Therefore, let's just say that Qi Yingzong was lost in the rebellious army and no one was alive or his body was seen. Then we cannot arbitrarily say that he is dead, and there is no need to deal with the matter of national mourning.

What? You said that since he is missing, he needs to be found?

No problem, I have sent the Western Army to look for it, but if you can't find it, you can't blame me.

If you find someone who has been there for ten or eight years, no one will remember this by then.

Finally, after returning to the palace, he took over Wude Si from Zhong Pingyuan again and began to settle old scores.

In fact, there are many forces of Qi Huizong and Qi Yingzong in the court.

After all, it is impossible to overthrow everything in such a large court at once, and you have to take it step by step. Before the Jin soldiers came to the city, all the things Sheng Taizu did were just to enable himself to grasp the government affairs of the court, and what he got rid of were relatively small.

Obstructive.

After this personal expedition, more officials who needed to be killed began to surface.

During this period, the news that the emperor personally went on an expedition and that the Western Army was confronting the Jin people also spread among the top officials of the imperial court.

Since the emperor was not in the court, many people's minds naturally became more active.

On the one hand, it was because they did not believe that the emperor could really defeat the Jin soldiers in a field battle, and on the other hand, it was also because the emperor really made them feel uncomfortable, so they naturally wanted to do something when they had the opportunity.

Imagine, what if the Jin people won this battle?

The emperor personally led the expedition, but lost his troops and humiliated the country. The Western army was defeated in the field battle, with heavy casualties.

Then the Jin people will naturally pursue and kill them, and then they will clear out all the Qin King's troops around them. Finally, they will use this to raise an army to hold him accountable and continue to extort more money.

For those old ministers of the Qi Yingzong, especially the old ministers of the Zhuhe Sect, there is much they can do.

For example, you can help Qi Huizong return to power, or you can collude with the Jin people to force the current official to go back to the old path of seeking peace.

All in all, the only value of their existence as officials is to negotiate peace with the Jin people, rely on the support of the Jin people to betray the country and seek benefits for themselves.

Therefore, the Qi Dynasty definitely had more than just one Qin Huizhi.

There are many officials who are willing to do what Qin Huizhi did, such as Wang Shiyong and Zhang Jingbang. However, Qin Huizhi did too well and his reputation was too bad, so the "demeanor" of these people was all written down in the history books.

It’s just past.

Therefore, Sheng Taizu's departure from the capital just gave these people a space to move and operate.

Although the outcome of the Western Army and the Jin people has not yet been decided, these officials want to do these things, whether it is to help Qi Huizong, Qi Yingzong or any other prince to be restored to power, or to prepare in advance to collude with the Jin people,

All require a lot of preparation work.

For example, privately visit officials with whom you have common interests to discuss; inquire about the war outside the city through your own channels; secretly instigate centrist officials to rebel; try to reach out to certain key departments, etc.

As for these, Fan Cun had already agreed with Zhong Pingyuan in advance according to Sheng Taizu's wishes, so that Wu Desi would keep an eye on them.

And now, it's almost time to close the net.

Of course, these alone cannot convict people. After all, a court official only visited other officials' homes. Even if they knew what the two were conspiring, it would be impossible to convict them on this basis.

However, it is always easy for the emperor to convict people. With so many articles and so many styles, there is always one suitable.

…

In the swaying prison car, Wang Shiyong, who was shackled and chained, turned his head with difficulty and looked at Zhang Jingbang, who was also being taken to the downtown area with him for questioning.

At this time, the moods of the two fellow sufferers were roughly the same.

Looking back at what happened during the period when His Majesty the Emperor returned to the capital after his personal expedition, we can only use the word "sudden changes" to describe it.

The people rejoiced and lined the streets to welcome him.

Immediately afterwards, the emperor ordered that the golden soldiers be killed in the busy city. Hundreds of golden soldiers were killed every day, and thousands of golden soldiers were captured in total. The killings would last for two months.

There were so many people killed in the downtown area.

The people crowded around to watch, and they clapped and cheered every time someone was killed.

But what Baiguan didn't expect was that this was just the beginning, not the end.

Immediately afterwards, the Yushitai began to impeach officials in the DPRK, including those who had been dismissed or removed from office. They were not spared.

Wang Shiyong knew that many of these officials secretly contacted other officials during His Majesty's personal expedition, hoping to wait for the Emperor to lose the war, then establish a new king or conspire to negotiate with the Jin people.

At this time, it seems that the behavior of these officials is very stupid and is tantamount to seeking death.

But from the perspective of these officials, this move is inevitable.

First, they feel that their small actions are irrelevant. If the emperor wins, they will do nothing, and the emperor will not delve into it. But if the emperor loses, the situation is over, and naturally they can no longer do anything to them.

It's just that they didn't seem to expect that the emperor was not that generous.

The reasons why these people were questioned and executed were varied, ranging from corruption and bribery to fraud in imperial examinations, from superfluousness to misconduct... In short, if the charges are not enough, just add a few more charges, and always make the actual punishment consistent with the nominal charges.

In a sense, they were all killed unjustly.

But... among those good officials who were squeezed out in the political struggles of the Qi Dynasty in the past, who was not unjustly accused?

Discussing injustice or not in a political struggle is a very childish behavior in itself.

As for Wang Shiyong, as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he has indeed conscientiously completed the tasks assigned by the emperor.

Whether it was to eliminate favors or improve official positions, His Majesty had given a very clear plan, and he had no choice but to accept it.

But even so, he still couldn't escape death, and was eventually imprisoned for questioning.

However, compared to other officials, he and Zhang Jingbang were considered to be merciful outside the law.

Only one of them was killed, instead of killing the whole family like other die-hard elements, or even implicating others.

It's hard to say whether this is a blessing or a misfortune.

On the execution ground, an official had disheveled hair, while the executioner had raised his butcher knife high, waiting for his moment.

Wang Shiyong, who was queuing up behind, recognized Geng Xidao.

This one is also a heavyweight.

Tang Qin and Zhang Jingbang were two high-ranking and powerful governors in the Zhuhe Sect. Geng Xidao was often overlooked because of his slightly lower official position. But in fact, he did quite a lot of "good deeds".

Geng Xidao was a native of the capital. He was a Jinshi. He served as a local official in many places and gradually worked in the central government. Later, he served as the prince's teacher in the East Palace for ten years, so he was reused immediately after Qi Yingzong came to the throne. It can be said that he

Qi Yingzong's old team.

However, ever since Geng Xidao was promoted to the position of Zuocheng, the Minister of Finance, and a minister under his sect, he has not done many personnel affairs.

First, he advocated the cession of Taiyuan and other three towns in order to seek peace; then he repeatedly tried to undermine Li Boxi and constantly squeezed him out, causing Li Boxi to be driven out of the capital; then faced with Zhong Pingyuan's proposal to station a large army on both sides of the Yellow River to plan the Yellow River defense line,

He also refused on the grounds that "in case the Jin army does not come, this huge military expense will be wasted"; and just a few days after the Jin army withdrew after the first siege, he persuaded the emperor to order the disbandment of King Qin's army and directly

This led to a situation where no one was available when the Jin army besieged the city...

In short, although this guy's status is slightly lower than that of the two Prime Ministers, his destructive power is particularly high. He can be said to be a fighter among the wastes.

In real history, he was lucky enough to avoid being captured in the Jin camp due to some strange combination of circumstances.

Even Qi Gaozong later hated him to the core, but he only demoted him and did not kill him.

But in this slice of history, the situation is completely different.

During the current emperor's personal campaign, Geng Xidao was the one who danced the most, so he was naturally punished the most severely. Not a single male in the family was spared, and all of them were executed.

At this time, Geng Xidao was shouting on the execution platform.

"My dynasty shares the world with the scholar-bureaucrats! The emperor is cruel! How can we kill without permission!

"I and my ministers are dedicated to serving the country, but Your Majesty wants to kill me unjustly! What a shame! It's unjust!"

As a result, before he even shouted a few words, the people below were already furious and yelling curses.

"Bitch thieves! How can you still have the nerve to talk about sharing the world with a traitorous minister who has harmed the country?"

"Guan Guan, keeping you here would be cruel to the people! If it weren't for you, how could Xianggong Li be dismissed?"

"If it weren't for Your Majesty's wisdom and martial prowess, the Jin people would have already destroyed the city under your internal and external cooperation!"

"Kill quickly, kill quickly! I can't bear it any longer!"

All kinds of rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves were thrown onto the execution platform like raindrops, hitting Geng Xidao all over his head and face.

The foul-smelling juice flowed down his face, and Geng Xidao closed his mouth in confusion.

He realized that it seemed that the people would not be on his side...

There was another burst of heads rolling in.

This scene is a bit bloody.

But how could it not be ten times bloodier than the scenes in which the people were robbed and massacred by the Jin people, and exploited and starved to death by corrupt officials?

Wang Shiyong looked at Zhang Jingbang, and it won't be long before it's their turn.

At this time, Wang Shiyong had some regrets.

At the beginning, if he had not been so active in searching for gold, silver, wealth, silk and women in the city for the Jin people, and if he had kept his true intentions, would his fate have been different after the new emperor entered the city?

He could tell himself that he did it to protect himself, but in the end he still couldn't deceive his own heart.

Because these officials are the ruling class in the court.
To be continued...