"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"
"Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Han, has received great favor from me, holding a high position among the feudal lords and enjoying the privileges of a region. He should therefore diligently perform his duties, assist the government, and ensure the well-being of the people and the safety of the borders."
"However, the punishment for Prince Chen Longxiang's rebellion and the actions of Duke Chen Qingzhi of Han, who acted rebelliously and abused his power, were truly heinous crimes deserving of death."
"Considering the foundation of our empire and the safety of our nation, I am deeply grieved and have no choice but to punish him severely according to the law, as a warning to others..."
Inside the Golden Palace, during the court assembly.
Cai He, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, read aloud the contents of the imperial edict drafted by Emperor Zhaowu, Chen Huai'an, in a shrill voice. The edict concerned the punishment of Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Han, for disposing of the remains of Chen Longxiang, the Prince of Jin, who had raised an army in rebellion, in violation of the provisions of the Tang Dynasty Code.
From the time Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Korea, and his entourage returned to the capital from the Goguryeo Peninsula to the time Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an issued an edict to deal with and punish the criminal Chen Qingzhi, only three days had passed.
The speed of the response and the severity of the punishment caught the entire court completely off guard, leaving no room for any officials who wanted to exploit the incident for their own purposes.
Inside the Golden Palace, a group of civil officials, led by Liu Huaiyi, the censor of the Censorate, listened to Cai He, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, read the imperial edict, while secretly glancing at Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an, who was sitting on the dragon throne in the Golden Palace, out of the corner of their eyes.
At this moment, the eyes of these "former officials of four dynasties" looking at the young Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an now held a greater sense of awe and fear.
Previously, Liu Huaiyi and other civil officials believed that Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an was an indecisive ruler who governed the country with benevolence. It was not difficult to see from his series of benevolent policies since his ascension to the throne that Emperor Zhaowu did not seem to be willing to govern the country with an iron fist at the beginning of the founding of the country.
In fact, on many occasions, he would rather issue an edict of self-reproach, taking all the blame for the mistakes made by his ministers, than carry out a large-scale killing spree.
This led many civil officials in the court to constantly challenge Emperor Zhaowu's bottom line by offering advice in order to achieve their own goals;
In any case, the emperor couldn't just cut off his own head and exterminate his entire family because of this.
However, ever since the Prince of Jin rebelled, the civil officials in the court have noticed that the emperor seems to have changed overnight and is no longer the emperor they are familiar with!
He not only purged all the "Four Princes of the Former Dynasty" who had secretly aided the enemy with swift and decisive measures, but also beheaded and executed all the princes' families and their nine clans of more than 40,000 people involved in the case.
Even when dealing with Chen Qing, the founding father of the court and the head of the six dukes, he showed no mercy, stripping him of his title and exiling him to the border.
Speaking of which, when news of Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Han, secretly protecting the body of Chen Longxiang, the Prince of Jin, was sent back to the court, all the military generals of the Longcheng faction admired Chen Qingzhi to the skies, believing that this act was a direct manifestation of loyalty and righteousness.
They even prepared to jointly submit a petition to Emperor Zhaowu, requesting that he treat Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Han, leniently.
However, before these Longcheng generals could prepare, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an's edict sealed the fate of Duke Han Chen Qingzhi.
In the Golden Palace, the eunuch Cai He, who was delivering the imperial edict, continued to loudly proclaim: "Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Han, has committed undeniable crimes that cannot be forgiven. In accordance with the Tang Dynasty legal code, I have decided to strip him of his title of Duke of Han, strip him of his fiefdom, and order him to be immediately escorted to the Goguryeo Peninsula for lifelong exile, with no possibility of recall."
"I will not pursue the innocent relatives of his family out of consideration for past relations, but they must be relocated to another place, strictly disciplined, and forbidden from participating in court affairs again."
"I know this is not what I wanted, but the law is impartial and the power of the monarchy is absolute. I hope that all rulers and ministers will take this as a warning, abide by their duties, be loyal to the country, and work together to build a prosperous and peaceful world!"
"So be it—"
......
The eighth day of the third month in the second year of the Zhaowu reign of the Tang Dynasty.
Today marks the day when Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Han, the first of the six founding dukes of the Tang Dynasty, was exiled to Goguryeo.
When Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Han, changed into prison clothes and was handcuffed and shackled as he was escorted out of the Ministry of Justice prison in a prison van, he was immediately shocked by the scene before him.
Beyond the shock, I was overwhelmed with indescribable emotion.
The streets leading from the Ministry of Justice prison to Xuanwu Gate were already packed with Tang Dynasty citizens who had come to see him off.
Among them stood many Tang Dynasty generals, clad in gleaming armor and wielding ring-pommel swords.
This shows that Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Han, still enjoyed extremely high prestige among the soldiers and civilians of the Jinling Imperial City.
Although his act of privately burying the body of Prince Chen Longxiang of Jin disregarded the laws of the Tang Dynasty and the dignity of the royal family, it won the approval of the soldiers and civilians in the city. After learning the news of Chen Qingzhi's exile, everyone spontaneously came to the streets to see off this Duke.
When the prison cart arrived at Xuanwu Gate, Chen Qingzhi, the Duke of Han, could no longer hold back and looked back at Jinling City behind him, tears streaming down his face.
The scene from last night, when the Emperor made a late-night visit to the Ministry of Justice prison and had a heart-to-heart talk with me, resurfaced in my mind.
The next moment, Chen Qingzhi followed the prison cart out of Xuanwu Gate without looking back, heading towards the Stone City Wharf outside the city.
At the dock, a warship of the Tang Dynasty navy was already waiting, ready to carry Chen Qingzhi, who had been exiled to Goguryeo, to the place that would change his fate.
At the same time, inside the Imperial Study.
Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an did not go to see off Duke Han Chen Qingzhi, not even to secretly take one last look at this white-robed scholar-general who had made great contributions to the establishment of the Tang Dynasty.
Last night, he sneaked into the Ministry of Justice prison and had a heart-to-heart talk with Chen Qingzhi.
On a personal level, and from the perspective of Chen Longxiang's elder brother, Chen Huai'an, on behalf of his mother Xu Ruoyun and the rest of the royal family, expressed his gratitude to Chen Qingzhi for preserving Chen Longxiang's body intact.
From the perspective of the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he had to make an example of Chen Qingzhi to serve as a warning to future generations.
With Chen Qingzhi exiled to Goguryeo, the rebellion of Prince Chen Longxiang of Jin has come to a close and the matter has come to a complete end.
However, Chen Huai'an's journey as the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty continued.
On this day, Marco Polo, the envoy of the Carolingian dynasty of the Charlemagne Empire, who had been traveling around the vicinity of Jinling City for more than a month and had witnessed the rebellion of a prince of the Tang Dynasty and its subsequent suppression in a short period of time.
Finally, after submitting his credentials, he met the legendary Emperor Chen Huai'an of the Tang Dynasty in the Imperial Study, arranged by Zhang Fu, the Minister of Rites of the Tang Dynasty.
On behalf of Charlemagne, who was far away across the ocean, I extend my highest respect and sincerest greetings to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
Furthermore, it brought with it Charlemagne's request to form an alliance with the Tang Dynasty and jointly send troops to fight against the Arab Empire.
"Your Majesty, the barbaric Arabs are currently campaigning eastward, engaged in fierce battles with the Crusader knights of the Charlemagne Empire in the Mediterranean region;"
"If His Majesty the Emperor were to issue an order now, and the Tang army stationed along the Tianshan Mountains in the Western Regions were to cross the Pamir Plateau and march eastward, they would surely be able to reach Baghdad, the capital of the Arabs, in one fell swoop, avenging the Arabs' invasion of the Western Regions years ago."
Marco Polo continued, "Your Majesty, in return, my Carolingian Empire is willing to establish comprehensive and in-depth cooperation and exchanges with the Tang Dynasty in the fields of economy, culture, and technological development."
"Furthermore, the priority of dividing and nibbling away at the Arab Empire will also be given to His Majesty the Great Emperor and the Great Tang Dynasty!"
"We urge His Majesty the Emperor to make a decision as soon as possible and launch a western expedition!"
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