"I object, this is a deliberate humiliation of the imperial royal family." A young man shouted loudly in the audience.

"Silent!" Gong Zheng rang the wooden hammer and said to everyone at the scene: "This is not a humiliation. I need to reiterate the understanding of the imperial law of the royal family and the positioning of the two generations of kings towards the royal family."

Everyone calmed down, Gong Zheng said in a majestic tone: "The emperor is a human being, an ordinary person with eyes and two hands. There is no essential difference between you, me and everyone sitting. The royal family with which His Majesty the Emperor has blood relationship only has certain legal privileges, but no privileges of personal dignity. Let me solemnly tell you again, especially you, the young man who just protested!"

Everyone looked at the young man. He was dressed in gorgeous clothes and arrogantly. He sat in the left corner of the front of the auditorium. On the auditorium, there was a golden line that marked the nine positions in the front of the left. This was one of the privileges of the nobles, that is, in court, he had a relatively independent area, and when the nobles proposed to attend a certain trial, they would inevitably get a seat.

"Young man, you are a noble child. That's because your father and grandfather have made contributions to the empire and have received treatment beyond ordinary people. We call them nobles, but this does not mean that you have more noble blood than others. Do you understand, young people?" Gong Zhengzheng said.

The young man stood up, nodded slightly, and said to Gong Zheng: "I understand, Supreme Justice. But it is necessary to remind you that the reason why I am a nobleman has nothing to do with my father and grandfather. My status comes from the merits I have established for the empire."

The young man's words were full of arrogance, but it caused an uproar, because he seemed to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. How could such a young man make a contribution to the empire? But no one dared to lie on such a question. Gong Zheng nodded slightly, then stood up and said in a deep voice: "Salute to you, sir."

Gong Zheng continued: "According to the imperial constitution, all work is equal, and workers are equal. The farming work Xu Sanyi is engaged in is not inferior to other jobs. The imperial royal family does not have the ‘noble’ of not doing such work.

Therefore, Lin Shirong, the grandson of the King of Cheng, do you accept the judgment of this court on you?"

Lin Shirong nodded slightly and said in court: "I accept it and obey the court's judgment."

Gong Zheng nodded and continued: "Lin Shirong, although you have committed misconduct, you have never done anything illegal. This is one of the reasons why you have gained the trust of the court, but in the same way, the court has also taken pressure from all parties because of its trust in you.

So, Lin Shirong, in the second half of your life, you must be responsible to all those who take risks for you to gain trust, strive to be a good person, do not do anything illegal, and do not commit fraud. You must use your life to prove that you are trustworthy and that you did not lie in this balloon crash."

"Yes, Your Excellency Judge." Lin Shirong lowered his head and accepted Gong Zheng's warning.

The second day, the palace.

Li Zhaoyu came to the door of the Imperial Study Room and saw Dan Tai Jun standing at the door. He was obviously just coming out and was still wiping his sweat. He asked, "Ajun, why are you back?"

"The Emperor asked me to come back and report to Shirong's affairs." Dan Tai Jun said.

Li Zhaoyu nodded slightly and asked with a smile: "What about?"

Dan Taijun said: "It's unlucky. I have to accompany Shirong to Chongming to raise horses and cultivate land, but I don't know how much hardship it will take."

"Why, want to plead with mercy?"

Tan Taijun shook his head: "Then I don't dare. What the emperor said is what. Otherwise, if my father knows, I will be in great trouble."

"It's good to know that it's afraid." Li Zhaoyu patted Dan Taijun's head and said, "It's not a bad thing to endure some hardship. Working in the countryside is a little tired, but you can still be free for a while."

Dan Taijun nodded and chose to say goodbye. Li Zhaoyu walked to the attendant and asked him to pass on the news, but was stopped.

The attendant whispered: "The emperor and King Cheng were talking in the imperial study, saying that they would not disturb you anymore. He also said that Lord Su Ri'an Su was coming for a while and asked you to accompany him to have some lunch at the dinner hall."

Li Zhaoyu knew that the emperor and King Cheng had a detailed discussion in private, and it was probably Lin Shirong's business, so he agreed. After waiting in the pavilion outside the imperial study room for a while, he saw the cabinet deputy minister Pei Yuanqi and Su Ri'an coming. Li Zhaoyu hurriedly greeted him and said, "It seems that Mr. Su is going to have to pay some lunch today."

"If you can use imperial meals, you can't talk about the general." Su Ri'an said with a smile, and Pei Yuanqi said, "With the eldest son to accompany you, it is really not considered the general."

The dining hall in the palace is dedicated to entertaining ministers of the Imperial Council, and sometimes also entertains ministers of the State Council. If the State Council is held, the meals will be much more abundant and will be simpler on weekdays. According to the rules, the meals in the palace are in the form of a buffet. In addition to the ministers of the Imperial Council, the officials of the inner court and the officers of the imperial guards also eat here.

After the three of them entered, a group of young officers saluted one after another. Although these people were respectful, they did not eat with the three of them. Li Zhaoyu and Su Ri'an each took the meal plates and went to choose something that suited their preferences, but were stopped by Pei Yuanqi.

Pei Yuanqi said: "Following the situation in the study, the emperor and King Cheng will not finish their talks in a short time. We have time, so why not eat a pot."

Hotpot is also a form of royal palace dinner buffet. Because of Lee Myung-hoon, rotating hotpot is also very popular in big cities in the empire.

At Pei Yuanqi's greeting, the waiter brought hot pot and various side dishes. The three of them chose the bottom of the pot and enjoyed it. Pei Yuanqi asked, "Mr. Su, is this mutton from Shenjing delicious, or is the mutton from Dongjiang delicious?"

Su Ri'an smiled and said, "The mutton from Dongjiang is more delicious. Dongjiang is closer to the grassland, and the mutton comes from outside the mouth and is more tender."

"It seems that Lord Su is not like the rumors. He is a living judge who is not as good as the world's fireworks." Pei Yuanqi quipped.

The two of them were actually somewhat celebrating. Pei Yuanqi did not behave seriously when he was young, but Su Ri'an hated evil as a vengeance when he was young and often opposed the nobles' children. Later, Pei Yuanqi was in charge of Xijin and did not return to Beijing for more than 20 years, but this did not hinder the celebrating between the two.

Because his son Pei Guangping was once suspected of raping a female student, it was also a matter of no evidence. Su Ri'an was the one who put pressure on the imperial court at that time. Of course, Pei Guangping later restored his reputation and Su Ri'an also made contributions. Because the emperor took the initiative to ask Su Ri'an to investigate, it was a matter of no evidence. He used this Bao Gong of the time to play with Pei Guangping, but Pei Guangping was really a mess, and his speech in court was more or less harmful to the family's reputation.

Although his son was saved, he lost his face and Pei Yuanqi felt a little uncomfortable.

Su Ri'an smiled and said, "If I don't live in the world, then I will become an immortal."

Pei Yuanqi nodded and thought to himself that Su Ri'an has indeed changed a lot. His words and actions are much more gentle than before, but he has a thorn on his body before.

"Mr. Su, I saw in the newspaper that the textile industry in Dongjiang Province is facing the problem of a shortage of raw cotton, but it is true?" Seeing that the two of them were a little sarcastic, Li Zhaoyu quickly changed the subject and led the words to serious things.

Su Ri'an nodded, even put down the chopsticks in his hand: "Indeed, and in fact, it is much more serious than what the newspaper said."

Li Zhaoyu asked: "Is that serious?"

"Yes, Dongjiang has expanded rapidly in recent years, but there has been no stable connection between the origin of raw materials and factories. The empire's cotton production areas, Lianghuai, Central Plains, and Huguang, have formed some guilds to monopolize the supply of raw cotton. This year is better, and if it is not dealt with, it may be even worse next year and the next year." Su Ri'an said.

Pei Yuanqi laughed and said, "Oh, he is really a parent. He has left office. He is still considering the people of Dongjiang. He is really a role model for officials."

Li Zhaoyu coughed lightly. In fact, the empire knew that during his tenure as the local chief of Dongjiang Province, Su Ri'an's economy developed rapidly. He jumped from the third-class province of the empire to the first-class province, relying on the vigorous development of the textile industry.

But this cannot be said to be the credit of Suri'an alone. Therefore, the transfer of the imperial textile industry to the peninsula was a national policy formulated by the imperial central government, with the purpose of weakening the competition for textiles from Japan. Facts have proved that this was a very successful choice. The people who have been promoting this matter in the central government have actually been Pei Yuanqi. Therefore, the two of them jointly promoted the rise of the textile industry in Dongjiang Province.

The so-called Dongjiang Province is a province with Seoul as its provincial capital in the central part of the Korean Peninsula.

In the early years of the establishment of the empire, Li Dechan, president of the Lefanyuan, led his army to quell the rebellion on the Korean Peninsula and allowed North Korea to surrender to the empire. The empire constructed two different political structures in North Korea.

The Korean Peninsula is almost divided into two halves from the middle. The western part of the peninsula is mostly impact plains caused by rivers and is also a densely populated area on the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, it is divided into three provinces. The Dongjiang Province is the richest and most populous. After all, its provincial capital Seoul was the capital of the Joseon Dynasty back then.

In the eastern part of the Korean Peninsula, the mountains running through the entire peninsula were divided into five appeasement zones, which were later integrated into three, and now they were integrated into two. These appeasement zones were first rewarded to the nobles of the Korean foreign vassal who made outstanding contributions to the empire during the war.

It was different from the two major foreign vassals of Mongolia and Jurchen systems that made outstanding contributions during King Yu's expedition in the west. The Korean foreign vassals had no more achievements after unifying the peninsula, so they became the most injured group in the reform of the foreign vassals of the Empire.

Dongjiang Province has the largest population, with the most developed transportation, shipping and education. Therefore, when population-intensive industries such as the Imperial Textile Industry began to transfer, Dongjiang Province surpassed the Central Plains provinces and became the first choice for capital. Although the Imperial Central Government intends to transfer the textile industry to Hebei, Henan and Shandong provinces, it did not violate the laws of the market economy and conform to the development of capital, focusing on Dongjiang Province.

But the problem is that cotton is not produced on the Korean Peninsula at all. In the decades when the imperial textile industry rose, various cotton production areas have long formed monopoly on various guilds. Dongjiang's textile industry is not that it cannot get cotton, but that the price is always unsatisfactory.

"The Deputy Prime Minister seems to have some prejudice against Su," Su Ri'an asked.

Pei Yuanqi smiled and said, "That's not the case, but I have an objection to your work."

"Please tell me the minister," said Su Ri'an.

Pei Yuanqi said: "Actually, as early as last year, the Dongjiang Textile Industry Association had proposed that there will be problems with the supply of raw materials this year, but it has not attracted attention from you."

"This..." Su Ri'an looked a little embarrassed, but he still said: "Yes, this is my own negligence."

Su Ri'an's generous confession made Pei Yuanqi a little speechless and didn't know what to say, because he wanted to hit the guy who had just entered the center instead of really holding him accountable. If he wanted to be held accountable, he would have done it long ago.

Pei Yuanqi knew even more that this matter was not that simple. Su Ri'an was indeed a bit dereliction of duty, but he was not entirely blamed, because last year, the Dongjiang textile industry was a turbulent year. After several years of crazy expansion, the Dongjiang textile industry had various problems, mainly labor-management disputes. The so-called Dongjiang Textile Industry Association is the product of a group of textile factory owners uniting to confront the Dongjiang Textile Workers Conference established.

In this labor-management confrontation, Su Ri'an played a very important role, and his hard work made it impossible for the opposition to cause violence. You should know that in the history of the empire, at this stage, there was no bloody conflict, and it was impossible for both labor and capital to retreat.

But Su Ri'an created a miracle with his own hands, but at that time, the Dongjiang Textile Industry Association's warning to raw materials was considered a means of pressure by Su Ri'an. Who knows that it is not that there are really problems with textile raw materials.

To put it bluntly, Su Ri'an is a good official in charge, but his morality has nothing to do with ability. After all, he has been in the imperial judicial system for many years and is very unprofessional in administration, especially economic development. This is completely different from Pei Yuanqi. Although he was a noble family and had never studied economics, he was in charge of Xijin for many years and built a poor and deserted place into an industrial center in the western territory of the empire. He had already learned his own teaching without a teacher.

"It's not a question of dereliction of duty, the key is to do things well. Dongjiang finally achieved such results. Lord Su, you can't help me because of personal reasons." Pei Yuanqi reminded.
Chapter completed!