bookrebus Chapter 698 Something is wrong with the Emperor
Chapter 698 Something is wrong with the Emperor
"What a traitor Hu Xiangchen is! I trusted him and promoted him to the Minister of War, but he actually did such a treasonous act!"
Emperor Xiao was furious. Although he was mentally prepared, after hearing the information obtained from Pei Zhaozhi's interrogation, he was still so angry that he wanted to kill the man as soon as possible.
"Your Majesty, calm down. According to the results of the investigation, they have not yet reached an agreement, and Xilin should not have succeeded yet." Shen Yanxi stood aside and spoke to appease
"Fortunately, the court secrets have not been leaked yet. Otherwise, even if the Hu family kills all nine clans, it will be difficult to make up for Hu Xiangchen's mistake!" Emperor Xiao took a deep breath, "This time, it is really thanks to Yue'er's timely discovery, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."
“Your Majesty, the Fifth Princess has indeed made great contributions this time. However, since Xilin’s evil ambitions have been exposed, the matter of the Fifth Princess’ marriage…” Pei Zhaozhi did not finish the rest of his words, but wanted to ask Emperor Xiao for his opinion.
Emperor Xiao's tone softened a bit. "I have already considered this matter. The marriage has already been exposed. Even if we want to break the contract, we in Beiyang cannot bring it up first. This will only give Xilin a handle to attack us."
Pei Zhaozhi frowned and looked at Shen Yanxi. Does the emperor mean that the marriage will proceed as usual?
“Your Majesty, it has been confirmed that the Ninth Prince of Xilin secretly contacted Minister Hu. As long as we grasp this point, even if our Beiyang Kingdom cancels the marriage, it will be reasonable and will never be criticized.” Pei Zhaozhi said.
Emperor Xiao shook his head. "So far, we have only caught a minor character who passed the message, and we only have a confession. It is far from enough to use this to identify Xilin."
"Your Majesty means that this matter ends here?" Shen Yanxi asked.
These words made Pei Zhaozhi frown again. The Xilin Kingdom had already extended its hand to the Minister of War's Mansion, how could it stop here!
Before he could speak, he heard Emperor Xiao say, "That is indeed my plan."
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible!" Pei Zhaozhi objected hastily. "Xilin is definitely doing this to start a war. If we keep giving in, Xilin will probably think that our Beiyang Kingdom is cowardly and doesn't dare to go to war!"
"Then what do you think we should do?" Emperor Xiao looked at Pei Zhaozhi.
"Of course we have to control Murong Yu, find out the truth, and then send a letter to the country to question Xilin's actions." Pei Zhaozhi said without hesitation.
Emperor Xiao looked at him with a deeper gaze, "Lord Pei, you are in charge of the Ministry of Justice, and you are always clear about right and wrong. I know your temper. But have you ever thought that the two countries can at least maintain superficial peace for now. Once this mask is torn off, war will inevitably break out. Once the war starts, not to mention how many soldiers will bleed and sacrifice, the people of the two countries who have finally lived a stable life will once again fall into displacement and even devastation. Is this what you want to see?"
"This..." Pei Zhaozhi pursed his lips, "Your Majesty, I naturally don't want to see the people suffer, but if war is unavoidable, we in Beiyang should not be afraid of fighting."
"Shut up!" Emperor Xiao scolded, "You keep saying cowardice and fear of fighting. Do you think I am old and have become a coward?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I definitely did not think so!" Pei Zhaozhi immediately knelt down. "I just think that Xilin Country must pay the price for their actions."
"Do you think I am not angry or resentful? But if everyone only knows how to vent their anger, how can we stabilize the overall situation of the country? Xilin is already in a better position than Beiyang in terms of war. After annexing Dongyuan, it has been recuperating in recent years and has a strong army. If the two countries go to war, Beiyang has little chance of winning. If we lose on the battlefield, tell me, what should we do?"
"Your Majesty, your humble servant..." Pei Zhaozhi was a little speechless.
Looking at Pei Zhaozhi, Emperor Xiao softened his tone slightly, "I also know that you are considering Beiyang State, but compared to the momentary anger, the people of the world should be put first in terms of living and working in peace and contentment."
"Then the emperor has no intention of dealing with this matter?" Pei Zhaozhi raised his head and asked.
"Of course we have to deal with him. Hu Xiangchen betrayed my trust and attempted treason. His crime is unforgivable. First, find a reason to put him in jail to prevent him from colluding with Xilin. Then, we will carefully interrogate him and find out the cause and effect. I want to know why he betrayed Beiyang!"
"Your Majesty, Hu Xiangchen is the Minister of War after all. If he is thrown into prison without his crimes being made public, it may arouse suspicion from others and cause unrest in the government and the country." Pei Zhaozhi said hesitantly.
Emperor Xiao had already lost his patience. "Then give me a good reason. As the Minister of Justice, it shouldn't be difficult for you to find a crime."
"Wei Chen..."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. We understand." Shen Yanxi took over Pei Zhaozhi's words and shook his head at him.
Pei Zhaozhi frowned and swallowed the words he wanted to refute.
Shen Yanxi continued, "Your Majesty, if Hu Xiangchen is thrown into prison, will the position of Minister of War be temporarily vacant, or will another candidate be appointed?"
"Pu Hua, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, will take over temporarily. As for what happens next, I will consider it later."
Emperor Xiao habitually raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows again, and the headache came back again.
"Your Majesty, are you having a headache again? Do you want to call the imperial physician to take a look?" the eunuch at the side asked with concern.
"No need." Emperor Xiao shook his head tiredly.
After a moment, he waved his hand and asked Shen Yanxi and Pei Zhaozhi to step down and do as he instructed.
The two walked out of the imperial study. Pei Zhaozhi wanted to speak, but Shen Yanxi stopped him.
Only after they walked out of the palace and got on the carriage did Shen Yanxi say, "You can tell me now."
"Why didn't you let me speak in the palace just now?"
Shen Yanxi looked cautious, "After all, there are many people in the palace. This matter is different from usual. It is better to speak less in the palace to avoid causing trouble."
Pei Zhaozhi nodded, thinking of what Emperor Xiao had said in the imperial study just now, he could no longer suppress the doubts in his heart, and spoke directly.
"Don't you think the emperor is a little strange today?"
A dark light flashed across Shen Yanxi's eyes, and the next moment he asked, "What's so strange?"
"The way this matter is handled is very strange. Although what the emperor said makes sense, if the two countries go to war, the people will suffer, but the emperor cannot be unaware that concessions cannot stop the war. So I always feel that the emperor's words and deeds today are not right, and it is not like his usual style of doing things!"