The prince is more stable

Chapter 179 I have a request

Since Zhao Xiaoqian decided to help Zhang Xiaoyi get revenge and investigate the corruption in the river, he had no intention of punishing him completely.

There is white and there is black, there is good and there is evil in the world. There is no end to the corrupt officials. After killing one batch, another batch will be replaced. They are still corrupt, but the corrupt people are different.

The so-called "eradicate all evil" is actually a very naive ideal. It is impossible to eradicate all "evil", so smart people learn to coexist with evil and even use "evil" to do good.

The case can be stopped if Wang Zao is traced back to him, but Wang Zao's presence still makes them panic, otherwise the evidence handed over by Zong Ze will be wasted.
As a result, several important court officials received evidence of their crimes at their residences in the middle of the night.

After Wang Zao and his son were questioned, the officials involved were terrified, fearing that the Imperial City Bureau would come to visit them one day.

It was not until late at night that someone delivered the evidence of their crimes to their doorstep, and the officials finally felt relieved.

Dead, but not completely dead.

Zhao Xiaoqian closed the door and left a window for them.

Sneaking up to someone's house late at night to deliver evidence is something worth pondering. Isn't this hint obvious enough?

The court officials who had reached this position were naturally all top talents, and they soon came to their senses.

So he knelt down and begged, wept bitterly, and offered a condition...

In a word, I don't want to lose my job or be dismissed, and I don't want to be disgraced. I am still young and want to contribute to the Song Dynasty and devote my remaining energy.

As long as I can suppress the matter, I am willing to pay any price.

Okay, this is exactly what Zhao Xiaoqian wanted.

With the evidence in hand, you can do whatever you want. A male version of "You don't want others to know, do you?"

One Vice Prime Minister, one Vice Minister of Works, two officials from the Water Conservancy Bureau, and two officials from the Censorate.

These were the court officials involved in the case. After agreeing to the conditions proposed by Zhao Xiaoqian, the case finally passed perfectly around their necks and was covered up without any danger.

After Wang Zao's confession was submitted to the Council of State, the case was immediately taken over by the Dali Temple. In fact, taking over was just a procedure. The Imperial City Division had already completed the work such as the confession and evidence anchoring. The Dali Temple only needed to approve it intactly.

The whole government was shocked, and Zhao Xu was furious.

It's so embarrassing. Just after punishing a group of officials, a new group of corrupt officials came in to replace them. Is there not a single clean official in the Song Dynasty?

Zhao Xu immediately issued an edict, ordering the Dali Temple to severely punish Wang Zao and other corrupt officials, and to increase their crimes.

Two groups of officials were dismissed, but someone still had to do the work, so the Ministry of Personnel urgently added a group of new river officials.

The new official received good news as soon as he took office.

More than a dozen wealthy businessmen in Bianjing City, grateful for the emperor's kindness in managing the river, voluntarily raised money to reward the river officials and people, and a total of more than 3 million strings of cash were raised.

But the wealthy businessmen had a condition: they had to hand over the money personally to the river workers who were building the dike. Yes, hand it over personally, and no officials were allowed to interfere.

The newly appointed river officials were under tremendous psychological pressure. After two previous batches of officials had fallen, they dared not make any more mistakes this time. In addition, the imperial court also sent several more censors who did nothing but keep an eye on them every day. If they made any mistakes, they would be arrested. This group of officials was forced to be honest and upright.

As for the conditions of the wealthy merchants, the officials naturally agreed to them. If someone gave them money for free, why not? They didn't dare to be greedy in the first place, so they gave the money to the river workers personally, which saved the officials a lot of trouble.

Everything seemed normal. The wealthy businessmen, grateful for the emperor's kindness, voluntarily donated money and gave money to the river workers who were building the dike to express their gratitude. There was nothing wrong with it.

Only the river inspector Zong Ze was full of admiration.

He knew very well where the money donated by these wealthy businessmen came from.

He also finally understood what Zhao Xiaoqian said: it is impossible to kill all corrupt officials, but corrupt officials have their own uses.

After seeing it with his own eyes today, Zong Ze finally understood how corrupt officials were used.

More than three million strings of cash were probably all they had embezzled. They took it from the river workers and used it for the river workers.

If they were really questioned, the embezzled money would naturally be added to the national treasury, but whether it would return to the river workers was hard to say. Now Zhao Xiaoqian had let them go, and they said it was a return of favor or that they were frightened by the evidence Zhao Xiaoqian had in their possession. In short, they returned all the embezzled money to the river workers, and the result was good.

There is no result more perfect than this. No one can do it, but Zhao Xiaoqian did it.

Silently, great merits were accumulated.

Zong Ze understood deeply that this was the true way to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, and it was also the true way to be an official. Don’t say that the officialdom is dangerous, with strong winds and sudden rains. There are always those who ride the waves as if they were walking on flat ground.

It is shameful to say that he, a man in his thirties, was educated by an eighteen-year-old boy through his own actions.

…………

As the wedding date drew closer, Zhao Xiaoqian had a rare few days of leisure in the palace.

The palace was decorated with lights and lanterns everywhere, and the servants were busy preparing for the wedding. Father Zhao Hao was so busy that he had no time to rest. He actually lost more than ten pounds from his body of more than 200 pounds, making Zhao Hao not know whether to be happy or sad.

Zhao Xiaoqian was also drafted into the army, and I couldn't bear to see him idle away. This was his marriage, so why were everyone else busy while you were just sitting there with your legs crossed basking in the sun?

So Zhao Hao instructed Zhao Xiaoqian to deliver the invitation.

Zhao Xiaoqian went door to door to deliver the invitations to the wealthy and powerful families in Bianjing City. Firstly, it was to show courtesy, as it was a great honor for the groom to deliver the invitations personally. Secondly, Zhao Hao was also deliberately expanding his network of contacts for his son.

There are thousands of officials and dignitaries in Beijing. It is impossible for Zhao Xiaoqian to know them all. Taking the opportunity of sending invitations, everyone can get to know each other, which will not be bad for his future.

One cannot be careless about important events in life. For several days in a row, Zhao Xiaoqian was so busy that he almost vomited. Of course, he did not forget to send invitations to Zhang Xiaoyi, Cai You, Zong Ze and others, and even to Zhang Xiaoyi's blind mother.

Whether rich friends or poor friends, they are all friends. Zhao Xiaoqian is not snobbish.

With the last invitation, Zhao Xiaoqian came to the palace gate and asked to see Zhao Xu.

This invitation is for Zhao Xu.

Logically speaking, Zhao Xiaoqian doesn't have that much face. He is just a county marquis. Do you need the current emperor to come and support you when you get married?

But putting aside the status of monarch and subject, Zhao Xu is the elder brother of the clan after all. All the powerful people in the city have sent gifts, so it would be unreasonable not to send him one. As for whether Zhao Xu will come or not, there is no hope.

Inside Funing Palace, Zhao Xu was beaming, rubbing his hands together and saying with a smile, "It's rare for Zi'an to come into the palace on his own initiative. Does he have something to tell me, or does he want to treat me to some soup dumplings?"

"Well, the ones on the first floor, I still savor that flavor. A few days ago, I even sent a eunuch to buy some, but for some reason, the soup dumplings I bought didn't taste right..."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled in agreement. "How could dining in be the same as takeout?" Zhao Xu probably didn't know about the mysterious "wok qi" thing.

Not forgetting the purpose of his visit to the palace today, Zhao Xiaoqian took out the invitation and held it in front of Zhao Xu with both hands, saying sheepishly, "I am here today for a personal matter. Um... I am getting married soon, on the eighth day of next month. If you are free..."

"Well, I don't expect you to have the time. I just want to report this to you. Just let you know about this matter."

Zhao Xu took the invitation and took a closer look. He immediately exclaimed happily, "Ha, not bad, not bad! Zi'an has finally grown up. This is such a big event in life, how can it not be grand? My brother is getting married, so of course I have to be there in person. Great!"

Zhao Xu said "good" three times in a row, with a look of joy on his face, and it was obvious that he was really happy.

"Well, the one he's marrying is a daughter of the Di family, which isn't bad either." Zhao Xu, still staring at the invitation, casually glanced at Zhao Xiaoqian and added, "The Di family incident happened many years ago, so there aren't many taboos anymore."

"In fact, after Di Qing passed away, the royal family no longer took the matter to heart. Di Qing had committed no wrongdoing while he was alive. When he passed away, Emperor Shenzong hung his portrait in the Forbidden City and bestowed the posthumous title of 'Wu Xiang' on him. From then on, the matter was over."

"The people below are spreading rumors, as if the Di family has committed a serious crime. In fact, it is not that serious. It's just that the late emperor and I are not convenient to explain this matter, so it has been spread more and more outrageously."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded. As he said before, what the Song Dynasty government needed was a dead Di Qing, not a living Di Qing.

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "Zi'an is getting married, and the invitations have been delivered to your door. I can't fail to express my gratitude. Tell me, what do you want, Zi'an? If I can do it, I will definitely satisfy you. This is a rare opportunity, Zi'an, you must cherish it."

Zhao Xiaoqian thought for a moment, then suddenly knelt on his knees, bowed his head, and said, "I do have a request, and I beg Your Majesty to grant it."

(End of this chapter)