February 15th, the second year of the Zhaowu reign of the Tang Dynasty.
Emperor Zhaowu, Chen Huai'an, issued an edict to arrest all four former princes, their families, and their nine clans involved in secretly aiding the enemy, and to hand them over to the Ministry of Justice for execution.
At this time, only one month had passed since Chen Longxiang, the first prince of the Tang Dynasty and the Prince of Jin, raised an army to rebel and raised the banner of restoring the Great Xin Dynasty. Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an used an iron-fisted approach to cut off the rebel army's internal collaborators in the court.
Before launching a major campaign to quell the rebellion, we must first cut off one of the enemy's arms!
This time, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an's handling of the four former kings who secretly aided the enemy was several times faster and more ruthless than when he dealt with the rebellion of Marquis Wuyi Liu Ziyu.
The four former kings and their families and clansmen involved in the case, totaling more than 40,000 people, were all convicted and executed by the Ministry of Justice with lightning speed under the instruction of Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an.
After this case, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an clearly felt that the civil and military officials in the court looked at him with deep fear during the morning court session.
Even a group of pedantic civil officials from the previous dynasty, led by Liu Huaiyi, a censor of the Censorate, unusually remained silent in this case, refusing to form cliques and submit memorials advising the emperor to be compassionate and not to commit mass killings to establish authority.
Indeed, an emperor must have both benevolent governance and iron-fisted rule.
Only in this way can you make the people of the world grateful to you, and make the civil and military officials, princes and nobles in the court fear you.
Only in this way can the foundation of the dynasty be stabilized and last for thousands of generations.
However, as such, Chen Huai'an, the reigning emperor, would inevitably be labeled as "tyrannical" by his civil and military officials.
But so what?
Inside the Imperial Study, when Chen Huai'an received the memorial from the Ministry of Justice, reporting to the Emperor that the more than 40,000 members of the Da Xin dynasty and their nine clans, who were involved in "secretly aiding the enemy and restoring the previous dynasty," had all been executed that day;
On Chen Huai'an's handsome face, the gaze in his starry eyes became even more resolute;
Before my eyes, scenes of bloody slaughter and flashing swords seemed to appear, and I could almost see the faces of countless innocent women and children crying out for justice, and even the four princes of the previous dynasty cursing me...
At this moment, his heart was as firm as a rock.
Chen Huai'an knew that from this moment on, he had taken another step closer to becoming a qualified founding emperor.
This step was taken over the blood and corpses of countless people.
He no longer felt pity or remorse.
He knew that this was something every emperor would have to go through sooner or later.
Previously, he was unwilling to take this step;
Now, he has no choice!
A few more days passed.
Led by Chang Yuchun, the Duke of Wei, the first of the six founding dukes of the Tang Dynasty, the 500,000-strong Tang army, which split into two routes to quell the rebellion in Goguryeo, has arrived at the Liaodong Peninsula east of the Liao River and the port of Nanpu near Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo.
A major battle to quell the rebellion is about to erupt.
On the coastal defense line of Nanpu Port, Chen Longxiang, the regent of the "Daxin" dynasty, wearing golden armor and holding a pair of golden hammers, personally commanded the rebel navy against the Tang navy.
The news that the four kings of the former dynasty, who were the inside agents of the "Daxin" rebel army in the Central Plains dynasty, had been arrested had already reached the Goguryeo capital a few days ago, and reached the ears of Regent Chen Longxiang and Queen Su Wan'er.
Chen Longxiang immediately blocked the news and cut off the waterway communication with the Central Plains dynasty, completely sealing off the Goguryeo peninsula;
He knew very well that once the news that the rebel army's internal collaborators in the Central Plains dynasty had been eradicated by the court was leaked, the Goguryeo King Gojang, who had just defected, might turn around and sell him out, taking his head to his elder brother, the emperor, and to the rebel Chen Huai'an to curry favor.
Chen Longxiang knew even more clearly that from now on, he had no backup or way out; only by fighting to the death could he have a glimmer of hope.
"Report—"
"Your Highness, the enemy commander-in-chief, Chang Yuchun, has sent an envoy to request an audience!"
Inside the rebel camp, in the central command tent, Chen Longxiang, the regent of Daxin, suddenly received a message from a messenger.
Um?
Chen Longxiang raised an eyebrow, then waved his hand and ordered, "Bring him up!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Soon, the envoy sent by Duke Chang Yuchun of Wei was taken to the central military tent by several rebel soldiers. His head was covered with a black hood, seemingly because they were afraid that this special envoy of the court would find out the rebel troop deployment and the Shenji Battalion's artillery configuration in Nanpu Port.
brush!
The next moment, after the black hood on the envoy's head was removed, everyone in the rebel army's central tent, including Regent Chen Longxiang in the main seat and the rebel generals on both sides, stood up abruptly. Their eyes involuntarily glanced at the envoy, but then quickly looked away in shame, as if they had no courage to meet the court envoy's gaze.
Because this envoy who came alone was none other than Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Han, who was the first (and equal) of the six founding dukes of the Tang Dynasty.
Chen Qingzhi, former deputy marshal of the left wing of the Longcheng army and former commander-in-chief of the three armies of the Tang Dynasty stationed on the Goguryeo Peninsula;
All the rebel generals present were former subordinates of Chen Qingzhi.
At this moment, the two sides are on opposing sides.
These roughnecks in the army still had some sense of shame. After His Highness Prince Jin raised the banner of restoring the previous dynasty, even the dumbest of these generals could realize that the one who rebelled and imprisoned the emperor was not one of the Five Dukes of the Tang Dynasty, but his own brother, the First Prince of the Tang Dynasty.
However, things had already come to this point, and these generals, who had long been tied to the warship of Prince Jin's rebellion, had no way out. Not to mention whether Emperor Zhaowu would exterminate their entire family for raising troops in rebellion on the Goguryeo Peninsula, if they did not obey the orders of Prince Jin Chen Longxiang, they would probably die on the spot in Goguryeo.
Therefore, they were left with only one path: to follow Prince Chen Longxiang of Jin down the path of rebellion to the bitter end in exchange for a brief moment of survival.
Therefore, when they saw their former commander Chen Qingzhi single-handedly charging into the "enemy camp," they were instantly ashamed and lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
For the young Chen Longxiang, he never expected that the Duke of Han, Chen Qingzhi, would dare to risk his life and break into his camp all by himself.
Could it be that this Duke of Han is not afraid of disregarding military ethics and directly executing the envoy on the battlefield to boost morale?
Or is it that this Duke Chen Qingzhi of Han is fearless, giving up the wealth and power he has fought so hard for in the first half of his life, and is willing to risk his life to make a name for himself in history?
For a moment, Chen Longxiang was a little confused.
However, one thing he was very clear about was that the arrival of Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Han, alone today would deal a significant blow to the morale of his generals, no matter how he handled it.
"Your subject, Chen Qingzhi, pays respects to Your Highness!"
While Chen Longxiang, seated in the main seat, was still in a daze, Chen Qingzhi, inside the central command tent, had already taken the initiative to bow and greet him: "Long live the Prince of Jin! Long live the Prince of Jin! Long live the Prince of Jin!"
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