Chapter 382 Killing good people and taking credit

Li Ying glanced at everyone, and finally looked at Du Fu, and said: "Let Zimei take the lead in this matter. I will promote you to the position of Zhongshu Sheren."

"Yes." Du Fu was overjoyed and accepted the order immediately.

Li Heng originally wanted to add something else, but at this time, Feng Changqing and Cen Shen asked for a meeting.

Seeing Cen Shen's anxious look, Li Heng thought that something went wrong with the attack on Buddhist temples and Taoist temples.

I only heard Cen Shen say, "Your Majesty, a woman from Fengxiang has come to Jingzhao Prefecture to appeal for justice."

Li Heng asked doubtfully, "If there is any injustice, just handle it impartially."

Cen Shen said, "This woman is the wife of Cao Dalang, the guard of Fengxiang Horse Farm. She said that her husband was killed by Xie Yifu, a lieutenant general under General Li Siye, who claimed credit for killing him. General Li Siye protected his subordinate and wanted to kill her to silence her."

Li Siye is still in charge of suppressing the rebellion in Qizhou, and Fengxiang is governed by Qizhou.

When Li Heng heard Li Siye's name, he knew why Cen Shen panicked. At this moment, if Li Siye's subordinates really killed innocent people to claim credit, and Li Siye protected his subordinates and attempted to kill people to silence them, then he could not favor Li Siye.

Li Heng pondered for a moment and asked, "Killing the guard is a big deal. How did Li Siye report it at the time?"

Feng Changqing said: "Li Siye reported that it was the guards who took advantage of the rebellion to rob the people. Xie Yifu saw them and beheaded them on the spot."

Li Ying said, "Since they were caught red-handed, it won't be hard to find the robbers. Let them come out and testify, and then the matter will be clear, right?"

Feng Changqing said, "Prefectural Governor Cen sent Jingzhao Prefecture's Cui Boyang to investigate. Cui Boyang reported back that Cao Dalang had indeed robbed people. Cao Dalang's wife did not believe it and reported it to the Censorate. Attendant Censor Mao Ruoxu went to investigate again and reported back that Cao Dalang had not robbed people. It was General Li Siye who had people give false testimony. The so-called people who were robbed were just passers-by. Cao Dalang went to help General Li Siye suppress the rebellion."

Li Ying found it a bit confusing and seemed to be thinking about something.

At this time, Wei Jiansu came to see.

Wei Jiansu presented Li Heng with a stack of memorials.

Li Heng took a quick look and found that the memorials were all impeaching Li Siye and Cen Shen.

Li Siye was impeached for shielding his subordinates, and Cen Shen was impeached for shielding his fellow soldier Li Siye.

Li Heng read it silently and asked Wei Jiansu, "What do you think the left prime minister should do?"

Wei Jiansu said, "Your Majesty has been guarding the border for more than ten years. You should know that although killing innocent people to claim credit is a bad habit, it is difficult to stop. The court has always turned a blind eye. Xie Yifu has made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion, so his merits and demerits should be offset and he will not be investigated further. General Li Siye and Prefect Cen were both deceived and do not need to be punished."

Wei Jiansu's words sounded like he was speaking for Xie Yifu, Li Siye and Cen Shen, but in fact, they confirmed the guilt of the three. If Li Heng agreed, he would be protecting his cronies and failing to distinguish right from wrong.

If Li Heng does not respond, then send someone to re-check.

However, if Li Heng sent another confidant, even if it was found that Xie Yifu did not kill innocent people to gain credit, others would think that Li Heng was just going through the motions.

Moreover, killing innocent people to claim credit was indeed very common during war. Did Li Heng really believe Xie Yifu?
Li Heng thought for a moment and said, "The results of the two investigations are different, so we can't make a final conclusion. Send someone to investigate again. If Xie Yifu really killed innocent people and took credit for it, I will execute him without mercy. Li Siye and Cen Shen should also be punished."

When Wei Jiansu heard that Li Heng really wanted to re-investigate, his expression changed slightly and he said, "Yes."

Li Heng asked, "Who does the Left Prime Minister think should be sent?"

Wei Jiansu said: "I dare not speak rashly, please let your majesty make a wise decision."

Li Heng said, "Li Xian, the Chief Censor, is well-known for his virtue. Pei Zunqing, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Quan Xian, the Junior Minister of the Supreme Court, are also known for their impartiality. Let the three of them go."

Li Xian was the third son of Li Yi, Prince of Xin'an; Pei Zunqing was from the Pei family of Hedong; and Quan Xian was the son of a scholar from a poor family.

The three people Li Ying picked were not only not his direct descendants, but also had different backgrounds. The results of the investigation of these three people were more convincing. Wei Jiansu had nothing to say, and replied: "Your Majesty is wise."

……

Li Xian and the other two received the order and went to Fengxiang to investigate.

All three of them were capable officials, and within a few days, they presented the results to Li Heng.

Xie Yifu did not kill the wrong person. Cao Dalang did rob the people and had a bad reputation. Cao Dalang's wife was kept in the dark and thought her husband was a good man. The so-called Li Siye wanted to kill her to silence her was deliberately fabricated by her because she thought Li Siye was protecting Xie Yifu.

As for the people who were robbed at that time, they lied because they were coerced by the underground forces in Fengxiang.

Li Xian followed the clues and found out that the manipulator behind the Fengxiang underground forces was the local powerful Zhu family, and behind the Zhu family was Cui Guangyuan.

When Li Heng saw the result, he finally understood that the family was behind this matter, trying to instigate him and his men, and at the same time betting that he would not handle the matter impartially.

The powerful families set traps one after another, and Li Heng countered them by immediately asking the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate to jointly try Cui Guangyuan.

Cui Guangyuan was completely unable to withstand Yuan Zai's torture and confessed everything as soon as he arrived at the prison. He confessed that Wei Jiansu knew from the beginning that they were calling a black cat a white cat and framing Xie Yifu, and that Mao Ruoxu's false report was instigated by Wei Jiansu.

Li Heng didn't want to fall out with Wei Jiansu so quickly, but since Wei Jiansu had done this, he couldn't tolerate it any longer.

Li Heng ordered that Cui Guangyuan be executed, Wei Jiansu be demoted to be a county lieutenant in Lingnan, and Mao Ruoxu be stripped of his official position and exiled to Bozhou, never to be employed again.

At the same time, Liu Yan was promoted to be the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and Feng Changqing was promoted to be the Palace Attendant.

……

Hebei.

While Li Heng was dealing with the problems brought about by the implementation of the Two Tax System, the Battle of Hebei also began.

Shi Siming ascended the throne in Fan Yang and proclaimed himself emperor. The country's name remained Dayan. He revered An Lushan as the great sage and saintly teacher, and named Shi Chaoyi as King Huai.

On the second day after he ascended the throne, Shi Siming appointed Gao Xiuyan as the commander-in-chief of the western route and Cai Xide as the deputy commander-in-chief. They went out of Juyongguan and marched into Yunzhou, leaving Gao Xiuyan and Cai Xide's wives and children in Fan Yang as hostages.

He himself served as the commander-in-chief of the southern route, and he and Shi Chaoyi marched south in two different routes.

Gao Xiuyan and Cai Xide captured Weizhou and Yunzhou one after another with lightning speed.

Li Guangbi went around Hebei to Hedong and headed straight for Yunzhou, where he confronted Gao Xiuyan and Cai Xide in Yunzhou City.

Gao Xiuyan and Cai Xide knew how powerful Li Guangbi was. In addition, their strategic goal was not to invade Hedong, but to prevent Li Guangbi from besieging Youzhou from Juyongguan. Therefore, after capturing Yunzhou, they did not leave the city for a decisive battle, but instead held the city.

There was a Yu River outside Yunzhou City. After the rebels defended Yunzhou City, they grazed their livestock opposite the Yu River to save food and fodder.

The rebels' horses were all good quality horses. Li Guangbi was envious when he saw them, so he came up with a plan.

Li Guangbi ordered the soldiers to gather all the mares in the army, a total of 500, and then locked up the foals of the mares. The mares couldn't find the foals and kept neighing.

The rebel horses on the opposite side heard the mare's neighing and came to chase the mare, then fell into the Imperial River and drowned thousands of them.

Gao Xiuyan was furious, but he did not dare to launch an attack. He could only lock up all the war horses and feed them with food and fodder.

During marches and battles, the consumption of one warhorse is equivalent to that of three soldiers. Li Guangbi's move was to increase the rebels' consumption of food and fodder.

(End of this chapter)