Chapter 332: Lan Yu Betrayed the Country and Should Be Executed According to the Law [Must-Read Chapter] (Part 1)

May 20, the first year of the Tang Dynasty’s Zhaowu reign.

In the imperial study room of Jinling Imperial City.

On the ninth day after Anxi Marquis Lan Yu led his army to destroy the Wusun Kingdom and the third day after the Arab Empire’s army set out for the Eastern Expedition, Chen Huaian, the Emperor Zhaowu of the Tang Dynasty, who was far away in the Jinling Imperial City, finally received two memorials from the Anxi Protectorate (Northern Prefecture).

One was submitted to Chen Huaian in the name of Anxi Protectorate (Beifu) through the Ministry of War. It was about the causes and consequences of Anxi Marquis Lan Yu's army destroying Wusun and detailed military reports, and asked Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian to give instructions on how Anxi Protectorate should deal with Xiaowan and Wusun next;

The other was a memorial submitted directly to Chen Huaian by Longcheng Inner Guard, an intelligence agency directly managed by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The person who submitted the memorial was Lan Yu's deputy general Tan Li;

In this memorial, Tan Li reported to Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian that Lan Yu insulted Wusun Princess Alia, and eventually caused Wusun Princess to commit suicide by hitting the beam due to the humiliation.

It turned out that another identity of this deputy general Tan Li was the head of Anxi Protectorate of Longcheng Inner Guard, who was directly led by Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian.

When Chen Huaian saw these two memorials, he was furious after learning about the sudden incidents that had occurred in the Western Regions in recent times.

In particular, after conquering the Wusun Kingdom, Anxi Marquis Lan Yu actually did such a beastly thing to his princess, which was simply a discredit to the Tang Dynasty and to Zhaowu Chen Huaian, who was revered as the Heavenly Khan by the kings of the Western Regions.

Fortunately, the Wusun Kingdom and Jinling City were separated by 6,800 miles;

Otherwise, with the personality of Zhaowu Emperor Chen Huaian, he would have drawn his sword and killed Lan Yu on the spot in a rage!

Humph!

In the imperial study, Chen Huaian snorted coldly and said to himself: "This Anxi Marquis Lan Yu really knows how to pick a time to cause trouble for me. He is a completely arrogant and brave general who has no repentance at all!"

In his rage, Chen Huaian also blamed himself to some extent.

He knew Lan Yu's arrogance.

But, when Lan Yu followed him to conquer the Western Regions, this situation never happened!

As a result, Chen Huaian relaxed his vigilance against Lan Yu, thinking that this kid should have changed his nature, so he handed the important task of guarding the Western Regions to him, and also arranged a champion marquis Huo Qubing in Yutian, hoping that the two could check and supervise each other.

Little did he know that after being freed from the discipline of Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian, Lan Yu was like a wild horse that had broken free from the reins, and no one could control him at all.

Once he poked the hole, he almost poked the sky.

If Lan Yu's bullying of the Princess of Wusun was exposed this time, it would cause an uproar among the countries in the Western Regions!

By that time, wouldn't the prosperity of the Silk Road that Chen Huaian had worked so hard to build be destroyed?

"This Lan Yu, when he returns to Beijing to report on his work next time, I will have to get rid of him completely!"

Chen Huaian flipped through the contents of the two memorials, and his anger towards Lan Yu did not diminish at all, but he had to spare his energy to think about how to deal with the relationship between Xiaowan and Wusun next time.

At present, both countries are in a chaotic situation without a leader. Whether to support a new regime in the two countries or to send someone to take over directly by the Tang Dynasty is really a headache.

This problem may have to be left to the court meeting tomorrow for the ministers to discuss and deal with!

"Your Majesty——"

"Loyal and Brave Marquis Lu Jiang requests an audience!"

At this time, the eunuch Cai He of the Imperial Household Department suddenly reported from outside the imperial study.

Hmm?

In the imperial study, Chen Huaian, who was holding back his anger, raised his eyebrows after hearing the report from the old eunuch Cai He.

This Loyal and Brave Marquis Lu Jiang, originally toured the country in accordance with his own imperial edict, and was fully responsible for supervising the first imperial examination of the Tang Dynasty in various regions.

Now, the nationwide provincial examination of the first imperial examination of the Tang Dynasty has just ended, why did Lu Jiang return to Jinling City?

Logically speaking, it has only been three months, and Lu Jiang, who should have toured the country, probably hasn't even visited one-fifth of the Tang Dynasty?

"Let him in!"

With a lot of doubts, Chen Huaian finally ordered Lu Jiang, the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, to come in and talk.

"Announce, Lu Jiang, the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, come to the palace to meet the emperor!"

Soon, Lu Jiang, dressed in an official robe, came hurriedly. After entering the imperial study, he first knelt three times and kowtowed nine times to Chen Huaian, and then shouted loudly: "Long live the emperor, long live, long live!"

"Lord Lu, please stand up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After a simple greeting, the two sat down according to the etiquette of monarch and minister.

Chen Huaian said: "Lord Lu, if I remember correctly, you were ordered to tour the country and secretly supervise the first imperial examination of the Tang Dynasty. It has only been three months since then, right?"

"In just three months, you have visited all the counties of the Tang Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty, I did not!"

Lu Jiang, who was originally sitting upright, hurriedly stood up and apologized to Chen Huaian: "Your Majesty, I know that returning without an imperial edict is a capital crime, but, but I encountered a problem during the tour that I had to return to the imperial city to meet the emperor;"

"Your Majesty wants to punish me, I have nothing to say, but facing such a major problem that can shake the foundation of my Tang Dynasty, I have to report to the emperor!"

As he said, the loyal and brave Marquis Lu Jiang once again knelt in front of Chen Huaian, took out the pre-prepared memorial from the sleeve of his official robe, and handed it to Chen Huaian respectfully.

"Your Majesty, this is a memorial I spent several days drafting. Please take a look at it!"

Hmm?

Chen Huaian frowned slightly, took the memorial from Lu Jiang, and asked: "Lu Jiang, did you find anyone obstructing the reform of the imperial examination during the inspection, or did someone commit corruption for personal gain?"

Lu Jiang said: "Your Majesty, none of them!"

"Yes, it's about a major smuggling case involving four provinces, eight prefectures and 32 counties in the Tang Dynasty that I discovered during my inspection!"

"What?"

After listening to the words of the loyal and brave Marquis Lu Jiang, even Chen Huaian, who had already cultivated the emperor's mind, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and tremble his hands.

He said sternly: "Lu Jiang, please explain clearly what is going on."

"I will read it while you speak!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Then, Lu Jiang said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, when I was ordered to inspect the two provinces of Jiangnan, I found that the Governor-General of Liangjiang Su Chen and the Governor-General of Lianghu Jiang Ning..."

Almost at the same time, Chen Huaian also opened the memorial in his hand, which was at least ten thousand words long.

The first line of words that caught his eye was "A major smuggling case that violated the "Tea and Horse Ban" of the Tang Dynasty, involving four provinces, eight prefectures and thirty-two counties"!

Chen Huaian's head exploded with a buzzing sound.

Lu Jiang continued, "The Youyun nobles and brave generals, led by Liu Ziyu, the Great Tang Wuyi Earl, colluded with Su Chen, Jiang Ning and other frontier officials in the Jiangnan region, bribed the guards of the checkpoints in four provinces, eight prefectures and 32 counties, and smuggled unimpeded between the border and the interior..."

According to Lu Jiang's narration, Chen Huaian, combined with the contents of the memorial in his hand, finally figured out why the loyal and brave Marquis Lu Jiang returned to Beijing to meet him during his inspection.

A huge interest group formed by Liu Ziyu, a fierce general of Youyun, and the governors of Liangjiang and Lianghu, Su Chen and Jiang Ning, who were coerced by them, and more than dozens of powerful officials and generals of the third rank or above in and outside the court;

Since Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian broke through Jinling City and proclaimed himself emperor, he secretly violated the court's "Tea and Horse Ban" and smuggled porcelain, silk, tea, etc. from the Jiangnan region to the outside of the pass and the Western Regions in exchange for huge price differences;

Then, he smuggled foreign horses, livestock, woolen fabrics and other things to the Jiangnan region, making a profit from both ends.

What made Chen Huaian angry and scared was not only that the border generals headed by Liu Ziyu violated the tea and horse ban to make money, but that after these brave generals guarding the border did so, the border defense line of the entire Tang Dynasty was like a vain;

If the things smuggled by these brave generals headed by Liu Ziyu were not porcelain, silk, horses, and livestock, but the enemy's army, the consequences would be serious!

Suddenly, a familiar name came into view on the memorial in Chen Huaian’s hand—Lan Yu, Marquis of Anxi in the Tang Dynasty!