I, the queen and the father, start with a deer as a horse

If we say that at the beginning, everyone gathered to watch and ask Mr. Zhan with a spectator attitude.

At this moment, when I saw the gold and silver treasures in the car, I felt more or less dissatisfied.

These martial arts do not need to do anything on weekdays, and they can have so many treasures.

But they wear the stars and wear the moon and work hard, but they can barely eat.

How can there be such a reason in the world!

It would be fine if the warriors made contributions to the imperial court.

After all these years, they have never won a single battle!
It's a loss anyway, it's better to send them to the battlefield!
At the very least, they don't need that much silver on weekdays!
With this idea.

Some diners gritted their teeth and scolded: "These dog bastards who scrape the bones and suck the marrow, let alone beheaded, even if they are put to death, it is not an exaggeration!"

When everyone heard this, they all felt the same way, wishing to drag the remaining martial arts to Caishikou for execution!
Just when they were filled with righteous indignation.

A yamen servant from Dali Temple came over and raised his voice:
"Today at noon, Caishikou asked Lord Zhan!"

After speaking, without stopping, turned and left.

When the people onlookers heard this, they looked at each other in blank dismay.

Someone yelled, "Go! Beheaded!"

Yi Renju became lively in an instant.

Things like asking Mr. Zhan are rare.

If you miss today, you may never see it again in your lifetime.

Thinking of this.

The faces of the diners were all excited, and they didn't even bother to drink.

Following behind the team escorting Wu Xun, he wanted to witness this once-in-a-century grand occasion.

In various parts of Chang'an, the search of homes is still going on.

However, all the Wu Xun on the list of punishing ministers were sent to Caishikou in the north of the city by guards.

Four dukes, eleven marquises, and seven earls.

These honorable nobles who were usually high above all lowered their heads at this moment, their hands and feet were imprisoned by chains, and under the leadership of the guards, they moved step by step towards their positions.

behind them.

A long chain locked hundreds of family members of criminal officials.

They are these honorable three clans - father clan, brother clan and son clan.

When these people arrived at their positions, they were immediately pinned to the ground by the executioner.

After putting on the blindfold, unspeakable fear spread in my heart.

moment!

The entire vegetable market entrance was drowned out by the sound of howling ghosts and wolves.

Wu Liang, Duke of Liang who supervised the beheading, saw this scene with complicated expressions and a lot of emotions.

As one of the three surviving princes.

From the time Fang Xiu created the new army, he chose not to care about worldly affairs, and to protect himself wisely.

During the period, he was often ridiculed by the four princes in front of him, saying that his life's soft bones would sooner or later be fish on the chopping board.

Today, these four unyielding princes are kneeling in front of them.

His mood was a little heavy.

At the same time heavy, but also extremely fortunate.

A difference in thought has created a completely different situation.

If he had listened to the opinions of several people back then and tried to regain military power.

Now, there will probably be an extra duke in the imperial edict.

At this thought, Liang Guogong Wu Liang exhaled slowly, looked up at the sky, saw that the time was almost up, stood up, and said loudly: "It's noon, ask to be killed immediately!"

The voice fell.

The executioners raised their knives and fell.

A row of heads then hit the ground, rolled for a while, and finally stopped.

Followed by.

Someone came forward to dispose of the corpse.

The new criminal was brought up.

The hand raised the knife again, and the head fell to the ground.

From three quarters in the afternoon, less than half an hour.

Caishikou is already bleeding like a river!
The onlookers applauded loudly at first.

Seeing the back, but inexplicably feeling terrified, turned and left.

The one who was most terrified was Wu Liang, Duke of Liang, who was standing on the high platform.

After the questioning is over.

He returned to the palace.

Coming out of the palace and returning to the mansion, what happened at Caishikou kept reverberating in his mind.

As the Duke of the state, he has seen even more tragic scenes than this.

But, it wasn't that empathetic.

After all, just a year ago, these people who asked to beheaded today had chatted and laughed with him.

into the night.

Duke Liang was lying on the bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

As long as he closes his eyes, the scenes that happened before will continue to reverberate in his mind.

The moonlight is like water, piercing through the window and sprinkled on the ground.

A feeling of sadness, mixed with fear, gradually spread.

I do not know how long it has been.

The weather is getting colder.

Duke Liang, who was lying on the bed, trembled involuntarily.

Finally, he could no longer restrain the fear in his heart, got up from the bed, dressed neatly, and took out the iron coupon of the alchemy handed down from his ancestors.

Bring the grand master chair, sit in the courtyard, and look at the bright moon hanging in the night sky.

Thinking in my heart, I will go to the palace early tomorrow morning and ask His Majesty to cut off the title of the duke of another country.

Without the title, he would no longer be able to attract His Majesty's attention, and he could survive no matter what.

Duke Liang is not the only one who has the same idea.

The other two princes.

Duke Wei and Duke Qing also had the same thought after watching the execution.

Now, they have completely lost their military power, and they have no ability to resist in front of His Majesty.

The status of the Duke of the Kingdom certainly brings them supreme glory.

But the inability to match glory and strength has become a huge burden.

His Majesty's almost cruel attitude towards Wu Xun is like a sharp sword hanging over their heads, and it will fall at an unknown time.

From now on, they must be more cautious in Chang'an City, otherwise they may fall into the abyss if they are not careful!

That being the case, it is better to give up the status of the Duke of the state and become a rich man who enjoys life.

then.

The next day, early in the morning.

Liang Guogong, Wei Guogong, and Qing Guogong met unexpectedly in front of the palace.

"you."

The three princes looked at each other, all startled.

Immediately, they seemed to realize something. Looking at each other, there was a kind of sympathy for each other.

"Let's go together."

The oldest Duke Qing waved his hand and walked towards the palace.

Duke Liang and Duke Wei looked at each other, smiled in relief, and followed.

After half an hour.

Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Wu Mingkong sat on the dragon chair, looked at the three dukes in front of him, and said leisurely: "The three dukes didn't break the law, why do you want to cut off your title?"

Before the three princes came here, they had already thought about how to deal with this problem.

"Although the minister did not break the law, he did not make any meritorious service either. To be the Duke of the state is to receive the shadow of his ancestors."

Speaking of this, he paused and continued:
"It's human nature for the ancestors to follow the dragon and make great contributions to benefit the younger generations."

"It's just that in my view, the merits of the ancestors, the three generations of Yinze, are already a great grace of the emperor. If you want to maintain the title of duke in the future, you should make new contributions."

"I'm ashamed to say that I have inherited the title of Liang Guogong for 20 years. I have led troops to fight more than ten times, but I have never won a single battle."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the Empress.

"Duke Liang means that princes, generals, and ministers, would rather have a kindness, even if it is a hereditary title, do you want to make new achievements?"

As soon as this word comes out.

There was no sound in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Lord Liang obviously didn't expect the Empress to say such a thing, he was startled for a moment, then his face showed panic, his legs softened, he knelt down on the ground, and shouted: "Your Majesty! I have absolutely no such intention!"

Wu Mingkong glanced at him calmly, and said calmly: "I know what you think, I am just worried that one day, my guillotine will fall on your heads.

Today I can tell you clearly that as long as you keep yourselves in order and be loyal to the imperial court, what happened in the past will remain the same in the future. "

Her majesty the empress was so open and honest that the three princes were startled.

"His Majesty."

Duke Qing hesitated for a moment, looked at the Empress, and said, "Although the veteran has inherited the title of Duke, he has not inherited the ability to lead troops and fight.

In fact, not only veterans, but most of the martial arts of the imperial court, no matter martial arts or strategy, have been abandoned, not to mention the generals recommended by Xiang Xiang, even some ordinary people may not be able to match.

Therefore, the veteran thought that the martial arts of the hereditary title was no longer suitable for leading the army, and the military power should be handed over to those younger generations who could really fight.

The veteran has the courage to implore Your Majesty to remove the positions of military leaders of each battalion! "

The voice fell.

The other two princes subconsciously raised their eyes to look at the empress, and found that the empress's expression did not change at all.

They immediately realized what was going on, and hurriedly echoed: "Duke Qing's words are justified, I'll wait for your second opinion!"

Wu Mingkong glanced at them, and said indifferently: "There are people who are not good at leading troops in the hereditary martial arts, and naturally there are also people who are good at leading troops. These people are the foundation of my great leadership, and they cannot be easily removed. Official position, so as not to chill people's hearts."

The three princes fell silent when they heard this.

Both Duke Liang and Duke Wei showed doubts in their eyes, they didn't understand what His Majesty's words meant.

Only Duke Qing showed a thoughtful look on his face.

After a while, he spoke again: "Your Majesty, you really shouldn't treat different martial arts in the same way!"

"I just thought about it. Wu Xun, who is good at leading soldiers, is the foundation of my great leadership, but it is not appropriate for them to receive the same salary as Wu Xun who does not lead soldiers."

"Thus, I feel that the most important thing for the imperial court is to reduce the salary of the hereditary martial arts, and send this part of the money to the front line to supply the soldiers who fought bloody for the imperial court!"

The voice fell.

The other two dukes reacted in an instant, and they hurriedly agreed: "Duke Qing's words are justified, and I will second my opinion."

Wu Mingkong still looked calm, looked at the three of them expressionlessly, and said leisurely: "Then Duke Qing thinks, how to reduce the salary of the hereditary martial arts is appropriate?"

Hearing this question, Duke Qing showed a bit of embarrassment on his vicissitudes of face.

He knew in his heart that since His Majesty asked such a question, he must have prepared in advance.

If I said less, it would inevitably cause His Majesty's dissatisfaction and fear.

If you talk too much, you will shake your own interests.

In the midst of entanglement, I heard the voice of the empress.

"Just say what you think, I won't blame you."

Duke Qing woke up instantly when he heard the voice of the Empress without the slightest emotion.

Entering the palace to face the saint today is to be prepared to be stripped of his title.

Now that he can keep his title, even if all his salary is cut off, what's the point?
Thinking of this.

Duke Qing no longer hesitated, raised his eyes to look at the Empress, and said firmly:
"Now the imperial court is at a critical moment of confrontation with Yan and Zhou. The surrounding countries are all staring at the imperial court. The martial arts have been favored by the emperor for more than two hundred years. As the Duke of the state, the veteran is the leader of the martial arts. Lead by example!

The old minister has decided that from now on, he will no longer need any salary from the court, and the veteran is willing to hand over half of the land of Duke Qing's mansion to the court!
In addition, Duke Qing's mansion still has 50 taels of silver idle, and the veteran is willing to donate 30 taels to the court! "

These words spoke loudly.

Both Duke Liang and Duke Wei were taken aback.

"Don't need a little salary, but donate half of the land and 30 taels of silver. This...is a bit too much!"

Although the faces of the two dukes were expressionless, their hearts ached like blood.

Just at this time.

There was a sound of footsteps outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, followed by Qin Xingyan's voice.

"Minister Qin Xingyan, please see Your Majesty!"

"allow!"

After a few breaths.

Qin Xingyan, who was wearing a scarlet robe, walked into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

I saw the three princes kneeling on the ground.

He was slightly taken aback.

Immediately, as if realizing something, he withdrew his gaze, looked at the empress, first saluted, and then said seriously: "Your Majesty, the property of those criminal ministers has been confiscated. According to preliminary statistics, it is about 500 million taels when converted into silver! "

boom!
A muffled sound made the three princes tremble in fright.

Subconsciously raising her eyes, she saw the empress gritted her teeth and said with an angry look on her face:
"Before the imperial court sent troops to the Northern Expedition, it once called on hundreds of officials to donate silver. The sum of the donations of these martial arts is less than 50 taels of silver!"

"The family property that has not been confiscated now is 500 million taels! It is more than the sum of the national treasury and internal money!"

"Fortunately, they are still great nobles, and the court is so desperate at this critical moment! It's really abominable!"

Qin Xingyan stood aside, looked at the three princes, and found that they all showed panic, instantly understood the meaning of His Majesty's words, and echoed a few words with embellishments.

Speaking of this.

The three princes still don't understand His Majesty's intentions.

As soon as Qin Xingyan left, they rushed to express their opinions.

"I am willing to donate all the silver and half of the land!"

"The minister is also willing!"

Wu Mingkong looked at the three of them, with neither joy nor sorrow, and said lightly: "The three princes understand the righteousness, and I am very relieved, but the rest of the martial arts, I am afraid that they are not like the three princes, who are willing to fight with the court." Overcoming difficulties together.”

Duke Qing hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the old minister pledges his life, and all the military officials, whether it is a minister or other duke, or a marquis or an earl, all take pride in being able to share the worries of the court! The situation that your majesty said will never happen! "

Get such a guarantee.

Wu Mingkong nodded lightly, waved his hands and said, "In that case, I trust the three princes to settle this matter."

"?"

Duke Liang and Duke Wei were both startled.

It's not easy to get the Wu Xun to hand over their money and land willingly.

Even if they come forward, it will take a lot of energy.

Hey. This is His Majesty's trick!
Thinking this way in my heart, my face showed a solemn look, and I saluted one after another:
"The ministers will live up to His Majesty's trust!"