The prince is more stable

Chapter 513 Taking the initiative to plead guilty
Zhao Xiaoqian's return to Beijing this time was very sudden. Zhao Xu was a little curious, but he had a high EQ and did not take the initiative to ask.

Pulling Zhao Xiaoqian into the Funing Palace, Zhao Xu ordered Zheng Chunhe to ask the imperial chef to prepare some wine and food.

The emperor and his minister sat opposite each other at a low table in the hall. Zhao Xu personally poured a glass of wine for Zhao Xiaoqian. Zhao Xiaoqian stood up in panic and hurriedly thanked him.

Zhao Xu raised his cup and looked at him, his expression serious. "Zi'an has defeated the Liao army several times, enhancing the prestige of the Song Dynasty. This is also an honor for me as the emperor. This cup of wine is a belated celebration. I toast you and thank you. Come, drink it all."

Zhao Xiaoqian half-bowed and drank the wine in one gulp.

Zhao Xu also drank it all, smacked his lips, laughed heartily, and praised: "Good wine!"

Zhao Xiaoqian agreed repeatedly.

Anyway, this was the behavior of ancient people. No matter whether the wine was really good or not, they had to praise it as "good wine" after drinking it according to the procedure.

It's like when a boy asks a girl out for dinner or a movie at night. Girls usually bring their ID cards and chargers with them. This is an established rule and part of the social order.

After the king and his ministers drank a cup together, they became casual and chatted about trivial matters while eating and drinking.

Zhao Xiaoqian recounted in detail the course of the battle with the Liao army, details that were not included in the victory report.

Zhao Xu's cheeks flushed red as he heard this, he was extremely excited, his hands sometimes forming fists, sometimes forming palms, his body couldn't help but lean forward, he looked eager to try, he wished he could go to the front line in person to command thousands of troops and win the battle thousands of miles away.

After a long moment, Zhao Xu suddenly slapped his thigh and said excitedly, "How wonderful! Zi'an is so talented. I made the right choice when I chose you to serve in Zhending Prefecture and fight against the Liao army."

"If I were Emperor Wu of Han, Zi'an would be my Wei and Huo. You and I are still so young. If we wait another three to five years, our Song Dynasty will definitely not be what it is today. We might even be able to destroy the Liao Dynasty. Haha, the future is promising!"

Zhao Xiaoqian forced a smile.

You are really good at flattering yourself. Who gave you the courage to compare yourself with Emperor Wu of Han?
As for "Wei Huo", Zhao Xiaoqian thought about it seriously and felt that even if he was not as good as them, he was not far behind.

"I am only following the strategies and orders given by the emperor. I have no credit at all. Everything is planned by the emperor. I dare not take credit for it." Zhao Xiaoqian said humbly.

The officialdom is like the workplace. Don’t brag about any achievements you make. No matter what the credit is, you should praise your leader first.

As expected, Zhao Xu was overjoyed by Zhao Xiaoqian's praise, and his cheeks turned red again.

"Uh, did I give you the strategy in person...?" Zhao Xu tried to remain calm, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

Zhao Xiaoqian said solemnly, "Of course it was the Emperor who gave me this strategy. Otherwise, with my abilities, how could I have defeated the Liao army so effectively? It was the Emperor who set the strategy for the war against Liao, and I followed his instructions, which led to this great victory."

"Your Majesty is young and wise, a rare and outstanding ruler in the Song Dynasty. However, your greatest shortcoming is that you are too low-key. I will not allow you to remain so low-key any longer!"

"Later, I will find the Secretary of the Central Secretariat and the historian and explain in detail the strategy against Liao that the emperor has instructed me to take. I ask the historian to record it faithfully and preserve it for future generations to see."

Zhao Xu became more and more excited to the point of trembling with pee. Now that he was the emperor, he naturally did not expect to be promoted, but what the emperor wanted was just a good reputation in history books.

Zhao Xiaoqian gave him such an important achievement so easily. How could Zhao Xu not be ecstatic? This would have to be recorded in history books.

When the temple name is decided a hundred years later, we can't expect it to be Taizong or Yingzong, after all, the name has already been registered. It's not too much to name it "Wuzong", right?
Doesn’t this echo the words of Emperor Wu of Han?

You are worthy of being me. You are indeed the chosen one for the rise of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Xu was in a very good mood at the moment, and his eyes looked at Zhao Xiaoqian a little softer.

The minister took the initiative to give credit to the emperor. Where can we find such a loyal minister?

Zhao Xu personally poured wine for Zhao Xiaoqian again, raised his glass and sighed, "...I won't say anything more, it's all in the wine!"

The king and his minister drank it all in one gulp and smiled at each other.

Seeing that Zhao Xu was happy because of his coaxing, Zhao Xiaoqian was even happier.

Some things can only be said when Zhao Xu is happy, and the consequences will not be too serious.

Zhao Xu put down his wine glass and finally asked, "Zi'an suddenly returned to the capital today. Is there something wrong?"

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed bitterly, "I got into a little trouble in Zhending Prefecture..."

Zhao Xu was stunned, then pointed at him and laughed, "Coming from your mouth, the word 'minor disaster' probably can't be too small. And guess what, if it was a 'minor disaster', it wouldn't be worth Zi'an personally traveling thousands of miles back to Bianjing."

"Tell me, what trouble have you gotten yourself into?" Zhao Xu remained unconvinced and said confidently, "Based on Zi'an's achievements, even if you pierced the sky in Zhending Prefecture, I can still help you make up for it."

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, your words are real and must be kept."

Zhao Xu was startled, realizing he'd fallen into a trap. He straightened up immediately and said seriously, "Just pretend I never said that. Try to organize your words. Honestly, I'm a little scared now... What the hell have you gotten yourself into?" Zhao Xiaoqian said carefully, "Your Majesty, please remember that two months ago, Bian Jing sent a group of forty-two officials to Zhending Prefecture to measure land, establish a new county, and relocate farmers..."

Zhao Xu nodded. "Of course I remember. It was my personal order that the ministers of the Political Affairs Hall select officials to go out of the capital to handle this matter. Over four hundred miles of newly occupied territory, with so many acres of fertile farmland, how can we leave it unused?"

Zhao Xu paused and said, "Have these blind officials offended you?"

Zhao Xiaoqian paused for a moment and slowly said, "If they have offended me, it's naturally not a big deal. We are all colleagues in the court. I can tolerate it and let it go. At worst, I can just avoid them. But they have offended the people of the entire Zhending Prefecture."

"What's going on?" Zhao Xu frowned.

Zhao Xiaoqian took a deep breath and recounted the many evil deeds committed by Han Wei, Wang Yuan and others for the powerful people in Bian Jing, including seizing land, imprisoning farmers, beating and killing civilians.

Talking alone was not enough. Every time Zhao Xiaoqian told a story, he would take out a confession and evidence from his pocket, as well as the blood seals and signatures of the victimized farmers in Zhending Prefecture.

Zhao Xu picked up the confession and evidence and read through them page by page. He became more and more annoyed. His face gradually turned ashen and his breathing became rapid.

There is no dispute about the confessions. They were all written by Han Wei and others when they were about to be beheaded on the execution ground, and they were signed and sealed with their signatures.

There was no problem with the evidence either. It was collected and confirmed by Li Qingchen and the magistrates of nine counties over several days and then presented to Zhao Xiaoqian. All the officials in Zhending Prefecture signed it, making it a joint complaint.

As Zhao Xiaoqian spoke, he quietly observed Zhao Xu's expression.

Seeing that he was breathing rapidly and his face was full of anger, his hands holding the confession unconsciously clenched into fists, making the flat confession paper wrinkled, Zhao Xiaoqian felt that the time was almost right.

"Your Majesty, Han Wei, Wang Yuan, and others, under the pretext of establishing a new county and relocating farmers, have secretly enclosed land for the powerful in Bianjing. The four hundred miles of territory that our soldiers risked their lives to conquer has now become their own property."

"Not only that, Han Wei and his men brutally murdered the farmers in Zhending Prefecture. Those who refused to obey were beaten and killed on the spot by Han Wei's men. I have done some statistics. After Han Wei and his officials arrived in Zhending Prefecture, they brutally murdered over 400 farmers..."

Zhao Xiaoqian also revealed his anger at this time, and said in a more serious tone: "Your Majesty, more than 400 lives have been lost! They were all law-abiding farmers, all citizens under your rule!"

boom!
Zhao Xu slammed his hands on the table, his entire body shaking with anger. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the confession, gritting his teeth and saying, "Han Wei, Wang Yuan, and the others... deserve to die! They deserve to be killed!"

Zhao Xu then looked at Zhao Xiaoqian, his eyes also filled with anger. "You are the prefect of Zhending, the local leader. Han Wei and his men are acting lawlessly and taking lives. Why don't you arrest them and take them back to Bianjing to be executed? Did you suddenly return to Bianjing just to file a complaint?"

"As the commander-in-chief of an army and the head of a region, you have been given such great authority. But where is your decisiveness in killing? Where are your ruthless tactics?"

Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly knelt down on his knees facing Zhao Xu and said, "I returned to Bianjing not to file a complaint, but to apologize to the emperor!"

"What's the crime?"

"I plead guilty to the crime of arbitrary killing. I have already beheaded Han Wei, Wang Yuan and forty-two other criminal officials in Zhending Prefecture in front of tens of thousands of people. I only brought forty-two heads back to Bianjing."

Zhao Xu looked at him in shock, his face pale for a moment.

"You...killed them all?"

"Yes, kill them all. If I don't kill them, it will not be enough to appease the public anger. The 160,000 people in Zhending Prefecture are looking at me. If I don't kill them, the people's anger will have nowhere to vent, and I am afraid that civil unrest will arise, and the situation will get even worse." Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly.

Zhao Xu took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but the shock in his eyes had not faded.

The news was so shocking that he still hadn't recovered.

Beheading an official without the imperial edict was a shocking event. If it were to get out, the court in Bianliang would be in an uproar.

After a long silence, Zhao Xu sighed, "I knew it. Anything that would make you, Zhao Zian, travel thousands of miles back to Bianjing couldn't possibly be a small matter. Just now, you mentioned getting into a 'small trouble'. Zhao Zian, may I ask if this is a small trouble?"

"Forty-two officials, you just killed them without a word. Who gave you the guts? You didn't conduct an investigation by the Dali Temple, nor did you review the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, or the Council of State. You didn't follow any procedures at all, and you just killed them with a single blow. Even I wouldn't dare to be so lawless!"

Zhao Xiaoqian bowed his head and said, "My fault was that the process was illegal, and I apologize for that. However, I was not wrong to kill them, and I have no regrets to this day."

Zhao Xu sighed helplessly, "I wasn't very strict just now. I said they deserved to die, but I didn't ask you to kill them in Zhending Prefecture. If their crimes are proven, they will die if they are taken back to Bianjing. Can't you just be patient?"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled strangely and mockingly, saying calmly, "If they return to Bianjing, they will be innocent. Your Majesty, you should understand that."

Zhao Xu froze when he heard this, and his face quickly turned pale.

He was the ruler of the Song Dynasty, and of course he was no stranger to the dirty things that happened in the court.

Zhao Xiaoqian was right. If Han Wei and others were taken back to Bian Jing, they would be innocent and reinstated.

(End of this chapter)