In the sixth year of the Jingkang era, the imperial court avoided the Qixi Festival and chose the eighth day of the seventh month to announce the crimes of the Duke of Lu and his son, the Duke of Wei, and the Prince of Ji, and announced the results of their punishment.

This caused a huge uproar in the Song Dynasty.

The case involving the imperial clan was the most influential case in the sixth year of the Jingkang era. However, the imperial court set an example for the whole country: even if members of the imperial family violated the laws of the Song Dynasty, they would be punished the same as commoners!

This event had a profound impact on the common people. Later, a folk historian even described it in plain language: "The case of the imperial family in the sixth year of the Jingkang era marked the beginning of the improvement of the Song Dynasty's legal system and its universal authority."

However, some argue that it started with patent law.

In fact, it has had a profound impact not only among the general public.

The case involving the imperial clan also made the officials more convinced of the emperor's authority.

In recent years, the emperor has been too harsh in investigating corrupt officials, and many officials actually have grievances in private.

But now, they have nothing to say. The emperor has even killed his own people; what else is there to say?

The royal family case is not over so quickly; the wide-ranging impact of this case has surprised everyone.

For example, the Yue Fei case, which has been a focus of attention both in and out of the government, has remained unresolved for a long time, leading to countless speculations.

Some people believe that the emperor would never punish Yue Fei.

The reason is simple: Yue Fei was a hero who conquered Jiaozhi and fought against the Xia dynasty.

Either of these two achievements would be enough to impress the bigwigs in the military.

Furthermore, Yue Fei was the emperor's brother-in-law and the husband of Princess Yifu.

Both the Marshal of the Central Army and the Commander-in-Chief of the Central War Zone had high hopes for Yue Fei.

Some even believe that Yue Fei was the future marshal of the Song Dynasty.

Among the general public, there are also passionate young people who regard Yue Fei as their idol.

Moreover, the battles in which Yue Fei participated have now become classic teaching cases at the Imperial Military Academy.

Many people in the army also respected Yue Fei.

Wu Jie, who annihilated Renduo Baozhong's entire army in the war to destroy the Xia dynasty, was a staunch admirer of Yue Fei.

Therefore, people were even more convinced that the emperor would not actually punish Yue Fei.

However, given the precedent of the royal family case, this conjecture seems somewhat far-fetched.

Yue Fei's unauthorized troop deployment violated the military law of the Song Dynasty. The Censorate has already compiled all the details of the case, and few people in the court dare to plead for Yue Fei in this matter.

The military leaders of the major war zones were all paying close attention to the emperor's attitude.

Therefore, there is not much suspense about Yue Fei's punishment; it all depends on how the emperor punishes him.

If the punishment is too lenient, it will not be enough to deter the army; if the punishment is too severe, it will indeed result in a loss of talent.

Qin Hui, the military inspector of the Censorate, took a very tough stance on this matter.

He requested the emperor to relieve Yue Fei of all his military posts and directly exile him to the Longyou Protectorate.

For this, Qin Hui attracted a lot of criticism.

Some people cursed him for breaking the backbone of the Song Dynasty, while others cursed him as a traitorous spy of the Jin Dynasty.

Some people even threw things at the entrance of the Qin residence to protest.

While the court and the public were all focused on the Yue Fei case, the emperor still did not devote his energy to it.

People did not notice that many members of the imperial family from Luoyang and Yingtian Prefecture had come to Tokyo today.

The emperor received all the members of the imperial family who came from Luoyang and Yingtian Prefecture at Shengping Tower.

Zhao Hongyi, Zhao Zifang, Zhao Shuren, and Zhao Xu were not only given white silk ribbons as punishment, but they were also not allowed to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple after their deaths, which can be described as a tragic end.

In this grain embezzlement case, eight or nine out of ten members of the imperial clan were implicated.

The four men had just died when they were summoned to the capital.

These members of the imperial clan were all like frightened birds, so scared that they couldn't sleep at night and kept praying for the protection of the founding emperor, the founding emperor, and the Prince of Wei.

There were more than ten members of the imperial clan who came this time, and they were accommodated in Shengping Tower.

This is where the emperor hosted banquets for his officials.

When the emperor arrived, the members of the imperial family immediately prostrated themselves on the ground, each of them huddled up and trembling.

Although it was said that Zhao Zhongcong insisted on killing the Duke of Lu, the emperor had agreed, so how could these people not be afraid?

Moreover, I heard that Zhao Zhongcong once again advised the emperor to arrest all those involved in the case and thoroughly investigate the matter!

They couldn't help but wonder why the emperor had summoned them to the capital.

"This sinful subject kowtows to the Emperor!"

The emperor sat in the main seat, while Zhao Zhongcong sat to the side, closest to the emperor.

"Everyone, please rise. Today is a family dinner."

The emperor's tone was calm, and everyone felt a sense of relief: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

They each took their seats, and palace maids brought out delicious food and imperial wine.

These people were immediately bewildered, exchanging glances, completely unaware of why the emperor had suddenly invited them to a banquet.

Along the way, they imagined many scenarios, and some even planned to escape to a distant overseas country.

In short, I don't want to die.

Judging from the current situation, it seems he really won't die.

Some people were thankful they hadn't run away, otherwise their lives would have been ruined.

The emperor raised his wine cup, a kind smile on his face: "Come, gentlemen, drink this cup of wine first."

Zhao Zhongcong, on the other hand, wore a sour face. As he watched these people happily drinking, he couldn't help but stand up, suddenly kneel before the emperor, and cry out in grief.

"Your Majesty! Please grant this sinner death!"

"Why does Zhao Zongzheng say this?"

The members of the imperial family who had just calmed down were taken aback by Zhao Zhongcong's actions.

Zhao Zhongcong said, “Your Majesty, as the Grand Minister of the Imperial Clan, I have failed to fulfill my duties. This is my dereliction of duty. The crimes of the Imperial Clan are heinous crimes that bring disaster to the country and its people. Now Your Majesty is going to great lengths to protect the Imperial Clan, yet you are still suspected of being a tyrant. This is my fault. I beg Your Majesty to grant me death!”

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