At the beginning, his wife came to him, and he became rich by selling kidney treasures.

"Is it our Lord Sikong who wants to rebel, or is it you who want to rebel by disrupting the order of the examination?"

"We are recruiting officials from the Ministry of Revenue with the permission of His Majesty."

Li Shiji glared at Ban Liang with a heavier tone, then took out a handwritten edict from his sleeve that was personally written by His Majesty.

Faced with His Majesty's special decree, Ban Liang's face turned pale with fright in an instant, and it took him several seconds to recover.

Then, Ban Liang asked, "Even if you have the special authorization from His Majesty, how do you explain that Minister Ren allowed his retainers to injure Gao Feng, a talented scholar in the capital?"

Explanation?

Li Shiji got angry when he saw Ban Liang talking about something that was not related to the topic.

Just as he was about to explode, Ren Hao stopped him and explained, "He led the other talented students to disrupt the order of the examination. What's wrong with me asking my subordinates to punish him?"

What's wrong?

"You are exceeding your authority." Ban Liang said.

"We have His Majesty's special authorization, so it doesn't count as an act of exceeding authority," Ren Hao went on to explain.

In a word, they have the special authorization of His Majesty the Emperor. As long as it is within the scope of the examination, any way of handling it will be an act of exceeding authority.

Anyway, they have the final say on the interpretation.

"If you, the Imperial Censorate, feel that our handling of this matter is an act of exceeding authority, please have your Lord Chen report this to His Majesty during the morning court session."

"Now please don't stand here and disrupt the order of the exam."

"If you dare to disrupt the order of the exam again, don't blame me for punishing you according to the law."

I've said all the good and bad things I can think of. If they still don't appreciate it, don't blame me for turning against you.

Ren Hao's words clearly indicated that he had already ordered them to leave.

Ban Liang had no choice but to return home with the supervisors in disgrace.

After all, Ren Hao has the emperor's special authorization, so it is useless to refute every reasonable word.

"Captain Ban, why is it that what Gao Feng said is completely different from what Lord Sikong said?"

"Is it that Gao Feng is deliberately deceiving Lord Zhongcheng?" asked one of the supervisors.

"That's very possible." Another supervisor echoed doubtfully.

But Ban Liang rolled his eyes at the two of them. Could this not be said to be extremely likely? Could it not be confirmed directly?

Subsequently.

Ban Liang led a group of supervisors back to the Imperial Censorate. Chen Tailiang, who was sitting in the hall waiting to try Ren Hao, immediately asked, "Where is Ren Hao? Why didn't you bring him back to me?"

Ban Liang knelt on the ground and said to Chen Tailiang in the hall: "Your Excellency, the Minister of Justice, Ren Sikong has the special permission of His Majesty, and this recruitment of officials from the Ministry of Revenue is reasonable and legal."

"What?" Chen Tailiang frowned immediately. He had never heard Gao Feng mention this handwritten order.

"As for Ren Sikong Ju's subordinates injuring the talented Gao Feng, it was because Gao Feng took the lead in causing trouble and he had to be punished." After Ban Liang finished speaking, he glared at Gao Feng next to him.

Gao Feng was frightened by Ban Liang's eyes and took several steps back without being able to keep his balance.

"So, we have all been deceived by him?" Chen Tailiang glanced at Gao Feng in the hall.

"Yes, sir." Ban Liang nodded.

"You dare to make false reports, do you know what crime you have committed?"

Chen Tailiang slammed the table, feeling extremely angry.

Gao Feng dared to hide the truth from him and use him as an arrow.

"My lord, I...I did not report anything falsely. Everything I said was true..." Gao Feng and a group of talented scholars knelt on the ground and trembled.

"You dare to speak harshly even when you are about to die."

"Come here, execute them as an example."

Chen Tailiang roared and slammed the table, which scared Gao Feng silly.

Especially those talented people who shared the same hatred with Gao Feng, they really regretted it now.

Not only did he get nothing, but he was also sentenced to death.

When the guards came up to them with the torture instruments, they all knelt on the ground with fear on their faces and begged for mercy from Chen Tailiang.

"Sir, please give me some mercy. I...we can't live without hands. If my hands are broken, how will I...how will we make a living in the future?"

"Yes, sir, please don't cut off our hands. You can cut off our feet. I... we can't live without hands."

Whether it was Gao Feng or other talented people, they all kowtowed to Chen Tailiang, hoping that he would show leniency.

But Chen Tailiang was so hard-hearted that he didn't care about the lives of these talented people.

After all, what does it have to do with him whether they have food to eat in the future?

"Start the execution." Chen Tailiang waved his hand, and the supervisors in the hall sentenced Gao Feng and other talented people.

The so-called "breaking the leg" is to break the hands or feet with a stick.

Suddenly there was a burst of screams and wails in the hall, and the hands of these talented men were all broken.

"This is what happens when you deceive the Prime Minister."

"Throw them away..." When Chen Tailiang was about to order the supervisor to throw them all out, the adjutant next to him suddenly said, "Master Zhongcheng, throwing them out would be too easy and a pity for them."

"Mr. He, what do you mean?" Chen Tailiang looked at his military advisor, He Chao.

He Chao was originally an unknown censor in the Censorate, but his quick and flexible mind soon made him stand out among the other officials and he became Chen Tailiang's confidant.

He also jumped directly from a small ninth-rank censor to a third-rank censor, becoming the sixth-rank Imperial Secretary.

This Imperial Secretary, in modern terms, is a secretary.

"Why don't you take this opportunity, Lord Zhongcheng, to get acquainted with Lord Sikong?" He Chao whispered with a slight smile.

"You want me to get to know him?" Chen Tailiang's face was full of disdain.

"Lord Zhongcheng, even if you look down on Lord Sikong in every way, Lord Sikong is a favorite of His Majesty, and he has the support of the Li family relatives."

"Instead of competing with him, it is better to get to know Lord Sikong. In the future, Lord Sikong can help Lord Zhongcheng to speak a few good words beside His Majesty. Who knows, maybe you can become a Sikong or something in the future."

He Chao chuckled at the end of his speech. When he heard Ban Liang say that Ren Hao had the emperor's special authorization, he smelled the prospect of a bright future.

But he couldn't get acquainted with Lord Sikong directly, so he could only resort to this bad strategy of inciting Chen Tailiang to make friends with Ren Hao, so that he would have hope of change and promotion in the future.

He had great ambitions, and he didn't want to spend the rest of his life just being the Imperial Secretary and assisting such useless people.

"Um……"

Chen Tailiang pondered for a moment and felt that what He Chao said made sense.

Think about it.

It is not so much that he is dissatisfied with Ren Hao, but rather that he is jealous of Ren Hao.

Instead of secretly feeling sour and thinking about how to deal with Ren Hao, it would be better to get to know him.

If Ren Hao really becomes very powerful in the future, then who knows, he might become Sikong or Shangshu or something like that.