Chapter 1236: No Mercy

At these words from Liu Zheng, the expressions of the group were not very pleasant.

After all, regardless of how they stood there acting all high and mighty now, when Jinghua was under threat, they were the very first batch to abandon Jinghua and flee!

This was being stabbed in the spine right on the spot!

No one was very happy!

"Chief Councilor, even if he has merit in protecting the nation, we can temporarily overlook the matter of him issuing commands beyond his rank, but the matter of him arbitrarily killing a Feudatory King must absolutely not be treated lightly. Otherwise, where would the laws of the nation be? Where would the dignity of the imperial court be?"

The Prince of Qin snorted coldly.

"Exactly!"

"Chief Councilor! Governing the country according to law is your own policy and guideline!"

"Are we to regress back to a society ruled by personal connections?"

The others also spoke up one after another.

The current parliament, after all, emphasizes fairness and justice!

They would not be afraid to speak just because Liu Zheng is the Chief Councilor.

This is the Constitutional Monarchy system.

"Hmph, what fine 'laws of the nation,' what fine 'dignity of the imperial court!' I would like to ask, if Jinghua City had fallen and the enemy's banners were planted on the city towers, who would you be applying your pathetic laws and dignity to! You are not unaware of the situation with the Youzhou Army; this time, the Youzhou Army came out almost in full force, with a grand army of two hundred thousand heading straight for Jinghua. They were supposedly a Qinwang Army, so explain to me, what is the meaning of bringing so many siege weapons? Even if one thinks they were worried the Mongolian Army had already taken the city, why, upon seeing the Mongolian Army in retreat, did they not pursue them, but instead let them slip away, insisting on rushing to the city walls first? Are they here to 'protect the king' (Qinwang), or are they here to 'capture the king' (Qinwang)!"

Liu Zheng asked coldly.

"Chief Councilor, one cannot put it that way. At the time, Jinghua City was in crisis, and preserving Jinghua City was the top priority. The Art of War also says, 'there is no deception in war,' and 'a desperate army will win, so do not pursue them!' If they had pursued rashly, that would have been a failure of command, would it not?"

The Prince of Qin, Xie Zhao, said with a chuckle.

Liu Zheng watched Xie Zhao quietly.

He was not at all surprised that the Prince of Qin would be so aggressive.

Because with the establishment of the parliament, he had become the representative figure for these privileged classes.

Whether it be the Old Aristocrats, the New Aristocracy, or the Scholar-officials...

As long as they enjoyed privileges, they had actually already tacitly accepted him as their leader.

Why is this?

In truth, this is human nature, this is politics, and this is a kind of ecology.

A political ecology that formed naturally.

In the Longyan of the past, it was a confrontation between the nobles and the scholar-officials. With the birth of the sprouts of capitalism, the New Aristocracy appeared, and thus, three forces vied with one another.

And now.

The Emperor's power is gone.

In order to check the excessive power of the Chief Councilor, everyone other than the Chief Minister Group began to unite, pushing forward someone who could oppose the Chief Councilor.

This person would naturally represent these privileged classes to safeguard the privileges they enjoy.

Zhu Zhen is old.

So this person, without a doubt, became the Prince of Qin.

Liu Zheng could not help but sigh in his heart.

The Prince of Qin of the past and he had once been kindred spirits, advancing and retreating together.

Now they have begun to confront each other...

Sure enough, there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests.

At the time, both sides had gathered together because of interests; now that their interests are in conflict, separating is only natural.

However, Liu Zheng came prepared this time.

"Prince of Qin, you are truly optimistic. Are these the thoughts of all you colleagues as well?"

Liu Zheng asked with a chuckle.

Although the crowd of officials and nobles did not respond, one could tell from their eyes that they were all in agreement.

"Since that is the case, then this gets interesting. I remember that even after the Mongolian Army retreated, quite a few high-ranking officials and nobles were clamoring to open the city gates to flee. I have a list here; would you like me to read it to you?"

"Since you believe the Youzhou Army came to 'protect the king,' why did you flee?"

"Come out and explain!"

Liu Zheng gave a cold laugh, forcefully threw a dossier onto the table, and said.

"This..."

"Ah!"

In an instant, one-third of the people lowered their heads.

The momentum of the assembled officials weakened immediately, and Liu Zheng let out a cold sneer.

"Hmph, at a time like this, you are still making excuses for the Prince of Zhao? 'No signs of rebellion yet'—what do you mean 'not yet'? Are you waiting until the Prince of Zhao's troops have blades at your throats to call it rebellion? After the Prince of Zhao entered the city and was controlled by Yu Qian, he openly invited Yu Qian to join the Rebel Army camp, tempting him with high positions and great wealth, all of which Yu Qian refused. Such a loyal official, yet you want to kill him? What are you trying to do? I see that all of you who advocate killing Yu Qian are in league with the Prince of Zhao, crying foul because the Prince of Zhao's rebellion and power grab failed, right?"

"Chief Councilor, you speak too harshly! We are loyal and devoted to the Longyan Dynasty, and we have absolutely no intention of rebellion or treason!"

Zhu Zhen said righteously.

"Oh? Loyal and devoted? Insisting on killing a loyal official is what you call loyal and devoted? Yu Qian's loyalty and righteousness can be testified to by the twenty thousand garrison troops. Shall we call the soldiers over to talk to you face-to-face?"

Liu Zheng laughed coldly.

After Liu Zheng finished speaking, no one answered. They naturally knew what was going on with Liu Zheng; if this matter were to be scrutinized in detail, it would truly be disadvantageous for them.

"Hmph, I see that you want to kill Yu Qian not because of the matter of him arbitrarily killing a Feudatory King at all, but because his existence has encroached upon your interests, has it not? With an upright person in a high position, Chief Councilor Zhu, I fear that forming cliques for private gain and abusing power for personal gain will become much more difficult in the future, right?"

Liu Zheng looked at Zhu Zhen and asked with a cold laugh.

"You, you, you, you are slandering me!"

Hearing Liu Zheng's reprimand, Zhu Zhen was both anxious and angry. He had no idea how to deal with Liu Zheng. Liu Zheng's words were far too blunt; even Xie Tianyao in his day would have given him some face, but this brat was attacking him to death without leaving any room for mercy!

"Someone, help Chief Councilor Zhu down to rest."

Liu Zheng said.

As soon as he finished speaking, two guards walked in and, regardless of whether he agreed or not, hauled him away.

"This..."

"My Lord!"

"What is Chief Councilor trying to do?"

The group of people panicked.

Prince Qin also looked at Liu Zheng with anger.

Although he was the Chief Councilor, was he really going to be this unreasonable this time?

Of course, Liu Zheng was not going too far.

He only wanted to express his own will and attitude!

That was the attitude that, no matter what, he would protect Yu Qian!

Others had already banded together in the parliament to deal with him, so he also had to support some of his own people.

Yu Qian would inevitably be the most important one among them!

"Chief Councilor, it is true that Yu Qian is a loyal official, but he also has reasons to die. After all, the one he killed was a Feudatory King who had not yet rebelled. If Yu Qian is not strictly punished, then how can we answer to the Feudatory Kings who command troops across the world? Once these Feudatory Kings unite to challenge the imperial court, what is the court to do?" Prince Qin Xie Zhao asked coldly.

This had already been stated clearly enough.

This was no longer just a matter of interests, but a matter of the loyalty of these Feudatory Kings who held heavy military power.

In fact, Liu Zheng was also considering this problem.

For the further development of Longyan, the privileged class of Feudatory Kings definitely had to be dealt with. Liu Zheng's initial idea was to have them become wealthy merchants far removed from politics, or to participate in politics as business elites, but many Feudatory Kings with their own strength would certainly not accept such an arrangement.

No one was a fool.

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

Without troops and horses, they were nothing.

Thus, if they were forced to give up their arms, both sides would surely erupt into large-scale armed conflict. Currently, Liu Zheng sat on the two prosperous regions of Liangzhou and the Northeast; although he had the money and grain for war,

he lacked the manpower.

The border war had not yet ended, and the Northeast Plague had not yet reached a turning point. If a war were to break out domestically at this time, even Liu Zheng could not withstand the impact brought by the war.

Even if he could ensure his own safety through the prosperity and strength of Liangzhou, the unification of Longyan would inevitably be destroyed. At that time, if countries like Tsarist Russia, Britain, and France were to intervene, Longyan would fall into a chaotic state of infighting among the kings.

Now was the critical period of world transformation; the interior of Longyan must not be in chaos!

Perhaps Prince Qin was only using this to threaten Liu Zheng. After all, the strength of Liu Zheng was something no Feudatory King could compare to, and they might not have the courage to unite to deal with him. However, Liu Zheng could not take that risk.

A group of people.

One after another, they challenged Liu Zheng.

The armed forces of the Feudatory Kings had become an unavoidable hurdle.

For the sake of Longyan's stability, Liu Zheng also had to consider the sentiments of the Feudatory Kings. Liu Zheng could not let them kill Yu Qian, but he himself should temporarily be unable to make heavy use of him either.

Very well, let him be exiled for a while; let him go to a bitter and cold place to temper his character.

Originally, this was Liu Zheng's idea. He thought that since he had already made a concession, the kings would not push too hard, but he did not expect that a turning point in the situation would arrive immediately.

"Eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch from Youzhou!"

"Report—"

"Report—"

Hearing this eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch, everyone became nervous.

This was a military report from Youzhou, and Youzhou was currently a region of key concern for the Longyan parliament.

"Report! Prince Zhao Xie Xian has declared himself emperor! The name of the country is Zhao, the capital is set in Youzhou, and the era name is changed to Kaiping!"

"What!"

"Has the Youzhou Army really rebelled?"

"That is an army of two hundred thousand! Now that Jinghua lacks sufficient troops and the city gates are damaged, if they really attack, how can we defend the city!"

Once the news came out, the imperial court exploded.

Some were pondering countermeasures, others were busy assigning blame; in short, everyone was as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

"Didn't you all say that Youzhou was not a Rebel Army? Now, what else do you have to say?"

Liu Zheng's eyes lit up, and he asked with a cold sneer.

He couldn't help but shout in his heart, well rebelled!