Chapter 425: Execute Lu Chongyuan and kill Lu's family
Emperor An looked up: "Disloyalty?"
Xiao Yan said, "A little over a month ago, Lu Chongyuan had Lu Jiu'an, the second son of the Lu family, secretly go to the Southland and meet with King Pingshan in private. Not long after, King Pingshan began secretly hoarding grain and buying horses, and even secretly sent people to the territories of several other vassal kings."
Emperor An suddenly sat up straight: "Are you telling the truth?"
"I dare not deceive Your Majesty."
Xiao Yan's face was solemn. "Prince Pingshan's men accidentally visited the Qian family's horse ranch in the south, which aroused Minister Qian's suspicion."
"Because I worked with Minister Qian for a few days during the previous investigation of the grain tax case, Minister Qian was worried that Prince Pingshan would harm Your Majesty, and was also afraid that I was too suspicious and misunderstood Prince Pingshan, so I told me about this matter. It was when I sent people to investigate Prince Pingshan that I accidentally discovered Lu Jiuan's traces."
Xiao Yan didn't say much, but his words were like thunder in Emperor An's ears.
King Pingshan was far away in the south, and it was impossible for the Lu family to go to King Pingshan for no reason. Besides, Lu Chongyuan always knew his taboos.
What does the Lu family want to do by secretly contacting vassal kings and hoarding grain to buy horses?
Rebellion?!
Or maybe they wanted to treat the Crown Prince like they did back then, knowing that he would not tolerate the Lu family, and that they would have a hard time surviving after the incident with Queen Lu, so they wanted to push out a new emperor.
Are they trying to find a new shelter similar to what happened back then so they can continue to maintain the glory of their Lu family? ! !
“How brave they are!!”
Emperor An no longer had any hesitation about the Lu family this time, and he was even more murderous towards Lu Chongyuan. He looked at Xiao Yan with gloom.
"Lu Chongyuan is guilty of treason and will be executed immediately. The entire Lu family will be executed for their crimes."
He originally wanted to kill all nine members of the Lu family, but he also knew that once the nine members were killed, more than half of the court officials and their residences would be implicated. Now he just wanted to deal with the Lu family as soon as possible to avoid future troubles.
"Xiao Yan, you are the one I rely on most in this court. I want you to immediately send someone to arrest Lu Jiuan and bring him to justice, and investigate all the treasonous activities committed by Prince Pingshan."
"besides……"
Emperor An raised his voice, "Apart from the matter of the Empress and her son, I do not want to hear any rumors that are detrimental to the royal family, especially those that concern me. Do you understand?"
Xiao Yan's eyes flickered slightly. "I will deal with the Lu family thoroughly. There will be no unnecessary rumors in the capital. But as for the Zhao family...how will Your Majesty deal with them?"
Upon hearing this, Emperor An said coldly, "Zhao Yuanlang colluded with the Lu family to murder members of the royal family..."
Although the fourth prince is the son of Prince Cheng, he was still the royal daughter-in-law when the fourth prince's wife died. Zhao Yuanlang dared to kill people for his own benefit and even colluded with people from the Lu family. How could Emperor An let him off easily?
"Zhao Yuanlang is dismissed from his post and given fifty strokes of the cane. Princess Jialin is stripped of her title and stripped of her imperial jade tablets, demoted to a commoner. The entire Zhao family is exiled to Qingzhou for the same crime as Zhao Yuanlang, and their wealth is confiscated into the national treasury. Anyone involved in this incident with the Zhao and Lu families will also be punished."
Xiao Yan lowered his eyes: "I obey your command."
The hall fell silent. Seeing that Emperor An's face was becoming increasingly tired and his hands on the dragon throne were trembling slightly, he offered to leave.
Emperor An was about to agree when he heard word from outside that Di Tao had entered the palace.
"What is he doing here?" Emperor An frowned: "Let him in."
Xiao Yan took the initiative to avoid the question: "Since General Di is here, I will take my leave first."
"No, wait a minute."
Emperor An stopped Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan had no choice but to step aside.
When Di Tao came in, he first kowtowed to Emperor An and then, when he stood up and saw Xiao Yan standing beside him, he grinned at him and said, "Is Governor Xiao here too?"
"Young General Di." Xiao Yan nodded as a greeting.
Emperor An already knew that Di Tao had accidentally saved Xiao Yan that night, so he wasn't surprised that they were familiar with each other. He simply asked, "Why did you come to see me at this hour?"
Di Tao clasped his fists and said, "I have come to bid farewell to Your Majesty."
Emperor An's eyes darkened: "Goodbye?"
Di Tao seemed not to notice his expression and only spoke in a loud voice.
"I, your humble servant, have come to the capital on my father's orders to report to Your Majesty on the war in the northwest and the unusual movements in Beiling. Because the safety of the border is at stake, my father dared not entrust this information to anyone else. Otherwise, I should be fighting the enemy at the border right now."
"Now that my mission is over, I am bored of sitting idle in the posthouse all day. I wish to bid farewell to Your Majesty and return to Luoyan Pass."
After saying this, Di Tao scratched his head a little embarrassedly, revealing a bit of youthful embarrassment.
"I was born in the borderlands. When I was five or six, my father carried me on his back and carried me to the battlefield. The adults in the capital were able to help Your Majesty with his worries and work, but I was left in the capital with nothing to do but wander around."
"I haven't practiced for a few days, and my bones are almost rusted."
Emperor An looked at the young man standing below.
Di Shuangcheng has been loyal to the royal family over the years, and the Zhen'an Army is the backbone of guarding Luoyan Pass. If it weren't for them, Beiling would have crossed the border and moved south long ago. He still trusts Di Shuangcheng and has never thought of touching anyone from the Di family.
Seeing Di Tao said he wanted to return to the northwest, Emperor An was about to agree when Di Tao seemed to remember something and said:
"Moreover, the Dragon Court Guards have been uneasy lately. The Shang family has clashed with my father several times. Beiling and the Great Wei have also been at odds frequently. I'm afraid they will distract my father and cause chaos in the army. Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to allow me to return to the northwest."
Emperor An paused as the words were on the tip of his tongue, frowned, and asked in a deep voice, "Is Shang Qin at odds with your father?"
He knew that the Longting Guard and the Zhen'an Army were mutually restraining, and both were stationed in the northwest. The Longting Guard was even more special than the Zhen'an Army, as it was an exclusive royal private army.
However, the northwest had been in turmoil for more than ten years since he ascended the throne, and there was no place in the capital worthy of mobilizing the Dragon Court Guards, so he had never summoned anyone from the Shang family.
Di Tao was furious: "It's more than just a disagreement. My father almost fought with Shang Qin before."
"Taizu established the Dragon Court Guard to protect Wei alongside the Zhen'an Army against Beiling. However, due to frequent fighting, Beiling spies were infiltrated into the Zhen'an Army. Father wanted the Dragon Court Guard to send reinforcements to repel two Beiling cavalry units that had intruded into the villages near Luoyan Pass, but Shang Qin flatly refused."
"Those cavalrymen killed and robbed, abducting women from the Wei Kingdom. They also massacred two villages afterwards. When my father sent men in pursuit, he saw a river of blood. Furious, he took his men to the Longting Guards, confronted Shang Qin, and demanded to know why he wouldn't send troops."
"But Shang Qin said that the Dragon Court Guards only obey the Dragon Jade Order and will not act without orders..."
“Wait!”
Emperor An suddenly interrupted Di Tao, who was looking angry below, and his face looked grim as he grabbed the handle of the dragon throne.
He had never heard of the Dragon Jade Order, let alone what it was, but Shang Qin said that the Dragon Court Guards were only dispatched by the Dragon Jade Order.
He looked at Xiao Yan calmly, and Xiao Yan spoke without hesitation: "I will go and deal with the Lu family's affairs first."
When Emperor An and Di Tao were the only ones left in the hall, Emperor An feigned anger and asked, "Who told you about the Dragon Jade Order?"
Di Tao was stunned for a moment, his face changed as he quickly knelt down. "I heard Shang Qin mention it when I accompanied my father to Linping that day. Afterwards, my father was afraid that I didn't know the seriousness of it, so he told me about the Dragon Jade Order in advance."
"I know this matter is a secret between the Zhen'an Army and the Dragon Court Guards. My father has never revealed it to anyone. I was just angry and made a slip of the tongue. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."
After hearing what he meant, Emperor An not only did not relax, but his expression became even uglier.
It turns out that the Dragon Jade Order is not only related to the Dragon Court Guards, but also to the Zhen'an Army. But why doesn't he know anything about it?
What the hell is that?!
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