荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

The establishment of the Public Order Office did not have the approval of the Imperial Court, and the First Prince’s rage was within Wang Chong’s expectations. Moreover, the Public Order Office had been his idea, and he had merely used Zhangchou Jianqiong to get it done formally. The First Prince was planning to use Zhangchou Jianqiong to display his might to Wang Chong, and without Wang Chong’s assistance, Zhangchou Jianqiong would find it very difficult to hold out against the court’s cross-examination.

Even if the circumstances weren’t that severe, Wang Chong would not just sit back and watch!

“Tell Old Eagle to prepare to move!” Wang Chong ordered from within his carriage, and then the wheels began to roll, and he was off.

......

As Wang Chong was leaving the Minister of War Residence, within Pipa Alley, in front of the golden door, five or six men with intimidating faces and bright eyes were standing in a row, their backs bowed.

“Has Milord still not come out?” a Hu with a pale face and rather sinister looks suddenly asked. They had come after receiving a summons, and had Tibetans, Turks, Mengshe Zhao, and Arabs amongst them.

The new Public Order Squads were arresting people all over the capital, with the three thousand now swelling to five or six thousand, and still increasing.

All kinds of people had been arrested from all the various countries: Arabia, Charax Spasinu, Ü-Tsang, Mengshe Zhao... All the Hu were involved, and all of them were in a bad situation, so they needed to prevent the situation from getting worse. This was why they had all gathered here.

As the group was chatting, a voice came from behind the door. “Are you ready?” It was neither loud nor soft, but it was imbued with dignity and a tone that instilled trust in others.

Buzz!

This voice carrying a Tibetan accent caused everyone to hastily lower their heads in respect.

Quite a few people had attempted to challenge this man’s authority and been killed, even those spy captains who had spent decades in the capital. Because all their countries were different, these spies had all been under the jurisdiction of different systems, so at the start, they had only reported to their own countries. The spies from the other countries had wanted to save a decisive battle with the Tibetans, but the final result took them by surprise.

Not only did their respective countries not agree to their requests, they were stripped of their authority as captains and ordered to return, after which nothing else was heard of them. Afterward, letters of reprimand came from the various countries, telling the various spies in the capital to know their place and listen to the orders of the man behind the door.

Creeeak! The door opened, and a Tibetan with a rather lean body walked out, escorted by several Tibetan warriors. This man had the red flush characteristic of the plateau, but it was not as obvious. Moreover, if one looked carefully, one would see that he had a high nose and deep-set eyes, making him seem more like a Turk. He was clearly someone who had both Tibetan and Turkic blood running in his veins.

“Has the Great Tang court session begun?”

Mochi Xiangyang scanned the group before him, his eyes twinkling with a crafty light.

“Milord, our people have been watching the palace gates and have already seen many important officials go in. Even Minister of War Zhangchou Jianqiong was summoned into the palace. The court session has undoubtedly begun.”

“Good!”

Mochi Xiangyang gave a knowing smile. According to custom, today should have been a day of rest for the officialdom, with no court session being held. The laws of the Great Tang Empire had decreed that there would be one or two days of rest each month, and the officials should be summoned only for special incidents. But it was obvious that the First Prince was incredibly furious.

The number one person provoked by the Public Order Office was none other than the heir apparent of the Great Tang. There was no need for any grand action on Mochi Xiangyang’s part, as the First Prince would deal with the King of Foreign Lands for him.

“Since that’s the case, let’s add to the flames. Pass on my order! Tell everyone to prepare to move out!”

A vicious light gleamed in Mochi Xiangyang’s eyes.

“Yes!”

The others immediately dispersed to deliver the orders.

......

Many old officials who had not participated in court sessions for a long time had been summoned. The First Prince was far angrier over the Public Order Office than anyone had imagined.

“Zhangchou Jianqiong, you’re quite bold! Without a decree from the Department of State Affairs, without a decree from the Imperial Court, you dared to set up the Public Order Office on your own! This prince asks you: are you planning a rebellion?!”

(TN: The Department of State Affairs is the overarching department that controls the Six Bureaus.)

The First Prince’s enraged bellows bounced off the walls of Taihe Palace.

Whether it was the First Prince or any other Prince, none of them could tolerate even the slightest infringement of imperial authority.

“Zhangchou Jianqiong, you’re only the Minister of War, not the Prime Minister, and you’re certainly not His Highness or the Sage Emperor. Who gave you the authority to set up a government office on your own? Your Public Order Squads are not under the control of the Imperial Court. What is the meaning of this?”

“Your Highness, this subject has a memorial. This subject impeaches Zhangchou Jianqiong for acting audaciously and recklessly without respect for the Imperial Court!”

“This subject agrees! Your Highness, please heavily punish Zhangchou Jianqiong!”

“This subject also agrees!”

The entire Imperial Court was brimming with anger as all the officials sent wave after wave of criticism. Even though Zhangchou Jianqiong had been through twenty years of campaigning and had mentally prepared himself, even he couldn’t help but pale and break out in a cold sweat under this barrage of criticism.

The Imperial Court almost entirely consisted of members belonging to the Confucian Sect or King Qi, and Zhangchou Jianqiong was basically alone.

Zhangchou Jianqiong thought that at least King Song would support him, but to his surprise, he didn’t see any trace of him.

It seemed like nobody had informed King Song, or perhaps the First Prince didn’t want King Song here.

“Milords, Zhangchou meant nothing of the sort. This act was merely a way to deal with the Hu in the city and maintain the peace and safety of the capital. Zhangchou would never harbor disloyal notions!”

Zhangchou Jianqiong barely managed to force out these words.

Moreover, Zhangchou Jianqiong had originally believed that he only had to deal with the matter of the Public Order Office, but this matter had become much more complex. He was now being accused of plotting a rebellion.

Since ancient times, anyone who tried to seize authority for themselves and plotted treason would never receive a good end.

Although Zhangchou Jianqiong was an old subject who had rendered great service, not even he could survive this sort of crime.

“You didn’t mean that? The Public Order Squads began to brazenly arrest people right from the start with the Imperial Court, including the First Prince, knowing nothing about it. Just how much should we tolerate before you suddenly mean it? Will it only count once you lead the soldiers of the Bureau of Military Personnel in a rebellion against the capital?”

The civil officials in the hall took turns issuing attacks.

Buzz!

Zhangchou Jianqiong paled. The Bureau of Military Personnel was the nexus of the realm’s armies and had the special right to move around the armies of the provinces and protectorates. This was an extremely sensitive position, and this official clearly wanted to exploit this fact to push him into a dead end.

“Your Highness, the world itself can serve as witness to this old subject’s loyalty to Your Highness. In the past, this old subject followed the Sage Emperor on his conquests, going west to subjugate Ü-Tsang, and south to suppress Mengshe Zhao, covering his body in wounds. When His Majesty saw this old subject, he said that this old subject’s loyalty toward the Great Tang went down to his bones and personally granted this old subject the title ‘Tiger of the Empire’, at the same decreeing that this old subject should preside over the southwest against foreign invaders.”

Zhangchou Jianqiong’s eyes went red as he declared, “If this old subject is truly disloyal, Your Highness only needs to tell the Sage Emperor. If the Sage Emperor gives the word, this old subject is willing to cut his throat in front of Taihe Palace and empty out all his blood to clear his name!”

Buzz!

The officials who were endlessly criticizing Zhangchou Jianqiong suddenly fell silent and still. Even First Prince Li Ying was taken aback and momentarily speechless.

One could say that Zhangchou Jianqiong was being overly audacious and reckless, but no one in the Great Tang would believe that he was actually disloyal. Although the First Prince was furious, he had never even thought about pushing Zhangchou Jianqiong to suicide.

“Hmph!”

A cold snort broke the air of stalemate in the court.

“Zhangchou Jianqiong, you set up the Public Order Office of your own volition, and now you threaten to commit suicide. Are you saying that the First Prince is wrong?”

These were damning words, and Zhangchou Jianqiong instantly paled. As expected, the First Prince once more exploded with rage.

“Zhangchou Jianqiong, are you saying that I forced you into this?”

The First Prince’s anger was plainly written on his face.

“Reporting!”

A voice came from outside, and a few moments after that, the silk-robed attendant for the palace gates responsible for delivering messages rushed inside.

“Your Highness, the emissaries from the foreign countries have sent a letter fiercely opposing the wanton arrest of Hu by the Public Order Office. They wish to see the Great Tang release their subjects as quickly as possible.

“The emissaries have also said that even though their countries have signed peace accords with the Great Tang, the Great Tang’s current wanton arrests of Hu has made them doubt the Great Tang’s sincerity!”

Everyone in the hall grimaced at these words, and everyone began to glare at Zhangchou Jianqiong, including the First Prince.

The peace between the Great Tang and all the other countries was unprecedented. Zhangchou Jianqiong’s Public Order Squads had created far more trouble than expected.

The Confucian Sect officials in the hall wanted nothing more than to eat Zhangchou Jianqiong alive.

Right now, the Confucian Sect was in the middle of talks with the various countries regarding increasing the number of schools in foreign lands. They were also attempting to persuade these countries to recruit more students to learn the Tang language, but now that something like this had occurred, how could they continue their negotiations?

Trouble followed trouble, and just when the officials were thinking about how to placate the foreign emissaries, footsteps once more came from outside.

“Reporting!

“Your Highness, many Hu have appeared outside the palace gates, protesting the mass arrests performed by the Great Tang’s Public Order Squads. They say that they won’t leave until those arrested have been released. More than ten thousand Hu have gathered at the palace gates, and even more people are gathering. It seems like all the Hu in the capital are coming.”

A general responsible for guarding the palace stopped at the doors to the hall and got down on one knee.

“Your Highness, please give your instructions!”

“What!?”

The First Prince shot to his feet, his face twisting in rage. Below him, the gathered officials had exploded into an uproar.