The prince saw that Prince Qi had left, so he stopped pretending and said calmly, "Yes, I am going to visit my uncle. Is there any problem?"
"You brought a thousand men to lurk around the palace, and said you were going to visit me?" Murong Jie tilted his head and spoke softly, which was inexplicably gentle, but to everyone's ears, it sounded as terrifying as a sharp sword.
The prince snorted and said, "Yes, I brought people to protect the emperor's uncle. Apparently someone didn't appreciate it and wouldn't let me in."
"Without my order, who allowed you to mobilize a thousand soldiers? Who gave you this power?" Murong Jie suddenly changed his kind attitude and asked in a stern voice.
The prince paused for a moment, then stood up and said angrily, "Isn't it just a thousand soldiers? I am the crown prince of the dynasty. Do I need your permission to mobilize a thousand people?"
Murong Jie shouted sternly, "Where is the Minister of War?"
The Minister of War stepped out hastily, "I'm here!"
"Tell the prince, what will happen if you secretly mobilize more than a thousand soldiers?"
The Minister of War replied, "In reply to your Majesty, anyone who mobilizes more than a thousand troops without a military order or your Majesty's handwritten instructions, or a military token, will be killed without mercy."
The prince was furious, "I am the crown prince of the dynasty, how dare you kill me?"
Murong Jie said coldly, "Without the military order, without my handwritten instructions, and without the military token in hand, how can you mobilize the troops? I really want to know, maybe the generals present here can come out and explain, which military camp is the prince mobilizing this time, and which general is in charge?"
When everyone heard this, they understood why Murong Jie was holding on to the thousand soldiers. He wanted to cut off one of Taifu Liang's arms and kill one of his generals.
Taifu Liang stepped out and said expressionlessly, "Your Highness, this time the Crown Prince mobilized the troops to protect your safety, so you can make special arrangements."
"Military orders are as heavy as mountains. You are telling me about special treatment? Does the Grand Tutor need to go back and read the laws of the Great Zhou?" Murong Jie said coldly.
The Grand Tutor raised his head, looked at Murong Jie and said, "Your Highness, there is a provision in the Great Zhou law regarding the mobilization of troops. If there are special circumstances, the commander can mobilize troops on a small scale according to the actual situation. This small scale is less than 5,000 people. At that time, the situation was critical. Your Highness encountered an assassin and his life or death was uncertain. The Crown Prince was worried about the safety of the Prince, so he informed General Bai of the situation. General Bai made a judgment based on the situation and dispatched troops to the Prince's mansion for the purpose of protecting the Prince's mansion. He did not violate military law, let alone the law. At most, it was just a misjudgment, and he was punished with 50 military sticks or demoted and investigated."
Murong Jie asked the Minister of War again, "If we follow what the Grand Master said, can we mobilize the troops?"
The Minister of War replied, "If the situation is critical as the Grand Tutor said, you can immediately apply to the Ministry of War for a troop transfer order. We will issue it immediately and send someone to go to the barracks with the Crown Prince. However, the Ministry of War has not received the Crown Prince's application."
Xiao Tuo said calmly: "One thousand people can be mobilized from the imperial guards in the palace, why do we have to mobilize troops?"
Murong Jie said coldly: "In that case, the special situation that the Grand Master mentioned does not exist. Bai Ye mobilized a thousand soldiers without authorization, right?"
The Minister of War said without hesitation: "To reply to your Highness, it is true that General Bai Ye did not apply to the Ministry of War, and did not report to the Ministry of War after sending out the troops. This is considered privately mobilizing troops. According to military law, he should be executed."
Murong Jie raised his head, "Su Qing!"
"Here!" Su Qing stepped out and bowed.
Murong Jie said sternly: "Take my order and capture Bai Ye. Behead him on the spot to serve as a warning to others!"
Master Liang's face turned pale, "Wait!"
He took a step forward and stared at Murong Jie, the muscles on his face trembling, anger spreading in his eyes, "Your Highness, the law is important, but General Bai mobilized the troops to protect you. Although he made mistakes, his loyalty is commendable. If you insist on killing a loyal general, it will chill the hearts of the soldiers, which will do more harm than good to our Great Zhou. I believe that if the emperor were here, he would not approve of your actions."
The Queen also said: "Yes, Your Majesty, General Bai is also thinking about your safety. Even if Your Majesty is not grateful, you should not settle the score later."
Taifu Liang looked at Prime Minister Xia, signaling him to speak up and help.
How could Prime Minister Xia not know Murong Jie's thoughts? He wanted to kill Bai Ye to intimidate the military generals who wanted to join Liang Taifu. This General Bai was arrogant and domineering in the past. He relied on his military achievements to boss other civil officials around. Many people in the court had long disliked him, but he joined Liang Taifu. With Liang Taifu as a backer, many people dared to be angry but not speak out. If he came forward to plead for mercy, it would definitely cause dissatisfaction among his colleagues in the court.
However, he and Taifu Liang could only stand on the same front, especially at this moment, it was even more difficult to back down, so he had to step out and say: "Your Majesty, I think General Bai's unauthorized mobilization of troops is unforgivable. Considering that this is his first offense and he is indeed loyal, I beg Your Majesty to spare his life and punish him with fifty military sticks."
Prime Minister Xia's tutor hinted at asking for help, and naturally the prince's party members knelt down and begged for mercy.
Murong Jie looked at the crowd of people and sneered, "Great! I heard that you first knelt in front of the Empress Dowager's palace and begged her to govern the country, and now you kneel in front of me to plead for a general who violated military law. The memorials from the Imperial Study and the Secretariat have not been touched, and they are piled up like a mountain. Look at the officials of our Great Zhou. Their minds are all focused on fighting for power and profit. Do they still have the slightest intention to work for the country and the people? With a group of ministers like you, the Great Zhou will perish sooner or later."
Upon hearing this, the prince said coldly: "Uncle, be careful with your words. As the regent, you curse the fate of the country. Do you still know your identity?"
"You still know the word identity? Do you remember your identity? Have you ever respected your identity?" Murong Jie suddenly shouted angrily, "As a prince of a dynasty, you are entrusted with the high hopes of your father and the people. You do nothing every day and allow greedy officials to instigate you. If you had made a little progress, this position of regent would not be mine today. If you continue like this, I wonder how long you can stay on the throne of prince."
"That's enough. Don't think that you can take advantage of your seniority just because you are my uncle. You are not qualified to scold me. Even my mother didn't say anything about me. What right do you have to blame me? My father only ordered you to be the regent, not to suppress me. If you don't want to be the regent, you should go as soon as possible, so as to avoid occupying the toilet without doing anything."
The prince was so angry that he spoke without any consideration. This made many people look at him sideways. As a prince, it was really unworthy for him to say such vulgar words in front of so many people.
The Queen wanted to pull him back, but she felt that Murong Jie was going too far, so she let the Prince vent his anger and wait and see what Murong Jie would dare to do.
The Grand Tutor also looked at Murong Jie complacently. Yes, he was only the regent, but the prince was always the successor and the emperor who would ascend the throne in the future. Murong Jie spoke rudely to the prince and cursed the country's destiny. The prince spoke up for justice, which was a bit vulgar but understandable.
Moreover, if he really dared to do anything to the prince, wouldn't it just prove his Sima Zhao's intentions
(End of this chapter)