As the saying goes, wherever there are people, there is a social hierarchy; too much concentration of power can easily lead to disasters like those of the late Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, local power was very clearly defined in the Song Dynasty. With more people in power, conflicts arose, and power could no longer be used arbitrarily.
The Director of the Criminal Justice Department was in charge of judicial, criminal, and supervisory matters. He effectively divided the power of the Military Commissioner and played a supervisory role over the Military Commissioner, the Grain Transport Commissioner, and the Director of the Grain and Rice Administration.
According to the established organizational structure, he was under the jurisdiction of central government agencies such as the Censorate, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Justice.
In the Song Dynasty, power was divided very finely. The Censorate had the power of impeachment, but the power to initiate investigations was in the hands of the Censorate. The Ministry of Justice had the power to investigate officials below the sixth rank.
Therefore, the local judicial commissioners report to different leadership departments when dealing with different individuals.
At this moment, Shangguan Qing, the Censor of the Yongxing Military Circuit, was personally appointed by Cai Jing to the Jingzhao Prefecture three years ago. Now that his term is over, according to the rules, he should be transferred back to the capital and take a place in the court.
He was writing a summary of his three years in office when he heard that a major case had occurred at Qingping Tower involving the military. He immediately stood up and shouted, "Prepare the horses!"
Of the four highest-ranking officials in a district, only the Director of the Warehouse, who was in charge of storage, was absent. He was only responsible for managing the warehouse's contents; other matters were none of his concern.
The Qingping Tower was filled with corpses, and people could only walk on them.
The road outside was also littered with corpses. The onlookers kept moving further and further away, afraid of being caught in the crossfire, but they couldn't resist their curiosity and wanted to watch.
Li Jingxian knelt there, trembling all over. He had vomited everything out of his stomach and felt death was so close for the first time.
He really didn't understand who this young man was, that he dared to kill soldiers in Chang'an. These people killed soldiers without even blinking an eye.
You must know, this is Chang'an.
Even if you're having a blast killing now, you'll still die once the army surrounds you.
How dare you lay a hand on me!
And not only did you take action, but so many people died, and you were still sitting there drinking and eating meat, as if nothing had happened.
Are you a demon?!
Zhao Huan continued drinking, not even glancing at Li Jingxian, and suddenly asked, "What's your name?"
“Li…Li Jingxian…”
"Are you Li Jingxian, the military commander under the command of the Water Transport Commissioner?"
"That's right, it's me. Although I don't know who you are, you'd better let me go..."
What are you doing here with your men?
"Of course we're arresting you!"
Why are you arresting me?
“The soldiers of the Xiang Army you killed were under my command.”
Zhao Huan raised an eyebrow slightly, as he was trying to find out who had raised such soldiers.
I didn't expect to find it so quickly!
"Your subordinates? That Boss Lu is also under your command?"
Li Jingxian was slightly taken aback, then realized that the "Boss Lu" Zhao Huan was referring to might be Lu Renjia.
“That’s right, he was the head of the Xiang Army, and Ling Hui, whom you killed, was the commander. If you stop now, you can still be treated leniently.”
Zhao Huan seemed not to hear what he said, and instead said, "As the military commander, how do you manage your subordinates? Do you know that Boss Lu is acting like a king in Lantian, oppressing the people? And these soldiers of the Xiang Army actually gathered a crowd to besiege the people sent by the court! According to the laws of the Great Song Dynasty, this is a capital offense! They died without cause!"
"Furthermore, as far as I know, all judicial, criminal, and supervisory departments of the Great Song Dynasty are under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Judicial Commissioner. You are overstepping your authority! As the Military Commander, you should also be beheaded and your head displayed to the public!"
Li Jingxian said, "Don't talk nonsense! You are clearly a Tangut spy who deliberately imitated the capital's accent to steal military intelligence from my Great Song! I've discovered you! I advise you to surrender, and I might spare your life!"
Although he said that on the surface, Li Jingxian was actually cursing a million grass mud horses in his heart.
He felt like he'd been completely screwed over!
Ling Hui screwed me over!
The possibility of this person being a Tangut spy is extremely low; what spy would look like this?
However, Li Jingxian had already arrived with his men, and upon seeing so many dead people, he flew into a rage and ignored everything.
You're a Tangut spy!
Therefore, impulsiveness can ruin everything!
Now that the damage was done, Li Jingxian naturally insisted that Zhao Huan was a spy from the Dangxiang tribe.
Zhao Huan said, "No rush. I'll just sit here and wait. After this incident, I'm sure Sun Bangyuan, Li Yanjing, and Shangguan Qing are also getting restless and are on their way. Let's see how they handle this. If they don't convince me today, I swear I won't let this matter rest!"
Who do you think you are?!
Zhao Huan continued, "The Xiang Army's military discipline is corrupt, and they have no regard for the law. Although that Boss Lu is dead, his entire clan must be dragged out!"
Who exactly are you?
A sense of foreboding flashed through Li Jingxian's mind. Judging from Zhao Huan's tone, he must be a big shot from the capital.
What should we do now?
Li Jingxian became frightened, but then he thought, what is there to be afraid of? My uncle is the transport commissioner, and I am a direct descendant of the Longxi Li clan. The Longxi Li clan has deep roots in Yongxing Army Road, Qinfeng Road, and even Hedong Road and Jingxi Road.
Even if he is a big shot in the capital, he wouldn't dare to offend the Li family so easily!
We also have connections in the imperial court!
Zhao Huan still did not answer him.
Li Jingxian continued, "Your Excellency, I am a direct descendant of the Li family of Longxi. Today's matter must be a misunderstanding. Why don't I apologize to you and find a place tomorrow to hold a grand banquet to welcome you back?"
He no longer used his status as the military commander to intimidate people; clearly, he knew he couldn't control the person in front of him.
However, the Li family of Longxi was different.
Officials with even a little influence were all aware of the Li family of Longxi.
Although they could not enter the court and wield great power like the former Tang dynasty, they could still wield considerable influence among the people.
Many officials want to befriend them so that they can make a fortune.
Zhao Huan laughed and said, "The Li family of Longxi sounds quite prestigious. Give me a reason to befriend you."
Li Jingxian said, "As long as you become our friend, it will be no problem for you to do business and make a fortune in the local area. If you want to get a share of the money allocated by the imperial court, no one will refuse you. Is that reason enough?"
As the saying goes, "People die for wealth, birds die for food." Although the salaries of officials in the Song Dynasty were already high enough, the Song Dynasty was a commercially developed country with a wealth of resources. With power in their hands, how could these officials not want to use their power to make money?
"How did you distribute the money allocated by the imperial court? Didn't Shangguan Qing take responsibility for it?"
"Shangguan Qing? Your Excellency, Shangguan Qing's wife is a member of my Li clan!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Huan's face turned ashen.
It seems there's not enough bloodshed in the officialdom of the Northwest; not enough heads!
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