The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 236 Zhao Yanran

Chenzhou, Wanqiu.

Outside the mansion, densely packed warriors either squatted at the foot of the wall in silence, or leaned against the wall to listen to the movements inside the house.

Hundreds of officers and generals stood in the courtyard, filling the yard.

The shogunate officials knelt in the corridor, as if in a trance.

Zhao Lu, Zhao Lin, Zhao Miao, Zhao Yanran, Zhao Zi, Zhao Meng... all the children of the Zhao family stood on the left and right with their heads lowered.

Some had dull expressions. Some were anxious, like Zhao Lin, Zhao Yanran, and Zhao Meng. The sisters were originally arranged to marry into Bian people. Zhao Lin had a childhood marriage with Zhu Wen and Zhang Hui's eldest daughter, Zhu Lingya, and they would get married when the two children reached the age of 18 and 19. Zhao Yanran was paired with Zhu Wen's third son, Youzhang. Zhao Yanran was already seventeen this year and could have married a long time ago, but she didn't because Zhu Youzhang was still growing hair. Zhao Zi and Zhao Meng also had their own arrangements, either young piglets or high-ranking civil and military officials.

This is a good thing. When Zhu Sheng overthrew Tang Dingye, the Zhao family of Chenzhou would be the original meritorious officials. They would become the prince consorts, women of noble birth, and dukes, and there would be no problem for them to be rich and prosperous for five generations.

But that's where the problem lies! Unexpectedly, Zhu Sheng was a giant with feet of clay, and was kicked into a roadside dog by the emperor and the princes. The big beam collapsed, and no one dared to carry the flag of the makeshift team.

The bandits were defeated. The emperor drove into Luoyang and said that Chen had committed a serious crime. The imperial edict had already been sent to Xuchang... These bad news were like a letter from the King of Hell. Zhao Yu and others who were "named" felt like they were struck by lightning. Zhao Chang, who had been bedridden for a long time, also had a rapidly deteriorating condition. In just two days, he was on his deathbed. After a lot of hard work, he was finally saved from the brink of death.

The so-called struggle for hegemony among warlords was limited by factors such as population, military personnel, wealth, and historical legacy, and had nothing to do with most of the feudal lords.

Take Chengde for example. The Western Jin Dynasty, the Northern Yan Dynasty, the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the Southern Liang Dynasty were surrounded by four powerful vassal states. No matter how ambitious, cunning and powerful you are, it is difficult for you to do anything. The stability of Chengde is determined by geopolitics.

Another example is Zhongwu. He suffered heavy losses in the rebellion against Guochang and his sons and Wang, Chao, Cai, and Lu. When Huang Chao attacked, he had no more than 10,000 soldiers. Later, he lived next to the gluttons and wolves. According to Zhu Wen's style, if he didn't kneel, he would die.

What is "The dog relies on its strength to revive, so it often helps others before it does." Because of gratitude, the dog runs faster than anyone else. This is purely the naive fantasy of the historian.

Being trapped by the people of Bian, he had no one to turn to for help in his rebellion. The difference in strength between Chen and Bian was too great, and they had no ability to fight against each other; the two were the root of the consistent "serving as Zhu's eagles and dogs" in later generations. Seeking wealth and honor is a secondary derivative of seeking survival. This is also why Zhu Wen failed in his first attack on Tong, Wei Bo turned against him at will, the always unruly Zhongwu Army followed Zhu Wen stubbornly, and Zhao Chang did not show his hand until Zhu Wen died and remained neutral.

The reason why Zhao Chang's condition worsened when he heard that the emperor had gone to Luoyang was very simple.

Zhu Wen was strong and needed support. Now that the emperor is back, do we need support? But is it too late? The saints probably don't have the guts to take advantage of the opportunity to eliminate the Zhongwu Army and cut down the vassal states with iron blood, and they can't do it now. Do you have the guts to kill the Zhao family? Most likely they do. Can they do it? If the Zhao clan is rewarded as the governor of the Zhongwu Army, most of them can.

Of course, the Zhongwu Army's rebellion was also related to the imperial court. The imperial court had lost its authority and was unable to protect them. Their rebellion was also a manifestation of the loss of central authority. So, should they be punished?

The answer is yes.

Just like killing someone under the coercion of a bully, it still constitutes a crime, which is determined by the result. But it must be dynamically reduced according to the circumstances, so as to prevent the coerced person from actively joining the criminals in the future. This is for the sake of future generations and society, and to reduce the viciousness of similar cases, the difficulty of bringing them to justice, and the cost of handling cases as much as possible.

The Guochao also used the same approach to deal with fierce generals.

Even if Wang Chengzong was a nobody, his family and clan would be treated well and even employed as long as they took the initiative to come to the court. Even if he fought with Wu Yuanji and the blood flowed like a river, "Xianzong sent an envoy to promise him not to die." Why did Wang Yanzhang come to the court after Fengtian, and why did Zhu Jin, Li Kuangwei, An Zhijian, and Li Cunxiao all consider coming to the court when they were desperate? There is this political tradition, and Li Tang has this endorsement.

But let's take the specific case of the Zhao family. As a minister of the Tang Dynasty, the Zhao family actually participated in the Tong and Pu battles and killed Wang face to face. The Zhongwu Army could pinch their noses and pretend to be stupid, but the Zhao family paid an equal price, which was the minimum. If you don't want to be slaughtered one day, you have to go to the court. The court will accept you with disgust, but some people cannot live. Some people cannot be accepted if they live. You can tolerate Li Shidao's family, but not Li Shidao, that's the reason.

If the Zhongwu Army wants to avoid being attacked and the Zhao family wants to avoid being exterminated, they have to find a scapegoat. Otherwise, let's gamble, betting whether the saint will hunt in Xuchang in the name of punishing "Chang", betting whether the miracle of Chenzhou for 300 days can be replicated. If only the Zhao family is held responsible, no one can say anything. The Zhao family should be thankful that they have good governance and are deeply supported. Otherwise, I am afraid that they would have been executed like Luo Hongxin, accused of "being close to Bian".

Today, the staff, officers, and descendants of the Zhao family gathered here for this matter.

Zhao Yanran turned around and glanced at Zhao Lin and the others.

Cousins Zhao Lu and Zhao Miao and sister Zhao Zi were all the same as usual.

Zhao Meng's silent tears were like pearls, which made me feel pity for her.

Zhao Lin's body trembled slightly, his face was gloomy. Zhao Yanran curled her lips. How could such a coward be favored by Zhu Wen? How could Father Meng have a son like you? He is good for nothing except eating, drinking and having fun.

Ta-ta-ta... a burst of hurried footsteps, the maid passed between them and walked into the bedroom with a tray. On the tray was a golden handle pot and several gilded cups. Zhao Yanran stared at it, her heart speeding up, pounding wildly.

Outside the green railings, embroidered curtains hang down, branches are broken on the scarlet screen, and an oil lamp flickers in the darkness. In the dim white tent, Zhao Chang lies quietly on the couch. The once mighty god of war is now terminally ill. In the dead silence, an old voice suddenly rings out: "Come in..."

There was a commotion in the corridor and atrium. Han Shan, the chief secretary, stood up and entered first.

Zhao Yanran took a deep breath, and followed the Zhao family members into the dark bedroom filled with the strong smell of medicine. As soon as she saw the sickbed, Zhao Yanran's face instantly became sad, and she threw herself in front of the bed, crying, "Uncle Zhong!"

A skinny hand reached out from the darkness and touched Zhao Yanran's jade-like face, stroking it gently: "Everything is okay."

Zhao Yanran held Zhongfu's wrist with both hands, tears welling in her eyes, and choked up and said, "The imperial edict has arrived in Wanqiu, ordering the army to nominate the regent."

The hand touched greedily for a while, then slowly pushed the niece away.

Zhao Yanran did not let go and stared at the white tent, but she could not see Zhongfu's face clearly.

"Take her to..." Zhao Chang murmured.

"Yes." A retainer came up and took Zhao Yanran aside to sit down.

Han Shan stepped forward, stuck his head into the white tent, and whispered, "I have asked a Taoist priest to prepare the poisoned wine. It will take one stick of incense to use, and the person will fly to heaven without leaving any trace. The warrior will take the head. When the others have also died, I, General Song, and I will take the head to Luoyang with the Marshal's family. By then, we can report it as a military rebellion, and the Zhao family will be safe. It is better to be a concubine in the court than to be schemed against by both insiders and outsiders in the vassal state."

Zhao Chang said softly, "I understand. This is all I can do for the people of Chen and for you all."

Han Shan fell to the ground and cried, his lips trembling as he chanted: "In the Saha world, Jambuvipa, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva compassionately rescues and saves sentient beings on the road of life and death. After this reward, you will be born in a land of no worries, and your life span will be countless kalpas..."

Everyone knelt down in a rush: "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva... after this retribution, you will be born in a land without worries..."

Zhao Yanran bowed her head, tears welling up in her eyes. She watched the white tent being surrounded, a maid helped Zhao Chang up and held him in her arms, then another maid sat down on the edge of the bed, filled a glass of blood-red wine on the tray, carefully brought it over, held half of Zhao Chang's face with her left hand, and fed the wine into his dry lips.

"Huh..." Zhao Chang raised his head.

The maid hugged Zhao Chang tightly, who was twitching violently. She covered Zhao Chang's mouth with one hand and pressed her delicately made-up face against Zhao Chang's rough skin covered with knife and arrow wounds. The twitching became weaker and weaker. After about an incense stick, Zhao Chang stopped breathing in the maid's arms. To be safe, the maid held him lovingly for a while before slowly putting Zhao Chang back on the bed and adjusting his posture.

Han Shan bowed and looked at his third brother Zhao Chang.

Without waiting for them to speak, Zhao Yu silently pinched the maid's face and said, "I'll do it myself."

The uncontrollable cries of several people could be heard in the dark bedroom. Zhao Lin shuddered and collapsed on the ground, his hands and feet shaking unconsciously: "I won't drink, I won't drink! I want to enter the court... The saint won't kill me, I haven't married Zhu Lingya yet..."

No one paid any attention. Han Shan, Zhao Yanran and others watched as Zhao Yu, Zhao Xu's eldest son Lu, Zhao Chang's son Miao, and Zhao Yu's son Gu were led into the underworld one by one, with blood gushing out of their mouths and noses, their throats gradually becoming hoarse, and their limbs gradually becoming stiff, and they were wiped clean of the filth with towels. They also watched as Zhao Lin was held on both sides by the warriors, and red liquid was poured into his mouth while he screamed helplessly.

After Zhao Lin stopped struggling, Han Shan lit two more lamps to illuminate the five corpses on the ground. He sniffed each one and paused, then turned to the family officials, officers, and staff, and took off his crown: "On August 15, the second year of Qianning, the Zhongwu Army rebelled, and the culprit Zhao and his son were executed. Qiu Dan, the commander of the defense, was appointed as the regent, and the regent was sent to the capital to send Lin, Cai, Yanran, Meng, Zi and others."

Everyone took off their hats.

The warrior walked to the couch with an axe in hand, bowed his head, then raised his hands above his head and chopped down with the axe.

With a loud bang, the bed seemed to be split in half. In the dim light, handfuls of blood spilled on the white curtains. The five bright red heads were carried to the courtyard, and the soldiers who had been waiting for a long time inside and outside the courtyard mourned.

Zhao Yanran's underwear, which was soaked with sweet sweat, had also dried. Before coming here, she had said goodbye to her mother like a last will and error, and rushed here with the feeling of being doomed, but the ending was so dreamy and yet so real.

As for the rest, whether the saint will continue to pursue it is not up to them. The military government did this to abide by the rules of the game and to end it decently. The more the vassal states abide by the rules, the more loyal the governor is - even if it is superficial, the more difficult it is for him to reduce the vassal states, just like Chengde, Weizhou, and Yiwu. It is also to prevent the pretext for the crusade and stop this catastrophe. The connection with the towns is based on this. The people of Chen can no longer withstand another three hundred days.

Next, it’s up to the saint.

"Everyone go and pack your things. We will go to Luo to meet the emperor early tomorrow morning." Han Shan said tiredly.

Fate is so cruel and unforgiving. Zhao Yanran looked up at the brilliant blue sky, and it seemed as if a dragon was flying in the clouds.

　Even at my age, I can still cry when listening to a song.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)