No war in the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 15 Jane is in the Emperor’s Heart

Son-in-law?

Zhang Chulan thought about Su Ze's character and was afraid that he would rather die than become a son-in-law.

The status of a son-in-law in the Song Dynasty was extremely low. Some time ago, the war in the northwest was tense, and the court established an army to recruit thieves. The government arrested sons-in-law in the city and sent them to the northwest to join the army.

In addition to the son-in-law, the ruffians in the city and the prisoners in the prison are also included in the bandit army.

From this we can see that the status of a son-in-law is the same as that of a rogue prisoner.

Zhang Chulan was anxious, but had no better solution, so she had to return home with her father.

Zhang Daocheng did not want his daughter to continue to be involved in this matter, so he confined Zhang Chulan at home despite her crying. However, he was also worried about Su Ze, the son of an old friend, so he sent a servant to Wang Anshi's house to investigate the situation.
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Chuigong Hall of the Imperial Palace.

Chuigong Hall was where the Northern Song emperor handled government affairs and met with ministers.

Regardless of their ability to govern the country, the father and son, Emperor Zhenzong of Song and Emperor Renzong of Song, were at the forefront of the profession of emperor in terms of diligence.

Zhao Zhen was sitting on the throne, reading the memorials on the imperial desk. When he heard the governor Li Yonghe asking for an audience, he immediately let his uncle into the hall.

Zhao Zhen felt that he owed a lot to his biological mother's family. After discovering Li Yonghe's abilities, Zhao Zhen entrusted him with important tasks.

The Jiedushi of the Palace Guards was in charge of the Palace Guards, the last armed force for the security of the imperial palace. Only by entrusting it to his own uncle could the emperor sleep peacefully at night.

The Imperial City Supervisory Office was a secret agency responsible for monitoring all officials, so naturally it could only be entrusted to the person the emperor trusted the most.

Holding such two important positions, it is clear that Li Yonghe enjoyed the trust of Emperor Zhao Zhen.

"Uncle, why are you so anxious to see me?"

"Wajiujiu" was the name for uncle in the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Zhen also longed for blood affection. As one of the few remaining blood relatives, he called Li Yonghe this in private.

Li Yonghe did not dare to treat the official as an ordinary nephew, but respectfully addressed him as the official. Then he handed Su Ze's petition to Zhao Zhen and said:

"Your Majesty, I have been ordered to hunt down the culprit behind the evil book. Many clues point to Su Ze, a Jiesheng in Bianjing. When I was trying to arrest Su Ze, I was stopped by Wang Anshi, Jiesheng of Linchuan. The suspect, Su Ze, has written a petition, requesting that I pass it on to Your Majesty."

Zhao Zhen has been emperor for twenty years since he ascended the throne.

Excluding the twelve years that Empress Dowager Liu was in charge of government, he had been in power for eight years.

So although he governs with "benevolence", it does not mean that this official does not understand the art of power.

He put down the memorial in his hand, took the petition handed to him by the eunuch, and recalled:

"Linchuan Wang Anshi is the son of the former Jiangling Prefecture Tongpan Wang Yi? Scholar Ouyang once recommended his articles to me."

Li Yonghe quickly responded:
"It is this man. The scholars in Bianjing say that Wang Anshi is a pedantic person, but he hates evil with an abhorrent hatred. He is willing to befriend him, so he should not do such a thing as secretly writing a demonic book. Moreover, this case is full of doubts. I dare not make a decision on my own, so I submit this petition to the emperor for a decision."

Zhao Zhen also felt that the case of the evil book was full of doubts. Decades of old royal news was suddenly dug up again. This was clearly a political conspiracy, which was definitely not something that a mere Jie Sheng could stir up.

Even if it was Su Ze who did it, there must be someone behind it.

After unfolding the petition and seeing Zeng Gong's handwriting, Zhao Zhen's eyes lit up.

Thanks to the flourishing culture and governance, the emperors of the Song Dynasty were well-educated, and many of them were masters of calligraphy.

Zhao Zhen's calligraphy was also good. He praised:
"Good word!"

After reading the conversation between the wise old man and the foolish old man, Zhao Zhen's eyes lit up.

Can a petition be written like this?
After reading a few sentences, Zhao Zhen was fascinated. As expected, his nephew, an official, always loved talents. Su Ze's literary talent was so outstanding that his life was saved.

Zhao Zhen read carefully, and he also understood the meaning of Su Ze in the article, nodding as he read.

When he read the line "I dare not forget my country's worries, even though I am in a low position", Zhao Zhen stood up and said:
"Great! What a great line! 'Even though I am in a low position, I must not forget my country's worries!'

Then Zhao Zhen walked down the imperial steps, pacing back and forth and saying:

"I worry about the world before I worry about myself, and I rejoice after the world rejoices. I never thought that even the life of Bian Jing could be so sentimental!"

"Bring the imperial brush! Grind the ink!"

The eunuch hurriedly brought the imperial brush, but Li Yonghe had already walked to the imperial desk and was grinding ink.

Zhao Zhen took the imperial pen, dipped it in ink, and walked to the screen behind the throne.

Li Yonghe and the surrounding Master Attendants were all shocked.

There was a screen behind the throne. Whenever Zhao Zhen came across words that pleased him or ministers he liked, he would write them down on the screen.

Being able to have your name on the screen means that "Jian is in the emperor's heart"!

After all, Li Yonghe had limited cultural level. He just thought Su Ze's articles were good, but he didn't know how good they were.

Isn’t that right? Because these two sentences by Fan Zhongyan are the full text that must be memorized in the Chinese textbook.

This discussion on sorrow and joy can be said to have had a profound impact on the spiritual world of future scholars and established Fan Zhongyan's reputation as "Wenzheng"!
"Although I am in a low position, I dare not forget the benefits of my country" is a famous line from the Southern Song Dynasty poet Lu You, which was transformed into an article by Su Ze.

Zhao Zhen copied the two sentences on the screen and wrote the name "Kaifeng Prefecture Su Ze". Then he returned to the throne with an unsatisfied look and said to Li Yonghe:
"Su Ze is right. The evil book case has sinister intentions and cannot be promoted by a scholar from the capital."

Li Yonghe tried hard to figure out his master's intention and asked:

"So the government doesn't want to investigate?"

Zhao Zhen said:
"Investigate, of course we must! The demonic book cannot shake the foundation of the country, but these demons hiding in the dark will definitely wait for an opportunity to strike. But we can't investigate in a big way. Order the officials to drop the case, lift the ban on the demonic book, release all those involved, and then order the Imperial City Bureau to conduct a secret investigation."

"What about Suze?"

Zhao Zhen waved his sleeves and said:
"This matter has nothing to do with Su Ze. How could someone who can write such an article do such a thing?"

Li Yonghe thought to himself, as expected, who says writing is related to being a good person? There are many people who write well but have bad character.

But this emperor is just like this. He has always loved talents as if they were his life, and is very tolerant towards talented ministers.

Among the ministers in the court today, the most typical example is Fan Zhongyan.

The first major political turmoil after Zhao Zhen took power was the dethronement of Queen Guo.

During that incident, Fan Zhongyan took the lead in making direct remonstrations outside the Chuigong Hall, leaving Prime Minister Lu Yijian speechless.

At that time, Zhao Zhen hated Fan Zhongyan very much, but after calming down, he only exiled him to Muzhou, and transferred him back to the court in less than a year.

Being able to win the emperor's favor was a blessing in disguise for Su Ze.

Li Yonghe wrote down this name. He was already ranked among the most powerful military generals among the foreign relatives, so naturally he had no use for Su Ze. However, he still had a son. His eldest son, Li Zhang, was now the deputy envoy of the cabinet, so he could let him make friends with Su Ze.

After finishing talking about Su Ze, Zhao Zhen suddenly dismissed the eunuchs around him and asked Li Yonghe:
"The Queen brought up the matter of the Thirteenth Regiment's training again."

(End of this chapter)