Chapter 480: Pointing to someone to bless
“This young general from Shuofang has been robbing many women in the capital during this period. When he sees a woman he likes, he often orders his family soldiers to take her back to his house in a red sedan chair. Since the father and son are so powerful, no one dares to say anything.”

“Afterwards, we had to reconcile even if we didn’t want to.”

“The girl from the Zhu family is going to enter the palace next month, but he has also taken a fancy to her and ordered someone to bring her back to the mansion. Originally, this should be a misunderstanding. She should go to the palace to explain and apologize to His Majesty. Anyway, the girl has not entered the palace yet, so His Majesty will just have to hold his nose and endure it.”

“But after General Wei found out, he not only did not do so, but instead openly gave his son a concubine. The intention behind this was very clear. Wei Quanzhong wanted to…”

“Start to exclude dissidents.”

In the Du family mansion in Anrenfang, a middle-aged man in his forties was playing chess and chatting.

He reached out and placed a chess piece, then looked at Du Shangshu in front of him and continued, “Among the three, the one with the surname Wei is the bravest.”

Upon hearing this, Du Shangshu sighed silently and said, “I’m afraid it will get more and more excessive in the future.”

At this time, half a year had passed since the emperor returned to the capital. During this half year, the court was firmly controlled by the three military governors, and all key positions were also controlled by the three military governors.

At this time, most of the officials in the court had already sided with the three military governors.

Although the remaining people did not express obvious opposition to the three Jiedushi, for the sake of their lives and property, no one dared to disobey them.

So, it was finally time to start cleaning up the opposition. This time, the incident of the Zhu family girl was an excuse found by General Wei.

The middle-aged man sitting next to Du Shangshu thought for a moment, then made another move and continued, “Brother Guan Zheng, judging from this incident alone, that General Wei…”

He looked around and whispered, “I’m afraid I’ve already accepted the fall of the Great Zhou.”

This approach was totally unreasonable in the eyes of outsiders, but Wei Quanzhong insisted on humiliating the emperor in this way, leaving no room for maneuver between himself and the Wu Zhou court.

Obviously, General Wei was determined to crush the Wu Zhou court.

Therefore, he did not worry about retaliation from the Wu Zhou court.

Du Shangshu spent a long time trying to figure out where to make the move, so he could only resign and admit defeat.

He looked at the middle-aged man in front of him and said, “Mr. Wenyuan, I cannot stand this matter anyway. I will report him at the court meeting tomorrow.”

Mr. Wenyuan, whose real name was Taoshan and whose courtesy name was Wenyuan, was the principal of Lizheng Academy, the most famous academy in the capital.

When Wang Junping suppressed the rebellion, he did not flee to Xichuan with the imperial court. Instead, he left the capital with a group of students from the academy and the important books in the academy.

Relying on the connections he had accumulated while running the academy, he took 37 students from the academy to seek refuge in various provinces and counties in the Central Plains. It was not until half a year ago when he heard that the capital had been restored that he brought these students back to the capital.

All thirty-seven people were saved and no one died in the turmoil.

You know, when the imperial court moved westward, many people died along the way. Compared with this Chief Tao Shan, they were far inferior.

Tao Wenyuan sighed when he heard this. He looked at Minister Du Ting and said in a deep voice, “Brother Guan Zheng, since Wei Quanzhong dared to do such a thing, he must have made up his mind to eliminate dissidents in the court. If you come forward now, it will be nothing more than… hitting a rock with an egg.”

Du Shangshu said expressionlessly, “Mr. Wenyuan, you are a world-renowned scholar. I don’t need to explain the principle of a minister dying for his king’s humiliation. I have made up my mind and have already written a memorial to impeach Wei Quanzhong. At most, I will die for my loyalty.”

“The reason why I invited Mr. Wen Yuan here today is not to discuss whether or not to impeach Wei Quanzhong, but for something else.”

“Lizheng Academy is the cultural heritage of Guanzhong. Seeing that the capital is likely to be in chaos again, sir, you should take the students of the academy and leave the capital and Guanzhong.”

“Just think of it as preserving some civil energy for the Great Zhou.”

Tao Wenyuan frowned and thought for a while, then asked, “Where else can we go after leaving Guanzhong?”

“My two sons are now working in Jiangnan, and my youngest son is the governor of Jinling. Sir, you can take all the students to Jinling to settle down and build Lizheng Academy in Jinling.”

Tao Wenyuan was silent for a long time, as if he was thinking about the feasibility of this matter. He thought for a long time, then looked up at Du Shangshu and asked, “Brother Guan Zheng, are you doing this for fame or for justice?”

“All of them.”

Du Shangshu answered very straightforwardly. He lowered his head and drank tea and said, “Some of my children and grandchildren have already left Guanzhong. I am safe for the time being, so Mr. Wenyuan can think of me as someone seeking fame.”

Tao Wenyuan stood up, bowed deeply to Du Shangshu and said, “Brother Guan Zheng, I will go to see Generals Li and Xiao now to persuade them. There is still hope for a turnaround.”

“Brother Guan Zheng is a pillar of the imperial court and a great scholar in the world. You must not seek death. If Brother Guan Zheng dies, it will truly hurt the vitality of the world.”

Du Ting, the Shangshu of Du, was the Minister of Rites of the Great Zhou. In a sense, he was actually the leader of scholars throughout the world.

Du Shangshu shook his head slightly: “There will be no difference between the three of them.”

Tao Wenyuan stood up and said, “We have to give it a try. Brother Guan Zheng can’t go, so I have to go anyway.”

After leaving Anrenfang, Mr. Tao first went to General Xiao’s Duke’s Mansion in the capital, and then went to General Li’s Duke’s Mansion in the capital.

By the evening, the two generals Li and Xiao were really persuaded by Mr. Tao and came together to General Wei’s mansion, which is now the Lingwu Palace.

General Wei was drinking with a group of his adopted sons. When he heard that the two generals were coming, he hurriedly brought his adopted sons and generals to the front yard to welcome the two generals.

However, after arriving at the front yard, General Wei noticed that the other two generals looked unhappy. He smiled and stepped forward, clasping his fists and saying, “Two brothers, why do you both look so unhappy?”

Li Tong clasped his fists and said indifferently, “Greetings, Lord Wei.”

Xiao Xian also clasped his fists and called him Your Highness. Wei Quanzhong looked innocent, invited the two generals to sit in the main hall, poured them tea personally, and then asked with a smile: “What’s wrong with the two brothers?”

Li Tong looked at Wei Quanzhong and said, “Kill your son’s concubine.”

“Then, I will go and plead guilty to His Majesty and resolve this matter.”

Li Tong took a deep breath and said, “Otherwise, I will have no choice but to leave the capital.”

General Xiao also frowned and said, “This is indeed an overreaction.”

Wei Quanzhong smiled dumbly: “So it’s about this matter. Didn’t I tell my two brothers about this matter two days ago?”

“From the moment we entered the capital, we have been at war with Wu Zhou. No matter what we do or don’t do, nothing can change that.”

“Now, we have occupied the capital for half a year. There are still many people in the court who are unwilling to accept the rule. We can take this opportunity to test them.”

He looked at the two people and said slowly, “I am willing to bear this infamy. You two brothers just wait and see what happens. I will handle the rest.”

Li Tong knocked on the table, his voice a little annoyed: “The capital and even Guanzhong are indeed in our hands now, but what about outside Guanzhong?”

“This matter will soon be publicized. It won’t be long before your family’s crimes are known to the world!”

General Xiao, who was standing by, also said in a deep voice: “Many scholars are already preparing to leave the capital because of this matter. Do you want to lose the support of the people because of the bed collapse?”

Wei Quanzhong still looked calm, and said, “Brother Xiao, you and I don’t have any human nature to speak of.”

“It’s only because we are strong that we are where we are today.”

He smiled and said, “Don’t worry, my two brothers. Those clowns will be unable to resist jumping out at the court meeting tomorrow. I will definitely give you an explanation then.”

The two generals looked at each other and frowned slightly, wondering what tricks Wei Quanzhong was playing.

However, leaving the capital is also a difficult decision. The two generals should… continue to stay in the capital and continue to take a look.

…………

At the court meeting the next day, a group of civil servants headed by the Minister of Rites Du Ting, or a group of “clean officials” who were unwilling to join the three military governors, wrote letters to the emperor and attacked Wei Quanzhong.

In particular, Du Ting, as the leader of the civil officials, first recounted the matter of the Zhu family girl in front of the emperor, and then cursed Wei Quanzhong.

“As a subject, offending the emperor and father is treason!”

Du Ting glared at Wei Quanzhong and shouted, “Wei Quanzhong, do you still have any respect for His Majesty and the court?”

His Majesty the Emperor sitting on the throne had a blank expression on his face and did not say a word.

He knew about this early on, but he could only pretend that he didn’t know. A woman entering the palace was a small matter, but the reputation of the royal family and the imperial clan was a big matter.

He couldn’t know.

General Wei turned his head and looked at the indignant Du Ting, frowning and said, “Minister Du, what is the crime of slandering the prince of the court?”

Du Ting sneered: “It’s just a death!”

Wei Quanzhong looked at the civil servants behind Du Ting and smiled: “Minister Du, do your followers think the same way?”

Du Ting sneered and said nothing. Some of the civil servants who were complaining behind him were frightened by Wei Quanzhong’s words and dared not speak.

But most of them still bravely stood behind Du Shangshu.

“it is good.”

General Wei clapped his hands, then turned to look at the emperor and said, “Your Majesty, my son did take a concubine the day before yesterday. Rumor has it that she is the daughter of the Zhu family who will enter the palace. Your Majesty, if she is really the woman who is going to enter the palace, I would have executed my son and brought her to your Majesty to apologize.”

He paused and continued, “Your Majesty is very clear. Although the woman is indeed from the Zhu family, the Zhu family consists of two sisters. The one who was taken into the family is not the legitimate daughter of the Zhu family who is going to enter the palace, but a concubine’s daughter of the Zhu family.”

“At this moment, everyone in the Zhu family can testify. I have brought them to the palace. Your Majesty can summon them for questioning immediately.”

“I have also asked the Zhu family to bring along their daughter who is about to enter the palace. With one word from Your Majesty, they will come to Chongde Hall to see Your Majesty immediately.”

At this point, General Wei looked back at Du Ting and the others, and sneered, “As for those who slandered me and my son, they have ulterior motives.”

“I beg your Majesty to punish them severely!”

As soon as he said this, there was silence in Chongde Hall.

You, Wei Quanzhong, are extremely powerful in the capital. You said that the Zhu family has another daughter. How dare the Zhu family say they don’t have one?

The emperor was given a way out, how could he not take it?
At this time, at the court meeting, everyone looked at Du Ting and others with sympathy.

Everyone knows that the Jingzhao Du family…

I’m afraid it’s going to fall.

(End of this chapter)