The prince is more stable

Chapter 35: The momentum is gradually building
The momentum is very majestic. Zhao Shuangzheng looks murderous as he rushes forward with a stick in his hand. He has a fierce momentum of "If the enemy is embarrassed, I will take off his clothes."

Zhao Xiaoqian did not stop him. He watched with a smile as he rushed to the playboy and started beating him with his stick.

The dude was beaten so hard that he ran away screaming in pain.

The playboys next to them were still kneeling with their hands on their heads. No one dared to stop the fight, and their expressions were full of anxiety.

Zhao Shuangzheng was getting excited while fighting, but Zhao Xiaoqian consoled the other dandies: "This is a personal grudge, and has nothing to do with you. Just watch the fun."

The playboys finally felt relieved.

Zhao Shuangzheng hit him hard, but Zhao Xiaoqian noticed that he was actually quite measured in his attacks.

He didn't touch the head, neck, abdomen and other vital parts at all. Instead, he swung the iron rod to hit the buttocks, back, thighs and other fleshy areas.

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes flashed.

Although Zhao Xiaoqian regarded Zhao Shuangzheng as a friend, he actually didn't know him very well, so after becoming friends, Zhao Xiaoqian had been secretly observing him.

Not everyone can be your friend. Zhao Xiaoqian is not that lacking in love.

To tell whether a person can be a friend, you have to listen to what he says and observe what he does.

Be sensible in life, know when to advance and when to retreat, be measured in doing things, be sincere to people, and be cautious in dealing with things.

Only people like this can be friends.

Watching Zhao Shuangzheng beating people with an iron rod, being ruthless but not touching the vital parts, Zhao Xiaoqian probably understood this man's sense of propriety.

He is a pretty good person. I guess his previous personality was similar to Zhao Xiaoqian's. Both of them were timid and cowardly and would compromise when faced with problems. The difference is that Zhao Shuangzheng's personality may be a little more cheerful than he used to be.

After a barrage of beatings, the dude was beaten so hard that he cried for his parents. Zhao Shuangzheng finally stopped, gasping for breath.

Zhao Xiaoqian took a closer look and found that although the blow was severe, it was only some superficial injuries.

But Zhao Shuangzheng showed an extremely comfortable smile on his face.

All the resentment, jealousy, and heartache that he had felt at the beginning were now released on this playboy, and Zhao Shuangzheng shivered with pleasure.

Zhao Xiaoqian patted his shoulder and said, "Let's go. From now on, we won't let anyone bully us in Bianjing City."

With his heart knot untied, Zhao Shuangzheng seemed to be much more cheerful and nodded silently upon hearing this.

It was not until Zhao Xiaoqian and others left that Cai You and a dozen other playboys stood up, rubbing the places where they were beaten and crying out in pain.

A dandy glared at Cai You and asked, "What do you say about today's revenge?"

Cai You snorted and said, "If you want revenge, go ahead and take it. I won't accompany you."

The dandy was stunned. "You really won't report it? Weren't you just pretending to be submissive?"

Cai You shook his head. "I really won't report it. Not only that, but tomorrow we'll have to pay you back. I'll pay you back the amount you bet on the last Cuju match. Not a penny less. Pay it all back."

The dandy said unconvincedly, "Why? He's just the prince of Chu! We are not from weak families either. We will yield to him today. Tomorrow we will gather our men and come to seek revenge. Are you afraid of him?"

Cai You said honestly: "You are all heroes, but I am not. I am afraid."

The playboys looked at him in confusion.

Cai You said slowly, "I only want to ask you one thing. Everyone present here comes from a distinguished family, but who among you holds an official position appointed by the imperial court?"

The playboys looked at each other and shook their heads.

There were many redundant officials in the Song Dynasty, and the various government offices in the court were bloated, but it was not easy for the second-generation rich people in the court to be granted official titles.

There was indeed a rule of "appointment to officialdom through nepotism" in the court, which was a disguised continuation of the so-called hereditary aristocracy system.

However, the prerequisite for the hereditary appointment is that your elders must be powerful or hold the title of prince, and then you must be the eldest son in the family, only then will the court grant you a nominal official title of moderate importance.

Unfortunately, the people present today either don’t come from prominent families or are not the eldest sons.

For example, Cai You was indeed Cai Jing's eldest son, but Cai Jing was a member of the New Party and was exiled for many years. He was only recently transferred back to Beijing to serve as the Minister of Revenue.

There were many old party members in the court who had not been cleared out and were still keeping an eye on him. Cai Jing himself had to walk carefully with his buttocks between his legs, so how could Cai You have the opportunity to be appointed as an official?

As for the rest of the playboys... to be honest, any eldest son in the family must have been trained by the family. Who would come out to be idle and act like a playboy?
Seeing everyone silent, Cai You slowly said, "None of us hold official positions. To put it bluntly, we are just commoners. Without the grace and support of our elders, we are nothing."

"But Zhao Xiaoqian is different. Besides being the crown prince of Chu, he also holds an official position."

"Don't forget, everyone. A few days ago, the imperial decree was issued, and Zhao Xiaoqian was appointed Governor of Duanzhou and concurrently Commandant of the Light Chariots. We are civilians, and he is an official."

"If you seek revenge on him, you'll be using the people to bully the officials, and you'll be committing treason. Guess how much trouble this will bring to your family?"

"Moreover, you must have witnessed today that the current Crown Prince of Chu is no longer the soft persimmon he once was. Are you sure that your revenge will not provoke even more brutal retaliation from him?"

After this analysis, the dandies were suddenly short of breath, looking up at the sky in grief and anger, but they could do nothing. Cai You smiled faintly.

In fact, there are some reasons he didn't mention.

Now the court is in the period of transition from the old to the new. After King Zhao Hao of Chu submitted a memorial, the government has decided to abolish the old and restore the new. His father Cai Jing can be considered a beneficiary. From a demoted official exiled to Yingzhou, he was transferred to Beijing with a transfer order and promoted to the Minister of Revenue.

It is conceivable that in the future court, his father and the King of Chu will certainly be allies of the New Party who help each other.

Who would affect the alliance of the fathers in the court because of the petty favors and grudges between the playboys?

Cai You is not stupid, he is very smart.

Looking at the playboys who were still sighing and unwilling, Cai You curled his lips imperceptibly.

What a bunch of idiots!
King Zhao Hao of Chu was about to become a celebrity among the emperor. This celebrity was a relative of the royal family and might not hold an official position with real power, but he would definitely hold weight in the emperor's heart.

At this time, instead of trying to curry favor with the powerful and befriend the Prince of Chu, he gets angry over a small grudge. How foolish!

It’s better to keep your distance from these idiots in the future. Stupidity is probably contagious.

Cai You secretly made up his mind.

…………

Some things ferment very slowly, such as personnel changes in the court. The official Zhao Xu is quite resourceful.

First, Zeng Bu and Zhang Dun were appointed with great vigor and decisiveness. One was appointed as deputy prime minister and the other as vice chairman of the Military Commission.

In the next few personnel appointments, two of the six ministers were moved, mainly the Minister of Revenue, who transferred Cai Jing, a figure of the New Party, back for appointment.

Zhao Xu made little move on other personnel transfers, and handed them over to Zeng Bu and Zhang Dun.

This is Zhao Xu's political wisdom.

In promoting the abolition of the old and the restoration of the new, Zhao Xu only appointed people to key positions and left the rest to others.

If it is done well, the government will be wise and have a good eye for talent, and the title of a sage king throughout history will surely be inescapable.

He did a bad job, angered God and caused resentment among the people, and it was all the fault of the treacherous ministers. The emperor then jumped out in time to restore order and eliminate the traitors in the world, which made people happy. Yes, he is still a sage king through the ages.

In today's court, although everyone knows that the government is determined to abolish the old laws, many old party forces are still unwilling to give up and are still secretly resisting the government.

With power in hand, the past grievances with the New Party were too deep, and the ship was too big to turn around, and many old party officials were also helpless.

But Zeng Bu and Zhang Dun were not pushovers. With the emperor's trust and entrustment, the two important officials had begun to prepare to purge the old party in the court.

The struggle in the court has become increasingly intense, and the playboy circle in Bian Jing has also been in turmoil recently.

Zhao Xiaoqian had already become famous in the playboy circle in Bian Jing.

First, the five playboys were beaten with sticks on their backs. The matter did not end after the beatings. The elders of the five playboys were so angry that they blocked the gate of the Prince of Chu's mansion and demanded that the Prince of Chu come out to give an explanation. However, the Prince of Chu was too lazy to pay any attention to them.

My son is my sweetheart. He is still young and ignorant. Why should you, as the elders, care about the little mistakes he made unintentionally when he is over 200 months old?

Seeing that the King of Chu refused to give an explanation, the victim's family became emotionally unstable.

So they all went to the Zongzheng Temple and asked to see the Minister of the Zongzheng Temple, Zhao Zongsheng.

Your Zhao family members are going too far, the Zongzheng Temple can't just ignore it, right?
The amazing thing is that Zhao Zongsheng really didn't care. He just said a few perfunctory words and ordered the guests to leave.

Firstly, as the old patriarch of the Zhao royal family, Zhao Zongsheng was particularly protective of his relatives. When Zhao Hao was interrogated by the Dali Temple, Zhao Zongsheng personally stepped forward, fearing that his relative would be wronged by the government. It can be seen that Zhao Zongsheng was a protective person.

The second is... unfortunately, the Prince of Chu recently came up with a new thing called "Snow Salt", and the Minister of the Imperial Clan Affairs Bureau, Zhao Zongsheng, happens to be a shareholder of the Snow Salt Group. Isn't that infuriating?

Family affection and interests, the families of the victims are not on either side, why should the Minister of Zongzheng Temple help you?

The matter of beating the dandy with a stick ended just like that.

The main reason was that the victim's family couldn't afford to make a big fuss. They couldn't bring the affairs of their children and grandchildren to the imperial court, could they? Especially at this critical juncture of the transition between the old and new dynasties, who would dare to bring bad luck to both parties?

If the incident is exploited by someone with ulterior motives and escalated to the level of a struggle between the new and old parties, both the plaintiff and the defendant will suffer heavy losses.

In political struggles, everyone is a chess piece or a discarded piece.

The second thing is still about Zhao Xiaoqian.

Rumors came from nowhere that the person behind the proposal to abolish the old and restore the new in the memorial submitted by King Zhao Hao of Chu was not the King of Chu himself, but his only son Zhao Xiaoqian.

If the caning incident was just a minor quarrel among the young dandies that was not worthy of public display, then the rumor that Zhao Xiaoqian secretly instigated the King of Chu to submit a petition to abolish the old system and restore the old one added fuel to the fire of the fierce struggle in the court.

The old and new parties exploded on the spot.

(End of this chapter)