Chapter 1041: Justice Resides in the Hearts of Men (Please Subscribe)

"Heluohui, what did you say?"

Duo'erbo doubted his own ears, staring wide-eyed at Heluohui.

"Great King, you have broken faith and violated the treaty!" Heluohui said, his tone deepening.

"So what?" Duo'erbo asked again.

"Great King, according to the provisions of the *Suzerain-Vassal Treaty*, your throne will be deposed by the Celestial Court!"

Duo'erbo's face went deathly pale!

Not because he feared the *Suzerain-Vassal Treaty*, but because the man answering him was not Heluohui — it was Bo'erhui!

Two of the four regent ministers seemed already to have gone over to Princess Dong'e. What was going on? Could it be simply because Princess Dong'e was Dorgon's daughter?

"Deposed my ass!" Baduke roared. "We Manchu princes — since when does the Zhu Ming emperor get to depose us?"

"Commander Ba, you cannot say that!" The old man Wubai shook his head repeatedly. "Justice resides in the hearts of men! This *Suzerain-Vassal Treaty* bears our Great King's signature and seal. It was also proclaimed to the whole nation by decree. How can it now be torn up on a whim? How can the king of a nation be so faithless?"

"You—you—you—" Duo'erbo could not even get the words out. Just now, when he had sought the opinions of Heluohui and the others, their heads had shaken like rattle-drums. What was happening now? In the blink of an eye they were accusing him of breaking faith?

"Old wretch, what nonsense are you spouting?" Baduke roared, brandishing his saber as he moved to cut down Wubai. But who was old Wubai? A man who had followed Nurhaci through blades and flames. Old as he now was, his martial skill remained. Without hesitation he produced the divine weapon of close combat — a flintlock pistol!

No one knew when he had loaded the pistol. All they heard was a "Bang!" of gunfire, and blood sprayed from the right arm of Baduke, who was built like a great bear!

Yet the man was truly fierce. His right hand loosened, the saber dropped, but his left hand caught it, and in the same motion he slashed — neither off nor short, straight across Wubai's chest, striking sparks!

Not because Wubai had trained the Golden Bell Shield and Iron Shirt, but because the old fellow was wearing a coat of chain mail!

Baduke's first blow failed, and he never got the chance for a second. For Wubai had not come alone. The two personal guards at his side had already drawn their blades and lunged forward, and in two or three moves they had beaten the already-shot Baduke to the ground.

At the same time, Wubai's younger brother Subai had already taken up position in front of Princess Dong'e, a firearm in one hand and a saber in the other.

All four regent ministers of Joseon had gone over to Princess Dong'e's side!

The Joseon yangban and some of the Manchu warriors present, witnessing this sudden turn of events, were all stunned.

What was going on?

How had they started fighting among themselves?

And why had Heluohui, Bo'erhui, Wubai, and Subai — all four regent ministers — gone over to Princess Dong'e's side? Could it really be because of justice?

How great a justice would that have to be? Twenty-four pounds surely would not suffice — at least forty-eight pounds, and a bursting-shell great justice at that! But where was this great justice? No one could see it!

"Heluohui, Bo'erhui, Wubai, Subai... you four old wretches, ungrateful and treacherous!" Baduke, now pinned to the ground, began cursing. "The late king treated you well, and this is how you repay him? The late king's bones are not even buried yet, and you—"

At that point, someone stuffed his mouth shut.

Heluohui then spoke. "We are all men of the Imperial Ama! The Imperial Ama is gone, so we obey the Princess, because the Princess is the Imperial Ama's only flesh and blood. What is wrong with that?"

Bo'erhui chimed in as well: "Moreover, Duo'erbo is far too muddle-headed. To think of using a tiny state like Joseon to resist the Celestial Court's million heavenly soldiers — that is courting destruction, and it would drag us all down to be buried with him. The Princess has come a thousand li precisely to save us!"

"Right, right!" Wubai nodded repeatedly. "The Princess came to save us!"

Subai shouted loudly: "The Princess is the benefactor of us all! The Great King has broken faith and lost virtue, bringing calamity upon the nation. Had the Princess not come a thousand li, we would all have died without a burial place!"

The crowd of Manchu warriors and Joseon yangban watching the spectacle in the great hall now all understood: the Princess was a great and good person, and their Great King was a muddled ruler who had broken faith and lost virtue!

Truly, justice resides in the hearts of men!

The Manchu warriors and Joseon yangban all shouted in unison: "We are willing to follow the Princess and pledge loyalty to the superior nation!"

"I—I—" Duo'erbo truly felt he had been wronged to death. He had clearly seen Heluohui, Bo'erhui, Wubai, Subai, and the other Manchu warriors in the hall all looking ready to fight the Great Ming to the death, and only then had he become the "faithless Great King." Had he known that everyone in this room had already knelt, he would never have "broken faith"!

"Men!"

Jin Dongzhu spoke at this moment. "First, seize Duo'erbo."

"Zha!" Immediately, "righteous men" rushed forward and seized the dumbstruck Duo'erbo.

Seeing that the outcome was settled, Princess Dong'e sighed: "Although justice resides in the hearts of men, the Great Ming still has its laws. His throne is not ours to depose. It must go through the Court of Judicial Review for trial and sentencing, and only then can a memorial be submitted to the Son of Heaven for his deposition. Since justice is on our side, we must be all the more careful in guarding him, and not allow any mishap."

The Great Ming of today was a feudal society under the rule of law. To depose the ruler of a vassal state, there was of course a whole host of legal procedures to go through. So after Duo'erbo was taken back to Yingtian Prefecture, he could not simply be placed under comfortable house arrest as some marquis or duke; he would have to make endless trips to the Court of Judicial Review to deal with the litigation... Of course, the trial would certainly be fair!

Otherwise, why would Luo Dagong have sent the legal expert Liu Hao to Joseon? To gather evidence! They would surely produce witnesses, material evidence, and testimony in full — one accusation, one conviction!

Dong'e was in fact also well versed in Great Ming law. After finishing middle school, she had studied the law curriculum of the Capital Academy on her own, and was especially familiar with the various legal matters concerning vassal-state affairs based on the *Suzerain-Vassal Treaty*.

So it was with a smile that she now consoled Duo'erbo: "Duo'erbo, you should take it in stride. Yours is merely the crime of breaking faith and betraying trust. Even if the case is decided, it is only deposition from the throne. The Son of Heaven is a benevolent ruler, and I will speak on your behalf. A Commandery Prince will still be conferred upon you."

Duo'erbo could not be killed! Because no matter how much evidence Liu Hao gathered, it could not change the fact that Dong'e had overthrown Duo'erbo by coup.

And the fact that the one who ultimately obtained the Joseon throne was Zhu Cilang's son — no matter how one looked at it, it seemed like a conspiracy!

If Duo'erbo were then killed as well, that would truly chill people's hearts!

The Great Ming Celestial Court had a great many vassal states under it!

Having finished soothing Duo'erbo, Dong'e raised a hand and pointed at Baduke, who was still howling, and sighed: "We must save his life too. Send someone to the gunboat in Incheon Harbor to find a ship's physician, and have the bullet removed from Baduke. If it cannot be removed, then the right arm will have to be amputated!"

What? Amputate the arm!

The moment Baduke thought of being left permanently crippled — and that his "permanent" might not have many days left in it — his eyes rolled back and he fainted dead away!

"Princess," Heluohui said at this point, "there is still a Chani in Hanyang City. He has several hundred of Duo'erbo's personal troops under his command. Should we mobilize troops to besiege the city?"

"Bureau Secretary Liu," Dong'e turned to look at Liu Hao. "What do you think?"

Asking me? Liu Hao was taken aback. How would I know about these things... No, wait — I do know!

"You must not besiege the city," Liu Hao said. "You have to let Chani escape!"

Heluohui said: "Chani will not flee all the way back to Andong in one breath. Most likely he will seize Wonsan Harbor, then send to Andong for help."

"That is exactly what we want!" Liu Hao said with a smile. "The Andong commandant mobilizing troops without imperial edict to occupy the prefectures and counties of a Joseon vassal state — that is ironclad proof of rebellion! Only when the Andong army has become rebels will Duo'erbo's crime of breaking faith and violating the treaty be firmly established! Only then can the envoys of the various vassal states be fully convinced."

The Court of Judicial Review's trial of Duo'erbo would of course be an open trial. It could not be conducted behind closed doors with confessions extracted under torture, and Duo'erbo could even hire a lawyer to defend himself.

So Attorney Liu now had to make sure all the evidence was solid, so that when it was laid out piece by piece, Duo'erbo would have no way to deny it, and the envoys of the various vassal states would be convinced by what they saw.

(End of Chapter)