Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 206: Meeting the Emperor at Ganquan Palace

Wu Meiniang, wearing an apricot-yellow coat, walked to a couch and sat down. A maid had already handed her a heater.

"Tell me, why did you wake me up so late? Did something happen?" Wu Meiniang held the heater and glanced at Zhang Duohai who was standing beside her.

Zhang Duohai hurriedly said: "Your Highness, everything is under your control. The Xiao family is rebelling!"

Wu Meiniang's expression remained unchanged as she said calmly, "Tell me clearly, what's going on?"

Zhang Duohai then gathered several leaders of the Xiao family together to discuss rebellion, and finally Xiao Siye's confidant told the situation to Xiao Shuren.

Xiao Shuren left the Xiao Mansion through the back door and went to the Jinwu Wei Yi Mansion to report the Xiao family.

Zhang Duohai said with a smile, "Yuchi Gong personally dispatched and arrested all members of the Xiao family and imprisoned them in the Jinwu Prison. Yuchi Gong also went to Ganquan Palace overnight. Your Majesty should know about this in a while."

After hearing this, Wu Meiniang frowned and said nothing.

Zhang Dahai was stunned and said, "Your Highness, is there something wrong?"

Wu Meiniang snorted coldly and said, "Xiao Siye is really a good man. He can use this method to turn the crisis around. I underestimated him."

Zhang Duohai's heart trembled, and he said, "Your Highness, you mean..."

Wu Meiniang glanced at him and said, "Haven't you figured it out yet? This is Xiao Siye's self-torture scheme. He's putting himself in a desperate situation in order to survive!"

Zhang Duohai was stunned and said, "A self-torture scheme? Could it be that the Xiao family's rebellion was just a play they put on?"

Wu Meiniang gently stroked the hand warmer with her fingers and said slowly, "It's true that Xiao Rui and the five elders of the Xiao family are plotting rebellion, but Xiao Siye should have noticed it a long time ago."

"He deliberately risked his life to confront them, then displayed an unyielding attitude, drawing a clear line between them and his own. Think about it, if His Majesty knew his attitude during the Xiao family's rebellion, would he still punish him?"

Not to mention Li Zhi, when Zhang Duohai first heard about it, he couldn't help but give Xiao Siye a thumbs up, thinking that he was loyal to the Tang Dynasty.

"I'm afraid that Your Majesty will not only not punish him, but will also reward him." Zhang Dahai said with a wry smile.

Wu Meiniang said, "Think about it again. If he had guessed that Xiao Rui and the others were plotting a rebellion, he would have had plenty of ways to report it. Why did he have to let that bitch do it?"

Zhang Duohai was stunned for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Is he giving Xiao Shuren a chance to make a contribution?"

Wu Meiniang snorted coldly, "I'm afraid that once His Majesty knows this, he'll develop feelings for that bitch again and will never punish her again."

"As long as Xiao Siye and that bitch are not punished, the Xiao family will not fall. I will even be praised by His Majesty for my meritorious reporting!"

Zhang Duohai gritted his teeth and said, "Xiao Siye, this old fellow is so scheming!"

Wu Meiniang was silent for a while, then stood up and said, "Never mind. Although she managed to escape this time, the Xiao family's roots in Jiangnan can be completely eliminated, so it's not a complete loss."

Zhang Duohai said hurriedly: "You are right."

Wu Meiniang had no ill feelings towards Xiao Siye, so she just brushed it off so lightly.

If it was Xiao Rui who escaped this time, she would definitely have follow-up measures to deal with him.

As for Concubine Xiao Shufei, although Wu Meiniang hated her, she did not dare to deal with her openly for fear of causing Li Zhi's dissatisfaction, so she had to give up.

In Ganquan Palace, Li Zhi was woken up from his bed by Wang Fusheng. He was still a little dazed at first, but when he learned that Yuchi Gong had rushed from Chang'an overnight, he woke up with a start.

Li Zhi washed his face with hot water, went to the outer hall and sat down, then waved his hand and said, "Let him in."

After a while, Yuchi Gong came to the outer hall with a dark face, followed by two inner guards.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, is here to see your old minister, Yuchi Gong. This is an urgent matter. I have disturbed your Majesty's rest. Please forgive me."

Li Zhi studied his expression and said in a deep voice, "Yuchi Qing has come to see me so late. Is there something wrong in Chang'an?"

Yuchi Gong said solemnly, "Your Majesty, someone reported that the Xiao family was gathering a group of people to plot rebellion. I led my men to capture them on the spot and have come to report this to Your Majesty."

Li Zhi was shocked. Xiao actually committed treason because of Xiao Shu's case?
"Is Xiao Siye also involved?" he asked.

Yuchi Gong said: "Minister Xiao was not involved, and it was he who sent someone to report..." He carefully explained the details of Xiao's rebellion to Li Zhi.

"You mean, it was Concubine Xiao Shufei who escaped from the mansion and reported to the Jinwu Guard?" Li Zhi asked in surprise.

Yuchi Gong said, "That's right."

Li Zhi was silent for a while, then slowly said, "It's rare that the two of them didn't go along with Xiao Rui and the others. Since they were members of the Xiao family who took the initiative to report them, then don't just condemn them. Hand the case over to the Dali Temple and only punish those who participated in the conspiracy. The others can be left alone."

Yuchi Gong said, "This old minister obeys your order."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "General, you've worked hard. Stay at the Hot Spring Palace tonight and return to Chang'an tomorrow morning, shall we?"

"Your Majesty, won't you return to Chang'an with me tomorrow?" Yuchi Gong was stunned.

Li Zhi sighed, "I've had a recurring headache lately, so it's best for me to stay here and recuperate."

Yuchi Gong hurriedly said, "I made a mistake. Your Majesty should prioritize your health. The Xiao family's rebellious plan is actually incomplete. Even if no one reports it, it can be easily suppressed. Your Majesty has nothing to worry about."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "With the old general here, I have nothing to worry about."

Yuchi Gong smiled and said, "Then I will not disturb Your Majesty's rest. I will take my leave."

After Wang Fusheng saw Yuchi Gong off, he returned to the house and saw Li Zhi sitting on the couch with his eyes flickering, as if he was thinking about something.

Wang Fusheng originally wanted to say something, but seeing that Li Zhi was in deep thought, he did not dare to disturb him.

After a long while, Li Zhi slowly said, "Fu Sheng, send someone back to Chang'an tomorrow to tell Gao Youdao and the others that any memorials related to the land system do not need to be reviewed and should be sent directly to the Hot Spring Palace."

Wang Fusheng agreed.

He saw Li Zhi stand up and walk towards the bedroom. He quickly followed behind and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Xiao family's rebellion is too sudden. Do you think there is something fishy going on?"

Li Zhi glanced at him sideways and said, "Are you suspicious of the Queen?"

Wang Fusheng lowered his head and said, "That's not my intention. I just heard it and found it hard to believe." Li Zhi remained silent as he returned to his bedroom. He sat down on the bed and then slowly said, "I was surprised, just like you, at first. But after thinking about it, it's not surprising."

"If Xiao Shu's case is true, with hundreds of lives lost, I will never let the Xiao family off lightly. They are aware of this and are naturally risking everything. Furthermore, the Xiao family's foundation is in Jiangnan, so they have fewer concerns about treason."

Wang Fusheng said, "Your Majesty is right."

Li Zhi said slowly, "You're not wrong to suspect the Queen. She brought up this case to force the Xiao family into rebellion. But the case is true after all, so the Queen can't be blamed. Do you understand?"

Wang Fusheng hurriedly said, "I understand. The Xiao family's misdeeds in Jiangnan are their own fault!"

Li Zhi said slowly, "They rebelled, which made it easier for me to plan the land reform. Now it depends on whether the ministers' attitudes have changed after this incident."

The next morning, news of Xiao's rebellion spread throughout Chang'an City.

The person who was most shocked by this incident was Li Jingye.

It all started with a fight between him and Xiao Shu. Who could have thought that it would eventually lead to a major case of treason.

Yu Zhining, Xin Maojiang, Lu Chengqing, Li Yifu and others were all paying attention to this case for various reasons. When they learned that the Xiao family was plotting treason, they were all shocked and hurriedly sent people to inquire about the situation.

Yuchi Gong returned to Chang'an early in the morning and handed the case to Di Renjie, so everyone sent people to the Dali Temple to inquire about the news.

Di Renjie did not expect that after the assassination attempt failed, Xiao would be so bold and presumptuous as to plan a rebellion.

A case of land invasion and murder instantly turned into a major case of treason.

Fortunately, Li Zhi gave him a secret order, otherwise he really wouldn't dare to investigate further.

When Lu Zhaolin learned about this, he felt a little uneasy.

The day before yesterday, he went on behalf of his uncle to persuade Di Renjie to punish Xiao Shu leniently. If he was impeached by someone with ulterior motives and said that he was involved in the Xiao family's treason, he would never be able to clear himself even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

That morning, he was absent-minded while reviewing the imperial edicts, and it took him two hours to review more than a dozen imperial edicts.

Fortunately, Gao Youdao and Du Yijian helped him share a lot of the burden, so he did not delay his work.

Around noon, a eunuch suddenly arrived at the side hall and said to the group, "The Emperor has issued an order that any memorials concerning the land system do not need to be reviewed and should be sent directly to the Hot Spring Palace."

The five people hurriedly stood up to receive the order.

After a while, the noon drum sounded, and the three of them left the palace together and had a meal at a stall on the street outside the Suzaku Gate.

The three of them sat in a soup noodle shop. Du Yijian ate his soup noodles while saying, "Have you noticed that His Majesty has been paying close attention to the land system recently?"

Lu Zhaolin sighed and said, "A while ago, Your Majesty proposed to change the land system, but was persuaded by my uncle and others. I'm afraid that the Xiao family's rebellion has made Your Majesty even more angry about the annexation of land, and he is considering changing the land system again."

Gao Youdao said, "In my opinion, the land system does have problems, and it's okay to change it."

Lu Zhaolin said in a deep voice: "Brother Gao, you can't say such things casually!"

"Yes, Brother Gao, the equal-field system is our ancestral system and cannot be easily changed!" Du Yijian said.

Gao Youdao took a bite of his soup noodle and said calmly, "The imperial examination is also an ancestral system. If Your Majesty hadn't added the palace examination, how could you and I have entered the officialdom?"

Lu Zhaolin and Du Yijian were both stunned.

Gao Youdao continued, "The ancestral system cannot be changed arbitrarily. This is to prevent the emergence of incompetent emperors who would destroy the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. The current sage is wise. Every time he makes a change, he carefully considers it, not makes a decision on impulse."

Du Yijian whispered, "Brother Gao, let's just forget it. This matter has such a huge impact. If something goes wrong, how can you and I bear the consequences?"

"Besides, you and I don't have the power to make memorials or discuss politics, so we should just behave ourselves and do our duties well."

Gao Youdao sighed and said nothing more.

When the eunuchs conveyed the emperor's oral instructions, not only Gao Youdao and the other four were present, but also many eunuchs and palace servants, and it was announced in public.

The news quickly spread in the court, and the ministers immediately understood that the emperor had once again come up with the idea of ​​revising the land system because of the Xiao family's rebellion.

This is normal. The reason for Xiao's rebellion was that they annexed land and killed hundreds of people in Shijiazhuang.

The emperor naturally thought that the problem lay with the land system.

Lu Chengqing and others knew that the emperor would definitely bring up the old matter after returning to Chang'an, and they were all thinking about how to persuade the emperor this time.

However, many ministers began to wonder whether there was really a problem with the land system. Otherwise, why would such a serious case of treason occur?
Many court officials have been thinking about how to modify the land system to eliminate the drawbacks of the current system and prevent similar incidents from happening again.

There were also some ministers who simply wanted to cater to the emperor's ideas.

Since the emperor wants to change the land system, then change it. As long as I can gain the emperor's favor through this, I won't lose anything.

However, even if changes are to be made, it is not enough to just submit a memorial to express one's position. Various problems that may arise from modifying the land system still need to be resolved.

In just a few days, quite a few memorials appeared regarding the revision of the land system.

Gao Youdao and others did not dare to delay and listed these memorials separately and sent them all to Ganquan Palace.

A few days later, Di Renjie finally solved the case of Xiao's rebellion.

This case was easy to try. Firstly, the Xiao family members were divided into two groups. Those who did not participate in the rebellion mercilessly gave out those who participated in the rebellion, and their confessions were very sufficient.

Secondly, several elders of the Xiao family and other main culprits cooperated unexpectedly, and their confessions were almost error-free.

Thirdly, all the external forces that had interfered with Di Renjie's case-solving stopped, and no one dared to intervene in the Xiao family's rebellion case again.

Di Renjie quickly delivered the reviewed case files to the Hot Spring Palace in person.

That night, the emperor sent someone back to Chang'an to convey an edict.

Tomorrow afternoon, an emergency court meeting will be held in the Liangyi Hall. All officials in Beijing must attend to discuss the case of Xiao's treason!
(End of this chapter)