"The people of Jizhou County have long been oppressed by the Jiang family. After Prince Xie defeated the rebel army and rescued them from their suffering, some people have indeed suggested building a temple and erecting a statue for Prince Xie." Sun Yan reported truthfully after being summoned.
The emperor had been sitting and listening to his report, but at the end, he suddenly stood up and sternly questioned Sun Yan: "Why didn't you tell me about such an important matter immediately?"
“Because Prince Xie immediately dissuaded them, saying that he was only acting on orders, and that it was His Majesty who was rescuing the people of Jizhou. If they were to be grateful, they should be grateful to His Majesty!” Sun Yan quickly said.
"Did Xie Shaoling really say that?" The emperor sat back down and asked calmly.
Is Xie Shaoling really that kind?
Why is he so disbelieving?
“Absolutely true! I have indeed seen longevity tablets enshrined in the homes of ordinary people in Jizhou County. The tablets are inscribed with Your Majesty’s honorific title,” Sun Yan said earnestly.
The emperor's lips curled up slightly, but before he could laugh out loud, he noticed the contradiction in Sun Yan's words.
"This isn't right. They were grateful to Xie Shaoling, so they built a temple and erected a statue. How come when it comes to me, all they do is offer a longevity tablet?" He forced down the corners of his mouth, his hands clenching into fists.
“Because the people of Jizhou County are living in great hardship, they are starving and cold, so where would they find the spare money to build temples and sculpt golden statues? In order not to increase their burden, Prince Xie suggested to them that as long as they are sincere, it is the same to enshrine a longevity tablet at home. When their lives improve and they have spare money, it will not be too late to build temples!” Sun Yan said.
As the emperor listened, he felt his eyes welling up and his clenched fists loosened.
Although the longevity tablets erected by the common people to pray for his well-being were already quite impressive and enough for him to boast about to his ancestors, wouldn't it be even more glorious to build a temple and statue for him?
Fortunately, the national treasury is currently full, so he's not short of money!
The money that the Jiang family exploited in Jizhou Prefecture was then used for the construction of Jizhou Prefecture. Isn't that another way of taking from the people and using it for the people?
However, he should bear the good reputation for all of this!
In the heat of the moment, the emperor drafted an imperial edict.
The Jiang family has an astonishing foundation; a mere fraction of the resources they possess in the small Jizhou prefecture would suffice.
The people of Jizhou will be even more grateful to him!
“Your Majesty, there are still over 30,000 troops in Jizhou Prefecture who were forced to rebel with the former prefect. They were only following orders and had no other choice. Moreover, they later realized their mistakes and turned to the light. It was thanks to their help that the suppression of this rebellion went so smoothly. Those troops are all native to Jizhou Prefecture, and their parents and relatives are all there. Could Your Majesty please show them leniency and not hold them accountable for their past actions? They would surely be even more grateful to Your Majesty!” Sun Yan said, taking the opportunity to speak, remembering the young prince’s instructions.
Both being soldiers, and soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders, Sun Yan naturally sympathized with the troops who were forced to follow the former prefect in rebellion.
However, having served the emperor for many years, he knew the emperor's character well and dared not plead with the emperor easily.
The young prince is indeed wise. He was advised that pleading for mercy is possible, but the timing must be right. He should choose a time when His Majesty has the best impression of the people of Jizhou County in order to succeed and avoid harming himself.
The reason why the emperor has not yet dealt with the rebellious troops is twofold: first, he wants to keep them around to restrain Xie Shaoling; second, he does not know how to deal with them.
It would be good if Xie Shaoling did something foolish to protect them.
As for Sun Yan's request, the emperor was indeed somewhat tempted, but even if he spared the troops under his jurisdiction in order to build a temple and statue—
Their numbers were not thirty or forty, nor three or four hundred, but thirty or forty thousand, and they were well-trained regular troops, at least stronger than the guards.
If 30,000 to 40,000 people were released, they could secretly regroup and pose a military threat to the imperial court.
He wasn't so blinded by the glory of building temples and sculpting statues.
These troops under their command are all citizens of Dayuan. They cannot be killed, nor can they be easily used or released. It is a very difficult situation.
Therefore, the emperor wanted Xie Shaoling to make a choice for him, a choice in which Xie Shaoling would bear whatever the consequences.
He was waiting for Xie Shaoling to come and beg him.
"From now on, you must inform me of everything related to Xie Shaoling, no matter how small!" the emperor said to Sun Yan.
This reflects dissatisfaction with Sun Yan's failure to report the fact.
"Yes!" Sun Yan replied respectfully, her expression calm.
Even if it weren't for the later plea for leniency, he wouldn't have told the emperor such a trivial matter in the first place.
The Imperial Guards had the duty of supervising the officials on behalf of the emperor. If they told the emperor everything, the emperor would have no time to do anything else and would just spend his days listening to gossip.
The imperial edict was to commend the people of Jizhou Prefecture. Accompanying the edict to Jizhou Prefecture were gifts bestowed by the emperor, which were escorted by the Imperial Guards.
However, the imperial edict did not mention what would happen to the 30,000 to 40,000 troops under its jurisdiction. Sun Yan felt it was a pity, because judging from the emperor's expression at the time, he thought it was quite promising.
The imperial edict sent by the emperor to Jizhou Prefecture was public and carried out with great fanfare, as if he wanted to make sure the people of Dayuan knew how much he valued Jizhou Prefecture.
After learning the contents of the imperial edict, Xie Chang'an's face darkened.
Even the glory of building temples and sculpting statues couldn't move the emperor, which shows that the emperor valued the things he wanted to do with the troops more than his own personal glory.
Most likely, they still want to target the father.
Mingming's father led the army to quell the rebellion and won a great victory, bringing back at least ten years' worth of tax revenue for the emperor. Such merit should at least be rewarded, if not promoted.
But the emperor was different; he didn't even offer a word of praise, using his father and then discarding him. He was truly heartless and ungrateful!
Such an emperor is not worthy of the loyalty of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion at all!
If it weren't for the addition of Ye Jingchen, a variable who, despite being the crown prince, was willing to scheme for the sake of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, Xie Chang'an would never have put himself in such a passive position.
The emperor was someone he had seen through thoroughly during the ten years he had spent feigning friendship with him in his previous life.
Suspicious, petty, intolerant, incompetent, yet ambitious and arrogant...
His many bad habits proved his father's words: "He is not the appearance of a wise ruler."
But Ye Jingchen did not give up on such a terrible person. He even tried to reconcile his relationship with his father and wanted them to put aside their past grievances and get along well. I don’t know where he got such great confidence in the emperor.
With the emperor's narrow-mindedness and narrow-mindedness, coupled with the father's infuriating mouth, how could they possibly reconcile?
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