The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Seeing Zhao Zhen's hesitation, Lu Yijian was extremely dissatisfied. This Su Jin made people feel uncomfortable. Since he entered Beijing, although he has done a few things, he is considered a talented person; but he is Yan Shu's arm after all. It's okay if he didn't have a solid reason before, but now he is blatantly talking nonsense in the court, how can he tolerate it.

Although Lu Yijian is about to return to his official position next year, his ageless heart is reluctant to part with the power to rule the world, but after all, he is old and frail, and has been unable to go to court for several months due to several illnesses, which has delayed many things. Although Zhao Zhen Don't say it, there must be criticisms in my heart, so it is wise to take the initiative to become an official.

After becoming an official, the only way to keep the important affairs of the court in his hands is to choose a successor who is committed to him.It's not that Lu Yijian doesn't know that Du Yan is not a prime minister. In terms of talent, Yan Shu is indeed the best candidate for the position of prime minister; Du Yan is an idiot, a person who is very successful but mediocre, but he is a chess piece that can be played in the palm of his hand , as long as he becomes the prime minister, the overall situation in the future will still be in his hands, even if he raises fish and flowers in the mountain villa, he will still be in control of major matters and make decisions, then Du Yan is just a cover.

Out of this kind of consideration, Lu Yijian will try his best to suppress Yan Shu. As for Su Jin, he is not at the same level as himself, but this kid has played too much role. He has helped Yan Shu relieve several crises one after another. To win the emperor's appreciation, he even won two yuan in the imperial examination. If this person is full-fledged, he will be a strong opponent in the future, and this is an excellent opportunity, and perhaps the last opportunity.

Su Jin's move actually falls into the category of slandering the government. As long as Zhao Zhen nods, as soon as Su Jin is caught, he will be charged with more than a dozen serious crimes. Lu Yijian is handy for this kind of thing; The next step is to set the fire on Yan Shu's head. The person is his, so how can he get rid of this matter?The only thing missing now is Zhao Zhen's approval. [

"Your Majesty, such a rebellious minister, who utters such inhumane words, please make an immediate decree to take Su Jin down immediately." Lu Yijian spoke again, with the intention of putting pressure on Zhao Zhen in his words.

Zhao Zhen squinted at the hundreds of people in His Highness, kept his mouth shut and did not speak. There were crows and sparrows in the hall, and the atmosphere was extremely dignified; some naturally hoped that Su Jin would be dealt with immediately, while others did not want to see this happen After all, Su Jin is the leader of the new department, and what he just said seems to be a word of concern for the country and the people, but the language is disrespectful and the way of expression is a bit wrong.

All eyes are on Zhao Zhen. This seemingly weak emperor holds the power in his hands. Not to mention a little Su Jin, it is everyone present. He only needs to hook his fingers, and everyone will be happy. All of them are headed to the ground.

Zhao Zhen moved his body, coughed lightly, his sharp eyes scanned the faces of everyone present, and slowly said: "Su Jin, do you know your crime?"

Su Jin also regretted it just now, and secretly scolded herself for being too troublesome, saying too much would make mistakes, but this time she said too much and caused a catastrophe; but when Zhao Zhen hesitated, Su Jin guessed Zhao Zhen's thoughts.

Thousands of years later, historians have different evaluations of Zhao Zhen, but the only thing they agree with is that Zhao Zhen deserves the word "benevolence". Among the emperors of all dynasties, there are only a handful of emperors who can be honored as Renzong. Confucius said: "Those who can practice the five are benevolent in the world." The five are respect, tolerance, trust, sensitivity, and benefit.Although Zhao Zhen may not have all five, but being able to be worthy of the character of benevolence is obviously not comparable to other emperors who are bred from close relatives.

In view of this, Su Jin decided not to admit his mistake. The bet is that Renzong is not a foolish king, and the bet is that he can understand what he wants to express.

"I don't know what the crime is?" Su Jin said clearly but firmly.

Zhao Zhen was slightly surprised, but not too surprised. He is a smart man. He has pondered the character and behavior style of the court ministers in private many times. Although this Su Jin is not a high-ranking official, he has left a deep impression on him. Well, I threatened to kill him that day in Wende Hall, but I didn't see him bow his head, let alone now.

"Pull it down, hit the top [-] first." Zhao Zhen said lightly, he already had the intention of forgiving, but he couldn't let Su Jin be unruly, or the forty top was played for Lu Yijian and Du Yan, Yan Shu breathed a sigh of relief, it seems that the emperor does not want to punish Su Jin for his crimes, this small punishment is enough to prevent a catastrophe.

Su Jin quit, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, what crime did I commit to be punished?"

Zhao Zhendao: "Your status today is a candidate for the palace examination. Without permission, how can you act casually? Among them, you can be punished with [-] boards; the other [-] boards are punished for your inappropriate speech and false remarks on the court. , what you said yourself is a kind of contempt for me and all the lovers of the court, if you don't think of your patriotism, how can these twenty big boards atone for your sins, don't say too much, just accept it."

Su Jin knew that this was Zhao Zhen's intention to protect himself, but he couldn't bear the [-] big boards, not to mention the [-] big boards, even if he hit the [-] big boards in half, it was enough to make himself ten days old. Can't get up for half a month; don't lie down for a year or a half before forty boards, the most important thing is that this will become the laughing stock of others, the ass of Xinke Huiyuan was spanked by the emperor during the palace examination, this is enough for him for a lifetime Can't hold my head up.

"Your majesty, if you want to beat my humble minister, I naturally dare not refuse, but I will not accept it in my heart, and I will be punished for my crime. It doesn't matter if you beat me up, the fear is that people in the world will say that the emperor is unfair to you."

Yan Shu was about to die of anger. By this time, the boy was still quibbling. Originally, Lu Yijian, Du Yan and the others had already turned pale, expressing dissatisfaction with Zhao Zhenming's defense, but Su Jin still I don't know good and bad, this is really a fierce horse, no matter what I can't tame it, if today's incident really angered the emperor, Su Jin's life will definitely be over.

Zhao Zhen really looked unhappy, and said in a cold voice: "It seems that I have indeed acted unfairly. Ouyang Aiqing, you are the imperial censor Zhongcheng. You should be familiar with the laws of the imperial court. What kind of punishment should you receive for defaming the imperial court in court?"

Ouyang Xiu didn't expect his own name to be called out, he was startled, and said bravely: "This... The emperor clearly learned that those who slander the court will be demoted as officials, and those who will be demoted for the people will never be retained. It's as light as exile, as serious as..." Ouyang Xiu couldn't continue.

Zhao Zhen interrupted him and said: "You and Su Jin once went to Huainan Road to investigate a major official case, and you have some friendship with each other. There are some things you may not bear to say, but I will say it for you, and if it is serious, you will search the family and punish the entire family. ; Su Jin, do you think these forty boards are heavy or light? Is it unfair for me to handle things fairly?"

Su Jin heard that the words were wrong, but it was impossible to back down at this moment, so he gritted his teeth and fought it out, saying: "It's not fair!"

Zhao Zhen changed color suddenly, and said angrily: "Then I will give you a fair one."

Su Jindao: "The emperor calms down. The injustice I mentioned refers to the fact that I was punished for no fault at all. It is naturally unfair to be punished for mistakes. I have admitted that I have been punished."

Zhao Zhen scolded: "You are a donkey, a stubborn donkey."

Su Jin hurriedly said: "This humble minister is upholding the way of benevolence and forgiveness. I remember that the title of the essay on the solution to the exam questions is "On Punishment, Reward and Loyalty". This topic was chosen by the emperor himself. I was honored to take the first place in the examination questions of the Unified Policy Theory of the Examination, and I thought that since the imperial court agreed with the views raised by me, it was advocating the way of benevolence and forgiveness; Dishonesty, but turning ten years of hard work into running water, this move is naturally contrary to the way of benevolence and forgiveness advocated by the emperor, so I came out to defend them in accordance with the emperor's intention. If there is something wrong, it is also the emperor It's my fault, it has half to do with my minister."

"What nonsense?"

"Su Jin, are you crazy?"

Everyone stopped yelling, but Su Jin blatantly imposed his own fault on the emperor. It seems that this person is crazy and doesn't want to live anymore; as soon as he said this, even if he wanted to live, he couldn't live.

Unexpectedly, instead of getting angry, Zhao Zhen burst out laughing, but this made Yan Shu and the others even more worried. Obviously, Zhao Zhen laughed angrily. He was afraid that a strict order would be issued next, and Yan Shu was very anxious. Secretly scolding Su Jin for nothing, it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t want to live; if she hurts herself, and Yan Biyun, who is about to pass through the door, will become a widow for the second time, the poor child still has a few months old child in her belly, how can this be? good?