Chapter 1135 Understand the intention!

Seeing that Li Jian seemed to be going to continue his speech, Xiao Lingyu also spoke directly:
"So in your opinion, Lord Li, how should we deal with Ye Fu?"

Facing the gazes of Xiao Lingyu and Zhu Xiaowen, Li Jian thought for a moment and suggested in a deep voice:
"I suggest that Ye Fu be dismissed from his post as general of the 14th Division and demoted to... a sentry chief!"

After saying this, the Minister of Justice Li Jian also observed the expressions of his two colleagues beside him. He originally wanted to demote Ye Fu to a commander and give him a light punishment but looking at the expressions of Xiao Lingyu and Zhu Xiaowen, he finally changed it to a sentry captain, a level lower than the commander!

After hearing Li Jian's suggestion, Zhu Xiaowen remained expressionless, but Xiao Lingyu, the Left Censor-in-Chief, snorted coldly and said to Li Jian:

"Sir Li, you are the Minister of Justice, but I think I need to remind you that whether Ye Fu is suspected of rebellion or corruption, he is guilty of an unforgivable capital crime. According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, his family will be confiscated and his entire clan will be exterminated!"

"Considering that he came to his senses and turned back at the last moment, killing him alone and not implicate his family is already a mercy beyond the law!"

"Sir Li, not only did you not kill him, but you also let him continue to serve as an official?"

"If this is how it is handled, then wouldn't the law become a mere decoration? Would people in the world still know what reverence is? If the price of treason is so low, will there be lawless people who will follow suit in the future?"

Although Zhu Xiaowen, the Dali Temple Minister, did not agree with what Xiao Lingyu said, he looked at Li Jian at this time. It was obvious that he agreed with Xiao Lingyu's opinion and felt that the crime Li Jian had imposed on Ye Fu was too low and very inappropriate...

Facing Xiao Lingyu's sharp question, Li Jian, who knew he was in the wrong, looked away. After thinking twice, he continued:

"The Marshal often says that this specific problem needs to be analyzed specifically. Ye Baode, Huang Can, Yang Guoxu and others are the main criminals and cannot be forgiven, but Ye Fu is just an accomplice. He was not even willing to do it in his heart, but he had a handle in the hands of Ye Baode and others, so he was coerced by Ye Baode!"

Li Jian paused for a moment after he finished speaking. Seeing that Xiao Lingyu was about to fire again, he quickly changed the subject and continued:
"Although Ye Fu made a big mistake this time, he has always been a rising star in the army, and he has made outstanding achievements in the war with the Cumans!"

"This time the Marshal has handed Ye Fu over to us for trial. I think we should not only judge Ye Fu's mistakes, but also Ye Fu as a person!"

Hearing that Li Jian seemed to be determined to exonerate Ye Fu, Xiao Lingyu said coldly without any scruples:

"I heard that Ye Fu got a lot of dirty silver from Defengxing Company. Could it be that he gave it to you, Minister Li, in order to survive?"

Li Jian was stunned at first, then he slammed the table and said angrily:

"Master Xiao, I am just discussing the matter at hand. Please don't slander me!"

Xiao Lingyu said calmly:
"Whether I am slandering you or not, Minister Li, you know it in your heart. If it weren't you, why would you protect Ye Fu so much?"

"I························"

Hearing Xiao Lingyu slandering him, Li Jian was about to retort, but Zhu Xiaowen, who was standing by, saw that the two were getting more and more excessive, and before Li Jian could finish his words, he immediately tried to smooth things over:

"You two are both pillars of the court! You are all for the court. Don't do this! Don't do this!"

Li Jian calmed down a little after hearing that. He didn't say what he wanted to say just now. He looked at Xiao Lingyu who was as steady as a rock, then snorted coldly and left.

Seeing this, Zhu Xiaowen frowned and said to Xiao Lingyu beside him:

"Master Xiao, what you just said was a bit too much!"

Xiao Lingyu sighed and said:

"Master Zhu, Li Jian may seem loyal, but he is actually a man who deserves death!"

Zhu Xiaowen was shocked when he heard Xiao Lingyu say this. Just when he was about to say something, he saw Xiao Lingyu also got up and said goodbye and left.

Seeing that both of them had left, Zhu Xiaowen, who stayed where he was, couldn't help but shook his head.

In the evening, Zhu Xiaowen came to Cui's house under the pretext of wishing a happy new year to his teacher Cui Shao. After having a meal with Cui's family, Zhu Xiaowen also entered Cui Shao's study.

Because he was in front of his old mentor who had promoted him, Zhu Xiaowen drank some tea to sober up, and then he didn't hide anything and asked directly:
"Teacher, have you heard any rumors about Ye Baode's rebellion?"

Facing Zhu Xiaowen's question, Cui Shao shook his head and said:

“I’ve heard about some of what happened at Defengxing, but I didn’t expect Ye Baode to be so bold as to cause such a big incident…”

"Come to think of it, I originally thought he was just a small businessman, but now it seems that I really underestimated him!"

Hearing Cui Shao say this, Zhu Xiaowen asked in confusion:
"Teacher, you actually know about Defengxing, why don't you report it to the Marshal?"

Faced with this question, Cui Shao was silent for a moment and then spoke quietly:

"The most important thing for a minister is to do his duty well. I am the Minister of Revenue, not the Minister of Punishment, and certainly not the Censor of the Censorate!"

Upon hearing this answer, Zhu Xiaowen's heart sank, and he immediately realized more clearly the rather delicate situation of his teacher in the current Yijing court.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Xiaowen told Cui Shao about the punishment he, Xiao Lingyu and Li Jian had discussed today.

After listening to Zhu Xiaowen's story, Cui Shao thought for a while and asked calmly:

"Xiao Wen, what do you think about this matter?"

Zhu Xiaowen said without hesitation:
"Teacher, I think Minister Li is well-known in the court for his integrity. The reason why he protects Ye Fu is definitely not for money!"

"In my opinion, the reason why he is like this is probably because he is trying to figure out the Marshal's intentions. Minister Li thinks that the Marshal not only does not want to kill Ye Fu, but even wants to continue using Ye Fu!"

After saying that, Zhu Xiaowen also looked at Cui Shao. He figured out this idea after thinking about it for an afternoon. He felt that only this way could explain why Li Jian wanted to save Ye Fu so much...
The reason why Li Jian was able to rise quickly in the Fengwu Army, in addition to his own talents and moral character, was that in the past series of internal struggles within the Fengwu Army, Li Jian basically stayed out of it, watching the fire from the other side of the river, and just followed Ye Mingsheng's footsteps! And his actions were naturally appreciated by Ye Mingsheng, making him the youngest of the six ministers in the Yijing court!
Based on this, Zhu Xiaowen felt that Li Jian might have felt that the Marshal wanted to let Ye Fu go, but was not in a position to speak up, so he handed the case over to the three courts for trial, thinking that if the three courts decided to let Ye Fu go, the Marshal could go with the flow and make a big deal out of a small matter!
This can also explain why Xiao Lingyu said that Li Jian seemed loyal but was actually a murderous person!
After all, to put it nicely, Li Jian's action was to understand the emperor's intentions, but to put it bluntly, it was just flattery, and he failed to fulfill his duty as a subject!
In response to his disciple's question, Cui Shao did not answer directly but asked back:

"Xiao Wen, let me ask you! Who do you think is more guilty of this matter, Ye Tie or Ye Fu?"

Cui Shao's question made Zhu Xiaowen fall into deep thought. After thinking for half a cup of tea, he slowly said:
“Teacher, I think that although General Ye Tie did not participate in Ye Baode’s rebellion and did not gain any benefits from Defengxing Company, I still think that his guilt is greater than Ye Fu…”

"why?"

"The reason is very simple! He is the general commander of Yijing, commanding all the troops of Yijing. It can be said that the commander-in-chief has entrusted his life and property to him, but he didn't even know about such a big thing. What's more, his deputy Huang Can is one of the masterminds!"

"This is a serious dereliction of duty! I think it is not excessive to kill Ye Tie just for this reason!"

Feeling the decisiveness in his disciple's words, Cui Shao also looked at him and preached seriously:

"So how did the Marshal deal with Ye Tie?"

Zhu Xiaowen was stunned when he heard this. After a moment, he said, as if he understood something:
"The Marshal asked him to go home and reflect, and wait for further action!"

"So, Xiaowen, do you understand the Marshal's attitude towards Ye Fu?"

Zhu Xiaowen took a deep breath and nodded heavily.
"Teacher, I understand. The Marshal does not want to protect Ye Fu!"

After hearing the answer from his disciple, Cui Shao shook his head and said:

"Xiao Wen, you still don't understand!"

Zhu Xiaowen immediately looked puzzled when he heard the words and said doubtfully:
"Teacher, isn't Ye Tie the only one the Marshal really wants to save?"

“If the Marshal wants to save Ye Fu, he can naturally do the same as he did with Ye Tie and let the Ye family go home to reflect and wait for processing…”

Upon hearing this, Cui Shao guided again:
"Do Ye Tie and Ye Fu have the same status in the army?"

"Of course they are different! Although Ye Fu is a rising star that the Marshal admires very much, Ye Tie is the Marshal's most trusted general and a veteran in the army! Although they are both generals in name, there is still a big difference in their status in the army!"

After hearing this answer, Cui Shaocai gave a meaningful sermon:

"Because of their different identities and status, the way we treat Ye Tie cannot be used on Ye Fu. It's fine for Ye Fu to be tried by the three courts, but Ye Tie must not be tried by the three courts!"

Although Cui Shao's words consisted of only a few words, the amount of information contained in his words was very large, which made Zhu Xiaowen a little stunned.

While Zhu Xiaowen was digesting this information, Cui Shao said with some emotion:
"Li Jian was able to rise to the top so quickly. He is indeed a smart man and is very good at figuring out the Marshal's thoughts!"

"Xiao Lingyu is right. Li Jian's actions are indeed despicable. Xiaowen, do you think he really wants to help Ye Fu?"

This question once again confused Zhu Xiaowen. After thinking carefully for a while, he said uncertainly:
"Teacher, doesn't he want to help Ye Fu?"

Cui Shao smiled and shook his head when he heard this.

“Li Jian never really thought about helping Ye Fu. If he really wanted to help Ye Fu reduce his guilt, he would not have suggested demoting Ye Fu to the position of sentry leader…”

"Li Jian is the Minister of Justice. He knows very well that Ye Fu's crime is worthy of extermination. Just like Xiao Lingyu said, only investigating Ye Fu's crime and not implicating his family is already a mercy outside the law!"

"So if Li Jian really wanted to protect Ye Fu, he would not suggest demoting Ye Fu to a sentry leader, but would directly suggest demoting Ye Fu to a commoner!"

After hearing Cui Shao's incisive analysis, Zhu Xiaowen suddenly realized and blurted out:
"Teacher, what you mean is that when Li Jian proposed to demote Ye Fu to sentry leader, he knew that Lord Xiao and I would object. So he made this suggestion without wanting to help Ye Fu. He just wanted to show off in front of the Marshal!"

Seeing Zhu Xiaowen's reaction, Cui Shaocai nodded slightly and said:
"Although Li Jian is young, he is very scheming. He knows very well that if he really pulls Ye Fu this time, it will definitely cause some criticism in the court, and these criticisms will definitely affect his future prospects!"

“So he wants the Marshal to remember his kindness, but doesn’t want to bear all the criticism. It’s a beautiful thought! He wants to take advantage of everything, but he is not prepared to pay anything in return…”

Zhu Xiaowen felt a chill on his back when he heard this. He only saw that Li Jian was trying to figure out the boss' intentions, but he didn't expect that Li Jian had so many twists and turns behind the scenes!

At this time, Cui Shao asked with great interest:

"Xiao Wen, now that you understand, what are you going to do? You are the Dali Temple Minister, you need to make your own voice heard on this issue!"

Zhu Xiaowen pondered for a while, raised his head and said to Cui Shao:

"Teacher, tomorrow I will write a letter to the Marshal to have Ye Fu dismissed from his post, his property confiscated, and demoted to a commoner, with three years of hard labor!"

Hearing this answer, Cui Shao stroked his beard and said with satisfaction:
"Ruzi can be taught!"

"Wanting to take advantage without paying anything, there is no such good thing in this world. If you want to take advantage of everything, you will end up taking nothing at all!"

Zhu Xiaowen also humbly preached upon hearing this:
"Thank you for your advice, Master! Otherwise, Xiaowen would still be kept in the dark!"

When saying this, Zhu Xiaowen's expression was filled with gratitude that was beyond words. He knew very well that Li Jian was not someone who did not understand this truth, it was just that his personal situation was different!

Although Li Jian gained the benefits of neutrality by remaining neutral, it also meant that he had no one to help him in the court, so he had to carefully consider the consequences of the controversy caused by protecting Ye Fu!
And Zhu Xiaowen is Cui Shao's student, so the influence of Cui Shao's criticism can be reduced to a minimum·····················

(End of this chapter)