The prince is more stable

Chapter 183 Military Service Legislation
Zhao Xu was determined to discuss the military service law again.

Regardless of whether the ministers agree or not, the Military Service Law must be passed. Those who disagree can reserve their opinions, but the Military Service Law must be established. It has been determined to be a continuation of Wang Anshi's new law and a part of the new law.

All the civil and military officials in the court were arguing endlessly over the new and old laws. They seemed to be working for the country and the people in an upright manner, but in fact they were using the dispute between the new and the old to seek benefits for themselves.

The so-called new laws and old laws are nothing more than tools for them to make profits. As for whether they really care about their country and the world in their hearts, only God knows.

Only Zhao Xu had no intention of seeking profit. He hoped that the Song Dynasty would become stronger and stronger under his rule, and hoped that he would be a wise monarch who was worthy of his ancestors and the heaven and earth.

For this reason, when Zhao Xiaoqian explained the military service law in detail, Zhao Xu immediately agreed.

Zhao Xu knew that this was a way to strengthen the army.

The Song Dynasty desperately needs a strong army.

For more than a hundred years, people had had enough of the Liao Dynasty's cowardice. Tracing back to the source, it was all because of Taizu's words "Civil officials are valued and military officials are despised."

Four words broke the backbone of a country.

What Zhao Xu needs to do is to connect the backbone of this country. In the situation of internal and external troubles, if he still adheres to the laws of his ancestors and does not seek change, what is the difference between this and waiting to die?

Zhao Xu's attitude today was very strong. He was too lazy to play subtle tricks with these old foxes. He went straight to the point and went straight to Zhang Dun first.

Zhao Xu could probably predict Zhang Dun's answer.

Zhao Xu had already reprimanded him for robbing the Ministry of Justice prison a few days ago. If Zhang Dun still did not understand and did not follow the emperor's orders, then Zhao Xu would really consider changing a prime minister.

Zhang Dun indeed compromised, and the answer made Zhao Xu quite satisfied.

However, Zhang Dun's answer shocked the officials in the government hall.

Before this, everyone knew clearly Zhang Dun's attitude towards the Military Service Law. In many public occasions, Zhang Dun had fiercely criticized the Military Service Law, saying that it was an evil law that shook the foundation of the country and posed a huge hidden danger to the future of the Song Dynasty.

The words are still fresh in our minds, but today Zhang Dun has completely changed his attitude and actually agreed to establish a military service law?

Brother, you are the prime minister, can you please not be as fickle as an 18-year-old woman? Are you fucking in love?
Can national policies and political positions change at will?
Now that the prime minister has changed, what should the others do?
Sitting on the main seat in the government hall, Zhao Xu was crouching like a dragon and a tiger, staring at everyone with a threatening look in his eyes.

The other court officials lowered their heads silently and dared not speak.

Who here agrees with the Military Service Law?
not a single one.

The status of warriors has been raised, which is equivalent to poaching the civil officials. Regarding the matter discussed today, everyone here will leave their names in the history books. Who would like to be cursed by future generations of scholars?
In the government hall, the most boring person should be Zhao Xiaoqian.

He had no psychological burden at all and even felt like laughing.

This matter was clearly a meeting between the emperor and important officials of a country, but it was made to look like a gangster's incense hall.

Threats, murderous intent, coercion, and the bosses from each gang are pretending to be dead.

The only one who was late was a guy driving a Mazda.

...Do you want to pay your respects to Guan Erye first before we talk? Otherwise, the ritual won't be enough.

Zhao Xu seemed to be very impatient today. After Zhang Dun expressed his opinion, his eyes began to scan everyone in the hall again.

"Mr. Zhang has no objection. What do you all think?" Zhao Xu asked slowly.

At this time, Zhang Dun also said: "Gentlemen, the general trend cannot be violated, otherwise there will be heaven's punishment. The Song Dynasty really needs a strong army to resist foreign enemies. If you don't think about change, you will be doomed sooner or later. Gentlemen, think twice!"

Everyone couldn't help but feel sad.

Not only did the old man betray the revolution, he also became a thug of the reactionaries...

Seeing that no one spoke for a long time, Zhao Xu snorted coldly and his face gradually became gloomy.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became more depressing.

After a long while, Deputy Privy Councilor Zeng Bu sighed, stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness... I also have no objection."

Well, Zhang Dun and Zeng Bu have both expressed their opinions. What else can the others do? Do they really dare to go against the emperor?

So everyone stood up one by one and expressed their opinions.

"I have no objection."

"The military service law should be implemented. I second the motion."

In the government hall, more than ten prime ministers and deputy prime ministers all expressed their opinions. Zhao Xu breathed a sigh of relief, leaned back in his chair, and exchanged glances with Zhao Xiaoqian in the hall.

Finally, the Military Service Law was enacted with great difficulty after overcoming numerous obstacles.

"I am very pleased that you all understand the righteousness of the cause." Zhao Xu also smiled at this moment, like a spring breeze, and the gloomy and indifferent expression just now disappeared.

"Since this is the case, the Council of State shall promptly issue detailed regulations and promulgate them throughout the country. Regarding the salaries of all the imperial guards, garrison troops, and local troops within the Great Song Dynasty, the regulations for the promotion of military officers, the compensation for soldiers who died in battle, and the matters of engraving and erecting monuments for their names, etc., please work out these matters as soon as possible."

After a pause, Zhao Xu's tone became more serious: "Gentlemen, this is not the time. All laws should change with the times and trends. We should not be stubborn and conservative. If the laws of our ancestors are not in line with the times, they should be abolished. Otherwise, disaster will surely come to the country."

"Young men are determined, old horses are ready to ride the wave. The time has come, and we must follow the tide of change. How can we remain content in a corner for generations, subject to the humiliation of our neighbors? I wish to restore the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties, and to rival the sun and moon for brilliance. Will you all assist me in achieving a legacy that will carry on the legacy of the past?"

The ministers bowed and said in unison: "We are willing to serve the emperor with all our hearts."

…………

After leaving the Council of State, Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhang Dun passed each other. They smiled, greeted each other, and then left.

It can be seen that Zhang Dun was still unhappy about the implementation of the Military Service Law. Today, Zhao Xu used the authority of the emperor to forcibly promote the Military Service Law.

As Zhao Xiaoqian was the first person to propose the military service law, I wonder how much Zhang Dun disliked him. Perhaps in the future, Zhang Dun regarded him as a political enemy.

It’s not a big problem. Zhao Xiaoqian has several life-saving gold medals. If Zhang Dun wants to deal with him, he will probably lose all his teeth.

After leaving the palace, Zhao Xiaoqian immediately called Chen Shou and others and headed straight to Tianbo Gate.

Exit Tianbo Gate and walk straight along the south bank of the Jinshui River. Near the Xianfeng Water Gate in the outer city, there is a place called "Fanglin Garden".

Fanglin Garden is a royal garden covering a large area with a very quiet and elegant environment.

There are several luxurious mansions next to Fanglin Garden, most of which are mansions with five or six courtyards. Some are inhabited, while others are vacant.

It is said that the vacant mansion was once the residence of a convicted official. After he committed a crime, the mansion was sealed off by the court and later sold to the public.

Zhao Xiaoqian took a fancy to one of the five-courtyard mansions. He observed it many times in the past few days and had a good understanding of the interior and exterior of the mansion. He felt quite satisfied with it.

Then Zhao Xiaoqian used Cai You's connections to express his intention to buy the mansion to the Minister of Revenue Cai Jing.

Cai Jing was very sensible. After all, it was public property of the court, not his own, so he was happy to do a favor and said he could sell it for one hundred taels.

Zhao Xiaoqian was moved and wanted to agree immediately, but he finally refused.

The housing prices in Bianjing were extremely high. An ordinary middle-class family could only afford to buy a small, old house in Bianjing City after working hard all their lives. However, the house that Zhao Xiaoqian liked would cost at least 10,000 or 20,000 strings of cash according to the market price in Bianjing.

This was public property confiscated by the imperial court, and its sale had to be recorded. By buying this mansion for one hundred taels of silver, Zhao Xiaoqian was essentially handing leverage to his future enemies.

The officialdom is dangerous, and a small thunder can often trigger a landslide or tsunami.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't care how his future enemies would deal with him, but there was no need to do something that would obviously give people something to talk about. If he tried to gain this advantage, he would pay a greater price in the future.

So Zhao Xiaoqian told Cai Jing that he wanted to buy the house himself and would pay the required amount according to the normal procedures.

When the carriage arrived outside the mansion, Zhao Xiaoqian got off the carriage and looked around. He could only hear birds singing everywhere. The surrounding environment was elegant and quiet. There was a large open space in front of the door, and outside the open space was a straight road leading directly to Tianbo Gate.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled with satisfaction.

It was a nice house, he had personally visited it many times. As long as he hired someone to clean and renovate it, the house would be habitable.

Outside the gate of the mansion, a chief official from the Ministry of Revenue came to greet them with a bright and respectful smile on his face.

Since Zhao Xiaoqian said to follow the normal procedures, Cai Jing naturally didn't say much, so he sent a chief clerk from the Ministry of Revenue to take over from Zhao Xiaoqian.

It was called a "handover", but in fact it was just a bargaining between Zhao Xiaoqian and the chief clerk.

Zhao Xiaoqian knew that a fierce battle was about to begin.

"Chen Shou, come and give me a shoulder massage. I'll brush my teeth too. Today I'm going to compete with this guy to see who's better, and whether he lives or dies!" Zhao Xiaoqian was full of fighting spirit and urgently needed an exciting background music.

When the chief clerk of the Ministry of Revenue saw Zhao Xiaoqian get off the carriage and stand there motionless, while his military officer was massaging his shoulders, he was stunned. What was going on?
Then the chief clerk suddenly thought of something, his face suddenly changed, and he also stood in place to stretch his legs and feet, twisting his hips and raising his buttocks, and his lips moved up and down rapidly. It was unclear what he was saying, most likely he was practicing tongue twisters.

Zhao Xiaoqian was immediately shocked and angry: "What the hell, he's a ruthless character, he doesn't mean any good!"

(End of this chapter)