Chapter 120: An Emperor's Wrath Requires Only Conviction of the Heart

The chieftains and envoys of the various Tiele tribes who had participated in the alliance assembly all departed Lingzhou one after another within two days, heading for the grasslands.

Overall, Li Longji was quite satisfied with the results of this alliance assembly; he had achieved a feat that only Taizong had accomplished in the past. Among the emperors of the Great Tang, Taizong was first and he was second—there should be no dispute about that now.

Li Longji's vanity was greatly satisfied. This was an alliance ceremony with virtually no flaws!

That is, if one did not count Yang Yuhuan's disappearance.

The Youzhou frontier army's squad commander Zhang Xun, who had been on duty that day, along with the fifty men under him, had all been thrown into prison. Though these people all insisted with one voice that Yang Yuhuan had been determined to attend the banquet on the grasslands north of the Yellow River and had left of her own accord, and that they had no idea where she went and were unable to stop her.

But what Brother Ji needed was not an explanation, nor did he have any desire to look deeply into what the truth of the matter actually was.

Brother Ji only wanted results!

If the results were satisfactory, he would not pursue the matter; if the results were unsatisfactory, then sorry.

As for whether these soldiers were innocent, Brother Ji did not think much of them; he felt it did not matter and did not take it to heart.

If Yang Yuhuan came back, then these people could be dealt with casually, or even let off lightly.

If Yang Yuhuan did not come back, then these people would certainly be buried with her.

There was no reasoning to be had. Whether it was dereliction of duty or a conspiracy, it did not matter; Brother Ji did not want to spend effort investigating deeply. The explanation that Zhang Xun and the others had prepared in advance—Brother Ji did not even listen to it properly, much less expend effort on interrogation and investigation.

The only thing that could be confirmed was that Yang Yuhuan's party had most likely fallen into the water while crossing the bridge. That temporarily constructed wooden bridge had collapsed without cause on the very night the banquet was held! Yang Yuhuan's party was very likely to have met with misfortune while crossing the bridge.

Actually, this was easy to understand. This temporary bridge was inherently a one-time consumable, and it had even been built with a hidden mechanism for instant destruction. During battle, when enemy cavalry pursued, the rear guard could destroy this bridge in an instant.

The bridges from Fang Chongyong's previous life mostly had this function as well, for easy demolition.

The proper stone bridge over the Yellow River in the area was much farther away. If one really got down to it, Brother Ji was also one of the chief culprits—it was he who had set the banquet location on the open grassland north of the wooden bridge. This was not a commonly traveled route.

Too many people had crossed this bridge recently—the chieftains and envoys of the various Tiele tribes alone numbered over two thousand, and that did not even include the Youzhou frontier army. The wooden bridge's quality was mediocre to begin with; when Li Longji crossed it, he had heard the sound of timber rubbing together beneath his feet.

Duan Xiushi, the Shuofang army frontier general responsible for building the wooden bridge, was also caught in the fallout this time and taken into custody for interrogation. However, his treatment was still considerably better than that of Zhang Xun and the others.

Three days later, the first piece of bad news arrived.

At a certain stretch downstream on the Yellow River, when local fishermen cast their nets to catch fish, they hauled up a body dressed in eunuch attire—one of the eunuchs who had originally attended to Yang Yuhuan.

The body was quickly sent to Lingzhou city, where the best local coroner was put in charge of examining it.

Coroner was not an official title; it was a general term for those common folk who handled funerals and burials and frequently dealt with corpses. These people occasionally assisted the authorities in examining injuries and inspecting corpses when needed, and this trade was called the coroner's trade.

The elderly coroner who participated in the autopsy reached a very definite conclusion: death by drowning!

When Li Longji heard this news, his heart sank more than halfway!

The ambush, vendetta killing, and conspiracy assassination that he had imagined perhaps did not exist at all. It was very likely that Huanhuan and the others had simply been on the bridge right when it broke, and had fallen into the water and died.

As if to confirm Brother Ji's conjecture, the remaining bodies were found one after another; the bodies of several eunuchs and palace maids were all accounted for, without a single one missing. And all of them had died by drowning.

The only one missing was Yang Yuhuan's body!

No news was good news. Brother Ji hoped for a miracle in his heart, but he also understood that the hope was very slim.

On the Yellow River in spring, the ice jam flood had in fact just passed, though the fragments of ice in the river water were already gone. During the day was manageable, but the water temperature at night was still frighteningly low. Falling into the river at night, unless one could be pulled out within a very short time and then warmed by a fire with ginger tea to drive out the cold.

Otherwise, even if one did not drown, one would freeze to death.

The situation Brother Ji now faced was like one boot dropping in the upstairs room, waiting for the other to drop as well.

Inside the main hall of the Shuofang Military Commissioner's headquarters, Li Longji paced back and forth anxiously. The Youzhou Military Commissioner Fang Youde, the Shuofang Military Commissioner Zhang Qiqiu, the Lingzhou Inspector, and others all remained silent, heads lowered, staring at the floor—none of them willing to invite misfortune upon themselves.

Just then, Yan Gaoqing, the campaign secretary of the Youzhou frontier army on this expedition, walked in drenched in sweat. He looked at Li Longji, whose face was dark as water, then at Fang Youde and the others nearby who did not even dare to breathe loudly. The words he had been mulling over in his stomach for a long time—he now did not know how to say them.

"Is there news?"

Li Longji stepped forward excitedly, grabbing Yan Gaoqing by the sleeve and asking.

"Reporting to the Sage, there is indeed news..."

Yan Gaoqing lowered his head, not daring to meet Li Longji's burning gaze.

Seeing the other's expression and demeanor, Li Longji's heart sank to rock bottom.

He slowly released Yan Gaoqing's sleeve, straightened his dragon robe, and then said in a low, stern voice: "Whatever it is, just say it!"

"Reporting to the Sage, Daoist Taizhen has been found. Her remains have already been washed clean..."

Yan Gaoqing could barely go on.

"Everyone leave. Let me be alone."

Li Longji sat down dejectedly on the floor and waved his hand at the crowd.

No one dared to move; no one knew what Li Longji meant by these words.

Gao Lishi stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "Sage, would you like to see Taizhen one last time...?"

"Get out!"

Li Longji roared at Gao Lishi!

Now everyone understood!

Zhang Qiqiu, Fang Youde, and the others filed out one after another. The attendants and personal guards in the headquarters' main hall also withdrew quietly, leaving only Li Longji sitting alone on the floor.

Like a solitary man with no one left!

Only Gao Lishi remained in a corner of the main hall, ready at any moment to await Li Longji's orders.

It hurt so much, his heart truly hurt so much!

For a moment, Li Longji no longer knew how to describe his feelings.

Emptiness and grief, cycling back and forth. Recalling the passion and excitement of the past year and more with Yang Yuhuan cut his heart like a knife.

After sitting there in lamentation for a long time, Li Longji beckoned to the invisible man Gao Lishi in the corner.

"Find someone to apply makeup for Huanhuan, make her look nice. I want to see her one last time..."

Li Longji said with a sigh of lamentation.

A person hauled up from the Yellow River—the sight would certainly be unbearable to look at, the body covered in yellow silt. Yang Yuhuan's remains naturally needed someone to prepare and apply makeup before Li Longji could see her.

"This servant will go attend to it at once. Sage, please restrain your grief.

Daoist Taizhen is gone. The Sage can treat her family a little better. Bring Daoist Taizhen's family to Chang'an, so you can also pay respects to her from time to time.

It would also let outsiders know that the Sage values loyalty and righteousness.

In particular, the several elder sisters of Daoist Taizhen—the Sage could confer titles upon them, to show grace and favor toward Daoist Taizhen."

Gao Lishi suggested with an impassive expression.

Li Longji's eyes lit up, instantly recalling the stunning beauty of Yang Yuhuan's three elder sisters at the Yang family's birthday banquet several months ago.

One could only say each had her own charms, all on par with Yang Yuhuan.

The grief in his heart was instantly diluted considerably.

"This matter can be attended to earlier; there is no need to wait for Our return to Chang'an."

Li Longji put away the sorrowful sigh from his face and said with a calm expression.

"This slave understands. Let the Sage rest assured.

Please do not grieve, Sage. Women like Daoist Taizhen, the Great Tang still has by the thousands and tens of thousands.

But the Great Tang's Sage—there is only one of you. If the Sage, out of grief, harms the dragon body, that would truly be the misfortune of the Great Tang's countless subjects."

Gao Lishi urged earnestly.

Li Longji let out a long sigh, gently patted Gao Lishi's hand, shook his head, and said, "We understand. You need say no more. Go attend to the matter."

He had already recovered from his extreme grief. What now filled his heart was no longer sorrow, but fury!

A majestic emperor, unable even to protect the woman he doted on most! Yang Yuhuan's death was a small matter; that he, the emperor, had been publicly slapped in the face—that was the great matter!

When the Son of Heaven grows angry, a million corpses lie at his feet! Heh, let those people await his wrath!

……

Inside a coffin crafted from fine sandalwood, Yang Yuhuan, dead for some time now, lay quietly. She had already been changed into palace attire that only a Noble Consort could wear, her face painted with the heavy makeup permitted only to a Noble Consort, and her body had been treated so it could be stored long-term without decay.

Li Longji would not bury her in Lingzhou; he wanted to bring Yang Yuhuan back to Chang'an, to bury her in Chang'an.

Looking at Yang Yuhuan lying in the coffin, still so beautiful, as peaceful as if she were asleep. From a certain angle, she had been freed from this incestuous and abusive romance, no longer needing to agonize over whether she should be the Princess of Shou rather than the emperor's private possession.

For her, perhaps it was merely escaping an illusory dream woven of desire and wickedness. She no longer had to bear the infamy of history, no longer had to endure curses and condemnation from all sides.

Perhaps, for Yang Yuhuan, this was truly not a bad thing.

She was still Yang Yuhuan, but she would never become Noble Consort Yang.

"Huanhuan! Huanhuan!"

Without warning, Li Longji suddenly burst into loud wailing, pounding weakly at the coffin.

"Huanhuan, don't go, Huanhuan! With you gone, what is We to do!"

At this moment, he was the only one in the mourning hall; even Gao Lishi had stepped outside.

Li Longji clutched the coffin and wept aloud, like a child.

The last time he had been this grief-stricken was when he was still young and his mother was killed without cause.

In the second year of the Changshou era of the Zhou dynasty (693 CE), the two consorts of the imperial heir Li Dan—Lady Liu and Lady Dou—were summoned into the palace by Wu Zetian, and ultimately were beaten to death, their bodies casually buried. Among them, Lady Dou was Li Longji's birth mother.

That time, Li Longji's grief flowed backward into a river, yet he did not dare cry out at all, surrounded by secret agents dispatched by Wu Zetian.

After a long while, Li Longji finally cried enough. All the tenderness he held for Yang Yuhuan had flowed away with his tears, and all that remained in his heart was cold hardness.

Li Longji walked out of the mourning hall. Outside, Gao Lishi and the frontier army generals had been waiting for a long time; none of them was willing to step forward and speak first.

According to the itinerary, Li Longji had already stayed in Lingzhou ten days longer than planned; it was time for him to return to Chang'an.

Only everyone knew that until the breath stuck in Li Longji's heart was released and the people who should be punished were punished, he would not leave, no matter what!

Whoever raised this matter would surely die!

"To the Military Commissioner's residence for discussion. We have things to say."

Li Longji dropped these words and walked off. Everyone followed cautiously, fearful that the Sage's wrath might fall upon their own heads.

The group arrived at the main hall of the government office. Li Longji sat in the seat of honor and surveyed those present. At this moment, he had already restored the dignity of an emperor.

"Beloved Minister Fang, as a guard, yet allowing the person under protection to die—what is the military punishment for this?"

Li Longji asked in a low voice.

"In reply to the Sage, according to military law, the punishment is beheading."

Fang Youde crossed his hands in salute and spoke, his expression calm.

"Hmm, then from Zhang Xun on down, all the guards on duty that night shall be dealt with according to military law."

Li Longji said expressionlessly.

As though killing fifty chickens.

"Sage, Zhang Xun and the others, though they committed a grave error, their crime does not warrant death! Spare their lives, let them go to the battlefield and earn merit!"

Fang Youde knelt and pleaded.

Subsequently, Zhang Qiqiu and the others, including the Shuofang Army frontier troops, all knelt on the ground!

Now was no time to watch and laugh—the fox grieves when the hare dies! After dealing with the Youzhou Army, the next wave would be the Shuofang Army!

Once this terrible precedent was set, the opening for the emperor to find excuses to kill frontier generals would be opened! In the future, simply because a woman of the inner palace was unhappy, would the emperor be able to kill frontier army generals at will?

"Are none of you placing Us in your eyes anymore?"

Li Longji slammed the desk, stood up, and rebuked them in fury.

Huanhuan was dead—how could Zhang Xun and those people still be alive! They too must be buried with her! Whether or not there was a direct connection!

"This humble official is willing to relinquish all posts, remove his armor, and return to the fields, begging only that the Sage spare the lives of Zhang Xun and the others. I beg the Sage to grant this."

Fang Youde removed his helmet, placed it on the ground, and prostrated himself without rising.

"Are you threatening Us?"

Li Longji stormed forward in a rage, kicked Fang Youde to the ground with one foot, pointed at him, and cursed bitterly:

"We trusted you so, entrusting Huanhuan to the protection of your troops—how did you repay Our trust? Ah!

How have We wronged you! Ah!

Your son became a prefect at ten—who gets this kind of treatment, huh?

"After all the favors I've shown your family, this is how you repay me?"

Li Longji cursed while kicking and beating Fang Youde, who offered no resistance and didn't even raise a hand to block.

"You compensate me for Huanhuan, return my Huanhuan! What do I want your official cap for—it was originally mine!"

Li Longji roared at Fang Youde.

The whole hall fell silent as cold cicadas, only his voice could be heard.

"I am guilty, please punish me, Your Majesty. A person cannot be brought back to life; I am powerless, please accept my condolences."

After a long while, Fang Youde, blood at the corners of his mouth, knelt on the ground and pleaded.

Get out to Lingnan! I want you to go to Lingnan! I don't want you to resign your post; I want you there to watch the frontier and reflect on your faults! What you owe me can't be paid off in a lifetime!

I never want to see you again! Never return to Chang'an!

Li Longji roared loudly, like an angry male lion.

"Zhang Qisi! You are to act as military governor of Youzhou and behead all duty soldiers under Zhang Xun!"

"Your subordinate Duan Xiushi, strip all military posts, tattoo his face and exile him to the frontier—never to be employed again!"

Li Longji turned his head and ordered the newly appointed military governor of Shuofang, Zhang Qisi, in a grim tone.

"I will take care of this."

Zhang Qisi clasped his hands in salute and said, understanding worldly affairs, he knew Fang Youde was just the beginning; his temporary appointment as military governor of Youzhou was merely because Li Longji worried no one would manage the frontier troops.

Yang Yuhuan died in Lingzhou; can I, the military governor of Shuofang, still escape?

It's just that Li Longji isn't ready to act yet. He can be certain that those who worked on the bridge—probably none will escape—and Duan Xiushi is just the first unlucky one.

"Lishi, prepare to return to Chang'an. Bring Huanhuan's coffin along."

Li Longji wearily said to Gao Lishi beside him.

……

What happened afterward was exactly as Zhang Qisi had expected.

After Li Longji returned to Chang'an, he immediately demoted him, transferring him to Hedong as a prefect, where he was never promoted and rotated among several subordinate prefectures.

Duan Xiushi, who built the wooden bridge, was exiled to the Western Regions to serve in the army, and afterwards no news of him was heard.

The hundreds of soldiers who worked on the bridge, regardless of rank, were collectively mobilized by the Ministry of War to the most dangerous Longyou front line, placed under the command of the Longyou military governor. As the first line against the Tibetans, over the years only one in ten survived, disappearing without a trace.

The victorious Youzhou border troops this time received no rewards at all, and the senior generals were basically demoted and reassigned. Except for a few who followed Fang Youde to the Lingnan military governor's office as border commanders, the rest suffered terrible misfortune.

Needless to say, Zhang Xun and the others were personally beheaded by Li Longji. The soldiers on duty that day were also executed together, and Brother Ji gave them no chance to explain, not even bothering to ask.

Yan Gaoqing was transferred to Hebei as a county magistrate, Xu Yuan became a low-ranking petty official, still serving at the grassroots in Youzhou. Anyone Li Longji could take out his anger on this time—none escaped; all who survived were dealt with.

In the north, two military governors were taken down in succession, one of them a famed general who had conquered the north; the political landscape of the Tang north also underwent a drastic change.

With Fang Youde dealt with, the morale of the Youzhou border troops also underwent a subtle, imperceptible change.

Put simply, nobody believes in love anymore!

(End of chapter)