Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 446: Frustrated Han Zhang

The Song Dynasty had loyal ministers, regardless of when the Southern Song Dynasty or the Northern Song Dynasty fell.

But such people are only a minority after all.

If the Song Dynasty were to perish now, how many people would be truly willing to die?

"Since I ascended the throne, I have never started a war. If someone does not know what is good for him this time, I will not be polite!" Zhao Xing's cold voice echoed in the hall.

"Your Majesty, you can't!"

Han Zhang said anxiously: "If Your Majesty implicates too many people, it will definitely cause chaos!"

"If it causes a great chaos, then we must put it down!" Zhao Xing said firmly.

He has been kind enough, but these people still don't know how to appreciate it.

This time, Zhao Xing has made up his mind to kill some people to make these officials sober up.

He was not Taizu, and was worried about being criticized, but he also wanted the Song Dynasty to last for thousands of years and cared about the opinions of scholars.

The emperors of the Song Dynasty were weaker than each other, and they only cared about the Zhao family ruling the country.

Anyway, for the emperor, it doesn’t matter whether the world is bigger or smaller, as long as the country is not destroyed.

No matter how powerful the civil officials are, they cannot rebel without military power.

But Zhao Xing will not indulge these people.

Seeing that Han Zhang still wanted to persuade him, Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, "I have made up my mind. Instead of trying to persuade me here, you should go and persuade those officials."

"I resign!"

Upon hearing this, Han Zhang bowed and walked out.

"Do you know that you did a stupid thing this time?" Zhao Xing looked at Yan Kuan coldly.

He asked Yan Kuan to investigate the matter. Yan Kuan could just wait until the official was off duty and then send someone to arrest the person.

But he had some reservations and did not dare to arrest the person directly. He had to send someone to invite him while he was on duty.

"I know my crime and am willing to resign and apologize!" Yan Kuan bowed.

He knew that there would be chaos in the court and prepared to resign and get away.

"You made a mistake and you still want to resign. That's wishful thinking!"

Zhao Xing snorted coldly: "Catch all the remaining people and investigate as soon as possible. Otherwise, watch out for your head!"

"Yes!"

Yan Kuan broke out in a cold sweat and dared not mention resignation again.

"Go!" Zhao Xing waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, Yin Sizheng has arrived." Sanshui reported.

"pass!"

"Yes!"

Sanshui responded and gave the order, and soon Yin Hanzhang walked into the hall.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Yin Hanzhang bowed.

"No gift!"

Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, "You should know that two officials in the Political Affairs Hall were hanged, right?"

"I have heard about it. I have ordered someone to investigate the cause of death of the two people in detail!" Yin Hanzhang said hurriedly.

"There's no need to investigate the cause of death. Just find out who spread the news and who are the people behind the scenes fanning the flames!" Zhao Xing said.

Regardless of whether the two committed suicide or were threatened to commit suicide, not many people would know about it and it would be difficult to find evidence.

Zhao Xing didn't bother to care how the two men died, he just wanted to know who were behind the deaths.

"Yes!"

Yin Hanzhang heard a strong murderous intent in Zhao Xing's tone, and he was alerted and responded quickly.

"Go!" Zhao Xing waved his hand.

After sending Yin Hanzhang away, Zhao Xing pondered for a while and said, "Draft an imperial decree to order Marquis Zhongjing to lead the troops under his command to take over the defense of the gates of Bianjing!"

…………Han Zhang returned to the government hall and ordered people to invite several ministers and deputy prime ministers over.

After a while, several people hurried over.

"My Lord, what does Your Majesty think about the suicide of Liu and Zhou?" Yang Shengkui asked.

"Vice Prime Minister Yang is very anxious." Han Zhang said lightly.

"After all, the Personnel Office is directly under my direct management. Now that something like this has happened, I naturally care about it," said Yang Shengkui.

"I hope you're just concerned." Han Zhang said meaningfully.

"What do you mean, sir?" Yang Shengkui frowned.

Although Han Zhang is the prime minister, he is not afraid.

The status of officials in the Song Dynasty was not as important as in other dynasties.

It was common for officials of the fifth or sixth rank to impeach a prime minister, leading to his dismissal.

There was a strange unspoken rule in the Song Dynasty: if a husband was impeached, no matter whether it was true or false, he would not have the face to continue to be a husband and would write a letter to resign.

Because even if it was false, my husband being impeached would mean that he could not convince the public, so he would naturally have no face to stay.

Of course, resigning is just resigning, and ultimately it still depends on the government's intentions.

Precisely because of the relaxed political atmosphere, Yang Shengkui, although he was the vice prime minister, was not afraid of Han Zhang.

"Nothing, everyone please take a seat."

Han Zhang asked everyone to sit down and said, "Your Majesty is very angry about this matter. I have called you all here to advise you not to interfere in this matter."

"What you said is simply ridiculous!"

Yang Shengkui stood up with an angry look on his face and said, "Your Majesty, asking the Ministry of Justice to arrest people is against the rules. Liu and Zhou couldn't bear the humiliation and committed suicide. Can we just let it go like this?"

"I'm just reminding you. Whether Yang Shangzheng listens or not is your business." Han Zhang said calmly.

"My Lord, what His Majesty did this time was indeed against the rules." Hai Wenyou said.

Hearing this, Han Zhang looked at Hai Wenyou and said, "Bochang's situation is not as simple as you see it. You'd better not say too much."

Hai Wenyou fell silent upon hearing this. He had just been promoted to vice prime minister and was still getting familiar with the job.

He did not know the inside story of the matter, but after hearing what Yang Shengkui said, he felt that it was inappropriate for Zhao Xing and his Ministry of Justice to directly arrest officials.

Now after hearing what Han Zhang said, he understood that there must be something going on, so he fell silent.

Yang Shengkui saw someone agreeing, but was dissuaded by Han Zhang. He looked at the others and said, "Everyone, we are all the prime ministers and vice prime ministers of the Song Dynasty. It is our job to assist His Majesty in handling government affairs and correct His Majesty's mistakes. If we know that His Majesty has made a mistake, but we turn a blind eye, how will the world see us? How can we stand in the court and be respected as prime ministers?"

Except for Han Zhang, Mr. Li and Mr. Yu, everyone else's face changed when they heard this.

The granddaughters of both Lord Li and Lord Yu were concubines in the palace, so they naturally tended to favor Zhao Xing.

Moreover, they had already heard from Han Zhang's words that there was something behind this matter.

The other few people also knew that there was something behind this.

But Yang Shengkui's question about how the world would view them made them somewhat shaken.

After all, Zhao Xing was the emperor, and the scholars and officials did not have the courage to scold Zhao Xing.

In the eyes of literati, the emperor made mistakes entirely because his ministers failed to advise him.

When the time comes, these husbands and deputy husbands will be the first to bear the brunt.

"Everyone!"

Han Zhang said, "I have said everything I should say. As for what you want to do, it is up to you. I still have official business to attend to. Please go back."

Upon hearing this, everyone stood up, bowed, and left the public housing.

After seeing everyone off, Han Zhang personally ground ink and wrote a letter of resignation.

After the ink was dry, he placed it on the paper bundle on the table, then called an assistant officer and said, "I feel a little unwell, so I will go back first. Here are the processed paper bundles. When the eunuchs come to pick them up, just give them to them."

"Yes!" The assistant officer saluted and responded.

Han Zhang sent the assistant officer away, took a complicated look at the public housing, sat there for a long time, and then stood up and walked out.

(End of this chapter)