inspire-indiana Chapter 118 Rewards based on merit
Chapter 118 Rewards based on merit
Lu Lingsong pretended to be shocked and grabbed Zhou Ran by the collar, "What! You dare to sell weapons privately! This is a capital crime!"
Zhou Ran's face turned pale. "My mother is seriously ill and needs money. I can't do anything! The weapons I sell are all captured from the enemy, not weapons from our Daning Kingdom. I thought it would be okay with just a few."
Hearing this, the emperor's frown relaxed.
"It seems that colluding with bandits to kill loyal officials is not true."
As soon as these words came out, Jiang Ningwan and Jiang Zhouye's faces changed drastically.
"Your Majesty! Zhou Ran is Lu Lingsong's man. Lu Lingsong can't be completely unaware of this!"
The emperor's expression was serious. "Lu Lingsong is certainly guilty of negligence, but do you have any concrete evidence of collusion with the bandits?"
Jiang Ningwan clenched her palms, her heart in her throat.
At this moment, two figures appeared at the door of the imperial study.
A clear voice came——
"Brother, here is the evidence."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the person pushing the King of Chu was Yan Yue!
When they saw Yan Yue, the faces of the people present turned pale instantly.
Yan Yue is still alive!
Lu Lingsong and Lu Qingheng were so nervous that their palms started sweating.
"Yan Yue, are you still alive? Didn't Lu Lingsong say that your four battalions were completely wiped out?" The emperor was a little surprised.
"In reply to the emperor, I was ordered to wipe out the remnants of the Qian army, but I was ambushed. All four battalions were wiped out, and I am the only one left."
Yan Yue's expression was filled with grief and hatred. He took out a bamboo tube from his bosom and presented it to the emperor. "After falling into the trap, I found the spy among them and obtained the correspondence from him."
"It is enough to prove that the military has been colluding with Weiwu Village for a long time."
"It wasn't just a one-time weapons transaction."
"And the trap that trapped me and the four battalions of the Zhenxi Army was also their conspiracy!"
When the emperor unfolded the secret letter in the bamboo tube and saw the contents, his face gradually turned ashen.
"The military and bandits are colluding to murder loyal officials! Great!"
"Lu Lingsong, what else do you have to say!"
As the words fell, the emperor slammed the desk angrily.
A loud noise suddenly made the imperial study silent.
The atmosphere was tense.
Lu Lingsong was sweating profusely. "Your Majesty, I have never done this!"
Lu Qingheng quickly spoke up, "Your Majesty, just check the handwriting of that secret letter and you'll know! My father and eldest brother both died fighting for the Great Ning Kingdom. My second brother would never collude with bandits to harm loyal officials!"
Hearing this, Zhou Ran became nervous and trembled even more violently.
The emperor noticed something strange at first glance and said, "Zhou Ran, come and write a few words."
Eunuch Hai immediately ordered someone to prepare pen and ink and placed them in front of Zhou Ran.
Zhou Ran was about to write with trembling hands, but his hand suddenly shook and the pen fell on the table.
He knelt down and kowtowed, confessing his guilt: "I was confused for a moment!"
"Two years ago, General Lu sent me to wipe out the Weiwu Village. I was careless and let them escape, but I didn't dare tell General Lu. Later, the Weiwu Village used this as a threat to me."
"I am at their mercy!"
"As for Yan Yue, it was because Weiwu Village had a grudge against the Zhenxi Army that they set up this plan."
"I am willing to take all the blame and only ask the emperor to let my family go. They are innocent and they know nothing!"
Hearing this, Jiang Ningwan was no longer surprised.
From the moment Zhou Ran appeared, she knew that Zhou Ran was the scapegoat found by Lu Lingsong.
He will definitely take all the blame.
The emperor was furious and immediately ordered: "Come here, Zhou Ran colluded with bandits and murdered loyal officials. He must be executed immediately!"
The hearts of the people present sank.
If Zhou Ran dies, then Lu Lingsong will escape, right?
But Jiang Ningwan was not willing to give in.
"Your Majesty, Zhou Ran pleads guilty, but it is strange that Lu Lingsong, as the commander of an army, did not notice that his men had colluded with bandits for so many years."
"Also, when we attacked Canglong, Lu Lingsong sent out a wrong signal, which trapped General Yan Yue and me in Canglong. Hundreds of soldiers died as a result. As the commander-in-chief, Lu Lingsong cannot escape blame!"
Hearing this, the emperor looked at Lu Lingsong seriously, "Is this true?"
Lu Lingsong gritted his teeth. This matter could not be concealed and there was no point in making excuses.
"It's true."
The emperor's face darkened. "It seems I overestimated you. Your ability is not enough to be the commander of an army. I demote you to the third rank and ask you to reflect on your actions."
Lu Lingsong's heart tightened, and he gritted his teeth and replied, "Yes!"
"The case ends here..." Just as the emperor announced that it was over.
Jiang Ningwan spoke again: "Your Majesty, in the Huaifeng case, dozens of lives were lost. How can you cover up Lu Qingheng's guilt just because of Li Han's confession?"
Seeing that she is still not giving in.
Jiang Bingde broke into a sweat and quickly stopped her: "Ningwan, that's enough!"
"Lu Qingheng was also deceived, so he can't be blamed!"
She is so bold. Lu Lingsong was demoted, which was a severe punishment without any evidence, but she still refused to give in to Lu Qingheng!
"She's innocent, but what about the people who died unjustly? What about the witnesses who were wronged? They must be given an explanation!"
The emperor pondered for a moment with a serious expression, "I can't say I'm guilty, but I've made some mistakes."
"What do you think we should do?"
Jiang Ningwan glanced at Lu Qingheng with a cold look in her eyes and said slowly, "No need to punish him. At least you should apologize to the people of Huaifeng, right?"
"General Lu is a woman of courage and responsibility. You're a heroine. You can't be so incapable of taking responsibility, right?"
This request is reasonable.
The emperor nodded, "Then it will be as you said. Lu Qingheng will choose a day to go to Huaifeng and apologize to the victims."
Hearing this, Lu Qingheng almost bit his teeth to pieces.
"Yes!"
Jiang Ningwan deliberately wanted to humiliate her and ruin her reputation!
Jiang Bingde, who was standing by, was shocked as to why the emperor was so obedient to Jiang Ningwan.
Even Lu Qingheng was dealt with.
Just when he was doubting.
The emperor's tone suddenly changed, and he spoke in a relaxed tone: "I have a clear distinction between rewards and punishments. I have punished those who deserved punishment, and now it is time to reward those who have made contributions."
"Jiang Ningwan, Jiang Zhouye, the two of you killed the King of Zhao and forced Canglong to surrender without bloodshed. You are the first to achieve such great success in this battle!"
"Tell me what reward you want!"
what?
Jiang Bingde's eyes suddenly widened.
Kill King Zhao?
The first achievement in this battle?
Jiang Zhouye quickly said, "Your Majesty, the killing of King Zhao was Ning Wan's achievement alone. I didn't do anything."
Seeing his modesty, the emperor smiled and said, "I underestimated you before. I want to train you, so I appoint you as the deputy commander of the Dragon Guard."
Hearing this, Jiang Zhouye was overjoyed, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Then the emperor looked at Jiang Ningwan again, "What about you?"
Jiang Ning knelt down before the evening and said, "Your Majesty, I have two requests."
"First, please ask the Emperor to have General Lu return the deed to the Ling family's ancestral home to me."
"Secondly, I hope that the families of the Zhenxi soldiers who died in vain will be adequately compensated and given relief."
Hearing this, Yan Yue looked at her gratefully.
The emperor nodded and said, "It's rare that you have such a broad mind. I agree. I will leave this matter to Sixteenth Brother."
"As for the title deed to the Ling family's ancestral home, Lu Qingheng..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, Lu Qingheng quickly took out the land deed from his arms, "Here is the land deed."
Jiang Ningwan is now a great contributor, so the emperor will naturally obey her. She has no reason not to return the favor.
With the emperor's approval, Jiang Ningwan finally got the land deed back.
I opened it and took a look, confirming that it was correct, and my heart finally settled down.
Now that the title deed is back, this old account must be settled!