He Shouli and Zhan Kangwen looked pale, but they knew in their hearts that even if the emperor was angry, he would never intend to send it to others.

There were four auxiliary ministers in the cabinet, but the emperor only found two of them. And kneeling on the ground with the two of them was Liu Xie, the emperor's most trusted person.

That is to say, although the emperor was angry at the Great Liang Dynasty and the existence of such forces under his rule, he believed in them.

I only heard the emperor's voice cold, and continued: "In the six counties in the southeast, how many officials are there up and down? They ate the money of the court and the offerings of the people, but what were they doing? The head of a household department made a routine inspection, and after only a few days of visiting, he found that the southeast region was controlled by a group of squires. And the officials stationed in the imperial court did not make the slightest move, but they were afraid that they were eating the imperial court, but they were doing things for others as officials! ”

The emperor naturally knew that Wei Changping, the head of the household department, was inspecting Jianyang, and the reason why he was able to discover this matter in just half a month was not because of how conscientious he was and made great efforts to investigate Jianyang's commerce, but because there was Ding Bochang among his companions, and the maladministration mentioned was related to glass.

Shao Yi, this kid can do things, and this opportunity he threw over is really good. It can not only allow him to sweep away the power of Tangzhou, but also not make people suspect that he has already set his sights on King Chengjun.

However, He Shouli was frightened by the emperor's words, this blow is really a bit big.

If all the officials from top to bottom of the six southeastern counties are purged because of this incident, not only will the people of the six southeastern counties panic, but it will also be more difficult for the local gentry in the southeast to be investigated.

He Shouli didn't dare to continue to be silent, kowtowed, and said: "Your Majesty, this matter should indeed be investigated, and the local forces in the southeast cannot be allowed to continue to grow, thus threatening the imperial court." It's just that the officials of the southeast region ......"

He Shouli strengthened his courage and continued, "Weichen thinks that it is still necessary to be cautious and responsible. ”

The emperor seemed to listen to He Shouli's words, pondered for a moment, and then asked Zhan Kangwen: "Zhanxiang, what do you mean?" ”

He Shouli knelt on the ground, tilted his face slightly, and kept looking at Zhan Kangwen.

The two of them are not on the right path on weekdays, but this matter has nothing to do with the politics/views of the two and stealing the limelight.

Zhan Kangwen threw away a slightly calm look, kowtowed, and said: "Your Majesty, this matter is indeed bad, but the scope of involvement is so large, it is really not good to act rashly." Weichen seconded Lord He's opinion, the first evil must be dealt with, and the coordination can be dealt with lightly, so that they can make meritorious contributions. ”

The emperor was silent and did not express an opinion.

Zhan Kangwen raised his head slightly, glanced at the emperor, and felt that what he said just now had a door, but he hadn't said the key thing the emperor wanted to hear.

He continued: "Actually, the most hateful thing about this matter is the local squire Fujia. It is precisely because of the imperial court's moderate governance and the peace of the country and the people that they can accumulate family wealth and wealth in this peaceful and prosperous era.

There are rich and noble days, but these people are not grateful, do not want to serve the court and His Majesty, but have to inch inch, and give birth to a great delusion. They are the ones who should be punished the most. ”

The emperor's mood immediately relaxed.

He had long known from Liu Xie that the local forces in the southeast were attached to the Cai family, and today they were far from being as popular as they appeared.

The reason why He and Zhan were held accountable was that they wanted to hear from them what they wanted and how to deal with the southeast.

No, Zhan Kangwen gave this suggestion.

This is why the emperor is willing to deal with Zhan Kangwen. In many things, Zhan Kangwen grasped the direction and scale of the situation very well, and he was very in tune with him.

At the local level, court officials usually serve a three-year term. There are many people who have been transferred after three years of service. There are also people who will be re-elected or promoted in one place, but most will not allow them to operate in one place for a long time.

The officials of the six southeastern counties, except for the wings of the king of Chengjun, the vast majority of other officials did not have the opportunity to collude too deeply with the local central forces.

And with the prudence of King Chengjun, he will not cultivate official power on such a large scale.

Those officials in the southeast region, at most, have nothing to do with the local forces under their rule, and they are afraid that the court and the upper officials will know that they are incompetent.

Therefore, for the sake of their political achievements during their tenure of office and for the sake of the interests given to them by local forces, they just turned a blind eye.

As the emperor, he has been suspicious of King Chengjun, and has been staring at him for so long, and in this place in the capital, he has not found many clues of collusion and entrapment in the imperial court.

But this is not the case in Tangzhou, the results of Liu Xie's investigation during this period of time show that without the court and the emperor noticing, the Cai family's hand has actually stretched too long, and the squire's sphere of influence that he can control is really terrifying.

With this opportunity created by Shao Yi, according to the information obtained by the people sent by Liu Xie, this time, as long as there is a reasonable reason, several big squires who are desperately attached to the Cai family can be defeated.

This kind of thing is what the emperor is most willing to do, not only can it eradicate the rich families with bad intentions, but also fill the treasury in the process of confiscation, which is simply a lot of money.

As long as the main forces are defeated, those squires on the periphery of the Cai family's forces in the southeast are all people who see the wind and steer the rudder, or have a herd mentality, they are just a plate of loose sand, and once they are impacted, they can be dispersed immediately.

Therefore, the report that Zhan Kangwen threw over firmly grasped the emperor's mind.

"Since He Xiang and Zhan Xiang both mean this, then the cabinet department will be responsible for this matter, and arrange competent people as soon as possible to go to Jianyang to investigate the local forces in the southeast. The guard commander Liu Xie went south together to assist the cabinet in investigating the case.

I want to see what kind of people are so bold and bold as to induce so many people to follow them? Unexpectedly, they forgot that the southeast is also the land of the Great Liang Dynasty! ”

He Shouli and Zhan Kangwen hurriedly kowtowed to receive the order, knowing in their hearts that if Liu Xie went to the southeast in person, it would not be assistance, what kind of official would dare to let Liu Xie assist in handling the case?

It seems that the emperor is really angry this time, and plans to vigorously rectify the southeast, but I can't say that a bloody storm will begin.