The prince is more stable

Chapter 889 First Case of Supervision
Reuniting with an old friend is a joy in life.

Since Zhao Xiaoqian ascended the throne, he has been constantly scheming against his ministers. Underneath those unfamiliar faces at court meetings, he wondered how many unspeakable thoughts were hidden. Over time, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly began to miss his old friends and acquaintances who had worked alongside him.

Li Qingchen was undoubtedly one of his old friends.

The two not only cooperated well in their work, but also had a good personal relationship.

Therefore, when Zhao Xiaoqian decided to establish the Supervisory Office, Li Qingchen was immediately in mind.

Having worked together for several years, he had a good understanding of Li Qingchen's character and personality, knowing that Li Qingchen was a down-to-earth person who would never show favoritism.

Of course, Zhao Xiaoqian knew to some extent about Li Qingchen's corruption. In fact, few officials in that era were truly incorruptible, and Li Qingchen was no exception.

Zhao Xiaoqian had once examined the account books of Zhending Prefecture and found some irregularities. After questioning, he learned that Li Qingchen had handled them, but he did not make a fuss or say anything to Li Qingchen, and acted as if nothing had happened.

After all, the amount wasn't large, and the discrepancies in the ledgers only involved a few thousand taels. Zhao Xiaoqian understood the principle that "too much clarity leaves no room for fish."

Not to mention Li Qingchen, Zhao Xiaoqian wasn't exactly clean either when he led troops into battle back then.

The army took over Yanyun Hejian Prefecture, and Zhong Jianzhong opened the prefectural government's treasury. Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were quietly divided up by everyone, and no one has spoken of this matter to this day.

Put yourself in Li Qingchen's shoes, is it really a big deal for him to be greedy for such a small amount of money?
Today, upon seeing Li Qingchen enter the hall, he bowed down to an empty table without saying a word. Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly felt that old friends' hearts had changed so easily... no, old friends' eyes had changed so easily.

In short, blindness.

It's only been a short time since we last met, and his eyesight has deteriorated so much. He must be busy with work. I'm so sorry.

“Brother Bangying… um, Brother Bangzhi, here! I’m here.” Zhao Xiaoqian squatted down next to him and patted his shoulder.

Li Qingchen was startled and turned his head to look closely. He saw Zhao Xiaoqian's familiar face right in front of him, grinning and showing two rows of big white teeth.

Li Qingchen broke out in a cold sweat.

Why are you, the emperor, wandering around the palace instead of sitting properly behind your desk?

Li Qingchen had been away from the power center of Bianjing for many years, and neither the new nor the old faction liked him. He had been demoted to Zhending Prefecture for many years. He was finally recalled to Bianjing. When Li Qingchen met the emperor, he was both excited and nervous. After entering the Funing Palace, he inevitably made a mistake and bowed to an empty table for a long time.

After Zhao Xiaoqian patted him on the shoulder, Li Qingchen immediately turned around, without even getting up, and spun half a circle on the spot before continuing to prostrate himself in worship.

"Your subject, Li Qingchen, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed heartily: "Get up, we're old acquaintances, no need for formalities."

Zhao Xiaoqian winked maliciously at him and laughed, "Back when we were both working in Zhending Prefecture, have you forgotten how shameless you were, always coming to my house to freeload? We couldn't get rid of you, and my wife even thought you had some big secret about me. Otherwise, why would she keep a freeloader around for no reason..."

Li Qingchen looked embarrassed, then laughed again.

"If I had known back then that you would become the future Emperor of the Song Dynasty, I would never have dared to be so disrespectful..."

"No, with your shamelessness, even if you knew I would become emperor in the future, you would still come to freeload... Admit it, you just want my family's food."

Li Qingchen opened his mouth in astonishment, only to find that he could not refute it. So he could only say dejectedly, "Yes, Your Majesty... it is the food in Your Majesty's residence that made me unable to control myself."

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed and said, "Now that you're back in Bianjing, I'll give you a big gift. When you go home, take a cook with you from the palace. The Chu Prince's Mansion trained a group of cooks back then, and I'll give you one today. You won't have to beg for food like a beggar anymore. You're a high-ranking official now, so you should be mindful of your manners."

Li Qingchen stared in astonishment.

Other emperors, when showing favor to their subjects, would either send money and silk, or beautiful women and mansions. Those with more volatile tempers would send poisoned wine, three feet of white silk, or their entire family to play a game of Candy Crush.

This emperor, quite something, actually sent a cook as a gift...

Is this something that's available in the market?
However, the gift that Zhao Xiaoqian sent really touched Li Qingchen's heart.

Li Qingchen was a fairly honest official, though he was a little greedy, but he was greedy within limits. His only hobby in life was eating.

Unlike Su Shi, a seasoned gourmet, Li Qingchen's appreciation for food wasn't quite that high. He only knew what tasted good and what he wanted to eat, but he never took the initiative to research and cook delicious food himself.

Therefore, Zhao Xiaoqian sending him a cook was exactly what he wanted.

Sure enough, after regaining his senses, Li Qingchen bowed with a look of delight and said, "Your Majesty, I am very grateful for your generous gift. Your grace is boundless!"

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed heartily.

Everyone here is a foodie, so he understood Li Qingchen's feelings. Now let's get down to business. Li Qingchen had been promoted from Tongpan of Zhending Prefecture to Right Vice Minister of the Censorate. This promotion was faster than a rocket. However, such a rapid promotion was not necessarily a good thing, and Li Qingchen was quite uneasy at the moment.

Having been exiled to a distant place for many years and far from the center of power, Li Qingchen has now returned, but he is not the Dragon King returning to the city, nor can he smile like a Nike.

As early as when Zhengding Prefecture received the imperial decree to transfer him, Li Qingchen was very clear about the nature of the Censorate.

Simply put, he did all sorts of work that offended people. He did get promoted, but at the cost of making enemies of officials all over the country. Even the prime ministers in the government probably didn't like him.

To be honest, Li Qingchen wasn't very brave and was genuinely a little scared. He was afraid that one night, walking home through a dark alley, he might be ambushed and beaten, or, if he was ruthless, someone might simply drown him in the river.

"Your Majesty established the Censorate to oversee all officials in the realm. However, I still have some concerns. Is there an upper limit to the rank of the officials we oversee? For example... what if we investigate a Minister or a Prime Minister..."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "Brother Bangzhi has just returned to the capital, so he is probably not familiar with the Censorate yet. Now that the court has reformed the system, the Censorate is on par with the Council of State Affairs, and they are equally important."

"Therefore, from now on, there will be no restrictions on the rank of you supervisory officials. Even if you find out the prime minister of the current dynasty and have evidence of his illegal crimes, and report it to me, I will still punish him severely."

Li Qingchen exclaimed in surprise, "The Censorate is on par with the Council of State Affairs? This..."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded firmly: "That's right. Theoretically speaking, you, as the Right Vice Minister of the Censorate, are actually equivalent to a vice prime minister. Your Censorate is only responsible to me and is directly under me. No one has the right to restrict or interfere with your work. Do you understand what I mean?"

Li Qingchen took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty is truly extraordinary. He has brought about a new atmosphere as soon as he ascended the throne. Perhaps the problems that have plagued the Song Dynasty for a century will be gradually resolved."

Zhao Xiaoqian hummed in agreement, suddenly feeling nostalgic for Xiao Fengxian.

When it comes to flattery, Xiao Fengxian is far superior to Li Qingchen. Xiao Fengxian's flattery is so much more comfortable and effective, while Li Qingchen's is just so half-hearted...

"Bangzhi has just returned to the capital. I should have let you rest for a few days before taking up your post. However, yesterday Han Zhongyan told me something. The Censorate has noticed that some local officials are ignoring the Censorate and even openly declaring that they do not recognize the Censorate and refuse to accept the supervision of the court."

"This matter isn't exactly serious, but these local officials must be dealt with. The Censorate can use them to establish its authority and intimidate other officials. So, I'll trouble Bangzhi to take up his post tomorrow. You can ask Han Zhongyan for details."

Zhao Xiaoqian paused, his expression turning serious, and said, "Local officials who disobey the imperial court's supervision should be punished accordingly, according to the rules. There is one more thing you must pay attention to..."

"Han Chung-yeon said that the Supervisory Office has received complaints from people in prefectures and counties in the Gyeonggi region, accusing local officials of distorting the terms of the new policy, using the new policy as a pretext to exploit farmers under their jurisdiction, and harming the people, causing many to lose their homes and become vagrants..."

Zhao Xiaoqian's tone grew serious as he slowly said, "This matter should be treated as a major case. Any officials involved should be reported to me immediately once there is concrete evidence."

"I have already dispatched the Imperial City Guard to cooperate with the Censorate in investigating this matter. Any people and evidence that your Censorate needs to investigate can be handed over to the Imperial City Guard, and they will give you a satisfactory answer."

Li Qingchen straightened up and bowed, saying, "Your subject obeys the decree and will certainly live up to Your Majesty's high expectations."

“Remember, when it comes to anyone or anything, don’t care how high their official rank is or how powerful their background is. Once there is solid evidence, bring them all to Bianjing for questioning. No matter how powerful these bastards’ backgrounds are, are they more powerful than mine?” Zhao Xiaoqian cursed through gritted teeth.

…………

Three days later, inside the Funing Palace.

Zhen Qing, from the Imperial City Guard, stood before Zhao Xiaoqian and reported in a low voice.

"...The Imperial City Guard assisted the Censorate in investigating the complaints submitted by the people to higher authorities. Most of them were true, and officials in the twelve prefectures of the capital region did have problems."

"When the new policies of the imperial court were implemented in these prefectures and counties, the officials deliberately distorted the terms of the new policies and used various pretexts to exploit the people and collect taxes beyond those stipulated by the government. When the people could not pay their taxes, they were forced by the government to sell their land and houses."

"When the people lost their land, some sold themselves into slavery to become landlords, tenants, or servants, while others moved their entire families away from their homes and became refugees."

Zhao Xiaoqian's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Anything else?"

Zhen Qingdao said: "This has also led to an even more serious problem: the government buys up the people's land at low prices and then sells it to wealthy and powerful landlords, resulting in the loss of a large amount of farmland in the capital region, which is concentrated in the names of certain powerful landlords and merchants. The problem of land grabbing among the people has become very serious."

Zhen Qing paused for a moment, then emphasized, "This is only a problem in the capital region; other prefectures and counties in the Song Dynasty probably have similar problems."

Zhao Xiaoqian took a deep breath and sneered, "No wonder so many people oppose my establishment of the Censorate. It turns out they've done too many shady things and are afraid that if I uncover them, their past misdeeds will no longer be able to be covered up."

Looking up at Zhen Qing, Zhao Xiaoqian held out his hand: "Give me the list!"

Zhen Qing took out a list and handed it over with both hands, saying, "This list contains twelve names, all of whom are officials from prefectures and counties in the capital region. The Imperial City Guard has basically obtained evidence of their crimes and can question them at any time."

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't even glance at it, instead throwing the list over and angrily saying, "Not enough! Far from enough! Such a big matter, can it be accomplished with the misdeeds of these twelve officials? This is a tight and effective net, and I want you to pull out every single thread of this net!"

(End of this chapter)