377 Born to Be a Valiant King

Yu Zongzheng drank some tea and felt a lingering fear. “Back then, when King You was accused of treason, I relied on my emotions and ignored the people from the Imperial Court’s obstruction to report the ten contributions King You made for the country. I begged the emperor to investigate thoroughly again and punish him lightly. I was scolded by the emperor in court. Now, he’s actually protecting my family.”

Yu Zongshen turned to look at his eldest brother.

As soon as King You entered the capital, he committed suicide in the golden hall. The emperor hoped to end this matter as soon as possible, but his eldest brother was still a little rash in the royal court. He actually dared to ask the emperor to investigate thoroughly again.

He was already dead. How were they going to investigate?

The emperor was so angry that he threw a memorial at his head and scolded him for being ignorant.

Previously, in the royal court, the Ministry of War was the first to bear the brunt. Seven or eight censors from the Imperial Court were stripped of their python robes and dragged down. Even their families were imprisoned.

They bypassed Yu Zongzheng.

When Old Madam Yu heard this, she also looked relieved. “It’s obvious that this person can’t do anything wrong.”

King You had made outstanding military contributions, and the Eldest Son also respected him very much. With this respect in his heart, he created good karma that he was able to benefit from.

Yu Zongshen put down his teacup. “Ye Hanyuan has brought out evidence that the Marquis of Changxing has colluded with the enemy to commit treason. Last year, the Di people’s 3,000 cavalry charged into Youzhou City, and the Marquis of Changxing couldn’t withstand a single blow. The Northern Barbarians killed people, plundered things, captured people, and set the city on fire. The Marquis of Changxing was worried that the Di people would attack again, and when the time came, he couldn’t hide it anymore. He personally wrote to the leader of the Di people, Harmon, and promised to be willing to offer 100,000 silver in hopes of maintaining peace in the north.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Old Madam Yu was shocked on the spot. “Is the Marquis of Changxing crazy? When Emperor Gaozu first established the country, he had said that there would be no harmony, no compensation, no ceding of land, and no tribute that should change the fact that the emperor should die defending a country. All the previous emperors did not dare to forget the ancestral teachings. In order to raise the prestige of the Great Zhou, there were many emperors who personally led expeditions…”

Just this disregard of the ancestral teachings was enough to exterminate nine generations of a family.

(Note: This sentence is actually a portrayal of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was very tough in foreign military affairs. When Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself, he also wrote: I, Liang De, bowed condescendingly and was punished by the heavens. However, it was all my fault. I was too ashamed to face my ancestors when I died. I took off my crown and covered my face with my hair. I allowed the thieves to split so they did not hurt anyone. It was embarrassing. It was also because of the boldness of the descendants of the Ming Dynasty’s royal family that the activities against the Qing Dynasty did not stop in the Qing Dynasty. In order to reverse the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, a group died and another group immediately started.)

Yu Zongshen continued, “However, the money of the people who paid tribute to the Di people was the military salary of the 300,000 soldiers of the You Army and the pension of the families of the soldiers who sacrificed themselves. The soldiers secretly wrote a blood letter of 10,000 people. After their families found out, they also secretly participated. When their neighbors nearby found out, they joined as well. The blood letter of 10,000 people was written by more than ten thousand people…”

The blood letter of ten thousand people was written by the soldiers and commoners. They tore off the clothes in their houses and sewed them up piece by piece. It was Mr. Xian Yun who brought it into the palace in a large carriage.

It covered a total of five kilometers from the Golden Hall.

At this moment, some officials’ legs went limp and they fainted.

“Ye Hanyuan even took out the account books of the You army that the Imperial Court had distributed back then. Although the original account book had been destroyed by the Marquis of Changxing, the heir had thought far ahead. All the account books had two copies. There was the seal of King You on them, so they couldn’t be faked. They only needed to investigate it with the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War couldn’t surpass the Ministry of Revenue, so they couldn’t deny it even if they wanted to. Naturally, everything was clear. The Minister of War, Elder Sun, was punished on the spot.”

It was obvious how meticulous and strategic Yin Huaixi was.

Back then, if the Marquis of Changxing hadn’t ambushed and seriously injured him on the battlefield, causing him to be unconscious for more than half a month, everything would have been a foregone conclusion when he woke up. How could King You have ended up like this?

How could the Marquis of Changxing be as arrogant as he was now?

“Ye Hanyuan even took out the private accounts of King You’s Residence. After the emperor saw it, he was so angry that he fainted in the hall. As a prince, King You enjoyed the royal salary and was given farmland, manors, and so on. However, he needed to cover the expenses of the 300,000 troops in Youzhou. King You did not have many assets under his name. Even a lot of the dowry of the Princess Consort was used.”

When Old Madam Yu heard this, she fell silent.

The quality of evidence was more important than quantity. Firstly, it proved that the Marquis of Changxing had colluded with the enemy to betray the country. The crimes King You was accused of could be washed away.

Secondly, it proved that King You stationed his troops with dignity and was loyal to the court. All the crimes were committed by the Marquis of Changxing and the Ministry of War. In that case, King You was free from his crime of rebellion.

These two points were not as important as the last point.

All of this showed that King You was loyal to his country. He performed his duty properly. The private debt of King You’s Residence was not much evidence, but it was King You’s sincerity to the emperor.

Yu Zongzheng continued, “The heir of King You, Yin Huaixi, presented a dagger to the court. This dagger is called the Four Seas Dragon Dagger.”

As soon as these words were spoken, there was silence.

After a while, Old Madam Yu said slowly, “Yin Huaixi was born to be a king, and he will become a hero in death. If you can befriend him, befriend him. If you can’t befriend him, don’t get involved with him.”

Not to mention anything else.

Just based on the evidence that Ye Hanyuan had brought out three years ago, could it be that three years ago, Yin Huaixi had already noticed the change in the situation in the court and made plans in advance?

Such a far-sighted talent was rare in the world.

In addition, the dagger presented by the heir, Yin Huaixi, was really an act of killing the hearts and saints. Back then, King You had sworn a blood oath to form an alliance. For many years, he had guarded Youzhou and driven the Northern Barbarians 50 miles away from the border. He had maintained the peace of the Northern Region for more than ten years, protected the peace of the royal court, suppressed the vassal lords of various places, protected the emperor’s safety, guarded the Great Zhou’s territory, and protected the foundation of the Yin family’s ancestors. He was worthy of the heavens, the earth, the emperor, and his brother’s trust.

Although he was dead, he had no regrets!

Then, how would the emperor feel when he saw this Four Seas Dragon Dagger?

How should he rereact with his emotions, logic and the law?

It was hard to tell what the Emperor was thinking.

However, ever since Yin Huaixi entered the palace, he had been scheming step by step.

Yu Zongzheng’s expression was solemn. “At this moment, Ye Hanyuan has finished his interrogation. The Minister of War, Elder Sun, is just a small piece of the puzzle. After the Marquis of Changxing is escorted into the capital and interrogated by the three divisions, the ten crimes that Ye Hanyuan has reported will be completely known. All the officials, eunuchs, and nobles involved with the Marquis of Changxing will be implicated. At that time, when the emperor is angry, the entire court will experience another turmoil!”

Old Madam Yu also felt sad, but she noticed something else. “The emperor has fainted in the royal court. His health… be it the harem or the royal court, there’s another undercurrent in the dark. Be careful.”

When Yu Zongshen and Yu Zongzheng heard this, their expressions turned solemn.

In the past few days of interrogating Ye Hanyuan, the emperor had been in low spirits and was relying on pills to stay alert.

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