Zhao Huan said, "The Censorate should immediately open a case and thoroughly investigate the winter grain case and the Qian family case! The Council of State Affairs should immediately issue a tax reduction policy for Jiangnan West Road, Jinghu Road, and Chengdu Prefecture Road. The new policy should be fully implemented in the southeast. The Censorate should keep a close eye on it. Anyone who dares not to implement it should be investigated immediately. They have the right to act first and report later!"
"Li Gang, the Privy Council should immediately dispatch Han Shizhong to lead troops to Hangzhou, citing the rampant pirates in the southeast, and appoint Zhong Shidao as the Southeast Pacification Commissioner to quell the pirate rebellion!"
"The Council of State Affairs shall immediately summon all merchants in the capital city and prohibit them from hoarding grain and raising prices. Anyone who disobeys this order shall have their entire family of ten generations exterminated by me!"
"Shi Xun, draft a proposal outlining the school construction plan for Hangzhou, and implement it in line with the new policies."
"Zhou Chao, you must guarantee me a sufficient winter grain supply, or you will have to answer to me with your head!"
"Li Gang, quickly prepare three months' worth of military rations for Yue Fei!"
The officials replied, "We obey the decree!"
The ministers hurriedly left, busy with their work again. Everyone was under immense pressure. It was going to be a difficult autumn, and before winter arrived, everyone could already feel the chill.
Around dawn, when the autumn moon was cold and clear, Xie Dahai entered Zhao Huan's study, while Wang Kuian poured tea for the emperor.
Xie Dahai reorganized a complete intelligence report on the South, which he had been collecting since Zhao Huan returned from his northern expedition.
The Imperial City Guard's penetration in the south was very weak; it basically did not have a formal government office, and all of this information was gathered through spies.
Detailed information about all the major families in the South is contained here, including how much tax they pay each year, how much land they own, what private businesses they have, and how many people they support.
They almost found out even the color of a certain rich girl's underwear.
Upon seeing this information, Zhao Huan felt deeply that the road to leading the Song Dynasty to rise again was long and arduous.
China is a vast country, not only in terms of its territory and population, but also in its complex terrain and diverse languages. Governing such a country in the era of the most primitive communication tools and before the widespread use of Mandarin was truly an extraordinary task.
This summary of the investigation information took the Imperial City Guard half a year to complete. Moreover, Zhao Huan believed that this was only the tip of the iceberg. Deeper down, local forces had been firmly rooted there for over a hundred years and were already impregnable. What happened there was something the emperor had no way of knowing.
Even in a small county town, if the officials below want to keep it a secret, it would be difficult for even the prefect of the state to find out, let alone in a rural area.
However, more than 70 percent of the population of the Song Dynasty lived in rural areas, and they were the future of the Song Dynasty!
Therefore, Zhao Huan can only choose to take control of the prefectures where he has access to information, and push things down from the top to the bottom, first building up the basic framework. Without a basic framework, everything is just empty talk.
Late at night, Liu Yanzong had no desire to go to a brothel and talk about life with young girls. The task assigned by the emperor was enough to keep him up at night for a while.
First of all, the investigation of the ministers of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the like is enough to keep him busy. The ministers of the two ministries have actually been dragged into the mess by a guy named Qian Yu. The emperor is probably laughing in his sleep, while Liu Yanzong is about to cry.
Either way, they're going to die. Since the Censorate is now at odds with the Eastern Prefecture and their relationship is practically irreconcilable, they might as well go all the way and kill them!
Sure enough, what happened at noon was brought to justice by the evening when the Imperial City Guard had arrested all those involved in the case. The Censorate also worked overtime to open a case, and all the officials related to the case were invited to the Censorate for questioning. After some questioning and thorough investigation, it turned out that they all had dealings with the Qian family.
In the past, it wouldn't have been a problem. The Qian family dominated the southeast, and the imperial family treated them with great respect. But now that Qian Yu has acted recklessly in front of the emperor, even if you have the slightest connection, you are suspected of treason.
As for this suspicion, it was guaranteed to become irrefutable evidence right there in Liu Yusi's office before the sun even rose!
It was past midnight when Liu Yanzong finished reviewing all the initial drafts of the cases. He then summoned people from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to discuss the cases, and later invited people from the Censorate to conduct a second review.
All cases involving officials of the sixth rank or above required a second review by the Censorate. Although the power of decision rested with Liu Yanzong, the Censorate possessed the power of impeachment and veto, and could even impeach Liu Yanzong.
This was also to prevent the Imperial Censorate from wielding absolute power, and the power to arrest criminals was in the hands of the Imperial City Guard. This was also to curb Liu Yanzong's judicial power, so that the emperor could feel at ease delegating power.
In this case, the Censorate was not blind, and He Yi wouldn't go looking for trouble. Everyone with eyes could see that the Emperor had already made the judgment, and the Censorate was just going through the motions. Therefore, the Censorate quickly stamped Liu Yanzong's case with its official seal, along with the seal of the Imperial City Guard for arresting the criminals. Finally, it was stamped with the seal of the Imperial Censorate and sent to the palace overnight, where Zhao Huan made the final decision.
All the officials involved were taken to the imperial prison.
Yang Shi never imagined that he would end up in the Heavenly Prison. Since the new emperor ascended the throne, countless people have been in the Heavenly Prison. At one point, the Heavenly Prison was so full that the dungeon and the prison in Kaifeng Prefecture were temporarily borrowed.
Later, all these people were beheaded. They weren't beheaded to make room for the imperial prison; the emperor really wanted to kill them.
Yang Shi wept bitterly. He missed Emperor Huizong of Tang. When Emperor Huizong was in power, all the ministers lived very well. They had plenty of food and drink, money to pay them, and few things to worry about. That was a time of peace and prosperity.
What about now?
What a tyrant!
The Song Dynasty was destined to follow the same path as the Qin and Sui Dynasties!
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