Thief Emperor

Chapter 118: The Temple and the Jianghu

Capital city, Taiji Hall.

All the civil and military officials bowed respectfully to the Emperor sitting on the throne. Only after the Emperor raised his hand and said "stand up" did all the officials stand up.

The emperor, who was nearly fifty years old, had white hair on his head, but he was in good spirits. He looked at the civil and military officials below him and said calmly, "Is there anything you want to discuss at the court today?"

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, Prime Minister Wang Du came out holding a court tablet, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Zheng Yu, the governor of the Jiangnan East Road, has traveled 600 miles to report urgently that Qiu Dian, the leader of the Yuezhou bandits, has occupied Yuezhou and called himself the King of Yue. He has also begun to march out of Yuezhou and invade the prefectures and counties nearby."

The emperor frowned when he heard this.

He looked at everyone and said in a muffled voice: "What a thief! I originally thought he had some grievances to complain about, but I didn't expect him to have such evil intentions!"

At this point, the emperor muttered, "Zheng Yu is also incompetent. He actually allowed Qiu the thief to become so powerful!"

After cursing for a few times, the emperor stroked his beard, looked at a young man standing below, and said calmly: "What do you think, Prince?"

The prince is 28 years old this year and has been observing government affairs in the court for ten years. At this moment, he is standing in the first position to the left of the emperor.

He had a handsome appearance and a dignified look. He stepped out of the class and bowed his head when he heard this. "Father, since the thief has already raised his flag and proclaimed himself king, it is a great rebellion. Naturally, we must send the heavenly soldiers to fight him. We must capture the thief leader and bring him to the capital. We must display his head to calm people's hearts."

The Emperor on the throne glanced at the Crown Prince, then changed the subject and asked, "A few days ago, Gu Qing went to Xuanzhou. I heard that all the officials in Xuanzhou were arrested. Have you come to a conclusion yet?"

Gu Wenchuan walked out of the class holding the imperial sceptre in his hand, bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, this matter has been thoroughly investigated, and I am preparing to submit a report in writing."

"Today is the day of the Great Court, and you decide."

"Yes."

Gu Wenchuan lowered his head and said, "Last year, the treasury was empty, and the Ministry of Revenue suggested that the court levy an additional tax. At that time, the Ministry of Revenue sent it to the local areas, collecting 200 coins from each household and handing it over to the court. However, when this money was distributed to Xuanzhou, it became 500 coins."

"What's even more hateful is that further down in Xuanzhou, Shidai County actually collected 800 coins in taxes, and Hexi Village in Shidai County increased the tax to 1 guan. The villagers of Hexi Village couldn't pay, so the tax collector even wanted to sell the families of the villagers of Hexi Village."

"Eventually, the matter escalated into a conflict."

"The villagers of Hexi Village killed the county magistrate of Shidai. Later, in order to cover up the incident, Xuanzhou Governor Tian Jing and Sima Cao Rong surrounded Hexi Village with their men and burned it to ashes."

“That’s why there are so-called Hexi bandits roaming around Hexi now.”

Gu Wenchuan said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the Xuanzhou incident is thought-provoking. Your Majesty is kind and cannot bear to impose heavy taxes on the people, but the local officials are greedy and the court administration is already in a mess. If you don't take drastic measures to rectify it, the Xuanzhou tax case will definitely not be an isolated case!"

"also!"

At this point, Gu Wenchuan also became emotional. He looked at the prince, then at Pei Yan, who was standing at the end of the court, and said in a cold voice: "Before I went to Xuanzhou, Your Majesty had already sent Pei Shaoqing to go there because of the Shidai matter. Why did Pei Shaoqing only say that there were traitors in Shidai County after he returned to the court, but never mentioned the heavy taxes in Shidai County!"

The emperor also looked at Pei Yan. Master Pei had no choice but to step out of the class, hold the imperial tablet in his hand, kneel before the emperor, and kowtow, saying, "Your Majesty, I am stupid. After arriving in Xuanzhou, I didn't have time to investigate carefully and was deceived by the officials of Xuanzhou. I am guilty."

The emperor on the throne first looked at the prince, then a barely perceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then he became serious again and said slowly: "Pei Qing is an imperial envoy, inspecting the local area on my behalf, but he is so confused that he must be punished, prince."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince left the class again. He first looked at Gu Wenchuan, then lowered his head and said, "Your son is here."

"How do you think this matter should be handled?"

The prince said in a deep voice: "The crimes of the officials in Xuanzhou are unforgivable and should be severely punished. As for Pei Yan, he is young after all and not as experienced as Censor Gu. I think that he may...may be given a lighter punishment."

"As an imperial envoy, you are so negligent."

The emperor frowned and said, "I was deceived by the corrupt officials of Xuanzhou. This is a serious crime. Considering that this is his first offense and the Crown Prince's plea for mercy, Pei Yan."

Pei Yan knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "I am here."

"I'll be demoted two levels, fined three years, and still be employed in the same position. Are you satisfied?"

Pei Yan kowtowed and said, "I am convinced, Your Majesty is wise."

The emperor nodded, stood up, and said calmly: "Xuanzhou officials, hand over the crimes to the Ministry of Justice for discussion, and report to me as soon as possible. Today's meeting ends..."

Before he finished speaking, Prime Minister Wang Du gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, what are the rules for the Yuezhou rebels..."

The emperor was about to leave work, but when he heard this, he frowned and said, "Didn't the prince say that we should send troops to fight?"

Wang Du bowed his head again and said, "May I ask, Your Majesty, which army should we send out to fight this war, and who should we send to lead it?"

"You can discuss these matters among yourselves, and when you come to a conclusion, please submit a letter to me."

The emperor walked down the steps with his hands behind his back, then stopped, glanced at everyone, and said, "We are surrounded by foreign enemies, and the imperial guards in the capital cannot move."

After saying this, the emperor left with his hands behind his back.

Gu Wenchuan looked anxious and was about to continue speaking when he was stopped by an old man beside him.

“Zhongcheng, this…” Gu Wenchuan’s face turned pale: “Such a big thing, how can it be possible, how can it be possible…”

How can I let it go so easily!
The Imperial Censor who was holding him shook his head slightly and whispered, "Don't be impatient."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince next to him looked at Gu Wenchuan and the Chief Censor who was holding Gu Wenchuan's hand, a faint smile appeared on his face, and he was about to leave with his hands behind his back.

Prime Minister Wang Du stepped forward, stopped him, and saluted, saying, "Your Highness, the Yuezhou incident is extremely urgent. The court has not yet come up with a rule. Once the thieves become powerful, it will be out of control."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looked calm.

"Father has just said that the Imperial Guards cannot be moved. This is the truth. First, they are to protect the safety of the capital. Second, the sky is high and the road is long. It is not appropriate for the Imperial Guards to travel a long distance."

"It's just a rebellion in one state. Zheng Yu is incompetent. Then send someone who knows military skills to recruit soldiers locally to fight the rebellion."

Speaking of himself, the prince looked at the officials from the Censorate again, narrowed his eyes, and left with his hands behind his back.

Wang Du stood there, watching the prince go away, without saying anything for a long time.

Prime Minister Cui Yuan stepped forward silently, looked at the worried Wang Du, and said with a smile: "Brother Daqi, the affairs of the court cannot be hasty, but also cannot be too hasty. Although the affairs of Yuezhou are troublesome, they are far from being out of control. Don't be hasty."

Wang Du took a deep breath, turned his head to look at Cui Yuan, then looked at the officials of the Imperial Censorate who were gathered together and chattering, and sighed: "Prime Minister Cui, local rebellion has already involved the fundamental affairs of the court, how can we be so negligent?"

"On the contrary, Xuanzhou's affairs are trivial matters. Today's court meeting did not discuss the serious matters, but instead kept discussing these trivial matters!"

Cui Yuan also looked at Gu Wenchuan and other imperial censors, frowned, and said, "Brother Daqi, this is not a trivial matter. It may be a major matter that involves the fundamental interests of the court."

He turned his head to look at the empty throne and shook his head slightly: "Our Majesty is too smart. It's not easy to deal with someone who is too smart."

At this point, he pulled Wang Du to rest and said with a smile: "Come on, let's go back and discuss matters. Let's choose a suitable person and send him to Yuezhou as soon as possible."

Wang Du sighed, followed with his hands behind his back, and asked, "After the New Year, didn't the court send a recruiting envoy to Xuanzhou? I think we should send him a letter at an express speed of 600 miles and ask him to start recruiting soldiers on the spot."

Cui Yuan shook his head and said, "Fan Zhao is a civil servant and does not understand military affairs."

"He only needs to recruit soldiers. The court will choose someone else to lead the troops."

Cui Yuan thought about it and nodded, "This is feasible. I will discuss it later."

Wang Du looked at Cui Yuan and said slowly, "Does Prime Minister Cui's nephew know about Xuanzhou? Xuanzhou is not far from Yuezhou. Should he also cooperate with this matter?"

Cui Yuan looked calm.

"Once he gets there, he will be a minister of the Great Zhou, not someone's nephew. But since he happens to be there, let him help."

Wang Du nodded first, then shook his head and sighed.

"There are problems everywhere. We are in a tight spot."

Cui Yuan said silently: "As prime ministers, we are responsible for checking for deficiencies and filling gaps. There is nothing we can do about it."

"Brother Daqi has been the prime minister for a long time, so he will naturally get used to it."

…………

Tianmu Mountain.

Li Yun was sitting on a chair, looking through some geographical maps hidden in the Tianmu Mountain village.

These geographical maps were all drawn by the locals. Although they are extremely simple, they are sometimes more accurate.

He was watching intently when Li Zheng ran over breathlessly and said, "Second brother, someone is coming up the mountain!"

Li Yun put down the picture in his hand, looked up at Li Zheng, and his eyes were a little excited: "Is that Bai Qi back?"

"Probably."

Li Zheng continued, "But he didn't come back alone. He brought 10 to 20 people with him."

Li Yun stood up, touched his mace, and said slowly: "It seems that he was afraid that he could not control the entire village, so he brought helpers from Yuezhou."

"Walk."

Li Yun stood up.

"Go meet them!"

(End of this chapter)