Chapter 277 Clear Rewards and Punishments
After the rebellion was quelled, the traitors and rebels were dealt with swiftly and decisively.
As the core of the rebellion, the Zheng family, apart from the five daughters who took the initiative to expose their father's crimes and were sent to a nunnery in the suburbs of Beijing to practice Buddhism while keeping their hair intact, all the rest of the family members, regardless of age, were sent to the guillotine.
Within the three clans, male members were beheaded and their heads displayed to the public, while female members were enslaved by the government.
Even if they were far away, they could not escape being dismissed from their posts and exiled.
A century-old family, destroyed in an instant.
The Liang family also met a tragic end.
Although the Liang family did not have the deep roots of the Zheng family, the Duke of Liang earned his title of Duke by fighting his way up in the army all his life.
Now, because of this one wrong move, everything has been ruined.
The entire Liang family was beheaded.
The Lin family, who were originally unrelated to this matter, also ended up being exiled as a whole because of Lin Xue'an.
Because the Longwu Army was involved in two palace coups, although not all of its members participated, Li Yuanzhao ordered its complete disbandment and never to be reinstated.
All the Longwu Army generals who participated in the rebellion were taken to the Meridian Gate and beheaded on the same day. Their heads were hung on the city gate for three days as a warning to others.
The remaining soldiers were all assigned to hard labor camps to build the imperial mausoleum.
The once elite army that guarded the capital has fallen into decline.
In an instant, the capital city was filled with the smell of blood.
The people stood in the streets and alleys, watching the prisoners being led to the execution ground, sighing with emotion.
Who could have imagined that a once powerful family would fall to such a state in an instant?
Because no one cared during the rebellion, Li Ye's body was not properly disposed of, and by the time people remembered it, it was already faintly rotting in a side hall of Ganlu Palace.
The tomb that was previously built for Li Ye was given by Li Yuanzhao to Shen Lang, who was posthumously honored as an emperor, as his own tomb.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites came to consult Li Yuanzhao, asking whether Li Ye should be buried in the same tomb as Shen Lang.
Li Yuanzhao lazily asked, "Since ancient times, has there ever been a precedent of two emperors being buried in the same tomb?"
The officials from the Ministry of Rites then understood the Emperor's meaning.
In the end, Li Ye's funeral was hastily arranged, with no grand encoffining or mourning from court officials. Only the old eunuchs in the palace pushed the dragon coffin and quietly buried him in the overgrown prince's cemetery.
Although Su Jingzhi was slashed by Zheng Wenkai that day, he only fainted and was fortunate enough to survive because his heart was not damaged.
However, his injuries were severe, requiring him to rest in bed for a long time and preventing him from attending court.
Having survived this brush with death, the old minister seemed to have gained some insight. He directly submitted a memorial to Li Yuanzhao, stating that he was old and frail and earnestly requested to retire and return to his hometown.
Li Yuanzhao tried to persuade him to stay as usual, but he was determined to leave.
In the end, Li Yuanzhao bestowed upon him the honorary title of "Grand Commandant," and granted him ten thousand taels of gold and a thousand bolts of silk, thus restoring his dignity after decades of official service.
Two consecutive accidents resulted in the deaths and injuries of more than half of the court officials, leaving many official positions vacant.
Therefore, Li Yuanzhao issued an edict to promote all court officials by two ranks.
Upon receiving this imperial decree, the court was immediately filled with jubilation.
The ministers were so eager to kneel down and shout "Your Majesty is wise!" to sing praises to Li Yuanzhao.
His previous slight dissatisfaction with the Empress was immediately swept away by the joy of his promotion.
Moreover, the imperial court suddenly lost three prime ministers.
Everyone's minds immediately became active, and they all rushed to show off in front of the emperor.
Therefore, the scenes of "turbulent court affairs" and "discord between the empress and male ministers" that Zheng Wenkai imagined before his death never happened.
In stark contrast to the fate of the rebels, the Shen family enjoyed great favor.
Shen Xu's funeral, however, was exceptionally grand.
On the day of the departure, the imperial guards stood solemnly by the roadside, holding white banners.
Officials of all ranks in the capital wore plain clothes to see him off, and the sides of the road were lined with ordinary people who had come to bid him farewell.
The funeral procession stretched for miles, filled with mournful cries that shook the heavens, solemn and tragic.
Although the Emperor did not attend the funeral in person, he still gave the Shen family a great deal of face.
An imperial edict was issued posthumously conferring upon Shen Xu the title of Prince of Ruyang, and ordering him to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
This is the first king of the Great Qi Dynasty who is not of the royal family.
As a result, Shen Lang was posthumously honored as the Holy Martial Zhaolie Emperor, and the Shen family actually produced an emperor and a king.
For a time, the Shen family became the most prominent family in the Great Qi Dynasty besides the royal family, and its glory far surpassed that of any other aristocratic family before.
Immediately after Shen Xu's funeral, Shen Churong received an imperial decree from Li Yuanzhao, ordering him to immediately go to Youzhou to take over his father's former position as governor and command a 100,000-strong border army.
This appointment came as a surprise to everyone.
Even Shen Churong himself was surprised.
But no one knows what Li Yuanzhao said to him, and without the slightest hesitation, he traveled light and resolutely headed north to take up his post three days later.
The Imperial Guards and the Golden Guards in the capital were all placed under the command of General Ru.
After this rebellion, the female general's military leadership ability became evident to all, so there was no objection to this arrangement, whether in the army or in the court.
With such clear distinctions between rewards and punishments, and a combination of kindness and severity, the court officials became increasingly convinced of the new emperor's governing skills, and the people showed even greater support for him.
The turbulent political situation was finally brought under the steady control of Li Yuanzhao.
The ensuing imperial wedding and the New Year's imperial examinations instantly dispelled the gloom left by the palace coup, and everyone began to look forward to the future.
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