The emperor leaned on the pillow and stared at the roof, his deep eyes flickering, and he said calmly for a long time: "Are there no other clues? For such a big matter, you are in charge of the Imperial City Department, but you only found such a few clues?"
Ma Shunde's face turned pale and he kowtowed quickly: "I am a slave who is incompetent! Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
Seeing Ma Shunde kowtow repeatedly, sadness emerged in the emperor's heart.
However, the sadness that arose in my heart was not due to Ma Shunde's miserable appearance at the moment. He was just a domestic slave. What dignity did he need?
"Alas, King Qi..."
The emperor thought of his family's mess, and he usually doted on King Qi, but what did this son give him in return?
The King of Qi secretly stockpiled armored soldiers, but he actually believed it.
To put it bluntly, false accusations start with those areas that are difficult to implement and frightening to think about.
It is rare to start with an armored soldier that is easy to spot.
The emperor stared at the silk curtain with gloomy eyes and remained silent for a long time.
Although he was clear-minded in his heart, he almost preferred to believe that it was a lie. Otherwise, as a father and an emperor, wouldn't he have failed in some aspects?
Nowadays, people outside dare not say anything about him openly, but he knows what they think of him in their hearts without having to guess.
Do you even want your own son to rebel against you?
Those old eyes were already narrowed when they looked at Ma Shunde.
It cannot be said that this slave is not loyal enough.
But even if he knew that Ma Shunde was loyal to his duties and was involved in the private accumulation of armored soldiers by the King of Qi, when he reported it to this person, he still couldn't help but feel a bit cold.
Yes, it is true that his son, King Qi, privately accumulated armor and soldiers and had nothing to do with Ma Shunde. Ma Shunde even reported the matter to let himself know, so that he could prepare in advance so that he would not make mistakes when it happened.
But what is a slave? It is used by the master to vent his anger.
For a moment, the emperor even wanted to kill the crow with a stick.
This world lacks everything but loyal servants.
"My slave is incompetent! Your Majesty, forgive me!" Ma Shunde knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead turned blue, and naturally he couldn't see the Emperor's eyes.
Zhao Bingzhong stood bowed and said nothing. Looking at this scene, he just felt like he had seen it before.
His eyes also fell on the kneeling Ma Shunde, and a feeling of relief and a little sadness rose up mixed with it.
You, Ma Shunde, have this day too!
After all, when he was in trouble, Ma Shunde directly added insult to injury and robbed the Imperial City Division, causing his status to plummet.
When I saw what happened to Ma Shunde, I naturally felt that retribution had arrived.
But it's more sad.
"Alas, the power of the Emperor is unpredictable..."
Zhao Bingzhong bowed and stared at the candles silently, his pupils sparkling, and he knew clearly in his heart that he was in such a situation. Was it really just Ma Shunde who added insult to injury?
It's not that the emperor gave up on himself and didn't even care about the hard work, he wouldn't have let himself fall into that situation.
"Flowing water does not rot, door hinges do not become beetles. This is a nice saying, but to a certain extent, it is just like the merits and demerits do not equal each other. It is nothing more than burning the bridge across the river."
"Ma Shunde is dead."
If you want to be loyal, whoever is disloyal will still die if you are loyal.
"Your Majesty, if you hadn't left any room for your empress, your grandson, or your slaves, how could you have reached this point?"
Zhao Bingzhong felt sad in his heart. Since the last time he submitted his petition, he had no room for regret. He turned his eyes and thought of the words sent by the Empress.
At that time, I felt something in my heart - are the grandson and the empress finally going to take action?
At that time, I was still thinking about what kind of trigger would be used to launch it.
Unexpectedly, it was such a big move from the beginning.
Let’s start with the story of the King of Qi privately accumulating armor. What a great move!
Ma Shunde was kneeling on the ground with a bruise on his forehead. Feeling the emperor's gaze, his heart felt cold.
"Where are the files?" Finally, the emperor said coldly.
When Ma Shunde heard the emperor asked about the file, if he was granted amnesty, he knelt down and crawled a few steps, hurriedly took out the file and presented it to him.
Zhao Bingzhong took it and handed it to the emperor who was sitting on the bed.
"Let me see, which guard is from Qianhu..."
The emperor opened the file and looked through it with squinted eyes.
At first glance, I couldn't see it clearly, but when I got closer and finally saw the content clearly, the emperor suddenly changed his color.
In the palace, one could still hear Ma Shunde kneeling there and kowtowing repeatedly, saying: "...Your Majesty, please forgive me. I ordered someone to check carefully. There is only this file, and there is no specific number of the Guards. It must be
The file clerk failed in his duty, so he did not record which guard army he belonged to... But since he has a name, surname, and year number, if he goes through the detailed files, he will definitely find out..."
Ma Shunde's forehead was already bruised, but he still kept kowtowing: "Your Majesty, if you give me a few more days, I will definitely lead the Imperial City Department to find out all eight generations of this person's ancestors..."
"shut up!"
The emperor suddenly roared, and Ma Shunde was so shocked that he froze there. He even forgot to kowtow, and even subconsciously looked up.
Looking around, he saw that after the emperor roared, his face turned pale and his cheeks were slightly flushed. The madness mixed with morbidity made Ma Shunde tremble.
He didn't understand at all that his words could cause such a big reaction from the emperor.
Is it because he didn't find out which guard unit Huo Lianqi was in?
No, probably not!
Ma Shunde was deep in thought while the lightning was flashing. He was trying to figure out what he meant, and he had some insights. He could not fail to see that he did say something wrong, but it was not because of what he said, but because of the person he said it to.
Huo Lianqi, is there really a big problem?
The problem is so big that even the records of which guard army he was in have been erased?
In hindsight, Ma Shunde vaguely guessed something, and suddenly his back became wet.
"Your Majesty, please stop being angry!"
The emperor shouted at the top of his lungs and was about to say something, but immediately lost his temper and gasped again and again. Zhao Bingzhong on the side had already been prepared and had come over with a jade cup and carefully served the emperor to drink it in one gulp.
The wine with a strong medicinal smell flowed down the throat and soon exerted its power. The warm current spread along the stomach and spread everywhere.
Zhao Bingzhong put the empty cup aside and helped the emperor slowly lie down.
Ma Shunde was kneeling on the ground, as stiff as a stone statue. He didn't dare to get up or say a word, he just lay there.
Hu Huaian even dared not move to take care of the emperor with Zhao Bingzhong and report the matter with Ma Shunde. He would rather be invisible at the moment and not be remembered by the angry emperor.
Although he did not report this matter, who knows if the emperor will also be angry at himself when he is furious?
However, when the emperor defeated Ma Shunde, his opportunity came.
Thinking this, Hu Huaian glanced at Ma Shunde and stood aside, motionless.
After a while, the lying emperor's expression gradually improved, but he did not get up immediately, but just lay there.
"Shence Army Qian Huo Lianqi!"
The moment he saw the document, the emperor remembered it as if he was enlightened.
Among all the armies of the founding of the People's Republic of China, this one was the only one. Not only the number was cut off, but also the history was cut off. Even if it had to be recorded, the number of the people it belonged to was not mentioned.
Twenty years later, the emperor thought that he was gradually forgetting it, but at this time, he realized that this was Taizu's thorn and his own thorn.
It was so vivid and painful that the emperor could not help but murmur.
It’s been thirty years, and you’re still not willing to die obediently?