Chapter 194: Weighing Options

Jinling.

Capital City, Nan Shufang.

After Zhao Heng finished reading the memorial sent by Mo Di, a layer of cold sweat broke out all over his body.

He immediately said to Liang Cheng, "Summon the ministers to court at once."

Liang Cheng had never seen Zhao Heng's expression look so ghastly.

After answering "Yes," he hurried away at a trot.

An hour later, the officials had all arrived at the great hall.

However, they felt quite baffled by this sudden morning court session.

"Dou Prime Minister, what is this about? Why did the Emperor call us here at noon?" asked Minister of War Han Zheng.

Dou Wei was equally confused; he said, "I was just about to ask you that, Minister Han."

Han Zheng was surprised, "The Prime Minister doesn't know either?"

Dou Wei nodded.

As this word spread among the officials, they became even more bewildered, whispering incessantly and guessing what major event had occurred.

Before long, Liang Cheng strode into the great hall.

With a loud shout, Zhao Heng walked in with a gloomy face.

After the officials shouted "Long live," Zhao Heng threw two memorials down fiercely, "Take a look, all of you."

Seeing Zhao Heng's great rage, Dou Wei paused, then picked up the memorials from the floor.

Scanning them, his expression changed slightly, "General Mo Di was ambushed by the Yuan Family's troops and nearly lost his life!"

As his words rang out, the entire court fell so silent that one could have heard a needle drop.

Then, the officials suddenly began to churn like boiling water.

"Yuan Li assassinated Mo Di? This, this... what is he trying to do?"

"How is this possible? This Yuan Li is being far too bold."

"..."

The officials spoke one after another, their emotions stirred.

The Sixth Prince Zhao Fang felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Ignoring the order of the court, he rushed to Dou Wei and snatched the memorial.

After glancing at the content and then at the signature at the bottom—Mo Di—he was struck dumb.

After regaining his composure, he knelt down with a thud and said to Zhao Heng, "Father Emperor, everything must be based on solid evidence. One cannot wrong a high-ranking official of the Imperial Court based solely on a few words from General Mo Di. Perhaps those who ambushed the General were merely a group of bandits?"

While the Sixth Prince was speaking, Dou Wei handed Mo Di's memorial to the ministers to pass around.

The Deposed Crown Prince Zhao Gang sneered after reading it, "General Mo's one thousand guards are all well-trained; what kind of bandits could have the capability to ambush General Mo?"

"That is not necessarily true. Yanzhou has always been in a state of chaos with bandits running rampant, and the local Rich Clans are even more prone to hoarding troops for their own protection. It cannot be ruled out that this was their doing," said the Second Prince Zhao Qu.

He hoped the Yuan Family would attach themselves to the Han Family, but he absolutely did not want the Yuan Family to fall.

Otherwise, once Yan Wang gained control of Yanzhou, he would lose Yanzhou as a bargaining chip.

Therefore, he had to intervene this time.

The Third Prince wanted to say something, but seeing the look his uncle Dou Wei gave him, he closed his mouth.

In Dou Wei's view, he did not like the Yuan Family, but he disliked Yan Wang even more.

If Yan Wang were content to remain a pawn to check the Yuan Family, that would be fine.

But wanting to replace the Yuan Family and control Yanzhou was not what he desired.

Because if that happened, the Imperial Clan would have one more vassal king with real power on the frontier.

In recent years, the Imperial Clan had weakened, and they had finally managed to seize power in the Imperial Court.

How could they tolerate the Imperial Clan riding on their heads again?

So he said, "Emperor, I believe the Sixth Prince and the Second Prince have a point. General Mo has impeached Yuan Li many times, and there has always been friction between the two. Perhaps this is just General Mo's groundless speculation."

"Then you should take a look at this memorial as well," Zhao Heng threw Zhao Xu's memorial down again.

Dou Wei looked again, and his expression changed once more.

Then, he passed the memorial down.

This memorial seemed even more shocking than Mo Di's; many ministers broke out in a cold sweat after reading it.

"Slander, this is slander, Father Emperor!" the Sixth Prince shouted after reading the memorial. "Mo Di sent his young son to Yan Wang, which shows they have long been in collusion. They are framing the Prefect of Yuanzhou; their hearts are truly punishable! May I ask, for a frontier general to collude with a vassal king—what is this? This is an attempt to rebel!"

After the Sixth Prince said these words,

Zhao Heng, who had originally been furious at Yuan Li, felt his heart sink.

He had never thought of this issue, but the Sixth Prince had reminded him at once.

Mo Di held two hundred thousand heavy troops, and Yan Wang now also held sixty thousand troops.

Most importantly, Yan Wang was of humble origins; he must surely know he had no chance at the throne.

If he were to harbor resentment and grow ambitious, it was not impossible for him to have thoughts of treason.

As for Mo Di, he trusted him while simultaneously remaining on guard.

Otherwise, the mere impeachments of Mo Di by the Rich Clans would not have led him to continuously weaken his military power.

The Second Prince keenly noticed Zhao Heng's expression and added fuel to the fire, "Father Emperor, the human heart is hard to fathom."

"A pack of lies! If General Mo were colluding with Yan Wang, would he openly send his young son to Yan Wang? Isn't that just begging for people to point fingers? It shows that Yan Wang and General Mo are both upright and honorable. I hope the Emperor will think thrice and not be deceived by treacherous people," a white-haired general roared.

Zhao Heng looked at the white-haired general; he was the Duke of Yi, Yang Feng, who had always been a member of the pro-war faction in the court and was on good terms with Mo Di.

Upon reflection, he felt there was some truth to this as well.

"Old General, that is incorrect. They are doing this in broad daylight, which shows their collusion is already deep. Emperor, think thrice! My Yuan Family has guarded Yanzhou for ten years; how could we possibly collude with the Northern Di and invite the wolf into the house?" said an official, who was Yuan Hang.

After reading these two memorials, he nearly fainted from fright.

It was not until the Sixth Prince and the Second Prince argued back that he regained his courage.

Dou Wei pondered for a long time; if this matter were merely a private feud between Yuan Li and Mo Di, he would have favored the Yuan Family.

After all, Mo Di dying would be advantageous to them.

But if there is truly a possibility of the Yuan Family colluding with the Northern Di, the powerful clans would not be able to tolerate it.

After all, if the Northern Di enter the pass, the interests of the powerful clans would likewise be damaged.

However, the words of the Sixth Prince also made him somewhat wary.

Now, whether it is Yuan Li who has a problem, or Yan Wang and Mo Di who have a problem, no one can say for sure.

Thus he said: "Your Majesty, in this old subject's opinion, it would be better to dispatch a high-ranking official of the Imperial Court to Yanzhou, temporarily remove Yuan Li from his post, revoke Mo Di's military authority, have Vice General Xiao Yuanshan take command in his stead, and as for Yan Wang, confine him to the Prince's manor for the time being until the facts are cleared up."

The ministers nodded one after another; what Dou Wei said was exactly what they were thinking.

Between Yan Wang and Mo Di on one side and Yuan Li on the other, there is bound to be one party with a problem.

Since that is the case, it is better to investigate.

Zhao Heng thought for a moment; this seemed to be the best solution at present.

He scanned the assembled ministers, his gaze resting on Ma Yuan.

Although this person is annoying, he has always been impartial in his work, and he would be most at ease with him going to Yanzhou.

Thus, he said: "Censor Ma, hear this decree: after the morning court session, you are to depart immediately for Yanzhou to thoroughly investigate the matters in the memorials. Upon arriving in Yanzhou, you shall have the authority to act as circumstances require; you must get to the bottom of this matter."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ma Yuan said, kneeling on the ground.

The Sixth Prince and the Second Prince exchanged a glance.

They decided to send people to Yanzhou as soon as the court session ended.

He was very worried.

Because for such a major matter, the Yuan Family had not sent a single person to Jingshi to communicate with him.