat more and more.
Is there any more useful method than borrowing the words of scholars from all over the world? What Wang fears most is that the world's scholars know that he murdered the scholars of the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall. Then Li Hong will definitely use the eyes and mouths of the scholars of the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall to make Wang's evil deeds public to the world.
As soon as Wu Mei finished speaking, Hua Meng's voice rang out from the Xuanzheng Hall: "Your Highness, students from the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall, I don't know where they heard that their classmates were murdered by the Wang family of Jinyang. Now there are many people gathered there. People, I would like to ask you to allow them to question Wang in the court..."
"It's nonsense, it's not allowed. This is the court, not a place where their students can come. The only places they can go to are the Imperial College and the Hongwen Hall. Besides, there is not enough evidence to prove..." Li Hong was very angry. , slapped the case and scolded Hua Meng loudly.
But someone has already stood up to speak for the students. Cui of Qinghe was the first to stand up and said: "Your Highness, I believe that the world's scholars are the pillars of our Tang Dynasty. Your Highness should treat them with courtesy, not to mention that this case concerns thousands of people in the world. With the hearts of thousands of scholars, I believe that in order to show the importance the court attaches to students, they should be allowed to come and listen."
"Yes, Your Highness, I also think that students should be allowed to come and listen. Although this is the Xuanzheng Palace of the Tang Dynasty, today I am going to court on the grounds of this case."
"Your Highness, I second the motion. This case is related to the murder of classmates from the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall. Your Highness should be considerate of the students' concern for their classmates."
"Your Highness, I believe that students should be allowed to enter the Xuanzheng Hall to hear the case together. As a student of the Tang Dynasty, he was murdered, and his students care about the injustice of their classmates. It is really a blessing for us in the Tang Dynasty. We should see that students We are not afraid of power, and we are not afraid of the courage of evil people.”
Five surnames and seven families were able to stand for two hundred years without declining. Li Hong felt that he had truly found the reason. His quick response and the method of immediately changing the direction of the wind after learning about the joint request from the students of the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall were enough. Let them stand tall.
The first to speak out were the four surnames and the six families. They weighed the pros and cons almost at the same time. They would rather go against the royal family than dare to go against the world's literati. They instantly knew where they should stand. The side's position is up.
If they still dare to protect the Wang family at this moment, they believe that as long as His Highness the Crown Prince spreads the word about today's court affairs through the mouths of many students in the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall, the reputation of the Five Surnames and Seven Families will plummet. Then came the real rise of the imperial examination system.
So now, in order to protect the reputation of his clan, it is naturally the most reasonable choice to sacrifice the Wang family who has already stepped off the edge of the cliff with one foot.
Wu Mei and Li Zhi laughed at the same time. Their expressions of realization made them involuntarily think of what Li Hong had said: "The direction of public opinion. If the court controls the direction of public opinion, the five surnames and seven families will be nothing!"
Wu Mei also used a feather duster to review her magical skill of beating people because of Li Hong's indecent words.
The two of them didn't understand the abstract term of public opinion guidance at first, but now Li Hong personally gave them a demonstration, and allowed the emperor and the empress to see how powerful public opinion guidance was.
And they also understood the importance of the Imperial College and the Hongwen Hall. In fact, it was no less important than the seven families with five surnames or the noble families above the court. No matter which force they were in, no one was as sharp as the sons of the world's literati. , it makes people feel even more stressed.
"This is a double-edged sword." Wu Mei finally concluded, giving a concluding comment on the power of the students from the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall in the Xuanzheng Hall today.
Wang Yuan suddenly became much older, his gray beard and hair became much withered, and his originally bright eyes became gloomy. Even the crutch, which was originally very calm, was shaking involuntarily in his hand at this moment. , as if to show how excited and shocked he was!
He never expected that His Highness the Prince would actually ask students from the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall to come and listen. In this way, after these scholars' unanimous support, it would be difficult for the Wang family to rise again!
(End of chapter)