The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 25: Specializing in Punishment
The incident of Shangchen Army capturing and killing Huazhou Jinzouyuan late at night soon caused a sensation in the capital.

The official who made memorials to the emperor, Cai Jingsi, was beheaded, and more than 90 other officials and military officers were executed. In addition, more than a dozen court officials who attended the banquet were killed. The Shangchen Army seized dozens of letters and reports between Han Jian and court officials in the official residence, including the whereabouts of the prime minister, conversations between the emperor and his ministers, Ximen Chongsui's establishment of a new army, the deployment map of the Shen Ce Army camp, and the accounts of the Ministry of Finance.

Li Ye handed over all the evidence he had found to the Privy Council for Ximen Chongsui to review.

On the morning of the sixth day, none of the officials from the Southern Court and the Northern Court who had received the news attended the court. Instead, they all stayed at home to observe the development of the situation.

It was not that they were unwilling to go out. In the second half of the night, Ximen Chongsui urgently dispatched 2,000 Longwu troops, 2,000 Pengri troops, 3,000 Yulin troops stationed outside Taihe Gate, and 7,000 Yaowu troops stationed outside the city to enter the city and occupy the main street gates. His trusted eunuchs and fake sons were also quickly sent to various military camps and government offices in the north and south of the city to take charge and detain the main responsible persons.

Not only military and financial matters, but also what he said, where he lived, and who his subordinates were, were revealed to the vassal states, which made Ximen Chong extremely angry. He sent troops directly into the palace, tortured the eunuchs and concubines of the inner court such as the Ye Ting Bureau and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and killed many people. There was a river of blood outside the Linde Hall, and the ground was in a mess.

This also exposed a dispute among the eunuchs.

The eunuchs Qiu Zhining and Zhang Yanhong wanted to steal Ximen Chongsui's military and political power, and secretly plotted against him. Ximen Chongsui received the confession and personally led the army to surround and kill Qiu Zhining. Qiu Zhining was shot to death in his mansion, and his family was wiped out. The strong steaming blood was nauseating. At the same time, he ordered his adopted son Ximen Yuanyuan and the Prince of Tan Li Sizhou to torture hundreds of officials in the name of searching for his followers. Many ministers were tortured into confessing and thrown into prison.

In just one morning, the entire capital was in a bloody rage, and everyone was in danger.

The term "specializing in power and punishment" was perfectly interpreted by Ximen Chongsui.

Prime Minister Du Rangneng, who was attacked by assassins and suffered several wounds, also showed up with gauze wrapped around his head. He was supported by his subordinates to enter the palace to meet with the Privy Councilor. As things got to this point, he was also worried that the situation would get out of control, so he suggested issuing an imperial edict to explain the situation, appease the military and civilians, and give money to court officials, eunuchs, and concubines who were not implicated, and then release those who were arrested without guilt. Then the emperor went to court and summoned all the officials.

Ximen Zhongsui, his face covered in dirt, sat next to the saint, holding a bloody sword. His face was now dark blue, his deep-set eyes were full of ferocity, his lips were tightly drawn, his teeth were clenched, and his ferocious face looked like that of a demon.

Hearing this, he avoided answering and slammed the table and cursed: "The prime ministers are so ignorant!"

"The three ministries of finance, the amount of the imperial court's revenue, and the amount of storage were all sold to the Huazhou official by the spies."

"What is the commander doing? Can't he even keep an eye on the thieves under his command?"

"If it weren't for the fact that you are a descendant of Du Ruhui, I would have banished you to Lingnan to die. Do you still want to be the prime minister?"

"The three prime ministers are all old bastards! They are insects of the state! They are not human beings!"

Ximen Zhongsui spitted out saliva, stamped his feet and cursed.

Du Rangneng sat there quietly, not saying a word. He felt that any rebuttal he could say was futile. After a long silence, he said exhaustedly, "It was my fault. Whether the sage dismissed me from my position or demoted me, it was what I deserved. I have no grudges."

At this point, the saint had to stand up and speak for Du Rangneng.

"Privy Councilor, please calm down." Li Ye gently pulled Ximen Chongsui's sleeve and motioned him to sit down.

Ximen Zhongsui waved his sleeves and said, "Don't touch me!"

Forehead…

"There are more than 10,000 officials and clerks in the Southern Court and the Northern Court. It is beyond human power to inspect them all. It has nothing to do with the Grand Commandant." Li Ye consoled him, "The country is declining day by day. Orders cannot be issued beyond Tongguan. It is natural for officials to seek refuge with the vassal states. If we cannot boost morale, even if we can prevent it for a while, we cannot prevent it forever... And this is not only the case in the Southern Court, but also in the Northern Court."

The boat was leaking faster and faster and could no longer be stopped, so naturally someone considered leaving a way out.

There were relatively few people like this in the Tang Dynasty.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, when Li Zicheng was about to enter Beijing, the ministers were too lazy to attend the court, so they posted the Yongchang Talisman on their doorsteps in advance to express their intentions.

If Ximen Chongsui were told about the people in the late Ming Dynasty who accepted everything that happened to them and enjoyed themselves when they could not resist, he would be so angry that he would die.

Unexpectedly, Ximen Chongsui was furious when he heard this, and interrupted him in a stern voice: "Let these people with no moral integrity sell out the country, what should we do? And you, if they send you, the abdicated emperor, to his death with a cup of poisoned wine, and then take over your concubines, wives and daughters, what will you do?"

Li Ye said nothing.

This Ximen Chongsui is being unreasonable and unreasonable.

He was talking about the reasons for this situation and how to prevent and treat it, but this guy just talked about what to do if the country is destroyed. Is he so angry that he lost his mind?
"Hmph!" Ximen Chongsui glared at Du Rangneng, but in the end he didn't take action to deal with the old man. He took a few deep breaths to calm down his anger and said, "I'll go deal with the thieves in the Northern Division. The Southern Division Commandant can handle it on his own, but don't wait for me to come."

Du Rangneng said nothing, but bowed to the sage and said, "Your Majesty, please come to the Purple Palace and summon all the ministers to explain the inside story to stop the rumors." "I won't go. I will order the Hanlin Academy to draft an edict to appoint the Grand Marshal, and the Grand Marshal will summon all the officials himself." The sage said helplessly.

Du Rangneng still insisted: "Your Majesty..."

"No." The saint was resolute and sighed: "When Zhide took Chang'an, the officials arrested more than a thousand people who had served as false officials, and made them take off their hats and clothes, kneel in the court, and repent. When Zhu Ci stole Chang'an, many people also followed him. When Chao Chaos broke out, officials from the East and West Capitals came out to welcome him... There have been too many people who are both good and bad in the past. They are only used to adding icing on the cake. I don't want to do this kind of meaningless show of favor to please people. After dealing with Han Jian's traitors and pacifying Guanzhong, those people will naturally know what to choose."

Du Rangneng withdrew without saying a word.

"The court officials and eunuchs are all a worry to me." Li Ye felt a little tired and drank a glass of water.

He couldn't help but have deep thoughts about the eunuchs' autocracy.

Historically, the Tang emperors had many opportunities to completely solve the problem of eunuchs' monopoly of power. But why did it resurface again and again? After Yu Chaoen's death, eunuchs were no longer in charge of the army. As a result, Daizong had nowhere to go when he fled. After Dezong ascended the throne, he hated eunuchs and strictly disciplined them. He appointed Bai Zhizhen from Li Guangbi's shogunate to lead the imperial army. However, during the Jingshi Incident, the emperor repeatedly called on six armies, but none of them came.

The continued monopoly of eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty was a manifestation of the incompetence of the bureaucracy and the unreliability of the military. It was not that the emperor was unwilling to solve the problem, but that he could not find a substitute and did not have enough capital to withstand the turmoil. Of course, there were loyal and filial Confucian officials and military men such as Guo Ziyi, Li Sheng, Lu Zhi, and Li Mi, but more... the emperor himself and the country were difficult to trust.

Otherwise, how could an evil slave like Ximen Chongsui act so arrogantly?
People who are benevolent, righteous, propriety, wise and trustworthy are a minority, so they need to be promoted over the long term.

At noon, Du Rangneng ordered his subordinates to inform all the officials:

The Huazhou Jinzouyuan plotted against the law and was executed. The letters between some court officials and eunuchs and Han Jian were seized. The Privy Council only arrested the rebels involved, and no one else was involved. Afterwards, he went to the prison to comfort the imprisoned ministers and said that they would be released once the suspicion was cleared. Afterwards, he distributed money and goods, and ordered the ministers not to be frightened and to do their duties.

The storm seemed to have been resolved.

At 3:00 p.m., important officials from the Southern Court and the Northern Court received notifications from the Privy Council and entered the palace one after another to discuss matters.

The high-ranking eunuchs of the Northern Department, such as the Flying Dragon Envoy, the Manor Envoy, the Imperial Clothing and Food Envoy, the National Treasure Envoy, the Palace Garden Supervisor, and the Lieutenants of the Two Armies, were all silent. They already knew that Ximen Chongsui had killed and tortured the imperial concubines and eunuchs in the name of hunting down spies and traitors, and that he had also uncovered the conspiracy of Xuanhui Envoy Qiu Zhining and Fengde Envoy Zhang Yanhong to seize power from Ximen Chongsui.

The two were surrounded and killed in the morning.

This made the top management of the Northern Division feel a little angry.

Tian Lingzi, Yang Fugong, Ximen Chongsui, the heads of the Northern Department in recent years have become more brutal than each other, and the Northern Department has become increasingly disunited, with everyone wanting to control the emperor and seize power themselves.

The big guys were silent, and the eunuchs lower than them did not dare to express their opinions on this matter. But judging from their faces, they must be extremely dissatisfied. Even those who had grudges against Qiu Zhining and Zhang Yanhong would definitely not stand on Ximen Chongsui's side in this matter.

Ximen Chongsui could also feel it.

But he was mentally prepared. If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. Once you have the power, you must always be vigilant against it being taken away by others. From Li Fuguo, Cheng Yuanzhen, Yu Chaoen to Wang Shoucheng, Qiu Shiliang, and to these years, everyone has gone through this.

To put it bluntly, we are all eunuchs, so who is more noble than who? Who is willing to be second to the others? He, Yang Fugong, was able to drive out Tian Lingzi, and you, Ximen Chongsui, was able to overthrow Yang Fugong, so why can't one of us bring you down?

Li Ye was the last one to enter the Linde Hall.

When Wang Congxun and other lieutenant generals standing guard outside the palace saw him, they shouted "The saint is coming" in a loud voice, so loud that the eunuchs inside could hear it clearly. Ximen Chongsui frowned and looked towards the palace door.

The saint in blue robes walked in without looking around, knelt silently on the cushion, and then stared at the floor in a daze.

He lived in seclusion and had little power, and could not be compared with the other eunuchs. However, after the news of him brazenly sending troops to massacre the people of Huazhou Jinzouyuan last night spread, no eunuch dared to look down on him at this moment. Dozens of eyes quickly cast their gazes over him, observing him non-stop.

Ximen Zhongsui broke the silence and said straight to the point: "The Huazhou Jinzouyuan was doing something wrong. The emperor sent Li Yanzhen to lead the Shangchen Army to the official residence last night and killed them all. The Xuanhui Envoy and Fengde Envoy were plotting something wrong and wanted to seize the emperor. They have been killed. In addition, several letters were seized in the Jinzouyuan. There was a thief in the South Court and the North Court who informed the vassal states. I have found some of them and killed them, and some are locked up in the palace and prison."

"I am calling you all together now because I want to hear your suggestions."

Unexpectedly, no one said a word and the atmosphere became very strange.

Ximen Chongsui just pretended that no one had any objection, and said, "And there is this fellow Han Jian! He looks kind but is vicious. He has planted spies in the capital and bribed informants in the court to find out the truth about our whereabouts. He deserves death! I will lead the army to destroy him. Does he still want to live? I have made up my mind. Tomorrow I will send all six divisions to the east to Tonghua!"

(End of this chapter)