The prince is more stable

Chapter 908 Up to Heaven to Listen
Let all good and evil, black and white, return to their original places.

Good is good, and evil is evil. Only when they are clearly presented to the world can everyone know what good and evil, black and white, really look like.

Ultimately, this is exactly what Zhao Xiaoqian needs to do now.

pragmatic.

We must work diligently and conscientiously, act towards our established goals, and completely reverse the distorted environment of the Song Dynasty's officialdom.

Whether civil or military, officials don't need to shout righteous slogans; they only need to look at the results.

Whether things are done correctly or not, whether the people under your rule have grievances, whether they are living a good life, how the court's new policies will be interpreted in your words, and whether you have tried your best to implement them.

This is the right attitude to take.

The imperial court sent a hundred officials to the countryside to understand the hardships of the people. Some officials participated in the labor and listened to the voices of the common people, while others did not take it seriously and were perfunctory, just like Zheng Chaozong three months ago.

Zheng Chaozong was quite intelligent, and of course, he also had a burning desire to make progress.

He wants to improve so much.

He realized that the establishment of the Censorate by the court was a crisis for many officials, but a rare opportunity for them, who were paid officials on a nominal salary.

The officials of the Control Yuan have made their meaning very clear: if you take the Emperor seriously and keep up with his pace, you will definitely make progress.

If you don't take the officials' words seriously and lack respect for them, you are destined to be eliminated.

The Song Dynasty had no shortage of officials. The number of officials with nominal salaries far exceeded the number of officials with real power. In other words, those officials sitting in positions of real power might not have realized that countless pairs of red-eyed eyes were watching them, just waiting for them to be eliminated so that they could swarm up and take their place.

Zheng Chaozong, with bloodshot eyes, was one of those waiting to seize a position.

He must seize this opportunity; if he misses it, he may end up as a mediocre official with no real career.

That night, Zheng Chaozong stayed up late writing, producing a lengthy article of tens of thousands of words.

This article is very insightful; it records everything I've seen and heard over the past three months.

How much tax do the villagers of Xinwang Village pay to the government each year? Which taxes are legitimate and which are illegally levied by the county government?

There were also local merchants and landlords who colluded with officials to force farmers to take out loans under the guise of new policies, ultimately forcing farmers to sell their land and causing their families to be ruined.

In addition, there were also cases of government officials colluding with merchants and landlords to monopolize grain prices in the market, reselling the grain at high prices and making a profit. There were also many injustices that happened in Xinwang Village, such as farmers being bullied, beaten and maimed, and other bloody incidents. Zheng Chaozong had no more scruples and wrote them all into the article.

After finishing writing, it was already broad daylight. Zheng Chaozong hadn't slept all night, but he was full of energy and not sleepy at all.

Looking down at the article he had painstakingly written all night, Zheng Chaozong let out a soft sigh.

This article might be his stepping stone to advancement, or it might bring him utter ruin.

However, he was willing to gamble his life on it.

Also, it feels so damn good to tell the truth!
…………

What happened to Zheng Chaozong was also experienced by one hundred officials who were sent down to the countryside.

Officials from the Censorate were scattered like stars, accurately finding each of the demoted officials and telling them that what they were doing was very important, and if they did not take it seriously, they would be dismissed from their posts.

To be honest, among the hundred officials who were demoted, very few, almost none, took it seriously.

Nobody took it seriously. Everyone thought that the government was just trying to gain a good reputation for "loving the people like their own children" by sending these 100 officials to the countryside to show that they cared about the people and understood their hardships. It was a political achievement to show the world.

Since it's all about achieving political achievements, officials are naturally familiar with this routine; everyone just plays along with the officials.

As a result, after these one hundred officials were sent down, they all acted perfunctorily and lazily, and they didn't take the instructions given to them by the officials of the State Council before they left to heart.

It's all just a formality, nothing more.

Until, like Zheng Chaozong, he was suddenly approached by officials from the Censorate and told seriously that he either had to do his job properly or resign and return to his hometown.

Among the hundred officials, some were stunned, just like Zheng Chaozong, like primary school students who had just finished their summer vacation, wiping away tears and rushing to finish their summer homework.

Some people still don't take it seriously, stubbornly believing that it's all just a formality, and that the words of the officials from the Oversight Office are also just a formality.

Almost no one could have imagined that this one wrong thought would completely determine their lives.

Several days later, at the Bianjing Government Affairs Hall.

Today, Zhao Xiaoqian came to the Hall of State Affairs in person. He was dressed in plain clothes and traveled with minimal entourage. He casually sat in the main seat in the hall.

On the table in front of him were piled up a hundred memorials, all submitted by the hundred officials who had been sent down to the countryside.

Zhang Dun stood cautiously beside Zhao Xiaoqian, watching Zhao Xiaoqian flip through the memorials one after another with an expressionless face.

After reading one of the memorials, Zhao Xiaoqian casually tossed it to the ground.

"This person is dismissed from his post; the court should not employ him again." After saying this, Zhao Xiaoqian picked up another memorial. After reading only a few lines, his brows gradually furrowed, and his eyes grew even more impatient.

He threw the memorial on the ground again.

"This person is also dismissed from his post and will never be employed again."

Of the memorials submitted by one hundred officials, Zhao Xiaoqian had already thrown away more than ten.

After closing the memorial, Zhao Xiaoqian let out a long breath and turned to look at Zhang Dun.

“Mr. Zihou, when the Council of State selected one hundred officials to be sent down to the countryside, did they not make it clear to them? I did not want them to go through the motions, nor to cooperate with me in some melodramatic drama of loving the people like my own children. I wanted them to do their work in a down-to-earth manner and to earnestly understand the hardships of the people.”

"And then, three months later, they handed these things over to me?"

Picking up a memorial at random and opening it, Zhao Xiaoqian pointed to the text and said, "Look at this. It says there are some local wild specialties that are delicious, never get old, and make people linger..."

"Am I fucking sending him to film 'A Bite of China'?"

"And this one, it opens by saying that the local village is beautiful and has many beautiful women, more than ten of whom are charming young ladies of sixteen or seventeen. The emperor's family is not producing many children, so I request that the local beauties be selected to enter the palace to fill the harem and increase the imperial family's offspring..."

"Damn it! I asked him to understand the hardships of the common people, and he's meddling in my harem affairs. If he likes to meddle in my family matters so much, why doesn't he just cut himself off and come to the palace to serve me?"

Zhang Dun stood beside him, his face grim and embarrassed.

Listening to Zhao Xiaoqian's scathing critiques of every unreliable memorial, even though the criticisms weren't directed at him, he still felt utterly ashamed.

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "These officials clearly haven't taken my words seriously. If this is the attitude of officials, why should the court employ such incompetent people?"

“Mr. Zihou, all these people should be dismissed and never be employed again.”

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey." Zhang Dun replied honestly.

He casually opened another memorial and murmured, "Your subject, Zheng Chaozong, Imperial Advisor, humbly beseeches Your Majesty's wise hearing..."

After reading a few lines, Zhao Xiaoqian's voice grew softer and softer, but his expression became more and more serious, and he couldn't help but sit up straight.

“Huh? This Zheng Chaozong is quite interesting…” Zhao Xiaoqian said in a low voice, “Finally, I’ve met someone who is reliable in his work.”

"A Fengyilang, still just a nominal official? The content of this memorial is quite good, it has some merit..."

After carefully reading the memorial, Zhao Xiaoqian read it again from beginning to end, pondered for a long time, and slowly nodded.

Zhao Xiaoqian handed the memorial to Zhang Dun, who was standing to the side, and said, "Mr. Zihou, please take a look. Also, all the gentlemen in the hall, please take a look."

"This person spoke many truths in his memorial, and also deeply analyzed the reasons for the suffering of the people of Yangdi County, and put forward several suggestions for the implementation of the new policies in the local area..."

Zhang Dun picked up the memorial, strained his cloudy, old eyes to read it word by word, and then nodded affirmatively: "Your Majesty's insight is remarkable. This Fengyilang named Zheng Chaozong is indeed right."

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at him and said, "In the memorial written by Zheng Chaozong, you praised me for my 'extraordinary insights,' is that correct?"

Zhang Dun smiled calmly and said, "There are many insightful officials and scholars in the world. The fact that their insights have been selected by Your Majesty shows that Your Majesty is the one with truly extraordinary vision. I believe I am not wrong."

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at him in surprise, his cheek twitching slightly.

When did this old fellow Zhang Dun actually learn to flatter?
It seems that the psychological trauma caused by the establishment of the Censorate and the execution of dozens of officials was more profound and severe than he had imagined.

"Mr. Zihou, I like your current state very much..." Zhao Xiaoqian said with a smile.

Zhang Dun was completely bewildered: "What state?"

Zhao Xiaoqian raised an eyebrow, displaying the dignified and righteous demeanor of a scholar, yet unexpectedly offering a flattering remark.

The contrast is too strong, like a cold, aloof, and domineering male god suddenly wearing a brightly colored floral jacket and dancing the Yangko...

Zheng Chaozong's memorial was circulated among the high-ranking officials in the Council of State Affairs, and almost everyone nodded slowly after reading it.

Zhao Xiaoqian said earnestly, "Zheng Chaozong's memorial describes the situation in Yangdi County very objectively. It cites specific cases of collusion between officials, merchants and landlords. Even if we don't mention that the content he said has not been verified, his attitude of daring to speak the truth is much better than others."

"Furthermore, his insights into the new policies are also very unique."

"In general, he does not belong to the Yuanfeng Party or the Yuanyou Party. His suggestion is to integrate the new policies and the old laws, to eliminate the false and retain the true, and to seek common ground while reserving differences. This idea is consistent with my thoughts."

Zhao Xiaoqian's gaze swept quickly across Zhang Dun and Su Zhe's faces, and he chuckled, "The most acute problem in the court today is factional strife, and the escalating factional strife has caused the court officials to lose their basic sense of right and wrong."

"I must oppose anything supported by my political opponents. It doesn't matter whether what they support is right or wrong. The point is to not let my political opponents have their way and to ruin everything."

"If all the officials in the court are so impulsive and subjective, wouldn't that be considered a disaster for the country and its people?"

His words were spoken in a light tone, but their meaning was like a sharp sword, instantly piercing through the facade of harmony maintained by the two factions in the hall.

Zhang Dun and Su Zhe's expressions changed, their faces alternating between pale and flushed. Although they were unwilling to admit it, they knew very well that the Emperor's words were objective and accurately reflected the true nature of the factional strife in the Song Dynasty court.

(End of this chapter)