“That’s right! Even if you don’t like Kong Wu, there’s no need to resort to such methods!”
Others voiced their agreement.
The Confucian Sect and Wang Chong already had many irresolvable conflicts between them, and many of the officials present were part of the First Prince’s faction. They naturally would not believe his claims.
“Hmph, without evidence, how could this king dare to say such things?”
Coldly chuckling, Wang Chong took two items from his sleeve.
“This is an audit record from the Bureau of Military Personnel. Five days ago, I had people from the Bureau of Military Personnel thoroughly inspect this year’s financial records. The money allocated to the Imperial Court by the Bureau of Military Personnel, to be paid to soldiers being disbanded, was thirteen million taels of gold. Of this, eight million were distributed, but five million taels have gone missing without explanation.
“If my investigation is correct, of those five million taels, two million were taken by that brother-in-law of yours to the capital’s Golden Gambling Den and were lost while gambling; one million, five hundred thousand taels were sent to your own residence; and five hundred thousand was given to those old brothers of yours. As for the remaining one million taels, your brother-in-law kept them in his own estate for his own use.
Before coming to court, I already ordered men to search your brother-in-law’s residence, and this gold was found there. Even the official seals on them haven’t been melted off yet.”
As Wang Chong spoke, he flipped his hand over, revealing a gold ingot of the Great Tang, the official seal on its bottom still clear and visible.
The official ingots of the Great Tang were all cast by the Imperial Court, and they all had the official seal at their bottoms. When this money was distributed, it would normally come with a certificate that would show where the gold had come from. It was only when this certificate was obtained and the seal removed by local officials that the gold could be allowed to circulate in the marketplace.
Although there were ways to recast official ingots, this batch of gold was too large and there had not been enough time to get rid of the seals.
If this gold had been found in the residence of Kong Wu’s brother-in-law, then the evidence was firm and inescapable.
The officials who had been vigorously criticizing Wang Chong a few moments ago instantly paled at the sight of this evidence. They had been arguing Kong Wu’s case, believing that Wang Chong couldn’t possibly have found anything, but they had just been given a sharp slap to the face.
“King of Foreign Lands, you…!”
The most panicked at this time was Kong Wu. Wang Chong had been the last to enter the court, getting in just before the second whip crack sounded. Kong Wu had thought that Wang Chong had done so intentionally to act arrogant, never expecting that he had been conducting a raid on Kong Wu’s brother-in-law.
“Kong Wu!”
The First Prince roared as he glared at Kong Wu, his face twisted into a nasty scowl. Even a blind man would be able to sense his anger.
No matter what sort of accusations Wang Chong could have made, they would have been nothing without evidence. But not only did Wang Chong have the account books of the Bureau of Military Personnel, he even had official gold ingots found in the estate of Kong Wu’s brother-in-law.
Each batch of ingots issued by the court was different, and this batch was particularly special, as it was to soothe the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who were being dismissed. Not even the most eloquent arguments from Kong Wu could save him.
“Yo-Yo-Your Highness!”
Thud! Kong Wu dropped to his knees, cold sweat beading on his forehead as his face turned ashen.
“This lowly subject did not know, truly! My brother-in-law and his sister must have been secretly colluding with each other! This subject has always been so busy with military affairs that he rarely even goes home. This lowly subject knows nothing about what is going on there!” Kong Wu loudly said.
“Bastard, you still dare to argue at a time like this!”
The First Prince’s rage was on full display. Although he didn’t like Wang Chong, he could see that Wang Chong had come well-prepared. In front of so many other officials and with this ironclad evidence, the First Prince couldn’t help Kong Wu even if he wanted to.
To take some of the money meant for the disbanded soldiers was one thing, but Kong Wu had even dared to covet the compensation money paid out to the families of deceased soldiers. With this fact alone, Kong Wu could put to an end any thoughts of ever taking the post of Minister of War.
And to think that he had tried to promote Kong Wu and have him take Zhangchou Jianqiong’s place…!
Even worse was that all of this could be easily verified through another investigation, making all of Kong Wu’s arguments pointless. This was why he was so angry.
“Your Highness! I, I…”
Kong Wu prostrated on the floor, his face panicked and his clothes drenched.
The Bureau of Military Personnel did not concern itself with money and food. All of this was issued from the state treasury. But the Bureau of Military Personnel did decide how this money was distributed, how it made its way from the capital down to the soldiers.
The wages and expenses of several hundred thousand soldiers were involved in this, and normally, even the Bureau of Military Personnel wouldn’t have clear records. Accurately accounting for seventy to eighty percent of expenses would be considered superb. Verifying every single one of the millions of records was a nigh impossible mission.
Kong Wu had never imagined that Wang Chong would be able to go through such complicated accounts in such little time, verifying them one by one to get the accurate number.
This was simply unbelievable!
“Hmph!”
Wang Chong gazed at the frightened and trembling Kong Wu as he coldly chuckled. He felt no sympathy for this man.
He did not want to deal with Kong Wu purely because of his relationship to the First Prince.
The vast majority of people probably found Kong Wu to be a lover of the country and a loyal subject, but nobody understood Kong Wu’s secrets more than Wang Chong. Wang Chong also knew what would happen if he were allowed to take the post of Minister of War—no, if he were allowed to serve the First Prince.
Kong Wu had started out as a soldier and reached his position through the slow accumulation of achievements. But very few people knew that Kong Wu had actually started out as a bandit in the Qinling area, and a particularly cruel one at that.
Plundering homes and wreaking havoc on the roads was their way of life. Countless travelers and merchants in the Qinling area had been killed or injured by them, and these bandits had flourished.
In the end, the military was compelled to mobilize to surround and wipe out these bandits.
However, Kong Wu was more thoughtful than most and knew that one couldn’t be a bandit forever, or even in the near future. The Sage Emperor was growing increasingly intolerant of this sort of conduct, and the Imperial Court had begun putting up wanted posters. Continuing on this road was a death sentence.
After some thought, Kong Wu took some of his brothers and changed names with the hopes of starting over on the border. But to his surprise, through his astounding military achievements, he began to rise through the ranks, until finally, he entered the capital and joined the Bureau of Military Personnel.
This was something he had kept hidden from all the other court officials for several decades.
When he had been a bandit in Qinling, Kong Wu had already possessed a cruel personality, and as a soldier, he enjoyed punishing his soldiers with branding irons, generating much discontent.
But the capital was not the same as the wildlands, and perhaps things would have been different if Kong Wu had cultivated his mind and changed his temperament. Just as the saying went, if a bad man acted as a good man for his entire life, then he was truly a good man.
Ala
s, mountains and rivers were easier to change than the nature of men.
When Kong Wu joined the First Prince, his past temperament revealed itself once more. In Wang Chong’s last life, in order to exhibit his loyalty and to vie for the honor of being one of the subjects who assisted the dragon in attaining the throne, Kong Wu had engaged in large-scale massacres during the rebellion.
In the Rebellion of the Three Princes, he had first slaughtered the officials who had opposed the First Prince. After that, when the Imperial Army and City Guard soldiers in the capital were surrendering, he had them brutally massacred.
He had created even more massacres in the Rebellion of the Three Princes than the First Prince, and caused many common folk to lose their lives.
This was something that Wang Chong could never accept!
This was why he had made Kong Wu his first target!
Chapter 1681 - A Fine Bird!
Chapter 1681: A Fine Bird!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Your Highness, what do the laws of the Great Tang say about how this matter should be handled?”
Wang Chong looked up at the enthroned First Prince.
“Come; arrest Kong Wu! Lord Prime Minister, I leave this matter to you. Lead the Three Departments and rigorously investigate this matter!” the First Prince furiously declared from his throne.
Today had been an utter defeat. He understood that Wang Chong was using this deliberate show of strength as a warning, using the matter of Kong Wu to threaten him. However, once one was on a tiger, it was hard to get off, and in front of the entire court, he was forced to deal with Kong Wu.
Such a crime had unquestionably enraged all the officers in the military. Even the First Prince had to give up on him.
“Your Highness! Save me, save me! King of Foreign Lands, there are no grudges between us, so why does it have to be like this!?”
Kong Wu’s prostrate form was trembling, his face as white as a sheet of paper and his expression panicked. What he had expected to be a happy occasion had turned into his doomsday.
“Come! Take him away!”
The First Prince was growing increasingly impatient. If not for Kong Wu, he would have never been forced into this stage.
The generals standing in the corners of the palace soon came forward, took Kong Wu by the arms, and dragged him away.
The officials were silent as Kong Wu was taken away, and they even chose to avoid looking at Wang Chong. This was particularly true for the Confucian Sect members, whose eyes were fraught with fear.
The King of Foreign Lands was still the King of Foreign Lands. Even if he was alone and without power or authority, he would still be an existence feared by countless people.
On his first day in court, he had impeached the Assistant Minister of the Bureau of Military Personnel who had been in the post for ten-some years. Not even King Qi had ever managed such a feat before.
“Honored officials, are there any other memorials to be submitted?” the First Prince impatiently said.
The officials looked at each other. A tiny number of major officials submitted memorials on rather trivial affairs, but no one else spoke up.
“Since there is no more, the honored officials are dismissed,” the eunuch finally said.
Everyone sighed in relief. They had managed to get through the day, and they were all too ready to get out of this uncomfortable palace.
Suddenly, Eunuch Yin came up from behind the First Prince and announced, “Wait a moment. His Highness has decreed that while the other officials may withdraw, the King of Foreign Lands should remain!
“King of Foreign Lands, His Highness has a matter to discuss with you. Please stay back for a while!”
Buzz!
The hall became so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
Everyone waited with bated breath for the reply.
“This lowly subject receives the decree!”
At the very front, Prime Minister Li Linfu seemed unperturbed. With a wave of his sleeve, he began to walk out of the hall.
“Hmph!”
King Qi coldly snorted, shot a glare at Wang Chong, and then began to stride out.
The other officials surged out like the receding tide, and even the eunuchs and guards seemed to realize something and went out through the side entrances.
Bang!
Almost the moment all the officials had withdrawn, the doors slammed shut, isolating Taihe Palace.
All of the officials felt a stifling air, but without another word, they left.
In Taihe Palace, Wang Chong stood unmoving, a calm and assured look on his face. Even after the doors shut, leaving Wang Chong alone in the dim Taihe Palace with the First Prince and Eunuch Yin, he remained unperturbed.
Whoosh!
His robes rustling, the First Prince slowly rose from the throne, his eyes gleaming with cold light.
An immense energy, sharp and cold, erupted from his body.
A voice shattered the silence. “Wang Chong, it seems you’re determined to oppose this prince!”
The First Prince stood on the raised platform, his expression cold as he spoke in an intimidating tone.
One was the regent of the Great Tang and the other was a King. Sovereign and subject each had their own roles, but the First Prince had clearly lost his patience.
“For what reason does Your Highness say such things? Wang Chong is impartially carrying out his duties. And was it not Your Highness who ordered Kong Wu to be arrested?” Wang Chong indifferently said.
“Hmph, there’s no need to keep that pompous tone. You and this prince both know what’s going on with Kong Wu! You support the Fifth Prince from the shadows, opposing this prince at every turn. This prince knows everything, and it doesn’t matter how much you try to defend yourself.
“This prince had you stay so that I could tell you one thing. King of Foreign Lands, do you know what happens when a chicken egg strikes a stone?”
The First Prince murderously glared at Wang Chong.
Eunuch Yin had taken two steps forward, his energy locking onto Wang Chong.
Taihe Palace was deathly still. Wang Chong gazed at the First Prince, his lips slowly curling into a smile.
“Your Highness, a chicken egg can’t break a stone, but the dripping of water can penetrate through rock.”
Wang Chong’s words caused the First Prince and Eunuch Yin to grimace.
“Only when one is humane can one be without rival. Trying to forcefully obtain some things without regard for method might not necessarily result in anything good. I hope that Your Highness can carefully ponder these words!”
“Heh, Wang Chong, are you trying to instruct this prince?”
The First Prince shook his head, his mouth twisted into an angry smile.
“I gave you many chances to swear fealty to this prince, but you refused me every time. Wang Chong, this prince admires your talent. In the war of the southwest and the Battle of Talas, you rendered astounding service for the Great Tang. But the sovereign is sovereign and the subject is subject. If you insist on opposing this prince, then even if your talent reaches to the heavens, you can never defeat this prince.
“This prince is the first in line to the throne of the Great Tang, the next Sage Emperor. Do you understand what will happen to you if you oppose me at every turn?” the First Prince coldly said.
The First Prince had dropped most of his courtesy in these words. Wang Chong’s actions had clearly stirred up the First Prince’s killing intent, or else he would have never spoken so bluntly.
“Your Highness, you forget yourself!” Wang Chong coldly said.
“Heh, is that so?”
The First Prince chuckled. He turned around, facing his back to Wang Chong.
“Wang Chong, since you insist on stubbornly supporting the Fifth Prince and opposing this prince, let’s play a game! Let see whether the Crown Prince of the Great Tang will be me or the Fifth Prince!”
Buzz!
Wang Chong’s brow creased in surprise. It seemed as if the First Prince had not come up with these words on the spur of the moment, but had carefully pondered them before today’s meeting.
Wang Chong pensively stared at the proud figure clothed in dragon robes. But he said nothing, knowing well that the First Prince had more to say.
As expected, the First Prince began to speak again.
“Ah, but people don’t die in games. In our game, however… the one who loses will die!! And your entire clan with you!”
The First Prince’s voice was devoid of emotion.
Whoosh!
A sudden breeze blew between the pair, and Taihe Palace was cold and still. The air was fraught with an invisible tension.
Even Wang Chong couldn’t help but slightly grimace.
This was not their first meeting, and even though the First Prince had once been so bold as to block his carriage, he had never imagined a meeting like this.
This was similar to laying the cards on the table. Wang Chong’s multiple attempts to hinder the First Prince had clearly pushed the First Prince to the limit. Moreover, this was the first time the First Prince had brought up the entire Wang Clan.
The First Prince was implying that if he attained the throne, he would make the entire Wang Clan pay the price, not just Wang Chong, and crush it into dust.
“What a pity. The storied Wang Clan will end up being destroyed by your hands…”
The First Prince spoke in a frightening and damning tone.
Before he could finish speaking, he received a crisp and simple reply.
“Okay!”
“!!!”
The First Prince and Eunuch Yin were both startled and turned to look at Wang Chong.
“What did you say?!”
The First Prince turned his body around and stared with furrowed brow at Wang Chong. He had clearly not expected this reply.
“I said ‘okay’!”
Wang Chong’s lips had a gentle smile, and his expression was confident and relaxed, without even a hint of fear. A normal person would have backed down a little in front of the First Prince’s threatening demeanor, but the First Prince was trying this on the wrong person.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1035
