Things had already come to this, and no matter how much Zhao Kai pleaded, Zhao Ji was unwilling to believe a single word he said.
Seeing his fury, the guards could only drag Zhao Kai out.
"Father Emperor, this prince is wronged! This prince is wronged!"
As Zhao Kai's voice faded, Zhao Ji slammed his fist on the table beside him again.
It took a long while for Zhao Ji to regain his composure. He sat blankly on the dragon throne and began to re-examine the current court situation.
There were three most pressing matters before him:
First, selecting personnel to handle the case of Tong Guan and Liu Fa. This matter involved too many aspects and was far beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.
Firstly, the person chosen could not have had any grievances with Tong Guan. Secondly, their character had to be reliable and highly respected. Ideally, they should not come from a noble family.
Individually, each condition might not pose a significant problem. However, when all these conditions were combined, the pool of eligible candidates became extremely small.
For years, Tong Guan, relying on the Emperor's favor, had acted with arrogance in Bianliang city, and this was not a new development.
He had offended countless people in the entire court.
It could be said that if it weren't for the Emperor's continuous favor and Cai Jing's firm grip on the administration, the civil officials would have long ago united to attack him.
In his prime, those people were naturally powerless against him. But now that he was in trouble, at this critical juncture, who could guarantee that those scholars would not harbor intentions of personal revenge?
Furthermore, this Emperor himself had selfish motives. At the very least, the person chosen must be able to distance the Emperor from the matter.
However, if that were the case, the already limited pool of candidates would be further reduced!
In short, the person needed to have sufficient prestige, not be too rigid in character, not bear any grudges against Tong Guan, and also consider the Emperor's interests while being adaptable in their actions.
With all these conditions combined, even Zhao Ji, the Emperor, was at a loss as to whom to choose.
As for the second matter, it was even more vexing. Cai Jing had died, but with the public disclosure of his suicide note, his posthumous title had become a subject of widespread debate in court, and his funeral arrangements were causing the Emperor a headache.
He had died while serving as Prime Minister, and tragically so. How to arrange his funeral to maintain the court's dignity and be acceptable to the scholars of the world was no easy task.
If the first two matters could still be discussed by the ministers, the third matter was an even greater source of distress for the Emperor.
That was the arrangement for Zhao Zhen's faction!
While there were precedents for such matters, the problem was that with Cai Jing's death and Tong Guan's downfall, if everything were to follow established practice, Zhao Zhen might indeed become uncontrollable!
Zhao Zhen already held the position of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, coupled with his princely status. Given his significant contributions this time, bestowing him with several military governorships was a natural consequence, making him a "Shi Xiang" (an official who holds both civil and military titles).
Wang Xiang and Zhong Shidao also had outstanding military achievements this time. Given Zhong Shidao's seniority, becoming a Privy Council Commissioner might be difficult, but a position as Deputy Commissioner of the Privy Council was certainly within reach. As for Wang Xiang, his qualifications were already senior. With Tong Guan out of the picture, the position of Privy Council Commissioner would likely fall to him!
Adding Fan Zhengguo to the mix, it could be said that Zhao Zhen's faction alone would hold four positions at the Prime Minister and Minister level in the central government.
Not to mention, Zhao Zhen's side had Xu Churen, who would immediately ascend to the position of Prime Minister if he returned to the capital safely!
He had initially intended to support Yu Shen, with Zhang Bangchang acting as a counterweight to him. However, Zhang Bangchang proved to be utterly useless!
Even if Yu Shen were to be put forward now, it would be difficult to control the situation and prevent him from being sidelined!
The Great Song Dynasty had never experienced such a situation since its founding!
If a prince's influence were allowed to swell to such an extent without any checks and balances, how could this Emperor sleep soundly?
And now, the most direct solution seemed to be to find a way to protect Cai You.
Then, Cai You could consolidate the remnants of the Cai family's influence, which might serve as a limited counterweight to Zhao Zhen.
However, how to extricate Cai You from the situation had become another difficult problem for the Emperor.
Frustrated, he flipped through the memorials before him. After merely glancing at a few, Zhao Ji felt a throbbing headache.
Discarding the monotonous impeachment memorials from the Censorate, he suddenly discovered an anomaly among the pile.
Cai Yunting?
He had no specific recollection of this name, but judging by the surname, he guessed that this person might have originated from the Cai family's retinue.
After picking up his memorial and reading a few lines, Zhao Ji's expression turned even more grim!
"Preposterous! Guards!"
With his roar, Shuangxi, who was attending outside the door, quickly entered:
"Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
"Take this memorial to Prime Minister Fan. No! Send this memorial, unopened, to the Headquarters of the Liangzhe and Fujian Circuits, and let Han Mo handle it as he sees fit!"
The affairs of the central government were already making Zhao Ji immensely frustrated. If there was any minister he found pleasing at this moment, it would undoubtedly be Han Mo.
If it weren't for the financial support provided by the money Han Mo had contributed, the Emperor's situation would likely be even more precarious.
Although only four prefectures were secured out of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, the expenses for the newly acquired land, the hungry disaster victims in Hebei, and the upcoming annual tribute to the Jin people, all added up to a considerable sum!
He would need to rely on Han Mo more and more. Cai Jing was gone, and Cai Yunting dared to step forward and cause trouble at this time, which was almost unbearable for Emperor Zhao Ji.
If it weren't for the audacious behavior of the Cai family's lackeys, Cai Jing himself might not have been pushed to such a desperate situation!
"Yes..."
Seeing the murderous look on Zhao Ji's face, Shuangxi was taken aback. He quickly acknowledged the order, took the memorial with both hands, and turned to leave.
---
"My Lord, why hasn't the imperial decree from the court been issued yet? At the very least, shouldn't Tong Guan be recalled to the capital first?"
In Li Shishi's courtyard, Yue Fei asked Han Mo with some curiosity.
"Why is that strange? Don't you think that for our current Emperor, deciding who to send to handle this case is the most difficult choice before him?"
Seeing the confusion on Yue Fei's face, Han Mo said with a light smile.
"Is that so difficult?"