All the ministers were thinking that although Qin Xiao was the recent favorite of the saint, he was still young. How could he get any benefits from the old and cunning Lu Junzhong?

This Qin Shaoqing mishandled the situation and not only became the laughing stock of the entire court, but also intensified the conflict with the Xiahou family and the Shence Army. The days to come will definitely be extremely difficult.

But he heard Qin Xiao suddenly laugh, and a court official said in a deep voice: "Qin Xiao, this is the main hall of political affairs, how can you be so presumptuous?"

Qin Xiao glanced at him and didn't recognize the person, but he knew that the person must have disliked him and ignored him. He stared at Lu Junzhong and said: "Lu Butang, let's talk carefully. You must involve An Xinghou."

With Shence Army, isn't this a blatant attempt to sow discord? It seems that you are really familiar with the means of sowing discord."

The ministers had different moods, but most of them were amused.

Although the Ministry of Punishment was once powerful, it offended many officials and has always been regarded as a scourge by officials in the DPRK and China.

Qin Xiao was favored by the saint at a young age and became the young minister of Dali Temple. Although it aroused the jealousy of many people, most people had a worse impression of the Punishment Department than Qin Xiao, and the crazy dogs in the Punishment Department had always been criticized.

Alienated by courtiers.

Today, people from the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple were arguing in public, and most officials just watched indifferently, treating it like a show. It didn't matter who won or lost anyway.

However, many things in the officialdom are tacitly understood. Although everyone heard that Lu Junzhong was indeed sowing discord, it was fine that everyone knew about this kind of thing. Unexpectedly, Qin Xiao said it directly in front of everyone.

When they came out, many courtiers secretly laughed, thinking how interesting it would be for an old dog like Lu Junzhong to argue with a young official like Qin Xiao who didn't understand the rules.

Of course, Lu Junzhong did not expect Qin Xiao to speak out his words directly. He looked ugly and said in a deep voice: "I am just telling the truth. Don't talk nonsense."

"In this case, I will tell you carefully." Qin Xiao glanced at it and suddenly found an old minister next to him. Unlike the others, this veteran was actually sitting on a big nanmu chair. He didn't feel too much just now.

Note that when you find out at this time, you will know immediately. If nothing else happens, this person should be Xiahou Yuanzhen, the Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty.

After the saint went to court, he was not given a seat alone. It can be seen that it has always been the rule for the prime minister to sit on a chair. He is indeed inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people, and his status is aloof.

He knew that all the ministers in today's court meeting were important members of the imperial court. Many of them were mentioned as great figures in the empire. Others would not speak if they could on such an occasion. Even if they wanted to,

That was done carefully, so I didn't dare to neglect the slightest bit.

If it were before, Qin Xiao would be more cautious in his words even though he was full of disgust for Lu Junzhong in his heart. But now he knows that the saint regards him as an auxiliary star. Since the saint is using him, he has this backer, so he doesn't need to use it in vain.

, even if you say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing, you will always be protected by saints.

It is natural to take advantage of the saint's concern for him to deal with Lu Junzhong.

"Marquis Anxing led the Shence Army to the south of the Yangtze River. Given the situation at that time, it was natural to control some suspects who might have something to do with the rebel party. Remember, they are suspected rebels and have not been identified." Qin Xiao said seriously:

"Suzhou has just rebelled. It is really a wise decision for Anxinghou to control the wealthy families in Hangzhou. In this way, even if someone wants to rebel, they will be suppressed by Anxinghou. As far as I know, Anxinghou is familiar with national laws.

We know that soldiers can be responsible for quelling chaos, but they cannot handle cases on behalf of the judicial office, so the arrest of some people is not because we are sure that they are rebels, but a decision made for the stability of Hangzhou."

Lu Junzhong was startled, and Qin Xiao continued: "When I arrived in Hangzhou, as a young minister of Dali Temple, I naturally had to share the worries of the court and An Xinghou, and immediately investigate and deal with those cases, just like the original intention of enacting the laws of the Tang Dynasty was to punish

Instead of framing innocent people, An Xinghou was very supportive of Xiaguan's mission. He was a decent man and could distinguish between good and evil. Of course, he did not want to see any good person being framed. Otherwise, it would not even be possible for Xiaguan to handle the case in Hangzhou.

If you don't clear up your grievances innocently, An Xinghou will not support your subordinates."

"My lords!" Qin Xiao faced the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and said with cupped hands: "The Marquis of Anxing even hosted a banquet for his subordinates. When he sent someone to invite him, he made it clear that if the confiscated property of the wealthy family would be

Being able to confirm their innocence and return them in full, the banquet that day was actually held to discuss the matter. The official was very grateful to the Marquis for his support. Even the Marquis had no objection to those innocent people who were cleared of their grievances. Now Lu Butang has no objection.

Handling the case personally, without reading the files, he directly called the innocent people who were cleared of their grievances as traitors. I really don’t know why Lu Butang was so careless? Lu Butang, you are an official of the Criminal Department, what you said is very

Extraordinarily, if even you say that they are a rebel party and spread the word, everyone will think that they are a rebel party. According to the law of the Tang Dynasty, rebel parties will have their heads chopped off. So is Lu Butang planning to kill those innocent people?

Everyone had their heads chopped off?”

Lu Junzhong did not expect Qin Xiao to be so eloquent, and sneered: "When did I say I would chop off their heads?"

"Oh?" Qin Xiao said in surprise: "What Lu Butang means is that if someone plots rebellion, you don't need to chop their heads off?"

Lu Junzhong said angrily: "When did I say you don't need to chop off the party's head? I mean...!" At this point, he found that Qin Xiao had already intervened and snorted coldly.

Qin Xiao said helplessly: "Lu Butang regards those innocent people as rebels. According to the law, they will be killed. If they are killed, it will be an indiscriminate killing of innocent people. But if they are let go, Lu Butang will not be held accountable."

You talk about a gangster, Lu Butang, you can just say something simple, but when we handle the case in Dali Temple, we are confused because of your few words. Come on, please give me accurate words. I, Dali Temple, will handle the case in accordance with the regulations.

Do you want to convict innocent people and take human lives lightly, or do you want to not pursue the traitors you mentioned?"

Seeing that Lu Junzhong, who had always been experienced, seemed a little at a loss, the saint showed a faint smile on his lips and said: "Well, there is no need to argue about this matter. Since Dali Temple has investigated and dealt with it in detail, then the guilty should be punished, and the innocent should be innocent."

It's natural." After a pause, he said: "The reason why I summoned all my dear friends to discuss this matter today is not to investigate the crimes of the Jiangnan rebellion. Is there anyone else in the Jiangnan family who is involved with the rebellious party, and whether the officials there are guilty of dereliction of duty?

We will also send people to investigate in detail, so there is no need to dispute the matter again until the results come out.”

All the ministers said in unison: "The saint is wise!"

"The so-called guilty should be punished, and the meritorious should be rewarded." The saint glanced at the ministers and said slowly: "A rebellion broke out in the south of the Yangtze River, which shocked the government and the public. However, Princess Sheyue and Qin Xiao were able to quell the rebellion in time and quelled it in a short time. I am very grateful.

I'm very pleased. There are many people who have made contributions to quelling the chaos, and I will reward them well. Among them, the one who has made the greatest contribution, as all of you dear friends know, besides Princess Sheyue, is Qin Xiao, the young minister of Dali Temple."

Most of the courtiers who attended the court meeting today are very clear about the details of the quelling of the rebellion in Suzhou. They know that Qin Xiao indeed played an important role in quelling the rebellion. There is no fault in it. If Qin Xiao hadn't escorted the princess to Shuning City,

And if we hold on to the city of Shuning, I'm afraid Jiangnan is going to be a different story now.

"I never hesitate to reward those who serve the court loyally." The saint glanced to the side, and the eunuch in charge of the ceremony immediately stepped forward, unfolded the imperial edict in his hand, and said loudly: "Edict: The rebellion in Jiangnan has poisoned the people and caused chaos.

In the country, both humans and gods are angry, their intentions can be punished, and their actions can be killed. Qin Xiao, the young minister of Dali Temple, is not afraid of the power of the rebels. In order to serve the court, he stands up to put down the rebellion in the chaos and save the people in danger.

, His contribution is indispensable. He was given the title of Viscount, a reward of 500 acres of land, 500 bolts of silk, and 1,000 taels of gold. I appreciate this!"

Qin Xiao was startled, and immediately realized what he was doing. He knelt down to express his gratitude. However, the ministers had different thoughts. Some people had nothing to do with them and didn't care. More people were really envious. Lu Junzhong was naturally depressed, but many ministers

He also knew in his heart that Qin Xiao not only put down the rebellion in Jiangnan this time, but also protected the princess thoroughly. The reward from the saint should be considered a reasonable thing.

However, it is extremely rare that a young man from the northwest, who has been an official in the court for less than a year, was granted the title of viscount, with a title and a fiefdom. It seems that the saint really wants everyone to use Qin Xiao.

This kid has a bright future.

Qin Xiao also did not expect that the court would reward him today. Not only would he be rewarded with land and gold, but he would also be given the title of viscount.

The title of viscount in the Tang Dynasty includes duke, marquis, uncle, son, and male. The title of viscount is not weak. Although it is not as good as the duke and lord, it can be regarded as having a title and becoming the aristocratic class of the Tang Dynasty.

"The saint has shown great kindness, and the humble minister is grateful." Qin Xiao said respectfully: "The humble minister was able to successfully quell the chaos for the court, all because of the saint's majesty. The humble minister just did his duty. The saint rewarded him with a title, and the humble minister

I dare not refuse, but I know that many places have been affected by disasters. In order to protect and relieve the people, the imperial court has spent money, silk and gold in many places, but I dare not accept it!"

Don't saints like gold very much? Although it is only a thousand taels of gold, it is nothing to a saint, but my expression means that the saint does not have to pay for the gold, which can make the saint somewhat happy. Now I refuse these gold silks, and in the future

If you ask the saint for some other things, it should be much smoother. You can fish for big fish with a long-term goal. Anyway, you have Baofenglong behind you, so you don't have to worry about running out of money.

The saint was indeed very happy and said with a smile: "Take credit and don't be proud. You are very good."

The courtiers sighed inwardly, thinking that this young man is still so clear-headed at this time, and flattering the saint makes him feel so comfortable. It seems that he is really born for officialdom. In time, he must be great.

Qin Xiao thought to himself that I have seen a lot of sophistication in people in Turtle City. The people in the market may not be weaker than the rules of the officialdom like you. I have plenty of ways to make people feel comfortable. As long as I am willing, I can make His Majesty the Emperor feel comfortable. After all,
Chapter completed!