The sounds of battle had stopped. Something had happened. From afar, they could hear the clanging of the gates as they opened up. Although they had expected this, they were still nervous.
At this point, the flags waved in the air as the vanguard changed their formation. The archers stepped forward and formed a crossbow formation. However, there was no one outside the gates. Someone ran out waving a white flag and shouted, "We surrender, we surrender."
Then, the black mass of officials and generals in robes of various colors were divided into two groups. They loudly called out names according to their status and knelt on the ground with a loud bang.
"Men, check Ji Bei Hou's head and seal. Confiscate his weapons and send men into the city to take control of the surrendered soldiers." Pei Zi Yun did not enter the city, in case of an ambush.
"Chen Yong, coordinate with the officials and lead the troops into the city. If anyone dares to commit any crimes, execute them immediately."
"Yes, Dao Master!" Chen Yong replied and led the troops into the city, in case of an ambush.
The officer stepped forward and cooperated with the officials to collect the head, seal and seal. After confirming that there were no mistakes, he returned to Pei Zi Yun, "Dao Master, this is Ji Bei Hou's head, it's confirmed."
"Good, the main culprit has been executed. I will follow the agreement and pardon all of you. However, you will not be able to retain your official positions. All of you shall be stripped of your official hats and await punishment from the Imperial Court." Pei Zi Yun looked at the kneeling generals and officials as he spoke.
"Thank you Prince, thank you Dao Master."
The generals and officials thanked Pei Zi Yun once again as an officer stripped them of their official hats.
Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun was extremely nervous as he followed beside Pei Zi Yun. Looking at the bloody scene, he trembled slightly and tried his best to straighten his back.
"Sort out the names of the surrendered soldiers. Those who should be sent back to their villages should be sent back to their villages. Arrange for these commoners to follow the surrendered soldiers back to their villages."
"Yes!" The soldiers collected their weapons and took inventory. Everything was done in an orderly manner.
After a long time, from the city gates to the Governor's Mansion, there were sentries every three meters and rows of soldiers every five meters. All of them had solemn expressions on their faces, as though they were about to face a great enemy.
Pei Zi Yun sat on his horse, deep in thought. Chen Yong then came out and reported, "Dao Master, the city is safe. We can enter now."
A gust of wind blew past, causing Pei Zi Yun to relax slightly. He then revealed a smile and raised his whip, "Your Highness, the rebellion in Ying Prefecture has been quelled. Let's enter."
Hearing Pei Zi Yun's words, Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun nodded his head, "Everything shall be arranged by Dao Master."
"Enter the city!" Following Pei Zi Yun's command, the entire army marched into the city.
Occasionally, there would be people peeking through the windows of the houses along the street. However, their doors were shut tight, and they didn't dare to come out. It was quiet and cold, like a ghost town. This made Pei Zi Yun, who was surrounded by people, extremely satisfied. He didn't think that this was boring.
All the way to the governor-general's mansion, there were already bodyguards standing in front of the screen wall, waiting with their hands hanging down in front of the vermilion lacquer and copper-nailed main door. Several officials and officers who had entered earlier were standing on the side.
Seeing the Prefecture King and Pei Zi Yun approaching, they all knelt down. One of them was a fourth ranked civil official, around forty years of age. He had high cheekbones and was capable and agile. He bowed in a practiced manner. Pei Zi Yun actually knew this person. He was Councilor Chen Yuan Zhi. He had escaped a calamity, and was not a county magistrate. He was not responsible for the loss of his land.
He was one of the highest ranking civil officials in Ying Prefecture. He was the one who had entered the city earlier.
At this point, he followed behind Pei Zi Yun and Chen Yuan Zhi. The governor-general's mansion was very majestic, and he could see traces of new decorations. Pei Zi Yun stood still and sighed. He then turned to Chen Yuan Zhi and said, "The traitorous Marquis has overstepped his authority to be a Duke, and has violated the rules. All of these must be removed."
"But it's alright for the Prefecture King to be here. As long as you don't overstep your authority, please stay in the main hall."
"Dao Master, you are the main commander, and should stay in the main hall." The Prefecture King said.
"No, you are the main commander. I am a Daoist, and should not stay here. However, I have not completely resigned from my duties. I have the Emperor's sword and the command medallion. I cannot be too humble, or I will tarnish the reputation of the imperial court. I shall stay in the west wing."
He then turned to Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun and said, "Prince, you are tired from the long journey. Why don't you take a rest now, and continue the discussion tomorrow?"
Chen Yuan Zhi was secretly praising Pei Zi Yun for his intelligence and replied, "Yes, your humble subject shall carry out these arrangements."
Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun hesitated for a moment, but did not decline. He and his men entered the main hall and cleaned up the room. Pei Zi Yun then went to the west wing. Someone brought him a bathtub, and he took a quick bath. He then changed into a new set of clothes and shoes before walking to his study room.
There was a bookshelf in the study room, but there weren't many books. Pei Zi Yun looked around and smiled, "This is the Governor's study room?"
He sat down and pondered. Now that the destruction of the prefecture and the rebellion against Ji Bei Hou was over, it was time for the verdict to be made. Pei Zi Yun ordered someone to grind ink and paper. He then composed himself and started writing his report.
The destruction of Ji Bei Hou had been decided long ago, and was written down.
The lights were bright, and it was almost dusk. Occasionally, the sound of crickets could be heard coming from the bushes.
"Water, bring me some water."
Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun was thirsty, and called for Eunuch Chen. All he saw was a flurry of activity as Eunuch Chen carried a teapot and filled it with water.
Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun drank some water before lying on his bed. He then asked Eunuch Chen, "Did anything happen during the night? Did the surrendered army make any moves? Were there any assassins? Or any other news? "
Hearing Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun's worries, Eunuch Chen laughed, "Your Highness, Dao Master Pei's arrangements were meticulous. From afternoon till night, nothing happened."
"Oh!" When Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun heard this, he was somewhat disappointed. Seeing him like this, Eunuch Chen then said, "Your Highness, Dao Master Pei has sent a report over."
Hearing that there was a report, Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun's eyes lit up, "Quick, bring it over. Let me take a look."
"Yes, your Highness." Eunuch Chen turned around to retrieve Pei Zi Yun's report. Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun received the report and read it carefully under the light.
Although Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun was young, he read the report very seriously. He saw that he was the one who commanded Chen Yong to conquer the city. His face flushed red as he said happily, "My Imperial Father must be very happy to see me do such a meritorious deed."
Eunuch Chen stood by his side and laughed, "That's right, your Highness. With such a meritorious deed, I'm sure you'll be promoted soon enough."
"Mm!"
According to the system of the dynasty, a Prince would be conferred a title the moment he was given a name. He would first be conferred the title of Jiedushi. He would then be conferred the title of Duke, Prefecture Prince, and finally King.
In theory, a Prince could be conferred the title of Prefecture Prince. However, it was hard to say whether or not he would be conferred the title of Prince. This depended on the Prince's background, character and ability, as well as the Emperor's thoughts.
Now that he had done such a meritorious deed, it was almost certain that he would be conferred the title of Prince.
A Prefecture Prince's annual salary was five thousand taels of silver and five thousand stones of rice. A Prince's annual salary was ten thousand taels of silver and ten thousand stones of rice. His income was doubled.
Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun was overjoyed as he flipped through the booklet. This booklet was written in a very special format. Every battle was divided into a single line. The names of the participants were written down, and who was the most useful. The booklet was concise and clear, and did not seem to be messed up.
After reading for some time, Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun rubbed his eyes, "Daoist Pei's booklet is written very well. It's much clearer than the booklet I read from my Imperial Father."
"Your Highness, Daoist Pei is very talented. If not, he wouldn't have been able to quell the chaos in Ying Prefecture so quickly."
Eunuch Chen spoke. Hearing these words, Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun nodded his head, "Indeed."
"Your Highness, you're still young. It's not good for your eyes if you read the booklet for too long. Why don't you read it tomorrow morning?" Eunuch Chen advised. Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun lay down for a while. However, he couldn't help but stand up and wave his hands, "I'll read it for a while longer before going to sleep."
As he finished speaking, he rubbed his eyes and continued reading. It described how Chen Yong had participated in several battles, and how he had contributed a lot. When it came to Count Zhongqin, he didn't hide anything. He said, "The Battle of the North Awakening seemed like a defense, but in reality, he was restraining the main forces of the bandit army. He played an important role in the war."
He then continued, "Meng Yao, as the Navy Governor, did not look down on me just because I am a Daoist. Meng Yao obeyed orders strictly and was meticulous. He did not act rashly because he wanted to gain merit. Instead, he looked at the bigger picture and suppressed the Ying Prefecture Navy. This was a great contribution to the war."
The generals explained one by one, not missing anyone's contribution.
After reading everything, Royal Prince Chengshun closed the booklet and let out a heavy sigh.
"Boom!" All of a sudden, a clap of thunder rang out, followed by the pitter-patter of rain. Commandery Prince Cheng Shun was startled for a moment before he laughed, "The rebellion has been quelled. I'm in my room, why would I be afraid of the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning?"
"That's right. Your Highness has always been courageous since you were young." Eunuch Chen laughed as he spoke, "This rebellion is proof of that."
Hearing these words, the twelve year old Commandery Prince Cheng Shun's expression turned serious, "The Enlightened Master said that I was a good strategist, and that he respected and loved me. However, I am clear in my heart that there was no such thing. It was the Enlightened Master who planned the rebellion from a thousand miles away. That was how we were able to successfully quell the rebellion. Such a great contribution was not even mentioned in the booklet. From this, I can see that the Enlightened Master's heart is truly magnanimous!"
"Your subject respects me and loves me, yet I dare to steal it."
"Grind the ink, I want to write a booklet for my Imperial Father to hear. Although I am young, I have sent people to record the Enlightened Master's words and actions. I want my Imperial Father to see everything clearly."
As he spoke, the Commandery Prince suddenly thought of someone and frowned. He paused for a moment before revealing a look of maturity that exceeded that of a twelve year old, "Write a copy of the Enlightened Master's booklet and send someone to deliver it to Count Zhongqin."
"Yes!" Eunuch Chen replied as he started to grind the ink for the Commandery Prince.
In a short while, the Commandery Prince had personally written down the booklet. Eunuch Chen watched as a sense of pride surfaced in his heart. Actually, Commandery Prince Cheng Shun didn't think much of it. However, from an adult's point of view, Commandery Prince Cheng Shun wasn't bad at all. He had all sorts of qualities and potential. It was a pity that he was too young.
"The Emperor's health isn't good. How many more years can he rule the world? The Crown Prince has a son and cannot allow the young Emperor to ascend the throne. Hence, your Highness has no chance. "
"Even if your Highness doesn't have the chance to ascend the throne, the Crown Prince is considered benevolent. Your Highness can easily become a Prince based on this achievement."
"However, if your Highness is able to receive the help of Enlightened Master Pei, perhaps …" Thinking up to this point, a low rumble of thunder could be heard. A bright flash of light illuminated the entire room, causing it to tremble. Eunuch Chen was so shocked that his entire body trembled. He didn't dare to think any further and hurriedly said, "Your Highness, the thunderstorm is getting heavier. I will close the windows."
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