0p0 Chapter 282 Becoming Changyuanbo
Chapter 282 Becoming Changyuanbo
"You are a more responsible person than Gong Chenghai. I just said that I am a person who clearly distinguishes rewards and punishments."
"If you make a mistake, you must be punished, and if you do the right thing, you must be rewarded."
"Gong Chenghai may be a confused man, but you have a plan in mind."
Shen Tianjiao lowered her head and pondered for a moment before saying, "Although Gong Chenghai's title of Duke of Tang has been stripped today, your ancestors have made many contributions to the stability of Yunli."
"The title of Duke of Tang was originally bestowed by Emperor Taizong himself. Now that I have stripped it of its title, I think this is disrespectful to Emperor Taizong."
"Let's put it this way. You killed Gong Chengyu today, which is indeed a great achievement."
"I will bestow upon you the title of Earl of Changyuan. This is firstly to appease Emperor Taizong, and secondly to commend you for your bravery in serving the country today."
As soon as Shen Tianjiao said this, the court officials who had been as quiet as quails watching the show suddenly became furious.
This is not a punishment at all, this is clearly favoritism and shielding, okay?
This collusion with the Western Rong people and treason is a capital crime that is set in stone and cannot be changed by anyone, but now it is so easily brushed aside by the Queen?
Although Gong Chenghai's title of Duke of Tang was stripped away, the lives of the Gong family were saved, which was already a great blessing from heaven.
He had just stripped his father of his title, and in the blink of an eye he had bestowed another title on his son.
Is there anything so good in this world? Besides, is this a punishment? This is clearly just a reward, okay?
He was granted the title of Changyuan Earl just for killing a person who deserved to be killed. If this is the case, how should those soldiers who have made great achievements on the battlefield be rewarded?
Facing the noisy situation in the hall, before Shen Tianjiao could say anything, the eunuch stopped her and said, "Silence!"
The eunuch shouted "Silence", and the noise stopped instantly, and the hall became quiet.
Shen Tianjiao looked around at the courtiers below and said in a cold voice, "Why, are you making such a fuss questioning my will?"
The court officials below all lowered their heads. No one wanted to be the first to speak, lest Shen Tianjiao's anger fall upon them first.
But if they don't speak up, they can't calm down the dissatisfaction and anger in their hearts. They urgently need someone like this to come out and take the lead for them.
So, in the secret nomination, this person was chosen. He was Ma Bin, the Imperial Censor of the Censorate.
As a doctor of the Censorate, this is indeed his unshirkable responsibility, and Ma Bin is indeed an out-and-out troll who does not care about the lives of others.
There is nothing he dare not say, and no one he dare not offend. He always carries a sense of madness that is close to insanity.
But it was this person who, after witnessing Shen Tianjiao's methods, became as quiet and steady as an old dog these days.
It's like a sudden awakening, understanding life and deciding to go into seclusion and become a hermit.
Ma Bin, who was chosen by everyone, had no choice but to step out. As a doctor of the Censorate, his duty was to supervise the irregular behavior of all officials, including the emperor.
But he just doesn't want to meddle in other people's business now, especially Shen Tianjiao's business.
But if he was elected to speak out at this time, but he kept silent and chose to escape, he would inevitably be besieged and beaten by his colleagues after the court session.
In order to avoid being surrounded and beaten, he could only say a few words symbolically.
Ma Bin bowed and saluted, then said, "Empress, I'm afraid this action today is against the rules."
"Since the founding of the Yunli Nation, the punishment for those who colluded with the Western Rong people and betrayed their country has always been that they themselves be executed, and their family members be exiled to the frontier."
"Gong Chengyu is Gong Chenghai's biological brother. They have not yet separated. As the eldest brother, Gong Chenghai has the responsibility to supervise."
"Today, the Empress has shown special mercy and pardoned the Gong family's crime of exile."
"If we grant Gong Jianzhou a title at this time, it will be against the rules and against the ancestral system."
"I hope Her Majesty will think twice before causing any unnecessary trouble."
Shen Tianjiao raised her eyes and stared at Ma Bin, making him sweat all over. Then she said, "Master Ma, I reward the good and punish the evil clearly. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"That's right. Gong Chenghai failed to manage his family properly and failed to supervise him strictly, which led to his brother committing such a heinous act."
"Although I have pardoned the Gong family from exile, I have also stripped them of their title of Duke of Tang, reducing them to the status of ordinary citizens."
"The Gong family's title of Duke of Tang was bestowed upon them by Emperor Taizong himself, and it has been hereditary for three generations. There has never been a precedent before of elevating a commoner to such a high position and being named a Duke."
"Then what Emperor Taizong did was against the rules and ancestral system. So what? Did the ministers at the time object?"
"Rules are made by people. Emperor Taizong was able to be unconventional and select talents to entrust with important tasks."
"Can't I break this rule today and punish the guilty and reward the meritorious?"
"If the sin of one person brings consequences to the entire family, this is also inhumane."
"Yes, the Queen is teaching me that I am short-sighted and ignorant."
Originally, Shen Tianjiao had already prepared herself for Ma Bin's counterattack and was still thinking about how to respond.
Who would have thought that Ma Bin, who had always been strong and outspoken, would actually agree with Shen Tianjiao's point of view and surrender after hearing what Shen Tianjiao said.
Not only did Shen Tianjiao find this strange, even the court officials below felt that Ma Bin must have had his head stuck in the door before he left the house today, otherwise he would never be so obedient.
If Ma Bin had started to argue, Shen Tianjiao would have had a way to deal with it, but now he suddenly changed his tune and became obedient and went along with her. Shen Tianjiao didn't know what to do for a moment.
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became awkward. Even those who wanted to use Ma Bin's words to attack Shen Tianjiao had no choice but to keep quiet.
"Your Majesty is wise and righteous. You cannot let the entire clan be implicated for the sin of one person."
"Although the Gong family produced a scoundrel like Gong Chengyu, they also produced a sensible person like Gong Jianzhou who abandoned his own family and took into account the greater interests of the country and the nation. This is truly rare."
"The Empress bestowed the title on Gong Jianzhou to show the world the magnanimity of Yunli, a great nation."
Shen Tianjiao looked up and saw that the person who was speaking was Cheng Jiazi, Cheng Lei, the cousin of Cheng Rui who was sent by her to manage the Fuping Iron Mine.
The Cheng family is now part of Shen Tianjiao's camp, so it's not surprising that their family members speak out to defend Shen Tianjiao and help her out.
"Master Cheng is right. The Queen's actions have indeed demonstrated the great power of Yunli to the people of the world, especially the people of Xirong."
"Let those Xirong people know that a great country like us is absolutely not comparable to a small barbarian country like them."
"They want to change their fate by bribing some despicable and shameless villains. This is simply wishful thinking."
"There are many people like Gong Chengyu in the world who are only interested in profit and are willing to sell out their country and themselves for a little bit of profit."
"But what this world lacks even more are people like Gong Jianzhou, people who are selfless, honest, and willing to sacrifice personal gain for the sake of the people of Yunli and the stability of the country."
"Why can't such a person be granted a title and become a role model respected and loved by the people of Yunli?"
"If the gentlemen present today insist on opposing this, then I, Zhao, would like to ask what your thoughts are."
The person who said this was Zhao Yiming, the grandson of Zhao Jie and a member of the Zhao family.
The person who followed closely behind the Cheng family and spoke out to defend Shen Tianjiao was actually from the Zhao family, which shocked Shen Tianjiao again.
After all, the Zhao family has only expressed that they are willing to join Shen Tianjiao's camp, but they have not actually joined.
When they spoke out to defend Shen Tianjiao at this time, it was equivalent to announcing to all the officials in the court and the aristocratic families in the capital that their Zhao family was now the Queen's family.
Shen Tianjiao took a deep breath. She suddenly remembered what Ruan Yuhu had said to her before she came to Zhenghe Palace. He told her not to be afraid, because someone would naturally come to help her.
This ancestor was truly an extraordinary person. In just a few days, he subdued the Zhao family and made them work for his own purposes.
And there was that guy who just confronted Wang Ma Bin. He was always confronting everyone and everything, but had he ever been afraid of anyone in the court?
Not to mention the court officials, even Li Rui was so ashamed and angry that he wanted to kill him.
If it weren't for Shen Tianjiao's dissuasion, Ma Bin would not be able to stand here at this moment, and his body would have turned into bones long ago.
But looking at his behavior today, he is completely different from before. When you think about it carefully, since he became regent, this man who claims to be invincible has never caused trouble for him.
Even when she ordered the bloody massacre in Zhenghe Hall and beheaded Li Hong and his followers, Ma Bin never said a word of blame.
This goes against Ma Bin's duties as a doctor in the Censorate.
But if Ma Bin is Ruan Yuhu's man, then all these incomprehensible things will make sense in an instant.
Shen Tianjiao suddenly felt confident. Ruan Yuhu had been in the palace for decades. How could she only focus on the harem for revenge?
In order to seek revenge, Ruan Yuhu would certainly reach out to the previous dynasty. Otherwise, how could it be that among her enemies back then, only Su Chang was left alive?
You have to know that none of her enemies back then had less power and status than Li Hong.
With the two adults from the Cheng family and the Zhao family, more people will come out to protect Shen Tianjiao.
Needless to say, those military generals will firmly support whatever decision Shen Tianjiao makes.
At this time, even those civil servants who were dissatisfied with Shen Tianjiao mostly followed suit and echoed some nice words.
This made the court officials who originally wanted to stir up trouble stop and calm down instantly.
After all, none of them is a fool. With so many people in the court protecting Shen Tianjiao, if they were to stir up trouble at this time, they would definitely be in big trouble.
"Prime Minister Wang, what do you think about this matter?" Shen Tianjiao turned her gaze to Wang Yunzhi, who had been silent all this time.
As the head of all officials, Wang Yunzhi's words still carry a lot of weight in the court.
"I think the Queen's move is a good one. If Gong Jianzhou hadn't sacrificed his own family for the sake of justice, Yunli would have suffered a huge loss and heavy damage."
"Gong Chengyu is Gong Chengyu. He has already received the retribution he deserved. Gong Chenghai also paid the price for his mistakes. He lost the title of Duke of Tang and went from being a senior official in the court to a commoner."
"Since those who made mistakes have been punished, those who made contributions should naturally be rewarded."
"If those who have made contributions don't receive the recognition they deserve, then wouldn't that chill the hearts of the people of the world? Who would be willing to step forward when faced with such a situation again?"
"Therefore, I fully agree with the Queen's will."
The head of all officials is the head of all officials after all. After Wang Yunzhi spoke, no one dared to say anything even if many people below were dissatisfied.
"Okay, since all the ministers have no objection, then this matter is settled."
Shen Tianjiao made the final decision and settled the matter.
Once the decision on this matter was announced in the court, those dissatisfied court officials could only take their dissatisfaction back home to vent, and could no longer discuss the matter in the Zhenghe Hall.
In this duel, Shen Tianjiao still won.
After the court was dismissed, a eunuch came and lifted Gong Chenghai, who had fainted on the ground, and found a quiet place for the imperial physician to treat him.
Although Gong Chenghai, who fainted, participated in the entire incident, his fainting meant that it was as if he had not participated.
He was still in a coma at the time and had no idea that although he had been stripped of his title and was no longer the Duke of Tang, his son Gong Jianzhou had a new title of Earl of Changyuan.
In an instant, the fate of their Gong family changed drastically. It really shows that life is unpredictable and no one knows what will happen next.
The only person who was confused from beginning to end was Gong Jianzhou.
From the moment Shen Tianjiao said that she had pardoned the Gong family's crime of being exiled to the frontier, to the moment she suddenly bestowed upon him the title of Earl of Changyuan, he was completely dumbfounded.
He had no idea what was going on. He agreed to the Queen's proposal only to save his family from punishment and the suffering of exile to the frontier.
He had never thought of claiming the credit of others and seeking titles and benefits for himself, but how come he became the Earl of Changyuan in just the blink of an eye?
Could someone come and tell him what's going on?