HLnovel Chapter 221 Yi Tribe
Chapter 221 Yi Tribe
Chapter 221 The Three Yi Tribes
Inside the back hall, as a group of people knelt on the ground, the silence was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
'Plotting to establish a crown prince' plus 'very disappointed in me' made the nature of the matter more serious than ever!
A group of civil and military officials were silent.
Some people had already thought of the wording, but because of Liu Bian's short sentence, they could no longer say it.
The most nervous person was not Liu Xie or Fu Wan, but Cai Yong.
This ambitious father-in-law was now pale and trembling all over, as if he had fallen into an icy cave.
Liu Bian looked down at the kneeling court officials, his expression motionless, but a fierce look in his eyes flickered constantly.
During the Han Dynasty, I don't know when it started, but the rules and regulations collapsed and people acted recklessly. Not only did the local officials become "de facto princes", but the civil and military officials in the court also did whatever they wanted without any respect!
Even after Liu Bian had rectified the situation several times and issued warnings again and again, this incident still happened!
Secretly colluding and plotting to establish a crown prince was a provocation to Liu Bian's authority and a challenge to the imperial power!
Liu Bian will never tolerate this!
He took a deep breath and thought about what to do.
Wang Yun, Liu Xie, Fu Wan, Cai Yong, these people are all important officials of the dynasty. They need to be handled properly and even more so, they need to be strongly deterred!
"Bian Er,"
In the silence, Empress Dowager He could not help but smile stiffly, saying, "It is the responsibility of the court officials to recommend the prince. It is not a big deal..."
Liu Bian turned his head slightly and glanced at this cheap mother.
Empress Dowager He's smile became even more rigid, but she felt a little embarrassed in public. She frowned and said, "Let's not talk about Wang Yun. What's wrong with Liu Xie recommending the prince? Let him kneel all the time. Don't you always say that brothers should be friendly and respectful to each other?"
Liu Bian's anger was rising. This cheap mother was really stupid.
Looking at Empress Dowager He, and then glancing at the court officials kneeling on the ground, Liu Bian wished he could cut Wang Yun into pieces!
Empress Dowager Dong was much more shrewd than Empress Dowager He, and was more able to read people's expressions. Seeing Liu Bian's gloomy eyes, she quickly said, "Your Majesty, Liu Xie is still young and was instigated by the traitors. He did not do it voluntarily. Please understand your majesty."
The old queen mother was a little more sober, but Liu Bian ignored her and searched the kneeling people. When he saw Cai Yong, he said calmly, "Father-in-law."
Upon hearing this, Cai Wenji, who was standing nearby, clasped her hands together tightly, her face full of panic.
Cai Yong's heart was beating like a drum, his mouth was dry, his eyes were fixed on the ground, and he said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, your Majesty is confused. Wang Yun, Wang Yun told me that establishing a crown prince is the foundation of the country, and it can also fight rebellion and curb false rumors... Your Majesty, your Majesty is confused, so I believed him..."
Liu Bian snorted coldly and said, "This prince happens to be your grandson. It's just right that you are confused!"
"I am guilty!" Cai Yong fell to the ground, his eyes full of fear.
Liu Bian looked at the others, scanned the room, and finally said to Liu Xie: "Liu Xie, did Wang Yun also say the same thing to you?"
"Yes." Liu Xie knelt on the ground, his voice trembling.
Empress Dowager Dong watched from the side, extremely worried.
In the past, when Liu Bian wanted to kill Liu Xie, he did not have sufficient excuses. But now, he could kill him openly with the charge of "colluding with court officials with evil intentions."
Empress Dowager He still didn't understand why the situation had become so serious and wanted to say something.
"Humph,"
Liu Bian spoke first, staring coldly at the people in front of him, and said, "With a few high-sounding words, you deceived the prince, the chief censor, and the minister of rites. Are you so easy to be deceived?"
"I am guilty!" Liu Xie, Fu Wan, and Cai Yong said again.
"Cough cough..."
Suddenly, Lu Zhi started to cough violently, and then he held it back, raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty, I have behaved inappropriately in front of you, please punish me."
Liu Bian frowned, ignored him, and said, "Prime Minister, what do you think should be done about this matter?"
Yang Biao's fat face was as hard as iron, his expression was solemn, he stood up and raised his hand, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, Wang Yun colluded with the court officials to establish the crown prince, his treacherous means are unpredictable, I request that he be severely punished!"
Liu Bian's eyes sharpened a little, and he said, "What I want to ask you is, how to deal with it?"
Yang Biao habitually evaded the responsibility. Facing Liu Bian's gaze, he shuddered in his heart and said hastily, "I suggest that he be imprisoned and judged by the...Tingweifu, and sentenced strictly."
He originally wanted to say that the three judicial departments, namely the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Supreme Court, would jointly try the case. However, Sima Jun, the Minister of Justice, was under the command of Wang Yun, and since the Censorate was involved in the case, it could only be tried by the Supreme Court.
Zhong Yao suddenly stood up, raised his hand and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, this case involves the Minister of the Left, the Prince of Bohai, the Chief Censor, and the Minister of Rites. It is not something that the Supreme Court can decide."
Yang Biao opened his eyes slightly and said quickly: "Your Majesty, I request your permission to personally examine the case as Prime Minister!"
Zhong Yao came to his senses, glanced at Yang Biao's back, and said, "The Shangshutai is in charge of government affairs, and the prime minister has no power to judge."
Yang Biao was worried. Seeing that Zhong Yao did not leave him any way out, he turned around with a fat face and a big belly and shouted, "Do you want His Majesty to try the case?"
Zhong Yao raised his hand towards him without saying anything.
Xun You, Xun Yu and others looked at each other secretly. For such a big case, everyone actually knew that the decision had to be made by the palace.
"Cough cough,"
Lu Zhi suppressed his cough, stood up with a haggard face, and said, "Your Majesty, this case is complicated. We must give Wang Yun a chance to refute it so that the case can be clarified and neither wronged nor lenient."
"I second the motion." Sima Jun, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
Liu Bian looked at him with his eyes half-closed.
From what he knew, Sima Jun was not involved.
Or maybe he's not qualified yet.
Sima Jun's words at this time were actually an act of self-rescue to "clear" himself of the relationship.
Without waiting for Liu Bian to respond, Empress Dowager He said, "If this continues, Wang Yun will freeze to death outside."
Liu Bian looked outside the door. The heavy snow was still falling. Even though there was a charcoal stove in the back hall, he could still feel a slight chill.
Liu Bian glanced at Yang Biao and others, thought about it, and said to himself: That's good, let's get it over with early to avoid any more trouble.
"Bring him in." Liu Bian said lightly.
Dian Wei responded and said in a muffled voice not far away: "Bring him in."
Two guards brushed the snow off Wang Yun and carried him into the house.
There was snow on Wang Yun's head, his lips were trembling, his face was pale, and his whole body was trembling, but his eyes were very calm.
He knelt tremblingly and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
Everyone in the hall, whether sitting or kneeling, felt sad when they saw Wang Yun's appearance.
"You should call yourself a criminal." Pan Yin reminded from the side.
Lady Wang Yun was lying on the ground, curled up in a ball. She was not afraid, but because she was cold. But her tone was very firm. She said, "Your Majesty, I recommended the prince for the sake of the country, for the sake of the Han Dynasty, and for your Majesty. I did nothing wrong."
Liu Bian sneered and said, "You did nothing wrong. If you were doing it right, why did you collude with the King of Bohai and Fu Wan, the Minister of Rites, and even deceive the Queen Mother? Your crime is unforgivable!"
Wang Yun said calmly, "I have not been sneaky, nor have I deceived the Queen Mother. I have spoken the truth. Your Majesty named the eldest prince 'Shao', and the intention is self-evident. Now the rebellion is rampant, and the King of Bohai will write a letter to you, which will achieve multiple goals at once. It is the best strategy for suppressing the rebellion, the court, and Your Majesty. Although I have made some connections, I have no selfish motives. I am thinking about the country of the Han Dynasty. Please understand, Your Majesty!"
"You..." Liu Bian was so stunned by his words that he couldn't refute for a moment!
Yang Biao, Xun You, Xun You, Zhong Yao, Sima Jun and others were still kneeling on the ground, unable to see their expressions clearly.
But many people think that what Wang Yun said makes sense.
At this time, appointing a crown prince is extremely important for consolidating the court and stabilizing the people's hearts!
"Bian'er, in my opinion, why not take this opportunity to establish a crown prince?"
Empress Dowager He looked at Wang Yun with some pity, and argued with Liu: "Liu Shao is not an outsider, he is your son after all."
Liu Bian frowned and ignored Empress Dowager He. As if he could sense the thoughts of some people in the hall, he stared at Wang Yun with cold eyes and said in a cold voice: "No selfish motives? You really have no selfish motives?"
"I have absolutely no selfish motives." Wang Yun said.
He was a little warmer, his face wasn't as pale as before, and his mind was calmer.
You cannot plead guilty. If you don’t plead guilty, you still have a chance to survive. But once you plead guilty, you will be dead!
Liu Bian waved his hand, sat up straight and said, "Everyone, get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The people who had been kneeling for a long time gradually stood up. Some were so stiff that they could hardly get up. You supported me and I supported you. As there were not so many seats, everyone was polite to each other and it was very chaotic.
When Pan Yin saw this, he quickly called the eunuchs to help him and add more seats.
After a while, the civil and military officials finally sat in order, bowed their heads, and no one spoke.
Except for Lu Zhi who occasionally coughed.
Liu Bian suppressed his anger, looked around at the expressions of everyone, and said solemnly: "Wang Yun, you said you have no selfish motives? Let me ask you, did you ask Liu Hong to come to the capital?"
Wang Yun knelt there, raised his hand, his pale face was slightly ruddy, indifferent but firm, he said: "I wrote a letter to Lord Liu. When Your Majesty ascended the throne, you saw that Lord Liu was the most noble among all the people in the court and the country. I asked him to come to the capital to witness the East Palace to stop the gossips."
"You've really thought it through!"
Liu Bian really wanted to kill Wang Yun, and he actually planned such a big game right under his nose!
Wang Yun raised his hand, his face unchanged, and said: "Your Majesty, my death is not a pity, but the crown prince is the foundation of the country and the people's hope. I ask Your Majesty to confer the title as soon as possible to reassure the people."
Liu Bian looked indifferent and said, "I can't appease the people. Do I have to go to the East Palace?"
Liu Xie sat still, glanced at Wang Yun, his face tense, and he hoped very much that Wang Yun would stop talking.
Fu Wan, Cai Yong and others also wanted to strangle Wang Yun's throat and not let him say another word!
Yang Biao, Xun You and others also had solemn expressions. If Wang Yun continued to be so "straightforward", today's events would be difficult to resolve!
Zuo Pushe, Chief Censor, Minister of Rites, and King of Bohai.
As the second-in-command of the Secretariat, Wang Yun actually presided over the affairs of the Secretariat for two years; Fu Wan was the Chief Censor, and his wife was Princess Yang'an; Taichang Qing Cai Yong was the father-in-law of the current emperor and the grandfather of the eldest prince; not to mention King Liu Xie of Bohai, the younger brother of the current emperor!
Normally, dealing with any one of these four people would be earth-shattering, let alone dealing with four of them!
Xun You, Xun Yu, Zhong Yao and others looked at each other calmly, thinking of countermeasures in their minds and calculating the worst consequences at the same time!
Wang Yun did not shut up as they thought. He looked at Liu Bian more seriously and said, "Your Majesty is the ruler of all people, but the East Palace is equally important. I beg for death. Please put the country and the people of our ancestors first and appoint a crown prince as soon as possible!"
As he spoke, Wang Yun fell to the ground and banged his head heavily on the ground.
Liu Bian's expression was suddenly gloomy, this Wang Yun's death is imminent, how dare he join the army!
He looked at Wang Yun and then glanced at the other people present.
These courtiers bowed their heads and remained silent.
Liu Bian narrowed his eyes, his heart burning with anger.
He saw clearly that the reason why these court officials remained silent was that although Wang Yun's methods were questionable, in their view, establishing a crown prince was indeed an imminent matter!
Liu Bian was calculating rapidly in his mind that such a punishment on Wang Yun was bound to seem a bit "wrong" in the eyes of the government and the public, and it was unconvincing.
What's more, he also has to consider Liu Xie, Fu Wan, and Cai Yong.
"His Majesty."
At this time, Pan Yin took the three memorials from outside and handed them to Liu Bian.
Liu Bian frowned. What's the point of submitting a memorial at this time?
He took it, opened it and looked at it. His already ugly expression suddenly became calm, and then the second and third ones appeared.
After reading to the end, he put it down expressionlessly, picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea gently, and looked out the door.
It was snowing heavily and the wind was bitingly cold.
The atmosphere in the back hall seemed to be affected as well. There was no sound at all, and everyone's eyes were on Liu Bian.
Liu Bian's expression after reading the three memorials made them feel uneasy and they had a premonition that something bad was going to happen.
"Cough cough cough,"
Lu Zhi could no longer hold on, and coughed violently, but he still raised his hand and said to Liu Bian: "May I ask your Majesty, what are these three memorials?"
Liu Bian glanced at him and said, "Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, Ding Yuan, the governor of Yangzhou, and Zhu Jun, the governor of Qingzhou, have written to recommend Liu Shao as the crown prince."
Not only Lu Zhi, everyone was shocked when they heard this!
The eyes of everyone in the hall shifted from Liu Bian to Wang Yun's back and profile.
Liu Yu, Ding Yuan, and Zhu Jun, these three people submitted memorials at the same time, it was obviously a premeditated plan!
It is a big taboo for court officials to collude with border commanders!
Yang Biao was pregnant with a big belly and felt a chill in his heart.
He guessed that Wang Yun's plan must be big, but he never expected that there would be three governors who would agree with him!
The two Xuns, Sima Jun, Zhong Yao, Huangfu Song and others all bowed their heads and remained silent.
At this point, Wang Yun would have to die.
Wang Yun, however, remained calm, stood up, raised his hand solemnly, and said, "Your Majesty, please put the country first!"
After saying that, he prostrated himself again.
Liu Bian slowly put down his teacup, and said calmly, "Wang Yun, you have selfish motives, you have deceived the emperor, you have plotted to succeed me, you deserve to be killed. Your entire clan shall be exterminated."
In the back hall, you can hear a pin drop!
They all knew the seriousness of the matter, but they never imagined it would be so serious as to lead to the extermination of the entire clan!
Wang Yun's face suddenly changed, and he stood up abruptly, saying loudly: "Your Majesty, I have no selfish motives, and I am only concerned about the Han Dynasty. Please understand your Majesty!"
Liu Bian ignored him, stared at Yang Biao, and said, "This matter will be handled by the Prime Minister himself."
Yang Biao's fat face trembled, and he raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty, I obey your order."
A friend became depressed, spent hours on the phone, and vomited.
There are not many updates today, so I set a flag: 10,000 updates tomorrow!!!