For some time afterward, the ministers were deeply worried about Yue Fei's situation.

The pressure this event brought them was even greater than when Wanyan Zongwang's army besieged the city.

In their view, with Wanyan Zongwang's army at the city gates, it was entirely possible to negotiate and end the war through peace talks.

However, the military generals within the Song Dynasty overstepped their authority and mobilized troops without authorization, which was extremely dangerous and a sign of national ruin. If the emperor did not deal with it seriously, the consequences would be unimaginable.

They wrote down their concerns in memorials and tirelessly submitted them to the emperor one by one.

Everyone was worried about the emperor's decision.

Everyone was in support of Qin Hui, feeling that he was like a virtuous and noble Confucian scholar at that moment.

However, the ministers became increasingly worried.

Because the emperor was still in the palace tending his fields, playing with his newly refurbished steam engine, or looking around with his telescope.

Occasionally, he would go to the Central Army's barracks to have a drink with Zong Ze and Han Shizhong.

In short, the number of times he attended court was drastically reduced, and he simply stopped holding morning court sessions altogether.

When a minister requested an audience, he would say he had other business to attend to and would not see him.

After several days of this delay, another memorial arrived from Jiangling Prefecture.

One was a secret memorial from Xiao Jiangwei, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial City Guard, and the other was a memorial from Luo Cong, the prefect of Jiangling Prefecture.

Emotionally speaking, Zhao Huan had nothing to be angry about regarding the behavior of the imperial clan.

After all, he wasn't familiar with those members of the royal family, or rather, although they were related by blood, he, as a time traveler, actually had absolutely no connection with them.

However, when he saw those terrifying numbers, he couldn't help but lose his temper.

With the emperor, every single person in the Song Dynasty, from the Grand Chancellor to the common people, had something to hide.

Not to mention those members of the imperial family who have been raised for centuries, and those princes like Prince Ji Zhao Xu who are good-for-nothing and idle all day long!

So, even the emperor wasn't intolerant of any flaws.

After all, times have changed. The potential major powers have already been dealt with, so there's no need to make a big fuss over every little thing.

But these guys are way too outrageous!

Two million koku of grain are deducted from Gangneung Prefecture every year!

According to the figures provided by the State Affairs Hall, the imperial court transported 9 million shi of grain back from Jiaozhou every day!

But the actual amount is 11 million koku!

About one-sixth of the grain was swallowed up!

Based on the grain price of three strings of cash per shi in Jiangling Prefecture, 6 million strings of cash flowed into the hands of He Yuanshan and the imperial family!

In the first year of the Jingkang era, the annual fiscal revenue of the Song Dynasty was only about 80 million strings of cash!

In other words, these members of the imperial family swallowed up the equivalent of one-thirteenth of the court's annual revenue each year!

What angered Zhao Huan even more was that not long ago, when he wanted to cancel the monthly rations for the imperial family, the royal family, represented by Zhao Xu, actually collectively cried poverty.

Taking this matter as an opportunity, Zhao Huan was about to lose his temper.

But then I thought, it's ultimately the Zhao family's own business.

Those people are shameless, but the emperor still has a sense of shame.

Although their methods are usually a bit rough and their skin a bit thick, this matter concerns the Zhao family's reputation.

In short, before the Song Dynasty, no member of the imperial family had ever dared to be so greedy.

Zhao Huan searched for a long time, but fortunately he did not find Zhao Gou's name. Otherwise, based on his understanding of Zhao Gou, he would probably have killed him.

Xu Churen was still busy with the cement road project when he suddenly received a summons from the emperor. He put down what he was doing, left the government office immediately, and rushed to the inner palace.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

Xu Churen guessed that the emperor summoned him to discuss Yue Fei's case, since Qin Hui was pressuring the emperor to deal with Yue Fei every day.

"Master Xu, please sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhao Huan then handed Luo Cong's memorial to Xu Churen, who became increasingly alarmed as he read it.

"this……"

"Master Xu, do you have any good ideas?"

Xu Churen felt a chill run down his spine. As a subject, the greatest taboo was to get involved in the private affairs of the imperial family.

Throughout history, ministers who have become involved in the private affairs of the royal family have never met a good end.

However, this matter can no longer be strictly considered a private royal affair; it has seriously affected civil affairs.

Two million shi of grain were tampered with each year.

The grain was transported from the southwest to Jiangling Prefecture via waterways and mountain roads. It was a reasonable occurrence for the imperial court to accept that the grain might fall off cliffs or sink in water.

There was some error upon arriving in Jiangling Prefecture, which is reasonable.

But 2 million strings of cash is too much, far exceeding the court's tolerance.

It seems that the problem originated from the source of the grain transportation; in Jiaozhou, someone tampered with the process.

"Your Majesty, I believe that all officials involved, from Jiaozhou to Jiangling Prefecture, should be thoroughly investigated and punished!"

"I am not asking you how to deal with the officials, I am asking you how to deal with the members of the imperial clan."

Xu Churen was in a bit of a headache. He wanted to avoid the topic of the imperial family, but the emperor had made it clear that he hadn't been summoned to ask how to deal with the officials, because all the officials involved would definitely have to be dealt with.

What's giving me a headache now is how to deal with the imperial clan.

Family scandals should not be aired in public; the Prince Su case back then had already brought shame upon the royal family.

Xu Churen guessed at the emperor's thoughts. The emperor must have wanted to deal with the imperial clan, otherwise he wouldn't have summoned him.

However, the emperor did not want to deal with it publicly, as it was too shocking and would damage the prestige of the imperial family if the matter got out.

"Your Majesty, since Prince Ji is so fond of grain, why not transfer him to Jiaozhou, a place rich in grain?"

Upon hearing Xu Churen's words, Zhao Huan's eyes lit up.

Jiaozhou, huh?

What a wonderful place! Zhenla next door is even better. Throw the King of Ji there, give him an army, and let him establish his own kingdom there.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!