Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 910 The Prime Minister's Kindness
With Yang Yuan's word, the efficiency of the three judicial departments in investigating Li Renxiao's case was truly astounding.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that the Imperial City Guard had been secretly monitoring Li Renxiao and that almost all of the personnel who were supposed to help him escape were wiped out.

Now that everyone has been caught, it won't be difficult to find out the whole story and obtain relevant evidence.

In the Imperial City Guard prison, a cup of poisoned wine was presented to Li Renxiao.

"I don't drink!"

Li Renxiao swept the wine glass aside, took two steps back in alarm, and sat down on the ground with a thud.

He thought he was no longer afraid of death, but as death approached, immense fear still enveloped his entire body.

Liu Dazhuang sighed and pursed his lips.

An attendant stepped forward, took out another cup, and filled it with wine.

At the same time, another official carrying a tray took two steps forward, on which lay a white silk ribbon.

Liu Dazhuang said, "Marquis Anshun, the Prime Minister will give you face by not carrying out the execution publicly and will even leave you with a whole corpse."

"The choice is yours: drink or choose this silk ribbon."

Marquis Anshun climbed forward two steps and smashed the wine cup again.

Liu Dazhuang's face darkened: "Marquis Anshun, you chose this path yourself, so you can only continue down it!"
If you don't care about appearances, don't blame me for not giving you face!

Marquis Anshun trembled all over, and suddenly went from crawling on his knees to kneeling and bowing, saying in a panic, "I want to see the Prime Minister, please, I want to see the Prime Minister."

I am willing to offer the Ren and Wang families to the Prime Minister, only asking that he spare my life, even if it means imprisonment…

Liu Dazhuang's expression changed, and he shouted sternly, "Don't let him spout nonsense, send him on his way."

The four attendants immediately rushed forward.

Before Marquis Anshun could say anything more, a scabbard slapped his mouth shut.

He whimpered in pain; all his teeth were loose, and he could no longer speak.

Two of the officials grabbed Anshun Hou's arms and used joint locks to subdue him.

The third official extended his finger like an eagle's beak and grabbed his cheek.

Marquis Anshun felt a stinging sensation in his cheeks and involuntarily opened his mouth.

The official immediately shoved the spout into his mouth and gulped down the wine.

The fourth official then grabbed the white silk ribbon and went around to Anshun Hou's back.

The official boots with black satin and white uppers stepped on his back, and a white silk ribbon was wrapped around his neck and tightened tightly.

The poisoned wine would take some time to take effect, so he couldn't say another word.

After a while, the three officials released Marquis Anshun, checked his breathing and pulse, and respectfully said to Liu Dazhuang, "Attendant Liu, Marquis Anshun has already set off."

"Let's leave the body here for now."

Liu Dazhuang glanced disdainfully at the contorted, somewhat incontinent corpse: "The Prime Minister is merciful; the Marquis of Anshun will be promoted one rank and buried with the rites befitting a Duke. We'll wait for someone from the Ministry of Rites to handle the arrangements."

"Yes!"

Liu Dazhuang turned and left, his voice echoing through the empty prison corridor: "Keep your mouths shut about what happened today!"

……

“Bury him with the rites due to a Duke, and allow his three brothers to participate in the funeral arrangements. Go.”

Upon hearing Yang Yuan's arrangement, Yu Zeping, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, agreed and then asked, "As for his family members, how should they be dealt with? Should they be exiled or...? Please advise, Prime Minister."

Yang Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "The titles of the three brothers of Duke Anshun will not be stripped; they will remain unchanged."

"Yes!"

"As for the people of Anshun Gong's branch of the family..."

Yang Yuan pondered for a moment: "They will all be demoted to commoners, but the houses that were previously granted need not be taken back. Let's be magnanimous."

Furthermore, since Anshun Gong's branch of the family has no descendants, the descendants of his three brothers can be granted special favors, allowing them to serve as officials or join the military three generations later.

"The Prime Minister is merciful!"

Yu Zeping offered a sincere compliment and then took his leave.

……

Meanwhile, at the Ban Jing Pavilion, negotiations were proceeding smoothly.

The terms were detailed and the content was obscure, making them even more incomprehensible than later insurance contracts.

One trap after another was gradually incorporated into the layers of design of the Inner Secretariat, the Outer Secretariat, and the Ministry of Rites.

When it comes to wordplay, the officials of the new Jin dynasty could never compare to the Song dynasty people who were masters of wordplay.

"The battlefield situation is constantly changing, and the post-war territorial boundaries cannot be determined. Therefore, the territory of the Jin Kingdom can be temporarily managed by the occupying party, pending further discussion and determination by the Song Dynasty and the new Jin Kingdom after the war."

The ambiguity of this territorial division was foreshadowed by the word "temporarily".

The phrase "meeting together" further emphasizes that the Song Dynasty held the reins, making it clear that the Song Dynasty was the client.

"Both sides jointly dispatched troops to conduct military activities against the Jin state."

This sounds perfectly fine, but the scale of the troop deployment is not specified; the deployment time is also not mentioned.
The Song army is currently fighting on Jin territory, and the new Jin will inevitably lag far behind the Song.

So how do we explain this "shared" when it comes time to divide the spoils or even settle old scores?

Whether a certain country has breached the agreement depends on what the Song Dynasty says.

"If the Song army attacks Yanjing Road, it may transport supplies from Goryeo, Japan and by sea."

If necessary, the new Jin dynasty should open its borders and supply routes to allow passage to the Song state.

Hmm...that makes sense, it sounds reasonable too.

"Regarding whether the two sides will send hostages to each other..."

As soon as Minister Chen opened his mouth, Shangguan Luo immediately rejected it!

He saw some of the traps in the above clauses, and some he didn't.

He noticed it, but for reasons unknown, he ultimately let it slide and didn't point it out. Since he didn't mention it, the other new Jin envoy, Li Donglou, couldn't see anything at all.

However, Chen Weiqing, the Minister of Rites of the Song Dynasty, raised the question of whether to exchange hostages...

This is a bit too bullying.

Wanyan Qingfeng and Li Yuanzhi's eyes were already shining, and their chests were puffed out high.

They seem to... really enjoy being Yang Yuan's hostages.

However, if the new Jin dynasty sends a prince or princess to the Song dynasty as a hostage, what kind of person will the Song dynasty send?

Is it the Second King Zhao Kai?

What is the current situation of the Song Dynasty?
Could detaining Zhao Kai in the north pose a threat to the rulers of the Song Dynasty?

Erlang, you're really shameless.

Furthermore, regarding whether the Allied forces could accept traitors and surrendered officials,
There are also numerous time-sensitive traps, time difference traps, and vague terms that appear from time to time, such as "wartime".

However, Li Donglou and others failed to see this; instead, they saw the generosity, understanding, and responsibility of the Song Dynasty.

After all, he was the one who single-handedly helped establish my new Jin dynasty, so the prime minister still has deep feelings for my new Jin.

Li Donglou and the others thought with satisfaction.

……

At Zongyang Palace, Emperor Zhao Dun and Second Prince Zhao Kai entered the place where Zhao Qi was imprisoned.

The imprisoned concubines who were out in the palace gardens all saw it.

Their situation was already quite good, and Yang Yuan had no intention of making things difficult for them.

Since the Qian family started sending people to visit Qian Qingyuan more often, the eunuchs and imperial guards who were watching over them have become even more polite.

Yang Yuan never restricted the actions of the emperor and the two kings, because there was no need to.

With the front court, the harem, and even the entire imperial city under Yang Yuan's control, what is there to worry about?
On the contrary, because of this confidence, Yang Yuan gave the officials as much freedom as possible.

On occasions requiring the emperor's presence, they were extremely respectful, giving the emperor ample face.

After all, this young emperor is easily frightened. If you keep your face stern, you'll scare the child.

It was extremely rare for an official to come and see the deposed emperor.

The emperor's eunuchs, palace maids, attendants, and even the guards of Zongyang Palace dared not obstruct the emperor without Yang Yuan's orders.

However, this news reached Yang Yuan's ears through various channels.

Yang Yuan was in the Hall of State Affairs at that moment, discussing with the Six Ministries and the Privy Council the possibility of opening a second front in Shaanxi.

After much discussion, it was concluded that in order to make a breakthrough in Shaanxi, and to do so without any worries, the first step was to quell the rebellion of the Western Xia.

Although the Western Xia nobles on the Hetao Plain seem to have no intention of escalating the situation.
But who would dare to place their hopes for matters of national importance on "seemingly" or "possibly"?
"Immediately send word to Xingqing Prefecture about the court's punishment of Li Renxiao."

"Furthermore, we demand that they hand over the heads of the two tribal chiefs who helped Li Renxiao escape!"

"Remember, it's heads, not living people!"

"Let them cut it themselves!"

Yang Yuan was getting impatient with the delaying tactics of Ren Degong, Tuoba Hou, and others.

It seems he'll have to teach Ren Muyan and Wang Yunmei a lesson tonight, since their families are playing tricks on him.

Privy Councilor Liu Shangqiu hesitated, "If we do that, what if we anger them..."

"We can't wait any longer!"

Yang Yuan said decisively, "The Jin Kingdom is fighting fiercely here, how can Shaanxi remain silent?"

Of course, fighting on two fronts would inevitably cause some tension, even for the mighty Song Dynasty.

Therefore, once war breaks out, our goal is not to annihilate them, but to keep them bogged down in the Hetao region.

In this way, Li Xianzong can lead the main attack, while Wu Gong can send another force to support the attack in the Lanzhou area.

In this way, there's no need to deploy too many troops, and the pressure on supplies won't be too great.

"Yes!"

Since Prime Minister Yang has made up his mind, and everyone really has no better way to resolve the terrible situation of that chaotic and inactive army, then let's proceed with the Prime Minister's wishes and begin preparations for war.

The officials all took their leave, intending to return and devise action plans before reporting back to the Prime Minister.

At this time, news reached Yang Yuan's ears that the Emperor and the Second Prince had gone to Zongyang Palace.

Yang Yuan's first reaction was: Has the Emperor fallen ill again?

If the emperor hadn't fallen ill, and if his condition hadn't worsened, he, who had always been as obedient as a lamb, would seem to have had no reason to do this.

"Hmm, is the Emperor behaving normally?"

"normal!"

The eunuch who delivered the message thought for a moment and then added, "But the Second Prince seems to be somewhat absent-minded."

Yang Yuan rubbed his chin. Even with his far greater knowledge than people of this era, he couldn't understand the reason.

How can a normal person understand the thought process of a mentally ill person?

Should I go and find out for myself?
That seems like making a mountain out of a molehill.

With the Zhao brothers, Zhao Dun and Zhao Kai, plus Zhao Qi, how much trouble can they possibly cause?

"Is anyone going in with them?"

What he was asking, of course, was whether any of his men had followed him into the palace where Zhao Qi was imprisoned.

"some."

Yang Yuan was relieved and nodded, saying, "In that case, let's wait for further news."

After thinking for a moment, Yang Yuan instructed again: "Have the Palace Guard send a troop of soldiers over there to strengthen the defenses of Zongyang Palace!"

(End of this chapter)