Chapter 1044 Take Action

Imperial City.

Yun Li came to Emperor Wen's bedroom and handed over the report he received to Emperor Wen.

Looking at the contents of the report, Emperor Wen could not help but shake his head and sigh.

"Alas, human heart..."

Emperor Wen sighed and placed the report on the candle and lit it.

"Father..."

Yun Li opened his mouth slightly, wanting to stop him, but ultimately failed to do so.

In the end, Emperor Wen burned the secret report to ashes.

"What do you think about this?"

Emperor Wen looked up at Yun Li.

"My second and fifth brothers must have made contributions by catching so many corrupt officials."

Yun Li first expressed his attitude.

"Well, go on."

Emperor Wen nodded slightly.

Yun Li changed the subject, "But they used the leverage in their hands to force those officials to work for them, which is suspected of forming a clique for personal gain!"

Emperor Wen said nothing, but just listened quietly.

Yun Li was silent for a moment, and then continued, "I also received a secret report that they did not immediately carry out the tasks assigned to them by the court. Instead, they ran to Juping to drink with my sixth brother and stayed in Juping with my sixth brother for several days..."

"Do you think they are going to conspire with your sixth brother to rebel?"

Emperor Wen asked without even raising his eyelids.

Hearing Emperor Wen's question, Yun Li suddenly became alert.

He knew that the answer to this question must be carefully considered.

If you don't answer this question well, it may backfire.

Fortunately, he had already discussed it in detail with Xu Shifu and others before coming.

At that time, they guessed that Emperor Wen would most likely ask this question.

Yun Li lowered his head, pretending to be thinking.

After a moment, Yun Li slowly said, "To be honest, I do have such concerns! However, without solid evidence, I cannot convict my second brother and his men based on my own assumptions."

Yun Li said this very sincerely.

The second brother and the other two went to Juping to meet Yun Zheng in secret. If he said that he had never suspected that the three brothers were plotting a rebellion with Yun Zheng, it would be equivalent to telling Emperor Wen directly that he, Yun Li, was an extremely hypocritical person and regarded Emperor Wen as a fool.

He had to be suspicious, but also make Emperor Wen think that he was taking revenge for personal gain.

Sure enough, after hearing Yun Li's answer, Emperor Wen showed a hint of approval in his eyes.

"It's perfectly normal for them to be dissatisfied with you and me."

Emperor Wen said calmly, "But you are right. We cannot conclude that they will conspire with Lao Liu to rebel just because they went to Juping to meet Lao Liu secretly! You and I have both met with Lao Liu in private. Could it be that we, father and son, are also going to conspire with Lao Liu to rebel?"

Yun Li's face froze, and he said with a stiff face, "That's indeed the truth!"

He could see that Emperor Wen was obviously trying to protect the second brother and the other three.

This is also in line with Emperor Wen's consistent thinking.

Don't let them kill each other!

Emperor Wen nodded, and suddenly changed the subject, "Even so, they left their work behind and stayed in Juping for such a long time. This is dereliction of duty anyway!"

Neglect of duty?

Yun Li thought quickly.

The emperor burned the letter reporting the second and fifth sons for forming a clique for personal gain, and denied the speculation that the three of them went to Juping to conspire with the sixth son to rebel, and only focused on the point of "dereliction of duty".

Is the emperor planning to hold them accountable for dereliction of duty?

This crime is too minor, isn't it?

What can a mere dereliction of duty do to his three brothers?

At most, it would be a minor punishment such as a warning or salary deduction.

This is not in his interest!

He wanted to use this incident to completely suppress the second brother and the other three, and make them disappear completely from the court from now on!

No, we have to add fuel to the fire!

We must never lift these three up high and then let them down easily!

Otherwise, those three bastards will be against me all day long!

I'm busy dealing with Lao Liu now, so how can I have the energy to fight with the three of them?

Thinking of this, Yun Li said, "Father, they can indeed use dereliction of duty as an excuse for going to Juping, but the matter of my second brother and fifth brother forming a clique for personal gain is probably not easy to handle!"

"How to say?"

Emperor Wen frowned and asked.

"Since this matter has been reported, there should be quite a few people who know about it."

Yun Li explained: "I'm afraid someone will bring up this matter at the court meeting tomorrow! If this matter is not handled properly, it may cause a bad impact..."

Listening to Yun Li's words, Emperor Wen couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

After thinking for a while, Emperor Wen looked up and asked Yun Li, "You don't want to imprison these three for life, do you? Or let them guard the imperial mausoleum?"

Yun Li's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.

Since Emperor Wen proposed these two methods of punishment, it means that these two methods of punishment are not feasible.

"no no……"

Yun Li shook his head quickly. “I know that they did that because they were too dissatisfied with me. That’s why they did the wrong thing! However, they have uncovered so many corrupt officials and cleaned up the administration of Muzhou and Minzhou, so they have made great contributions…”

"Just tell me how you want to punish them!"

Emperor Wen interrupted Yun Li, seeming a little impatient.

Yun Li said tentatively: "I think we can punish them by making them reflect on their mistakes behind closed doors..."

As he spoke, Yun Li secretly glanced at Emperor Wen's expression again.

Seeing that Emperor Wen had no unusual expression on his face, he continued, "I have done many wrong things in the past, but thanks to your generosity, I have the opportunity to make amends! I also hope to give my second brother and the others a chance to make amends..."

Emperor Wen thought for a moment, then slowly stood up and paced back and forth in his bedroom with his hands behind his back.

It seems like it's a difficult decision to make.

Yun Li did not disturb him and just stood obediently by the side waiting.

After a long time, Emperor Wen stood still.

"Let the second and fifth sons reflect on their mistakes for a year first!"

Emperor Wen said in a deep voice: "Tell them for me, if they still don't repent, don't blame me for not thinking about the father-son relationship!"

Do you want to reflect on your mistakes for a year?

This punishment seems a little too light.

However, thinking about Emperor Wen's next words, Yun Li gradually felt relieved.

This can be considered as their last chance!

If they are still like this after a year, even my father will have no reason to protect them!

Let them reflect on their mistakes for a year, and at least I can have peace of mind for a year.

"Father is wise!"

Yun Li bowed slightly and asked, "As for Fourth Brother, I will just send someone to reprimand him, right? I also want to remind Fourth Brother to prevent him from making mistakes..."

"can!"

Emperor Wen nodded slightly, "After the results of dealing with the second and fifth sons are decided, I will send people to Juzhou to severely reprimand the fourth son! If he dares to neglect his duties again, he will be severely punished!"

"My son obeys the order!"

Yun Li bowed again, but his heart was filled with joy.

All the troops in Juzhou are his own people.

Even if the fourth brother managed to escape this time, it would be very easy to accuse him of dereliction of duty again.

Next time, it won’t be so easy!

Moreover, he has already dug a trap for the fourth child!

Even if the fourth brother does nothing, as long as there is any unusual movement or something happens on the side of the sixth brother, the fourth brother can be held responsible for failing to supervise the army properly!

If I could completely suppress these three bastards as soon as possible, I could concentrate on dealing with Lao Liu...