The prince is more stable

Chapter 854 Merits and Demerits to be Judged
Zhao Xiaoqian won as expected!
Xu's eyes lit up, and he stroked his beard, ready to burst into laughter. However, considering his current imprisoned situation, he realized that laughing now would be inappropriate. So he coughed a few times, his old face turning bright red, struggling to hold it in.

Compared to Xu Jiang's joy, Chen Songling was pale and listless, as if he had lost his soul, and slumped weakly on the stone bench.

“Zhao Xiaoqian… he ascended the throne? How is that possible!” Chen Songling murmured in a daze.

Guo Cheng glanced at him and said, "The Emperor's ascension to the throne is the will of Heaven. What is impossible about it? The court has already issued the official gazette. If you don't believe me, see for yourself."

As he spoke, Guo Cheng took out a copy of the official gazette from his pocket and handed it to Chen Songling.

Chen Songling took it, his hands trembling, and carefully read every word. Finally, Chen Songling was in utter despair, threw down the gazette and burst into tears.

"This is not right! This is against ancestral rules. Zhao Xiaoqian is merely a member of the imperial clan. How can he be qualified to inherit the throne? He must have used military force to coerce the entire court..."

Before he could finish speaking, Guo Cheng suddenly glared and shouted, "Chen Songling! His Majesty is now the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. How can His Majesty's authority be offended! Anyone who dares to slander His Majesty's holy name will be executed!"

Xu looked at Chen Songling with a hint of sympathy and sighed, "It's the trend of the times, and the will of the people. How can human power go against the will of Heaven? Just accept your fate."

Chen Songling's eyes were bloodshot, and his teeth were clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound.

He was just a scholar. Zhao Xiaoqian had already ascended the throne and become emperor. What could he do? Of course, he could only accept his fate.

Guo Cheng ignored him and instead bowed to Xu Jiang, saying, "By imperial decree, Xu Jiang is to be relieved of his post as Deputy Pacification Commissioner of Hebei West Circuit and to depart immediately for the capital to be transferred to the position of Privy Councilor."

Xu was stunned for a moment, then his eyes reddened: "His Majesty, he..."

Guo Cheng nodded: "The Emperor will not forget any meritorious official."

Then Guo Cheng said coldly to Chen Songling, "Chen Songling is hereby dismissed from his post as the Pacification Commissioner of Hebei West Road and reassigned as the Military Commissioner of Jizhou. He shall depart for his post immediately."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Jiang and Chen Songling's expressions became complicated.

One option was to return to the capital immediately and assume the post of Privy Councilor.

One was demoted to Jizhou and appointed as a militia instructor.

The two received vastly different treatment.

Indeed, it is very important to be in the right position in the imperial court and officialdom.

Guo Cheng knew even better that if it weren't for the tradition of treating scholars well since the founding of the Song Dynasty, and given the brutal struggle for the throne that Bianjing had just experienced, Chen Songling might not even have survived with his stubborn stance.

The Emperor has only demoted him to the rank of militia commander, which is already quite lenient.

Xu Jiang looked at Chen Songling's dejected expression, and his own expression was also complicated.

“Brother Chen…” Xu hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Chen Songling smiled wryly: "There's no need to say anything. I don't need anyone's pity. I'll say it again: Your Majesty's ascension to the throne is against the rules and is improper! I would dare to say this to Your Majesty's face, but since the Empress Dowager and the court officials have no objections, I accept it!"

After saying this, Chen Songling got up and walked into the house, saying, "I will pack my things and take up my post. No matter who is the emperor, I will always be a subject of the Song Dynasty, eating the emperor's food and doing my duty to the emperor."

Watching Chen Songling's dashing yet somewhat lonely figure from behind, Xu Jiang remained silent for a long time before bowing deeply to his back and not rising for a long time.

Only after Chen Songling's figure had disappeared from the courtyard did Xu Jiang straighten up and look at Guo Cheng, saying, "Since the Emperor's decree says we shall depart immediately, I shall also pack my belongings and prepare to return to the capital."

Guo Cheng then smiled and said, "Congratulations to Mr. Chongyuan on his reappointment as envoy. I hope the Privy Council will continue to take good care of the Yan-Yun border troops."

Xu said calmly, "The Yanyun Border Army is the government's asset, and the Privy Council will naturally not neglect it. The court will allocate all provisions, military equipment, warhorses, and soldiers' pay on time."

"This humble general thanks Mr. Chongyuan very much."

Just as Xu was about to take a step, he suddenly stopped and said, "According to the rites, a new emperor should confer titles on meritorious officials upon ascending the throne. Has Your Majesty conferred titles on General Guo?"

Guo Cheng grinned, his face full of joy: "Your Majesty's grace is boundless. Your Majesty promotes me to Commander of the Garrison and bestows upon me the title of Baron."

Xu smiled and said, "Congratulations to General Guo."

"The Emperor appointed Mr. Chongyuan as Privy Councilor as soon as he ascended the throne, which shows how much the Emperor values ​​him. In comparison, Mr. Chongyuan is more important than me."

Xu Jiang showed no joy at being promoted, but simply patted Guo Cheng on the shoulder: "I'm leaving now. I entrust the northern border of the Great Song to General Guo. Remember to be vigilant against the Liao people day and night. The Emperor has summoned me back to the capital. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, the Privy Council may begin planning a northern expedition."

Guo Cheng was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Really? Is His Majesty finally preparing to take action against the Liao Kingdom?"

General Xu shook his head: "Don't be impatient. This war is a war of annihilation, and it cannot be launched lightly. The soldiers must wait until the court is fully prepared before we officially take action."

Guo Cheng laughed and said, "This humble general is not in a hurry. From today onwards, I will regard myself as a nail, firmly nailed to this land of Youzhou, just waiting for the day when the Emperor issues the decree for the Northern Expedition."

Xu Jiang sighed softly, "If Your Majesty were still in power, you could truly quell the Liao and Xia rebellions and unify the country. Such an achievement would be enough to make you famous for all time. I only hope that I will be fortunate enough to achieve that in my lifetime..."

Whether Zhao Xiaoqian's seizure of the throne was a usurpation or a legitimate act is difficult to judge in his own time; it can only be left for future generations to decide. However, if Zhao Xiaoqian had truly unified China under his rule, the matter of seizing the throne would have been completely forgotten. Later generations would have simply considered it normal, perhaps even believing that Heaven had blessed the Song Dynasty and allowed him to succeed.

It's no exaggeration to say that Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty murdered his brothers at Xuanwu Gate. Wasn't that brutal?

However, after he became emperor, he ruled the Zhenguan era, a period of great prosperity that will be remembered in history. The country was a golden age, with all nations paying tribute and neighboring vassal states submitting petitions to honor him as "Heavenly Khan".

With such outstanding achievements, did history books or later generations ever utter a single word of criticism against him regarding the Xuanwu Gate Incident?
Ultimately, strength determines everything in this world, including one's posthumous reputation.

When the light is bright enough, it can cover up all the darkness.

So, could Zhao Xiaoqian be the second Li Shimin?
Xu Jiang had no answer; he only wanted to return to Bianjing as soon as possible, take up his post as Privy Councilor, and do his job diligently, dedicating his life to the country.

…………

Bianjing (Kaifeng)

The State Council has drafted a list of officials to be transferred to lower levels.

The list includes 100 people, who will be assigned to rural areas and counties within the capital region.

The reason for choosing the Gyeonggi region as the location is that this is a completely new and unfamiliar policy, unprecedented in history, and can only be explored and tested. The Gyeonggi region will be used as the first pilot area. If it works, the policy will be implemented nationwide and become a regular practice.

Intriguingly, about two-thirds of the list of 100 people consists of officials from the New Party, while one-third consists of officials from the Old Party.

This ratio is roughly the same as the proportion of the old and new parties in the imperial court.

However, not all of them volunteered to participate; some were forcibly assigned by the Political Affairs Hall.

This was Zhao Xiaoqian's idea. He needed to hear different voices, and at the same time, he wanted these officials to go down to the local areas to reflect on the past and appreciate the present, so that they could seriously and clearly understand the hardships of the people of the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty's commercial economy was thriving, and the court implemented a policy of high salaries to encourage officials to be honest and upright. This led to a growing trend of extravagance in the Song officialdom. Officials lived as if they were in a honey pot every day, completely unaware of the poor conditions of the common people and utterly disconnected from them.

If this continues, the Song Dynasty will eventually decay, until one day, someone, because of something, will gently push it with their finger, and the vast empire will collapse.

Therefore, Zhao Xiaoqian took advantage of the opportunity to revise the new policies to make the decision to demote officials, killing two birds with one stone.

The premise is that this matter doesn't involve so many shady dealings related to power struggles, interests, or factional infighting.

That's why Zhao Xiaoqian ordered the Imperial City Guard to send out spies and secret agents to monitor the officials who had been demoted.

Only now does Zhao Xiaoqian gradually understand why emperors throughout history have had their own set or even several sets of secret service agencies.

It's true, human nature can't withstand the test, at any time.

This explains the necessity of the existence of intelligence agencies; only a system formed by "surveillance" and "law" can suppress the "evil" in everyone's heart to the greatest extent.

With the list finalized, the next step is to assign officials according to the established plan.

These matters were all left to the Council of State Affairs to arrange. Zhao Xiaoqian was the emperor and didn't have the time to manage every single detail.

Seeing Zhao Xu reviewing memorials day and night, it's fair to say that his health was ruined by the ever-piling mountains of memorials.

Zhao Xiaoqian wouldn't do something so foolish. From the perspective of modern management, the emperor only needs to manage the prime minister in the Hall of State Affairs, as well as the heads of the Privy Council, the Censorate, the Six Ministries, and other departments. The emperor should not interfere excessively with the people and affairs at the next lower level.

After becoming emperor, Zhao Xiaoqian was indeed much busier than before, but not to the point of working day and night like Zhao Xu.

He only kept an eye on the prime ministers in the Council of State Affairs, and then the prime ministers helped him keep an eye on the officials in the other government offices, delegating power and specific tasks layer by layer.

This is the normal and healthy way of management.

While the Council of State Affairs was busy summoning a hundred officials, speaking with them individually, and assigning them specific locations for their relocation, Zhao Xiaoqian still had the leisure to stroll in the back garden of Yanfu Palace.

To be honest, Yanfu Palace is not large in scale. It can be said that among the imperial palaces of all dynasties, it is one of the smallest.

The front palace area included the Daqing Hall, Wende Hall, Secret Pavilion, and Chongwen Academy, while the rear palace area had slightly more palaces, but the palaces did not occupy a large area.

After leaving Funing Hall, go around Kunning Hall, and then go north through Yingyang Gate to reach the back garden of Yanfu Palace, which is called "Houyuan".

The back garden was filled with all kinds of flowers and green plants, some precious, some common, but most of them were flowers and plants that Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't even name.

After all, what grown man would pay attention to this kind of thing for no reason?

Today, Zhao Xiaoqian strolled around the back garden, mainly to familiarize himself with the way.

He has been on the throne for quite some time, yet he has not even studied the overall layout of the palace carefully. If he is destined to live in this palace for the rest of his life, and as its master he does not even know the way around his own home, people will think that this emperor is mentally challenged and that the country is doomed.

(End of this chapter)