Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 102 Acting
Xuande Gate is the main gate of the imperial palace. At this moment, in the square outside Xuande Gate, nearly a hundred young men dressed as scholars were sitting on the ground on both sides of the imperial road.

Not noisy, very quiet.

When Zhao Xing saw this scene, a sneer appeared on his face.

These scholars came to sit quietly at the palace gate and plead for Feng Deguang, but it was only for their own benefit.

The Imperial Academy was the highest institution of learning in the Song Dynasty. Except for the children of officials who entered the university due to their family background, the rest of the students were either recommended by local schools or failed the imperial examinations but ranked high.

Almost all the children of officials will be granted titles in the future, and the rest of the students who can enter the Imperial Academy are also talented and knowledgeable.

It can be said that most of those people sitting quietly at the palace gate will become officials in the future.

They pleaded for Feng Deguang for their own benefit.

Zhao Xing lowered the curtains and the carriage entered the palace gate.

After entering the palace, Zhao Xing got off the car and changed to a sedan chair, heading towards Longtu Pavilion.

……

Inside the Longtu Pavilion, the emperor held the imperial brush for a long time without putting it down. Then he simply put the brush down and sighed in annoyance.

"Forget it, forget it. Issue an imperial decree. Feng Deguang will be exiled to Lingnan, and all his family members will be sent to the Jiaofangsi." said the emperor.

After the court was dismissed yesterday, Prime Minister Han and several other ministers came together to seek an audience and persuade the emperor. The emperor was already somewhat shaken.

Upon learning that students from the Imperial College had come to the palace gate to sit in silence early this morning, the emperor hesitated for a while, but ultimately decided to spare Feng Deguang's life.

Guan Jia was naturally soft-hearted. Influenced by Confucianism since childhood, he aspired to be a sage king.

The reason why he wanted to kill Feng Deguang was that he was angry about what Feng Deguang had done.

At this point, his anger had subsided a little, and with so many people opposing him, he had no choice but to compromise.

Upon hearing this, the Shujishi on duty in the Hanlin Academy hurriedly drafted an imperial edict in accordance with the emperor's wishes and handed it to the emperor for review.

As the emperor was watching, a eunuch came in and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince requests an audience!"

"Let him in." The official waved his hand.

Upon hearing this, the eunuch bowed and left. After a while, Zhao Xing walked in.

"Your son greets you, father!" Zhao Xing bowed.

"No need to be polite!" The emperor smiled and said, "Please sit down and wait. I will talk to you after I finish the things I have on hand."

"Father, I have something important to discuss with you alone," said Zhao Xing.

The emperor hesitated for a moment after hearing this and asked everyone in the hall to leave.

"Tell me, what's the matter?" asked the official.

"How does your Majesty plan to deal with the matter of Feng Deguang?" Zhao Xing asked.

"The officials in the court and the students of the Imperial Academy have all pleaded for him, so I intend to spare his life," said the emperor.

"Father, I feel that we cannot forgive you." Zhao Xing shook his head and said, "This matter is no longer about how to deal with Feng Deguang, but about maintaining the dignity of the royal family. Your Majesty, please make an order. If we compromise just because the officials and students of the Imperial Academy do not agree, what dignity will the royal family have?"

The emperor fell silent upon hearing this. He naturally knew that this matter concerned the royal dignity, otherwise he would not have hesitated for so long. When so many people opposed it during the morning court yesterday, he just agreed directly.

"It's not wrong for your Majesty to want to rule the world together with the literati, but you can't let the literati override the imperial power. If your Majesty compromises today, anything that goes against the wishes of the civil servants will be done the same way as today. If so, what is your position as an official like a puppet or a traitor? Your Majesty, Feng Deguang must die, so that the people of the world will know that the Song Dynasty has the surname Zhao!" Zhao Xing said in a resounding voice.

He scoffed at the theory of governing the world together with the literati.

Didn’t the Wei and Jin dynasties rule the world together with the scholar-officials?
It is not to say that Zhao Xing excluded literati and officials. Many famous officials have emerged since ancient times. Even when aristocratic families monopolized the officialdom in the past, there were many who were dedicated to the country.

But they are only a minority after all, and most people still have selfish motives. If the civil officials are too powerful, they will inevitably fight for power and profit, which will not only be detrimental to the country, but will also lead to great restrictions on the imperial power.

Some people may say that imperial power is bound to be subject to certain limitations.

Zhao Xing also agreed with this point. However, this restriction meant that there should be certain checks and balances so that the emperor could not do whatever he wanted.

But in reality, when the civil officials were powerful, they used various means and rules to limit the imperial power just to allow them to have greater power.

This kind of restriction is meaningless. A truly wise ruler does not need restrictions, but a foolish ruler cannot be restricted.

On the contrary, some mediocre emperors were almost turned into puppets by them due to various reasons.

But you definitely can't say this when trying to persuade your father.

The emperor was shocked when he heard this, and said in a deep voice: "I have reached the age of knowing my destiny, but I am not as clear as Fu'er. You are right, Feng Deguang must die!"

What moved him was not the statement that the world should know that the Song Dynasty was named Zhao, but the fact that any civil servants who were not satisfied with their work would be like this in the future.

Although the official is kind-hearted and somewhat indecisive, he is not stupid.

Although many people have instilled some ideas into him over the years, even Zhao Xing knew that previous emperors had killed civil servants. How could he not know that there was no such thing as ancestral system?
It's just that the education he received since childhood had a profound influence on him, and his leniency towards civil servants was partly due to his personality, and on the other hand he also felt that this would allow the Zhao family to rule the country for thousands of years.

But he could never tolerate the emperor becoming a puppet.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Zhao Xing originally thought that his father would not be persuaded so easily, and thought of many ways to persuade him. Unexpectedly, his father was persuaded after just a few words.

The official pondered and said, "Feng Deguang must be killed, but Fu'er will have to be wronged for a while."

Although Zhao Xing did not understand what his father meant by "grievance", he still said, "As long as it can maintain the dignity of the royal family, I am willing to suffer a little."

"Yes." The official nodded slightly and shouted, "Someone come!"

"His Majesty!"

Eunuch Liu came in upon hearing the voice, bowed and waited for instructions.

"The prince is guilty of treason and has contradicted me. Drag him away and give him twenty lashes of the cane!" the emperor said angrily.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing looked at his father in disbelief. Could it be that his father was just pretending to have figured it out?

"His Majesty…"

Eunuch Liu was stunned when he heard this. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by the emperor, who shouted angrily, "What? Do you need me to say it again?"

"Yes!" Eunuch Liu didn't dare to say any more nonsense and quickly called two eunuchs in.

"I can walk by myself!" Zhao Xing said, looked at his father with disappointment, and walked out.

He had also realized by now that his father did this to protect him.

The emperor was hesitant before, but as soon as he entered the palace, he was determined to kill Feng Deguang.

Anyone who is not a fool can guess that this matter is related to Zhao Xing.

My father can start a killing spree, but he must never be influenced by him.

Otherwise, what would officials in the world think?
Although he was the only son of his father, it was impossible for court officials to support anyone else to take the throne.

However, he is still young after all, and if he shows too much murderous intent, it will not be good for his future.

His father punished him in front of the world, so that they would mistakenly believe that he came to plead for Feng Deguang.

This will inevitably leave the civil officials with the impression that the prince is benevolent.

(End of this chapter)