How can you rule the world if I'm just a substitute for you?

Upon seeing this, Gao Song and a group of officials from the Third Prince's faction couldn't suppress the smiles on their faces. The Crown Prince had truly shot himself in the foot.

Uncle Li ripped open his coarse cloth jacket, revealing a crisscross pattern of knife and arrow scars on his back and shoulders.

His voice trembled as he pointed to his scar and said, "This deep scar is from when I fought alongside the Marquis of Zhenbei against the Northern Barbarians, and was slashed by enemy scimitars! Countless brothers perished on the border, and we were lucky enough to survive, only to be left crippled!"

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of veterans in the hall took off their shirts one after another, revealing deep and shallow old scars, all marks left from their life-or-death battles on the frontier.

Emperor Qian suppressed his overwhelming rage and said in a deep voice, "I know that you have rendered meritorious service to the country and have made contributions, but even if you have suffered grievances, you should not publicly humiliate me and rebuke the court for dereliction of duty!"

Uncle Li was initially a little scared, but at this moment he completely let go and poured out all the resentment that had been building up in his heart:

"We risked our lives to defend the gates of the Great Qian Kingdom! After being wounded and discharged, we had no food or money. If it weren't for the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion providing us with rations and funds, we, the crippled soldiers who sacrificed our lives for the country, would have starved to death on the streets of the capital long ago!"

Lin Xuan feigned a stern rebuke: "Don't talk nonsense! The imperial court provides special pensions for veterans every year, and when you are wounded or ill and return to your hometowns, the government also issues resettlement allowances as usual. How can you say that the imperial court has abandoned its meritorious officials?"

Emperor Qian nodded to himself, thinking to himself that what the Crown Prince said was true.

Although the pensions for the deceased were not generous, they were distributed every year.

Uncle Yang seemed to have been struck by a sore spot, his eyes red as he roared, "Silver? We, a group of disabled veterans from the capital, have never seen a single penny of compensation!"

Gao Song, who was watching the commotion from inside the hall, instantly froze on his face, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.

An ominous premonition gripped him; the fire wasn't going to reach the Crown Prince at all, but was burning straight at him!

Emperor Qian's expression suddenly turned serious: "This is absolutely impossible. The pension funds are allocated by the Ministry of Revenue and distributed layer by layer by the Ministry of War. How could not a single penny have reached your hands?"

Minister of Revenue Fu Youde immediately stepped forward and bowed: "Your Majesty, this year the Ministry of Revenue has allocated 72,000 taels of silver specifically for the relief of disabled veterans in the surrounding areas of the capital."

Uncle Yang retorted, his neck stiff with conviction: "None of us present received this pension! Not a single penny!"

At this moment, Lin Xuan stepped forward.

"Father, the Ministry of Revenue has already allocated the funds, so is the problem in the distribution process by the Ministry of War?"

Standing in the queue, Gao Song's heart skipped a beat.

The distribution of pensions to disabled veterans across the entire army was originally under his direct supervision.

He knows best what's going on behind the scenes.

Emperor Qian's eyes instantly turned cold as he looked directly at Gao Song: "Minister Gao, isn't this matter under your jurisdiction?"

Gao Song hurriedly stood up, bowed, and replied in a flustered tone, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has already distributed all the pensions for these veterans."

Before he could finish speaking, Uncle Li immediately retorted, "Distributed in place? We haven't seen a single penny from beginning to end!"

Dozens of veterans behind him echoed, "That's right! We've never received a single penny of compensation!"

Emperor Qian's face grew increasingly grim, his tone turning cold: "Gao Song, explain yourself clearly! You said all the silver had been distributed, so why haven't these people involved received a single penny?"

Lin Xuan seized the opportunity to stir things up: "Father, since the two sides have conflicting accounts, an investigation will surely reveal the truth. I humbly request to take over and thoroughly investigate this case. I have just taken office as the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, so it would be appropriate for the Jingzhao Prefecture to oversee this matter."

Upon hearing this, Gao Song's face turned deathly pale, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

He never issued the compensation money; this matter cannot withstand investigation. If it is thoroughly investigated, he will surely die.

At this moment, Minister of War Wei Bing stood up and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to trouble His Highness the Crown Prince. This matter is an internal affair of the Ministry of War. I implore Your Majesty to grant the Ministry of War three days. Within three days, I will definitely find out where the money went and give Your Majesty and the veterans an explanation. If anyone in the Ministry of War embezzles the funds, I will punish them severely!"

Emperor Qian pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Very well, I will give your Ministry of War three days."

Lin Xuan frowned slightly and sighed inwardly.

Originally, he was just about to use this assignment to gather evidence to bring down Gao Song and weaken the power of the Third Prince's faction, but unexpectedly, the Minister of War stepped in and took over the matter, turning the assignment back.

Emperor Qian turned to Fu Youde: "Minister Fu, the Ministry of Revenue shall immediately allocate an equivalent amount of silver to make up for the pensions of these veterans. They shed blood for the country's borders, and the court cannot treat its meritorious officials unfairly."

Lin Xuan addressed the group of veterans at the opportune moment: "Now you all understand, right? The Emperor has never forgotten you, the heroes of the battlefield. The court has allocated full compensation every year, but it was just that a few corrupt officials blocked the distribution process, and it didn't reach your hands."

Uncle Li understood what he meant and immediately knelt down.

Dozens of veterans behind him knelt down and kowtowed in unison: "We, your humble servants, know our mistake! We were unaware of the true situation and wronged Your Majesty in public. We beg Your Majesty to punish us!"

Emperor Qian waved his hand, his tone softening: "This is not your fault. It was my negligence in supervision. If I had known about this earlier, you would not have suffered so much."

The veterans were moved to tears and kowtowed loudly, saying, "Thank you for your compassion, Your Majesty! We have wronged you! It is our greatest honor to serve Your Majesty and the Great Qian Dynasty on the frontier!"

If His Majesty were to summon us one day, even with our frail bodies, we would still be willing to don armor and fight the enemy, to defend the land of Daqian to the death!

Emperor Qian was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly: "Good! Good! You are all loyal ministers of the Great Qian!"

All the officials present saw this and understood it perfectly.

The entire turmoil today was orchestrated by the Crown Prince from beginning to end.

In a short banquet at the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince achieved three goals at once.

From that moment on, no one in the court dared to regard Lin Xuan as that ignorant and absurd crown prince.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Lin Xuan led Shen Hu to the capital to assume his post as the Prefect of Jingzhao. As soon as they stepped out of the palace gate, they saw Zhou Yi waiting for them outside.

Zhou Yi stepped forward and replied, "Your Highness, I have thoroughly investigated the situation of the Jingzhao Prefecture. Ever since Zhao Kui confessed his crimes and committed suicide, all affairs of the prefecture, large and small, are now being handled by the prefectural assistant, Liu Huai'an. This is because most of the officials in the Jingzhao Prefecture were Zhao Kui's trusted confidants, and now they have all pledged allegiance to Liu Huai'an."

Lin Xuan nodded calmly after listening and asked, "I plan to promote capable people. Do you have any suitable candidates in mind?"

Zhou Yi had already made his plans and immediately reported the name: "Your Highness, there is a man named Xu Nian. He comes from a poor family, but he refuses to flatter or curry favor and only believes in the law and judges matters impartially. As a result, he is now the lowest-ranking official in the Jingzhao Prefecture."

Lin Xuan raised his eyes: "What are this person's abilities and character like?"

"He is reliable and organized, upright and does not form cliques; he can be entrusted with important responsibilities for the time being."

Lin Xuan nodded: "Okay."

The group arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture, where Prefect Liu Huai'an led all the officials, big and small, to kneel neatly at the foot of the stone steps.