Northern Dynasties

Chapter 1293: Theory of the Destruction of Qi

Outside the Jingzhao prison, several Guandong celebrities were waiting there early in the morning, but it was not until the morning that a group of people were helped out of the prison.

The people in this group were Zhao Yanshen and his family. A few days ago, they were arrested when they were traveling to Tongzhou. They were shocked and thought that they were in great danger and would not be able to escape. They never dreamed that there would be a day when things would turn around and they would see the light of day.

Although it was just a false alarm, the family was exhausted. Zhao Yanshen was used to big things and was able to remain calm when faced with a disaster, but his wife, children and family members were not in good condition after the ordeal, and some of them even fell ill.

"Lord Zhao was not harmed by the evildoers and finally survived the disaster. This is really cause for celebration!"

Several people waiting outside the prison came forward and bowed to Zhao Yanshen to congratulate him, and Zhao Yanshen also said with emotion: "People say that the current supreme ruler is wise and wise, and today it is true! Zhao was able to escape from prison, not because of fate, but because of the mercy of heaven!"

Zhao Yanshen had thought a lot after suffering such a disaster. He never expected that he could turn danger into safety. Although he still had some resistance to the Tang Dynasty in his heart, he had to sigh that the Tang ruler was really magnanimous and wise. He did not take this opportunity to persecute him, a remnant of the Northern Qi Dynasty, but instead showed mercy and let him go.

As soon as he walked out of prison, he praised the current supreme ruler. On the one hand, he was inspired by his feelings, and on the other hand, he also expressed his submissive attitude. Although Zhao Yanshen had deep feelings for Northern Qi, he could not switch to Tang Dynasty in an instant, but he was able to become an important official of Northern Qi from a poor scholar, and he was deeply trusted by Gao's father and son. Naturally, it was not because of his aloofness and uprightness, but because he was a bit of a change of direction.

After hearing this, several other Guandong celebrities also nodded in agreement. They came today to welcome Zhao Yanshen, of course, because of the friendship between them, but also wanted to confirm as soon as possible whether the court really would no longer pursue the story of the Qi Dynasty.

If even Zhao Yanshen, who was intentionally persecuted this time, could be pardoned, then the rest of them would naturally be able to put down their burdens and actively and enthusiastically try to integrate into the ruling order of the Tang Dynasty.

Although the court's previous request for a number of former officials of the Northern Qi Dynasty to pay money to atone their sins had aroused dissatisfaction among these people, this attitude of writing off the past still made people feel relieved and satisfied.

  The Northern Qi government was not known for its integrity. Since they were officials, they all had some means of making money. For these people, losing some money was nothing. What they really feared was endless political persecution. If they could avoid being investigated for their past crimes by paying money, then they would be eager to pay more!

In short, Zhao Yanshen's escape from prison this time caused quite a stir in Chang'an City, especially among people in Guandong, who spread the word by word of mouth.

This incident made them deeply aware that the political atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty was different from that of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Some people who had previously criticized and accused the court of extorting money now changed their tune and began to sing praises.

  As for Zu Ting, who caused this incident, his popularity was ruined and he was ridiculed and despised by people in Guandong. Because if the Tang Dynasty really accepted his suggestion and held Zhao Yanshen accountable and punished him, it might set off a wave of extremely widespread liquidation, and many people would inevitably be implicated. Therefore, Zu Ting's move not only failed to frame Zhao Yanshen, but also put himself in opposition to many Guandong currents!

Of course, even if these people were extremely dissatisfied with Zu Ting, they only denounced and accused him in social circles, and it was also difficult for them to bring Zu Ting's past misdeeds to the court today. Moreover, Zu Ting had been diligent in the king's affairs since he returned to Yecheng, and there was nothing else that could be accused of.

As this incident spread, Zu Ting gradually disappeared from the social occasions of the people in Kanto. When meeting with relatives and friends, many people regretted that they could not spit at Zu Ting to his face.

But in fact, Zu Ting's social death was not the result of mass rejection and condemnation. Although the Guandong people were indignant, they were not mainstream in Chang'an's social occasions, and they could not completely exclude a meritorious official of the new dynasty.

The reason why Zu Ting has been absent from the public recently is not because he is afraid of the criticism. If Zu Xiaozheng thought that people's words were scary, how could he have such a bad reputation in the East? Any of his mistakes would cause people to laugh at him, but he is fearless and never changes his ways.

What really calmed him down was the instructions that the current supreme ruler personally wrote to his memorial. Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, this was just a casual warning, and from then on, they should correct their mistakes and encourage themselves. However, for Zu Ting, who was good at and keen on scheming, this was a direct instruction from the current supreme ruler, a true word from heaven. Of course, he had to dig out and understand more profound meanings from it, so as not to waste this rare opportunity for direct communication.

So when the memorial was returned, Zu Ting was only slightly disappointed and worried, but he soon held the sixteen words of the Supreme Emperor's instructions, hoping to get a glimpse of God's will from them.

  Qi died because of this, why should I know about it? What can I contribute? What should I consider?

Judging from these sixteen words, the Supreme Master was just using the tone of admonition to warn him. After Zu Ting's initial panic, he soon turned his worries into joy. The Supreme Master was willing to write down a special admonition, which meant that he must still be worthy of being sculpted, otherwise there would be no need to waste time and energy. Then why did the Supreme Master feel that he needed to be admonished?

If you can ask a question about something, you can find the answer. Even if the answer is wrong, it at least provides a way of thinking and possibility.

Zu Ting first assumed that the Supreme was not disgusted with his behavior, but because his method and timing were inappropriate, or because he felt that although his behavior was bad, his talents were still considerable, so he issued a special order to criticize him. These possibilities lead to different situations, and Zu Ting also needs to make appropriate responses. People who are keen on scheming must be smart and can dig out more profound meanings under ordinary appearances. The father and son of the Gao family have never been good people. Zu Ting was able to rise and fall in the officialdom under their rule and never change despite repeated teachings. That is also because he has his own unique ability.

Li Tai did not expect that the dozen words he casually wrote would trigger Zu Ting's brainstorming session that lasted for several days. After days of deep thought, Zu Ting finally formed a guess in his mind.

Because he was worried that the matter would become irrelevant if he missed this period, Zu Ting had no time to rest after making a plan. After washing his face hastily, he continued to write at his desk. At the beginning of the document, he wrote the three words "On the Fall of Qi".

This writing was another sleepless night. Zu Ting would either twirl his beard and ponder, or walk around the room quickly. When family members occasionally came to ask about his work, he would sternly dismiss them. He was even unwilling to stop for a meal. This lasted for a whole day and two nights. The room was filled with papers covered with writings. Zu Ting finally put down his pen on the desk, and then he stood up and left the room, shouting, "Bring some wine and food!"

The servants quickly served him a variety of food, and Zu Ting immediately bent over his desk and ate heartily. When he was full, he pushed the desk aside and fell asleep. Soon he was snoring loudly. This went on for another day and night. His family members were so worried that they invited a doctor into the house. Zu Ting finally opened his eyes, impatiently dismissed his family members, returned to his study, sorted out his manuscripts, took a bath, changed his clothes, and went out again.

"The traitor is treacherous and cunning, a scum of the world, selling his heritage for fame..."

When Zu Ting walked out of his house, he saw people gathered outside his house not far away, constantly pointing at his door and cursing. However, he was not angry after hearing these curses, but just sneered: "You guys are blocking the door and cursing, which is not brave. Wait a few days and you still dare to act like this, then you can be called a hero!"

After saying this, he no longer paid any attention to those who chased after him and were still scolding him, and just ordered his servants to drive away quickly.

This time, he went straight to the gate of the imperial city, but did not wait obediently for the officials and dignitaries to come in and out. Instead, he went directly to the soldiers in front of the gate and said loudly: "The emperor asked me why I made a contribution a few days ago. I wrote a few articles on the fall of Qi. I am here to present them to you and respectfully wait for your inspection!"

Upon hearing this, the gatekeeper did not dare to delay and hurriedly stepped forward to take the manuscript from Zu Ting, asking him to wait here for a while, and then sent soldiers to deliver the manuscript to the imperial city.

After some circulation, the manuscript was not placed on the imperial desk until the evening. However, Li Tai did not read it immediately. He was discussing with officials from the Secretariat about the formulation of policy test questions for the next day's imperial examination.

In the past few months, candidates from various states have arrived in Chang'an one after another, and the court will conduct some assessments before granting them appropriate official positions based on their respective abilities. This is similar to the previous selection test, but since the candidates are mainly from Hebei, Li Tai also hopes that the test questions can be more targeted.

When the meeting was over, it was already very dark, so Li Tai decided not to go back to the inner chamber, but to stay in the outer palace to rest for the night and go to court the next morning. Before going to bed, he had nothing to do, so he glanced at the memorials on his desk. When he saw the manuscript submitted by the Ministry of Personnel and marked as submitted by Zu Ting, Li Tai frowned impatiently. But when he opened the first volume of the manuscript and saw the title, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and then he read it carefully.

After hastily reading the manuscript, Li Tai's face was already full of smiles. He ordered the manuscript to be sent to the Secretariat to be copied several times and distributed to various offices. He also instructed the eunuchs to inform the outer court and notify Zu Ting to attend the court meeting tomorrow.

If some people are placed in the wrong position, they will bring disaster to the country and the people, but if they can play an appropriate role, they will serve as a wake-up call to the world.

Li Tai did not expect Zu Ting to respond so quickly, and even understood some ideas that he had not yet formed a mature plan. It was really not generous and decent to purge the old people of Northern Qi by digging up old accounts, and it was not conducive to the appeasement and governance of the former Northern Qi. However, by digging deep into the internal problems of their regime and conducting academic discussions and criticisms, the effect of killing people and destroying their hearts could also be achieved.

The legal ruling was the result of the Tang Dynasty's magnanimous and inclusive mind, while the moral judgment was the most simple judgment of right and wrong by the general public.

Zu Ting's "On the Fall of Qi" provides an outline for this kind of discussion and criticism. All the old and young people of the Northern Qi Dynasty can be included in this topic for criticism and identification. This is much more effective than simply digging up old accounts and making unreasonable accusations against individual personalities.