Chapter 133: Debate in the Imperial Court

At the break of dawn.

A rooster's crow broke the silence of Jingshi.

At the hour of Mao, the ministers, dressed in their formal attire, walked along the Imperial Street leading to the Capital City toward the Imperial Palace.

On the road, the officials walked together in twos and threes, discussing nothing but the Ninth Prince, Yan Wang.

For over ten years, the Ninth Prince had been the most inconspicuous among all the Imperial Princes.

So inconspicuous that the ministers had almost forgotten him.

Little did they expect that since the Ninth Prince went to Yanzhou, the name of Yan Wang Zhao Xu would be mentioned so frequently in Jingshi.

At first, the officials only discussed the summer ice and Fine Wine from Yan Commandery.

Later, it was the military supply lists.

And now, the name of Yan Wang resounds throughout Jingshi.

From the imperial relatives down to the common people, there is no one who does not know of Yan Wang's deeds in Yanzhou.

Yan Wang's crushing defeat of the Northern Di people has even been turned into stories by busybodies among the folk, recounted in every street and alley.

Yet, in their view, Yan Wang winning a small Autumn Hunt was not really a major event.

But unfortunately, in recent years, the Great Song has had unfavorable military affairs every year, losing more than winning.

And in the wars against the Northern Di people, such a victory is almost non-existent.

Therefore, it was only when the news of Yan Wang's achievements reached Jingshi that it caused such a great shock.

Of course, this is also because Yan Wang captured Kutu.

"Brother, have you heard any rumors? If the Emperor decides to reward Yan Wang heavily, what should we say?" asked one of three officials walking side-by-side, the one in the middle.

"According to news from the palace, the Emperor is very happy; it is said he even went to the sleeping quarters of Noble Lady Mi last night," said the official surnamed Wang.

"It is no longer Noble Lady Mi; she is now Imperial Concubine Mi," said the official on the left.

"Really?" the official in the middle asked in surprise.

"Would I lie about this? The Emperor issued the decree after the evening meal," the official on the left shook his head slightly.

The difference between a Noble Lady and an Imperial Concubine is not small at all.

Promoting a Noble Lady directly to an Imperial Concubine shows how much the Emperor values Yan Wang now.

After all, in the palace, one either relies on their son to gain status, or the son relies on their mother.

The current Yan Wang is no longer that cowardly Imperial Prince who was bullied by the other Imperial Princes all day long in Jingshi.

And the officials should also wipe their eyes clean and re-examine this Yan Wang.

"Since that is the case, let us go with the flow. In any case, the Emperor has likely already decided on the rewards. Opposing it in the Imperial Court would offend both the Emperor and Yan Wang," said the official in the middle.

The other two nodded. For them, the most important thing in the Imperial Court is to play it safe and offend as few people as possible.

Behind the three of them, one official walked alone.

His name is Yuan Hang, and he holds the rank of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

The Yuan Family of Yanzhou is his own clan; over the years, in order for him to serve as an official in the Imperial Court, the family has greased the palms of many officials.

So for him, this matter of Yan Wang makes him very unhappy.

After all, if the Yuan Family suffers losses, his own interests suffer as well.

It is said that Yan Wang even submitted a memorial impeaching Yuan Li.

At this morning court session, even if he cannot stop the Emperor from rewarding Yan Wang, he must refute Yan Wang's memorial to protect the interests of the Yuan Family.

His gaze turned toward the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince not far away,

and his heart felt slightly at ease.

Because they will certainly support him.

After entering the Capital City, the officials arrived one after another at Hongguang Dian.

This is the hall for the Great Song's morning court sessions.

When everyone had arrived, the palace supervisor went around to the back of the hall to invite the Emperor to preside over the court.

Before long, Zhao Heng arrived at Hongguang Dian, attended by Liang Cheng.

Sitting down on the Dragon Throne, Zhao Heng swept his gaze over the officials.

"Long live, long live, long, long live our Emperor," the court ministers immediately shouted.

Zhao Heng nodded; he had not attended court for a long time.

Usually, all matters, large and small, in the Imperial Court were handled by Dou Wei.

He merely looked at the memorials that had already been reviewed and commented upon.

If it were not an important matter, he would not even look at them, directly letting the Six Ministries implement them.

Today, the reason he personally came to the Imperial Court was for the sake of Yan Wang.

In recent years, the authority of the Imperial Clan has been declining day by day, and the power of the Emperor has been gathering dust.

Although he does not like to manage politics, he also knows that if this continues, the Imperial Clan will eventually become a puppet.

But faced with the powerful clans that secretly carve up the Great Song and the increasingly declining military strength of the Imperial Clan, he had no solution.

But now, this battle by Yan Wang has saved face for the Imperial Clan.

He naturally wants to use this matter to show off to these powerful clans.

"The matter of the Northern Di Autumn Hunt has been discussed in the court for several days. Now that Yan Wang has sent Kutu, there should be no more objections regarding the prisoner, right?" Zhao Heng said slowly.

"There were never any objections; it is just that some people cannot stand to see Yan Wang do well and have been obstructing him at every turn," the First Prince Zhao Gang said, cutting in.

As he spoke, he looked toward the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince.

The fact that he was deposed had something to do with these two.

Therefore, on the matter of Yan Wang, he had been at odds with them from the very beginning.

"Indeed, Father, the merits of Yan Wang are plain for all to see and cannot be erased," the Third Prince said, hating himself for not having acted first and losing the initiative.

Zhao Heng nodded in satisfaction, "And what of you, my ministers?"

The ministers looked at one another, none speaking out in opposition.

Kutu had already been delivered; for them to continue quibbling would be to invite trouble for themselves.

"Since that is the case, Yan Wang has performed a remarkable service and should be heavily rewarded," Zhao Heng said, then his expression suddenly turned serious, "but before that, the ministers should also take a look at Yan Wang's memorial."

Having said this, he signaled to Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng held the memorial and came down to the steps, showing it to the ministers one by one.

Immediately, a clamor of discussion arose in the Imperial Court.

"Yuan Li is actually this audacious; leaving him to garrison Yanzhou is truly unsettling."

"I never expected Yan Commandery to be so perilous; in just a few short months, Yan Wang has been assassinated twice."

"To be able to stand firm in such a den of wolves, this Yan Wang truly has some ability."

"Empty words are no proof; if Yan Wang cannot produce concrete evidence, then this is slandering a loyal official."

"That Zhang Kang was a Northern Di spy to begin with; how can his words be trusted? It is possible he deliberately plotted against Prefect Yuan."

"..."

The sounds of discussion reached Zhao Heng's ears.

Zhao Heng revealed a faint smile.

Before the morning court session, he had already guessed that the ministers would say this.

However, Yan Wang indeed lacked concrete evidence; relying solely on the testimonies of a few people was indeed insufficient to convict Yuan Li.

But he had brought out the memorial not to convict Yuan Li.

It was merely to let the ministers understand the actions of the Yuan Family in Yanzhou.

To pave the way for the rewards he would bestow next and to win more support.

"Father, relying only on a single list of charges, I fear Yan Wang's memorial will be hard-pressed to convince the masses. Prefect Yuan has worked diligently in Yanzhou all these years, pouring his heart and blood out for the Imperial Court; how can his achievements be smeared by a few words?" After reading the memorial and the list of charges, the Sixth Prince's chest heaved violently with anger.

Ignoring the Second Prince's attempt to stop him, he spoke out in rebuttal.

Seeing the Sixth Prince speak, Yuan Hang stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince's words are absolutely correct. If Yan Wang could produce the written correspondence between Prefect Yuan and Zhang Kang regarding their plot against him, it might be possible to convict Prefect Yuan, but relying on a few words is truly hard to convince the masses."

After he finished speaking, eight more officials stepped out and refuted the claims one after another.

"The Yuan Family's numerous evil deeds in Yanzhou in recent years are known to all; how can we stand by and watch just because there are a few words without concrete evidence? If you ask me, Yan Wang has no need to speak ill of Prefect Yuan; he was simply pushed too hard and had no choice but to say these things."

At this moment, a minister in purple robes stepped out and said sternly.