I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 91: Dismissal, something happened in Qizhou (4k)

In the vertical arch hall.

Ouyang Xiu strode out, cupped his hands and said: "The officials and ministers are waiting outside the palace to stop all the ministers. I just want to ask, which of the laws and regulations of my Song Dynasty is in line with the sudden granting of Zhang Meiren and her family?"

"Ouyang Xiu, are you questioning the officials?" Xia Song glared.

"As Taiwan remonstrators, it is your duty to correct the excessive punishment and reward system. Xia Shu Xiangxiu wants to accuse Xia Song!" Ouyang Xiu faced Xia Song without any fear.

At this time, Chen Zhizhong couldn't help but speak.

"Uncle Yong, the officials and we all know what the four of you think. But this move is reasonable, reasonable, and what the people want. Aren't these enough?"

At this time, Zuo Sijian He Tan couldn't help but stand up.

"Vice Prime Minister Chen, you are really considering things right and wrong! Which comes first, the will of the people, or the laws and regulations of the Song Dynasty? Besides, is this the will of the people of Bianjing? Can you prove it?"

The person in the palace who was most familiar with the laws of punishment and rewards of the Song Dynasty was He Tan.

His words made Chen Zhizhong choke.

At this time, Prime Minister Du Yan stood up and explained: "You can't believe everything the people say, but you can't disbelieve it either. I have promoted Zhang Meiren to a higher position. If she gives birth to a dragon for the official family next year, everything will be worth it." As a remonstrating officer, you should first consider the holy will. Don’t make it difficult for officials to step down just for the sake of your own reputation. This is not what a wise minister would do!"

Hearing this, Su Liang felt that Du Yan was getting older and felt the generation gap.

This group of older generation ministers especially believe in destiny and those inexplicable folk rumors.

Such deep-rooted pedantic values ​​cannot be persuaded by reasoning at all.

What Su Liang and others really want to fight for is the rules.

If everyone can use public opinion to influence the political opinions of the court, then the court in the future may be full of chaos.

Tang Jie's chest puffed up.

"Prime Minister Du, do you really think so? If you think so, why don't you suggest that the official family promote other concubines instead of rewarding Zhang Meiren? The official family favors only one person, but no one in Zhongshu dares to speak out. This is considered dereliction of duty? "

"You agree with this matter, but you are just trying to make the officials happy, and then try your luck to see if you can live long enough and be a minister of the dragon, and pave the way for the career of your children and grandchildren. This is a small point. Who can’t see your thoughts?”

Tang Jie is best at telling the truth.

These words pierced everyone's heart at once.

Suddenly, the hall became quiet.

At this time, Su Liang came out.

"The officials and ministers do not want to interfere with the affairs of the harem, but this matter is very strange. Folk rumors are coming quickly and quickly. I suspect that someone is secretly manipulating public opinion. If the officials really grant the gift, they will easily fall into the trap of others. .”

Su Liang told what he doubted most.

Xia Song smiled coldly and said: "Su Liang, you don't always have conspiracy theories about everything. There are millions of people in Bianjing City. Who can control the public opinion? There is a certain truth in what the people say. The four of you are ignorant of the general situation. I don’t know justice!”

At the same time, Chen Zhizhong stood up angrily and looked at Su Liang.

"If the official family has not given birth to a son because of your obstruction, can you bear this responsibility? Nothing in our court is as important as the official family having a son. Even if there is a slight possibility of this matter, we as ministers must Choose to believe instead of using the so-called Song Dynasty law to prove your selflessness, the interests of the official family are above all else!"

Chen Zhizhong's words can be said to be the interpretation of the word "charming" to the extreme.

"Vice Minister Chen, if you say that, I think it would be better to let the official marry a few more concubines, which would increase the probability!" Ouyang Xiu retorted immediately.

"enough!"

Zhao Zhen slapped the imperial case again, his eyes full of anger.

Even an ordinary man would feel depressed if he was talked about not being able to have a son.

What's more, it's still the current official family.

Zhao Zhen slowed down and said: "I have long wanted to bestow Zhang Meiren. As for Zhang Yaozuo, as Zhang Meiren's uncle, I think it is understandable for him to take some shortcuts by relying on his status as a relative. Besides, he is not without ability. There are still people in the court. There are a large number of benevolent officials, so it can’t be considered a violation of the law!”

After saying that, Zhao Zhen looked around and found that the only person standing around was Chen Zhizhong, an official of Enyin.

At this moment, Chen Zhizhong's heart was bleeding.

He had just spoken so hard for the official, but he didn't expect that the official stabbed him by mistake.

Zhao Zhen continued: "What Su Liang said is indeed a certain possibility. I will let the Imperial City Secretary know more about it and make sure it is correct before granting it. Let's leave it as it is. There is no need to discuss it further!"

There were only four opponents in the entire court, so Zhao Zhen naturally would not compromise.

at this time.

The waiter at the door came to report that Wang Gongchen asked to see him.

"Let him come in!" Zhao Zhen said.

Immediately, Wang Gongchen strode into the hall, holding a paper umbrella with various strips of cloth in his hand.

Wang Gongchen said with a smile on his face: "Guanjia, when I passed Xuande Gate, I saw some people making a prayer umbrella for the Guanjia. This was a good sign, so I brought it in!"

"There are a total of 120 cloth strips on this umbrella, all of which were cut by the common people from their own baby boy's clothes. The common people hope that the official family can get a baby boy..."

Hearing this, Zhao Zhen couldn't help but smile.

He took the prayer umbrella and said with a smile: "I know that people are kind-hearted, how can they bully me!"

Xia Song and others couldn't help but feel overjoyed that the matter was finally done.

Zhao Zhen sat back on the throne and said: "Prime Minister Du, Zhongshu, go and draft the imperial edict. Zhang Meiren is promoted to a noble concubine, her brother Zhang Huaji is promoted to the observer of Mizhou, and Zhang Yaozuo is awarded the title of bachelor of Duanming Palace."

A prayer umbrella coaxed Zhao Zhen into forgetting to send the Imperial City Secretary to check the authenticity of public opinion.

Su Liang wanted to remonstrate again, but was stopped by Tang Jie. Ouyang Xiu and He Tan on the side also shook their heads helplessly.

How could four people fight against the entire court?

At this moment, Su Liang missed Bao Zheng especially.

If Bao Zheng still knew about Jian Yuan, he would definitely have a different way to fight.

Even if they spit on him again, the officials can do nothing.

at this time.

The chamberlain at the door came again to report that Bao Xiren, a bachelor of Longtuge and a powerful acquaintance of Kaifeng Mansion, requested an audience.

Su Liang had an intuition that maybe things would turn around.

Zhao Zhen immediately brought Bao Zheng in.

Bao Zheng looked forward, cupped his hands and said, "Guan Family, there have been widespread rumors recently about officials having children, and many people have made suggestions that the status of Zhang Meiren and her family should be improved."

"I suspect that someone is deliberately guiding public opinion. After some research, I found that there is indeed a group of people secretly fabricating public opinion. These people gather on the streets, teahouses, and wine shops, and spread public opinion to the streets and alleys, making it known to everyone. Many people were bewitched by them."

"Just in the afternoon, I caught three ringleaders. After interrogation, I learned that the instigator behind these people was Zhang Yaozuo, the judge of the Third Division of Household Affairs. In addition to organizing people to praise Zhang Meiren, Zhang Yaozuo also maliciously attacked Empress Cao, saying that she had not seen her for many years. If you give birth to a son, you should be dismissed..."

Bao Zheng's voice echoed in Chui Gong Hall.

The logic is clear and well-founded.

This so-called public opinion is actually a vicious event manipulated by humans.

Du Yan and others were a little dumbfounded.

They were all used by Zhang Yaozuo.

Su Liang and the others were overjoyed, but they did not expect that Bao Zheng could reverse the matter by himself.

Bao Zheng is really Zhang Yaozuo's nemesis.

"I haven't inquired about some specific details yet. I plan to call Zhang Yaozuo to Kaifeng Mansion tomorrow to ask for the official's permission!"

Zhao Zhen's face was ashen and he said: That's right, we must get to the bottom of it and we will never tolerate it! "

Any emperor would hate the behavior of someone controlling public opinion.

After saying that, Zhao Zhen rolled up his sleeves and left.

……

Early the next morning.

Zhao Zhen then issued an order to deprive Zhang Meiren's mother, Cao, of her title as Mrs. Qinghe County.

Zhang Yaozuo was directly summoned to Kaifeng Mansion.

Bao Zheng's investigation speed was extremely fast, and he found everything in less than three days.Those public opinions were completely forged by Zhang Yaozuo.

He cultivated a group of writers who specialized in spreading various rumors.

In addition to slandering Queen Cao, Ouyang Xiu, Bao Zheng, and Su Liang were also involved in rumors.

They scolded Ouyang Xiu for his lack of personal ethics and his disorderly conduct. It was common for him to stay in a brothel at night.

They claimed that during his mission to Liao, Bao Zheng intended to provoke a war between Song and Liao, and was disloyal.

And the slander against Su Liang is even more interesting.

They claimed that Su Liang had an illegitimate child with a singing prostitute in Bianjing City, and he also had two concubines in Qizhou.

The names of singers, concubines, and illegitimate children were all invented.

This kind of gossip often spreads the fastest.

It's hard to explain that three people become tigers.

Moreover, the cost of spreading rumors and falsely accusing others is too low.

Three more days later, Zhang Yaozuo's case was completely closed.

Zhao Zhen demoted Zhang Yaozuo to Jizhou on Jiangnan West Road as a general judge. It is estimated that he will never come back within two or three years.

It is said that Zhang Meiren was also scolded by Zhao Zhen that night.

The Kaifeng Mansion also began to strictly investigate public opinions and rumors.

……

It's late on the tenth day of May.

When Su Liang returned home, he saw eight dishes and one soup on the dining table.

In the past, it was all four dishes and one soup.

"Mei'er, is there any happy event in our family? There are four more dishes tonight!" Su Liang asked with a smile on Tang Wanmei, who was walking over.

Tang Wanmei smiled and touched her belly.

Su Liang was stunned for a moment, then asked: "Really...really?"

Tang Wanmei nodded heavily.

Su Liang couldn't help being ecstatic, rushed over and picked up Tang Wanmei. After spinning around three times, he placed Tang Wanmei on the chair.

"I...I want to write a letter to my father-in-law quickly. I, Su Liang, will finally have a baby!" Su Liang said excitedly.

Tang Wanmei gave Su Liang a small roll of her eyes and said, "Eat first, and it's not too late to write after eating."

"Hmm." Su Liang sat at the dining table. As soon as he took the chopsticks handed over by Tang Wanmei, he couldn't help but ask: "Is it accurate? How...how many months has it been?"

"Exactly! I've been looking for Dr. Liu from the south of the city to see it for more than two months. I thought it might be there a few days ago, but I wasn't sure, so I didn't tell you." Tang Wanmei said with a smile.

Su Liang smiled stupidly.

At this moment, he suddenly realized Zhao Zhen's eagerness to have a son.

……

May [-]th, afternoon.

Su Liang was reading the Di newspaper when a piece of news suddenly came.

Something happened in Qizhou!
Nearly [-]% of the officials and subordinate staff in Qizhou gathered in front of the Qizhou government office and announced their dismissal from office.

Qizhou's state and county offices are almost at a standstill, and Wang Anshi and Sima Guang are doing their best to maintain the situation.

This news immediately stunned Su Liang.

He thought about various problems that might arise in Qizhou.

For example: Wang Anshi and Sima Guang had different opinions and irreconcilable conflicts occurred; Qizhou gentry did not cooperate with various actions of Qizhou government offices; Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were unable to suppress the evil folk forces in Qizhou...

But he didn't expect that the officials and subordinates in Qizhou would give up their jobs first.

Since Wang Anshi and Sima Guang went to Qizhou, they reported the situation to the court once or twice in January.

Su Liang also read their memorials.

After the two arrived in Qizhou, Qizhou started the autonomous mode.

The first measure the two took was to curb land annexation.

They remeasured the land and divided the number of fields into different levels. The more fields, the higher the taxes. This caused many wealthy landowners to start selling their land.

at the same time.

In order to take care of the interests of wealthy landlords, Qizhou lowered business taxes and provided various HP conditions, attracting many wealthy people to do business.

Considering that the tenants had no money, Wang Anshi started his young crops method in advance.

Use young crop money to help tenant farmers transform into own farmers.

He had done this in Yinxian County.

"Lend the grain to the people and repay it with interest, so that new and old items can be exchanged, and the people of the town can benefit from it."

To put it bluntly, young crop money is a low-interest loan from the government.

This kind of loan is much cheaper than private loan. Households can rely on young people's money to survive the lean years and avoid exploitation by the landlord class.

The government can also receive a certain amount of interest, which is called: both the government and the people benefit.

There have been no problems with this measure so far.

This lending method is not original to Wang Anshi.

Wang Mang of the new dynasty had done it earlier, and the interest rate was much higher than the interest rate set by Wang Anshi.

In addition, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang also took many government officials to open up wasteland and cultivate fields in person...

at the same time.

In terms of private schools, the two encouraged school-age children to enroll in school, and renovated state and county schools. At the end of March, the imperial court also shipped nearly [-] books to Qizhou.

Let the people have land to farm and books to read.

There is nothing wrong with these two things.

……

Su Liang thought about it carefully and suddenly understood the main reason why Qizhou officials and subordinates dismissed their posts.

Go big!

Suppress land annexation, encourage business, set up schools, use young crop money to help tenant farmers transform into self-cultivators, and reclaim wasteland...

In these short three or four months, too much has been done.

Wang Anshi and Sima Guang can bear it, but other officials and subordinates may not be able to bear it.

Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were highly motivated and wanted to make some achievements for the world to see.

But those lower-level officials, especially subordinates.

Their monthly salary is only a few dollars, and they are not willing to work hard.

It's like two tigers chasing a group of ducks and running away.

Of course the duck couldn't stand it.

The two of them are still too young and want to make it happen overnight.

The shutdown of government offices has caused great harm.

There will be sudden chaos among the people, and it is very likely that looting, theft, and fights will occur on a large scale.

It will even quickly overturn everything Wang Anshi and Sima Guang are doing at the moment.This matter must be dealt with quickly, otherwise it will lead to catastrophe.

(End of this chapter)