In Ziwei City, there was another meeting of heroes in the Qianqiu Palace. Dozens of nobles and relatives of the emperor gathered here. The scene was similar to the previous scene in the Hall of Meritorious Officials.
The atmosphere was equally oppressive and serious, and the expressions of the nobles present matched the atmosphere. They were all solemn and solemn, and they knew in their hearts that the old emperor summoned them this time, it must be for the Kang Ning case.
They all have one thing in common. They either have business dealings with the Kang family or are related to debts. Many of them went to Dali Temple to say hello after Kang Ning was arrested, and now they have become "evidence" ".
Many people are nervous. After all, Kang Ning and the Kang family have been treated as traitors to the party by Emperor Liu. The seriousness of the circumstances is jaw-dropping. How should the people who are related to them be characterized? The matter involves "conspiracy". "Reverse" is by no means so easy to get over.
And just yesterday, another large-scale execution was held in Luoyang South City. More than 300 people from the "Kang rebel party" headed by Kang Ning and with Kang's descendants as the core were beheaded in public. If anyone was left out, everyone was required to watch the execution live and be placed in the "VIP" position in the front row.
Most of the honorable nobles are military nobles. Even some of the second and third generations have fighting experience on the battlefield and have experienced the baptism of life and death. For them, the death of a few people is not terrible. What is terrible is the fate of killing everyone like the Kang family. This is much more frightening than simply having their heads fall to the ground.
Along with the Kang clan, there were dozens of bureaucrats, big and small, who were executed together with the Kang clan. They were all officials appointed by the imperial court in the Gyeonggi region. Not all of them were high-ranking officials, but regardless of their official positions, they were all important in their duties and held great power. Among them, the one with the highest official position and the most power is undoubtedly Yang Xun, the Minister of Civil Affairs.
Killing dozens of officials, even if it was a public execution and inviting people to watch, was nothing new to the big man. It had happened many times on a larger scale than this. In the first year of Kaibao alone, more than thousands of officials, big and small, were executed in Mingzhengdian in the two capitals, and more than half of them were implicated in various major political cases.
Among them, corruption, bribery, dereliction of duty and violation of the law, and even disregard of human life are extremely rare, but they are related to "rebellion cases". The last time was when the Dangxiang Li family rebelled, but not many people were actually involved and lost their lives.
Of course, the most frightening thing is the old emperor's extremely cold methods and decisive determination to kill, which is the power that transcends all rules.
What exactly is the problem in the Kang Ning case? I am afraid that even now, some people are still confused and full of questions. Many people know in their hearts that the influence of the Kang family is huge. Of course, some violations of law and discipline are inevitable, but if they want to rebel, to be fair, the crime is too serious.
Let’s talk about the most basic fact. No matter how rich the Kang family is, he is just a mere businessman. In the eyes of the powerful, he is a “low-priced businessman”. His property, family business, and family life are all in Gyeonggi, where the imperial court has the strongest control, right under their noses. , how can it cause any disturbance? With Kang Ning's shrewdness, no matter how proud and arrogant he was, he would never do such a stupid thing.
Therefore, after repeated thinking, we came to the conclusion that the Kang family had offended Emperor Liu in some ways and violated the old emperor's taboos, which led to the annihilation of the family.
As for the specific reasons, everyone has their own guesses, and the most ridiculous idea is that the old emperor also valued the Kang family's huge property, so he exterminated the family to seize the wealth.
It has to be said that Emperor Liu's decision-making practices before and after the "Kang's Rebellion" did have many areas for discussion, and they also caused some bad effects.
It is still unknown what the more serious and deeper impact will be, but at the moment, there are some shocks in Gyeonggi, causing some riots, and many powerful people are also muttering in their hearts.
Whether they are discussing the matter or empathizing with him, there are many people who sympathize with the Kang family, but few dare to speak out for him. The case has been settled and everyone has been killed. The case will not be overturned for at least three generations. At the same time, some sympathy is just crocodile tears, for self-evident reasons.
For the nobles in the Qianqiu Palace at this time, the most important thing is that the Kang Ning case is over here and should not continue to expand. Even if the implication cannot be prevented, it should be limited to the "Kang family" and do not imprison them. These noble people are involved.
Judging from Emperor Liu's actions in summoning him to the Qianqiu Palace, this should not be a big problem. However, it is obviously impossible to say that he can spend it easily without paying any price. After all, so many officials can use the bloody reality to tell them that they are involved in How heavy the price paid for Jin Kang's rebellion.
Even if they are meritorious officials and one of the old emperor's own people, they don't think they can get through it easily. After all, Emperor Liu, the patriarch, is also very cruel to "his own people".
With a shout, in the eyes of everyone with both expectation and awe, Emperor Liu's old body appeared, still holding a bamboo stick, wearing a black robe, and his back was still slightly hunched.
Arriving at the palace, he ascended the imperial steps and sat on the imperial desk. All the ministers saluted. Emperor Liu looked down from a high position and looked around. Instead of letting them level up as usual, he picked up a pile of official documents from the imperial desk and asked slowly: " Everyone went to see the execution at the court yesterday!"
As soon as these words came out, there was an immediate silence. The nobles looked at each other, and no one dared to answer these words. After a few glances, Emperor Liu looked at Zhao Kuangyi: "Uncle Guangyang, tell me!"
Zhao Kuangyi is not the one with the highest title here, but he is definitely the most powerful. Since he is here, he is naturally more eye-catching and is even regarded as a "leader". It turns out that the dignified Guangyang Bo and Zhao Xianggong are also involved in the Kang case. If the sky falls, there will always be a tall man holding it up. If you stare at Zhao Kuangyi, you will know where this is going.
No matter how ups and downs Zhao Kuangyi's heart was at this time, the calmness on his face did not live up to his label of "profound city". Facing Emperor Liu's question, Zhao Kuangyi responded calmly: "Your Majesty, I was at the execution ground yesterday and watched the execution with my own eyes."
"What do you think?" Emperor Liu asked.
Zhao Kuangyi bent down a little more, but remained calm: "Kang rebelled against the party and has caused harm for many years. His Majesty clearly understood everything and eliminated the evil in one fell swoop. It is really very satisfying to the people."
"What about you?" Emperor Liu straightened up and shouted to the others with a suddenly high pitched voice.
Many people had a horrified reaction to this, but they immediately spoke up and joined the "crusade" against Kang's rebellion.
"Among you people, there are many people who have a close relationship with the Kang family. Don't you sympathize with the Kang family and feel sorry for it?" Emperor Liu asked coldly and quietly.
As soon as these words came out, several people couldn't help but shudder, obviously they were right. Their reactions were also faster, almost without thinking, in various ways, and with firm attitudes, saying that they were incompatible with the Kang family and were incompatible with each other.
Emperor Liu watched their performance calmly until they stopped talking and the palace gradually became quiet. Then he threw down the stack of official documents in his hand and said in a deep voice: "Here are some evidences collected from the Kang family. What is recorded above It is the record of money transactions and debt relationships between you and Kang. Remember every transaction clearly, including the time, location, person in charge and related matters."
Hearing this, the nobles felt as if they had learned Sichuan Opera, their faces changed rapidly, some were as sinking as water, some were sweating profusely, and some had trembling hands and feet.
Although there were optimistic predictions, Emperor Liu's conciliatory tone still made people frightened. After all, no one could guarantee that they could accurately guess the old emperor's thoughts. At the same time, the so-called "sympathy" for the Kang family disappeared without a trace, and even burned with anger. The Kang family was really thieves. Leaving these things behind turned out to be malicious. It was really deplorable and death would not be a pity.
"You don't have to be nervous!" After observing for a moment, Emperor Liu put on his robe and said calmly: "If I wanted to deal with you, your situation at this time would not be in this Qianqiu Palace!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"Your Majesty is aware of this!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
It was as if a group of people had been granted amnesty, and dragon farts kept spraying at Emperor Liu.
Seeing their behavior, Emperor Liu still had a serious face and said in a cold tone: "However, this matter will not go away that easily.
The accounts contained in these accounts are clear and detailed. The Kang family's money was confiscated stolen money. If you owe the Kang family, you owe it to the treasury. You dare to cheat on the Kang family's accounts, but the treasury's money cannot be owed. Turn over all the money you owe to the national treasury for cancellation.
Also, this matter has involved many of your family members, and these nobles no longer need to stay in the capital. I give them two choices, either to go to sea to colonize, or to join the army to support the border!
how? "
As the end of Emperor Liu's question fell, after a brief silence in Qianqiu Palace, the nobles quickly digested the old emperor's intention and expressed their approval one after another.
Even the uncle Li Ye, who is now famous for his greed, did not have any strange words about Emperor Liu's handling of the matter. After all, the matter involved rebellion, and Emperor Liu was already extremely lenient to give him a plan for a smooth landing.
Of course, compared with the benefits Li Ye gained from the fallen body, the 20,000 yuan he borrowed was nothing. The famous "Bafanglou" in Bei City is now Li Guoshu's property. It only closed for less than ten days and then opened as usual. The people are still the same, but the sign and cover have changed.
Compared with the merciless and merciless execution of those bureaucrats, Emperor Liu was indeed tolerant in his treatment of the nobles. The most essential difference between the two is the difference in status.
In Emperor Liu's view, bureaucrats were more likely to be driven and controlled by profiteers such as the Kang family than nobles, and the actual harm they caused was greater. There are many bureaucrats in the Han Dynasty. Killing some will not affect the overall situation, but the situation is different for the nobles.
Of course, Emperor Liu did not care too much about public opinion, and he had not thought of taking the opportunity to cut off some nobles. However, there were so many people involved this time that the old emperor could not bear to express his intentions. Have scruples.
In this way, Kang Ning's plan was declared to be in the final stage at the level of the court's powerful people.
I would like to apologize to everyone. I have been busy with personal matters in the past two months and have been slow to update. Of course, I am indeed tired of writing this book and lack enthusiasm.
Next, I will try my best to find time to speed up the progress and finish writing the last thing. In addition, I have saved some manuscripts for the new book and will publish them as soon as possible.
