The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 62 Entering the DPRK
"Okay, that's enough, stop arguing!" Zhao Xu reached out and patted the imperial desk.

The hall fell silent, and Zhao Xu looked at all the officials: "Let's not talk about the new law or the old law for now. I have an order here. It will be the first thing I have to do after I take power. Let's see who can obey my order!"

The ministers were surprised to hear this, wondering why Zhao Xu suddenly mentioned the dispatch. Lu Dafang said, "Your Majesty, the new and old laws must be clearly distinguished, otherwise..."

"I've said enough. Let me tell you about your mission first." Zhao Xu said indifferently.

Lu Dafang was stunned: "I wonder what the official wants to talk about?"

Zhao Xu said slowly, "I have heard that there are evil gangsters lurking in the underground of Tokyo City, called Wuyou Cave, also known as Guifan Tower. The word 'ghost' in it describes all the evil things in the world. It is vicious and disturbs the court and brings harm to the people. Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, they have been repeatedly suppressed. The people are full of complaints and the news has spread to foreign countries, making them laugh at the incompetence of the Song Dynasty. Who among you can take the order to wipe out this gang of gangsters?"

All the ministers were shocked when they heard this, and many of them lowered their heads involuntarily.

Ghost Fanlou!
This malignant tumor embedded in the underground of the capital city can be traced back to the Five Dynasties period, but the underground waterways of the Five Dynasties were not as large and interconnected as they are today, so they did not become very significant.

During the reigns of Taizu and Taizong, in order to ensure that the capital would not be submerged by the Yellow River flooding or heavy rains in disastrous years, a lot of man-hours were spent on dredging and construction, and many eight-shaped water outlets were built on the ground.

But after several floods of the Yellow River, the waterway was broken because it was too wide, and after being washed by heavy rain, the original passages inside became a mess, with connections everywhere, and naturally broke through countless places. There were also collapses underneath, and the cities of the previous dynasties were stacked up, making it difficult to distinguish like a maze, which was very suitable for criminals to hide.

Taizong's last campaign was in the first year of the Zhidao reign, which took more than half a month and involved the mobilization of nearly 10,000 imperial guards, but despite all his efforts, he was unable to completely eradicate the rebellion.

After Taizong passed away, it became increasingly difficult to clear up the rebellion after Zhenzong, and the campaign was always abandoned halfway without completely wiping out the rebellion. In the following dynasties, as the combat effectiveness of the imperial guards in the capital declined, the wing troops became lazy and afraid of death, and the people inside were all desperate criminals, the campaign was often declared over before it even began.

So over the years, Guifanlou has become increasingly rampant and difficult to control, becoming a thorn in the side of the imperial court and a thorn in the side of the people, who are terrified at the mere mention of it.

No one was willing to take the job of clearing out Guifanlou, and no one wanted to have any contact with the desperate criminals there. Although as court officials they should not be afraid, everyone had families and children, and they were all worried about being targeted by these criminals.

No one said anything. The hall was completely silent. Zhao Xu frowned behind the desk and asked, "Why don't you say anything, my dear ministers?"

Still no one spoke, and everyone turned their heads away, as if they hadn't heard anything.

Zhao Xu's eyes were a little cold: "Just now when we talked about abolishing the old law and restoring the new law, you were all very eloquent, your voice was amazing, and you could give countless reasons. How come when it comes to a small errand, you all turned a deaf ear and retreated?"

Liang Tao stood up in the class and said, "Sir, this is not the same thing."

Zhao Xu looked at him and asked: "Lord Liang, are you willing to go and destroy the ghost Fanlou?"

Liang Tao's face twitched violently: "I...I am ill. I can barely handle government affairs, but I cannot lead people to fight and kill."

"So we can't just fight and kill each other!" Zhao Xu nodded: "Which minister can share my worries?"

No one in the hall spoke, and this time no one even stood up to defend themselves.

Zhao Xu's eyes slowly fell on Zhao Ti: "King of Yan."

Zhao Ti said, "I am here."

Zhao Xu said: "The gentlemen said that the Prince of Yan wields spears and sticks, so he has martial arts skills?"

Zhao Ti said: "I understand a little bit."

"Okay!" Zhao Xu's eyes were deep: "Is the King of Yan willing to lead people to destroy the Ghost Fanlou?" Zhao Ti said: "I will share your worries, solve the problems for the people, and serve the country. I am willing!"

As soon as he said this, everyone in the hall looked at him. Both the old party and the few new party members were stunned.

This is not an easy job, and no one is willing to take it. Even if they are forced to do it, they will just do it perfunctorily and end up getting penalized, and they won't really work hard. So why did the other party accept it?

Su Che's face suddenly changed, and Fan Chunren's eyes suddenly widened.

Oh no! The other party is going to enter North Korea!
Zhao Ti had the title of prince, but he had no official duties in the court. Even if he wrote a petition to abolish the old laws and reinstate the new ones, it would not play any decisive role.

But it would be different if they were given an official position in the court, as this would help push this matter forward. If royal family members do not come to the court to interact with ministers, it means they are making friends with court officials. If they come to the court to interact with them again, they will have many excuses to prevaricate, and if they collude with the New Party at that time, it will be very bad.

"Your Majesty, this is not possible!" Fan Chunren said immediately.

Zhao Xu glanced at him and said, "Lord Fan, are you willing to go and destroy the Ghost Fan Tower?"

"This..." Fan Chunren's forehead was immediately covered with sweat. What kind of people are in Guifanlou? They dared to kidnap and sell the daughter of a county prince. In recent years, they have also retaliated against court officials behind their backs. Even if he is not afraid, what about his family? He can't just leave them in danger and ignore them.

"Your Majesty, please think twice about this matter..." Su Che said at this time.

Zhao Xu asked, "Lord Su, are you willing to take orders to destroy the Ghost Fan Tower?"

"My lord, my lord..."

Zhao Xu frowned and said, "Since none of you want to go, and the King of Yan wants to go, why are you trying to stop us? Eradicating Guifanlou will be of great benefit to the court and the people of Tokyo. You are all good officials who serve the country and the people. I am really confused by your obstruction."

"Your Majesty, Prince Yan, Prince Yan may not be able to wipe out Guifanlou..." said Lu Dafang.

Zhao Xu looked at Zhao Ti and asked, "Is the King of Yan sure?"

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "I am somewhat confident."

"Okay, since Prince Yan is confident, let's leave this matter to Prince Yan!" Zhao Xu said.

"Your Majesty, I can go and destroy Guifanlou, but I have no orders, so how can I do it? I can't mobilize any troops either." Zhao Ti said.

There was a weird atmosphere in the court at the moment. All the old party members had black faces, thinking, there was no need for you two to be so obvious in singing the same tune, right?
But no one dared to speak, and no one wanted to have anything to do with Guifanlou. It was such a cruel and filthy place that no one wanted to even hear about it. This involved the safety of the entire family, and a gentleman would not stand under a dangerous wall!
Zhao Ti had a half-smile on his face. This was what they had discussed in the palace that night. If they wanted to tear open the old party directly, he had to enter the court. Only after entering the court could he be more persuasive and act better.

But there must be a reason to enter the court. Otherwise, if the prince enters the court without any reason, both the new and old parties will oppose it, and all officials will certainly stop him.

So, he planned to take out Gui Fanlou. Zhao Ti had wanted to take action against Gui Fanlou for a long time. Not to mention doing a good thing for the people of Tokyo, even if he wanted to have the final say in the entire Gyeonggi underground, Gui Fanlou must be eliminated. This time, he entered the court to borrow the power.

Zhao Xu had wanted to eradicate Guifanlou for a long time. Guifanlou had always been a thorn in the side of the Song Dynasty emperors. After he took power, he wanted to increase his reputation among the people and eliminate the negative effects of the alternation between the old and new laws. So getting rid of Guifanlou was a good strategy.

There is no way that all the officials would be willing to do this task. If Zhao Ti wants to go to the court to open up a loophole for the new law, it would be most appropriate to bring up Gui Fanlou as the subject of the discussion.

At this time, Zhao Xu nodded and said, "Since the Prince of Yan has this intention, then I will grant you an official position in the court."

(End of this chapter)