Qian Song

...

To be fair, Wang Fu is actually pretty good at making money.

It's just that Wang Fu never considered long-term stability, and often put his hand into the pockets of the poor to pay for it. The simple and rude methods made the people's lives difficult.

The most typical example is Wang Fu's free husband's money.

Immediate results are indeed immediate results. In a short period of time, Zhao Ji got tens of millions of money.

That is, Wang Fu's disregard of his head and his tail has hurt the common people.

Cai Jing is also very good at making money.

However, unlike Wang Fu, Cai Jing mainly obtained money from the rich and businessmen through ingenious means, and seldom touched the three melons and dates of the poor.

At the beginning, after Wang Fu got out the Jingfu house, Cai Jing went into the palace and said to Zhao Ji: "The old minister heard that the court has set up a Jingfu house, and all the people in the world, rich or poor, have to pay husband-free money. The old minister is stupid. See, this is the way of severing oneself from the people, not the way of governing the country, and it will damage the image of the sages of the officials. For the sake of the Great Song Dynasty."

After Zhao Ji listened, he remained silent.

In fact, Zhao Ji already knew at that time that in order to complete the tasks assigned by Wang Fu and gain political achievements, officials in many places forced the people to pay by any means, causing complaints from the people.

In other words, Zhao Ji has long known that expropriating husband's money is a policy that harms the people.

But at that time, the deal was done, and it was impossible for Zhao Ji to correct himself.

The key point is that because the Zhao and Song Dynasties successively launched the two national wars of encircling and suppressing the Li Cun and Fang La uprisings and the Lianjin Liao and Liao recovery of Yanyun sixteen prefectures, the cost was huge.

The key point is that the largest piece of fiscal revenue of the Zhao Song Dynasty has been occupied by Li Cun.

In addition, from Zhao Ji down, the monarchs and ministers of the Zhao and Song Dynasties spent a lot of money and corrupted.

In addition, the Zhao Song Dynasty gave this year's coin and that year's coin at every turn.

This caused a very serious financial crisis in the Zhao and Song Dynasties, so serious that the military salaries of the frontline soldiers could not be guaranteed.

In order to solve this increasingly serious financial crisis, Zhao Ji issued an edict to Cai You, Bai Shizhong, and Li Bangyan, ordering them to find a solution quickly.

Cai You, Bai Shizhong, Li Bangyan and others have been fiddled with for a long time, but they just cut off some unnecessary items and unknown expenses, not to mention the basics, and they can't even cure the symptoms.

Seeing that Cai You and the others had only this ability, Zhao Ji gave up the idea of ​​making Cai You the prime minister.

——Before, Zhao Ji had intended to make Cai You the prime minister, but as soon as Zhao Ji leaked this extremely stupid idea, he was opposed by almost everyone. Some people even bluntly said in front of Zhao Ji, "How can Cai Liu be a prime minister?" ?!"

Seeing that almost everyone opposed Cai You's appointment as prime minister, Zhao Ji had no choice but to order Cai You to lose his ax and still lead the Privy Council.

Dazai Bai Shizhong and Shaozai Li Bangyan also had no way to solve the actual difficulties of the Zhao Song Dynasty.

Let's put it this way, the combination of Cai You, Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan is not as good as Wang Fu.

At the same time, rebels and thieves swarmed up Hebei Road and Jingdong Road, and even several large rebels with tens of thousands of horses appeared.

Cai Jing's party members took this opportunity to yell in the court, saying that Shizhong and Li Bangyan were not capable enough, and their reputation was not enough.

Ever since Cai Jing took office for the third time, the Zhao Song Dynasty has actually been out of control, and the performance is not satisfactory everywhere.

The point is that the Zhao Song Dynasty is now facing internal and external troubles, and it seems to be on the verge of extinction.

Zhao Ji also hopes that Cai Jing, who once helped him create the heyday, can help the building to turn the tide and turn the tide.

So Zhao Ji wrote an edict to Cai Jing: "I hold the power and take advantage of it, use the right way to do things, and make meritorious deeds. The responsibility lies with the ministers. Over the past few years, I have been wronged by others, and the government has lost its power. I am obviously afraid Read the Mo Xun of my Lie Kao, repair and reform the evils, and the generals will follow them, and they will be close to Bi, and they will be discussed. , that is, Anli Luxian, his words and deeds still depend on Yan. "Book" does not say: "If you ask Huang, you will lose your fault." Don't work hard, to call me the beauty of the noble, greedy and virtuous."

In this way, Cai Jingguan returned to his original post and served as the prime minister of the Zhao Song Dynasty for the fourth time, and once again stepped onto the political stage of the Zhao Song Dynasty.

When Cai Jing became prime minister for the first time, Cai Jing was 56 years old and Zhao Ji was 21 years old.

At that time, the Zhao Song Dynasty was facing the mess left by Wang Anshi's reform. The new party and the old party were fighting fiercely over whether to continue the reform. It can be said that the two factions almost lost the Zhao Song Dynasty at that time.

At that time, Zhao Ji had just taken power and wanted to do something.

Therefore, Zhao Ji resolutely chose the road of reform taken by his father and brother, and chose Cai Jing, the most vocal reformist at that time, as prime minister.

Cai Jing was overwhelmed with gratitude for Zhao Ji's kindness, and determined to repay it with his death.

Therefore, after Cai Jing came to power, he quickly set off a vigorous upsurge of the Chongning Reform, and the Zhao Song Dynasty soon took on a new look.

But Cai Jing's political style is tough, sometimes even aggressive.

This made Zhao Ji feel very uncomfortable.

Zhao Ji began to suspect that Cai Jing had a tendency to be authoritarian.

Some ministers were also dissatisfied with Cai Jing's strength, but they couldn't find an opportunity to attack Cai Jing.

Until the first month of the fifth year of Chongning, a comet suddenly appeared in the western sky.

The comet's tail was very long, straddling the sky, and every night it illuminated the windows of the imperial city palace.

Some ministers, led by Zhao Mingcheng's father Zhao Tingzhi and Zhongshu's servant Liu Kui, took the opportunity to write a letter saying that there were deficiencies in the imperial court's policies, and God issued a warning.

Liu Kui even took the opportunity to persuade Zhao Ji to destroy the Yuanyou Party Monument that Cai Jing erected in order to end the disaster of party struggle that had spread for decades, and stop Cai Jing's reform measures, saying that the sky would be normal and the world would be peaceful.

Zhao Ji adopted Liu Kui's suggestion. At midnight one day, he sent a group of eunuchs to Wende Hall to destroy all the stone carvings on the east wall.

When he went to court the next morning, Cai Jing suddenly found that the stone carvings had been destroyed, and said sharply, "Stones can be destroyed, but names can't be destroyed!"

Cai Jing's fierce confrontational attitude made Zhao Ji really intolerable.

In February, Cai Jing was dismissed by Zhao Ji and served as an envoy of Zhongtaiyi Palace and stayed in the capital.

Later, Zhao Tingzhi was appointed as You Servant, and Liu Kui continued to be the Minister of Zhongshu. The two of them worked closely together to abolish all the reforms carried out by Cai Jing.

This caused another big shock inside and outside the Zhao Song court.

At that time, the theory of "three musts" began to be widely circulated in society at that time, that is, "laws cannot be changed, Liu Kui cannot be used, and Cai Jing must not be abandoned."

A few days later, the comet disappeared.

Zhao Ji was very dissatisfied with the governance measures of Zhao Tingzhi and Liu Kui, two idiots, and began to regret the removal of Cai Jing.

Nine months later, Zhao Ji made Cai Jing reunite.

The second time, after Cai Jing served as prime minister for less than four years, Zhao Ji read that Tong Guan had made outstanding military achievements in Kaibian in the northwest, and issued an edict to grant Tong Guan the third division of Kaifu Yitong.

Kaifu Yitong Sansi is an honorary title that shows the emperor's grace and high social status.

Cai Jing resolutely opposed this edict and refused to implement it. He said angrily: "The minister is the commander in chief, and it is not a matter of prosperity. It is too much for an eunuch to be a military envoy. How can he be envoy again?"

Zhao Ji once again felt that his imperial power was challenged by Cai Jing.

Tong Guanwen was also very angry after hearing this. He secretly contacted the censor Zhongcheng Shi Gongbi, the censor Zhang Kegong and other ministers to impeach Cai Jing.

Tong Guan also encouraged Guo Tianxin to enter the palace and said to Zhao Ji: "There are sunspots in the sun, the Lord is repelling the ministers, otherwise it will be unknown."

Zhao Ji took advantage of the situation and drove Cai Jing down from the position of prime minister.

Although Cai Jing's previous two dismissals had different backgrounds, they had one thing in common, that is, they were all due to "heavenly changes."

The ancients believed that the occurrence of changes in the sky meant that the government was lacking, and the prime minister who was in charge of the government should take responsibility, either directly dismissed or resigned.

In fact, this is just an excuse for the political struggle of the Zhao and Song courts.

Cai Jing was dismissed twice, the essential reason is actually the same, it is Cai Jing offended Zhao Ji's imperial power with the power of prime minister.

Since Song Shenzong, the political arena of the Zhao Song Dynasty has formed a situation where all rights belong to the emperor.

Cai Jing openly challenged this situation, how could Zhao Ji tolerate it?

When he was young, Zhao Ji was actually very politically savvy, and he was very good at using political skills. He wanted to firmly control the final decision-making power, and he wanted to play with the ministers.

Wang Fuzhi of the Ming Dynasty said that Cai Jing was not a powerful minister at all, he was just a jester.

In fact, what Wang Fuzhi said was wrong. Cai Jing is neither a minister of power nor a jester—he neither intends to hijack the imperial power to monopolize the court, nor does he concentrate on pursuing the emperor's favor and flirting. world.

This is the consistent dream and pursuit of Confucian intellectuals in the feudal era.

But Zhao Ji didn't think so.

Zhao Ji believes that Xiangquan serves the imperial power, and Xiangquan cannot fight against the imperial power.

Therefore, Zhao Ji should not only use Cai Jing's talent to serve himself, but also attack Cai Jing's arrogance at the right time, and show him some color.

The essence of attacking Cai Jing is to attack the prime minister controlled by Cai Jing, and the purpose is to show the supreme authority of the imperial power to the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty.

That is to say, the emperor can give you a high official and generous salary, or make you nothing, or even ruin your reputation and ruin your family.

After being beaten twice by Zhao Ji, Cai Jing finally understood that Xiangquan was only a vassal of the imperial power in the eyes of the emperor, and the object he wanted to serve was not the Song Dynasty at all, but the Song Emperor Zhao Ji.

The impeachment of Cai Jing did not stop because Cai Jing was dismissed for the second time - at that time, memorials were still being sent to Zhao Ji's imperial case.

A Tai student named Chen Chaolao even went to the palace to submit a letter, catching wind and shadows, and putting it online, specifically listing Cai Jing's so-called fourteen crimes.

Later, comets visited the sky again.

There was no rain in Jiang, Huai, Jing, Zhejiang and other regions for several months, and drought prevailed everywhere.

The admonishing ministers of the DPRK, China and Taiwan pointed their finger at Cai Jing one after another, saying that "Cai Jing circled the capital, and the aftermath shook all the officials", and asked Zhao Ji to expel Cai Jing from the capital.

As a result, Cai Jing was demoted to Prince Shaobao, but he remained in office and lived in Hangzhou.

At the same time, Zhao Ji issued an edict that ministers were not allowed to continue to impeach Cai Jing.

Regarding the impeachment, Cai Jing no longer cared about it at that time. He said: "It is reasonable to do things, and it is not enough to be afraid of talking too much!"

That year, Cai Jing was 64 years old.

If Cai Jing had withdrawn from the political arena since then and spent his life in Hangzhou, then he might not have been listed as the head of the "Six Thieves" by the imperial student Chen Dong, and he would not be that image in "Water Margin". It will not become a scapegoat for the demise of the Zhao Song Dynasty.

But Cai Jing promised that Zhao Ji would die in return, and he wanted to fulfill his promise.

Therefore, if Zhao Ji needs him, he will gladly come back.

Three years later, Tong Guan, who led an army in the northwest to recover the Qingtang area and defeated Xixia steadily, became ambitious with the idea of ​​recovering the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun.

However, the prime ministers at that time, He Zhizhong and Zhang Shangying, were simply unable to support Tong Guan's idea of ​​recovering Yanyun sixteen prefectures.

In Tong Guan's view, only Cai Jing has the ability to let him give it a go.

Therefore, after returning from his envoy to Liao, Tong Guan said to Zhao Ji: "The emperor of Liao put wine in a secret room, and hosted a banquet for his ministers alone. There were two wives at the same table. During the period, the emperor of Liao highly praised Cai Jingde Wang, saying: Without Cai Jing, peace cannot be achieved. ""

After three years of comparison, Zhao Ji certainly knew that the talents of He Zhizhong and Zhang Shangying were far from being comparable to Cai Jing.

Now that Yelu Yanxi said this again, Zhao Ji fell into deep thought.

Soon, Cai Jing, who was recuperating in Hangzhou, suddenly received an imperial edict from Zhao Ji, asking him to return to live in Beijing.

A few months later, Zhao Ji formally decreed that Cai Jing be granted the title of Taishi, Cai Jing was dismissed from office, and Cai Jing became prime minister for the third time.

Cai Jing served as prime minister this time for nine years.

The reason why Cai Jing was able to be prime minister for so long this time is mainly because Cai Jing understood the way to get along with Zhao Ji:
That is, we must always remember that Zhao Ji's imperial power is supreme and cannot be challenged;
That is, to give Zhao Ji a lot of money for Zhao Ji to squander;
That is, only by satisfying Zhao Ji's extravagant heart can he display his political ambitions.

These nine years were the most glorious period in Cai Jing's life, and also the most glorious period of Song Huizong's dynasty, and it can even be said to be the most prosperous period of the entire Zhao Song Dynasty.

And Cai Jing's third dismissal was related to the strategy of uniting Jin to destroy Liao and recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun.

When Zhao Ji first started the strategy of uniting Jin to destroy Liao and recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, Cai Jing strongly agreed with and actively promoted it.

But then Cai Jing's attitude changed.

This is mainly because, in the later period of Cai Jing's administration, Cai Jing, who knew the Zhao Song Dynasty well, knew clearly that the Zhao Song Dynasty, which seemed to have infinite glory on the surface, was actually empty, and there was no preparation for a national war on the border. He felt that the plan to recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun was unlikely to succeed. Taking a step back, even if the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun were successfully acquired, the current national strength of the Zhao Song Dynasty would not be able to support the consumption of the Yanyun area.

Once, Zhao Ji had a banquet during the ban, and everyone went boating together after drinking.

Zhao Ji suddenly sent a piece of paper to Tong Guan, asking him to tell Cai Jing, please express your opinion on the matter of Lianjin destroying Liao and recovering the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, and if you agree, sign the piece of paper.

Cai Jing was very surprised, and refused to sign on the spot. He said: "It is difficult to give the title of the book."

Zhao Ji was very disappointed with Cai Jing's stubbornness, so he replaced Cai Jing with Wang Fu, who supported Lian Jin to destroy Liao and recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun.

Unexpectedly, four years later, when the plan of uniting the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty and recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun was implemented in a mess, Cai Jing was invited by Zhao Ji to serve as the prime minister of the Zhao Song Dynasty for the fourth time.

But Cai Jing at this time was already eighty years old, blind and unable to read, and unable to bow down.

Now, for all the documents that need to be signed by Cai Jing, Cai Jing asks his youngest son Cai Tao to do it, and even the performance of the court is replaced by Cai Tao.

In other words, the position of Prime Minister of the Zhao Song Dynasty at this time was not so much in the hands of Cai Jing, but rather in the hands of Cai Jing's third son, Cai Xian, who was only 27 years old...

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