The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

"Their second crime is abusing their power to eliminate dissidents. I heard that these people took advantage of the emperor's trust and took advantage of the new policy to inspect Luzhou in various parts of the Song Dynasty. They appointed and dismissed officials at will, and dismissed many officials. The officials are all the heroes who followed the Taizu Taizong to conquer the Song Dynasty."

"I just can't figure it out. My ancestors worked so hard to make meritorious deeds. As a descendant, even if they have nothing to do, even if they are greedy for a small amount of money, even if they are a little bit of common people, so what? , The ancestors made outstanding achievements, and now the descendants will be used for hundreds of generations. Isn’t it justified? Why can’t Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi tolerate this? I think they must be jealous of others, and their own ancestors did not leave them anything, so they Psychologically unbalanced."

Zhao Zhen took a breath and said, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Su Jin said loudly: "Of course I have. For some unknown purpose, Han Fan expelled all his sons and nephews who have not passed the imperial examination. Teng Zongliang, the magistrate of Jingzhou, was a good friend of Fan Zhongyan in the same year. He used the envoy's money to pave roads and bridges, and used the envoy's money to reward his colleagues. Yang Jiang, the magistrate of Chenzhou, built a large courtyard with the minister's money for the sake of the court's dignity, and used the minister's money to buy some expensive supplements for several years in order to be healthy and serve the court better. Why can't Fan Zhongyan tolerate it? It is also using the minister's money, Fan Zhongyan treats one more favorably than another, isn't this an act of forming gangs and eliminating dissidents?"

"Also, when the minister just went to Weizhou to take up his post, he was robbed by western thieves on his way. Fan Zhongyan violated the court regulations and left the Mulangzhai army to suppress the situation. Hundreds of war horses were seized, and since then I have disliked him for a long time.”[

"In the Battle of Weizhou, he didn't send a single soldier to help, saying that Huanqing Yanyan Road is the direct gateway of the capital, and the bandits should not be able to take advantage of it, so he ordered people to send [-] shi of food, some armor and arrows, etc. As a perfunctory gift, I later learned that Fan Zhongyan had only left [-] shi of food in the two roads of Yanyan and Huanqing, which was not enough for the soldiers of the two roads to spend half a month. Knowing that Yanyan and Huanqing are the key points of the capital, why did he only leave more than ten Daily food, don’t you know the consequences of doing this? So I think that Fan Zhongyan is simply joking about the great mission entrusted by the court. The act of giving me food and weapons is to find a reason for the western thieves to break through his defense line in the future. It would be said that it was because of the support of Weizhou that food was available, which led to the defeat of the war. This person has ulterior motives, which is really hateful."

Zhao Zhen said in amazement: "Are you confused? Fan Zhongyan is what you think? He can't bring troops to help, it's because Yan Yanhuanqing is the capital's barrier, and he made it clear to me."

Su Jin sneered and said: "Then he is even more hateful. This is taking advantage of the emperor's ignorance of the situation in the northwest to deceive the emperor. He pretended to send me food and weapons. It is suspicious of another purpose."

Zhao Zhen frowned and said, "I'm really surprised that you look at him like this. In your opinion, how should we deal with them?"

Su Jin said: "Then there's no need to think about it? The emperor should cut the mess with a sharp knife and kill these guys directly."

Zhao Zhen said: "Do you really think so?"

Su Jin said: "Of course, the emperor should not stick to the constraints of the Taimiao's legacy, kill as soon as it is necessary, and don't tolerate it, otherwise this group of people will stir up trouble again, saying that the imperial court has accumulated evils and needs reform to confuse people's hearts. "

Zhao Zhen said: "Didn't you also give examples of the ten abuses of the court? You have also said the words of change, why is the topic changed so much now?"

Su Jin said: "Yes, so for the sake of fairness, I ask the emperor to kill me as well. Anyone who wants to implement the New Deal should be killed. My country is peaceful in the Song Dynasty. Where are there so many evils and corrupt officials? The emperor did not make up his mind, if he made up his mind to sweep the western thieves Liao people, it would definitely not be a problem. Those who say that there are evils in the world are denying the emperor's sageness. Please make an order immediately to kill Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, Fubi, and I, Su Jin, killed Ouyang Xiu, killed a bunch of bird people who said that this is wrong and that is wrong in the court, and killed all the chickens and dogs, and then the world will be quiet, the country will be peaceful, and all nations will come to court. His great achievements, your majesty, what are you still hesitating about?"

Zhao Zhen's face changed drastically, and he looked at Su Jin coldly and said, "I can hear it, you didn't come to beg for mercy, nor did you come to add insult to injury, you came for me, you didn't come here to accuse me. "

Su Jindao: "How dare I criticize the king, I just feel that it is becoming more and more boring, and those who wholeheartedly serve the court are being slandered. There is a saying called 'It's good if you don't do it, and you do more mistakes' to describe the current situation. It is true that the new policies of Han Fan and others were too radical, and they were suspected of overcorrecting and killing them all, but they actually did things, but they ended up trembling all day long. The emperor once said that he was determined to change the status quo of the Song Dynasty and let us It is so powerful that the western thieves dare not look sideways, and the Liao people dare not spy on it. According to my ministers, the emperor is talking empty words."

Zhao Zhen said sharply: "Presumptuous, you are too presumptuous, the country belongs to me, don't I want the Song Dynasty to be strong? I am the lord of the world, can I still say empty words for fame? I think you and Han Fan and others are It’s the same party, it’s the same rhetoric.”

Su Jin said: "Your Majesty, let's not beat around the bush. You know that I am not their accomplice. The so-called crony faction in the court is just an excuse. If you want to talk about cliques, there have been cliques in all dynasties, and this dynasty has existed for a long time. In a word of disrespect to the deceased, when Lu Xiang was alive, he was surrounded by a group of officials. Could it be that they were cronies? Fan Zhongyan presented the pictures of hundreds of officials at the beginning to expose the selfishness of Lu Xiang's cliques. How could the emperor be moved at that time? To put it bluntly The emperor was disappointed with the implementation of the New Deal, and wanted to stop it but was afraid of taking responsibility, so he made a big fuss about cronies, so as to let the New Deal come to an end."

Zhao Zhen turned blue with anger, pointed at Su Jin and said, "You are too presumptuous, you are simply too presumptuous."

Su Jin cupped his hands and said: "The emperor treats me well so I can tell the truth. The emperor can kill me afterwards, but he allows me to finish my sentence."

Zhao Zhen snorted angrily and said, "I've been too tolerant of you, and now I'm starting to criticize you. You have the heart of a tiger and a wolf, so I understand."

Su Jindao: "Your Majesty can say whatever you want, but please don't hurt the hearts of the loyal and patriotic people in the world. Han Fan and others are so sincere that the Emperor doesn't even have to doubt them, let alone use this matter to punish them. the New Deal can be repealed at once, but only so."

Zhao Zhen said: "It's not your turn to teach me what I want to do."

Su Jindao: "How dare I teach you how to do it, I just exercise the power of remonstrance, the emperor will not even block the way to speak, it is different from the previous... those..."

Zhao Zhen said angrily: "Do you want to say that you are different from those foolish kings before?"

Su Jin said: "I just remind you."

Zhao Zhen stretched out his hand to pick up the teacup on the table, and threw it at Su Jin. Su Jin refused to evade, and let the teacup hit his forehead, dripping with blood, standing proudly and unyieldingly.

Zhao Zhen felt slightly regretful, but he was extremely relieved. Su Jin's words were too direct, and he clearly revealed what was in his heart. If he hadn't been exposed, how could Zhao Zhen have become so angry from embarrassment?

"I originally wanted to spare them, but after what you said today, I feel that I can't spare them. I will decree to arrest these people immediately tomorrow morning, send them to prison, and ransack their homes. What can you do?"

Su Jindao: "I invite you to be taken down together."

Zhao Zhen laughed back angrily: "You think I won't take you? Don't forget, your braid is in my hands."

Su Jin said quietly: "When the emperor is in power, he can naturally take whoever he wants. I have a lot of pigtails. I am not only concerned about Yangzhou, but I also secretly deal with Western thieves and Western thieves to exchange food for war horses. Opened Yinzhuang to remit tax money for the imperial court, and the minister also advanced the Northwest Army's salary, changing a barren land, what the minister did was harming the Song Dynasty, and he should be punished."

Zhao Zhen said: "You are here to show your merits. Without you, Su Jin, can anyone do this?"

Su Jindao: "Naturally there will be a lot of people to do it, so please be fired from your job and ransacked your home and sent to prison."

Zhao Zhen said: "I won't let you do what you want. I will settle accounts with you in the future, and I will deal with Han Fan and others first. What can you do?"

Su Jin reached out to take off the official hat, held it in his hand and said, "Please resign, my mother is old, and I don't want to be filial without my mother. Isn't this request too much?"

Zhao Zhen was so angry that he wanted to copy the guy again. He copied the teacup in his hand, but put it down slumpedly, and fell into the chair and murmured: "You are blackmailing me, how can I treat you badly? How dare you blackmail me so much?" .”

Su Jin said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I just don't want the Emperor to make a wrong decision. This matter can be reduced to a minor one, and there is no need to shake the whole country. Whether Fan Zhongyan and others really have the intention of endangering the Song Dynasty, the Emperor knows it well. Because the attitude of the minister makes the emperor feel that he can't step down, the minister is willing to accept the punishment, but please don't be arrogant."

Zhao Zhen seemed to be talking to himself: "Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, and the others are as hard as stones in a latrine, and you are aggressive, and Du Yan and the others are still urging you to demand severe punishment. There are already hundreds of letters, what should I do? I hate Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and others for their ignorance, and I don’t want to let the officials think that I am playing for selfishness and making everyone unhappy, who will tell me what is the best of both worlds?"

Su Jin said quietly: "The emperor was troubled by the memorials demanding severe punishment from the officials, and the ministers misunderstood the emperor; the emperor can openly consult the opinions of the officials tomorrow morning, and if the crowd is excited and demands severe punishment for Han Fan and others, he will obey the majority." It is my intention that the subject should stop making trouble, and go back to the northwest to raise horses for the emperor obediently, so as not to embarrass the emperor."

Zhao Zhen raised his head and said, "Really?"

Su Jin said: "Of course it's true, I'm an honest man, he keeps his word."

Zhao Zhen spat and said, "Are you an honest man?" He reached out and took out a colorful sweat towel from his waist and handed it over, "Wipe the blood on my forehead, I missed it just now."

Su Jin took it with a bow, wiped off the blood on his face, put on his official hat, and left the palace.

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