I don't care how deep or complex the influence of the Southern forces is. All I see is that the South sent a brain-dead idiot to annoy me. This is a declaration of war against me!

With the new policies in the Central Plains about to be implemented, how dare the South openly express their stance? Do they think the Emperor has no sword in hand?

Liu Yanzong was the first to jump out. He had already returned to the Censorate, but as soon as he sat down, he was summoned back to the palace.

The incident involving Qian Yu at Chunhua Tower was merely the trigger; judging from the transport of winter grain, the southern gentry had long been prepared to confront the imperial court.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the entire Qian family should be arrested and brought to the capital for questioning immediately. Anyone who disobeys should be executed!"

As soon as Liu Yanzong uttered those words, Xu Churen and Tang Ke were so frightened that they almost jumped up and hit him with the soles of their shoes.

Damn it! You scoundrel Liu, don't you think things are getting out of hand? If you rashly seize the entire Qian family, the people of the southeast will surely rebel!

If the people in the southeast rebel, you, Liu Yanzong, won't have to bear any responsibility. In the end, it will be my government office that has to clean up the mess. You're really talking without any sense of the pain!

Why don't you just get killed in a brothel!

The senior officials of the Privy Council were much calmer. The Privy Council was in charge of military and political affairs. Now that the emperor had said that war was about to begin, they were only responsible for organizing the army, allocating supplies, and making strategic deployments. After the war, they would clean up the logistics and leave the political affairs hall to clean up the mess in the south after the war.

The saying goes that destruction is easy, but reconstruction is difficult. The Privy Council's mobilization of troops is a matter of conquering cities and seizing strongholds. Smashing a boulder on a city wall only requires manpower, which is much simpler than planning and rebuilding.

As for Liu Yanzong, that's the supervisory office. Their job is simply to oversee and deal with the emperor's corrupt officials. What does the post-war period have to do with me? Anyway, anyone who dares to oppose the court will be killed!

So it was Xu Churen and Tang Ke who were suffering the most. Of course, Qin Hui was also a member of the Political Affairs Hall now, so he was also suffering. After all, the destructive power of war was too great. It would take a while for the North to recover its strength. One-third of the grain and supplies for the Northwest War Zone and the Yanyun War Zone were transferred from the South. If a real war broke out, wouldn't things be in chaos?

But there's nothing we can do! Those guys in the south are just choosing this time to cause trouble, right when you're most short of food, taking advantage of the fact that you don't dare to make a move.

If the emperor doesn't take action, the various aristocratic families in the south will taste the benefits and might cause some trouble.

Xu Churen quickly stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, every military action must have a just cause. Now, it is merely because a mere child from the Qian family has come to cause trouble in Tokyo that the court is about to launch a major military campaign. The people of the south will not be satisfied. If someone with ulterior motives incites the people to resist the court, then the court’s military action will become an unjust one. Not only will it fail to pacify the south, but it will also fall into a passive and inescapable situation. When winter comes and food becomes scarce, if the Jin invaders from the north take advantage of the situation and invade, our Great Song Dynasty will be in grave danger!”

Xu Churen's words were even more insightful than Qin Hui's. The situation in the south was unclear, and if the court rashly launched a war, the southern gentry would inevitably incite the people to oppose the court.

Although the South has historically been weaker militarily than the North, you are now going south to fight on someone else's territory. They can use various means to wage a protracted war against you. If you can hold out for a few months, the Jin invaders in the North will inevitably take action, and your emperor will have no choice but to withdraw his troops.

Once your emperor withdraws his troops, the prestige of the Song Dynasty will be basically gone. Your emperor has killed so many people in the Central Plains, surely not all of them have been killed, surely some have escaped the net. If you are defeated, attacked from the north, and rebelled in the south, the forces in the Central Plains will retaliate, and your emperor will be forced to step down.

As for the saying that the world cannot be without a ruler for a day, that's simple. No one can take away the Song Dynasty's territory, but it's always possible to establish an obedient emperor. We can see that Prince Kang was quite obedient.

So, if you want to fight, we're ready anytime.

The fact that we dare to send an idiot to annoy you means we've made thorough preparations.

Xu Churen's worries were naturally the worries of others, especially Zhao Huan. Moving the South was no easier than moving the Central Plains, and it was even more difficult than the Northern Expedition at the beginning of the year. The Northern Expedition was about identifying the enemy, and the emperor was calling on his people to unite and fight them to the death.

But in the south, you still don't know who the enemy is or who is loyal to the court. If you kill the wrong people, the most fatal thing will be the attitude of the people.

Throughout history, the masses have often been mindless; they can easily be incited to smash cars, or rather, to rebel against the government.

Zhao Huan said, “The situation is difficult! But if it were easy, what would be the point of me having you all? The more difficult it is, the greater its value, and the more we need your concerted efforts.”

All the ministers said in unison, "It is our duty to share the Emperor's burdens."

Zhao Huan said, "Alright, what I want to hear is a plan. Xu Churen, I know you're in a difficult situation, and so am I. I'll be frank: we definitely have to fight in the south. Don't tell me where the difficulties lie; just tell me how to solve these problems right now. What I want is a solution!"

"Your Majesty, I am guilty. I believe that the court should immediately promulgate new policies for the southeast, limited to the southeast. If the gentry in the southeast do not implement the new policies, the court will have a pretext to send troops again."

"Anything else?"

That's the first step. But if the new policies aren't implemented, how can we send troops? You, Xu Churen, aren't one of those keyboard warriors of later generations who only raise questions but don't offer solutions. Your time as prime minister is over.

"If the new policies are not implemented, the court can hold those responsible accountable. Anyone who fails to comply will be sent to the capital to be executed!"

Okay, okay!

Zhao Huan thought to himself, "Good!" three times, but not because he thought Xu Churen's plan was good. Rather, he was saying that Xu Churen was now showing some guts and knew that killing was the only way to solve the problem.

"If all of this is implemented, that would be good, and everyone would be happy. As for the grain price in Tokyo, I think the Council of State should summon all the merchants in the city and throw anyone who dares to hoard grain and raise prices into the dungeon!"

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