Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 465: Attack in Groups (Special thanks to book friend 2022…7115 for the monthly ticket!)

Yang Ye said with emotion:
“I am a dull-witted minister, and I didn’t realize that this involves so many court affairs!
As long as it is your Majesty's order, let alone kneeling here for a few days, even if it means mountains of swords and seas of fire, I will never hesitate!

I am a strong man, and there is no problem at all, please rest assured, Your Majesty."

He Yao nodded and had a secret meeting with Yang Ye for a while, then stood up and returned to the palace.

After paying homage to Emperor Chai Zongxun in the Yangxin Palace, He Yao reported Yang Ye's situation in detail.

After hearing this, Chai Zongxun said:
"I just want to let all the civil officials in Bianjing know that Yang Ye was punished by me. Give them some time to see what bad ideas they can come up with against the military generals.

As long as Yang Ye can hold on, that's good. Send a message to Yang Ye's family, asking them to deliver meals and snacks to Yang Ye on time. As autumn is approaching, clothes should also be prepared.

Let Yang Ye sleep on the floor at night."

In Chai Zongxun's mind, punishing Yang Ye to kneel outside the imperial city and reflect on his actions was, on the one hand, to elicit the methods used by civil officials to deal with military generals, and on the other hand, to deter and warn the military generals, lest the veteran generals of the ten Western Expedition Corps who were returning to the capital become arrogant and domineering by relying on their outstanding military exploits.

In the evening, the Yang family, who had received instructions from the emperor, sent Yang Bamei and Yang Jiumei to visit their father Yang Ye, carrying food boxes and many pieces of clothing and bedding.

While eating, Yang Ye chatted with the two girls about what had happened in the past few months.

When Yang Ye heard that Emperor Chai Zongxun had issued an order to hold a martial arts competition to find a husband for his two daughters, he was overjoyed.

He naturally knew that almost all the civil and military officials in Bianliang were ostracizing him, so he was even more eager to make contributions to the emperor so that he could always receive the emperor's favor.

Unable to find suitable families for his two daughters, Yang Ye had already given up the idea of ​​marrying them off. With his title of Duke, the worst that could happen is that he could support his two daughters in his mansion for the rest of their lives and live a life of luxury.

When Yang Ye heard the two girls say that the emperor had summoned them personally and ordered a "martial arts competition to win a husband" for the two girls, he no longer had any doubts in his heart, knowing that the emperor treated his family with great favor.

The next day, November 6, the 33rd year of Kaixi, there was an early morning court session.

The "vanguard" who has always demanded the suppression of the military generals' power, the second assistant and the Minister of Revenue Wang Dan, was the first to come out and say:

"Your Majesty's punishment of Yang Ye is truly a wise move!

I have heard that when Yang Ye was returning to Bazhou, he dared to say, "It's a pity that the heroic blood of my Eighth Corps soldiers is not worth a few soft words from a woman!"
This is a great disrespect to Your Majesty!
I think that according to the law, Yang Ye should be beheaded and his property confiscated!"

The civil officials came out one after another to offer their opinions. Some said:

"The Eighth Corps is your Majesty's Eighth Corps. Yang Ye actually dared to call it 'my Eighth Corps'. This is a rebellious act of disrespecting the emperor and plotting to seize military power!"

"Yang Ye's unauthorized dispatch of troops to seize the five states of Donkhov in Khwarezm almost led to a war between the two countries, which was an extremely dangerous act.

If the generals, when leading troops outside, ignore the imperial edict and make decisions on their own, I wonder how much unnecessary trouble this will bring to our Great Zhou?
I beg Your Majesty to severely punish Yang Ye! To deter the generals! "

"Your Majesty, Yang Ye, who is proud of his military achievements in serving the country, dares to mock Your Majesty for favoring beauties in the harem. This is extremely disrespectful.

His seven sons have now joined the Longxiang Army. I think Your Majesty should execute the entire Yang family to prevent future troubles!"

Cao Bin came out and tried his best to argue a few words for Yang Ye and the generals, but he was alone and his words were soon drowned out by the criticisms of the civil officials in the hall.

Chai Zongxun felt chilled and angry when he heard this.

These civil officials only cared about their own power and ignored the great contributions Yang Ye had made to the country in the years since he joined the Zhou Dynasty, such as pacifying the Liao Kingdom, defending Bekara, and the recent great contributions of conquering the Khitans and Khwarezm.

He only wanted to take advantage of Yang Ye's impulsiveness and the opportunity to criticize the emperor's wrong decision, and wanted to kill Yang Ye, and even asked the emperor to execute Yang Ye's entire family. The less power others have, the more power you can have.

This is the cruelty of politics.

As for the political structure of the Chinese dynasties, until Chai Zongxun's Zhou Dynasty, the top power in the court to govern the country was in the hands of civil servants. The more peaceful the period, the easier it was for power to be gradually seized by the civil service group.

A typical example is the Ming Dynasty in Chai Zongxun’s previous life.

In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, civil and military affairs coexisted, and the Ming Taizu also established the "Five Military Governor's Office" to be in charge of the national military affairs.

After the "Tumu Incident", the power of military generals and nobles declined greatly, and since then the civil service group has gradually taken control of the military power.

By the middle and late periods, military generals had become dogs under the command of civil officials. It became a common practice for civil officials who were good at power struggles and had no knowledge of military affairs to lead troops, which led to the gradual decline of the Ming Dynasty's military.

After the officials had spoken for a while, Chai Zongxun frowned and said:

"Yang Ye had made two impromptu decisions when he was in command of the army before. They have already been decided. Why are they bringing up old scores again?
Do not use these two things against Yang Ye again.

As for Yang Ye's irresponsible discussion of state affairs on his way back to the country, although he was a military man with a hot temper and straightforwardness, he was indeed disrespectful. I have punished him to kneel outside the imperial city to reflect on his sins.

My dear ministers, please discuss in the next few days how to deal with Yang Ye in this matter?

Once you have a mature plan, report it to me."

Chai Zongxun stood up from the golden throne with a flick of his sleeves.

The chief eunuch Tang Qi shouted sharply: "Dismiss the court!"

Chai Zongxun turned around and strode out of the Chuigong Hall, surrounded by eunuchs such as Tang Qi and the imperial guards.

After the civil officials in the palace saluted and watched the emperor leave, they stood up one after another and gathered around Li Hang, Wang Dan, Kou Zhun and others, discussing endlessly...

After waking up from a nap, Chai Zongxun walked into the Huangji Hall and summoned Zalan Khan, the King of Khwarezm who had come to Bian Jing with Yang Ye.

After the greeting, Chai Zongxun saw that Zalan Khan was about forty years old and looked trembling with fear, as if treading on thin ice. He instantly understood that Zalan was worried that Yang Ye, who had stood up for him, was now punished by Chai Zongxun, and without anyone to recommend him, he was afraid that his situation in the Great Zhou would be worrying.

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:
"Don't worry, my dear!
On his way back to the country, Yang Ye reported the matter to me in detail.

Yang Ye has made great contributions to the country, and I punish him for his own good.

And no matter what happened to Yang Ye, it will not affect my attitude towards you, my beloved minister."

Zha Lan felt relieved and bowed quickly to express his gratitude.

After Chai Zongxun pondered for a moment, thinking about the future rule of the Star Religion in Khwarazm and other places, he said:
“Although you followed the Samanids to launch an invasion of our Great Zhou, during the process of my Dragon Army’s Eighth Corps conquering Khwarezm, you were able to convey orders to various places, asking them to surrender to our Great Zhou, thus saving many battles and the sacrifice of soldiers.

To make amends for your mistakes, I confer the title of "Duke of Kangju" on you, with a fief of 5,000 households and a mansion in Bian Jing!
You are allowed to select one hundred former concubines from the palace of Khwarezm to accompany you in the palace."

Zalan was overjoyed. He was captured after being besieged by Yang Ye in a surprise attack and the city was broken. He had nowhere to escape. He was always afraid that he would follow in the footsteps of the kings of the Star Religion, such as Mansur of the Samanid Dynasty and Subuktegin of the Ghaznavid Dynasty, who both committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

When he heard that the Great Zhou Emperor Chai Zongxun not only conferred the title of Duke on him, but also granted him a large fiefdom and allowed him to retain a hundred concubines, he could not help but bow deeply to express his gratitude.

(End of this chapter)