Chương 199: Discussing Writing a Letter

Liu Ce's voice was calm, but carried an undeniable authority as he added, "I can protect the lives of your family—your wife and children. I won't harm them, and I'll arrange for them to be taken care of so they can survive. I can also give you both a proper burial, so you can depart with dignity."

"otherwise......"

He stood up, dusted off his clothes, and said, "I'll escort you all to Luoyang and hand you over to His Majesty. You should know what the crime of treason is—extermination of three generations of your family. Not a single member of your Zhang family will escape. As for the method of death... dismemberment? Waist-cutting? Lingchi? Feeding the corpse to the dogs. His Majesty is in a bad mood lately, so he might choose something more exciting."

Zhang Chun was trembling all over.

Exterminate their entire clan... dismemberment by chariot...

He thought of his elderly mother, his wife, and...

Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju exchanged a glance, both seeing despair in each other's eyes.

After a long pause, Zhang Chun asked in a hoarse voice, "You... you keep your word?"

Liu Ce laughed and said, "I always keep my promises. Go to Zhuo County and ask around; what promise have I, Liu Bolue, made that I haven't kept?"

Zhang Chun lowered his head and remained silent for a long time. Finally, he let out a long sigh:

"I wrote."

Zhang Ju nodded eagerly, saying, "I'll write too! I'll write too!"

Liu Ce laughed and said, "That's right. Xixi is covering Wei Junjie."

He had someone bring paper and pen, and watched as the two men lay on the ground, writing their confessions in the dim light.

After writing for more than half an hour, the two confessions were completed, and the confessions were signed, sealed, and fingerprinted.

Liu Ce took it and examined it carefully.

It's written in quite detail—when they met Qiu Liju, what gifts were given, how they discussed raising an army, how they agreed to divide the spoils... even Zhang Chun promised to bestow upon Qiu Liju the title of "King of Liaoxi" after the matter was accomplished.

"Not bad." Liu Ce nodded in satisfaction.

"If you had cooperated earlier, you wouldn't have had to suffer like this."

He folded the confession and put it in his pocket.

"Lu Bing".

"Your subordinate is here."

"Get them a good meal and drinks," Liu Ce said calmly.

"After they've eaten and drunk their fill, send them on their way."

"Yes."

Liu Ce added: "Afterwards, investigate the families of Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju. Their immediate family members—parents, wives, and children—send them to Liaodong, allocate land to them, and let them support themselves. Their collateral relatives... as long as they did not participate in the rebellion, also settle them, but keep them under surveillance. Those who participated in the rebellion shall be dealt with according to the law."

"clear."

Liu Ce added, "By the way, give me all those letters that were found as evidence earlier as well."

"It's all ready."

"it is good."

Liu Ce turned around and walked out of the cell.

A hoarse voice came from behind: "Liu Ce! You promised to protect my family..."

"Don't worry," Liu Ce said without turning his head, "I, Liu Bolue, always keep my promises."

The prison door closed, isolating everything inside.

......

In the afternoon, in the governor's palace council chamber Liu Ce spread Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju's confessions, along with the letters exchanged with the Wuhuan, all over the table.

"Gentlemen, take a look at this."

Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Jia Xu... a group of strategists gathered around, passing around the evidence.

After reading it, Xi Zhicai laughed and said, "My lord, if these things were sent to Luoyang, Zhang Chun wouldn't have enough heads to chop off!"

Xun Yu said slowly, "It's not just Zhang Chun. These letters also mention several officials from Ji Province... Although they don't explicitly say they're involved, there's an implicit connection. If our lord wishes to..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear—this was an opportunity to purge a group of disobedient individuals.

Liu Ce waved his hand and said, "No rush. One must eat one bite at a time."

Guo Jia clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "That old rascal Zhang Chun has quite the appetite! He even wants to carve out a territory in Youzhou after this is done, and enfeoff Qiu Liju as the King of Liaoxi?"

Du Ruhui sneered, "Wishful thinking. Even if they succeeded, would the Wuhuan people be willing to be puppet kings? I'm afraid it won't be long before they turn the tables and take control."

Fang Xuanling carefully examined the letters: "My lord, this evidence is conclusive and sufficient to convict Zhang Chun of treason. However..."

"Just what?"

"But the process of our pacification of the Wuhuan, and the spoils of war we captured..." Fang Xuanling hesitated, "If we report it truthfully, it may arouse the court's suspicion."

Liu Ce laughed heartily: "Xuanling, Xuanling, you're still too honest."

He walked to the head seat, sat down, spread out the paper, and picked up a pen.

"This good news should be written in a way that is half true and half false."

Guo Jia leaned closer, his expression one of eager anticipation for a good show, and said, "My lord, we need to show off our achievements, but we can't let those people in Luoyang see that our strength has increased dramatically, right?"

"Of course!" Liu Ce dipped his brush in ink, then quickly began to write, muttering to himself as he did so.

"Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju colluded with the Wuhuan to rebel—it's true!"

"We took care of them—we really did!"

"The pacification of the Wuhuan—that's also true!"

"But—" he changed the subject, "the process has to be embellished in a flashy way. It has to make it seem like we've had a tough time, and also make us seem very capable, but without making the court think we're too capable..."

His request amused everyone.

Xun You laughed and said, "Is my lord going to write a storybook?"

"More or less," Liu Ce laughed.

"Come on, everyone help me think of something."

He began to write, muttering to himself:

"Hmm... it'll be a bit tough at the beginning."

He began creating on the spot:

"Your subject Liu Ce respectfully reports: Recently, while inspecting the border, I accidentally intercepted a messenger from the Wuhuan and discovered Zhang Chun's plot to rebel. Upon hearing this news, I was so shocked that I could not sleep at night and could not eat... Therefore, I immediately devised a plan to capture Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju."

Guo Jia suppressed a laugh and said, "My lord, isn't your 'accidental interception' a bit too much of an accident?"

"What do you know?" Liu Ce said without looking up.

"The more accidental it is, the more it shows that we're lucky, not that we're strong."

Guo Jia interjected, "Let's add some 'patriotic and compassionate' phrases, such as, 'Whenever I think of the weight of His Majesty's trust, I am often moved to tears; whenever I think of the suffering of the people on the border, my heart aches like it's being torn apart'..."

"Okay!" Liu Ce wrote it down quickly...

He continued, making up a story:

"Upon hearing the news, the Wuhuan were enraged and assembled 30, 000 cavalry to invade the border. In haste, I could only gather the soldiers of Youzhou, who fought valiantly for three days and finally defeated the Wuhuan army, beheading more than 10, 000."

Xi Zhicai raised an eyebrow and said, "Thirty thousand? My lord, we only have ten thousand."

"Nonsense," Liu Ce rolled his eyes, "How can we make it seem like we've had a tough fight if we don't say more? Besides, the Wuhuan tribe has at least thirty or forty thousand adult men. Saying thirty thousand is perfectly reasonable!"

Jia Xu stroked his beard, smiled, and nodded, saying, "My lord is well-versed in the art of reporting one's achievements."

He looked up and asked the crowd, "How was it? Pretty brutal, right? Fighting 30, 000 Wuhuan cavalry for three days straight, right on the Ganges River?"

Everyone nodded, suppressing their laughter.