The weak scholars were full of passion in vain. After the passion wore off, they began to fear, unable to believe that they had done all this.
Zhao Huan realized he had killed someone and chopped off his head. The officials then beat him to death. Among those who beat him were Li Gang, Bai Shizhong, Li Bangyan, and others.
Zhao Huan's face was covered in blood, and his ministers hid aside, staring at each other in amazement.
An emperor who is the supreme ruler of the country and a group of important officials at the political core of the country executed two traitors in this Purple Palace.
Cao Dongsheng was frightened and quickly ordered the eunuchs and palace maids to bring a basin and towel for Zhao Huan to wash.
Zhao Huan was so frightened that he threw away the knife in his hand and asked the palace maid, who was even more frightened, to wipe the blood off her face with a towel and hot water. The palace maids closed their eyes and dared not look at Tang Ke's head on the ground. They trembled.
The ministers were terrified, and their faces were filled with fear, as if I had killed someone.
Fortunately, there were military generals Wang Zongchu and Wu Ge, who did not participate in the brawl. They thought a brawl was unthinkable, and if they wanted to kill someone, they could just chop them off with their swords. When these ministers were brawling, they were filled with passion and audacity, but afterward, they became panicked and timid.
Wang Zongchu was the only one who understood. He stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and all of us colleagues share the same hatred for this enemy. Your personal execution of these two thieves today is truly a source of great joy to the people. Your name will surely go down in history!"
This was flattery, yet another way out. Zhao Huan and his ministers suddenly woke up, and they began to flatter each other with laughter. But the smiles on their faces were unnatural; they were still in the fear of murder.
Zhao Huan calmed down and regained some consciousness. Cao Dongsheng helped him sit on the dragon throne.
The flattery spread, and Zhao Huan and his ministers began to praise each other. One said that the emperor hated evil so much that he chopped off the scoundrel Tang Ke's head with a single blow. Another said that Lord Li had obviously practiced martial arts before, and with a single step of his big foot, Geng Nanzhong's eyes popped out and he howled in pain. The sounds of flattery were endless.
The emperor and his ministers were united in purpose, and the atmosphere in the court was harmonious. Taking advantage of this heated atmosphere, Bai Shizhong stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, I believe that it is time to release the Secretary of the Central Secretariat He Li and the Chief Censor Chen Guoting from the Heavenly Prison."
Zhao Huan slapped his head and said, "How could I have forgotten about this? Let him go, absolutely, immediately! Not only that, but I will also give him a huge reward, a huge reward!"
In the past, Zhao Huan would either confront his ministers or be confronted by them. Political opinions differed, and each held their own viewpoint, often leading to heated arguments. Zhao Huan punished several of those who advocated peace, but it didn't seem to have much effect; many ministers still favored peace. For a time, the relationship between the emperor and his ministers was quite strained.
Now that the Jin army's eastern route had been crippled and unable to invade the south anytime soon, the Song Dynasty had achieved a brief period of peace. Consequently, the peace advocates no longer feared the Jin. With the emperor and his subjects now united, their resolve strengthened. The relationship between the emperor and his subjects eased considerably.
"I will go and convey the order right away." Cao Dongsheng was about to go out in a panic.
"Wait," Zhao Huan stopped him, "I'll go with you."
"I will follow you, old minister."
"I'm going too. I'm going too."
All the ministers requested to go with them. Zhao Huan was overjoyed. He had begun to enjoy attending court. So he waved his hand and said, "Everyone, follow me!"
Cao Dongsheng howled, "Your Majesty, please get up!"
"Get up, my dear uncle." Zhao Huan kicked Cao Dongsheng on the buttocks. "I and the other ministers will go there on foot."
So all the civil and military officials in the court followed Zhao Huan to the direction of the Heavenly Prison with humming voices. With the emperor and his ministers united as one, they could achieve great things. Zhao Huan and his ministers talked and laughed all the way.
In the Tianlao, the two brothers, He Li, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and Chen Guoting, the Chief Censor, lived in two cells next to each other.
The jailer admired He Li and Chen Guoting as their characters. Apart from the lack of freedom, they were treated well in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation.
No matter how well treated, this was still a prison cell, with straw on the floor, a thin blanket, a toilet, a dim lamp, and nothing else.
He Li had been silent since entering. Death wasn't the most terrifying thing for him; the most dreadful part was the wait. It would be fine if the emperor ordered his execution, but the only thing was that he didn't know when the emperor would order it.
Chen Guoting was the opposite. He had been chattering non-stop since he entered, afraid that if he stopped thinking about being beheaded, he would think about it. So he kept talking, crying, laughing, cursing Zhao Huan, and crying about the Song Dynasty.
Some people didn't want to live, but no one wasn't afraid of death. These loyal ministers and generals weren't saints. Aside from a few truly iron-willed warriors who took beheading as a breeze, most people were terrified.
Outside the prison, the drunken warden and the jailer happened to be standing at the door, boasting. The warden had just drunk a few drinks and was mumbling, "Let me tell you, do you know what we fear most in this line of work?"
The soldiers beside him shook their heads blankly. The warden said mysteriously, "I'm most afraid of seeing the emperor."
The soldier was confused and bewildered: "Sir, my mother said that seeing the emperor is a blessing earned in eight lifetimes. Why do you say you are most afraid of seeing the emperor?"
The warden slapped him on the head and said, "You're so stupid! This is the Heavenly Prison. What kind of place is the Heavenly Prison? How can ordinary people come here? Those imprisoned here are all high-ranking officials and local lords. If the emperor comes, it must be a big event. Big events usually require silencing. 'Crack!' With a single blow, you and I will be buried with him."
The jailers shrank back in fear.
"Don't shrink back, it's no use. The chopped-off head will bleed like a fountain. Even though the head is gone, the legs can still walk. He had to go home, and when you got home, you realized your head was gone. Don't you think your mother would be scared to death if she saw you walking home headless?"
The jailer frightened them. No one would think about how he could walk home without a head, so someone would believe it. So some of the jailers immediately began to believe it.
"The emperor has arrived!" At this moment, the voice of the emperor's arrival was heard not far away.
The jailer was so frightened that he was paralyzed all over, and the warden was half sober.
This was scary enough, but what was doubly scary was that they discovered that the leader was an emperor wearing a dragon robe, flanked by guards and followed by a large group of ministers.
The jailer was trembling with fear, wondering how he could walk home without a head start so as not to scare his mother. The warden was even more frightened and lost all consciousness, kneeling on the ground like a pile of mud.
Fortunately, the emperor and his ministers ignored the jailers and went straight into the prison.
The imperial guards led the way, and the jailers inside fell to the ground one after another.
He Li and Chen Guoting heard the commotion outside, and Chen Guoting asked, "Brother Yu, what's going on outside?"
The jailer looked around, bewildered. He Li, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up, "What else could it be? The order to execute has been issued."
Chen Guoting was startled at first, then he sighed: "It's good that you're here, it's good that you're here. It saves me from suffering endlessly here."
He Li looked up at the sky and said, "I have been loyal all my life, but I have ended up like this."
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