Those who supported the Lu family insisted that Lu Dingchang had received news that there were rebels in the city and were attacking the palace. In desperation, he took the risk of leading his troops into the city even though the troop deployment order was not in compliance with regulations. This was a sign of his utmost loyalty to the emperor. Although he was not cautious enough in his actions, his loyalty was commendable and he did not cause any trouble. He should not be punished but rewarded.
Loyal and upright people, led by Wei Xuanzheng, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, insisted that rules are rules. If anyone can make up an excuse and break the rules on the grounds of "urgent situation" or "loyalty", then the capital will be in complete chaos.
The two sides were arguing, and Lu Tong was impatient to continue arguing with Wei Xuanzheng and others, so he threatened the emperor with his eyes to stand on their side.
Although the emperor did not dare to speak out in support of Wei Xuanzheng, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and others, he withstood the pressure from Lu Tong and never spoke out in support of the Lu family.
However, in the end, Wei Xuanzheng and others' thin arms were still unable to twist the strong thighs of the Lu family. Lu Tong found the Queen Mother Da Lu, and Da Lu made the decision. She fined Lu Dingchang one year's salary and demoted him one level of official rank. The matter was over.
Lu Dingchang was not a clean-handed person and did not rely on his salary to make a living. Although his rank was demoted, he still held the position of the Grand Commander of the Front Army of the Five Military Commandery firmly in his hands. In terms of real power, he did not lose anything.
After a year or so, when the incident has died down, the Lu family will find an opportunity to help him get his official rank back. It can be said that Lu Dingchang has paid almost no price for his actions.
The old minister obviously understood the ins and outs of this. He was filled with grief and indignation, pointing at Lu Tong and scolding him for confusing right and wrong, disregarding the law, forming cliques for personal gain and disrupting the government, his wolfish ambitions being obvious, and deceiving the emperor and being a treacherous flatterer. He also burst into tears and asserted that the Great Qi would sooner or later be destroyed by the Lu family.
Lu Tong's face turned black as ink after being scolded by him, and he ordered the guards at the gate to drag him away.
Upon hearing this, the guards immediately rushed into the Golden Palace with ferocious looks on their faces to capture Minister Wei.
Minister Wei grew increasingly angry and angry upon seeing this. He cursed Lu Tong, "You traitor to the nation! You commandeer the imperial guards like your own arms, brazenly and openly acting like this. Aren't you afraid of the condemnation of the wise and knowledgeable people of the world?"
The guards came up and tried to tear Minister Wei apart, while Yang Zhengde and the others rushed over to protect the old minister.
The guards had fierce looks on their faces. They pressed their right hands on the hilts of the swords at their waists and all looked at Lu Tong, as if waiting for Lu Tong's order.
The emperor could no longer remain silent. He stood up and shouted, "Stop! Stop it!"
Unfortunately, no one listened to him.
To warn him (Lu Tong was very dissatisfied with his previous disregard for Lu Tong's hint), Lu Tong directly said, "Drag him out!"
The guards were indeed obedient. They simply ignored the emperor and reached out to pull away Yang Zhengde and others to drag Minister Wei.
Minister Wei burst into tears. He knelt tremblingly, kowtowed to the emperor, and then shouted, "The master humiliates me, and I must die! Lu Tong, even if I have to sacrifice my life today, I will make the world see the true face of this traitor and traitor. I will bring you down and ruin your reputation, and make you infamous forever."
After saying this, the old minister turned around and bumped into the pillar without hesitation.
Yang Zhengde and others were unable to stop him. The old minister's head was covered in blood, and he soon died under their grief-stricken gaze.
There was a cry of grief in the Golden Palace. Yang Zhengde and others surrounded the old minister, crying and glaring at the officials of the Lu family with resentful eyes.
Lu Tongwan never expected that Minister Wei would be so hot-tempered. His heart skipped a beat and he thought to himself, "Oh no!"
He was not afraid of what the emperor or Yang Zhengde and others would do to him, but as the old minister said, once what happened today got out, his reputation would be completely ruined.
He is aiming for the throne, so reputation is very important to him.
But it is impossible for him to shut everyone's mouth. He does not have the ability to cover up the truth or call a horse a zebra.
Furious, Lu Tong vented his anger on the old minister. He dismissed the guards, turned around with a gloomy face, and spoke to the emperor in a threatening tone, "Minister Wei has been disrespectful and offended the emperor. Even if he dies, his crime cannot be forgiven. It would be better to have his official hat removed and his body thrown out of the palace."
The emperor and Yang Zhengde and others firmly opposed it.
The emperor said it more tactfully, "The dead are gone. Lord Lu, please don't be angry with Lord Wei anymore."
Yang Zhengde's words were much sharper. "Minister Wei is dead, and you still want to tarnish his reputation? You're dreaming! Unless you kill me as well, I will never let you confuse right and wrong!"
Lu Tong's face was sinister and cruel. He thought to himself, did he not want to kill Yang Zhengde, who was always in his way? He just didn't do it!
Long before Yu Zizhen came to Beijing, he had already made several attempts to harm Yang Zhengde, but the old man was always very slippery.
The only time he spent a huge amount of money and sent out his assassins to assassinate Yang Zhengde at all costs, but the information sent back by the informant was wrong. The person sitting in the carriage was not Yang Zhengde, but Yang Zhengde's son.
Although he was very happy and relieved to be able to kill Yang Zhengde's son, Yang Zhengde became obviously more difficult to deal with after his son's death. Since then, this old man's ability to make things difficult for him has even improved.
He was secretly furious when he heard Fan Ting chime in, "Lord Lu, the dead are the greatest. Please don't embarrass Minister Wei anymore."
Lu Tong had a heart attack. He glared at Fan Ting fiercely, thinking that there was this old bastard named Fan. He had long wanted to give him a knife and send him to the west.
The three of them were in a stalemate for a moment. Seeing that Yang Zhengde was determined to fight him to the death and destroy himself, just to preserve Minister Wei's reputation, Lu Tong had no choice but to take a step back.
It’s not that he was afraid of Yang Zhengde, but in his opinion, a mere Minister Wei was not worth him breaking up with Yang Zhengde completely without making preparations to usurp the throne.
He didn't want to fight to the death with Yang Zhengde, so in the end, Yang Zhengde was able to personally send Minister Wei's body back to the Wei family for funeral.
The emperor was in a bad mood after witnessing the death of a loyal minister. He retired from court and returned to the palace in a daze. Then he dismissed the palace servants and went to the eldest prince Xiao Yuanjin alone.
Xiao Yuanjin bowed and greeted the emperor.
The emperor waved his hands weakly. He sat down opposite Xiao Yuanjin and apologized to his son dejectedly, "Father is sorry for you."
Xiao Yuanjin: ???
This shock was no small matter, and Xiao Yuanjin's expression immediately turned serious. He asked the emperor, "Father, did something happen during the morning court session that troubled you?"
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