The prince is more stable

Chapter 965 Handling and Suppressing
Chinese culture is profound and extensive, and the definitions of certain words and phrases are very clear.

For example, the terms "popular uprising" and "rebellion" both seem to refer to riots that overthrow rule, but in fact, there is a fundamental difference between the two.

"Popular uprising" carries a certain passivity, somewhat like "officials forcing the people to rebel," and it is temporary, without prior leaders or planning, purely a temporary riot driven by momentary impulse.

But "rebellion" is different. A rebellion must have a leader, a gang, a clear division of labor, a well-thought-out plan, and a large number of followers.

In his memorial to the throne, Li Huai, the garrison commander of Nanjing, defined the riot as a "popular uprising," which actually further confirmed that everything was caused by Liu Zening's arrival in the local area, and that it was a temporary disturbance.

With this definition, the officials of Yingtian Prefecture could be completely absolved of their responsibilities.

Your Majesty, before Liu Zening was brought down, nothing happened in our Yingtian Prefecture. Everything only happened after Liu Zening was brought down, so the person responsible can only be him, and has nothing to do with the officials of our Yingtian Prefecture.

Please God, distinguish between loyalty and treachery.

The definition of a single word contains so many hidden thoughts, which shows how complex the human nature in officialdom is.

Zhao Xiaoqian was furious. Regardless of what conspiracy was behind this popular uprising or whether it was just the superficial reason, Zhao Xiaoqian could not suppress his anger.

Li Huai's memorial calmly stated the facts throughout, but between the lines it was clear that he was slapping the emperor in the face.

The culprit, Liu Zening, was a supervisory official, and the Supervisory Office was established by the emperor despite the opposition and dissent of his ministers, who punished a large number of officials, and amidst fierce opposition from all over the country.

The Censorate has only been established for a short time, and its officials have already caused such a big disaster in the local area. So, in the end, the one whose face will be slapped until it is swollen can only be the emperor. The officials are all watching him quietly to see how swollen his face will become.

The real reasons behind this incident cannot be verified at this time. The most important thing right now is not to hold people accountable, but to quell the unrest.

After staring at the memorial in his hand for a long time, Zhao Xiaoqian's face turned ashen, and he said coldly, "Court adjourned! The heads of the Political Affairs Hall, the Censorate, and the Privy Council shall remain to discuss matters in the Wende Hall."

After saying this, Zhao Xiaoqian stood up and left.

After the court session ended, the court officials walked out of Yanfu Palace in silence, their expressions varied.

Knowing that the emperor was furious about the popular uprising, the court officials naturally dared not discuss it in private. They walked quietly, no one daring to speak.

In the rear hall of Daqing Hall, Zhao Xiaoqian, after the court session, did not even change his clothes, but walked hurriedly toward Wende Hall with a gloomy face.

Zheng Chunhe followed closely behind him, waving cautiously to signal the palace servants blocking the way to make way.

Zhao Xiaoqian walked quickly, and when he was almost at the Wende Hall, he suddenly said, "Old Zheng, urgently summon Zhen Qing from the Imperial City Guard to see me."

"Furthermore, my father-in-law, Di Zi, was also summoned to the Wende Hall."

Zheng Chunhe quickly accepted the order and hurriedly turned to leave.

Inside the Wende Hall.

Zhao Xiaoqian's face remained ashen, and Zhang Dun, Cai Jing, Han Zhongyan, Li Qingchen, Xu Jiang, and others sitting in front of him were all silent and trembling with fear.

No one dared to provoke the emperor when he was furious, not even the strong-willed prime minister.

After a long while, before the emperor and his ministers in the hall could speak, Zhen Qing and Di Zi entered the hall by imperial decree.

Zhao Xiaoqian fixed his angry gaze on Zhen Qing and said coldly, "Is the Imperial City Guard aware of the civil unrest under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture?"

Zhen Qing knew something was wrong even before he entered the palace. He had just received news of the civil unrest in Yingtian Prefecture, but it came out a step later than Li Huai's memorial.

This is clearly a dereliction of duty by the Imperial City Guard, and he, as the head, should be held accountable.

Zhen Qing then knelt down in a panic, saying, "Your Majesty, I deserve to die! The Imperial City Guard just received news of the popular uprising."

Zhao Xiaoqian said coldly, "So, you Imperial City Guard doesn't know the cause of the uprising, the people who caused it, and so on?"

Sensing the ill intent in Zhao Xiaoqian's words, Zhen Qing grew even more apprehensive and whispered, "The one accompanying Liu Zening to Yingtian Prefecture this time is Zhao Xin, the clerk of the Imperial City Guard."

"According to the rules, Liu Zening is in the open, while Zhao Xin is in the shadows. But for some reason, since the uprising in Yingtian Prefecture, I have not received any reports from Zhao Xin. It seems that Zhao Xin and his dozen or so subordinates have vanished into thin air from Yingtian Prefecture. I believe there may be other secrets behind this."

Zhao Xiaoqian gritted his teeth and said, "Having caused such a serious incident, the entire court is watching me closely, and the whole world is laughing at me! They are all talking about it in private, saying that the establishment of the Censorate was my act of going against the tide, and that this is the retribution I have received!"

"Zhen Qing, doesn't your Imperial City Guard want to do anything for me?"

Zhen Qing slammed his head on the cold floor and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I know what to do! The Imperial City Guard will immediately send its men to all parts of Yingtian Prefecture. They will not only find the whereabouts of Zhao Xin and Liu Zening, but also uncover the truth behind the peasant uprising!"

Zhao Xiaoqian's gaze sharpened: "Li Huai's memorial says that Liu Zening has died among the rioters..." Zhen Qing interjected: "Your Majesty, a memorial is a memorial, and the truth is the truth. If there is no sign of him alive or dead, the rules of the Imperial City Guard will assume that he is not dead."

After a moment of stunned silence, the people present seemed to understand something, and each stroked their beards in silence.

Zhen Qing's words may seem subtle, but his stance is actually quite clear.

From the perspective of the Imperial City Guard's official duties, Zhen Qing did not believe the contents of Li Huai's memorial. He believed that the truth would come from Zhao Xin's mouth after he found him.

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded: "Then go find them. I will give you any help you need. This matter must be investigated thoroughly. We cannot suppress the uprising in a muddled manner and think that the matter is over. This matter is not over!"

Zhen Qing received the decree and withdrew. As he walked out of the Wende Hall, a terrifying murderous intent filled his face. His sinister gaze swept over every palace servant who passed by, and then he gritted his teeth and hurriedly walked toward the Imperial City Guard Office.

Inside the Wende Hall, Zhao Xiaoqian turned his gaze to his father-in-law, Di Zi.

Di Zi is now the commander of the Imperial Guards, responsible for protecting the safety of the palace. The safety of Zhao Xiaoqian and his wives and concubines is also entrusted to him.

His father-in-law was naturally trustworthy. The civil uprising in Yingtian Prefecture was too egregious and had too great an impact. It was a serious provocation against the authority of the emperor, and Zhao Xiaoqian had to let the person he trusted most handle it.

"Father-in-law, I'm afraid we'll still need to trouble you to make a trip to Yingtian Prefecture next."

Di Zi bowed and clasped his hands in greeting: "If Your Majesty has any orders, I will go through fire and water for you."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded and said, "Dispatch 20,000 troops from the Bianjing Palace Cavalry Command, and have you personally lead them to Xiayi County and Chuqiu County under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture. The number of people involved in the uprising has now exceeded 40,000, and they have occupied the two county towns. Your task is to quell the uprising."

Di Zi hesitated for a moment before saying, "What His Majesty means by 'pacify' is..."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded: "That's right, it's 'pacify,' not 'suppress.' Father-in-law should understand the difference between these two words."

"I firmly believe that the popular uprising was instigated by a very small number of people with malicious intentions. Those 40,000 people were either misled by rumors or blindly followed out of ignorance."

"Unless absolutely necessary, I am unwilling to kill ordinary people. Therefore, I have troubled my father-in-law to quell the rebellion by besieging two county towns with troops. We should intimidate them with military force, deter them with the law, and persuade them with reason. However, we should try to avoid violence and focus on persuasion and appeasement."

"After the popular uprising was quelled, ordinary people were not prosecuted and were released to return to their homeland. The court only investigated the ringleaders."

Di Zi understood, and clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

Seeing Di Zi's bitter expression, Zhao Xiaoqian said sympathetically, "Father-in-law, you're in a difficult position. This battle wasn't very pleasant, but everyone in the world is watching me. If I suppress the rebellion and commit mass killings, it will inevitably shake the fate of the nation. Father-in-law, you're family, so please do me the favor and help your foolish son-in-law solve this problem."

Di Zi nodded: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will try my best to avoid fighting and focus on winning hearts and minds, persuading the people who have rebelled to give up their resistance and return to their homeland."

"There's no time to lose, father-in-law, please mobilize the troops out of the city now."

Di Zi hurriedly accepted the imperial decree and left. At this moment, only the heads of the Political Affairs Hall, the Censorate, and the Privy Council remained in the Wende Hall.

Cai Jing, the sycophant, immediately revealed his true colors, bowing and flattering, "Your Majesty's handling of the situation is calm, wise, reasonable, and orderly, which fully demonstrates Your Majesty's wisdom. I cannot help but admire you greatly and bow down in admiration. With Your Majesty at the helm, a prosperous era can be expected for the Great Song Dynasty."

The sudden incident eased his bad mood considerably, and Zhao Xiaoqian revealed a slight smile.

This is the benefit of heavily relying on treacherous officials. Look at the emotional value they provide—they are impartial and skillfully grasp both the timing and the intensity.

Those self-proclaimed moral gentlemen wouldn't stoop to doing such a thing. If you don't believe me, let Zhang Dun try it now. That old geezer could hold his breath until he suffocates, but he still wouldn't be able to let out a single coherent fart.

"Mr. Yuanchang is eloquent; please say more in the future." Zhao Xiaoqian expressed his full approval of Cai Jing's shameless flattery.

Cai Jing's eyes lit up; he knew he had met a wise ruler!

However, Zhang Dun, Xu Jiang, Han Zhongyan, and others present all cast barely perceptible glances of disdain at Cai Jing.

He's already a Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, equivalent to a deputy prime minister, yet he's so shameless in his flattery. He's so old, he has no shame at all.

Zhang Dunqing cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the urgent problem to be solved now is to find out the real cause of the popular uprising, whether the memorial submitted by Li Huai, the garrison commander of Nanjing, is true, and what the inside story is. All of these must be thoroughly investigated."

Li Qingchen, the Left Censor, who was standing nearby, slowly said, "Your Majesty, I personally summoned Liu Zening to the Censorate. I can guarantee that Liu Zening's character is without fault."

"Whether it was his impartial historical writing when he served as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, where he did not change a single word, or his passing the test of the Censorate later, it is enough to prove that Liu Zening's character was flawless."

"To be honest, I don't believe what Li Huai said. The claim that Liu Zening extorted and embezzled after arriving in the local area, causing the local people to rebel and even leading to a popular uprising is utter nonsense!"

Zhao Xiaoqian said coldly, "Nothing can be concluded right now. Li Huai said that Liu Zening died among the rioters, which is even more unverifiable. We can only wait for the Imperial City Guard to find the whereabouts of Liu Zening and Zhao Xin. We need to see them alive or dead."

(End of this chapter)