Jiang Wan and other princes in Jingzhou and Dongzhou were also surprised. They did not expect that His Majesty, a wise and obedient king, would actually want to impose a severe punishment such as "genocide".
Jiang Wan thought for a moment, fearing that His Majesty would completely break up with the Yizhou princes because of this matter, and it would be more difficult to control the Yizhou princes in the future.
So Jiang Wan first stopped Chen Zhong who was about to carry out the emperor's order, and then he bowed his head and said:
"Your Majesty, please think twice! I think there is still room for maneuver in this matter. Although Ma Qi's crime is unpardonable, he was once recommended by the Chariot General Zhang Yide and was highly regarded by the late Emperor and Prime Minister. He has no motive of 'rebellion'. I hope your Majesty will understand clearly." !”
When Li Shimin saw Jiang Wan come out to intercede, he felt that he was still a little angry, so he didn't answer and pretended to be deep in thought.
Jiang Wan saw that His Majesty did not answer, but was deep in thought, and he began to have concerns in his heart.
He quickly winked at the other Jingzhou and Dongzhou courtiers, hoping that someone would stand up and join him in persuading him.
At this time, Fei Yi discovered Jiang Wan's intention and hurriedly came out:
"Your Majesty, I have my second opinion. In addition, I believe that even if Ma Qi has the intention to rebel, he has not caused any actual damage.
Your Majesty is also determined to inherit the legacy of the late emperor and prime minister and extend benevolence to others. In the case of Ma Qi, I hope that your Majesty will withdraw the order to exterminate the three tribes and replace them with exile. "
Li Shimin saw that it was almost done. Jiang Wan and Fei Yi had also laid the steps for him. Then he sighed and said helplessly:
"That's all, that's all. I'm not willing to stop until there's a river of blood, but I'm just too angry about raising soldiers to die.
On weekdays, you just quarrel with me in the court, but now you are secretly plotting rebellion. How can I let you go so easily?
Since Ma Qi once assisted Uncle Yide and was highly regarded by the late emperor and prime minister, I also want to convince people with virtue. I will temporarily withdraw my order to destroy the three tribes today. It's just that Ma Qi and all his followers cannot escape death!
Chen Zhong beheaded all the accomplices, raised the dead soldiers with horses, and planned to rebel. He was thrown into the imperial prison and given a cup of dove wine, leaving his whole body! All the young and old in Ma Qi's family were exiled, and all their property was confiscated! "
When Ma Qi heard His Majesty take back the order to annihilate the three clans, he closed his eyes tightly and sat down on the ground as if he was relieved.
The princes of Yizhou saw that His Majesty did not take advantage of the situation to massacre the people of Yizhou, and they were all grateful. Some of them were loyal to the imperial court or neutral people, and wanted to find an opportunity to secretly express their loyalty to Your Majesty.
Jiang Wan and Fei Yi bowed their heads in front of the palace and said:
"I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness. Your Majesty is wise!"
All the ministers also woke up from their shock and shouted "Long live" together with Jiang Wan and Fei Yi.
With several screams outside the palace, the rumors and even the matter of instigating the people were finally concluded in the court.
At this time, Li Shimin couldn't help but sneer as he looked at the Yizhou princes who were surviving the disaster.
Don't you know that I have already seen the clues? Ma Qi is just a scapegoat under duress.
When I have conclusive evidence in the future, I will punish those behind the scenes one by one!
After the court meeting, Ma Qi was taken away by Chen Zhong, but was not imprisoned in imperial prison. Since then, Ma Qi has disappeared from the world, and no one has heard from him again. No one knows where Ma Qi is.
A few days later, Li Shimin fought hard all night in the queen's palace. As soon as he walked out of the palace, he saw Huang Hao running towards him in a panic.
Li Shimin didn't know why, so he stopped Huang Hao and asked:
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
Huang Hao gasped and said intermittently:
"Report...Your Majesty, Li Yan...Li Yan is dying..."
Li Shimin was shocked when he heard this. He thought that he had not heard any news about Li Yan recently because Li Yan's condition had improved. He never thought that Li Yan still could not escape his fate.
"Hurry up and send Li Yan to the Qinzheng Palace. I want to see Li Yan alive at the court meeting today!"
Li Shimin suddenly lost his composure. After all, he still wanted to use Li Yan's affairs to make the Dukes of Dongzhou feel grateful and become more loyal.
Moreover, I have always hoped to make up for the many regrets in the history of Shu Han, and Li Yan is one of them.
Historically, after Li Yan was demoted to a commoner, he often longed to return to the court to contribute to the country and atone for his sins. However, it was not used again until Zhuge Liang's death.
Li Yan knew that except Zhuge Liang, no one in the court could use him, so he became depressed and became ill, and eventually died of hatred.
Seeing His Majesty's eagerness, Huang Hao hurriedly accepted the order, and then trotted straight to the old place of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Outside the Qinzheng Hall, many courtiers saw that the time had come, but no guards opened the door, so they all started talking to each other outside the hall.
"If there is nothing else to do, His Majesty has never been absent from court meetings. Today, the time has passed. Why hasn't the palace door been opened?"
"Who knows? Maybe His Majesty is caught up in some urgent matter and hasn't arrived at the palace yet."
Everyone outside the hall was puzzled, but no one could tell the reason.
Just when everyone was at a loss, Huang Hao's voice sounded in the hall:
"Go to court!"
When the guards outside the palace heard the word "Shangchao", they slowly opened the door of the palace, and all the ministers took off their swords and shoes and filed in.
As soon as they entered the main hall, all the ministers looked at the hall curiously and found that His Majesty was sitting on the dragon couch. There was nothing wrong with him.
When everyone glanced at Huang Hao, they were all slightly surprised. Huang Hao's face was flushed, his breathing was rapid, and he seemed to be exhausted.
Seeing the princes seated and about to kneel down and worship, Li Shimin quickly interrupted:
"My lords, wait a minute, there is still one person in the court who has not arrived today. When he arrives, it will not be too late for all the ministers to pay their respects!"
Everyone was puzzled, but since His Majesty said so, all the gentlemen could only wait patiently with His Majesty.
Not long after, outside the main hall, several guards came quickly carrying people in court uniforms.
Everyone was puzzled when they saw this, and each of them guessed who the person who was being carried into the hall would be.
After a while, several guards arrived on the stairs outside the main hall. When the person being carried saw that they were outside the main hall door, they struggled to get the guards to put them down.
At this time, everyone saw clearly that the person coming was Li Yan and Li Fangzheng, the ministers of the late emperor Tuogu.
"This...how did Li Fangzheng become so haggard? If you don't look carefully, you can't tell who he is."
"I once heard that Li Fangzheng felt ashamed and often blamed himself. After the death of the Prime Minister, Li Fangzheng became ill. Now your Majesty actually carries this terminally ill man to the main hall. What do you want?"
Li Shimin ignored the whispers of the people in the hall and just ordered Huang Haoxuan and Li Yan to go to the palace to receive the seal.
After receiving His Majesty's decree, Huang Hao quickly came to the door of the palace and said loudly:
"Your Majesty declares Li Yan to go to the palace to see you! It is authorized that Li Yan can be helped in without having to kneel down!"
Li Yan was a "dying man" and was already prepared to "die with hatred". Unexpectedly, His Majesty not only sent the best imperial doctor to treat him, but also gave him such a privilege, for which he was extremely grateful.
With this excitement, Li Yan seemed to feel that his whole body was suddenly filled with strength. After pushing away the guard who was supporting him, Li Yan stood up straight and said majestically:
"I don't need your help, I want to kneel before your Majesty in person!"
After saying that, Li Yan walked forward step by step. Although his feet were weak, Li Yan still gritted his teeth and walked up to the hall step by step.
Seeing this scene, Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh in his heart:
"This is Li Yan's return to glory on his deathbed! It's a pity that the late emperor's two lonely and important ministers have all withered away!"
Li Yan walked slowly to the main hall, knelt down, kowtowed with his head and said:
"Your Majesty, Li Yan, bow to your Majesty! Long live my emperor! Long live! Long live!"
Only then did the princes in the court realize that they had not yet knelt down to worship His Majesty, so everyone followed Li Yan and knelt down to worship Shan Hu.
After everyone knelt down and worshiped, Li Shimin motioned to Huang Hao to help Li Yan stand up, but he said:
"Everyone is safe!"
Huang Hao came to Li Yan and was about to help Li Yan up. He saw Li Yan lying on the ground with his eyes wide open, with only air coming in but no air coming out of his mouth.
Huang Hao was shocked and hurriedly reported to His Majesty.
When Li Shimin saw this, he did not hesitate and directly issued an order:
"Li Yan and Li Fangzheng were open-minded and talented. They were highly regarded by the late emperor and served as Tuogu's ministers together with the prime minister. Although he once confused right and wrong for temporary gain and endangered the country's major affairs, his sin was already done. Now Li Yan is named Situ. Jiaguang Luxun, Jindu Xianghou..."
When Li Yan heard His Majesty conferring the reward, he kept kneeling and slowly closed his eyes, with a smile on his lips.
"Your Majesty, thank you for accepting the order..."
Seeing that Li Yan was silent, Huang Hao leaned over to check and felt Li Yan's breathing with his hand.
"this……"
"Your Majesty, Situ Li Yan died!"
At this point, both of the two important ministers mentioned by the late emperor have passed away, which also means that Liu Chan has completely taken over the mantle of Emperor Zhaolie and truly became the emperor in charge of the court in terms of form and legal system.
If Li Fangzheng is as his name suggests, he is really a Fangzheng man, and he will assist the later master together with Prime Minister Zhuge. Maybe Prime Minister Zhuge didn't need to go out to Qishan six times and eventually died of exhaustion in Wuzhangyuan. The ambition to revive the Han Dynasty may have been achieved long ago...
At this time, all the gentlemen in the hall were infected and began to feel sorry for Li Yan.
In particular, the Dukes of Dongzhou were grateful to His Majesty for his actions, and became more determined to support His Majesty in reviving the Han Dynasty.
