My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 413 Zhao Yu’s anger!
Outside the Weiyang Palace and inside the city of Chang'an, as more and more candidates from all over the country flocked to take the exam, the city of Chang'an, which should have gradually become lively after the autumn harvest, became "lively" earlier and on a larger scale.

However, it still goes like this: Where there are people, there must be rivers and lakes.

Or it should be said: No matter when or where, as long as there are many people, trouble and chaos will follow.

——Scholars from poor families copied books for others, or even got a not-so-dignified job that required selling labor, and they were bound to have disputes with their employers over the issue of remuneration.

As for those from wealthy families, they were lost in alcohol in the endless banquets.

Arguing with others or fighting with others are still minor matters.

During this short period of just a few dozen miles, there were even several scandals in Chang'an City where "scholars taking the exam drank too much horse urine and then had sex while drunk."

In response to this, the Dali (Tingwei) government, in accordance with the principle of "severe punishments should be used in times of chaos", imposed specific punishments on all troublemakers.

Fighting?

If necessary, a fine should be imposed, and if necessary, detention should be made!
Economic dispute?

Whoever made the mistake will be punished!
That is, not shielding the Chang'an locals who were employers, nor giving "light punishment" to the poor princes who were about to take the exam.

This is just a case where the facts are clear and it is obvious who is right and who is wrong.

As for those cases where each party claims to be right and it is difficult to define who is right and who is wrong, the Dali government is too busy to spare the time to make a careful assessment and can only give both sides a lash of the cane - those who have money are fined and those who don't have money are detained.

As a result, Dali prison was once overcrowded.

As the security situation in Chang'an became increasingly chaotic, many issues concerning the imperial examinations arose during the first and fifteenth days of autumn in the second year of Emperor Rong Xin's reign.

For example, Dali Qing Zhao Yu said: The imperial examination organized by Liu Rong attracted all the literati who were interested in poetry to Chang'an in a short period of time;
This sudden increase in the number of "floating population" pouring in from other places has undoubtedly greatly increased the judicial pressure on Dali's government offices.

This is the case with the Dali Yamen, which is a judicial department, not to mention the lieutenant and other departments responsible for public security.

For another example, the Shaofu said: The sudden appearance of more than 30,000 people in Chang'an, when the court was completely unprepared, caused all kinds of daily necessities in Chang'an City to face supply shortages and price fluctuations.

Even though the Shaofu implemented emergency regulation and sold off a batch of affordable daily necessities, it still could not avoid a certain degree of chaos in the market.

Public security issues and material supply are even minor matters.

——After all, Chang'an City originally had a permanent population of over 200,000.

On this basis, the additional 30,000 foreign migrant workers, who are "temporary residents" who will leave soon, will not actually make Dali and Shaofu overwhelmed in dealing with them.

The reason for the chaos was that the two subordinate yamen were not mentally prepared and were caught off guard and at a loss as to what to do due to the sudden increase in population and the corresponding increase in public security and material supply pressures.

In Li Rong's words, as long as the imperial examinations are held a few more times and the whole Chang'an is accustomed to the cycle of 'an autumn every three years, and there may be tens of thousands more candidates and their servants in Chang'an City', there will be no more problems.

What really worries the court in Chang'an is that with the arrival of tens of thousands of scholars from various schools and factions who were originally scattered all over the country and now gathered together in Chang'an, some not-so-positive discussions began to appear in the streets.

Some Confucian scholars lost their minds after drinking and said that Emperor Taizu Gaodi's early years of peeing in Confucian scholars' hats and kicking them into muddy ditches were because Confucianism was too correct;

Emperor Taizu Gao was illiterate and worried that if he gave Confucian scholars important influence, he would appear incompetent, so he humiliated Confucian scholars and used this to suppress Confucianism.

There were also Legalist scholars who complained openly or covertly, saying that the fall of Qin was due to its own cruelty and tyranny, and had nothing to do with the Legalists.

When Qin fell and Han rose, people all over the world classified the Legalists as accomplices of the tyrannical Qin, or even as the culprits why Qin became the "tyrannical Qin". This was really an excessive misunderstanding of the Legalists.

This is true for the two major schools of Confucianism and Legalism, not to mention the other smaller schools of thought.

——Novelist, yin-yang expert, strategist;

——Agriculturalists, medical practitioners, military strategists, and miscellaneous scholars;

Even the famous masters that Liu Rong once thought had long been lost to the world were brought to light by this examination.

Although they were only two brothers from the same mother, they finally spoke out in the "public opinion" and complained about the various unfair treatments that celebrities had suffered in the past few years...

Originally, the Chang'an court planned to find as little fault as possible in this examination.

After all, this was the first time that Liu Rong had taken such a big action in an autocratic manner since he ascended the throne.

In any case, the court in Chang'an should do it quietly, swallow the grievances and hardships, and try their best to get things done for Liu Rong first.

After the work is done and it is time to sum up the gains and losses, you should point out the shortcomings implicitly.

If the issues were just public security, material supply, etc., the Chang'an court could still handle it.

But when the chaos caused by the imperial examination began to ferment at the public opinion level, the court in Chang'an could no longer sit still.

The Chang'an court, which had originally planned to "do it first and talk about everything later in the autumn", had no choice but to put the matter on the table at the risk of making Liu Rong unhappy.

——On the fifteenth day of the eighth month of autumn, when the imperial examination had not yet officially begun, the matter was put to the court for discussion.

However, compared with the civil and military officials, ministers and nobles in the court who were treating it as a serious enemy, Liu Rong showed a nonchalant attitude towards it.

“I have heard that the words of the saints should be used as a model for future generations to see if they are true or not.”

Sitting on the imperial couch, Liu Rong smiled lightly and glanced lightly into the hall, seeing all the officials and nobles who were frowning and even looking a little uneasy.

“Even what the saints said still needs people in later generations to practice it in person before they can tell whether it is right or wrong;”

"What's more, it's an event that happened in the past and has not yet been concluded."

With just two casual words, Liu Rong made all the officials in the court fall into deep thought.

Your Majesty, this is ~
What are you doing?
Could it be that it was not enough to give Empress Dowager Lu a political characterization, and they planned to go a step further and give political characterizations to the successive emperors of the Han Dynasty, such as Emperor Taizu Gao, Emperor Xiaohui, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, Emperor Xiaojing, and even the former and latter Shao emperors?
With such doubts, everyone in the hall looked at each other;
Without waiting for everyone's eye contact to produce any results, Liu Rong spoke first, breaking everyone's random guesses.

"The more you argue, the clearer the truth becomes."

"——How the Emperor Taizu Gao treats Confucian scholars, how the Han family treats Legalists, and what each of them is like, are all matters that you all know clearly."

"As for the criticisms from scholars, they are nothing but the complaints of hunters who cannot catch prey, complaining that the prey is too few and too treacherous, but they do not work hard to improve their hunting skills." "There is no need to pay attention to these remarks."

...

“When the examination is over, these scholars who have criticized Emperor Taizu Gao and even the previous emperors of our Han Dynasty will naturally understand the facts after being reminded by their colleagues and superiors.”

"As for those scholars who have been criticized and failed the examination, why should we bother with them?"

"Anyway, the Confucianism, Legalism and other schools have been complaining about our Han dynasty's 'disrespect for scholars' for more than a few years."

"Let them keep complaining."

"——Although I don't have the breadth of the East China Sea, I can still tolerate these narrow-minded talks."

"At least, that's how it is for me..."

After these words were spoken, all the officials in the hall felt relieved, but they also fell into deeper doubts.

Judging from Liu Rong's attitude, he does not intend to take the initiative to deal with the criticism from the candidates in the community.

But why do I always feel that Liu Rong's words are hiding something that no one expected...

"Zhao Yu, the minister of Dali, bows his head and kowtows a hundred times, even at the cost of his life!"

"I beg Your Majesty to put all those candidates who have criticized Emperor Taizu Gao and even the previous emperors - especially the Legalists who study the Shen and Shang schools - in jail!"

Wow!
Zhao Yu suddenly stood up and was determined to shock people with his words!

--what's the situation?
——The imperial examination is approaching, and you, Zhao Yu, who comes from a family of legalists, are you "looking after" your fellow apprentices in this way?
But soon, everyone reacted.

Not only did he realize why Zhao Yu came in and out, he also understood what the deep meaning behind Liu Rong's seemingly passive response just now was.

Take Zhao Yu for example - he has been studying the theories of Shen and Shang since he was young, and especially the most solid foundation of the Legalists: he came from a legal background!
Normally speaking, such a person would have a very strong emotional filter towards his fellow Legalist scholars and fellow teachers.

If a scholar from the Legalist school came to visit, Zhao Yu would not hesitate to provide him with good food and drink, arrange accommodation for him, and entertain him warmly for a period of time.

As for the follow-up, whether to use one's connections and arrange an official position for this fellow disciple, although it also depends on whether the Legalist scholar who comes to the door has knowledge and real talent, the standards will always be much more relaxed.

Such a person, in front of all the officials in the court, actually asked Liu Rong to severely punish the Legalist scholars who were involved in a certain matter!

The only reasonable explanation is that in this matter, those fellow brothers who came from the Legalist school seriously damaged Zhao Yu’s interests!

So much so that even a Legalist "diehard" like Zhao Yu mercilessly requested severe punishment instead of pleading for mercy for his fellow disciples.

So, what exactly did Zhao Yu feel when the Confucian and Legalist scholars criticized Emperor Taizu Gao and even the entire Han family for being unfair to the "scholars"?
It is complicated to say, but it can also be explained in just a few words if you say it is simple.

——It is very difficult for scholars who come from the Legalist school to survive in the Han Dynasty today!
Carrying the political stain of "aiding Zhou to commit atrocities and helping Qin to oppress the people", from the time when Emperor Taizu Gaozu established the Han Dynasty until the reign of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, not even one Legalist had entered the government!
It was Chao Cuo who truly opened the door to the Han court for the Legalists.

Even Chao Cuo did not enter the officialdom with the label of "Legalist scholar" at the beginning, but was able to successfully enter the court by claiming to be a Doctor of Shangshu - that is, a Confucian scholar.

After more than ten years of silent brainwashing of Emperor Xiaojing, a precedent was finally set for the later Legalist scholars to serve the Han Dynasty.

God knows how happy the Confucians were when Chao Cuo, the Doctor of the Book of Documents, became the Prince's Secretary and was worshipped as a teacher by the Prince Liu Qi!
However, in contrast, later, when Chao Cuo revealed his true identity as a "Legalist" under the guise of a "Confucian scholar", Confucianists from top to bottom were either as upset as if they had lost their last name or at least scolded Chao Cuo very harshly.

From this past event, it is not difficult to see that the Han people do not actually have much ill will towards Confucianism today.

——Zhang Cang, Marquis of Beiping, studied "Spring and Autumn Annals", one of the Six Classics of Confucianism. He was a serious disciple of Xunzi, so didn't he also become the Prime Minister of Han Dynasty?
Not to mention Jia Yi and Jia Changsha, who rightfully became a Doctor of the Spring and Autumn Annals and went down in history as a Confucian scholar.

In fact, except for Emperor Taizu Gao himself, who had some personal aversion to Confucianism, the later emperors actually had a relatively mild attitude towards Confucianism.

In terms of personal feelings, there may be some distance between us, but in principle we do not completely hate each other.

On the other hand, the Legalists were characterized by the official political definition of "helping Qin to harm the people", and fundamentally lost the possibility of entering the Han Dynasty's political arena.

It is not difficult to see from the fact that Chao Cuo would rather put on a Confucian appearance than expose his identity as a Legalist scholar: the situation of Confucianism and Legalism in the current Han Dynasty is by no means the same.

The situation of the Legalists - at least before Chao Cuo, the situation of the Legalists in the Han Dynasty's political arena was much worse than that of the Confucianists who were allowed to run wild.

As of now, there hasn't been much improvement.

Thanks to Chao Cuo's contribution of "lurking in the Prince's Palace", Emperor Xiaojing was emotionally more inclined towards the Legalists.

But it was only a personal emotion, not the entire Han Dynasty's top-down recognition, acceptance, and even closeness to the Legalists.

In fact, to this day, there are still many local counties and prefectures in the world that regard the Legalists as ferocious beasts and the source of harsh rule and tyranny.

As for Liu Rong today, he only values ​​fairness - he only appreciates the Legalists' achievements in law, but is dismissive of their ideas on governing the country.

In this general environment and background, although the current situation of the Legalists is not yet to the point of being difficult to move forward, it is by no means very optimistic.

After Chao Cuo, the only remaining candidates in the court were Zhao Yu, a last resort, and Zhang Tang, who had barely grown any hair.

Outside, there was a Yanmen governor named Zhidu, who originally served as the General of the Central Army in the court and was also the best candidate for the Lieutenant.
But now he has taken the path of a military general, and his future development will most likely be closer to a military strategist rather than a legalist.

Then it was gone.

There were some Legalist scholars scattered around in the local counties, but there were only three or two elites who could enter the central decision-making level and be called "senior officials."

In this situation, would the Legalist candidates create a public opinion stain of "complaining about the Han Dynasty" in Chang'an?

Oh;
That is to say, at this moment, Zhao Yu was not in front of those idiots, and Zhao Yu had no room to interfere in this examination.

Otherwise, Zhao Yu would not only beat up those idiots from the same school one by one, but at least he would do some "secret manipulation" to make this examination produce the explosive result that "not even one Legalist passed the second round".

what?
You said that these candidates will be my right-hand men and women in the court in the future?

Zhao Yu said: Go to hell!

If these idiots who have no political sensitivity were allowed to enter the court, I would be exhausted to death trying to save them!
(End of this chapter)