When the prince heard the emperor's words, his face turned even paler.
The emperor did not ask about the result or the reason, only what he was thinking at the time.
This clearly did not give him a chance to defend himself.
This was the first time that the emperor treated him like this. If it were just the father and son, he would have immediately admitted his mistake to his father.
But now, there are more than a dozen officials standing in the palace, all of whom are important ministers of the court. The prince kneeling here is not only a son, but also a prince. What will happen to the ministers in the eyes of the ministers if he admits his mistake?
"Your Majesty." An official of the prince knelt down and kowtowed, "Your Highness did not mean this. The situation was too critical at that time. There were also villagers in Shanghe Village who colluded with these people. It is difficult to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, so Your Highness has to be cautious."
The prince's subordinate officials and officials in Xijing at that time also spoke one after another.
"Your Majesty, this group of people has done many evil things and is so vicious that they have made people in Xijing uneasy."
"Your Majesty, this is not His Highness the Crown Prince's fault, this is the evil people doing the evil."
But this matter was so important that some officials stood up and asked: "Then why was this matter concealed in the first place? The Shanghe Village case was announced to the public a few days later. It was about the robbery of the criminals, and they continued to pursue the criminals with great fanfare. There was no
Did you say that the villain died on the spot?"
So everyone in Xijing was shocked by this incident, but they didn't think too much about it.
"What's the point of saying such a thing?" an official retorted, "it will only make the city unstable and the people's hearts more chaotic."
There was another quarrel in the palace, interrupting the question and answer session between the emperor and the prince.
In the Queen's palace who was inquiring about the news, the fifth prince was restless and looked anxious: "Does the father really want to punish the prince?"
The queen sneered: "If you want to punish the prince, you must first abolish me, otherwise I will not let it go. The prince has worked hard in Xijing and suffered a lot. Now that the world is peaceful, he will use this little thing to punish him."
Punish the prince?"
"Don't worry, Queen." The fifth prince said, "This is someone trying to frame the prince." He turned to the eunuch standing by and asked: "Have the other princes passed by?"
Although the emperor did not summon the princes after such a big incident happened, the prince's brothers naturally had to kneel outside the palace to show that they were guilty of the same crime as the prince's brothers and to support the prince.
The prince rarely angered the emperor, but there had been one or two disputes about court affairs. When the emperor scolded the prince, everyone did the same thing. Seeing that the brothers were united, the emperor calmed down.
The eunuch shook his head tremblingly: "No, no."
The fifth prince was stunned: "What does "no" mean?"
"That's right, no one is going." The eunuch raised his head and said, "The second prince said that the important matter is decided by your majesty and he cannot interfere, so he didn't go. The third prince was busy making plans to recruit soldiers and said he couldn't leave. The fourth prince said
Seeing that no one is going, just——"
The fifth prince raised his foot and kicked him. The eunuch hugged his belly and knelt on the ground. He didn't dare to cry or cry out in pain. Hearing the fifth prince angrily cursed, "These villains!" he rushed past him and rushed out.
When the fifth prince came to the main hall, he was not blocked and entered smoothly.
There was a lot of noise in the palace, the prince was kneeling in front and the prince was sitting on the dragon chair. The fifth prince went over and knelt with the prince.
The emperor glanced at him, raised his hand and shouted: "Okay, everyone, shut up."
The arguing in the palace stopped, the emperor stood up and walked down a few steps.
"What you said all makes sense." He said, "But that's not what I'm asking."
He looked at the prince.
"Let me rephrase my question. Jinrong, you said you didn't have a chance to reflect and think about it. Then I ask you, if the bandits held the lives of the people in Shanghe Village hostage and forced you to retreat, waiting for you to choose, what would you choose?"
The palace became quiet, and the prince's heart became cold. His father was determined to accuse him.
He was cruel and ruthless by choosing to ignore the lives of the villagers.
Choosing to save the lives of the villagers and letting the bandits go will not only gain a kind heart but also incompetence.
The most important thing is that this is just a hypothesis. In fact, the bandits and villagers are dead, so what is the conclusion in everyone's mind?
Naturally, he was the one who massacred the village——
The fifth prince shouted "Father——"
The emperor shouted: "I didn't ask you, are you a prince? Do you want to be a prince?"
The emperor was indeed furious. He shouted such words, and the fifth prince's face froze.
Now that things have come to an end, the only way to overcome this hurdle is to first pass it. The prince raised his head and said, "Father, my son——"
As soon as the prince spoke, an old voice sounded outside the palace: "Your Majesty, this matter is not a matter of choice for His Royal Highness."
It was the voice of General Iron Mask. Everyone in the palace looked over and saw General Iron Mask walking in, followed by two generals, holding two boxes in their hands.
The emperor's face was solemn: "General, what do you mean?"
The iron-faced general saluted and said: "Those bandits are not the real people of Xijing, but the troops stationed in Xijing by the King of Qi."
What? That’s how it is? There was a sudden shock in the palace.
"Their purpose is to disrupt the city and your Majesty's rear while they are moving the capital." General Ironface continued, "So no matter what the prince decides, the people of Shanghe Village are doomed."
The emperor looked hesitant, while the prince knelt on the ground and his cold heart gradually warmed up. He bowed his head and choked with sobs: "It's because of my incompetence that I didn't know this."
An official asked: "General, do you have any evidence? We have verified the identities of these rebels afterwards, and they are indeed citizens of Xijing."
The iron-faced general said: "These people were placed in Xijing by the King of Qi many years ago. They are extremely secretive. If the capital of Qi had not been recovered and the soldiers and horses of Qi had not been counted, the old minister would not have discovered them." He turned around and pointed at the two generals behind him.
's box.
"The number of soldiers and horses in the State of Qi is always wrong. I have been investigating for a long time and found out that one of them is in Xijing."
"The old minister arranged for people to search in Xijing. It was only recently that he learned that he had been wiped out, but because his identity was not leaked, there was no news."
"This is a record that can be traced back ten years. The names and origins of these people, what identities they went to Xijing under, and what names they changed can be traced."
"Your Majesty, please take a look."
A military general stepped forward and raised the box, and Eunuch Jinzhong came down personally to present the box to the emperor.
The emperor took a few pieces of paper, glanced at them, and said nothing.
"The old minister thought that the Shanghe Village case was aimed at the prince, so no matter what the prince thought, those villagers would definitely die. Fortunately, the prince was decisive." The iron-faced general said, looking at the prince kneeling on the ground, "otherwise, let these people go.
, there will be another Shanghe Village case, and the orphan of Shanghe Village suddenly appears at this moment, also to slander the prince."
"The prince's reputation has been tarnished and the Eastern Palace is in turmoil. His Majesty must also be upset. Coupled with the vicious massacre of the village, the country and the people are in panic."
"These orphans hid themselves extremely secretly, silently, and suddenly appeared in the capital. This is not something a few orphans can do."
"Since I found out that the Shanghe Village case involved the soldiers of the King of Qi, I immediately traced whether there were any accomplices from that year. After the orphans from Shanghe Village appeared, the whereabouts of those people also appeared. The veteran has arrested them.
Several of them are being escorted back to Beijing at this time. This is the record of the interrogation."
He then signaled to another general behind him, who stepped forward and lifted the other box.
The emperor took it, glanced at it a few more times, and smashed both boxes down angrily.
"King Qi, my son!" he shouted, "You will never repent! You are still rampant today!"
All the ministers in the palace were busy saluting, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
The prince also leaned over and shouted, "My son is incompetent." Tears also flowed down, but at this time his tears and body were all warm.
Even if the emperor is angry to death, it will have nothing to do with him.
