Chang'an, Chengtian Hall of Xianyang Palace, Emperor Qin is aloof and expressionless.
Wang Ben was suppressed by Zhao Gao's breath, and he knelt in the middle unable to move.
Accompanying Wang Ben, it was Wang Li who knelt there willingly.
On Wang Ben's left side, the victims of the "Western Region Rebellion" were also kneeling, including the envoys from the Western Regions countries who came to Chang'an to complain.
They were looking at Emperor Qin with sorrow on their faces, waiting for this master to make the decision for the "victim" countries in the Western Regions and to deal with the culprit Wang Bi.
Standing on the right side of Wang Ben was another group of "sufferers", a group of powerful people from Qin led by the Wu family. They looked at Wang Ben coldly, waiting to see his misfortune.
Emperor Qin looked at Wang Ben who was struggling to break away. He couldn't help but frown slightly and said slowly: "Wang Ben, do you know your guilt?"
Wang Ben replied proudly: "Reporting to your Majesty, I am not guilty. The countries in the Western Regions intend to cause chaos. As the chief officer of the Protectorate of the Western Regions, it is natural for me to destroy them. Not only is I not guilty, but I have meritorious service in killing the enemy. Please tell me clearly."
The envoy from Loulan Kingdom, who was kneeling on the left side of Wang Ben, looked at Wang Ben with red eyes and said angrily: "You are talking nonsense, Wang Ben, you insulted my princess of the Western Regions, trampled on the dignity of our Western Regions, and destroyed the country at every turn.
Those countries that could not stand the humiliation and only rose up to resist, please ask His Majesty, the Supreme Emperor of Qin, for his enlightenment."
Wang Ben didn't take it seriously and said: "What do you mean by insulting your princess? Aren't I, the Qin soldiers, not qualified to be your consorts? It's just that there are too many people who are your consorts, and your princess is delicate and frail, so she can't bear it.
"
The Loulan envoy was so angry that he vomited blood, kowtowed fiercely to Emperor Qin and said: "Please make the decision, His Majesty the Emperor."
Emperor Qin's eyes showed a cold light and he did not speak.
Zhao Gao took a step forward and scolded: "Wang Ben, you act so wantonly and don't know how to repent. Do you want to die?"
Unexpectedly, these words directly angered Wang Ben. He looked at Zhao Gao with burning eyes and said word by word: "If your Majesty really wants to kill such loyal ministers as Wei Chen, who are loyal to the country,
I have nothing to say, but I just want to die."
Zhao Gao was horrified when he heard this, and carefully took a look at Emperor Qin's face. However, Emperor Qin's face was expressionless, and there was no sign of happiness or anger.
Zhao Gao quickly scolded: "Wang Ben, shut up, is your Majesty someone who is good at killing heroes?"
Then he changed the subject and said: "Now that all the countries in the Western Region have complained to His Majesty, do you still want to be so stubborn?"
Wang Ben just snorted coldly: "I have said that all the countries in the Western Regions are rebellious ministers and traitors. They deserve to die. I am not guilty. If you want to kill loyal ministers for no reason, I, Wang Ben, will admit it."
Emperor Qin looked at the others in the palace and asked slowly: "What do you think?"
As a guest of one of the nine ministers, Wu Yanchang, the head of the Wu family, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the countries in the Western Regions are vassal states of the Qin Dynasty, and the people of the Western Regions are also the subjects of the Qin Dynasty. Wang Ben acted recklessly and brutally.
According to Qin law, the people of the Western Regions should be punished with death."
The people standing behind Wu Yanchang jumped out one after another and said: "Your Majesty, Wang Ben deliberately provoked chaos in the Western Regions, seriously affecting the tribute of the Western Regions, and should be severely punished."
"This humiliation of the princesses of the Western Regions shows moral decline and should be severely punished."
Anyway, no one standing on the field planned to let Wang Ben off easily.
The envoys from the countries in the Western Regions kowtowed repeatedly: "Please ask His Majesty the Emperor to make the decision."
Wang Li, who was kneeling next to Wang Ben, couldn't hold back his anger and said quickly: "Your Majesty, please listen to what I have to say."
All other voices suddenly disappeared. Emperor Qin looked at Wang Li and said calmly: "Say."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Wang Li bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, please tell me clearly that our Wang family has been loyal for generations, and my father must have unintentionally caused this situation. Moreover, I heard from my father that he had no intention of forcing the countries in the Western Regions to rebel.
I hope Your Majesty will be extra merciful and give you a lenient sentence."
"The Wang family doesn't want to embarrass Your Majesty. According to Qin law, meritorious deeds can be used to offset sins. Wang Li is willing to use the two marquis positions of the Wang family in exchange for my father's lenient treatment. I hope Your Majesty will do it."
After saying this, Wang Li kowtowed three times respectfully.
After hearing this, Emperor Qin's expression remained unchanged. He turned to look at Li Si and asked, "What do you think, Prime Minister?"
Li Si bowed and replied: "Wang Ben is guilty, but his crime does not lead to death."
Emperor Qin said calmly: "Oh, what do you think the prime minister should do with Wang Ben?"
Li Si looked at Wang Ben, then at Wang Li, cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to your majesty, according to my humble opinion, death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be escaped. However, Wang Ben is a noble prince, so he can take two steps."
"First, deprive Wang Bentong of his position as Marquis of Wu, demote him to a commoner, and make him shut up for three years to reflect on his past, as a warning to others. This is in line with the article in the Qin Code that meritorious deeds should be used to offset sins."
"Second, when Wang Li is appointed to take over the charge of the Western Region Protectorate, he must properly appease the countries in the Western Region. If he cannot do so, Wang Li will also be removed from the position of Marquis of Wucheng. Whatever the Wang family causes must be resolved by the Wang family themselves. What do you think, Your Majesty?
"
Emperor Qin nodded slightly and said: "It's not satisfactory. Wang Ben's punishment is a little lighter, but for the sake of the loyalty of the Wang family and Hu Hai's special plea to me, just follow what the Prime Minister said. Everyone, please step down."
After Emperor Qin settled the matter, Wu Yanchang and others' expressions immediately became extremely ugly, but they could only suppress their dissatisfaction and said with cupped hands: "I obey the order."
Among the countries in the Western Region, even though the envoys from the Loulan Kingdom were unwilling to do so, no one dared to show the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.
On the other hand, Wang Li's face showed joy and he thanked Emperor Qin repeatedly. To be honest, this result was beyond his expectation. He originally planned to use his and Wang Ben's thrones in exchange for Wang Ben's innocence.
Unexpectedly, he could still retain his position. As for putting down the chaos in the Western Regions, in Wang Li's opinion, it couldn't be easier. The Protectorate of the Western Regions took the initiative to stop. The countries in the Western Regions didn't want to be destroyed, so they would naturally know what to do.
Hu Hai begged for mercy? After chewing these words, Wang Li couldn't help but think of Lin Ze's face in his mind, and silently thought in his heart: "Is this the first time I have taken action three times?"
Then he stopped thinking about it, took his father with him, bowed to Emperor Qin together, and slowly withdrew.
Wu Yanchang also left with a group of people, but not long after he left the palace gate, Zhao Gao caught up and said, "Wudian guest, wait a minute."
Wu Yanchang turned around with a smile on his face and said, "What are the orders from Zhongshu Ling?"
Zhao Gao smiled calmly and said: "We don't have any orders, but His Majesty asked me to bring something to Dianke. The recent expansion of Lishan Mausoleum has cost a lot of money and the internal treasury is tight. I hope Dianke and other families can each donate millions of gold."
, lest Lishan Mausoleum cannot be expanded."
One million gold? There are six families here in total, that’s six million. Wu Yanchang’s face twitched, but he had to bow and reply: “I obey the order.”
Based on Wu Yanchang's experience, he didn't know that this was Emperor Qin's warning to himself and others. Since he intends to plot against me for the sake of profit, I will let you know what loss is.
Naturally, Wu Yanchang did not dare to refuse. If he asked for money and refused to give it, his life would be in danger.
Zhao Gao was quite satisfied with Wu Yanchang's attitude, so he said "take care of yourself" and turned to leave.
…
Not to mention, in order to help his father escape guilt and protect the interests of the Wang family, Wang Li took the strong men of the Wang family and set off for the Western Regions the next day.
Wang Ben was deposed and imprisoned in the palace. He kept drinking at home every day. When he was drunk, he talked nonsense and frequently beat and scolded his servants, which made the whole Wang family panic.
That day, Wang Ben got drunk again, ran to the back house, and insulted him.
However, the person living in the back house is Wang Ben's Xu Xian, the daughter of Emperor Qin, Princess Wu Lei.
Long before Wang Jian passed away, Wang Ben quarreled with her at every turn and even lived in separate rooms. Although Princess Wu Lei was a royal princess, she had a weak temperament. Instead of going to complain to Emperor Qin, she hid in a deep house and secretly
Sad.
Now Wang Ben came over and cursed again, using all kinds of filthy words. Princess Wu Tear couldn't help but ran out and said: "Master Hou, that's enough for you. How can you behave like a dignified man, acting like a resentful woman every day?"
?”
Wang Ben became furious after hearing this and cursed fiercely: "Bitch, it's not all the fault of you, a bitch, how dare you say that to me?"
"If your father hadn't killed my father for no reason, how could I, Wang Ben, have fallen into such a situation?"
Princess Wu Lei said in disbelief: "What are you talking nonsense about? How could my father harm my father-in-law? Didn't my father-in-law die of a relapse of an old illness? That's what the imperial doctors said."
Wang Ben sneered repeatedly: "The imperial physician? The imperial physician is not your father's dog. How dare the dog disobey the dog owner's orders?"
Of course Princess Wutear would not believe it, and said angrily: "You are talking nonsense, my father is not such a person."
Wang Ben could not tolerate Princess Wu's "quibbles", so he stepped forward and slapped her to the ground, and said viciously: "You still dare to quibble."
The tearless princess lay on the ground and covered her cheeks for a long time without reacting. She was actually beaten? As a princess, she has always been supported by others since she was a child. The first time someone beat her, this person was still in her name.
's husband.
After the slap, Wang Ben also woke up. Looking at the tearless princess lying on the ground, he felt a flash of guilt in his heart. Then he remembered that she was the daughter of his "enemy" and snorted coldly: "Next time I dare to quibble."
, I’ll hit you right.” After saying that, he walked away.
…
In the Hall of Yangxin, Grand Commander bowed his body and told the story of what happened in the Wucheng Hou Mansion.
Emperor Qin's face was cold, a trace of murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and he said coldly: "In that case, you can send him on his way."
Da Si Ming took the order and left.
…
The next day, the cleaning maid walked into Wang Ben's room and found Wang Ben with a ferocious face and a lifeless expression. She screamed on the spot: "It's a murderer." Then she fainted.
This immediately alerted other people in the mansion. The Wang family sent people to notify Wang Li, who was in the Western Regions, and also sent people to report the case to Tingwei's mansion.
Being able to quietly kill someone as powerful as Wang Ben in the Wuchenghou Mansion was beyond their ability to handle. Besides, with Wang Ben's status, there was no way he could die quietly.
Half an hour later, Tingwei Mansion rushed to the scene and took away Wang Ben's body.
One day later, news of Wang Ben's sudden death spread throughout Chang'an City.