I studied in modern times

Chapter 733 Emperor Shenzong: The wind can come in, the rain can come in, but I cannot!
February 22nd of the second year of Yuanyou ().

Bianjing City, the first stacking yard of Zhouqiao.

A passenger ship coming from the southeast slowly approached the shore.

When the boat docked, the captain smiled and invited out a middle-aged Confucian scholar in a Confucian robe.

"Mr. Shu, we've arrived in Bianjing!"

The middle-aged scholar nodded and walked out of the cabin.

His students and followers were now helping him to arrange his formalities.

Mainly books, notes, some daily necessities, personal collections of books, book stickers, stationery, etc.

The captain smiled and complimented him: "I hope you can achieve great things and become a leader in the world when you come to Beijing this time!"

The middle-aged scholar nodded slightly: "Thank you for your good words, I hope so!"

Then he stood on the deck and looked at Bianjing in front of him.

After not seeing it for many years, the appearance of Bianjing City seems to have changed completely.

On the stacking yard, you will no longer see those ferocious-looking officials who collect commercial taxes and extort money from merchants.

The figures of the eunuchs who were riding horses and showing off their power everywhere also disappeared.

Instead, there were shirtless men carrying account books and checking the commercial goods on each ship.

If you look up, you can see flags hanging under the embankment of the Bian River on the stacking yard.

Sun's Yuye Liquor, Wang Erniangzi's Residence, Sun's BBQ...

There are so many products to see, and the commercial atmosphere immediately hits you.

Even the air seemed to be filled with the smell of money.

The layout and appearance of the stacking yard inside and outside have also completely changed.

Several wooden 'road-like' things extend from the dock to the stacking yard.

On the dock, several huge machines with winches were operating slowly, operated by dozens of strong men.

A huge wooden structure stands in the middle of the pier.

Thick ropes with iron hooks hanging from them lifted dozens or even hundreds of stones of cargo from the cabin, and then transferred them to the dock through a thick movable wooden arm.

As soon as the goods were unloaded, coolies in blue clothes came forward and started moving them.

But they don’t need to be transported far.

All that is needed is to move the goods from the dock to the carriages on the wooden 'roads' built outside the dock.

Once the carriage was filled, the driver would whip the draft horse and pull the carriage loaded with goods towards the stacking yard.

Everything in front of him was familiar yet strange. The middle-aged scholar sighed slightly.

He had the illusion of being out of touch with the world.

Everything seems like a dream!
Yet it actually appeared before my eyes.

Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to a crowd gathered on the pier.

The scholars in wide robes with big sleeves surrounded an official in a scarlet robe, weeping.

It seems like he is saying goodbye.

"A scarlet robe? This is an important official of the seventh rank or above!" The middle-aged scholar sighed, "I wonder which great general is going to be in charge!"

Just at this moment, a clerk with an account book brought his men onto the ship that the middle-aged scholar was on and began routine checks.

When he heard the middle-aged scholar's words, he snorted and said, "What is Gaoxian?"

"You don't know what's good for you, you just listen to what others say... you are a close minister to the government!"

"It's only because the government is lenient, otherwise he would be in trouble!"

The middle-aged scholar was surprised when he heard this: "A close official of the government?"

"But Su Zhe and Su Ziyu?"

He has read the court gazette.

The palace report said that Xianyu Qun, the Left Counselor, and Shangguan Jun, the Censor-in-Chief, were demoted for misusing public funds and were sent to govern remote military prefectures.

However, Zeng Zhao, the secretary of the Secretariat, was appointed as the governor of Huzhou due to illness.

Another secretary, Su Che, was sent to Chenzhou.

This is what happened in this month of Guimao (20).

But the official newspaper only briefly mentioned it and did not explain the reason in detail.

Even Xian Yuqian and others had the simple reason of "using public funds improperly".

Zeng Zhao and Su Che were not even charged with any crime.

This matter itself reveals something strange.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar had been an official for many years and was an expert at political strife! Of course he knew that there was a lot of water here!

The guy sneered: "Who else could it be except him?"

"How pitiful!" said the clerk. "A bright future was ruined in an instant because you listened to what others said and didn't distinguish right from wrong!"

The middle-aged scholar was very curious when he heard this. After thinking for a while, he said, "I am an official from other places who came to Beijing..."

"I've just arrived and I don't know anything about the capital!"

As he spoke, he took out dozens of coins from his pocket and stuffed them into the clerk's hand: "Please, sir, tell me about Su Ziyu's story."

"If you are willing, I will reward you handsomely!"

When the guy saw the copper coins, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

It has always been like this in Bianjing City.

If you have money, you are the boss!
If you pay, someone will help you!

Besides, it was just a waste of words. He immediately took the money with a smile, then handed the account book to the person who followed him and asked the latter to go to the captain to register.

Then he bowed to the middle-aged scholar and said, "It's you, the official, in person!"

"I wonder why the magpie outside my door kept chirping when I woke up this morning!"

"It turned out that the magpie was a spirit. It knew that I would meet a noble person today, so it came to announce the good news!"

As he said this, he invited the middle-aged scholar to the side of the deck, and then asked, "What do you want to know?"

The middle-aged scholar thought for a moment and asked, "May I ask, do you know why Su Zhe and Su Ziyou came to be known as a scholar?"

The waiter asked, "Sir, don't you know?"

"That official Su believed others' words and framed a wise minister of the country. The court must punish him!"

As he spoke, the waiter introduced last year's Ye Kangzhi case to the middle-aged Confucian scholar.

What is said is clear and coherent, as if you are actually there.

Many inside stories and secrets are also readily available.

Naturally, it is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood here.

But it still made the middle-aged Confucian scholar astonished.

The citizens of Bianjing City really like gossip and are keen on chasing gossip.

but……

A dock boy can talk about state affairs and palace secrets so clearly?

This is too exaggerated!
Is he a special case? Or is this the way Bianjing is now?

The middle-aged Confucian scholar couldn't help but feel horrified just thinking about it!

Because, if most of the citizens in Bianliang today could have such knowledge and insights.

Then it would be very difficult to be an official in Bian Jing.

In a capital city with a population of one and a half million, a single word from you and me can shake the palace.

Once the voice of public opinion is concentrated, I am afraid even the prime minister will pay attention to it!
The clerk was very excited. After introducing the general situation, he continued to talk: "Speaking of which, it is really a great favor from the emperor that this Mr. Su can be appointed as the governor of the prefectures in the capital!"

"If it's true what people say, I wish the court would banish this official Su to a remote military state, and tell him to reflect on himself and stop associating with those villains and traitors who slandered the late emperor and the Holy Lord in the future!"

As he spoke, he even gritted his teeth.

This is exaggerated!

The middle-aged scholar was very surprised and asked, "Who do you mean by villain and traitor?"

"Aren't they just the two thieves Xianyu and Shangguan?!"

"It would be fine if they embezzled public funds and abused their power for personal gain!"

"And the censors found out that I had publicly discussed the faults of the late emperor many times in the past. My words were often disrespectful to the late emperor, and I even slandered the late emperor as a sage!"

"It is because the emperor is so kind and virtuous that he swore before the late emperor that he would not punish ministers for their words... Otherwise, those two treacherous ministers would have suffered!"

This is even more exaggerated!

The late emperor? The sage?
The middle-aged Confucian scholar was a little dazed, and even felt that there was something wrong with his ears, wondering if he had heard it wrongly.

When the late emperor was in power, he had a very bad image among the people of the capital!

People have privately accused me of having great ambitions but little talent, and being autocratic and dictatorial.

The waiter saw the middle-aged scholar's astonishment and laughed, saying, "I think the sir doesn't know yet?"

"I, the Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, have a fierce, martial, and filial heart. I not only care about the people, but I also have compassion for all living things!"

"Back then, when the city of Bianjing was being rebuilt, an official petitioned the emperor to forcibly demolish the houses built by the people at the foot of the imperial city. When the late emperor learned about this, he told the prime minister: No! These houses were built by our people. They were built with the blood and sweat of our ancestors and with great effort. They are the property of the people and the pride of the people!"

"Li says: Even if good has no evidence, without evidence, it is not believed, and without belief, the people will not follow! Poetry says: There is no evil there, and there is no shooting here; I hope that I can work day and night, and I will be praised forever!"

"Although I am not virtuous, I still dare not allow the government to invade people's homes without compensation!"

"So he ordered the officials to compensate the people for the losses of their houses before they were allowed to demolish them!"

"The current official once asked the late emperor about this matter, and the late emperor taught him: My boy, the people's homes and the people's property are the result of their blood and sweat and hard work... If they had not violated the law, then the wind could come in, the rain could come in, but I could not come in!"

"This is the basis for our Zhao family to rule the world and spread virtue to all directions! Remember this!"

When the middle-aged man heard this, he opened his mouth wide, totally unable to believe his ears.

what's the situation?
The late emperor?!
Would the late emperor, who valued money more than anything else, say such a thing?
Are you kidding?
The previous one is reasonable.

Is the following sentence, 'The wind can come in, the rain can come in, but I cannot come in', something the former emperor would say?

The middle-aged scholar swallowed his saliva.

He knew very well that the late emperor only wanted his ministers to help him make money, and he never cared how or where the ministers got the money.

But he didn't dare to deny it, let alone question it.

I could only ask weakly: "May I ask where this came from?"

The clerk said, "It's the Bianjing Newspaper!"

He stared with eyes wide open, as if looking at a rare animal: "Sir, have you not even read the Bianjing Newspaper?"

"This is not okay!"

"Now, if you come to the capital and don't read the Bianjing Newspaper, you will not be able to gain a foothold in this capital, whether you are a scholar, a civilian, an official or a businessman!"

"Your Excellency should go buy a few copies and have a look..."

At this point, the clerk came up to the middle-aged scholar and whispered, "If you trust me, I can recommend a shop that sells important articles published in the Bianjing New Newspaper in the past two years..."

"That shop not only has all the important reports from the Bianjing Newspaper, but also sells a complete set of Romance of the Three Kingdoms!"

"The price is very reasonable. A full set of Bianjing Newspaper and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms script can be purchased for only 20 strings of cash! For someone like you who came to Beijing to serve as an official, this is the most practical way to understand the past of Bianjing!"

(End of this chapter)