Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

"Yes, Your Majesty" Zhang Wenxi hurried to the gate of the palace. At this moment, De Fang frowned, her complexion was really bad, her breath was a little anxious, and she coughed a little. Zhang Wenxi stepped forward and said, "My lord, Your Majesty announces you into the palace."

Defang nodded slightly, but it was difficult to move when she wanted to stand up. Her whole body was a little stiff from the cold. Zhang Wenxi and the guard hurried forward and slowly helped Defang up. Zhang Wenxi helped Defang shake the snow off her body. He knelt in front of Defang and helped him rub his knees and legs. It took a while for Defang to recover. He supported the guard's shoulder and said, "The general is the gate guard of the palace. You are so disrespectful. Get up quickly." .”

The guard looked up at De Fang, "Your Majesty, after you are like this, you still don't care about your indecency. Besides, you defeated the Liao invaders this time and made great achievements for the Song Dynasty. You have to pay more attention to the eight virtuous kings who have made military achievements." It's not fair to kneel and suffer from the cold and snow, so it's right for you to do anything at the end." The guard asked again, "My lord, are you feeling better?"

Defang nodded, and coughed a few more times, "Thank you, General, my king is much better, Eunuch Zhang, let's go, don't keep His Majesty waiting."

"Prince" the guard cupped his hands and said, "You will be fine."

Defang patted the guard on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Borrow the general."

Defang entered the main hall, Emperor Taizong and all the officials looked at him, Defang walked to the imperial steps and knelt down slowly, because his knees were still hurting, so he frowned, Defang kowtowed and said, "The guilty minister kowtows to Your Majesty, I Long live the emperor, long live, long live!"

"Why does the imperial nephew call himself a criminal minister?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the minister was ordered to supervise the border customs. He should have followed the sacred edict. All camps, towns and cities should be built with walls and clear fields, and they are not allowed to fight without authorization. However, the minister resisted the order and deceived the king. A serious crime is unforgivable, and I beg your majesty to come down."

Taizong looked at the ministers, "Do all the lovers think that the Eight Sage King's actions are an unforgivable crime?"

The ministers still bowed their heads and remained silent, everyone couldn't figure out what Taizong was thinking. They knew that Taizong still had suspicions about Defang, but they took good care of him on weekdays. Back, Taizong didn't punish him when he returned to Beijing, maybe he didn't want to punish him, but if he pleaded and didn't convict him, if Taizong suddenly became unhappy and wanted to punish him, then he would be in trouble, and the officials were really in a dilemma.

Taizong smiled, "It's both merit and demerit. It's really difficult, Prime Minister, what do you think?"

Zhao Pu stepped forward, "Return to Your Majesty, rewards for meritorious deeds, and punishment for mistakes."

"That's true, but now that the eight sage kings have merits and demerits, what should we do?"

"Return to Your Majesty, the eight virtuous kings disobeyed the edict and went to war first, and stopped the letter to spread the news that Beijing deceived the emperor later, and they should be punished with serious crimes."

"Oh? The prime minister thinks he should be punished?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, resisting orders and deceiving the emperor is such a serious crime, how can it not be punished."

"What about the battle exploits of the Eight Sage Kings?"

"Defend the pass and retreat from the enemy, and the country will be protected. A miraculous achievement should be rewarded heavily."

"Prime Minister, haven't you said that again? Should the Eight Worthy Kings be rewarded or punished?"

"Return to Your Majesty, the prince has already received the most severe punishment, and your majesty has also given him the greatest gift."

"Punishment? Gift? What do you mean?"

"The eight virtuous kings resisting orders and deceiving the emperor is a serious crime, but they defeated the Liao invaders and preserved the country. There are merits and demerits coexisting. It is difficult to distinguish which is more important. Ordinary people think that the military exploits are the greatest and can be offset by hard work. Instead, he knelt in front of the palace gate and begged His Majesty to come down, and the prince knelt in the cold and snow all night, which shows his loyalty to His Majesty."