At noon that day, as soon as he returned to the temporary palace, John Harrison told Chief Attendant Henry Carter that he wanted to see the two chief ministers of the Eastern and Western Bureaus, as well as Commander of the Imperial Army Edward King. His attitude was so forceful that it left people speechless, and with several dozen loyal cavalrymen accompanying him, Henry Carter was caught off guard and could only agree on the spot in front of everyone.

And as soon as he met the two chief ministers in the main hall of the rear palace, this Mr. Harrison made a shocking move that stunned everyone!

It truly was a shock, for after sunrise the sky had gradually darkened, and by late morning, the first autumn rain of the first year of Jianyan had already begun to fall over the Mindaogong Palace.

“Minister... Minister...”

Prime Minister Robert Warren was faring a bit better, but the proper Grand Chancellor Thomas Howard couldn’t utter a single coherent sentence for half the day, whether due to incompetence or for some other reason.

“Everyone!” Henry Carter really couldn’t bear to watch any longer. Taking advantage of the fact that this was the rear palace and not the formal court, he disregarded protocol and spoke up to help. “Minister Li has just been dismissed as chancellor—how can we change the imperial order so quickly?”

“Exactly.” Mr. Howard also came to his senses and immediately voiced his opposition. “Let it be known to Your Majesty, there is no such precedent in our dynasty!”

“What precedent is there to talk about when the country is in ruins?” Sitting stiffly in his chair, still faintly damp, John Harrison immediately retorted before the other could finish. “Minister Li was only dismissed as chancellor, not removed for a crime. Is there any law forbidding his recall?”

The autumn rain fell steadily, and the nearly fifty-year-old Thomas Howard was drenched in sweat. “Your Majesty, I...”

“Your Majesty.” Henry Carter once again gathered his sleeves and spoke up in support. “After Your Majesty fell into the well, you forgot many things. Perhaps you do not know that, back in Nanjing (Shangqiu), over Minister Li’s matter, a Censorate official and two Imperial College students died... Censorate official Samuel Smith was killed by Minister Li, in defiance of all under heaven, simply for criticizing Minister Li’s empty talk and useless strategies, violating the great taboo of killing scholar-officials; the two Imperial College students supported Minister Li, but in their zeal to defend him, they openly slandered Your Majesty’s private virtue... Let it be known to Your Majesty, the reason for dismissing this man was not only because he wanted to go to Nanyang, but also because of his arrogance and unruliness, his abuse of power and fortune, and his treating Your Majesty like a child!”

To “treat like a child” means to regard someone as if they were a mere child... And upon hearing this, John Harrison actually believed it, because it really could be the case. Otherwise, given Abraham Thompson’s tremendous achievements in helping James Harrison rebuild the central government in just a few months, it would be impossible for such fierce conflict to arise so quickly—so much so that, less than three months after James Harrison’s ascension, a political struggle broke out that led to the deaths of censors and students, and resulted in Abraham Thompson’s dismissal.

As for why Abraham Thompson treated John Harrison like a child, the reason was self-evident.

First, this body was indeed young, and the civil officials of the Song dynasty had always liked to fool Mr. Harrison; it was a traditional skill of the experienced and prestigious ministers of the Zhao Song court. Second, after the disaster of Jingkang, these ministers with anti-Jin convictions had seen through the cowardice and incompetence of the Zhao family when facing the Jurchens, and knew the fears in the hearts of each Mr. Harrison, so they had no choice but to use moral coercion and blatant lies to deal with the situation.

But they had forgotten that the Song emperors and the vast majority of Song scholar-officials were always inept at external struggles but experts at internal strife. That’s why, as soon as John Harrison transmigrated here, he found that the three paragons of anti-Jin resistance whose names appeared in history textbooks—Ethan Brooks had been killed by himself, Abraham Thompson had been driven away by himself, and Andrew Bennett had been abandoned by himself.

Just based on these things, it could only be said that the original owner of this body definitely had something to him.

“Is that so?”

With mixed feelings, John Harrison forced himself to keep a stern face as he swept his gaze over the five key figures in the room—his five barriers since his transmigration... He saw Chief Attendant of the Palace Secretariat Henry Carter in a panic; Grand Chancellor Thomas Howard stunned and at a loss; Prime Minister Robert Warren silent; Commander of the Imperial Army Edward King glancing around; only Charles YoungAndrew Young remained calm, standing at attention with his hand on his sword.

Of course, Charles Young, as the only sword-bearing man in the room, had just switched sides, and together with Matthew Lewis standing outside the hall, it was precisely these two that gave this Mr. Harrison the confidence to abandon the recently popular cautious approach and instead take a bold gamble.

“Exactly so!” Henry Carter hurriedly replied again, and, disregarding everything, stomped heavily on the ground.

At this, the two chief ministers and the commander also came to their senses, bowing their heads in agreement, united as one. The absurdity was that the reason these people could unite was precisely because they had all once been James Harrison’s trusted aides.

“Then let’s set aside the matter of recalling Minister Li for now!” John Harrison watched coldly for a long while, then suddenly smiled. “I want to recall Deputy Marshal Zong... Governor Bennett was Deputy Marshal of the Grand Marshal’s Office in Hebei, and his contribution to my enthronement is no less than yours. He has always been close to and respected by me. He’s in Tokyo, we’re in Bozhou, only three hundred li apart—he could be here in ten days. What do you think?”

Henry Carter and the others’ expressions changed again—Andrew Bennett, on the surface, came from the same Grand Marshal’s Office as they did, but that old man was even more stubborn and unyielding than Abraham Thompson. If he really came, wouldn’t there be another storm of blood?

But this time, they couldn’t use the previous excuses to brush it off, and the intentions this Mr. Harrison had shown in today’s surprise move truly made these key ministers of the temporary court tremble with fear.