Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 100 Then Kill the Nine Clans (1)

No matter what, wiping out a large number of Japanese pirates is a great achievement. As the governor of Songzhou, Fang Hai naturally wants to get a share of this credit.

Fang Hai knew very well that although the Fang family was a prominent family, it lacked real achievements, and Luo Yuheng also needed the support of the Fang family. It could be said that they hit it off.

Perhaps, if Fang Hai were to lead the troops to fight, he would most likely lose miserably, but what happened in the court was more complicated than even Luo Yuheng and Song Yan combined.

There are also some rules for how to write a memorial.

First of all, you can’t write that there were no casualties.

A large number of Japanese pirates entered Ningping County. If you say that no one died, only a fool would believe you. Everyone would doubt whether your claim of a large number of pirates is exaggerated, and whether there are only a few scattered Japanese pirates. Even if there is evidence from the Jingguan Temple, some people would still suspect that you are taking credit for killing innocent people.

So a group of people must die.

But this number cannot be too high. Too many people will die, and all the merits will be wiped out. They may even be punished.

Secondly, the number of pirates should be appropriate. With so many people waiting to share the credit, how could thousands of pirates be enough? Falsely reporting military achievements is something everyone does, and it's a tacit understanding.

Of course, the number of beheadings only needs to be doubled or tripled, but it can't be too many. If you say there were 100,000 Japanese pirates, no idiot would believe it.

It is also necessary to highlight Luo Yuheng's contribution. Even if Emperor Ning and Luo Yuheng had a bad relationship, she was still a member of the royal family. His own sister led the guards to kill the Japanese pirates and protect the peace of the county. Even Emperor Ninghe would feel proud, and it would help Emperor Ninghe to win the hearts of the people.

Finally, briefly describe your injuries. Don't go into too much detail, as too much is as bad as too little.

Of course, we also have to praise Emperor Ninghe. If it were not for Emperor Ninghe's good governance, how could the officials and the people have united to fight against the Japanese pirates?
These are all extremely valuable experiences.

The huge Hall of Supreme Harmony was as quiet as ice crystals. Those who could enter the court were all old foxes. If a war report like this had been delivered in the past, all the officials would have flattered it a lot. But now that the matter involved the Yang family, it became a little tricky.

"Everyone, this is a memorial sent by Fang Hai, the governor of Songzhou. What do you think of it?" Sitting on the dragon throne, Emperor Ninghe coughed lightly twice, as if his lungs were affected, and his brows furrowed.

An official stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this battle report is not credible."

It was Guo Yanchang, the Minister of Works.

Emperor Ning He raised his eyelids with some difficulty: "Oh, Minister Guo, do you suspect that the story about the Japanese pirates was fabricated by Fang Hai?"

"That's not the case. The Japanese pirates were real, but there couldn't possibly be 13,000 of them. How could a mere county possibly resist so many pirates, especially after they had already entered the city? I suspect Fang Hai inflated the numbers for military merit. Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly."

Many of the generals frowned and looked at Guo Yanchang with some hostility. This old guy is making indirect accusations, right?

"Then according to Lord Guo, what should we do?"

"We can arrange for an imperial envoy to go to Ningping to investigate. If it is fabricated, then the contents of the memorial cannot be trusted."

Guo Yanchang wanted to deny the crimes of the three Yang family members by denying the numbers in Fang Hai's memorial.

Seeing his son being questioned, Fang De, the Minister of the Chancellery, closed his eyes slightly and said nothing, as if he had heard nothing.

"Cough cough..."

Emperor Ning He coughed again, and the eunuch beside him stepped forward and gently patted him on the back. After a while, Emperor Ning He's breathing became smoother, and he waved his hand, and the eunuch retreated.

"This memorial was received half a month ago. I have already arranged for the eunuchs to go to Ningping. The results they brought back are exactly the same as those in the memorial, and even better." Emperor Ninghe spoke slowly. Although his voice was not loud, it had a sense of majesty.
"Outside Ningping County, there are three Jingguan."

"Inside the old forest, there are mountains of bones."

"The remains of ships and the bodies of Japanese pirates can still be found near the seashore."

"Everyone in Ningping County angrily denounced Yang Siye and his two companions as worse than pigs and dogs. To this day, over a hundred bodies from Yang Siye's three families are still exposed outside the city, and they are drowned in feces and urine every day..."

"Lord Guo, are these investigations sufficient?"

Guo Yanchang was surprised by Emperor Ninghe's thorough preparations and was at a loss for words. Just then, another official, Li Shoushan, a member of the Imperial Secretariat, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, most common people are ignorant and foolish, and their words are not sincere."

"If Yang Siye and his men were truly colluding with the Japanese pirates, they would have done it in a very secretive manner. How could they have let the people know?"

This person didn't even bother to act, clearly wanting to stand up for the Yang family. Although Yang Siye and his men were already dead, if they really insisted on holding on to this matter, it would be a big problem.

Voices like "What the Secretary said is right" and "It makes sense" were heard all around.

Emperor Ninghe glanced at Li Shoushan, his expression gradually turning furious. After a few breaths, he suddenly exploded in anger: "The common people are ignorant? Could it be that you, Li Shoushan, are the only intelligent person in the world, right?"

The voice was hoarse, almost a roar.

It is obvious that Emperor Ninghe is extremely angry now.

Although the imperial power is now declining, Emperor Ninghe is still quite terrifying when he is angry.

Even if a male tiger is old, it is still a fierce tiger.

Li Shoushan's expression changed instantly, and he fell to his knees on the ground with a thud, saying that he didn't dare.

At this moment, Emperor Ninghe picked up several envelopes on the imperial desk and threw them hard, directly at Li Shoushan's face: "This is the secret letter between Yang Siye and the Japanese pirates that the eunuchs found in Yang Siye's home." It was obviously Yang Miaoqing who contacted the Japanese pirates, so why did the secret letter between Yang Siye and the Japanese pirates appear? It was probably because Yang Miaoqing was the legitimate daughter of the Yang family. The crime of killing nine generations of the family was too complicated, and it was not the time to turn against each other completely.

"I also have Yang Siye's memorial here. Li Jieshizhong, would you like to compare the handwriting?"

By the end of the words, his voice was already cold and chilling.

Li Shoushan knelt on the ground, trembling and not daring to say anything.

For a moment, the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony was silent, with only Emperor Ninghe roaring:

"A county magistrate, a county magistrate, and a county lieutenant—three officials, three!"

"They're all colluding with the Japanese pirates to harm the people of Daning. That's great, that's great."

"These are the officials of Daning. Facing the invasion of Chu, they only knew how to cede territory in exchange for peace, only knew how to pay annual tributes and cloth, and only knew how to ask me to recognize the Emperor of Chu as my uncle..."

"Faced with the people of Ningguo, they can collude with foreign races and slaughter them wantonly."

"This is my most trusted minister!"

"This is the pillar of Daning's court!"

The roar, as if venting anger, echoed in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. All the ministers were silent, with their heads bowed.

Only a few old men were there, their eyes watching their noses and their noses watching their hearts, their faces as calm as ever.

There was something wrong with Emperor Ning He's condition. After a roar, he was out of breath and his body was even shaking slightly.

In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the panting sound continued for a long time before gradually subsiding.

There was still no sound from below.

Ning Hedi grinned: "Okay, you won't tell me, right? Then I'll tell you."

"According to the laws of Daning, what crime should be committed by colluding with foreign races to harm the people of Daning, resulting in the deaths of nearly two thousand people?" Emperor Ninghe lowered his eyelids and asked in a cold voice.

"The entire family should be executed." A Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice stood up tremblingly and answered in a low voice: "However, Yang Siye, Yang Zhongning, and Yang Chengen have all been exterminated, so..."

Emperor Ninghe was too lazy to listen to his voice and looked at an old man in front of him: "Lord Zhao, you speak."

An old man stood up, his brows furrowed, "All nine clans should be executed!"

Emperor Ninghe sat back on the dragon throne and waved his hand casually: "Since that's the case, then let's execute all nine clans."

"Ah, forget it. I have always been kind and merciful. Killing nine clans is too cruel. How about... exterminating three clans?"

hiss.

Faintly, I seem to be able to hear strange sounds.

Changing the punishment of nine clans to the extermination of three clans, do you think it is called leniency?
Do you have any misunderstanding about the word "leniency"?
Judging from the literal meaning, killing nine clans is more cruel, but from the perspective of actual implementation, killing three clans is the real cruelty.

In theory, the nine-line extermination covers nine generations of relatives from great-great-grandfather to great-great-grandson, but in actual implementation, because too many people are involved, it is often limited to paternal blood relatives, and the maternal and wife's families are often deliberately ignored.

Historically, there were many people who were nominally sentenced to death with their entire clans, but almost none of them were actually executed.

But the Yi Three Clans were different. They primarily targeted the three core clans: the father's clan, the mother's clan, and the wife's clan. They were three clans, without any compromise. Even married daughters, grandfathers, and grandmothers could not escape death. Even the inheritance of the family name would be completely wiped out, and even friends and distant relatives were not allowed to erect monuments to commemorate them.

Yang Siye and the other two are from the Yang family's side branch, seven or eight generations away from the main branch. Even the three Yi tribes cannot be implicated in the main branch, but the number of people who will be implicated and killed will be a very exaggerated number.

Dozens or even hundreds of low-level officials will be purged.

These people do not hold high positions and do not have much power, but they are an indispensable link in the Yang family's power network. Without these people, there will be huge loopholes in the Yang family's control over the local area, which will be a loss that will cause headaches for the Yang family.

If a family wants to be truly prosperous, it needs not only control over the court, but also influence in the local area.

Seeing that Emperor Ninghe was furious, no one around dared to speak. An old man in his sixties, who was sitting at the front of all the officials, finally stood up.

This person was none other than the current Minister of the Central Secretariat, Yang Hetong.

Although he was old, his voice was still full of energy, neither hurried nor slow, as if he was completely unaffected by the tense and oppressive atmosphere before:
"Your Majesty, Yang Siye is dead, so his punishment is not urgent. This time, the Princess... well, it was the Ningping County Lady and the Songzhou Governor who made outstanding contributions in resisting the Japanese pirates. To prevent those who have made contributions from becoming discouraged, the court should first reward them."

Emperor Ning He's expression also relaxed: "Taifu Yang, I wonder how to reward him?"

When Emperor Ninghe was still the crown prince, Yang Hetong had the title of Crown Prince's Tutor.

"The Ningping County Princess is brave and fearless, loyal and dedicated to defending the country. She should be a role model for the royal family, and perhaps her title of Princess Eldest should be restored."

(End of this chapter)