Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 152 Judgment in Accordance with the Law
After sending Wang Xi back, Li Longji immediately ordered the arrest of the entire Tibetan delegation.

Upon returning home, Wang Xi immediately entered emergency treatment mode. In fact, he was also seriously injured. Sister Hua pressed him down on the bed, stripped him naked, and used various methods to attack his face and chest.

"Ouch! Ouch! Hua Daiyu, go easy on me, it hurts!"

"It won't get better if it doesn't hurt, so just bear with it for a bit. Besides, I have to say, Shaolang, you're really useless. Every time you get into a fight, you end up covered in injuries."

"You know nothing! I'm the fifth best player here. If I didn't get injured, wouldn't I be a god? Besides, the other side is more seriously injured than me."

"Even fighting five against one can result in injury? Sigh..."

"???"

Listening to the nonsense going on inside, Princess Xue outside had a furrowed brow.

Wang Shouyi cursed, "This kid is such a worry. I was planning to praise him today, but he caused this mess. If it weren't for the eunuch Gao's warning, I would have beaten this brat to death."

Princess Xue said, "This matter cannot be blamed on Que'er."

Wang Shouyi said awkwardly, "I also think that Que'er is not wrong. It's all because that Tibetan boy doesn't know what's good for him and dares to do bad things in Chang'an."

He was actually cursing on the lips, but the pain was in his heart.

It's fine if he hits himself, but if someone else hits him, the father will definitely feel sorry for him.

Princess Xue said, "Actually, this kind of thing happens quite often."

Wang Shouyi was somewhat confused and asked, "What exactly is Madam trying to say?"

"I believe that all of this is because of Hongxiu."

Princess Xue said, "In the past few months, every time Que'er has gotten into trouble, it's because of this woman. If she continues to stay in the academy, I'm afraid she will bring even greater trouble to Que'er."

Wang Shouyi asked, "What does Madam mean?"

Princess Xue said, "Hongxiu must leave the academy."

Wang Shouyi said with difficulty, "But Hongxiu was invited by Mr. Wuming. You know his temperament. I can't persuade him."

Princess Xue said, "Then I will go and speak to them myself."

Wang Shouyi was taken aback and hurriedly said, "Madam, please don't be impulsive. The Nameless Academy is very important now, and my Anye Bureau still needs to rely on it."

Princess Xue said, "I will not speak to the teacher. I will talk to Hongxiu directly. As a teacher, shouldn't she think about her students? Now the facts have shown that if she stays in the academy, she will only cause more trouble."

Hearing the resolute tone of Princess Xue, Wang Shouyi fell silent.

Princess Xue was no kind or gentle woman. After all, she grew up in the palace, and her perspective on things was different from that of ordinary people. Most people saw Shang Gongbu, but in her eyes, Hongxiu was the root of the trouble. If this root was not eliminated, sooner or later, another Shang Gongbu would appear.

The key point is that in her eyes, Hongxiu was nothing more than a lowly maid. She was actually very angry that Wang Xi risked his life for Hongxiu, but she didn't like to show her emotions.

If the Wang family ultimately loses to the Wu family, there's nothing she can do about it; the victor takes all, and the loser has to admit defeat. But if her son is injured because of a courtesan, that's something she can't tolerate.

She believes this is wrong, something that could have been avoided, and that she's just making trouble for herself.

Therefore, she decided to drive Hongxiu away.

The second day of the Lunar New Year is traditionally a day for visiting relatives and friends, but due to the matter of the Tibetan prince, the three prime ministers, Zhang Yue, Zhang Jiazhen, and Yuan Qianyao, were summoned to the palace early the next morning.

What do the three of you think?

Li Longji asked with a gloomy expression.

Zhang Jiazhen spoke first: "The Tibetan envoy is ungrateful. He not only broke into a private residence and attempted to assault a woman, but also beat up a relative of our imperial family. He should be severely punished to serve as a warning to others. I suggest that the Tibetan boy be executed immediately."

In the early Tang Dynasty, the law was relatively lenient, and the punishments were generally hanging and beheading. Beheading, which meant leaving no intact body, was the most severe punishment.

Li Longji nodded with great satisfaction, "That's what I thought too. This time, we absolutely cannot let them off lightly."

Zhang Shuo stepped forward and said, "No. This country has its laws, and this family has its rules. According to the laws of our Great Tang Dynasty, if foreigners have conflicts with people from their own country in our country, they should be sent back to their country and dealt with according to their own laws."

If foreigners have conflicts with Chinese citizens in our country, they should be dealt with according to our laws. However, according to our laws, the Tibetan prince's actions were an attempted assault, not a capital offense, and he should be punished with caning and exiled for one year.

Zhang Jiazhen said, "The law should also be based on reason and emotion. That Tibetan boy's behavior was extremely bad and should not be tolerated. Otherwise, others will follow suit."

Zhang said, "But what I heard from the Prefect of the Capital was that the Tibetan boy only took a fancy to Hongxiu's beauty at the banquet, and because he drank a lot of wine, he did such a despicable thing. In fact, such things have often happened before, and there has never been a case of being sentenced to death."

"How not."

Zhang Jiazhen immediately retorted, "If it involves treason, it can be punished with the death penalty. This case involves the son of the Duke of Qi, which is sufficient to constitute treason."

Ultimately, the Tang Dynasty was still a hierarchical society. If a commoner bullied a noble, the punishment would be increased by one degree, and vice versa.

Zhang said bluntly, "But the other party is not a lowly Tibetan either."

Li Longji said with great displeasure, "What? Does Your Excellency think that Tibetan boy can be compared to my nephew?"

Zhang Shuo glanced at Li Longji, pondered for a moment, and said, “Your Majesty, the envoys from various countries are watching to see how we handle this. If we cannot enforce the law impartially, what will the envoys think? They may only focus on the fact that the Tibetan boy was sentenced to death because he injured our maternal relatives, and they will ignore the fact that the other party violated the woman first, and Wang Xiaoque stood up for her teacher.”

The victim in this case is Hongxiu, not Wang Xiaoque. If we make the final judgment based on Wang Xiaoque's identity, then some people will inevitably think that this is just a case of noble sons from two countries fighting over a courtesan. This is unfair to both Hongxiu and Wang Xiaoque, and the case should be judged based on Hongxiu's identity.

If we were to release the details of this case and sentence the offender according to the law, it would not only establish the authority of the law and ensure that envoys from other countries abide by our laws, but it would also severely damage Tibet's image in the eyes of other nations, making other countries more inclined to submit to our rule.

It must be said that Zhang's eloquence is first-rate, hitting the nail on the head.

The biggest victim in this case should be Hongxiu, not Wang Xi. If Wang Xi is the main focus, then everyone's attention will be on Wang Xi and Shang Gongbu, with a woman caught in the middle. This is a typical case of a spoiled brat.

That would be unfair to Wang Xi.

Not worth the candle.

After hearing this, Li Longji's expression softened slightly, and he asked, "Then, according to your suggestion, how should this be handled?"

Zhang said, "Since that Tibetan boy came here as an envoy, according to diplomatic protocol, the court should immediately expel the entire Tibetan delegation from Chang'an, and send that Tibetan boy to Xizhou to serve his sentence. After he has served his sentence, he can be released back."

Yuan Qianyao nodded silently, but did not say anything.

After observing this, Li Longji thought it over and finally said to Zhang Shuoyan, "I'll leave this matter to you, sir."

Zhang said, "Your subject obeys." Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiazhen, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but feel somewhat annoyed.

Zhang Shuo used to be his superior, but now he is Zhang Shuo's superior. However, he always feels that Zhang Shuo does not respect him as his superior and often openly contradicts his opinions in front of the emperor instead of discussing things with him in private.

In fact, Li Longji initially leaned more towards Zhang Jiazhen's suggestion and planned to severely punish Shang Gongbu, since Tibetan envoys had been executed before.

But Zhang's words clearly moved him and made him change his mind.

But regardless of the method of handling it, no leniency will be shown.

None of the three prime ministers said, "These are Tibetan nobles; we should downplay this and let it go."

The point of contention is whether to simply sentence according to the law, or to add another layer of punishment.

It was more of a legal consideration than a diplomatic one, but it did involve diplomacy. It's just that Li Long basically disliked Tibet and had no intention of giving them a friendly reception.

Zhang's remarks also had some diplomatic considerations. We don't need to be afraid of anything, but whether it is necessary to further escalate the conflict at this time is still up for debate, since fiscal reform and military reform are also underway.

However, he did not say it aloud, because he knew that if he did, Li Longji would surely execute Shang Gongbu.

After receiving the order, Zhang did not personally appear, but instructed the Jingzhao Prefecture to make a judgment in accordance with the law.

There were no doubts in the case, and the Jingzhao Prefecture issued a judgment on the same day, which was immediately executed.

The Tibetan delegation was expelled that very day, and they were forced to pack their bags and leave almost overnight. They weren't even given a chance to plead for mercy.

They also posted a notice about the case at the Sifangguan.

This indeed greatly shocked the envoys from various countries. As Zhang said, everyone's focus was indeed on the violation of women.

But this, in turn, served as a great deterrent to them.

If the reason for the sentence was assaulting the emperor's nephew, people would be more understanding.

But some people knew that Hongxiu was originally a courtesan. At that banquet, Shang Gongbu was not the only one asking about Hongxiu. Many people were asking because the performance was so good that everyone was very engrossed in the role. So they thought the sentence was a bit too harsh. Little did they know that they were originally supposed to be executed.

He quickly instructed the noblemen who had come with him not to cause trouble, for this was the consequence.

However, the Western Regions countries viewed this matter from a diplomatic perspective, especially those countries that were adept at playing both sides between Tibet and the Tang Dynasty, and they began to have doubts.

We may have to choose sides in the near future.

This is a very important diplomatic signal.

However, what they didn't know was that the root of the matter was a power struggle within the inner court.

Inside a Taoist temple, wisps of incense smoke curled upwards. Li Linfu lit an incense stick and went to the inner hall, where he found a person already waiting for him.

It was Wu Xin.

After sitting down, Li Linfu said, "I still don't think this is a good plan. Now the court officials are probably reassessing Wang Xiaoque's position in His Majesty's heart."

Wu Xin laughed and said, "Li Zhongyun only knows one thing, not the other."

Li Linfu asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Wu Xin said: "Although the court's judgment was very decisive, does Li Zhongyun believe that everyone in the court supports it?"

However, this is not necessarily the case. In fact, a large number of people believe that it is not advisable to wage a major war against Tibet, especially over a relative of the emperor and a courtesan.

However, given His Majesty's attitude and the current situation, I dare not speak openly. But if our army suffers losses in future battles against Tibet, or if the national treasury is affected, someone will inevitably bring this up.

In the minds of the court officials, their impression of the royal family would only worsen, not improve.

Li Linfu nodded slightly: "I see."

Wu Xin added, "The key is that Li Zhongyun will also benefit from this."

Li Linfu hurriedly asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Wu Xin laughed and said, "This charity banquet was originally Wu Jijiu's idea. At that time, everyone praised Wang Xiaoque, but now the ministers will definitely attribute the credit to Li Zhongyun, because no one wants the maternal relatives to gain power again."

Li Linfu seemed to wake from a dream, exclaiming, "Master Wu's words have truly awakened me from my reverie!"

But he had actually anticipated this outcome. It was indeed in his best interest, but he did not approve of it because there were many coincidences involved. If he was not careful, he would suffer more losses than gains. He even had to secretly arrange for people to protect Wang Xi.

Although the result was brilliant, he did not believe that the plan was in his best interest.

Wu Xin suddenly asked, "It is said that a young hero suddenly appeared, which prevented the Tibetan boy from succeeding. Does Li Zhongyun know that young hero?"

Li Linfu hurriedly raised his hand and said, "Linfu swears to heaven that he absolutely does not know that person."

He did arrange for people to protect Wang Xi, not Hong Xiu.

Wu Xin nodded slightly and smiled, "I was just asking."

Li Linfu said, "If Grand Master Wu thinks that I, Li Linfu, would disregard the overall situation for the sake of a courtesan, then he is really underestimating me."

Seeing that Li Linfu was somewhat displeased, Wu Xin quickly explained, "Li Zhongyun, please don't be offended. I was just asking casually, I had no other intentions at all."

Li Linfu continued, "Many people saw that person's face at the time. It is said that the Jingzhao Prefecture is also looking for this person now. I believe they will be found soon, and then we will know the truth."

Wu Xin cupped his hands and said, "Li Zhongyun, please calm down. This matter was accomplished entirely thanks to your help. How could I possibly doubt you? If I offended you just now, I apologize to you and will punish myself three times over with tea instead of wine."

He then raised his glass in a toast to Li Linfu.

Li Linfu thought to himself, "This man is truly wicked; he actually wants to use someone else to do his dirty work."

If that young hero hadn't appeared, Wang Xi would have been in grave danger if he had charged in alone.

For the Wu family, this was a sure-fire way to make money.

But this is not what he wanted to see.

(End of this chapter)