A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 271 Assassination
The snow-covered road was long overdue.

The emperor's imperial carriage arrived leisurely.

As the emperor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che personally selected Langchi Palace, an outer palace outside the city in front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, as the site for his apology.

The palace was not large, only three courtyards deep, but its location was excellent, just ten miles outside the Xi'an Gate of Chang'an City. In the event of an incident, this place would be the closest to Weiyang Palace.

It wasn't far from the Imperial Ancestral Temple, saving the emperor from the arduous journey on foot when offering his apologies. In the past, it was a place where the emperor of the Han Dynasty would temporarily rest and bathe when he offered sacrifices to heaven and his ancestors.

Standing on the imperial carriage, Liu Che could see the majestic walls of Chang'an. He couldn't help but snort coldly. He would go back.

Then, he was invited down by officials from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs to inform His Majesty the relevant ceremonies for confessing his guilt regarding the groundbreaking ceremony for the auspicious site of the Emperor Emeritus's Mausoleum.

It mainly involves two things: tedious and arduous.

When the system of offering apologies at the Imperial Ancestral Temple was first established, the two Nine Ministers' Offices, in order to show their sincerity, incorporated all the acceptable rituals of the ancestral temple into this system, in order to satisfy all the gods of heaven and earth and all the ancestors as much as possible.

Of course, the part that the emperor personally performed was not much, which was nothing more than kneeling, kowtowing, praying, and offering incense and money. However, to show his sincerity, Liu Che had to kneel and kowtow "three quarters and three times" in front of each deity and ancestral statue, and "nine quarters and nine times" in front of the statue of the retired emperor.

According to the estimates of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, His Majesty only needs to kneel and kowtow continuously for three days and three nights without sleep to complete the apology to all the gods and ancestors.

After hearing the Crown Prince's inhuman apology ceremony, Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty fell seriously ill immediately after the officials left. He was unable to walk, let alone perform the apology ceremony, and hid in Langchi Palace.

While guarding the palace gates and listening to His Majesty's pleasure with Lady Li, Dong Zhongshu and his disciple Wuqiu Shouwang received news of the destruction of the Tangyi Marquis's residence and the Pingyang Marquis's residence.

Princess Dou and Princess Pingyang were convicted of treason and regicide, stripped of their titles as Grand Princesses of the Han Dynasty, stripped of their kingdoms and sent to the Han court, imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court until their deaths.

Marquis of Tangyi and Marquis of Pingyang were convicted of treason and regicide, stripped of their titles as marquises of the Han Dynasty, their fiefdoms revoked and they were confined to their fiefdoms, and their entire families were exterminated.

Parents, brothers, and wife are all subject to the punishment of the entire clan. However, due to the special status of his mother and wife, they are not included in the list of those implicated. Those who are guilty will be punished, and those who are innocent will be exempted.

In short, His Majesty's purse is empty!

The two princesses' mansions were originally the "backbone" of the restoration, and most of the money and provisions came from them. Now that they have been destroyed, they can no longer contribute money and provisions. Fortunately, the restoration wave has already begun, and the families of the meritorious officials, powerful clans, wealthy merchants, and wandering knights and thieves, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, all have to bear part of the money and provisions, which cannot change the overall situation.

The forces for restoration are gradually coalescing.

“Master, it seems the court has noticed our actions?” Wuqiu Shouwang looked at the court’s order to send a large number of heads of meritorious families and officials from powerful clans to other posts, and suddenly felt a sense of crisis.

Dong Zhongshu frowned and nodded, saying, "It must be that old scoundrel Gongsun Hong who discovered the undercurrents beneath the surface of the court and made a move against the families of meritorious officials and powerful clans."

"What is Prime Minister Gongsun planning to do?"

Wuqiu Shouwang's question made Dong Zhongshu fall into deep thought. After a long while, he said, "He wants to weaken the 'hidden power'!"

“In such a time of crisis, the heads of the Yuan Gong family and officials from powerful clans will leave the capital. For their own safety, they will inevitably bring as many guards as possible. In this way, no matter what the tide is plotting, their strength cannot be fully united. Just like my hand, I can only exert the greatest force when I make a fist, but not when I open my palm.” Dong Zhongshu clenched his fist and then opened his palm, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

Gongsun Hong, that old codger, even if he didn't know about the conspiracy behind the scenes, he could still thwart it.

Gongsun Hong knew all too well who the enemy was.

Since there might be danger, let's lure the enemy away from the capital first. This tactic of luring the tiger away from the mountain and cutting off the fuel supply is something Dong Zhongshu is very familiar with.

Wait a minute, Dong Zhongshu suddenly remembered that Gongsun Hong's specialty was "using someone else's knife to kill someone." Just like when he was in Jiaoxi, Gongsun Hong wanted to use Liu Duan, the former King of Jiaoxi and now a prisoner, to kill him. Could the heads of powerful families and officials from wealthy and influential clans also be in danger?
Looking at the places where the heads of families and officials were sent, and thinking about the local conditions, the reputation and character of the local officials, Dong Zhongshu frowned even more.

Aside from being far from Chang'an, there was no particular pattern. Although some of the places where they were sent were relatively close to the border cities, with the Han Dynasty having overthrown the Ten Thousand Mountains, swept through the Hexi Corridor, and severely damaged the Han Sea, the threat from foreign tribes had been largely quelled, so going to the border regions was not very dangerous.

You can't just secretly instruct the border general to let the foreign tribes invade the border city and kill people, can you?

To use someone else to do such a thing, unless Gongsun Hong is insane.

Dong Zhongshu vaguely sensed that something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Wuqiu Shouwang's heart tightened. "Will the old prime minister's demise affect the grand plan?"

"It won't affect anything."

Looking towards the Prime Minister's residence, Dong Zhongshu finally felt a sense of victory. "Gongsun Hong has no idea how many people we have!"

The millions of people hidden by powerful families and officials, the countless riches concealed by wealthy merchants, and the immense destructive power of wandering knights and thieves cannot be completely eradicated by conspiracies and tricks.

Chang'an City was just a city, and Weiyang Palace was just a palace, but when three thousand elite troops stormed in, even a god couldn't save them.

What he pursued was the reality of His Majesty's rebellion, the Crown Prince's filial impiety, the chaos of the world, and the breakdown of social order. Victory or defeat was both possible; as long as he could destroy the Crown Prince's reputation as a model of a virtuous and wise ruler, he would have won.

As Wuqiu Shouwang gazed at Dong Zhongshu's figure, he seemed to see the towering figure he had first met years ago. This was truly his mentor.

"Master, after destroying the two princesses' residences, Imperial Censor Zhang Tang was granted entry into the Qilin Pavilion, awarded the title of Marquis, and given the honorary title of Junior Tutor. However, Zhang Tang seems to have lost the Crown Prince's favor."

The wind in Weiyang Palace, the rain for the people of the world—however, not all rain is the same; dew and torrential rain are two different things.

Despite the constant bestowal of gifts upon the Imperial Censor's residence by the Weiyang Palace, the more gifts were given, the worse the impression became.

The Crown Prince gave the Prime Minister's residence boundless trust, but the Censor-in-Chief's residence was utterly alienated. The Censor-in-Chief's residence, which was once bustling with visitors, suddenly became deserted.

Almost all of the memorials submitted by the Imperial Censor were rejected, and the actions of the Embroidered Uniform Envoy were also suspended.

Countless speculations emerged.

"Zhang Tang?"

Dong Zhongshu revealed his regret.

He had always watched the rise of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Without restraint, their power was almost a source of disaster for the Han Dynasty. He was just waiting for Gongsun Hong to die so that Zhang Tang could use the Embroidered Uniform Guard as a sword to unleash a massacre in the court, killing many of the heroes of the Han Dynasty and causing the collapse of the Han Dynasty.

Gongsun Hong is still alive, but Zhang Tang and the Embroidered-Robe Envoy have already passed away. How can we not feel regret?

"If only Gongsun Hong were dead!"

"What does the teacher mean?"

"Let the rangers do it!"

(End of this chapter)