"What else could be done? Are you or I in a position to reject Tong Guan's military order?"
Tong Guan, though detestable, held the positions of pacification commissioner for Shaanxi, Hedong, Western Hebei, and Eastern Hebei.
If he were to issue military orders to requisition personnel, Han Mo would truly have no other recourse.
"What exactly is going on?"
When the topic turned to the main issue, Zhong Yanchong's interest was immediately piqued.
The situation in Hebei was becoming increasingly complex, and even Xu Churen, who held a high position, was at a loss.
Han Mo's insistence on him rushing over without explanation made Zhong Yanchong very curious about what scheme this young man was plotting this time.
"Simply put, I've been set up, and now I need your help to escape the chessboard!"
Han Mo had no reservations with Zhong Yanchong and stated his case directly.
"What do you mean? Someone can set you up?"
Zhong Yanchong looked at Han Mo with some confusion.
"There are so many extraordinary individuals in the world. I'm just a young lad fresh out of the academy, how would I dare to underestimate the heroes of this world!"
Han Mo understood his own situation. The main reason he could always anticipate his enemies was his knowledge of a thousand years ahead of others.
And also, Han Mo's familiarity with the history of the Song Dynasty in his past life.
Without these, he would at best be a novice.
To play with truly formidable figures would be suicidal.
"Alright, tell me more details about what happened."
Zhong Yanchong knew that Ma Zhiyou's retreat was only temporary. Once he figured things out, he would quickly retaliate.
"You should take a look at this first!"
As Han Mo spoke, he took out several documents from his sleeve.
"This, this is!"
With just a glance at the content, Zhong Yanchong felt a shock run through his body, and his speech began to stutter.
"How is this possible?"
After reading the contents of the papers, Zhong Yanchong's clothes were soaked in cold sweat.
"How could it not be possible? Don't forget, when two nations contend, all means are employed!"
Han Mo stood up silently and slowly opened the window of the room.
"Then what do you plan to do?"
The confession's content made Zhong Yanchong tremble with fear.
"What else can be done? Naturally, we must submit these materials to the Grand Official!"
After taking a deep breath, Han Mo hesitated for a moment and said word by word.
"You're insane!"
Zhong Yanchong quickly came to Han Mo's side, closed the window again, and said in a low voice.
"Do you think we can keep this matter under wraps?"
Han Mo also let out a wry smile.
At this point, he had no retreat.
"However, if these things are submitted, they probably won't even reach the Emperor's attention before the court is in chaos!"
"That's why I asked the Grand Official to submit them on my behalf, directly to the Emperor as urgent military dispatches!"
"You mean to!"
Zhong Yanchong finally understood, his eyes widening like copper bells.
"Otherwise?"
Han Mo gave another wry smile, picked up the half-filled cup of bitter and astringent saline water on the table, and drank it down in one gulp.
"If it's sent directly to the Emperor, how will you handle the aftermath?"
After a long silence, Zhong Yanchong finally asked again.
"It's very simple. All witnesses will die in prison, and the guards will be exiled a thousand li away!"
Han Mo said in a deep voice.
"Then what about Lin Daqian?"
"That's Prime Minister Li's own business. I'm sure he has a way to silence his brother-in-law!"
Han Mo said nonchalantly.
"You won't be able to fool the Judicial Supervision Bureau and the Ministry of Justice, will you? Such a major incident with so many deaths, Prince Yun and the Crown Prince will likely seize the opportunity to force your hand!"
"That depends on the Emperor..."
Han Mo also let out a wry smile. If he had known the situation would be like this, he would have regretted dealing with Lin Daqian.
After all, all of this had started because of that brat.
If it weren't for such a foolish fellow, there wouldn't be so much trouble now.
"Then do you think the Emperor will protect Li Bangyan?"
After much hesitation, Zhong Yanchong asked again.
"Li Bangyan cannot fall. I believe the Emperor will not let him fall! On the contrary, if His Highness Prince Yun is too proactive, we might even cause him to suffer a hidden loss!"
"I suddenly realize that this damned officialdom is not a place for good people like me to play in!"
After listening to Han Mo, Zhong Yanchong grumbled and threw the tea bowl in front of him to the ground.
"Good people? Who becomes an official if they're good people!"
Han Mo rolled his eyes and said dismissively.
"Why do I feel like you're scolding me?"
Zhong Yanchong's expression became somewhat strange.
"Alright, you should think about how to write the document regarding the burning of the Changping Granary!"
Han Mo pretended not to hear his complaints.
"Write what! Isn't that the responsibility of the Pacification Commissioner's Office and the Transportation Commissioner's Office?"
Zhong Yanchong spread his hands directly.
"Hahahaha, I find you're becoming more and more capable, kid!"
Han Mo was amused by him now.
This kid had learned to shirk responsibility, which was truly a welcome improvement.
Although it sounded a bit like quibbling, Han Mo had to admit that in the officialdom of the Great Song Dynasty, to mix in smoothly, one really had to quibble when it was time to quibble!
After all, who said the Great Song Dynasty lacked officials!
When it was time to take the blame, as long as you had no shame, you could always find a suitable scapegoat.
"You can still laugh? Aren't you worried that the Emperor might not be able to withstand the pressure? Your future would be ruined!"
The Great Song Dynasty was jointly governed by the emperor and the scholar-officials. Generations of sages revered the situation where a virtuous emperor ruled with minimal intervention.
The emperor could be aloof, spend his days counting money in the harem, but they didn't want the emperor's hand to meddle in the powers exclusive to his ministers!
Han Mo's actions of directly eliminating witnesses and sending confession records directly to the Emperor were great taboos in officialdom.
After all, criminal justice had always been within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. More broadly speaking, criminal justice was not something the emperor should directly interfere with!
If the emperor's hand were to truly reach into criminal justice, then all officials in the world would truly live in constant fear!
"Don't worry, this mountain dweller has his own clever plans. You should think about how to avoid suspicion and get promoted after your grandfather is promoted!"
Counting the time, Fang La's direct reign was not far off. Han Mo didn't want everything to proceed according to the original trajectory.
After all, if Tong Guan were to lead the suppression of the rebellion in the south, and return victorious before heading north again, Zhong Shidao would become his scapegoat!