"He is, after all, my mother's nephew; we must spare his life!"
Helian Jue put away his bow and arrows, and Helian Chen quickly came closer, like a considerate little follower, and respectfully took the bow and arrows from him.
Helian Jue's words seemed to be addressed to the court officials behind him.
The three prime ministers, Wang, Cui, and Zheng, twitched the corners of their mouths and forced a smile.
When they saw the massive, dark army, they knew that Helian Jue had won this "battle"!
On the surface, he repelled the Turkic cavalry and ordered the capture of the Turkic prince alive.
In reality, what Helian Jue was truly fighting against was the powerful forces of aristocratic families, nobles, and others who did not quite believe in him as the new emperor.
The noble families and meritorious officials failed to join forces with the Turks to force Helian Jue to back down and sue for peace. Instead, they allowed him to win a very impressive battle.
He resolved the crisis of the siege of the capital and won a considerable political achievement.
The mysterious weapons and armored warriors he displayed were enough to intimidate everyone.
"We lost!"
"We underestimated Helian Jue this time!"
"Thinking about it, it makes sense. The fact that he was able to establish himself in the impoverished and harsh Lingnan region and even had the strength to fight his way back to the capital proves that he is no ordinary person."
"From now on, will this imperial court still be a place where the emperor has the sole authority?"
"Probably not! Although Helian Jue has some strength, he is still a new emperor, his foundation is unstable, and his prestige is insufficient!"
The three prime ministers exchanged quick glances.
Just then, two or three figures stealthily climbed onto the city gate tower.
"My husband!"
One of them leaned close to Wang Yu and whispered, "The eighth, eleventh, and fourteenth houses have been searched by the soldiers!"
"The sons of the three households have also been arrested..."
Wang Yu was startled and quickly asked, "Where is the Prime Minister's residence? Are there any soldiers there?"
"Everything is normal at our residence; we have not found any soldiers or officers!"
The servant answered respectfully.
Wang Yu was filled with doubt and suspicion. He first glanced cautiously at the back of the figure standing with his hands behind his back, and then turned his gaze to Cui and Zheng.
Each of them had a servant whispering something in their ear.
A moment later, they also looked at Wang Yu.
Their eyes met in mid-air, and then they nodded slightly.
Their situations are similar.
The branches and collateral branches sent to liaise with the Turks all ran into trouble, but their own direct branches were unharmed.
"Focus on the minor issues while letting the major ones go!"
"That's right! Helian Jue doesn't dare to completely break ties with us!"
"I was right after all. Helian Jue is indeed domineering, but he doesn't dare to act as recklessly as the late emperor!"
He's a new ruler after all; he just doesn't have enough confidence.
Once the three prime ministers confirmed this, their anxieties were finally put to rest.
Helian Jue had troops and was powerful enough, but he had some concerns and was unwilling to go to war with the aristocratic families. Therefore, the aristocratic families were willing to accept him.
As for those branches and offshoots that were cut off, they were just pawns thrown out by the family, so their deaths are no big deal!
As long as the main branch of the family continues, and as long as the heads of the family sit in the high position of prime minister, their family will continue to be wealthy and glorious!
Helian Jue didn't turn around, but he noticed the subtle movements behind him.
He curled his lips slightly: ...What a bunch of self-righteous old fogies.
Helian Jue did not take the opportunity to eliminate the powerful families, not because he was afraid of them, but because he wanted to deal with them gradually.
To be honest, although aristocratic families monopolized the court and had various shortcomings, their sons were indeed outstanding.
Whether civil or military officials, those who excelled were mostly from prominent families.
Helian Jue wanted these people to work for him, so how could he kill them all?
The capture of Ashina He was not truly for the sake of Empress Dowager Ashina.
Helian Jue remembered Xie Yuan saying that if they won a battle, they should demand war reparations.
We shouldn't be taken advantage of just for the sake of so-called "great power demeanor".
If the Celestial Empire loses, it will still arrange a marriage alliance, sending a princess and a large amount of wealth, craftsmen, and so on.
If the enemy loses, then we have to copy the model and pay compensation!
And those enemy generals or important figures, whether they surrendered or were captured alive, were all imprisoned, and money was demanded from the enemy based on their status and the number of people killed!
“Hmm! A-Yuan is right! This Ashina He rashly besieged the capital, causing so much damage. How can he just ‘die’?”
"Arrest him and negotiate with the Turkic royal court."
"He's the Khan's youngest son, the ninth prince, after all. He should be worth something."
Helian Jue looked down at the city wall and saw that Zhou Meng's Xuanjia Army had captured all the fleeing Turkic soldiers.
Ashina He, who attempted suicide, was captured alive by the soldiers who rushed up!
Helian Jue won this farcical battle to defend the capital with an overwhelming victory.
"What?"
After wandering around the mourning hall, Empress Dowager Ashina returned to her palace.
Then, she received both good news and bad news—
Helian Jue's 30,000-strong army arrived and, together with the 30,000 troops of the Western Camp, defeated the Turkic cavalry.
Ashina He was defeated and committed suicide in anger, but was saved by Helian Jue!
From the perspective of the Empress Dowager of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the former is definitely good news, and the latter is bad news.
However, if we consider Ashina Empress Dowager's personal identity, she would see the former as bad news and the latter as good news!
"Ashina He was captured alive?"
"Of the five thousand cavalry, less than two thousand remained, and they were all captured?"
This means that everyone from the commander to the soldiers has become prisoners of war.
"yes!"
Fang Dafu bowed in response.
As a confidant of Empress Dowager Ashina, he was well aware of his mistress's worries and anxieties.
He quickly advised, "The Great Zhou Dynasty has always prided itself on being a great nation and a superior country. It has always been lenient towards prisoners of war."
"And the sage also said that he would show you special favor because of you."
Helian Jue did not allow Ashina He to commit suicide, which suggests that he left room for maneuver.
He was the adopted son of Empress Ashina, and the Ashina clan was his maternal family.
According to their kinship, Ashina He was Helian Jue's cousin.
Fang Dafu felt that since they were all family, Helian Jue wouldn't go too far.
Empress Ashina felt a bitter taste in her mouth.
What she wanted was not for Helian Jue to spare Ashina He, but for Helian Jue to ask for the hand of the Turkic princess!
Now, those who were originally in the lead are now prisoners, while those who were originally unstable and needed help have become the victors!
Empress Dowager Ashina was well aware that if she couldn't control Helian Jue this time, it would probably be even more difficult in the future.
Most importantly, she ended up losing more than she gained.
Because she always "persuaded" Helian Jue to marry into the Turkic tribe, the relationship between mother and son seemed to have become somewhat estranged.
With Empress Xiao also eyeing the palace covetously, Empress Ashina worried that she, as Helian Jue's foster mother who had no blood relation to him, would become invisible in the harem!
I'm not reconciled!
Empress Dowager Ashina's actions were all aimed at regaining control of the government!
As a result, it all fell through.
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