You could hear needles dropping in the Chongde Hall, and the civil and military officials had different expressions. Some people looked at Wang Huan, the imperial censor, with admiration, but others looked at him with ridicule, thinking that this old guy was looking for death.
Five years ago, the bachelor who was the first to stand up against the Twelve Divine Palaces was dragged out and cooked on the spot because he was a second-rank official, half a rank higher than Wang Huan.
For a moment, he couldn't control his mouth, lost his life, and caused his family to become homeless. It is admirable to record such things in history books, but looking at ancient and modern times, apart from the Wei Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty, there are also
Which minister who dares to directly admonish the king will end up well?
The emperor hopes that his ministers will be obedient, and his ears can only hear good words, and there is no tolerance for so-called loyal words that are offensive. This principle is the best life-saving talisman for the faint emperor in front of him. It is a shame that Wang Huan lives to this extent.
At this age, I don’t even understand this.
There are already people waiting secretly to see Wang Huan's miserable end.
Lao Wang Huan is nearly sixty years old, but his waist is very straight. His old face is upright and awe-inspiring, and his old eyes are looking directly at Hui Emperor Zhao Shuo on the dragon throne. It is obvious that after saying these words, he is ready to die.
Intend.
He was not afraid of death, he just hoped that the emperor could change his mind and not bury the Song Dynasty here.
The Chongde Hall was silent for a long time. Zhao Shuo's face on the dragon chair was cloudy and uncertain. His pair of eagle eyes flickered, sometimes with a fierce light, sometimes with restraint, as if he was weighing the pros and cons of certain things.
He stared at Wang Huan in the audience for a long time, and eventually his gloomy face gradually softened and was replaced with a generous smile.
"Wang Aiqing serves the country and the people and gives direct advice to the king. This kind of loyalty is really rare. I will listen to your words and discuss it later. I will withdraw from the court today."
The emperor's voice echoed in the Chongde Hall. Zhao Shuo stood up slowly, walked down the golden platform accompanied by the eunuch in purple, turned and walked towards the palace.
Below, all the courtiers were sweating, thinking that Wang Huan was so lucky that he was not dragged out and executed on the spot.
If the great scholar who was cooked to death five years ago knew about this, he would be so angry that he would crawl out of the ground.
In front, Wang Huan, the imperial censor, watched the emperor leave. Behind him, hundreds of officials also left one after another, but he always stood there, unwilling to accept it.
At this time, an official wearing a purple robe embroidered with unicorns and a goldfish bag on his waist walked up to him, reached out and patted Wang Huan on the shoulder.
The latter turned his head and saw his long-time partner, the then Prime Minister Gao Wenchong, shaking his head at him, and immediately sighed helplessly. Then they walked side by side and walked out of Chongde Hall in disappointment.
...
After retiring from the court, Hui Emperor Zhao Shuo did not return to the palace immediately, but went straight to the imperial study.
Zhao Shuo sat on the large red sandalwood throne, picked up a solitary book and flipped through a few pages. However, he couldn't read it in his irritated mood, so he immediately threw out the ancient book worth tens of thousands of gold.
Not long after, Li Yun, Minister of Industry, Yin Zhanzhao of Bianliang City, Lin Fengyan, commander of Jinyiwei, and Meng Zhi, commander of Suwei Forbidden Army, came to the imperial study one after another. They were all officials of the third rank or above in the imperial court, and they knelt side by side in front of the emperor.
Listen to your will.
Of course, there was another person present, and that was Lu Heng, the current national preceptor and the envoy of the Twelve Divine Palaces, who single-handedly promoted the Song Dynasty to join the Twelve Divine Palaces.
Others have to kneel, but he, Lu Heng, does not have to kneel because his status is far more noble than the few second- and third-grade officials on the ground.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Hui Emperor Zhao Shuo immediately turned his attention to Li Yun, Minister of Industry.
"How is the progress of building the Xuanshen Platform?"
Hearing this, Li Yun raised his head slightly and spoke respectfully.
"Your Majesty, the progress is going well and it will be completed in about half a month."
"Yes." The emperor nodded with satisfaction.
The Xuanshentai will be an important place to announce that the people of the Song Dynasty will worship in the Twelve Divine Palaces in the future. The standards have been set during the design. At least tens of thousands of people must be able to stand on all sides. The shrine is backed by the city wall and aligned in the center.
At the main entrance of the palace, huge portraits of the twelve great priests of the Twelve Temples will need to be displayed in public. The project is complicated and the money spent is immeasurable. After all, the most basic bricks need to be made of jade.
Zhao Shuo is not worried about money. Anyway, the treasury is wide open, and the Ministry of Industry can take as much as it needs. As for whether the other party will enrich their own pockets, it depends on how many lives they have.
Now that the Xuanshentai is progressing smoothly, Hui Emperor Zhao Shuo is in a slightly better mood, and then he sets his sights on the remaining people.
He looked at Yin Zhanzhao, the governor of Bianliang City.
"Have all the Jianghu people who entered the city been recorded?" the emperor asked again.
Zhan Zhao cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, everyone who has been on the ring or has been accompanied by Jiang Hu Cao Mang has been registered. The information has been verified in the Yamen, and the sect they are in will be found soon, and they can come to your door at any time."
Clean up."
"Yeah." Zhao Shuo nodded.
He looked at Lin Feng, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, and said, "After the announcement on the Xuanshentai, Lin Aiqing will send people to kill all these reckless people who don't know life and death. No one will be left alive."
"As commanded."
"I accept the order!"
The two officials touched their heads to the ground and respectfully accepted the instruction.
The previous matters were handled well, but then, Zhao Shuo's face returned to gloom, and he glanced at Meng Zhi, the commander of the Forbidden Army on the far right.
Just being glanced at, even though the burly Meng Zhi didn't raise his head, he felt a chill. Suddenly, his spine felt chilly and his head broke into a cold sweat.
Emperor Hui Zhao Shuo tapped his fingers on the table with a steady rhythm, like a clock.
This sound was extremely painful in Mengzhi's ears. He was sweating, and he held his breath unconsciously. Even his heartbeat seemed to beat with the rhythm of the emperor's tapping on the table. It could be said that he was extremely nervous.
"It is the duty of the imperial guards to defend the imperial city. What you have to do is to turn the entire imperial city into a watertight iron bucket. Forget about the east city gate. But now there are also rumors in the palace that have spread to the market. You
What crime should this leader deserve?"
Meng Zhi felt as if he was struck by lightning, and his head fell to the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.
"My crime deserves death." Meng Zhi shouted in a tearful tone.
Emperor Hui Zhao Shuo waved his hand, "I will not die. I will be demoted to the first rank from today on. Before the opening of the Xuanshentai, you will personally lead your troops to patrol inside and outside the imperial city every day to ensure that no news is spread. At the same time, don't let those who are not guilty
Just bring clean things into the imperial city."
Meng Zhi felt like he had been granted amnesty, and he burst into tears of gratitude. He kowtowed to the emperor like pounding garlic, showing endless gratitude.
Zhao Shuo ignored Meng Zhi's reaction and continued to tap the table with his fingers, as if talking to himself.
"No matter how the news about the East City Gate is spread, it is still a rumor among the people and cannot be true. But once the news spreads out from the palace, it will cause an uproar, and the nature will be completely different. No matter how sharp the sword is, it can't stop the talking. This is
A thousand words are worth a sword.”
Turning his head, the emperor glanced at Lu Heng. He did not speak, but what he needed to say was expressed with one look.
On the side, Grand Master Lu Heng showed an expression that was half-smiling but not smiling.