I studied in modern times

Chapter 876 The beginning of torture for Zhao Hao

Jiazi (fifteenth) in the seventh month of the second year of Yuanyou.

Luo Shi, the imperial attendant and acting magistrate of Kaifeng County, was also the acting prosecutor of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Luo Shi was a Jinshi in the second year of Zhiping.

This person is a well-known infrastructure fanatic.

Since he took office, he has frantically launched water conservancy projects and various infrastructure wherever he has gone.

The key is that he usually doesn't ask his superiors for resources, nor does he make random allocations like others.

Instead, we should make use of existing resources according to local conditions and then mobilize the people.

Such people, even in modern times, would be considered bureaucrats who "can give".

Therefore, when Luo Shi was an official in Kaifeng County, he was noticed by Zhao Xu.

Many projects in the city of Bianjing were assigned to Luo Shi.

If you need money, I will give you money; if you need people, I will give you people; if you need technology, I will give you technology.

Today, the two wooden transport tracks in Bianliang City that connect the major stacking yards and the Bianliang Academy were built by Luo Shi and Jia Zhongmin.

In addition, last year, Luo Shi also presided over the maintenance project of the Bianhe River embankment, raised and reinforced the embankment, and built a number of flood discharge gates for flood diversion during flood periods.

Zhao Xu was very satisfied, so when Kaifeng Prefecture dismissed officials, Luo Shi was promoted.

He was promoted directly from the magistrate of Kaifeng County to the prosecutor of Kaifeng Prefecture and became the fourth most important person in Kaifeng Prefecture.

It can be said to be soaring!
As for Zhang Shangying, the former magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture?
He was implicated in various cases in the prefecture and was dismissed along with Cai Jing.

However, his dethronement was just a formality.

Less than half a month after being dismissed, he took up a new post - Inspector of the Criminal Justice Affairs of Guangnan West Road and Director of the Criminal Justice Affairs of Annan Protectorate.

According to common sense, this was definitely a demotion - he was demoted to Lingnan!
However, the current situation is one of promotion.

The assignments to Xihe and Guangxi are now recognized as lucrative jobs!
The inspection is quick, the political achievements are many, and the benefits are huge.

The key is to get straight to the point!
The Ministry of Personnel must report the lists of officials from these two places directly to the emperor.

So, it’s very hot!

Now, the dispatches from Xihe and Guangxi have already been "overtaken" by the Ministry of Personnel.

Whenever a vacancy appears, there will be hundreds of officials competing for it!

On the same day, Zhao Xu issued an edict: Because of Kun Chengjie's deeds, he extended his favor to the whole country and stopped all tributes from the military states.

Local tribute was the annual tribute/tribute during the Han and Tang dynasties. It was originally a symbolic offering of local specialties to the central government for the emperor to reward or play with.

Therefore, the amount of local tribute is generally relatively small.

For example, in Kaifeng Prefecture, the annual tribute was only 30 rolls of square-patterned silk, 30 rolls of square-patterned gauze, 11 pieces of reed mats, 15 catties of ephedra, and one dou of sour jujube.

Even the poorest military state can easily take it out.

But the problem is that local people are willing to use this as an excuse to levy levies.

During the trial of the cases of clerks in the prefecture, it was discovered that a large number of clerks had levied and added taxes in the name of tribute.

There was a corrupt official who levied nearly a hundred strings of silver tribute in just one township.

According to conservative estimates, the clerks in the 17 counties and 21 towns within the prefecture had to levy miscellaneous taxes of tens of thousands of strings of cash every year under the guise of "local tribute."

The impact is very bad!
This is still Kaifeng Prefecture!

Under the emperor's nose!
Zhao Xu couldn't imagine what would happen to the tribute from the six southeastern routes?
The key point is, not a single penny of this money went into Zhao Xu’s sealed pile warehouse!
In fact, few of them ended up in the pockets of local officials.

Most of it went into the pockets of the clerks!

Many clerks even believed that this was the benefit given to them by the imperial court!

Therefore, everyone feels at ease taking it.

In other words, Zhao Xu himself only received thirty rolls of square-patterned gauze and square-patterned satin, eleven reed mats, fifteen catties of ephedra, and one bushel of sour jujube every year.

But they have to bear the stigma of having to pay tens of thousands of strings of cash every year!

You got the benefits!

The pot is mine?!

Outrageous!

Zhao Xu simply took a one-size-fits-all approach and stopped all local tributes.

Of course, the central government still needs local specialties.

This is the need for great unification!
It is also a manifestation of the dynasty's presence.

Therefore, Zhao Xu subsequently issued an edict, ordering officials to compile a list of local tributes from prefectures and counties, and then allocate money from the Fengzhuang Treasury to give to prefecture and county officials, who would then purchase the corresponding local products on the market at market prices.

Then it was sent to the city of Bianjing through the country's postal system.

In this way, the imperial court could still obtain local specialties, while the local governments had no reason or excuse to impose additional taxes. Although many local officials might still make money under the guise of "local tribute".

But in the end, the blame could no longer be put on Emperor Zhao.

After Zhao Xu's decree was issued, there was naturally praise from both inside and outside the court.

The elders even directly equated this matter with Emperor Wen of Han's suspension of tribute from various vassal states, praising it as "the most benevolent policy throughout the ages."

As a result, the Qingshou Palace also became happy.

This was because Zhao Xu's excuse for stopping the local tribute was "for the sake of the Holy Mother's Day."

This is undoubtedly the best gift for Qingshou Palace, who has the most face in his life.

Therefore, on the second day, which was the sixteenth day of the seventh month, the Empress Dowager specially sent someone to invite Zhao Xu and Empress Dowager Xiang to the Qingshou Palace to attend a palace banquet.

Zhao Xu and Empress Dowager Xiang gladly accepted the invitation and waited at the Qingshou Palace.

Zhao Xu discovered that many people came to the palace banquet this time.

The entire Qingshou Palace is populated by people from the royal family and relatives by marriage.

When Zhao Xu and Empress Dowager Xiang arrived, these people immediately lined up in a huge crowd and came to the hall to greet Zhao Xu and Empress Dowager Xiang.

The first people to arrive at the palace were, naturally, the two imperial uncles and their families.

"Your Majesty, Prince of Yang Hao (Prince of Jing), respectfully wishes the Emperor and the Empress Dowager good health!"

Then, there were two sentences from a female voice.

"Your servant, Wang..." A delicate girl's voice came from behind Prince Jing.

This is Zhao Xu’s new aunt, Wang, the new wife that King of Jing Zhao Ju married this year.

She came from a prominent family and was a lady from the Wang family of Taiyuan.

In order to express his joy for his uncle's remarriage, Zhao Xu specially sent someone to Dengzhou to ask Su Shi to write a poem for the imperial concubine Wang.

This made Zhao Ru very proud among the royal family!
He became the prince recognized as the most favored by the emperor.

After Wang, a middle-aged female voice that sounded a little tired came out: "Your servant Feng..."

"May His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress Dowager be blessed!"

Zhao Xu looked into the hall through the curtain and saw a Taoist woman wearing a Taoist robe standing in the hall behind Zhao Hao, bowing towards the curtain.

At the same time, Zhao Xu also saw the gloomy Sima face of his 'dear second uncle'.

"Master Shouchong, why did you enter the palace?" Zhao Xu asked softly.

A female official replied: "I have informed the emperor that it is the grace of the empress. She has specially decreed that Master Xizhen Ningji be allowed to leave Yaohua Palace and reunite with his family because of Kuncheng Festival..."

Zhao Xu listened and said happily: "This is naturally the best!"

Zhao Xu knew that Prince Hao of Yang dreamed of completely cutting ties with Feng and marrying a new wife.

However, this is impossible!

As long as Feng was still alive, he could not marry another woman even if he and Feng had divorced.

Because he and Feng have a son!
If he marries a new bride, where will the prince be placed?

This would directly lead to a crisis of etiquette and law, and the court officials would never agree to it - if they agreed, then next time, when the emperor wanted to depose the queen, how would the court officials dissuade him?
Once the emperor can depose the empress at will, it also means that the emperor can depose the crown prince at will!
In the minds of civil officials, this is the source of disaster and chaos.

Therefore, in order to prevent the emperor from arbitrarily deposing the empress, the civil officials would strictly guard against all marriages among royal family members.

Want to divorce?
you can!

But unless one of them dies, the woman cannot remarry, and the man cannot remarry.

Even if one of the spouses died midway and the other wanted to remarry, the court officials would try their best to stop it.

This is called preventing problems before they arise, and it is also a warning for those who come after you!

A typical example is Princess Fukang’s husband Li Wei.

Princess Fukang had been dead for more than twenty years, but Li Wei never dared to mention remarrying.

As long as he dared to mention it, the civil officials would dig up his past and criticize him.

Therefore, as long as Feng was alive, even if she was trapped in Yaohua Palace, Zhao Ru could not escape Feng's shadow.

Not to mention, now Feng has walked out of Yaohua Palace.

Given the nature of the civil officials and literati of the Song Dynasty, as long as they knew about this, they would definitely launch an offensive immediately - demanding that Feng and Yang Wanghao remarry.

Just like they did back then, forcing Princess Fukang and Li Wei to remarry.

In the eyes of the literati, this was the obligation and responsibility of Emperor Zhao and his relatives.

The emperor has no family affairs, family affairs are state affairs!
Therefore, the Heavenly Family must be a role model for the world!
If your family is in chaos and does not observe etiquette and laws, how can you expect people all over the world to observe etiquette and laws?

Aren’t the lessons of the Tang Dynasty profound enough? !
(End of this chapter)