bookbashuk Chapter 2161 It's not easy
Chapter 2161 It's not easy
Li Shen left angrily with his servants, and everyone could see that Prince Ji was indignant.
Prince Ji wanted to kill them right now, but was dissuaded by the chief historian of the palace, who threatened him with the soldiers in front and His Majesty.
Especially His Majesty's threats, which seemed justified to these people.
The chief historians of the royal palace are all appointed by His Majesty. They are His Majesty's men and monitor the prince's every move.
This is also a means to prevent the prince from doing wrong things, especially to prevent the prince from rebelling.
So to some extent, the Chief Historian of the Prince's Palace has a transcendent status.
"Wang Changshi, thank you for your frank advice just now." Seeing Prince Ji leave, Pei Ziyu came to Wang Xuance and bowed.
"Thank you, Mr. Wang, for saving our lives." All the people kneeling on the ground saluted Wang Xuance. This was a life-saving grace.
"You don't have to be so polite. To be honest, I am not giving advice for you, but for the will of Your Majesty, the plan of the court, and the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers at the front.
You are all aware of the crimes you have committed. As His Royal Highness Prince Ji said, you deserve to be beheaded several times. I cannot bend the law for personal gain. I hope you can forgive me."
Wang Xuance frowned and did not accept their thanks.
"It is a righteous act for Wang Changshi to speak up for justice, otherwise they would have been killed by King Ji just now."
Pei Ziyu said gratefully. As long as people are alive, they have the opportunity to move around.
Wang Xuance nodded and looked at the officials who were still standing.
"You should go back for now and do your job. Don't anger His Royal Highness Prince Ji because of the affairs. You have seen it.
The prince is still angry. If His Royal Highness Prince Ji finds any evidence against him, I am afraid that you will be angered as well.
Also, what happened today must not be spread outside, so as not to disrupt the morale of the army, do you understand?"
"We will follow the orders of Chief Clerk Wang and will not disclose this matter." Everyone immediately bowed and accepted the order.
Wang Xuance was managing the affairs of the Anxi Protectorate on behalf of Prince Ji. It would be more accurate to say that Prince Ji's temporary position as Governor of Xizhou was actually Wang Xuance acting as Governor.
"Then you go." Wang Xuance nodded.
After everyone had saluted, they all left. Today's events had left them with great shock and confusion. Everyone was congratulating themselves for being honest and incorruptible.
Otherwise, I would be one of the people kneeling there today.
When they left the office of Prince Ji's mansion, they saw that the outside was crowded with people and there was a body with its head and body separated on the road.
It was Lu Haoshan who had just been dragged out and beheaded.
This scene made all the officials terrified.
When the people saw the officials coming out, they all hid far away. They were also curious about what was going on inside.
Why was a general dragged out and beheaded?
Lu Haoshan knows a lot of people, after all, they are all in the same city, and this guy behaves eccentrically.
The people inside had no idea what was happening outside. At this moment, only a group of officials who had made mistakes and Wang Xuance and Pei Ziyu were left in the hall.
In addition, Xue Rengui led the guards and was always ready to execute Wang Xuance's orders.
Xue Rengui didn't know what Prince Ji was going to do, nor did he know what Wang Xuance was going to do. They didn't discuss this matter in the study just now.
"Everyone, I can only save you for a while. The crimes you have committed are indeed too serious. I have no right to pardon you.
You have just heard what King Ji said. If King Ji is not satisfied, I will also be beheaded.
I can only deal with it according to the law, I hope you will not blame me."
Looking at everyone, Wang Xuance showed an apologetic expression on his face.
The people kneeling also had gloomy expressions on their faces. They understood that what Wang Xuance said was right.
This is to tell them that although you have been saved for now, you are still guilty and must be dealt with according to the law.
Otherwise, Prince Ji would have killed Wang Xuance as well.
But if their crimes were dealt with according to the law, they would really be punished with death a hundred times, just as King Ji said.
According to the Tang Dynasty law, anyone who embezzled money worth thirty pieces of silk would be sentenced to death by hanging.
This was the law established at the beginning of the country's founding, but at that time the Tang Dynasty was not as wealthy as it is now, and thirty pieces of silk were worth fifteen strings of cash.
It may not seem like much, but at that time rice was only five cents a dou, and fifteen strings of coins was equal to fifteen thousand cents, which could buy three thousand dou of rice.
It is enough to feed a hundred people for a year, which is a considerable fortune.
But now that the Tang Dynasty's economy is developed and the treasury is abundant, the people are no longer as tight on clothing as before, and even the salaries of officials are rising again and again.
But this law has never changed, so even if all the heads were cut off, it would not be enough to atone for their embezzlement of huge amounts of wealth.
"Wang Changshi, can you think of a solution for this?
Pei knew that they were guilty of heinous crimes, but the court needed people right away and it would take time for the court to send officials to replace them.
And even if they were sent, they might not be able to take up the position immediately. You know the situation here is complicated.
Many things are not as simple as in the Central Plains, especially for the people here.
I also ask that Wang Changshi be merciful and give them a way to survive."
Pei Ziyu glanced at these people and pleaded with Wang Xuance.
Wang Xuance also looked at Pei Ziyu, with an apologetic look on his face:
"Pei Changshi, it's not that I'm heartless, but they have committed capital crimes.
I am only a chief official in Prince Ji's Palace, holding a low position and without real power. It is difficult for me to protect them even if I want to.
You all saw the attitude of His Royal Highness Prince Ji just now.
Alas~~~ If I had known this would happen, why would you do this in the first place? "
Wang Xuance sighed, feeling sorry for all the people who took risks just to make a fortune, knowing full well that it would cost them their heads.
But soon Wang Xuance asked himself if he could turn a blind eye to the huge amount of money. After a moment's consideration, he had the answer.
He could be completely indifferent to the huge sum of money now. After all, his annual salary was far more than that, not to mention that his family also had two fields with thousands of acres.
The annual year-end bonus of Prince Ji’s Mansion is 10,000 strings of cash. I heard that Wang Hongfu’s year-end bonus is even more.
But what if he was still a fifth-rank scholar in the Honglu Temple? At that time, he had never seen what 10,000 guan looked like in his entire life.
Only after arriving at Prince Ji's Mansion did he realize that ten thousand strings of cash actually amounted to such a large pile.
"Master Wang, please help me think of a solution. They were just confused for a moment and didn't do anything bad.
During their tenure, they were also diligent and conscientious, and they were always at the forefront of the fight against the rebels. In view of their contributions over the years,
I hope that Wang Changshi will show some mercy." Pei Ziyu pleaded again. The people below also looked at Wang Xuance eagerly to make a decision.
Wang Xuance struggled for a while, but finally shook his head:
"This is really not easy to handle."
(I saw a very interesting topic on the Internet.
Who do you think is more powerful, Emperor Wu of Han or Emperor Taizong of Tang?
Personally, I think Emperor Taizong of Tang was great. The Tang Dynasty was more prosperous than the Han Dynasty.
This is just my personal opinion, what do you think?