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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 241: Confinement
"Wang Qing, why did you leave your post without being summoned?"
Wang An bowed deeply and replied, "Your Majesty, I have heard of Pei Ji's matter. I had exchanged several letters with him not long ago, which also involved King Qi, and thus I came to the capital to plead for forgiveness."
The Emperor asked calmly, "So, as King Qi said, you framed a prince of the court?"
"No, I merely followed Pei Ji's instructions and presented King Qi's case truthfully to the Imperial Envoy."
"You speak nonsense, Your Highness..."
Li Jian Cheng had lost interest in arguing with Li Yuanji. He directly turned to Wei Zheng and asked, "Is there any injustice regarding King Qi's matter?"
Wei Zheng replied, "I do not know what connection Wang Shaoyin has with Pei Ji, nor do I have the time to investigate. My orders were to look into King Qi, and he indeed has acted wickedly, undermining the laws of the court. Wang An and others, as officials of Bingzhou, have known about this for two years without reporting it; they should also be severely punished."
Li Jian Cheng nodded. "What does Zongzheng think should be done?"
Prince Jin, Li Xuanba, stepped forward. "I believe King Qi should be stripped of his official position and have his title revoked, confined in the Capital City for reflection."
"What do you all think?"
In the past, most officials would have agreed with Prince Jin's words without hesitation. However, after a fierce emotional upheaval, many officials understood a crucial principle.
If one's stance could not shift according to the Emperor's will, then there was only one path left—death.
Thus, half of the officials supported Prince Jin's proposal while the other half suggested severe punishment, similar to the case of Duke of Changle County, Li Youliang.
In this way, the Emperor's attitude became decisive.
Li Jian Cheng had long lost his patience with his ever-restless younger brother. "King Qi has betrayed my trust, acting ruthlessly and harming the people while disregarding the law. I hereby order the revocation of his title, the dismissal from his official position, and the expulsion from the royal clan, confining him to the Royal Clan Office!"
"No! Brother, Your Majesty, I know I was wrong! I will never dare again. Please, don’t treat me this way; I am your blood brother! Father, Empress, I want to see Father, Empress!"
Li Yuanji's face twisted in despair. He could not bear the thought of being confined forever, yet no one paid him any heed. The courtiers and royal family merely lowered their heads, their fear of the emperor growing stronger.
Some of the elder officials felt a sense of familiarity; it reminded them of when Emperor Yang ascended to the throne, and they had witnessed similar scenes…
Qin Wang and Prince Jin exchanged glances before stepping forward to plead for mercy, but the emperor ignored them. Instead, he openly warned the courtiers to take this as a lesson.
The disgraced King Qi was dragged away. He would rather go three days without food than a single day without hunting; it was uncertain how long he could survive in the cramped confines of the Royal Clan Office.
Next came Wang An. The emperor ordered him imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's dungeon until the court dispatched an emissary to Bingzhou to investigate before any sentencing could occur.
Wang An expressed endless gratitude. Although he might still face death, since His Majesty did not directly order his execution on charges of colluding with Pei Ji’s treasonous faction, it was a great mercy. At least his family would not be implicated.
Before dismissing the court, the emperor conferred a title upon Prince of Chu, elevating him to prince and placing him in charge of all matters in Bingzhou.
…………
Upon learning that Pei Ji and his associates had been stripped of their homes and exiled, Xu Shijie and others no longer had any concerns and focused entirely on battling the Turkic forces.
In the Turkic camp, Xieli Khan wore a grim expression as he frequently glanced toward Chang'an. Meanwhile, Tongye Hugu Khan sat across from him with an equally displeased demeanor.
"The agreed-upon time has long passed, and none of our envoys have returned. It seems our efforts have failed."
Xieli Khan seethed with anger. "Damn those Central Plains People! I told them that if we were allowed to approach Chang'an directly, success would be guaranteed. Yet they insisted on being cautious, and now we have accomplished nothing!"
Tongye Hu stood up directly and said, "I will lead my Troops to retreat now. Perhaps I was wrong this time; I should not have trusted those Central Plains People, and I definitely should not have trusted you.
Now the alliance has not been achieved, and instead, we have offended the Central Plains Son of Heaven."
Xieli sneered, "Did I ask you to come?"
Their Confidant hurriedly tried to mediate. If this were on the grasslands, it would be fine; at worst, they would just go to war, as they had clashed many times before. But now they were in the Central Plains.
The reason for the alliance between the two Turkic factions was quite simple: the Tang Dynasty had recovered too quickly. The Sui Dynasty had only recently fallen, and they all remembered how the Sui Dynasty had oppressed them during its peak.
At that time, the Turkic Khagan could only humbly kneel on the ground before the Central Plains Son of Heaven, like a dog, bowing and scraping, trying to curry favor.
Thus, they set aside their grievances against each other and came south. Just as the Central Plains was always willing to send people to sow discord among the tribes of the grasslands, causing them to exhaust each other's strength.
They had learned this tactic as well, and this time they came to verify that a divided and weakened Central Plains was indeed the best scenario.
At that moment, someone reported that their envoy had returned. The rules of the Turkic were not so complicated; as soon as one person reported back, they immediately entered.
However, they looked extremely disheveled. Aside from being covered in blood, it was most noticeable that they were all missing an ear.
"What happened? What exactly occurred over there?"
Tongye Hu's uncle Gelorud answered with tears in his eyes, "They are all dead. The Chancellor of the Central Plains along with other officials and nobles, even their wives and children."
Zhi Shi Si Li did not cry but spoke with some fear, "For these past few days, we have been taken every morning to kneel in a certain place, and then they start beheading people. It goes on from dawn until dusk; everywhere is blood..."
The vivid description made everyone among the Turkic feel uneasy; it seemed that this Central Plains Emperor was even more brutal than they were.
It shouldn't be the case. Many here had seen that emperor, a figure as graceful as General Changsun—generous, kind, powerful, and interesting.
"Just yesterday, we met the Central Plains Emperor again. He ordered someone to cut off one of our ears and then told us to return and inform the two Khans."
"He intends to send a Million-Strong Army to conquer us, hoping we won't flee but face him head-on to decide who truly rules the grasslands and the Central Plains."
What a joke! We only have two hundred thousand. If he really brings a Million-Strong Army, only a fool would stay.
The eagles of the grasslands have always come and gone freely.
Tongye Hu asked Xieli, "Do you think what he said is true? Or is he just trying to scare us into retreating?"
Xieli Khan recalled his impression of Li Jian Cheng and felt that such words were not something that man would say.
Of course, the most crucial point was that according to custom, if they retreated, the Central Plains would surely gather their forces to strike him first, not the Western Turkic.
Xieli declared loudly, "It's false! The Central Plains are complicated. Even if he killed those people and secured his throne, he would definitely fall into internal chaos. He can't possibly gather that many Troops!"
…………
(End of Chapter)
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