"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty! "
Inside Taiji Palace, after hearing that Li Er was finally willing to let the dead Li Chengzong go, Zheng Guanyin hurriedly got up from the ground and knelt down in front of Li Er, kowtowing repeatedly to express her gratitude.
Although Li Chengzong was not personally killed by Li Er, no matter what, Li Chengzong's death was related to Li Er. Now, Zheng Guanyin was kowtowing to the enemy who killed her husband and son. This scene was as ironic as it could be!
But reality was so cruel. Today, if not for Li Zexuan pleading for her and her son, if not for Li Er's sudden benevolence, even if Li Chengzong died, he would have been buried in the belly of a dog. Now that she could protect Li Chengzong's body, Zheng Guanyin was already satisfied! She did not dare to have any other wishful thinking!
"Alright! You may leave! "
Li Er's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Zheng Guanyin and waved his hand.
In any case, he was the Emperor of a country and did not want to continue making things difficult for a woman, not to mention this woman was his sister-in-law!
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zheng Guanyin kowtowed heavily again and stood up. Just as she was about to turn and leave, she suddenly paused. After hesitating for a moment, she turned to Li Er and said, "Regarding Chengzong's matter, if Your Majesty wishes to know, I am willing to tell you the truth!"
Returning the favor!
After Li Er compromised, Zheng Guanyin also tactfully gave in. Of course, even if she did not say these things, Li Er could still find out if he wanted to!
Hearing this, Li Er narrowed his eyes and said indifferently, "Alright! Say it! "
Initially, after knowing that the Dragon Head of the Heavenly Dragon Sect was Li Chengzong, Li Er was indeed very curious and wanted to know how Li Chengzong, who had been dead for eight years, could come back to life. However, after Zheng Guanyin's crying in Taiji Palace, his curiosity was not as strong as before! But since Zheng Guanyin was willing to tell the truth, Li Er felt that there was no harm in listening!
Zheng Guanyin pondered for a moment and then said slowly, "In the third year and sixth month of Wude, Chengzong was conferred the title of Taiyuan County Prince by the Retired Emperor. However, in the same year, Chengzong contracted a strange illness. Not only did he suffer from chest tightness and wheezing, but his eyes were also dull. His Highness … Jiancheng invited famous doctors to treat Chengzong on the surface, but he also sent people to search for Jianghu sorcerers.
By chance, at that time, Long Xi Gong Fu's Chancellor Wei knew that we were looking for a Jianghu practitioner, so he recommended a Daoist named Yuan Tiangang to chenqie and Jiancheng. At that time, Chancellor Wei said that this Yuan Tiangang was not only proficient in metaphysics and physiognomy, he could predict the future and was also proficient in Daoist medical skills. Perhaps he could save Chengzong … "
"Yuan Tiangang?"
Hearing this, Li Zexuan couldn't help but exclaim.
Zheng Guanyin was grateful that Li Zexuan had pleaded for mercy for the dead Li Chengzong, so she was not angry when Li Zexuan interrupted her. Instead, she nodded and explained, "That's right! That Daoist was called Yuan Tiangang! According to Chancellor Wei, at the end of the previous dynasty, when Yuan Tiangang first arrived in Luoyang, he settled down in Qing Hua Square. At that time, his physiognomy predictions were already famous, and many people had secretly looked for him.
One day, Du Yan, Wang Gui, and Chancellor Wei came to see Yuan Tiangang and asked him to read their fortune. Yuan Tiangang predicted that Du Yan would become famous throughout the world with his writings, that Wang Gui would become a fifth-rank general in less than ten years, and that Wei Ting would become a military official with a face like a tiger. He also predicted that the three of them would be demoted after becoming officials, and that they would meet again at that time.
Sure enough, in the first year of Wude, Du Yan became a Heavenly Book Scholar as an imperial censor, Wang Gui was recommended by Jiancheng to become a fifth-rank crown prince, and Wei Ting became the Left Guard Commander. All of Yuan Tiangang's predictions came true one by one, so Chancellor Wei recommended Yuan Tiangang to chenqie and Jiancheng! "
"Oh? This Yuan Tiangang can really predict the future? Then what did he say to you? "
Li Er narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but become interested in this Yuan Tiangang whom he had never met before.
Perhaps many people would find it unbelievable. Wasn't Li Chunfeng Yuan Tiangang's disciple? Why was Li Chunfeng doing better than Yuan Tiangang at this time?
In fact, it was pure nonsense to say that Yuan Tiangang was Li Chunfeng's master. Li Chunfeng was interested in Taoism because of his father, Li Bo. Li Bo used to be a small official in the county government during the Sui Dynasty. He was not successful because of his low rank, so he gave up his official position and became a Taoist priest. He was quite knowledgeable and called himself Huang Guanzi. He wrote "Laozi", ten volumes of local chronicles, and "Prose on Astronomical Elephants". Li Chunfeng, who was known as a "prodigy" since childhood, read a lot under the influence of his father. He was especially fond of astronomy, geography, Taoism, and the study of Yin and Yang.
In the second year of Wude, Li Chunfeng, who was 17 years old, returned to his hometown. He was recommended by Li Shimin's good friend, Liu Wenjing, to become a secretary in the army. From then on, Li Chunfeng began his official career!
What about Yuan Tiangang? According to historical records, in the sixth year of Zhenguan, Li Er called back Du Yan, Wang Gui, and Wei Ting who were exiled because of Crown Prince Li Jiancheng. He learned from them that Yuan Tiangang was an unprecedented genius in Shu's divination, so he issued an edict to invite Yuan Tiangang to Chang'an. In other words, Yuan Tiangang began to enter the imperial court in the sixth year of Zhenguan, which was more than ten years later than Li Chunfeng!
At this time, in the hall, Zheng Guanyin answered truthfully, "After Yuan Tiangang saw Chengzong, he said that my son's illness was easy to cure, but after the disease was cured, he would encounter a man-made disaster, and his life would be short! The only way to cure it was to let Chengzong fake his death, and then secretly send him overseas to cultivate Taoism and avoid disaster. He was never allowed to step into the Central Plains, or there would be a bloody disaster!
At that time, chenqie and Jiancheng didn't believe Yuan Tiangang's words. However, Yuan Tiangang's prophecies about Du Yan, Wang Gui, and Chancellor Wei still rang in our ears. In addition, even the palace's imperial physicians were helpless against Chengzong's illness, yet Yuan Tiangang could easily cure Chengzong. We didn't dare to doubt his words! After thinking about it again and again, we decided to secretly send Chengzong to Qingzhou as Yuan Tiangang said, and let Chengzong go out to sea in Qingzhou. We also ordered the guards who took care of him to never let him return to the Central Plains!
But who would have thought that man's plans were not as good as God's? Chengzong finally … "
In the end, Zheng Guanyin couldn't help crying in a low voice again.
Hearing this, the officials in the hall couldn't help but be shocked. No one would have thought that Li Jiancheng's eldest son didn't really die of illness, but came back to life by faking his death and was sent overseas to avoid disaster!
Thinking of the change in the Xuanwu Gate two years ago, it seemed that Yuan Tiangang's prophecy about Li Chengzong was not false at all! If Li Jiancheng and Zheng Guanyin hadn't sent Li Chengzong overseas, Li Chengzong would definitely have been like Li Chengqian's other five sons, dying under Li Er's sword in the ninth year of Wude!
Li Er's heart was also in turmoil. He wasn't surprised by the plan that Li Jiancheng had arranged for Li Chengzong to fake his death. He was shocked by Yuan Tiangang's ability to predict good and bad luck! Think about it, if Yuan Tiangang had read Li Jiancheng's fortune, would he have seen that Li Jiancheng would suffer a bloody disaster in the ninth year of Wude? If so, would the mutiny he started in the ninth year of Wude still succeed?
Fortune tellers could predict good and bad luck, but they couldn't change history! But if fortune tellers changed the fate of some key people, wouldn't that be the same as changing history?
Thinking of this, at the same time that Li Er was shocked, he also felt a trace of lingering fear. At the same time, he also felt a trace of vigilance toward a Jianghu fortune teller like Yuan Tiangang, who could predict good and bad luck in the future. He thought to himself that if such a person couldn't be used by him, it would be best to kill him!
"So that's how it is! I already know about this matter. You can leave! Although Li Chengzong had committed a heinous crime, he was also a member of the royal family anyway. I will let the Imperial Order Temple bury him as a prince! "
After a moment of silence, Li Er waved his hand and said to Zheng Guanyin.
Things had developed to this point. Li Er was no longer concerned about Li Chengzong's affairs. On the contrary, he remembered the name Yuan Tiangang. After this matter, Li Er would definitely send someone to find Yuan Tiangang!
"Your Majesty, thank you for your kindness!"
The dead were dead, and the arm couldn't resist the thigh. For Zheng Guanyin, who had lost her husband and all her sons, not only did she not have the ability to take revenge, but she also didn't dare to have any unusual movements. It wasn't that she was afraid of death, but there were still people she cared about in this world — her five daughters!
She wanted to raise all her five daughters and see them get married before she could leave with peace of mind. She couldn't bear to let her daughters lose their father and then their mother!
After Zheng Guanyin expressed her gratitude, she got up and slowly left Taiji Palace.
At this time, Li Er recovered from the matter of Li Chengzong. His tiger-like eyes focused and he said in a deep voice:
"Although Li Chengzong was the mastermind of this rebellion, there were many accomplices. As far as I know, from the fourth-rank officials in the imperial court, the third-rank eunuchs in the imperial palace, the guards at the city gates, and the merchants, they more or less facilitated the Dragon Sect's attack on Chang 'an City! This morning, when the Dragon Sect besieged the city, there were eighteen courtiers who tried to lead their servants to open the city gates or create chaos in the city. There were also twenty-four guards who tried to bewitch the rest of the soldiers into a mutiny!
Unfortunately, I didn't let these people get what they wanted! Before they started the rebellion, they were all captured by the cavalry and the soldiers of the left and right guards. They are now all locked up in the Supreme Court's death row prison! Humph! I have said before, meritorious deeds should be rewarded and wrongdoings should be punished. These people colluded with the rebels and tried to subvert the country. They are guilty of the most heinous crimes. Kill them all! None! Amnesty! Zhao Song, read out the list of criminals to the officials! "
It was said that being in the king's company was like being in the company of a tiger. Just a moment ago, Li Er was like a sharp sword with a restrained edge. At this moment, this sharp sword's edge was exposed. The sword's edge was pointed directly at the officials and generals who had provided assistance to the rebels in this rebellion!
The imperial court fell into a dead silence. Only now did the officials know why there were so many empty seats in the imperial court today. It turned out that those people were all sent to the death row prison by Li Er!
Logically speaking, in a time of prosperity, a prison was absolutely not advisable. Especially when so many courtiers were arrested at once, it was bound to cause a great commotion. Usually, when faced with such a situation, the officials would try their best to persuade the Emperor to think twice before acting. But this time, no one stood up to dissuade the Emperor because this matter involved the Emperor and rebellion. Moreover, from what Li Er said, those arrested officials were all caught red-handed. There was no room for quibbling and escape punishment!
There was only the death penalty!
"Yes, sir!"
Zhao Song bowed and accepted the order. Then, he turned around and took out a roll of silk from his sleeve. He read out loud, "After investigation, the Imperial Ancestral Temple Supervisor An Dezhong, the Yellow Door Assistant Minister Shen Wenhua, the Imperial Magistrate Junior Overseer Hong Sheng, the Imperial Censor Assistant Minister Qiu Jianming, the Imperial Censor Xuan Mu …"
Every time Zhao Song read out a name, the hearts of the officials could not help but tremble. After reading out more than forty names, it finally came to an end. Before the officials could even breathe a sigh of relief, Zhao Song's next sentence made their hearts sink. "… The above officials and generals, when the rebels besieged the city, instigated the people in the city, created chaos, and attempted to open the city gates for the rebels. They did not care about the safety of the country and the people. Their crimes are not punishable by death. Tomorrow at noon, they will all be beheaded in public at the entrance of the western market! By the Emperor! "
More than forty officials and generals were all killed by Li Er in one go!
This was probably the bloodiest purge of the officials in the Tang Dynasty since the Xuanwu Gate incident!
"Your Majesty is wise!"
After a moment of silence, the officials cupped their hands and said in unison.
Under such circumstances, no one was willing to stand up and plead for mercy for those traitors. Even Fang Xuanling, a good old man in the imperial court, did not raise any objections. Because those officials who colluded with the Dragon Sect and intended to rebel against the imperial court could not be absolved!
Li Er nodded and turned his gaze to Wei Zheng and Wei Ting. After a moment of silence, he said, "Wei Zheng, Wei Ting, Wang Gui, although the three of you did not participate in the rebellion of the Dragon Sect, you were suspected of knowing something but did not report it. Seeing that you have devoted yourself wholeheartedly to the country and the people, and have contributed a lot, I can spare you from death, but you cannot escape punishment. Therefore, I sentence each of you to receive ten strokes of the cane, a demotion of one rank, a month of seclusion, and three years of salary forfeiture! Are the three of you sincerely convinced? "
According to Li Er's original intention, the lightest punishment for Wei Zheng, Wei Ting, and Wang Bei, who knew about the possible relationship between the Dragon Sect and King Xi, was to be stripped of their official positions. After all, this time when the Dragon Sect attacked Chang 'an City, if it wasn't for Li Zexuan who coincidentally solved the crisis, Chang' an City would be in big trouble. At that time, the losses of the imperial court would be incalculable!
But at the end of the day, it was still Li Zexuan's pleading that had been effective. Since Li Er wanted to be the Sage Monarch of his generation, he needed virtuous ministers like Wei Zheng, Wei Ting, and Wang Gui!
Therefore, after careful consideration, Li Er chose to give Wei Zheng, Wei Ting, and Wang Gui a lighter punishment!
Wei Zheng, Wei Ting, and Wang Gui stepped forward and bowed in shame. "We are sincerely convinced, thank Your Majesty for your mercy!"
Although ten strokes of the cane and a demotion of one rank was a more serious punishment, compared to the mistakes they had made, it was considered light. Therefore, the three of them were grateful to Li Er.
However, after Wei Zheng shed tears of gratitude, he began to feel bitter in his heart. Three years of no salary, how was he going to live? In the future, not to mention drinking wine, he was afraid that he would not even be able to eat at home!
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