After Liu Ziyu left the capital, his adoptive father, Prince Zhao, Liu Xinwu, kept his promise to Liu Ziyu and, on a certain day after court, took the opportunity of visiting his daughter Liu Shujun to meet with Emperor Zhaowu, Chen Huai'an, in private.
When the father-in-law and son-in-law met again in private, they still treated each other with the courtesy due to a ruler and his subject.
Liu Xinwu naturally dared not call Chen Huai'an by his given name, and Chen Huai'an, of course, could not bring himself to call him "father."
According to secular etiquette, the emperor could address the empress's biological father as "Guo Zhang" (国丈), or he could address him according to his title and rank.
Therefore, after ascending the throne, Chen Huai'an addressed his father-in-law Liu Xinwu as the Prince of Zhao, while Liu Xinwu addressed Chen Huai'an as "Your Majesty" both in court and in private.
After the family of three had their meal at Kunning Palace, they realized that the father-in-law was Chen Huai'an, who never visited unless there was a reason. So they took the initiative to invite Liu Xinwu to take a walk in the Imperial Garden to digest their food.
Liu Xinwu readily agreed to this.
In the Imperial Garden, after some casual conversation, the father-in-law and son-in-law finally brought up the topic of Liu Ziyu.
Liu Xinwu truly valued this adopted son on whom he placed high hopes; otherwise, he wouldn't have treated him as his own son and successor all these years.
It wasn't just because of the kindness Liu Ziyu had shown Liu Xinwu on the battlefield, shielding him from a fatal arrow from the enemy general; it was also because Liu Xinwu wanted to pave the way for his daughter Liu Shujun, who would become the Empress of the Tang Dynasty, and even his future grandson, the Crown Prince, before he passed away.
Although there have been many cases of relatives of the empress interfering in politics throughout history;
However, Liu Xinwu still wanted to do everything he could to push his adopted son Liu Ziyu, who came from a military background, to the forefront.
After all, in the harem of the Tang Dynasty, there was also a Noble Consort, Yue Qiluo, who represented the interests of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions.
Regardless of whether there will be a "succession struggle" in the future, it is never a bad thing to plan ahead.
Let's get back to the main topic.
While strolling in the Imperial Garden, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an brought up the matter of Hu Dalin and several others who had been executed.
Chen Huai'an said, "Prince Zhao, I have already issued an order that the families of Hu Dalin and the other main culprits in the first major case in the Great Tang Dynasty will not be held accountable."
"Regardless, these individuals have rendered great service to the Tang Dynasty, and their families are innocent!"
"Your Majesty is benevolent and governs the country with virtue. On behalf of the families of Hu Dalin and the others, I thank Your Majesty!"
With that, Liu Xinwu clasped his hands together and bowed to Emperor Zhaowu, Chen Huai'an.
Then he added, "Your Majesty, speaking of which, I also bear an unshirkable responsibility for the heinous crimes committed by Hu Dalin and his associates. It was my lax management of my subordinates that led to such a disaster!"
"King Zhao, you are mistaken!"
Chen Huai'an waved his hand and said, "The King of Zhao has not been involved in military and political affairs for many years, so how can he control these young, arrogant, and fierce soldiers in the army?"
With that, Chen Huai'an gave a wry smile and continued, "In the end, it was all caused by the investiture ceremony at the founding of the Tang Dynasty!"
He paused, then said, "I'm afraid the Prince of Zhao's visit today is not just for a simple meal with me and Empress Shujun. Let me guess, is the Prince of Zhao here for the investiture ceremony?"
Um!
Liu Xinwu didn't hide anything, nodding directly and saying, "To be honest, Your Majesty, after Hu Dalin and his gang committed the crime, I immediately sought out Marquis Liu Ziyu of Wuyi."
"These men are all generals under Liu Ziyu, and Liu Ziyu is my adopted son."
"In handling this matter, although the Emperor did not use the 'radish leading to the mud' approach by punishing Liu Ziyu and his gang of arrogant and fierce generals from the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun together;"
"However, I cannot pretend to be unaware of this matter!"
Liu Xinwu continued, "According to Liu Ziyu and Chen's confession, Hu Dalin and his group's drunken nighttime break-in at the palace gates was indeed related to the investiture ceremony of the founding of the Tang Dynasty."
"etc--"
Chen Huai'an waved his hand, interrupting Liu Xinwu, and said, "Prince Zhao, do you also not understand why I ultimately only conferred the title of Earl upon Liu Ziyu, and he is the last among the thirty-six Earls of the founding of the Tang Dynasty?"
"Your subject dares not!"
Liu Xinwu retorted, though his words were not entirely sincere.
Ha ha!
Chen Huai'an laughed heartily and said, "Prince Zhao, even if you hadn't come to me today to discuss this matter, I would have found an opportunity to talk to you privately about Liu Ziyu's problem."
As he spoke, Chen Huai'an turned to Xiao Po, the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness, who was about a hundred paces away and accompanying him, and shouted, "Xiao Po, bring the things up!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Soon, Xiao Po arrived in a hurry, carrying a stack of letters. At Chen Huai'an's instruction, he handed all the letters to Zhao Wang Liu Xinwu.
Chen Huai'an said, "Prince Zhao, please take a look at these letters first, and then we can continue our conversation!"
"My lord, I obey the order!"
After receiving the letter, Liu Xinwu quickly flipped through it, reading it at a glance.
The more he looked, the more alarmed he became, and the more serious his expression grew.
These "evidence" of crimes committed by Liu Ziyu, the Earl of Wuyi, compiled by the Longcheng Inner Guard, record in detail Liu Ziyu's actions in the army over the past few years.
Things like what happened in the previous dynasty, such as secretly colluding with the Turks to smuggle and profit, are all trivial matters not worth mentioning.
The key point is that after Liu Ziyu declared his allegiance to Chen Huai'an, who was then the Prince of Jin, he still retained the bad habits and evil practices he had had when he was guarding Wuzhou during the previous dynasty, and he had committed acts of embezzling salaries and massacring the city's inhabitants no less than five times.
Even after following Chen Huai'an across the Yangtze River and capturing Nanjing, he still did not restrain himself.
This was even true after Chen Huai'an declared himself emperor.
What shocked Liu Xinwu even more was that among this stack of Liu Ziyu's "evidence" were memorials impeaching him from two deputy marshals, Chen Qingzhi and Chang Yuchun, and two generals, Pang Xianchu and Zuo Liangcai.
Moreover, this happened before the investiture ceremony.
At this moment, Liu Xinwu finally understood why Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an had only bestowed upon Liu Ziyu the title of Earl!
In Liu Xinwu's view, this was already considered giving Liu Ziyu a break.
If he were the emperor, he probably wouldn't even bestow the title of earl upon that scoundrel Liu Ziyu!
Of course, all of this is predicated on Liu Xinwu becoming emperor, which is why he would handle things this way.
The reality is that he still harbors a sliver of hope for Liu Ziyu, hoping that the latter can take over his position after his death, shoulder the responsibility of the civil and military officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, and provide assistance to his daughter Liu Shujun in the possible "struggle for the throne".
Therefore, even knowing that his adopted son Liu Ziyu had done so many despicable and wicked things behind his back, Liu Xinwu had no choice but to bite the bullet and try to find a way to exonerate Liu Ziyu.
"Your Majesty, this—"
Just as Liu Xinwu was about to speak after reviewing the "evidence," Chen Huai'an interrupted him.
Chen Huai'an said, "Prince Zhao, please listen to me first—"
"In fact, on the eve of the final list of those to be conferred titles, I still placed Liu Ziyu at the head of the eighteen marquises of the founding of the Tang Dynasty;"
"Not only because he, Liu Ziyu, was the first military general in the previous dynasty to raise the banner of the Prince of Jin and declare his loyalty to me, but also because he was the adopted son of the Prince of Zhao and the adopted brother of Empress Shujun;"
"I also know that when the tyrannical Zhao Gan, the second emperor of the previous dynasty, issued an edict to marry Shujun to the Uyghurs for a peace treaty, Liu Ziyu did indeed make many efforts and plans to protect Shujun."
Chen Huai'an continued slowly and deliberately, "I am not a heartless and ungrateful person, much less one who discards a useful tool after it has served its purpose. If it weren't for the sudden death of Duke Fan Wuji of Yingguo on the battlefield, who, after being posthumously conferred the title of Duke of the Great Tang,..."
"I even considered including Liu Ziyu as one of the six dukes of the Tang Dynasty;"
"only--"
"Your Majesty, there's no need to say any more!"
At this moment, Liu Xinwu took the initiative to speak, saying, "I understand Your Majesty's feelings towards me, towards Shujun, and towards my rebellious son Liu Ziyu!"
"It is my rebellious son, Liu Ziyu, who brought this upon himself, failing to live up to Your Majesty's good intentions."
"If a child is not taught, it is the father's fault."
As he spoke, Liu Xinwu made a gesture as if to kowtow to Chen Huai'an to apologize, saying, "Today, I, your subject, on behalf of that rebellious son, plead guilty to Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, I implore you to grant my rebellious son Liu Ziyu a chance to redeem himself, for the sake of your humble servant and Shujun, and to allow him to guard the border for Your Majesty and the Tang Dynasty in order to repay Your Majesty's grace!"
After saying that, Liu Xinwu knelt down without hesitation.
Seeing this, Chen Huai'an naturally couldn't let his father-in-law kneel down for his good-for-nothing adopted son Liu Ziyu, so he helped Liu Xinwu up before he could kneel.
With his father-in-law having said all that, what could Chen Huai'an say?
"King Zhao, there's no need for this. Please rise and speak!"
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