Thief Emperor

Chapter 1047 Martial Rebellion

Inside the Ganlu Hall, His Majesty the Emperor calmly poured himself a cup of tea, then looked at the Duke of England standing before him and said in a daze, "Why are you standing? Sit down and talk."

Liu Bo responded, found a chair and sat down, then looked at Li Yun and said, "Your Majesty, of the three assassins that day, only one survived. It took the Nine Departments two days to pry some information out of him."

Liu Bo lowered his head slightly and said, "That night, there were not just these three people, but a total of eight people who plotted the assassination with His Majesty. They were in different locations, and there were only these three near His Majesty."

"The remaining five are being searched for in the city by the Nine Departments in coordination with the Jingzhao Prefecture."

His Majesty the Emperor narrowed his eyes and said softly, "Have you found out who ordered it?"

Liu Bo shook his head slightly: "The person who did it will never say anything. We spent a day and two nights trying to get information out of them. It's possible that this person really doesn't know anything."

"Moreover, those who are sent out to carry out such a major treasonous act are people whom the mastermind behind them absolutely trusts and will not implicate themselves."

The emperor nodded silently, then asked, "Can we find anything out from their identities?"

"This man is a Taoist priest from Henan."

Liu Bo lowered his head and said, "According to him, all his relatives and friends were killed in the turmoil in the Central Plains back then."

"The name that Jiu Si asked for may not be his real name, but he dares to do such a thing."

The Duke of England took a deep breath and lowered his head, saying, "Most likely, there really is no one left at home."

The emperor smiled and said, "It seems they are indeed being very cautious."

After saying this, Emperor Li looked at Liu Bo and asked, "What do you think, Ninth Prince?"

After thinking for a moment, the Duke of England said, "I have a guess, but I have no evidence at the moment. I have already asked Meng Hai to investigate in this direction."

Emperor Li lowered his head and drank his tea.

"Tell me about it."

"Yes."

The Duke of England carefully considered his words and quietly said, "I suspect that there might be something behind this..."

"It may have been the work of Wu Zetian."

"Wu Ni".

His Majesty the Emperor repeated a line and slowly put down the cup in his hand.

At this time, the only ones who could be called "rebellious warriors" were undoubtedly members of the old Zhou royal family.

Although the late Zhou Dynasty was shameful in many ways, it was still a dynasty that had lasted for more than two hundred years. Many forces were deeply tied to it. In addition, some of Emperor Li's policies in recent years had angered many traditional aristocratic families and gentry. These forces might secretly unite together.

As for why the Wu family wanted to antagonize Emperor Li, that's even simpler.

Because of a deep-seated blood feud.

During the two-hundred-year reign of Emperor Wu Zhou, not counting the Wu clan members killed by Wang Junping when he stormed into Chang'an, there were probably tens of thousands or even more Wu clan members and princes scattered throughout the country who occupied a large amount of local resources.

By the time the Tang Dynasty was founded, only two families remained of these people.

One was Wu Yuancheng, and the other was Wu Yuanyou.

Apart from these two brothers, the rest were either executed by the new dynasty or fled to various places, hiding their identities.

It can be said that half of the Wu Zhou imperial family died in the peasant uprising of that year, and the other half was destroyed by Li Yun.

There's nothing to hide about this; it's a life-or-death struggle. If these people aren't eliminated, the local area won't be peaceful, and neither will the new dynasty.

Struggle is not a dinner party.

Because of these old grievances, the surviving members of the Wu Zhou imperial family naturally wanted to seek revenge against Emperor Li. In fact, in the past ten years, there have been several assassination attempts that seemed to be related to the Wu family behind the scenes. However, in the previous attempts, the emperor did not even get to see the emperor before the Imperial Guards and the Nine Departments dealt with them secretly.

They still haven't caught the real culprit.

After pondering for a moment, His Majesty the Emperor looked at Liu Bo and asked, "How do you know?"

The Duke of England hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "That night, those people wanted to assassinate His Majesty. They needed to know exactly where His Majesty was, what he looked like, and that there were people in the court who were connected to them."

"To be more precise..."

The Duke of England whispered, "Officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture, or members of the Imperial Guard, or high-ranking officials in the court, or even members of the Nine Departments, are all connected to them."

"I have already begun investigating these government offices."

At this point, Liu Bo took a deep breath, stood up and walked to Emperor Li, and said in a low voice, "Second brother, there are no outsiders here, so I will speak the truth. If someone wants to collude with so many government departments, they can only be a prince of this dynasty if they are not a member of the Wu rebel royal family."

“The people of this dynasty don’t have the audacity to collude with Your Majesty’s princes and do such a treasonous thing. So it’s highly likely that it’s someone from the Wu Rebellion Royal Family who has some connection with those officials in the court who still harbor feelings for the old dynasty.” Upon hearing this, His Majesty lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, “It’s not necessarily that they’re still harboring feelings for the old dynasty. There are quite a few people in this dynasty’s court who don’t want me to continue living.”

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor said softly, "However, it is indeed possible that they are colluding with the traitor Wu."

Liu Bo nodded and said, "I have already instructed Meng Qing to mobilize all available personnel to conduct a thorough investigation of the entire government and the public, especially..."

"The Prince of Chenliu's residence, and also the sons of the Marquis of Tianshun."

His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand and said with a smile, "The lives of these two brothers' families are in my hands. They live in constant fear. They probably don't have the guts to do such a thing."

"There's no need to spend too much time on them."

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor paused, then continued, "My sons are also unlikely to have such thoughts. You don't need to worry about them, lest you frighten them."

"As for the rest, investigate according to your own ideas."

"correct."

He looked at the Duke of England and asked, "Has my eldest son come to see you these past few days?"

Liu Bo quickly replied, "His Highness the Crown Prince has come to see me and inquired in detail about the progress of the Nine Departments' investigation."

Upon hearing this, the emperor glanced at Liu Bo, who shook his head slightly and said, "I only have a guess at the moment, and I haven't told His Highness the Crown Prince about it yet."

His Majesty the Emperor thought for a moment and said, "At his age, he should have experienced some things. This case will be entrusted to him. If he has any questions for the Nine Departments..."

"In this case, the Ninth Division fully cooperated with him."

Liu Bo responded and bowed his head, saying, "Your subject obeys."

He paused, then continued, “Your Majesty, when Luoyang Prefecture was established, it was in dire need of manpower, and many former officials from the Wu Zhou dynasty were employed. Now that the Prince of Jin has just left Luoyang, this kind of thing has happened in the city. I think we should thoroughly investigate the Jingzhao Prefecture.”

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him and smiled: "Skinny Monkey just left, and you immediately launched a thorough investigation of the Capital Prefecture. He, who has served as the Capital Prefect for ten years, is probably not feeling too comfortable. He might even suspect that I was the one who wanted to take down his cronies."

For more than ten or twenty years, Prince Li Zheng of Jin was undoubtedly the number one among the "new dynasty's meritorious nobles." Even the emperor's elder brother, Prince Chu, was somewhat inferior to him. Now, ten years later, Prince Li Zheng of Jin has gained considerable influence in the court.

Liu Bo frowned slightly and said, "I will write to Prince Jin about this matter beforehand, and Prince Jin will not say anything more."

Having said that, His Majesty the Emperor nodded and said, "Go to the East Palace in a moment and tell the Crown Prince about the Jingzhao Prefecture. Let the Crown Prince start investigating."

"If we really find out who it is from the Jingzhao Prefecture."

His Majesty the Emperor said quietly, "Leave everything to the Crown Prince and the Secretariat."

Liu Bo bowed his head and agreed.

Before he took his leave, he bowed and reported: "Your Majesty, there is one more thing. News has come from the Hebei Division of the Nine Departments about General Meng and Minister Zhao. At this time, Minister Zhao has already fought against the Khitans in Youzhou several times."

"Khitan Khan Yelü Yi, wishing to seek peace with Your Majesty, sent his brother Yelü Hong to Luoyang to pay homage to Your Majesty and beg for peace."

The emperor thought for a moment, then looked at Liu Bo and said calmly, "Send a message to the front lines, instructing Su Zhan to bring this Yelü Hong back to Luoyang."

Liu Bo responded and bowed his head, saying, "Your subject will take care of it immediately."

He respectfully withdrew from the Ganlu Hall, stood outside for a while, and then prepared to go to the East Palace to request an audience with His Highness the Crown Prince.

Upon arriving at the Eastern Palace, Liu Bo learned that the Crown Prince was not there but had gone to the Secretariat. Liu Bo then rushed to the Secretariat and finally met His Highness the Crown Prince there.

At this moment, His Highness the Crown Prince was talking with Prime Minister Yao. After hearing that the Duke of Yingguo was requesting an audience, he said a few words to Yao Zhong, and then got up and went to the front gate of the Secretariat to greet Liu Bo.

Liu Bo bowed deeply and said, "Your subject Liu Bo greets Your Highness."

The Crown Prince personally helped him up, shaking his head and saying, "It's not a big occasion, Uncle Jiu, there's no need for such a grand gesture."

Liu Bo looked up at the Crown Prince and said calmly, "It is only right."

Liu Bo spoke with the Crown Prince about matters concerning the Jingzhao Prefecture. The Crown Prince was initially taken aback, then pulled Liu Bo aside and asked, "Ninth Uncle, what did my father say?"

"His Majesty said that His Highness should be in charge of this matter."

The crown prince thought for a moment and then asked, "What about Uncle Jin?"

Liu Bo remained calm: "I have informed the Prince of Jin."

"it is good."

His Highness the Crown Prince took a deep breath and slowly said, "Then, starting tomorrow..."

"Let's start our investigation from the Jingzhao Prefecture!"

(End of this chapter)