Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

"Chen Zhi! What are you doing?"

Yang Yi was furious and threw the bamboo slips he was holding onto the ground with a crisp sound. Then he pointed at Chen Zhi's face.

In a moment of desperation, Yang Yi actually stepped over the table, his eyes sweeping over the various expressions on everyone's faces, and loudly demanded, "What are you all doing?"

"Chief Secretary Yang." Chen Zhi stepped forward and entered the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence first. He said calmly, "I have come here on the imperial edict to investigate Wei Wenchang's rebellion. I now request that Yang Yi, the Chief Secretary of the Prime Minister and General of the Pacification Army, accompany me back to Chengdu to be questioned by His Majesty and the Court of Justice."

"You, you're committing insubordination!" Yang Yi grew increasingly anxious. Under the intense gazes of the crowd, he seemed somewhat flustered, glancing left and right. He noticed that the two remaining military advisors, Sheng Bo and Cuan Xi, were both walking quickly towards Chen Zhi. As for Xu Yun, who had spoken with him for so long... he had already quietly slipped away to the other side of the aisle while Yang Yi was stepping over the table.

Seeing this scene, Chen Zhi couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "They are all 'wise men' who know how to seize the moment!"

Yang Yi grew increasingly furious, yet also fearful, and dared not confront Chen Zhi—there were simply too many people there. Yang Yi could only retreat slightly towards the Prime Minister's desk, pointing to the Prime Minister's memorial tablet on it, his voice trembling as he roared:

"You must not cause trouble in front of the Prime Minister's memorial tablet!"

Chen Zhi took a few more steps forward and stood in the center of the hall, replying coldly, "It is not we who are causing trouble, but you who are."

Yang Yi cried out urgently, "I didn't! How could I have caused trouble? I've served the court for half my life, and my heart has always been pure! Ma Dai, where is Ma Dai?!"

Seeing Yang Yi's increasingly urgent shouts, Liu Yin stepped forward from behind, carrying a lacquer tray with Ma Dai's head on it.

Chen Zhi gestured with his chin toward Liu Yin on his right: "Ma Dai is here, so what do you have to say?"

"I didn't..." Upon seeing Ma Dai's head, Yang Yi almost instantly collapsed, becoming extremely weak and somewhat hunched over, his steps faltering as if he couldn't stand steadily.

Chen Zhi had seen this physiological reaction in many corrupt officials who suddenly learned they were under investigation, so it wasn't surprising at all. But to the group of Ji Han officials here, it was a very novel performance.

This is the Prime Minister's Residence in Mianyang, this is the main hall of the residence, and this is in front of the Prime Minister's memorial tablet!

Chen Zhi had no intention of disrupting the occasion; he only wanted to arrest Yang Yi. Yang Yi was clearly acting strangely, and if he were to say something in the chaos or accidentally stumble upon the Prime Minister's memorial tablet, it would be disastrous.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhi sighed: "He is, after all, a minister of the state. He should not lose his composure. Guards, take Chief Secretary Yang away."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wei waved his hand and led an armored soldier forward.

As Jiang Wei and his armored soldiers drew closer, Yang Yi sat down on the ground, glaring angrily at Jiang Wei's face: "Jiang Boyue..."

Jiang Wei was taken aback at first, then frowned and glared at Yang Yi. He quickly walked behind Yang Yi, grabbed one of Yang Yi's arms, and together with the armored soldier on the right, tried to pull Yang Yi up from the ground.

Yang Yi was slender and didn't take much effort from the two of them. However, Yang Yi's gaze was too fierce, and everyone felt a little uncomfortable under his stare.

Chen Zhi, Wu Yi, Cuan Xi, Sheng Bo, Xu Yun, Hu Ji, Wang Ping, Deng Zhi, Meng Yan, Liu Ba...

Yang Yi was held back by Jiang Wei and the armored soldiers. He did not struggle, but stood up with difficulty and weakness. His gaze swept across the crowd, as if trying to recognize each face. Finally, his gaze settled on Fei Yi, who was standing to the right and behind Chen Zhi.

"Wenwei, are you included too?" Yang Yi's voice was hoarse.

Fei Yi was taken aback, her cheeks instantly burning. The embarrassment on her face almost immediately turned into anger, and she loudly rebuked him:

"Wei Wenchang was a high-ranking official who feigned loyalty. When the Chief Clerk was stepping on Wei Wenchang's head and berating this worthless slave, did he never think of this day?"

"Hahahaha, hahahahaha!" Yang Yi, seemingly insane, glared fiercely at Fei Yi, spat, and then said with resentment, "If I had known this would happen, wouldn't it have been better to lead the army to surrender to Wei? How dare you act so arrogantly today!"

"He's gone mad, absolutely mad!" Fei Yi gritted his teeth, stomped his foot heavily, and shouted, "Boyue, take him away! Don't let him spout nonsense here!!"

Jiang Wei narrowed his eyes slightly, his face cold, and together with the armored soldiers, they lifted Yang Yi up and took him away. As he got closer and closer to the hall door, the twenty-odd people inside and outside the door consciously made way for him, either avoiding Yang Yi's jealous and angry eyes, or showing regret, or even a bit of disdain, but no one spoke.

Regardless of the court's final verdict, Yang Yi is now politically dead. His physical death is also nearly certain. At this juncture, it's better to remain still and observe the situation first.

Noticing the silence, Wu Yi tried to liven things up: "When Lord Yang Wei summoned us to Mianyang yesterday to discuss military matters, I immediately thought that this man was greedy for power and position, and probably wanted us to come to Mianyang to put him in power, and then threaten the court after that."

"Alas, the nation is in peril, but thankfully someone has set things right! Gentlemen, don't you agree?"

With Wu Yi leading the way, everyone else followed suit:

"The general is absolutely right."

"You are right, my lord."

"Imperial Censor Chen acted decisively today; he is truly a young talent!"

"It's truly unbelievable that Chief Secretary Yang harbored such thoughts; it's truly lamentable!"

Several generals and higher-ranking officials from the Prime Minister's residence echoed his sentiments.

However, to these high-ranking officials of the Shu Han dynasty, these words were merely formalities. As they spoke, they all glanced, intentionally or unintentionally, towards Chen Zhi's position.

The twenty-four-year-old envoy, holding the imperial insignia, stood silently in the center of the Prime Minister's main hall, his hands clasped behind his back as he gazed intently at the memorial tablet of Prime Minister Zhuge on the table in front of him.

Chen Zhi heard all of this, but he still didn't say anything.

The atmosphere in the hall fell silent once again. Everyone looked at each other, and after exchanging glances and gestures several times, their eyes finally fell on Chen Zhi, and then, following Chen Zhi's gaze, they all looked at the Prime Minister's memorial tablet.

This is the power of silence.

Silence makes people think; silence makes people alert.

The silence allowed these key generals and ministers of the Northern Expedition to begin to withdraw from the political struggle they had just witnessed and to start thinking about a real problem: after the Prime Minister’s death, Wei Yan was killed first, and Yang Yi was to be tried. Who would hold the reins of the army, and what would be the future of the Shu Han court?

What will become of the undertakings that the Prime Minister has led us to accomplish?