The queen remained silent. Will the new emperor release her after he ascends the throne?
Thinking of the prince's indifference and the princess's hostility, the queen did not dare to have much optimism, but the prince should be wary of the courtiers' thoughts.
The weather has been getting hotter and hotter these past two days. Every morning when the civil and military officials stand in the main hall, they feel like they are on a stove, because the atmosphere in the court hall is getting more and more depressing and frightening.
After Emperor Wu and Concubine Gua left, Yuan Hai was ordered to announce the edict of abdication. The prince ascended the throne as emperor, and the prince concubine became queen. However, due to busy schedules these days, the date for the enthronement ceremony has not yet been set.
The bandits and corrupt officials who were escorted back by Fu Nanchuan's men were all put into prison for interrogation. None of the masters sent by Prince Cheng's Mansion survived. When the news came back to Prince Cheng's Mansion, the expressions of Prince Cheng and his son changed dramatically.
After being stunned for a long time, King Cheng smiled coldly: "Prince Rong and Prince Xuan have both been demoted to the rank of county king. The worst he can do is demote me to the rank of county king. What is there to be afraid of?"
The new emperor's ascension to the throne was a foregone conclusion. He admired the prince and the princess for coming up with such a plan to achieve three goals with one stone, but since the fight for the heir apparent was hopeless, he might as well live his own life in the future.
Anyway, based on his status as the uncle of the new emperor, the emperor and the empress should treat them kindly, otherwise they would be criticized?
However, it must be said that King Cheng was still a little naive after he lived to be nearly fifty years old.
It seems calm inside and outside the palace, but in fact there is a turbulent undercurrent. The ministers go to court every day with trepidation, walking on thin ice.
Finally, after several days of interrogation by the Ministry of Justice, Feng Zhiyuan finally revealed that the backer behind him was none other than King Cheng.
The Minister of Punishment reported this result to the emperor as a memorial to the emperor, and presented a confession signed by Feng Zhiyuan, as well as several letters between King Cheng and Feng Zhiyuan, which were all written by him. The evidence is conclusive and there is no way to quibble.
All civil and military officials in the dynasty were shocked.
King Cheng turned pale with shock, then turned to look at the Minister of Punishment, and roared righteously: "Impossible! I don't know Feng Zhiyuan at all, so don't slander me here!"
The Minister of Punishment knelt in the hall and said in a sonorous and powerful voice: "Your Majesty, everything I said is true. I dare not hide anything. Please understand clearly."
"Your Majesty, I have been wronged!" King Cheng walked out of the queue and knelt down with a bang, his expression showing the anger of someone who had been wronged. "I don't know him at all, so I ask Your Majesty to investigate clearly and give me justice!"
The Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment spoke respectfully: "Your Majesty, I did not give in, nor was I tempted to force a confession. It was Feng Zhiyuan who took the initiative to confess, and revealed all the plans to deal with King Cheng in detail. Feng Zhiyuan also said that King Cheng ordered him to stay in Youyou.
Build a horse farm near the mountains, the terrain should be wide, and find a secluded place in the mountains to turn into a military camp for training and buying horses——"
"What nonsense! It's simply nonsense!" King Cheng roared, almost hoarse and out of control, "Have I ever given him such an order? He wants to frame me! He wants to harm me!"
"That's enough!" Sicang sat on the dragon chair, his eyes sparse and serious, "How is it appropriate to make such noise in the hall?"
When he became king, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
The civil and military officials in the court looked awe-inspiring, and everyone was in danger for a while.
Before the prince came back to Dongyou, the court had long been divided into four major factions. King Xuan, King Cheng and King Rong each worked for their own interests. The general Wang, the Fu family and the chief assistant of Qi always remained neutral and were only loyal to the emperor.
In other words, at least half of the officials in the court have stood in line before. Although the new emperor has not yet held the enthronement ceremony, he has become the emperor and has full control over the life and death of all civil and military officials. If he wants to settle accounts, the court will
Half of the people in the hall could hardly escape. Who wouldn't be afraid?
The first thought that came to the minds of the ministers was that the new emperor wanted to eradicate his dissidents and clear out the three princes' palaces one by one. As for whether Feng Zhiyuan's backer was King Cheng... The ministers thought silently that King Cheng was indeed not innocent.
After all, which person in the past dynasties who wanted to seize the country did not plot secretly and try their best to strengthen his own bargaining chip? But once it failed, some actions would undoubtedly be charged with treason - setting up a private racecourse and privately recruiting soldiers and horses are taboos for kings.
.
The new emperor, who was sitting firmly on the dragon throne, spoke calmly: "King Cheng used his power for personal gain, committed treason, and allowed his officials to collude with bandits and commit crimes. His crime was unforgivable. His whole family was demoted to common people and exiled for three thousand miles.
, no one is allowed to ask for mercy.”
As soon as these words came out, King Cheng's face turned pale and he raised his head in disbelief: "You are avenging a private revenge! You just started killing people as soon as you took the throne. Isn't the emperor afraid of chilling the hearts of the ministers?"
"King Cheng, please be careful what you say!" Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment turned his head and reprimanded sternly, "What the prince did is not what a minister should do. Conspiracy, condoning bandits to hurt people's lives, and seeking improper money are all
It's a capital crime! Your Majesty is merciful, so please be grateful if you become a king."
grateful?
King Cheng sneered and stared at Sicang and Yun Zishu who was sitting next to him: "The new emperor should basically grant amnesty to the whole world. Is the emperor going against the whole world?"
"The emperor governs the country by combining kindness and power." The general Wang said unhurriedly, "But kindness is to benefit the people, so that the people of the country can enjoy a better life, and officials who are loyal to the king and willing to do things for the people can get the promotion they deserve.
Reuse them instead of giving grace to cruel and evil people, otherwise it will be unfair to the people of the world."
"The Great General Wang is absolutely right." Chief Qi nodded slowly, "The emperor's grace bestows loyal ministers and good people all over the world, while the thunder and coercion is used to frighten treacherous ministers and treacherous ministers, not to maintain the reputation of benevolence.
, randomly forgiving those guilty people who should not be forgiven, otherwise, if traitors take over, wouldn't the world be in chaos?"
"The General Wang and the First Assistant are right, people who have committed heinous crimes should not be pardoned for any reason." Yun Zishu said calmly, "Because condoning evil people is cruelty to innocent people who died in vain."
Sicang raised his hand and said in an indifferent voice: "Take King Cheng out."
Eight imperial guardsmen quickly entered the palace and dragged King Cheng out.
"You are so presumptuous!" King Cheng roared fiercely, struggling constantly, "Who dares to be rude to me? I will definitely punish you nine tribes! Let me go! Let me go!"
The civil and military officials in the court had different expressions. They turned to look at King Cheng who was dragged out, feeling awe-inspiring in their hearts.
The new emperor's voice was cold, with a cold and murderous air: "Feng Zhiyuan, as the leader of a state, knows the law and breaks the law, shelters bandits and robs wealthy businessmen, and kills people. His crime is unforgivable. He will be executed in the autumn, the men in the family will be exiled, and the women will be exiled."
Become a lowly person."
"The Youshan bandits behaved cruelly, were greedy, and committed extremely heinous crimes. They will be executed in the autumn, and those who plead for mercy will be equally guilty."
"Long live my emperor, long live the emperor!" The civil and military officials of the court knelt down and shouted, "The Queen is a thousand years old, a thousand years old, a thousand years old!"
The passionate voice of "Long Live the Mountain" echoed in the hall and lingered for a long time.