I studied in modern times

Chapter 813 The Depressed Empress Dowager

Send away Pu Zongmeng and Qian Xie.

Zhao Xu put down the fishing rod in his hand and looked at the calm lake in front of him.

"Pu Zongmeng is a good catfish!" he commented.

In modern society, there is the concept of the "catfish effect".

By introducing external stimulation, we can activate the internal efficiency of the tissue and promote its own metabolism.

The current Song Dynasty court, under the various measures implemented by Zhao Xu in the past two years for the purpose of [stabilization] and [winning over the people's hearts], can almost be considered to be standing still or even regressing politically speaking!
Not to mention anything else, almost all the ministers in the court are conservatives.

Even Li Qingchen and Deng Runfu, who are members of the New Party, are actually conservatives in the New Party.

Tends to reconcile with the old party.

Almost all of the radical elements of the new party were excluded.

But now, isn’t the throne under this butt secure?

Therefore, Zhao Xu dismissed Zhang Xu and An Tao, two speculators of the New Party.

He couldn't wait to start selecting a catfish that could stir up the government and create chaos.

At first, Zhao Xu wanted to use Lu Huiqing.

Therefore, we have been building up momentum for Lu Huiqing.

He just wanted Lu Huiqing to return to the court and lead the charge for him.

But I don’t know what’s wrong with this guy Lu Huiqing?
He started a big fight before he even came back, and the preface to a "County Law" made the government and the people tremble with fear.

Under such circumstances, Zhao Xu had no choice but to give up Lu Huiqing.

He should choose catfish, not shark!

Therefore, they could only settle for the second best and choose between Zeng Bu and Pu Zongmeng.

Zeng Bu was eliminated almost immediately.

He is so slippery!

If he were appointed prime minister, he might even go and work together with Lu Gongzhu.

How does this work?
Of course, Zhao Xu’s inner resentment was also a reason.

So, in fact, he could only choose Pu Zongmeng.

Fortunately, Pu Zongmeng's performance today did not disappoint Zhao Xu.

He can be an excellent catfish.

only……

"We can't delay any longer..." Zhao Xu muttered to himself, "Because we'll have more trouble later!"

So he stood up and brought his people to Baoci Palace.

When Zhao Xu arrived, Empress Dowager Xiang was leading people to feed this year's spring silkworms in the silkworm room of Baoci Palace.

"Mother..." Zhao Xu arrived at the door of the silkworm room and saw Empress Dowager Xiang putting some silkworms that were about to make cocoons into the room prepared for them.

Hearing Zhao Xu's voice, Empress Dowager Xiang turned around in surprise: "Sixth brother is back?"

"Have you met Master Pu and Master Qian?"

"Yeah!" Zhao Xu walked forward.

His height now almost reaches Empress Dowager Xiang's shoulders.

So the mother and son standing together look harmonious.

He asked the Queen Mother: "How are the two scholars?"

Zhao Xu replied: "My dear mother, I think they are all ministers who can be entrusted with the care of the country!"

The Empress Dowager nodded and said, "Sixth brother wants to appoint Pu Xueshi as the Prime Minister?"

Qian Xie's poem as a Hanlin scholar had already been promulgated, although he immediately submitted a letter to decline it.

But that was just a story.

Therefore, the only focus is on Pu Zongmeng, the minister whose position is still unresolved.

Empress Dowager Xiang turned her head and looked at Zhao Xu and said, "But, mother, I heard that Scholar Pu's reputation is not very good..."

"I've heard that, too!" Zhao Xu said, "But the prime minister should use capable officials, not moral people!"

"Moreover... the gentlemen in the capital are now dominated by the pure stream... they need a turbid stream to balance and check them!"

With Zhao Xu's careful preparation, all the officials in the capital, from Lü Gongzhu onwards, are from upright official families.

Even Li Qingchen and Deng Runfu, who were ministers of the New Party, were like this.

Each of them is an honest official with an extremely good reputation.

"That's right..." Empress Dowager Xiang thought for a moment and nodded, "Sixth brother is right, it's time to hire a capable minister!"

Although she was not very familiar with the government.

However, the people of the Song Dynasty royal family are naturally well-instructed about checks and balances.

The big and the small are restrained, and different opinions are mixed up.

"But... the Empress Dowager..." Xiang said to the Empress Dowager, "It seems that she is interested in using Zeng Xueshi from Yangzhou!"

Zeng Bu had nothing to do with the position of prime minister.

Because his qualifications are not even as good as Pu Zongmeng's.

He was appointed as Hanlin Bachelor in December of the seventh year of Yuanfeng.

After only a few months in office, he was sent to Yangzhou as a scholar of the Duanming Palace.

Theoretically, he was not qualified to be appointed as prime minister, let alone to work in the two ministries. He would have to work hard for several more years - at least he had to get a position as a scholar in the Zizheng Palace before he would be qualified to work in the two ministries.

But it was during these few months that he got to know the Empress Dowager.

He was regarded as one of the family members by Qingshou Palace.

Moreover, Zeng Bu had a good wife.

His wife, Wei Wan, was very much loved by the Empress Dowager and was repeatedly praised by the Qingshou Palace as "a role model for women of the dynasty."

If it weren’t for the fact that his younger brother Zeng Zhao had done evil to the Qingshou Palace years ago.

Then, after Han Jiang retired, the Qingshou Palace would most likely issue an imperial decree directly to recall Zeng Bu.

In this way, Pu Zongmeng would have nothing to do.

Therefore, it is really hard to say whether Zeng Zhao’s case was accidental or someone in the court discovered this and took advantage of Zeng Zhao.

All I can say is that politics is a dark forest.

When you are in a trap, no one knows when and from where a hidden arrow will be shot at you.

To prevent being ambushed.

So most people will take action in advance.

It was for this reason that Zhao Xu threw a lot of smoke bombs when he recalled Pu Zongmeng.

Even Lu Huiqing, Cui Taifu and Yang Ji were used as smoke bombs and released to attract attention.

So much so that it was not until Pu Zongmeng came to Beijing that everyone suddenly realized the truth.

Zhao Xu hesitated for a moment before saying to Empress Dowager Xiang, "I think that Scholar Pu is more suitable to be the prime minister than Scholar Zeng."

"Besides, Master Zeng is still young and has plenty of opportunities!"

"As for Grandmother, I'll go talk to her..."

Empress Dowager Xiang put down the square in her hand and took Zhao Xu out of the stuffy silkworm room and into the cool courtyard.

"The Empress Dowager is still ashamed of the incident with the traitor Zhang Dunli, and she only eats vegetarian food and chants Buddhist scriptures in the Qingshou Palace..."

"Sixth brother should go and show more condolences..."

"Son, I understand!" Zhao Xu supported Empress Dowager Xiang, and the mother and son walked in the corridor of Baoci Palace.

Behind them, the eunuchs carrying the imperial weapons and the silent imperial dragon guards followed silently.

Female officials carrying various teas and snacks followed closely behind.

……

In Baoci Palace, he had lunch with Empress Dowager Xiang and then took a nap. After getting up, Zhao Xu washed up and took his people to Qingshou Palace.

Since Zhang Dunli's death, Qingshou Palace has fallen into silence.

The Empress Dowager chanted scriptures and prayed every day in the Buddhist temple in the palace.

no way!
The Zhang Dunli case dealt a heavy blow to the prestige and reputation of the Qingshou Palace.

Before the case of the royal concubine, there was no rain in Bianjing for a long time. After the case broke out, it started to rain and wind.

Why can't others see it?

But the Empress Dowager of Qingshou Palace was frightened to death. She was a superstitious person and believed in gods and Buddhas.

After such a thing happened, she was naturally very frightened.

In addition, after the incident, those gossipy women within the royal family had been whispering.

There are all kinds of opinions!

Naturally, these discussions could hardly fail to influence the opinions of other people within the royal family.

The three leaders of the royal family, Zhao Zongsheng, the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Clan, Zhao Zongjing, the Co-Director of the Imperial Clan, and Zhao Zonghui, the Successor Prince of Pu, submitted a petition requesting the strengthening of the management of foreign relatives shortly after the Zhang Dunli case.

We must learn from Zhang Dunli's example and guard against the emergence of stubborn, ambitious people and traitors.

Especially now, the ruler is young, the country is in doubt, and the barbarians are watching closely.

This is almost an impolite accusation against the Qingshou Palace.

The only thing missing is the examples of Queen Mother Wang of the Western Han Dynasty and Yang Lihua of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

For these people from the royal family, you can do whatever you want with the court and the royal family.

But as long as it harms their vital interests.

Then they will definitely jump up and curse.

The case of Zhang Dunli made them jump up and down - family members, who understands! Their home was almost robbed!
Many people were scared and broke out in cold sweats.

I suddenly thought of the orphans and widows of the Later Zhou Dynasty and the royal members of all dynasties whose entire family’s household registration books were destroyed.

Therefore, the atmosphere of the Qingshou Palace can be imagined.

Silent, gloomy, desolate...

Although the eunuchs and female officials were moving around, they were like zombies or clay puppets.

Several big minks hung their heads, looking listless, and they seemed absent-minded as if they had not slept for several days.

It was only when Zhao Xu arrived that they finally perked up.

"Everyone..." Liang Congzheng, the big mink in the Qingshou Palace, was revived to full health the moment he saw Zhao Xu's ceremonial procession, and immediately came back to life from his half-dead state.

He immediately took his men out of the palace and went out to meet them.

When Zhao Xu saw this "undercover" that his father had personally placed in the Qingshou Palace, a smile broke out on his face - of course, this was something Liang Congzheng had secretly told Zhao Xu in his previous life, when the Empress Dowager was seriously ill.

No one knows whether it is true or false, and no one cares whether it is true or false.

"Liang Yaban...where is the mother?" Zhao Xu asked.

"Let me inform you all, the Queen just took a short nap and is now chanting sutras in the Buddhist hall..." Liang Congzheng answered in a low voice.

"How is the mother today?" Zhao Xu asked.

He had just paid his respects and left Qingshou Palace in the morning. The Empress Dowager looked listless at that time.

Zhao Xu just asked how he was, then said goodbye and left.

"I'm here to inform you all that Her Majesty was just like usual today. She only had some vegetarian food and then went to the Buddhist temple to chant sutras and worship Buddha..."

"Yeah!" Zhao Xu nodded.

He raised his head and looked towards the Qingshou Palace in front of him. To be honest, he did not expect that Zhang Dunli's case would be exposed before the rain.

This directly nailed Zhang Dunli to the pillar of shame as an ambitious person, conspirator, and traitor.

It also caused the prestige and reputation of the Qingshou Palace to plummet.

Now, even members of the royal family are not very close to the Qingshou Palace.

Everyone was busy going to Baoci Palace.

It was under such circumstances that the Empress Dowager repeatedly rejected the ministers' requests to "enter the main hall."

And it seems that even after the Dragon Boat Festival, the Qingshou Palace will probably not be able to come out to hear government affairs.

In this regard, Zhao Xu could only say that this was a bit too much.

So he asked, "Has anyone entered the palace today?"

Liang Congzheng replied: "Reporting to everyone, Zeng Duanming's wife Wei was ordered to enter the palace this morning and talked to the queen..."

"Oh!" Zhao Xu was not surprised.

Now, the Empress Dowager, who is in trouble, desperately needs the recognition and support from the literati.

Zeng Bu's wife, Wei Wan, was a famous talented woman in the Song Dynasty.

She is even one of the few women of the Song Dynasty whose names were recorded in history books.

There must be a reason that will go down in history.

Obviously, apart from the interesting stories.

Mrs. Wei's level of dealing with people and her method of doing things are also very high.

With the level of talent of this lady, it would naturally be no problem for her to befriend the Empress Dowager and make her happy.

"Take me to see the great mother!"

"promise!"

Under the leadership of Liang Congzheng, Zhao Xu came to the Buddhist hall in Qingshou Palace.

"Grandmother!" Zhao Xu knelt down at the door and greeted her: "Sun Chen is here to see you!"

The Empress Dowager, who was sitting on the futon, turned around and forced a smile: "The Emperor is here!"

"Come in and talk!"

"promise!"

Zhao Xu stood up and walked in.

The scent of sandalwood burning in the Buddhist temple permeates your mouth and nose.

He walked to the side of the Grand Empress Dowager, sat down, and asked with concern: "Sun Chen heard from Liang Congzheng that the Grand Empress Dowager still has no appetite for dinner today?"

"Would you like to ask the imperial doctor to come and take a look?"

The Empress Dowager shook her head, looked at Zhao Xu lovingly, and said, "I appreciate your filial piety, Your Excellency..."

"It's just that I'm suffering from a heart disease..."

"Is there any medicine to cure heart disease?" She smiled self-deprecatingly.

Zhao Xu was silent.

He knew that the Empress Dowager's worry was half because of Zhang Dunli and half because of the sudden change in power.

Prime Minister, royal family...

They were all vaguely distancing themselves from her, yet also wary of her.

These days, no one in the court has publicly discussed [restricting] the Qingshou Palace.

But those small actions carried out quietly in private are proceeding in an orderly manner.

It is no exaggeration to say that now, if the edict is signed and sealed by the Qingshou Palace alone, when it reaches the outer court, the prime ministers in the capital may not recognize it.

At least not right away.

And within the royal family, there were already a few side branches who were clamoring outside, "The emperor is getting older... we should follow the example of Zhangxian and Mingsu and beg the Empress Dowager to sleep with the emperor."

This is a naked lack of trust in the Qingshou Palace - otherwise, they should have [begged the two palaces to sleep with the emperor].

The attitude of Baoci Palace is even more ambiguous.

In the past, every time Zhao Xu came to Qingshou Palace, Empress Dowager Xiang would accompany him.

but now……

Apart from paying respects twice a day, morning and evening, Empress Dowager Xiang never came again.

Obviously, Baoci Palace is deliberately distancing itself from Qingshou Palace.

This is also understandable.

For Empress Dowager Xiang, she could tolerate anything.

The only person she couldn't tolerate was Zhao Xu, nor could she give in.

Therefore, Baoci Palace also took action secretly.

For example, the Imperial City Division now has one more person in charge of the affairs of the Imperial City Division - Liu Weijian.

Although, Liu Weijian's appointment was nominally a [special promotion by order of the Empress Dowager].

But even a fool knows that with Zhu's personality, how could she have the courage to interfere in the personnel affairs of the Imperial City Bureau?

It could only be the order of Baoci Palace. Just to avoid excitement, Zhu was asked to come forward, and as the imperial concubine, she was appointed a trusted eunuch to take charge of the Imperial City Administration.

This appointment was approved by the capital in almost seconds, and the ministers used their seal immediately.

Under such circumstances, it would be strange if the Empress Dowager of Qingshou Palace was not depressed!

(End of this chapter)