The Prodigal Son

Soon, Lü Si was brought before Zhao Luan by two imperial guards.

Zhao Luan stared coldly at Lü Si: "Lü Si, do you know your crime?"

"Your humble servant is guilty!"

Lü Si bowed low, "Your Majesty, I made a mistake for a moment, please forgive me..."

"Did you make a mistake?"

Zhao Luan interrupted Lü Si coldly, shouting angrily, "I think you've lost your mind!"

"Your humble servant... Your humble servant..."

Lu Si bowed his head low, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Zhao Luan glanced coldly at Lü Si, then turned to Shi Yi, "Lord Shi, beat your daughter the same way he beat her! I will speak to the Empress Dowager myself!"

Looking at Lü Si kneeling beside him, Shi Yi wished he could rush forward immediately, slap Lü Si dozens of times, and knock out a few of his teeth.

However, Shi Yi ultimately did not do that.

Even if you don't respect the monk, you should respect the Buddha!

He wasn't afraid of anything else, except that the Empress Dowager and the Lü family might hold a grudge and use the power of the Ministry of Justice to retaliate against the Shi family!

No matter how powerful historians are, they cannot contend with the power of the imperial court!

Shi Yi suppressed his anger and bowed, saying, "Although I am angry, I understand that Lü Si did this on purpose to avoid marrying Lian'er! Since Your Majesty has agreed to cancel the marriage between the two families, I do not wish to pursue the matter further. I only wish them both well!"

"If you won't do it, I'll do it for you!"

Zhao Luan waved his hand and said sternly, "Drag him away and give him thirty lashes!"

Lu Si was startled and cried out in despair, "Your Majesty, I know my crime! Please forgive me!"

"Your Majesty need not do this."

Shi Yi quickly put on a good-natured act, saying, "Young people act impulsively. For the sake of the Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, please forgive him!"

"I'm young too; he's impulsive, but I'm even more impulsive!"

Zhao Luan remained unmoved and said in an unquestionable tone, "Drag him away and beat him!"

"yes!"

The imperial guards immediately dragged Lü Si, who was constantly wailing and begging for mercy, aside and pinned him to the ground.

Snapped!

The large board fell heavily.

"what……"

Lu Si let out a piercing scream.

That was a real slap on the wrist!

Before Lü Si could stop screaming, a second blow followed.

Snapped!

"what……"

Lu Si let out another piercing scream.

The third time, the fourth time...

Under Shi Yi's watchful gaze, the paddle landed on Lü Si's buttocks one after another.

Lu Si kept letting out heart-wrenching screams, which were painful to hear, not to mention that his buttocks were already covered in blood.

Even the board that had been used to strike was covered in blood.

Just after the twenty strokes of the cane, Lü Si's screams abruptly ceased.

"Your Majesty, Lü Si has fainted!"

A royal guard came to report.

"Splash them with water to wake them up, then keep hitting them!"

Zhao Luan coldly gave the order.

"Your Majesty, Lü Si has already fainted, please spare him!"

Shi Yi pleaded for Lü Si again.

Zhao Luan was too ruthless!

Even he was a little scared!

Even if the Lü family and the Empress Dowager resent her, they can't do anything to her!

But the Lü family and the Empress Dowager are very likely to hold a grudge against the historians!

"Lord Shi, there's no need to plead for him!"

Zhao Luan stopped Shi Yi, "He deserved it! If I don't teach him a lesson, he'll really think he can act with impunity just because of the Empress Dowager's favor!"

Zhao Luan waved his hand, signaling the imperial guards to continue the attack!

Soon, Lü Si was awakened by being splashed with cold water, and the large board, which was still dripping blood, fell on Lü Si's buttocks again.

After the thirty strokes of the cane were finished, Lü Si fainted again.

"Send him to the Imperial Hospital!"

Zhao Luan gave a curt order, then looked at Shi Yi, "The matter between them ends here! Now, let's talk about the salt administration!"

Shi Yi's eyelids twitched, and he lowered his head, saying, "Didn't I already tell Your Majesty..."

"That's not what I meant."

Zhao Luan interrupted Shi Yi, "You should know that the imperial court plans to promote the Min salt trade and open up salt routes in Min, right?"

"I have indeed heard of this before."

Shi Yi nodded quickly, then tentatively asked, "Has this matter been settled?"

This matter had been circulating ever since Qin Yu conquered Min, so of course he knew about it.

Not only did he know, but many salt merchants also knew.

"It's not decided yet!"

Zhao Luan shook his head slightly. "You have been the Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang for many years now. You should know the most about salt affairs! I must hear your opinion."

"this……"

Shi Yi lowered his head and pondered for a while before slowly saying, "I do agree with promoting the Min salt policy, but I also have some concerns."

"What are you worried about?"

Zhao Luan inquired.

Shi Yi pondered quietly for a moment, then replied, "Firstly, Min is a newly acquired territory of the imperial court, and it is not yet stable. Promoting Min salt and opening up salt routes in Min will certainly face many problems!"

"Secondly, there are 80,000 salt households and hundreds of thousands of salt workers in Hai and Yuan prefectures. Half of the people in these two prefectures rely directly or indirectly on the salt industry for their livelihood. If the court vigorously promotes Min salt, the livelihoods of these people will inevitably be greatly affected, and there may even be trouble."

"Thirdly, although Min has many natural salt fields, the roads are mostly damaged and there is no canal for convenience, so transportation will definitely require more manpower and resources."

"Fourth, the coastal areas of Min are often hit by hurricanes and large waves, and many salt fields and salt pans are destroyed every year, which not only makes the salt supply unstable, but also causes a lot of waste of resources."

Shi Yi listed four concerns in one breath, covering a wide range of aspects.

Well-reasoned and persuasive!

If Zhao Luan hadn't known that the salt administration problem had become an intractable issue for the imperial court, he probably would have been persuaded.

"That makes some sense!"

Zhao Luan nodded in agreement and said, "In that case, you should quickly draft a statement outlining your views and suggestions on promoting the Min salt policy, detailing its advantages and disadvantages! You will also attend tomorrow's court assembly! At that time, I will discuss this matter thoroughly with all the civil and military officials, and regardless of its feasibility, we will strive to finalize it as soon as possible!"

"yes!"

Shi Yi accepted the order and took his leave.

Only after Shi Yi's figure disappeared did Zhao Luan casually ask Qin Yu, "Do you know why I had Shi Yi submit a memorial?"

Qin Yu smiled and said, "Gao Yihe..."

"Um?"

Zhao Luan immediately glared at her, "You've already forgotten what I told you yesterday?"

In officialdom, there are some things you must be careful about!

Qin Yu was slightly taken aback before realizing what he meant and changed his words with a smile: "Prime Minister Gao and Shi Yi are currently at odds. Tomorrow in court, as long as Shi Yi points out the drawbacks of promoting Min salt, Prime Minister Gao will refute them one by one and take the opportunity to point out the problems with the court's salt administration..."

This woman!

He's quite the master of power politics!

Let Gao Yi and Shi Yi clash; she can simply sit back and relax.

After Gao Yi pointed out the problems with the salt administration and proposed the idea of ​​reforming it, she readily agreed.

"You're quite clever."

Zhao Luan nodded slightly. "You must attend court tomorrow! If you dare to slack off, I will order someone to drag you out of bed and hang you outside the Zichen Palace!"

"Yes, yes!"

Qin Yu nodded repeatedly, but secretly complained in his heart.

capitalist bastards!

The court is already in session on the fifth day of the first lunar month!

I haven't even had a few days of rest, and I'm already being assigned tasks again!

Even a donkey wouldn't be this useful!

"Alright, go to the Imperial Hospital to see Lü Si first! Then dine with me and the Empress Dowager tonight!"

Zhao Luan waved gently, rose, and walked towards the Imperial Study...