Even in the sweltering summer heat, Xu Churen's back was soaked with cold sweat.

"Your Majesty, I am a distant relative of the Xu family of Qingzhou. Now that Xu Huaishan has committed a heinous crime and has been arrested by the court, he deserves to be punished. Although I am not involved in this matter, I am related to Xu Huaishan by a distant ancestor. I beg Your Majesty to grant me death!"

Zhao Huan remained silent for a while, but Xu Churen felt that this moment was as long as a thousand years.

"Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhao Huan asked, "What crime has the Xu family of Qingzhou committed?"

Xu Churen hurriedly said, "There are three crimes: First, disobeying the laws of the court, failing to reduce taxes and corvée labor; second, embezzling and perverting the law, killing people in the street; third, colluding with court officials to prey on the people!"

Zhao Huan stared at Xu Churen with eyes as sharp as swords, making Xu Churen tremble with fear.

"Since you know all this, why don't you bring him to justice?"

The emperor's words left Xu Churen speechless. The prime minister had the highest administrative power and managed local officials of all ranks. Xu Churen was clearly very familiar with the situation in Qingzhou, but he did not make a move.

Zhao Huan's tone was calm, but his anger was hidden beneath the calm: "Your crime does not lie in sharing the same ancestor as Xu Huaishan or whether you are distant relatives. I believe you have no blood relation to the Xu family of Qingzhou, and I will not punish you for that. However, as the prime minister, you knowingly chose to protect yourself while knowing that some people below you were harming the people. This is a dereliction of duty!"

Xu Churen hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Zhao Huan said somewhat irritably, "As the prime minister, all you do is let me punish you? What use are you to me then?"

"Your Majesty, please grant this sinful subject a chance. This sinful subject will certainly make amends for his mistakes!"

How can I make amends for my mistakes?

"Your Majesty's policy will be resolutely implemented."

After a moment of silence, Zhao Huan said, "I will give you one more chance, but you will be fined half a year's salary and all your supplies for this year will be cancelled as punishment!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Xu Churen breathed a sigh of relief. He thought he was in deep trouble this time. Even if he didn't die, he would be removed from his position as prime minister and exiled to the frontier, which would be worse than death.

But to his surprise, the emperor only punished him by deducting half a year's salary and this year's welfare allowance.

As Xu Churen emerged from the palace, he thought to himself, "These damned fellows! I've been very lenient by turning a blind eye to them all the time, yet they keep causing me trouble. They all deserve to die!"

From this day forward, don't blame me for being ruthless. If you don't die, I'm doomed!

After sending Xu Churen away, Zhao Huan believed that after these intimidation tactics and this punishment, Xu Churen should have finally realized what he should do next.

Zhao Huan certainly wanted to kill Xu Churen. As prime minister, this guy was incompetent and turned a blind eye to many things under his command. He was unwilling to offend anyone and did not make any major mistakes during his tenure. This was not the prime minister that Zhao Huan wanted.

The original plan was to replace Xu Churen through this incident, but after replacing Xu Churen, who could find a powerful figure to resolutely implement the emperor's policies?

Liu Yanzong is no good. His background is illegitimate, and the people below him will not respect him. He is more suitable to be the emperor's advisor or a villain in the judicial system, such as the Censorate.

Qin Hui had more important things to do, and Shi Ziming's Hanlin Academy was even more important.

Now is the time to give Xu Churen a good talking-to, to make him feel a deep sense of fear and even the threat of death. He will then naturally realize that this threat of death does not come from the emperor, but from below.

Xu Churen was also very clear that he only had one chance, and from then on he had to be of one mind with the emperor until death. In other words, he now had to resolutely begin to implement the emperor's policies.

For Zhao Huan, getting Xu Churen to change in this way was more worthwhile than desperately searching for a prime minister.

After Xu Churen left, Wang Kuian continued to report the situation in the Northwest to the emperor.

Overall, the Song army drove the Tanguts out, and Yao Pingzhong also managed to give the main Tangut force a good beating, but without causing huge losses. This war lasted for two months and ended in a draw.

Judging from this battle situation, Zhao Huan believed that the Song army needed further improvement. In Zhao Huan's plan, the northwest should be within easy reach.

Of course, he also knew that this matter could not be rushed. The Song Dynasty had too many problems and was known in history as the "weak Song," which referred to its military. The military weakness did not mean that the Han people were really incapable of fighting. In Zhao Huan's view, the reason for the military weakness was related to the Song Dynasty's overall emphasis on civil affairs over military affairs. Only by changing these things from the inside could a powerful army be built.

Now, Zhao Huan no longer aspires to immediately destroy the Jin and Tangut states. He only needs to stabilize the border in the north. Domestically, Zhao Huan wields the sword, carries out sweeping reforms, and eradicates all forces that dare to hinder the Song Dynasty's transformation, thus unleashing the Song Dynasty's vitality from the very bottom.

Zhao Huan believed that this nation only needed to be given an opportunity to rise into an unprecedentedly powerful country, as was the case in the Han and Tang dynasties and in later generations.

Early the next morning, both the Song Dynasty Gazette and the Tokyo Express published the Qingzhou murder case, and simultaneously launched a scathing attack on He Liren, the prefect of Qingzhou, and further investigated Xu Huaishan, the richest man in Qingzhou, uncovering the numerous crimes committed by the Qingzhou Chamber of Commerce over the past few decades.

One section provides a detailed description of Gu Shun and Zheng Erniang, who had already been killed by the Xu family. The couple also had a ten-year-old daughter, who was originally also going to be killed by the Xu family. The couple hid her in the fields, allowing her to escape, and she was eventually found by the Imperial City Guard.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!