The news that the King of Yizhou died in the rebellion flew into the capital like wings. After receiving the news, the emperor was very sad and shed a lot of tears in court. He then ordered that the news should not be leaked to the Queen Mother, so that the Queen Mother could take good care of her health.
The King of Yizhou died, and all the private troops he supported were dug out. The next step is to deal with the aftermath.
After digging into the details, the emperor discovered that quite a few of the officials and aristocratic families who followed King Yizhou had followed him more than ten years ago when he was fighting for the throne.
Logically speaking, at least three tribes must be punished for rebellion. With such an implication, as many as 20,000 people need to be held accountable.
Wei Zhi and others appealed for mercy, hoping to interrogate only the culprit.
After thinking about it, the emperor agreed and asked Wei Zhi and others to find out what the people involved in the case had done over the past ten years and punish them according to the law. Many people had occupied fertile farmland and murdered their lives. In the past, they had covered up and interceded with each other, so they were not punished.
check.
This time, because King Yizhou's case was implicated, many people could not withstand the investigation.
The Punishment Department suddenly became extremely busy, and Mr. Old Tang and Wei Zhi also had to stay in the Punishment Department to deal with serious criminals.
But there are also quite a few people who have been wrongly accused.
But regardless of whether they were wronged or not, those who were implicated would first have their property confiscated, and then they would be judged whether they were within the scope of "forgiveness" stipulated by the emperor. If they were, they would be released, and everything would have to start all over again.
But with so many people, it would take half a year, or even longer, to screen them one by one.
Then the official department was busy. The officials who were implicated this time, especially those from Jiannan Road, and several governors were involved.
Although he was not killed as an accomplice of the King of Yizhou, for example, the captured Governor Zhang and the Zizhou Governor who submitted a letter of apology, etc., all had to be replaced in the end.
At this moment, the official department cannot mobilize so many people. The key is that if people from this place are taken away, there will be a shortage of people in that place.
Therefore, the Ministry of Personnel was also bald. Finally, he proposed to the emperor that he would like to take a major examination in the Ministry of Personnel after the beginning of spring. This time, the examination will only be for the Imperial College to recruit scholars, and after the spring, there will be a national examination.
The emperor agreed after careful consideration.
Things began to get in order, and the official officers guarding Changqing Lane also retreated. Bai Shan and Bai Erlang could go to school again, and Man Bao also began to quietly try to sit in the medicine shop.
Then, the harem, which was managed like an iron barrel by the queen, was still leaked. At this time, Yin Li was already on the road with the coffins of the three princes of Yizhou and his son.
When the Queen Mother heard that King Yizhou had died in the rebellion, she vomited a mouthful of blood and fainted. Xiao Yuan was leading half of the imperial doctors from the imperial hospital to rescue him, and finally rescued him.
The emperor was discussing matters with ministers in his study at that time. After hearing this, he immediately left state affairs and went to the harem, where he personally waited outside the Queen Mother's Hall.
The queen stood beside him and looked at him apologetically.
The emperor put his arms around her, patted her shoulder gently and sighed: "I don't blame you. You have been able to hide it for so many days, which is your limit."
The queen said: "It's not Ying's family, it's Zhang Bin's mother-in-law who quietly came into contact with the people in Yunfeng Palace when they came to the palace to see her."
She paused and then said: "Yunfeng is now imprisoned in the cold palace by me. Has Your Majesty figured out how to deal with it?"
The emperor asked: "What do Zi Tong think?"
"Yunfeng is a girl. It is impossible for her to know about her father. Xinqing is only eight years old, so let them comfort the queen mother's heart."
The emperor responded in a low voice, which was why he did not lock Xinqing and his father and brother together in the first place.
Xiao Yuanzheng and others retreated and reported to the emperor: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is awake, but she just refuses to take medicine."
The emperor stretched out his hand and said, "Give me the medicine."
The queen was worried and took a step forward: "Erlang."
The emperor turned back and smiled at her and said softly: "It's okay. You are not in good health. Go back to the palace first."
The queen watched with concern as he entered with the medicine. After a while, the palace attendants in the queen mother's palace also trembled out.
There were only mother and son left in the huge palace. The emperor put the bowl on the table, stretched out his hand to gently lift his mother up, and said softly: "Mother, take some medicine."
The Queen Mother, with gray hair, turned her head to one side with a sullen face and ignored him.
The emperor held up the spoon. Seeing that she was unwilling to take the medicine, he sighed and withdrew his hand, "How can mother be willing to take the medicine?"
The Queen Mother did not speak for a long time. She turned to look at the Emperor, and then said in a hoarse voice: "I have only six most important people in my life. Your sister left me very early. The pain of losing a child is like being cut into pieces."
I thought I would never experience the pain of my heart again, but you made me endure it three times. Even your father..."
The emperor clenched the bowl in his hand, the tip of his nose was sore, and he raised his head with red eyes, "Mother, do you blame me for the death of your eldest brother and father?"
The Queen Mother knocked the medicine bowl out of his hand, reached out and grabbed his sleeve and said angrily: "If you hadn't killed Sanlang, how could your father's hair have turned gray overnight, and how could he have died so early?"
The emperor opened his mouth, held back for a while and then said: "Mother, I don't regret killing my third brother. I have no way out. When he cut off my retreat, my father sat in the rear and turned a blind eye. I just
Only by killing him can I live, and only the hundreds of thousands of soldiers under me can live."
"What about the fifth child," the Queen Mother said with her chest heaving and her eyes red: "He can't defeat you. The tens of thousands of private soldiers you support are just like children playing house in front of you. Why can't you let him live? Or seize the title.
, or be demoted to common people, or be exiled..."
"Mother," the emperor interrupted her: "This is all an accident. There are no swords and guns on the battlefield..."
"It's not an accident!" The Queen Mother said firmly: "If you really meant it, how could Yin Li dare to kill him?"
She said: "Yin Li left the capital before Wu Lang came to the capital. You knew it a long time ago, right? Then why did you delay revealing it until now? You locked him in the palace, how did he escape?
, tell me, how did he escape?"
The emperor said nothing.
The Queen Mother was so hurt and angry that she couldn't help but slap him in the face and cried bitterly: "I only have two sons, and you are the only two brothers. Why are you so cruel? He is
Your biological brother, he is your biological brother..."
The emperor knelt on the ground in silence.
The Queen Mother cried bitterly: "And Xin'an and Xinping, how old are they? What do they know? Xinping is not married yet, is your heart made of stone?"
The emperor lowered his head and let her beat and scold her. The queen stood outside the palace and listened to the goings-on in the palace. After a while, she sighed and sent the palace people away a little further, then turned and left.
The emperor was afraid that she would faint from crying too much, so he stretched out his hand to support his mother while being beaten.
Tired from the beating, the Queen Mother leaned weakly on the pillow and turned her head to the bed, "I don't want to see you, please go."