The prince is more stable

Chapter 674 The Prophecy Reveals Doubts
The Imperial Observatory of the Song Dynasty was in charge of astronomy, meteorology, and divination.

In short, this is a thoroughly feudal and superstitious department, the mortal enemy of modern science, and at the same time, the end of modern science...

The power of the Imperial Observatory may seem small, but it is extremely important.

In official history, when a dynasty records an event that occurred in a certain year and month, the first sentence is the year, month, and day. Then, the celestial phenomena of that day are described, and what they foreshadow, before finally getting to the main event.

You may not believe the phrase "Your subject observed the stars at night..." but in the context of ancient times, wouldn't you feel uneasy and have doubts? In the end, your subconscious was still influenced by the phrase "observed the stars at night."

Because the Imperial Observatory wielded considerable influence over the emperor and his officials, the department was small in number, yet it had always been a fiercely contested target in court factional struggles.

Strange?

Not surprising at all.

In the power struggles of the imperial court, whenever the Director of the Astronomical Bureau steps forward and says, "Your Majesty, I observed the stars last night," and then goes on and on...

In the name of astrology and metaphysics, they pin a huge accusation on the opposing camp, claiming they've done something shameful that caused this star to dim or that star to fall. The stars warn of a great calamity for the nation, and if not severely punished, the country will surely suffer divine retribution…

If you were the emperor, would you panic upon hearing this?
This is why, throughout history, in court factional struggles, both sides have desperately tried to win over officials from the Imperial Observatory.

They operate in a monopolistic industry; whether it's astrology or divination, only they can understand it. In other words, the final interpretation right belongs to the Imperial Observatory.

Offending the Imperial Observatory is like planting a time bomb for yourself; it might explode at any moment, leaving you with nothing but dust.

The benefits of winning over the Imperial Observatory are also enormous.

For example, Chancellor Zhang Dun was very clever. After officially becoming chancellor in the first year of Shaosheng, he immediately won over the Director of the Astronomical Bureau. Then, when the Director of the Astronomical Bureau reported on celestial phenomena at court meetings, he repeatedly hinted that the celestial phenomena in the Song Dynasty were very auspicious, with the Ziwei star shining brightly, which he called "a virtuous minister in office".

The phrase "a virtuous minister in office" clearly refers to whom all the officials in the court know.

This gave Zhang Dun, the prime minister, a deeper level of legitimacy. He was also in accordance with the will of Heaven. Who would dare to go against Heaven?
The director of the Imperial Observatory of the Song Dynasty was named Jiang Shu. He was originally a Taoist, but was later specially summoned to serve as an official during the reign of Emperor Shenzong. In the sixth year of the Yuan You era, he was promoted to director of the Imperial Observatory.

The Imperial Observatory was a leisurely government office; basically, all one had to do each day was look up at the sun, moon, and stars, with not much official business to attend to.

Upon hearing the urgent summons from Emperor Zhao Xu, Jiang Shu, who was playing the role of a lazy bum, was jolted awake from his dream. He hurriedly dressed in his official robes and rushed into the palace.

Upon entering the Funing Palace, Zhao Xu sat behind a desk with a livid face, Zheng Chunhe standing beside him, bowing slightly and not daring to utter a sound.

Jiang Shu's heart tightened, and he hurriedly greeted the messenger.

Zhao Xu waved his hand, his face grim, and beckoned him over, handing him a note.

The note contained a dozen or so words: "When the dragon prince dies, the python robe will follow. When the heavenly wolf awakens, the vermilion bird will rise."

Jiang Shu glanced at it only once, then gasped in shock, his face turning ashen. "This, this... who dares to be so audacious? This is utterly outrageous!"

Zhao Xu stared at him coldly and asked, "What has Supervisor Jiang figured out?"

Jiang Shu took a deep breath and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, may I ask where this saying comes from?"

Zhao Xu said coldly, "In Suining City of Shu, the nursery rhymes that are circulating everywhere in the streets and alleys are being sung by local children. The Imperial City Guard discovered this and urgently reported it to the capital."

Jiang Shu said seriously, "The Emperor says this is a nursery rhyme?"

"It's a nursery rhyme; that's how the Imperial City Guard reported it."

Jiang Shu sighed, “Your Majesty, please forgive my insolence, but this is not a nursery rhyme. It is a treasonous statement that is meant to bewitch people. Your Majesty must investigate this matter.”

Zhao Xu said calmly, "I summoned you here to have you interpret the meaning of this sentence."

Jiang Shu said, "Your Majesty surely understands the meaning of 'the dragon prince has passed away,' which means that Your Majesty's youngest prince has died..."

"The meaning of 'succession by the emperor' is also easy to understand. 'Succession by the emperor' means a prince, referring to the emperor's own brother. The two sentences together mean that the emperor's young prince has passed away, and the succession will surely be passed from brother to brother. The one who will ascend the throne will be the emperor's own brother."

Zhao Xu sat silently behind the desk, his face growing increasingly gloomy.

"'The Awakening of Sirius' refers to Sirius, also known as the Dog Star, which is the first of the seven mansions of the Vermilion Bird in the south, the Well Mansion. This star signifies invasion and seizure, and is not auspicious. 'The Awakening of Sirius' means that evil people will appear in the world, and there will be turmoil in the world. It is an ominous sign."

"The phrase 'The Vermilion Bird Arises' perfectly echoes 'The Sirius Awakens.' The Vermilion Bird belongs to the element of fire, is located in the south, and represents brightness and prosperity. This means that if this person were to gain the throne, the world would surely prosper. And the place where this nursery rhyme appears is Suining City in Shu, which happens to be located in the south..."

Jiang Shu paused, glancing cautiously at Zhao Xu's ashen face, but still forced himself to speak: "In other words, a ruler who will dominate the world will appear in Suining City. The nursery rhyme means that he is the one who follows the will of Heaven..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Xu finally couldn't hold back any longer. He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "If he is the one who follows the will of Heaven, then what am I? A tyrant, a foolish ruler? Have I defied the will of Heaven?"

Jiang Shu and Zheng Chunhe were so frightened that they hurriedly knelt down, their faces pale.

Zhao Xu gritted his teeth and said, "Zheng Chunhe, have Wei Jie of the Imperial City Guard immediately send men to Suining City to investigate thoroughly! Find out who spread this nursery rhyme. This person is guilty of heinous crimes and should have their entire family executed!"

Zheng Chunhe hurriedly accepted the imperial decree and rushed out of the palace.

Jiang Shu remained kneeling in the hall, looking bewildered.

Zhao Xu took a long time to catch his breath and calm down. He slowly regained his composure, glanced at Jiang Shu, and said, "Jiang Jianzheng, please rise. I have no intention of targeting you."

Jiang Shu stood up, not daring to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and bowed with a forced smile, remaining silent.

"Jiang Jianzheng, after me, is the Song Dynasty truly a successor to the imperial robe? You have the ability to communicate with the gods, I wonder if you can explain this to me?" Jiang Shu smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, I can only say that the will of Heaven is unpredictable, because celestial phenomena and stars are not static, and therefore worldly affairs are also unpredictable."

"However, a few days ago, I heard that His Highness the Prince of Hejian led the royal army to break through Hejian Prefecture and set his sights on the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. I set up an altar at the Imperial Observatory and cast a divination for the fate of the Great Song Dynasty."

Zhao Xu sat up straight and said in a deep voice, "What does fate say?"

Jiang Shu bowed deeply and said with a smile, "This is an auspicious sign. The fate of the Great Song Dynasty is no longer as bleak as it once was, but is becoming brighter and longer."

"The recapture of Yan and Yun by the royal army can extend the life of the Song Dynasty by at least two hundred years. In the next hundred years, our Song Dynasty will usher in a golden age that is no less prosperous than that of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and Your Majesty will be a wise ruler who will be remembered in history and praised by future generations."

Zhao Xu was overjoyed. Although he knew that the officials of the Imperial Observatory always reported good news and never bad news, he was still genuinely happy to hear such a well-reasoned and evidence-based statement of feudal superstition.

Such pleasing and authoritative words are truly irrefutable.

After Jiang Shu explained the nursery rhyme and boasted a few words about the prosperous Song Dynasty, Zhao Xu's mood gradually improved, and he waved him away.

After Jiang Shu withdrew, the smile that had just appeared on Zhao Xu's face gradually faded, and two familiar faces kept appearing in his mind.

One of the photos is of Zhao Xiaoqian, and the other is of his half-brother Zhao Ji.

"The dragon prince is gone, but the python robe continues..." Zhao Xu murmured, his brows furrowing more and more.

Why did Zhao Ji's face appear in his mind?

Because Zhao Ji's title was "Prince of Suining", and the place where the nursery rhyme first spread was Suining City in Shu.

Unfortunately, Zhao Ji happened to be his younger brother, which perfectly matched the phrase "python robe" and the fine tradition that had existed since the founding of the Song Dynasty: "succession by younger brother upon the death of elder brother."

Zhao Xu silently pondered the genealogy of the Zhao imperial family of the Song Dynasty, and the more he pondered, the colder his heart became.

Zhao Xu's father, Emperor Shenzong, had a relatively high number of offspring compared to other emperors of the Song Dynasty.

During his lifetime, Emperor Shenzong had a total of fourteen sons and ten daughters.

That's quite a lot, isn't it?

Unfortunately, while the yield was high, the quality was really low.

Of Emperor Shenzong's fourteen sons, most died young. Zhao Xu was the sixth son, and his five older brothers all died young. According to the order of seniority, when Emperor Shenzong passed away, the sixth son was the one who inherited the throne. This shows how terrifyingly low the bloodline of this generation of princes was.

After Zhao Xu, there were eight younger brothers. However, three of these brothers died young. Excluding the ones who died young, if Zhao Xu had no heir, then he could only choose an heir from the remaining five brothers.

According to the rules of seniority, Zhao Xu should have succeeded his ninth brother, Prince Shen, Zhao Bi. However, Zhao Bi suffered from acute convulsions in his childhood, which caused him to lose his sight and become blind.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty could not be a blind man, so the ninth brother, Zhao Bi... was out.

what's next?

Next, the tenth prince, Zhao Wei, also died young.

After considering it over, Zhao Xu sighed with a complicated expression.

Next was the eleventh prince, Prince Zhao Ji of Suining.

If Zhao Xu died without an heir, then Zhao Ji would be the heir to the throne.

Based on the nursery rhyme circulating in Suining City, Sichuan Province, about the so-called "succession of the python robe," Zhao Xu felt a tightness in his chest.

"Brother Ji... is he already so impatient?" Zhao Xu murmured absentmindedly.

That's right, Zhao Xuruo is dead, and Zhao Ji is indeed the legitimate heir, but imperial power is too sensitive and taboo.

If I give it to you, you may keep it; if I don't give it to you, you cannot take it.

Now that Zhao Ji has taken the initiative to emerge, and his title and fiefdom are being spread like a children's rhyme everywhere, this is essentially equivalent to taking it by force.

Zhao Xu felt deeply offended. "I'm only in my twenties, not even dead yet, and you're already planning to rob me?"
What Zhao Xu needs to determine now is whether the nursery rhymes in Suining City were authorized by Zhao Ji. If it was him, Zhao Xu will not tolerate it.

At this moment, Zhao Xu was completely preoccupied with the nursery rhyme and had no time to think about anything else. He didn't even care about Zhao Xiaoqian, who was thousands of miles away and commanded a large army.

In the emperor's mind, the power of nursery rhymes was no less than that of ministers with great military power.

The rise of founding emperors of all dynasties was often accompanied by some miraculous events and highly prophetic nursery rhymes and songs.

Examples include Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's "The Great Chu will rise, Chen Sheng will be king," and Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, slaying the white snake.

What made Zhao Xu even more uneasy was that the founding emperor of this dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, also had it!

"The Inspector-General becomes the Emperor"—this was a widely circulated saying among the common people and the army during the reign of Emperor Chai of the Later Zhou Dynasty.

In the end, this Inspector Zhao indeed became the emperor.

Therefore, how could Zhao Xu not take the power of nursery rhymes seriously?
(End of this chapter)