Struggle in the early Tang Dynasty

"Gambling violates the "Law of Zhenguan", you always know that, right?"

Guo Yedao: "Of course I know that anyone who participates in gambling and whose stolen goods are less than five horses worth of silk will be given a staff of one hundred. Those who reach the price of five silks will be convicted of stealing and sentenced to one year's imprisonment. It is deduced accordingly. But now The question is, Xu Yuanhua is the one who lost the money, so is he also guilty?"

"My lord, you are really well-read and memorized. You can remember the specific provisions of the "Zhenguan Law" clearly. But...but...he..."

Guo Ye blushed and said, "What's going on?"

"There is another sentence behind this: the loser is divided into subordinates according to himself. That is to say, the person who loses is not innocent. How much money he loses, he will be punished according to the accomplice of the person who won him."

Guo Ye scratched his head and said, "What do you mean? Why can't I understand it?"

"You can understand the villain with an analogy. For example, if A wins five pieces of silk from B, then A will be sentenced to one year in prison. B will be regarded as A's accomplice and punished with a stick." One hundred. In this case now, Xu Yuanhua will be handled as Cen Wenzhao's accomplice. Because the amount of money involved is too large, Cen Wenzhao will of course have to sit in prison, but Xu Yuanhua is not much better. Just explain this truth to Xu Yuanhua clearly He is determined not to sue."

Only then did Guo Ye understand that as long as he participates in gambling, he will be punished no matter whether he wins or loses. It's just that those who lose money are punished slightly less than those who win money.

If you think about it, the purpose of this law is to prohibit people from gambling. If there is no reason to win money, you will be imprisoned, and if you lose money, you will go home and spend the money.That's too unreasonable.

He nodded and said, "Since that's the case, it won't be easy for me to judge Xu Yuanhua as the winner, right?"

"It's actually very simple to judge Xu Yuanhua to win. You just have to judge the deed to be invalid. It is clearly written in the document that Xu Yuanhua pawned his wife because of financial difficulties. But all neighbors can testify that Xu Yuanhua's family assets Dafu, a thousand pennies is nothing to him. Therefore, Xu Yuanhua must have been coerced to sign, and it is reasonable for you to invalidate the contract."

Guo Ye shook his head when he heard the words, and said, "Although this judgment cannot be said to be unreasonable, it is not perfect. Cen Wenzhao can blame him, saying that he was deceived by Xu Yuanhua to write this document."

Wen Sihai smiled sullenly, and said: "Whether he was deceived or not, he can't let him tell. Lord Guo, you have to trust the ability of the brothers in the government office. As long as he uses a little trick, he will never dare to lie."

Guo Ye understood that this old boy was referring to extorting a confession by torture.With the means of an old official like him, it is guaranteed that Xing Wenzhao will not hurt his flesh and blood, and he will not be able to survive or die.At that time, whatever confession you want will be what confession you want.

He pondered for a while, and said: "It's still not appropriate. This move is fine against ordinary people, but Cen Wenzhao... Although he has a low official position, the people behind him are not simple. If you use some secret means against him, But I can’t pass the level of that big man.”

Wen Sihai said nonchalantly: "The little old man knows who Cen Wenzhao is relying on, isn't it Cen Wenwen? Cen Wenwen is now the Minister of Zhongshu. Although he is considered high and powerful, he is far behind you. , nothing to worry about."

Wen Sihai could not care about Cen Wenwen, but Guo Ye could not.

Zhongshu Shilang, also known as Deputy Zhongshuling.In other words, the deputy prime minister.If it is converted into the official position of later generations, it is similar to the vice premier of the State Council.It is enough to stand against Guo Ye's Minister of Rites.If Guo Ye didn't have the part-time job of leading the guard and bad guys, he would really have no advantage over Cen Wen.

Guo Ye looked serious, and said: "Let's open the skylight and speak clearly. I want to sentence Xu Yuanhua to win and Cen Wenzhao to lose. Not only must Cen Wenzhao lose, but also Cen Wenzhao should be sentenced. The way you just said, Even the official felt a bit reluctant to hear it, let alone Cen Wenwen. If you only have this ability, then you can only look at the gate."

"Don't! The villain has a way, the villain must have a way." Wen Sihai's thoughts turned sharply, he slapped his thigh, and said, "Yes!"

"So fast? What is the solution?"

Wen Sihai said: "The method of the villain is to play hard to get. Didn't Xing Wenzhao say that it has nothing to do with gambling at all, is there a pawn deed to prove it? Let's use this pawn deed to talk about it! Qin Guogong, Do you know that according to the "Law of Zhenguan", this pawn wife is also illegal."

"And this thing? Tell me about it."

"There is such a rule in the "Law of Zhenguan": He who buys a wife and marries them will move for two years each, and the concubine will be reduced by two grades, and they will be divorced, that is, the husband who marries himself is the same. The matter of buying a wife is a certainty. There is no problem with sentence him to exile for two years."

"Really? Cen Wenzhao is also the school secretary of the imperial court. How could he commit such crimes knowingly? Leave such a big excuse?"

Wen Sihai said: "This decree is the first creation of our Tang Dynasty. It didn't exist in the previous dynasty. People who don't study laws and decrees really don't know. Let alone Xing Wenzhao, even the little old man, there is nothing in a hurry. Remember."

Guo Ye said with satisfaction: "Okay, old man Wen, this method is good. It doesn't need torture to extract a confession, and it doesn't overturn Cen Wenzhao's confession. It's completely smooth sailing. Even after seeing Cen Wenwen, I have something to say. By the way, what are you doing?" How old are you?"

"The little old man is forty-six."

"46? It's not too old to say, why are there so many white hairs now?"

"Oh, I'm ashamed to say it. Ever since he was dismissed from office, the little old man is like Wu Zixu who passed Zhaoguan and turned white overnight."

"It's really not easy for you. How about this, I see that you do have some talent. From today on, you don't have to look at the gate."

"Then I will be reinstated?"

"You have a good idea! The reinstatement of a sixth-rank official has to go through the Ministry of Officials, how can I make a decision with one word?"

Wen Sihai said with a smile: "With the status of Qin Guogong, if you pass a message to the official department, don't they dare to push three obstacles and four failures?"

"There is no problem with the Ministry of Officials, but I can't open my mouth to plead for a corrupt and bribe-taking person."

"Then you mean..."

"I grant you the post of magistrate of Kaifeng Mansion."

"Judge? This...is not quite in line with the rules."

The so-called judge was not a formal official position in the early Tang Dynasty.Generally, it is a minister who holds a temporary position, or a general who is going on an expedition, and temporarily selects one or two people from mid-level officials as his deputy to assist him in handling official affairs.To put it bluntly, the judges at this time are probably equivalent to the masters in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and they are just the staff of the officials themselves.

The Chang'an order is a permanent official position of the imperial court. Once it has all the assistant officials, it can operate normally even if the chief official is absent. Therefore, logically speaking, there should be no judge in the Chang'an mansion at all.Some people are serious, Wen Sihai's judge will be taken down in a matter of minutes.

The reason why Guo Ye arranged this way is that on the one hand, he can directly appoint the post of judge without going through the Ministry of Officials.On the other hand, they are not at ease with Wen Sihai's character, and dare not serve him as a serious official.

Guo Ye smiled slightly, and said: "This is really not in compliance with the rules. If you are not satisfied...you can quit!"

"Yes! How can you not be willing? To be another official is to serve the Tang court, but to be a judge is to serve for Qin Guogong. Qin Guogong, little old man will be yours from now on!"

"Uh... If you say you belong to me, don't even think about being a judge!"

……

……

After working all night, Guo Ye didn't return to his mansion until the sky was bright.He was just about to go back to sleep when he was called again.

"Report to Qin Guogong, Zhongshu Shilang Cen Wenwen asks to see you."

Chapter 1717 Cen Text

Guo Ye knew that Cen Wenwen was not an easy person.

The dignitaries and dignitaries of the Tang court probably all belonged to three major political factions - Shilin Qingliu faction, Tiance Mansion direct line and Jiancheng Yu party faction.And Cen Wenwen does not belong to any of the three families.He doesn't even have anything to do with the old ministers who once had a good reputation in Wude.

Cen Wenwen is a demoted official.

He turned out to be the Minister of Zhongshu of Liang Xiaoxian.In the fourth year of Wude, he returned with Xiao Mian and was appointed as Jingzhou Biejia.This is equivalent to being downgraded from the vice premier of the State Council to the deputy mayor of a prefecture-level city.

At that time, the world was basically settled down, and the positions in the court hall were occupied by carrots and pits.There are many founding officials who cannot be placed, let alone a demoted official Cen Wenwen.It can be said that according to normal development, it is basically impossible for a person of Cen Wenwen's background to climb to a high position again.

However, Cen Wenwen really did it.After more than ten years of ups and downs in the officialdom, Cen Wenwen returned to the position of Zhongshu's assistant minister.

What makes Guo Ye feel that Cen Wenwen is not simple is that this person has indeed not made any great achievements. As for special talents, hehe...nor.The only thing that can make people enlightened is that Cen Wenwen's articles are well written.But the officialdom is not an examination room. It would be too fantastic to expect to be promoted to the position of Minister of Zhongshu if you write a good article.

A good fighter has no great achievements.Looking at Cen Wenwen's resume, he knew that, among other things, this servant Cen must have a way of being an official.Guo Ye hadn't had much contact with Cen Wenwen before, but this time he had to confront this veteran official, and had to be extra careful.

The living room of Duke Qin's mansion.

After exchanging pleasantries, Guo Ye said: "Master Cen, you are always busy with business. Today, you are stepping on a humble place, so I don't know what to teach you."

Cen Wenwen kept complaining, and then said: "I heard that Qin Guogong brought back five beauties when he went to Silla this time. They are all beautiful and beautiful, and they are all beautiful and beautiful. They are really blessed and envious of others. ah."