Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

What surprised Ma Zhou and Sun Fujia the most was that the evidence prepared by Luozhou Governor Jia Dunyi was very sufficient, which they could easily find through the Censorate and the Dali Temple.

They also privately asked Jia Dunyi how long it took him to find the crimes of these people, but Jia Dunyi said it only took a few days.

Jia Dunyi also said with emotion that when he was looking for evidence of Zhang Liang's adopted son's crime, it seemed as if someone was leading him step by step to investigate, and the process was so smooth that he couldn't believe it.

The three of them discussed for a long time and finally concluded that it was because Zhang Liang's adopted son acted lawless.

In addition to the sufficient evidence provided by Jia Dunyi, they also had a smooth process of verifying the evidence. Under the personal protection of the imperial guards, the officials in Luozhou did not dare to obstruct them at all.

"Humph!"

Li Shimin snorted heavily.

His deep gaze lingered on Zhang Liang. He frowned and thought for a moment, then waved his hand tiredly and said.

"All of you please step back. I will consider this carefully and then decide how to deal with these corrupt officials!"

Because too many officials were involved and the meritorious minister Zhang Liang might also be implicated, Li Shimin did not immediately order the Dali Temple to investigate.

All the ministers stood up together, walked to the center of the hall and bowed.

"Your Majesty, please leave!"

After this group of ministers left, Li Shimin originally wanted to summon Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian and others to Liangyi Hall, but after thinking about it, he decided not to give the order.

He also knew the tempers of these trusted ministers, and they would definitely suggest that officials from the Censorate and the Dali Temple intervene and investigate Luozhou thoroughly.

The officials who committed crimes in Luozhou were basically Zhang Liang's adopted sons.

Li Shimin was an emperor who cherished old times. He knew that Zhang Liang had suffered a lot behind the scenes, and he couldn't bear to see a meritorious official like Zhang Liang being implicated because of his adopted son.

But Luozhou is a secondary capital after all, and no unrest can be tolerated, and those corrupt officials must be severely punished.

In addition, Li Shimin was also wondering in his heart whether Zhang Liang had already developed rebellious thoughts?

After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't find a way to have the best of both worlds. Feeling very conflicted, Li Shimin gave an order to the eunuch.

"Summon Chu Suiliang to Liangyi Hall."

After Wei Zheng's death, Li Shimin would call Chu Suiliang over and ask for his opinion whenever he encountered difficult decisions.

Among all the ministers in the court, Chu Suiliang was one of the few who dared to speak out against the emperor.

As for the old-fashioned Duke of Song Xiao Yu, he would only call him when he needed to convene a few important ministers to discuss state affairs. He didn't want to ask Xiao Yu about things like this.

Otherwise, the matter cannot be resolved satisfactorily and may even cause trouble for yourself in the end.

"According to the order!"

The eunuch standing guard on the side responded respectfully, then lowered his head and quickly left the Liangyi Hall.

It didn't take long.

Chu Suiliang hurried to the Liangyi Hall and bowed respectfully with his fists clasped.

"See Your Majesty."

Li Shimin nodded slightly, then handed the memorial written by Jia Dunyi to Chu Suiliang and told him the story again.

Moreover, when Li Shimin was narrating the case, he also expressed some of his personal thoughts.

Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Chu Suiliang, how do you think we should clean up the mess in Luozhou?"

Chu Suiliang had followed Li Shimin for many years. When he heard Li Shimin's personal thoughts, he knew that Li Shimin already had his own ideas in mind.

This time, I was called over for questioning just to get a voice of approval.

Chu Suiliang quickly read the memorial, thought seriously for a moment, and then said with a serious face.

"Your Majesty, the handling of corrupt officials should be handed over to the Dali Temple."

"Besides, the state has its own laws and the family has its own rules. We cannot turn a blind eye to these illegal officials just for the sake of the meritorious ministers."

"Moreover, Jia Dunyi, the governor of Luozhou, wrote in his memorial that his power in Luozhou had been hollowed out, which shows that the officials in Luozhou were suspected of forming a clique."

"It is urgent to deal with this group of corrupt officials suspected of forming a clique. If things go on for too long, it may lead to a disaster!"

Luoyang was the secondary capital, and Li Shimin and the ministers in the court would go to the Luoyang Palace to handle official business every once in a while.

Because of its relatively remote geographical location compared to Chang'an, Luoyang, located in the hinterland, can monitor more state roads and prevent local officials from committing fraud.

In addition to Luoyang, Li Shimin would occasionally go to the northern capital Taiyuan County to stay for a while, and take the opportunity to monitor the generals and princes stationed on the border to see if they had any ulterior motives.

Li Shimin heard the ambiguity in Chu Suiliang's words, and then frowned and asked.

"Chu Suiliang, do you mean to ask the people from the Dali Temple to investigate and punish these corrupt officials?"

Li Shimin was obviously not satisfied with this answer.

Chu Suiliang shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, it is not enough to just send people from the Dali Temple. The court also needs to send important officials to Luozhou to take charge!"

It is absolutely intolerable for a local governor to have his power stripped away by subordinate officials.

If officials from other states and counties followed suit, the imperial court would lose control over the local counties.

Li Shimin asked in a deep voice: "Which minister do you think should be sent?"

Chu Suiliang clasped his fists respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I think it is most appropriate to send the Duke of Yun to Luozhou!"

"First, it can warn the Duke of Yun and make him discipline those troublesome adopted sons, which can solve the problem of Luozhou!"

"Secondly, by observing the attitude of the Duke of Yun towards his adopted son, we can see whether the Duke of Yun has any intention of disloyalty!"

"Thirdly, Your Majesty allowed the Duke of Yun to deal with his adopted son on his own. This is also a manifestation of the Emperor's favor and avoids disappointing the ministers who have made great contributions!"

After hearing Chu Suiliang's suggestion, a smile immediately appeared on Li Shimin's face.

This was the answer he wanted to hear!

Demoting Zhang Liang to be the governor of Luozhou would not only show the court officials that he did not shield Zhang Liang, but also give them an opportunity to criticize Zhang Liang and see if he had any rebellious intentions.

In particular, testing whether Zhang Liang had any rebellious intentions was Li Shimin's top concern at the moment.

Li Shimin said loudly: "Chu Suiliang, your suggestion is good, I accept it!"

Then Li Shimin and Chu Suiliang chatted for a while, then he waved his hand and asked Chu Suiliang to go back to handle government affairs, while he ordered the eunuchs to draft an edict.

Mansion of the Duke of Yun.

Zhang Liang, whose face had been dark all day, smashed the luxuriously decorated lobby after returning from his shift.

"A bunch of evildoers, they are making me so angry!"

"This old dog Jia Dunyi is holding on to me. What does he want to do?"

Zhang Liang smashed the decorations in the lobby and cursed angrily under his breath.

After he vented his anger, he looked at the messy lobby breathlessly, leaning on his stick, and then gritted his teeth and muttered coldly.

"Who is plotting against me?"

"If I find out, I'll make sure you're in trouble!"

If he had only guessed about the case of Zhang Chao and Zhang Yong before, now that Jia Dunyi had discovered that more of his adopted sons had committed crimes, Zhang Liang was completely convinced.

There must be a very powerful force plotting against him behind the scenes.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for Jia Dunyi alone to cause such a big commotion, and Jia Dunyi did not have the ability to do so in Luozhou.