Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 451 Father and Son Conversation
As long as we send someone we trust to investigate the matter and find evidence of the two men's guilt, the matter will naturally be settled.

But Zhao Xing had no such idea at all.

He was tired of this situation where every time he did something, someone would make trouble.

Every time I want to do something, there is always someone making a fuss, and it takes a lot of time just to calm the storm.

If this drags on, how long will it take to resolve the Song Dynasty's long-standing problems?

Zhao Xing has reflected on this in the past two days and realized that he was too cautious.

This time he has made up his mind to be ruthless. If these people still don't restrain themselves, he will continue to kill them.

The Song Dynasty has too many officials, so it’s no big deal to kill some of them.

"His Majesty!"

At this moment, Sanshui saluted and said, "Yin Zhengsi is here."

"Let him in!" said Zhao Xing.

"Yes!"

Sanshui responded and gave an order. After a while, Yin Hanzhang walked in.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Yin Hanzhang bowed.

"No need to be polite!" Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, "How is the matter I asked you to investigate going?"

"Your Majesty, the two officials who committed suicide in the Council of State did commit many illegal acts, and the evidence is solid. The officials who petitioned outside the Longtu Pavilion today had business dealings with both of them," said Yin Hanzhang.

"Is the evidence conclusive?" Zhao Xing asked.

"That's for sure!" Yin Hanzhang said.

Zhao Xing looked at the officials kneeling in the hall and said, "Did you all hear this? Those officials are petitioning in the name of petitioning, but in fact they are afraid that I will continue to investigate."

"Your Majesty, this is impossible."

Yang Shengkui said anxiously: "Many of those officials have a good reputation and are well known to the world."

"Did you hear that? Someone is questioning the truth of what you said." Zhao Xing looked at Yin Hanzhang and said.

"All the certified materials are available. If there is any falsehood, I am willing to be punished!" Yin Hanzhang said firmly.

"Since Yang Aiqing doesn't believe it, then Yang Aiqing and Yu Xianggong will investigate this matter together with the three courts. Once the evidence is irrefutable, these people will not only be corrupt, but also suspected of forcing the emperor to abdicate and assassinating him. Their property will be confiscated and their entire clans will be executed!"

Zhao Xing's cold voice echoed in the hall, shocking everyone.

No one present is a fool. Part of Yin Hanzhang's so-called evidence is probably just fabricated evidence.

Zhao Xing was obviously ready to take advantage of the situation this time.

"Your Majesty!"

Shen Xianggong said anxiously: "Even if some of the officials who petitioned have bad intentions, it is not certain that all of them have been deceived. If all nine clans of so many officials are executed, it will implicate too many people. Doing so will not only harm the harmony of heaven, but also damage the reputation of Your Majesty."

"Even if I was deceived, it was because they were blind. Those two officials would rather commit suicide to cover up the truth, and the petitioners may not have thought of assassinating me. If I had not directly ordered them to be arrested, but had met them, I might have died by now. I don't care about the world and reputation!"

Zhao Xing said calmly: "This matter is settled. If anyone else continues to persuade us, they will be regarded as accomplices and arrested for investigation first!"

After these words were spoken, even Yang Shengkui did not dare to speak again.

It’s not that he was afraid. That’s not right. He was indeed afraid at this moment.

But Yang Shengkui knew that he had no way out.

Although it has not been reviewed yet, the evidence mentioned by Yin Hanzhang has not been seen.

But Zhao Xing dared to say this, obviously he was very confident.

Once the arrested officials know about this, someone will definitely betray him in order to protect themselves.

But Zhao Xing had already said this. If he said anything else, Zhao Xing would have people capture him, and he would completely lose the chance of turning the tables.

The rest of the people dared not say anything. Some of them did not care about life or death for the sake of reputation.

But if they continue to dissuade him now, not only will they lose their lives, but also their reputations.

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhao Xing sneered and left the hall. He had completely seen through these officials at this time. All they cared about was fame and fortune.

Although some of them do not care about fame and fortune, they have families and it is impossible for them to be completely free of worries.

…………

"Father!" Zhao Xing saluted.

"You've made a big fuss this time." The emperor looked at Zhao Xing and sighed, "Have you ever thought about how to end this?"

Although he did not care about state affairs, he could not sit still when Zhao Xing wanted to kill so many officials at once.

"Father, I have never thought about the ending."

Zhao Xing said: "If we kill more people, they will be scared to death."

The Emperor frowned and said, "I know I was too merciful at first, but it is not right for you to be so murderous. Do you know why it is said that it is easy to conquer the world but difficult to keep it?"

"It is easy to conquer the world because when conquering the world, the goal is the same and it is a matter of life and death. It is difficult to keep the world because the world is united and all aspects need to be considered. Simply put, it is the difference between being barefoot and wearing shoes." Zhao Xing said.

The more people have, the more worries they have because they are afraid of losing them.

Of course, it is easy to conquer the world, but difficult to keep it. It is not that superficial.

But in Zhao Xing's view, what his father was worried about was that the Zhao family would lose the world.

"Since you know that, have you ever considered the consequences?" said the emperor.

"Father!"

Zhao Xing said seriously, "Many times we cannot look at the gains and losses in front of us. In my opinion, since ancient times, the most fundamental reason for the change of dynasties is the concentration of wealth and land in the hands of a few people. The emergence of incompetent rulers leads to corruption in government, which will aggravate this situation.

The change of dynasties is a process of redistribution, because more people die and there is more benefit to be distributed.

The Song Dynasty may seem prosperous now, but the imperial court has long been unable to make ends meet.

Then the common people were burdened with extremely heavy burdens and could no longer bear it.

My father was also aware of this. During his reign, he reduced taxes, reduced corvée labor, and encouraged the people to cultivate themselves.

But doing so can only provide a temporary solution and will not solve the fundamental problem.

The financial deficit of the imperial court is getting bigger and bigger. If the problem cannot be solved fundamentally, the emperor will have to increase taxes in the future. When the people can no longer bear it, the demise of the Song Dynasty is inevitable. "

Historically, the Northern Song Dynasty was destroyed because the Jin army marched southwards, but in Zhao Xing's view, even if the Jin army did not march southwards, the Song Dynasty would not have been able to last long given the situation at the time.

The Song Dynasty has been in fiscal deficit since the reign of Emperor Renzong.

Although Wang Anshi's reforms resulted in a complete mess, it must be admitted that they did increase the court's financial resources and helped to replenish its resources.

But even so, it could not withstand the turmoil from the emperor who came later.

You may say that the emperors of the Song Dynasty were incompetent, but there were many emperors in history who were worse than them.

If we really compare them, except for Huizong, the other emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty were pretty good compared to many emperors of other dynasties.

It can only be said that the emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty were mostly mediocre and could not be considered incompetent rulers.

If the Northern Song Dynasty had not emphasized culture over military affairs and had not had powerful enemies abroad, these emperors could have been considered people's rulers.

Take the Eastern Han Dynasty for example. During the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Han attacked the nomadic peoples too harshly, and the threat posed by the grassland nomadic peoples to the Central Plains was limited.

Although the northern border was often plundered by nomadic peoples and some territory was lost in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the threat from nomadic peoples was always limited.

The emperor only needs to govern the country well.

If the emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty were placed in the situation of the Eastern Han Dynasty, they would have no problem in creating a prosperous era, but would also have no problem in maintaining their families.

However, the Song Dynasty was surrounded by powerful enemies, and the monarch lacked courage and military talent.

This situation was caused by the national policy of emphasizing culture over military affairs.

The retired emperor fell silent upon hearing this. He naturally knew the situation in the Song Dynasty. It was precisely because of this that he had thought of carrying out reforms in the first place.

(End of this chapter)