“What nonsense about not deserving death!”

The blazing summer sun beat down on Apricot Hill. Zhao Guan Jia’s (the Emperor's) anger could be clearly felt even through the distance of several old apricot trees, causing the newly recruited Chixin Team guards to sweat profusely and feel uneasy.

If the guards were this affected, one could imagine the situation of the four chief councilors, one imperial censor, and several key officials of the inner court who were directly facing Zhao Guan Jia beside the thatched pavilion.

“Is this a matter of official position? Is this a petty act?”

“Yes, it is a petty act! But is it a common petty act? He has served as the Vice Minister of Works for half a month; he should know what the Ministry of Works is currently busy with, right? Knowing that the Ministry of Works is presiding over the preparations for the Northern Expedition, he dared to do such a thing for a mere opportunity for promotion… and it’s not even a sure promotion, at most a temporary position, possibly not even that… to do such a thing!”

“What does the country mean to him? What do the people of Hebei and Henan mean to him? What do the painstaking efforts of the court to build wealth mean to him? What does the lifeblood of the people of the Central Plains and Jiangnan mean to him? Are they all just things he can exploit?”

“That day, he even brazenly said to me that every time he saw the people of Jiangnan giving up every ounce of their wealth, he worried that the central government was squandering the blood and sweat of the people of Jiangnan… It’s utterly absurd!”

“You don't understand what I'm angry about… Do you know how Wang Shu's reform failed? Wasn't it because petty people were involved in the New Party? This kind of endeavor, like sailing against the current, will collapse if petty people get involved! They not only ruin the reputation but truly undermine the overall situation!”

“If he were a spy for the Jurchens or a long-planned move from the South, I wouldn't be this angry! It's because he is a petty person, a petty person disguised as harmless and even beneficial to the overall situation, that I am so alarmed!”

“Need I say more about the harm of petty people? Now there is only one Gou Longruyuan suddenly popping up under my nose. How many are there behind him? Do you have Southerners among you? Have you seen the ga zha (cockroaches) in the South? Lift a ceramic jar, and if you see one ga zha underneath, there are already hundreds of ga zha nesting in your house!”

“Why did I protect Hu Mingzhong so staunchly before?! First, because I trust Hu Mingzhong and know that his actions are excusable and that he is a talented person; second, to tell the world that for anyone and anything related to the Northern Expedition, I dare not say that I can give them a death-exemption token, but I will do everything in my power to prevent them from being disturbed by these miscellaneous matters… If they win against the Jurchens for me, I will give them fame and fortune!”

“Even you, you chief councilors, academicians, and those commanders and generals, why can you be so stable? Isn't it the same principle? If this premise is gone, what use do I have for you?! Do you really think you are all flawless?!”

“The bad thing about this matter is that it was a momentary impulse, and the bad thing is that there is no legal basis! The reason this person deserves to die is that he is just a petty person blinded by the desire for power, and the reason he deserves to die is that his crime doesn't warrant death!”

“You say that the crime doesn't warrant death, that it will cause unrest in the court, that the people of the world won't understand… Then think of a way to make his crime warrant death! Think of a way that won't cause unrest in the court and that the people of the world can understand!”

“Anyway, I want to kill him! If there is a reason, I will chop him up; if there is no reason, I will still chop him up!”

Zhao Guan Jia's roar lasted for a full half hour. The chief councilors and close officials tried to persuade him in vain, and all were defeated.

There was no way. At this point, on the one hand, Zhao Guan Jia's anger was uncontrollable, and on the other hand, the ministers themselves could not maintain a unified position… Not to mention others, the privy councilor Zhang Jun had always followed the Emperor's lead, and this time he was even more uneasy because he had recommended Gou Longruyuan. At this time, he hoped to severely punish Gou Longruyuan to defend himself.

At the same time, the close officials also split from the beginning—Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan should not have interrupted in this matter, but because Zhao Guan Jia's anger was too frightening, they both immediately tried to dissuade the Emperor. As a result, the Hanlin Academician Lü Benzhong acted abnormally during the subsequent gathering and questioning, firmly expressing his approval of severe punishment.

Of course, Zhang Jun and Lü Benzhong's severe punishment was not to behead Gou Longruyuan, but the problem was that the ministers could not be consistent in their words and thoughts from the beginning. How could they resist an enraged emperor?

Thus, as the clamor in the thatched pavilion gradually subsided, Yang Yizhong personally came down and strictly demanded that the accompanying guards not spread the word. The chief councilors, bearing the pressure from Zhao Guan Jia, reluctantly dispersed.

However, even though they had succumbed to Zhao Guan Jia, how could they easily think of a ‘legal’ way to kill a petty person like Gou Longruyuan?

Therefore, when they returned that day, the four chief councilors who were under the greatest pressure were at a loss. They couldn't easily share the matter with others. They finally managed to get off work and return to their homes, but then they gathered in pairs and hurriedly invited some key figures to discuss the matter together.

Among them, Prime Minister Zhao of the Department of State, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Liu, sought out Chen Gongfu, the Minister of Personnel; Zhai Ruwen, the Minister of Rites; Yan Xiaozhong, the Prefect of Kaifeng; and Hu Yin himself, the Minister of Works and the person involved in this matter. On the other hand, Privy Councilor Zhang, accompanied by Deputy Councilor Chen, sought out Lin Jingmo, the Minister of Revenue; Liu Ziyu, the Minister of War; Lü Zhi, his ‘brain trust’ and the Vice Minister of Personnel; and Qu Duan, the commander of the cavalry… The heads of the Eastern and Western Mansions did not dare to expand the scope and did not dare to seek out Li Guang and Ma Shen, who were straightforward.

Since the invitations had been sent out, not to mention that gatherings at Zhang's mansion had become a common occurrence, on the other side, Zhao Ding, as the prime minister, had always emphasized that a gentleman does not form factions. Now that he was acting in this way, Chen, Zhai, Yan, Hu, and others all knew that something was wrong, but they did not dare to neglect it and arrived one after another.

After Zhao Ding led a few people to sit around under the arbor in his backyard and carefully explained the matter, it caused the high officials to be astonished.

After the astonishment, there was a long silence—everyone couldn't help but look at the expression of Hu Yin, the person involved.

Unexpectedly, although Hu Mingzhong was clearly angry at first, he quickly calmed down for some reason, just sitting still, silent and speechless.

After a long while, seeing that Hu Yin had no intention of speaking, everyone turned their eyes away from him. After a little thought, Yan Xiaozhong, the Prefect of Kaifeng, took the lead in breaking the silence: “In this case, the Emperor is determined to kill, and there is no possibility of reversal?”

“Yes.” Liu Ji, who was theoretically in the same faction as Yan Xiaozhong, frowned and emphasized slightly. “If there was even the slightest possibility, we would have all dissuaded him in Yanfu Palace today, but we simply couldn't dissuade him… And if it really comes to issuing a secret edict to force the killing, Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan, although they have also tried hard to dissuade him, I'm afraid they will still execute it immediately.”

“Then it means we have to follow the Emperor's will and find a proper way to make this person die?” Zhai Ruwen, the Minister of Rites, interjected.

“That's exactly the intention,” Zhao Ding nodded as well.

“Can't we find a way to kill him secretly?” Zhai Ruwen pressed. “To tell this guy that the Emperor is determined and that he shouldn't implicate…”

“No!” Before Zhai Ruwen finished speaking, Yan Xiaozhong interrupted him again. “In my opinion, not only should we not kill him secretly, but we should also publicly execute him. It would be best to announce his crimes to the world so that everyone knows why he died… This is what the Emperor really wants!”

“That's right,” Zhao Ding sighed. “Even if I think about it carefully at this time, since this person is bound to die, if we can't kill one to warn a hundred, it will be a wasted death… To be honest, I feel vaguely at this time that it is better to let this person be forcibly killed by the Emperor than to kill him secretly or blame him for other crimes!”

“If you say that, isn't this matter unsolvable?” Zhai Ruwen frowned slightly upon hearing this. “Are we really going to sit idly by and watch the Emperor forcibly kill a key court official? You must know that Gou Long's actions, while extremely despicable, are also extremely cunning… Not to mention the matter of the Quanzhou Fan Temple, even this time he sought an opportunity to impeach Minister Hu, we can only say that he is morally corrupt and has the face of a petty person, but it cannot be said that he has violated the law.”

“Therefore, we still have to think of a way to make him fall, and it would be best to take the opportunity to expose his actions…” Liu Ji emphasized the superior's request again.

“Forgive my bluntness, this matter does not have to be the responsibility of Prime Minister Zhao and Prime Minister Liu to come up with ideas to deal with the Emperor.” But at this moment, Chen Gongfu, the Minister of Personnel, who had been silent all along, took the initiative to speak, and his words were astonishing. “The two Prime Ministers, as Prime Ministers of the Department of State, should not be troubled by the way a petty person dies… The Emperor is angry, his anger is overwhelming, are the two Prime Ministers also that angry?”

“What does Minister Chen mean by this?” The two Prime Ministers Zhao and Liu were both moved, but after looking at each other, Zhao Ding took the initiative to ask.

Even Hu Yin, who had been silent, stared at Chen Gongfu along with Yan Xiaozhong and Zhai Ruwen at this time.

“What I mean is that Prime Minister Zhang is more anxious about the matter of this petty person Gou Longruyuan!” Chen Gongfu said calmly, facing them squarely. “This person is a fellow villager of Prime Minister Zhang, and this time he entered the ranks of key officials of the Secretarial Pavilion also with Prime Minister Zhang's full recommendation, so how to deal with Gou Longruyuan, how to make him expose his faults, should have been Prime Minister Zhang's concern… Moreover, in my opinion, Prime Minister Zhang has resourceful people like Minister Lin and ambitious people like Vice Minister Lü. If there is really a way, it will definitely not escape their grasp. Why should the two Prime Ministers worry about their affairs?”

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, unable to refute. Then, they relaxed a little.

Zhao Ding thought for a moment, but felt that Chen Gongfu meant more than this. He immediately asked in return: “Then may I ask Minister Chen, the Emperor ultimately has this thunderous anger and has put pressure on us. What should the two of us, the two Prime Ministers of the Department of State, do at this time to be correct?”

“Of course, we should fundamentally share the Emperor's worries,” Chen Gongfu still said calmly. “The two Prime Ministers, is the Emperor's anger this time only directed at one Gou Longruyuan? Isn't it also because he is worried about petty people scheming and destroying the overall situation from within? If so, why don't the two Prime Ministers abandon Gou Longruyuan, take a broad view, and fundamentally reassure the Emperor, so as to promote the great cause of the Northern Expedition?”

The people around him were all thoughtful, and Zhao Ding felt more and more that the other party's thoughts coincided with his own secret thoughts, but he still took it seriously and asked again and again: “Minister Chen, do you have any good ideas?”

“I dare not say it is a good idea, it is just picking up on other people's ideas…” Chen Gongfu said frankly. “There are two methods, one is aimed at the officials up and down the court, which is an idea derived from Minister Lin of the Ministry of Revenue's policy of building wealth and the recently implemented large-scale table method; the other is aimed at the morale and popular sentiment of the South, but it is an old and familiar argument… In fact, if we don't do some things ourselves, I'm afraid the Emperor will have to use other people to do them.”

The people around him, including Hu Yin, all raised their eyebrows and finally couldn't help but size up this Minister Chen.

“Did you four think of a way last night when you called on your friends?”

The next morning, Zhao Guan Jia summoned the four chief councilors again at the stone pavilion and directly questioned them as soon as he met them, as if his anger had not subsided.

The four chief councilors looked at each other, but let Privy Councilor Zhang Jun Zhang Deyuan step forward and bow in front of the stone pavilion: “Reporting to Your Majesty, regarding the matter of Gou Longruyuan, Vice Minister Lü of the Ministry of Personnel came up with an idea for me, which may be feasible!”

“Speak.”

Zhao Jiu's words were concise.

“Although the case of the Fujian scholars impeaching Minister Hu has been settled, Gou Longruyuan, the Vice Minister of Works, once said in person at the Wende Hall that there may be something tricky behind this matter, perhaps there are petty people like Wang Ciweng secretly acting improperly, openly impeaching Minister Hu and secretly alienating the royal family… We believe that since he is so enthusiastic, why not transfer him to the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and order him to personally investigate this case, and be sure to find out the petty people behind it?” Zhang Jun's forehead was slightly sweating, but his words were smooth, as if he had been prepared for a long time. “If he finds them, naturally someone will be responsible for alienating the royal family and criticizing the Emperor; if he can't find them, naturally Gou Longruyuan will be accused of falsely accusing the innocent!”

Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly chuckled and nodded: “Is this inviting a tiger into the cage?”

“Yes!” Zhang Deyuan nodded quickly.

“Okay!” Zhao Jiu nodded in agreement.

Everyone inside and outside the stone pavilion breathed a sigh of relief at once.

“In addition to this,” just as everyone thought the matter was over, Zhang Jun continued to speak earnestly. “Minister Lin of the Ministry of Revenue advised me last night that as a prime minister, one should not be obsessed with appearances and neglect the substance… The reason why Your Majesty is angry with Gou Longruyuan is not only because Gou Longruyuan is a despicable petty person, but also because he is worried that the atmosphere of court officials is not correct, or that a thousand-mile dike may be destroyed by an ant nest… Therefore, last night we referred to Minister Lin's past strategy of building wealth and combined it with the table system that Your Majesty has recently implemented, and came up with a method of internal supervision!”

“How do you say that?” Zhao Jiu noticed the strangeness of Zhao Ding and Liu Ji behind Zhang Jun, but he still couldn't help but be moved, because these words went straight to his heart.

“Please set a period of half a year, and order the six ministries, nine temples, and five directorates to list the policies to be implemented in half a year, as if making a military pledge, and then set up various departments in the Privy Council to supervise the various ministries, temples, and directorates… First, those who fail to act after the deadline will be dismissed; second, it will also assist the Imperial Censorate in ensuring that officials of various ministries do not engage in illegal or immoral acts,” Zhang Jun bowed his head sincerely. “I don't know what Your Majesty thinks?”

“I think it's very good,” Zhao Jiu nodded, his anger subsided a bit. “How can I not know that things cannot be expected from people's hearts, but only from systems… It is very good that you and Qing Lin can think of this place, it is a very good overall view… It is better than my muddled appearance from being angered.”

Zhang Jun was overjoyed upon hearing this, but he still hurriedly bowed his hands: “In addition to this, there is also the matter of the South… Your Majesty, in the past, the ministers who went into the wilderness in Shaoxing and went to the Taoist academies in the South were able to unite as one and repeatedly influence the central government's public opinion. In the final analysis, it is because the taxes on the scholars and people in the South are heavy, so that they give up every ounce of wealth to pay for military expenses, so the people's hearts hate the Northern Expedition, but this is human nature. I think the court should not only suppress it strongly, but should also give equal importance to kindness and power!”

Zhao Ding simply looked up at the flying eaves sculptures on the stone pavilion.

As expected, Zhao Guan Jia was overjoyed: “Deyuan, what other ideas do you have?”

“This is not my idea, this is the idea of Minister Liu of the Ministry of War… He believes that although there are still small battles on the front line, the overall situation is fine. Why not have Your Majesty inspect Su and Yang in the South to appease the hearts of the people in the Southeast?” Zhang Jun became more and more serious.

Zhao Jiu also became serious upon hearing this: “How much money will the southern inspection cost?”

“If Your Majesty only brings two thousand guards, does not use carriages, and does not accept tributes, only adopts the posture of inspecting the river in winter in previous years, how much money will it cost?” Chen Gui, another Western Mansion Prime Minister, quickly stepped forward to show his presence. “The extravagance of the Emperor's inspection lies in the extravagance.”

Zhao Jiu's heart fluttered, but he nodded slightly, and Zhang Jun and Chen Gui were also overjoyed.

However, Zhao Guan Jia still remembered that there was a prime minister standing there, so he immediately looked at Zhao Ding: “What does Prime Minister Zhao think? Are Zhang Prime Minister and the others feasible?”

Zhao Ding did not say a word, but took out a memorial that was half-soaked in sweat from his arms and silently presented it.

Zhao Guan Jia personally leaned over to take it, opened it and glanced at it casually, and clearly saw two titles:

First, please set up six departments under the Department of State to supervise the six ministries;

Second, please have the Emperor inspect the South to appease the people.

“Then let's decide it like this!” Zhao Jiu finally smiled, but suddenly turned cold after closing the memorial. “But we have to kill that guy first!”