Chapter 268: Atonement for Sins
Chu State, inside the imperial palace in the capital.
The battle report from the border was once again sent to the King of Chu.
When the King of Chu heard that he had been defeated again, the veins on his forehead twitched violently.
"The war has been going on for more than half a month. We have fought many battles, big and small, but we haven't won a single one! What is going on?"
Faced with Emperor Kangze's roar, none of the ministers dared to say a word. Anyone who spoke at this time would be pure cannon fodder and would be sprayed away.
"How many troops are there now?"
"Your Majesty, there are 100,000 defenders."
Emperor Kangze put his hands behind his back and paced twice on the dragon throne before asking, "What about the Southern Kingdom?"
"Your Majesty, the defenders of the Southern Kingdom are similar to ours, and we haven't seen any reinforcements from the Southern Kingdom for the time being."
"How come you can't even win a battle when the other side hasn't sent any reinforcements? How did you manage to defeat the Southern Kingdom's troops before?"
After Emperor Kangze shouted this, no one dared to say a word. Everyone present knew that the successive victories of the State of Chu were all thanks to King Xiao Jin of Qi.
But now... no one knows whether the King of Qi died in the northern wilderness.
Emperor Kangze naturally thought of this, but he didn't believe it. In his huge Chu State, he couldn't find another powerful general like Xiao Jin.
"Lian Shen, go and mobilize another 20,000 soldiers from the West Camp to reinforce us. Set out tomorrow and you must defeat the Southern Kingdom!"
In the hall, a mighty general stepped out to receive the order, "I, your humble servant, will definitely live up to the emperor's trust."
After the court session, the court officials left the palace one after another.
Xiao Jue walked behind Lian Shen, "General Lian."
Lian Shen paused and looked at Xiao Jue, "Your Highness."
Xiao Jue looked at Lian Shen solemnly and said, "General Lian, you must return victorious on this trip."
Lian Shen said solemnly with a tense face: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I will do my best."
Lian Shen was previously a deputy general following Xiao Jin. Later, he returned to the capital to receive his reward and stayed in the capital to serve. He had already joined Xiao Jue's side earlier.
Xiao Jue had a good plan. As long as Lian Shen won, he would take the opportunity to write a letter to the emperor asking him to take over the 100,000 troops on the border. That way, he would have an extra key bargaining chip to seize the throne!
Xiao Jue was very confident. The Chu State had an additional 20,000 soldiers and horses, so it would be a piece of cake to defeat the smaller force with the larger one.
What he, and even Emperor Kangze, did not expect was that the Southern Kingdom actually broke through the border city of the Chu State and captured a city of the Chu State.
This military report prompted Emperor Kangze to overturn the Long case.
"This is my good general!"
120,000 people against 100,000 people, and a whole city was directly destroyed. It was hard for Emperor Kangze not to be angry!
At this moment, an abrupt voice suddenly sounded in the silent hall.
"The Southern Kingdom sent an additional 200,000 troops, but Xiao Jin only had less than 150,000 soldiers, and he still managed to capture two cities in the Southern Kingdom... Alas."
At that moment, the hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
All the ministers lowered their heads and pretended to be dead.
The young minister who spoke did not seem to realize that he had said something wrong. His narrow peach blossom eyes were filled with confusion and doubt. "Your Majesty, did I say something wrong?"
"Bang!"
Emperor Wude threw an inkstone over, waved his hand, turned around and walked out of the hall.
"Resign..."
As soon as Emperor Kangze left, the ministers all breathed a sigh of relief. The emperor was really... too scary!
"Master Zhu, you are still too young."
An elderly and friendly minister walked up to Zhu Lin and shook his head. "Don't talk nonsense in the future. The emperor didn't punish you today, but next time, you may not be so lucky."
Zhu Lin looked educated. "Thank you for your reminder, Lord Wang. I will pay attention next time. But... I don't know what I said wrong?"
Lord Wang choked.
"Master Zhu, the emperor asked you to come to the imperial study."
Lord Wang gave Zhu Lin a look that told him to take care of himself, shook his head, and left at an extremely fast pace.
Zhu Lin was flattered. What kind of place was the emperor's study? It was the high ground of the Chu cabinet. How could a small doctor from the Ministry of Justice like him go there?
Zhu Lin went to the imperial study with excitement.
Kang Zedi turned his back to the door and did not say anything for a long time.
It was not until Zhu Lin's legs were numb from standing that Emperor Kang Ze turned around and looked at him, "Were you the one who handled the case of Prince Qi's treason?"
Zhu Linxiu's pale and weak face was full of seriousness. "Your Majesty, strictly speaking, this case is handled by the Minister of Justice. I am only responsible for some finishing work."
"Where is the official who is responsible for sending people to the Northern Wasteland? Let him come to see me."
"Your Majesty, the official returned to his hometown after completing that errand."
"Did you successfully send Xiao Jin to the Northern Wasteland?"
"Yes, it has been sent out."
Emperor Kangze started to twist his temper again, "Where is the memorial that you said you would overturn Xiao Jin's case? Find it for me."
Zhu Lin was stunned. "Your Majesty, if you want to overturn the case of the guilty minister Xiao Jin, isn't the case ironclad? There are witnesses and evidence. It's not that easy to overturn this case."
The chief eunuch dug out a dusty memorial from somewhere and presented it to Emperor Kangze, "Your Majesty, here is the memorial."
Emperor Kangze threw the memorial in front of Zhu Lin and said, "Check the people who submitted the memorial jointly. If there is no problem, release them and let them go back to where they came from. Before they go back, let them thank the emperor in the palace."
Zhu Lin picked up the letter and said, "Yes, I obey your order."
"Back off."
"I will take my leave."
Zhu Lin was very efficient. In just three days, he investigated the generals who had signed the petition and confirmed that they had not committed any other crimes except requesting the emperor to reinvestigate Xiao Jin's case. Three days later, he released them from prison.
On the day those generals were released, they knelt outside the council hall, saying that they wanted to thank the emperor.
Emperor Kangze was kind and allowed them into the palace.
Who would have thought that after expressing their gratitude, these generals would bring up the case of Xiao Jin again in front of all the civil and military officials, shouting that Xiao Jin was innocent.
Everyone was waiting for Emperor Kangze to lose his temper, but he remained silent for a long time.
"Who solved the case at the beginning?" Emperor Kang Ze asked quietly.
The Minister of Justice stepped out tremblingly, "Your Majesty, the case of Xiao Jin's treason was settled by me."
Kang Zedi frowned, "This is a case that you solved, but why are there still so many people crying out for justice for Xiao Jin? Are you sure you have investigated the entire case thoroughly? Do you dare to guarantee with your life that Xiao Jin was not wrongly accused?"
The Minister of Justice almost cried and almost shouted, "Your Majesty, it is you who have the final say on this case!"
The Shangshu felt aggrieved, but did not dare to speak out.
"Your Majesty, I will review all the evidence and witnesses... and confirm it once again."
"Since the case is in doubt, Xiao Jin's charges are open to debate. Send a message to Lian Shen immediately. I want him to send someone to the Northern Wasteland to find Xiao Jin's whereabouts and tell him that I will give him a chance to atone for his crime. If he can repel the Southern Kingdom and recover the lost cities of the Chu Kingdom, I will allow him to return to the capital and resume his post."
(End of this chapter)
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