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

After seeing Wang Ya off, Li Ang felt quite uneasy.

It wasn't that he suspected anything, but Wang Ya's ambiguous attitude at the end left him somewhat unsure.

The position of prime minister is of great importance, and in order to stabilize public sentiment, Li Ang could not appoint or dismiss officials as casually as the original owner of this body, so he naturally had to be more cautious.

Fortunately, the preparation of the Shence Army involves many aspects, and even if it is necessary to investigate the military register, it will have to wait until after the New Year, which will give Li Ang some time to carefully consider the matter.

Several days later, he attended the morning court session.

As soon as the court session began, Xue Yuanshang, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, stepped forward to deliver his report.

"Your Majesty, I have been ordered to jointly investigate the case of the Shence Army's assault and murder with the Eastern Depot. The case has now been concluded. There are a total of nine perpetrators who were ordered by Zhang Chongwen, the commander of the Shence Army, to privately lend money, ruin families to collect debts, and assault and murder."

"His crimes are outrageous and abhorrent to both gods and men. According to the Tang law, I hereby order his property to be confiscated and him to be executed in the autumn. The case file is here, and I request Your Majesty to review it."

As soon as he finished speaking, a small but noticeable discussion broke out in the hall.

It should be noted that although this case has already caused quite a stir in the capital, this is the first time it has been brought directly to the imperial court.

The fate of those soldiers who committed the crime was naturally predetermined.

But how to convict them is a very delicate matter.

As most people expected, this case involved the Shence Army after all. Even if the Jingzhao Prefecture participated in the interrogation, after the interrogation was completed, the Eastern Depot would send a case file back to the palace, and then the Emperor would issue a military order to punish these people according to military discipline, thus closing the case.

However, now that Xue Yuanshang has brought up this case during the morning court session and requested a judgment, the significance is different.

If the emperor approves this memorial, it will be the first time in decades that the people of the Shence Army have been tried and sentenced by the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Although it was said to be carried out by a special imperial edict, its impact was considerable.

Unsurprisingly, after reading the memorial, the emperor quickly approved it with a stroke of his pen.

However, that's not all.

Xue Yuanshang then took out another memorial and said.

"Your Majesty, the Prefect of Jingzhao has been ordered to investigate the case of private lending in the army. He has now discovered seventeen similar cases in the army, involving thirty-two officers and soldiers. Among them, eight cases involve homicide, and there is concrete evidence. I request Your Majesty's permission to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice in accordance with the Tang law."

If the previous case was just the beginning, then this new piece of news from Xue Yuanshang is nothing short of a bombshell.

A previous case had already caused a great uproar, leading to the downfall and demotion of a Shence Army lieutenant, and prompting the court to initiate the reorganization of the Shence Army.

Now, Xue Yuanshang has brought out seventeen more cases in one go, undoubtedly wanting to take this opportunity to make great strides and continue to tear open this gap in the Shence Army.

When the memorial was presented, Li Ang did not immediately approve it. Instead, he turned his head to look at Liu Hongyi and the other man and asked.

"Lieutenant Liu, Commander Yang, you were also ordered to participate in the trial of this case. Have you both reviewed these case files?"

These words surprised the ministers in the hall once again, and many began to whisper among themselves again.

As I said before, what you ask isn't important; what's important is the act of asking.

It should be noted that although the four nobles in the palace wielded immense power, their influence was limited to the inner palace.

Apart from arrogant eunuchs like Qiu Shiliang who disregarded the law, eunuchs were generally not allowed to directly participate in political decision-making during the morning court sessions.

Although it involved the Shence Army, in the past, such matters were usually inquired about privately by the emperor after court.

At this moment, the emperor directly asked the question in front of the entire court, and its political implications were undoubtedly very strong.

It seems that some recent rumors circulating in the court may be about to be confirmed...

A stir arose below, but Liu Hongyi and his companion remained calm.

They had naturally already seen the case files.

In fact, during this period, all cases of private lending within the military in the Jingzhao Prefecture were investigated only after they had given their approval.

Of course, Xue Yuanshang's rank was not high enough to directly communicate with them; the person who actually discussed things with them was Li Deyu.

It must be said that this Minister Li was also a ruthless man.

Unlike previous ministers, Li Deyu was very assertive, and he often refused to support many people that Liu Hongyi originally wanted to protect.

Unfortunately, Yang Qinyi didn't stand by his side and often spoke up for Li Deyu, which frustrated Liu Hongyi greatly.

Regardless of the specific negotiation process, in the end, both sides reached an agreement.

At this moment, Liu Hongyi naturally couldn't say anything more, he just symbolically cupped his hands and replied.

"Your Majesty, we have all reviewed the case. Prefect Xue's trials are very fair, and most of the cases have been verified with solid evidence."

"However, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

When someone says something like that, it usually means they want to say something...

Li Ang smiled slightly and did not refuse: "Go ahead and say it."

Therefore, Liu Hongyi said: "Your Excellency, according to Prefect Xue, eight of these seventeen cases involve human lives, while the other nine are relatively minor, involving only the pursuit of loan sharks. I believe that the Shence Army, being military personnel, should be subject to military law."

"Therefore, I humbly request that you grant permission for these cases to be investigated and the specific judgments handed over to the Shence Army after the Jingzhao Prefecture has ascertained the truth, so that they may be dealt with in accordance with military law."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Yuanshang below frowned and said.

"Your Majesty, I believe this is inappropriate."

"These cases arose because the Shence Army violated military discipline. If they were returned to the Shence Army, it would be difficult to handle them impartially. Now that I have been ordered by the Emperor to have the Prefect of the Capital thoroughly investigate private loans in the army, the Prefect of the Capital should take charge of this matter. I beseech Your Majesty to consider this carefully."

These merciless words immediately made Liu Hongyi's face darken.

Even Yang Qinyi, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but frown, feeling that Xue Yuanshang had really gone too far.

After all, they have been quite cooperative in these cases over this period of time.

The previous case was one thing, but this time Xue Yuanshang submitted more than a dozen cases at once. Although they had all been screened, if they still let the Jingzhao Prefecture do as it pleased, the officers under the Shence Army would definitely be dissatisfied.

At that moment, Yang Qinyi also said, "Everyone, the Shence Army has always made its own decisions on all matters. Although the Jingzhao Prefecture was ordered to investigate this case, I and Lieutenant Liu were also ordered to supervise it."

"Whether from a moral or logical standpoint, these criminals should be handed over to the Shence Army for punishment according to military discipline after the trial. Otherwise, if the Jingzhao Prefecture can arbitrarily dispose of Shence Army soldiers, the army will likely lose its discipline and the order of command will be lost."

At this moment, Yang Qinyi's face also revealed a rare hint of dissatisfaction.

After all, they have already made enough concessions.

They allowed the Jingzhao Prefecture to investigate private loans and to interrogate the criminals after reporting them, but if they couldn't even keep the final decision-making power, wouldn't the Shence Army become someone that the Jingzhao Prefecture could bully at will?

This is clearly unacceptable.

"Your Majesty..." Xue Yuanshang wanted to say something more, but Li Deyu flashed a stern look at him, instantly stopping him from speaking.

Seeing this, Li Ang nodded inwardly, then his gaze fell on Li Deyu, and he asked.

"Who does Minister Li think should handle these criminals?"