Chapter 849: Rewarding Merit

Xiang Xun voluntarily confessed his crimes, and the Son of Heaven ordered the three judicial offices to jointly review the case. The moment the news spread, the entire court was in an uproar, causing a great stir. Many people found it hard to understand what was going on. Here was a commander who had just led an army to destroy a state and earned magnificent military achievements, honored with the utmost respect by the Son of Heaven who had condescended to receive him. Yet in just a few days, before the court's formal rewards had even been issued, he had come forward to confess and become a criminal? Moreover, the crimes he listed were no minor offenses.

During this period, some of the soldiers who had pacified Shu had behaved improperly, drawing criticism and discontent. Remonstrance officials had been competing to submit memorials impeaching them, demanding strict military discipline and punishment for arrogant soldiers—but those were ultimately only the crude, lowly, and short-sighted common soldiers of the lower and middle ranks. The conflict between Wang Quanbin and Wang Renshan had caused quite a stir, but on the surface it looked more like a personal grudge.

For the triumphant soldiers returning in victory, even the most upright person would not have thought to direct the fire at Xiang Xun. Yet Xiang Xun's actions were no different from pouring fuel on himself, inviting the flames...

After the incident occurred, opinions surged from all sides with all sorts of speculation, but those truly in high positions who understood the situation remained very calm, offering no opinions at all, not even revealing the slightest attitude, simply sitting back and watching how events unfolded.

And because of this matter, the group most affected were the Shu-pacifying soldiers who had received the Son of Heaven's grand reception upon returning to the capital. If even Commander Xiang had gone to the Court of Judicial Review to confess his crimes, how much more so for them? Their restless arrogance immediately vanished, and they no longer dared to presume upon their merits as meritorious officials.

Immediately after came fear and worry. Counting the detained Wang Quanbin and Wang Renshan, fully three of the Shu-pacifying commanders had been taken. Could this be just the beginning? Would disaster reach them as well?

When it comes to matters, overthinking breeds fear. The upheaval in the capital, combined with the long-circulating rumor that the court intended to charge the soldiers with inciting the Shu rebellion—all at once, the meritorious officials began to panic, especially those generals who had pocketed considerable wealth in Chuanshu.

Having sensed the danger, they naturally sought to defuse it. Had this been ten years earlier, they wouldn't have needed to think much—they could have raised a mutiny under the banner of "the court is unjust, does not care for its soldiers, and treats its meritorious subjects shabbily."

However, times had changed. The Son of Heaven's prestige was growing daily, and the court's authority was ever stronger. This was no longer an era where one rebelled first and talked later. No matter how ignorant the arrogant soldiers and fierce generals were, they dared not lightly harbor thoughts of rebellion.

To speak of the most basic reality: Kaifeng and its surroundings were heavily garrisoned with troops. Although the army returning in triumph was considerable in number, its composition was complex and far from unified, with internal disputes—how could they possibly accomplish anything? If anyone dared to advocate rebellion, they would likely find someone within their own ranks seizing their head to present to the court in atonement for crimes.

Since rebellion was not an option, there was only one choice: to plead with the Emperor and beg the court for forgiveness. Thus, whether from the northern route or the eastern route, the officers all began making connections and seeking solutions.

In the end, they appealed to two men. One was Gao Huaide—as Army Supervisor of the main army, he could both represent the soldiers' grievances and, being a relative of the imperial family, had that connection to make his words heard.

The other was Zhao Kuangyin, who had returned to Kaifeng after offering sacrifices to his father. Commander Zhao was the Emperor's trusted general, always relied upon and favored, with rising prestige in the army. He had labored hard and achieved much in pacifying Shu, and had no misdeeds in Shu—he was someone who could speak with the Emperor.

Faced with the generals' requests, Gao Huaide and Zhao Kuangyin did much the same thing: they reassured them and instructed them to return to their residences or their camps and behave themselves.

Afterwards, as if by some tacit understanding, Gao and Zhao each submitted memorials of self-accusation to the Emperor. Their stated crimes were not as detailed as Xiang Xun's—just two: failing to govern the army properly, thereby giving rise to the Shu rebellion.

With this, all five of the principal Shu-pacifying commanders now bore crimes on their records. And with Gao Huaide and Zhao Kuangyin setting the example, the generals below seemed to learn the trick as well—anyone with the qualification rushed to submit memorials.

The detained Wang Quanbin and Wang Renshan calmed down and came to their senses, submitting memorials of confession from their confinement. Both wrote in great detail—besides contending for merit, fighting among themselves, destroying civilian property, and damaging military prestige, they also clearly recorded their misdeeds in Chuanshu, including extorting wealth and forcibly taking palace women. Their attitude of admitting guilt was most proper.

Besides the two Wangs, Zhang Yongde also submitted a memorial, as if joining in the commotion. It should be noted that the eastern route army had advanced smoothly, and after Shu surrendered, he had remained stationed in Yuzhou. Under his governance, Yuzhou and the regions to its east had remained very stable—even during the most intense period of the Shu rebellion, no major disturbances had arisen.

Probably unable to think of any serious crime, Zhang Yongde cited the fact that when his subordinates had occupied Yuzhou, they had burned the city tower and felled mulberry trees without him stopping them, and requested punishment. His only intention in doing so was to stay in step with the Shu-pacifying soldiers—regardless of anything else, when rumors were spreading widely, the interests of the Shu-pacifying soldiers were one and the same.

All at once, the Emperor's desk was piled high with the confession memorials of the generals. The meritorious officials who had been so greatly praised moments before suddenly seemed to have become criminals one and all. Liu Chengyou accepted all these memorials, but made no statement—indeed, many he did not even read.

By this point, although the uproar was loud and the situation seemed grave, in reality it was only thunder without rain—a single edict of pardon from the Emperor would suffice to quell it.

It was not until the sixteenth day of the third month that Liu Chengyou felt enough was enough and it could be settled. He convened the military and civil ministers for an imperial conference to discuss the matter of "meritorious generals confessing their crimes."

Besides the several chief ministers, the commanders and heavyweights of the Bureau of Military Affairs and the two commissions were also present. As Chief Commander of the Palace Command, Han Tong found the meeting somewhat curious—the feeling of one who had been through it all watching those who came after.

"Gentlemen, recently the Shu-pacifying commanders have successively submitted memorials confessing their crimes and requesting the court to punish them—the clamor has been considerable. I am quite astonished and puzzled by this. How should it be handled? I ask you all to advise me!" Seated upon the imperial throne, Liu Chengyou spoke leisurely, his tone and expression showing not the slightest sign of astonishment.

Upon hearing the question, the assembled civil and military ministers sat calmly in their seats, as steady as Mount Tai. They exchanged glances, and for a moment no one spoke. All eyes rested on the Emperor, as if merely waiting for him to speak—nothing more...

The ministers' lack of "cooperation" left Liu Chengyou somewhat exasperated. He directly asked Fan Zhi: "Minister Fan, the eight crimes Xiang Xingmin has confessed to—how should they be adjudicated?"

Seeing the ball kicked to him, Fan Zhi answered without hesitation: "If the confession is true, then according to the Criminal Code, the sentence should be death!"

That was a clever thing to say. Liu Chengyou immediately picked up the thread and asked: "Then based on the three judicial offices' investigation, is it true or not?"

Fan Zhi was momentarily at a loss for how to respond. If it were not true, then Xiang Xun's grandly walking into the Court of Judicial Review would be a joke—contempt for the nation's laws? If it were true, then surely they wouldn't actually execute Xiang Xun—anyone with half a brain could see that was impossible.

At this moment, Li Chuyun, Academician-in-Chief of the Bureau of Military Affairs, stepped forward, clasped his hands, and replied: "Your Majesty, I believe that regardless of the extraordinary achievements of the Shu-pacifying soldiers, warfare concerns life and death. When a great army passes through, it sweeps everything before it—some expedient matters can be forgiven.

Duke Xiang is upright and honest, openly acknowledging his merits and faults without dodging right or wrong—this is a display of magnanimity. If we were to punish a meritorious minister based on his reputation for virtue, would that not be deeply regrettable, adding to the court's own faults?

Furthermore, the generals are vying to confess their crimes and expose their own faults. I believe that the Great Han's military discipline and law are most strict—even if there are a few improper individuals, how could it be that all the commanders have broken the law? There must be hidden circumstances. We must not chill the soldiers' hearts over a bit of public opinion!"

Hearing Li Chuyun's words, Liu Chengyou smiled but made no statement.

At this point, Han Tong rarely spoke up, saying: "Your Majesty, I believe that the soldiers fought bloodily for the nation and served with utmost loyalty. Even if they truly committed faults, they have all submitted memorials confessing—clearly they know their errors. If punishment is to be meted out, I believe a small lesson to serve as a warning would suffice; it should not be severe!"

"Minister Wei, what do you think?" Liu Chengyou looked toward Wei Renpu.

Wei Renpu did not answer. Instead, he drew a memorial from his bosom and replied: "Your Majesty, regarding the rewards and commendations for the Shu-pacifying soldiers—officers from battalion commander and above—I have already completed the verification with my subordinates. Please, Your Majesty, review it!"

Wei Renpu's meaning was also quite clear: there was no need to discuss punishment—better to focus on rewarding merit...

Liu Chengyou gestured for the palace eunuch Sun Yanxi to receive it, tapped his fingers on the table, pondered for a moment, then said to Fan Zhi: "The Secretariat shall draft an edict: the Shu-pacifying soldiers' offenses are all pardoned!"

"Yes!" Fan Zhi calmly acknowledged.

"Furthermore, a pardon does not mean the faults never existed. Notify all armies within and without of this matter, so that the soldiers may all be vigilant. The Jiangnan territories have not yet been pacified—acting arbitrarily is truly inadvisable!" Liu Chengyou's tone was very stern.

"As commanded!"

With the Emperor's edict of pardon, the Shu-pacifying soldiers were all at ease. Afterwards came the rewards. Faults were faults, but merits still had to be affirmed. Because of the problems in Shu, this round of rewards focused primarily on honorary ranks, with money and grain as secondary. The court's prepared compensation was also mainly used for comforting and compensating the wounded and fallen soldiers.

Among the principal commanders, Xiang Xun was elevated to Duke of Yin, Gao Huaide to Duke of Pu, and Zhao Kuangyin to Duke of Bo.