Geng Nanzhong said, "Your Majesty, I heard that last night an old woman boiled eggs and went to the front of Prime Minister Li's residence to express her gratitude for his defense of the city. However, she was unexpectedly beaten to death in the street by Prime Minister Li's servants!"

His words shocked all the court officials.

Looking at the performances on the faces of his ministers, Zhao Huan couldn't help but sneer inwardly: You all have such good acting skills, I'm afraid I'll have to compete with you in acting too!

Last night, the old lady died at Mr. Li's doorstep. In the past, this would have been a minor matter and would have been quickly suppressed. But now, it's clear that someone is stirring things up behind the scenes, and overnight, everyone knows about it.

Only Li Gang himself patrolled the city walls all night long. Even when he went to court, he hurriedly came from the city walls. Even when his people went to the city walls to look for him in the middle of the night, they could not find him.

Therefore, Li Gang was unaware of this matter.

Upon hearing Geng Nanzhong's words, Li Gang's tired face showed shock. He thought he had misheard and looked at Geng Nanzhong: "Master Geng, do you know what you are saying?"

"Lord Li, stop pretending. The whole of Tokyo is now saying that you, Li Gang, are letting your servants do whatever they want and disregard human life because you have won the battle against the enemy and have tens of thousands of imperial guards under your command!"

The charge was not about the indifference to human life, but about his meritorious service in repelling the enemy, his command of tens of thousands of imperial guards, and his condoning of his servants' killings.

What has been the greatest taboo of emperors throughout history? Powerful ministers! Feudal lords and regional governors! Since the Zhou Dynasty, powerful ministers and feudal lords of every dynasty have been constantly challenging imperial power, especially in the early Tang Dynasty. This led the Song Dynasty to adopt a strategy of strengthening the central government and weakening local powers, and to divide the positions of court officials to minimize the power of the prime minister.

Logically speaking, Li Gang's actions constitute a serious crime!

With an air of righteous indignation, Geng Nanzhong continued, "The current emperor is wise and benevolent, loving his people like his own children. Minister Li is acting perversely. I dare to beg Your Majesty for a wise judgment!"

Li Gang said, "Your Majesty, I was patrolling the city walls all night and was unaware of the situation. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to investigate the truth. If what Minister Geng said is true, I will confess my guilt!"

Zhao Huan said, "No need, Li Gang, you can go back to your seat. I have already investigated and found out everything for you!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhao Huan's gaze swept around before finally settling on Geng Nanzhong. He asked, "Geng Qing, is the vicious gatekeeper you mentioned who killed someone called Ah San?"

“Indeed named A-San.” Geng Nanzhong remained calm and composed. Of course, he knew that the man named A-San had been arrested by the Imperial City Guard and was probably beaten to death, but so what? The emperor would never be able to trace him back to him.

Even if the emperor eventually proves that Li Gang was wronged, the disturbance caused by the imperial students at Chunfeng Tower last night is enough to make the emperor wary of Li Gang's excessive authority. Once the emperor has the idea of ​​limiting Li Gang's authority, things will be much easier to handle later.

If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext!

"Geng Qing, aren't you curious how I knew?"

"Your Majesty is as wise as the sea. What I know, Your Majesty naturally knows as well."

Zhao Huan smiled slightly, a strong murderous aura showing between his teeth: "Geng Qing, you are right about that. What you know, and what you don't know, I also know."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Geng Nanzhong flattered him again, but inwardly he sneered. Little Emperor, you are still too green. Since I can be your teacher, I can naturally control you.

"Are you really praising my wisdom? Or are you just criticizing me for being too naive? You think I'm being manipulated by your schemes? You'll soon think Li Gang has too much power, and you'll harbor resentment towards him. Then you'll limit Li Gang's power, and the Jin invaders will attack the city again. The pressure of the siege will increase, putting pressure on me. And then those shameless peace-seekers will be able to act recklessly in court!"

When he said the last few words, Zhao Huan suddenly stood up, raised his voice, and almost shouted them out.

The emperor's imposing presence startled the assembled officials, who immediately knelt in obeisance.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! How dare I be so rebellious? I am innocent!"

Geng Nanzhong lay prostrate on the ground, trembling. He was genuinely afraid, not pretending, because what Zhao Huan said was exactly the same as what he had in mind.

"Injustice! As the Imperial Tutor, you actually met with that traitor Liu Yanzong! You've really brought honor to me!"

"Your Majesty! I am innocent!" Geng Nanzhong felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He knew things were going badly. The emperor had probably planted an informant in his residence. He could not confess now, no matter what. If he confessed, it would be considered treason. In the past, the worst that could happen was exile. But now, this new emperor's head was as easy to cut up as cabbage and radishes!

The reason Zhao Huan didn't actively seek out Geng Nanzhong was to see just how capable his teacher was. Now it seems that he is indeed not simple. If he hadn't caught Liu Yanzong, he wouldn't have known that this whole thing was orchestrated by his teacher.

What a brilliant scheme! To use such a scheme, instead of saving the country, is to harm colleagues and even the prime minister—it's utterly shameless!

"Bring Liu Yanzong to me!"

Upon hearing this, Geng Nanzhong was shocked to learn that the emperor had actually captured Liu Yanzong!

His face aged twenty years in an instant, covered with wrinkles.

The ministers turned in surprise to look at the palace gate and saw the Imperial Guards bringing up a middle-aged man, who was none other than Liu Yanzong, who had been shouting and cursing below the city walls yesterday.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"

Hearing Liu Yanzong refer to himself as a subject, Zhao Huan felt disgusted and said, "Liu Yanzong, speak."

"Geng Nanzhong invited this treacherous minister to enter the capital city of Tokyo last night. Once at his residence, he instructed the minister to devise a plan to frame Minister Li. In this way, Geng Nanzhong could obtain His Majesty's new appointment and achieve his unspeakable secret!"

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