Thief Emperor

Chapter 1079 Let's go kill!

In the autumn of the tenth year of Zhangwu, there was less than a month left until the Emperor's birthday celebration. In other words, almost a whole year had passed since the assassination attempt on the Emperor last year.

At this point, the case finally achieved a preliminary result.

The day before the grand court assembly, in the Ganlu Hall, both prime ministers knelt before His Majesty the Emperor, bowing their heads in greeting. After bowing, Prime Minister Xu bowed to the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I was ordered to take charge of the assassination plot during last year's birthday celebration. After several months of investigation and interrogation, and several days of discussion with Prime Minister Du and officials from the Three Judicial Offices, we have now drafted a conclusion and request Your Majesty's wise decision."

At this time, His Majesty the Emperor had not gone out for more than two months, and the number of times he met with his ministers was far less than before. In fact, several court assemblies ended hastily, and he seemed to have little interest in them.

After hearing Xu Ang's words, he looked up at Xu Xiangong and said, "Get up, get up."

"They're all old buddies."

His Majesty the Emperor glanced at the two men and sighed, "Why are you kneeling?"

In the past, when these veteran officials met Li Yun in private, the vast majority of them did not kneel. Li Yun never required them to kneel. In fact, when Du Qian met Li Yun in private, the two were more like friends.

The relationship between ruler and subject only exists when there are many people.

However, since the capture of Wu Zetian, the emperor's mood has been rather low, a fact that all the court officials could sense, especially the prime ministers, who were all much more reserved in front of him at this time.

After the two men stood up, Emperor Li looked at Xu Ang and said slowly, "Brother Xu, please give me a brief account. I've sent too many documents, and I'm too lazy to read them all."

In the past few days, the case is about to be "closed". The three judicial departments and the two prime ministers of the Central Secretariat sent dozens of documents to Li Yun, and each one was very thick and very detailed.

Even the diligent Emperor Li did not have the energy to examine everything carefully at this moment.

"Yes, then I will give a brief explanation."

Xu Ang lowered his head slightly and said, "The Nine Departments arrested the traitor Wu Heng and his family members, a total of seventeen people. If we include his subordinates and disciples, the total number is over fifty. The result we have drafted for these people is..."

He looked up at Li Yun, then lowered his head and said, "Exterminate their three clans."

Upon hearing this, His Majesty the Emperor opened his eyes, frowned, and said, "Does that mean both the Wu Yuanyou brothers' families will be killed?"

The execution of three clans refers to the father's clan, mother's clan, and wife's clan, which is essentially the same as the execution of nine clans. Wu Yuanyou was Wu Heng's cousin, so he would also be implicated.

Xu Wang lowered his head and said, "The Prince of Chenliu is a guest of this dynasty and can be pardoned. The Marquis of Tianshun's family is a member of the imperial family of the previous dynasty and can also be granted a special pardon by His Majesty."

His Majesty the Emperor was silent for a moment, narrowed his eyes, and said softly, "Except for the Wu clan, let the rest be exterminated."

"As for the Wu family, the Wu Yuanyou brothers and their families can be pardoned, but the rest of the Wu family are all guilty of treason."

In the imperial court, apart from the Wu brothers, there were actually no other members of the Wu family. What Emperor Li meant by this was that from today onwards, if any local government office caught any remnants of the Wu family, they would be sentenced to death.

Moreover, anyone who colludes with them is guilty of a capital offense.

As for changing the punishment of exterminating the three clans of other accomplices to the execution of their own clans, it wasn't that Emperor Li had become soft-hearted; it was simply because their values ​​were different.

In Li Yun's view, this inexplicable and widespread implication was inappropriate and unreasonable.

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor continued, "Within three generations and five generations, no one may take the imperial examinations or enter officialdom."

Xu Xiangong turned to look at Du Qian, and seeing that Du Qian did not speak, he lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty is benevolent."

Minister Xu paused for a moment, then continued, “In the imperial court, officials who were directly involved in this case were also convicted of treason and their entire families were exterminated. Those who had connections with the rebel Wu but did not participate in the assassination plot were sentenced to have their entire families executed.”

The so-called "extermination of the entire family" meant that all male members of the family who reached the legal age were killed, the female members were sent to the brothels, and the underage male members were exiled.

Xu Wang paused, then said, "Furthermore, there are those who have connections with the traitor Wu, but are unaware that he is a traitor. We have discussed this and decided to dismiss them from their posts, confiscate their property, and exile them."

"The rest are those who have indirect contact with the rebel Wu, but are unaware of it, and will be dealt with by the Ministry of Personnel at its discretion."

Upon hearing the last sentence, Emperor Li raised an eyebrow.

The Ministry of Personnel can handle this matter at its discretion, thus apprehending all those involved. This will allow His Majesty the Emperor to achieve his goal of replacing the old with the new.

Emperor Li looked at Xu Wang and asked, "How many people are there in total?"

Xu Ang quickly replied, "I have made a rough count; more than a thousand people have been beheaded, and several hundred have been exiled."

His Majesty the Emperor raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

This number might be considered an astronomical act of killing for an ordinary person, but to Li Yun at this moment, it didn't evoke much of a reaction.

Perhaps... he had already killed too many people during previous battles. Not to mention the distant past, in the Battle of Guanzhong ten years ago, Li Yun killed tens of thousands of Shuofang soldiers.

Some time ago, when Chen Da pacified the Northwest, there were also tens of thousands of casualties.

Furthermore, the attack on Jinchuan by the King of Yue and Yu Ye has resulted in over ten thousand casualties on both sides.

Upon arriving here, Emperor Li suddenly understood why Zhu Taizu in another world could kill without blinking an eye.

What might seem like an enormous number to ordinary people, a catastrophe in their eyes, was not such a large number to an emperor who had experienced the battlefield.

His Majesty the Emperor was silent for a moment, then looked at Du Qian: "If there are no problems, report this at tomorrow's grand court assembly."

He looked at Du Qian and said, "Brother Shouyi, there's a condition: the court must not be in chaos, and no position can be left vacant."

Du Qian quickly replied, “Your Majesty, rest assured. If we start counting from the Jinling Literary Gathering, there have been more than ten imperial examinations in our dynasty. There is no shortage of officials. Of these more than a thousand people, only a few are actually appointed as officials. The Ministry of Personnel will be able to fill this vacancy soon.”

Li Yun nodded silently, his face expressionless, and said, "Then let's do it this way. Kill those who should be killed, and let's leave it at that. Let's not make everyone live in fear all the time."

He looked at the two prime ministers and said, "The Crown Prince is already on his way back to the capital. Before he returns, this matter must be resolved. From now on, let's live our lives peacefully until..."

The emperor narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "Until the next time something like this happens."

"Then we can kill another batch."

Upon hearing this, both prime ministers couldn't help but look at Li Yun, but Li Yun himself remained calm and even smiled: "Don't look at me. This kind of thing will happen again sooner or later, which is why I said that we should see how each of us handles things in the future."

His Majesty the Emperor stood up, preparing to see the guest out, when he suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, did the interrogation involve Tao Wenyuan?"

The two prime ministers shook their heads together: "Prime Minister Tao only had dealings with some of them in the past, but after the establishment of the new dynasty, there has been no contact."

Emperor Li nodded, then said coldly, "It's good that it's alright. When the first batch of criminals are beheaded, let Tao Wenyuan supervise the execution."

His Majesty the Emperor grumbled, "He's not allowed to feign illness; he must oversee the execution!"

Having said that, Emperor Li put his hands behind his back and said, "That's all for today."

The two prime ministers exchanged a glance and cautiously left the Ganlu Hall. Once outside, Xu Ang wiped the sweat from his brow, bowed to Du Qian, and said with a wry smile, "People say serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. I didn't believe it before, thinking His Majesty was a peaceful person, but now it seems..."

Minister Du looked at him and shook his head slightly: "His Majesty sometimes has a fiery temper, but he is not violent. This kind of assassination plot..."

"Put it in the context of all dynasties."

Du Xiangong said quietly, "Even this few people won't die. Think about it, if this matter leads to more problems, how many people will die in the end?"

"His Majesty is already in a good mood now that he's in the capital."

As he spoke, Prime Minister Du looked up at the distant sky and murmured, "In fact, if it weren't for these people who blocked His Majesty's path, perhaps so many people would have died."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiangong looked at Du Qian and whispered, "That Prime Minister Tao..."

"Tao Wenyuan?"

Du Xiangong sneered: "He brought it on himself. He's been so bookish that he's lost his mind and can't remember who gave him a way to survive and who protected him during those chaotic times."

"This broad road has been given to him."

At this point, Master Du looked at Xu Ang and said, "Let's see if Old Man Tao can come to his senses, otherwise all his hard work and friendship over the past ten years will vanish like smoke."

Xu Ang seemed to be deep in thought before speaking, "Prime Minister Du, then I will make preparations immediately. I will contact the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice, and we will begin preparations for the executions in batches immediately after the grand court assembly tomorrow."

After thinking for a moment, Lord Du tugged at his sleeve and said, "I will go with you."

Xu Ang smiled wryly and said, "This is not an easy task. I can just run the errand myself. Why did Prime Minister Du have to get involved?"

Du Qian shook his head slightly and said, "I've been working with you for the past few months just to get involved. Otherwise, some people wouldn't be able to see the situation clearly!"

Without saying another word, he pulled Master Xu outside.

"Let's go, let's go kill someone."

(End of this chapter)