I will never be Renzong

Chapter 215 State Funeral
In the ninth year of Tiansheng's reign, on March [-]th, there was a court meeting in the Xuanzheng Hall.

Prime Minister Wang Zeng said: "Your Majesty! Ju Yong, the director of the Supervisory Yuan, has been dead for many days. I hope that your majesty will choose an upright minister as the supervising director as soon as possible!"

On the fifth day of March this year, Ju Yong, the dean of the Overwatch Council, passed away. Zhao Zhen posthumously granted Ju Yong the title of Bo of Yizhou, a first-rank university scholar, doctor Guanglu, and the temple of Zhenzong.

Since the establishment of the Supervisory Yuan, under the leadership of Ju Yong, corrupt officials have been investigated and punished every year, and corruption has been eliminated to a large extent. Therefore, in addition to the censor of No. 21, the position of president of the Supervisory Yuan is also very important.

Zhao Zhen thought for a while, and then said: "I plan to transfer Li Yonghe, the Zhejiang Road Judiciary, to be the dean of the Overwatch Council. I don't know what you think!"

Since Zhao Zhen came to power, although he has not announced to the public that Concubine Li Chen is his biological mother, he has not given any conferring titles, and he has not even called Concubine Li Chen back to the palace.

But for his uncle Li Yonghe, he has been continuously favored and promoted. However, the reason why Li Yonghe was promoted was not Zhao Zhen's favoritism, but Li Yonghe did not run a private house in the capital, but rented an official house to live in.Zhao Zhen had previously rewarded him with a mansion, but he declined it politely. He was supposed to stay in the court as an official, but Li Yonghe insisted on letting him go.

At first, he was only sent to a state to serve as the Judicial Judiciary, but later Zhao Zhen was promoted to the Judicial Judiciary of Zhejiang Road because of his merits.

Wang once said: "Li Tixing is a clean and honest official, upright and upright, and never favoritism. Li Tixing will be the dean of the Overwatch Council. I have no objection!"

"Officials are wise! Ministers are no different!"

All the ministers hurriedly echoed.

Seeing this, Zhao Zhen said: "In this case, let's write the Zhongshu and draft the transfer order as soon as possible!"

After the matter was settled, Li Di, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, said: "Your Majesty! Duke Qi Cao Wei's body is about to arrive in the capital. How dare the officials plan to bury Duke Qi!"

Zhao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "What is the plan of the Ministry of Rites?"

Xia Song, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, said: "Officials! The Lord of Qi went out with illness, and led his army to defeat Tubo in the Qing and Tang Dynasties. In less than half a year, he expanded the land for three thousand miles and opened up the territory of the Great Song Dynasty. We will discuss with the officials of the Ministry of Rites. It deserves a burial!"

Seeing this, Zhao Zhen said: "The Duke of Qi, Cao Wei, has been a general for 40 years. He has never lost a battle. He runs the army neatly, is brave and resourceful, has clear rewards and punishments, and has great military exploits. He is really a model for the country. Therefore, I decided to posthumously make Cao Wei the King of Qi. Presented as a gift to the great general, with the posthumous title "Wu Mu", and deserves to enjoy the Taimiao."

Speaking of this, Zhao Zhen saw that the ministers had no objections, so he said: "When the general's body arrives in the capital, I will give the general a state funeral, order the people in Kaifeng to wear hemp and mourning for the general, and hang white lanterns in the shops along the street. Officials above the fifth rank in Beijing will see the general off. In addition, I will mobilize the royal guard of honor to escort the coffin of the general along the way to the Taimiao!"

The military generals present were all very excited when they heard it, state funeral!This is a treatment that civil servants have never enjoyed, an unprecedented burial!

But the civil servants are all in a bad mood, because Cao Wei is still a general after all, and it's fine for the officials to pursue him, but it's a bit too much to let the officials of the court see him off.

Wang Zeng frowned and then said: "Your Majesty! Such a scale is unheard of and far exceeds the etiquette system. Please think twice!"

Lu Yijian also hurriedly said: "Your Majesty! It is the duty of a general to be loyal to the country, and it is an honor to die on the battlefield. Moreover, Qi Guogong has always disliked extravagance, so I think the funeral should be frugal!"

The civil officials present all spoke out to persuade Zhao Zhen to take back his order. After all, they had suppressed the general for so many years, so naturally they didn't want the general to override them.

Seeing this, Zhao Zhen said: "From now on, anyone who has made great contributions to the country, regardless of whether he is a scholar or a general, will be granted a state funeral. This matter is settled in this way. You don't need to persuade me any more. As for specific matters, I will order you The Ministry of Rites will come up with a detailed plan for me as soon as possible, and retreat!"

Seeing this, the military generals took the lead in bowing down and said: "Long live Your Majesty! I will send you off to Your Majesty!"

The civil servants looked at each other, couldn't help but smile bitterly, then knelt down and shouted: "Long live Your Majesty! I will send you off to Your Majesty!"

In the ninth year of Tiansheng, on April [-]st, white lanterns were hung in front of every house in Kaifeng, even the shops along the street, and the whole city mourned on this day.

The coffin of Cao Wei, the Duke of Qi, slowly entered the official road from the south gate under the guard of the royal guard of honor, and then the people of Kaifeng along the street bowed down one after another. Zhang Mao read the imperial decree.

After the imperial decree is read out, it will be escorted to the Ancestral Temple by the Royal Guard of Honor, followed by the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs. After arriving at the Ancestral Temple, the Prime Minister Wang once read the sacrificial oration written by Zhao Zhen himself, and then buried in the Ancestral Temple.

During the three days of mourning, all recreational activities were prohibited by the people, and Zhao Zhen was even dressed in plain clothes, and all three meals for three consecutive days were vegetarian.

A few days later, Zhao Zhen summoned Wang Zeng, Lu Yijian and Yan Shu in Chongzheng Hall.

Zhao Zhen didn't talk nonsense, but said straight to the point: "I have established the country for 70 years, and there are not a few civil servants and generals who have made great contributions to the country. I think that all civil servants and generals who have made contributions to the Song Dynasty should be punished." remembered by future generations.

Therefore, I intend to follow the example of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of Tang Dynasty and set up Lingyan Pavilion in one fell swoop, but the Lingyan Pavilion in Tang Dynasty did not distinguish between civil servants and military generals, and I intend to distinguish civil servants and military generals. "

Wang Zeng said: "Officials! I have no objection to distinguishing civil servants from military generals, but I don't know how the officials plan to implement it?"

Seeing this, Zhao Zhen said: "I plan to become Wenzhong Pavilion and Wuzhong Pavilion. There is no limit to the number of people in the cabinet, but the requirements for joining the cabinet are very high. As for who will join the cabinet, the ministers need to carefully consider after returning."

Yan Shu said: "This move by the officials can not only motivate civil servants to be diligent in political affairs, but also make military generals to be loyal to the country. I deeply agree with it!"

Lu Yijian turned to ask: "Officials! What are the requirements for joining the cabinet?"

Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "Naturally, those who have made great contributions to the country, as for who will join the cabinet, you and I need to discuss together with the monarch and ministers!"

The three of them naturally did not object, because since the founding of the Song Dynasty, there have been a lot of civil servants, and the military generals are relatively withered. The funeral of Cao Wei made the civil servants lose a lot, but now, the current officials want to establish Wenzhong Pavilion and Wuzhong Pavilion. Then the civil servants have made up their minds in their hearts, that is, the number of Wenzhong Pavilion must far exceed that of Wuzhong Pavilion.

Finally, after several days of discussions, the first batch of civil servants selected for Wenzhong Pavilion consisted of eight people, namely Zhao Pu, Xue Juzheng, Li Mengzheng, Li Hang, Wang Dan, Shi Xizai, Kou Zhun, and Zhang Zhibai.

The first batch of generals selected into the Wuzhong Pavilion is a total of eight people, namely Li Jilong, Cao Bin, Pan Mei, Cao Wei, Yang Ye, Wang Chao, Wang Quanbin, and Cao Yong.

Originally, there were twelve civil servants who were selected into the Wenzhong Pavilion by the civil servants, and only four generals. Zhao Zhen naturally knew what the civil servants paid attention to. Therefore, Zhao Zhen set the number of civil servants and military generals to eight.

(End of this chapter)