Chapter 315 You Make Me So Sad
Li Shimin did not make a decision on the spot, but sent the case back to the three courts for re-examination and investigation.

This move immediately aroused fierce opposition.

Taiji Palace, East Palace.

Petitions requesting that Dang Renhong be executed according to national law came in like snowflakes.

At the same time, Shandong newspapers reported the incident with deep sorrow and spoke out for the people of Guangzhou.

The force was so great that they really risked their lives to manipulate public opinion and force Li Shimin to order the execution of Dang Renhong.

The Jiangnan, Jiannan and Guanlong newspapers were much more moderate and reported fairly and impartially without excessive personal emotions or exaggeration.

But the continuous reports caused an uproar in Chang’an.

Not only were the common people filled with righteous indignation, but the students could not stand this kind of filth and corruption. Once the news was exposed, they were outraged and took to the streets spontaneously, gathering together to plead for the people and to execute the evil Dang Renhong.

For a time, the entire Chang’an city was dominated by the Dang Renhong case.

Faced with such overwhelming and suffocating pressure, the ministers from the three provinces and six ministries kept their mouths shut and did not dare to make any comments at all.

“Your Highness.”

“Students gathered outside Chengtian Gate, shouting for the Righteous Party to uphold justice and uphold the dignity of the court’s laws, and bring justice to the people of the world.”

Di Renjie said in a low voice.

He followed the prince and actually had some guesses about some things.

I just didn’t expect that things would become so serious.

Scholars and common people all got involved.

This will cause invisible harm to the two palaces, especially to the reputation of the Holy Emperor, if not handled properly.

“Nothing radical, right?”

Li Chengqian’s reaction was very calm. He looked at the memorials handed over by the ministers in the court and couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.

The power and influence of the aristocratic families were demonstrated.

Thirty percent of the officials in the court wrote letters requesting this.

“No.”

Di Renjie said: “The Jinwu Guards maintained order and prevented them from rushing into Chengtian Gate. They were also very rational and did not do anything extreme.”

“only…….”

“Just what?” Li Chengqian asked.

“If it continues, I’m afraid it will get worse and worse, and more people will get involved.”

This is what Di Renjie was worried about. According to normal response, the Jinwu Guards were fully capable of dispersing them, but allowing them to gather together would be tantamount to indulgence.

Once those who have not yet participated see an opportunity, they will definitely join in and expand the crowd.

“Huaiying, with your intelligence, you should have understood it, right?” Li Chengqian asked casually.

“Students don’t dare to speculate.”

Di Renjie lowered his head.

“Okay, just keep watching.”

“It’s lively. The bigger the better.”

Li Chengqian said calmly and threw the memorial aside.

Make a fuss.

The more intense the noise, the better.

Early July.

The three courts reported the details of the investigation again and the death penalty was still imposed.

Li Shimin asked the three departments to conduct a re-investigation because some parts of the investigation results were untrue.

Immediately, officials in the court submitted another memorial.

Li Shimin still ignored it.

At the same time, memorials from officials from all over the country also came to Chang’an one after another.

“This is the power and influence of aristocratic families.”

Li Chengqian looked at the piles of memorials in front of him and said with emotion.

After some time, the petition from the local officials was finally sent to the Eastern Palace.

The memorials were first sent to the Eastern Palace and then to the Taiji Palace. This had almost become a court custom.

No matter how big the matter is, it must first go through the hands of the East Palace.

After he briefly read two books, he had them sent to the Secretariat.

When Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji saw the large boxes of memorials, they looked at each other and felt their scalps tingling.

“Duke Zhao, this is really too much.”

Fang Xuanling couldn’t help but say something.

Changsun Wuji’s blood boiled. What did this have to do with him? It wasn’t him who ordered it.

But the label of a Shandong family is too deeply rooted in him.

You can’t get rid of it just because you want to.

What Fang Xuanling said was a point to Zhangsun Wuji: You have made such a big fuss, have you ever considered the anger of His Majesty?
“Duke Liang, I don’t understand what you are talking about.”

Fang Xuanling stopped talking and cross-examined the memorial with Changsun Wuji.

When they saw the content, they were all silent for a moment, simply marked it, and put it aside.

These memorials will eventually be sent to Your Majesty.

I wonder how His Majesty will react when he sees so many requests.

When these memorials were delivered to Liangyi Hall, His Majesty soon received an order to summon the central ministers.

Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, Cen Wenben, Ma Zhou and others were all present.

“Dang Renhong is a founding hero of the Tang Dynasty. Can’t I spare his life?”

Li Shimin said sadly: “If it were you, I would do the same.”

“His Majesty.”

Zhang Sun Wuji said with a stiff upper lip: “This matter has become a big deal now, and everyone in the world knows about it. If we give Dang Renhong a break for personal reasons, it will be hard to convince the public.”

“If we don’t execute him, how can we explain this to the people of the world?”

He thought what he said was strange.

It has become like this because Your Majesty ordered the Three Courts to investigate the matter.

You mobilized a lot of troops first, but in the end you suddenly remembered the old friendship and wanted to show mercy to Dang Renhong.

If I had known this, why did I have to?

Fang Xuanling said, “Your Majesty, now that things have come to this, if you do not punish Dang Renhong, where is the law of the country? How can you govern the country and restrain the officials in the future?”

“Whenever grace is bestowed, countless people will hope for the best.”

“Dang Renhong’s actions will happen to more people.”

Everyone present spoke up.

You can’t not speak.

Li Shimin raised his head and closed his eyes, saying dejectedly: “Let’s hold a court meeting the day after tomorrow and make a decision.”

“I…” He covered his face and lowered his head, feeling very bad.

Wei Zheng asked loudly: “Your Majesty, are you sad for the meritorious officials, or for the people in Guangzhou who were persecuted?”

“Your Majesty, have you become senile and confused? Can’t you tell the difference between what is important and what is not?”

Li Shimin said painfully: “I am old.”

“I miss those people and things more and more.”

“Now I have to issue an order to execute the old man from the Qin Palace who followed me and was a founding hero of the Tang Dynasty.”

“I really can’t bear it.”

“If one person is missing, I will have one less person to see. I said I would treat the heroes well, but I didn’t expect that I would still have to face the time of executing the heroes.”

“Come on, all of you go down.”

Wei Zheng wanted to say something but was stopped by Changsun Wuji.

Everyone took their leave and Li Shimin looked up with tears in the corners of his eyes.

He was really moved just now.

“Go and bring Dang Renhong here. I want to ask him in person why.”

“Yes!”

Soon.

Dang Renhong was taken to Liangyi Hall, and when he saw Li Shimin, he knelt down with a plop.

He looked much older and did not dare to look Li Shimin in the eye. He lowered his head and crawled on the ground.

“You make me sad.” Li Shimin asked, “Didn’t the court give you the honor you deserve?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Are you worthy of my trust and those brothers who have been through thick and thin with you?”

“How did you become so evil?”

Dang Renhong cried out, “Your Majesty, I was wrong.”

“I plead guilty and I accept the punishment.”

“I have betrayed your majesty’s trust and deserve death.”

He kowtowed repeatedly, making crisp banging sounds on the floor, and his forehead soon turned red.

When Li Shimin saw this scene, a trace of pity and hesitation flashed across his eyes for a moment.

In fact, he didn’t have to execute Dang Renhong.

But the Tang Dynasty needs Dang Renhong to die now.

He was very angry at Dang Renhong’s bad behavior, but he could also spare his life because of their old friendship.

only…….

Li Shimin looked at the boxes arranged over there and the request on the opposite side, and his eyes became firm.

“I will let you go down in history and leave a record in the annals of history, which can be regarded as compensation for you.”

“Your crime deserves death.”

Li Shimin said this while holding his forehead with his hand. Dang Renhong paused in his kowtow, looked hesitant for a moment, and then burst into tears.

“Take him down.”

Dang Renhong was carried out of Liangyi Hall. His eyes were dull and he was completely unable to walk.

Ma Zhou personally waited for him and sent him to prison.

“The Imperial Censor.”

Dang Renhong suddenly came to his senses. He leaned on the prison bars and shouted, “Your Majesty, what do you want to do with my death?”

Ma Zhou turned around, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

“I don’t know.” Ma Zhou shook his head.

He really didn’t know how His Majesty would resolve this situation.

Just following the will.

“Haha.”

“You do not know?”

“Then I understand.”

Dang Renhong raised his head and laughed, then he knelt down and shouted towards the Taiji Palace: “Your Majesty, let me do one last thing for you.”

“I have failed to live up to your trust.”

“This time, I am here only to atone for my sins!”

Ma Zhou walked out of the prison and looked up at the scorching sun in the sky.

His mood was somewhat complicated and unclear.

“Did Dang Renhong really say that?”

Li Shimin was stunned as he picked up the pen, and his expression turned into grief in an instant.

The ink fell on the memorial and spread out.

Just like his heart at this moment, it was really scattered.

……

July 26th.

After more than seven months, the case of Dang Renhong is finally coming to an end.

Li Shimin summoned all the fifth-rank officials of the court to the Taiji Hall to discuss how to deal with Dang Renhong.

Li Chengqian sat at the bottom, facing the court officials’ clamor for petitions, his expression was cold, he watched the situation quietly, unmoved.

Li Shimin was still trying to pardon Dang Renhong’s death sentence, and even spoke emotionally about the deeds of Dang Renhong’s family in the past.

The central minister remained silent, but other officials still insisted on handling the matter according to the law.

“Your Majesty, you are acting in favoritism for your party member Ren Hong today and disregarding the laws of the country. If there are meritorious officials in the future who commit evil deeds, will you also be as indecisive and disregard the laws of the country?”

“If the people of the world know that Your Majesty is ruling the country based on personal feelings, how can you govern the world in the future and how can people of the world respect the law?”

“If the world doesn’t respect the laws of the country, won’t it be chaos?”

“I hope your Majesty will learn from this.”

The official’s statement immediately aroused the agreement of all the ministers.

Li Shimin had no choice but to say sadly, “In this case, Imperial Censor.”

“The minister is here.”

Ma Zhou responded with a heavy expression.

“The Imperial Censorate will draft charges against Dang Renhong and announce them to the world.”

After saying this, Li Shimin left quickly without caring about his ministers.

Li Chengqian stood up, walked to the center of the Taiji Hall, snorted coldly, and walked away quickly.

The ministers, who had been unable to hide their joy, suddenly changed their expressions.

(End of this chapter)