Chapter 25: All members of Yuan Wei’s family will be executed, and they will be beheaded three days later!
After hearing this, all the officials in the court were in an uproar!
Yuan's students and former officials were immediately shocked and confused, because everyone knew that the city gate captain Wu Qiong was an ally of Yuan's and they had a close relationship!
Taifu Yuan Wei, whose expression was calm, was finally moved by this name!
Yuan Wei was puzzled by the dereliction of duty of the city gate captain Wu Qiong!
He was clearly asked to guard the gates of the imperial city and stop the five schools of the Northern Army from coming to the rescue of the emperor, but Qin Qiong and Zhang Liao led the Black Armor Army to enter, and then the five schools of the Northern Army entered. What on earth was Wu Qiong doing? !

Yuan Wei guessed that something had happened to the city gate guards, but the situation in Chongde Hall changed, and he had no way to contact the city gate guards and the city gate captain Wu Qiong, so he was kept in the dark and had no idea what was going on!

And now, according to Zhuque's words, could it be that they have controlled the city gate captain Wu Qiong? ! Could it be that Wu Qiong was coerced and induced by them to confess something? !
Thinking of this, Yuan Wei's hand in his sleeve trembled!
Wu Qiong is a high-ranking figure in Yuan's party. The City Gate Captain is a high-ranking official with a rank of two thousand stones, on par with the five captains of the Northern Army. He is even a little more important because he controls the twelve gates of the imperial city!

Precisely because of the importance of the city gate guards, Yuan Wei tried every means to place Wu Qiong in the city gate guards.

It is planned for today's dethronement and establishment, to nip in the bud all unstable factors and to prevent "He Jin's old subordinates" in the five schools of the Northern Army from preventing the dethronement and establishment!

Naturally, Yuan Wei would place his own confidants in such an important position, who were heavyweights in Yuan’s party!

From this we can see the importance of the Runan celebrity: Wu Qiong, in the Yuan family, and he can access many core keys!

If Wu Qiong really revealed something, then this secret would be the core secret among the top management of Yuan family. Every incident would be a terrifying secret that could shake the Yuan family!
"Impossible! The Wu family is also a noble family in Runan, and they are closely related to the Yuan family. Even if Wu Qiong committed suicide, he would not bring trouble to the family just to survive. He dare not reveal anything!"

Yuan Wei put forward a more reasonable guess. For them, it is not only for themselves, but also for the continuation of the family for thousands of generations.

If it is beneficial to the country, life or death, it is our responsibility to pass on the family heritage!
Since Wu Qiong would not reveal anything, Yuan Wei could instead question why the factory guards were interrogating a "captain of the city gate". If Wu Qiong was injured, he could also fight back by saying that he was "tortured into a confession" or "coerced and bribed"!
Political struggle is so cruel. There is no blood, but there are swords and sabers hidden behind the scenes!
Yuan Wei, the high-ranking Taifu, had experienced ups and downs in officialdom for decades and had seen many storms. He soon calmed down and had several countermeasures in his mind.

Amid the confusion of all the officials in the court, the captain of the city gate, Wu Qiong, followed the factory guards into the Chongde Hall!
Wu Qiong was dressed in bright clothes and looked handsome. He had no injuries at all and walked without any hesitation, which showed that he was unharmed.

He looked calm and righteous, with no sign of being coerced or forced into confessing. He walked towards the front of the hall with dignity, without any eye contact with Yuan Wei and other factions. He was truly aboveboard!
This actually made Yuan Wei feel more at ease!
He didn't believe what Wu Qiong would say. The Wu family and the Yuan family were intertwined and complicated, and they were all of the same blood. Was he stupid? Betraying his own class and joining the imperial power? !

The officials in the court also thought so. They couldn't figure out Liu Bian's thoughts and didn't understand why Zhuque summoned Wu Qiong, the captain of the city gate? !

Wu Qiong has a close relationship with Yuan Wei, but he won't say anything!
Could it be possible that Wu Qiong would identify Yuan Wei? !
Give me a break!

Both families are from Runan, with complicated ties and close ties. They are like grasshoppers on the same rope. If Wu Qiong points to Yuan Wei, isn't that tantamount to courting death? !
Then what does Your Majesty want to do? !

Prime Minister Wang Yun gave His Majesty a way out, but he ignored it. If things get to the point of falling out, he will be completely unable to save face, and it will be a disgrace to the royal family!
All the officials in the court were shocked and confused!

They all subconsciously looked up at Emperor Liu Bian of the Han Dynasty who was resting with his eyes closed.

Liu Bian still had his eyes closed. Empress Dowager He beside him looked somewhat anxious. She was behind the curtain and was several meters away from the dragon throne.

After Liu Bian summoned "City Gate Captain Wu Qiong", Empress Dowager He's expression changed and she gently reminded Liu Bian that Wu Qiong and Yuan Wei were allies of the same blood and he could not possibly betray the Yuan family!

But Liu Bian pretended not to hear and kept his eyes closed to rest, which made Empress Dowager He helpless.

Obviously Liu Bian had already stopped the Xiliang army from wantonly abolishing the throne. Now that the situation has come to this, they should both take a step back and stop while they are ahead!

However, Liu Bian wanted to press on to seize the opportunity and target Yuan Wei and the Yuan family!

is it possible? !

impossible!!!

The Yuan family has three officials in four generations, and their students and former officials are spread all over the country. They have extremely terrifying power in the court and in the local areas. These forces are complicated and intertwined, and cannot be countered overnight!
Even Emperor Ling of Han, an emperor with superb political skills, had to endure and rely on selling official positions and titles to develop Hongdumen School, hoping to train the children of commoners to fight against the children of aristocratic families.

Liu Bian now has only a few soldiers and horses in his hands, but he wants to overthrow Yuan Wei directly. That is wishful thinking!

If the military force is strong enough to control the overall situation, Dong Zhuo would have become the ruler of the Han Dynasty!

Since ancient times, everything has required a "legitimate cause". If you do not have a legitimate reason, even a powerful army like Dong Zhuo's Xiliang Army would be despised by the world, protested by the princes, and would bring about its own destruction!

Seeing what Liu Bian did, Yuan Wei remained indifferent. However, Yuan's disciples and former officials, as well as the Yuan's complicated aristocratic factions, immediately protested strongly against Liu Bian, the Han Emperor, and expressed their dissatisfaction!
The reason is that Liu Bian has no legitimate reason to be a teacher!

If you want to overthrow the Yuan family of Runan, you not only need powerful strength, but also enough reputation!

And now, is Liu Bian pinning his hopes on the city gate captain Wu Qiong? !
absurd!!!

Wu Qiong and Yuan Wei are our own people!

Empress Dowager He looked anxious and kept calling out "Bian'er?!", but still got no response. She was immediately annoyed!
The child cannot help his mother!
Just as everyone in the audience was thinking different things and in doubt, the city gate captain Wu Qiong walked to the front of the altar, knelt down and kowtowed with a click, and said something that made everyone in the audience unbelievable:
"Your Majesty, Yuan Wei has instructed me to control the Imperial City and block the five schools of the Northern Army from coming to the rescue of the emperor. I must ensure that the Xiliang Army's dethronement and enthronement operation goes smoothly today, in an attempt to dethrone the emperor and establish a new one, in order to overthrow Your Majesty and the He family's in-laws!

"This is evidence of my conspiracy with Yuan Kui. I have included all the evidence of my conspiracy with Yuan Kui and other noble families, including me, Yuan family, etc., which have encroached on the state, used power to seize wealth, embezzled and accepted bribes, engaged in smuggling trade, and nurtured the enemy to defraud military finances. Your Majesty, please review it!"

The factory guards took the evidence submitted by Wu Qiong, the captain of the city gate.

On it are the letters between Wu Qiong and Yuan Wei over the years, showing their secret collusion and exchange of interests, including smuggling, nurturing bandits for their own benefit, instigating the barbarians to wear down the border troops, and thereby embezzling military finances, etc.

After Liu Bian knew that Xuanwu had disguised himself as 'Wu Qiong', he used this identity to cooperate with the outside forces while also investigating the relationship between Wu Qiong and the Yuan family.

But he didn't expect that in such a short time, just a short time, the results of his investigation would be so shocking that he was horrified!
For example, this one.

During the reign of Emperor Ling, the court and local areas were controlled by the children of aristocratic families, and even the selection of filial and honest people as officials was monopolized by the aristocratic families. Every time a filial and honest person was selected, it was equivalent to adding a disciple or former official to the aristocratic families. The state's selection of officials enriched the aristocratic families.

Emperor Lingdi came up with a solution to this problem. He supported the eunuchs and set up the Ten Eunuchs and the Ministry of Personnel to fight against them. He launched the Party and Faction Persecution and at the same time established the Hongdu Gate School to train children of common people. For a time, the aristocratic families were defeated and many surrendered.

How did the aristocratic families headed by the Yuan family respond at this time?
Very simple!
They instigated rebellions on the borders, and through the invasion of the barbarians, they forced the Han Dynasty to increase its troops to resist, and the military expenditure increased to an astronomical figure. Under the heavy taxes, the people also had to endure military service and corvée, which was extremely painful and shook the foundation of the country!
The aristocratic families secretly took advantage of this to annex land and seize property, while openly impeaching Emperor Lingdi every day for his warmongering and wasteful use of resources!
Emperor Lingdi had no choice but to temporarily put on hold the training of civilian children at Hongdumen School and divert all financial resources to military warfare.

In this way, the nobles headed by the aristocratic families joined hands with local generals such as Dong Zhuo to embezzle money! Then they impeached Emperor Ling for his extravagance and wastefulness, which led to a shortage of military funds and an empty treasury!
All the good things flow into the noble families, and Emperor Lingdi takes all the blame!
The situation is tight at the front and tight at the back!
The mighty Han army, which fought against the Five Barbarians, suffered many defeats. How could they fight without military pay? Even if the border residents paid for their own expenses, the more they owed, the more hungry and cold they would suffer, and they would not even have the strength to fight!

The more Liu Bian looked, the more shocked he became. This was just the tip of the iceberg of his short investigation. If he continued to dig deeper, the Han Dynasty would have been rotten to the core, riddled with holes, and ready to sink at any time!
Not only Liu Bian was shocked, all the officials in the court were also shocked!
They were not shocked by the fact that the Yuan and Wu families were doing so much dirty work in secret, but they were shocked that Wu Qiong had lost his mind?! He exposed those shady things to his own destruction?!

This is indeed a blow to Yuan Wei and his family, but the question is, can you Wu Qiong and the Runan Wu family remain immune? !
Even if His Majesty pardons your family because of your confession.

But after this incident, Wu of Runan will become the object of scorn by the noble families of the world because he betrayed his own class!
Yes!

These nobles who come from aristocratic families have different logical thinking and other thought processes.

They did not despise the filthiness of the Wu and Yuan families, but despised Wu Qiong for betraying his own class!

Even in their view, occasional corruption and bribery are not a big deal, after all, no one is perfect, right?! How can these officials serve the people if they don’t have enough to eat?!
All the officials in the court were shocked and confused!

They don't understand why Wu Qiong did this? !

Even if Yuan Wei cheated on him, or even slept with his mother, it wouldn't have come to this point where both sides were doomed!
They don't understand!
The person involved, Yuan Wei, was even more confused!

After Wu Qiong finished speaking and handed over the evidence, Yuan Wei finally could not sit still anymore and his body began to tremble.

Yuan Wei opened his mouth to argue, but his accomplice Wu Qiong's self-exposure was the "human witness" and the evidence he submitted was the "physical evidence", which were all "ironclad evidence" that could be used to trace the case based on time, place and people.

How can Yuan Wei argue? !

Yuan Wei had nothing to say!
At this time, Zhuque stepped out and questioned the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei again, saying in a cold voice:
"Grandmaster, you just said, 'How can there be ironclad evidence without evidence?' Now we have evidence from both the witnesses and the objects, the evidence is ironclad!

"You, Yuan Wei, are ambitious and have been receiving salaries from the Han Dynasty for generations, but you do not know how to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country. You have colluded with Dong Zhuo and wantonly deposed and enthroned the emperor, intending to seize the imperial power of the Han Dynasty. This is a crime of treason!
"Not to mention the dirty deeds that your Yuan family has done in secret, each of which is a crime worthy of extermination of the family. Does the Yuan family still have His Majesty in their hearts? Still have the Han Dynasty? Still have the country, the people, and the people?
"Your Majesty, please make the decision!" Zhuque finished speaking, but before Liu Bian could speak, Yuan Wei still did not step out of the line while trembling. But at this time, Yuan's disciples and former officials understood what was going on, and they stepped out collectively according to the situation.

"Your Majesty, this matter involves a wide range of people and is of great importance. We request that Yuan Wei be stripped of his position as Grand Tutor and be handed over to the Imperial Court for interrogation!!!"

They wanted to retreat in order to advance. The laws of the Han Dynasty were fair. They had a preliminary trial, a retrial, and finally submitted it to the Han emperor for final judgment. This was "retreat in order to advance". Delaying time was enough to destroy the evidence!

But Liu Bian no longer had the heart to continue arguing with them!
"no need……"

At this moment, Liu Bian thought of Emperor Ling of Han.

During the reign of Emperor Ling, there were rebellions in the southwest, rebellions by the Xianbei, rebellions by the Qiang and Di tribes, and unrest in the Western Regions. It was a time of great turmoil. It was also the time when Emperor Ling established the Hongdu School to train the children of the common people. What a coincidence!

In this way, Emperor Ling finally suppressed the rebellion, eased the situation, and made great military achievements.

Emperor Lingdi also issued an edict to revise the Five Classics and compile the Xiping Stone Classics, which created a historical precedent for Chinese stone classics and provided experience for future printing technology. He also made educational investments to establish the Hongdu School, which was also a great achievement on the cultural level.

Emperor Ling's "civil and military achievements" were not the best, but at least they were in the upper middle level. How come after his death, he was only given an unkind posthumous title of "Ling"? !
Now Liu Bian understood, because these scholars who hold the power of discourse are already rotten! Rotten to the bones and blood!

"Where are the Jinyiwei?!"

Liu Bian's eyes gradually became firm and filled with murderous intent.

"Subordinates are here!!!"

Qinglong and Zhuque took the lead, and the factory guards immediately knelt on one knee to accept the order.

"Yuan Wei recklessly deposed and enthroned the emperor, subverted the imperial power, endangered the state power, and intended to rebel. He committed treason and his crime is unforgivable. He is sentenced to death along with his entire family!!! He will be executed in the East Market in three days!!!"
"Announce to the world, issue a proclamation to the local officials, and order them to arrest the children of Yuan family. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!!!

"This matter is fully handled by the Jinyiwei!!!"

Liu Bian said coldly, "From today on, the Jinyiwei will be under my personal charge. I will execute first and report later. This is a special permission granted by the emperor!!!"

"I obey your orders!!!"

After receiving the order, Qinglong, Zhuque and other factory guards turned around and walked down the hall, intending to arrest Grand Tutor Yuan Wei and put him in prison, and then confiscate Yuan Wei's property and exterminate his clan.

But at this time, all the officials in the court woke up from their shock, and Yuan's disciples and former officials immediately gave advice in an overwhelming manner.

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely not possible!!!"

"Dong Zi (Dong Zhongshu) said: 'There are four seasons in the sky, and the king has four policies. Celebrations, rewards, punishments and penalties correspond to spring, summer, autumn and winter.'

God’s will is to ‘give priority to virtue rather than punishment’, and to ‘put virtue first and then punishment’, so rewards should be given in spring and summer, and punishments should be given in autumn and winter.”

"It's only the first day of September now, it's not appropriate to torture people!"

Taiwei Yang Biao even advised: "Your Majesty! Autumn and winter executions are stipulated in Han law. Emperor Zhang reiterated: 'The king should kill and release people in accordance with the seasons. The law is: no prisoners should be executed in November or December.'"

They did not plead for Yuan Wei, as the evidence was irrefutable and there was little room for maneuver. However, they cited the Han Dynasty Law and even the classics, saying that it was not appropriate to punish Yuan Wei now and that he should be executed in the autumn!

Beheading in public is not allowed at any time. There are regulations on time, place and hour!
Now it is the first day of September, and there will be at least two or three months until November or December. With the power of the Yuan family, the connections of his students and former officials all over the world, and the collective strength of the aristocratic families, the Yuan family can definitely be vindicated!
But if the execution is to be carried out three days later, even if the immortal came, it would be of no use!
"There is no time to wait for treason!"

Liu Bian was afraid that the night would be too long and he had no intention of continuing to argue with these people.

"His Majesty!!!"

Yang Biao knelt down and kowtowed. Officials, students and former clerks of the Yuan family of Runan and the Yang family of Hongnong also knelt down and kowtowed. "The ancestral system cannot be violated, and the laws of the Han Dynasty cannot be violated!"

Liu Bian felt it was ironic as he listened to them quoting from classics and speaking high-sounding words!

When Dong Zhuo recklessly deposed and enthroned emperors, they did not cite any rites, ancestral rules, or Han laws to stop him!
Yuan Kui recklessly deposed and subverted the imperial power. If it weren't for the confession of his accomplice Wu Qiong, the captain of the city gate, all the officials in the court would have stood up for Yuan Kui and opposed the imperial power. Now that the evidence is irrefutable, are they still going to retreat in order to advance?

wishful thinking!

Liu Bian said in a deep voice: "Anyone who interferes will be guilty of treason!!!"

All the officials in the court did not dare to act rashly. The Jinyiwei directly arrested the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei, but the matter was not over yet. The confrontation between the Western Liang Army and the five schools of the Northern Army outside the palace still needed to be resolved.

Liu Bian glanced at Wu Kuang, Zang Min, and Ma Riti, and said in a deep voice:
"Infantry Captain Wu Kuang, Changshui Captain Zang Min, and Archery Captain Ma Ritian were late in coming to the rescue, and they are dismissed and investigated for dereliction of duty!

"The Si Li Xiaowei Qin Qiong concurrently took charge of the Changshui Xiaowei, and the Yueqi Sima Zhang Liao was promoted to the infantry Xiaowei. The Tunqi Xiaowei Zhu Jun and the Yueqi Xiaowei Wu Fu assisted in integrating the five schools of the Northern Army.

"Generals of the Xiliang Army, immediately withdraw your troops from the Imperial City and return to the camp. My words are as good as gold. I will pardon your crimes of treason. But if you commit the same crime again, you will be executed without pardon!
"Do you have any objections?!"

Yuan Wei, the Grand Tutor who came from the Yuan family of Runan, is now being arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The other generals dare not raise any objections. Even the generals of the Western Liang Army are uneasy and dare not raise any objections!

Everyone took the order and retreated in fear and trepidation!
Today's Xiliang Army's dethronement and enthronement were really full of twists and turns, but in the end, no one expected that it was the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei, the mastermind behind the scenes, who was betrayed by his accomplice Wu Fu, the captain of the city gate, who dug out evidence of Yuan Wei's crimes and led to the execution of his entire family!

The evidence is irrefutable. Even if Yuan's disciples and former officials, or even those officials who are closely related to Yuan, want to make a clever argument, they simply cannot do it!
The situation changes suddenly and it is hard to be prepared!
The generals of the Xiliang Army led their troops to withdraw from the imperial city, and Qin Qiong led the Black Armor Army to continue guarding the palace. The Jinyiwei divided their troops and went to the Taifu Mansion to confiscate Yuan's property.

The entire capital was in an uproar because of this!

But the Yuan family of Runan, who have three generations of officials, and whose students and former officials are spread all over the world, will they just sit there and wait for death?

Will Yuan's disciples and former officials allow Yuan to bear the crime of treason and implicate themselves?
The reputation of the disciples and former officials who plotted treason will be ruined, and their future will be ruined too!

Will the aristocratic families that are closely connected with the Yuan family and share the same bloodline just sit there and wait for death?
Will not! ! !
The Yuan family will not sit and wait for death! The Yuan family's disciples and former officials will not sit and wait for death! The Yuan family's intricately connected and closely related aristocratic families will not sit and wait for death!
When the lips and teeth are gone, the fox mourns!
They will only share a common hatred and unite against external forces, even if the opponent is imperial power!

...

Spring River Plumbing Duck Prophet!
At the feet of the emperor, the political awareness of the people in the capital, including the common people, was very high.

They did not think that the capital had finally been stabilized just because the Han emperor could make things happen at the touch of a button.

They just felt a depressing atmosphere before the coming storm, which was even more depressing and heavy than when the Western Liang army occupied the capital and arbitrarily abolished the throne, making them breathless!
Because this is a storm that comes from all over the world, sweeping across the Thirteen States of the Han Dynasty. The whole world will be in turmoil because of this imperial edict!

This is not the move made by the Han Emperor against Yuan Wei!
It is the imperial power declaring war on the aristocratic families!!!
Liu Bian's reversal today has truly made people impressed and astonished by the hidden forces such as the factory guards, Cao Zhengchun, Qinglong and other masters, Qin Qiong and the Xuanjia Army!

But Liu Bian's impatience to pursue the victory makes people feel his political immaturity!
After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the imperial court decentralized military power, and all those private armies secretly raised by the aristocratic families have been cleansed!
Local warlords were in power, aristocratic families were becoming more powerful, and the imperial power was no longer able to control it.

By doing this, the Han emperor did not demonstrate his authority, but only provoked local uprisings and tore off the last fig leaf of imperial power and the aristocratic families!

The world will be in chaos!

(End of this chapter)