Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 25 Feeling of powerlessness

There was a very interesting rule in the Song Dynasty, which was that scholars and officials should not be killed.

There is even a story that Emperor Taizu erected an oath stele in the Taimiao, on which was engraved the oath that scholars and censors should not be killed. When subsequent emperors succeeded to the throne and went to the Taimiao to worship, they had to take an oath in front of the stele.

In fact, there is no consensus on whether there is a so-called oath monument.

But one thing is certain: the emperors of the Song Dynasty never said they would not kill the literati.

Everyone knows that Zhu Yuanzhang was very cruel when it came to killing corrupt officials, but the founding emperor also killed quite a few, with historical records showing that thousands of people were killed.

However, as the situation of emphasizing civil officials over military officials became more and more serious, civil officials became the only ones in power. In other dynasties, there were military generals, nobles, relatives of the emperor, and eunuchs to balance the forces.

There were no so-called checks and balances in the Song Dynasty. I don't know when the unspoken rule of not killing civil servants gradually formed.

If a civil servant violates the law, he will be fined at the very least, demoted in serious cases, and exiled in the worst case.

Zhu Yuanzhang's methods of punishing corruption were so harsh, yet there were still people who took risks. The Song Dynasty was so lenient that officials became even more unscrupulous.

If the Song Dynasty had punished corrupt officials very severely, even if there would still be corrupt people, it would not be like it is now, where the entire salt administration system is in cahoots with the emperor being completely unaware.

Moreover, Zhao Xing didn't believe that no one in the entire court had noticed the problem.

Judging from the fact that in the original drama, Zhao Zongquan wanted to thoroughly investigate the salt affairs, and almost all the civil and military officials in the court opposed it, many people in the court actually knew about it.

Of course, this doesn't mean that they were all involved.

These officials probably have their own interest chains, so even if they know, they won’t say it.

When Zhao Zongquan investigated the salt business, no matter whether they were in the interest chain or not, they would oppose it. After all, who knew whether the emperor would investigate other things after investigating the salt business.

Investigating the salt business is only the first step; the most important thing is the administration of officials.

If the problem cannot be solved fundamentally, even if it is thoroughly investigated, the problem will reappear in a few years.

Zhao Xing wanted to set up an organization similar to the Jinyiwei.

In the long run, the existence of such institutions will do more harm than good.

Such institutions are inherently difficult to restrict.

However, if we want to change the weak situation of the Song Dynasty, the internal problems must be solved. To solve the internal problems, an institution that monitors the world is indispensable.

However, if you want to establish such an institution, the resistance will inevitably be very great, and no one wants to have a sword hanging over their head that could fall at any time.

Zhao Xing still needs to consider carefully how to do it specifically.

While Zhao Xing was daydreaming, the carriage stopped at the palace gate. He got off the carriage, changed to a sedan chair, and walked all the way to Longtu Pavilion.

The emperor was reviewing memorials when he learned that Zhao Xing was coming. He put down his pen and asked someone to call him in.

"Your son greets you, father." Zhao Xing walked into the hall and bowed.

"Fuer, come and talk to your father."

The official waved his hand and said to Eunuch Liu, "Let them all go down."

"Yes!"

Eunuch Liu bowed and left the hall with the palace maids and eunuchs serving in the hall.

"Have you met Gu Erlang's grandfather? What did you talk about?" The emperor asked with a smile, pulling Zhao Xing to sit beside him.

Zhao Xing repeated what Old Master Bai said to his father and said angrily, "Father, these people deserve to be killed!"

After hearing this, the smile on the official's face disappeared, but he did not show much anger. He pondered for a while and asked, "He just told you so simply?"

Since the salt merchants obtained the salt permits, they could buy good salt of the same number as the salt permits at a low price, which shows that the Bai family was also involved in the private salt business.

Logically, it's not that easy to tell everything. "Father, don't you believe it?" Zhao Xing asked.

"No." The emperor shook his head and said, "I believe it, but I feel it's a little strange. Did you promise him something?"

"I didn't promise anything, but he put forward a condition, asking me to find out the cause of his daughter's death." Zhao Xing said.

That’s right, Old Master Bai’s condition was to ask Zhao Xing to help find out the cause of his daughter’s death, but he did not require Zhao Xing to do so.

"Is it that simple?" the official asked in surprise.

"I was a little puzzled at first, but after thinking about it carefully, I roughly understood. Mr. Bai had only one daughter, who had died a long time ago. Now he only has one grandson, Gu Tingye, and the family business will most likely be left to Gu Tingye. He should have guessed that the court wanted to investigate the salt affairs, so he did not hide it." Zhao Xing said.

When he went to see Old Master Bai, he had thought that Old Master Bai would weigh the pros and cons and would be unwilling to say more or fight for his own interests.

However, Old Master Bai had none of them, which surprised him.

Later, after thinking about it carefully, I realized how smart Old Master Bai was.

As he said, he is old and doesn't have many years left to live.

He only has one grandson, Gu Tingye. Even if he has to consider the pros and cons and interests, it is all for Gu Tingye.

Old Master Bai should have known from Gu Tingye that Zhao Xing values ​​him very much.

If he used this incident to gain benefits for Gu Tingye, not only would he not be able to help Gu Tingye, but he would harm Gu Tingye instead.

If his daughter's death had not become his obsession, he would not even have mentioned that condition.

After all, the conditions put forward at that time were somewhat threatening.

That's why he first told Zhao Xing what he wanted to know, and then put forward his own conditions at the end, without asking Zhao Xing to make any guarantees.

In other words, even though Zhao Xing agreed, it would be okay if he didn't do it.

"I understand."

The emperor nodded and said, "You can go back first. By the way, I have already told Eunuch Liu about sending someone to Yangzhou. You can ask him before you leave if he has chosen the person."

"Father, now that we have a clear understanding of the salt administration, how do you plan to deal with it?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Even if what he said is true, we should collect evidence secretly first and not alert the enemy. Fuer, you must remember that you must plan before you act. This matter involves many things, so don't be anxious. I will handle it. You just need to study hard now." The emperor smiled.

"Yes, I am resigning!"

Zhao Xing originally wanted to ask his father how he planned to deal with those officials, but it was too early to ask this question now, so he did not ask.

After leaving the palace, Eunuch Liu, who was waiting at the door, bowed hurriedly.

Zhao Xing stopped and said, "Eunuch Liu, my father asked you to select someone to go to Yangzhou. Have you chosen yet?"

"Your Highness, I have already made the selection. Since Your Highness has left the palace, he was not allowed to go. I will notify him to go and pay a visit to Your Highness soon." Eunuch Liu said hurriedly.

"Okay, I'll go to Yongning Palace now. Please send someone to find me in Yongning Palace." Zhao Xing said.

"Yes!" Eunuch Liu responded quickly.

……

Zhao Xing returned to Yongning Palace and sighed. The more he understood the situation of the Song Dynasty, the more powerless he felt.

The salt administration alone has such a big problem, so one can imagine that the problems in other areas are probably not minor either.

Fortunately, he has a father to support him. He can give him some advice and let him do it slowly.

Thanks to Mingyueyinggui for the monthly ticket support.

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(End of this chapter)