When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Xie Zhongren's decline was like the death of Yan Zilian, which dragged his entire party into the abyss.

While the trial of Xie Zhongren was still ongoing, the purge of the eunuchs' party had already begun in both the capital and the localities. The gentry, who had been persecuted and oppressed three years ago, fought back desperately. Impeachment and admonition memorials flew into the capital like snowflakes every day. The documents on the Wenyuan Pavilion were piled up like a wall, and there were countless documents waiting for the emperor's approval.

Emperor Zhaowu could not handle government affairs without the eunuch who held the seal of the Imperial Household Department. He intended to promote Yu Ji, but Yu Ji was illiterate and he could not find a suitable candidate for the time being. So he summoned Crown Prince Chen Chun, who had already begun to participate in politics, to share the responsibilities with him. Only then was he able to take a break from the hectic government affairs.

This is against the law, but no one cares about it now. The court is already in chaos, with the eunuchs and the gentry attacking each other, as if they had returned to three years ago overnight.

Meng Duo knew that the court could not afford to be in chaos as the country was facing internal and external troubles. After discussing with several important ministers, they advised Emperor Zhaowu to punish only the main culprits and not to punish the many officials who had obeyed him. This move was made for the sake of the overall situation, to win people's hearts, and thirdly, they would have the leverage over these officials in their hands in the future and could manipulate them at will without worrying about the power falling into other people's hands.

Power is such a thing, if it is not in your hands, it is in my hands. Even if you only grab a tail, you will desperately want to grab more. Once you grab it, you will never let go.

For an emperor like Emperor Zhaowu who had been lazy for decades, he had already been tortured enough. When he heard that these ministers wanted to stop at the right time, there was no reason for him to disobey. He happily agreed and even praised them for their general knowledge.

Since they were threatening to stop the investigation, the main culprits had to be severely punished. The Dali Temple arrested 29 key members of the eunuch party, including 12 in Beijing and 17 in the local areas. If their crimes were proven true, they would all be sentenced to death according to the law. Xie Zhongren was even more severely punished with the confiscation of his property and the extermination of his clan.

Since Yan Sikong provided sufficient evidence, the three judicial departments arrested those who should be arrested and tried those who should be tried, and quickly sent a large number of eunuchs to jail.

However, the result of the Guangning case, which Yan Sikong was most concerned about, did not satisfy him. The case was a long time ago, and Han Zhaoxing was not brought to justice, so he could not be tried. Although Zhao Fuyi had explained the situation of that year to Emperor Zhaowu according to Yan Sikong's instructions, he had never seen it in person and could not serve as a witness. Yan Sikong still dared not take out the confession that Ge Zhong was forced to sign before his death. In the case of Xie Zhongren, "Yan Sikong" was already famous all over the world. The old people in Liaodong at that time might still remember his name. If he took out Ge Zhong's confession at this time, he would not be able to explain the source of the book, but would expose his excessive concern for the Guangning case. If someone with a keen eye checked, his identity would be turned upside down.

So he could only hold it in his hands temporarily. When the day came when he truly held power, he would make sure the whole world knew who had defended Guangning and Liaoning back then.

Although the court was in chaos these days, good news came from the border. General Zhao Fuyi stopped Zhuoletai and won the first battle. Although it was only a temporary victory, it was the only good news for the dying Liaoning in recent years.

At this time, the eunuchs' party had run out of luck, but because their crimes were too numerous to list and involved too many problems, the three judicial officials had to work on the case day and night. It would take at least one or two years to review all of them. Emperor Zhaowu was finally able to take a break, and he came to his senses and remembered Feng Ye.

At this time, Feng Ye had already led a large army from Huguang to the northwest. Most of his troops were marching in Qianzhou Prefecture. The terrain there was dangerous, with poor mountains and rivers, and it was mostly barren and poor. There was no resistance at all. Feng Ye was at the peak of his power, and it was only a matter of time before he reached Hetao.

The imperial court was not worried about him taking over Hetao. Originally, Hetao was only recovered after the defeat of Wala. However, the people there lived together, and there was unrest all year round. The people could not survive, let alone cultivate land and grow crops. The significance of Hetao to the imperial court was far less than it was decades ago. Even if Feng Ye took over Hetao, he would only get good war horses, which was not a big deal. What was really scary was that Hetao bordered Datong Prefecture. Datong Army was Feng Jianping's old subordinate. If Feng Ye could persuade Datong Army to surrender, he would have the power to overthrow a dynasty.

At this time, the threat from Liaodong was temporarily alleviated, and the case of the eunuch party needed long-term consideration. Emperor Zhaowu naturally began to worry about the Wolf King's chaos.

Zhao Fuyi had already secretly written a letter to recommend Yan Sikong as an envoy to serve as a lobbyist. Zhu Lanting, who had been promoted to commander of the garrison, also made several memorials. In addition, Princess Wanyang had been running to the palace for three days without a reason, begging Emperor Zhaowu to release Yan Sikong. Emperor Zhaowu originally had a prejudice against Yan Sikong because of the Xie Zhongren incident, but seeing Wanyang's belly "bulging" day by day, he had no choice but to call Meng Duo to discuss how to deal with Yan Sikong.

Meng Duo had just asked Emperor Zhaowu to pardon a group of Xie Zhongren's followers. Yan Sikong's crime was not punishable by death, so he was also included in the list. Naturally, Meng Duo did him a favor and suggested that he be demoted and fined, or demoted to a local position for a few years.

Emperor Zhaowu proposed at an appropriate time to demote Yan Sikong from the third rank Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War to the seventh rank Inspector General, and send him to Hetao to persuade Fengye to surrender.

Meng Duo was unaware of the seriousness of the matter and did not think it was inappropriate, so the matter was settled, just as Yan Sikong had planned.

After being detained for more than a month, Yan Sikong received his verdict and was able to return home at what he considered to be a very small price. Because of Meng Duo's care, he did not suffer any punishment in prison except for the ten lashes. However, he was restless and worried day and night, and lost a lot of weight.

Although there were many dangers and he was not completely sure, he was afraid every day, fearing that everything would fall apart when he woke up, but in the end he still won. Xie Zhongren was now in prison waiting for his trial. He got his revenge and uprooted the poison that had been rooted in Dasheng for thirty years!

He finally lived up to his biological parents, adoptive father, stepbrother, and mentor who died with hatred in his heart. He was finally able to put down the burden he had carried for half his life and do what he really wanted to do.

He was going to meet Feng Ye. It had been three years, and he was finally going to meet Feng Ye. He would use the rest of his life to realize the ambitions that he and Feng Ye had made when they were young!