Zheng Xian brought Wang Dabao and Fan Guangtu to the Privy Council, but the Council was busy and no one paid any attention to the three.
"Excuse me, where is Lord Lu Pingzhi from the Privy Council?" Wang Dabao asked an official.
That was Zheng Zhonghe, a member of the Privy Council. Zheng Zhonghe rolled his eyes and said, "I don't know. What do you want to see Lord Lu for?"
Fan Guangtu clasped his fists and said, "The Tiger Yasi has been established, and the former Imperial City Division has been abolished. We need to get Lord Lu's signature."
Zheng Zhonghe looked Fan Guangtu up and down and said, "Don't you claim that the Tiger Yasi is independent of other ministries? Our Privy Council doesn't dare to interfere. It's useless for you to ask Lord Lu for help."
"You..." Wang Dabao was furious.
Zheng Xian stopped him and smiled, "The Tiger Yasi is independent of the other ministries. This is a special permission granted by the emperor. However, the restructuring of the Imperial City Division requires the signature of Lord Lu. If Lord Lu refuses, then I will have no choice but to report to the emperor."
"Who is so arrogant as to use the emperor to pressure the Privy Council!" Lu Pingzhi stood at the door arrogantly without knowing when.
Zheng Xianyi clasped his fists and said, "Lord Lu, by order of the Emperor, the Imperial City Division is abolished and its office is changed to the Tiger Yamen Division. This still requires Lord Lu's signature, and I am here right away."
Lu Pingzhi said coldly, "I can sign for you, but the seal of the Privy Council is in the hands of Lord Lan Xiaolong. Lord Lan is on sick leave, so I can't help."
Fan Guangtu snorted, "You're from the Privy Council. This seal is locked and sealed in the Ziyun Pavilion of the Privy Council. How could you, Lord Lu, not have a spare key? You clearly did this on purpose!"
"You!" Lu Pingzhi pointed at him, shaking with anger. "How dare you slander me? Don't think your Tiger Yasi can do whatever it wants. This is the Privy Council! Your Tiger Yasi hasn't even been established yet, and you're showing off your power to me!"
Fan Guangtu wanted to argue, but Zheng Xianyi clasped his fists and said, "Goodbye!" Then he took the two of them and left the Privy Council.
Zheng Zhong looked at the three men from behind and said, "Master Lu, this eunuch must have gone to the Emperor to file a complaint."
Lu Pingzhi snorted: "So what? I don't care about the seal. What can the emperor do if he knows? Humph, Tiger Yasi, I thought you were so great."
…
After Zheng Xian found Zhao Huan and explained the whole story, Zhao Huan ate cakes without saying a word.
The emperor didn't say anything, and Zheng Xian didn't dare to say anything either.
Zhao Huan finished his osmanthus cake and patted the grease off his hands: "I understand, you can go down first."
Zheng Xian couldn't figure out the emperor's thoughts, so he bowed and retreated in fear.
"Someone come here!" Zhao Huan shouted.
"Your Majesty." Cao Dongsheng walked in.
"Go to the Heavenly Prison. I want to see Chen Guoting."
Sky Prison.
Chen Guoting couldn't understand why Zhao Huan had destroyed the foundation of the Song Dynasty. With the establishment of the Tiger Court and the Imperial Dragon Guard, the laws of the Song Dynasty were rendered meaningless in these two departments, and scholars no longer had a say.
Just as he was thinking about it, a voice called out from outside: "The Emperor has arrived!"
Zhao Huan walked in, and Chen Guoting hurriedly greeted him: "Your Majesty."
The jailer opened the cell door and Zhao Huan walked in: "Everyone, leave."
Zhao Huan looked at the room and asked, "Are you used to it here?"
Chen Guoting nodded and said, "Not bad."
Zhao Huan looked at the bookshelves on the wall, which were filled with piles of books. "Well, this room once held Li Bangyan and Zhan Yunpeng. These books were left behind by Zhan Yunpeng."
Chen Guoting smiled bitterly and continued: "The old minister is now imprisoned."
Zhao Huan stopped reading the books on the shelf and turned to look at Chen Guoting: "My dear Chen, you are a straightforward person. You like to speak directly. So I will speak to you directly."
Chen Guoting bowed and said, "I am all ears."
Zhao Huan sighed: "Guo Tingna, scholars share the world, and literati are in power. But have you ever thought about the consequences of doing so?"
Chen Guoting remained silent.
Zhao Huan continued, "Since Emperor Taizong, our Song has been weak. First, we were defeated by the Liao, then by the Western Xia, and now by the Jin. Why do we always lose battles? It's because the civil officials manipulate the military commanders. Without Tang Ke and Geng Nanzhong, Zhong Shizhong wouldn't have died. Without the ministers' unwavering pursuit of peace, the Jin wouldn't have been able to reach the gates of Bianjing."
"But your majesty, these have little to do with your establishment of the Tiger Yamen and the Imperial Dragon Guard."
Zhao Huan shook his head. "No, it does matter. Only by establishing these two departments can I suppress the civil servants. Most importantly, the Song Dynasty is facing financial difficulties and harsh taxes. Not to mention the distant lands outside Bianjing, how much of them truly belong to the people? And how much land is concealed and unreported, with no taxes paid? If the situation in the capital is like this, then the rest of the country is likely to be even worse."
Chen Guoting sighed: "When prosperity comes, the people suffer; when decline comes, the people suffer."
"And the salt and iron taxes, and the land and grain taxes in various places are all horribly low. The people are still suffering miserably, but where did the money go? Emperor Shenzong used Wang Anshi to develop production, enrich the country and strengthen the military, but why did he fail in the end? It was because he didn't rule the country with an iron fist, and the officials below were secretly disobeying his orders. I will not go down this old path again. I will definitely build a powerful Song Dynasty, a Song Dynasty with a prosperous economy, a safe people's home, and clean officials!"
"If Your Majesty wants to take action against your ministers, aren't you afraid that the government will be unstable?" Chen Guoting asked.
"If I continue to let things go, that will be the beginning of an unstable government. Since the time of the Retired Emperor, there have been the Fang La and Song Jiang uprisings, and now during my time, there's the Shandong uprising. The Song Dynasty is already extremely weak, and when it declines, change is inevitable. If I don't reform, the throne will change."
Chen Guoting was so frightened by what he said that he could only say, "Even if Your Majesty established a new army, these people might not listen. Setting up a new army would require funding, personnel, office space, and various rules and regulations. All of this would require support from various departments of the court. Your Majesty's help alone would probably be useless."
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