Chapter 178

Chapter 178

Han Zongping wanted to go into the imperial city to see the body of the late emperor, but Wei Qi and Song Lan stopped him.

Wei Qi: "General, your objective in capturing Luoyang was to help the imperial court eliminate traitors. Now that the new emperor has died at the hands of Empress Dou, this matter has nothing to do with you. However, if you enter the imperial city tonight, it might complicate matters."

Song Lan: "Tonight, you only need to take down Lord Dou's faction. The rest will be taken care of by the loyal officials in the court for the new emperor and the people of Luoyang."

Han Bao, Han Zongping's son, also came to persuade his father.

Although Han Zongping was deeply saddened and pained by the royal family’s broken lineage, he was a man who listened to reason. Thus, he issued orders for the soldiers to apprehend the traitorous officials and then withdraw from the city with all the surrendered troops, leaving only a small number of soldiers to guard the imperial city and the streets to maintain order.

By the wee hours of the morning, the main army and the surrendered troops had gradually left Luoyang, leaving the city gates wide open.

Xiao Mu brought Xiao Zhen to report the Right Route Army’s success in capturing and eliminating the traitors to Han Zongping.

Han Zongping, in low spirits, listened and asked nothing, allowing the main generals to withdraw.

As the generals left the tent, Fan Zhao looked at Xiao Zhen, curious: "Where were you tonight? I didn't see you."

The old man, disliking the idea of leading charges, wondered why the young men of the Xiao family hadn’t charged either.

Xiao Zhen smiled wryly: "It was my first time in Luoyang. The city’s wards confused me, and I was afraid of letting any escaped troops slip away, so I stayed near several gates, engaging in skirmishes."

Fan Zhao, Feng Ji, and Lu Gong, despite having been with Han Zongping in Jizhou for years, had visited Luoyang before and thus wouldn’t have had this problem.

Fan Zhao laughed loudly, and Lu Gong, worried that Xiao Mu and his grandson might feel awkward, yawned: "Well, it's late at night. We should go to sleep. We’ll have to get up early tomorrow morning."

While the generals could rest, Wei Qi and Song Lan still had work to do.

Han Zongping was both wise and brave in leading his troops, but the two strategists had been helping more with logistics and handling the administration after capturing various cities. Now that Luoyang was in the hands of the General, the two strategists needed to prepare for the General's meeting with the righteous officials in the city the next day and also consider the details of how to reward the many meritorious officials around the General once stability was achieved.

Gold, silver, jewels, high-ranking positions, estates, and lands—there were many details to consider regarding the distribution and amounts.

——

Right Route Army. Tonight, Tong Sui was still sharing the same tent with her cousin. When she returned, Zhou Gui was already asleep. To be safe, she lay fully clothed on top of the bedding, wrapped in two cloaks belonging to the sisters.

Traveling was hard, and traveling in winter was even harder. At least in their tent, they could use charcoal. Ordinary soldiers had to rely on cotton clothes and quilts for warmth.

The water in the copper kettle was still warm. As Tong Sui washed her face, Zhou Gui woke up, rubbed her eyes, and seeing her sister's smile, instantly realized what had happened. She exclaimed, "Is it over?"

Tong Sui: "Yes, all the traitors have been captured, and all the surrendered troops have been expelled from Luoyang."

Zhou Gui: "Then can we enter the city tomorrow morning?"

She longed to sleep on a warm heated brick bed and take a hot bath!

Tong Sui: "That depends on the General's arrangements. Now, quickly undress and get into bed. We can't afford for you to catch a cold just before entering the city."

Zhou Gui: "I'll warm up your bed first."

Tong Sui smiled, wiped the dust from her hair with a damp towel, soaked her feet, and then blew out the candle before slipping into the bed.

The two sisters hugged each other and shivered for a while before finally warming up.

Zhou Gui: "Sister, is the General going to become emperor?"

Tong Sui immediately pressed her finger to her sister’s lips: "Don’t speculate wildly."

Zhou Gui lowered her voice, "Do we even need to guess? After working so hard to fight our way here, if I were the General, I'd definitely take that seat."

Tong Sui said, "We shouldn't be speculating about this. Be careful what you say; words can get you into trouble."

Zhou Gui said, "Alright, I won't mention that. But you and your husband have earned so many merits, the General should at least reward you with a big mansion, right?"

Tong Sui replied, "It doesn't matter if we don't get rewarded. We can buy one ourselves, one for the Tong family and one for the Zhou family."

The Xiao family doesn’t need to contribute; just a small portion of the military reward she earned would be enough to buy a house for both the Tong and Zhou families.

Late at night, Tong Sui had indeed thought about how she would spend all that money.

"I’ll also buy a shop for Grandfather to continue his medical practice."

Xiao Ye and a few others joked that after taking Luoyang, the General might invite Grandfather to become an imperial doctor. Though they were made to run laps right after saying it, everyone knew it wasn’t impossible. Privately, Tong Sui had asked Grandfather, who laughed and shook his head, saying it's more comfortable to run a clinic for commoners than to serve the high-ranking officials.

"Speaking of the clinic, I miss my mother so much."

"I miss her too. After the New Year, Xiao Shan will be fourteen; he must have grown a lot taller."

The sisters chatted for a long time before falling asleep, waking up after just two hours as usual.

After washing her face and stepping out of the tent, it was still dark outside, with only a few lanterns swinging in the early morning breeze.

Tong Sui said to her cousin, "Go keep Grandfather and the others company. I'll go check on Elder."

Zhou Gui went to the tent of the three generations of doctors in the Zhou family.

Tong Sui headed to the General's command tent, lifted the curtain, and entered, only to find that Xiao Zhen and his four brothers, as well as the two brothers from the Qiao family, were already there.

Xiao Ye, holding a bowl of hot water, smiled at her, "Seems like Second Sister-in-law is too excited to sleep late."

Tong Sui said, "I’m just used to waking up early."

Xiao Zhen gave up the cushion he had warmed up and sat beside her.

The seven of them gathered around Elder.

Xiao Mu was amused, "Why’s there to worry about? Now that there's no more fighting, I'll have to wait for the General's orders to know our next move."

Qiao Changshun said, "It's alright. As long as you're here, I feel at ease."

The others nodded in agreement.

Xiao Mu sighed, "What’s there to worry about? We should live the same way in the capital as we did in the village. When it’s time to contribute, we should step up without hesitation, but we won’t vie for attention. If we’re praised, we won’t let it go to our heads. If we’re wronged, we’ll endure the small things, and for major issues, officials or the General will handle them for us. I’m afraid you’ll all start thinking of yourselves as superior and emulate those corrupt officials who abuse their power."

Everyone looked at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan glared, "Why are you looking at me? When have I ever abused my power?"

Xiao Ye said, "You should ask Third Sister-in-law about that."

Xiao She said, "You enjoy being in the spotlight."

Qiao Changshun said, "You have a short temper and often resort to violence."

Qiao Changan said, "While you sometimes stand up for the underdog, you’ve also gotten into trouble a few times, nearly causing fatal incidents."

The more Xiao Yan listened, the darker his expression grew as he glanced at his second brother and sister-in-law, who hadn’t joined in the criticism.

Xiao Zhen: "Do you want to hear what I have to say? Then I'll say this—it's not just you, but all of you, including Old Four, who really need to drop those vulgar expressions. I'm not asking you to speak eloquently or with refined manners, but at least don't offend people with your harsh words. People like Wen Gong and Sun Wei are also from the village, but they don't have these bad speech habits of yours."

Xiao Mu nodded. "Your second brother is right. It's about time you all got married. The girls in the capital are even more picky than those in the village. You should all change your village ways, or you'll struggle to find a wife."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Wengong arrived.

Xiao Ye, Xiao She, and the Qiao brothers rushed over and pinned Zhang Wengong down. "You're also from the village, so how come you speak so well? Is that how you deceived our cousin Ah Xiang?"

Zhang Wengong: "..."

With more people, there were more words, and without realizing it, the outside began to brighten.

After breakfast, Xiao Mu took Xiao Zhen and Tong Sui to Han Zongping's tent outside the Dingding Gate.

Han Bao, Feng Ji, Lu Gong, Luo Xiao, and Qi Heng were all present, but two scholars and Fan Zhao were missing.

Feng Ji explained to Xiao Mu, "Today, the General will list the crimes of traitors like Dou Weichang outside the city. The two scholars went to inform the civil and military officials to bear witness."

Xiao Mu understood and stood aside with his grandson and granddaughter-in-law.

Inside the city, Wei Qi and Song Lan first sent people to 'invite' the remaining civil and military officials and clan elders of Luoyang to the outskirts of the imperial city. Some of these officials had refused to join forces with Imperial Brother-in-Law Dou in his corrupt practices but couldn't defeat him. Others had managed to stay out of trouble without committing any heinous crimes. There were also those who might still be loyal to Imperial Brother-in-Law Dou but had not yet been discovered.

Regardless of rank, all the officials in Luoyang were summoned.

Wei Qi made a brief formal speech, then led these officials to the Qianyuan Hall. There, the coffin of the late emperor lay, along with the corpse of Empress Dou and the young emperor. Fan Zhao was tied up, and the palace maids and eunuchs who had witnessed "Empress Dou smothering the young emperor" were present.

With a sorrowful expression, Wei Qi said, "Imperial Brother-in-Law Dou repeatedly claimed that the late emperor was merely ill and unable to govern, but look—the late emperor's body has dried up!"

Some officials knelt down and wailed loudly, while others were forced by Wei Qi and Song Lan to approach the imperial coffin, their faces showing complex emotions as they knelt and followed the others in mourning.

Wei Qi then ordered Fan Zhao to confess how the young emperor was murdered the previous night.

Fan Zhao cursed and insisted that it was Empress Dou who had killed the young emperor.

The eunuchs and maids corroborated his story.

Gradually, some officials began to defend Fan Zhao's innocence, listing the crimes of the Dou siblings that they knew of.

Since Fan Zhao was deemed innocent, Wei Qi had him untied. Then, he ordered the young emperor's body to be prepared for burial and carried outside the city along with the late emperor's coffin.

In front of all the officials, Han Zongping loudly listed dozens of crimes committed by Imperial Brother-in-Law Dou and other traitorous ministers. The traitors were all beheaded, and their families were either executed or exiled, their properties confiscated.

With the guilty punished, and no heir left to succeed the throne of the Great Zhou dynasty, the nation could not be without a leader, especially with Han Zongping's over a hundred thousand troops stationed outside Luoyang. Without any further hints from Wei Qi and Song Lan, the civil and military officials of Luoyang knelt before Han Zongping, pleading with him to become emperor and establish a new dynasty to bring peace to the land and protect the people.

Han Zongping had no wish to become emperor, to be the one to bring an end to the Great Zhou dynasty!

The civil officials knelt before him, pleading sincerely, appealing to both reason and emotion, as if Han Zongping's refusal to become emperor would make him responsible for plunging the world back into chaos.

"General, would the blood of our soldiers not have been shed in vain, only for another traitor like Imperial Brother-in-Law Dou to rise?"

"Yes, General, we soldiers are willing to follow you, and the people of the world are waiting for you to redistribute the land and stand up for them. Other than you, who else would care for the common people?"

"General, please agree!"

Tong Sui and Xiao Zhen also knelt down with the old man, sincerely begging.

Behind them, over a hundred thousand soldiers knelt, their voices shaking the heavens. "Please become emperor, General!"

Surveying the surging tide of voices, Han Zongping thought of the soldiers who had fallen along the way and the desolate fields and emaciated peasants across the land.

If he could serve the people of the world, then why not become emperor?