Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 27 Indecision
It has snowed for several days in a row and the Chinese New Year is only a few days away.

The school is finally on holiday and classes will resume after the Lantern Festival after the New Year.

However, Zhao Xing did not have complete leisure time, as he still had to attend etiquette classes every day.

After selection by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, the eighth day of March next year was found to be the best auspicious day in recent years, so the day for Zhao Xing to be crowned the crown prince was set on the eighth day of March in the seventh year of Tianyou.

Now, at most, there are less than four months left to the day of enthronement. Therefore, even though the New Year is coming soon, Zhao Xing has to study etiquette every day to prepare for the enthronement.

Zhao Xing had not asked about the salt business since he told his father and the Queen what Old Master Bai had said last time.

However, when they usually eat together, my father would tell him something.

According to what my father said, we are now collecting evidence.

Zhao Xing once asked his father whether he was planning to reform or reorganize the salt administration.

My father meant that the reform would involve too many issues, and this time he only planned to reorganize the salt business.

Moreover, only some important positions in charge of salt affairs were cleared out, and the rest were only planned to be punished by salary deductions and adjustment of official positions.

Zhao Xing was very dissatisfied with this rectification.

In his opinion, either don't do it, or if you do it, you have to do it drastically and solve it once and for all.

Of course, there are too many officials involved in the salt administration. Given the current situation, it is not realistic to severely punish all the officials involved.

The best way is to severely punish some officials as a deterrent, and then take the opportunity to reform the salt administration system.

The corruption of the salt administration was certainly due to the officials, but there must be problems with the system.

If we really follow the way my father handles it, the severity of the punishment that the Song Dynasty imposes on civil servants will not have any deterrent effect at all.

The system has not been reformed. The so-called rectification of the salt affairs can only make those corrupt officials restrain themselves for a short period of time. It will not be long before the situation will return to the same as before. It is completely meaningless.

But after Zhao Xing told his father about this, his father advised that stability should be the priority and that any drastic measures could easily lead to disaster.

Zhao Xing now realized that his father was indeed willing to reform and strengthen the country, but he had too many concerns and was indecisive.

Although he had previously suggested to his father that the reform should be carried out gradually, starting with the salt administration, his father also agreed.

But in his father's eyes, he was still a child, and Zhao Xing could not influence him on specific decisions.

The reason why my father told him all this was not to discuss with him or ask for his opinion, but just to teach him by example.

Zhao Xing had previously wanted his father to become a successful person, thinking that his father would gradually change some of the shortcomings within the court while he was in power, so that he would be able to have an easier time when he ascended the throne in the future. Now it seems that his dream was a bit wishful thinking.

No wonder the old saying goes that it is better to rely on yourself than on others. This cheap father is unreliable.

However, I am still young now. Even if I am appointed as the crown prince, I can't interfere in the affairs of the court in a short time. I should slowly cultivate some trusted talents.

……

When Zhao Xing was determined to work hard, the ship that Liu Sanshi was on arrived at the Yangzhou wharf.

As one of the important cities in the south of the Yangtze River and located in the canal basin, Yangzhou is naturally very prosperous.

Although it was only three days away from the Chinese New Year, the pier was still bustling with activity.

When a team of imperial guards, escorting a man dressed in eunuch costumes, came down from a large ship, the noisy dock immediately became quiet.

Liu Sanshi ignored the onlookers and ordered people to hire a carriage. He also arranged for someone to go to Yangzhou City to report first.

……

In Yangzhou City, the rear court of the Tongpan is where the Sheng family currently resides.

Now that the New Year is approaching, all government offices in Yangzhou have been sealed and closed for the holidays.

Officials in the Song Dynasty not only had generous salaries, but also many holidays. The routine rest days and holidays during festivals took up one-third of the year.

The New Year holiday starts seven or eight days before the New Year and lasts until the Lantern Festival after the New Year, which is almost a month's rest.

Of course, it is impossible to completely avoid dealing with official business during such a long vacation, but as long as nothing serious happens, the rest will be left until after the New Year.

Sheng Hong took office in Yangzhou at the beginning of this year. Sheng Hong is a smooth-talking person by nature, and after one year in office, he has gotten along very well with the officials of all ranks in Yangzhou.

Yangzhou was already prosperous, and this year the weather was good and there were no major cases, which made Sheng Hong in a good mood.

Officials had to visit and socialize before the New Year. Although Sheng Hong was the Tongpan of Yangzhou and was in charge of Yangzhou's government affairs, he still had the prefect above him.

After taking a rest, Sheng Hong went to visit the prefect, and then entertained a group of officials who came to visit him at home.

After being busy for several days, I finally have some free time.

On this day, Sheng Hong was assessing his two sons' academic performance in the study room when his long-servant Dong Rong hurried in. "Master, a soldier just came outside and said that the angel from Bian Jing will arrive soon, so you should get ready." Dong Rong saluted and said without waiting for Sheng Hong to ask.

"what?"

Sheng Honghuo stood up suddenly, horrified.

Generally speaking, when an imperial edict is issued by the government, it needs to be reviewed and signed by the Secretariat before it can be issued.

After the Secretariat has reviewed and issued the decree, it will send someone to notify the official who will receive the decree in advance of the specific day on which the decree will be delivered.

There was no other way. There were no telephones in ancient times and transportation was slow. If someone was not at home when the decree was delivered, you couldn't let the angel wait.

But Sheng Hong did not receive any notification. Now someone suddenly came to his door and said that the angel was about to arrive. There were only two possibilities.

One is that the other party is a liar, and the other is that this intention is not official business.

If it was just a private matter, the imperial decree naturally did not need to go through the Secretariat, and the emperor could just send someone to convey it.

Sheng Hong immediately ruled out the first possibility. Who would be so bold as to forge an imperial edict and even trick the Tongpan into his home?

Although he didn't know why the emperor had given him a private decree, Sheng Hong didn't have time to think about it. When he came to his senses, he said anxiously, "Quick, have someone clean up the middle courtyard and prepare the incense table!"

"Yes!" Dong Rong responded and trotted down to prepare.

"Go quickly and inform your mother and sister to prepare to receive the imperial edict!" Sheng Hong instructed his two sons again.

"Yes!" Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng bowed and left in a hurry.

Sheng Hong hurried to Shou'an Hall.

"Mother!"

"What happened?"

Old Lady Sheng was sitting on the couch chatting and laughing with Hua Lan. When she saw Sheng Hong walk in with an anxious look on his face, her heart skipped a beat, thinking something big had happened.

Hua Lan stood up, saluted, stepped aside and made room for him.

Sheng Hong was in no mood to sit down now. He didn't even bother to be polite. He said anxiously, "Just now, a soldier came to the door and said that an angel from Bianjing was coming and would be here soon."

"It is still unknown why the angel came, so there is no need to panic. Can you have someone prepare an incense table to notify the Madam and the others?"

Old Madam Sheng came from a marquis's mansion, so she could naturally think of what Sheng Hong could think of.

"My son has already asked people to prepare, and the eldest lady has also asked Bai'er to notify her." Sheng Hong said.

"Then you should go back and change your clothes quickly, and we'll wait at the door!" said Mrs. Sheng.

It’s too late to take a shower now, so I can only change my clothes.

"Yes, son, I'll go right away." Sheng Hong bowed and left in a hurry.

Old Madam Sheng asked Hualan to go back to her room to change her clothes, and she also went into her room to change her clothes.

After Hualan changed her clothes and came back, she helped Old Madam Sheng out.

After waiting at the door for a while, Sheng Hong came over with Madam Wang, two sons and three daughters.

As for concubines, they are naturally not qualified to appear.

"Mother, do you want someone to come and inform the prefect?" Sheng Hong came up to his mother and asked after bowing.

"No need. Since there was no advance notice, it is not official business. We don't know whether it is a blessing or a curse now. Plus, time is tight, so it's too late." Old Mrs. Sheng shook her head.

"coming!"

The Sheng family braved the cold wind and waited at the door for about an incense stick. They saw from afar a group of armored soldiers escorting a carriage approaching. They hurriedly shouted to remind everyone to check their clothes.

After a while, the carriage came up and stopped. Sheng Hong and Old Madam Sheng were in front, and Madam Wang led a few children behind, and went forward to greet them.

"Yangzhou Tongpan Sheng Hong, along with the Sheng family, welcomes the angel!"

Liu Sanshi lifted the carriage curtain, stuck his head out, and said with a smile, "Master Sheng, you are too polite."

The emperor summoned the son of the Sheng family to be a tutor, but who knows what his future will be like. Just for this reason, he did not dare to put on airs.

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(End of this chapter)