"Where is that traitor? Call me!" Xiao Pingsi said angrily.
He also thought that the King of Qi was just fighting for power and profit.
But he didn't expect that so many things could be done just through Wang Gui, the chief minister of the palace.
That Wang Gui's testimony was rich and he revealed it in quite detail.
Down to how many women the King of Qi had robbed, down to how many benefits were generated by passing in front of He Lou... Also, how many casualties have been caused by those crossbows and dead soldiers so far.
In recent years, many officials who died suddenly in the capital were not in high positions, so they were not conspicuous.
But they are all powerful figures.
In order to put his own people in power, the King of Qi would kill people in relevant positions. He didn't even bother to bribe them, and would send people to fight for any position he liked.
If you can't fight, let the opponent physically disappear.
In the past few years, more than a dozen powerful officials have been killed, and most of them have disappeared.
It seemed like an accident.
"I'm going to announce..." Wang Feng withdrew and went to Prince Qi's Mansion to deliver the oral message.
About half an hour later, King Qi appeared outside the palace.
"Father..." When King Qi saw so many court officials in the palace, he immediately knew that he was going to die.
If there were no others, everything could still be managed, but the emperor could not favor him in public.
So as soon as he entered the palace, King Qi trembled, knelt down, cried and called daddy.
After fluttering for a while, I knelt down hard, and I probably didn’t want my knees anymore.
No one can see this obedient look.
"Sir... what have you done behind my back these years?"
Xiao Pingsi gritted his teeth and threw the closing memorial in front of King Qi.
He held the paperweight and inkstone again, and really wanted to throw it at this traitor's head, but he still held back.
For many years, King Qi behaved like a loser.
Playing around with King Wei, eating, drinking and having fun, he looked like a playboy.
But who would have thought that both of them would be involved in each other's affairs.
In order to gradually gain power among various ministries without making any noise, the King of Qi secretly selected many small figures and promoted them step by step.
The tallest among them is He Louqian, and the guard general Li Chuan of Fuzhou.
In order to find jobs for his subordinates, he even assassinated many civil and military officials to clear obstacles for them.
If he is allowed to operate like this, in more than ten years, all the people from the King of Qi within the six departments will be able to hold the position of minister or chief minister.
That is an extremely huge party force.
With such thoughts, King Qi's heart is clearly revealed.
But suddenly, the He Louqian incident happened, causing the party members that King Qi had arranged for more than ten years to be severely hit.
Everyone can guess how angry King Qi was when the incident happened in front of Helou.
After more than ten years of operation, there was only one third-grade minister and one third-grade general stationed abroad... But all of a sudden, they all fell asleep. King Qi was naturally furious, so it was quite reasonable for him to be so dizzy that he assassinated Ye Hongyi to vent his anger.
In the Fengtian Palace, several ministers were silent, and only the regretful cries of King Qi were heard.
Cried till tears broke down.
So much so that the emperor looked intolerable.
But now that things have come to this, everyone will not give King Qi a chance, otherwise they will all be hated by King Qi in the future.
Xiao Chaoguo was the first to bear the brunt: "Your Majesty, last night's case shocked the government and the public. It is the first time in a hundred years that an official of the fourth rank or above in the Third Law Department was assassinated in Beijing."
This is to make the emperor aware of the important impact of this incident so as to avoid making wrong judgments.
Chen Li: "Master Ye, the majestic swordsman of the Xuanjian Division, who is famous on the list of masters, almost couldn't save his life in the capital... All the officials were frightened and horrified, and they were in panic all day long."
"Your Majesty, this is a mistake made by the patrol camp. Please forgive me..." Zhao Gu knelt down without blaming the blame.
A centurion's mistake is not enough to bring harm to the commander of the patrol battalion.
But Zhao Gu had to show off.
Let alone the emperor, anyone will prefer someone who dares to take responsibility.
The governor of Jingzhao said quickly: "In this round of encirclement and suppression of those dead soldiers, the patrol battalion was at the forefront and suffered a lot of damage... Commander Zhao did not neglect his duty, it is just that some villains were greedy for profit and derelict in their duties."
The reason for speaking for the patrol camp is not for Zhao Gu.
If the patrol battalion shows weakness, the Forbidden Army and the Hanging Sword Division will strengthen, but they are already strong enough.
As the only patrol battalion that can contain these two parties, no one hopes that the patrol battalion will be dealt with too much.
"Assassinating court officials, forming cliques for personal gain, greedy for profit and abolishing the law, secretly hiding bows and crossbows..."
"Your crime is nothing compared to what He Lou came here to do..."
Xiao Pingsi looked at King Qi, the soft light in his eyes disappeared, and his eyes were filled with coldness.
King Qi did not defend himself, but knelt down and said, "I know I was wrong. Father, please forgive me..."
He cried for a long time, but he didn't see the emperor softening his heart, so he stopped crying.
To avoid embarrassment.
"Go back to your fiefdom. Don't let me see you again in this life." Xiao Pingsi took a deep breath and finally made a decision.
The ministers did not dissuade him, nor did they feel that it was not enough.
Everyone is happy to hear this ending, so I won’t say much.
As for the more serious punishment... For a prince, this is already very severe. Let the King of Qi join the vassal early, completely dispelling his ambition to compete for the crown prince.
As long as it does not affect the court situation, the ministers in the capital will not care.
"Father?" King Qi was shocked when he heard this.
Being banned from entering the capital forever is a severe punishment.
Even if the emperor dies in the future, he will not even be able to come to express condolences, and will be doomed to bear the charge of unfilial piety.
In an era where loyalty and filial piety were the mainstream, this was tantamount to stripping the King of Qi naked and making everyone in the world reviled him.
Originally, the King of Qi thought that he would be reduced from a prince to a county king at most, but he did not expect to directly fight back to the fiefdom. If he had known that, he would not resist without any excuse.
"Get out!" Xiao Ping suppressed the fire and closed his eyes.
King Qi was stunned, knowing that there was no way around it, so he could only smile twice.
Then he kowtowed and said: "Father, take care, I am leaving..."
Having said that, without waiting for the emperor to say goodbye, he got up and staggered out of the palace.
"The results of the case will be reported to the cabinet and distributed to all provinces..."
"Yes." Chen Li, the minister of Dali Temple, responded.
Xiao Pingsi waved his hand and motioned for everyone to retreat.
Only Wang Feng came back from outside the palace and stopped talking.
"If you have anything to say, just say it." Xiao Ping said coldly.
Wang Feng bowed his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Concubine Shu is outside the palace..."
Concubine Shu?
The biological mother of King Qi was a quiet and elegant woman.
Thinking of her, although Xiao Pingsi had no love for her, he could not feel bored.
Her temperament is so good that no one can fault her.
Xiao Pingsi sighed softly: "Ask her to go. If she is willing, she can go to Qidi with the traitor."
"Your Majesty, isn't this against the rules?" Wang Feng was worried that he would be questioned by the royal family.
"It's fate after all... Just ask her. If she is willing to go, I will remove her as a concubine. It won't be a problem."
Wang Feng accepted the order and went out in silence.
Soon, Xiao Pingsi heard the crying coming from outside the hall.
Wang Feng came in and said: "Your Majesty, Concubine Shu took off her hairpin and knelt down outside the palace to thank her."
He looked at the emperor carefully, wondering what the Ninth Five Emperor was thinking in his heart at this moment.
Probably displeased, even angry.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Pingsi laughed at himself: "I know that there is no concubine in the harem who can love me more than her own son."
"Your Majesty...this is just human nature, don't be sad." Wang Feng couldn't bear to persuade.
"It's human nature... Yes, I shouldn't be greedy. It's just a marriage of interests..." Xiao Pingsi said calmly.
…
The next day, the cabinet issued a notice closing the case.
Explain and handle the details of the case between He Louqian and King Qi.
It is time for those who were punished earlier to be executed. Cases under the emperor's personal supervision do not need to wait until the autumn.
Wang Feng personally visited the Prince of Qi’s Mansion to declare:
"The King of Qi, Xiao Xuan, is lawless and immoral. He is greedy for profit and forgets justice. He defies the laws of the country... He has deprived himself of the title of prince and demoted him to the rank of county prince. He will vassal Qi immediately and he will not leave without permission..."
King Qi thought that he could deal with it calmly, since it had already been decided.
But when the will came to him, he still couldn't hold it back, his face turned red with excitement and his eyes filled with tears.
From a prince to a county king, he was also driven back to his fiefdom and could not return to the capital for the rest of his life...
Since this dynasty, no prince has been treated so harshly.
Destined to be nailed to the pillar of shame.
"Your Highness, please accept the order." Wang Feng sighed. He had no intention of ridiculing or adding insult to injury, but rather felt pity.
If I had known today, why bother in the beginning?
"My son... take the order." King Qi's gums trembled and he tried his best not to cry.
But after the imperial edict was handed over to him, Wang Feng's words still allowed him to break his defense.
"Your Majesty leaves room for words. Your Majesty, please reflect on yourself... His Majesty deprived Concubine Shu of her concubine status and allowed her to return to the fiefdom with His Majesty. This has never happened before."
"Father!"
King Qi couldn't hold it back and burst into tears. This time he was not acting.