Chapter 34 Chapter 34
Seeing Wei Xuan was about to leave, Jiang Huai suddenly remembered something, an account book he had seen in the army.
He hadn't thought of Wei Xuan before and had forgotten about it. Now that he thought about it, one of the crimes of treason against the Wei family was selling weapons and armor to the barbarians. This was solid evidence. But if it was the account books he had seen, it was obvious that after the Wei family got into trouble, someone was still secretly selling weapons. He had to talk to Wei Xuan about this matter.
Regardless of whether the man can be caught or not, perhaps this can be used to clear some of the grievances of the Wei family.
After listening to Jiang Huai, Wei Xuan actually already had a suspect. After all, based on his current understanding of the situation, after the Wei family got into trouble, the Su family gained the greatest benefit. Moreover, some officials in charge of military supplies and logistics were also members of the Su family.
Because the Su family was arranged by the emperor, the Su family had to control part of the military supplies. The Wei family finally chose to give in. After all, the Wei family already controlled most of the military power. If they also controlled the logistics, it would make the emperor feel somewhat resentful. It was better to take a step back.
Just taking a step back means taking steps back. He will not take another step back in the future.
Thinking of the miserable situation of the Wei family now, Wei Xuan's face turned cold and he turned away.
Wei Xuan felt that he was fully prepared for the situation in Anyuan Prefecture. If he had to fight, he would have to fight even if he was reluctant. Only by entering Anyuan Prefecture first could he plan for the future, so no matter what the result was, he would not be surprised.
However, it was not until Wei Xuan arrived at Anyuan Prefecture that he realized what the unexpected meant.
Anyuan Prefecture was obviously in chaos for a while, which could be seen from the faces of the soldiers defending the city, but the city gates were wide open, and a group of generals and officials he was familiar with were standing outside the gates, looking as if they were welcoming him into the city.
Wei Xuan subconsciously started to think of conspiracy theories. Could it be that they wanted to lure him into the city and then take the opportunity to kill him? This would also prevent both sides from turning their soldiers against each other.
But when Wei Xuan took control of the entire Anyuan Prefecture under alert and even replaced the patrolling soldiers with his own people, the others still did not react. Instead, they looked very relaxed, and it seemed that they did not trust their own soldiers. This made Wei Xuan a little confused.
Wei Xuan suspected that he had been away for several years instead of just a few months, otherwise how could he not understand what other people were thinking.
It was not until Wei Xuan learned about Su Ding's orders and movements that he was sure that there was really no conspiracy. The generals and officials of Anyuan Prefecture all felt that Su Ding was unreliable, so it would be better to let him come into the city. As for the Wei family's case, he would have to handle it himself.
…
Jiang Huai had been paying attention to the situation on Wei Xuan's side. He knew that Wei Xuan had taken control of Anyuan Prefecture. He also knew that after Wei Xuan settled Anyuan Prefecture, he led a large army to Kyoto, saying that he was going to offer prisoners and wash away the shame of the Wei family.
Anyuan Prefecture would not have been very well-informed, but because the number of cattle, sheep and horses robbed by Wei Xuan was too large, the area around Anyuan Prefecture could not digest them all. Merchants from all over the country rushed to purchase them after hearing the news, and naturally brought news from all over the place.
"Some people originally suspected the Wei family, but when the general led those barbarian prisoners along, no one said anything."
"Then the Emperor is silent too?"
"Who knows? I heard that the emperor didn't dare to let the army get close to Kyoto. He stopped General Wei at Shixi Pass from a long distance. He must feel that he had wronged the Wei family and felt guilty."
Walking on the road, Jiang Huai heard passers-by saying this. He stopped and listened for a while and felt something different.
Before, the people of Anyuan Prefecture still had a sense of awe towards the emperor, but now, as news continues to come in, this awe has gradually disappeared, and has been replaced by some resentment towards the emperor.
In addition, the saying "The emperor is far away and the sky is high" is not empty talk, so the people of Anyuan Prefecture naturally don't care so much about the emperor.
But obviously, such a situation is beneficial to the Wei family.
In Kyoto, the people were more informed and naturally knew the news about Wei Xuan.
The people of Kyoto do not have as deep feelings towards the Wei family as those in Anyuan Prefecture, but the reputation accumulated by the Wei family over generations has made the people half-believing and half-doubting the Wei family's treason. However, the evidence found by the court is conclusive, so the people will not say much on the surface.
But now, Wei Xuan rushed to Kyoto with the captured barbarian nobles, and along the way he publicized the fact that he had entered the heartland of the barbarians with great fanfare. With various evidences to support his words, the people were also half-believing and half-doubting.
The officials in Kyoto were all silent, because they were more informed and had a thorough understanding of what Wei Xuan had done in the northwest grasslands.
Even if they wanted to suspect that Wei Xuan was lying, the captured spoils, the captured barbarian nobles and officials, and the fact that he had traveled thousands of cavalry and returned with tens of thousands of cavalry made it difficult for them to say that he was lying.
If that wasn't a lie, then Wei Xuan had really turned the barbarian land upside down. Then, looking at the evidence of the Wei family's treason, it seemed untenable.
Moreover, according to the evidence provided by Wei Xuan, it seems that the treason was committed by the Su family, and the person who exposed the Wei family at that time happened to be from the Su family. It is quite obvious what the situation is.
After all, the good reputation of several generations of the Wei family still played a role at this moment. If Wei Xuan had not appeared, the Wei family would have only one person lying on the sickbed, and it seemed unlikely that they would be able to turn things around. Even if someone stood on the Wei family's side, there was no way to clear the Wei family of the charges.
But now Wei Xuan is back, and he has returned with great achievements and an army. Some people who are wavering between the two sides will tend to be biased towards the Wei family. Even if these biases are very slight, they are still very dangerous in the eyes of the emperor.
Inside the Da'an Palace, everything was silent. The palace maids and eunuchs did everything very carefully, not daring to make the slightest noise, for fear of being noticed by the emperor, which would upset him and lead to them being stripped and beaten with a stick.
In the palace, the most likely result of being beaten with a stick was death. Even if you didn't die, the consequences would not be much better.
The emperor looked at the memorials presented to him with a sullen face. Wei Xuan was still a hundred miles away from the capital, but others had already submitted petitions requesting a re-examination of the Wei family's rebellion case, and even hinted at the Su family's problems, asking him to deal with them impartially. The emperor seemed to have returned to the past.
He was obviously already the emperor, but he still acted like a prince. When he wanted to promote some officials, he had to be advised against it. When he wanted to build a palace, he had to be advised against it. When he issued some government orders, he had to be blocked by officials. He had finally consolidated power over the years and got rid of the thorn in his side, but now it seemed like everything was back.
"The Wei family..." The emperor's voice couldn't be any softer, but the hall was so quiet that the palace maids and eunuchs serving on the side heard it clearly and trembled slightly. The emperor's words revealed too much information, which they shouldn't have heard, but now they heard it, and the result was imaginable.
The emperor took a deep breath, glanced at the palace maids and eunuchs in the hall, and asked the guards to come in and deal with them, leaving only one personal eunuch behind.
The next day, the emperor took the initiative to re-investigate the case of the Wei family's treason and soon found out that there was something fishy about the original matter. The culprit was the Su family. He immediately imprisoned the Su family and issued an imperial edict to Wei Xuan to explain his previous behavior. At the same time, he also commended Wei Xuan and conferred him the title of Marquis of Zhenxi. Although this title was not as good as the title of Duke of Zhenguo, it was not much worse.
It can be said that the Great Zhou has been peaceful for a long time, and it is extremely difficult for nobles to be granted the title of marquis, not to mention that the title of marquis Wei Xuan can be passed down from generation to generation, which is of great value.
If it weren't for the previous incident with the Wei family, other officials would definitely object if the emperor conferred the title of marquis. But now, almost everyone knew that this was a kind of compensation for the Wei family, and Wei Xuan's military achievements were indeed outstanding, so no one objected anymore.
After receiving the emperor's edict, except for the Su family which had not been completely retaliated, all other goals were almost achieved. However, Wei Xuan was not so happy.
If the Wei family had known the emperor's nature earlier, why would they have reached this point?
Wei Xuan did not go to Kyoto in person, but asked the emperor for an imperial edict to take charge of Anyuan Prefecture. He then handed over the matter of surrendering prisoners to his deputy general and turned around to return to Anyuan Prefecture.
The emperor was originally waiting for Wei Xuan to return in Kyoto. After receiving the news, Wei Xuan left after receiving the order, and he was even a little angry.
In the emperor's view, Wei Xuan did this because he did not trust him and was worried that he would take action after returning to Kyoto.
Seeing that the emperor had a bad expression on his face, many ministers lowered their heads and pretended not to see it, but they didn't think there was anything wrong with Wei Xuan's behavior.
The Wei family had no defenses at all before and were loyal. They all saw what the result was. Although they didn't know whether the emperor had a hand in it, at least after the Wei family was defeated, as soon as the Su family exposed the matter, the emperor conducted a hasty investigation and put the blame on the Wei family, and couldn't wait to take over the Wei family's military power.
If this happened to them, they would be crazy if they still trusted the emperor.
News from Kyoto came in waves, but as the weather grew colder, the transmission of news slowed down. By the time Jiang Huai heard the emperor's decision on the Su family, Wei Xuan had almost returned.
This time when he went to Kyoto, Wei Xuan originally wanted to bring back his brother Wei Yan. However, after finding out some information, he learned that Wei Yan was seriously injured and had not recovered yet. In fact, his injuries were so serious before that even during the days when the Wei family was slandered, the emperor did not put Wei Yan in jail in order to save face.
If Wei Yan is taken away, he might get into trouble on the way. Moreover, if he needs to recuperate, the climate in Kyoto is good and more suitable for recuperation. If he goes to Anyuan Prefecture, his injury may get worse.
After Wei Xuan came back and dealt with the affairs of Anyuan Mansion, he thought of Jiang Huai. He found out that Jiang Huai was still living outside the city. He thought that Jiang Huai still remembered what he had said before and did not dare to return to Anyuan Mansion, so he planned to go see Jiang Huai and meet Xiao Jingzhao by the way to talk about the situation in Kyoto.
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