Peace Order

Chapter 1775 - 74: Posthumous Title and Honorific Name

After the dossiers were completed, they were presented to Prince Qin, who was stabilizing the people of Chen Country at the front line. After reading them, Prince Qin remained calm and serene, but asked the person who delivered the dossiers, "Is Emperor Chen still around? Can Chen Guo’an proclaim himself emperor?"

"Both Chen and Ying should be kings."

Hence, he was demoted to Chen Ding Li Wang.

On another day, when the posthumous title of Emperor Chen was brought up, Prince Qin was silent for a long time. Holding his sword, he slashed horizontally across the dossier of posthumous titles and said lightly, "Chen Dingye committed numerous sins for his imperial position and posthumous name."

"He wronged my parents, imprisoned General Yue, and expelled the Divine Martial King."

"The vengeance for my parents cannot go unavenged. Although he is dead, and is buried in the imperial mausoleum as a monarch, I will not disgrace his remains, nor let him have his way, as things in this world would not follow his will."

With the Emperor Sword in his hand, Prince Qin’s expression remained indifferent and commanding.

"Life and death are significant matters, and so is reputation."

"Yet—"

"Both his commands in life and his reputation after death, I shall sever them with one sword."

Many notable figures watched the back of Prince Qin, more composed than in his youth, and said calmly:

"...Even if posterity says I lack magnanimity, so be it. Chen Dingye committed too many evils for his name, and though called king in righteousness, in the first half of his life he was not worthy of this word."

"Yet for holding the sword to guard the border, breaking through the Turkic grasslands, his merits are indeed great."

"With his aim for the public, he can be called a duke."

Prince Qin held the sword and cut off the royal position Chen Dingye acquired through unscrupulous means in his early days.

Alive he perished, his posthumous name lost.

He was posthumously known as the Last Monarch Chen Dingye, Ding Li Gong.

[Initially, he declared himself King Fan, later unfit to ascend, often feigning virtue for false fame, secretly plotting to seize the dynasty, and endeavored to win over influential ministers. When middlemen arrived, regardless of status, he would tactfully attend to them with lavish gifts. Among the servants coming and going, not one didn’t praise his benevolence and filial piety.]

[Upon ascension, his territory spanned three generations, his might spread across the eight borders, and Chanyu bowed in submission; crossed the sea multiple times. The Red Spring overflowed into the capital, and the red rotten grain piled up beyond the borders. Relying on his wealth and power, he sought to indulge his insatiable desires.]

[...None would heed the chaos, immersed in ephemeral pleasures, depleting resources, and accumulating grave sins.]

[Throughout the realm, enemies abounded, and those around him became foes to countries.]

[In the end, realizing his mistakes, he personally led campaigns, wielding weapons against enemy nations, resisted Ying Country, and defeated the Turks, displaying composure rivaling the Divine Martial King, ultimately perishing by the sword out of noble’s respect, leading to the destruction of the state.]

——————"Chen History· Chronicle of Ding Li Gong"

Year of Divine Revelation 18, Spring in April.

The many generals of the Qilin Army had long returned to the vicinity of Jiangzhou City along with Prince Qin. After personally reviewing the evaluations from the gentlemen in the rear regarding Chen Dingye’s posthumous title, he acknowledged the title [Ding Li].

In his leisure time, he personally reviewed those dossiers of crimes, subjecting the palace’s many palace maids and eunuchs to inspection and placement, but today he saw the bundled major eunuchs and palace maids.

Upon inquiry, General Fan Qing responded solemnly, "Your Majesty, these palace maids and eunuchs seem unproblematic on the surface, but the gold and silver assets under their names surpass the norm. I have cross-examined them thoroughly."

"They are responsible for bringing people from outside into the palace to serve as palace maids and eunuchs, and in theory, the number of palace maids and eunuchs in the palace should remain at a baseline, without excess."

"Yet they introduce enough people every year."

"The Chen Palace hasn’t expanded, but the number of palace maids and eunuchs has annually increased. I estimate that each year, a new batch enters, while a batch of palace maids and eunuchs dies."

"These major palace maids and eunuchs are enriching themselves from the inside."

"They pocket the compensation due to the palace maids who die in accidents, engaging in a merciless trade of human life."

After these words were spoken, General Fan Qing produced numerous dossiers, pinpointing that nearly every year many palace maids and eunuchs died, and the faces of those major palace maids and chief eunuchs all turned deathly pale as they knelt down to kowtow.

"Wronged, wronged!"

"We know nothing; it was the Chief Eunuch in charge of handling these matters, not us. We merely ran errands, following orders to bring people in each year."

Li Guanyi flipped through these records, asked the name of this eunuch, then fell silent. Prince Qin lowered his gaze slightly, looking at the major eunuch, and suddenly asked, "Do you know a woman named [Qian Qian]?"

The major eunuch was bewildered.

Li Guanyi said plainly, "She is an old acquaintance I have never met."

The major eunuch grasped at a straw, saying, "Is that so? Perhaps it was I who led her into the palace. I wondered where she might be..."

"Is she in the laundry house, or in a consort’s palace?"

He racked his brain.

Prince Qin said lightly, "She was beaten to death, and after her death, fifty strings of cash reached her brother, leaving only a hundred and thirty-five coins."

"The letter to her brother was signed with your name."

The blood drained from the major eunuch’s face as his legs gave out and he was about to kneel. Li Guanyi said lightly, "Fan Qing, interrogate well, and afterward, write a letter to Master Thirteen, asking him to come from Lingyin Temple in Jiangnan."

"Investigate the dossiers on kidnappings and mutilations, and human trafficking."

Prince Qin turned around, set down the list, and said lightly: