The prince is more stable

Chapter 972 Heinous crime
The long-standing problems and weakness of the Song Dynasty were related to its rule, and were the responsibility of both the emperors and the civil officials.

Such deep-seated problems and weaknesses cannot be remedied by military victories; these are two different things.

For example, a thousand years later, even though the country has become rich and powerful, and the whole world has to look to China for its approval in terms of both economy and military, there are still some unworthy Chinese people who are used to kneeling to foreigners and who show disgust and hatred when they mention their own country.

This is a lingering poison of the Manchu Qing dynasty, because its backbone was broken, and it has not been cured even after more than a hundred years.

Deep-seated problems and weaknesses reside in people's hearts and minds, and are difficult to cure.

Zhao Xiaoqian's goal was not only to revitalize the Song Dynasty's economy and military, but also to restore the confidence of the Chinese people and revive the arrogant and invincible spirit of the Han and Tang dynasties.

The goal was grand, but difficult to achieve. Zhao Xiaoqian chose to start by reforming the bureaucracy. By his standards, a large number of officials in the Song Dynasty were unqualified, needed to be eliminated, or were even guilty.

Zeng Chongxing was one of them.

Zhao Xiaoqian has now forcibly linked Li Huai and Zeng Chongxing together. If the Imperial City Guard ultimately finds Li Huai to be innocent, then everything will be fine.

If Li Huai really did something heinous, especially instigating a popular uprising, then not only would Li Huai be severely punished, but Zeng Chongxing would also be implicated.

Leaving aside the teacher-student relationship, Zhao Xiaoqian only looks at the facts.

The truth is that Li Huai's meteoric rise in officialdom over the years, with its unusually rapid promotions, was entirely due to the efforts of his mentor, Zeng Chongxing. If anything happens to Li Huai, Zeng Chongxing will bear joint responsibility.

Zeng Chongxing left Wende Hall in a daze.

When Zheng Chunhe reported that the Imperial City Guard had discovered Liu Zening alive, Zeng Chongxing knew that all was lost.

Li Huai can't escape now, and neither can he.

In his memorial a few days earlier, Li Huai said that Liu Zening had died at the hands of rioters. Zeng Chongxing immediately realized that this statement had aroused the emperor's suspicion.

The attempt to cover up the truth only made things worse, and the air of "the dead have no way to prove it" was so strong that even Zeng Chongxing frowned secretly upon hearing it.

If it were confirmed that Liu Zening was really dead, it might have been possible to cover it up, since no one would know the truth anyway. But Liu Zening was not dead; he was being secretly sent to Bianjing.

If Liu Zening doesn't die, then it's Li Huai's turn to die.

Li Huai's eagerness to kill Liu Zening must be because Liu Zening discovered some of his shameful secrets, secrets that could truly cost Li Huai his life.

Things have developed to this point, almost to the point of no return. What else can Zeng Chongxing do?
There's nothing he can do. The Imperial City Guard is now keeping a close watch on him, and he can't even escape.

He could only stay in the mansion, quietly spending his remaining free time, and then waiting for news from Nanjing.

If he's lucky, Zeng Chongxing might escape with his life, but end up being exiled.

If Li Huai is truly involved in the uprising in Xiayi County, Zeng Chongxing may very well end up being sent to the execution ground.

He was cautious and scheming his whole life, and finally made it to the position of vice prime minister. But he never expected that he would sow the seeds of his own downfall years ago, leaving him in a state of utter despair.

Inside the Funing Palace.

After seeing Zeng Chongxing off, Zhao Xiaoqian was not in a good mood.

A popular uprising occurred under his rule. Regardless of the reasons for it, it was a stain on his imperial career, a stain that was difficult to erase.

That is why Zhao Xiaoqian is particularly disgusted by the masterminds behind the popular uprising.

If this is verified, whoever it is, must be severely punished as a warning to others.

Liu Zening is on his way, and his safety is very important. After thinking for a long time, Zhao Xiaoqian called Chen Shou over.

Chen Shou is now the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards, which means he wields considerable power.

Zhao Xiaoqian ordered Chen Shou to send a thousand imperial guards on horseback out of the capital to meet Zhao Xi and Liu Zening's party on the way, protect their safety, and escort them back to Bianjing.

In this critical period, with the news that Liu Zening is still alive spreading, it's hard to say whether someone might take the risk and attack him again.

After giving the instructions, Zhao Xiaoqian could only wait.

They were waiting for news from Nanjing, for news of Di Zi's suppression of the peasant uprising, and also for news of Liu Zening's return to Beijing.

Two days later, Di Zi finally brought news that the peasant uprisings in Xiayi and Chuqiu counties under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture had been successfully quelled.

The rioters involved totaled more than 40,000. After careful interrogation, Di Zi ordered the arrest of several hundred powerful landlords who had instigated the uprising. The remaining rioters who blindly followed him were severely warned and then released to return to their hometowns without further investigation.

Zhen Qing also brought news from Huiting Town, Xiayi County: after being personally interrogated by Liu Dan of Bingjingwu, Chen Su, the magistrate of Xiayi County, confessed everything.

The popular uprising was indeed instigated by Li Huai, the garrison commander of Nanjing. Before instigating the uprising, Li Huai sent a secret letter to Chen Su, instructing him to tacitly approve or even secretly incite the uprising.

Over the years, Chen Su had been an official, and Li Huai had a lot of leverage over him. He had no choice but to obey Li Huai's words, even though he knew it would lead to his death, because the leverage Chen Su had was also going to cost him his life.

Li Huai, the garrison commander of Nanjing, instigated the popular uprising with a simple goal: he wanted Liu Zening dead.

Since Liu Zening arrived in Yingtian Prefecture, he had been doing something that chilled Li Huai to the bone: he had gone down to the counties and townships under his jurisdiction to conduct both overt and covert investigations. No one knew how many heinous things Li Huai had done during his years as an official in Yingtian Prefecture, but in short, it was something that couldn't be investigated, couldn't be investigated, because investigating would cost many people their heads.

This led Li Huai to harbor murderous intentions, instigating a popular uprising to kill Liu Zening.

Li Huai had a very shrewd plan. Once Liu Zening died, he would petition the court to pin all the blame on Liu Zening, while the officials in Nanjing would at most receive a minor punishment, or at worst be dismissed from their posts, but at least their lives would be spared.

However, this was the first time Li Huai had ever instigated a popular uprising, and he had no experience. He was also unaware that once a popular uprising occurred, it was completely beyond human control. Even the imperial court could only send troops to quell it, let alone him, the garrison commander of Nanjing, who was completely unable to handle the situation.

After reading Zhen Qing's secret report, Zhao Xiaoqian's face turned ashen, and a surge of anger welled up in his chest.

For his own selfish reasons, he was willing to sacrifice tens of thousands of people and plunge the vast city of Yingtian into turmoil. Such a person deserves to die ten thousand times!

With the testimony of Chen Su, the magistrate of Xiayi County, the investigations conducted by Han Zhongyan and Li Qingchen in Nanjing were no longer important; Li Huai's guilt had been confirmed.

Putting aside everything else, the mere act of secretly instigating and rioting is enough to warrant Li Huai being executed for half an hour.

"Old Zheng!" Zhao Xiaoqian shouted sternly.

Zheng Chunhe appeared in the hall looking flustered. Judging from the Emperor's tone, it was clear that he was furious.

"Send a fast horse to Di Zi with an imperial edict: after the peasant uprising is quelled, the troops under his command of the Palace Guard should not rush back to the capital, but immediately lead their troops to the walls of Nanjing to arrest Li Huai of Yingtian Prefecture and all the officials of the prefecture, as well as the county magistrates of the seven counties under its jurisdiction, and escort them to Bianjing!"

"Tell Han Zhongyan and Li Qingchen that they can also return to the capital."

After receiving the imperial decree, Zheng Chunhe hurriedly left the palace.

Inside the Funing Palace, Zhao Xiaoqian lowered his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger.

Having lived two lifetimes, he should have seen the darkness of human nature very clearly, but life experiences still constantly push the boundaries of his understanding.

There is no darkest, only darker.

Whether in ancient or modern times, people's hearts have not changed much. Strip away the glamorous exterior, and the human heart is still unbearable to look at.

Zhao Xiaoqian knew that this time, another massacre was about to begin.

Don't try to save or whitewash those whose hearts have turned black. Some people deserve to be completely erased so that the world can regain a glimmer of light.

…………

Outside Yingtianfu City.

Han Zhongyan lived in the Imperial Guard camp outside the city. The camp was heavily guarded, and the thousand Imperial Guards he brought from Bianjing patrolled day and night without the slightest slackening.

That's right, they didn't trust Li Huai, nor did they trust any of the officials in Nanjing. They lived outside the city to guard against any trouble they might cause.

Late at night, Han Zhongyan sat in his military tent, his face gloomy and his expression solemn.

The military tent contained not only him, but also more than a dozen clerks from the Ministry of Revenue whom he had brought from Bianjing. The clerks worked tirelessly for two days straight, without leaving the tent, and were diligently checking the historical account books of Yingtian Prefecture.

Auditing accounts is that simple and direct, but effective.

If you want to know exactly what an official did during his tenure and how much he embezzled, the accounting books can tell you everything.

After two days, judging from the shocked expressions of the clerks, it was clear that there were serious problems with the accounts of Yingtian Prefecture, and it was now time to summarize and compile the data.

After an unknown amount of time, it was well past midnight when a clerk rose and presented a thin sheet of paper to Han Zhongyan, saying with a look of shock, "Reporting to Doctor Han, the account books of Yingtian Prefecture from the first year of Shaosheng to the present have been basically verified. Please take a look, Doctor Han."

The paper was thin, and the statistics listed on it were presented.

Han Zhongyan leaned closer to the dim candlestick, squinted and examined it carefully, then revealed a shocked expression.

"Are you sure this calculation isn't wrong?" Han Zhongyan asked in surprise.

The clerk bowed and said, "My colleagues and I have checked it three times and confirmed that there is no mistake. That is exactly right."

Han Zhongyan murmured, "In four years, the financial records of Yingtian Prefecture have more than five million strings of cash that don't match the accounts, and the land in the seven counties under its jurisdiction, more than 800,000 hectares, is different from the original records..."

“Li Huai… how audacious! Who gave him the courage? More than five million strings of cash and more than 800,000 hectares of land!” Han Zhongyan exclaimed in shock.

The clerk whispered, "Doctor Han, these figures are not something Li Huai could swallow alone. The officials of Yingtian Prefecture and its subordinates, as well as the local powerful landlords, and even... the big shots in the Bianjing court, they should all have a share."

Han Zhongyan remained silent for a long time before sighing, "The Song Dynasty's court and officialdom are likely undergoing a major upheaval. This number is too alarming; the Emperor will absolutely not allow it, especially considering the civil uprising that has occurred within the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture..."

The clerk cautiously asked, "Doctor Han, the account books have been verified. Should we order the arrest of the person?"

Han Zhongyan said coldly, "It is time to arrest them, but this time we are going to wipe out the entire officialdom of Yingtian Prefecture. This is too big a matter. We must report to the Emperor immediately and wait for his decree before arresting them."

(End of this chapter)