The prince is more stable

Chapter 900 Benevolence and Morality
At a time when all the officials were making things difficult for him, Zhao Xiaoqian instead threw the problem to Zhang Dun.

The crimes committed by Zeng Shuli and other officials in Chenzhou have been basically established, and the evidence of their crimes is clearly presented to all officials.

The nature of this world is not black and white; it is more of a blurry gray area that is difficult to define. Some people's crimes, if viewed from a different perspective, may become justice.

But at this moment, in the imperial court, the distinction between right and wrong, good and evil, had to be clear. No one dared to call black white, because the emperor's eyes were coldly fixed on them.

Under the oppressive power of the emperor, the values ​​of the court officials had to be normal and correct.

Zhao Xiaoqian posed the question to Zhang Dun. What could Zhang Dun do?
He can't very well say that Zeng Shuli and his accomplices were innocent, that their crimes of embezzlement, misappropriation, and harming the people were acts of desperation by the officials. Do you even know how hard our Chenzhou officials have worked...?

After a long silence, Zhang Dun gritted his teeth and said, "The facts and evidence are all there. I believe that the crimes committed by Zeng Shuli and others are irrefutable. They should be handed over to the Dali Temple for a thorough trial and severely punished to appease the anger of the people of Chenzhou."

"What do you think, Mr. Zihou, should be done to severely punish the officials in Chenzhou?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked immediately afterward.

Zhang Dun thought for a moment and sighed, "Only by punishing them with the most severe penalties can their crimes be redeemed."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded with a smile and was about to call for the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review when someone in the court suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw an official stepping out of the court and saying in a deep voice, "In my opinion, even if the officials of Chenzhou have committed heinous crimes, they should not be sentenced to death!"

Zhao Xiaoqian's gaze quickly darkened. He saw that the official was about thirty years old, with upright features and a righteous and awe-inspiring appearance.

"Who are you? What is your official position?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked.

"Your subject is Shen Fen, the Supervising Censor."

Zhao Xiaoqian stared at his face and said, "You just said that officials in Chenzhou should not be sentenced to death?"

“Yes,” Shen Fen raised his head, bravely looked directly at Zhao Xiaoqian, and said in a deep voice, “Since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, it has rarely punished court officials with the death penalty. Even if it is a serious crime, they should be dismissed from their posts and exiled thousands of miles away.”

"The foundation upon which our ancestor, Emperor Taizu, established the nation was to treat scholars and officials well and to govern the country together with civil officials. Therefore, the punishment should not be applied to scholars and officials. If they are frequently subjected to the most severe punishments, I fear that the people of the nation will be in turmoil, and Your Majesty will inevitably be branded as cruel. Therefore, I urge Your Majesty to reconsider and deal with the officials of Chenzhou leniently."

Zhao Xiaoqian frowned, his tone growing colder: "Are you saying that the officials of Chenzhou have harmed so many people, numbering in the tens of thousands, and committed heinous crimes, that I can only dismiss and exile them, but not kill them?"

Shen Fen lowered his head and said, "Yes, the court officials are all the emperor's right-hand men. They have studied hard for more than ten years. Our dynasty has always treated civil officials well. If we spare their lives and only dismiss or exile them, the officials of Chenzhou will be grateful for the emperor's kindness and will repent and change their ways."

"If Your Majesty spares their lives, history will surely record your benevolence, and you will be praised and admired by future generations. Such a decision would benefit Your Majesty's reputation and the Song Dynasty. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider."

After Shen Fen finished speaking, a murmur of discussion immediately broke out in the hall.

Zhao Xiaoqian noticed with his sharp eyes that quite a few court officials were nodding and smiling, clearly indicating that they agreed with Shen Fen's words.

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes widened in shock, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

These words completely shattered his worldview.

Despite committing such heinous crimes, there are still people speaking up for them and trying to fight for their lives.

Zhao Xiaoqian sat motionless on the dragon throne in shock, his expression blank, as if in a daze, feeling a sense of unreality.

What the hell is wrong with this world?
Did I transmigrate again? Transmigrated to a world where right and wrong are indistinguishable, and good and evil are unclear. In this new world, good and evil don't matter; what matters is so-called "benevolence and virtue."

In the court, Zhang Dun's face was ashen; he did not agree with Shen Fen's outrageous words.

Today's court assembly was originally intended to be a platform for court officials to challenge the Emperor and restrict the power of the Censorate, thus leaving sufficient room for the interests of officials throughout the country.

However, the evidence of the crimes committed by the officials in Chenzhou was irrefutable, and the case investigated by the Censorate was found to be without fault, so the court officials' plans had completely failed.

If you lose, you have to admit it; if you get hit, you have to stand up straight.

If Shen Fen were to suddenly appear at this point and spout nonsense about "benevolence" and "the law should not apply to officials," it would only make things worse.

The Emperor had only recently ascended the throne, and most of the court officials might not yet understand his personality and temperament. However, Zhang Dun and the prime ministers of the Council of State Affairs had dealt with Zhao Xiaoqian many times, so how could they not know the Emperor's character?
Shen Fen's outrageous remarks were so outrageous that even the prime minister, Zhang Dun, couldn't stand them, let alone the emperor, who was determined to reform the bureaucracy.

This guy is probably not going to get away with this.

However, to Zhang Dun's surprise, things were only worse than he had imagined.

After Shen Fen finished speaking, quite a few court officials stood up and bowed in unison, saying, "We agree with what Imperial Censor Shen said. All the officials involved in the case in Chenzhou should not be executed, but should be dismissed and exiled."

Zhang Dun's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked up at Zhao Xiaoqian.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Zhao Xiaoqian's face was frosty, his eyes almost spitting fire, his sinister gaze sweeping over the assembled officials, and a cold smile gradually appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"I truly did not expect that so many court officials would plead for the officials of Chenzhou. Your actions, which clearly distinguish between good and evil, have truly moved me!"

This statement was highly sarcastic, and many court officials looked displeased, but they refrained from refuting it.

Zhao Xiaoqian, his face grim, slowly said, "Is there any other court official who thinks that the officials of Chenzhou should be dismissed and exiled instead of being executed?"

"Come on, all of you step forward and let me see. There's strength in numbers, and who knows, I might just agree," Zhao Xiaoqian said suddenly with a smile.

These words sparked another round of whispers within the hall. Many court officials hesitated, exchanging glances, clearly intending to step forward and support Shen Fen. Zhang Dun was secretly anxious. Others might not understand the Emperor's meaning, but having dealt with Zhao Xiaoqian for many years, how could he not know?
Whoever stands up today will be doomed, without a doubt!

At this moment, Zhang Dun could no longer contain himself. Disregarding the court etiquette, he quietly turned around and cast a vicious glare at the New Party officials who were about to step forward.

Many court officials received Zhang Dun's warning look and immediately understood what was going on. They originally intended to step forward, but in the end, they remained standing still, not daring to move.

However, encouraged by Zhao Xiaoqian's smiling face, more than a dozen court officials bravely stepped forward.

Looking at the dozen or so people standing in the center of the hall, Zhao Xiaoqian's smile deepened.

"Ha! Quite a few people. I can see from your faces that you are full of benevolence, righteousness, morality... and wisdom," Zhao Xiaoqian praised.

During the court session, Zhang Dun sighed inwardly and silently closed his eyes.

These idiots!

Zhao Xiaoqian's face grew increasingly grim, and he coldly said, "The Political Affairs Hall hereby dismisses all of these dozen or so people who have stepped forward and will never be employed again!"

As soon as he said that, the hall erupted in chaos.

The dozen or so court officials standing in the center of the hall looked at each other in shock. They had thought they were trying to force the emperor to limit the power of the Censorate, but they did not expect that the emperor had no intention of compromising. Whoever pleaded for the officials of Chenzhou would be dismissed without any room for negotiation.

“This…Your Majesty, treating scholars well is the foundation of our dynasty. Your Majesty’s dismissal of us without cause violates ancestral rules, and we are not satisfied!” A court official stepped forward and shouted.

Zhao Xiaoqian stared at him with icy eyes and slowly said, "How dare you be dissatisfied with someone who doesn't even have a basic sense of right and wrong?"

"Even illiterate country bumpkins know the principle of 'a life for a life,' yet the officials of Chenzhou have harmed so many people, and you just dismiss them with a casual remark like 'dismissal and exile'?"

"You all entered officialdom through the imperial examinations. I want to ask you, have you been reading the classics all these years without understanding them? Is this how the sages taught you to be a person and to conduct yourself?"

Zhao Xiaoqian grew angrier as he spoke, saying, "Or are you hiding something you don't want anyone to know, and that saving the lives of the Chenzhou officials is the same as saving your own lives in the future?"

This statement finally broke through that extremely thin layer of paper.

The schemes that the emperor and his ministers each had been secretly plotting were finally brought to the forefront by Zhao Xiaoqian, revealing their despicable intentions.

Why would these unrelated court officials protect officials in Chenzhou who had committed crimes? They even went so far as to spout empty words of benevolence and morality in order to save their lives.

Because they could not allow the Song Dynasty to set such a precedent, and they could not allow the emperor to easily impose the death penalty on officials.

Otherwise, the fate of Chenzhou officials today will be their fate tomorrow.

This is the real reason why the court officials insisted on protecting the officials of Chenzhou.

Now, their shady intentions have been exposed by the Emperor. Not only that, but the court officials who stood up to plead for the officials of Chenzhou were all dismissed by the Emperor with a single sentence.

The entire court was shocked. No one expected the Emperor to have such courage to dismiss so many officials at once.

Upon closer reflection, many people find it quite normal.

Last time, when more than two hundred court officials knelt at the palace gates to petition, the Emperor issued an imperial edict dismissing all two hundred officials without any room for negotiation.

Today is no different. The future of more than a dozen court officials has turned to ashes in this moment, with no possibility of turning things around, because the Emperor just added a sentence, "Never to be employed again," which means that they have lost even the chance to be reinstated by the court in the future.

With a single sentence, Zhao Xiaoqian dismissed more than a dozen court officials, once again establishing his authority at the court assembly.

Although the courtiers inside the palace were shocked, none of them dared to speak.

These dozen or so people in front of them are the best negative example; they've finally met their match.

They insist on spouting nonsense and cloaking it in all sorts of moralistic accusations, even when they are clearly in the wrong, just to satisfy their own ulterior motives.

Many court officials in the hall frowned secretly at Shen Fen's explanation. They thought it was just sophistry and questioned whether the Emperor would accept advice.

That's good, the Emperor has given his court officials the most direct answer.

They were all dismissed, not a single one was spared, and they were never to be employed again.

The matter was not over yet. Ignoring the growing commotion in the hall, Zhao Xiaoqian gestured for Han Zhongyan to approach.

"Bring me the case files of the corrupt officials in Chenzhou," Zhao Xiaoqian ordered.

Han Zhongyan presented the case files of all the officials involved in the case in Chenzhou. Zheng Chunhe took them and handed them to Zhao Xiaoqian with both hands.

Zhao Xiaoqian raised his hand, and Zheng Chunhe handed him a cinnabar calligraphy brush.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Zhao Xiaoqian scribbled down six bright red, glaring characters on the case file.

"Do not report again, execute him immediately."

(End of this chapter)