We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

"The guilty minister Wang Yongnian greets the Prince of Ninggu."

"Wang...from the Wang family?" Li Che's eyes turned cold.

Wang Yongnian bravely met Li Che's gaze and said, "That's right."

"What did you commit?"

Wang Yongnian remained silent, but Huang Jin smiled and said:

"The Wang family has been convicted of trafficking in human beings. Wang Yongnian, a high-ranking official in the imperial court, not only did he not stop it, but he actually protected the family."

"Your Majesty sentences him to the crime of lax supervision and abuse of power for personal gain, and exiles his entire family to Ninggu County."

"Oh, I see." Li Che nodded, "The Wang family's umbrella of protection."

Huang Jin flattered him: "Your Highness is a scholar, and the word "protective umbrella" is used very well."

Wang Yongnian turned pale when he saw that Li Che and Huang Jin had already convicted him by singing the same tune.

He sighed, trembling as he knelt on the ground. "Your Highness, I have long been blessed by the Emperor's grace, and I have endured punishment from Heaven. I know my sins are unforgivable."

"But although the family of this criminal is under the protection of the royal family, they have never been involved in any filthy activities. Especially the son of this criminal, who has been studying beside the great scholar. He has committed no real crime, but was implicated by this criminal."

"Your Highness is merciful. I sincerely hope that Your Highness will pardon my family and allow them to earn their living under Your Highness's rule and live out the rest of their lives as ordinary citizens. I will be eternally grateful."

Wang Yongnian's words were so tearful that anyone who heard them was heartbroken. Even the guards beside him were moved, and Wang Xizheng was sobbing even more.

But Li Che and Huang Jin were calm and spoke coldly to each other.

They weren't cold-hearted, but they were both people who had seen the world and had seen too many 'crocodile tears'.

"Forgive your family?" Li Che sneered, "Your Wang family made a profit from human trafficking, didn't they enjoy it?"

Wang Yongnian trembled like a sieve and remained silent.

"I've enjoyed wealth and glory in the Wang family. Now that disaster is looming, how can I stay out of it?"

Wang Yongnian looked ashen.

Li Che's words coincided with those of his son.

The system of collective responsibility for relatives has been implemented for thousands of years. Even in later generations, there is still political responsibility for relatives, which naturally has its rationality.

To put it bluntly, although the Wang family members did not participate in the crime, were they really unaware of it? I'm afraid even Wang Xizheng was well aware of what his family was doing.

Since he knew about it and enjoyed the benefits of illegal gains, what is there to complain about now that his family is being liquidated?

Li Che glanced at Wang Yongnian and saw his pale hair, and thought for a moment.

He remembered Wang Yongnian. After all, the Shizhong was the third rank in the nine-rank official system, and was considered an important official.

Emperor Qing is well versed in employing people. Wang Yongnian holds a high position, so he must have some abilities.

If I had been like that when I first came here, I would have killed that bastard who provided protection for the human traffickers with one blow.

But now, Li Che had taken a difficult journey from the imperial capital to the outside of the Great Wall, and had been exposed to the wind and snow outside the Great Wall for more than a month. It was impossible that his mentality had not changed at all.

It is definitely not possible to directly pardon Wang Yongnian, he is a scumbag.

But this is a talented scumbag, and Li Che really wants to use him.

There is no way. It is impossible to expect ancient scholars to have perfect personal morals.

Wu Qi, who is as famous as Sun Wu, is a great talent, right?

But if we talk about his negative information, there are too many, such as corruption, abuse of power, not returning home for his mother's funeral, and killing his wife to get an official position...

For example, Cai Lun, the inventor of paper, was also a technical talent.

But in fact he was a eunuch, and he once helped Empress Dowager Dou frame Concubine Song for practicing witchcraft, and later betrayed Empress Dowager Dou. He was an unrepentant traitor.

There are countless examples of this kind. Talent does not mean virtue. Many famous officials throughout history would be condemned and condemned by everyone in later generations.

That's why Boss Cao proposed the "talent-based" employment strategy.

Li Che, who had just traveled through time, would choose not to use it because of the other party's character.

For Li Che today, nothing is more important than managing the territory well and letting the people live a good life.

In order to achieve this goal, Li Che can use any means, even using some talented but unethical scum.

It can be considered a kind of growth.

Li Che glanced at Wang Yongnian and stopped talking. Instead, he looked at Huang Jin and said, "Dear Huang, you've had a hard time on this journey. Come with me in and have a cup of hot wine to warm yourself up."

"Hey, this old slave thanks your highness."

Huang Jin breathed a sigh of relief.

Judging from Li Che's words and actions, he probably no longer holds a grudge against what he did before.

That's good. It's really creepy to have a powerful vassal king always thinking about it.

"As for Lord Wang." Li Che glanced at Wang Yongnian coldly, "Let's go together first. I will make the final decision on your Wang family's affairs."

Wang Yongnian was slightly startled and stood up with a complicated expression.

Judging from what the Sixth Prince said, there seems to be a chance for this matter to turn around?

Li Che was too lazy to care what Wang Yongnian thought, and took Huang Jin and others into the main hall of the government office.

Qiu Wen offered Huang Jin a cup of hot wine, which finally dispelled the old eunuch's chill along the way.

Li Che looked at Huang Jin and asked, "Huang Daban, does the emperor have anything to tell you?"

"I do have something to say," Huang Jin said quickly. "To be honest, although these 20,000 slaves were a reward from His Majesty, on the surface, they were actually a punishment from the imperial court."

"Oh?" Li Che frowned and asked, "What crime have I committed?"

"The imperial censors impeached His Highness for three crimes. First, allowing the troops to seize food and kill scholars in Yan. Second, the number of troops exceeded the limit. Third, allowing the troops to destroy the pass and act arrogantly and domineeringly."

Huang Jin glanced at Li Che's expression and saw no sign of anger, so he continued cautiously:

"Of course, I know these nonsense are all fabricated accusations. But the censor heard about this and reported it to Your Majesty, citing your usual misconduct as an excuse to punish you. Your Majesty has no choice but to do this."

Li Che didn't say anything, but picked up a furry animal from behind his seat with an expressionless face, held it in his arms and stroked it gently.

Huang Jin took a look and almost dropped his jaw in shock.

I thought it was a larger raccoon, but when I looked closely, I saw that it was clearly a young tiger cub!

"Furthermore, many court officials are taking advantage of the situation and demanding a thorough investigation. Your Majesty, under pressure from public opinion, must send someone to verify this matter."

"Verify? What is there to verify?" Li Che sneered.

Huang Jin quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, there's really no need to verify these rumors, so they're just going through the motions..."

Before Huang Jin could finish speaking, he was so frightened by Li Che's next words that he spilled the hot wine in his hand onto his crotch.

"These are not rumors. I did all three of these things. Those imperial censors are absolutely right!"

Huang Jin screamed and jumped up with a painful expression.

Fortunately, we cut it cleanly, otherwise the bird would have been scalded and burnt.

"Your Highness, you..."

"Eunuch Huang, which of these three things did I do wrong?"