The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Zhao Zhen and Su Jin stood and sat, one stood and looked around, and the other fished leisurely; the sea breeze blew slowly, the sun dyed the blue sea with a layer of golden scales, and the crab shells slowly squirmed on the shallows of the sandbar. The sound of the waves was soothing, and everything was calm and serene, which was in stark contrast to the storm in the hearts of the two of them.

"You and my monarchs and ministers could have been a good story for a generation, but why have you become what you are today? Ask yourself, have I ever treated you badly? Back then, you were a student, and I entrusted you with a heavy responsibility, so you can enter the official career." , I am also very tolerant to you, you have committed many big mistakes, I have forgiven you one by one, in just over ten years, you have become an extremely human minister, is it not good enough for you?" Zhao Zhen sighed softly.

Su Jin said without looking back: "From a personal point of view, the emperor treats me pretty well, but your starting point is not because I am Su Jin, but because I can bring you something in return. To put it bluntly, you What is needed is my talent, not appreciation of me; what I get is what I get in exchange for huge rewards, all of which are not even proportional; have you forgotten? After the food business, all you gave me was After the imperial examination, you had to release me to the magistrate because of your words first, but it was Weizhou, a war-torn place; I was responsible for it alone, and in exchange for the position of envoy of the Northwest Four Routes; in the battle against Xia and Liao, I didn’t take the lead and escaped several times, so why did I complain once? Why did I take credit for it?”

Zhao Zhendao: "Because of this, you, Su Jin, have become the mainstay of my dynasty. I also rely on you more, and the officials respect you. Isn't that enough? Do you want me to give you the country to be right?" Take credit for your achievements?"

Su Jin smiled and said: "I'm afraid this is what the emperor worries about day and night. You and I have known each other for more than ten years, and you don't understand what kind of person I am at all; I did have the idea of ​​Guangzong Yaozu being promoted and making a fortune, but Later, everything I did was not for one person, I did it for thousands of people in Song Dynasty, I am a person of Song Dynasty, I love Song Dynasty, I love everything here, I don’t want the people’s lives to be miserable I don't want them to be trampled and enslaved by foreigners, and I don't want them to be oppressed by corrupt officials, so I will do my best for them; so funny."[

Zhao Zhen said: "In this case, you can continue, why are you hiding here to fish?"

Su Jin laughed and said: "Because, I am also an ordinary person, I can suffer, but I don't want to suffer, especially the suspicion from those who sit back and enjoy it. The rice grown, but the people who grow it are beaten and scolded, I, Su Jin, are not cheap, so I quit, I gave up, can't I?"

Zhao Zhen said: "Are you saying that I am the one who sits back and enjoys the success but is jealous?"

Su Jin said: "Of course it is you. As the emperor, you can't tolerate others; you want the world to be peaceful, but you are also jealous of the virtuous and capable, and you are afraid that others will steal your limelight; you also want to be praised as a benevolent king. But you want the whole country to be silent lambs, let you command and scold, how tiring must your life be?"

Zhao Zhen said sadly: "In your eyes, is this the kind of person I am?"

Su Jindao: "It's not just me, everyone in the world is not a fool. Since you used Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi as a shield for the New Deal and dared not openly admit that the New Deal is your responsibility, you have lost my respect; you just want to sit back and enjoy the benefits." , but unwilling to take any responsibility for it, and punishing his ministers to settle the matter when something happens, is it the behavior of a benevolent monarch?"

Zhao Zhen said angrily: "I am the emperor, why should I still blame myself? The ministers should share the worries of the king. The king is like a father, and the minister is like a son. Why can't the son take the place of the father?"

Su Jin dropped the fishing rod, turned around and looked at Zhao Zhen with piercing eyes and said, "Tell me, except that you are the emperor, what is the difference between you and me?"

"Different? What do you mean?"

Su Jin said: "How many eyes, how many noses do you have? How many hands and feet? Are you smarter than me? You don't eat fireworks? Tell me, what's the difference between you and me."

Zhao Zhen said: "I am not a monster, how can I have more hands, feet, mouth and nose than you? I am not a god, how can I not eat the fireworks of the world?"

Su Jin said: "That's it. Since you and I are no different, why can you become the emperor, the superior who decides the life and death of others, and enslaves others to work for you? You would say that you thought your ancestors shed blood and fought for the country, but first Does the achievements of the first emperor have anything to do with you? Why can you enjoy everything with peace of mind?"

"Presumptuous, the emperor is the son of heaven, and he is ordered by heaven to command all the people. Are you not afraid of being punished by heaven for speaking like this?" Zhao Zhen never expected that Su Jin would have such rebellious thoughts.

Su Jin waved his hand and said: "Don't scare me, your way of dealing with the people is fine, it works for me; let me tell you the truth, you are not the son of heaven, there are only sun, moon and stars in the sky, and people make decisions for you, you are just like us , what you eat is food, and what you pull out is stinky feces, nothing special; you can become emperor because the people haven't understood this, but you understand it better than anyone else, and unfortunately , I understand this; to say nothing to scare you, you and I are on this deserted island, and I can end the life of your favorite man at any time, with a rough stone, you don't have to be afraid, I just It’s just an analogy; I just want you to understand that you don’t have any special status to control the life and death of others, but others are willing to be driven and enslaved by you, and they haven’t understood what I understand.”

Beads of sweat rolled down Zhao Zhen's forehead, and Su Jin's words hit his heart like a heavy hammer. In the middle of the night, Zhao Zhen also thought about this question, why is he the master of the world, and what do he have? Can the peculiarity command the people?He understands that he is actually just an ordinary person. If he doesn't have the aura around him, he is nothing. Because of this, he tries his best to maintain his imperial power and not allow anyone to threaten his status. Perhaps this is why A guilty conscience.

"As early as the time of Li Tang Taizong, the then emperor Li Shimin knew the truth that 'water can carry a boat and overturn it', that is, he understood that he was just an ordinary person, and he could only sit on the throne by relying on the support of the people, so As the emperor, if you want to maintain the stability of the throne, you only need to do one thing, and that is to do everything for the sake of the people's living and working in peace and contentment, so that they can live happily; the people don't ask much, that's all, not Suspicion, jealousy, suppression and other chattering behaviors, I do my best for the prosperity of the Song Dynasty, but you listen to the villain's slander and send someone to investigate me secretly, I don't want to be the second Fan Zhongyan, let alone work for someone who doesn't trust me, So I can only come here to fish, and from now on, you can do whatever you like, and I will never intervene; as you said, the country is yours, and if it is ruined, it is none of my business if you fail to become the emperor."

What Zhao Zhen heard today was the truth that he had never heard in his 40s. Su Jin spoke to him as a normal person. The word 'I', not the title of 'Chen'.That is to say, he didn't regard himself as a courtier at all. Zhao Zhen understood that Su Jin was the kind of person the emperor feared most, the kind of awakened person. Some people in the pre-Qin period were also awakened. Shouting the slogan of "princes, princes and generals are better than each other", the current Su Jin has neither rebelled nor publicized this awareness, which is already a great kindness to himself.

"I'm right, I don't know how to refute you, and I don't want to refute; but today I would like to apologize to you for some words and deeds in the past, I promise you, I will no longer doubt you, and fully support your actions, I hereby Fanlai is asking you to take up the post of Zaifu of the Great Song Dynasty, you and my monarch and ministers will make a good story for a generation, are you willing?"

Su Jin looked at Zhao Zhen for a long while, and said softly: "Your Majesty, I have already talked to this point today, how can you allow me to live in this world, I understand very well; from your point of view, I understand your point of view." Behavior." Zhao Zhen's heart was beating wildly, the murderous intent hidden in his heart was still not noticed by Su Jin, which made him shudder, what would happen if Su Jin killed himself? [

Su Jin looked at the sea level in the distance with his hands behind his back, counting alumni that were swimming in the sky, and said slowly: "I don't want Song Dynasty to fall into chaos. Once you kill me, the Northwest Army I belong to will definitely rebel. The country may It will fall into chaos because of this. This is by no means alarmist. It is the common people who will suffer in the end. This is what I do not want to see; so I am here to discuss with you sincerely. This is the reason why I chose to talk to you on the sandbar, and the world can learn from the words spoken here, so you don’t have to worry about words leaking out.”

Zhao Zhen's heart moved, and he listened quietly to the following.

"Second, you may not be able to kill me. To tell you the truth, I have 50 muskets on hand. Maybe you don't know the power of that musket. I just want to say that [-] firearms can defeat [-] troops. You If you force me to rebel, I will beat you to the point where you run away with your head in your arms. You have to figure it out for yourself. Who in the court can lead the army to fight against me, Su Jin? Who can stop me?"

"Third, the best result is that you and I will be in peace. I promise you to go back and take up the post of prime minister, because I promised the people that there are still a few unfinished things. After I finish, at most one year, I will Donate Suji’s mines, Yinzhuang, and business to the imperial court, and then I will disappear from the Song Dynasty. I will never threaten your throne. I will also train some ministers who can manage the Development and Reform Department. After I leave, they can continue This is all I can do for you, please consider it yourself, Your Majesty."

Zhao Zhen was overjoyed. If Su Jin kept his word, it would be a great thing for him. All the mines and bank businesses that Su Jin left behind were worth less than a year's tax revenue from the imperial court. And as long as Su Jin disappears, he will let go of his biggest worry.

"Where are you going? Xia Guo? Tubo? Uighur?" Zhao Zhen asked.

Su Jin was scornful, Zhao Zhen was still worried that he would become a hidden danger, as long as he lived in this world, he would be a big threat to him, this idea could not be changed.

"No, I won't tell you where. I don't want you to send troops to chase me down, but I can guarantee that you will never find me. Do you agree?"

Zhao Zhen stretched out his hand and said, "It's a deal, I'll give you a year."

Su Jin reached out to shake his hand and said, "It's only a year, and I won't stay for one more day."

Zhao Zhen sighed: "I feel very sad."

Su Jin smiled and said: "I'm also very sad, the emperor's condolences. Remember to write a guarantee letter and seal it on the jade seal later, otherwise I may become a ghost under the emperor's knife as soon as I arrive in the capital. I will take your guarantee letter as a pawn. Where's the shield?"

Zhao Zhen sighed and said, "I didn't expect that I would already be a man of faith in your heart."

Su Jin said: "You have already been."