The revitalization of the Tang Dynasty began with the Ganlu Incident.

Upon seeing the soldiers' actions, Xue Jiling subconsciously frowned and searched his mind, but to no avail.

However, despite this, the insignia of the Shence Right Army on the other party's clothes made him feel uneasy, as if he had realized something.

"It seems these people know you..."

Li Ang sneered and gave instructions to Li Zhensu.

"Let them talk."

So, the Imperial Guard removed the rags stuffed into the mouths of these soldiers, who then gasped for air and burst into tears.

"Lieutenant, we are subordinates of the Seventh General of the Right Army, working for Zhang Chongwen, the Commander-in-Chief. Please come to our rescue, Lieutenant."

As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes immediately turned to Xue Jiling.

At this moment, Xue Jiling had a rough idea of ​​what was going on.

He naturally knew Zhang Chongwen, the seventh general of the Shence Right Army and one of his confidants.

The Commander-in-Chief was responsible for maintaining military discipline, managing the families of soldiers, and assisting the Imperial Guard in handling security issues within the city.

Since these people are Zhang Chongwen's subordinates and they appeared in the city at this time, they must have caused trouble in the city and happened to run into the emperor returning to the palace, which is why we are in this situation now.

So the only question now is, what exactly did they do to cause such a huge commotion?

"rescue?"

"The sage is here! What have you done? Confess the truth!"

At that moment, Xue Jiling's face darkened, and he shouted sternly.

Seeing this, the soldiers immediately deflated and hurriedly said...

"Lieutenant, please understand! I'm innocent! We were just whipping a few lowly commoners who refused to pay their debts. We were only following orders. Who would have thought that those commoners would only be whipped a few times before... before..."

The voice grew softer and softer, giving Xue Jiling a vague sense of unease.

"So what?"

"Dead!"

The speaker was none other than Li Ang, whose face was now ashen.

Despite his haste to call a doctor and use the best medicine he could find, two of the beaten people still couldn't be saved.

Of the remaining people, the two children were less injured because they were constantly being protected. Of the five adults, three had broken ribs, and only two had minor injuries, but they were already covered in bruises.

Recalling the tearful pleas of the two remaining women who could still stand and speak, a fire burned within Li Ang.

"A murder has been committed in the streets of Chang'an, right under the Emperor's nose! Xue Jiling, is this the Shence Army you command?"

Li Ang's voice was so cold it seemed like it was about to freeze into ice.

Upon hearing this, Xue Jiling's heart trembled, and he quickly said, "Please calm down, everyone. I will definitely take these people back and discipline them severely, and I will never let such a thing happen again."

"Strict discipline?"

Before Li Ang could speak, Li Deyu slammed his fist on the table and stood up angrily.

"Two lives lost, does Lieutenant Xue really think he can just brush this off like this?"

"Those are two living, breathing human lives!"

His tone was somber, and the veins on his forehead throbbed, clearly indicating his dissatisfaction with Xue Jiling's dismissive attitude.

However, Xue Jiling was somewhat displeased by his questioning.

Let alone the fact that Li Deyu is now just a minor official in Yuanzhou, even when he was a high-ranking minister, he might not have had the same influence as Lieutenant of the Shence Army.

Facing Emperor Li Ang, Xue Jiling might still have some fear, but facing Li Deyu, he had no reservations whatsoever and spoke directly.

"According to the regulations of the imperial court, all affairs of the Shence Army are handled by the Lieutenant General. No department has the right to interfere. If these people violate military discipline, I will naturally punish them. There is no need for Chief Secretary Li to worry about it."

Xue Jiling's attitude was extremely arrogant.

However, he does indeed have the qualifications.

The phrase "eunuchs in charge of the army" is not simply about eunuchs having the power to mobilize the Shence Army.

During the late Tang Dynasty, the reason why the eunuchs were able to firmly control the Shence Army was that, over the years, they had placed their own people in every key position throughout the army.

At the same time, it is also because, institutionally speaking, all matters related to the Shence Army, whether minor things like fights or disturbing the peace, or major things like murder and arson, are subject to the jurisdiction of the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice. The Shence Army must handle them on its own.

As the highest-ranking officers of the Shence Army, the Shence lieutenants relied on the Shence Army to wield power and influence, so naturally they would protect them whenever possible.

Over time, this led to the Shence Army's unbridled behavior in Chang'an...

"According to military discipline, what should be the punishment for leaving the camp at night without permission and committing murder in the street?"

Xue Jiling may disregard Li Deyu, but he cannot ignore Li Ang's question.

He glanced at the soldiers lying on the ground and hesitated.

According to military discipline, of course he should be killed.

The problem is that over the years, all the Shence Lieutenants have prioritized protecting their subordinates in such situations.

If someone is killed by him, the officers and soldiers below, even if they don't say it, will definitely harbor resentment towards him.

After weighing the options for a moment, Xue Jiling still felt that he couldn't just give in like that.

So he cupped his hands and said, "Everyone, you can see that even if we are to deal with this according to military discipline, I must bring these people back to the camp for a thorough interrogation before making a decision. After all, this involves human lives, and if it is not handled properly, I fear it will cause dissatisfaction in the army."

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

As soon as Xue Jiling finished speaking, Li Deyu on the other side immediately stood up again and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Your Majesty, in recent years, the Shence Army has committed many illegal acts. However, from the Shence Lieutenant to the general in charge, they have all been biased and protected, resulting in the deterioration of military discipline and the emergence of many lawless individuals. Today, these people dare to be so arrogant in front of Your Majesty's carriage, even beating and killing people in the street. It is clear that this kind of trend has not been around for a day."

"Therefore, I believe this case should not be left to the Shence Army to handle on its own. It should be transferred to the Jingzhao Prefecture for trial, sentencing, and public punishment!"

The transfer to the Jingzhao Prefecture meant that the outer court was going to interfere in the military law matters of the Shence Army, which clearly crossed Xue Jiling's bottom line.

He shouted sternly.

"Nonsense! How dare you, a mere clerk, speak before the Emperor?"

"Everyone, the affairs of the Shence Army should be handled by the Shence Army itself. This is the established practice of the imperial court and must not be broken. If it is forced, chaos will surely ensue in the army. I urge you all to think it over carefully."

Unlike his previous calm demeanor, Xue Jiling's eyes now flashed with a fierce light, and his tone even carried a hint of threat.

Seeing this situation, Li Ang couldn't help but sigh.

Therefore, no matter what they are like in normal times, when it comes to core interests, the true face of the so-called powerful eunuchs will be revealed without a doubt.

In any other dynasty, no eunuch would dare to speak like that.

But Xue Jiling dared to do it, not for any other reason than the title of Lieutenant of the Shence Army.

Looking back, the Shence Army's lax discipline was not a recent development; it had been a problem for some time, and officials in the court had already submitted memorials impeaching them.

The original owner of this body had also tried to issue an edict to transfer the trial authority of similar cases to the outer court, but without exception, all of them were resisted by Qiu Shiliang and others, who were then the Shence Lieutenant.

In fact, it was precisely because of this incident that the original owner of this body harbored murderous intent towards Qiu Shiliang, which led to the Ganlu Incident.

And now, the same thing is happening before our eyes...

Li Ang was clearly not the impulsive type like the original owner of this body. He knew very well that in the current situation, even if he, as a saint, spoke up or even issued a decree directly, Xue Jiling would definitely object.

So, after a moment of silence, he closed his eyes slightly, as if suppressing his anger, and said.

"In that case, take the person back and expedite the trial. I want to see your report within three days."

"His Majesty……"

Li Deyu and Zheng Qin immediately stood up and called out.

In contrast, Xue Jiling was overjoyed and quickly cupped his hands in greeting.

"Your subject obeys the decree and thanks you all for your kindness."