northernbook Chapter 195: Being sent to the Imperial Mausoleum to do hard labor
Chapter 195: Being sent to the Imperial Mausoleum to do hard labor
The court officials unanimously demanded severe punishment for the crown prince and the second prince.
Although these court officials basically belonged to their two factions and attacked each other on a daily basis, no one had expected that the future crown prince they were loyal to would be such a cruel person.
Even if you want to fight for the merit of following the dragon, you have to be alive to enjoy it.
But looking at the actions of these two people, their methods are cruel and they will do anything to achieve their goals. They are willing to put ordinary people to death for the sake of merit. Are such people really worthy of their loyalty?
Will there be a day in the future when one of these two becomes unhappy and starts taking action against them?
They can accept the mediocrity of the future monarch, but they cannot accept that the future monarch is a cruel and inhumane person.
This is because, if the monarch is mediocre, the ministers can work harder. As long as the monarch is not foolish or does things in a disorderly manner, at least maintaining the normal operation of the country will not be a problem. If they are lucky, they can even wait until the next generation grows up, and maybe that will be a promising and wise monarch.
But once the monarch becomes cruel, kills people at will, and has no bottom line to achieve his goals, then the court is really finished!
The officials of both factions held this idea and asked the emperor to punish severely.
In addition, there were several other forces in the court, such as the unwavering emperor faction, the pure minister faction that did not get involved in party struggles, and the speculative faction that wanted to support other princes with ulterior motives but had not found the opportunity yet... In order to muddy the waters, these forces wrote letters to the emperor and begged him to give an explanation to the people of the world.
So, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince lived up to everyone's expectations and gave up -
Based on the evidence presented by the Minister of Revenue, the emperor punished all the officials involved.
The crown prince was stripped of his position in the six ministries, and the two ministers who had gone with him to provide disaster relief were all demoted and exiled. The local county magistrate and state officials who had collaborated with him in killing 30,000 civilians had their homes confiscated and their heads beheaded.
The second prince was also stripped of his position in the army, and his military power was handed over to others. All the generals and soldiers who had participated in the suppression of bandits together were severely punished. Some had their property confiscated, some were exiled, and no one was spared.
In addition, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince were punished to guard the imperial mausoleum and participate in the construction of the imperial mausoleum, doing hard labor like the laborers there for a period of six months. During this period, they were not allowed to have any help from anyone. After six months, their performance would be observed to see whether they could be released.
Doing so would be equivalent to exiling the crown prince and the second prince outside the center of power.
They lost their official positions, their confidants had their properties confiscated, they were exiled, and beheaded. The power they had worked so hard to build up collapsed, and they themselves were away from the capital for half a year.
No one can predict what will happen in the next six months.
"Your Majesty, please have mercy on me. I know I was wrong! Please give me another chance!" This is the second prince.
"Father, I will continue to be filial to you!" This is the prince.
But this time the emperor ignored them and just waved his hand and had them taken away. The rest of the matters would naturally be handled by special people, and there would also be special people to arrange for them to go to the imperial mausoleum.
The subordinates still have some sense of propriety when doing things.
Although the emperor severely punished the crown prince and the second prince, he did not depose the crown prince or demote the second prince to a commoner, which meant that the emperor did not completely dislike his two sons.
Therefore, when subordinates do things, they still have to leave some room for maneuver.
For example, they were given some time to make arrangements and deal with the aftermath, and allowed to return to the palace to explain what needed to be explained. More importantly, the emperor sent the two of them to the imperial mausoleum to do hard labor, but he did not forbid them from bringing others with them.
Maybe these two princes want to bring a few trusted followers to serve them?
Therefore, before being exiled, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince returned to their respective residences under the guard and escort of the Imperial Guards.
As soon as the prince returned home, he had a huge tantrum and threw everything he could at hand. Tea cups, vases and other porcelain items were broken all over the floor, which made the butler afraid to get close to him.
"Your Highness, what happened?" asked the butler.
"Today, someone in the court brought up an old incident from a few years ago and impeached me for killing 30,000 civilians while providing disaster relief." The prince gritted his teeth and said, "The person who impeached me was that old bastard Lu Jingzhong. He was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Revenue happened to be outside my sphere of influence, which gave him an opportunity to take advantage of it."
The housekeeper was shocked when he heard this:
"Your Highness, what should we do now?"
"My father asked me to guard the imperial mausoleum. You go and bring Lin Pianpian to me." The prince said, "I will take her with me when I go to the imperial mausoleum this time. I want to see if this matter has anything to do with her."
Upon hearing this, the housekeeper immediately sent someone to bring Lin Pianpian over, and Lin Pianpian's maid Xiaochan also followed.
Upon learning that Lin Pianpian was going to the imperial mausoleum with the prince, Xiaochan quickly spoke:
"Your Highness, the lady's injuries from the previous torture have not yet fully healed. I'm afraid she can't stand the fatigue of traveling."
The prince stared at Lin Pianpian and said coldly:
"It's just a worthless life, so what if it's exhausting? I can go to this imperial mausoleum, but can't she? And she is so delicate?"
These words left people speechless.
Lin Pianpian dragged her weak body, kowtowed to the prince, and said:
"I am willing to follow you to the imperial mausoleum, serve you personally, and share the joys and sorrows with you. Your Highness, I still say the same thing. It is not me who betrayed you. I will prove it with my actual actions."
"You speak better than you sing, but you still can't explain why you went to Babao Tower that day." The prince was suspicious and didn't want to believe Lin Pianpian at all.
At this moment, the concierge outside came over to report:
"Your Highness, Princess Yun'an is here."
Before Ye Zhaonan could say anything, he saw a figure rushing in from a distance and said:
"I heard that His Highness will be exiled to the Imperial Mausoleum?"
"Princess Yun'an is so well-informed. I just came back from the palace not long ago, and you already knew about it." Ye Zhaonan is like a powder keg now, and he will say something to anyone who provokes him.
It was clear that he thought Shi Lidie was monitoring his whereabouts and movements.
But Shi Lidie didn't care at all. She said directly:
"It's not that I'm well-informed, it's just that the news has spread all over the streets! I don't know who spread the news in the capital, saying that Your Highness killed 30,000 disaster victims when he was providing disaster relief. This is immoral and inhumane, and you are not fit to be the crown prince!"
"I was planning to go to the tavern, but when I heard the news, I hurried over to confirm with you. Could it be true?"
When Ye Zhaonan heard this, his face twisted:
"You mean, it's all over the street? And Ye Jiayan's matter has also been spread?"
"The second prince? What's the matter with him?" Shi Lidie asked puzzledly.
"Good, very good!" Ye Zhaonan understood immediately, "He, Ye Jiayan, is not much better than me. He also used the heads of ordinary people to act as a bandit leader, but he sent people to leak my affairs, causing my reputation among the people to plummet! Butler, go and send someone to spread what Ye Jiayan did! If I don't live well, he won't live well either!"
Shi Lidie looked at Ye Zhaonan who was so angry that he lost his mind, and couldn't help laughing in her heart, but she said anxiously:
"Your Highness, now is not the time to get angry with the Second Prince."
"You will be exiled to the Imperial Mausoleum for at least half a year. The situation in the capital will be very volatile during this period. You must have a backup plan!"