On the fifth day after the King of Zhenbei's body was brought back to the capital city, the sky was dark.
Outside the Meridian Gate, the candles in the stone lanterns flickered with orange light, reflecting the light from the torches in the hands of the Imperial Guards.
The officials gathered at the Meridian Gate in the cool breeze, waiting for the morning court to begin. Occasionally, officials who were familiar with each other lowered their heads and whispered to each other. Overall, it was quiet.
The officials seemed to be holding back their anger, but at the same time, they were holding back, waiting for an opportunity to explode.
"Dong, dong, dong …"
When the sky brightened, the drums sounded on the tower of the Meridian Gate.
The civil and military officials lined up in tacit understanding and entered the palace through the slowly opening gates.
…
The Throne Room.
The officials of the fourth rank and above stepped into the hall and waited in silence. After fifteen minutes, the Yuanjing Emperor, who was wearing a Daoist robe, finally arrived.
After not seeing him for a long time, the white-haired Emperor looked more haggard. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen. He fully displayed the image of an elder brother who had lost his younger brother.
The officials were shocked. The Emperor paid great attention to his health. Ever since he started cultivating, his body had been healthy and his complexion was rosy.
When had he ever looked so haggard?
Many people looked at each other and felt a chill in their hearts.
The old eunuch glanced at the Yuanjing Emperor and said, "If you have something to report, please report. If not, the court is dismissed."
The Chief Minister of Chu Zhou City, Zheng Xinghuai, walked to the front of the officials, bowed and said in a deep voice,
"Your Majesty, the Commander of Chu Zhou City, Duke Huai, colluded with the Witchcraft Sect and the Daoist Master of the Earth Sect to kill 380,000 people for his own benefit. Since the founding of the Great Feng Empire, this kind of atrocity had never been seen before. Your Majesty, please demote Duke Huai to a commoner and hang his head in the city for three days as a memorial to the 380,000 souls … "
The Yuanjing Emperor looked at him expressionlessly.
Surprisingly, Zheng Xinghuai, the Chief Minister of Chu Zhou City, didn't show any fear in the face of the Emperor's anger.
At this time, Wang Shoufu stepped out and said respectfully,
"Duke Huai's actions have caused the wrath of the heavens and the resentment of the people, and the capital has long been in an uproar. The people of Chu Zhou are brave and courageous. If we can't give the world an explanation, I'm afraid there will be a revolt. Your Majesty, please demote Duke Huai to a commoner and hang his head in the city for three days as a memorial to the three hundred and eighty thousand souls of Chu Zhou City. "
In the imperial court, all the officials bowed and shouted, "Your Majesty, please demote Duke Huai to a commoner and hang his head in the city for three days as a memorial to the three hundred and eighty thousand souls of Chu Zhou City."
The Yuanjing Emperor stood up slowly. With a cold face, he looked down at the ministers in the imperial court.
The muscles on his face twitched, and the veins on his forehead bulged. Suddenly … he flipped the large table in front of him.
Clang …
The large table rolled down the stairs and landed heavily in front of the officials.
Then, the old emperor's heart-wrenching roar echoed in the hall.
"Duke Huai is this emperor's younger brother, yet you want to demote him to a commoner. What are your intentions? Do you still want me to issue an edict of guilt? Do you still have me in your eyes? I've lost my brother, and it's like I've lost an arm. You don't know how to sympathize, and you've gathered at the palace gates for days on end. Are you trying to force me to my death?! "
The old emperor's face was contorted, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked like a helpless old beast.
"This …" Everyone was stunned.
The Yuanjing Emperor had been on the throne for thirty-seven years, and his image as a scheming man was deeply ingrained in the minds of all the officials.
They had never thought that there would be a day when the old emperor would be so grief-stricken.
His attitude in front of the officials was so different from the impression he had on them, and it made them feel sad for no reason.
The officials' high morale stagnated.
Before the officials could recover from their shock, the Yuanjing Emperor sat down dejectedly. He did not bother to hide the sorrow on his face.
"When I was still the Crown Prince, the late emperor was wary of me. My position was unstable, and I was always on the edge. It was Duke Huai who supported me silently. It was because we were born of the same mother, and we had a deep bond.
"Back then, Duke Huai held the Nation Suppressing Sword, killed enemies for the empire, and protected our territory. If not for his fearlessness in the battle of Shanhai Pass, how could the Daibun Empire prosper today? All of you should be indebted to him.
"After the battle of Shanhai Pass, Duke Huai was ordered to go north to guard the border. In the past ten years, he has only returned to the capital a few times. Duke Huai did make a huge mistake, but he has already been punished. Are you not going to let go of his reputation? "
After being interrupted by the Yuanjing Emperor in such a "rude" way, the officials couldn't find their rhythm, and no one spoke for a while.
But it didn't matter, there would always be someone willing to be the vanguard, to charge and break through enemy lines.
Minister Zheng said loudly, "Your Majesty, the merits and demerits do not offset each other. It is a fact that Duke Huai has performed meritorious deeds all these years, but the imperial court has already rewarded him according to his merits, and the people love and respect him. Now that he has committed a heinous crime, he should naturally be punished. Otherwise, it would be Your Majesty bending the law for personal gain. "
The Yuanjing Emperor shouted, "Disgraceful thing, you have been jumping up and down in the capital these past few days, slandering the imperial family, slandering the princes. Seeing that you have worked hard all these years, even if you have not performed meritorious deeds, we have tolerated you until now.
"Duke Huai's case hasn't been decided yet, as long as it hasn't been decided, he is innocent. You slandering the princes is a capital crime!"
"Your Majesty!"
Wang Zhenwen suddenly spoke, interrupting the Yuanjing Emperor's rhythm, and said loudly, "We can talk about the matter of Minister Zheng later, let's discuss the matter of Duke Huai first."
The Yuanjing Emperor looked at him deeply, his gaze swept past Wang Zhenwen, and stopped at a certain place.
As if responding to the Yuanjing Emperor, someone immediately stepped out and said loudly, "Your Majesty, this official also has something to report."
The officials looked towards the source of the voice, it was the Ministry of Rites's Imperial Censor, Yao Lin.
Everyone knew that the Imperial Censors were professional haters, they were the mad dogs of the imperial court, biting whoever they caught. At the same time, they were also the initiators of the struggle in the imperial court.
As expected, they didn't disappoint this time.
Yao Lin bowed, slightly lowered his head, and said loudly, "This official wants to impeach Grand Secretary Wang Zhenwen for ordering the former Ministry of Rites Minister to collude with the demon race and blow up the Sampo case."
There was a slight commotion in the imperial court.
The officials looked at each other, their expressions strange. These few days, Wang Zhenwen had led a group of officials to surround the palace gate, his reputation had spread, and he was known as the vanguard of "hounding the emperor to death."
For him to be impeached at this time, it seemed … to be a matter of course.
However, judging from the matter itself, the former Ministry of Rites Minister was indeed a member of the Royal Faction, it was hard to say whether he had been ordered by Wang Shoufu.
The inside story of the Sampo Case was actually that the former Ministry of Rites Minister colluded with the demon race and blew up the Sampo case. The demon race's bargaining chip was the corpses of Heng Hui and Princess Pingyang.
Through this pair of unfortunate lovers, the crimes of the Liang Faction were exposed.
In essence, it was a struggle between factions, and the demon race acted as external aid.
Did Wang Shoufu really not know anything about this? Regarding this, only the officials themselves knew whether to put a full stop to it or not.
Next, Yao Lin announced several major crimes of Wang Zhenwen, such as conniving at his subordinates' corruption and accepting bribes …
Putting the Sampo Case aside, the crimes listed at the end were indeed confirmed.
How could a clean and honest person become the Grand Secretary?
Who would be willing to follow him?
His Majesty intended to kill the chicken to warn the monkey … The officials' hearts trembled. Although the Confucian Faction had the art of slaying dragons, there was still an insurmountable gap between the emperor and his officials.
The Yuanjing Emperor was not a young emperor. On the contrary, he had been overlooking the imperial court for half a cycle of sixty years.
Wang Shoufu raised his head and saw the Yuanjing Emperor looking at him coldly. Without hesitation, he said in a deep voice, "I beg for the bones."
A fierce look flashed in the Yuanjing Emperor's eyes. Just as he was about to speak, Censor Zhang Xingying stepped forward and bowed.
"Your Majesty, Wang Shoufu is corrupt and has brought disaster to the country and the people. He must not be allowed to live."
Censor Zhang was Wei Yuan's man.
The Yuanjing Emperor was silent for a long time. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the meditating Wei Yuan and said, "Wang Shoufu's words are too serious. The Grand Secretary has worked hard for the empire and has made great contributions. We trust you."
The balance that the Yuanjing Emperor had single-handedly created had now become his greatest shackle.
If it had been anyone else, they would have been dismissed, but not Wang Shoufu. He was the only person in the imperial court who could keep Wei Yuan in check.
Without him, even if the Yuanjing Emperor supported another party to ascend the throne, he wouldn't be able to defeat Wei Yuan with one hand.
In a short fifteen minutes, the three heads of the imperial court, the Yuanjing Emperor, Wei Yuan, and Wang Shoufu, had already finished a confrontation.
The Yuanjing Emperor had gained a small advantage. He had suppressed the arrogance of the officials and intimidated the dukes. Wang Shoufu and Wei Yuan did not lose out either. Because the topic had been brought back to Duke Huai's massacre.
"Your Majesty, please punish the King of Zhenbei. Convict him and give the world an explanation."
Finally, Wei Yuan stepped forward.
The dukes immediately agreed. But this time, the Yuanjing Emperor glanced around and realized that a small portion of people did not move.
The corner of his mouth curled up. In the imperial court, benefits were the most important. Personal benefits were above everything else. The act of killing the chicken to warn the monkeys just now was already worth it if it could scare a few of them.
"Your Majesty, I feel that the Chuzhou case should be discussed at length. We cannot blindly convict Duke Huai."
The first voice of objection appeared.
The speaker was the Left Imperial Censor, Yuan Xiong.
The Yuanjing Emperor frowned and asked, "Official Yuan, why do you say that?"
Yuan Xiong suddenly became agitated and said loudly, "Duke Huai is Your Majesty's younger brother. He is the Prince of Daibun. This matter concerns the reputation of the imperial family and Your Majesty. How can we make a decision so easily?"
Shameless!
The officials cursed in their hearts.
This person had used the imperial examination fraud case to insinuate Wei Yuan and offended the Eastern Pavilion Grand Scholar. After the imperial examination, the Eastern Pavilion Grand Scholar worked with Wei Yuan to impeach Yuan Xiong.
In the end, the emperor saved this person and fined him three months of salary.
Now, he had become the emperor's knife, helping him to fight back against the entire group of officials.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Censor Yuan is right …"
At this moment, an old man holding a walking stick shakily stepped out of the line.
The old man's hair was silver white, and he was wearing a red robe with a five-clawed golden dragon embroidered on it.
Prince Li!
The younger brother of the former Emperor, and the uncle of the Yuanjing Emperor and Duke Huai.
"Uncle, why are you here? Didn't I say that you don't have to attend the court?" The Yuanjing Emperor seemed to be taken aback. He ordered, "Hurry up and find a seat for Uncle."
"If I don't come, the six hundred years of reputation of the imperial family of Daibun will be ruined in the hands of an unfilial descendant like you." The old man snorted.
The Yuanjing Emperor lowered his head and did not say a word. He looked like he was admitting his mistake.
The chair was brought over. The old man turned the chair around and sat down facing the officials. He snorted again, "Daibun is the Daibun of the world, but he is also the Daibun of the imperial family.
"Emperor Gaozu had a hard time building his empire, so he swept away the corruption of the previous dynasty and built a new one. Emperor Wu Zong killed the sycophants and cleaned up the side of the emperor.
"Duke Huai made a big mistake and deserved to die. But as long as I am still here, I will not allow you to tarnish the reputation of my imperial family."
Zheng Xinghuai's blood rushed to the skin of his face. He said in a deep voice, "Old Prince, in the six hundred years since the establishment of Daibun, there have been many kings who have condemned themselves …"
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Prince Li. The old man shouted, "A king is a king, and a minister is a minister. You all have read the books of the sages, and you all came from the Imperial College. Have you all forgotten the teachings of Cheng Yasheng?"
The officials felt their scalps go numb.
If the Yuanjing Emperor said these words, the officials would be so happy that they would remonstrate one by one. Stepping on the emperor to make a name for themselves was the most enjoyable thing in the hearts of the scholars.
But the one who said these words was Prince Li. When Prince Li was young, he was talented and was a famous scholar in the capital. In front of him, the officials could only be regarded as juniors.
With his status as a prince and a senior scholar, no one could do anything to him.
Once again, the arrogance of the radical party was suppressed.
"Sigh, Prince Li, please think twice."
Wei Yuan sighed.
Prince Li straightened his back and looked at Wei Yuan from the corner of his eyes, his wrinkled old face was straight.
"Hmph, this eunuch should have been a servant in the palace. If His Majesty did not give you a chance, you would not have the glory you have today."
Wei Yuan lowered his head and made a show of weakness, then said,
"If Prince Li is thinking about the reputation of the imperial family, you should not cover up this matter for Duke Huai. Yesterday, the three scholars of Yunlu Academy wanted to come to the capital to denounce His Majesty, but I stopped them.
"The three scholars said that the imperial court can change the history books, but the history books of Yunlu Academy are not under the control of the imperial court. Today, the King of Zhenbei slaughtered three hundred and eighty thousand people in Chuzhou City. In the future, the scholars of Yunlu Academy will remember this matter. It will be passed down to the future generations. And His Majesty, covering up for his brother, is the same crime. Everything will be engraved in the history books. "
The Yuanjing Emperor's face changed dramatically.
The Radicals looked at each other in dismay.
This was really what the scholars of Yunlu Academy would do. Those scholars who followed the Confucian system were arrogant and condescending, but … it was a good way to vent their anger!
Prince Li said lightly, "The later generations only recognize the official history. Who cares what the unofficial history of the academy says?"
He said this to the Yuanjing Emperor, telling his nephew, who wanted to cultivate and love his reputation, not to be threatened by Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan said faintly, "King Li has never done anything bad in his life, and he's extremely knowledgeable. He's the role model of the Imperial Family and all scholars. Don't be remembered by Yunlu Academy for this matter and lose your chastity in your later years."
Prince Li's face suddenly changed. He raised his trembling finger and pointed at Wei Yuan, "Wei Yuan, how dare you threaten me, are you trying to rebel!"
Wang Shoufu said lightly, "When did remonstrance become a threat?"
"You, you …"
Prince Li was trembling with anger, his chest was heaving up and down.
Prince Li had been studying since he was a child. Although he was a prince, he had always regarded himself as a scholar. He cared more about the words "go down in history" than ordinary generals and generals.
This was the habit of scholars.
Wei Yuan's words really made Prince Li afraid. The official history and unofficial history just now were just to comfort the Yuanjing Emperor. Scholars knew the authority of Yunlu Academy.
In the court, you fight back and forth, you deal with each move as it comes.
Seeing that Prince Li was no longer talking, the Yuanjing Emperor knew that this move had been countered by the "enemy". But it didn't matter, the next move was the key to his victory.
Thinking of this, he glanced at Cao Guogong in the noble team.
Cao Guogong understood and stepped out of the line. He said loudly, "Your Majesty, I have something to say."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
