"Things shed tears when people are dead, but when things happen, I am sad." [Revisiting the Xiaoxiang Tower]
The emperor had arrived at Jiaofang Hall with everyone. He looked around at everyone with an indifferent expression, and first ordered: "Let Fu Shou have a good rest. There is no need to come here." Everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and then heard him say: "This time
What is going on?"
Zhen Mi was already kneeling on the ground to plead guilty, but the emperor only waved his hand to let her get up. Just as he was about to summon Zhao Changyu, he saw Dachangqiu Miao Si coming from outside and told the emperor the Yeting Order in detail.
Cheng Kuang colluded with foreign ministers and offered medicine to the queen.
When he heard that Empress Dong had taken medicine to give birth early in order to save her mother and child, and even wanted to blame Fu Shou for the premature birth, the emperor finally became angry: "Go and pass the edict to Cao Cao immediately! Send Dong Chengkan to the court.
Wei Yu, Hu Miao, Du Zhi, Zuo Ling and other party members were all dismissed from their posts and questioned, and Yang Pei was asked to handle it!"
Liu Jiang heard from the sidelines that Fu Shou's responsibility was completely cleared. The emperor intentionally or unintentionally did not point the finger at this aspect, but followed Miao Si's confession and punished the Dong family with thunderous methods. He couldn't help but feel happy.
. She saw that everyone was silent for a moment, so she came forward and said: "The queen disrupted the palace and endangered the emperor's heir. It is really unkind to have no mother. How can she continue to wear the ancestral temple clothes to inherit the destiny?"
The emperor also nodded gloomily and waved his sleeves to Mu Shun who had not left yet: "Go to the Zhongshu Supervisor and order him to draft the imperial edict."
Mu Shun, who was accustomed to the scene, immediately retreated solemnly. Just as he was about to walk out of the door, he was bumped into by someone behind him. When he looked back, he saw a palace servant he had never seen shouting.
Reported: "Your Majesty, the Queen has given birth...!"
Over here, after receiving the edict, Cao Cao, the captain of the Sili School, immediately sent troops to attack Dong's mansion. Not only did he find a large number of dead soldiers with weapons, but he also killed Hu Miao and others who were trapped in the mansion, eliminating the need for a chase.
In Tingwei Prison, Tingwei Yang Pei, who had an old grudge against Dong Cheng, and Tingwei Zheng Chengyu, who had been an old friend of Cao Cao, naturally would not be merciful. There were both personal and material evidence, and there were many parties working together to kill him.
, punishments were quickly drawn up: the ringleaders and party members were killed, the family members were exiled to Rinan County, Empress Dong was confiscated with the Queen's seal, and after the birth, she would be imprisoned in the Yeting Prison.
Hearing this result, Dong Cheng couldn't accept this fact at all. He kept patting the railings in prison and asked the queen sternly if she had given birth to an heir. Even though he knew that there was no hope anymore, he was still pitiful.
Put your life into a nephew who doesn't even know whether he exists.
How did the jailers know about this kind of thing? Dong Cheng yelled and cursed in prison, which made everyone extremely upset. One of the jailers couldn't stand it. He was about to let Dong Cheng see the "power of the jailer" when he saw a young man.
Walking towards here, he quickly calmed down his anger, bowed and said, "Sima Cao."
The person who came was none other than Tingwei Zhuo Cao and Sima Zhi, who had passed the imperial examination and stood out from the palace examination. He was ordered to see Dong Cheng. When he heard that Dong Cheng was restless in prison, he asked the jailers to retreat first.
Someone came outside. Dong Cheng identified him carefully and asked, "Who are you?"
Sima Zhi reported home expressionlessly.
Seeing that the other party was still polite, Dong Cheng said hurriedly: "I seem to remember you. You are one of the imperial students appointed by His Majesty, right?"
Sima Zhi nodded, and then went straight to the point: "You don't have to make any noise anymore. News came from the palace just now that the queen gave birth to a princess." He looked at Dong Cheng, whose face suddenly turned pale, and said in a routine manner: "Hu
Miao, Zuo Ling has already confessed his crime, and Dong Feng, Fufeng on the right, also committed suicide on the way back to Chang'an after being arrested. Mr. Yang, Mr. Cheng sent me here to ask Mr. Dong one last time whether there is anything else that he has not yet confessed."
"Impossible...impossible..." Dong Cheng shook his head in confusion, his eyes were blank, and said to himself: "How could it be the princess...the divination of those alchemists cannot be wrong, it is clearly...
The prince is the one!" He suddenly jumped forward, grasped the railing tightly with both hands, and glared at Sima Zhi ferociously: "You are lying to me! You are all lying to me! I want to see His Majesty! If it weren't for me back then,
With secret help, Li Jue, Guo Si and others have conquered Guanzhong long ago! How can there be a later ZTE! I, Dong Chengrong, have made numerous meritorious deeds for the imperial court over the years, and have done so many things for Your Majesty... Yes, Your Majesty
You can’t kill me…”
He suddenly remembered something, and looked at Sima Zhi with a crying and laughing face. Sima Zhi frowned and took half a step back. Several jailers waiting outside heard the movement and walked in. Seeing this appearance,
Just as he was about to intervene, Sima Zhi stopped him with his hand.
Dong Cheng was still there, smiling like crazy, and said without hesitation: "Your Majesty ordered me to do these things. I did not kill Guan Ning, and I did not want to kill those celebrities and wealthy people."
...It's all Your Majesty...How could Your Majesty kill me? I still want to do it for Your Majesty..."
Sima Zhi's expression finally changed, and he said to the jailer beside him: "This man is already crazy. If he doesn't make slanderous remarks and disturb the public, you should stop his mouth now."
The jailer agreed and quickly entered the cell to gag Dong Cheng. However, the crazy Dong Cheng was very strong. Several jailers beat and kicked him and finally tied him up and subdued him, with a rag stuffed in his mouth.
, the prison became quiet. One of the warders looked at the man lying on his back, and let out a vague "ho ho" laugh. There were tears in his eyes, and his gray hair was messy on his cheeks, like a beggar.
How can these refugee children still look like Han hussars generals or relatives of the emperor?
Everyone couldn't help but sigh. One of the jailers seemed to want to flatter him, and took the initiative to suggest that Dong Cheng could be killed secretly, and that he would commit suicide publicly. This would be both peaceful and avoid long nights and nightmares.
Unexpectedly, Sima Zhi was dissatisfied and reprimanded him: "Mr. Yang always adheres to the national law when managing prisons. How can you ignore the laws and regulations like this?"
Jiaofang Hall.
Empress Dong was dying on the bed and panting heavily. She was thankful that she had survived, but she was also shocked by the content of the report just now. She raised her weak hand towards the palace official who could not see clearly behind the curtain:
"Child... hold it to me..."
But the next moment someone broke in, wrapped the weak Empress Dong in a quilt, and several people worked together to carry her out.
"What are you going to do? Put me down quickly... put me down!" Empress Dong struggled feebly in the quilt, but the people around her ignored her at all. Instead, there were people at the door announcing that she had been deposed.
Empress Dong was crying. When she passed by a dowry, she knocked it over and reached out to get something. She squeezed it tightly in the palm of her hand as if she had found a treasure. When she was taken out of the side hall and about to be taken out of the palace, she
Throwing down the things in his hands, he exhausted all his strength and fell unconscious.
The emperor looked at the swaddling baby girl, stared at it for a long time, and sighed softly: "I have a son and a daughter." After that, he motioned for someone to hand the swaddling baby girl to Zhen Mi: "You have no heirs, so you will raise this child."
Bar."
Zhen Mi was so blessed that she quickly said: "Your Majesty, would you like to give the princess a name?"
"Let's just call her Liu Ru." The emperor's heart moved. He casually named her and acquiesced to the identity of his eldest daughter.
Zhen Mi had been observing the emperor's expression, and upon seeing this, she agreed with satisfaction.
Liu Jiang looked on, a little surprised. Fortunately, her biggest enemy Dong had been eliminated, and Fu Shou's entry into the Jiao Fang was unstoppable. She had nothing to worry about in the future.
The emperor didn't stop here anymore and left the palace. The sunshine outside was just right, warm but not hot. Walking on the road in the palace, the emperor suddenly felt that his eyes were illuminated by a golden light, and he couldn't help but step on it as he walked over.
Live in that thing.
Mu Shun hurriedly picked up the thing from the ground. As he moved, a dirty, slightly worn-out deer-antler golden walker shone dimly in the sun.
Looking at this familiar Jinbu Yao, suddenly, the emperor's thoughts seemed to go back to the afternoon many years ago. Not long after he first took power, everything was still very immature. That day... was also the day when Empress Dong entered the palace. He
He remembered that Empress Dong had been looking for this thing that day, and he remembered that everything that happened later did not seem to be as bad as he imagined. To be honest, the other party was actually qualified for being a queen all these years, but...
Empress Dong loved luxury and had countless treasures, but she never wanted to throw away this simple gold walking stick. At that time, the emperor deliberately pretended not to understand what the look in his eyes meant. It turned out that the answer was all in this piece of jewelry left by the other party.
The golden step shakes.
"Mu Shun." The emperor finally moved his eyes away from the golden walking stick. He walked straight up to Luan Yu. The moment he lowered his head before entering the carriage, he suddenly said: "I will pass on the edict tomorrow to depose Dong Dong."
…Moved to Yichun Temple in Shanglin Garden.”
"Thank you." Although I don't know why the emperor suddenly changed his mind, Mu Shun always obeyed his orders and did not say much about his objections. Anyway, even if the emperor misses people after seeing things, he will not return to Weiyang Palace after his death.
, he asked tentatively: "Is this thing..."
"Take it to her." The emperor had already entered the palace, and his voice sounded muffled across the carriage: "Don't be short of money."
Mu Shun felt confident and quickly agreed.
After quickly resolving Dong Cheng's affairs, Cao Cao officially entered the palace and resumed his life. As the first to eliminate Dong, he also vented his bad breath on the scholars for many years. In the past few days, Cao Cao's reputation in the court was soaring, and everyone smiled at him.
.On the palace road entering the palace, Cao Cao and Wang Bi took advantage of the noise of Hu Lang and the carriages and horses. They whispered softly in the open carriage on all sides. When they met, they saw Wu Shuo, the minister of law, coming in the carriage.
Before Cao Cao's carriage stopped, Wu Shuo stopped the carriage from a distance, got out of the carriage all the way, came over and saluted Cao Cao with a flattering smile: "Mr. Cao has been really tired from punishing traitors for the country these days.
"
"Since you are serving the country, there is no need to be tired." Cao Cao also smiled and looked at Wu Shuo. The relationship between the two seemed to others to be very good: "Wu Gong also contributed a lot to this matter.
When I return to see His Majesty, I must intercede a few words for Duke Wu. Otherwise, if people outside the court don't know what Duke Wu is doing here, and insist on imprisoning Duke Wu together, isn't it my fault?"
"I don't dare, I don't dare." Wu Shuo was actually a little afraid. Although he seemed to have received the promise from Xun and others, the pressure on him from the outside world was not small now. If his reputation was too bad, would Xun be willing to burn bridges?
, no one can say that he suddenly cherished feathers, so Wu Shuo had to find his way to Cao Cao, just because Cao Cao once told him his philosophy of "being a man of merit". As long as Cao Cao saw that he was still useful,
If he is willing to protect him, Wu Shuo will be able to escape another purge again: "Everything depends on Mr. Cao! After the project is completed, I am willing to fill in the ravines for him!"
"Emphatic words, important words!" Cao Cao waved his hands with a smile, exchanged a few words, and the horses and carriages on both sides passed by.
In order to show respect, Wu Shuo specifically asked the carriage to stop aside and let Cao Cao pass by first. Cao Cao refused several times and finally had no choice but to leave first on the grounds that he was eager to answer the call.
"This guy is capricious and only cares about profit. Do you really want to keep him by your side?" Wang Bi glanced back, his eyes showing a bit of disdain.
"It's hard to find a gentleman, but there are a lot of villains." Cao Cao turned around, stopped laughing, and snorted: "Wen Ruo helped me so much, but now he is below such villains, even if he doesn't say anything
, but in my heart I feel like I have suffered the humiliation! Dong Cheng and his family have been uprooted. How many positions are waiting to be filled, and where will it be his turn to be Wu Shuo?"
Wang Biwei said yes, he knew his own trade and didn't care what Cao Cao could give him in the end, as long as he didn't work with a despicable villain like Wu Shuo.
"I remember that according to the old system, when the three princes, ministers and others are walking on the road, when encountering ministers, servants, etc., they must get back to the car to avoid it." Cao Cao did not know where he remembered such a rule. This was also the rule since Emperor Guangwu respected Zhongtai.
One of the signs that the power of the inner dynasty is greater than that of the outer dynasty: "I didn't give way in advance, did I?"
Seeing Cao Cao self-examination, Wang Bi, as a subordinate, naturally wanted to find excuses for him: "This is not Duke Ming's fault. It was Wu Shuo who deliberately flattered and broke the rules. Just now, Duke Ming had to avoid the road several times and let him go."
Go first, but he insisted, and the edict was issued urgently without any delay... How can I blame Duke Ming for this!"
"Yes, you can't blame me." Cao Cao accepted Wang Bi's reason calmly, nodded slightly, and said with a pun.
The next day, Shangshu Ling Wu Shuo was dismissed by the emperor for impeaching the official, Cao Cao, for misconduct. Later, he was implicated by Hu Miao and others in prison, but he still could not escape death.
ending.
After the fall of the Dong family, Cao Cao's family quickly stepped on the Dong family and rose up in the court, and most of the gaps left by the former were filled by people recommended by Cao Cao.
For example, Xun Yu, Cao Cao's former counselor in Yanzhou, officially took over the position of Shangshu Ling. Cao Cao's wife and good friend, Ding Chong, the Prime Minister of Jibei, went to the north to conquer the country and became the Sili Xiaowei. Mao Jie, who was engaged in the administration of Yanzhou, also became an official.
Minister of the Ministry, participated in the evaluation of officials' performance... In addition, Wang Bi, Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, Wei Zhong and others were also promoted.
Cao Cao himself was promoted three times in a short period of time and became a cavalry general and a minister.