Taiheiki

Chapter 285 Questioning
"How could this be!" Dou Miao exclaimed angrily, "General, just do it! I want to see how these so-called 'famous scholars' can shake the four-hundred-year-old Han Dynasty!"

----------------------

Deer Valley.

"General, the bandits' manor is just ahead!" the scout said, pointing to the wall in front of them.

"Surround them immediately! Don't let a single thief escape!" Wen Sheng sneered.

"Here!"

At Wen Sheng's command, his soldiers, like a giant python, surrounded the manor and gradually tightened their grip. Soon, the people inside the manor discovered these uninvited guests and began to frantically beat drums to warn them. They grabbed their weapons, climbed the walls, and looked in terror at the besiegers outside the city.

"Who are you? This is the Yuan family's manor in Runan. Get out of here at once!" someone shouted from the watchtower at the manor gate.

"Pretending to be something he's not, he's got nothing but his death wish!" Wen Sheng sneered. "Crossbowmen, step forward and shut him up!"

"Here!"

At Wen Sheng's command, more than a dozen crossbowmen quickly stepped forward and pulled the trigger at a distance of about seventy or eighty paces. With a few soft clicks, several screams came from the watchtower, and the shouts were interrupted.

"Butler, how are you!"

Chaos had broken out on the watchtower. The steward who had shouted earlier was lying on the ground, an arrow already lodged in his shoulder. The crossbow bolt had pierced through his shoulder and pinned him to the pillar behind him. He groaned in pain, "Quick, quick, call someone to beat the drum!"

"To guard the estate from the wall? Very well, I'll have someone beat the drum right away!"

"What the hell are you shooting at!" the steward roared. "These crossbows are so powerful, and they're even armored. These aren't thieves, they're an army. We can't hold out any longer. Run! Every one of them who escapes is a lifeline!"

Seemingly to confirm the steward's judgment, the attackers immediately began their assault, with dozens of armored cavalry charging out first. After Wei Cong entered Luoyang, besides marrying Dou's daughter and becoming a Grand General wielding power, his greatest gain was the large number of fine horses kept in the imperial gardens surrounding Luoyang. Although it couldn't compare to the Shanglin Garden, which spanned several counties and belonged to the Western Han emperors, the Eastern Han emperors still had vast forests and marshes around Luoyang as their hunting grounds. Large numbers of horses were also kept in these areas for the emperor's ceremonial guard. Compared to the predominantly Yunnanese horses already in Wei Cong's army, these horses from the imperial gardens, originally from Liangzhou, Youzhou, and Bingzhou, were far superior in size, strength, and speed. The result was that Wei cavalrymen, clad in lamellar armor, could charge to within about twenty paces of the wall and fire heavy arrows over a meter long from composite bows with large recurve tips and string pads, killing the guards on the wall. With each twang of the bowstring, a series of shrill screams echoed from the wall, and then there was no one left.

After clearing the archers from the wall, the infantry rushed to the base of the wall. They used hastily cut trees to break open the manor gate, letting the cavalry outside charge in. The sounds of screams, clashing swords, spears hitting shields, hooves and curses mingled with the smoke and flames spreading.

"Damn it! Who gave them permission to set fire!" Wen Sheng roared. "We need to capture prisoners and gather all kinds of physical evidence. Pass down the order: arson is strictly prohibited, or they will be court-martialed!"

————————————————————

Leaving the palace and returning to the General's mansion, Wei Cong felt utterly exhausted. He told his men not to disturb him unless it was absolutely necessary, then went back to his bedroom, lay down on the bed, and quickly began to snore. However, he hadn't slept long before Meng Gaogong woke him. Annoyed, he snapped, "Didn't I tell you? Don't disturb me unless it's absolutely necessary! Are you deaf?"

"It's Grand Commandant Feng and Minister Zhang!"

"Feng Kun and Zhang Huan?" Wei Cong came to his senses. He was silent for a moment, then wiped his face. "Bring me a basin of water, I need to wash my face first!"

In the study, Feng Kun and Zhang Huan sat upright, but compared to Zhang Huan, Feng Kun was clearly more restless. He kept turning his head to look at the door, as if waiting for something.

"Master Feng!" Zhang Huan said, "If you regret it, it's not too late to leave now!"

"Heh!" Feng Kun chuckled dryly twice: "Why does Minister Zhang say that!"

"Why do you say that?" Zhang Huan sneered. "Do you feel ashamed to face Wei Cong because you owe him a favor and I dragged you here today? Then you can leave now. You've already gotten the position of one of the Three Dukes and the salary of 13,000 households, haven't you?"

“Ranming, what are you saying? I’m not the only one who’s been granted the title of one of the Three Dukes and a marquisate. You’ve been granted one too, haven’t you? If you feel that your stipend is a few hundred households less than mine, you can go and talk to Wei Cong and the Empress Dowager. Why are you picking on me?”

"No! I, Zhang, don't think my stipend is too little; quite the opposite, it's too much. I raised an army because I had the Emperor's edict, but now the Emperor is dead under mysterious circumstances, and Lady Dou is still in the palace. The only difference is that the Grand General has been replaced by someone surnamed Wei, and I've unwittingly received a stipend for 9,400 households. This is far too much; I feel unworthy of it! So I've come to talk to that Wei fellow, to see if he can take away the Three Dukes' titles and their stipends, so that the world won't say that I, Zhang, am receiving undeserved rewards, acting against the tide, and being a lackey of others. I just don't know if you, Lord Feng, are willing to part with it—"

"Brother Ranming, Brother Ranming! Why are you doing this?" Zhang Huan's words made Feng Kun extremely embarrassed. He was naturally unwilling to give up the Three Dukes and the title of Marquis that he had worked so hard to obtain throughout his life, especially the title of Marquis with 13,000 households, which could be passed down to his descendants! Most importantly, resigning from the Three Dukes and the title of Marquis at this time only meant one thing—withdrawing from the political alliance between the Dou family and Wei Cong and standing on the opposite side. Feng Kun knew all too well what the consequences would be.

"Why bother? I find it quite sweet!" Zhang Huan said. "I'd like to ask you, Lord Feng, you've also read the Five Classics and the words of the sages, haven't you? What have you learned from all that reading? You just stood by and watched Wei Cong send troops to persecute loyal and virtuous people, yet you did nothing. Have you completely forgotten the words of the sages?" "It seems that Minister Zhang thinks that what I, Wei Cong, have done violates the words of the sages?" Wei Cong happened to come in from outside. He smiled and said, "Very well, I would like to ask Minister Zhang to tell me, which of my actions violates the words of the sages?"

"Which matter?" Zhang Huan sneered, "There are too many to list in a short time. Let me ask you this: Yuan Ji, He Yong, Wu Qiong, and Xu You are all renowned figures and meritorious individuals. Why did you send people to attack Lugu, or kill or arrest them? Even as a general, you cannot act so recklessly, can you?"

"So that's why you two came!" Wei Cong smiled. "Very well, even if you two hadn't come, I would have invited you to tell you about this. Now that you've come yourself, it saves you the trouble. Gao Gong, send someone to Commandant Deng's place to get a copy of the case file from the Deer Valley case so you two can take a look!"

"Yes, sir!" Meng Gaogong beckoned to a guard, whispered a few instructions, and the guard left. Wei Cong clapped his hands and sat down in the middle: "This kind of case is usually handled by the Commandant of the Capital Region! So I don't have any case files here. Please wait a moment!"

"Pretentious!" Zhang Huan snorted, but he didn't say anything more and closed his eyes to wait.

After about the time it takes to eat a meal, Deng Zhong and his group arrived. He bowed to the three people inside. Wei Cong nodded: "Captain Deng, Zhang Sikong and Feng Taiwei have come about the matter at Lugu. You are handling this case, so please report to them!"

"Yes!" Deng Zhong responded, and began by recounting how Wang Zhi had confessed late at night, how Wei Cong had dispatched men to apprehend the suspects overnight, and how several criminals had been captured in Lugu. He concluded by saying, "The mastermind behind this is Yuan Shu, Yuan Gonglu. He intended to first assassinate General Wei in the palace, then set fire to the capital, assassinate the Three Dukes, including the two of you, as well as the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, and then install Liu Heng, the Prince of Pingyuan, as Emperor. These are the confessions and case files; you two can examine them carefully!"

Zhang Huan took the case file, flipped through a few pages, and then sneered, "Don't I know the principle that there's nothing you can't get under the guise of Sanmu? You've used torture to force him to confess, and the victim can't even die. What confession can't you get? Where is Yuan Shu?"

"When the pursuers arrived, the mastermind, Yuan Shu, had already escaped. Minister Zhang, please examine this closely; there's more to this than just a confession!" Deng Zhong said calmly and confidently, "According to the confessions, we discovered a large quantity of armor, bows, and crossbows in several locations inside and outside Luoyang City, along with arson-related contraband such as oil, as well as rosters and oaths. These are not just confessions. This is a grand conspiracy! If Yuan Shu and his men succeed, not only will the General's life be in danger, but even the Han Dynasty may be in peril!"

At this point, Zhang Huan was speechless. Feng Kun coughed twice and laughed, "General, Ranming doesn't know the inside story and is a straightforward person who speaks without thinking. Please don't blame him!"

"Of course I don't blame him, otherwise I wouldn't have come to see him in person. I won't hide it from you, Lord Feng, I just came from the palace. I haven't slept a wink since last night, I'm exhausted. The Empress Dowager has already said that whoever it is, we must investigate to the end and deal with them strictly according to the law. We will not allow anyone to overthrow the four-hundred-year-old Han Dynasty. You two are both older than me, and you have both been living off the Han Dynasty for longer than me. Originally, there are some things that I, Wei, shouldn't have to say. But today I still have to say something: Emperor Gaozu destroyed the tyrannical Qin and wiped out Xiang Yu; Emperor Guangwu destroyed Wang Mang and wiped out the warlords, which is why the Han Dynasty has lasted for four hundred years. We cannot let it end in our hands. In this matter, no matter how senior he is or how high his official position is, once he touches on something, I, Wei, will not let him go!"

Hearing Wei Cong's words, both Feng Kun and Zhang Huan were sweating profusely. Testimony could be fabricated, but large quantities of crossbows, armor, oil, rosters, and oaths were impossible to forge. Moreover, Yuan Shu, He Yong, and Xu You had prior convictions; they were known for associating with wandering knights and harboring fugitives, and they were involved in the assassination of the eunuch. Furthermore, cities during the Han Dynasty were primarily constructed of earth and wood, and because roof tiles were expensive, many houses had thatched roofs. If a fire were set on fire, the consequences would be unimaginable. If Wei Cong hadn't discovered this conspiracy, whether he would have died or not is unknown, but the catastrophe in Luoyang would certainly have been unavoidable.

"General, please rest assured!" Feng Kun said, "If we had known things were like this, we would never have come today. Brother Ranming, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, yes!" Zhang Huan's face was also very ugly. Although he did not want to bow down to Wei Cong, setting fire to Luoyang City was really too much. If word got out, his reputation would definitely be ruined, and those college students would probably not let him off the hook.

"That's good!" Wei Cong's expression softened. "There's one more thing, gentlemen. This case involves many people, and Commandant Deng's reputation isn't high enough to handle it. As two high-ranking officials, why don't you try the case together?"

"This—" Zhang Huan was stunned. He didn't expect Wei Cong to take the initiative to suggest that he and Feng Kun join the trial. Clearly, he was very confident in the authenticity of the case.

"Isn't the General afraid that I and Lord Feng will show favoritism?" Zhang Huan asked.

"First of all, Commandant Deng is among them!" Wei Cong pointed at Deng Zhong. "Secondly, the court has laws in place. The laws clearly state how to deal with the serious crime of treason. If you want to show favoritism, even if you can get past me and the Empress Dowager, can you expect to get past everyone in the world?"

----------------------

"Ranming, you've really got me killed this time!"

As soon as he stepped out of the General's Mansion, Feng Kun sighed to Zhang Huan with a wry smile.

"Are you saying this because you're going to participate in the interrogation of this case?"

“That’s right!” Feng Kun sighed. “Don’t you understand? This case is actually quite clear. The armor, oil, and roster are all there. What else can be done in such a major treason case but to exterminate the entire family? But killing so many people and involving so many others will definitely attract countless hatreds. He asked us to participate in the trial so that we could share the blame!”

"That's true, but since we are the Three Dukes, we should naturally occupy our positions and fulfill our duties!"

"No!" Feng Kun waved his hand. "What are the Three Dukes in this dynasty? Brother Ranming, don't tell me you don't know. They hold high positions and enjoy prestigious titles, but the real power belongs to the central government. That's what the Three Dukes are like in this dynasty. You and I can serve for two or three years and then go back to our hometowns to teach and retire. Why get involved in this matter?"

"Alright!" Zhang Huan sighed, "I never expected you to think that way, Master Feng!"

"What else can I think?" Feng Kun suddenly burst out, "If I don't think this way, do I think I can bring peace to the world and accomplish something great? Please, don't forget you're from Liangzhou, and I'm from Dangqu in Ba Commandery. Neither of us are from Shandong or Guanzhong. If it weren't for Wei Cong, we would never have become one of the Three Dukes. We would have spent our lives leading troops in the border regions, dealing with the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qianghu, Wuling barbarians, and bandits. Even if we were to be enfeoffed as marquises, our stipends would be at most a thousand households, less than that of the Dou family's child. This is the Han Dynasty. What can I do?"

(End of this chapter)