xymnovel Chapter 82 The Emperor Wants to Offer Amnesty
Chapter 82 The Emperor Wants to Offer Amnesty
The latest issue of the "Jianghu Daily" quickly spread.
The text focuses on Wang Lun's strict adherence to military regulations and his angry killing of Dwarf Tiger Wang Ying. It also briefly mentions that the imperial court sent Huyan Zhuo to lead a large army to attack Liangshan, but Huyan Zhuo abandoned the darkness and joined the light because he shared the same ideals as Wang Lun, the leader of Liangshan.
The distribution of this "Jianghu Daily" immediately sparked heated discussions throughout the Song Dynasty. From princes and nobles to ordinary people, everyone condemned the crimes of Dwarf Tiger Wang Ying and praised Wang Lun's actions.
Especially in the red-light districts and brothels, courtesans throughout the Song Dynasty were singing the lyrics "written" by Wang Lun. Coupled with his angry execution of Wang Ying, the name of the "White-Robed Scholar" spread far and wide.
Some people have even made unfounded speculations, claiming that Dwarf Tiger Wang Ying was Wang Lun's younger brother. They argue that Wang Lun's decision to kill his brother in the face of righteousness is both admirable and lamentable.
When these rumors reached Wang Lun's ears, he simply smiled. After all, Wang Ying was already dead, so why bother with further discussion?
Zhao Yupan, far away in Tokyo, was overjoyed and sang and danced. She had long known that Huyan Zhuo was no match for Wang Lun, but now it seemed that not only was he no match for him, but Huyan Zhuo had also surrendered to Wang Lun.
She was secretly pleased; this was the person she had chosen, and her judgment had indeed been correct.
When this newspaper reached Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, Tong Guan, and others, the three treacherous officials immediately sent men to arrest Huyan Zhuo's family.
But when their men arrived, Huyan Zhuo's family had already been taken away by the Liangshan people.
This is truly a case of losing both the general and the army; it's a huge loss.
Gao Qiu and others immediately sent people to inquire about the details of Huyan Zhuo's second defeat, since Zhang Shuye's official report only gave a vague account.
This investigation revealed something remarkable: Zhang Shuye, Guan Sheng, Ling Zhen, and others had clearly been surrounded by Liangshan troops, yet Wang Lun had released them. Guan Sheng and Lin Chong of Liangshan had fought a great battle before, but they respected each other and even made a pact to become friends through martial arts in the future.
The scouts discovered that on the fifth day after the battle, Lin Chong took the initiative to invite Guan Sheng for drinks. The two went out alone and did not return until evening.
Gao Qiu was especially angry. Everyone knew that Lin Chong had become a bandit because of him, and Guan Sheng's blatant association with Lin Chong clearly meant that he had already defected to the enemy.
He immediately found Cai Jing, and the two of them decided to send someone to bring Zhang Shuye, Guan Sheng, and Ling Zhen back to Tokyo for questioning.
As for attacking Liangshan, we can only put it aside for now. Without dealing with traitors like Guan Sheng, how can we quell the Liangshan rebellion?
As the two were discussing, a palace eunuch arrived with an imperial decree that the Emperor wanted to see them again.
The two men were somewhat uneasy. The emperor had recently become overly concerned with politics and distant from painting, which was not a good sign.
Upon arriving at Chongzheng Hall, the two discovered that Tong Guan and Yang Jian were already there.
The four were Emperor Daojun's favorite ministers, and they were already quite familiar with each other. After nodding to each other, they quietly waited for the emperor's arrival.
"Wang Lun, the scholar in white, is truly a chivalrous man!"
Before the man even arrived, Zhao Ji's voice came through, and the four of them quickly bowed.
Zhao Ji waved his hand: "Forget all that. Tell me what exactly happened. How did Huyan Zhuo lose again and defect to Wang Lun? What is Zhang Shuye doing?"
His words seemed to be criticizing Zhang Shuye, Huyan Zhuo and others for being useless, but the first thing he said was to praise Wang Lun.
This left several ministers somewhat bewildered.
After a moment of hesitation, Gao Qiu, a former retainer of the Emperor's Prince Duan's household, spoke first: "Your Majesty, I have learned that Huyan Zhuo harbors ill intentions. He has actually made a pact with Wang Lun to surrender to the Liangshan bandits if he is captured and released three times..."
"Oh?" Zhao Ji became interested.
Gao Qiu was about to continue speaking, but upon hearing Zhao Ji's "Oh," he immediately steered the conversation toward the Three Captures Agreement, detailing Wang Lun's two captures of Huyan Zhuo.
After hearing this, Zhao Ji nodded repeatedly: "Although Huyan Zhuo is a descendant of the Hu family generals, he is far inferior to Wang Lun."
The ministers were taken aback. They really wanted to remind Emperor Huizong that Wang Lun was a bandit from Liangshan and should not be praised. However, they dared not say it aloud.
"After being captured in the second trap, Huyan Zhuo surrendered. The Liangshan troops surrounded Zhang Shuye and Guan Sheng, but Guan Sheng fought Lin Chong for dozens of rounds..."
Before Gao Qiu could finish speaking, Zhao Ji interrupted him again: "Lin Chong? The Lin Chong who was the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards?"
Gao Qiu nodded quickly: "Exactly."
"snort."
Zhao Ji snorted coldly: "Do you think I don't know about Lin Chong's affairs? If it weren't for your son, such a fierce general wouldn't have ended up wandering the world."
Gao Qiu was shocked and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, cold sweat pouring down his back.
Although Lin Chong was the head instructor of the Imperial Guards, his actual position was not high. Gao Qiu's framing of Lin Chong was done quite discreetly, so how did the Emperor know about it?
"Get up. If I were to hold a grudge, would you still be speaking here? It's just that your son needs to be properly disciplined. If you can't discipline him, then I will send someone to discipline him." Zhao Ji rarely lost his temper with Gao Qiu.
Gao Qiu immediately kowtowed: "I dare not trouble Your Majesty, I will certainly keep a close watch on him."
The other three watched Gao Qiu coldly, constantly speculating about Zhao Ji's thoughts. Was Gao Qiu about to fall out of favor?
"Wang Lun did a good job beheading that short-legged tiger Wang Ying. Although he occupied Jizhou, he didn't commit any crimes, and the people still lived in peace, unlike ordinary bandits. I'm considering offering him amnesty. What do you all think?"
Upon hearing Zhao Ji's words, the four could only echo, "Your Majesty's leniency is a blessing for Wang Lun."
"Zhang Shuye and Guan Sheng failed to defeat the thieves, so they sent someone to give them a lecture and tell them to come back."
The four of them quickly agreed.
After a pause, Cai Jing said, "Your Majesty, I wonder who should be sent to offer amnesty, and what position should be promised to Wang Lun?"
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Ji said, "It would be better to keep Zhang Shuye and let him come back to reflect on his actions before accepting the imperial decree to offer amnesty. As for Wang Lun, he has governed Jizhou well, so we might as well appoint him as the acting governor of Jizhou. His civil and military officials can be placed under his care. If Lin Chong, Yang Zhi, and others are willing to return to the capital, they can be reinstated to their original positions and their past transgressions will be forgiven."
Ah!
The four ministers were instantly petrified.
What was wrong with this Daojun Emperor? He actually offered Wang Lun the position of prefect, and Lin Chong and Yang Zhi were even allowed to be reinstated to their original posts.
This... isn't like his usual style.
"However, before Wang Lun takes office, he comes to the capital, and I want to meet with him."
The four ministers, bewildered, accepted the decree and withdrew.
As soon as the four left, a woman rushed in from outside. She was dressed in a red palace gown, with a smile on her face, and was as beautiful as a fairy.
"Father, are you really willing to let Wang Lun surrender?"
Zhao Yupan fawned over Zhao Ji, overjoyed.
Zhao Ji feigned anger: "Isn't that all for your sake? A daughter is like a tree that cannot stay at home. Of all the people she could have fallen for, she had to fall for a bandit leader. If I don't grant him an official position, how can I satisfy your desires?"
Zhao Yupan was deeply moved and hugged Zhao Ji's arm, saying with a smile, "Father is still the best."
"It's mainly for your sake, but I also think that Wang Lun is indeed extraordinary. He is talented, good at managing troops, and his killing of the short-legged tiger Wang Ying will likely make him even more popular. If we don't bring such a person under the court, he will surely achieve great things in the future. It will be difficult to recruit him after he has accomplished something great."
Zhao Yupan laughed and said, "What's so difficult about it? I'll personally go and offer him amnesty. I'm not afraid he won't come."
Zhao Ji chuckled: "However, your mother hasn't given her her approval for your marriage; he needs to get past her first hurdle."
Zhao Yupan immediately deflated: "Mother Empress Dowager likes General Zeng Yin of the Left Guard. Let's go all the way and have someone kill Zeng Yin."
"Foolish. How did you come back with such a bandit-like attitude from Wang Lun?"
Zhao Ji snorted angrily and began to discuss things in hushed tones with Zhao Yupan.