novelSusiti Chapter 55: At the moment of confession, he finally saw who was in control.
Chapter 55: At the moment of confession, he finally saw who was in control.
Fei Yi was gone for twelve days.
Faster than expected.
I didn't go to Eastern Wu. I didn't even reach Wuchang.
On the third day after arriving in Yong'an, the matter was resolved.
Chen Dao's reply was straightforward—there were no changes in the Zigui direction.
The composition of the Eastern Wu navy remained unchanged. The garrison size did not increase. Even the number of patrol boats was the same as last month.
Chen added a sentence at the end.
"In the sixth year of Yong'an, when Eastern Wu dispatched a single ship, the White Feather Army reported back within half a day. Twenty thousand naval troops were assembled—what a joke!"
Fei Yi received the reply and immediately got on his horse that afternoon.
The return trip was faster than the outbound trip. Five days.
It was drizzling the day we arrived in Chengdu. It was still dark when we entered the city gate.
He didn't return to his residence. He didn't go to the Prime Minister's residence. He went straight to the Imperial Study.
-
Liu Shan has already woken up.
The breakfast on the table remained untouched. Beside it was the list of military equipment that Jiang Wan had sent the night before, which was half-read.
Fei Yi came in. His clothes were half dry and half wet. His boots were covered in mud.
"Your subject has returned."
Liu Shan pointed to the food on the table.
"Eat first."
Fei Yi didn't refuse. He sat down and ate a few mouthfuls of porridge.
Halfway through the meal, he placed Chen Dao's reply and his own notes on the table.
Liu Shan turned two pages.
"What's the story from Yong'an?"
"The Central Protectorate sent a messenger named Zhou An, the chief clerk."
Fei Yi put down his bowl.
"Upon arriving in Yong'an, I didn't go to the Governor's Mansion. I went straight to the post station and asked the postmaster a question—'Have there been any news from Eastern Wu recently?'"
The postmaster said no.
"The messenger has left."
"I didn't even glance at the riverbank."
Liu Shan closed his notebook.
"besides."
"Before the messenger went to the post station, he first arrived at an inn at the dock."
Fei Yi tapped his knuckles on the edge of the table.
"A merchant with a Jingzhou accent was staying at the inn. He'd been there for half a month. The two of them talked behind closed doors for over an hour."
The merchant left by boat the next day.
"The registered name is Wu Ping. He claims to be in the tea business."
"I checked the cargo records at the dock for the past three months—there were no tea merchants registered there."
Fake name. Fake profession.
Liu Shan did not ask any further questions.
Stand up and walk to the door.
"Call him Prime Minister."
-
Half an hour later. Three people in the Imperial Study.
Zhuge Liang read very slowly. He read each page twice.
After reading, close the notebook.
That's enough.
Liu Shan asked, "What should we do?"
"The meeting. Tomorrow."
"Present evidence?"
"Please tell yourself, Tugo."
Fei Yi looked up.
Zhuge Liang's fingertips landed on the cover of the notebook.
"At the court assembly tomorrow, I will ask the Protector-General a question: Where did you obtain the military intelligence of Eastern Wu?"
Liu Shan understood.
No need to present evidence. Let him answer himself.
Being unable to answer is more effective than any evidence.
Answer it—and you'll be exposed on the spot.
-
"Prime Minister."
"His Majesty."
"The charges end with the forgery of an imperial edict."
Zhuge Liang raised his eyes.
Liu Shan's thumb pressed into the dent.
"The Jingzhou merchants aren't investigated. Bu Zhi's side isn't being investigated either."
"If the charge of treason is confirmed, a large number of the gentry in Yizhou will die."
"The Northern Expedition is imminent. We cannot afford to engage in large-scale killing."
"Your subject understands."
-
"There's one more thing."
Liu Shan called out to Zhuge Liang.
"After the measures were taken, the Central Protectorate was abolished."
Zhuge Liang did not move.
"Military affairs are handled by the Prime Minister's Office. Logistics are handled by the Ministry of Personnel. Adding a Central Protector-General adds another layer of security."
"Military power is too centralized—"
Therefore, a separate military supervisor was appointed.
Zhuge Liang paused for a moment.
"Dong Yun will hold this position concurrently. He will not lead troops or participate in combat. He will only be in charge of military discipline supervision and logistics auditing."
"The Prime Minister is in charge of warfare. He is in charge of discipline. Their duties do not overlap."
The Imperial Study was silent for three breaths.
Fei Yi stood to the side. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't make a sound.
Zhuge Liang looked at Liu Shan for a while.
That glance was even slower than when I was looking at my notes.
"Your subject obeys the decree."
The four words landed. The feather fan moved again.
-
the next day. Court meeting.
Li Yan was dressed in formal official robes and stood at the head of the military officers' column.
He didn't sleep last night. He found out about Fei Yi's return in the middle of the night.
The court assembly began. Zhuge Liang stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
He didn't bring his official tablet. He stood empty-handed in the hall.
"The Central Protectorate recently reported on the military situation on the eastern front, stating that the Eastern Wu navy has assembled at Zigui with a force of 20,000."
"Your Majesty, I have dispatched Fei Yi to Yong'an to verify this."
Li Yan's fingers twitched on his belt.
Very light. Just a moment.
"Prime Minister, there's no need to say more."
Jiang Wan lowered his scepter by an inch.
Yang Yi opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again.
Wu Yi and Wu Ban exchanged a glance. Neither of them moved.
Li Yan stepped out of the ranks and walked to the center of the hall, facing Liu Shan.
"His Majesty."
"That military report—was forged by me."
The entire hall fell silent.
Liu Shan sat on it. His expression was blank.
Why?
Li Yan stood very straight.
"I have served as the Protector-General of the Central Capital for more than a year."
"The Prime Minister's office can intervene. The Ministry of Personnel can reject the application."
"I am nominally a minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor, but in reality, it is a mere formality."
There was a pause.
"I am not reconciled."
No one in the hall responded.
"Forging military reports is a capital offense. I confess my crime today before the entire court."
"I do not seek to be spared death."
"I only ask that Your Majesty remember one thing—"
"On the day the late emperor entrusted his son to others, there were two people. Not just one."
-
Liu Shan stared at him for a long time.
"I have remembered what the Protector-General said."
"I will never forget the kindness of the late emperor in entrusting me with this care."
"But military reports are crucial to the Northern Expedition. They concern the lives of the entire army."
"This crime—I cannot let it go unpunished."
stand up.
"Li Yan is relieved of his post as Protector-General and demoted to commoner status."
"Considering the late emperor's entrustment of the young emperor to us, we will not punish him."
"They were relocated to Zitong. The imperial court provided them with food and clothing on a monthly basis."
A commoner. He wasn't killed.
The shoulders of the Yizhou gentry members in those positions were relaxed by half an inch.
There was no collateral damage. No accomplices were investigated.
Li Yan knelt down and performed a grand salute.
After kowtowing, stand up.
Remove the official hat from your head. Place your hands on the ground.
Turn around.
As they approached the palace entrance, they paused for a moment.
The day the resignation is submitted, it must not be rejected.
I made a trip to Nanzhong, but my proposal was sidelined.
I posted eight messages, and only three people responded.
Forging military reports was his last resort.
—It was also the last move someone left for him.
Li Yan did not turn around.
A person walked out of the palace gate.
The corridor outside the hall is empty.
Fei Guan didn't dare stand there.
-
The morning assembly continued.
Zhuge Liang stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, with the Central Protectorate abolished, I request that the Central Protectorate be dissolved and military affairs placed under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's Office."
"allow."
"A separate military supervisor shall be appointed, to be concurrently held by the Chamberlain Dong Yun. What does the Chancellor think?"
Dong Yun, one of the civil officials, raised his head slightly.
No one mentioned this to him last night.
Zhuge Liang glanced at Dong Yun.
"I have no objection."
-
The court session ended.
Jiang Wan caught up with Zhuge Liang on the palace road.
"Prime Minister. Regarding the matter of the military supervisor—"
Zhuge Liang did not turn around.
"Gongyan".
"What do you think was wrong with today's handling of the situation?"
Jiang Wan thought for a while.
"There's nothing wrong with that."
That's it.
Zhuge Liang is gone.
Jiang Wan stood on the palace path. The rain had stopped.
-
The Imperial Study.
Liu Shan retrieved the diagram from the bottom of the hidden compartment.
Vermilion brush.
There was a line drawn next to Li Yan's entry.
Add two words next to it.
File closed.
The pen was put down.
A piece of silk was passed in from under the curtain.
The courtesy name of Chen Dao.
"Li Yan left the palace gate. He did not get into a carriage. He walked south."
Fei Guan did not appear.
Liu Shan pressed his thumb into the indentation. He reached the bottom.
The silk was placed under the paperweight.
There was another piece of silk lying next to it—sent by Wei Yan the day before yesterday via express courier.
The line for the Ruichang has moved forward another half step.
Sun Huan's old file received a reply from Fufeng County.
Liu Shan pulled out the piece of silk and spread it out in the center of the table.
Li Yan's card was pressed back into the hidden compartment.
The wick of the bean lamp was shorter than usual.
Heavy footsteps passed by outside the door. They didn't stop.
[End of Chapter]