No war in the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 12: A Petition to the World (Please Read and Vote)
Su Ze was looking at Li Yonghe, and Li Yonghe was also looking at Su Ze.

Judging from his appearance and character, Su Ze was a handsome scholar, not the shabby scholar with a shifty face that Li Yonghe had initially thought of.

When Su Ze saw his own governor, he was not panicked. This was an acceptable level of magnanimity.

It’s a pity that he is involved in the evil book case and it’s hard to say whether he can save his life.

Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong also followed out. Su Ze stopped them and said to Li Yonghe:
"Today, Su is here to visit a friend. This has nothing to do with you two. If you want Su to go with the Imperial City Division, Li Jiedushi must not implicate anyone else."

Fatty said immediately:
"Criminal Su, are you admitting that you are involved in the demon book case?"

Su Ze snorted coldly and said:
"Of course it has nothing to do with me. You corrupt officials are doing your job poorly and have framed me to get the job done. I simply don't want to implicate my friends!"

The Song Dynasty valued civil officials over military officials, and the main responsibility of the Imperial City Bureau was to monitor ministers and help the emperor do dirty work, so it was always despised by the people of Bianjing. Fat Dutou saw that Su Ze had an extraordinary temperament, and although Su Ze was just a commoner, he did not dare to say anything more.

Li Yonghe nodded and said:
"This case has nothing to do with anyone else for now. As long as you obey me, I will not implicate anyone else."

Su Ze said again:
"When the government arrests someone, they allow the suspect to present a defense and seek justice. Su has a grievance and would like to write a petition. Please ask Governor Li to bring it to the government."

Hearing this, Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong were also surprised.

Writing a letter to the emperor? Is there such a thing?

Su Ze looked at Li Yonghe. He was gambling.

If it were in other dynasties, such as the Ming Dynasty, when the Jinyiwei knocked on the door to arrest someone, Su Ze would have already hidden in the Peach Blossom Spring.

Even if another emperor were in power, Su Ze would not have made such a bet.

Because this is Song Renzong.

Since ancient times, an emperor who was given the posthumous title of Ren would definitely be recognized by the world as a benevolent monarch.

This Song Renzong is indeed worthy of the word "Ren".

The previous Empress Dowager Liu, who was in power behind the scenes and suppressed the emperor, also concealed the news of the death of Song Renzong's biological mother. Empress Dowager Liu had no blood relationship with Song Renzong. If it were any other emperor, Empress Dowager Liu would have been criticized and denounced long ago.

However, Song Renzong did not reduce the honors bestowed upon Empress Dowager Liu in the slightest, and even continued to make use of her family members.

Another person is Li Jiedushi who is gambling.

Li Yonghe was a relative of the emperor and a military general, but he had a very good reputation in the history of the Song Dynasty.

The military general, praised by the sarcastic scholars of the Song Dynasty, was indeed quite outstanding in his personal qualities.

"Careful and silent, keeping away from power" is how history books evaluated him, which shows that he was a cautious minister who was unwilling to get involved in court disputes.

In this case, the case of the evil book involves the secret history of the palace, and Li Yonghe certainly does not want to expand it. Moreover, the two protagonists, Empress Dowager Liu and Consort Li Chen, have both passed away, so there is not much point in pursuing this incident any further.

As expected, Li Yonghe thought for a while and immediately said:
"can."

Su Ze bowed and said:

"Please wait a moment, Li Jiedushi."

After saying this, Su Ze, Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong returned to the courtyard.

Su Ze sincerely thanked Wang Anshi.

The two men had only a brief acquaintance, but the fact that Wang Anshi stood up for himself was enough to illustrate his character.

Su Ze said to Wang Anshi again:
"I, Su, have not delved into calligraphy. Could you please ask Brother Wang to write for me?"

Su Ze knew that his handwriting was ugly. The emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty all had high artistic accomplishments. If he really presented his poor handwriting to the emperor, he was afraid that the emperor would not even look at it.

Wang Anshi agreed immediately.

But Zeng Gong, who had been silent all this time, said:
"Brother Jiefu, your handwriting is too hasty. Let me write it."

Su Ze looked at Zeng Gong. Ordinary people would avoid such things as much as possible, but Zeng Gong and Wang Anshi were willing to step forward.

It is no wonder that no matter how much Wang Anshi’s political enemies attacked the New Party in the future, they could not slander Wang Anshi’s character.

Sima Guang, Wang Anshi's lifelong political enemy, ultimately had to admit that Wang Anshi was a "pure gentleman of the ancient times." Wang Anshi's brother spread out the paper, and Wang Anshi ground it himself. Su Ze watched Zeng Gong pick up his brush, wondering if Zeng Gong's calligraphy could absorb some of the spirit of the literary tradition.

You should know that the "Situation Post" written by Zeng Gong in later generations was sold at a sky-high price of 200 million yuan.

These literati in the Northern Song Dynasty were just perverts. They wrote good articles and had good calligraphy.

The situation was urgent, so Su Ze could only quickly prepare a speech in his mind and began:
"In Kaifeng Prefecture there is a wise old man and a foolish old man."

Isn't this a petition? Although Zeng Gong was puzzled, his men did not stop.

Zeng Gong wrote with a brush and his handwriting was square, but also had his own style, which was an achievement that established a new school of calligraphy.

Su Ze continued:

"The wise old man said, 'I heard that a demonic book has caused chaos in the capital, and the scholar Su Ze is suffering and crying out for justice. Is he crying out for justice? Or crying out for sorrow?'"

"The foolish old man said, 'It is an injustice, a disaster. But this is not the disaster of one person, but the disaster of the Song Dynasty and the disaster of the whole world!'"

He starts off with alarmist remarks, which is also the essence of Song Dynasty's policy essays. In his previous life, Su Ze also imitated Song Dynasty's policy essays in order to write books.

Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong also understood Su Ze's clever idea. Instead of begging for mercy directly, he spoke through the mouths of the fictional "wise old man" and "foolish old man", which made him appear more neither humble nor arrogant.

Su Ze continued:

"The wise old man said: 'You foolish old man are exaggerating!'"

"The foolish old man said, 'It is more difficult to stop the people from speaking than to stop the flood. The Imperial City Administration mobilized troops, and the Kaifeng Prefecture banned and destroyed things day and night, but the more they tried to stop the rumors, the more they became. This is human nature.'"

Zeng Gong stopped writing for a moment, as Su Ze's words were very clever.

The more a book is banned by the government, the more widely it is circulated. Even books that many ordinary people don’t know about will become bestsellers once they are banned.

Banning books is equivalent to advertising evil books, which only confirms the rumor of the cat replacing the prince.

If your court didn't feel guilty, why would it ban it?

Wang Anshi also admired it, saying that Su Ze's talent could be seen from this.

Su Ze did not beg for mercy by citing his own situation, but instead explained the interests involved and elevated the case of the evil book to a national level, which would make the court more cautious in arresting people.

Su Ze knew that he was innocent, and if the case was investigated thoroughly, he would naturally be cleared of any involvement.

To put it bluntly, if a case is concluded in a muddled way, the clerks handling the case will try to make it into an ironclad case for the sake of merit.

If the truth is revealed, then as long as there is a little evidence to doubt it, Su Ze will be safe.

This is much more effective than simply begging for mercy.

Su Ze continued:

"The wise old man asked, 'How can we prove Su Ze's innocence?'"

"The foolish old man said, 'The northwest is in distress, the northern barbarians are rampant, and famine is raging throughout the country. Furthermore, there are demonic books circulating in the streets, bringing shame upon the imperial family. The celestial changes are a warning, and the enemy's determination to destroy the Song Dynasty remains undying. How could Su Ze, a scholar in Bianjing, abandon his official duties and join the barbarians?'"

Wang Anshi almost exclaimed!
These two sentences link the case of the evil book to Western Xia and Northern Liao, implying that the case was instigated by enemy spies in order to embarrass the Zhao Song royal family and cause civil unrest in the Central Plains.

How could Su Ze, a scholar from Bian Jing with a clean background, be involved in such an incident? This is tantamount to defending himself in disguise, which can be said to be reasonable, well-founded and appropriate.

Su Ze listed numerous examples of ancient emperors who allowed for free expression of opinions, and then changed the subject and began to reason.

"The foolish old man continued, 'Your Majesty has stabilized the country. The throne was inherited from the previous emperor. The status of the two palaces was long established. The evil book cannot shake the foundation of the country. Rumors stop at the wise. Why bother to create complications?'"

After writing this sentence, Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong both looked at Su Ze.

wonderful! It's so wonderful!

　In order to write this paragraph, Feiniao picked up all the classical Chinese writing skills again. It is so difficult to write a book now!
　　During the new book period, please read it and give your recommendation votes. Thank you!

(End of this chapter)