Wu Zetian's words personally closed this brown "big case". One of the most terrifying and absurd pages in the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty has also been revealed.

At this time, it was late at night, and it could be seen that Wu Zetian was also very tired. However, after she dismissed the ministers, she still asked Xue Shao and his wife to stay temporarily, and personally sent the thousand cavalry guards around her to Lijingmen, and released Ashina Hu Sero from prison overnight, and brought him to face the saint.

At the same time, Di Renjie, Song Jing and Yi Li Siba had already launched an operation at the first time, and the soldiers of Qianniuwei had already set off to arrest Lai Junchen.

After the trial of the case on this day, Xue Shao slept for a while, but Wu Zetian did not have a moment of rest. At this moment, she was exhausted, and her complexion was much worse, as if she had aged ten years in one day.

Princess Taiping sat beside her very intimately, helped her massage, and whispered comforting and reassuring words in her ear. But Wu Zetian has been closing his eyes and recuperating, and he has not made a half-point response.

Xue Shao sat down and didn't say a word. Who knows what the Empress is thinking right now?

"Mother, why don't my daughter send you back to the harem to rest?" Princess Taiping whispered.

"There's no hurry." Wu Zetian finally opened his eyes. This moment of rest made her regain a little spirit, and even her eyes sharpened. She said, "I have something to say to you and your wife." ”

"Your Majesty, please speak." Xue Shaodao.

Princess Taiping also got up and left Wu Zetian and sat back at the bottom of the place, with a look of deafness.

"It has been a few years since I ascended the throne, and the country is still so troubled, and the court is even more turbulent. Every time I think about it, I am worried. Wu Zetian said, "Actually, I know very well that there have always been many people in this world who strongly oppose a woman becoming the emperor who rules the world. Therefore, I have to take some extraordinary measures to ensure the stability of the country and the peace of the world. Lai Junchen, he was originally a prisoner, but I single-handedly promoted him to an important task, and gave him glory and wealth that others could not reach. Over the years, he has indeed made a lot of contributions to me. What should I do with him? ”

Xue Shao thought to himself, you obviously know that I want to kill Lai Junchen, isn't this asking the guest to kill the chicken?

Before Xue Shao could speak, Princess Taiping said: "God Emperor, Lai Junchen took the power you gave him, and did evil and corrupted the law, so that the resentment of the hundred officials and the people's resentment boiled. Now he is already a dog, and he doesn't even let go of the children and sons-in-law of the God Emperor. If he is left alone, will he be planning to become emperor next time? ”

"Although your words are not unreasonable, they are a bit excessive." Wu Zetian was calm and said, "Chengyu, what is your opinion?" ”

Xue Shao bowed and said, "Your Majesty, there is no one else who can tell the truth." The minister's words will definitely be more ugly, so I ask Your Majesty to forgive me. ”

"Whatever you say, I forgive you for your innocence." Wu Zetian's attitude was quite sincere, and he said, "Now, there are fewer and fewer people who are willing to tell the truth to me. Occasionally, someone dares to admonish, but it is also vague and ambiguous. You have always been reticent above the court, but I know that you are a very assertive person. I would love to hear the truest voice from your heart. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Xue Shao said, "In fact, the minister has always felt that Suo Yuanli, Zhou Xing, Lai Junchen and Hou Sizhi are like the hunting dogs that the minister carries when he goes out hunting. When they are out hunting, they can hunt animals and birds, and they are loyal to their masters. But when they are usually kept at home, these hunting dogs must be firmly managed, otherwise they may injure the innocent. If one day these hounds do bite a lot of people, it will definitely cause big trouble for their owners. At this time, in order to give the injured an explanation and save the reputation of the owner, it is imperative to kill the vicious dog. ”

Wu Zetian listened carefully, and nodded slowly after listening.

The meaning of Xue Shao's words is already obvious, in fact, these cool officials are a group of hooligan thugs specially used by Wu Zetian in order to stabilize his rule. They use extraordinary means to eliminate Wu Zetian's opponents, and at the same time, they will also use these extraordinary means to attack their political enemies and seek benefits for themselves. Over the years, there have been too many people who have been "bitten" by the mad dogs of the cool officials, and people dare not speak out. If Wu Zetian had ignored these grievances and allowed them to accumulate, these grievances would inevitably erupt in silence. In the end, it was the anger of the public, and it was out of control.

"God Emperor, Erchen thinks that there is another layer of truth in sanctioning Junchen." Princess Taiping added, "As soon as King Luling returned to Beijing, Lai Junchen dared to put his poisonous hand on his head. Welcoming back King Luling was a decision made by the God Emperor after careful consideration, but Lai Junchen did not care about the overall situation of the court in order to handle a big case. If such a thief is allowed to stay in the court, it will be difficult for the world to be peaceful. Over the years, the court has been turbulent and has been plagued by disasters of all sizes, and it is difficult for Lai Junchen and others to take the blame. Because they used the judicial power given by the Emperor to frame the ministers wantonly, so that everyone was in danger and could not live in fear. The Emperor thinks about it, it is still difficult to protect himself, who can really focus on the ministry and serve the king and serve the society wholeheartedly? Due to the prevalence of whistleblowing, there is a lot of suspicion and even deceit between monarchs and ministers, ministers, and even ordinary people, and it is difficult to have real trust at all. All these will lead to turmoil and unrest in the court and the people. And all these unfavorable situations are all caused by the cool officials. As the ancients said, it's never too late to make amends. If the Divine Emperor can make up his mind to punish the cool officials now, it will be a blessing for the courtiers, a blessing for all the people in the world, and a great blessing for the society of the country! ”

As soon as Princess Taiping finished speaking, Wu Zetian and Xue Shao looked at her sideways at the same time.

"How?" Princess Taiping looked at Xue Shao in amazement, "Am there something I said wrong?" ”

"No ......" Xue Shao shook his head blankly, and said in his heart, did you overhear me talking in my sleep, and wrote it down one by one?

"Taiping, are these your own claims?" Wu Zetian asked.

"Of course!" Princess Taiping's eyes widened, "Could it be that Erchen can still memorize and recite the praise in advance?" ”

Wu Zetian smiled, "Chengyu, what do you think of her words?" ”

Xue Shao also smiled and nodded, "The princess's opinion is indeed incisive and unique. ”

"Do you also speak your heart?" Wu Zetian asked again.

Xue Shao said indifferently: "Your Majesty, the minister will tell you the truth...... The princess's words are likely to speak the hearts of most of the courtiers. ”

Wu Zetian nodded again with a solemn expression, looking at the expression as if to say: I should indeed seriously reflect on it!

At this moment, Ashina Huthro was brought. As soon as he entered, he fell to his knees, and the mountain cried out for long live.

"Khan, flat." Wu Zetian said, "It's my fault that made you suffer. ”

Ashina Hu Sero knelt on the ground, and sobbed: "My emperor Shengming, I only complain about the personal vendetta of the Junchen Communiqué, and I have to frame the Weichen!" ”

"Hey! ......" Wu Zetian almost sighed and said, "I will return your love and justice to you now." Take them with you, and go home and rest! ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Ashina Huthero was excited, kowtowed again and again, and retreated in panic.

After Ashina Hu Sero left, Wu Zetian was silent for a long time and said: "Over the years, how many people like Ashina Hu Thero have been framed by Lai Junchen? ”

"For a while, I'm afraid it's hard to count." Xue Shao said this, but he was thinking in his heart: In fact, it is time to put up a notice to announce the people, so that all the ministers and people who have been framed by the cruel officials can come together to complain about their grievances. Then he ordered the Criminal Department and the Imperial Historical Observatory to conduct a detailed investigation of each case. But doing so will push the empress to the forefront, after all, many things that the cool officials have done over the years have been instructed or acquiesced in by her.

Such a thing as "setting things right" can definitely only be carried out after Wu Zetian abdicates or even passes away.

"So, I have indeed wronged a lot of people over the years?" Wu Zetian said.

"Your Majesty." Xue Shao bowed his hand and said: "All unjust cases start from Junchen, and then come from Junchen. Your Majesty does not have to blame himself or repent, and the top priority is to punish the cruel officials, appease the people's hearts, and stabilize the government and the opposition. ”

Wu Zetian took a deep breath, nodded for the third time, and said one word seriously, "Okay." ”

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

"You're tired from the day, let's go back and rest first!"

In this way, Xue Shao and his wife finally left the palace and took the carriage to their home.

After Princess Taiping got in the car, she fell softly in Xue Shao's arms, humming and chirping that I was tired to death.

Xue Shao patted her thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking?" Princess Taiping recovered a little, stroked Xue Shao's face, and asked, "You have done a big thing, or a good thing that makes people happy, shouldn't you be happy?" Why are you so worried? ”

"I'm wondering, how will those people who have been brutalized by the cool officials over the years, as well as their relatives, friends, and descendants, think and evaluate in the future, what about your mother?" Xue Shao said.

Princess Taiping blinked in surprise, "You still care about this?" ”

"Of course I do." Xue Shao said, "Your mother is not only the king I serve, but also my teacher, my mother-in-law, and my Bole. Even putting aside my personal feelings, I have worked with her to govern this country with her over the years, and I have become one with her and this country. In the end, how well the country is governed and how the people and future generations evaluate it will be a final judgment for us. I care about what the world thinks of your mother, and I care about my own reputation. Got it? ”

Princess Taiping's expression was even more stunned, "No wonder you have always hated the face, and this time you even personally tried to eradicate the cool officials." It turns out that you have always cared about my mother's reputation? ”

Xue Shao's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he nodded slightly, "Such an idea may have existed in my mind for a long time. But I've just figured it out. ”

"The monarch and the minister are one, and one loss is the other, and the other is prosperous." Princess Taiping said, "Xue Lang, you are really my mother's loyal minister!" ”

Xue Shao suddenly smiled, "Have you always thought that I was a traitor?" ”

Princess Taiping smiled, "To be honest, sometimes I really don't think you're a loyal minister. Because over the years, you have done many things that have disobeyed my mother. ”

"Yes. If it weren't for your mediation, if it weren't for your mother's broad-mindedness, I would have died a long time ago. Xue Shao hugged Princess Taiping a little tighter, and said with a smile, "Xue is not a qualified loyal minister. For I will not do everything according to the will of the king. ”

"Everything is according to the will of the king, and it must be a courtier." Princess Taiping smiled, "Xue Lang, you are a traitor!" - A treacherous fox treacherous! ”