After dealing with the matter of King Zhao Chen of Liao, another very thorny issue lay ahead.

What's up?

The protests in Tokyo.

Why is this matter considered extremely difficult?

This is because it involves the issue of popular ideology.

There were no laws in the Song Dynasty law concerning mass demonstrations.

Regarding this incident, the Dali Temple proposed defining it directly as a rebellion.

In ancient times, this kind of statement was also considered reasonable.

A large group of people gathered on the street, looking ready to fight, which could easily offend the authorities.

A considerable number of powerful ministers agreed with the Dali Temple's proposal and stated that many merchants in Tokyo had suffered significant losses during the protests.

Of course, many other ministers believed that the matter should be downplayed because it involved too many people.

The number of participants in the march reached as many as 50,000.

An army of 50,000 men is enough to conquer cities and seize strongholds.

Some people are reviewing this incident and starting to summarize it. As for why things developed to this point, they have already come up with reasons.

Of course, the blame is placed on the already dead Zhou Dynasty.

He indicated that he was the one driving all of this behind the scenes.

For example, the Prefect of Kaifeng firmly stated that it was all the responsibility of the former Three Commissioners Zhou Chao, pushing all the blame onto him. In short, the Kaifeng Prefecture had absolutely no problems in its daily management.

The ministers argued fiercely about this matter in the court.

By September of the fifteenth year of the Jingkang era, the fate of the Liao King had been settled, and all that remained was the determination of the cases of the officials involved.

But the aftermath, besides the question of how to deal with the protesters, quickly reached the Queen and was on the verge of turning into another political storm.

Not only that, but another person was also involved: the retired Emperor Huizong, Zhao Ji, who had not appeared in public for many years.

There are even rumors that the person behind the Zhou Dynasty was the retired Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji), and that the protests in the capital city of Kaifeng were related to him.

Of course, no one dared to directly impeach the retired emperor unless that person was out of their mind.

The claim that Zhao Ji was involved in the Liao King's rebellion is merely a rumor and there is no direct evidence.

On this day, Liu Yanzong was summoned to the palace.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

"Liu Qing, please sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

As autumn deepened, Zhao Huan wore a long black robe. Due to health reasons, he had not attended court for several months.

Zhao Chun was reading a book obediently on one side, while on the other side, several large maps were hanging, covering the Western Regions and the vast unknown lands beyond.

"When did Liu Qing begin serving the Song Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty, I was moved by Your Majesty's benevolence in the first year of the Jingkang era, and thus abandoned darkness and embraced light."

"It's been fifteen years."

"Yes, it's been fifteen years."

"How do the officials of my Great Song Dynasty compare to those of the Jin Dynasty?"

Liu Yanzong's mind raced, but he didn't know why the emperor was suddenly asking these questions. He cautiously replied, "I am grateful for Your Majesty's kindness. I was born a subject of the Great Song Dynasty, and I will die a ghost of the Great Song Dynasty."

Zhao Huan sighed, somewhat displeased, and said, "Liu Yanzong, I know you dare not betray the Song Dynasty, but don't think I don't know what you've been doing all these years. I'm not a petty emperor. I don't care if you have your own people, but if you affect the overall situation at a crucial moment, I won't hesitate to hang your head on the city gate."

Liu Yanzong hurriedly got up, prostrated himself on the ground, and said in fear and unease, "Your Majesty, I am guilty."

"I want to end this turmoil as soon as possible. The Central Plains need to recover its strength, and the Western Regions are still at war. I don't want the court to argue about trivial matters every day."

"yes!"

"In my heart, the people being well-fed, the goods of the Song Dynasty crossing the seas, the opening up of the Western Regions, and the acceptance of Han culture by the western barbarians are more important than anything else. Don't cause me any more trouble, understand?"

The emperor's words were quite blunt, and such bluntness often indicates that he has run out of patience.

"I would gladly die a thousand deaths!"

"Also, go to Liaodong and check the accounts there for me."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After Liu Yanzong stepped down, his palms and the backs of his hands were covered in sweat.

He returned to the Censorate and packed his bags that very day, taking his men with him, and headed to Liaodong.

Why so fast?

The reason is simple: to save lives!

Did the emperor really send him to Liaodong to audit the accounts?

Of course not. Do we even need to investigate the accounts in Liaodong? They just finished a rebellion; there's a mountain of messy accounts. How can we possibly investigate them?

Zhao Huan sent him to Liaodong for a while to prevent him from causing trouble in the central government.

This also indicates that Zhao Huan did not want to escalate the Liao King case indefinitely.

The main challenges now are restoring production in the north and the war in the western regions.

The officials of the court are all key figures in the Song Dynasty, responsible for national affairs and controlling the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people. They spend all their time arguing about the parade, but who cares about the lives of the common people?

Liu Yanzong wanted to seize power and install his own people during the chaos, which violated Zhao Huan's cardinal sin. The fact that Zhao Huan did not kill him shows that Zhao Huan still needed him.

Liu Yanzong himself was very clear about this, which is why he said that he packed his bags and went to Liaodong to save his life.

Zhao Huan called Zhao Chun over and said, “Brother Chun, remember this: you need officials to govern the country, but the people are the foundation. If the people don’t have enough to eat, the foundation will be unstable, and everything else will be empty talk. It is something that officials must always do and continue to do. When some officials neglect their duties and think about judging cases all day long, the court will be in crisis. You must find a way to divert their attention back.”

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