I studied in modern times

Chapter 966: The Twilight of the Shuo Party

Lu Tao was led into the Funing Palace trembling with fear.

When he looked up, he saw the emperor sitting on the cushion and the figure behind the curtain.

Suddenly, a feeling of walking on thin ice arose from the bottom of his heart.

So, this relative of Su Da Huzi (Lü Tao's daughter married Su Shi's son Su Mai, but Mrs. Lu had unfortunately passed away due to illness in the eighth year of Yuanfeng) fell to the ground with a thud.

"Your Highness, I, Tao, the Imperial Censor in charge of miscellaneous affairs, personally wish His Majesty the Emperor the best of health...and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager the best of health..."

The emperor on the throne did not say the words "I am well" gently as usual.

On the contrary, he remained silent for a long time.

The whole hall was silent for a moment.

This made Lu Tao feel a depressing and tense atmosphere.

After a long while, the emperor on the throne finally spoke, his tone was cold and without any warmth: "What do you mean by 'blessings'?"

"How come I don't know that I am so blessed?"

The emperor's words were like knives, cutting into his heart. Lü Tao was sweating profusely and could only bow again: "I deserve to die a thousand times!"

"I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

"Crime?" The emperor on the throne laughed, but the laughter was too creepy: "What crime can Zhiza commit?"

"The Emperor has already passed away, and I am still a child. The Empress is just a woman!"

"Gentlemen of the Censorate, for the sake of the country and the people of the world, what is wrong with expelling powerful officials?"

"Anyway, I'm just a child! I don't know anything!"

Lu Tao suddenly broke out in a sweat.

The emperor's weird attitude on the throne made him scared to death.

The child looks up to the emperor!

No matter when, being accused of such a crime is tantamount to cutting oneself off from the world.

He immediately bowed his head and said, "I would never dare to have such a rebellious thought!"

"I beg your Majesty to look into this matter!"

"Clear?"

The emperor on the throne suddenly picked up something.

Then they were thrown all over the temple.

"Then just take a good look!"

"What has the Censorate been doing these days?"

Lu Tao raised his head slightly and saw more than a dozen pieces of paper thrown out by the emperor, scattered messily on the floor.

"Spreading rumors about the ministers, attacking the elders, making trouble out of nothing, and even threatening the court, alienating the relationship between me and my mother!"

"The Censorate is really great!"

"Xian Si, are you still my Xian Si?!"

Lu Tao kowtowed with trembling hands, not daring to say a word. The emperor's words were truly too heartbreaking!

The emperor on the throne seemed to be tired of scolding. He picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, then sighed, and his tone finally softened a little: "Lü Zhiza..."

"I'm here..."

"Do you still remember the content of the imperial edict when I ordered Fan Sheren to be the official in charge of miscellaneous affairs in the palace?"

"I dare not forget it for even one day!"

"Good!" The emperor said, "Zhi Za, please repeat the edict in front of me and my mother!"

Lu Tao bowed again: "Yes!"

Since he was reinstated in the eighth year of Yuanfeng, with a progressive heart, he went from cautious observation at the beginning to bold following later.

All along, we have been copying the progressive path of our predecessors - to become an imperial party!
He was famous in the Censorate for his unspeakable loyalty.

Naturally, official ranks also increase rapidly!
In a little over two years, he was promoted from Censor-in-Chief to Palace Attending Censor in charge of miscellaneous affairs.

Now that the position of Chief Censor is vacant, it has become the de facto Central Secretariat.

Naturally, it is natural to learn from predecessors and memorize the emperor's poems.

After a short rest, Lü Tao began to recite the imperial edict written by the Emperor two months ago when he was promoted to the position of Palace Censor in charge of miscellaneous affairs: "Edict: Appoint Lü Tao as an official. You are competent in discussing matters as a censor. You are promoted to the position of Remonstrance Yuan, and you are able to stick to your heart and not change your mind. Your loyal advice is often heard.

If you examine the principles they are arguing for, they are all feasible. I have always favored you and I now order you to enforce the law. If you are willing to follow the good, my intention is evident!
The Book of Changes says: "The great ruler has a mandate to establish a country and inherit a family. If you do not employ villains, you will cause chaos in the country." You should carefully observe the inside and outside of China, and do not indulge in deceit, so as to complete my pure politics! Yes, I will specially appoint the Palace Attendant Censor to be in charge of miscellaneous affairs!"

But as Lu Tao carried him on his back, his voice became smaller and smaller.

Because he discovered that the emperor had already explained the reason for promoting him in the edict given to him - he is steadfast in his principles, and has received many loyal advice; he is willing to do good, and my intention is clear!

Obviously, this was the emperor's commendation for his loyalty in following orders in a series of cases, including the case of the son-in-law Zhang Dunli, and also a reminder to him that we, the emperor and his subjects, must be of one mind!
To put it simply, the emperor was saying to him: Mr. Lu, I am very happy that you can serve me loyally!
The following text directly points out his future duties:

What does "The great ruler has a mandate to found a country and carry on a family. If villains are not employed, the country will be in chaos" mean?
Isn’t that what happened today?
And "You should be careful about the inside and outside of China, do not follow the cunning, and complete my pure one-word politics" is almost telling him nakedly - follow me closely! Do not associate with those monsters and demons! You should do it, only be loyal to me!
however……

However, he turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to it, thinking that it was just text to fill in the story.

really!

The emperor’s questioning is correct!
He is indeed the emperor in his childhood!

If he wasn't a child, how could he be so careless? To the point that he didn't even take the contents of the emperor's edict to heart! He just recited it as a formality.

If the child did not look up to the emperor, how could he have agreed to Liu Anshi?
It's all his own fault!
After Lü Tao finished reciting the poem, he prostrated himself on the ground and bowed his head to apologize: "Your Majesty..."

"I have failed your majesty's high expectations and did not follow your teachings, which has led to what has happened today!"

"I have nothing to say!"

"I only beg Your Majesty to severely punish him and serve as a warning to future generations!"

As he spoke, he took off the fu hat on his head and untied the imperial silver fish bag around his waist.

With trembling hands, he placed the hat and fish bag in front of him.

……

Empress Dowager Xiang watched quietly behind the curtain as Zhao Xu reprimanded the ministers in the hall.

It took almost no effort to get a minister in waiting, the second-in-command of the Censorate, to take off his hat and apologize.

This was the first time she had directly experienced the child's skills and political tactics in controlling others.

Her eyes were full of surprise and relief.

"The late emperor..."

"With Sixth Brother here, the country will surely be revived!"

So, she subconsciously put herself into the role of the Xining and Yuanfeng eras.

At that time, whenever there were foreign ministers participating in the conversation, she happened to be present.

Even if the foreign minister was Wang Anshi, whom she hated, Empress Dowager Xiang would do her best to speak well of him in front of the late emperor and play the role of a virtuous queen.

Then he said softly: "Sixth brother, although Lu Zhiza has made mistakes, his sincerity is commendable!"

"Why not just give him a lighter sentence?"

Although her words were soft, they were still clearly heard by Lu Tao in the hall.

This immediately gave Lu Tao hope.

The emperor on the throne, after listening to the Queen Mother's advice, may have calmed down a little. He hesitated for a moment, then turned his head and said, "I know what the Queen Mother said, don't I?"

"However, every country has its own laws, and every family has its own rules!"

"The Censorate is the place where the laws of our family are enforced!"

"We should follow the laws of our ancestors, use the teachings of the saints, and criticize and accuse others!"

"In the past, Zhong Kui said of Tang's virtue: He is not stingy in correcting his mistakes! Confucius said of the ruin of a country by a single word: Only my words can be disobeyed!"

"Since my father abandoned the country, I have been entrusted with the responsibility of preserving the ancestral temples and the country. I am always afraid that I am young and ignorant and will behave inappropriately, which will bring shame to my father's virtue. Therefore, I am trembling with fear, as if I were walking on thin ice, and I wake up early and sleep late, not forgetting the suffering of the world!"

"She is frugal and concerned about people's livelihood. She only eats three meals a day, and the food she eats is nothing more than the dishes grown in the palace. Her daily clothes for all seasons are all woven by her mother, the queen mother, and the dowager mother herself!"

"I just hope that the people of the world will understand the difficulties of our country and work together with the officials and craftsmen!"

As he spoke, the emperor stood up from the throne, walked to the red wall, and looked at Lu Tao across the imperial fence.

Lu Tao also raised his head, with tears in his eyes, full of guilt and self-blame.

Probably because what the emperor said was not only sincere, but also moved him.

What is described are also things that are seen by both the government and the public.

Although your majesty is young, he is truly willing to rule the world together with the scholars and officials.

Moreover, everything he did was in line with the teachings of the sages and the advocacy of the scholars and officials.

Not to mention anything else, the money earned from the sale of the first and second phases of the Bian Jing Academy amounted to millions of strings of cash.

However, His Majesty did not take a penny, except for half of the money from the first period, which was used to build a palace in the back garden of the palace to support the two concubines.

The rest was used for cultural and educational matters.

The Imperial College, the Military College, the Mathematical College, and the Law College all owe their prosperity to this.

Not long ago, an imperial decree was issued, requiring Kaifeng Prefecture to select a site in the capital to build an official library.

The funding came from the money earned by the Bian Jing Academy.

The first time he allocated one hundred thousand strings of cash!

It is said that millions of strings of cash will be allocated in installments in the future.

A public library was established to provide borrowing and copying services to scholars and officials throughout the country.

In addition, the academies in local prefectures and counties and the provincial and county schools now also receive funding from the imperial court.

Although the amount is not large, when distributed, each state would only receive a few hundred strings of cash per year.

But his sincere intention to promote education is beyond reproach.

His Majesty's concern for the people and their livelihood is also obvious to all.

This is the first time such an emperor has appeared since the Song Dynasty!
Even the Renmiao era was far inferior to it. Lu Tao was a Jinshi in the fourth year of Huangyou. He had experienced the Renmiao era and naturally knew what the official praised by the people was actually like.
Lü Tao listened and bowed his head tremblingly: "I have failed your Majesty's grace and your Majesty's love!"

"He deserves to die!"

"I dare not expect your majesty's forgiveness!"

Then the young emperor in front of the Danbi said: "I am not unreasonable!"

"Zhi Za, as the second in command of the Xiansi, you sat back and watched the Xiansi fall into chaos, the villains ran rampant without being punished, and the evil winds arose without being stopped!"

Zhao Xu's disappointment with Lu Tao was obvious.

He originally wanted to train this minister to serve as his spy within the Censorate, to monitor and guide the work style of the Censorate on his behalf.

pity……

Lu Tao did not do this.

He has been so proud of himself in the past two months!
If there is no punishment, if there is no penalty.

Then who would be willing to listen to him as the emperor in the future?
Authority, authority!

You must first have authority before you can have power!

Authority is not enough, even the emperor cannot issue orders outside the palace.

"I have failed my ancestors and the country, and I should be clear about rewarding merits and punishing faults!"

"How about this!"

"He was demoted to the position of Palace Attendant Censor in charge of miscellaneous affairs, and was appointed as a doctor of the imperial court and a director of the Jixian Academy to govern an outer county!"

"I remember that there is a vacancy for the governor of Heyang Prefecture..."

"Go to Heyang and serve as a prefect, take care of the people's livelihood, and govern the area on my behalf!"

"Yes!" Lu Tao bowed deeply: "Your servant Tao thanks God for His grace!"

In this way, Lu Tao, a minister who was only one step away from being the Chief Censor of the top four, was deposed by Zhao Xu.

Soon after, Zhao Xu summoned the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Fan Bailu and ordered him to draft an edict to appoint Lü Tao as the governor.

In the poem, it was made clear that he was derelict in his duty in the Censorate, and the words "employ my duties diligently and do not neglect my instructions. I will observe your instructions" were used.

This edict shocked the court and the public, and everyone knew the attitude of the palace.
then……

The tradition of the Song Dynasty began.

Almost all ministers in the entire court, including the Censorate, who were qualified to submit petitions.

Whether they are civil officials or military officials, whether they are royal relatives or nobles.

They all wrote letters to the emperor, denouncing the chaos in the Censorate and accusing the Censors of failing to do their job.

In these memorials, the censors headed by Kong Wenzhong, Liu Anshi and Han Chuan were accused of numerous crimes.

Kong Wenzhong is fine.

This descendant of Confucius, like Su Da Huzi, is politically inexperienced and playful.

But, his ass is indeed clean.

Others were not so lucky.

Corruption, bribery, making friends with relatives and royal family members, occupying people's land, bending the law for personal gain...

Countless black materials emerged as if they were growing out of the ground.

Moreover, these negative materials are not like Liu Anshi's accusations that Li Chang, Li Qingchen and others bought gardens and houses in Luoyang and land in Xiangzhou. They are purely speculation.

There are quite a few, some even have noses and eyes.

Obviously it was prepared in advance!

As a result, public opinion was in an uproar.

The Bian Jing Xin Bao published an article on the front page, denouncing the chaos in the Censorate.

The Bian Jing Yi Bao even published an article signed by "Bai Shi Shan Ren", questioning "who is the Censorate's Chief Justice".

Under heavy pressure, Kong Wenzhong couldn't hold on any longer.

On the 19th day of the twelfth month, Dingyou, the day when all the ministers submitted memorials to express their opinions, he submitted a memorial to apologize and asked to resign.

Then, on the next day, Wuxu (20), Han Chuan and six other officials from the Censorate submitted petitions to plead guilty.

Liu Anshi held out for two days longer than these people. On the twelfth day of the Gengzi year (22), he could no longer bear it and submitted a petition admitting his guilt and asking to leave.

When Zhao Xu learned about this, he just sneered: "This beast must have been forced to be respectable!"

"How shameless!"

The literati and officials of the Song Dynasty were all very respectable.

Look at Kong Wenzhong. As soon as he heard the slightest rumor, he immediately submitted a petition to apologize and asked to leave.

Others only watched for a day before submitting a petition to be released.

They did not make any defense for almost all the charges reported by the ministers, but simply admitted their guilt and asked to be dismissed.

But Liu Anshi struggled desperately for several days. When the Bian Jing Yi Bao tortured him and asked him "Whose Censorate is it?", he realized that the situation was hopeless and wrote a letter to admit his guilt and ask to leave.

Zhao Xu would never let him get anything good!

December 23, the second year of Yuanyou.

Zhao Xu summoned the Zhongshu Sheren Gu Lin and Fan Bailu and ordered them to draft an imperial edict to depose him.

First, the Right Counselor Kong Wenzhong was dismissed from his post as the governor of Qingzhou on the charge of spreading rumors to mislead ministers and slandering the Confucian teacher (Cheng Yi).

This was to some extent out of consideration for Confucius's sake, so he was given a lenient sentence.

At least, Qingzhou is a good place to retire.

Then, he dismissed eight people including the Censor Han Chuan on the charge of "forming a clique for personal gain, slandering the prime minister, and making irresponsible remarks about elders" and made them county magistrates and assistant judges in remote military prefectures.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Xu personally dictated and ordered Fan Bailu to compose a letter of reprimand and condemnation with extremely harsh wording.

The Censor Liu Anshi had ulterior motives and was harboring evil intentions, and he wanted to disrupt the country.

He was suspended and replaced, and was appointed as the deputy envoy of the militia in Yongzhou, and settled in Chenzhou, under supervision and residence.

And it is particularly emphasized that there will be no exemption if pardoned!
This means they won't even give him the slightest chance.

He must be banished to death in Chenzhou!
The imperial edict was sent down and to the Censorate. The entire Censorate was filled with sobs. Half of the Censorate would be empty from today on.

Those who are interested have discovered a subtle political phenomenon:

In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, after Sima Guang returned to the court, he recommended more than a dozen censors to the court.

In the past three years, several people including Wang Yansou, Liu Zhi, and Xian Yuqun have been convicted.

In addition, three people resigned due to mourning or other reasons.

Before today, only five of the censors recommended by Sima Guang remained in the court.

After this turmoil, only one censor remained among those recommended by Sima Guang - Supervisory Censor Wang Di.

I don’t know what others think.

But Wang Di had only one thought - trembling, walking on thin ice, and shaking with fear.

Su Shi in Dengzhou had the same feeling as Wang Di.

The bearded man is well-informed.

Almost on the day when Kong Wenzhong submitted a petition to apologize and resign, he learned about what was happening in the capital through channels.

Originally, he was already in high spirits and had some solid ideas emerging. He opened his big mouth again, talking and expressing his opinions on the government everywhere. The bearded man was frightened into silence in an instant. He stayed indoors for several days in a row. It was not until the New Year of the third year of Yuanyou that he appeared in the office again.

(End of this chapter)