At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

"Master Lei, it's been a long time since we last met."

Xu Jinsong's gaze slowly shifted to Lei Zhenning, and a rather complicated light appeared in his eyes.

For him, Lei Zhenning was once both one of the Jiangnan Party officials and his disciple.

However, up to now, Lei Zhenning has not openly cut ties with him.

But anyone with a discerning eye can see that Lei Zhenning is no longer an official in Jiangnan.

When Lei Zhenning heard Xu Jinsong call him "Lord Lei", a look of loneliness instantly appeared on his face.

Only a few months had passed, and he never expected that the relationship between him and Xu Jinsong had become so distant.

But he didn't feel any regret in his heart.

Supporting Xia Yun was his active choice. If the officialdom of the Liang Dynasty did not change, the common people would have no idea what future they would have.

"My dear ministers, this is not the place to talk. Please follow me into the palace."

Seeing the increasingly awkward situation, a voice suddenly came out of the empress's mouth.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone came back to their senses.

"Your Majesty, I respectfully welcome you to court!"

Behind Xu Jinsong, Wei Zili took the lead and spoke.

So, under the watchful eyes of a group of civil and military officials, the empress took the lead and walked towards the city gate.

Xia Yun, Xiao Yan and others followed closely behind him on both sides.

Then, a group of generals led by Qin Tianye marched into the city with thousands of soldiers and horses.

It was not until the triumphant army entered the city that the bustling city gate became quiet.

A group of civil and military officials also entered the city.

After the time of one stick of incense.

The empress brought all the officials directly back to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"Go up!"

A loud shout came from the young eunuch's mouth.

The empress sitting on the dragon throne had a serious and calm expression, completely shedding her daughter's demeanor.

All the civil and military officials at the foot of the hall immediately knelt down and kowtowed to the empress.

"Long live your Majesty! Long live! Long live!"

When a group of officials are performing the ceremony between the emperor and his subjects, the words they speak should be quite uniform.

However, it was at this time.

In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, besides the empress and the eunuch, there was another person standing still.

This person was none other than Xia Yun, the governor of Jiangnan who had been quietly accompanying the empress!

"Everyone loves you."

From the dragon throne, the empress’s voice echoed.

When the officials stood up after hearing this, many of them showed anger on their faces.

"According to Daliang's regulations, no matter what the official's rank is, he must kneel down and pay homage to His Majesty when attending court. Lord Xia, you are too arrogant!"

An official wearing a red robe and a third-rank hat walked out from the ranks of civil servants.

With a look of resentment on his face, he began to angrily criticize Xia Yun in front of all the civil and military officials.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yun immediately turned his head and followed the source of the voice, finally locking his gaze on the person who spoke.

This was the first time that Xia Yun appeared in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. In addition, Xia Yun returned to the capital as the commander of a victorious army, so Xia Yun was standing at the front of the military officers' line.

"Who are you?"

Xia Yun looked coldly at the third-rank official who was angrily scolding him and asked.

"I am Li Lin, the Minister of Rites of the Imperial Court. Lord Xia is so disrespectful to the Emperor, he should ask for punishment in front of His Majesty!"

Li Lin was aggressive and didn't seem to be afraid at all because of Xia Yun's identity as the governor of Jiangnan.

At the same time, many officials in the court also stole approving glances at Li Lin.

"Lord Li is right. Lord Xia, as the governor of Jiangnan, you should be more loyal to His Majesty. But now you do not respect the laws of the court and despise His Majesty's majesty. According to the laws of Daliang, you should be fined for three years!"

Then another official walked out from the civil servants' queue, with the same furious look on his face.

"Who are you?"

Looking at another middle-aged official who jumped out, Xia Yun raised his eyebrows.

"I am Zhang Quanli, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice!"

The middle-aged official responded immediately.

A mere Vice Minister of Rites and Vice Minister of Justice actually dared to challenge him in front of all the civil and military officials.

interesting.

If there wasn't someone behind this, no one would believe it if it got out.

"Your Majesty has already issued an order that Xia Yun is suffering from a leg disease, so he is hereby allowed to not perform the ceremony of monarch and subject."

Just as Xia Yun was thinking about how to fight back.

Xiao Yan spoke first.

As soon as these words were spoken, all the ministers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony looked at Xia Yun with a hint of strangeness in their eyes.

Just now they saw with their own eyes that Xia Yun walked all the way from the city gate into the palace. He walked so fast, how could he look like someone with a leg disease?

When Xia Yun heard this, there was also a strange look in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Yan.

When did he develop leg disease?

Xia Yun was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Obviously, this was an excuse Xiao Yan made up to deal with his ministers.

Although the excuse was a bit poor, the effect was quite obvious.

Especially when the ministers heard that Xia Yun did not bow to the emperor because of the emperor's order, the anger on their faces dissipated a lot.

"You two, do you have any questions now?"

Xia Yun's gaze swept over Li Lin and Zhang Quanli again, with a hint of provocation in his eyes.

"Humph!"

Li Lin and Zhang Quanli knew they were in the wrong, but they could not refute Xia Yun openly. After snorting coldly, they returned to their respective queues.

"In this great war to pacify the bandits, Lord Xia has made outstanding contributions. I hope you will not be too harsh on me."

At this time, the empress sitting on the dragon throne also spoke.

Then, the empress's gaze slowly shifted to the Minister of Rites Sun Zhongliang.

"Lord Sun, before I returned to the capital, I sent someone to deliver the merit list of this war to the Ministry of Rites. Has the Ministry of Rites prepared a list of rewards?"

the empress asked.

The Minister of Rites Sun Zhongliang immediately stepped out and took out a memorial from his sleeve.

"In reply to your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites did receive the merit book sent by your Majesty, but there are many officials who have made contributions in this battle to quell the bandits in Jiangnan, and the Ministry of Rites is unable to conduct a detailed investigation at the moment."

"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

Sun Zhongliang spoke repeatedly, and his loud voice spread throughout the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

same moment.

A look of helplessness appeared on Xu Jinsong's face, and then he slowly closed his eyes.

"What do you want to report, my dear?"

The woman asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Your Majesty, in this war, Lord Xia Yun led hundreds of thousands of imperial troops and made great contributions to pacifying the Japanese pirates. According to the laws of Daliang, he should be rewarded. However, the position of Governor-General of Jiangnan was established for the first time in Daliang Dynasty. According to the rules, it should be discussed by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel. Your Majesty's actions are not in line with reason, so please consider dismissing Lord Xia Yun from the post of Governor-General of Jiangnan and reward him elsewhere..."

In front of all the civil and military officials in the court, Sun Zhongliang immediately gave a long speech and submitted the memorial he had already written.

As the empress listened to Sun Zhongliang's narration and looked at the memorial in her hand, the expression on her face suddenly became gloomy.