Xu Churen is, after all, the prime minister, so we still have to give him face on the surface!
Liu Yanzong wore a sinister smile, looking as if to say, "I've dug a pit for you, just waiting for you to jump in."
Xu Churen said, "Naturally, we should arrest them all!"
Liu Yanzong said, "Minister Xu is a man of great integrity and righteousness, and I admire him greatly!"
He then said, "Commander He, you heard it too, arrest them all."
He Liming immediately understood and said to the outside, "Men, arrest Yao Zhen and throw him into the dungeon!"
Xu Churen said, "Wait!"
He Liming quickly bowed and said, "May I ask what advice Master Xu has for me?"
“Yao Zhen was not involved; his crime is dereliction of duty, and I will handle it myself.”
Liu Yanzong rolled his eyes and said, "But Yao Zhen just admitted to everything!"
"He didn't say he was involved. His crime was negligence, and I will handle that myself. There's no need to trouble Imperial Censor Liu!"
Liu Yanzong said unwillingly, "Master Yao, you really didn't take the money?"
Yao Zhen said, "Liu Yusi, I have not taken a single penny."
Liu Yanzong sneered inwardly: You're just trying to fool children. Someone like you, even if the money were placed in front of you, you wouldn't take a single penny.
“Master Yao, you should think carefully before you speak. The Censorate is the Emperor’s Censorate. If you lie in the Censorate, it will be a crime of deceiving the Emperor, which will cost you your head! If you tell the truth now, the Emperor will be lenient with you!”
Yao Zhen was intimidated by him, and Xu Churen said, "Could it be that Imperial Censor Liu is going to increase the punishment?"
"What a joke! I have always been against forced confessions through words and actions, especially since Yao Yuanwailang is an official appointed by the imperial court. Even if I had the greatest courage, I would not use torture!"
Liu Yanzong said this without any shame.
It doesn't matter if Yao Zhen doesn't confess now. Arrest all the people Yao Zhen implicated, and whip them one by one until they confess.
Yao Zhen, Xu Churen's right-hand man, should have been killed as soon as the opportunity arose; no chance should have been given.
Xu Churen said, "I admire Liu Yusi's integrity and uprightness!"
"You flatter me, you flatter me."
"Now that everything has been explained, I'll take my leave!"
Xu Churen stood up, and Yao Zhen followed suit, clearly intending to walk with Xu Churen.
Tang Ke and the others followed.
Liu Yanzong didn't leave anyone behind, but directly asked He Liming to help him arrest the people on the list.
Liu Yanzong was already prepared to kill Yao Zhen.
After leaving the Censorate, Xu Churen went to the palace and told Zhao Huan everything.
Zhao Huan asked, "So, Minister Xu, what is your opinion?"
"Your Majesty, this was due to my dereliction of duty. I am willing to be fined one year's salary!"
"allow!"
"Yao Zhenfa, an assistant minister in the Ministry of Revenue, has been assigned to Jiaozhou as a county magistrate!"
"allow!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zhao Huan went down and helped Xu Churen sit down: "Prime Minister Xu, land sales and land price control are related to people's livelihood, and we should be on high alert."
"Your Majesty is right. It was my momentary lapse of judgment."
"Lord Xu, you flatter us. The Song Dynasty has never expanded its cities and moved its population so rapidly before. The problems we are facing now are unprecedented and we cannot find any experience to draw upon in any previous dynasty."
Zhao Huan took a sip of tea and said, "I remember reading a sentence in a book when I was a child: 'Crossing the river by feeling for the stones.'"
"We are in this situation now. There is darkness ahead. We can hear the rushing water, but we can't see it or know how deep it is. One wrong step could be dangerous, but if we stay in the water, we will definitely die. The only way out is to move forward."
Although the emperor's words were simple, they left Xu Churen stunned.
The sage never said that!
In which book did the emperor see that sentence?
Feeling your way across the river by touching the stones?
Although it sounds rather simplistic, it has a down-to-earth feel of simplicity and returning to one's true nature.
"Lord Xu, I truly believe that some aspects of the Song Dynasty are still too extravagant. To serve the country and its people, we must be down-to-earth and take things one step at a time. The imperial court should set an example for the people!"
Zhao Huan shamelessly boasted that when it came to exaggeration, he himself was the most exaggerated and shameless one.
His showmanship is embarrassing, yet he keeps trying, threatening to kill other people's entire families and exterminate their entire clans.
Is there anyone more flamboyant than him?
Xu Churen nodded repeatedly: "Your Majesty is right."
The emperor's meaning is quite clear: the Council of State Affairs must take the lead in cracking down on any frivolous or speculative activities in commerce.
Xu Churen was well aware that the emperor had already given him, the prime minister, ample face.
Instead of blaming him, the court officials offered him a seat.
The emperor would grant his request to protect anyone without hesitation.
Why was the emperor so good to me?
Of course, he has to keep taking the blame!
Is being a prime minister so easy?
Let alone the Prime Minister!
One of the prime minister's major roles is to take the blame. Whenever a major problem arises and the responsibility is investigated, it can be traced back to the prime minister, who will then be attacked by a group of people.
In particular, they were attacked by some lackeys arranged by the emperor.
The attack wasn't over yet; the emperor naturally had to appease Xu Churen, who had been wronged by the blame. Otherwise, if Xu Churen were to kick the bucket and refuse to take the blame, Zhao Huan would be in serious trouble.
After all, there aren't many people willing to take the blame, but there are plenty of people willing to shift the blame.
People like Xu Churen are rare, and of course they should be treated well.
After Xu Churen left, Zhao Huan summoned Liu Yanzong to the palace that very night.
Zhang Shuye was summoned to the palace, along with Yao Xiping, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Zhang Shaoze, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.
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