Chapter 460: Extermination of Nine Clans
The Northern Qi Emperor's expression changed instantly.
He originally planned to have the secret guards take his handwritten order back to Yongqing County to re-investigate the case of the lead mine collapse.
Zhao Yi was involved in the lead mine collapse case. Before the case was fully investigated, he was temporarily detained in the county magistrate's office and guarded by soldiers and secret guards.
At this time, he issued another decree to send the virtuous king to Yongqing County to thoroughly investigate the case of the lead mine collapse and take over Zhao Yi's job.
Now that Zhao Yi has quelled the riot in Yongqing County, he only needs to deal with some follow-up matters. He feels relieved that the safety of the wise king will not be endangered.
He was just waiting for his people to forge evidence that Zhao Yi had sent people to collapse the lead mine and killed several innocent people in order to frame Feng Zhihuan, thus proving Zhao Yi's crime of taking human lives for his own selfish desires.
At that time, the wise king would escort Zhao Yi back to Kyoto.
On the way back to Kyoto, the royal guards disguised themselves as mobs and crippled Zhao Yi's legs.
As long as Zhao Yi becomes disabled, he will no longer pose a threat to the wise king.
The Emperor of Northern Qi had planned everything, except for Zhao Yi's early return to the capital.
"Your Majesty, Prince Guangling has returned to the capital. What should we do?" The secret guards were secretly shocked. Not only did Zhao Yi see through their plan, he also avoided their people and rushed back to the capital, directly breaking their plan.
Whether it is his meticulous mind or his strength and courage, they are incomparable to the princes of Northern Qi.
If Zhao Yi did not have the blood of the Great Zhou royal family in his body, the Emperor of Northern Qi would definitely support him to be the crown prince, right?
The Northern Qi Emperor's eyes were sinister. "The riot in Yongqing County hasn't been quelled yet, and Prince Guangling has returned to the capital without permission. He has defied my will." He waved his hand, signaling the secret guards to withdraw, and said in a cold voice, "Let him in."
After a while, the door opened from the outside to the inside.
Zhao Yi walked slowly into the hall.
The Emperor of Northern Qi looked at Zhao Yi gravely and was about to call him to task, but he saw that Zhao Yi was pale, his lips were dry, and he looked very haggard.
"Cough... cough..." Zhao Yi covered his chest and coughed a few times, then bowed to the Northern Qi Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
The Emperor of Northern Qi narrowed his eyes slightly and looked Zhao Yi up and down, only then did he realize that he had lost a lot of weight.
The casual clothes that once fit me well now seemed too loose.
The Northern Qi Emperor asked, "Are you sick?"
"I dare not come to see you despite my illness," Zhao Yi replied. Before the Northern Qi emperor could react, he continued, "Your Majesty, I recently followed your orders to quell a rebellion in Yongqing County. I also obtained evidence of Feng Zhihuan's crimes and brought him to justice."
"Who would have thought that Feng Zhihuan's accomplices would actually impersonate your secret guards and assassinate me."
"I am your son, how could you send someone to assassinate me?"
"To put it mildly, this matter has caused a rift between us father and son. To put it more seriously, it will affect the peaceful coexistence between Northern Qi and Great Zhou."
"That's sheer nonsense. How many heads do they have who dare to impersonate my secret guards?" The Northern Qi Emperor sneered, refusing to be led astray by Zhao Yi. "Besides, Feng Zhihuan is a corrupt official. His crimes are innumerable and will be proven if investigated. If I kill you, I can still send other court officials to investigate. Can they kill all my officials?"
At this point, the Northern Qi Emperor changed the subject: "Besides, you are the prince of Northern Qi. Who would have the guts to assassinate you?"
This sentence is full of doubts about Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi seemed to want to explain, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he burst into coughing again.
"Northern Qi is my kingdom. Even if Feng Zhihuan's accomplices dare to assassinate you, I will dig them out even if I have to dig deep into the ground. I will exterminate all nine generations of their clans and give you and Emperor Jing'an an explanation."
The Northern Qi Emperor angrily rebuked him, "You, on the other hand, returned to the capital without permission because of such a trivial matter. If this gets to the ears of the censors, I will report you at the court tomorrow morning. Even if I want to protect you, I can't."
Zhao Yi immediately understood the Northern Qi Emperor's intentions. Since he could not get rid of him in Yongqing County, he accused him of disobeying the imperial order or dereliction of duty, and deprived him of the power he held.
In this way, he, a prince with no real power, poses no threat to the wise king.
Zhao Yi handed over a memorial: "Your Majesty, the people of Yongqing County deliberately rioted to save their lives. They hope to get word of this to you, and then send officials to investigate Feng Zhihuan's crimes."
"Now that Feng Zhihuan has been arrested, the people can live their lives normally. Those who caused the riots have all confessed their crimes."
"I know you care about the people of Yongqing County. After quelling the riot, I will immediately return to Kyoto to report to you."
These words repelled the Northern Qi Emperor's plan to send troops to punish him.
The Northern Qi Emperor had a gloomy expression.
Then, Zhao Yi took out a token from his sleeve pocket: "This token was found on the assassin who pretended to be a secret guard."
The Emperor of Northern Qi recognized that this plaque was the token of the leader of the secret guards, and his face suddenly became very ugly.
He had already learned the whole truth from the secret guards.
The leader of the secret guards did not assassinate Zhao Yi, but only ordered the city gates to be closed.
In order to prove that the lawsuit regarding the lead mine collapse had nothing to do with him, Zhao Yi ordered his subordinates to open the city gate.
The leader of the secret guards simply stepped forward to stop Zhao Yi from opening the city gate, and was killed by Zhao Yi's subordinates.
Now, in Zhao Yi's mouth, it turned out that it was the leader of the secret guards who assassinated him.
Thinking of this, the Northern Qi Emperor was filled with rage. Just as he was about to explode, he saw Zhao Yi pull out another token from his sleeve pocket. He said, "I was assassinated again on my way back to the capital. This token was also found on the assassin."
When the Emperor of Northern Qi saw the two identical tokens, the veins on his forehead throbbed.
The next moment, Zhao Yi untied his belt, took off his clothes, revealing the bloody knife wound on his shoulder to prove that he was not lying.
"Your Majesty, the assassination of this humble subject is a minor matter. The greater offense is this individual's misrepresentation of the Royal Guard's token as a genuine one. If I didn't know that Your Majesty cherishes me, I would have truly believed you had sent someone to kill me. If this were to get out, I'm afraid it would tarnish the reputation of the Royal Family." Zhao Yi knelt and said, "Your Majesty, I implore you to conduct a thorough investigation into this case to restore the dignity of the Royal Family."
The Emperor of Northern Qi's face turned pale. He didn't believe that Zhao Yi didn't know what was going on, and he kept pressing him, forcing him to give an explanation.
He suffered a loss and felt very upset, but he couldn't do anything to Zhao Yi.
At this point, the Emperor of Northern Qi could no longer admit that the secret guards were his men.
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