The most important thing is, should Tang Lichen, the imperial official who is surrounded in the government office, be rescued?

These are the topics that the court officials need to discuss.

"I think that sending troops from the capital may not be able to reach the target. It is better to dispatch troops from nearby prefectures and counties to suppress the civil unrest and rescue Magistrate Tang." After all, Gu Zheng was a young man with a strong sense of progress, so he was the first to stand up and express his opinion.

Liu Muchuan also said, "That's exactly how it should be."

However, Xue Zhidao, who had always been in charge of the affairs of the Government Hall, stroked his beard and did not speak immediately.

The Empress Dowager turned to look at him, "What do you think, Mr. Xue?"

Xue knew this and said, "The civil uprising must be suppressed. I have no objection to dispatching troops from nearby. However, it is the fault of Magistrate Tang that led to the current situation."

"Nonsense!" Liu Muchuan couldn't help but exclaim, "Now that things have come to this, although Magistrate Tang was certainly wrong, since he is an official appointed by the imperial court, only the imperial court has the right to punish him. If we allow a bunch of unruly people to beat and kill him at will, where will the dignity of the imperial court be?!"

"You can't say that," said Wang Tong, the councilor, who stepped forward. "Although it's a civil uprising, the people haven't lost their minds, nor have they looted or vandalized the city. They've simply surrounded the government office and demanded an explanation. If we insist on rescuing Governor Tang, we'll only anger them, and there's a high possibility of rebellion. We have to be cautious."

Gu Zheng had something else to say, but when he heard this, his brows twitched slightly, and he took back the step he was about to take.

Next, Liu Muchuan and Wang Tong engaged in a verbal battle. One argued that the local people needed to be warned, to let them know the power of the imperial court and be more obedient in the future, to avoid constant trouble. The other argued that the people were like water and the emperor was like a boat, and that ignoring the people's will and simply suppressing them would only lead to trouble.

Neither side was willing to give in and the argument got heated.

He Qing started a little later than Gu Zheng, and only then did he slowly figure out some tricks.

Liu Muchuan had advocated for Tang Zhizhou, in part because he had recommended him. If anything went wrong with Tang Lichen, he would inevitably be held responsible. Now that Xue knew he was leaving, as Tongpingzhangshi, the highest-ranking official in the government, he should have held the final say. If something went wrong now, there would be no chance of advancement.

On the other hand, this was also due to his inherent political philosophy. He believed that the people were ignorant and that they should not be treated too kindly. Instead, they should be suppressed at all times so that they would not have any other ideas.

And the reason why Wang Tong stood up at this moment was obviously because his political ideas were opposite to Liu Muchuan's. At the same time, as a political governor, he also wanted to bring Liu Muchuan down and take a further step.

But more importantly, the Empress Dowager never expressed her opinion, and from her expression, it was clear that she was more inclined to Wang Tong's side.

Whether to suppress the people or rescue Tang Lichen is the topic of discussion now, but it is not.

When it comes to court struggles, everything else becomes a trivial matter.

So, of all the people in the hall, most were probably on Liu Muchuan's side, but he was the only one who stood up. This was because they hadn't been involved in this matter yet, and they were unwilling to take sides rashly.

He Qing's eyes swept over these people one by one, and inexplicably a sentence came to his mind.

Politics is dirty.

The Ziping Palace is filled with important military and national officials, but is there anyone who really cares about Tang Lichen who is imprisoned in the government office and is in imminent danger?