frightfiction Chapter 1023 Who exactly is behind all this?
Chapter 1023 Who exactly is behind all this?
As Emperor Zhu finished speaking, Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen fell silent.
It's like a saying Li Shanchang heard from a prince consort: Many things, if you don't weigh them, they're nothing; but if you do weigh them, they're as heavy as a thousand pounds.
From the Plowshare Case to the recently concluded Textbook Case, these cases all appear to have a beginning and an end, but upon closer examination, it is not difficult to find that they are all shrouded in layers of mystery.
In the case of the plowshare, the three names that were eventually identified were Wang Shaoyu of Yongjia, Wang Shaoyuan of Yuyao, and Liu Qingyuan of Changguo. Among them, Wang Shaoyu of Yongjia almost caused Liu Bowen's death.
The Blank Seal Case implicated hundreds of officials, both high and low, and ultimately affected tens of thousands of people.
The child abduction case and the ironware outflow case implicated a large number of gentry and officials in Jiangnan, and even Hu Weiyong almost got caught up in it.
Needless to say, the recent textbook scandal was almost completely wiped out, with a huge number of officials, from ministers to vice ministers, clerks, and other officials dying.
One major case after another, almost every one of which involved a large number of officials and "local gentry".
So, what exactly is the connection between these gentry and officials?
If there were no connection, why would these officials and gentry keep jumping out to court death?
Although it is said that "people die for wealth and birds die for food", these major cases have been uncovered one after another, and not even a bird can be scared. There are even people who dare to submit a memorial on the occasion of the Crown Prince's wedding, requesting that a concubine be established for the Crown Prince.
If there is a connection, how exactly did these gentry and officials get involved? Who was acting as their middleman? And who has been hiding behind the scenes all along?
The more Li Shanchang thought about it, the more confused he felt.
The person who instigated these cases was Yang Dianfeng, and among those who handled these cases were Lan Yu, Liu Bowen, Yang Dianfeng, and Xia Yu.
Among these people, who would show leniency to those local gentry and gentry, or even cover for them?
The answer is no.
Yang the Madman was at odds with the local gentry and gentry from the very beginning.
Lan Yu is a brainless person, but also the one who is the hardest to fool. Apart from the Emperor and the Crown Prince, only his own brother-in-law can control him. When the Emperor and the Crown Prince don't like the gentry, Lan Yu would like to kill them all.
Liu Bowen goes without saying; after all, he was repeatedly betrayed by his fellow townsmen from Zhejiang, and even his entire extended family had nearly died. If killing gentry indiscriminately were not illegal, Liu Qingtian would probably be even more eager than Lan Yu.
Xia Yu?
Everyone knows that Commander Xia Yu of the Command Guard is a mad dog, and he has used many methods to frame and torture gentry.
Moreover, the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard is not something that Xia Yu can control all by himself—the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Zhenfu Division is under the control of Yang Dianfeng, and several of the dozen or so commanders have been trained in the Imperial Son-in-Law's mansion. Even if Xia Yu wanted to cover up for the gentry, the difficulty would be no less than ascending to heaven.
So, who exactly is behind all of this?
Li Shanchang became increasingly confused and couldn't help but turn to look at Liu Bowen, only to see that Liu Bowen also had his brows furrowed, looking completely perplexed.
After a long while, Li Shanchang bowed to Emperor Zhu and said, "Your Majesty, I...I really can't think of anything, but..."
Li Shanchang cautiously glanced at Emperor Zhu and tentatively said, "Perhaps the Imperial Son-in-Law has some ideas?"
Emperor Zhu said with a dark face, "Has Mr. Shanchang forgotten that Bao'er and Wenying are with him right now?"
You, Li Shanchang, and Zhu Chongba, along with Liu Bowen, Xu Da, and Chang Yuchun, spent several days discussing and came up with a plan to fleece people, which was then handed over to Bao'er and Wenying to carry out.
If nothing unexpected happens, Bao'er and Wenying will be able to shave that bastard bald.
So, if you go to that bastard now, are you sure he won't stab you in the back?
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and said, "It's because the Duke of Cao and the Marquis of Xiping are with the Prince Consort—the Duke of Cao and the Marquis of Xiping will definitely tell the Prince Consort about what happened these past two days, and judging from the Prince Consort's personality, he will definitely not be able to resist taking action."
As Li Shanchang finished speaking, Emperor Zhu's eyes lit up.
As for his son-in-law, he was the kind of scoundrel who was more eager than anyone else to harm the gentry and gentry than to benefit them.
If Bao'er and Wenying can persuade him well, he might actually go after those officials and gentry.
……
Just as Emperor Zhu and Li Shanchang were plotting against Yang Shaofeng, Yang Shaofeng was also plotting against Emperor Zhu and Li Shanchang.
Old Deng and that old scoundrel Li Shanchang teamed up to fleece this official.
If I don't find a way to annoy them, it will make me seem easy to bully, and then anyone will dare to take advantage of me.
As for how to annoy them...
Yang Shaofeng stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked at Li Wenzhong and said, "Cousin just said that some people can't hold back and want to rebel. I wonder which local gentry and gentlemen they are?"
Li Wenzhong was a little unsure of Yang Shaofeng's thoughts, but he still honestly said, "It's mainly the gentry and gentlemen from Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi."
"However, there must be many gentry and nobles in other places who have been implicated as well."
"After all, it is a crime that punishes nine generations of one's family. These local gentry will definitely think that 'the law does not punish the masses' and try to drag more people down with them."
Yang Shaofeng simply curled his lip.
Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi.
It's really not surprising at all.
As for the local gentry dragging even more people down with them, that was entirely expected.
Yang Shaofeng pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked at Zhu Biao and said, "Your Highness, how many of those officials who petitioned to establish a concubine are innocent?"
Zhu Biao paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "There are a few innocent ones, but I can't say for sure. However, I can assure you that even if you put all these people together, they wouldn't be able to form a coherent mind."
"If they had any brains, they would never have submitted a memorial before my brother's wedding, saying something as ridiculous as requesting the establishment of a concubine!"
At this point, Zhu Biao's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "Brother-in-law, do you mean to investigate these officials?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled twice and said, "We definitely need to investigate, but not right now—at the very least, we need to know what kind of concubine they want to choose for His Highness the Crown Prince, right?"
Zhu Biao, with a dark and sour face, said, "I don't want to know!"