Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

As countless gruesome human heads were piled up like small mountains.

After seeing what was happening, Cui Jun, who was bound hand and foot, instantly became furious.

"Wang Qingyun!!!"

"Zheng Wuyang!!!"

"You are also from noble families! Aren't you afraid of following in my footsteps?!"

Those bloody heads were none other than members of the small and medium-sized families scattered around the area, defended by villages and fortresses, and the aristocratic families who had once followed them in their escape from the Central Plains.

At this moment, he also figured out what Wang Qingyun had been doing with those shadowy figures around the camp at night.

The man did indeed send some men away from the camp the night before, and they did go to dig a secret passage, but not to dig a secret passage leading to Pyongyang.

Instead, they dug secret passages leading to their camp tents.

While he thought the camp was empty, it was indeed empty, but the troops were like a huge urn, enveloping the camp in a ring of concealed trenches in the distance.

As for the cavalryman Cui Guangshou he sent out, why would Zheng Wuyang need to lead two thousand soldiers to chase after that fellow?

Send about a thousand people to keep an eye on them and prevent them from returning to interfere...

Wang Qingyun ignored Cui Jun's accusations of defeat and waved his hand to order a formal attack on the city. This time, Pyongyang City did not even withstand one round of attacks before Zheng Wuyang and his men stormed into the city.

"Wang Qingyun, Wang Qingyun! Why do you have to serve the Li Tang dynasty? Your sister is now just a concubine. Everyone knows what Li Chengqian is thinking. If his new civil service examination policy continues for a hundred years, no, even fifty years, our aristocratic families will be dead in name only!"

As Cui Jun was being escorted, he still tried to persuade Wang Qingyun, who now held considerable military power, with resentment.

Beside him, Cui Xiaoguo, a commander of the Imperial Guard, stood with his arms crossed, leisurely looking at Wang Qingyun.

The latter simply gave a cold laugh.

He completely ignored it and instead coldly gave an order to one of his lieutenants.

"Execute all prisoners of war, leave no one alive!"

Cui Jun's eyes widened instantly: "Wang Qingyun! You're crazy! You... Waaah!"

His mouth was suddenly stuffed into his mouth, and he could only struggle and frantically shake his head, making whimpering sounds.

Outside the camp, the thousands of captured aristocratic supporters and rebel soldiers were met with cries of pleas for mercy and pitiful screams, accompanied by the sound of crossbow bolts being fired in unison.

After the "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sounds of tearing through the air and flesh, the screams outside quickly subsided.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Several more figures were bound and brought before Wang Qingyun.

"Cui Jun, the leader of the Cui clan of Qinghe; Li Ziwen, the leader of the Li clan of Zhaojun; Lu Wenjie, the leader of the Lu clan of Fanyang..."

Wang Qingyun looked at the three people as if they were his own family, his gaze sweeping over them one by one.

The three families of Cui, Lu, and Li, along with the families and relatives of those from smaller aristocratic families, numbered in the tens of thousands. If we also include the former Goguryeo nobles and the like who were subdued by them in Pyongyang Province, this would be even more significant.

The total is tens of thousands.

however.

Now only the three people in front of me remain.

Wang Qingyun took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, thus fulfilling the request his father had given him.

.......

Jiangnan Circuit, Hongzhou.

Li Shimin seems to be in a good mood today.

Fang Xuanling and his men finally arrived from Chang'an.

Also arriving were Dai Zhou, the Imperial Censor and Grand Counselor, and Li Daozong, the Minister of Justice.

In addition, hundreds of officials were brought along, which will greatly alleviate the current predicament of Jiangnan Circuit and Huainan Circuit.

However, what made him feel better was not what Fang Xuanling brought, but a letter that came from Chang'an along with them.

It was more like a letter of apology or an impeachment memorial than a letter.

This is a letter written by Wang Ming, the head of the Wang family of Taiyuan and the prefect of Taiyuan, to Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

With a cryptic smile playing on his lips, Li Shimin unfolded the letter and began to read it aloud in front of everyone.

"Your Majesty, I humbly submit this report: In the past, Your Highness implemented new policies and entrusted me with a trusted responsibility despite my advanced age. This kindness is beyond measure. Furthermore, you have promoted my son Qingyun to the position of Prefect of Taiyuan. I am deeply honored by this extraordinary favor, which is something that my humble efforts cannot repay even a fraction of."

“My son was ordered to govern Liaodong, when suddenly war broke out on the Pyongyang route. Although the incident was sudden, he led his elite troops across the border to quell the rebellion without imperial orders, which is the first crime of overstepping his authority; the army has harmed innocent people and committed plundering, which is the second crime of dereliction of duty; after conquering the rebel stronghold, he again used old grudges to kill prisoners without consulting the Emperor, which is the third crime of acting arbitrarily.”

"My son is young and inexperienced, lacking the capacity to shoulder such a heavy responsibility. He is utterly unfit for the post of Governor of Shengjing, and even less capable of commanding an army. I humbly beg Your Highness to return his seal of office, strip him of all his titles, and hand him over to the relevant officials for judgment. I have failed in my duty to educate my son, and I too shall submit myself to punishment. As I write this, tears stream down my face, and I kowtow a hundred times..."

"Tsk tsk tsk, Xuanling, why didn't I notice that our Governor Wang had such a talent for flattery and sophistry when I was still the Prince of Qin and he was the Vice Minister of War?"

"Ha! Governor Wang truly deserves to be called a pillar of our Great Tang Dynasty. Even though his own son has made meritorious contributions in suppressing the rebellion, the first thing he does is to impeach his son for his crimes... Tsk tsk tsk, do you think this counts as putting righteousness before family?"

"Since he is so upright and incorruptible, why don't I promote him and transfer him back to Chang'an to serve as an advisor?"

Fang Xuanling and his companions, however, could not laugh.

For some reason, as they listened to His Majesty say these words in front of them, they felt that there were veiled criticisms directed at them.

Wang Ming and his son Wang Qingyun were credited with suppressing the rebellion in Pyongyang Province, but were accused of crimes.

The fact that such major cases have occurred in Jiangnan and Huainan, causing widespread devastation, is entirely due to the ineffective oversight by the imperial court. However, when Li Shimin saw them arrive, he kept praising their merits...

Dai Zhou knelt down first with a thud.

His back was still injured from the caning, and the journey from Chang'an had left him aching all over. Now he was kneeling on the ground, sobbing with shame.

He then kowtowed to Li Shimin and the silent Li Chengqian and his son.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, I am guilty! As an advisor and head of the Censorate, I failed to oversee this, causing suffering to the people and great harm to both sides!"

"Your Majesty begs for death!"

Li Shimin's smile remained unchanged, but his gaze drifted towards Fang Xuanling and the others beside him.

"Xuanling, he says he is guilty, but I don't think he is guilty at all. What do you think?"

When Fang Xuanling and Li Daozong met Li Shimin's fierce gaze, their hearts skipped a beat, and they both knelt down on the ground with a thud.

They cried out, "We are guilty!"

The smile on Li Shimin's face slowly disappeared. He snorted coldly and strode over to Li Daozong, the Minister of Justice.

"Prince Rencheng, Xueyan married my Gaoming and has now given me a granddaughter. You and I were like brothers back then, and I kept you in Chang'an to assist the Crown Prince in governing the country... Is this how you repay me?!"

Li Shimin roared, his voice shaking the air and reaching the ears of the officials who had accompanied him. Everyone was so frightened that they trembled and lowered their heads in silence.

Li Daozong pressed his head to the ground, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, and cried out, "I deserve to die!"

However, Li Shimin ignored him and walked over to Fang Xuanling.

"Xuanling, are you getting old?"

The chilling voice startled Fang Xuanling, causing him to lower his head involuntarily.

"Back then, when I forced you to come with me to Jiannan Road, you and Keming were extremely unwilling. Afterwards, you even said you wanted to assist the Crown Prince. Well, I let you two old hags assist the Crown Prince, and this is how you assist the Crown Prince?!"

"How many officials in Jiangnan and Huainan have been corrupted to this extent? Even if you are blind and deaf, you can at least smell the stench of decay emanating from these places. Do you really have to wait until this poison flows into my Chang'an, into my palace, and even onto my Crown Prince's desk before you can hear or see it?!"

The voice rose another notch, and the officials outside were all so shocked that they knelt down as well.

Fang Xuanling trembled, tears streaming down his face, but could only plead guilty in shame.

However, Li Shimin ignored him.

He stepped forward and approached Dai Zhou, before the other man could speak.

He then kicked the other person hard.

The latter screamed and flew out, followed closely by Li Shimin's roar.

"My Crown Prince, why didn't you, you old bastard, get beaten to death with a cane?!"