The prince is more stable

Chapter 46: Retirement
Zhao Xiaoqian was quite annoyed by verbal battles, as he always thought it was something women did.

All the truths are written in the books of sages. You can look up who is right and who is wrong in the books yourself.

Those who are right strike hard, those who are wrong stand at attention and take the beating. Men can resolve ninety-nine percent of the world's disputes in this simple way.

The reason why disputes have not been resolved in this way for thousands of years is that some people have no manners, are unwilling to admit defeat, and do not accept reason.

Of course, Zhao Xiaoqian would not waste his time trying to reason with such a person.

For example, Liu Zhi. Today on the Imperial Street, Zhao Xiaoqian didn't waste a word and directly killed horses, smashed carriages and beat people.

At the highlight moment, Zhao Xiaoqian felt that he must be extremely handsome, the kind of handsome that a real man would never look back at.

At this moment in the Funing Hall, sitting inside are the emperor and the prime minister. These people may not necessarily be reasonable, but they must have face.

So Zhao Xiaoqian didn't mind spending some time to explain the reason clearly.

Simply put, Zhao Xiaoqian beat Liu Zhi today for the sake of "loyalty and filial piety". If he had not taken action at that time, he would have been disloyal and unfilial.

After saying this, Zhao Xiaoqian finally realized, "Huh? I seem to have somehow gained the moral high ground. Who put me there?"
Everyone in the hall was also stunned.

This angle of explanation from Zhao Xiaoqian... I have to say, it is very clear and simply irrefutable.

Even the old party leaders Fan Chunren and Lu Dafang could not defend Liu Zhi.

A very simple truth, if someone curses your father in front of you, will you beat him up?
If ordinary people understand this principle, how could the emperor and his ministers in the palace not understand it?

Not everyone who gets beaten the hardest has the right. Liu Zhi deserved it simply because he was so mean.

Zhao Xiaoqian's unrepentant expression did not arouse the disgust of the people in the hall at this moment. If they were in his shoes, they would probably not be able to help but take action.

Zhao Xu's face gradually became ugly, and his eyes looking at Liu Zhi became colder.

"Prime Minister Liu, is what Zhao Xiaoqian and Prime Minister Zhang said true?"

Liu Zhi also realized that something was wrong at this time. He stood in the hall with a pale face and cold sweat.

His original plan was to make the matter bigger and escalate it into a dispute between the new and old parties.

The New Party gained power and brutally suppressed the Old Party. The political atmosphere of the Song Dynasty was gone forever. The court was dominated by treacherous officials. The poor loyal officials of the Old Party were not only ruthlessly expelled and dismissed, but also suffered physical violence and abuse from the New Party...

What a hot gimmick and topic.

As a person involved and a victim, if the matter became a big deal, the government, under pressure from public opinion at home and abroad, might revoke the order to exile Liu Zhi and keep him in Bianliang to continue serving as an official.

But Zhao Xiaoqian just gently changed the subject to "loyalty and filial piety".

Liu Zhi is not good at this new track.

From the perspective of "loyalty and filial piety", Liu Zhi himself felt that he deserved the beating.

At this point, Liu Zhi found that the situation had completely gotten out of control and could not be reversed.

What's even more terrible is that he was so angry at the time that he actually said "the government is incompetent". Zhao Xu's ashen face at this moment was enough to prove how hurtful these words were, and how they hurt the government's heart.

Liu Zhi was filled with despair. He knew that there was no hope this time. Not only would he fail to achieve his goal of staying in Bianliang as an official, he might even lose his official position after being demoted.

In a word, he only said one insulting word to Zhao Xiaoqian at the intersection of Yujie, and this sentence completely ruined Liu Zhi's future.

I thought I had picked an easy target, but I ended up hitting an iron nail.

Liu Zhi did not dare to answer Zhao Xu's question because he knew he was not right.

Zhao Xu took a deep breath and said slowly, "Prime Minister Liu, you were once the prime minister of this dynasty. You ruled the country for ten years and made great contributions. Why did you insult a young man in the street? As the prime minister of this dynasty, have you lost even the most basic cultivation of a scholar?"

Liu Zhi knelt down again, his face ashen, "Your Majesty, I... acknowledge my guilt."

Zhao Xu ignored him and continued slowly: "Although Zhao Xiaoqian beat people in the street and violated the law, he did not lose the way of loyalty and filial piety. What do you think, gentlemen?" Zeng Bu and Zhang Dun nodded wildly. The King of Chu and his son are the vanguards of our new party. We are all accomplices and allies. Of course we have to protect them.

Fan Chunren and Lu Dafang hesitated for a moment and nodded in agreement.

There is no way to reason about this matter. The emperor and his ministers in the palace are all extremely intelligent people. Forcing it to become a dispute between the new and old parties will only cause contempt.

A young man with excessive anger was scolded as his father in front of others, so he became furious and started beating the person up.

It's that simple.

Seeing that everyone in the hall agreed, Zhao Xu hummed a sound, stared at Liu Zhi and said coldly: "Since you say that I am incompetent, if I don't behave incompetently for a while, I will be letting you down..."

"Liu Zhi is ordered to resign from his post and retire to his hometown. He is also given a hundred taels of gold and the title of Grand Tutor."

Seeing Liu Zhi's face filled with despair, Zhao Xu felt a little sorry for him, but he steeled his heart and said, "Prime Minister Liu is already old. If he is sent to a remote place, he will inevitably suffer from the hardships of traveling. It would be better for him to return home and enjoy his remaining years. The court will naturally show favor to the descendants of the Liu family."

Fan Chunren and Lu Dafang closed their eyes and remained silent, their faces pale.

In the court of that year, although Lu Dafang and Liu Zhi were both from the old party, there were actually many disagreements within the old party, and these two were the most incompatible.

However, today Liu Zhi was criticized by the emperor, and no matter how much Lu Dafang disliked Liu Zhi, he still felt a sense of grief at this moment.

Liu Zhiqing knew that the situation was irreversible, so he knelt down with tears streaming down his face, and sobbed, "I, your old servant... thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

After bowing deeply, Liu Zhi looked at Zhao Xu with lingering eyes, stood up, and staggered out of the Funing Palace.

Once a prime minister, he will be gone from the stage of history forever.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at Liu Zhi's back without any sympathy in his heart.

You brought this upon yourself, who can you blame?
Since you have provoked me, you should pay for your actions. We are all adults, so don't be rude at first and then respectful later.

Liu Zhi was dismissed from office, but the problem was not solved. Zhao Xu just reached a consensus with several prime ministers.

But there were still a large number of old party officials kneeling outside the palace gate, and it would take some effort to suppress their gossip.

It was the victim with a bruised face and nose who was dismissed from office after entering the Forbidden Palace, while the murderer Zhao Xiaoqian was unharmed. It is conceivable how furious the old party will be when today's result is announced.

Zhao Xiaoqian was not worried at all.

As a powerless, idle prince who lives off his parents, this is not something he should worry about.

As I said, stay as far away from court affairs as possible.

After watching Liu Zhi leave the hall, Zhao Xu pointed at Zhao Xiaoqian and angrily said, "You, you! Do you know how much trouble you have caused me?"

Zhao Xiaoqian bowed hurriedly: "I acknowledge my guilt."

"What's the point of admitting your guilt? Can you help me shut up those court officials outside?"

Zhao Xiaoqian deftly shifted the blame: "With Minister Fan and Minister Lu as the two pillars, they know how to shut up the officials."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fan Chunren and Lu Dafang glared at him with unfriendly expressions and snorted coldly.

Zhao Xu became even angrier: "Is this how you shirk responsibility?"

After a pause, Zhao Xu suddenly turned around and smiled gently at Fan Chunren and Lu Dafang.

"As for the court officials outside, please ask the two prime ministers to share my worries."

The two prime ministers were shocked.

As expected of royal brothers, their way of passing the buck is exactly the same, skillful and beautiful.

(End of this chapter)