Chapter 683: Chapter 678-679: The Vassal Kings Enter the Capital

April 10th.

Dong——

Dong——

The deep bell sounds resounded through the majestic Imperial City and the streets and alleys. The first ray of the spring sun in the morning shone warmly on the Taihe Palace of the Imperial City.

The warm sunlight seemed to bring new life to the Celestial River. As Geng Songfu and his group arrived, the Court operated in an orderly manner, managing the great machinery of the Great Song smoothly and steadily. The city was peaceful and harmonious.

The civil and military officials, dressed in grand court attire, filed neatly through the Imperial Dao beneath the palace gates.

The common folk of the marketplaces were also very lively. In recent days, more and more carriages and caravans from afar entered the Capital City.

The Emperor’s carriage has six horses, the Dukes have five, Ministers four, Warriors three, Scholars two, and Commoners one.

As subjects under the Emperor, from the specifications of these carriages, they knew it was the Vassal Kings entering the Capital.

Recalling the previous Imperial Decree from the Court, summoning the Vassal Kings and officials to the Capital, the commoners were chattering incessantly about it.

This grand event of Vassal Kings and officials entering the Capital is only seen when a new Emperor ascends. Later, when Xu Guozhong held power, he too issued a decree summoning the Vassal Kings to the Capital, but the Dukes of the realm all refused.

No one thought that now, these Vassal Kings would submit to the tyranny of King Wei, Chen Mo.

This deepened the commoners’ sense of awe towards King Wei.

Outside the Taihe Palace, an announcing eunuch from the Ritual Department stretched his neck, shouting loudly: "Summon King Anping, Chu Ji, King of Jishan, Chu You, King Le, Chu Arrow... for an audience!"

"Summon King Anping, Chu Ji, King of Jishan, Chu You, King Le, Chu Arrow... for an audience!" After the announcing eunuch’s voice fell, the eunuch standing below the Imperial Dao immediately repeated it, passed down by several eunuchs.

Before long, Chu Ji, Chu You, Chu Arrow, and others wearing Python Robes rushed through the Imperial Dao beneath the palace gates and entered the Taihe Palace.

"Minister Chu Ji..."

"Chu You..."

"Chu Arrow..."

"..."

"Pay respects to Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years."

The Vassal Kings bowed deeply in salute, their attitudes very humble.

On the court, those old Ministers of the Royalist Faction looked at these Vassal Kings with eyes filled with resentment and complexity.

Back then, if not for the fact that each of them harbored ulterior motives, how could Your Majesty have fallen to this state, manipulated back and forth by each "Powerful Minister"?

These people thought they could muddle through, seeing the world as lambs, intending to carve out a piece for themselves, but unexpectedly, now they have all become lambs on the chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered.

"Beloved Ministers, rise." Emperor Yong’an looked at his royal uncles and elders with eyes full of complexity.

Summoning all Vassal Kings to the Capital, the implication behind it was all too clear to Emperor Yong’an.

It was roughly about the fate of being imprisoned.

"Thank Your Majesty." Those Vassal Kings who hadn’t seen Chen Mo lifted their heads, glanced at Emperor Yong’an, then moved their gaze to the only two seated young men on the court, knowing that the young man would be King Wei.

Enjoying the Emperor’s privileges, neither Xu Guozhong nor Lu Sheng had this qualification back then.

Chen Mo gently nodded to them.

As Emperor Yong’an had expected, after Chu Ji and the others finished paying their respects, Prime Minister Geng Songfu stepped forward, first speaking a roundabout way before coming to the main point, mentioning something about removing the military power from the hands of the Vassal Kings for the sake of peace in the world.

Of course, Geng Songfu’s words were not so direct, but anyone with eyes could understand that the military power from the Vassal Kings was to be removed and would be dispatched by the Court.

"Minister agrees." After Geng Songfu’s words fell, Zuo Lianglun, Yue Ruyan, Xiao Jing, and others all stepped out in agreement.

Emperor Yong’an glanced at the seated Chen Mo and saw that he did not speak, and thus started to think cautiously, wanting to struggle a bit, so he consulted Chu Ji and the others for their opinions.

The intention was also very clear, wanting Chu Ji and the others to withstand the pressure, so that Emperor Yong’an could reject Geng Songfu’s proposal.

However, Chu Ji’s Yan Army had long been taken by Chen Mo. Now, Chu Ji was just a lone man. Since he had responded to the summon to the Capital, it showed he had already accepted his fate and chose to submit to Chen Mo. How could he dare to resist this wave of pressure, immediately stating he was old, lacking ability, and that he should step down and let the worthy take over.

One must know, Chu Ji was the third largest Vassal King in force, after Prince Huai and King Chong. Since he had admitted defeat, Chu You and Chu Arrow immediately said similar things as Chu Ji, almost saying that they were just useless.

Although Emperor Yong’an didn’t have much hope, hearing these royal uncles not even daring to resist a bit, his heart sank to the bottom, the Chu Clan indeed had no hope at all.

In a poor mood, Emperor Yong’an said: "Permission granted."

As for this result, Geng Songfu was not surprised at all.

So-called hitting with one hand and giving a "sweet date" with the other.

After taking away the military power from these Vassal Kings, Geng Songfu’s next step was to submit a memorial to reward them with some wealth and beauties.

Actually, if this were the case, it wouldn’t be too bad, but Geng Songfu’s sweet date was not sweet at all.

Next, Geng Songfu proposed to replace the "fiefdom" of these Vassal Kings, relocating them to live in county towns like Huai State, Fengzhou, Linzhou, and other places.

Calling it a "fiefdom," but Chu Ji and the rest had no jurisdiction over these places, just moving to live as idle wealthy men.

And these places were under the deepest control of Chen Mo. If Chu Ji and the others moved there, their every word and action would be known by Chen Mo, very similar to being imprisoned.

Yet even so, Chu Ji and the other Vassal Kings accepted it.

Actually, when they were heading to the Capital, they were already prepared for this. Therefore, when they went to the Capital, they brought along their family members, planning to move directly after the imperial audience.