Great Han Empire

Chapter 223
The emperor has refused to go to court for ten consecutive days. He stays in the Wanjintang in the West Garden every day, eating, drinking and having fun, and even pampering the nobles and concubines, all in the money and silk of the Wanjintang.During these ten days, from morning till night, the horse-drawn carriages transporting money and silk into the palace flowed continuously and continuously, without interruption from the beginning to the end.

The emperor got rich.

On the 11th day, he went to court.The Son of Heaven stood with his hands behind his back, looked at the ministers in the hall, and said with a sneer, "Aren't you afraid?"

Silent.

"I see that you all came here with money, presumably you want to write a letter, persuade, and also want to appeal for grievances?"

silent.

The emperor suddenly pointed at the officials and screamed hoarsely: "Thieves, you are all thieves, you are the biggest thieves in the world, you have stolen my country, stolen my people, stolen my palace, you have committed a heinous crime." , Heinous, should be killed, everyone should be killed, I will kill you..."

All the ministers were terrified, terrified, and knelt down on the ground.

Tianzi was panting violently, his little face flushed red.

"Think about it for yourself, how much money do you have to spend to buy back your heads, buy back your clan children, buy back your former disciples and old officials." The emperor calmed down a little, and continued, "Three days, I will give you three days." Three days, or shoot and kill!"

The emperor's small eyes suddenly widened, and he said gloomily, "Is there anyone else who has submitted a letter?"

There was a dead silence in the hall, and the tense atmosphere was almost suffocating.

"Is there any advice?"

The emperor looked around at the ministers with disdain on his face. Suddenly, he waved his hands and roared furiously: "Get out, get out of here..."

All the ministers rushed back as if they were about to receive an amnesty.

=

Situ Cui Lie, Sikong Xuxiang, Yushi Zhongcheng Yang Qin, and Shangshu Lu Zhi did not go home directly after they came to the court, but went straight to the Yuan Mansion.

In the eyes of the ministers, today's people have always been mediocre, idle, extravagant, extravagant and extravagant.Although they shouted "Long live" in their mouths and looked like a god, they actually regarded him as a waste, an idiot, and a pussy in their hearts.Unexpectedly, it was such a person who quietly launched a corruption eradication operation without them noticing. This corruption eradication storm was like a violent storm, which dealt them a heavy blow.Foreign relatives, traitors, and the three major powers of the aristocratic family were all severely damaged overnight.

Yuan Kai fell ill.His family's protégés and old officials were arrested the most.From Yuan'an to Yuan Kai, the Yuan clan has five members of the fourth generation as the three princes, and they are powerful all over the world. There are so many descendants of the clan, and there are so many former officials, even the Yang clan who is the number one clan in the Han Dynasty would feel inferior.In this storm, the Yuan clan suffered the most.As the head of the family, Yuan Wei was angry and anxious, heartbroken and worried, and finally couldn't hold on, and lay down.

Several people comforted Yuan Wei a few words, and then discussed the countermeasures.

"We have been focusing on Xiliang and Li Hong, but we have neglected our own capital, our opponents, and the emperor, so that we have lost today. This lesson is painful." Yuan Kui waited for everyone to be seated, heaved a long sigh, and said with emotion.

Everyone's heart was heavy and they didn't speak a word.

"At the court today, everyone wrote a letter to appeal and advise, what does your majesty say?"

Cui Lie smiled wryly and said, "Your Majesty will not believe it, you think I'm talking nonsense." Then he briefly described what happened in the court today, and asked, "Master, do you believe it? Why did the Son of Heaven suddenly change? gone?"

Yuan Kai thought for a while, and said: "So, His Majesty has no intention of pursuing further. He still wants to take the opportunity to make money."

Lu Zhi said indignantly: "Although Your Majesty didn't intend to pursue it, he made it very clear that anyone involved in Xiliang's corruption should be more conscious and return the money to him. He's not taking the opportunity to make money, he This is clearly extortion."

"It's more than extortion?" Xu Xiang said, "Your Majesty's meaning is very clear. He just wants us to pay for his own officials. Zigan, don't take chances. When you should pay some money, you still have to pay some money, not like last time." I was arrested again. Last time, I spent a lot of money and went through a lot of troubles to get you out of the crime. If I had known this, you might as well have used the money to bribe Zuo Feng, and you would have suffered a lot less. This time you But don’t lose your temper again. If you don’t have any money, I’ll give it to you, isn’t it just 600 million yuan.”

Censor Zhongcheng Yang Qin reluctantly smiled and said: "If you spend some money, let's spend some money. First, we can avoid disasters, and second, those who are captured can also be redeemed unscathed. Money is a thing. If you can earn it back, it’s okay if you don’t have less, it doesn’t matter, it’s right that we satisfy His Majesty’s hobby. Speaking of which, His Majesty is very gracious this time. His Majesty has arrested many people and has a lot of evidence in hand, but he has so far Apart from ransacking the house to ask for money, we were not held accountable, nor were the captured officials beheaded, which is very gracious."

Yuan Kui, Cui Lie and others nodded, thinking that what Yang Qin said made sense.

Yuan Kui stroked his long beard with his hand, and said slowly: "Your Majesty is such a smart person, why didn't we see it in the past? He took advantage of Xiliang's anti-corruption to suppress us, treacherous eunuchs, and the power of his relatives. Not only did he take advantage of the opportunity Collect money, win the hearts of the people, and quickly build up the power of the clan in order to compete with us. Don't you see it?"

Cui Lie nodded slightly, and said: "The power of the clan is already very strong, and now with His Majesty's deliberate support, it has already fought against us. We didn't know anything about this arrest beforehand, because His Majesty completely abandoned us. , The traitors and relatives are also strictly kept secret, and nothing is leaked. Your Majesty uses Wei Wei Liu Ting and Guang Luxun Liu Yu to control the northern and southern armies respectively. Inside and outside the palace, they echo each other from afar, which caught us by surprise."

"This year, His Majesty lost trust in the treacherous eunuchs and began to use the royal family." Xu Xiang said, "At the beginning of the year, His Majesty promoted Liu Yan from Nanyang Taishou to Zongzheng, and from Zongzheng to Taichang. Liu Yu That’s right, he was promoted from Pingyuan Xiangqian to Shangshu, and from Shangshu to Guangluxun. Weiwei Liu Ting was quickly promoted by the commander of the bus. Now even Liu Yu’s son Liu He is Yilang.” 
"Your Majesty doesn't trust the traitors, which is very happy, but because of our long-term confrontation with the traitors, His Majesty is deeply wary of us. This time he doesn't even trust us. We are loyal to the Han Kingdom and His Majesty Geng Geng, but His Majesty is always suspicious of you..." He shook his head again and again, looking very discouraged.

"Although the people in the clan are noble, they are still dominated by nobles. They have a deep relationship with us. In the matter of cracking down on eunuchs, our goal is also the same, so I think the rise of the clan's power is not It's a bad thing." Lu Zhi analyzed: "As the power of the royal clan grows stronger, the power of the eunuchs will be further weakened. If we join hands with the forces of foreign relatives headed by the general to crack down on the eunuchs , I’m afraid their life will be even more difficult.”

"No." Cui Lie waved his hands vigorously and said, "No, Master Lu's words are wrong. Now we are not joining forces to fight against the traitors, but to fight against another force. If this force does not destroy him immediately, it will It directly threatens the safety of the Han Kingdom."

"You mean Li Hong?" Yuan Kai asked.

"Yes, we have discussed his matter many times. Although we tried our best to kill him, and even joined hands with traitors and eunuchs to deal with him, we still failed to kill him." Cui Lie sighed, "My lords noticed that No, this time the emperor and Li Hong launched an action to suppress corruption and arrest in Guanzhong and Kanto at the same time. The powerful strength and vicious methods they displayed are terrifying. If it is not the suppression of corruption this time, but your majesty’s elimination of dissidents, the result will be What will happen? I'm afraid we will be caught by them without any defense?"

"What we were worried about before this has finally happened." Cui Lie looked at the few people present, and continued, "This slave from northern Xinjiang doesn't understand anything, he is just an idiot, but it is this kind of person that is scary. He is loyal and absolutely loyal to the emperor, so if the emperor intends to use him and keep him firmly in his hands as His Majesty's own powerful strength, then what should we do? Wait for death? With Li Hong's current strength, It can destroy both us and the traitorous relatives, and in the future, he can also destroy the Han Kingdom. We must deal with this potential harm as soon as possible."

Yuan Kai nodded frequently, stroked his beard and said, "Your Excellency is right. Last year, Huangfusong held a powerful army and his reputation was at the height of the sky. The emperor also trusted him very much and favored him. But we and other forces in the court are worried that Huangfusong's power will expand in the future. , is not good for the country, so they jointly persuaded His Majesty to take the opportunity to remove Huangfusong's military power and dismiss him. Unexpectedly, the tiger Huangfusong left, but the leopard Li Hong came. This bloody leopard killed us What a disaster." He sighed, and continued, "If I had known this, it would be better to let Huangfusong suppress the rebellion in Xiliang, and put this barbarian in northern Xinjiang to guard the border. Huangfusong came from a wealthy family, he was loyal, and Strictly abide by the festival of the monarch and his ministers, and should not do anything cheating. At that time, he got along well with us and had a close relationship. We should win him over, not..."

He said regretfully: "If he is in Xiliang now, how could such a thing happen?"

There was silence in the room.If I knew this earlier, why bother.It's too late to regret now.

After a while, Yang Qin asked, "Master Situ, what clever tricks do you have? The methods used by the eunuchs are brutal and ineffective. A group of villains, besides killing people to make money, I really don't know what else they can do? Several assassinations have failed." Success. We tried our best to lure that leopard to Jincheng, but we still didn't kill him." Yang Qin said in a bitter voice, "A bunch of incompetent eunuchs."

Cui Lie smiled, but did not answer.He said to Yuan Kai: "Tomorrow, the general will treat you. I will go to the general's mansion and have a chat with the general and Master Zhao."

=

Taiwei Zhang Wen received the emperor's decree and led the Taiwei Mansion back to Chang'an to deal with the aftermath of the Western Expedition.

Lord Taiwei is in a bad mood.Although the Xiliang Rebellion finally came to an end after a year under his command, he was really not happy.Ever since Li Hong took the initiative and started the bloody eradication of corruption in Xiliang, he has fallen into extreme passivity.Now, under the personal command of the emperor, Xiliang's austerity has entered a period of full-scale outbreak. All forces from the DPRK and China have made their appearances, and the entire Han Kingdom has been involved in this storm.

Zhang Wen was lucky to be out of this storm.He watched coldly, and it was clear that he knew that his official career had come to an end.

Li Hong led the Jizhou army to Xiliang in time and rescued Zhang Wen who was in crisis;When the eunuchs far away in the capital wanted to bully a meritorious official wantonly for a little profit, Zhang Wen actually acquiesced.For his own petty gain, instead of standing up to defend his subordinates, he succumbed to the despotic power of the eunuchs.Zhang Wen's mistake finally led to the outbreak of Xiliang's anti-corruption storm, and thus shattered the balance between the various forces in the Han Dynasty.

Zhang Wen has been reflecting and looking for the gains and losses in the process of suppressing the rebellion in Xiliang.In the end, he came to the conclusion that he could go home to live his life.He is old, has too many worries, gains and losses and fame and fortune have smoothed his sharpness.It is impossible for him to gallop freely on the battlefield and do whatever he wants like a leopard.

His fate has been tightly tied to Li Hong's.Li Hong died, and he was the scapegoat for this storm. If Li Hong continued to live in a prosperous and prosperous way, he would be able to survive, and even enjoy his official career.But he couldn't see the hope of Li Hong's survival.Except for the Son of Heaven, this man has offended all the bureaucrats in this country.It would be a miracle if he survived.

He couldn't see the hope of Li Hong's survival, nor could he see his peaceful old age, so he was in a bad mood.

Gai Xun walked in lightly.Zhang Wen looked up at him and asked, "Is your majesty coming?"

Gai Xun shook his head and said, "My lord, you can stay in Chang'an for a while, take a good rest, and watch what's going on in Luoyang. If things in Luoyang gradually calm down, it's not too late for you to go back."

"The situation in Luoyang is already clear. The emperor has no plans to curb corruption. His purpose is very simple. Everyone takes the money and leaves, the sooner the better. I heard that His Majesty has not been in court for a long time. He I stay in the West Garden every day to collect money." Zhang Wen said with a wry smile, "Both of us are not in Luoyang, so the money is left over."

Gai Xun was startled for a moment, then laughed out loud.Zhang Wen was infected by him, thinking about the busy appearance of the emperor collecting money in the West Garden, he finally couldn't help laughing wildly.

"Li Hong is different. He came from Xiliang, Guanzhong, and he is still in full swing to torture the arrested officials. He insists on finding out the important people in the court. It is said that he has beaten to death several times. The Son of Heaven collects money over there, but he won’t let people go here at all, something will happen sooner or later.” Gai Xun said while wiping the tears from his face, “If the Son of Heaven releases all the people in Luoyang, take all the money back. Well, this kid is still working hard here, and the situation is probably not good for him."

Zhang Wen sighed helplessly, shook his head, and said, "Let him do whatever he wants. This kid is cruel and cunning, and it's hard for anyone to deal with him. We recommended him to Jincheng and tried our best to put him to death, but he was safe and sound. I don’t know what method he thought of. There is also that batch of evidence, I don’t know what went wrong in the middle, Nan Rong didn’t get it, but he got it in the end.”

"My lord, don't think too much." Gai Xun said, "If this kid is so lucky all the time, we can stick to it too."

"Forget it, don't count on it." Zhang Wen said, "I'm going back to Luoyang this time, and no one will pay attention to it. I'm the most unpopular person in Luoyang now."

The two were chatting here without saying a word, when Huangfu Li walked in with a letter.

"My lord, my father sent someone to send a letter quickly."

Zhang Wenwen and Gai Xun looked at each other, feeling uneasy.At this time, Huangfusong sent someone to send a letter in a hurry, affirming that something important happened in Luoyang.

Zhang Wen hurriedly opened the bamboo slips, and after a hasty glance, his face was a little ugly.He stood up and handed the letter to Gai Xun.

"A traitor is misleading the country, a traitor is misleading the country." After reading it, Gai Xun covered his pages and sighed.

Zhang Wen frowned and paced back and forth in the room, determined not to give up.

"My lord, you'd better go, otherwise..."

Zhang Wen stopped and looked at Gai Xun with tears in his eyes.

"I have worked hard for more than a year, and I have worked hard for more than a year." Zhang Wen shook his head and said painfully, "If this continues, how can our Great Han Kingdom prosper..."

Gai Xun smiled coldly, pointed at Huangfu Li and said, "Immediately dispatched an eight-hundred-mile gallop to write to the Emperor, saying that the Taiwei had suddenly suffered a serious illness and urgently needed to return to Beijing for treatment."

=

Dong Zhuo has been very angry recently, drinking, listening to female music and swearing in the camp every day.

Li Hong personally led a team to raid his home.Although his younger brother Dong Min ran away overnight with a group of henchmen after receiving Dong Zhuo's warning and transferred the family's money, Li Hong was very persistent and searched his house extensively, even tearing down the walls. The dock was almost torn down.Li Hong didn't find anything, so he took his family members away.

Dong Zhuo was furious after receiving the report, and led his troops to intercept it.Li Hong didn't drag him at all, and arrogantly took out the imperial decree, read it triumphantly, and drove away with him.Dong Zhuo was so angry that he wanted to kill him.

On this day, the emperor's decree came.

Song Dian returned to Beijing immediately.Dong Zhuo immediately led his troops to Beidi County in Xiliang. It was said that there was a rebellion in Xianling Qiang.

=

At the same time, Li Hong also received the imperial edict.

The imperial decree required Li Hong to immediately lead his troops back to camp in Huaili.He will continue to be responsible for the anti-corruption in Xiliang, but I hope he will end the anti-corruption as soon as possible so that he can lead his troops back to Jizhou as soon as possible.

Xu Rong, Qu Yi, and Hua Xiong continued to lead the army and stationed in the Zixiu Mountain camp, and all were under the control of Geng Bi, the governor of Liangzhou.

=

(End of this chapter)