The prince is more stable

Chapter 939 Urgent Plea from the Northwest
The higher you go, the more you discover the confusion and ambiguity between right and wrong, good and evil.

This is the cruel and cold reality.

In the minds of these court officials who had come into contact with the case, the truth about Shi Zhongxian's death was no longer important.

For the sake of stability in the court and for the sake of the emperor's reputation, regardless of whether Shi Zhongxian was loyal or treacherous, he had to be presented to the public as a bad person.

Moreover, in fact, regardless of the reasons behind Shi Zhongxian's suicide in front of the palace gate, this single act was enough to prove his disloyalty to the emperor and the court.

At the court assembly, after Cai Jing delivered his closing statement, he presented a thick stack of evidence of the crimes.

The evidence is conclusive and irrefutable, and no one can refute it.

Therefore, Cai Jing announced the conclusion of Shi Zhongxian's case.

The court officials naturally had nothing to say. Regardless of the reasons, the Shi Zhongxian case had come to an end, which was certainly a good thing for the court.

Public opinion among the common people has already gained momentum. Now, everyone in the streets and alleys of Bianjing is cursing Shi Zhongxian as a treacherous minister who deserved to die because he obstructed the emperor from implementing new policies.

The specific details of the Fangtian Equal Tax Law have been popularized among the people by someone, and now the common people know the benefits of this new policy. They also know that this new policy can bring benefits to the people and farmers.

New policies that bring benefits to the people are naturally good policies and virtuous policies; anyone who opposes them is a treacherous minister.

Since ancient times, the values ​​of ordinary people have been so simple and unpretentious.

Public opinion has already influenced the imperial court, so no courtier stood up to oppose the Fangtian Equal Tax Law at today's court meeting, since no one wanted to tarnish their reputation.

That's right, the weakness of civil officials is their "reputation," which is easily exploited.

After Cai Jing finished speaking, the Daqing Hall fell silent.

Zhao Xiaoqian sat on the dragon throne, his gaze calmly sweeping over the expressions of the assembled officials, before lingering a moment longer on Zhang Dun's face.

Zhang Dun remained expressionless. He was aware of the serious career crisis, but his worry and fear were not reflected on his face.

"The case of Shi Zhongxian has been concluded. I hope that all officials in the court will take this as a warning and not make the same mistake. It is not that choosing a heroic way to die will make one famous in history. Loyalty is loyalty, and treachery is treachery. The truth cannot be hidden." Zhao Xiaoqian's slow voice echoed in the hall.

"Shi Zhongxian's property shall be confiscated and deposited into the national treasury. The three judicial departments and the supervisory office shall deal with Shi Zhongxian and his relatives in accordance with the laws of the Great Song Dynasty. The remaining accomplices involved in the case shall also be investigated and dealt with. This case shall not be reported again."

After Zhao Xiaoqian finished speaking, the officials in the hall, regardless of their own thoughts, could only bow in agreement.

The court assembly continued, and Zhang Dun reported on various domestic affairs, from agriculture and sericulture to dike repair, from commerce to military matters.

The emperor and his ministers discussed and debated in an orderly manner before finally making a decision.

The morning assembly was very efficient; basically, as soon as one item was finished, the next item would be discussed immediately.

Zhao Xiaoqian was a very pragmatic person and did not like to engage in empty discussions with his ministers about the classics or to shout slogans.

Everything is done on a case-by-case basis. If there are heated disputes, they are temporarily set aside for later discussion. If there are no objections, they are quickly passed and promulgated to the local authorities.

The essence of the morning assembly is the normal operation of the state apparatus. The principle of the machine's operation is high speed and efficiency. The machine will not stop to discuss metaphysical things with you.

After Zhang Dun finished his report, the hall fell silent once more.

Zhao Xiaoqian knew in his heart that there was actually one more important thing he hadn't said, and no one dared to mention it.

That is, whether the "Equal Taxation Law for the Fields" will ultimately be implemented.

This is the key issue in the recent power struggle between the emperor and his ministers, and also the source of all the recent chaos.

None of the court officials dared to speak, but Zhao Xiaoqian turned slightly to look at Zheng Chunhe, who was standing and serving beside him, and asked in a low voice, "Is there any movement in the Qingshou Hall of the palace?"

Zheng Chunhe was taken aback, then quickly replied, "Your Majesty, from yesterday until this morning's court assembly, this servant has not received any news from the Qingshou Palace."

Zhao Xiaoqian remained silent for a moment, then smiled wryly.

Well, I reckon Empress Dowager Xiang is still figuring out how to explain the matter of the 120,000 hectares of farmland to him.

After all, handing over such a large amount of land under the guise of supporting the government's new policies was no longer a decision that Empress Dowager Xiang alone could make.

With so many relatives on her mother's side, all of whom own land, who would willingly hand over such a large amount of land to the imperial court for no reason?

In ancient agrarian societies, farmland was their lifeline.

Aside from eunuchs, who would willingly hand over their manhood to someone else?
Zhao Xiaoqian was not an unreasonable person. Since resolving the matter would take time, he would give Empress Dowager Xiang ample time; a few more days wouldn't make a difference.

However, if Empress Dowager Xiang still fails to give him a satisfactory explanation after a few days, then he shouldn't blame her for being impolite.

Even an emperor would be envious of 120,000 hectares of land.

It could resettle at least a million displaced farmers; how could the emperor not be envious?
"Old Zheng, after the court session, in my name, select a batch of tribute items from this year's local areas and send them to the Qingshou Hall. Say it's a gift from me to the Empress Dowager, and you deliver it personally," Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly.

Zheng Chunhe hurriedly accepted the imperial decree.

Time can be given, but pressure should also be increased appropriately.

Empress Dowager Xiang has not yet given an explanation, so it is not appropriate to announce the implementation of the Fangtian Equal Tax Law today. Zhao Xiaoqian was about to adjourn the court when a eunuch hurriedly entered the hall, knelt on the ground, and said urgently, "Your Majesty, Zhang Jie, the Pacification Commissioner of Huanqing Road in the Northwest, has sent an urgent report from eight hundred li away!"

"The Liao army launched an attack on the Western Xia on the northwestern border between Liao and Xia. The Western Xia army hastily responded, but the Liao army had already invaded Western Xia territory and occupied more than 100 li of Western Xia land."

"Zhang Jie has requested the imperial court to issue an order on how our northwestern border army should respond. Please give your instructions, Your Majesty."

The hall erupted in uproar, and the assembled officials were shocked.

Zhao Xiaoqian remained calm, but a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

Damn it, Yelü Yanxi has finally made his move. Xiao Fengxian has indeed lived up to expectations; this Liao traitor is far too significant.

Ignoring the whispers among the officials, Zhao Xiaoqian immediately darkened his face and said, "Let the court adjourn. Xu Jiang and An Tao of the Privy Council, Zhang Dun and Cai Jing of the Council of State Affairs, may discuss matters in the Wende Hall after the court adjourns."

After he finished speaking, amidst the cheers of the assembled officials, Zhao Xiaoqian rose and walked toward the rear hall.

Inside the Daqing Hall, upon hearing Zhao Xiaoqian's decree, Zhang Dun's heart grew even heavier.

Cai Jing, who had only been in the Council of State Affairs for a few days and was merely a Vice Minister of the Chancellery, was now one of the very few officials summoned by the Emperor to the Wende Hall for discussions. This signal was far too strong.

Clearly, Zhang Dun is facing an unprecedented career crisis.

With a heavy sigh, Zhang Dun turned around and was about to walk out of the hall when he saw Cai Jing looking at him with a smile. Their eyes met, and Cai Jing bowed to Zhang Dun with a smile, then stepped aside and invited Zhang Dun to go first.

In terms of etiquette, Cai Jing performed flawlessly, leaving no room for criticism.

Zhang Dun nodded and forced a smile at Cai Jing.

Inside the Wende Hall, several important court officials took their seats, with Zhao Xiaoqian sitting in the head seat, his expression remaining calm.

"Gentlemen, I have just carefully read Zhang Jie's report. You should all take a look as well."

As Zhao Xiaoqian spoke, he passed around the military intelligence report that Zhang Jie had sent by express courier.

After a long while, the senior officials finished reading the memorial, and their expressions were somewhat bewildered.

The fact that the Liao Dynasty actually waged war against the Western Xia is something they still cannot understand to this day.

In his memorial, Zhang Jie clearly explained the causes and consequences of the war between the two countries.

First, starting last month, the Western Xia inexplicably provoked the herders on the border of the Liao Kingdom. They crossed the border and killed and plundered the herders of the Liao tribes, slaughtering many tribes before leaving triumphantly.

The Liao Dynasty sent envoys to negotiate with the Western Xia, but the Western Xia side categorically denied it and vehemently swore that it was not the Western Xia's doing.

Although the Liao Dynasty is weak and its national strength is declining, that is only in relation to the Song Dynasty. In front of other countries, the Liao Dynasty has never put down its strong and arrogant attitude.

The Western Xia dynasty was established with the secret support of the Liao dynasty. The Western Xia always regarded itself as a vassal state of the Liao dynasty, paying tribute and paying respects to the Liao dynasty every year.

Now, it seems that the Liao Dynasty has suffered repeated defeats in battles against the Song Dynasty and is no longer able to fight. As a result, the Western Xia people dared to take the initiative to provoke them. How could the proud Khitan people tolerate this?
Despite the Western Xia people's desperate cries that they really didn't do it, and even their vows to their ancestors in the afterlife, the Liao Dynasty wouldn't listen.

Therefore, Emperor Yelü Yanxi of Liao issued an edict last month to mobilize more than 50,000 cavalry from the Northwest Route Expeditionary Force to launch a fierce attack on Western Xia.

War broke out between the two countries at this unexpected moment.

At the start of the war, the Liao army advanced with unstoppable momentum, penetrating more than a hundred miles into Western Xia territory. Although the Western Xia army fought hard, they were ultimately defeated one after another.

With the Liao and Xia dynasties at war, Zhang Jie, the border commander stationed in the northwest, naturally had to pay close attention. Although the war between the two countries was unrelated to the Song Dynasty, it was still a major event. Zhang Jie then sent a fast horse to report to Bianjing.

Inside the Wende Hall, after reading Zhang Jie's memorial, everyone's expressions became increasingly strange.

Was the cause and effect of the Liao-Xia war too hasty?

Just because of border conflicts and looting, Yelü Yanxi did not hesitate to launch a national war. What was his purpose?
They're all old foxes from two years ago; naturally, no one will believe these superficial reasons. There must be deeper reasons and justifications behind them.

"Now that everyone has finished reading, let's talk about how our Great Song's northwestern border army should deal with the outbreak of war between Liao and Xia?" Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly.

Privy Councilor Xu frowned deeply; he still had many questions to ponder and it was inconvenient for him to say anything more at this moment.

Before Xu could finish speaking, An Tao, the Vice Privy Councilor standing beside him, naturally couldn't say anything either. The matter was too strange, and neither of the two Privy Council leaders dared to draw a conclusion easily.

Cai Jing, however, was observant. He first silently scanned everyone's expressions, then his gaze fell on Zhao Xiaoqian's face.

After a long silence, seeing that no one spoke, Cai Jing cautiously said, "Your Majesty, please forgive my impertinence. Just now, Commander Zhang urgently reported to me, and I noticed that Your Majesty did not seem surprised..."

"Your Majesty, I dare to ask you: was there any prior planning by our Great Song Dynasty for the war between Liao and Xia? Or was this war actually planned in secret by Your Majesty?"

Zhao Xiaoqian was taken aback, subconsciously touched his cheek, and blurted out, "Is it that obvious?"

Upon hearing this remark, "This is like trying to hide something obvious," a collective gasp filled the hall.

Everyone stared at Zhao Xiaoqian in disbelief.

God! You really did it?

(End of this chapter)