Chapter 253 Beheading
When they arrived at the palace gate, Changsun Wuji had to order his men to give the two Khans a rough tidy up, otherwise it would be an eyesore.

In the Xuan Zheng Hall, the ministers stood on both sides instead of sitting on the ground as before. Only the emperor sat high above, looking down at the ministers.

Li Jiancheng appointed two envoys to go to Silla and Baekje to convey his imperial edict, and ordered Hejian King Li Xiaogong to lead troops to Bohai County. If Silla and Baekje did not obey his order, they would cross the sea and attack.

The Khans of the Eastern and Western Turks knelt outside the palace, and no one dared to remonstrate with the emperor except Wei Zheng.

But the emperor was obviously tired of Wei Zheng, so he directly appointed him as the head of the Andong Protectorate and expelled him from the capital.

Everyone knew that from now on, they could no longer advise the emperor again and again as they had done in the previous three years.

If the emperor does not listen after making a remonstration once, he would have to stop. Although he did not go as far as Emperor Yang, who openly threatened all the ministers, anyone who dared to make a remonstration and seek fame would only end up dead.

But it also dealt a real blow to freedom of speech, and the emperor became more and more fond of autocratic rule.

Following the summons, Jie Li Khan and Tong Yehu entered the hall. Under the gaze of all the ministers, they both knelt down in humiliation.

After the extreme anger came the genuine fear, because if the emperor of the Central Plains was going to let them go back, he would never humiliate them like this.

Now even if they say they don’t hold grudges, who would dare to believe them?
Li Jiancheng said to Jie Li: "It has been several years since we last met."

Changsun Wuji was responsible for the aloud translation. After all, his father was Changsun Sheng, so he had a family tradition in this area.

Jie Li looked up at the emperor and said, "About four or five years."

"Why did you disregard the alliance and invade our Tang Dynasty?"

Perhaps it was the emperor's calm tone that gave Jie Li a sense of life. He thought of his father, so he bowed his head deeply to the ground and said, "I am a sinner who is ignorant and has offended the Heavenly Dynasty. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."

Li Jiancheng then looked at Tong Yehu standing beside him and asked, "Why are you attacking me?"

Tong Yehu, of course, pushed all the blame onto Jie Li. Jie Li naturally disagreed, so they started passing the buck to each other, and they even butted heads with each other in anger.

Many officials laughed contemptuously, and the two Khans stopped exhausted, with their heads lowered, their eyes full of the desire to survive.

Especially Tong Yehu. Unlike Jie Li who had been usurped, he was still the Khan of Western Turkic Khanate and the king of kings in the Western Regions. He kept promising the emperor that if he was released, Western Turkic Khanate would pay tribute every year.

And they would never dare to stop the countries in the Western Regions from coming to pay homage to the emperor of the Central Plains.

After everything was said, the two were waiting for the final verdict. The feeling of having their lives hanging in the balance was very uncomfortable, but they could only endure it submissively.

The longer they remain silent, the greater the expectations in their hearts become, because hesitation represents opportunity, the opportunity to survive.

Whatever you do, you must first live.

After satisfying his evil taste, Li Jiancheng said: "Take Jie Li away, behead him in the autumn, and send his head back to let the Turks know that our Tang Dynasty is full of righteousness and martial spirit, and those who dare to act rashly will be killed no matter how strong they are!"

It is said that there are four seasons in the sky and four policies under the king. The four policies are like the four seasons. They are the same: celebration is spring, reward is summer, punishment is autumn, and criminal punishment is winter.

In autumn, when cool winds arrive, white dew falls, and cicadas chirp, eagles are used as sacrificial birds and the killing of eagles begins.

Most of the summer of the third year of Taiping has passed, and autumn has arrived, with only about ten days left.

When Jie Li Khan heard the verdict about himself, he shouted and cursed loudly. Changsun Wuji did not translate and let him be dragged away.

Tong Yehu kowtowed repeatedly. The emperor seemed to be still in thought. The ministers had something to say. Jie Li was fine, as he was a useless man and could be killed, but Tong Yehu was still the real Khan of Western Turks.

Fang Xuanling stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, the Western Turkic envoy should be on his way. Should we wait until we meet him before making a decision?" "Okay, take him into custody."

…………

Only some generals came to visit the residence of Li Jing, Duke of Weiguo, but they just greeted him, put down the medicinal materials and left in a hurry.

For fear of being targeted by the Jinyiwei, dozens of people and Jie Li Khan have been waiting to be executed, and hundreds have been exiled to the southwest.

But the emperor's anger was still there, and the Jinyiwei were wandering around the city like hungry wolves salivating over his flesh and blood. Even the common people had heard of their bad reputation.

After feeding her husband the medicine, Madam Li Jing said, "Shouldn't you make a petition to persuade His Majesty? If this continues, how many people will be implicated? And how many people will not dare to hate His Majesty but will hate my family instead?"

Li Jing shook his head: "I have already reached this position. If I don't want to end up like Yang Su, I should be hated by as many people as possible."

"I'm not thinking about myself, I'm just thinking about my children and grandchildren, a hundred years after you and I, ah."

"Your Majesty is young, much younger than Dejian. As long as I can die well, my children and grandchildren will live in peace and prosperity."

"Master, Eunuch Li is here."

Li Jing was about to get off the bed, but Li Wei had already walked in with a smile: "Please don't move, if you disturb the wound, I will be punished by death."

After Li Wei stopped Li Jing, he bowed to the wife of Duke Weiguo and said, "I am sorry for your impoliteness."

"That's not right, father-in-law. If you come here every day and still stick to those conventional etiquettes, it would be too unorthodox."

After some polite exchanges, Li Wei said, "Besides the fact that Your Majesty is concerned about the Duke's health, you also asked me to ask the Duke, who should be in charge of Bingzhou to ensure safety?"

Li Jing thought for a moment and said, "In my humble opinion, the Duke of Ying or the Duke of Jiyin are both safe choices. Your Majesty, please make your decision."

The Duke of Yingguo was Xu Shiji, who made the greatest contribution in the war against the Turks, and was therefore promoted to Duke of the State. The Duke of Jiyin, Shan Xiongxin, was the emperor's confidant, and it was the safest place for him to lead the Bingzhou troops.

After receiving the reply, Li Wei immediately stood up and said goodbye.

A few days later, Duke Ying was ordered to go to Bingzhou. Everyone knew that the King of Chu had a gentle temperament and was not the type to rule a region. So the power would fall into the hands of Duke Ying.

Speaking of it, among the founding fathers, the Duke of Ying was not the best, but now he has leapt up and surpassed Qin Dan and the other two generals.

Before autumn, the Western Turkic servants finally arrived, but the emperor did not meet them. Instead, he asked them to watch Jie Li being punished.

Seeing a Khan's head rolling to the ground is quite shocking.

According to the emperor's instructions, the executioner salted Jie Li's head and sent it to Dali City by express horse. Of course, it was also displayed along the way to boost morale on the frontier.

After Jie Li's death, Tong Yehu was released to meet with his ministers, but he immediately asked to see the emperor after the meeting.

Li Jiancheng had long anticipated that a country cannot be without a monarch for a day, and if the monarch was captured, it would be the same as if he were dead. Compared with redeeming him, simply replacing him would be the most cost-effective.

The Turks were not a country of etiquette. Fathers, sons, uncles, brothers, nephews and nieces were all eyeing the position of Khan.

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(End of this chapter)