A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1250: Please show mercy

After Wu Huaiyu received the imperial edict to enter the palace, he did not go in on the grounds of leg disease.

He roughly knew what was going to happen in Yanying Palace.

He would not join in the fun, although no one knew that he was actually the one pushing the incident behind the scenes.

The warm sunshine at the end of January makes people feel so comfortable, as if they have suddenly entered the spring of March. No one knows that a cold wave is coming.

The princes and nobles were still sleeping soundly in the afterglow of the New Year's festivity, unaware that many people were about to be doomed.

Wu Huaiyu no longer has the elegance to drink tea.

He walked out of the sunroom. The sun was still shining brightly outside, but it was windy, so he put on a cloak.

Standing in front of the panda park, I felt a little confused for a moment.

Several chubby giant pandas came over, and Wu Huaiyu opened the fence for them. "Let's go, I'll take you to visit your friends."

Huaiyu took a few giant pandas to see the tigers next door, and then went to see the lions, leopards, elephants, and wolves.

The pandas are like Huaiyu's bodyguards, and they are quite curious about these animal neighbors living in the same zoo.

Look here, look there,
"Alang,"

The garden is very large, and we walked around until sunset.

Xuan Fu came looking for it.

Her face was flushed and her eyes were full of excitement.

"Something bad has happened,"

"Xue Wanche is going to be executed?"

"how do you know?"

"Guess."

"You guessed it right. My sister came home just now and said that the Yanying meeting was held today to try the treason case that was being hotly discussed in the streets."

Fan Xuanfu was a little excited. She almost died when she tried to assassinate Xue Wanche. If Wu Huaiyu hadn't risked his life to save her, she would have died long ago.

And now Xue Wanche had planned to assassinate her husband in Luoyang. Now that he was convicted, how could she not be happy.

"Talking as we walk."

under the setting sun,
Huaiyu held his wife's hand and strolled in the Wu family's zoo, followed by several chubby giant pandas.
The couple's shadows were stretched out in the afterglow of the sun.

Xuan Fu got the news from her elder sister, and her elder sister got the first-hand news from her husband Ma Zhou.
The result was somewhat beyond Wu Huaiyu's expectations.

The case involves so many people and such high-ranking people, especially since almost all of them are royal relatives, it is astonishing.

Especially since this was a major case of treason, and four cases were being tried together.

Those involved included the emperor's sixth brother, Prince of Jing Yuanjing, the emperor's fourth son, Prince of Wei Li Tai, and his fifth son, Prince of Qi Li You.
The emperor's brother-in-law, the emperor's consort, the general of the Right Guard, Xue Wanche, and the emperor's consort, the general of the Left Guard, Zhishisili,

Then the emperor's sons-in-law, the imperial concubines Fang Yiai, Du He, and Chai Lingwu, the imperial concubines,

The emperor's nephew Zhao Jie.

Cousin Li Daozon.

Also implicated were the emperor's third son, Prince of Wu Li Ke, and sixth son, Prince of Shu Li Yin. These two brothers from the same mother were also included in this case and purged by Changsun Wuji. Changsun Wuji said that they were also involved in Prince of Jing's rebellion group.

Then the brothers Xue Wanjun, Xue Wanshu, Xue Wanshu, and Xue Wanbei were also implicated.

Also implicated were Shangshu Youcheng Yuwen Jie, King of Jiangxia Li Daozon, Qiaoguo Duke Chai Zhewei, and Chao San Dafu Fang Yize.

Hou Junji and Li Anyan, who were identified as the main culprits, were both executed.

As for Zheng Xuanxu and Zheng Renji of the Xingyang Zheng family, one was a governor and the other was a doctor, both were ministers of the third or fourth rank and from a family of the fifth highest rank. Li Shimin left them a little bit of dignity and allowed them to commit suicide at home.

All the above-mentioned people, their parents, wives, children and brothers, will be implicated and exiled to wild and remote areas.

There are only a few exceptions.

Fang Yiai's parents, brothers, wives and children were all implicated and exiled, except for Jing Wang Yuanjing's son-in-law Yi Ze. As for the rest of the Fang family, only Fang Xuanling was suspended by the emperor and sent home to reflect on himself. The rest were not affected.

But there are rumors that the emperor wants the princes-in-law involved in this case to divorce the princess.

Suddenly, there are two more princesses, and three princesses are divorced and single.

"This is truly a shocking case."

After returning home, Wu Huaiyu sighed.

"It's what they deserve, especially Xue Wanche, who actually tried to murder my husband. He deserves it for what he has done."

This shocking case broke out suddenly.
It ended very quickly too.

Although some people have some doubts about this case,
However, Changsun Wuji closed the case quickly in accordance with the emperor's order. Since it was the emperor who made the decision personally, there was no repetition of this shocking case.

Some people also think that the punishment for these royal relatives who committed treason was too light.

Those who plot treason and rebellion should be put to death.

But the prince stood up and during the morning court session,
He bowed to all the ministers in public and begged them to forgive them.
The prince said, "I don't have many brothers. The King of Jing is my eldest uncle, the King of Wei is my brother from the same mother, the King of Qi, the King of Wu, and the King of Shu are all my brothers, Wan Che and Si Li are my uncles, Yi Ai, Ling Wu, Du He and others are all my brothers-in-law. Although it is against the state, I want to surrender to you and beg for the lives of my uncles and brothers!"

The prince hopes that the ministers will show mercy and spare his family and relatives this time.

Of course, the prince only pleaded for his uncles, brothers, aunts, brothers-in-law, and cousins.

But at this point, everyone knows the emperor's attitude, and who can go against the emperor's wishes? What's more, some people feel that the prince is not really pleading for them. After all, these people want to seize the crown prince or even the throne, and the prince can't wait to hate them.

Cui Dunli, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, stood up and said, "In the past, Duke Zhou executed Guan and Cai, Emperor Jing of Han conquered the seven states, and then during the reign of Emperor Zhao of Han, the Prince of Yan was the mastermind of treason, and the criminal code was enforced. This happened not long ago. How can Your Highness bend the law to show mercy?"

During the morning court session, the emperor kept stroking his forehead with his hand.

"Your Majesty, Xue Wanche has also made great contributions to the country. He is a rare and brave general. Why not keep him to fight for the country and demote him to the border?" The prince still requested.

The emperor raised his head.
The eyes are red,

"Wuji, what crimes did Xue Wanche commit?"

"He plotted treason, mutiny, colluded with foreign countries, and attempted to assassinate the Grand Marshal."

"Xu Jingzong, the Minister of the Dali Temple, what do you think should be done to Xue Wanche for his crime?"

"Your Majesty, according to the laws of the Great Tang Dynasty, all those who plot treason and high treason shall be beheaded, fathers and sons aged sixteen and over shall be strangled, and those aged fifteen and under, as well as mothers, daughters, wives, concubines, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and their followers, property, and houses shall be confiscated by the government. Men aged eighty or over or seriously ill, and women aged sixty or disabled shall be exempted.
The sons of uncles, uncles, and brothers were all exiled 3,000 miles away, regardless of their nationality.

Even if they plot treason, if their words and reasoning fail to move the people, and if they lack the power to lead the people, they will all be executed.”

"Does the prince understand?" Li Shimin asked.

Cheng Qian nodded.

The Tang Dynasty dealt severely with treason. Treason could be divided into three categories: first, the treason was real and could cause harmful consequences; second, the treason was real but could not cause harmful consequences.

But in both cases, the people themselves were executed, but the scope of their family members' punishment was different.

The third type is the madman who pretends to be supernatural and claims to be plotting a rebellion but the plot is not obvious. He is not charged with treason but with the crime of making evil books and saying evil words. The main offender will be hanged and his family members will not be punished.

Xue Wanche's case was that he was conspiring to rebel, collude with the enemy, and assassinate important officials of the court. Given his status and position, the real treason was extremely harmful, so he was naturally executed, and the most widespread of them were implicated.

If Princess Danyang refused to divorce him, she would be exiled.

"Hou Junji and Xue Wanche have also made contributions to the country, and the court has also rewarded them with high positions and generous titles, but they are still not satisfied. They have ulterior motives and are plotting rebellion. They even dare to assassinate the court's general. How can we keep such people as a scourge?"

The Emperor said,

Xue Wanche and others were sentenced to death.

In fact, Fang Yiai, Li Yuanjing, and Li You all deserved to be killed, but Li Shimin spared their lives in the end.
Even his one brother and four sons were not demoted to commoners, but were all demoted to princes. Three of them were exiled to Yunnan, and two to Hainan Island.

The rest of his brothers-in-law, sons-in-law, and nephews also survived.

In such a shocking case, in the end only three people were beheaded and two were allowed to commit suicide.

Even Xue Wanche and his sons who were over 16 years old were originally to be hanged, and those who were under 15 years old were to be enslaved, but this time it was changed to exile for their parents, wives, children, and brothers, and those who were over 60 years old would be exempted.

For example, Li Anyan's father was over 90 years old, and Li Shimin specially exempted him from exile and allocated him several slaves to take care of his life.

The emperor dismissed his court early and was in a bad mood.

But the arrow was on the string and had to be fired.

This matter is so serious and has been exposed, it must be dealt with.

He didn't expect that in the past seventeen years,
He has to face such a situation again.

Hou Junji actually conspired with Li Anyan to stage another Xuanwu Gate coup, which made him angry and shocked. Seventeen years ago, Hou Junji was his confidant in the Qin Palace, and Li Anyan was the confidant of Crown Prince Jiancheng.

After that incident, he was very kind to Hou Junji and did not hold Li Anyan accountable, but who would have thought that they would join forces to deal with him many years later.

And Xue Wanche, a general under Jiancheng, had been very kind to him over the years. He had two dukes in two countries and seven generals in the same family. He even married his sister to him as his second wife. However, Xue Wanche was still thinking about rebelling and even tried to assassinate Wu Huaiyu.

Intolerable.

And he had never realized that these people were double-dealing and had been hiding under his nose.

He must clean up.

Otherwise, when Cheng Qian succeeds to the throne in the future, these people will become a serious threat and cause great chaos.

In fact, he should be more ruthless.
Kill a few more and take the opportunity to clean them more thoroughly.
But Li Shimin still couldn't bear it.

He didn't want to kill his brother again, and he didn't want to kill his son even more.

My head hurts again.

Li Shimin closed his eyes and seemed to see Jiancheng and Yuanji, and the bloody scene at the palace gate seventeen years ago.

The next day,

The emperor summoned the crown prince and prime ministers to the Daming Palace.

"I have suffered a relapse of my wind disease recently, and I will go to Mount Li Hot Spring Palace for recuperation. The court will be handed over to the Crown Prince to supervise the country. The ministers of the Political Affairs Hall and the officials of the Eastern Palace will assist the Crown Prince."

Li Shimin said that he planned to stay outside longer this time, first go to the Lishan Hot Spring Palace, then go to the Luoyang Palace after spring comes and flowers bloom, and maybe return to Chang'an after autumn.

He looked at the prime ministers in front of him and found that a few people were missing.

Zuo Pushe Fang Xuanling was suspended from his post and went home to reflect on himself. You Pushe Wu Huaiyu was recuperating at home. Shizhong Wei Zheng was very ill and had been recuperating at home for a long time.
There was also the Minister of the Central Secretariat Ma Zhou, who had been in poor health and fell ill.

There is also the Imperial Censor Xiao Yu, this old man is also old.

"This time, let Xuanling, Huaiyu, Wei Zheng, Ma Zhou, and Xiao Yu accompany me on my trip to the east. Let's put aside our current affairs and take a rest to recuperate."

"Here at the imperial court, Wuji, you will take charge of both the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Central Secretariat."

Make arrangements.

Li Shimin changed into casual clothes and, accompanied by Zhang Ananda, left the palace and came to the Wu family.

He wanted to personally invite Wu Huaiyu to join him.

Since he wanted the emperor and his minister to go on tour together, he could take the opportunity to resolve some of the suspicions and estrangements that had arisen in recent years. Of course, Wu Huaiyu was an excellent doctor and had all kinds of elixirs. Li Shimin also wanted to bring this king of medicine with him to help him, Wei Zheng, Ma Zhou and others treat their health.

The court will be handed over to Changsun Wuji to assist the crown prince first, and it will also be a good opportunity to see Changsun Wuji's performance in assisting the government after his comeback.

"Huaiyu, you must accompany me on this tour, and bring Wei Zheng, Ma Zhou, Xiao Yu, and Xuan Ling with you,"

At the Taiwei Mansion, Li Shimin came to visit in disguise.

Wu Huaiyu actually wanted to lie down for a while, three to five years, or even ten to eight years. It didn't matter. Anyway, he had achieved success and fame. What he needed now was not fame and fortune, but how to make a living, how to retire after success, and how to keep everything he had.

He didn't want to get involved with the emperor, but the emperor insisted on involving him, so he had no choice but to agree.

On the same day,

Chang'an Shengyefang, Goujiling, this is a raised branch of Longshouyuan.

This place was considered a dangerous place by the people of Chang'an because important criminals were often beheaded here and there was a mass grave next to it.

Xue Wanche and Li Anyan were taken to Goujiling to be beheaded, but Hou Junji was still in exile in Annan, so he had to be taken back to Chang'an to be beheaded.

Countless people came to watch.

One was a Duke, a general, and the emperor's brother-in-law. The other was a county lord, a general of the imperial court, and a member of a prominent family in the Guandong region.

Now he is going to lose his head in this desolate place.

Xue Wanche was pressed on the scaffold, and the executioner raised his sword.

"I, Xue Wanche, am a great general. How can I die under the knife of a butcher like you? Please leave this body behind to serve the country and guard the border for the court!" He shouted loudly.

But Changsun Wuji, who was personally supervising the execution today, ignored him.

"To verify your identity,
The time has come,"

"cut"

The executioner raised his knife.

Xue Wanche was still shouting and struggling. The executioner cut him with his knife, and blood splattered, but his head was not cut off.

"Why not use more force!" The knife hit Xue Wanche's shoulder and neck, but he was still able to roar loudly. The executioner's face turned pale, so he had to rush forward and tear open Xue Wanche's prison clothes.

Then he raised the knife high and swung it down again.

Xue Wanche shouted even louder, "Didn't you eat? Try harder!"

The executioner had not expected that in his lifetime of executions, such a huge mistake would happen today, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and chop off again.

Three knives,

Finally, Xue Wanche's head was chopped off. It fell to the ground and rolled for a while, but its eyes were still wide open in anger.

Zhang Sun Wuji looked at him coldly and drew out another beheading sign.

He ordered Li Anyan to be executed immediately.

(End of this chapter)