Chapter 519: Brutal Settlement
The distant mountains are green.
The towering Hangu Pass was just behind them. A team of knights were protecting a carriage and galloping along the official road. The mountains and forests on both sides were moving away. A cloud of dust was rising. Looking back, there was actually another team of knights chasing them.
"Those bastards are about to catch up!"
The leading knight said anxiously while whipping his whip. Another knight growled in a low voice: "If we really have no choice, we have to fight those aggressive thieves. If we keep running like this, we will be caught sooner or later."
Upon hearing this, the leader immediately dissuaded them, saying, "They are all warriors recruited by the imperial court. Compared to them, we are simply vulnerable. They will die, but what about Madam and the others?"
"How hateful! Huo Guang, this bastard, actually went to such lengths to kill all of us and exile us to the Western Regions. Who can make it there alive?"
"call out!"
A sharp arrow hit, and a knight who had been running wildly fell to the ground, and was actually killed by the arrow.
"Brother!"
With a mournful cry, he wanted to turn around and fight desperately, but with a few swish sounds of arrows breaking through the air, two arrows hit his shoulder and abdomen, instantly knocking him off the horse.
Falling from the horse at such a high speed, he was naturally killed instantly, and not even his entire body was seen. His feet were caught on the stirrups, and then he was dragged by the frightened horse across a huge rock, where he was instantly scraped into several pieces.
“I can’t escape!”
All the knights who were fleeing finally acknowledged this cruel fact and turned around to fight with the imperial cavalry sent by the court. In just a quarter of an hour, the imperial cavalry killed all the knights on the spot.
The imperial cavalry only lost two people.
The group of black-clad riders pulled the reins to the side of the carriage and opened the curtain. There were five people sitting on the horses. There were two very beautiful women who looked to be under 30 years old. They were wearing palace dresses and were about to come out. Two girls who had not yet reached the age of marriage clung to the two of them, like flowers in bud, and looked quite similar to the two women. They were very beautiful. In the innermost part of the carriage was a boy who was a little younger than them.
The black-clad cavalryman in the lead took out the portrait, then a book, and said expressionlessly: "Grand Minister Shang Lu, colluded with Crown Prince He, intended to kill the king, and was sentenced to death.
One wife, one concubine, one legitimate daughter, one illegitimate daughter, and one illegitimate son were sentenced to exile in the Western Regions.
Come and sign your name.”
The leader of the Tiqi read out the names one by one, checked them to make sure they were correct, and then asked the five people to sign.
Faced with the Tiqi who were like messengers from hell, the five pampered ladies and children of nobles were already scared silly. Besides, even if they were not stupid, who would sign the book that represented death?
The leader of the Tiqi was not surprised, and said calmly: "Four of the five of you are weak women. You are lucky to meet me. I am a Confucian disciple, so I am easy to talk to.
After signing this book, if you are willing to commit suicide, I can allow it. Wouldn't it be good to leave a decent legacy?
Otherwise, I would not be able to control these dozens of hot-blooded men in this remote wilderness.
We are going to die anyway, so why suffer that?"
Seeing several people signing their names tremblingly, the leader of the Tiqi pulled up the reins and asked, "Is there anyone who wants to commit suicide?
I can lend you a knife.
My suggestion is to die here directly. Otherwise, with your status and appearance, you will just be food for those evil officials on the road to exile."
The words of the Tiqi leader made the two women tremble uncontrollably. The Tiqi leader kindly asked, "It seems that you are afraid. Do you need help? I have always been kind."
The two women nodded tremblingly. They really did not want to be exiled, and they were even more unwilling to let their most beloved daughter suffer humiliation. Dying here was indeed the best outcome.
“Puff!”
The knife of the Tiqi leader was very fast, like a butcher. He killed several people without any hesitation. Because the knife was so sharp, there was probably no pain before they died.
Seeing the bright red blood dripping onto the ground, the leader of the Tiqi slowly put away his knife and said to his left and right: "Am I too kind and have a bottom line?"
Everyone nodded. In such a desolate place, facing four pretty women, he was able to send them away in a decent manner. It really showed that he had a conscience and a bottom line.
"After all, I have read the books of sages. I still have to be a good person and return to Chang'an to report."
Tick-tick-tick.
The group of knights set out on their return journey. There were dark clouds in the sky, a cold wind gradually blew, and snowflakes gradually fell.
White snowflakes and bright red and black blood mixed together, and the corpses were gradually buried. When the wild beasts foraging in the winter ate the corpses, no one would know what had happened here.
…
December, the 20th year of Yuanfeng.
The emperor worshipped the King of Heaven and gave him the title of Son of Heaven.
The court officials petitioned to change the reign title to "Lingjue" and to make the next year the first year of Lingjue.
The first thing Huo Guang did after coming to power was to confer rewards.
“Imperial Edict: Since ancient times, has there been a king who won the hearts of the people without rewarding his meritorious officials?
I thought there wasn't.
When I was young and weak, I encountered great disasters, and my life and death, fortune and disaster were controlled by Prince La.
Now I sit on the throne. Even if this is God's favor to me, can I ignore the contributions of all the ministers?
I understand that you ministers are repaying me because you have received the kindness of the late emperor. Now I am willing to follow the example of the late emperor and bestow great kindness upon you ministers. "
The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, the high position of two thousand stones, the Three Rivers and Six Counties, the position of the Lieutenant and the General of the Royal Yulin, these were the spoils that should have been obtained for seizing the throne for the emperor that day.
It has been like this since ancient times, you get what you give.
The ministers have a scale in their hearts. If they don't get what they deserve, they will become unstable elements.
In the end, the king will either kill those meritorious officials under the pretext of enthroning them as heroes, or his own position will be lost.
Huo Guang and the ministers who started the rebellion did so either for the sake of speculation or to repay Liu Xun's past kindness.
No matter what the reason, Liu She cannot take it for granted and should be treated separately.
He must show favor to these ministers again.
Of course, Liu She didn’t understand any of this at the moment, as it was Huo Guang who was in charge of the reward.
Punishment and reward are the powers of the ruler, and Huo Guang was not an official regent, so these actions caused him to be criticized.
However, Huo Guang had a strong character. He still spoke very little, and did his work step by step every day, not caring about the ups and downs in the outside world.
Generally speaking, awarding a reward is a happy event. At most, some people may feel jealous, but it will not affect the overall situation.
But the second thing Huo Guang had to do was not so simple.
Liquidation!
The cruelty of the purge presided over by Huo Guang far exceeded the purge carried out by Liu Xun on the descendants of Emperor Li Liu Dan.
The reasons are of course complicated.
First of all, it is very important that Emperor Li Liu Dan’s wives, concubines and children are guaranteed by Luo Shi.
Secondly, the Jingnan Campaign was launched jointly by the princes of the world, and there were too many people eyeing the descendants of Liu Dan.
In other words, there is no risk of Liu Dan's descendants reviving and making a comeback.
So Liu Xun could ask the court to spare them and let them die "naturally".
The last point is that Liu Xun inherited the throne after he was crowned, and he had a legitimate eldest son. Even if something unexpected happened to Liu Xun, his legitimate eldest son could still succeed to the throne. The throne would never fall back into the hands of Liu Dan's family.
From these three points, we can see why Huo Guang brutally liquidated Liu He's descendants.
There are two fundamental reasons. First, this was a coup struggle within the royal family. The scope and influence involved were not large enough to form a strong opposition force. Second, Liu She was too young!
If something unexpected happened to Liu She, according to the order of succession, the empress dowager would most likely send the descendants of Crown Prince He to the throne.
This is nothing to the royal family.
The Empress Dowager is still the Empress Dowager. To the princes of the Liu clan, there is no difference, and even to the powerful and marquises in the world, it makes no difference.
But it is unacceptable to Huo Guang and others!
Not only Huo Guang, but all those who participated in the coup demanded that all of Liu He's sons be killed, except for babies in swaddling clothes. Babies in swaddling clothes also had to be strictly guarded, demoted to commoners, and most importantly, expelled from the Liu family genealogy.
In this era, once expelled from the family tree, one is no longer considered a member of the family and naturally loses the qualification to inherit the throne.
In fact, this was prepared to kill him first in case of an accident.
After all, killing a commoner and killing a close relative are completely different concepts.
The Queen Mother was naturally well aware of all this.
But she knew very well that this matter could not be stopped now. All she could do now was to take good care of the emperor and let him grow up healthily.
It's not just Liu He.
Liu He's forces were mixed but not refined, numerous but not pure. Huo Guang and others believed that these forces would surely become rebellious when they saw Liu He being liquidated in this way.
Besides, if these people are not cleared out, how can Huo Guang and his men be placed in place?
The positions of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers were not vacant before. If we don't take them by force, do we have to wait for the other party to give up voluntarily?
Besides, even if we take the initiative to give in, who can guarantee that those people will not counterattack?
Unless these people enter Zhaocheng, people can believe it, but unfortunately, these people do not have such qualifications.
Zhaocheng doesn’t accept just any cat or dog.
If I can't go to Zhaocheng and prove that there is no threat, then I will die!
————
(End of this chapter)
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