Although the process of defeating the coup was extremely easy, for Chen Chong, this could only be said to be a fluke, and it was more due to Liu Dan's omissions.
The biggest mistake Liu Dan made was not removing the relevant personnel in time. After Liu Xie's death, it stands to reason that since the witchcraft had achieved its purpose, Liu Dan should evacuate as soon as possible. But he thought that no one would notice the arrangement, and that the personnel changes would reveal something strange, but the result was that the arrangement remained the same. But having said that, if Zhang Lanzhi and others were not greedy for money and stealing, Deng Ai did find something unexpected. After secretly arresting Zhang De, Zhang De happened to know some of Liu Dan's previous arrangements, which gave Chen Zhichang an opening to find out Liu Dan's coup plan. If one link does not go smoothly, I am afraid that Chen Chong himself will be the prisoner now.
But the trouble has just begun. During the Double Ninth Incident, the number of officials involved ranged from Qi Gong and Jiu Qing to Gyeonggi County officials and petty officials. The number of people involved reached hundreds, and the number of soldiers involved was even more numerous. If we continue to investigate further, it will definitely become the biggest case since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the court will almost be overturned. At this time when the old and the new are changing, if you are not careful, it will turn into a catastrophe that shakes the country. But now that the matter has come to this, how can we not pursue it?
But compared with the embarrassment, Chen Chong felt more sad. There are thirteen veterans involved in this case. Speaking of which, these people have made great contributions to the country. They were either comrades-in-arms who fought with Chen Chong in a bloody battle, or they were virtuous people who were in power and brought peace to the people in the local area, and some were even relatives of the emperor. We have been together through the wind and rain, paving the way through the mountains and forests for so many years, and finally we have to draw our swords to meet each other? Chen Chong was not unable to understand the reason, but because of this, he felt even more discouraged.
Tingwei Yu Fan has begun interrogating the prisoners to find out how many accomplices there are. Some people confessed that Pingyang King Liu Dan had dozens of assassins in his possession, and had a plan to assassinate the prime minister; some people confessed that Yanshi's order Ding Yao colluded with Liu Dan, so he was able to secretly raise two thousand dead soldiers; and from Zhong Yao Letters exchanged with Fazheng were found in his residence, and it became known that Yuan Tan, the governor of the East Prefecture, and Ma Chao, the governor of the West Prefecture, were also involved. The letter stated that after the Luoyang incident was completed, he hoped that they could voice their support at the local level, force the Nanfu and Beifu to admit the facts, and promise them to go further. Gao Tanglong's cronies also reported that the prime minister was surrounded by an undercover person bribed by King Pingyang and also participated in the rebellion, but only King Pingyang knew who it was.
The most worrying thing is the confession by Wu Zhi, Liu Dan's aide, who claimed that King Zhao Liu Cheng and Jinu General Guo Huai were also involved in the rebellion. Chen Chong then flew on horseback to track down Liu Cheng, who had surrendered to the vassal, and captured him back to the capital five days later. When he met Chen Chong again, Liu Cheng had already been paralyzed with fear. He lay on the ground and repeatedly cried out, saying that Liu Dan had contacted him, but he did not dare to Participate and don’t know the details. As for Guo Huai, Chen Chong wrote to inquire. Guo Huai immediately wrote a letter to defend himself and took out the letters he had exchanged with Wu Zhi to prove that he was not involved in the chaos.
This has been going on for half a month, and except for the two governors of the east and west, all the others have been captured. This was also considering that it might affect the frontline military situation, so Chen Chong did not deal with it easily. Instead, he urgently promoted Zhang Ji to the West Guards and Zhao Yun to the East Guards. They would check and balance each other with Ma Chao and Yuan Tan and observe their follow-up actions.
At this point, the imperial prison in the capital was overcrowded. On the surface, all the officials in the court were silent about this, but privately they criticized it: King Pingyang's rebellion was naturally treasonous, but if the prime minister hadn't pushed too hard, why would even the Taifu and Taiwei be complicit in the rebellion? At present, the foreign troubles have not been eliminated, and if the Prime Minister still considers the overall situation, it is best to take a lighter punishment.
Chen Chong heard about this, but he didn't take it to heart. For him, the most important opinions came from the palace. After Liu Dan's death, Queen Mother Liu Jia kept herself confined in the palace without seeing anyone, but her opinions were very important. But what should Chen Chong say? There is nothing greater than grief. After Liu Jia lost two sons one after another, who would he blame? The answer is self-evident.
But Chen Chong had to go to see Liu Cheng. On the night after asking Liu Cheng, he went to inform Liu Jia of the details. When we met again, Liu Jia's face had indeed changed drastically. After half a month of sad time, her expression was as haggard as thin gold paper, her eyes were as dim as turbidity under the moonlight, and her white hair had become countless. In this melancholy atmosphere, the two of them only spoke a few words before feeling a little unsustainable. Facing Liu Jia's gaze, Chen Chong briefly talked about the investigation process and the planned punishment for those involved. The Queen Mother was obviously not in the mood to listen anymore. While playing with a dagger in her hand, she said coldly to Chen Chong: "Since my son has died, my brother will be in charge of the country. I can make my own decision without having to talk to me anymore." Say. Let’s go back home first. It’s windy and cold at night, so don’t catch a cold.”
Chen Chong said goodbye silently and slowly walked down the hall. Along the way, he kept feeling eyes following him, but he didn't look back. He knew he had no choice.
But for the last time, he decided to meet Zhong Yao again.
Early the next morning, Chen Chong asked Zhao Qiu to help prepare the horse, and informed the imperial edict that he would visit Zhong Yao after lunch, so that they could prepare in advance. After doing some business, Tingwei Yu Fan sent an envoy back to say that everything was ready, so Chen Chong took a few guards and rode to the prison. When he arrived at the door, Chen Chong hesitated. He turned to the jailer and asked, "How have you been these days, Taifu?" The doorman replied, "You are eating as usual and there is nothing unusual."
Chen Chong let out a breath and then continued walking inside. At this time, the prison was full of high-ranking officials, and everyone knew Chen Chong. As soon as Chen Chong came in, the prisoners began to cry out to him and plead for mercy. Only a few people remained calm, and Zhong Yao was naturally one of them. When Chen Chong approached his cell, he was sitting upright with his eyes closed, probably because he was not tortured, and his expression was relatively healthy, which showed that the disciple was not lying.
After the jailer opened the cell door, Zhong Yao finally opened his eyes. After looking at Chen Chong for a moment, he smiled and said, "Is Ting Jian okay?" Even as a prisoner who failed in the coup, Zhong Yao still maintained the attitude of a celebrity. , speaking as if he were still at the Chancellor's desk. But Chen Chong knew that this was his last dignity. Even if he couldn't be on an equal footing, he didn't want to be at a disadvantage with his former friends. Chen Chong is not someone who likes to show off his authority, so after he sat down, he asked the guards behind him to exit, and then smiled as if it were normal: "I should be asking you this, have you slept peacefully these days? "
Zhong Yao looked up at him, suddenly smiled, and then leaned back, showing an extremely relaxed posture. He said: "Thanks to your care, I was not tortured and my meals were as usual every day. How could I be unsafe? If someone else were in power, I might still worry about the lives of my family, but since it is you, what else can I think about? ?I grew up with you and know that you are the only gentleman in the world."
When Chen Chong heard this, his heart felt painful. Yes, he and Yuanchang's family are family friends, and they have been friends since childhood. Later, when they were serving as a doctor's memorial service in Luoyang, the two of them would discuss family and country affairs together during their free time, often from morning until dusk. At that time, both of them were famous for their innocence and integrity. Their colleagues called themselves "Nanyan Jijiu", while Yuan Chang was called "Buqing Shangshu". Together with Xun You, they were compared to "Yingchuan Sanxiu". When was it? Why are you so far apart from Yuan Chang?
This sigh finally came out, which made Chen Chong stand up involuntarily, looked at Zhong Yao and said: "Yuan Chang, when I went to your house, I had mixed feelings! You are already this old, and you have fourteen beautiful wives. , the wealth received by the government is hundreds of millions of dollars, not to mention the acres of land on your account, which has already exceeded the land limit order several times. There is also Uncle Zhi (Zhong Yu), I don’t want to see it! I still remember that time , you and I talked about rectifying the administration of officials in Imperial College, is this what you did?"
Zhong Yao replied calmly: "What if?" He paused and continued: "You are right. You and I are at this age, and we still can't see through anything? What kind of reputation, what kind of ambition, in fact They are all fictitious, only wealth is real. Huo Guang assisted Emperor Zhao and Xuan, devoted himself to Zen, and finally became the great Han Zhongxing. Where are the descendants today? Zang Ziyuan was in Dingtao, killed his concubines and cooked his children, and in exchange for things reversed, Who still remembers today? The day I was forced to resign by His Majesty, I made it clear that even if you don’t seek government for yourself, you should seek it for your children and grandchildren. This is always right."
Zhong Yao spoke very slowly, but for Chen Chong, every sentence made him feel painful. He couldn't imagine that Zhong Yao, who was so enterprising back then, would turn into such a vulgar person now. Is vulgarity the destination for everyone? Or are you just pretending to be noble?
He was no longer in the mood to continue discussing with Zhong Yao, so he directly raised the core question and asked him: "So this time, how do you plan to end the discussion for the sake of your children and grandchildren?"
"Oh" Zhong Yao had no expression on his face, holding his knees with one hand as if he was deep in thought, but in fact his heart was surging and he just suppressed it.
He looked at Chen Chong's eyes, and after a while he showed a look of relief, and replied slowly: "Ting Jian, they say that a gentleman bullies others. It is true that I can't help you, but this is all my fault. The rest are my fault." Most of them are out of my favor, so I hope you can let Xiaozhi and the others go. You also watched Uncle Zhi grow up, so give him another chance to change his ways." Zhong Yao expressed his attitude of committing suicide.
Chen Chong looked at him for a long time, with mixed feelings in his heart. Finally, he just nodded slowly, turned and left.
In early October, the formal punishment was finally decided. The Prime Minister's Office officially ordered to clear up the name of King Pingyang and deal with his accomplices at the same time: King Pingyang Liu Dan was expelled from the country for treason and witchcraft, and was buried as a commoner. , his eldest son Liu Ren was renamed Yancihou; Zhao Wang Liu Cheng and Jinu General Guo Huai did not report the knowledge and were fined for three years without further investigation; Taiwei Fazheng, Shaofu Liu Bao and other Pingyang kings were accomplices, but they were not allowed to investigate. For high merit, he was deposed as a noble, deprived of his family wealth, and imprisoned at home until his death. The chief conspirators such as Taifu Zhongyao, Wu Zhi, and Kong Gui, the aides of King Pingyang, committed heinous crimes, ordered him to commit suicide, and his family members were sent to Youzhou. He is not allowed to enter the official position within three generations.
At this point, this major coup case involving the entire government and opposition parties finally ended in a gentle way.
