Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

"The envoy said that the cochin dragon flower stamens are also very precious in the local area, and most of them are presented to the Song Dynasty and the Cochin court. The number may not be too many, but Pei Yu said... this is the imperial uncle's will, and it must be done. "

Defang and Wang Dan looked at each other, they were both very angry, Defang snorted and said, "Pei Yu really thinks his life is too long, and he is so arrogant! How dare he falsely preach the imperial decree and bully his neighbors!"

"Prince" Wang Dan said, "This matter is very important, and it seems that His Majesty will be announced."

"That's for sure," Defang said, "Pei Yu has been trying to get a high position for more than a day or two. He dared to disrespect the ministers on weekdays, and now it's even worse!"

"What the lord said is that in this way, the Jiaozhi Society will think that I, the Song Dynasty, are deceiving people more and more. Now that the new master is on the throne, if I feel dissatisfied because of this, I am afraid that the Southwest will change."

"This matter must not be delayed, it must be resolved immediately." Defang patted Wei Xu, "Xu'er, I will tell your uncle the emperor in detail later."

"Yes, Father."

Zhenzong changed his clothes and returned to the palace, Wei Xu reported the matter to Zhenzong, Zhenzong was also very angry, "Pei Yu did such a thing! It's really hateful!"

"Uncle Emperor" Weixu said, "In order to pay more dragon flower stamens this time, Jiaozhi issued a special order that the whole of Annan must harvest the best dragon flower stamens to offer. As a result, the price of local dragon stamens has increased, this time..."

Before Wei Xu finished speaking, Zhenzong slapped the table fiercely, "Damn it! My Song Dynasty has always adopted a policy of appeasement towards Tubo, Dali, Jiaozhi and other countries. I have never been stingy with rewarding officials, gold and silver. The will to ask for tribute! Pei Yu deceived the king and made false statements, which is hard to forgive!",

"Your Majesty," said De Fang, "just because of Pei Yu's false statement of the imperial decree, the people of Jiaozhi have suffered. This matter has even harmed our great Song's mighty virtue. I beseech Your Majesty to punish Pei Yu severely."

"It should be so! Pei Yu will be judged by Yushitai, and Brother Huang will be fully responsible for this matter."

"The minister obeys the order, Your Majesty is holy."

Afterwards, Zhenzong met with the envoys of Jiaozhi and Li Mingchang, Li Longting's younger brother, and officially issued an imperial edict to confer Li Longting as the Jiedu envoy of the Jinghai Navy and King of Jiaozhi County. .Zhenzong explained the whole story to the envoy about the dragon flower stamen, and returned all the dragon flower stamens to Jiaozhi, and at the same time bestowed a lot of gold and silver objects and rare medicinal materials in the Central Plains.

After the Jiaozhi envoys left the hall, Zhenzong took out a book, "Brother Emperor, Prime Minister, I still have six unfinished things in this book. After this incident, I feel that the court should do these things as soon as possible. "

Defang and Wang Dan looked at each other, and then asked, "I don't know what your majesty is referring to? I would like to share your majesty's worries."

Shinzong pointed to this book and said, "Be sympathetic to the hard work of the people and select capable officials. This is something I think about every day. I am often worried that the officials of the states will be slack and unfair in judging cases, which will cause the people to be wronged. In this way, God will surely Bring disaster to Song Dynasty."

Wang Dan bowed his hand, "Your Majesty governs the country with benevolence and morality. All virtuous officials will be loyal to the country. The people of the world will return to the Song Dynasty. God must be grateful for your Majesty's heart for the country and the people, and bless the Song Dynasty."

"Thank you, Prime Minister, for your comfort." Shinzong nodded and said, "When the first emperor was here, he once selected the able ministers of the court to serve as the prison officials of various roads, and at the same time let the local envoys assist them. It is a pity that if local officials are found to be corrupt and pervert the law, they can report to the court, but because of the war against the Liao Dynasty, this official position has been temporarily abolished."

Defang thought for a while, "Your Majesty means that you intend to reset Zhulu and ask some prison officials?"

"That's exactly what I mean, and I haven't heard of any ministers who have proposed the strategy of governing the country recently. Brother Huang and the prime minister, please tell the courtiers more about what I mean, so that they can fulfill their responsibilities as officials and relieve the sufferings of the people everywhere. I know that this time I reset all the roads and appointed prison officers to better govern the country and serve the people, what do you two think?"

After hearing this, Defang and Wang Dan cupped their hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

This month, Yushitai held a trial for Pei Yu, a high-ranking nephew. Pei Yu pleaded guilty to falsely preaching the imperial decree, and begged Zhenzong for forgiveness.