Thief Emperor

Chapter 1078 External Deployment and Internal Retention
There are methods to fighting.

We can't generalize.

If all the so-called former officials of the Wu Zhou dynasty were purged, then only a few young people would remain in the Li Tang court. Therefore, before Li Yun entered the Central Plains, around the sixth year of the Zhaoding era, all those who entered the Jiangdong court before the fifth year of the Zhaoding era were all brought under their control.

If any former officials of the Wu Zhou dynasty were to hold high positions or important posts at this time, Li Yun would seize this opportunity to remove them from their posts, even if there was no justification.

The two prime ministers had naturally figured out the reasoning behind this, but Fei Xuan, being so stubborn, clearly hadn't.

However, being stubborn is not a good thing for a prime minister, but it may not be a bad thing for the Ministry of Justice, which is in charge of criminal law.

It was precisely for this reason that, since the establishment of the Jiangdong Ministry of Justice, Li Yun had always kept Fei Xuan in the position of Minister of Justice. There was no other reason than that he was just too suitable.

Moreover, it's highly likely that Fei Xuan will also be the one to arrange the marriage of Li Yun's second son.

Just now, if this old man Fei had been ignorant and insisted on resigning, Li Yun would not have forced him to stay. But now that Fei Xuan has resigned, the marriage between the two families is unlikely to happen.

Even a friendship that has lasted for more than a decade can vanish in an instant.

Fortunately, although Fei Xuan was stubborn, he was not stupid. He noticed that His Majesty's mood seemed a bit off recently, so he softened his stance.

After a brief chat, Fei Xuan took his leave. Shortly after Fei Xuan left, Duke Liu Bo of Yingguo entered the Ganlu Hall. After bowing, he sat down in a chair, looked at His Majesty the Emperor who was flipping through a book, and said, "Your Majesty, it can be confirmed that there are a total of twenty-five people in the court who are clearly involved with Wu Zetian."

"Among them, seventeen were former officials of the Wu Zhou dynasty, while the other eight were persuaded by them or had grievances against the court."

Upon hearing this, His Majesty the Emperor sneered, "I'm afraid it's not dissatisfaction with the court, but rather dissatisfaction with me?"

Liu Bo did not respond, but lowered his head and said, "I have communicated with the two prime ministers, and their intention is that all twenty-five people and their entire families should be executed."

"If Your Majesty is still not satisfied, you may exterminate the entire clan."

His Majesty the Emperor narrowed his eyes, not replying, but instead asking, "Anything else?"

"There are also more than fifty people who are indirectly involved with Wu Zetian and the rebel forces. They did not participate in the plot to rebel, but they did have contact with Wu Zetian."

"The two prime ministers intend to kill only the ringleaders, and their family members: the men will be exiled to the army, and the women will be sent to the brothels."

"Besides these people, there are also some who were implicated and dragged into this mess. The Nine Departments and the Three Judicial Departments have not found any connection between them and the Wu rebels, or any connection they may have had, but these people are indeed unaware of this."

His Majesty the Emperor was silent for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "For the last part, let those who should be released go. If they are officials in the court, and they are not in important positions, let them be reinstated. If they are in important positions, let Du Shouyi take this opportunity to demote them instead of transferring them."

Liu Bo lowered his head and said "okay".

His Majesty the Emperor narrowed his eyes and continued, "As for the first two, you don't need to concern yourself with them. Just have the civil officials draft their proposed solutions and send them to me."

Liu Bo bowed his head in agreement once more. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, there are also... there are two people from the Eastern Palace involved."

Liu Bo recounted the matter of Yang Hong, the Crown Prince's tutor, and then said, "Yang Hong indeed had no connection with the Wu rebels, but his nephew Yang Ling clearly had contact with them."

"This Yang Ling has already been captured by the Nine Divisions, but they haven't been able to find out if his uncle was involved."

Upon hearing this last sentence, His Majesty the Emperor breathed a sigh of relief. He remained silent for a moment, then closed his eyes: "This Yang Ling... the Nine Departments will handle it themselves."

"Yang Hong..."

His Majesty the Emperor was silent for a moment, then continued, "Since this involves the Crown Prince, it's not appropriate to touch him. So let's not implicate him. When he returns to Luoyang, I will find an opportunity to transfer him away from the Eastern Palace."

"Then, the Ninth Division should keep a close eye on things."

When the Crown Prince went on his eastern tour, almost all the officials of the Eastern Palace accompanied him. Yang Hong, who was the Crown Prince's tutor, naturally went to Jinling as well, and did not stay in Luoyang.

This matter is unlikely to be related to the Crown Prince's Palace, but because so many people are involved, it has still become connected to the people in the Crown Prince's Palace.

Since the emperor had no intention of deposing the crown prince at this point, he naturally had to cover up the matter and pretend nothing had happened.

However, Yang Hong can no longer stay in the Eastern Palace. We'll find a position for him and transfer him there later.

Liu Bo breathed a sigh of relief and bowed his head, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."

Emperor Li looked at him and asked, "How are your two sons doing now?"

Liu Bo lowered his head and smiled bitterly, "We've already found a teacher to teach them, but they grew up outside the Great Wall and still have some wildness in them. They have little interest in studying, but as soon as they see a horse, they jump three feet high."

“He would often take the horse out of the stable to fool around when his family wasn’t looking.”

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "That's how it is at this age. My second son was even more mischievous when he was younger." At this point, His Majesty the Emperor instructed, "After teaching them for two or three years, Yuguan Pass will be completed. You should take them to visit the Wugu tribe outside the pass. Don't let them become too distant from the Wugu tribe, lest they be unable to inherit the Wugu tribe in the future."

Liu Bo shook his head and said, "The two children's maternal grandfather is still alive and has no objection to them becoming the leaders of the Wugu tribe, but..."

Liu Bo sighed and said, "However, I think there are still risks involved."

"Although the Khitan leaders are troublesome, they don't understand our court or what the Han people are like, so they are not too difficult to deal with. These two children have been studying Han culture in Luoyang since they were young. If they go to the Khitan tribe and become the Khitan Khan in the future, they might develop some disloyalty, which would probably be even more difficult to deal with."

Li Yun looked at him and chuckled, "How can you doubt even your own child?"

The Duke of England chuckled and said, "In recent years, I have been cramming on a lot of history books."

Emperor Li waved his hand: "It won't be a problem for one or two generations. Besides, when the time is right, we might be able to take over the entire Liaodong."

"At that time, it won't be a problem at all."

After the two chatted for a while about Liaodong, Emperor Li turned to Liu Bo and asked, "Have you been paying attention to the affairs of the Western Regions lately?"

Liu Bo shook his head decisively and said with a wry smile, "I've been busy dealing with Wu Ni lately, and even the two prime ministers have been working day and night. How could I have the time to care about things in the Western Regions?"

"but…"

He looked at Li Yun and said, "The Guanzhong Division of the Nine Divisions should be operating normally..."

"Correct."

Li Yun pointed to the documents on the table and said with a smile, "These were just sent by the Nine Offices of Guanzhong. A few days ago, Chen Da broke through Lingzhou and is now sweeping away the rebels in Shuofang. The good news should arrive in Luoyang soon."

"It's time to send the people from the Nine Departments to the Western Regions to at least find out some information. This will make it easier for us to restore the Longyou Road in the future."

"Longyou Road..."

Liu Bo muttered to himself, "It's been over a hundred years, hasn't it?"

Emperor Li nodded and said, "It has been many years since then."

"However, the route to the Western Regions is very important. It will be a crucial trade route in the future and must be opened up. If Chen Da and his men do well, I plan to establish the Anxi Protectorate in the Western Regions in a few years."

"Used to maintain trade routes in the Western Regions."

Liu Bo paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "That trade route to the Western Regions has been cut off, hasn't it?"

Li Yun shook his head: "I asked around, and there have always been merchants who travel this route, but because it is too dangerous, fewer people are taking it now."

"Once the road is open, it will become lively again."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bo first nodded, then smiled and said, "The merit of pacifying the Northwest and opening up the Western Regions is enough for that scoundrel Chen Da to be granted the title of Duke and Grand General."

Emperor Li narrowed his eyes and chuckled softly, "If he can succeed, I will grant him a hereditary dukedom."

Upon hearing this, the Duke of England smiled and said, "Second Brother is still closer to his direct descendants."

The emperor lowered his head and sipped his tea: "The more ruthless you are to your enemies, the closer you should be to your loyal followers."

He looked at Liu Bo and said with a smile, "Otherwise, I would really be all alone. If someone stormed into the palace, I would be no match for them."

The Duke of England laughed and said, "Others are naturally no match for two fists, but Second Brother is different. I think Second Brother can easily take on a hundred or two hundred opponents."

Li Yun smiled but did not respond. Instead, he continued, "Luoyang is in turmoil, and the court is about to undergo a new round of reforms. You nine departments should also be careful, especially you, you need to pay more attention."

"The Nine Offices are very large."

His Majesty the Emperor instructed, "They are our eyes and ears again. The army is not always easy to mobilize, so sometimes our lives are in the hands of the Nine Departments. You must manage them well and not let your subordinates fool you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bo also became serious. He bowed deeply and said, "Second Brother, rest assured, the Ninth Division..."

"I can control myself."

The British public patted their chests.

"If anything goes wrong, I will definitely die before my second brother."

(End of this chapter)