"This kid is here!"
In the Sweet Dew Hall, after Li Er rewarded Meng Wenhao and Li Yu, it was Iron Egg's turn.
Meng Wenhao and Li Yu took a step back and made room for Iron Egg.
Li Er looked at Iron Egg and slowly said, "Han Li, during the Zhengzhou rebellion, you not only cooperated with Meng Wenhao to send information through the telegraph, but also killed Ming Huan, an expert from the Cui Clan's Hall of Worship, on the night we invaded Guancheng County. Ming Huan was one of the most wanted criminals of the Supreme Court. I didn't expect you to kill him with your sword, so you deserve a great reward! I have decided to make you a Deputy Lieutenant of Ren Yong and reward you with fifty bolts of silk! "
"Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty!"
Iron Egg cupped his hands and said calmly.
His expression didn't change much, because his ambition wasn't to become an official. He only wanted to learn from Li Zexuan and protect his family in the future!
Unexpectedly, Li Er did not ask Bruiser and the others to leave. Instead, he continued.
He continued, "I heard that Ming Huan was a famous expert in the jianghu, but you killed him with your sword. You are indeed a young hero! Your father accompanied the imperial army and fought with the Turks in the north for many years. He fought bravely and killed countless enemies. At the critical moment, he blocked an arrow with his body and saved Minister Qin's life. I have also heard of what happened after that.
Although your father violated military discipline, he left alone because he didn't want to be a burden to the army. Therefore, I will make the decision today to pardon your father's desertion and make him a Deputy Lieutenant of Zhaowu! "
Li Er, who had won the battle, was very enthusiastic, as if he wanted to grant amnesty to the world. He even dug up Han Tianhu's old case, which was very surprising.
Hearing this, Bruiser was pleasantly surprised. It could be said that this was one of his greatest regrets. Han Tianhu was a great hero in his heart, but this hero had never received the treatment he deserved. Instead, he had always been treated as a deserter. Now that this injustice had been cleared, Bruiser was even happier than when he had received his reward. He excitedly cupped his fists.
He cupped his hands and said excitedly, "Han Li thanks Your Majesty on behalf of my father!"
"Yes! All of you can leave for now! Since the meritorious officials have been rewarded, the next step is to punish the guilty officials! "
Li Er nodded his head in satisfaction and waved his hand to signal them to leave.
The awards ceremony officially came to an end. Li Er's eyes darkened and he said coldly, "Liu Dewei!"
The Chancellor of the Supreme Court, Liu Dewei, had a solemn expression. He cupped his hands and said, "Here!"
Li Er said in a deep voice, "A few days ago, I asked you to thoroughly investigate the matter of suspicious officials colluding with the enemy and betraying the country. How is the progress?"
When the officials in the hall heard this, they couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts. They thought that Old Li was going to bring up old scores!
Liu Dewei saluted with a solemn expression and said, "Your Majesty, these days, the Supreme Court, together with the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate, have tried 42 guilty officials and confirmed a total of 38 officials. They secretly sent messages to the Cui Family of Qinghe, the Zheng Family of Xingyang, and the Cui Family of Boling. Most of these people are the direct descendants and collateral descendants of these three families. There are also some who used to be hanger-ons of these three families.
The other four officials were sending news to the Lu Family of Fanyang that the imperial court was preparing to encircle and annihilate Zhengzhou! In addition, this old official also found out that there were twelve other officials who were their accomplices. These people didn't have time to send a message, but they realized that Baiqi's people were hiding in the dark. However, they were exposed by the others! "
"The Lu Family of Fanyang? Lu Sidao, what do you have to say? "
Li Er's eyes flashed as he looked at one of the officials in the hall and asked.
An old man with white hair and beard walked out shakily. This person was the current head of the Lu Family of Fanyang. After the news of the Zhengzhou rebellion being quelled spread throughout the world, he came to Chang 'an City a few days ago to show his loyalty to Li Er.
Lu Sidao cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I never asked anyone to send a message to the Lu Family. The Lu Family lives peacefully in Fanyang and definitely has no intention of disobeying me! When I learned of the Cui Family's rebellion, I even wanted to bring all the servants of the Lu Family to quell the rebellion for Your Majesty. However, when I just left, I heard that the imperial army had destroyed the rebels with a thunderous force. I could only give up! However, the Lu Family's loyalty to the imperial court can be seen by the sun and moon. I hope that Your Majesty can see through this! "
Li Er was speechless. Lu Sidao's excuses completely denied that the officials were related to the Lu Family. He couldn't do anything to the Lu Family because of this, so he said with a cold gaze, "Whether the Lu Family is loyal or not, I will let people investigate this matter clearly. Liu Dewei, listen up. All the officials who colluded with the enemy are to be removed from their positions and sent to Youzhou. Let them guard the borders for me!"
Guarding the borders meant that there was a slim chance of survival!
Ever since Li Er ascended the throne, there were very few officials who were given such heavy punishments. Take Wei Zheng for example. Although he was Li Jiancheng's top strategist and had suggested Li Jiancheng to assassinate him several times, after the Xuanwu Gate incident, Li Er still let bygones be bygones and used Wei Zheng. From this, one could see how magnanimous Li Er was!
However, these dozens of officials were different from Wei Zheng. They were colluding with the enemy and betraying the country. If they succeeded, the Cui Family would attack Luoyang in advance before the imperial army arrived in Zhengzhou. In that case, it would bring immeasurable losses to the imperial court!
This was something Li Er couldn't tolerate.
"This old official obeys!"
Liu Dewei cupped his hands and said.
Li Er's eyes flashed, and he asked again, "Where is Liu Zhenghui?"
Liu Zhenghui was born in the Liu Family of Henan. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Liu Zhenghui was the Yingyang Prefecture's Secretary of Taiyuan. Later, he led his troops to join Li Yuan and was sent to Taiyuan to report Wang Wei and Gao Junya's rebellion. After the Tang Dynasty was established, he was ordered to stay in Taiyuan and manage the rear. After Liu Wuzhou attacked Taiyuan, Liu Zhenghui was captured, but he remained loyal. After being rescued, he served as the Minister of Justice.
"This old official is here!"
An old official walked out from the civil officials' camp and bowed respectfully to Li Er.
Li Er asked in a deep voice, "Cui Junchuo, Zheng Shuwu, and Cui Wenji rebelled against the imperial court. According to the Tang Dynasty's laws, what are their crimes?"
Liu Zhenghui cupped his hands expressionlessly and replied, "Your Majesty, rebellion is a capital crime with nine familial exterminations! Cui Junchuo abducted hundreds of thousands of people in Zhengzhou, which is a capital crime of capital crimes! "
All the officials felt a chill in their hearts. Capital crime. Now, there were no more than 20 or 30 prisoners on death row executed in the Tang Dynasty every year. The main reason was that after the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the population of the Central Plains sharply decreased. Instead of killing the prisoners on death row, it was better to exile them to the barren land like Qiongzhou, which could be regarded as a contribution to the Tang Dynasty!
Now, if Li Er executed all the children of the three great families who rebelled, Chang 'an would really be a bloodbath!
Li Er thought for a moment and said, "Put the culprits Cui Junchuo, Zheng Shuwu, and Cui Wenji in the death row and choose a day to behead them! Pan Zhenyue, the Governor of Zhengzhou, and Cui Quan, the Commandant of Zhe Chong's Mansion in Zhengzhou, are accomplices to the evildoers and rebelled against their superiors. They will be stripped of their official positions and executed immediately! All the children of the Cui Family in Qinghe, the Zheng Family in Xingyang, and the Cui Family in Boling will be exiled to Youzhou and Yunzhou to guard the border. All the women will be demoted to slaves and sent to the Musical House! "
Ruthless!
Li Er was really ruthless. After what he did, the three great families were completely uprooted. At least for hundreds of years, they would not be able to rise again!
Li Zexuan stood among the officials and couldn't help but fall silent after hearing that. The culprits like Cui Junchuo were not worthy of sympathy. What he sympathized with was the women of the three great families. As women of the five great families, these women were originally the partners of men in the world. Now, because of Cui Junchuo and others, they suffered an unexpected calamity and were sent to the Musical House. They were bound to become the playthings of the officials and their end was miserable!
But in fact, Cui Junchuo's rebellion had nothing to do with them! If Cui Junchuo's rebellion succeeded, the ones who benefited the most were the men in charge of the families. But if the rebellion failed, these women would also suffer an unexpected calamity!
This was the ancient times! The fate of women was always attached to men, and they could never be the masters of themselves!
Li Zexuan inexplicably felt some sympathy from the bottom of his heart!
But even if he sympathized, what could he do? This was a culture that had been passed down for thousands of years. He could not change it in a short time and could only let it be!
"Your Majesty! Although Cui Junchuo and others have committed a serious crime of rebellion, these people are old. I'm afraid it's not appropriate to execute them! "
At this moment, Fang Xuanling stood out and cupped his hands to Li Er.
Old Fang didn't want to plead for mercy for the aristocratic families, but just out of a humanitarian spirit. After all, in ancient times, the old people were respected by the whole society!
Li Er frowned when he heard that. He must kill Cui Junchuo and others, but what Fang Xuanling said was reasonable. After a moment of silence, he said, "Then give each of them a white silk and leave their bodies intact!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Fang Xuanling also understood that this was the biggest concession that Li Er could make, so he didn't continue to press.
"Today, the army returns triumphantly. I not only want to reward the army in the barracks, but also intend to lift the curfew tonight and celebrate with the people. My dear officials, if you have something to report, I will withdraw from the court!"
Those who should be rewarded had been rewarded, and those who should be punished had been punished. Li Er was in a good mood and said loudly.
None of the civil and military officials said anything. Li Er decisively announced the withdrawal of the court.
The officials took their leave one by one. Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, Niu Jinda, and Li Jing, the generals of the southern expedition, walked together with Li Zexuan.
Cheng Yaojin patted Li Zexuan's shoulder and laughed. "Haha! Xiaoxuan, although you didn't personally go to the battlefield, you still got a lot of credit. Many generals are envious! "
"That's all because of Your Majesty's kindness!"
Li Zexuan said modestly.
Li Jing waved his hand and said, "Little Xuan, you can't say that. If it weren't for your telegraph, the army definitely wouldn't have been able to take down the three aristocratic families so smoothly in Zhengzhou. No one can find fault with your contribution!"
Qin Qiong also stroked his beard and said, "Haha! That's right, if it weren't for your telegraph machine and your student, we would probably be fighting in Luoyang in Henan Province! "
Cheng Yaojin suddenly turned his head and patted Liu Rengui behind him. He said proudly, "Haha! Liu Rengui, you little brat, you've finally become a soldier under Old Cheng's command. It wasn't easy for me to snatch you from that old brat Wang Yu. You better perform well for Old Cheng! "
Cheng Yaojin was the General of the Right Wuwei, and Liu Rengui was now the Right Commander of the Right Wuwei. It was not wrong to say that he was Cheng Yaojin's soldier.
"This general obeys!"
Only then did Liu Rengui realize that he had been promoted because of Cheng Yaojin behind the scenes!
…
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.
