Yingping stood outside the hall for a long time, unwilling to take the step into the hall, because standing outside the hall, he felt a sense of depression. This depression came not from other places, but from inside the hall. This suppressed emotion seems to have been accumulated for a long time, and now it will burst out due to the chaos surrounding the palace.
What was supposed to come would always come. Yingping took a deep breath and finally took the step to enter the hall.
It was extremely quiet in the main hall, but the more Yingping was like this, the more noisy he felt. He had not had a peaceful rest for several days. Even if he fell asleep, he would just lean on the couch or table when he was too tired. He fell asleep for a while on the case. Moreover, the situation outside the palace gate was tense, making it difficult for people to settle down and sleep. Therefore, the quieter the palace became at this time, the louder the tinnitus in Yingping's ears became.
Yingping dragged his heavy steps up the steps.
He glanced at Yin Jingting from the corner of his eye and saw that Yin Jingting had a serious face at this time, as if without any emotion.
Yingping felt inexplicably panicked. This feeling is so familiar - as a child, he always faced Yi Hongyan when he made mistakes, and during his years in the mountains, he faced Wen Junchen. After he entered the palace and succeeded to the throne, this role was replaced by Yin Jingting. The old man, who had always been kind and cheerful and helped Yingping mediate among officials and factions, looked so solemn today. How could Yingping not panic?
Yingping calmed down his anxiety and sat down steadily. Then, as if they had rehearsed it beforehand, all the ministers knelt down to apologize.
Yingping sat on the high dragon chair, his smile seemed a little stiff. He looked down at the civil and military officials below at a loss. He didn't even know what to say until Yin Jingting coughed several times before speaking to Yingping. Ping woke up from ignorance.
Yingping tried his best to calmly say a few words, all of which were about scorning the rebellious party and not being surprised by the changes. Then, amid the compliments of "my emperor is wise" and "the holy emperor is powerful", Yingping let all the officials stand free.
Silence returned to the hall, but Yingping still didn't know where to start.
The impact of the Suzaku Rebellion was extremely bad. The people were disturbed and the officials were frightened. It was a small matter. The court was disgraced and the emperor's majesty was damaged. It was the twenty-four officials who made Yingping feel uneasy. and the disasters suffered by their families. This rebellion is unprecedented since the founding of the New Tang Dynasty, and it is almost unheard of even among the big countries in the Central Plains. As a new emperor with a weak foundation, Yingping has to face at this time onlookers from the entire Central Plains, and millions of people in the New Tang Dynasty. The gaze of the common people, the entrustment of the surviving family members of the twenty-four officials, and the scrutiny of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty——
Examine whether Yingping, as the king of a country, has the ability to govern this huge country!
The new law was forcibly implemented by him. Before the implementation, almost all civil and military officials in the dynasty expressed opposition. It was only his emotional crying and the surprise of the other three ministers who took care of life that turned the situation around. Half a year after the new law was implemented, even at that time, Those who supported him also constantly reminded him that the situation should not be rushed and should be slowed down, but he was full of confidence and refused to listen to others' advice; when the nobles gathered on Zhuque Street, several people, including Chang Zhishan, Nearby ministers also advised him to take precautions in advance, but he still didn't take it seriously.
To sum up, all of the above have led to today's disaster. Even if you want to find someone to take the blame, it is difficult to find a person to take the blame. At this time, facing the burning eyes of the ministers, Yingping is actually a little uneasy.
Yingping's thoughts were no longer under his control, and started to become scattered. Extreme fatigue and nervousness made his head uncontrollable. Even now, he was sitting on the comfortable dragon chair, 'enjoying' the most leisurely moment in the past few days, and his eyes were blurred, fearing that he would fall asleep next moment.
Yingping's thoughts were wandering all over the world, but he didn't know that a more violent storm was coming. Seeing the ministers lowering their heads, Yingping cheered up and said: "My dear friends, what else do you have to say?"
The ministers were still silent, but an agitation was swimming among them, quickly infecting everyone like a plague - it seemed that they were waiting for something, like a signal or an order.
Yingping secretly yawned a few times. Seeing that no one came out, he wiped his wet eyes. At this moment, there was sudden movement below——
"Your Majesty—I have something important to say—"
Hearing this voice, Ying Ping was stunned. His confusion dissipated a little. He looked down at Wang Yanqing who was coming out of the queue, straightened his body and said, "Sir Wang, please speak."
"Your Majesty, this rebellion by the rebels surrounding the palace has had a profound impact. I sincerely ask your Majesty to issue an edict to severely punish you, to show the power of God, and not to let the Central Plains countries and millions of people look down upon our Tang Dynasty. Secondly, we can serve as a warning to others. , so that those who still have evil intentions will be completely shocked!"
"I hope your Majesty will severely punish the rebellious party——" Many officials followed Wang Yanqing and all spoke in agreement.
Severe punishment? Didn’t those rebellious nobles already have orders to be arrested and brought to justice? Of course, these thieves cannot escape the death penalty. How can they still find anything after the trial?
Yingping had a vague premonition in his heart, but on the surface he still maintained his affirmation of the memorial. He said: "Cui Ren——"
"We are here." Cui Ren moved out of the queue.
"How many rebels have yet to be brought to justice?"
"Your Majesty, all the rebels have been arrested and brought to justice. They are now in jail awaiting judgment."
"Oh? So fast? Please tell me in detail." Yingping felt a little unbelievable. He had caught them all before twelve hours?
"I accept the order. A total of 744 people participated in the siege of the palace and rebelled against the party. Among them, more than 500 people were killed or injured. The remaining 200 people wanted to escape. Jingzhao Mansion and the palace gates all captured them. Now there are a total of 744 people. Arrest more than 300 people, and upon hearing this, the Holy Spirit will punish you!"
Yingping nodded. He wanted to eat the flesh of these three hundred evil men and drink their blood. Seeing that all these traitors were brought to justice, he felt a little more at ease.
"These people are ungrateful and are causing harm to the country and the people! I have ordered them all to be killed!"
"Your Majesty is wise——" The ministers complimented again.
"Your Majesty—" After the ministers affirmed Yingping's decision, Wang Yanqing's voice sounded again.
"Master Wang, do you have any other advice?"
"In this rebellion, the execution of only one of these remnants was not enough to warn the world and stabilize the people's hearts. Twenty-four officials of our court were brutally lynched to death, and a total of more than 270 of their family members were also killed. As a result, wives and daughters were raped, elders were humiliated, children were bullied, and more than fifty of them died. Some were humiliated to death, or others could not bear the humiliation and committed suicide. The humble ministers couldn't help but burst into anger when they heard the situation! When the Son of Man insults his parents, he should He raped his wife and daughter in front of his husband, and bullied his children in front of his father! He was so arrogant and joking that the neighbors and passers-by were afraid of the large number of thieves and they did not dare to report it to the officials, let alone step forward to stop it. This crime was heinous. People and gods are outraged! The whole country is shocked, and everyone inside and outside the court is furious!"
Yingping was speechless. Five-fifths of it came from shock, and five-fifths came from panic. Instead of controlling the situation early, he gave the banquet to intensify the conflict, leading to such a big mistake.
This offense was much more serious than the naughty behavior in childhood and the disobedience of the teacher's orders in the mountain gate. Those were just punishments for oneself, and at most they would implicate Yiyi or Changshan, but now it was the lives of dozens of people! Even if he asked his master to give him dozens of lashes, he could not undo this. As the king of a country, he made his ministers suffer and the people suffered because of his own fault. How could he face the Emperor of Tang? How do you face the twenty-four dead officials? How can he face the civil and military officials in the hall and the people of the world? At this moment, Yingping wished that his master could appear in front of him again and punish him severely with the 'whip' to express his regret to these people.
"Your Majesty! The Holy Ancestor of the New Tang Dynasty has gone through countless hardships since the founding of the dynasty two hundred and eighty-three years ago, but there has never been one as sinful and appalling as the Suzaku Rebellion! If Your Majesty is not cautious in dealing with it, all the countries in the Central Plains may laugh. , Not only that, it will also chill the hearts of the survivors of this disaster, chill the hearts of loyal ministers and lofty ideals, chill the hearts of millions of people in the Tang Dynasty... chill!"
Although Wang Yanqing was still bent over with his head lowered and his hands raised in front of his forehead, his tone was in vain and could even be described as harsh!
Ying Pingyuan was already a little guilty, but when he listened to Wang Yanqing's "righteous words", he almost couldn't sit still and almost slipped off his chair.
"Please be careful in your response, Your Majesty! Don't let the survivors feel cold! Don't let the loyal ministers feel cold! Don't let the common people feel cold!" All civil and military officials once again made the same sound in unison.
I'm coming! Seeing the "plea" in the tone of the civil and military officials that could not be refuted, Yingping knew that this moment had come!
You can understand this as an 'education' for him, or you can understand it as a public accountability for him. In short, Yingping must come up with something to comfort the souls of the dead and appease the anger of the officials. To calm the hearts of all people.
Yingping secretly rubbed a corner of his dragon robe with both hands, feeling as if he was sitting on pins and needles. He looked at the officials below who were asking for orders, and then at Yin Jingting who had his eyes tightly closed at this moment, feeling confused in his heart.
"Then according to the king's words, I...how should I respond?"
"Your Majesty—" Wang Yanqing suddenly raised his lowered head. There was no wave in his eyes, but his tone was extremely firm, "Several emperors of our dynasty have also encountered natural and man-made disasters, and the danger of unstable people's hearts. The Dharma Saint can Imitate it——"
Yingping looked at Wang Yanqing with dull eyes, and the blank space in his mind suddenly turned gray. Although he didn't know what suggestions Wang Yanqing would make next, this old fox had been brewing and building momentum for so long, couldn't he wait for this moment?
"Wei Chen has been a minister of the Tang Dynasty for generations, and he has been greatly favored by the late emperor. Today, even if he has to bear the name of being a disobedient minister, he still has to express this criticism - if he dares to go to the Holy Land to admonish him, he can issue the "Edict of Guiji" to express his gratitude. The meaning of self-blame.”
Wang Yanqing's tone was still calm and steady, but the words "Gui Ji Zhao" were inserted into his ears like three sharp needles in Yingping No. 2 Middle School, making him feel extremely painful.
