Thief Emperor

Chapter 1071 Going against the grain
His Majesty the Emperor soon met with Prince Chen, Wu Heng.

This Prince Chen, by seniority, is the cousin of Prince Wu Yuanyou of Chenliu. However, his current situation is obviously not good. He is tightly tied to the main pillar of the room and cannot move.

Although he was tied up, he didn't suffer too much and remained full of energy, continuing to hurl insults.

He wasn't criticizing the current Tang Dynasty, but rather Wu Yuanyou, accusing him of forgetting his ancestors and betraying his heritage.

In a sense, this is indeed the case. At least half of the Wu Zhou imperial family died at the hands of the Jiangdong army, and another part was forced to leave their homes, change their names, and live a life of ignominy because of the arrival of the Jiangdong army.

Li Yun is definitely the Wu family's greatest enemy.

Now, Wu Yuanyou is serving as the Prince of Chenliu under Li Yun, and he is obedient in everything he does. He is clearly a traitor to the Wu family.

But in reality, most of the Wu family members killed by the Jiangdong army were his distant relatives, people who were already too far removed from him.

Most of his close relatives died at the hands of military governors like Wei Quanzhong. His more intimate nephews and nieces are still alive and well in Luoyang, in the Tianshun Marquis's mansion, and have not died.

It's just that they might lose their "right to reproduce".

Even when the Li Tang dynasty is completely stable and the people's hearts change, his nephews and nieces will not have to lose their right to reproduce and will be able to have children normally.

Of course, all of this depends on whether the current emperor and future emperors of the Tang Dynasty are generous enough. Perhaps during the reign of Emperor Zhangwu, the Wu family could live a good life under the roof of others. However, if they encounter a new emperor with a bad temper in the future, the Chenliu Prince's lineage will likely be fine, but the Tianshun Marquis's lineage may not be so fortunate.

Wu Yuanyou led His Majesty the Emperor to open the door and pointed to a tall old man who looked to be in his fifties with a few stray white hairs, who was tied to a pillar.

Perhaps because he hadn't experienced much hardship since childhood, although he had some gray hair, he didn't have many wrinkles and still looked like a middle-aged man.

Wu Yuanyou forced a smile onto his chubby face and said with a wry smile, "Your Majesty, look, he's in very good spirits."

His Majesty the Emperor glanced at the man and said with a smile, "He doesn't look much older than you."

Li Yun is already forty years old this year, and Wu Yuanyou is a few years older, already in his late forties.

The former King of Chu of the Zhou Dynasty nodded and said, "He is less than ten years older than me. As Your Majesty knows, great men often emerge from lesser lineages."

He glanced at Wu Heng and continued, "This traitor is a relative of ours who is closer to our family. Among those distant relatives, there are some who are four or five generations older than me."

Wu Heng seemed to have listened to him, glaring angrily and cursing, "You little beast, you little beast!"

He kept rambling on and on, cursing incessantly.

His Majesty the Emperor looked at the man, stroked his chin, and said with a smile, "He's working so hard because he wants you to give him a quick death."

Suicide is actually not an easy thing to do.

Humans are sometimes very fragile, they can just snap and die while working, but at other times they are very resilient, they can survive even with broken arms or legs.

If a person is tied up and loses the ability to move, it becomes even more difficult for them to commit suicide. It's not something that can be done by biting their tongue. If they do bite their tongue, they will most likely end up with half a tongue, only able to speak unclearly.

When the Nine Departments arrested this man, they did so swiftly and cleanly. He didn't suffer much, nor did he have time to commit suicide. Now that he's in the hands of the imperial court, he knows he's likely to suffer greatly.

Enraging Wu Yuanyou, the Prince of Chenliu, is nothing more than seeking death.

However, the Prince of Chenliu had been compliant since he was in his twenties. He was a chubby, slippery coward. In one day, he didn't even touch his uncle. He even brought him meals on time, afraid that something might happen to him at home and affect the court's subsequent questioning.

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Wu Yuanyou wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead, lowered his head, and said, "I have no way of knowing what the traitor is thinking. Yesterday, the Duke of Yingguo sent him to me for identification. After I identified him, I did not dare to touch him at all, nor did I say a word to him."

His Majesty the Emperor chuckled and glanced at Wu Yuanyou, saying with a smile, "Brother Wu, even in these positions of the Second Prince and the Third Regent, you're still as slippery as ever."

Wu Yuanyou bowed deeply: "Your Majesty, I have never had any disloyalty towards you."

Just kidding. It's true that the title of "Two Kings and Three Respected Officials" was established by the imperial court and could be called an "iron hat." But while the hat itself was iron, the heads under it were not necessarily iron. As long as the Chenliu Prince's lineage continued, it was only a matter of the emperor's word to change the person to the title of Chenliu Prince!

His Majesty the Emperor shook his head slightly, no longer dwelling on the matter. He stepped into the room, looked at the Prince of Chenliu, and chuckled, "Wealth and status truly nurture people. Even now, the Prince of Chenliu still retains some of his imposing presence."

Wu Heng was also sizing up Li Yun.

Li Yun was tall, towering over him by more than half a head. As he entered the room, he looked down at him. Coupled with his long-standing high position, even this former Zhou prince felt a certain amount of fear. He looked at Li Yun and gritted his teeth, saying, "Traitor, kill me if you want! What are you arguing about!"

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him, exclaimed "Eh!", and said with a smile, "You recognize me."

"Yes, you ordered someone to assassinate me, so you must have seen my portrait."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him with a half-smile: "Judging from your appearance, you do seem unafraid of death, but there is one thing I am certain of."

“You’re probably afraid of pain.” Wu Heng’s eyes widened as he glared at Li Yun.

Having been pampered since childhood, it's unlikely he can survive now. But having never experienced hardship, he's naturally somewhat afraid of the new dynasty's punishments.

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "How about this? You confess all your accomplices in the court, and I can make the decision. I will give you a quick death and won't let you suffer any hardship."

Wu Heng turned to look at Wu Yuanyou and cursed, "This little beast is my accomplice!"

"This portrait of you, the one depicting you as a traitor, was also painted by him!"

His Majesty the Emperor turned and looked at Wu Yuanyou, whose face turned pale and who almost jumped up: "You old thief, even at this point, you still dare to spew false accusations!"

Wu Heng grunted, no longer looking at Wu Yuanyou, but at Li Yun, gritting his teeth and saying, "You call yourselves the imperial court, yet you use such underhanded tricks to bribe my close attendants and threaten my subordinates with the lives of their families!"

"They really did it!"

Emperor Li frowned slightly.

He merely gave the Nine Departments orders, and this is the result he has achieved. As for the process by which the Nine Departments carried out their tasks, he truly has no idea.

The investigation lasted for more than half a year, and there must have been many twists and turns, deceit and treachery during that time, but for Li Yun, that was no longer important.

He remained calm and said indifferently, "My Nine Departments never kill anyone indiscriminately without solid evidence. Even if your subordinates' family members were kidnapped, your entire faction is guilty of treason, and your families should be implicated as well."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him.

"Prince Chen probably doesn't know that not long after the New Year, the Nine Departments reported to me that they had tracked down your whereabouts. Half a year has passed since then, and it was only recently that they took action to arrest you. Do you know why?"

Upon hearing this, King Chen's expression changed drastically.

His Majesty the Emperor said quietly, "The traitors who escaped from the Chen Prince's Mansion in Chenzhou back then are all being apprehended. Your so-called subordinates are also being brought to justice one after another. Even if you can withstand the torture, can they?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Heng's face turned deathly pale.

After a long while, he finally looked up at Li Yun and gritted his teeth, saying, "A tyrant!"

"Do you know why I, a prince of a fallen kingdom, was able to connect with so many like-minded people? Why I was able to gain so much help within the court you established!"

His Majesty the Emperor found a chair and sat down, looking at him: "Why?"

"Because you are unpopular!"

Wu Heng gritted his teeth and said, "When the country was destroyed and my family perished, I made preparations in advance, taking my family into hiding, intending to live out the rest of my life in anonymity. I had no other intentions!"

"At that time, the Jiangdong army had a good reputation. I think that since the court has become like this, it's fine for you, Li, to take over the country."

"But after you became emperor, you became muddleheaded and acted perversely, which gave me an opportunity!"

Wu Heng stared straight at Li Yun, gritting his teeth as he said, "With just a little contact, many people in the local areas and the imperial court followed me. Do you know why?"

His Majesty stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then said thoughtfully, "Because of the new tax?"

"good."

Wu Heng sneered, "It's because of the new tax!"

"With just this one thing, you've offended countless people!"

"Openly and secretly, countless people want your life, and the life of the Li Tang dynasty!"

"After I left the mountain, many wealthy families even offered me money and gifts, did you know that!"

He looked at Li Yun and said through gritted teeth, "You have lost all the hearts of the people! Even if you can keep them in check while you are alive, will your son and grandson be able to keep them in check in the future?"

"They will either repeal your new law, or..."

Wu Heng looked at Li Yun and sneered repeatedly.

"Or your empire will perish after only two generations!"

(End of this chapter)