"PS: It is still the second most popular monthly ticket in the history category. It seems that there will be an extra update next month...well, I underestimated you book friends."
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"whee--"
With a burst of laughter like silver bells, two rather young palace maids came out, jostling each other and playing.
Suddenly, one of the palace maids grabbed the female companion's hand and lowered her voice and said, "Stop making trouble, there is someone here."
"Is there anyone?"
Another palace maid immediately stopped playing and playing, and looked around uneasily. Sure enough, she saw a nobleman who was several years older than them by the pool in the distance, lying on the edge of the pool with his hands as a pillow.
On a boulder.
It is vaguely visible that this noble man is wearing a dark jade crown and a dark costume with a python dragon embroidered with gold thread. Although he has never seen his appearance, he knows that this noble man is extremely valuable.
"...It's the prince."
"...It's His Royal Highness Prince Su."
The two palace maids immediately became well-behaved and looked at the Crown Prince secretly, with a look of spring on their faces and a slight glimmer in their eyes.
Unfortunately, His Royal Highness, who was lying on the boulder in an inelegant posture, seemed not to know that they were passing by and did not even look at them, which made them very disappointed.
With the small thought of "maybe they might be attracted by His Highness the Crown Prince", the two women wanted to muster up the courage to go forward and talk to His Highness the Crown Prince. Unfortunately, beside the huge stone, two watchers
The eunuch, who was dressed like a chambermaid, glared at them fiercely.
In the end, they were scared away.
"It's so unruly!"
Watching the two little palace maids leave, eunuch Gao Li relaxed his tense face and muttered softly.
Although he is not too old, and is even one or two years younger than Zhao Hongrun, he has followed the eunuch Tong Xian since he was a child, so he is also very aware of certain things in the palace.
At least, he could clearly guess the thoughts of the two little palace maids just now - how many of the palace maids who were sent into the palace did not have the intention of climbing up the dragon and clinging to the phoenix?
After secretly cursing a few words at the two little palace ladies who didn't understand the rules, Gao Li turned around and glanced at His Royal Highness, who was still lying on the boulder with his hands on his pillow, and hesitated several times.
Because now, it is only the early spring near the end of February, and although the weather has gradually turned warmer, it is easy for the prince to lie on a cold boulder like this.
But recalling the previous instruction from His Highness the Crown Prince, "I'll stay here for a while, don't disturb me." Gao Li didn't dare to speak at this moment.
After all, Gao Li has come to understand that although His Highness the Crown Prince seems to be quite easy to talk to at first glance, in fact, His Highness the Crown Prince is actually a person who has his own way of doing things.
But having said that, since His Highness the Crown Prince had been lying on the boulder and looking at the sky for a while, Gao Li also felt a little surprised, because he vaguely guessed that His Highness the Crown Prince, who was sullen and silent at this moment,
, seems to be thinking about some major issue.
Gao Li really guessed right. At this moment, Zhao Hongrun was indeed thinking about a very important matter, that is, how to deal with the 'rebellious ministers' headed by Qing Wang Zhao Xin - now that he, the new prince, has taken the throne, then
, this matter cannot be delayed any longer.
In the Wei State, the court's laws could not punish the children of the Ji and Zhao family, but the clan's patriarchal laws could.
The ancestral law clearly stipulates that any descendant of Ji Zhao's family who is involved in rebellion will not be pardoned.
As the saying goes, if King Zhao Hongxin of Qing succeeds in seizing power like his father Zhao Yuansi, the emperor of Wei, did in those days, it will be nothing. But it is a pity that King Zhao Hongxin of Qing failed. Since he failed, he will be punished.
Severe punishment.
According to the ancestral law, King Qing Zhao Hongxin will be executed this time. At the least, it will be the fate of "reduction of rank" and "imprisonment".
"Reduction of title", as the name suggests, is to deprive "Prince Qing" of his throne and turn him from a royal family to a commoner. This punishment also includes "deprivation of the prince's status", "erasure of the name in the genealogy", "confiscation of the fief, the emperor"
A series of punishments such as "salary" and even the most severe one, even the surname "Jizhao" will be deprived - from now on, Zhao Hongxin's branch will no longer be able to call himself a descendant of the Ji Zhao family.
From a certain perspective, this is more harsh than execution.
Confinement is another criminal law that is even more cruel than execution. In layman's terms, it requires prisoners to live in a designated small area. This small area is as wide as a mansion, but if it is strict, it may only have one room.
House - a person is allowed to stay in a house for the rest of his life and is not allowed to go out. He is monitored by the guards twelve hours a day and lives under the eyes of the supervisors all the time. What a cruel criminal law this is!
Perhaps Qing Wang Hongxin would think: Rather than doing this, it would be better to die happily.
"...Anyway, there is only one way for Zhao Wu to die."
Lying on the boulder, Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but frown.
Even though he had a bad relationship with Zhao Hongxin at the beginning, they were brothers after all. If possible, Zhao Hongrun wanted to spare his life instead of executing Zhao Hongxin on the charge of "rebellion and treason."
The more critical point is that if the "principal criminal" Qing Wang Hongxin is executed, it is like setting standards for handling this matter, and the remaining accomplices will have to be pushed down from the "execution" punishment.
The problem is that Zhao Hongrun's fourth brother Zhao Hongjiang, King of Yan, and his closest brother Zhao Hongxuan, King of Huan, were involved in this rebellion - no matter what the purpose of these two brothers assisted Qing Wang Hongxin in attacking Daliang,
In essence, the two of them participated in the rebellion.
If Qing Wang Hongxin was executed, then Yan Wang Hongjiang and Huan Wang Hongxuan would have to suffer the next-level punishment, that is, imprisonment, and so on.
Thinking that the poor guy Qing Wang Hongxin was also being taken advantage of this time, Zhao Hongrun actually thought about raising the board high, dropping it gently, and giving him a punishment of "imprisonment for several years."
In fact, the key lies in how to define this rebellion - if the behavior of King Qing Hongxin is defined as rebellion, then Zhao Wu will undoubtedly die; but if Zhao Hongrun, as the prince, defines the behavior of King Qing Hongxin as "being instigated by others"
”, and “private grudge with the old prince Hongyu”, then Prince Qing Hongxin would be able to escape, and at most he would be imprisoned for ten or twenty years or something.
No matter how hard it is to be imprisoned for life, as long as the person is still alive, there is a chance to reduce the time limit.
For example, if Zhao Hongrun ascends the throne as the crown prince and becomes king in the future, then Zhao Hongxin can be exempted from the amnesty for a certain number of years; for another example, if the emperor's grandson Zhao Wei is appointed as the crown prince or even succeeds to the throne, Zhao Hongxin will still have the opportunity to get
Commutation of sentence.
After all, the essence of the clan system is not to force the descendants of the Ji Zhao family to death, but to restrain the clan children and maintain the royal rule. To put it bluntly, it is just killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. As long as Zhao Hongxin sincerely admits his mistake, more than ten years later, the clan will still be the same.
I will be open-minded.
But in this way, no one will take the blame for the death of the old prince Zhao Yu.
"call……"
After taking a long breath, Zhao Hongrun felt a headache.
He felt as if he had entered a vicious circle: because the old prince Zhao Yu died in this civil strife, Qing Wang Hongxin had to be executed for rebellion, but by executing the latter, Yan Wang Zhao Jiang and Huan Wang Zhao Xuan were also accomplices.
On the other hand, if Zhao Hongrun wanted to keep King Zhao Jiang of Yan and King Huan Zhao Xuan, then the behavior of Qing King Hongxin must not be defined as "rebellion", so he could only sacrifice the old prince Zhao
He gave the latter the reputation of "forcing him to rebel against his brothers".
But the prince Zhao Yu is already dead, so Zhao Hongrun cannot do this even if it is not from the perspective of "the dead are the most important" to add another stigma to him.
Otherwise, Queen Wang will be seriously offended - even though the old prince Zhao Yu refused to recognize her as his mother before his death, they are both biological mother and son. Would Queen Wang allow Zhao Hongrun to 'slander' her dead son?
After thinking for a full hour, Zhao Hongrun jumped off the boulder and headed straight to the Manna Hall.
After about a stick of incense, Emperor Wei heard about the "Prince's request for an audience" from the mouth of Yan Shun, the commander of the Zuo of the Gongwei Division.
"That bad boy came to see me now, which is quite new..."
After joking with the eunuch Tong Xian, Emperor Wei signaled Yan Shun to invite Zhao Hongrun into the palace.
When he saw Zhao Hongrun, Emperor Wei wanted to joke with his son at first, but when he saw that the latter's face was as dark as water, as if he had something on his mind, he frowned and stopped joking.
"Father, please order the left and right to retreat." Zhao Hongrun said straight to the point without being polite to Emperor Wei.
After hearing this, the great eunuch Tong Xian knew that the crown prince's visit was probably due to some important matter. Without any signal from Emperor Wei, he ordered Yan Shun, Tong Xin and the two young eunuchs behind him to retreat.
.
At this time, Zhao Hongrun revealed what was on his mind: "I am here because of Zhao Wu's rebellion..."
"Oh." Emperor Wei nodded clearly. Of course he also wanted to know the stakes of this matter.
In any case, between the old prince Hongyu and Qing Wang Zhao Hongxin, one must be sacrificed to take responsibility for this matter, but no matter which side is sacrificed, the trouble is not small.
However, Emperor Wei noticed Zhao Hongrun's gaze and saw that the latter's eyes were not confused, so he said with great interest: "It seems that you are not here to ask me for advice, but you have already made an idea... Come and listen.
"
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun cupped his hands and said: "I believe that the fault of this civil strife is not the late King Yong, nor Zhao Wu, but the remnants of the Xiao family who instigated it..."
Emperor Wei's eyes lit up slightly when he heard this: It would be a good idea to put all the blame on the remnants of the Xiao family.
"only……"
After looking at Zhao Hongrun for a few times, Emperor Wei's eyes flashed with concern.
The reason is very simple. If the remnant of the Xiao family is to be held responsible for the civil strife in Wei, then the court must explain why this "remnant of the Xiao family" has such a powerful ability to instigate the old prince Zhao Yu and the King of Qing Zhao Xin.
Civil strife - could it be that just a cat or a dog can cause a civil war between two princes? This is not enough to win the trust of the people in the world.
While explaining "the remnants of the Xiao family", the court would inevitably mention "Xiao Luan", the leader of the remnants of the Xiao family - can a single name explain why the remnants of the Xiao family have such great energy?
It was far from enough, so the court also had to explain the origin of "Xiao Luan", that is, "the son of Xiao Boyuan, Marquis of Nanyan".
"Nan Yan" is a term that can easily remind Wei people of certain things. For example, in the second year of Hongde, Xiao Boyuan, the Marquis of Nan Yan, "inexplicably" rebelled, and then Wei general Sima An led his army to massacre the Nan Yan army.
That accident.
This was a taboo that Emperor Wei had suppressed with great difficulty over the years and was unwilling to be mentioned again.
After thinking for a long time, Emperor Wei took a long breath and said slowly: "Hongrun, you are already the prince of the country, you don't have to discuss everything with me...just do it according to your ideas.
"
After hearing this, the eunuch Tong Xian stopped talking.
Seeing the somewhat lonely expression on his father's face, Zhao Hongrun shrugged and said nonchalantly: "Father, I am not discussing with you, I am just informing you... Now that I have informed you, I will leave.
"
"This bastard!"
After hearing this, Emperor Wei felt his teeth itching with hatred, and the loneliness in his heart was immediately replaced by helpless depression.
However, to the surprise of Emperor Wei, when leaving the inner palace, Zhao Hongrun suddenly stopped, looked back at his father and said: "In fact, I know a lot about the evil things my father did, but this
It does not affect the fact that in my heart, my father is still a... wise king!"
After saying that, Zhao Hongrun turned around and left the Manna Hall.
"..." He stared at the place where Zhao Hongrun last stayed with his mouth agape. After a while, Emperor Wei turned around with a surprised look on his face and asked the eunuch Tong Xian: "Tong Xian, what did that scoundrel say just now?"
The wrinkled face of the great eunuch Tong Xian was full of smiles: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that Your Majesty is a wise king in his heart!"
"Ha, hehehe..."
Emperor Wei shook his head dumbfounded, then snorted and said calmly: "Huh! I have been in office for more than twenty years and have been diligent and diligent. Of course I am a wise king. Do I need to be evaluated by that bad man?"
Seeing the deep joy on the face of His Majesty in front of him, the eunuch Tong Xian smiled knowingly and said nothing much.
After a while, Zhao Hongrun returned to Chui Gong Hall.
Because he got his father's approval, Zhao Hongrun's mood improved a lot.
At this time, Lin Yuyang, Yu Ziqi, Feng Yu, Xu Guan, Li Liang, Du You, Jie Ziu, Wen Qi and others were sitting in the inner hall of Chui Gong Hall, reviewing the memorials on Zhao Hongrun's behalf - although Zhao Hongrun had issued an edict to strengthen it.
The functions of the six departments of the imperial court, but in a short period of time, the imperial court may not be able to adapt to this new system. Therefore, the current task of these court officials in the Chui Gong Hall is to review these memorials on behalf of Zhao Hongrun. If there is anything urgent, please ask Zhao Hongrun for instructions.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
As for the future, after the six ministers of the imperial court gradually adapt to the new system and gradually share the burden of the Chui Gong Hall, the several inner court officials in the Chui Gong Hall will gradually transform into the supreme decision-makers, such as balancing certain tasks.
The pros and cons of some established national policies, reforming backward systems, formulating Wei's strategic policies, etc.
It seems that "Inner Dynasty" is a double-edged sword, but Zhao Hongrun is not worried at all that he will be ignored, because the officials he selected from the Inner Dynasty are not from the same faction.
For example, Lin Yuyang, Yu Ziqi, and Feng Yu, three former ministers of Zhongshu, focused on the "theoretical school". They often put forward good suggestions, but sometimes good suggestions may not be applicable. Therefore, in the past, it was necessary for the Emperor Wei and the old Tai
His son Zhao Hongyu made the final decision; while Xu Guan, Li Liang, and Du You, the Minister of Rites, who is currently the head of the six departments of the outer dynasty, belong to the "practicalists". Compared with the best political decrees, they prefer to choose the most applicable ones.
Government decree.
It is for this reason that Yu Ziqi, the former Zhongshu Zuocheng, and Li Liang, the former Minister of Household Affairs, had political conflicts within a day after they became colleagues in the inner court of Chui Gong Hall.
Compared with these two parties, Jie Ziyu and Wen Qi represent the prince Zhao Run. However, currently, due to their lack of relevant experience, Zhao Hongrun has been placed at the bottom of the table, allowing them to learn from their colleagues.
"Everyone, everyone."
Just when the officials of the inner court were immersed in reviewing the memorials, Zhao Hongrun stepped in.
It has to be said that everyone present felt a little upset when they saw His Highness the Crown Prince, and there was a vague illusion that they had been deceived. It was promised that the inner court would assist the prince, but as a result, everyone in the inner court was immersed in suffering in Chuigong Hall.
Do it, but His Highness the Crown Prince has disappeared somewhere... Even if you don't do anything, you are still sitting in the palace and pretending!
Perhaps because they all had some 'grievance' in their hearts, everyone in the palace put down the brushes in their hands with a tacit understanding and looked at the Crown Prince without saying a word.
Being stared at by several resentful eyes, even Zhao Hongrun felt a little uncomfortable. After coughing, he said: "Ahem, everyone, please rest for a moment. In response to the civil unrest that occurred in Daliang a while ago... I have made a decision on my side.
Decide."
After hearing this, the ministers in the palace were shocked, and their eyes were not as resentful as before. After all, making a judgment on that rebellion was indeed a top priority.
"Your Highness, please give me your instructions." Du You, the Minister of Rites, said.
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun repeated what he had just said to Emperor Wei in the Manlu Palace: "I believe that the fault of this civil strife does not lie with King Yong or King Qing, but with the remnants of the Xiao family..."
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is trying to protect King Qing... No, is he trying to protect His Highnesses King Yan and King Huan?"
Everyone in the hall was an astute person, and they immediately grasped Zhao Hongrun's thoughts.
"The remnants of the Xiao family..."
Du You, the Minister of Rites, stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then asked tentatively: "Does His Highness the Crown Prince want to reveal Xiao Luan's identity?"
In fact, after the Zhongyang Rebellion a few years ago, Zhao Ying and Zhao Que, the adopted daughters of King Yi Zhao Yuanli, had already painted Xiao Luan's appearance. After that, the imperial court issued a wanted order for Xiao Luan based on this portrait.
, but at that time, the court did not announce Xiao Luan's exact origin.
Now, since His Highness the Crown Prince intends to make Xiao Luan the culprit of the civil strife, the court has no choice but to announce Xiao Luan's identity as the "former Crown Prince of Nan Yan Marquis" and reveal some of Xiao Ni's actions over the years.
, only in this way can it be convincing.
But in this case, it is very likely to reveal some of the things that His Majesty had painstakingly covered up back then.
Thinking of this, Du You inevitably had some worries in his heart.
As if he had guessed Du You's worries, Zhao Hongrun comforted him and said, "I have just discussed this matter with my father, and my father has given me full authority to handle this matter..."
After hearing this, Du You, the Minister of Rites, no longer had any worries, nodded and said: "In this case, I kindly ask you to draft an edict immediately."
Zhao Hongrun nodded and said with a serious face: "In the proposed edict, Xiao Luan, the prince of Nan Yanhou, instigates civil strife among the kings and wants to overthrow the country. He is an unforgivable evil and everyone will be punished. He is wanted by the whole country, regardless of his life or death! ... Hiding Xiao Luan
Those who are found guilty will be punished as traitors; if anyone obtains Xiao Luan's head, regardless of high or low birth, innocent or not, he will be made a noble prince and rewarded with one hundred thousand gold!"
"Regardless of high or low birth, innocent or not?"
The ministers in the palace were slightly stunned, and they suddenly understood: His Highness the Crown Prince's move was probably to induce Xiao Ni's members to betray Xiao Luan.
"As for Prince Qing..." Zhao Hongrun paused for a moment and continued: "Li Ling was out of his wits and was instigated by traitors. He launched a war indiscriminately and plunged Daliang into turmoil. The crime is also unpardonable. He cut off the king's title for the people... I thought that he was betrayed by traitors.
Use it, let’s keep it in the genealogy for the time being, and keep it in the clan house for twenty years as a warning to others!”
After a pause, he continued: "The King of Yan, Zhao Jiang, and the King of Huan, Zhao Xuan, did not know what was going on, so they launched a war indiscriminately and reduced their rank to one rank. They ordered Zhao Jiang and Zhao Xuan to guard the border for ten years to make up for their mistakes."
Hearing this, all the ministers in the palace looked at each other and smiled knowingly: Sure enough, His Highness the Crown Prince is here to protect King Yan and King Huan.
No, for such a big thing as raising an army to attack Daliang, in the end, except for King Zhao Jiang of Yan, who demoted his title to "Marquis of Yan", and King Huan, Zhao Xuan, to "Marquis of Huan", these two highnesses did nothing - what, guarding the border for ten years?
Zai? Come on, Zhao Hongjiang and Zhao Hongxuan were princes who volunteered to guard the border for Wei. Is this considered punishment?
"Your Highness, where is the King of Nanliang?"
Du You, the Minister of Rites, waited for a long time and heard nothing more, so he asked.
Zhao Hongrun thought for a moment after hearing this.
In the civil strife in Daliang this time, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Southern Liang, also had a big problem - this does not refer to the fact that this person assisted Qing Wang Zhao Hongxin in the rebellion, but to Sun Mou, Marquis of Huzhou, Feng Shu, Marquis of Yuanling, Zhao Jian, Marquis of Wanlong, and Marquis of Gaoyang.
Jiang Dan, Pingcheng Hou Li Yang, Kuangcheng Hou Jiyan and several other Qingwang nobles, as well as their bodyguards, died "inexplicably" during the rebellion.
According to the results of the Zongfu's inquiry, these nobles died in the hands of the Imperial Guards, but such words would only deceive those who did not know.
Zhao Hongrun would not believe it at all.
Are you kidding me? Will these marquises personally go into battle to fight against the imperial guards? These people are nobles. How many of the princes and nobles in the Kingdom of Wei can fight?
Rather than saying that this group of people were unfortunately killed during a fight with the imperial guards, Zhao Hongrun believed that it was Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, who ordered the anti-rebellion army to kill these nobles for some reason.
After all, according to the confessions of some imperial guards, these nobles followed the Southern Liang King Zhao Yuanzuo into Daliang City.
Of course, to be honest, Zhao Hongrun didn't care why Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo killed those nobles. After all, he not only had no friendship with the murdered nobles, but even had some grudges.
The problem is how to deal with Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang.
To be honest, with Zhao Hongrun's current power and status, it is actually a very easy thing to want Zhao Yuanzuo, the King of Southern Liang, to die.
But, is it a pity to do so?
After all, apart from him, who would rarely have the chance to lead an army again in the future, the only two commanders in Wei who were best at leading troops in battle were King Yu of Yu, Zhao Yuanqi, and King of Nanliang, Zhao Yuanzuo. Apart from that, even if
Sima An is guarding the west of the river, Wei Ji, the lord of Lintao, is guarding the east of the river, and the general Shao Hu is guarding. Compared with the first two, I am afraid they are still a little bit behind.
What's more important is that King Yu Zhao Yuanqi's health has always been poor and he cannot sustain a long war.
In other words, the only commander that Wei can dispatch in the future who has the ability to "destroy a country" is Zhao Yuanzuo, the King of Nanliang.
However, Wei State is destined to have a larger-scale war with South Korea and Chu State in the future.
Then the problem comes.
Regarding Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, should he kill him or keep him?
From the perspective of the former "King Su Zhao Run", it would be better to get rid of people like the King of Nan Liang as soon as possible. After all, what the King of Nan Liang Zhao Yuanzuo can do, he "King Su Zhao Run" can also do, and even
It can be done better than the former.
But now, Zhao Hongrun is the prince of the country. If nothing unexpected happens, he has basically lost the possibility of personally leading the army. In this case, the value of Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, has been reflected.
What's more important is that if Zhao Hongrun orders the execution of Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Southern Liang, Wei will actually lose not only the latter, a commander with the ability to "destroy a country", but also at least Pang Huan, Meng Luo and others.
The generals who can stand alone will even disintegrate the elite suppressing rebel army. This is a big loss for the Wei State who is currently conquering Song County and is about to conquer the Hetao area.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hongrun frowned and said: "Let's put aside the treatment of King Nanliang for the time being... Gao Li sent someone to inform the Zongfu and asked the Zongfu to send someone to bring King Nanliang into the palace. I want to see him."
"yes!"
The young eunuch Gao Li responded.
As the prince, Zhao Hongrun decided to give Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, a chance for the overall interests of Wei State.
And perhaps even the King of Southern Liang, Zhao Yuanzuo, had not expected this.