A Beating for Nothing

Zhou Tianze was furious when he heard this.

What do you mean by hitting me or trying to save me?

This is clearly treating everyone in the world like fools!

"Your Highness! You pulled down my pants in front of hundreds of thousands of people and almost whipped me to death, and now you're telling me it was to save my life?"

"Then why don't I beat you up?"

"Nonsense, do you take me for a three-year-old child?"

Zhou Tiancheng touched his chin, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Well, Third Brother, don't be in such a hurry. I have two questions I'd like to ask you."

"The first question is, did you abandon your 50,000-strong army and leave Northern Xia alone?"

Zhou Tianze was taken aback at first, then a smile appeared on his lips.

"Are you trying to say that you attacked me to prevent a soldier mutiny?"

"Your Highness! The eyes of the world are discerning!"

"Let alone 50,000 people, even 100,000 people wouldn't be able to cause any trouble."

"With the Duke of Protectorate personally overseeing the northern frontier, and me having returned to Dayue Pass more than ten days before you, the soldiers would have mutinied long ago. Your current accusations are useless!"

Zhou Tiancheng laughed even more heartily, and shook his head slightly.

"You're mistaken, Third Brother, that's not what I meant."

"But since you haven't denied it, I'll take that as an admission. Now for the second question: did you secretly lead your troops to Northern Xia without going through any official procedures?"

"In other words, even without the orders from the Emperor and the Duke, you still mobilized 50,000 soldiers. Do you admit it or not?"

Upon hearing this, the entire court fell silent.

Without a military tally or a transfer order, how did the Third Prince mobilize 50,000 soldiers?

This time, he went to attack Northern Xia. If he rebels again, will he be able to mobilize 50,000 troops?

This is no longer a simple question of whether or not to fight; it is proof that the prince is raising a private army and even interfering with the border troops!

Zhou Tianze was stunned for a moment, then broke out in a cold sweat.

He subconsciously looked at his maternal grandfather, Qin Zhi'ang, but Qin Zhi'ang's expression remained calm.

Under Zhou Tianze's pleading gaze, Qin Zhiang stepped forward without the slightest fear and cupped his hands in greeting to Zhou Rui.

"Your Majesty, this old minister can testify to this."

"The Third Prince did not issue any orders; he relied solely on his passion. Those 50,000 men were not only imperial troops, but also righteous men who responded to the Third Prince's call to enter Northern Xia to rescue the Emperor Emeritus and the Crown Prince."

"As for the fact that things were beyond saving, the Third Prince's departure from Northern Xia and return to Great Qian was a last resort."

Upon hearing Qin Zhiang's explanation, Zhou Rui couldn't help but scoff.

This is treating everyone in the world like fools.

Qin Zhi'ang was indeed clever. In his words, the 50,000 soldiers became 50,000 righteous men who responded to the call and were wholeheartedly dedicated to saving their lord, which reduced the level of responsibility.

Originally, the issue involved the lack of military command and authority to mobilize soldiers, which raised concerns about keeping private armies and colluding with border troops. Now, it has become a call for righteous men to loyally save people.

So, Zhou Tianze is indeed not at fault.

Zhou Tianze also breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Zhou Tiancheng with an arrogant expression.

"Your Highness, what else do you have to say?"

"Besides, what do those two questions you asked have to do with your order to beat me with a military rod and whip me?"

"You're clearly doing this on purpose!"

Zhou Tiancheng shrugged.

"Don't you understand? This is how I save you!"

"I'll beat you with a military rod and whip you with a horsewhip. This is an older brother, who acts like a father to his younger brother, disciplining him."

"But you say I did it on purpose? Doesn't that imply that we, the royal family, are killing each other, brothers are turning against each other, and we'll be ridiculed by outsiders?"

"As for the connection here, you killed 50,000 people, acted recklessly in Da Yue Pass, and dared to mobilize 50,000 soldiers without military orders. At that time, Father was not present, so as your older brother, couldn't I discipline you?"

"If you dare to send 50,000 men to Northern Xia today, wouldn't you dare to send 500,000 men to the capital tomorrow?"

"If I don't hit you, you won't even know you've made a mistake. If you make a serious mistake later, you could be beheaded. Isn't this me saving you?"

"Are you suggesting I ignore you stealing a needle when you were a child, but then expect me to plead for you under the law when you grow up and steal gold?"

The civil and military officials looked away in unison, their lips twitching slightly as if they were suppressing laughter.

Qin Zhi'ang is amazing; he can turn black into white, and His Highness the Crown Prince is following suit!

Qin Zhi'ang knew that Zhou Rui was soft-hearted and wouldn't kill his own son, so he changed his story about privately mobilizing troops to responding to a call to action, thus getting away with it.

The Crown Prince, however, seized on another point: if it was a case of the elder brother disciplining the younger, then it was a family matter; if Qin Zhi'ang and Zhou Tianze admitted that it was an internal strife within the royal family, a falling out between brothers, then it was a different story.

Do Qin Zhiang and Zhou Tianze dare to admit it?

dare not!

The consensus among all the princes is that royal scandals can be leaked, but they must never implicate themselves.

Zhou Tianze couldn't help but clench his fists.

The moment the fake prince uttered those words, he knew that he had been beaten for nothing!

"Your Highness is eloquent; I am impressed."

As he said this, Zhou Tianze's body was trembling slightly.

This is caused by anger.

Fortunately, he didn't forget his main task.

"There's one last point, Your Highness. How do you explain keeping a private army and wielding powerful weapons?"

Zhou Tiancheng stood there calmly.

"Private army? Where did this private army come from?"

Zhou Tianze sneered.

"You still dare to say you didn't?"

"Then tell me, when you were in Northern Xia, why were there people helping you hold off the Northern Xia army?"

"Furthermore, do you dare to say whether your 10,000-strong National Protection Army are your own men or the imperial army?"

Zhou Tiancheng stopped smiling.

He could tell that Zhou Tianze had come prepared.

The troops definitely cannot belong to Zhou Tiancheng, otherwise it would truly become a private army.

Especially since Zhou Tiancheng is the crown prince, if he admits that the National Protection Army is his own people, others will think, "You are the crown prince, why are you raising troops? What else could it be but a rebellion?"

However, the troops cannot belong to the imperial court.

Once Zhou Tiancheng makes the offer, Zhou Tianze and Qin Zhiang will inevitably find a way to get rid of these 10,000 National Protection Army soldiers.

Therefore, Chou Tien-cheng directly gave the third answer.

"The National Protection Army is my father's army. I am an army that was formed under my father's orders. The National Protection Army has not been disbanded because I do not have that authority!"

At this moment, Qin Zhi'ang quickly came out.

"Your Majesty, this old minister believes that these 10,000 National Protection Army soldiers should be disbanded and cannot be kept alive."

"Your Majesty, think about it. They were able to capture Emperor Tuoba Lie of Northern Xia amidst 600,000 imperial guards in the Northern Xia court. Now that they're in the capital, can't they also capture Your Majesty amidst hundreds of thousands of imperial guards?"

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you immediately issue an edict to disband these ten thousand National Protection Army soldiers!"

Zhou Rui was stunned when he heard this.

Initially, he intended to help the crown prince.

But Qin Zhi'ang's words really stung him.

If 10,000 people could kidnap Tuoba Lie in the Northern Xia imperial court, why couldn't they kidnap Zhou Rui in the capital?

Zhou Rui glanced at Zhou Tiancheng subconsciously.

There was a hint of negotiation in his eyes, as if he were asking Zhou Tiancheng, "Why don't we just disband the National Protection Army?"