Fu Tang

Li Congjia's first reaction was that Pan Mei was playing around and burned the city directly, but after thinking about it, he was wrong, whoever burns the city will advance into the city by himself, is he trying to turn himself into a roast suckling pig?

But the fact is that no one knows where the fire started.

Because Pan Mei was busy cleaning up the city, the report was not very detailed, but everyone knew that there would be a more detailed report from the intelligence department, and he only had to wait for Wuzhou to be settled and then submit a memorial to plead guilty.

Li Congjia looked at the various details reported by the Ministry of Intelligence, knocked on the case and said, "The entire city was burned, it must be arson, and the arson was not in one place."

Shi Xueting nodded in agreement. If only a private house caught fire, the fire would be confined to the surrounding area at most. How could it be possible to directly burn down the entire city?

And even if multiple people ignite the fire, it has been accurately calculated and the wind direction can be predicted, so it is possible to cause the current situation.

Li Congjia said with a sullen face, "Check it out, we must find it out."

Li Congjia even secretly decided that if he still had something to do with Khitan this time, it would be useless to say that he must subdue Khitan.

Shi Xueting asked: "Decided?"

There was no one else in the study, and Li Congjia didn't have to put on an air, and said angrily: "It's decided, it's useless to say, I'm giving them shame!"

Shi Xueting said: "Calm down first, let me analyze and analyze."

Li Congjia looked at him with some doubts: "Analyze what?"

Shi Xueting thought about it and said, "Actually, I think it's probably not made by Khitan."

Li Congjia knew that Shi Xueting would not talk nonsense, so he folded his hands on his chest and leaned on the back of the chair and said, "Tell me."

Shi Xueting said: "Ye Luxian is not a fool. Burning Wuzhou City is actually of no benefit to the Khitan. Even if it is to block the Great Tang, he has countless methods, which are much more useful than burning the city, and he How can I not know that after Wuzhou City is burned, Datang will never let the murderer go, unless he has the ability to go to war with Datang now, but if they have this ability, they will not use Yanyun Liuzhou Give it back to us."

Li Congjia snorted and said, "Give it back to us, we exchanged Korea with them."

Shi Xueting said helplessly: "If it wasn't for Ye Luxian's unwillingness to confront Datang head-on, even if we took out ten Goryeos, they would probably consider whether to exchange them, not to mention that we also exchanged for the large grassland on the Yinshan Mountain. .”

In fact, Li Congjia also felt that as long as Ye Luxian was not mentally retarded, he would not have done such an obvious thing, so... who would it be?It can't be that Pan Mei made it by herself, right?

Everyone is waiting for the answer, because this answer may affect the relationship between Khitan and Datang. This matter almost determines whether the two countries will continue to live in peace or start fighting immediately.

Even Ye Luxian is paying attention to this matter. He thinks that he has made enough concessions before, in order to win a breathing space for Khitan. All have to vomit blood.

What everyone didn't expect was that the result of the investigation was really not Khitan, but it can't be said that it has nothing to do with Khitan.

It was the Han people who set the fire, and those Han people who were found out clamored for Pan Mei to go back with the army when they were arrested. They did not welcome the Tang army here, and they would rather let the Khitan continue to rule the Sixteen States of Yanyun.

Li Congjia was so angry that he turned the table this time. Not only did he lift the table, he couldn't even eat!

If it was just the Khitan people, they might not even be angry. After all, he had thought that the Khitan would not be able to return the Yanyun Six States to Datang so easily, but now the result is that the Han people are against them?

This made Li Congjia even more difficult to accept.

Shi Xueting brought Li Congjia food and said, "What is this for? Didn't you say before that when you get angry, you just use other people's mistakes to punish yourself? What you said before persuading Dalang is so reasonable, why do you do it when it's your own time?" Not coming?"

Li Congjia was so angry that he didn't speak, Shi Xueting put down the food and said: "Okay, just get angry, what's the point of getting angry with those untouchables?"

Li Congjia looked up at him and said, "I don't understand, what does it mean that good Han people would rather be ruled by the Khitan? Do they like to be second-class citizens?"

Shi Xueting asked in a daze: "What is a second-class citizen?"

Li Congjia paused, and realized that he had slipped the tongue, so he could only add: "It's just... born inferior. Under the rule of the Khitan people, the Han people were born inferior?"

Shi Xueting said: "You are wrong to judge them with your own thoughts. People who have been kneeling for a long time cannot stand up. Although these people may still have Han blood lying in their bodies, but from the perspective of thought, They are already Khitan people, or they can get benefits from Khitan, but they may not be able to maintain the original benefits after Datang takes over, so naturally they hope that Khitan will rule the land of Yanyun."

Li Congjia couldn't get up after kneeling for a long time. Li Congjia felt that what Shi Xueting said hit the nail on the head. Didn't these people just kneel for a long time?

Li Congjia pondered for a while, and then showed his face and said: "That's okay, this can be regarded as a wake-up call for us. If there is such a person after the chaos is calmed down and everything is on the right track, Datang may be exposed at that time." There are bigger losses."

The worst thing is to lead the way, what if a certain leader gets into a high position?Isn't Datang very dangerous?

Shi Xueting asked: "Don't get angry anymore? Just eat when you're not angry. I'd rather see you directly send troops to beat those who offend you than you hurt yourself."

Li Congjia sighed: "It's easier said than done, come on, eat a little with me, I can't eat so much."

When Shi Xueting was persuading Li Congjia, Pan Mei was regretting at the remains of the dead soldiers. He kept blaming himself for being so careless. The casualties this time were completely avoidable. Seeing that the rebellion was about to be put down, these soldiers would soon They could go back home to receive their own reward, and ended up dying here.

The main thing is that their deaths don't make any sense!

Pan Mei was about to go crazy, but he still resisted his urge to massacre the city. He knew that the absence of instructions from above meant that this matter should not make a big fuss, let alone the behavior of angering other people. be strictly prohibited.

Because almost all of these soldiers were burnt to death and choked to death by smoke, many of them were unable to confine their remains. In the end, Pan Mei could only cremate all the remains together, and then took the ashes back.

He could hardly imagine how he would answer the inquiries from the families of these soldiers when he went back.

"General, everyone is already here, please show me how to deal with it!"

Pan Meihong said with a blank expression in her eyes: "What else can I do? The principal criminal will be executed Ling Chi, and the corpse will be quartered ten days after exposure!"

This kind of criminal law can be said to be very vicious. Basically, since the Confucianism of Confucius became popular in the hearts of the people, this kind of criminal law has almost disappeared. Even if the court executes people now, it is just a beheading to show the public.

However, Pan Mei felt that this was his only explanation to the dead soldiers, otherwise it would be difficult to dispel his hatred!

The captain who just came to report felt relieved after hearing this, but he still reminded: "General, this is not in line with military regulations... I'm afraid it's..."

Pan Mei raised her hand to stop him and said, "I'll take care of what's going on, go! The soldiers will die if their grievances are not cleared away!"

The captain bowed to take the order. Pan Mei looked at the burnt Wuzhou City beyond recognition, and felt that this place was simply a hell on earth, and maybe he never wanted to come back in his life.

After those people knew the criminal law they were about to face, the young man at the head shouted: "Why do you kill me? I am also a citizen of the Tang Dynasty. Even if I want to kill, it will be ordered by the Ministry of Criminal Justice. You are using lynching!"

Pan Mei looked at him viciously and said: "People of the Great Tang? No, there are no people like you in the Great Tang. You are not even worthy of being human, animals!"

The young man smiled bitterly and said: "You deserve it! Since the chaos in the Central Plains, Yanyun Land has also become unsafe. You people want to fight here and there with Khitan, and the result? The people of Yanyun Land deserve it. Living in the flames of war? How big was my family back then? But now? I’m the only one left! Why can’t I take revenge?”

Pan Mei looked at him indifferently and said, "Revenge? Do you think you are avenging your family? No, you are just a coward. If you really have the guts, what you should do is to go to the Khitan people to fight for your life instead of deliberately killing them." Rescue your Chinese army."

After Pan Mei finished speaking, she waved her hand. He didn't want to hear about the tragic past of this person or these people. No matter what their past was, it had nothing to do with Datang.

Indeed, ever since the son emperor Shi Jingtang dedicated Yanyun Land to Khitan, it has always been the object of competition between the Han family and Khitan. After all, the geographical location of this place is too important.

Later Jin and later Zhou Dynasty used soldiers here, but this is not the reason for these people to kill!

Datang has always had goodwill towards the people of Yanyun Land, and even tried not to fight wars when they recovered here. If there were no rebels this time, the return of the six states of Yanyun should be very peaceful.

Pan Mei heard the screams of the leaders and saw the black smoke rising from the cremated corpses. After a long while, she said, "Go and find out how many other people like these people have the same heart for Khitan."

The lieutenant was stunned for a moment and asked, "General, how... how do we investigate this?"

If there is no evidence for this kind of thing, what if people deny it?

Pan Mei said decisively: "It's just a question of whether you have any contact with the Khitan people."

The captain was a little embarrassed: "But...many Khitan people are just ordinary people, if you check them all..."

Pan Mei waved her hand: "I'd rather kill a group by mistake than let one go. Go ahead. I'll take care of any problems."

The captain sighed, thinking that the general was probably going crazy, but thinking about it, if he didn't consider that he would be questioned, he had to say that such an approach was really satisfying.

Pan Mei's actions caused an uproar after they spread to Chang'an. The central issue was whether his punishment of those people was too cruel, and whether the subsequent picketing was overkill.

When Li Congjia received the report from the Ministry of Intelligence, he knew that Pan Mei would definitely be involved. Such an approach was too extreme.

However, he really got angry, and Li Congjia wanted to keep Pan Mei just because of this.

Sure enough, at the Great Court Meeting, after the main political affairs were settled, there was a censor who came out to show that Pan Mei was a vicious and vicious person, and his actions were appalling. Such leaders would damage the majesty of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Congjia listened to the censor dragging the text there, and was surprised to find that these people didn't spray too much, at least they didn't compare Pan Mei with Bai Qi as they heard before.

Li Congjia felt a little strange, how did these censors know how to show mercy?

In fact, where the censor was showing mercy, it was because Li Congjia stared at them too coldly, which made the censor's legs tremble a little.

Of course, most of the work of the censor is to fight against the princes of the court and add trouble to the emperor. As long as he passes it, he may become famous, and if the number of times is too many, he may even be famous in history!

It's just that the censor who stood up this time was full of courage when he came out, but now he just wants to go through the motions.

The emperor's eyes were indeed frightening, but fortunately, anyway, the emperor would not punish them on the spot for ginseng, and it was Shi Xueting who made him afraid!

The national teacher who has not appeared in front of everyone for a long time, suddenly appeared at the Dachao meeting, standing behind Li Congjia, and staring at everyone coldly, as long as everyone thinks that he has an intelligence department in his hand, there seems to be a special assassination department under the intelligence department People who are so tired can't help but feel weak in their legs.

Those people can even enter and leave the Khitan Palace at will, wouldn't it be easy to kill them?

It's one thing to gain fame, but you can't put your life on the line, so the censor was discouraged, and returned to his queue after the anticlimactic participation.

For a moment, the court fell into a bewildered silence, and Li Congjia didn't know how to react, so he could only reprimanded him in a nonchalant manner: "What General Pan did was all out of my own will, and if they can be unkind, we can naturally be unkind." Righteousness, don’t mention this matter again!”

It is true that no one in the court wanted to mention this matter again. Even if the civil servants were still pleading for these people, they were also very angry when they were slapped in the face. It's not worth taking one matter with the emperor!

Li Congjia directly announced his resignation. On the way back, he couldn't help but smiled at Shi Xueting: "Today you are going to scare those censors to death."

Seeing his smiling face, Shi Xueting reassuredly said, "These people just need to be dealt with."

Shi Xueting seldom appeared in front of people since he mastered the intelligence department, because he didn't want to get involved with anyone. After all, the things in his hands are very sensitive. If he gets involved with others, what happens in the future? What should I do with Li Congjia?Even if nothing happens, if someone with a heart wants to frame him, I'm afraid it's not easy to explain clearly. Anyway, he doesn't like dealing with courtiers, and he doesn't need to climb up. That's good.

It's just that he knows that the censor will definitely come out to participate in Pan Mei today, and Li Congjia will definitely help Pan Mei fight the crime. Maybe Li Congjia will be the point of view of these censors.

These two days, Li Congjia was not happy at all, if he was serious with these censors, wouldn't he be in a worse mood?Shi Xueting couldn't hold back and went to court, and when Li Congjia was staring at Yushi, he was also staring at Yushi.

Stared at by these two men with murderous eyes, unless the censor is an underground party, how can he stand it?

Pan Mei, who left Wuzhou and went to Ruzhou to be stationed, was ready to accept the punishment, but unexpectedly, Li Congjia took the matter and said that he benefited from it. At this time, Pan Mei understood that Qin Guogong What Zhao Kuangyin said: Leading troops under His Majesty is the most comfortable. As long as you have a good reason for what you do, you don't have to worry about future worries.

Now it seems... that is really the case. Pan Mei's heart that had been chilled by the blow was filled with warmth for a moment. He let out a long breath, let out all the depression of these days, and then stood up and said: " Boys, get ready to go, go, and chase the rebels!"

He couldn't bring those dead back to life, and the only thing he could do was to put down the rebellion and return Li Congjia to a stable land of Yanyun.

In the process of chasing down the rebels, Pan Mei was not idle, and kept sending people to investigate people related to Khitan.

As a result, what Pan Mei didn't expect was that there were actually many people who supported the previous leading parties and would rather let the Khitan rule than return to the Tang Dynasty.

If there are only a small number of people, Pan Mei will definitely deal with it. It is useless to keep such people, and it will only split Datang. However, there are not many of these people. It was very difficult to get rid of these people, so I had to report them.

When Li Congjia got the news, he was discussing matters with the cabinet ministers. Although the Yanyun land was the most talked about in the court recently, it is impossible to revolve around it because the Tang Dynasty is so big. It is already spring, and Li Congjia is even more Concerned about the issue of spring plowing, especially in Lingnan.

When the news came, everyone was waiting for Li Congjia to get mad, but what surprised them was that Li Congjia was very calm, just sneered twice and said: "There are a lot of people, well, there are many people who are not young ? It seems that Yelvjing is also very popular."

After all, Yeluxian has only ruled Khitan for a few years, and it was Yelvjing before. Now it seems that the diversity of species is really a wonderful thing. The real Khitan people are about to hate Yelvjing. The Han people worship Yelvjing very much.

Seeing that Li Congjia didn't seem to be getting angry, Zhao Pu couldn't help asking, "How will Your Majesty deal with these people?"

Li Congjia said: "What else can we do? Let it go, there are so many people, and many of them are whole families who admire Khitan. Let's give them a chance and ask Pan Mei to send them to Khitan. As for whether Khitan can accept them." We don't care about it."

Fan Zhi said helplessly, "Your Majesty, how did this happen? These foolish people are just deluded."

"Idiots? Are people who can write and read considered fools? They know it very well in their hearts, but it doesn't matter. I guess Ye Luxian would not dare to accept such a stupid person."

If he was Ye Luxian, he would definitely feel that there was a problem. Nima, who has ever heard of people who are unwilling to get close to their real clansmen, but prefer to get close to foreigners?Especially when the political stances of the two ethnic groups are different, whoever does not stand on the side of their own people will have problems at first glance.

Of course, Li Congjia knew that there were many such people even in later generations. He was angry with these people for being too ruthless two days ago.

Wei Renpu asked: "Then let General Pan let him go, and then send capable officials over to educate him slowly."

Li Congjia couldn't help complaining: "Don't be a fool. People who are really capable can make great achievements in other places. Why do you have to throw people into the mud?"

Crowd: ...

I've never heard of someone who compares Yanyun Land to a muddy quagmire. Even if it's a muddy quagmire, it's a muddy quagmire that everyone is vying for, right?

Li Congjia stroked his chin and said, "Well, since they like Khitan so much, why not just pay the tax according to the Khitan's quota, it's such a happy decision."

The ministers of the cabinet were at a loss for a moment, and for some reason the topic came up with taxation, but soon everyone realized that Li Congjia's revenge this time...was a bit ruthless. If Pan Mei's revenge was fierce, Li Congjia would be slow to cut flesh. .

After all, Li Congjia has been trying to reduce agricultural taxation over the years, trying to encourage the development of other industries, so as to collect taxes. Since he built the first road and collected a lot of tolls, many wealthy business families have begun to contract road construction. In this regard Taxes are already quite a lot.

Therefore, compared with Khitan, Datang's agricultural tax is almost half less, and if Yanyun land pays according to Khitan's tax amount, that is to say, it pays at least half more than other people in Datang, which is really cruel.

However, Fan Zhi and others didn't say a word. After all, this is all taxation. They had objected to Li Congjia's vigorous reduction of taxation before, and it wasn't that they wanted to squeeze the people, but if the taxation is too small, there will be problems in the operation of the court.

As for whether the people in the six prefectures of Yanyun would be dissatisfied, Fan Zhi and others said together: Isn't this what they want?

Really happy.

Just after Li Congjia felt that the matter had probably come to an end, he realized that the Tatars were more annoying than the Yanyun Six States!