In the past few days, observant people in Tokyo have noticed that the Song Dynasty official gazette seems to be becoming more accessible to the common people. Previously, it was only available to nobles, officials, scholars, and so on, and commoners rarely saw it, even literate commoners.

However, these days, the number of official gazettes has increased significantly, and those who pay attention can see that new shops called Tokyo Newspaper Offices have opened in various parts of Tokyo, where the already printed official gazettes are stored.

In early June, the trees along the roadside were already lush and green, adorning the lakeside with a very elegant air.

Several children, around ten years old and dressed in loose-fitting long robes, each holding a stack of official gazettes, spread out and began hawking their wares: "Read the newspapers! Read the newspapers! The Censorate has impeached a prince. Prince Su has been imprisoned for the grain transport case. Prince Su has been imprisoned for the grain transport case and is awaiting trial by the Censorate!"

"Huh? What is this Inspectorate? Why have I never heard of such an agency in our Great Song Dynasty before?"

A scholar walking down the street, out of curiosity, stopped a newsboy and bought a copy of the official gazette.

A young scholar next to him said, "You don't even know about the Censorate? The newly established Judicial Office by the Emperor is said to be responsible for interrogating officials from princes and prime ministers down to the ninth rank."

"You mean Prince Su has been arrested by the Censorate?"

"The Imperial Gazette of the Great Song Dynasty was issued by the Imperial Secretariat. How could anything on it be fake!"

For a time, the city of Bianjing (Kaifeng) was abuzz with discussion, naturally focusing on the Prince Su incident. The rule of the Song Dynasty was that high-ranking officials were exempt from punishment, let alone princes. Even the Dragon Head Guillotine, bestowed upon Bao Zheng during the reign of Emperor Renzong, was only used to execute members of the imperial family, but that was merely a formality by the Song Dynasty officials.

But this official is different now. A thousand heads fell to the ground in an instant, and the blood was still fresh outside the Five Dynasties Gate. Prince Su is in trouble now. It is unknown how the Censorate will handle this next.

The teahouses and alleys of Tokyo were filled with people discussing this matter.

"Even the emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners! Prince Su should be executed as a warning to others!"

“Prince Su is a prince, the emperor’s own brother, and at most he will be imprisoned.”

“I don’t think so. The Prince Su’s mansion has been emptied. I heard that Liu Yanzong, the first Censor of the Censorate, is a ruthless man. He used to be an official in Liao and Jin. After being captured by the emperor, the emperor, appreciating his talent, appointed him as the Censor of the Censorate to interrogate the imperial relatives and officials of all ranks.”

"..."

Those with ulterior motives seemed to sense a dangerous atmosphere. Why would the emperor allow someone who had just surrendered from an enemy country to handle this matter? Interest groups among the common people began to ponder. It seemed that a new elite was rising in the Song Dynasty court, and they should try to curry favor with him in the future.

However, wise people have concluded that the emperor intends to appoint someone who is not deeply rooted in the Song Dynasty to take over the position of the Imperial Censor, in order to work with the Imperial City Guard and the Censorate to specifically address the problems of officials.

The Censorate and the Imperial Censorate are both one level lower than the two ministries, and their leaders are naturally one level lower than the ministers of the two ministries. However, they have the power to investigate all officials and file cases for the emperor. Even for officials below the sixth rank, as long as the charges have been signed by the Imperial City Guard and the Censorate, they can be executed.

Some people in later generations analyzed the famous Censorate established during the Jingkang era and said that the Imperial City Guard was the emperor's henchman for monitoring domestic and foreign affairs and was a violent agency. However, the Censorate was the emperor's highest judicial agency and focused more on public trials. The purpose of public trials was to give the people an explanation.

In reality, the crimes of some officials had already been settled under the "interrogation" of the Imperial City Guard. The Censorate was more like a show department, although it was indeed given real power.

Early this morning, the Censorate listed more than a dozen charges against Prince Su, such as seizing fertile land, condoning his subordinates to kill people, and the most serious charge being tax evasion!

When the topic of tax evasion came up, many ministers in the court felt a chill run down their spines.

The land policy of the Song Dynasty was the most lenient in the entire feudal era of China. After more than a hundred years of development, land annexation had reached an uncontrollable point, with 3% of the country controlling 85% of the land.

If this continues, the explosive barrel will explode.

This issue was raised by He Ye today, and the Imperial City Guard had already collected the exact amount of tax collected, which was as high as 100,000 strings of cash!

Liu Yanzong then spoke righteously in the court: "Your Majesty, I must report that Prince Su's encroachment on land is an attempt to poison the state and distort the foundation of the nation, causing widespread resentment among the people. I believe this is a contempt for the emperor and a slander against the ancestral temples. His heart deserves to be punished!"

Upon hearing this, the other officials in the court all trembled.

Regarding this matter of land annexation, which scholar-official in the imperial court has not done so?

The Song Dynasty treated its scholar-officials well, and their monthly stipends were more than enough to cover their expenses. Naturally, some of these scholar-officials also had basic financial literacy. For more than a hundred years since the founding of the Song Dynasty, many people have used their official power to purchase land, seize large amounts of fertile land, rent it to farmers, collect taxes from it, and then hand it over to the state.

The emperor has now hinted that after abolishing corvée labor, taxes will be abolished. Once taxes are abolished and only taxes are levied, the landlords will naturally be the ones who suffer.

Therefore, once this rumor spread, the seemingly calm court was actually in turmoil, with countless officials plotting to cause trouble.

The emperor is making an enemy of all the landowners in the land!

This time, the grain transport case involving Prince Su was brought up with the issue of taxation, which clearly indicates that Liu Yanzong wanted to follow the emperor's wishes to address land annexation and taxation issues.

The ministers couldn't help but gasp. This emperor was too ruthless. If he wanted to cause trouble, he would use his own brother to do it. He was setting a precedent for them, the important officials of the court.

Look, I even dared to kill Prince Su, so what are you worth? I can kill you like ants!

The emperor glanced at the assembled officials and asked, "Gentlemen, what are your thoughts on the matter of Prince Su?"

Wang Boyan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Su is a relative of the Emperor, so it is not appropriate for us to discuss this matter."

Zhao Huan laughed and said, "What's there to be afraid of! Even the emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners! Let alone a prince!"

The ministers were all inwardly fuming: "That's what they say, but if the emperor really commits a crime, he won't get away with it at all!" Poor Prince Su, caught red-handed, what a miserable situation!

Seeing that even the emperor had spoken frankly about Prince Su's issues, and even Wang Boyan could not shirk his responsibility, the other ministers could only remain silent and try their best not to interfere in royal affairs.

"What? None of my ministers are speaking today? Minister Zhong, you speak."

Zhong Shidao was quite old and was granted special permission to sit in the court. He said, "Your Majesty, as an old minister who served in the military, I believe that military strategy is as solid as a mountain. If military strategy is not strictly followed, the army will surely fall into disarray and be defeated without a fight!"

Where is Li Qing?

Li Gang said, "Your Majesty, taxation is the foundation of the nation. As a member of the imperial family, Prince Su should set an example. Now that he has evaded taxes in private, he should be punished even more severely!"

Where is Xu Qing?

The emperor was calling out the names of the two prime ministers one by one, forcing them to make a statement in court.