strictlysupreme Chapter 1895 Punishment!
Chapter 1895 Punishment!
Li Bi almost dragged his legs, which felt like they were filled with lead, back to the palace in a daze.
Along the way, Chu Ning's cold and sharp words, the thunderous cheers of the Chu army outside the city, and the deadly and desperate eyes of the defenders on the city walls echoed in his mind like a nightmare.
He knew that he had failed miserably in this mission.
The atmosphere inside Changle Palace was even colder than outside.
Dugu Jia sat upright on the phoenix couch, his face so gloomy that water seemed to drip out of it.
Liu Xiang still huddled aside like a shadow, not daring to breathe.
The eunuchs and palace maids standing in the hall were even more silent, even breathing lightly.
As soon as Li Bi entered the hall, he fell to his knees with a plop, banging his head on the ground, his voice filled with tears and uncontrollable trembling:
"Your Highness, Your ...
Dugu Jia did not speak immediately, but stared at him with his cold phoenix eyes, as if he wanted to see through him from inside out.
That gaze was like real pressure, causing Li Bi's body, lying on the ground, to tremble even more violently.
After a long while, Dugu Jia slowly spoke, his voice as cold as ice, without a trace of emotion:
"Oh? What crime has Lord Li committed? Didn't I ask you to boost morale and demonstrate the prestige of the Han Dynasty?"
"Why? Could it be that Chu Ning was frightened by Lord Li's eloquence and retreated?"
These extremely sarcastic words made Li Bi's scalp tingle. He kowtowed and made an incoherent defense:
"Her Majesty, you are wise! It's not that I haven't done my best, it's really that Chu Ning... Chu Ning is too treacherous and cunning!"
"He...he didn't even bother to debate with me about whether the city was strong or not. Instead, he directly...directly attacked my heart!"
He tried to describe the whole process to exonerate himself: "That Chu Ning turned black into white and slandered you, the Queen Mother... You... dragged the whole city to your grave."
"They also slandered our officers and soldiers as a mob, shaking their morale... I... I tried my best to refute them, but their words were sharp and focused on attacking the defenders' weaknesses. I... I really..."
"enough!"
Dugu Jia slammed the armrest of the phoenix couch and stood up suddenly, his chest heaving violently with extreme anger!
She pointed at Li Bi and her sharp voice pierced the silence of the palace:
"Waste! Incompetent waste! Did I let you go so that you can boost others' morale and destroy your own prestige?"
"Not only did you fail to dampen their spirit, but you allowed Chu Ning to devalue our army in front of the entire army!"
"Now it's all over! The defenders of the entire city have heard it. They are a rabble that can't withstand a single blow. They are pathetic creatures destined to be buried with us! Is this how you boosted my morale?!"
The more she spoke, the angrier she became. The thought of her carefully crafted defenses crumbling due to a morale collapse nearly consumed her with rage.
"I think you're just a coward, scared out of your wits by Chu Ning's words! You didn't even try your best! What's the point of keeping a waste like you? Come here!"
The imperial guards on duty outside the palace came in.
Dugu Jia's face was filled with murderous intent as he shouted sternly, "Drag Li Bi out and give him fifty lashes! Let him learn a lesson!"
Fifty lashes!
This is almost a punishment of beating someone to death!
Li Bi was so frightened when he heard this.
He no longer cared about his dignity. As if grasping at his last straw, he crawled forward a few steps with tears streaming down his face. He kowtowed desperately, and his forehead instantly turned purple.
"Queen Dowager, please spare me! Queen Dowager, please spare me! I am loyal to you and to the Han Dynasty. Heaven and earth can bear witness to this!"
"Your Majesty, I have certainly worked hard over the years, even if I haven't made any great contributions! Your Majesty, you've forgotten that when the palace coup occurred, I was the first to respond and stabilize the government!"
"I have been working tirelessly day and night to prepare for the defense of the city, Your Majesty!"
"I beg Your Majesty to forgive me this time for my past merits! I know I was wrong, I really do!"
While crying, he glanced at Liu Xiang out of the corner of his eye, hoping that the young prince could say something for him.
Liu Xiang was timid to begin with. Seeing his mother's rage and Li Bi's miserable state, he felt sorry for him. After a moment's hesitation, he timidly opened his mouth to plead for mercy:
"Mother...Mother, Lord Li...Lord Li may indeed have done something inappropriate, but...but fifty lashes is too severe. I'm afraid...I'm afraid someone might die."
"Now is the time to use someone. Why not... why not give him a light punishment and a stern warning, so that he can make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence?"
"Shut up right there!"
Dugu Jia was so angry that she would not listen to any advice. She glared at Liu Xiang.
"If you hadn't said anything before, why would I have sent this loser to cause such a disaster? And now you dare to plead for him?!"
Liu Xiang shrank his neck after being scolded and dared not say anything.
Dugu Jia turned around and looked at Li Bi lying on the ground like a pile of mud. The anger in his eyes subsided a little, but the coldness became even stronger.
She also knew that executing ministers at this moment, especially old ministers like Li Bi who had a certain reputation, might indeed cause greater turmoil.
But if we don't punish severely, how can we establish our authority? How can we deter others who might harbor dissenting ideas?
She took a deep breath, suppressed her murderous intent, and changed her order, but her tone remained cold:
"Hmph! Since His Highness pleads for you, the death penalty may be spared, but the punishment of life imprisonment is unavoidable! The fifty lashes will be reduced to thirty!"
"Beat me hard! If you don't beat me hard enough, the executioner will be guilty as well!"
"Thank you, Queen Mother, for not killing me! Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Queen Mother! Thank you, Your Highness!"
When Li Bi heard that the sentence was changed to thirty lashes, he was still frightened, but at least he had saved his life, so he kowtowed profusely.
Two ferocious imperial guards stepped forward, unceremoniously lifted up the limp Li Bi, and dragged him out of Changle Palace.
Soon, the dull sound of beatings and Li Bi's suppressed, shrill screams were heard outside the palace.
The sound of the stick beatings seemed not to hit Li Bi's physical body, but to hit the hearts of every official who heard about it.
The screams filled the palace with a chilling feeling of grief.
Thirty lashes of the cane, solid and without mercy.
By the time the execution was over, Li Bi was already dying, his buttocks and thighs were covered in blood, his official robe was soaked in blood, and he had already fainted.
He was thrown back to his own mansion like a broken sack.
The news spread quickly throughout the powerful circles in Chang'an City as if it had wings.
Everyone understood that the Queen Mother was killing the chicken to scare the monkeys!
Li Bi suffered such torture simply because he "did not do his job well" and "failed to boost morale."
So, anyone who dares to show retreat, surrender, or even just isn't "positive" enough will end up in a worse situation!
High pressure and fear, like invisible shackles, are placed even more heavily on everyone's neck.
On the surface, no one dared to discuss war or peace anymore, and officials and generals at all levels behaved more loyally and bravely.
But secretly, the cracks and centrifugal forces caused by Chu Ning's army at the gates of the city and the Queen Mother's harsh punishments were quietly growing and spreading under the soil of fear.
Li Bi's thirty lashes of the cane seemed to maintain the Queen Mother's authority, but in fact it might be pushing more people into the abyss of despair.
Even, forcing another choice.