Chapter 187 He Deserves to Die
"Father, your son... truly knows nothing about this matter."
How could I possibly do such a heinous thing!
"If I have done these things, may I be sent to the battlefield and shot dead by a stray arrow!" King Zhao immediately raised his right hand and swore an oath.
The King of Zhao and the King of Wu had a good relationship, but in the eyes of others, the King of Wu followed the King of Zhao's lead and listened to everything the King of Zhao did. Everything he did was at the King of Zhao's behest.
But King Zhao felt wronged; he genuinely didn't know King Wu would do such a thing.
If he had known, he definitely would have stopped him.
Emperor Xiao Xuan glanced at the Prince of Zhao; he believed his son's words.
Although this son is a bit dim-witted, he has his own little schemes.
However, this son was still very cautious about matters on the battlefield.
With a major battle imminent, such a solemn oath... King Zhao could not possibly use this as a basis for an oath.
"But... the Fifth Prince dragged your palace steward into this mess," Emperor Xiao Xuan said calmly.
King Zhao remained silent.
Even though he was slow to react to things happening in the capital, he understood the underlying meaning.
The King of Wu is trying to drag himself into this mess.
Once the matter is exposed, the steward of the Prince Zhao's mansion will be involved, and his master will certainly not be able to escape responsibility.
The fifth brother is... if he's going to die, he's going to drag me down with him!
"Father, I really don't know anything about this."
As you know, I don't care much about these things. How could I possibly harm so many people in Huimin Hall for such a small benefit?
"This... I hope Your Majesty will investigate!" King Zhao said, then knelt down.
Emperor Xiao Xuan then got up and started walking around in the tent.
"Alright, you can get up too!"
This matter has nothing to do with you. The Inspector General has already investigated and found that the silver taken by your Prince's steward was not included in the Prince's accounts.
The steward bought a large house and hired maids and servants.
All that silver ended up in the steward's hands.
This matter has nothing to do with you.
However, since your steward from the Prince's mansion got involved, you can't escape blame for failing to properly manage your subordinates.
King Zhao was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Ye Yunshu to speak up for him...
"Father..."
Emperor Xiao Xuan waved his hand.
"I won't blame you for things that have nothing to do with you. As for the steward's matter... I'll just punish you with two years' salary."
That steward is now imprisoned in the Censorate's jail along with the people from Minjitang.
How dare they!
Hundreds of lives were lost, and for such a small amount of profit, they were capable of committing such heinous acts.
"Huaiyan, how can the Fifth Prince be so bold!" Emperor Xiao Xuan sighed.
King Zhao didn't know what to say, so he just lowered his head.
Emperor Xiao Xuan glanced again at the memorial he had just handed to the Prince of Zhao.
"When I saw this memorial, my first thought was, how could I have given birth to such a son?"
"Huaiyan, tell me, how should Lao Wu be punished in this case?"
King Zhao opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
"He is ruthless, heartless, and even tried to drag his brothers down with him. His viciousness is simply outrageous."
"Tell me, how should I punish him?" Emperor Xiao Xuan said, sighing as he spoke.
King Zhao didn't know what to say.
Legally speaking, the King of Wu should be killed!
But the Prince of Wu is a prince, and if he were to be executed, his father would surely be heartbroken.
When the emperor ordered the death of the Prince of Zhou, many people were already saying behind his back that the emperor was cold-blooded and ruthless.
If the King of Wu were to be put to death at this point...
"Huaiyan, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Tell me, what kind of punishment should the Fifth Prince receive?" Emperor Xiao Xuan continued to stare at Prince Zhao.
“He… deserves to die!” King Zhao whispered.
Emperor Xiao Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
That's right, this son isn't completely stupid; he knows this isn't the time to talk about feelings or blood ties.
"He deserves to die! He is indeed my son, but which of the people of Dayu is not my subject?"
If he can do things that harm the people for personal gain today, who knows what other outrageous things he will do next year?
"Fifth Brother must die!" Emperor Xiao Xuan said solemnly.
King Zhao simply lowered his head and echoed the sentiment.
He knew that his father must have been heartbroken to make this decision.
Emperor Xiao Xuan looked at the Prince of Zhao, who was bowing his head and not speaking, and knew that he could not accept it for the time being.
"Huaiyan, I ask you, what are the soldiers of Dayu fighting on the battlefield for?"
"To protect our homeland and ensure that the people of Dayu can live in peace and prosperity," King Zhao immediately said.
"Yes! We defend our homeland so that the people of Chongqing can live and work in peace and contentment."
What did the fifth brother do?
He harmed the people we worked so hard to protect for a little personal gain.
They were still the kind of ordinary people who worked hard to collect medicinal materials for the troops stationed in Chongqing, showing a strong sense of righteousness.
The fifth brother must die!
If he doesn't die, he will not only be letting down the civilians they killed, but also the soldiers on the frontier.
Everything he did was to crush the soldiers' hard-won achievements.
This means that the blood of the soldiers of Dayu was shed in vain.
"Fifth Prince... He didn't think about any of that. All he cared about was scheming and profit. In many ways, he wasn't even a human being," Emperor Xiao Xuan said angrily.
Seeing Emperor Xiao Xuan's trembling hands, the King of Zhao's anger reached its peak.
Whether in the southwest or the north, how much blood and how many lives did the soldiers shed to defend the border?
As a result, the King of Wu did not care about the lives of the people at all while in the capital.
During his time in the north, King Zhao truly felt the passion of his soldiers.
Whether they were soldiers or those helping with miscellaneous tasks for the army, everyone had the same thought in mind.
That is to guard the border and protect everything in Chongqing.
The Ling family members who endured humiliation and hardship, General Shen who made the frontier his home, and that mountain where the soldiers of Dayu were buried.
If the King of Wu doesn't die, he will have let those people down.
King Zhao finally understood why his father had killed King Zhou.
King Zhou touched the very foundation of the state, and crossed the bottom line of the Great Yu ruler!
“Father! Fifth Prince deserves to die! He disregarded the laws of Dayu, slaughtered the people, and was extremely cruel. He must die!” King Zhao said solemnly.
Emperor Xiao Xuan nodded.
"There's another memorial, which I just had Wanwan deliver to General Shen."
"Huaiyan, do you know what's on that memorial?" Emperor Xiao Xuan suddenly asked.
King Zhao felt a chill run down his spine.
"Your subject does not know!" King Zhao hurriedly replied.
Emperor Xiao Xuan chuckled twice.
"That memorial was also sent by the Chief Censor."
The memorial stated that the troops Song Kaiyuan encountered while escorting grain were not actually from foreign tribes.
Instead, it was some people from Dayu who were in disguise.
The current clues have led directly to Wu Jiande.
"Huaiyan, this matter has nothing to do with you, right?" Emperor Xiao Xuan looked at Prince Zhao.
King Zhao's heart sank.
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