Delay will only lead to unforeseen consequences. Qin Fenglu must be purged as quickly as possible; otherwise, killing the wrong people is inevitable.

In order to quell the situation as quickly as possible and prevent the incident from escalating, kill everyone, whether they should be killed or not.

After the killing, Duan Zhijie became the object of hatred for all the officials in Qin Prefecture, so that the emperor could replace him.

In Liu Yanzong's words: The emperor did not understand Duan Zhijie and it was impossible for him to be truly appointed as the military commissioner of Qinfeng Road. Once the killing was over, his mission was complete.

Only those who have killed people and whose hands are stained with the blood of many are truly the emperor's men.

After spending a few days in Qinzhou, the Li family of Longxi was wiped out by the emperor, and this mission can be considered complete.

However, because the Northwest is located on the border for many years, there are many men who join the army, and most families have few male members.

Judging from Zhao Huan's observations along the way, there were half as many men as women on the streets.

The main reason was that the Song Dynasty was frequently engaged in wars in the northwest. Every time they fought against the Tanguts, even if they were victorious, they suffered heavy casualties.

If this continues, it will create a vicious cycle, and the situation in the Northwest will remain unresolved.

The Wu Yong case in Qin Prefecture has come to a temporary end. The emperor stayed in Qin Prefecture for a symbolic half-month before returning to the palace with two thousand elite guards.

Before the emperor returned, he dismissed Duan Zhijie, the military commissioner of Qinfeng Road, and temporarily appointed Wang Kuian to take over.

People on Qinfeng Road were somewhat at ease, and officials of all ranks sang praises of the emperor's wisdom.

After returning to Tokyo, Qin Hui also returned from the southwest.

Qin Hui reported the situation in the southwest to the emperor. Zhang Jun had already established his military headquarters in Thang Long City, Jiaozhi. Yue Fei would continue to be stationed in Jiaozhi for another six months, mainly to help Zhang Jun recruit troops and train soldiers.

Tang Ke also reported his progress: the Song merchants sent to Jiaozhi had arrived and would purchase rice there at the lowest price.

It is worth mentioning that they also brought a lot of paper money with them.

Zhao Huan was very satisfied with the progress in Jiaozhi. Although there were still nobles in the south of Jiaozhi who continued to resist, they were no longer a concern.

In the second year of the Jingkang era, Zong Ze marched south, and Yue Fei's army swept through Jiaozhi. Jiaozhi was restored and renamed Jinghai Circuit. Jinghai Circuit began to vigorously promote the new currency of the Song Dynasty, Jiaozi.

Time flies, and another month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Huan had been back in the Song Dynasty for two full years.

What he was most proud of was not the recapture of Yanyun, but the drop in grain prices in Tokyo. This was because 200,000 shi of grain had been transported north from Jiaozhou this year, and almost all of it had arrived in Jingji Road before winter.

This is just the beginning.

This was not good news for merchants in Tokyo, as an increase in the total amount of grain would inevitably lead to a decrease in market prices.

However, after the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce incident, the merchants in Tokyo now obediently follow the imperial court's orders regarding grain prices, daring not to overstep their bounds in the slightest.

The industrial revolution in the Song Dynasty truly began once the total grain production increased.

The winter sun shone exceptionally brightly, and the sky was like a giant sapphire, stretching into the distance.

Zhao Huan wore a black dragon robe embroidered with a majestic five-clawed golden dragon.

Her long, jet-black hair was held upright with a blue jade hairpin, combed meticulously, with not a single stray hair at her hairline.

After finishing a cup of hot tea, the young eunuch entered the imperial study: "Your Majesty, the ministers are already waiting outside the palace."

Zhu Lian fetched a dark cloak for Zhao Huan. After putting on the cloak, Zhao Huan reached out and took a bronze dagger handed to him by a young eunuch. The dagger was slender and elegant, with a handle inlaid with precious jade.

Holding the dagger, Zhao Huan felt slightly more at ease.

Only then did he step out of the door, and surrounded by guards, he walked towards the palace gates.

The ministers were already there waiting.

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects."

"My beloved subjects, you may dispense with the formalities."

The emperor then mounted his horse and, accompanied by his ministers, headed towards the Arsenal.

Besides worrying about Shen Lang's whereabouts, the emperor was also concerned about firearms.

He went to the Northwest to inspect the existing weapons and felt that new weapons were urgently needed.

This purge in the Northwest was not thorough; at least, it only stopped in Qinzhou and Chang'an. The border troops not only remained untouched, but the emperor also lavishly rewarded them in order to stabilize the border defenses.

But in the emperor's heart, there were also people there who deserved to die.

They have taken my money, and they will soon have to pay it back with their heads.

Today, in addition to the Minister of the Imperial Guard, there is also Lieutenant General Han Shizhong of the Imperial Guard.

More than half a year has passed since the last time the emperor gave instructions to the Academy of Sciences and the Arsenal. I wonder how the progress of the musket project is going.

On this day, the emperor, accompanied by his officials, went to the Arsenal once again.

Han Gonglian, Sima Qi, Chen Gui, and Ling Zhen were all waiting respectfully in front of the Military Equipment Bureau.

Two years ago, after Chen Gui's fire lance had been tested more than 300 times at the Ordnance Bureau, and Ling Zhen was forced to leave by Shao Chengzhang, the emperor once again allocated a large budget to the Ordnance Bureau, ordering it to spare no expense in producing a firearm with astonishing destructive power.

Two years have passed since this incident, and given the emperor's impatient nature, even a pig should be brought out for a walk by now.

Zhao Huan placed his dagger at his waist and took the musket that Chen Gui presented.

This is a real musket, about three feet long, with a dark blue-black body and engraved with patterns of fierce beasts, making it look even more wild.

After Zhao Huan obtained it, he examined it carefully and was overjoyed.

Although he was a liberal arts student and a complete idiot when it came to science and engineering, he had at least been online and read a lot of novels.

They immediately recognized it as a matchlock gun, very similar to the arquebuses of the Ming Dynasty.

Who says the ancient Chinese didn't have the gene for research and development?

Zhao Huan once again deeply understood the saying: Only idiots like to jump to conclusions, because their brains are stupid and can only hold so much information, so they think they have seen everything.

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