I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

Chapter 404 Before interrogating Huo Xian’s regicide case, I must first deal with Liu Bingji, a dangerous person! (Please subscribe)
The next morning, the snow in Chang'an City finally stopped, but the temperature did not rise at all, and the sun was still hidden behind the rolling clouds.

The sky was covered by layers of dark clouds, and it looked like there might be another heavy snowfall at any time.

As for Weiyang Palace, everything is covered in white, which is really beautiful.

The roof of the palace, the terraces, the stairs, the pavilions, the orchids, the high towers, the dead trees, and the soldiers and guards on duty... were all covered with snow.

The palace maids and officials huddled in their fluffy brocade robes, either sweeping and dusting, greeting things and delivering dirt, or walking in a hurry - each performing their duties.

Their hands, ears, and faces were already red from the cold, but they did not dare to stop at all. Only when they reached a place with few people did they dare to stop and stamp their numb feet.

You also have to worry about being caught and reprimanded by an internal official with a higher rank than yourself.

They seem very pitiful, but compared to ordinary people or poor people in Chang'an City, they are extremely lucky.

At least, in Weiyang Palace, they still have food in their bellies and are wearing brocade robes. It is not difficult to survive this winter.

What's more, the emperor is kind, and maybe they will be rewarded on New Year's Eve.

In this way, compared with ordinary years, this year has been much better. What other extravagant hopes do they have?
[Note: The word New Year’s Eve first appeared in classics in the Western Jin Dynasty. It is speculated that New Year’s Eve also existed in the Han Dynasty]

……

Before Chen hour arrived, Liu He set off from Jiaofang Hall early.

When he left, he did not tell Huo Chengjun what he was going to do. Instead, he lied and said that he was going to the central government office to check the status of this year's tax payment.

Liu He has not yet told Huo Chengjun about Huo Xian's arrest. At this juncture, there are some things that are better not known.

Liu He did not bring all the emperor's guard of honor, but only two shi of Chang Yilang and Fan Ke, and walked towards the stormtrooper in a chariot.

Along the way, all the palace maids and officials he met would kneel in the snow and salute. All Liu He could do was wave to them to stand up early and avoid the cold.

Today, Liu He was going to the Prison Prison to do two things. Time was very tight, so he got up so early.

In the Han Empire, the number of prisons exceeded the imagination of ordinary people.

In a city, many government offices have their own prisons.

As the largest city in the Han Dynasty, Chang'an City naturally also had the most prisons. There were a total of 26 prisons under the jurisdiction of various government agencies.

In addition, many high-ranking families also have their own private prisons - specially used to punish and imprison slaves who have made mistakes.

Among the 26 "official prisons", the largest was the imperial prison under the direct jurisdiction of the emperor.

The imperial edict sounds like just one prison, but in fact it is subdivided. Each "branch prison" is arranged in different places inside and outside Chang'an City.

For example, the Tingwei Imperial Palace in Tingwei Temple, the Zhijinwu Imperial Palace in Zhijinwu, the Shanglin Imperial Palace in Shanglin Garden, etc.

Therefore, the imperial edict is said to be under the jurisdiction of Tingwei, whose rank is only Qianshi, but because he is in charge of all imperial edicts, he has a high degree of independence.

The imperial prison is not accessible to anyone who wants to.

Initially, only high-status court officials and relatives of the emperor who committed treason were eligible to be imprisoned in imperial prison.

However, as the imperial power became more and more powerful, the scale of the imperial prison became larger and larger, and many ordinary criminals were also thrown into the imperial prison.

In the last years of Emperor Xiaowu's reign, the scale of the entire imperial prison reached its peak, with a maximum of 10 people imprisoned.

On the one hand, it was because Emperor Xiaowu used troops against the Xiongnu, which wasted people and money, leading to repeated civil uprisings. There were too many people who committed rebellion and committed crimes.

On the other hand, it was because Emperor Xiaowu was too jealous, and he repeatedly attacked high-ranking families to consolidate imperial power - the most powerful one was the Witchcraft Rebellion.

Emperor Xiaowu's success and Emperor Xiaozhao's accession to the throne adopted the policy of lenient and harsh, and the imperial prison gradually became vacant.

In the past month, the emperor has cracked down on the Huo Party and thrown dozens or hundreds of families, large and small, into prison, which made the prison lively again.

But until today, only 2 people have been imprisoned in imperial prisons, which is far from the capacity limit.

In addition to imperial prisons, there are county jails and county jails under the three auxiliary yamen and counties in Chang'an City, and there are several evil jails that are more terrifying than county jails and county jails.

The "living room" under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu was specially used to detain generals and the emperor's guards, or prisoners related to them.

The Northern Military Prison, under the jurisdiction of the Zhongli Colonel, was specially used to detain guilty soldiers and prisoners or prisoners who had written disobedience to the emperor.

The Jamsil under the jurisdiction of the Jamsil Department was used to detain criminals who were subject to castration. Tai Shigong was detained here before and after he was castrated.

Yeting in Weiyang Palace also governs three relatively special prisons, namely Yongxiang Prison, Yeting Prison and Baochao Prison.

The special thing about these three prisons is that they are specially used to detain female prisoners.

Chunyu Yan is a female doctor, and Huo Xian is the general's wife. They are both genuine women, so after Huang Ba captured them, he locked them all in this violent prison.

Jiaofang Palace and Ye Ting are in the "North Palace" of Weiyang Palace, only three to four hundred meters apart - Huo Chengjun would not have thought that her mother was imprisoned so close to her.

There is a bit of irony in one place where a high-ranking queen lives, and in another where a lowly and damned female prisoner lives.

Because they were very close, within a quarter of an hour, Liu He, who was sitting on the carriage, arrived outside the storm room.

A few months ago in the summer, Liu He had already visited Ye Ting and Bao Shi once in order to see Liu Bing.

At that time, in order to deceive others, he only dared to bring a few Changyi Lang to come quietly, not to mention notifying him in advance.

It was also by chance that he rescued Fan Ke's eldest mother and gained Fan Ke's loyalty, which paved the way for Fan Ke to discover the regicide case in the future.

But now, Liu He no longer has to be sneaky.

Huang Ba had announced yesterday that the Emperor was coming, so officials from all over Yeting were waiting outside the courtyard of Baoshi early in the morning.

When Chengyu was still dozens of feet away from the violence room, everyone, led by Huang Ba, knelt down to greet him.

Liu He looked at these dozens of people and felt very emotional. The situation always changes so quickly that people are caught off guard.

Cheng Yu came in front of everyone, and after Liu He got off the chariot, he asked everyone to speak back.

As expected, he met many old friends.Standing behind Huang Ba was naturally Yeting Ling Zhang He - he was Zhang Anshi's brother, and the two were quite similar.

Zhang He was originally a guest of the deposed prince Liu Zhi. He originally had a bright future, but he was involved in the witchcraft scandal and was sentenced to corruption, so he had to serve as a small prison order.

On the contrary, his younger brother Zhang Anshi, who had no entanglement with Liu Zhi because of his younger age, now holds the high position of Sima General.

Really good fortune.

In the original history, Zhang He was named Marquis of Yangdu for his meritorious service in supporting the establishment of Emperor Xiaoxuan.

Now that Liu He is proclaimed emperor, this wealth may be gone.Liu He knew that Zhang He was a kind person, so he couldn't help but feel a little guilty about this.

"Are you Zhang He, the commander of Yeting?"

"The minister is Zhang He. When Your Majesty came last time, the minister failed to pick him up. It is a crime of death!" After Zhang He said this, he was about to bow down to apologize, but was stopped by Liu He.

"Those who don't know are not guilty. You are a responsible person and I don't blame you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhang He said excitedly.

"Is your son Zhang Pengzu an imperial student?" Liu He asked.

Zhang He did not expect that the emperor would ask about his son, so he quickly said: "Shuzi is studying in Taixue."

"If you are good at learning, you will become an official. I heard that Zhang Pengzu has both political integrity and talent, so he can become an official. Are you willing to let him serve as an official in Guanglu Temple?"

Although the emperor's official position seems to be powerless and his rank is only [-] shi, which is equivalent to that of Ye Tingling, he is the right way to become an official.

I don’t know how many important officials in the court started as emperor’s official.

Zhang He didn't know why the emperor wanted to promote Zhang Pengzu, but he was naturally overjoyed and thanked him endlessly.

"Where is Xu Guanghan, the mean-spirited man?" Liu He had clearly seen Xu Guanghan, but he still shouted loudly on purpose.

Xu Guanghan, who was thin and dark, immediately stepped out from the crowd and greeted Liu He.

A violent miser with a rank of no more than [-] shi is common in this Ye Ting. Although he has a good relationship with Zhang He and gets some protection, he is still often bullied by others.

"Is Xu Shijun okay?" Liu He asked with a smile.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty!" Xu Guanghan's eyes were actually a little cloudy.

It's no wonder that Xu Guanghan is sentimental. After all, he was the late king Liu Kun's minister and a good friend in the past. Of course he felt gratified to see his friend's son firmly on the throne.

"How are your family doing lately?"

Liu He's question shocked all the officials, including Zhang He and Huang Ba.

How could this mean-looking, mean-spirited man actually receive the emperor's personal condolences?

In fact, Liu He's move was to let these people know that he "doesn't forget the old people."

"Twenty years ago, Xu Guanghan was an official of the late king. He performed his duties with all his heart and soul, and made contributions to the late king. He can also be considered as a supporter of me."

"From today onwards, Xu Guanghan will still be a miserly man. His rank will be raised to [-] shi, and he will be rewarded with [-] acres of land, [-] gold, and [-] horses."

The reward is not much, and it is even meager compared to what he deserves, but it can immediately improve his life, which is the limit of what Liu He can do.

Xu Guanghan was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses and quickly bowed down to thank him. The others also praised the emperor for being kind and wise.

"Pingshen, I heard that you have found a good son-in-law named Liu Bingji, but he is here." Liu He asked again deliberately.

"He, he is, he is sick, he is sick!"

Xu Guanghan turned around and shouted several times to the crowd, and Liu Bing, who was tall and thin, squeezed out from behind: "If you are not good enough to fight for food, of course you can't be on the stage."

As soon as Liu Bing showed up, many people's expressions changed.

Zhang He was worried, Huang Ba was thoughtful, and the rest of the officials were puzzled - how could the aloof emperor know Liu Bingji, a rogue who never came to the top.

At that moment, only Xu Guanghan, who knew that the emperor had long recognized Liu's illness, had a happy face and pulled his good son-in-law in front of the emperor.

After a few months out of the country, Liu Bing had lost a lot of weight, but he was also more capable.

Su Fu's mission had made great achievements, and Liu He had not yet had a chance to see them and give them a reward.

Today, Liu He stopped by to see Liu Bingji because some things could no longer be delayed.

"In the past few days, I have been receiving dreams from Emperor Xiaowu. In this dream, Emperor Xiaowu told me that there is a pearl left in Ye Ting."

"I was puzzled by the explanation. After asking the doctor, I found out that the bead passed down to his heir, so I guessed that Ye Ting might have the blood of the Liu family."

"After I ordered someone to check the genealogy, I realized that Liu Bing in Ye Ting is actually the descendant of Prince Sin, and is the genuine blood of the Liu family."

"I heard that Liu Bing recently went on a mission to the Western Regions with Su Fu's delegation and made a great contribution. Isn't it a shining pearl?"

When Liu He praised Liu Bingji, he was actually praising Liu's bloodline. This also reminded everyone of Liu Bingji's life experience, and their eyes immediately changed when they looked at him.

"Since it is the legacy of Liu's bloodline, how can I let Mingzhu betray her secretly?"

"In the past, the deposed emperor was suspected of treason, but Emperor Xiaowu first built the Sizi Pavilion, and then pardoned Liu's illness, and his love for licking the calf was vividly written."

"Today, I am entrusted with a dream again. I am afraid that I also want Liu Bing not to be buried among the people."

"I hereby issue an edict..." After Liu He finished speaking, he gave Liu Bing a look.

The latter immediately remembered what the emperor had promised him, and bowed down understandingly.

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(End of this chapter)