"There's a reason why we've lost three battles in history."
He continued, "The salaries of the Xiang soldiers were already very low, only five hundred coins a month, two dan of rice and a little salt, and they have to support their families. They are greedy for even this little money. Have they gone crazy?"
“It’s really unexpected.”
Lü Yijian also smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "The court pays full salaries every year, but it's so hard for people down there to behave like this."
"They even killed people and claimed the credit. It actually started as early as the time of Taizu."
Zhao Jun frowned and said, "The Song Dynasty has been plagued by problems for so long, yet you've never paid any attention to them. How dare you all become prime ministers?"
Everyone didn't dare to say anything when they were scolded, they just lowered their heads and remained silent.
joke.
The military power of the Song Dynasty has always been in the hands of the emperor.
The emperor allowed the generals and nobles to be brought up like this. As civil officials, their job was to help the emperor control the military generals, so they dared not interfere with the military power.
"alright."
Wang Zeng said, "Hanlong, you should understand the affairs of the Song Dynasty. We could never interfere in military affairs before. Even the Privy Council did not have the power to check military records or issue orders."
"Cough cough cough."
Zhao Jun glanced at everyone, coughed twice, and said, "That's still your problem. The emperor is busy with all sorts of things, so why wouldn't you remind him? Okay, let's get down to business first."
He turned to look at Lu Yijian and said, "Old Lu, tell me how to deal with this."
"Those involved in the case will be brought to justice."
Lu Yijian raised his eyebrows and said, "Those who deserve to be killed will be killed, and those who deserve to be exiled will be exiled. There will be no leniency."
"Oh, you are so decisive this time."
Zhao Jun turned to look at Li Di, pointed at Lü Yijian and said mockingly, "Look, Duke Fugu, as long as it doesn't involve your own interests, you are willing to take action."
"He is like this."
Li Di responded with a smile.
Lu Yijian had long been accustomed to Zhao Jun's sarcasm and ridicule. The relationship between the two sides had always been one of subtle hostility and subtle cooperation. He simply said indifferently, "I am only making an impartial judgment."
"Alas, I just wanted to give them a chance, but I didn't expect them to force me to do it in the end."
Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "Lord Fugu, let the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Court of Criminal Justice conduct a joint investigation this time. We will report to the emperor this afternoon. First, arrest the people we have found so far, and then continue to investigate further."
"Um."
Li Di nodded. He was the prime minister and the Minister of Justice. Although the Ministry of Justice was currently only a law maker, as the prime minister he naturally had the power to take the lead in organizing the three-court trial.
Zhao Jun continued, "The country should resolutely implement the three redundancies reform. I originally planned to start in February of this year, but these military nobles have delayed it until now. Since they are shameless, it's not our fault."
He added, "Regarding this issue of redundant troops, I have two demands. The first is that no criminals will be let off lightly; they must be severely punished, and a bright future for the military will return. The second is that the aftermath of this incident must be handled properly, including the families of the victims, the rectification of military discipline, and the reduction of the military force. There must be no slacking off. Do you understand?"
"Um."
Everyone responded.
This is indeed a major matter, concerning the policies that the entire Constitutional Yuan wants to implement.
"Okay, let's adjourn for now, Mr. Retro."
Zhao Jun looked at Li Di and said, "I'll leave this matter to you. Please go and handle it today."
"I see."
Li Di nodded.
We are about to adjourn the meeting.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Zhao Jun looked towards the door.
A lower-level official from the Constitutional Court came in and bowed to Zhao Jun, saying, "Minister, we have an urgent dispatch from Daming Prefecture, eight hundred miles away."
"Eight hundred miles of rush? The Liao Kingdom is attacking?"
Zhao Jun was confused.
He took the document handed to him by the official, opened it and took a look, and his face turned ashen in an instant.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Seeing that he looked unhappy, Fan Zhongyan hurried over and asked, "Could it be that the Liao Kingdom is really attacking us?"
If this happened, he would probably have to take action.
However, Zhao Jun shook his head, closed the document, and said in a deep voice: "The envoy sent by the Ministry of War was robbed and killed. It was Wang Anshi!"
"Wang Anshi is dead?"
Everyone was shocked, as they all knew that Wang Anshi would later become the reformist prime minister.
"No, he found out."
Zhao Jun looked at everyone with a serious expression and said, "This person is desperate. They even dared to rob and kill an angel of the imperial court. This is simply lawlessness and is no different from rebellion. I think there is no need for trial first. Let's just arrest them and detain all the military officials and nobles who may be involved."
"Have all the generals and nobles who may be involved been apprehended?"
Sheng Du wondered, "But it seems we haven't found much yet. Wouldn't it be bad to arrest people without any evidence?"
"Fighting corruption requires evidence, cracking down on organized crime requires lists, and suppressing insurgency only requires coordinates."
Zhao Jun said, "Go report this to the authorities immediately and arrest him first!"
If the previous incident of the military nobles eating their meals was just corruption or evil forces, then the robbery and killing of angels now is tantamount to rebellion.
The nature of the matter was different, and everyone naturally realized the seriousness of the problem. They no longer dealt with state affairs first, but immediately went to the palace to report the matter to Zhao Zhen.
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