My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 465: Cruel official?

Liu Rong naturally knew exactly what kind of life Zhidu had been living in recent years.

Liu Rong even knows exactly what kind of person Zhidu was, what experiences he had, and what his final fate was in history.

——Among the historical materials recorded by Sima Qian, Goshawk Zhidu was recorded in the "Biographies of Cruel Officials".

The reason for this was that after the Wu-Chu Rebellion in history, Zhidu served as the prefect of Jinan and massacred many powerful people in Jinan while in office.

In Sima Qian's eyes, as long as it involves killing, it doesn't matter what the reason is or who is killed, it can all be classified as the behavior of a cruel official.

Liu Rong even suspected that if they had not been castrated by Emperor Wu of Han in history, Sima Qian might have even included Wei Qing and Huo Qubing in the "Biographies of Cruel Officials".

After all, the Huns were also human beings;
Wei and Huo "killed countless people" on the grasslands. Aren't they just pure cruel officials?

Let’s talk about Zhidu.

Although in this timeline, Zhidu had not yet been exiled to Jinan by the late emperor and had not yet been branded as a "cruel official", Zhidu's character essentially did not change.

What kind of person is Zhidu?

Whether in the original history or in the current timeline, the answer is the same.

——Hate evil as much as you can!
Moreover, because his ideological values ​​were more inclined towards the Legalists, that is, the teachings of Shen Shang, Zhidu particularly hated those groups that undermined the stability of the dynasty.

For example, Confucian scholars
For example, Ranger~
For example, local tyrants, corrupt officials, wealthy businessmen and the like.

It can be said that even in later generations, Zhidu's values ​​were still widely recognized in that era.

——Aren’t Confucian scholars the so-called experts who give advice on how to deal with things?

——Aren’t rangers the evil forces that do all kinds of evil?
Not to mention the local tyrants, corrupt officials, and wealthy businessmen.

No matter which dynasty or generation, if all of these groups were killed, there might be some innocent people, but if you kill nine out of every one of them, it would be correct for sure!

After understanding these, it is not difficult to find out that Zhidu is a very simple and pure person.

From a righteous perspective, he hates evil and may not be overly kind to the lower class people, but he will definitely be extremely harsh on the privileged class.

In terms of work attitude, Zhidu even had this famous saying: Being away from my parents and coming to Chang'an to serve as an official, and not being able to serve them in their old age, is already a violation of filial piety;

If I am not loyal to my sovereign and violate the relationship between the sovereign and his subjects, wouldn't I become a disloyal and unfilial scum?

By this point, it was clear what kind of person Zhidu was.

——A typical Legalist cruel official!

Of course, the word "cruel official" was used by a group of corrupt scholars represented by Sima Qian.

Liu Rong prefers to call it: capable official.

Based on Zhidu's past years - during the reigns of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen and the late Emperor Xiaojing, the conclusions Liu Rong could draw seemed to confirm the late emperor's evaluation.

Zhidu was a loyal minister.

He was simple-minded, stubborn, straightforward, and obeyed the orders of the Han Emperor.

As long as the emperor ordered him to hang himself, he would never jump into the water.

If we fully respect the advice of the late emperor, the best place for Zhidu during Liu Rong's reign would actually be the newly created post of Praefectus Imperialus and the position of Langzhongling, who secretly concurrently controls the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

But after thinking it over and over again, Liu Rong finally decided to bring out another talent of Zhidu that was buried in the original history.

Generals.

In the original history, Zhidu started his career as a Zhonglang during the reign of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen.

There is no need to elaborate on the value of the word "Zhonglang" - whether it is personal martial arts, battlefield performance, or combat experience, Zhidu must be impeccable.

During the reign of Emperor Xianjing, he was promoted to General of the Central Army.

There is no need to say more - the leader of the "Zhonglang" group has fully displayed Zhidu's most dazzling talents without any omission.

After serving as the General of the Central Army, Zhidu also did something that went down in history.

——In the first year of Emperor Xiaojing of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Qi traveled to Shanglin with the seventh son Liu Pengzu and the mother of the ninth son Liu Sheng: Jia Ji, accompanied by the General of the Central Army Zhi Du.

On the way, Jackie felt uncomfortable going to the toilet, but was blocked by a wild boar that suddenly appeared.

The emperor was anxious to rescue him, but was dissuaded by Zhidu.

Zhidu's argument when trying to dissuade the emperor from opening the throne was: For every death of a concubine, another one is brought in. Is it true that the world lacks Ning Ji and others?
Even if Your Majesty despises yourself, what can you do to the Empress Dowager and the Ancestral Temple?

Translated it means: If one Jia Ji dies, there will be Zhang Ji and Li Ji sent into the palace. Is there still a shortage of women in the world who can be sent into the palace to be concubines for His Majesty?

Even though Your Majesty disregards your own safety, where do you put the ancestral temple, the country, and the Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace?
Of course, this incident also happened in the timeline that Liu Rong was in.

Liu Rong vaguely remembered that at that time, his seventh brother Liu Pengzu and ninth brother Liu Sheng, who had not yet been crowned kings or established fiefdoms, brought a complaint to him about this matter.

In the end, Liu Rong stood up without hesitation and vented his anger on behalf of his two younger brothers.

But after all, it is about the matter, not the person.

It is not to say that Zhidu has been resentful of Liu Rong since then, or that Liu Rong has instinctively distanced himself from Zhidu since then.

——Let’s keep things separate.

The biological mother of his two younger brothers was described by Zhidu as a disposable item who was "replaced by a new Ji". Liu Rong certainly wanted to vent his anger for his younger brothers so as to fulfill his responsibilities as the eldest brother who was like a father to him.

But then again, there was actually no hatred between Liu Rong himself and Zhidu.

On the contrary, Liu Rong has always admired Zhidu very much.

As for the Shanglin wild boar incident, Zhidu was suspected of neglecting his duties, resulting in the wild boar intruding and approaching the emperor's carriage. Liu Rong did not think it was anything to worry about.

Who hasn’t been young?
Who hasn't made mistakes?

Although this mistake was indeed serious, it did not cause any serious consequences or bad impacts.

On the contrary, Zhidu has become more mature, steady, and meticulous in his behavior since that accidental mistake.

From this perspective, what happened back then was actually a good thing.

It is no exaggeration to say that it was worth it even if Jia Ji was really killed by a wild boar, as Zhidu could mature so quickly.
As for why Liu Rong has such an understanding, it is naturally because the butt determines the head.

——When this incident happened, Liu Rong was the crown prince.

What Crown Prince Rong had to consider was his image in front of his brothers, in and outside the court, and in the hearts of the people of the world. Therefore, Liu Rong had to make decisions for his brothers as an elder brother;

With the identity of the crown prince, he pointed out Zhidu's mistakes in his work.

Now, Liu Rong has become the emperor.

When thinking about problems, you naturally cannot follow the original logic.

Let’s take the wild boar incident of that year as an example.

If, now, another wild boar incident happened in Shanglin, and a queen mother was blocked in the toilet by a wild boar because Zhidu neglected her duty, would the queen mother's son, that is, one of Liu Rong's younger brothers, sue Liu Rong?
The first thing Liu Rong had to do was to severely reprimand his younger brother: Who allowed your mother to go to Shanglin!
Who allowed Zhidu to protect your mother!

Do you still have the nerve to complain to me?
Take your mother and go back to your closed country!

If you ask why, Liu Rong can only say: For the emperor, loyal ministers like Zhidu must be protected.

In extreme cases, even if the person has really made a serious mistake, as long as it was not intentional or deliberate, he should be given a break.

Because everyone makes mistakes.

Loyal ministers are also human beings.

Four-legged toads are easy to find;

A loyal minister with two legs is hard to come by.

In other words, from Liu Rong's current perspective, that is, the perspective of "Emperor Rong", Liu Rong's view on the Shanglin wild boar incident is also different.

——It is true that Zhidu made mistakes back then;
But when Emperor Qi was about to put himself in danger, Zhidu's words of dissuasion were indeed a set of values ​​that are very worthy of promotion and even widespread dissemination.

Any emperor would definitely hope that all the people in the world could have the ideological awareness reflected in Zhidu's words, putting the emperor's safety and gains and losses first and everything else behind.

The reason for this - the reason why 'Prince Rong' and 'Son of Heaven Rong' have different views and feelings on the same thing is naturally because of their thinking patterns and positions.

For Crown Prince Rong, the Shanglin wild boar incident was an opportunity to show his temperament, display his edge, and win over his brothers, the court, and even the hearts of the people in the world.

Prince Rong needed to use that incident to let everyone in the world know: Prince Rong is capable and he will really help you if you have any problems!

No matter whether you are right or not, as long as he has a good relationship with you, Prince Rong will definitely side with his relative and not with others!

Only in this way would the younger brothers follow Liu Rong wholeheartedly instead of being in constant fear and even going against Liu Rong.

Both inside and outside the court would intentionally or unintentionally try to get close to Liu Rong in order to win his favor.

And to put it bluntly, Zhidu was a loyal minister of the late emperor, not a loyal minister of Liu Rong.

There was no need for Liu Rong to protect a so-called loyal minister who was "disloyal to him".

Of course, the most important thing was that at that time, Prince Rong needed people all over the world to praise him: Look what this big brother has done, it’s so reliable!
If a family has an older brother like this, then the younger brothers will be blessed!
With such a positive compliment, if Liu Rong has a conflict with one of his brothers in the future, people in the world who don’t know the truth will say: No way?

I remember that Liu Rong, the eldest brother, was very good to his younger brothers?
Back then, when General Zhidu was in power, Liu Rong still supported his younger brothers!
Now Liu Rong and his brothers are like Mao Dun?

I'm afraid it's because I'm being disrespectful as a younger brother?

Anyway, I don’t believe Liu Rong would treat his brother badly…

Considering all the above, Liu Rong stood up righteously and denounced Zhidu in court for being "unworthy of being a minister".

It’s not that Liu Rong wants to do this, but that Liu Rong needs to do this.

But now, Liu Rong is the Emperor Rong, not the Crown Prince Rong.

When encountering similar things again, what Liu Rong needs to consider is no longer the image, showing off his talents, and winning people's hearts as he did when he was the crown prince.

After sitting on the throne, Liu Rong only needed to know: the benefits are real when they are in his hands, and everything else is nonsense.

Support your brother?
What's the benefit?
Could the benefits be greater than a loyal and devoted minister?

What is the world's opinion, what is the public opinion inside and outside the court, or the so-called image - if it does not involve interests, everything is easy to talk about;
Once interests are involved, everything must give way to interests.

If it doesn't matter whether you have an image or not, and you can have a good image without paying any price, then Liu Rong would naturally be willing to establish a positive image.

But if he had to choose between image and interests, Liu Rong would rather be scolded as a dictator and a tyrant by the world, and would definitely choose to hold the real interests in his hands.

As for my younger brothers’ feelings towards me?
Please~
Emperor Xiaojing has passed away~
The Wu-Chu Rebellion was put down, which was a thing of the last century.
Are you still using your relatives and vassal kings to scare the Han emperor?
Can't be bluffed~
If Crown Prince Rong wanted his brothers to have no second thoughts, not to oppose him, and to listen to him after being crowned as king;

Now, the "brothers" in the eyes of Tian Zirong have become some dispensable and mediocre relatives and princes.

If you behave yourself, I will still extend my favor to you.

If you don't behave yourself, I'll kill you as easily as killing an ant.

What reputation or no reputation - I am not like Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, a living saint who has been careful about his reputation all his life.

As long as the price is right, I'll sell my feathers by the pound!
Therefore, Tian Zirong now has a very clear view on the Shanglin wild boar incident.

——Zhidu is right!

——Whether Jackie lives or dies depends on luck!

——If you die, you die!
The world is so big, let alone other women - even finding another woman with the surname Jia, or even a woman who looks 70% like Jia Ji, is not impossible!
But the safety of the emperor must not face the slightest threat because of a woman who can be replaced by countless people at any time and anywhere.

Yes, that's right.

Prince Rong half disagreed with Zhidu's words from the bottom of his heart, and half could not agree with it due to the influence of objective conditions.

And now Tian Zirong fully recognizes and even highly agrees with it.

Continuing from this, Liu Rong was also completely willing to admit that he admired Zhidu, and that he and Zhidu had the same values ​​and were the kind of people who got along well as a monarch and his subject.

As for the original historical timeline, Emperor Xiaojing's crown prince Liu Rong was eventually forced to death in prison by Lieutenant Zhidu...

Liu Rong could only say: Anyway, it’s not me who died.

This Liu Rong is not that Liu Rong.

Even in the original history, Zhidu carried out the tasks assigned by Emperor Xiaojing to the letter, and without implicating Emperor Xiaojing at all, he killed the deposed crown prince and Prince of Linjiang in a clean manner, which also made Liu Rong admire him!
Even though in history, the person who was forced to death by Zhidu was 'himself', Liu Rong still wanted to say: For a minister who is so capable, loyal, and good at protecting the king, please give me a sack to use first!
In the original history, Zhidu's military talent unexpectedly emerged during a very delicate period of time.

——After forcing the deposed Crown Prince Liu Rong to death, Zhidu was hated by Empress Dowager Dou.

Empress Dowager Dou said: How can Zhidu, a foreign minister, harm my life?

Therefore, in order to protect this loyal minister, the historical Emperor Qi exiled Zhidu to Yanmen when the body of the deposed Crown Prince Liu Rong was still warm.

It was also during his tenure as prefect of Yanmen that Zhidu was discovered for the first time: this cruel official who came from a Legalist background was actually so good at fighting?
(End of this chapter)