My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 605 Hurry up~
Why is it said that the bloodline and genes of the Zhou clan of Jianghou have some significance?
This is the second time in just two generations that the Zhou family has been embroiled in a lawsuit over this kind of matter.

— Zhou Bo, the first Marquis of Jiang, was imprisoned by Emperor Taizong for a similar matter.

The second Marquis of Tiao, Zhou Yafu, was imprisoned by Liu Rong for the same crime.

The Zhou family simply didn't have the intellect to summarize or learn from their experiences and lessons.

What left Liu Rong speechless was that Zhou Yang, the heir apparent, was, after all, a son of a military family;

How could someone be so brainless?
Don't they realize that in Chang'an, who would dare to accept an order for armor—a deal that could cost them their lives, especially one of five hundred sets? Aside from the Imperial Treasury, who else would dare?
The reason why the Chang'an court and the Han emperor tacitly approved of generals overstepping the bounds and regulations by having armor buried with them in the afterlife in the past was because the imperial treasury could also profit from this process.

After all, the armor used for funerals is completely different from the armor used on the battlefield. For the same price, it only needs to look decent.

With this money, the Imperial Treasury was able to eat with peace of mind and was quite 'full'.

The result was quite good.

Hou Shizi Zhou Yang, having failed to get his way for free, unwittingly found himself in a lawsuit with the Imperial Treasury!

What is the Imperial Treasury of the Imperial Household Department?
The purse strings of successive Han emperors were a historically significant state-owned department that practically proclaimed on its forehead, "My backer is the emperor!"
At the height of the Shaofu's power, Han emperors generally had the confidence that "as long as the Shaofu is in my hands, I dare to wage war against the whole world!"

What's the difference between Zhou Yang extorting the Imperial Treasury's funds and directly extorting Emperor Rong?
They can't even figure this out—they can't even figure out who they're doing business with or who they're extorting.
Liu Rong could only say: No wonder he is Zhou Yafu's son.

He perfectly inherited Zhou Yafu's political intelligence, which was practically zero.

With things escalating to this point, the aftermath is naturally predictable.

—Those few 'craftsmen,' or rather, the unofficial salesmen of the Shaofu, directly reported the matter to the Dali subordinate government;
Since the matter concerned five hundred sets of armor, a suspected act of treason, Zhao Yu of Dali dared not hesitate and immediately brought the matter to the imperial court.

In fact, Zhao Yu didn't need to do it.

Long before those 'craftsmen' went to the Shangguanli Marquis's mansion to ask for money and caused a ruckus, the story had already spread throughout Shangguanli.

If Zhou Yafu had been more influential and gained the favor of most of the nobles and relatives of the Marquis of Shangguanli, this matter might have been able to be suppressed.

If most of the members of the Shangguan faction were truly in cahoots, then the Minister of Justice, Zhao Yu, wouldn't dare to expose the matter.

In fact, if Zhou Yafu and Zhao Yu had had a better relationship, this matter might have taken a different turn.

Even if it were just out of consideration for their friendship, Zhao Yu might take a small risk and privately approach Liu Rong to say: "Your Majesty, there is such a matter that I am unsure whether I should bring it up in public. I would like to ask Your Majesty for your advice."

Liu Rong may have been furious, but ultimately suppressed his disgust, held his nose, and dealt with the matter privately.

For example, the execution of Marquis Zhou Yang's heir was publicly announced as a result of illness.

But with all these unfortunate circumstances converging, the matter ultimately headed in a direction most detrimental to Zhou Yafu and the Marquis of Tiao's household.

As the actual owner, or rather the user, of these funeral supplies, Zhou Yafu was unsurprisingly thrown into prison.

As the perpetrator, Hou Shizi Zhou Yang was directly arrested by the Dali government officials. In front of hundreds of noble families in Shangguanli, he was escorted to the former Tingwei prison, now the Dali prison.

Fortunately, in this life, Zhou Yafu did not act like he did in history, stubbornly insisting on his own way, saying "I won't explain, you can kill me or do whatever you want."

Furthermore, since Liu Rong did not have a strong desire to kill Zhou Yafu's family, the matter was handled relatively well thanks to Liu Rong's 'magnanimity'.

The case was ultimately determined to be: Marquis Zhou Yafu was unaware from beginning to end that his son Zhou Yang had over-ordered armor in order to purchase funeral supplies for himself.

Therefore, in this case, Zhou Yafu's ultimate culpability was: failing to properly educate his son.

Marquis Zhou Yafu was punished by being confined to his home for three months to reflect on his mistakes, and his fief of one thousand households was stripped from him as a warning to others.

Zhou Yang, the heir apparent of the Marquis of Tiao, violated regulations by wearing custom-made armor and was implicated in a plot to rebel!
Considering that his original intention was to hold a funeral for his father, and that he did not have any malicious intent, his crime was reduced by one degree, and he was allowed to retain his dignity.

As for those few 'craftsmen,' they gave Liu Rong a bit of a headache.

—As a bridge between the Imperial Treasury and the noble families, who traded funeral armor in a gray area, those few 'craftsmen' naturally could not be made scapegoats.

After all, the fact that this matter came to light was because those craftsmen were pushed to the brink by Marquis Zhou Yang.

With the backing of the Imperial Treasury and even the tacit approval of the current emperor, how could they be extorted by a mere Marquis's heir? If they couldn't even make a fuss about this, then they wouldn't be the Imperial Treasury that would plunder every passing goose.

But this is something that can't be discussed openly.

Those few 'craftsmen' can only be craftsmen;

Let alone his identity as a 'salesman of armor from the Imperial Household Department,' even his identity as a craftsman should not be associated with the Imperial Household Department's treasury.

Even though there are very few people in the entire city of Chang'an who don't know that there is no other place in Chang'an or even Guanzhong besides the Imperial Treasury where armor can be purchased, this can only be an unspoken rule that everyone knows but tacitly understands but doesn't say outright.

If the matter of 'the private sale of armor by the Imperial Treasury' were exposed and brought to the forefront, it wouldn't be something that could be settled simply by the death of a marquis's heir.

The death of a Junior Chamberlain, plus at least two of the six Junior Chamberlains, is the bare minimum.

If the situation gets out of control, even Liu Rong won't be able to escape the gossip and criticism from the public.

From a practical standpoint, Liu Rong's wisest and most cost-effective choice regarding those few 'craftsmen' was actually to cut them up and throw them out as scapegoats.

But since they were working for the Imperial Treasury, it was essentially the same as working for Liu Rong.

Although the matter couldn't be discussed openly, Liu Rong couldn't really pretend to be stupid either.

If we keep scapegoating people to smooth things over, people's morale will be in turmoil, and the team will be difficult to lead.

So Liu Rong had no choice but to resort to a shady tactic—first, he sentenced those 'craftsmen' in Dali to death, then secretly kept them in prison, feeding and caring for them, and waited for a general amnesty before quietly releasing them.

Of course;
Death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be avoided.

Although he was one of their own, something went wrong while he was doing things for them, and Liu Rong couldn't kill him because of considerations of human nature.
But there is no doubt that these salespeople botched this armor export order.

The fact that the business deal didn't go through is secondary.

The main problem is that the matter was exposed, and the situation became quite out of control, leaving Liu Rong somewhat passive.

If they had any sense, they should have first informed the Imperial Treasury behind the scenes—even if they couldn't intervene in time, Liu Rong would at least be mentally prepared.

Therefore, Liu Rong instructed Shao Fu to transfer these sales personnel to other positions.

Expelling them directly from the Imperial Household Department is definitely not an option; it would be easier to just kill them.

By staying in the Imperial Household Department and taking on other duties, while still maintaining a connection with the department's internal finances, they can ensure that no one speaks recklessly.

Of course, this all happened about half a year ago.

With Liu Rong's general amnesty imminent, it seems like a perfect opportunity to put an end to this farce. But there's a slight surprise.

Zhou Yang, the heir apparent of the Marquis of Tiao, refused to commit suicide while imprisoned in Dali!

—Liu Rongxu asked him to save face, but he refused!

They kept shouting things like, "I'm innocent. If I'm guilty, kill me. If I'm innocent, let me go."

The child was young and didn't understand, but Zhou Yafu also fell into his old habit—he went to Weiyang Palace to apologize in a serious manner, saying that he only had this one son, and if he died, the lineage of Marquis Tiao would be cut off.

Liu Rong was still very determined.

Originally, Liu Rong firmly believed that, no matter what, the case of Zhou Yafu's "hiding armor and plotting rebellion" should result in the death of Marquis Zhou Yang, in order to uphold the dignity of the Han Dynasty's laws and let the world know that the crime of treason is inviolable.

As a result, another unexpected event occurred.

After several years of silence, Empress Dowager Dou of the Eastern Palace finally spoke.

At one time, Liu Rong didn't think much of the Empress Dowager's occasional verbal edicts and imperial decrees.

However, in recent years, as the Empress Dowager has become increasingly quiet and deliberately retreated behind the scenes to reduce her presence, Liu Rong has become more and more concerned about, or rather, more cautious about, the Empress Dowager's actions.

As the old saying goes, a dog that bites doesn't bark.

Although this analogy is not quite appropriate, it conveys a similar principle.

—Those who boast all day long about doing great things are mostly just big talkers.

If someone who has always been silent suddenly says they want to shoot down the sun, then you should seriously consider whether this person is really Hou Yi.

Similarly, while Liu Rong wasn't exactly annoyed by the Empress Dowager's constant antics and attempts to make her presence felt, she was at least somewhat desensitized to it.

As long as the Empress Dowager's movements were minor, Liu Rong would pretend not to see them.

However, the Empress Dowager had kept quiet for several years. When she spoke again after so many years, Liu Rong could not help but pay attention and treat her with caution.

The Empress Dowager initially made no statement regarding Zhou Yafu's case.

Liu Rong guessed that the Empress Dowager probably knew about Liu Rong, and didn't seem to have the same strong desire to kill Zhou Yafu as the late emperor.

Once Zhou Yafu was likely to survive, the Empress Dowager stopped caring about him.

But when Zhou Yang was imprisoned, and Zhou Yafu inexplicably apologized to Liu Rong with a bundle of thorns on his back, and strangely expressed his willingness to die in place of his son, the Empress Dowager spoke up.

He didn't say much, just a few words.

—Don't chill the hearts of meritorious officials.

It is said that when it comes to matters concerning the country or people, the fewer the words, the bigger the matter.

It really is.

The Empress Dowager's mere seven words were enough to freeze Liu Rong's half-chopping knife in mid-air.

To continue cutting would be to disrespect the Empress Dowager. Not to mention whether the Empress Dowager would be unhappy, even the meritorious officials inside and outside the court would inevitably feel a sense of shared fate and sympathize with Zhou Yafu today as if he were their own tomorrow.

But Liu Rong, the emperor, had already cut halfway down the sword; how could he possibly turn it back?

If that were the case, wouldn't it be like changing policies every day?

There was nothing Liu Rong could do but ignore the situation.

Liu Rong neither agreed nor disagreed with Zhou Yafu's request to "die in place of his son," but instead told Zhou Yafu to go home and face the wall in seclusion, extending the period of reflection to one year.

Liu Rong gave perfunctory replies to the Empress Dowager's instruction not to "dishearten the meritorious officials," but he did not send the Marquis's heir, Zhou Yang, home.

He was imprisoned in Dali for a long time. Although he was not tortured to death, he was at most spared from death, and his life was certainly not good.

As for why I did this, I'm ashamed to say.

Liu Rong's original plan was to use this method to stall for time.

The strategy of procrastination when in doubt was also taught to Liu Rong by the late emperor.

When a problem is truly unsolvable—especially when there are two incorrect options that cannot be chosen—leave the problem to time and 'wait' for a third option to appear.

As for Liu Rong's actions, the third option he was waiting for was precisely the point that made Liu Rong 'ashamed'.

Empress Dowager Dou of the Eastern Palace
Cough cough cough...

She's not young anymore...

cough cough cough...

Especially in the last two years, after the Empress Dowager went completely blind, her emotional state became more and more depressed and lost.

There was neither the hysteria and emotional outburst of someone who has lost their sight and is isolated from the world, nor the positive and upward spirit of someone who is physically disabled but determined, nor the calm and composed demeanor of someone who takes things in stride.

It is like a lamp that is about to run out of oil, neither accepting the addition of more oil to prolong its light, nor pouring out the last bit of oil to commit suicide;
Instead, he was determined to burn out the last bit of lamp oil and then plunge into complete darkness.

This emotional state also gave Liu Rong a sliver of hope regarding Zhou Yafu's series of troublesome events.

——What if?
What if, while the heir apparent Zhou Yang was imprisoned, the Empress Dowager closed her eyes and went to see Emperor Taizong Xiaowen?

If that were the case, Liu Rong wouldn't need to heed the Empress Dowager's instruction to "not chill the hearts of meritorious officials," and could proceed with the original plan to take the head of Marquis Zhou Yang to uphold the dignity of Han law.

As for the meritorious officials inside and outside the court who felt a sense of shared loss, Liu Rong had other ways to make amends.

—At worst, we can just not execute them publicly?
Quietly killing someone, or helping Zhou Yang 'save face' and then claiming that Zhou Yang realized his mistakes and ultimately committed suicide out of shame, is always a plausible explanation.

Or perhaps, Zhou Yang, who had been pampered and spoiled since childhood in the Marquis of Tiao's mansion, might suddenly be locked up in a prison cell and die one day from a stroke of bad luck.

That works too.

As for the Empress Dowager, although it was difficult for Liu Rong to explain, considering her serious illness, he could simply report good news and conceal the bad news that would cause her worry.

As for the fact that the lineage of Marquis Tiao and the lineage of Zhou Bo, which Zhou Yafu was worried about, had been wiped out?

All Liu Rong wanted to say was: Hurry up!
Your Zhou family should have died out long ago!
If you don't hurry up and kill off the Liu family line, who knows how many more generations of emperors the Liu family will be ruined by you Zhou family...

(End of this chapter)