I studied in modern times

Chapter 1061 Recommended
The weather is nice today, sunny and breezy, with gentle waves rippling in the inner pond where colorful fish swim.

Zhao Xu, carrying his fishing rod, slowly dragged a Yellow River carp the size of his palm to the shore.

A young eunuch beside him immediately and cleverly took a net and scooped up the carp.

Just then, Shen Kuo was brought before Zhao Xu.

When he saw Zhao Xu catch a carp, his mood brightened instantly.

He knew that officials these days were generally in a good mood whenever they had a good catch of fish.

He immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I, the Minister in charge of the Bureau of Ordnance Manufacturing, respectfully wish Your Majesty a long and healthy life!"

Upon seeing Shen Kuo, Zhao Xu laughed: "The Supervisor is truly my lucky general! I'm catching fish the moment he arrives!"

He picked up the net that the young eunuch had brought to him and weighed the carp struggling in it.

It weighs about half a pound, but it is golden all over and has very beautiful fur.

Shen Kuo quickly put on a smile and began to flatter, "It's all thanks to His Majesty's boundless blessings; I was merely fortunate to be there!"

"Hehe!" Zhao Xu laughed, casually pointing to the fishing chair that had been prepared not far from him, and said to Shen Kuo, "Please sit down, Supervisor!"

"It's been a long time since I've gone fishing with you, Supervisor. I happen to have some free time today, so please join me for a while!"

"By the way, let's have a private chat, you and I, ruler and subject!"

This was not the first time Shen Kuo had accompanied the emperor on a fishing trip, and he was already familiar with the procedures. Upon hearing the decree, he immediately bowed and said, "Your subject will respectfully obey your esteemed command!"

Then he skillfully stepped forward, carefully sat down on the fishing chair next to Zhao Xu, picked up the fishing rod that had been prepared for him, baited it, and cast it into the water.

Zhao Xu waited quietly for Shen Kuo to finish before asking, "Did the Prefect submit his memorial to the palace today for the sake of Prince Jing?"

Shen Kuo quickly and respectfully replied, "Yes!"

Zhao Xu scoffed.

Shen Kuo's political wisdom was indeed sometimes lacking.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have reached the point where the New Party disliked it and the Old Party shunned it during the Yuanfeng era.

As a result, after he was placed under the jurisdiction of Suizhou, not a single person offered him any help.

If Zhao Xu hadn't needed his talent...

He will never have a chance to rise above his circumstances.

But that's precisely why Zhao Xu liked him so much—a man hated by both the new and old parties, and a minister who had been demoted for many years, was the best tool.

Moreover, this tool is a rare find among today's technocrats and managerial bureaucrats.

“The people of Fujian still hate Wang Zijing to the bone!” Zhao Xu said softly, “Minister Cai is upright and Minister Zhang is kind-hearted. They both say that this man is mean and cruel, skilled at oppressing the people, and should not be employed!”

For Cai Que, attacking Wang Zijing was a kind of instinctive political instinct.

Just like someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder will definitely start tidying up a messy bookshelf when they see it.

But Zhang Dun genuinely disliked people like Wang Zijing.

Moreover, this person has brought disaster to Zhang Dun's hometown.

Therefore, even though Zhang Dun was observing mourning, he was still excited when he heard that the court intended to reinstate a group of ministers who had committed crimes during the reigns of Emperor Xi and Emperor Feng.

He immediately wrote to Zhao Xu, stating bluntly that Prince Jing was a threat and should never be used!

Shen Kuo lowered his head and said, "Prime Minister Cai once said that I am 'fickle and opportunistic, and should never be used'!"

Shen Kuo always harbored hatred towards Cai Que.

When Wang Anshi was dismissed from his post and Wu Chong took over, Shen Kuo joined Wu Chong's camp and proposed reforming the labor service system.

As a result, Wu Chong was no match for Cai Que and left in disgrace. Shen Kuo, on the other hand, was punished by Cai Que for "flattering ministers" and "being inconsistent," and was dismissed from office and demoted to Academician of Jixian Academy and Prefect of Xuanzhou.

A year later, it was Cai Que who prevented him from being reinstated.

It wasn't until the second year of the Yuanfeng era that Shen Kuo and Shen Cunzhong were able to return to the court and were appointed as the Chief Judge of the Court of Judicial Review.

During this process, Cai Que blocked Shen Kuo for a full three years!
How many three-year periods does a scholar-official have?
If it weren't for Cai Que, why would Shen Kuo have bothered to wade into the muddy waters of Yongle City on Fuyan Road?
If it weren't for the defeat at Yongle City, how could Shen Kuo have been exiled to Suizhou for several years?
Therefore, Shen Kuo always harbored hatred towards Cai Que—cutting off someone's livelihood meant killing their parents; cutting off someone's career meant irreconcilable enmity!

Therefore, he repeatedly spoke ill of Cai Que to Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu let Shen Kuo do as he pleased—after all, it was a private conversation.

Besides, it was Emperor Zhao's nature to enjoy watching his ministers fight amongst themselves in private; the fiercer the fighting, the happier he was.

After all, if the ministers all love and care for each other.

The emperor would be in danger!
Then Shen Kuo continued, "As for Minister Zhang..."

"My husband is observing mourning at home; what he knows and hears may not be true..."

"Hmm?" Zhao Xu narrowed his eyes and looked at Shen Kuo, giving him a 'say it again' look.

Shen Kuo quickly stopped talking and changed the subject: "Even if Prince Jing was wrong, he has been reflecting on his mistakes for four years now. During these four years, Prince Jing has been introspecting every day and has written to me many times, saying that when he was in Fujian, he failed to understand His Majesty's will, which led to harm to the people and elders..."

"Your Majesty, please grant us another chance..."

Zhao Xu chuckled. He knew that Wang Zijing, Wu Juhou, and Jian Xuchen were all cut from the same cloth. They were bureaucrats who only cared about their superiors, pure power-hungry creatures, and staunch feudal monarchist warriors.

Such a person, if used well, can be a sharp knife.

If used incorrectly...

Referencing Jingdong Road, Jiangnan West Road, and Fujian Road during the Yuanfeng era.

Even if it can't be described as a state of utter misery, it was certainly a chaotic and unhealthy place.

Therefore, let alone the old party ministers in the court, this applies to these people as well.

Even the few ministers in the New Party who still had some conscience were very wary.

Therefore, the imperial edicts issued to Wu Juhou and other officials who were reinstated did not include any mention of them returning to the capital to report on their duties.

Instead, they were instructed to take up their posts immediately upon receiving the imperial decree!

What for?
It's because they're afraid of these people who, after meeting Zhao Xu and establishing a relationship with him, will then "bewitch the Holy Emperor" and repeat the mistakes of Emperor Yuanfeng.

After all, the practice of escalating prices and exploiting the land at every level, pioneered by Wu Juhou and his ilk, severely damaged the interests of landlords and gentry.

Because these scoundrels, for the sake of their own KPIs, treat farmers, merchants, landlords, gentry, and bureaucrats equally.

We will never make an exception for someone just because they are a landlord or gentry.

In fact, precisely because they were landlords and gentry, they could extract more profit from the land, so these guys treated the local powerful families with even greater ruthlessness!
A county magistrate who ruins a family, a prefect who exterminates an entire clan—these are not just empty words.

That could truly destroy a family and wipe out an entire clan!
Thinking about all this, Zhao Xu asked leisurely, "The Supervisor should know this, right..."

"The imperial court has a law: if a minister recommends someone and that person later commits a crime, the recommender will be held jointly liable!"

The Song Dynasty did indeed have such a system.

This is also why it is so difficult for selected officials to change their official positions—generally, in addition to the hard requirement of three terms and six examinations, there is also the requirement that five recommenders be gathered, and one of them must be a supervisory official of the first level of the circuit.

Otherwise, this person will be forever lost in the sea of ​​elections, with no hope of ever rising again!

The problem is that this system is designed for people who have no connections or powerful backers.

When one's status reaches a certain level, like Shen Kuo's is now.

If the person he recommended really causes a problem, can the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate really punish him?

If the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate dare to hold Shen Kuo accountable for such a matter...

Then just wait to be retaliated against by Zhao Xu—how dare you treat my people so disrespectfully?
This is no ordinary arrogance!
Must hit hard!
Therefore, generally speaking, high-ranking officials are punished by the court because of the person who recommended them.

Basically, the reason wasn't that he recommended the wrong person.

It's purely because he had problems in other areas.

But Zhao Xu asked Shen Kuo at this moment whether he was willing to vouch for Wang Zijing.

This is when things get serious.

If Prince Jing causes trouble in the future, Shen Kuo will surely be implicated!
Even if Zhao Xu doesn't pursue the matter then, Shen Kuo's political enemies won't let this opportunity pass.

Shen Kuo certainly understood this.

Therefore, he was momentarily speechless.

Just when Zhao Xu thought Shen Kuo would give up, he seemed to have made up his mind. He lowered his head and said softly, "Your Majesty, I am willing to recommend Prince Jing!"

"If he is found guilty in the future, I am willing to be implicated as well!"

A glint of light flashed in Zhao Xu's eyes, and he immediately sat up straight and looked at Shen Kuo.

Shen Kuo felt a little uneasy under his gaze, but still firmly said, "I beg Your Majesty to grant me this favor!"

Zhao Xu put down his fishing rod and asked seriously, "Does the Supervisor know what he's saying?"

"I know!"

Zhao Xu narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself, "It seems that Prince Jing is very important to Shen Kuo!"

If it weren't for the fact that Prince Jing had already reached a certain level of importance in Shen Kuo's heart...

Zhao Xu knew that Shen Kuo would never take such a big responsibility for him.

So, what did Wang Zijing do?

Zhao Xu was very curious about this!
So he said softly, "In that case, I will grant this favor out of consideration for your appointment..."

Shen Kuo was overjoyed and was about to express his gratitude.

Then Zhao Xu said, "However, I cannot ignore the thoughts of the two ministers, Cai and Zhang, as well as the people of Fujian!"

"Therefore, Prince Jing must not return to the capital, much less be appointed to important posts or major prefectures!"

"At most, I'll assign him a military governorship in a remote prefecture, or..."

Zhao Xu asked with great interest, "Send him to Jiaozhou to work with Lü Jiawen!"

(End of this chapter)