frightfiction Chapter 238 This World Belongs to the Emperor
Chapter 238 This World Belongs to the Emperor
The emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation of the rumors in the capital. He also ordered the man who claimed to be the eldest princess' son to be found and to be torn into pieces to prevent future troubles.
Now is the time to sign peace talks with Qi State, and we cannot allow this incident to undermine the talks.
The emperor was furious and blood flowed everywhere.
The capital was under martial law, and people were not allowed to gather and chat. The government arrested many people, and the prison was overcrowded.
After a period of chaos, the rumors finally died down.
This is the Qi State envoy group escorted by General Ghost Face, less than a hundred miles away from the capital.
The emperor summoned his confidants to the Qifeng Hall.
Prime Minister Wen Shirong, Grand Tutor Fan Liangyu, Minister of War Kuang Limin, and Prince An Jing Hongji.
Except for Prince An, the first three were the masterminds who had participated in the case of the eldest princess's rebellion.
The emperor looked at Prince An with a gloomy face and said, "Have you not found out where the traitor is?"
Prince An said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I have already conducted a thorough investigation. I have sent out assassins to kill anyone who might have had any connection to the incident. I would rather kill the wrong person than let him go! I think it is impossible that the traitor is still alive. Someone must be trying to use the traitor's name to do something!"
"What do you think? I don't want your opinion, I want the real truth!"
"Your Majesty, calm down," Grand Tutor Fan Liangyu also said, "What Prince An said makes sense. The capital city set up a dragnet. All the shadows were dispatched to hunt him down. Anyone who had any connection with him has been eliminated, and any suspicious people have been hunted down. Unless that traitor has wings and can fly into the sky and into the earth, he will not be able to escape. Chen Ye thinks that someone must want to disrupt the situation so that he can fish in troubled waters."
The emperor looked at the prime minister and said, "My dear minister Wen, what do you think?"
Wen Shirong stroked his beard gently and said thoughtfully, "Your Majesty should be relieved. At the beginning, the shadow figure was drawn and hunted all over the world. Anyone who looked similar was killed. It is impossible for the traitor to be alive. Even if he is alive, so what? This world belongs to the emperor. What can those messages shake? At most, they will kill a group of people. Can their tongues be harder than the ghost-head knife?"
The emperor made up his mind: "No matter what, this matter must not affect the peace talks. Qiguo is strong and powerful. If we continue to fight, it will be disadvantageous to us. Even if we have to give up a few more cities, we must reach an agreement on the peace talks. Twenty, no, fifty years of no invasion!"
With this peace treaty, he no longer has to worry.
Fifty years later, he would no longer be in this world. As for what kind of mess the future emperor would face, it would have nothing to do with him.
The Minister of War pondered and said, "This is easy to handle. The Qi Kingdom's envoys have arrived in the capital of our Shang Kingdom. We will decide the outcome. But Your Majesty, I think there is one thing we must guard against!"
"What's the matter?"
"That ghost-faced general has made great contributions again this time. How does the emperor plan to reward him?"
The emperor didn't care much: "What's his rank now?"
The prime minister and the grand master looked at each other. The emperor was so greedy for pleasure that even the officials in the court were not very clear about it. He didn't know the name of such a general who had made great military achievements, nor did he know what his rank was.
Of course they would not remind him, because only with such an emperor can they gain more benefits.
Wen Shirong said, "Your Majesty, three years ago, General Guimian was already a second-rank general. When Qi State invaded, Your Majesty was so generous that you promoted him to a first-rank general and put him in charge of the northern border troops."
The emperor frowned. A first-rank general, that means he can't be promoted any higher. He can't be promoted to a super first-rank general, in charge of the entire Shang army, right?
"What's his first name and last name? How old is he?"
"His name is Pei Mingqiu, and he is said to be thirty-two years old." The Minister of War replied.
"What do you mean by 'it is said'? Can't you see?"
The Prime Minister said: "He has been wearing a mask, and it is really hard to tell his true face."
The Minister of War hesitated: "So when he came to the capital to report on his work, I saw his true face."
"What does he look like? Approximately how old is he?"
"I can't tell! His face is covered with scars, which makes him extremely ugly. I guess it's normal for someone in his thirties."
The emperor suddenly asked: "So his face is disfigured, is it possible that he..."
The Prime Minister and the Grand Master shook their heads together: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? That guy was a spoiled child, raised by the eldest princess, and didn't like to study or practice martial arts. He was just a playboy. I'm afraid he couldn't even lift a sword, so how could he go to the battlefield and achieve such a glorious military exploit?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Every military officer who holds a military post will have his identity verified and his three generations checked to ensure that his family is clean."
The Minister of War also said: "Pei Mingqiu is from Liangzhou. His family used to run a martial arts school. Ten years ago, Liangzhou suffered from severe drought and flooding. Many people migrated to Yanzhou and Jinzhou. After he moved to Yanzhou, he signed up to join the army and started as a soldier. Because he was good at martial arts and was brave and good at fighting, he rose step by step with his military exploits and became a third-rank Anbei General. Six years ago, fearing that he would become powerful in the northern border, he was transferred to Qingzhou to garrison. In order to appease him, his rank was specially promoted to a second-rank Fujun General."
Then the emperor remembered that Qi State had invaded, several generals in the northern border had been killed in battle, and the corruption case of General Zhongping had been exposed, causing an uproar in the army and almost a riot. Seeing that the situation in the northern border was out of control and no one in the court dared to take over this mess, someone suggested transferring the Ghost-faced General who was originally in the northern border to stabilize the situation.
In order to encourage him to work wholeheartedly, the emperor issued an edict to confer him the title of first-rank general.
That was to allow him to fight with all his strength.
But now that the war has been won, we need to think of a proper solution instead of the previous stopgap measures.
"This man only reports to the capital once a year, and each visit lasts no more than a month. He is aloof and arrogant, and does not socialize with others in the capital. Apart from reporting to the Ministry of War, he is almost always locked up in his general's mansion. Although he is good at fighting, he is of no use after the peace treaty is signed."
The Prime Minister expressed a different opinion: "But he can fight! Qi State has always bullied the weak and feared the strong. At the beginning, when the commoner Zhaoyang was alive, they did not dare to invade. It was not until Zhaoyang's entire family was executed that they immediately launched a war. It is also good to leave him to deter Qi State. This man has no cliques or relatives in the capital. The emperor can win him over, such as granting him a marriage. If he has children, his wife and children will be left in the capital as hostages."
The Grand Master shook his head: "What is a peace treaty? It is a letter of credence between the two countries. Once it is signed, it must be abided by, otherwise the world will criticize it. Although Qiguo bullies the weak and fears the strong, they dare not disobey the peace treaty written in black and white. So as long as the peace treaty is negotiated and the letter of credence is signed, the Ghost-faced General is really useless. Is his life or death not up to the Emperor's whim?!"
The Minister of War also said: "This man cannot be kept, for three reasons!"