Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 40 Empress Wu's Legacy

"In the Imperial City stands a bronze box, originally made by Empress Dowager Wu in the past, for soliciting advice and suggestions. It used to be placed before the imperial court, but since the Eastern Enshrinement, it has been moved outside the Duanmen Gate to receive tributes from the people of all quarters. Any tribute received could reach the ears of the Emperor, and even potentially earn him a summons and commendation from the Sage.

My dear, you don't have to worry about not being able to see the emperor. As long as you can write a letter to the emperor, Concubine Hui will definitely take the opportunity to introduce you to the emperor so that you can speak freely! "

Niu Guier said this with a troubled look on his face, “However, there is a small obstacle to this plan. The document for submitting the copper box must be submitted by the Chief Box Envoy and accepted by the Supervisor of Boxes. The Chief Box Envoy is from the Ministry of Personnel, and the Supervisor of Boxes is concurrently the Chief Censor.

Both of these places are at odds with Lord Zhang Ling. Even if you submit a letter, it will probably be blocked and difficult to pass on. But if it weren't for this matter, Concubine Hui would not have rashly recommended..."

Zhang Luo asked Concubine Wu Huifei for help, hoping to see the emperor directly through her. However, the aunt thought about it for several days and sent him to the outer court, and even to the territory of his political enemy.

The Ministry of Personnel and the Imperial Censorate weren't just at odds with Zhang Shuo; they were the very enemies who had launched the attack on him. The thought of Zhang Luo using the channels of communication they controlled to counterattack the Imperial Censor Cui Yinfu was truly thrilling!

Zhang Luo put himself in Wu Huifei's shoes for a moment, only to find that this aunt was truly inexperienced and playful. She didn't dare directly oppose Zhang Shuo's political enemies, but at the same time, she wanted to intervene and play some micromanagement.

Her instruction to submit the letter in a copper box was not purely a fantasy. She simply wanted to see if there were any followers of Zhang Shuo in the court who were willing to take action. She faced pressure from the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate and put this matter, which was obviously beneficial to Zhang Shuo, on the imperial desk.

At the same time, she was only willing to make a contribution that went along with the situation, but was unwilling to take the lead in counterattacks. It was understandable that she had such thoughts, after all, they were not an alliance with shared interests.

But the problem is that you don't want to put in the effort, but you still want people to be grateful. Isn't this a bit of a cheap favor? This idea is very similar to Zhang Luo's idea of ​​fishing for black bass with an empty hook!

Zhang Luo felt that he was an enthusiastic, sincere and ambitious young man before coming to this world, but after coming to this world, he quickly became accustomed to intrigue and deception. Now it seems that he must have been influenced by the Wu family bloodline in his body!
If Zhang Luo really wanted to use the Zhou Liang incident to attack Cui Yinfu, the negotiations between them could have ended here, because he would have found it difficult to borrow the Zhang family's political resources, and Wu Huifei would naturally not be of any substantial help.

But he never thought of using this to save the Zhang family from political crisis. If he thought about it carefully, Concubine Wu Huifei actually pointed out a clear way for him.

If this person introduced himself to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang directly, Zhang Luo would be able to report the matter in person. Whether the matter would succeed or not would depend on Li Longji's decision. Zhang Luo's presence and influence in this matter would be minimal and could not be reflected.

But if it goes through such a cycle in the outer court, Zhang Luo's words and deeds will undoubtedly gain more attention, the role he plays in the whole incident will be more prominent, and the matter can gain a greater impact to increase the possibility of success.

This will be more beneficial for Zhang Luo, of course the premise is to ensure that things can succeed.

As for how to circumvent the obstacles of the Ministry of Personnel and the Imperial Censorate, the method is actually very simple. If the right way is blocked, then do the opposite. Why should I sue Cui Yinfu? I can sue Zhang Shuo!
This political encirclement and suppression against Zhang Shuo seemed to be coming with great force and like a mountain pressing down on one's head, but in fact, with Zhang Shuo being placed at home, this encirclement and suppression fell into a stalemate.

Since it is no longer possible to achieve a direct breakthrough from Zhang Shuo, it is necessary to open a gap from the people surrounding Zhang Shuo to gain new attack angles and energy.

Under such circumstances, if Zhang Shuo's grandson suddenly came forward to report him and provide new evidence, it would be a fierce and fatal blow to Zhang Shuo! At that time, let alone deliberately obstructing him, I am afraid that even if the sky fell, the Censorate would first report this matter to the emperor!
While this was true, how could entering enemy-controlled territory alone be risk-free? Especially since Zhang Luo couldn't draw on Zhang Shuo's political resources, once the Censorate forcibly controlled him, his chances of escaping were slim to none.

These people have been handling criminal cases for a long time. If they really feel that the chain of evidence is not complete and favorable enough, they will use torture to consolidate the evidence and then give it a beating. Who can bear this? If they use torture to force a confession, and the false complaint becomes a real denunciation, then they are really courting death.

Zhang Luo had a lot of ideas on how to make the matter bigger, but after making the matter bigger, the key was to get out of it as soon as possible and get the opportunity to defend himself in front of the emperor, for which he needed to rely on Concubine Wu Huifei.

If this point cannot be ensured, then the so-called "Tong Gui" informant would be a foolish act that would only lead to his own downfall. Therefore, before actually taking action, Zhang Luo must ensure that his interests and those of Concubine Wu Hui are highly aligned, and even more so, that they will prosper and suffer together!
Since Wu Huifei was not a very reliable teammate, Zhang Luo felt that he had to give her some strength, so he said to Niu Guier, "Don't worry about the personnel obstacles from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice. I can adapt to the situation and deal with it a little.

But since these people hold important positions, they are certainly not easy to deal with. I may be able to deceive them for a while, but it is difficult to deceive them for long. Once they become aware of the situation, they will be furious and will take revenge on me.

I am young and inexperienced, unknown in the world, and have no faults for them to accuse me of. However, my origins may be due to my maternal bloodline, and the story of Empress Wu will be dragged into my mind. I am afraid that it will be difficult to defend myself, and I am afraid that I will be falsely accused, and even worse, others will be implicated..."

It's fine for you to ask me to write a letter to the bronze box, but things will be completely different after that. They'll see through me and take revenge. Under torture, I'm not sure if they'll confess that you want to emulate your aunt, that you want to be like Wu Zetian! By then, forget about whether you'll be empress or not. It'll be hard for you to maintain your current favor!

Niu Gui'er, the mouthpiece, had become quite adept lately, and that same day, he relayed Wu Huifei's message: "The Concubine has instructed me to inform you, my dear husband, that you are brave and strong, and that you can proceed without any harm. If the officials of the Xiantai are truly reckless and wantonly lead us there, I, even if it means I have to go to the Southern Province myself, to rescue you!" With a concrete plan in place, Zhang Luo no longer hesitated. He was naturally very active, but the upcoming events were beyond his capabilities, which kept him waiting for several days.

He had already written the memorial to be presented to the emperor, describing the reform of the grain transport system. Now he needed to write another one to accuse Zhang Shuo of his crimes in order to paralyze others.

There was no need to deliberately fabricate this point. He still had with him the relevant information about Zhou Liang's previous visit to Luonan to investigate the wealthy families' invasion of land and water. He only needed to copy out the content related to the Zhang family.

Even if all these things were exposed and all the property was confiscated, Zhang Luo would not feel bad. After all, not a single acre of land here belonged to him, and it probably would not be divided among him in the future. If he could take advantage of this time to clean up the land and distribute it to the landless civilians, it would be considered a good thing.

He copied the relevant information in duplicate, then paid his bill and left the restaurant. The cost of the room, food, and other expenses for the few days he'd stayed there totaled over five strings of cash. Zhang Luo couldn't help but sigh at the high cost. Without a good livelihood, it would be difficult to stay in Luoyang City for long.

Even though he no longer thought about finding a place to hide with the thousands of strings of cash he had saved, he still felt that he had to develop a side business after this busy period and not just sit back and enjoy all the money he had. What's more, most of his money was still detained in Henan Prefecture, and it was still unknown how much he could get back in the end.

After leaving the restaurant, Zhang Luo came to the courtyard rented by Ding Qing and Zhou Lang in Lidefang, and the two of them hurriedly came to meet him.

Ding Qing was fine; he was carefree, able to eat and sleep well, and even looked a bit pale from squatting in the courtyard every day. As for Zhou Lang, he had lost his appetite due to family misfortunes and worry about his mother. In just a few days, he had become emaciated.

"Master, do you have a plan?"

Zhou Lang walked quickly to Zhang Luo, his voice weak and hoarse.

Zhang Luo nodded at first, then, noticing Zhou Lang's agitation, he patted him on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down. After entering the room, he took out the evidence he had copied earlier about the Zhang family's farmland invasion and handed it to Zhou Lang, instructing him, "We've got a plan, but you'll have to take some risks. Later, take this to Henan Prefecture to sue Zhang Linggong for allowing his servant to hide the farmland and abuse the water..."

"I'm not afraid of taking risks! I'm just suing the Zhang family. What's the point of that?"

As long as he can rescue his mother and clear his father's name, Zhou Lang dares to do anything. However, after hearing Zhang Luo's instructions, he was still a little confused and didn't know what the purpose of doing so was.

Zhang Luo couldn't explain it to him for a moment, so he just continued, "The Henan officials have framed your family, and you've fallen into their trap. They'll definitely put pressure on you. You have to hold on. Don't let them intimidate you. Tell them that there are accomplices who are going to submit letters and copper boxes. Don't even think about suppressing this. Request that the Henan officials report this to the former prefect, Doctor Cui, and have him come to the government office for questioning. Once he's there, you can tell us what you want, but you must keep him inside until curfew begins!"

Cui Yinfu was the ringleader behind the attack on Zhang Shuo. Zhang Luo didn't know him well and had no confidence in his ability to influence him, so he sent Zhou Lang to lure him out of the imperial city under the pretext of suing Zhang Shuo. Furthermore, Cui Yinfu had previously served as the governor of Henan and might have had some familiarity with Zhou Liang. If he had remained at the Censorate to confront him, he might have questioned the content of Zhang Luo's memorial.

Although the curfew in the Tang Dynasty was not without flexibility, Cui Yinfu, as the Imperial Censor, had the responsibility to supervise all officials. Now it was a critical moment in the political struggle, so he certainly would not dare to violate the curfew easily and give others a chance to criticize him.

As for the remaining two Chief Censors, Yuwen Rong and Li Linfu, Zhang Luo also had plans to temporarily deal with them. In short, he had to make the Censorate agitated tonight.

Although Zhou Lang still didn't understand the deeper meaning, out of trust in Zhang Luo, he nodded and said, "My lord, please rest assured. I will do everything I can to keep Doctor Cui in Henan Prefecture!"

"What about me? Alang, what should I do?"

Ding Qing on the side was also very active and wanted to make a contribution, so he asked again quickly.

Zhang Luo thought for a moment, then pointed to his mount in the yard and said to Ding Qing, "Your mission is also very important. Go out and buy a few buckets of fine fodder to feed the horse. That restaurant owner is too stingy and refuses to feed the horse good food, causing it to lose a lot of weight. If I see you haven't replenished your food when I return, I'll deduct your food!"

Ding Qing's face fell when he heard this, but then he said expectantly, "Can I take it out for a walk? Keeping it tied up in the stable all the time is losing horsepower."

(End of this chapter)