"Prime Minister," Zhao Xingde was silent for a moment, and replied, "Under the imperial court system, military generals are not allowed to interfere in court affairs. In this incident, it is the duty of this general to lead the troops to quell the chaos and restore order in Ezhou City. It is the duty of the prime minister to deal with the aftermath and restore order in the Great Song Dynasty. Please forgive Zhao for not being able to overstep the beak. Zhao retired. After finishing speaking, he bowed, and bowed his hand to the important ministers in the signing room, and withdrew first without Chen Dong's promise. Deng Su and the others looked at his back, their faces were complicated, and they were a little disappointed, and a stone that had been hanging also fell to the ground.

After a while, there was still no one to speak, and the quiet atmosphere in the signing room seemed a little strange, the ministers were originally worried that Zhao Xingde would not let go of the military power, but now he has no actual position to command the army, once the Jun order is returned, it is equivalent to returning the military power. There are also people who are worried that Zhao Xingde will invite rewards for meritorious service, or set a precedent for military generals to intervene in court politics. But he just retreated without saying a word, and he didn't even ask for a reward, which made people feel like a fish in their throats. However, with such a great achievement, wouldn't the Great Song Dynasty reward it? He was knighted Marquis of Wuchang, and the official worshiped General Zuowei, which was already a fictitious title for Taizu to receive the military power of the generals such as Shi Shouxin, and then he wanted to be rewarded, could he add three dukes and be crowned a prince? If the reward is not awarded, or the matter is hastily done, how can the face of the court remain?

It was so quiet in the signing room that you could hear the needles falling. "Shaoyang," Deng Su said loudly, "Deal with the aftermath?" ”

"I have made up my mind, first of all, I will report today's incident in Ezhou, and inform the world that the people are coerced by the people, intending to subvert the law of great rites, besieging the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Ministry of Rites, and the situation is critical, so the Prime Minister's Mansion must not continue to deal with it. There is an ancestral family motto in our dynasty not to kill those who write and speak, so no one can ask for guilt if they go to Ezhou to write and speak. Chen Dong paused slightly, took a sip of tea, and continued, "However, the thieves who loot, set fires, and commit adultery in Ezhou must be strictly investigated and dealt with!" In addition, the criminal department, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of War will strictly investigate and deal with the affairs of the rebels' siege of the Prime Minister's Mansion, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of War. ”

Deng Su's face was puzzled: "Shaoyang, this is ......"

"Chen Xiang," Wen Xunzhi also hesitated, "What does it mean that the Criminal Department will strictly investigate?" Ouyang Che, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, Zhang Yanling, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Lin Zhenggan, the staff of the Ministry of War, Wang Zuo, the Privy Council, and Chai Gu, the prefect of Ezhou, also had some doubts on their faces, obviously this was provoked by Wu Zilong.

"Hang Wu Zilong up." Chen Dong said coldly, "The Criminal Department first impeached Hou Huanyin for the crime of abandoning the land and fleeing south. He nodded, "If Wu Zilong still doesn't know how to restrain himself and jumps out to collude with Hou Huanyin, then the Criminal Department will investigate the case first." His face turned cold, and he said coldly, "A Qingliu leader, plus a governor of political affairs, at this time of internal and external difficulties, actually disregarded the overall situation, joined forces to form a party, and instigated the chaotic people to besiege the Prime Minister's Mansion. The society is in danger of overturning, and I think that the scholars and politicians of all states in the world should also understand the hardships of the imperial court, and if the means are more intense, they will not say anything more. ”

The last sentence Chen Dong said to Liang Chengxiu, a member of the Chinese scholar who was sitting in the corner of the signing room. Liang Chengxiu nodded, he has been sitting in the political hall, and he does not say a word when discussing politics, he is only responsible for recording the words and deeds of the prime minister. When Chen Dong felt that something could be made clear, he would explain to him that he would draft the will, which also saved a lot of effort.

In addition, according to the Great Rites Law, every word and deed of the prime minister must be recorded by the Zhongshu Sheren, registered and recorded, and kept in the Ministry of Rites according to the year, month and day. When the Ministry of Rites convenes a public discussion on the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Rites can consult this file at any time, and it will also be recorded in the history of the country in the future. If there are inaccuracies or omissions in the records, the Zhongshu Sheren will be guilty of dereliction of duty.

"Wonderful!" After listening to Chen Dong's words, Deng Su immediately praised, "The result is a good plan." ”

"Not bad." Wen Xunzhi also nodded, and said with a smile, "Looking at Wu, Shaoyang is still thoughtful." ”

Chen Dong told the world that those who wrote and said things were not guilty, which made most scholars and politicians relieved. If all of them were convicted for their words, the imperial court would not only be untenable in terms of righteousness, but would also cause dissatisfaction among the scholars and gentry in various places, and even suspect that Chen Dong wanted to suppress speech and monopolize power. People all over the world speculate that this matter was instigated by Wu Zilong, although the Prime Minister said that he wanted to find out the real culprit behind the scenes, but in the eyes of the state scholars, it has been slowed down, and there is no sudden revenge, Wu Zilong may not be fine, which shows that there is still room for turnaround, and others don't have to worry too much. This report was issued, and it first stabilized the hearts of the people in the world.

On the contrary, Hou Huanyin is not a member of the Li Society, and his foundation in Jingdong Road has been uprooted, and he has been living in Hangzhou, not daring to go to Ezhou. The imperial court punished him for the crime of abandoning the land and fleeing, which can be said to be famous. Originally, Hou Huanyin and Wu Zilong secretly colluded, but instead accused the imperial court of ineffective rescue, and Jingdong Road had been recovered, and the matter has been dragged on. Now, Wu Zilong himself is difficult to protect, and it is the right time to treat Hou Huanyin's crimes. Although more than a dozen scholars and politicians on Jingdong Road echo each other from afar, and there are still forces of the Hou Party in various places, if there is no cooperation from the Wu Party, the Hou Party is weak and weak, so there is nothing to worry about.

For the Wu Party, the siege of the Prime Minister's Mansion was defeated, and now is the time to suffer a heavy setback. His henchmen are afraid that they are absconding, all of them are like frightened birds, and they are afraid that it will take time to regroup. The fact that the students instigated the people to besiege the court was a violation of the law of etiquette, and the fact that the students in various places besieged the scholars and politicians some time ago, the scholars and politicians in the prefectures also had a deep wariness of the Wu family.

Although the Wu Party is from the Li Society, and the relationship is intertwined, if they continue to jump out to speak for Hou Huanyin, then Chen Dong will clean up the door, and the Li Society will have nothing to say. If Wu Zilong sits back and watches Hou Huanyin go to prison, then among those who know the inside story, Wu Zilong's reputation will also be greatly damaged. Looking at the government and the opposition, Wu Zilong and Hou Huanyin joined forces, which caused a lot of pressure on Chen Dong. If Hou Huanyin is disposed of cleanly, Wu Zilong will be lonely in the future.

"Not bad." After several important ministers thought it through, their faces showed relief, and they nodded successively: "This proposal is feasible." ”

"In that case," Chen Dong said, "then deal with it like this." He sighed, "Now, go and invite the envoy of the Xia Kingdom in." He hadn't forgotten that the envoy of the Xia Kingdom was still waiting outside. As soon as the atmosphere in the signing room eased up, it suddenly became tense again. The intention of the envoy of the Xia Kingdom is known to everyone. Wen Xunzhi and the others had faces full of worry.

"Shaoyang, if you want to let the tiger return to the mountain, think twice before acting." "It's better to leave Yuan Zhi in Ezhou."

"Prime Minister," Lin Zhengan hesitated for a moment, and also said, "Zhao Jieshuai's prestige is too high, and it is not appropriate to stay in Ezhou." He disregarded that his official position was lower than others, and he was a military general, after speaking, several other important ministers cast their eyes, Lin Zhengan explained, "In case he moves his mind, who can guarantee that the army will not listen to his dispatch, and the forbidden army guarding the Hou Mansion may not be reliable." Everyone was silent for a while, even the most loyal and reliable Xiangfu guards, Zhao Xingde commanded like a finger, and now that he thinks about it, he is very afraid.

"If it weren't for Yuanzhi, this chaos would not have been resolved so smoothly." Chen Dong's face was solemn, and he said slowly: "Have you ever thought about it, if he refuses to help, or puts forward some conditions with us, what about it?" Everyone was speechless for a while, and fell silent, Chen Dong sighed, "I thought about it at the time." All Yuan Zhi wants in his heart is to reunite with his family. You know that too. Although he didn't say anything, I couldn't help but agree to his request. Therefore, I asked Deng Shouyi to ask him to come out, and I already had the idea of promising to let him go back. ”

"But," Lin Zhen said, "he didn't mention this condition, and you didn't agree, and others didn't know?" ”

"He didn't offer me conditions, and he didn't offer credit afterwards, because I know." Chen Dong said word by word, "When gentlemen intersect, it is like Ji Zi hanging a sword, people in the world know it, and you Qingshi also knows it." He sighed, Wen Xunzhi and the others were silent, Liang Chengxiu's face showed emotion, and Chen Dong's words were recorded.

"Ji Zi hangs his sword?" Lin Zhengan's face was puzzled, and he muttered, "What does this mean?" ”

Deng Su's expression was a little complicated, and when he saw this, he whispered to him: "The so-called 'Ji Zi Hanging Sword' is a matter of the great sage Ji Zha. Ji Za is the gentleman of the state of Wu. On the way to visit the Jin Kingdom, he visited Xu Guojun. At that time, Wu was a big country and Xu was a small country, and Xu Jun liked Ji Zi's sword very much, but he didn't ask for a gift. When Ji Zi returned to the Jin Kingdom, Xu Jun was already dead. So, Ji Zi untied the sword and gave it to the heir to the throne, saying: 'I came the first day, Xu Jun looked at my sword, and it was self-evident that his lust was desired; I am an envoy of the kingdom, and I have not offered it. Although, my heart promises. It is a deception to die today and not to advance. Love the sword and hypocrisy, and the incorruptible will not do it. The heir replied, "The first king has no life, and he dare not receive the sword." So Ji Zinai untied his sword and tied it to the tree in front of Xu Jun's tomb and left. ”

"I see," Lin Zhengan finally understood, and said in a low voice, "Thank you Deng Shangshu for your advice." ”

"Lin Langzhong doesn't have to be polite." Deng Su said in a low voice.

"The so-called gentleman's way," Chen Dong glanced at Lin Zhengan, and said slowly, "The so-called gentleman's friendship is like mountains and flowing water, moving words and pleading, and he has already taken the look, high-fived as an oath, and then he fell into the inferior, and even made a contract, then the villain in the market did it." Yuan Zhi treats me as a gentleman, the state of etiquette, the country of gentlemen, if you repay it as a villain," he paused slightly, and his tone was a little strange, "That is really the collapse of etiquette, and China has fallen into a barbarian world." He shook his head and sighed, "On the other hand, if we treat Yuan Zhi as a gentleman, he will definitely not do anything that infringes on the interests of the Great Song Dynasty." At this point, I did think about it in the past. There is no restraint in the world, and it is stronger than the self-discipline of a gentleman, and even if the sword and axe are added, it will not waver and submit. ”

Zhao Xingde's wish is known to all the ministers in the signing room, so he has a headache about rewards. Seeing that Chen Dong had already made a decision, he no longer objected.