Upon hearing this, Liu Yanzong felt a sudden tightness in his lower body, as if his entire life was over.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have something very important to tell you, and it concerns Prime Minister Li!"
"Oh? You mean?"
Seeing that Zhao Huan was interested, Liu Yanzong grasped at a straw: "If Your Majesty will promise to spare me, I will speak!"
"Alright, I agree!"
Liu Yanzong was overjoyed and quickly said, "Your Majesty, the incident of someone being beaten to death at Prime Minister Li's residence today was orchestrated by Geng Nanzhong, with the aim of framing Prime Minister Li!"
Upon hearing this, the students in the other cell were all astonished, especially Wang Chen and others, whose expressions changed from shock to confusion to guilt.
Zhao Huan revealed an unfathomable smile, as if to say, "You son of a bitch, this is considered valuable information? Everything is under my control!"
"How did Lord Liu know that Geng Nanzhong framed Minister Li? This is an internal matter of our Great Song Dynasty."
Liu Yanzong was shivering from the cold. He was now at the mercy of others, but he had no will to resist. He said with a wronged and helpless expression, "It was Prime Minister Geng who invited me to Dongjing City to discuss peace. Prime Minister Geng said that Li Gang is now very powerful, commanding tens of thousands of imperial guards and has made a series of meritorious contributions. If we create an incident where Li Gang is arrogant and domineering, the emperor will definitely harbor resentment towards Li Gang. At that time, the ministers led by Prime Minister Geng will impeach Li Gang in court, cutting off the emperor's most powerful assistant in defending Dongjing!"
Liu Yanzong's words sent chills down the spines of all the students. Liu Haozhi cursed Liu Yanzong, calling him "despicable and shameless!"
Wang Chen also cursed, "Liu Yanzong, you bastard! You actually plotted to murder my Song Dynasty's prime minister! You'll die a horrible death!"
Zhao Huan roared, "Shut up, all of you!"
The imperial students, who were about to launch into a tirade against Liu Yanzong, were silenced by the emperor's angry shout.
Liu Yanzong cried out in anguish, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! It was that old scoundrel Geng Nanzhong who plotted to kill Minister Li! I entered the capital city late at night because I was deeply moved by the wickedness of the Jin invaders and wanted to choose a virtuous ruler. That is why I came to seek refuge here!"
Zhao Huan had to admire Liu Yanzong's shamelessness. He sneered, "Damn it, are all scholars this shameless!"
"Your Majesty, if Your Majesty does not mind, I am willing to reveal the Jin invaders' plans in their entirety!"
Chen Runxin, a student from the Imperial Academy, said, "Your Majesty, such shameless people should be killed without hesitation. Do not listen to their nonsense!"
"Shut up, all of you! I haven't even settled accounts with you for your own messes yet, and you still have the nerve to interfere in my affairs!"
The students all lowered their heads, looking ashamed, knowing they had made a grave mistake.
"Sima Junru, get some clothes for Lord Liu to wear first, arrange a separate cell for Lord Liu, and do not allow anyone to disturb Lord Liu, nor allow Lord Liu to lose a single hair."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Sima Junru said. "Then, Your Majesty, as you just said, should we still castrate this fellow?"
Liu Yanzong let out a scream like a chicken: "Your Majesty, I am loyal and righteous!"
"Let's save it for Lord Liu first."
"yes!"
Zhao Huan smiled as he looked at Liu Yanzong. "I'll squeeze something out of you first, then I'll make you, you traitorous dog, wish you were dead!"
After some deliberation, Zhao Huan ordered Liu Yanzong to be taken away.
The emperor returned to his seat, looked at the group of dejected students, and sighed.
Students have always been mostly brain-dead!
Students are also easily swayed and manipulated. After reading too many books, they think they have grasped the truth of the world and start to act recklessly, their minds filled with moralistic ideals.
But this is precisely the stage that many people will likely go through.
Even if the students make mistakes, they are still the future talents of the Song Dynasty. As the emperor, Zhao Huan could no longer view this issue in the same impulsive way he did in his previous life and kill all these idiots.
The Song Dynasty was in dire need of talent, and Zhao Huan's future empire was even more lacking in talent. There were still many things waiting to be done, and as long as his bottom line was not touched, he could tolerate it.
His bottom line was simple: anyone who brought disaster to the country and its people should be sent to see the founding emperor!
"What else do you want to say to me?"
Upon hearing the emperor's question, Liu Hao, the leader of the group of imperial students, said, "Your Majesty is a wise and sagacious ruler, whose wisdom is beyond our reach. I am ashamed that I fought in the street and brought shame to the court. I beg Your Majesty to punish me. I am willing to die to atone for my sins. But I also beg Your Majesty to spare the others. I was the one who started it all. The fault lies with me!"
Wang Chen also said, "Your Majesty, I am also guilty and am willing to accept punishment!"
"What crime have you committed?"
"The students listened to slander and acted impulsively!"
"You're not just listening to slander; you're acting without thinking. Do you know that what you see is all just appearances? The truth is hidden where you can't see it!"
"The wisdom of the Holy Emperor is as vast as the sky. I know my crime, and I beg Your Majesty to grant me death!"
Zhao Huan's anger had subsided considerably. Although these students were brainless, they at least had some backbone, and were much more resolute than the scholars of the Ming Dynasty in later generations.
"I urge Heaven to rouse itself once more and send down talents without regard to convention!" Zhao Huan suddenly said. "What I desire most now is not victory in battle, but talent—talent that is truly useful to the Song Dynasty. If everyone were like Prime Minister Li, giving full play to their strengths in their respective fields, how could we possibly defeat the Jin invaders with the slightest effort? Why should the people of our Song Dynasty not be able to live in peace and prosperity!"
The emperor sat in front of the prison cell, his back looking somewhat lonely. All the students listened quietly, silently reciting the emperor's words: "I urge Heaven to rouse itself and send down talents without regard to convention!"
The Holy Emperor's heart is as vast as the starry sky!
"Since you have committed offenses, you must be punished!"
"The student is willing to accept the punishment!"
"Sima Junru, arrange for each of you to be placed in a small dark room and face the wall for seven days to reflect on your mistakes! If this happens again, you will be expelled from the Imperial Academy and never be admitted again!"
"Yes, sir!"
The students all knelt and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy!"
The emperor's punishment was already very lenient. This emperor often executed his ministers at the drop of a hat, and the students of the Imperial Academy had long been prepared to lose their heads, but they did not expect that they would only be confined.
However, they did not know what the emperor meant by confinement, thinking it meant one person in a cell for reflection. In reality, that kind of confinement was very torturous.
After punishing the students, Zhao Huan returned to the palace and slept soundly. The matter was suppressed by the Imperial City Guard and did not escalate.
That guy named Ah San was hanged by the Imperial City Guard and then his head was chopped off.
The next morning at court, the officials went to court listlessly. As they listened to Li Gang's report on the defense of the city walls, the ministers thought to themselves, "He's just trying to gain fame and praise before the emperor again!"
After listening to Li Gang's report, Zhao Huan was very satisfied and said, "If there is anything else, please speak. If not, the court may adjourn!"
Geng Nanzhong stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
Zhao Huan's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "What do you wish to report?"
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