Chapter 104 Thoughts
"Your Highness, His Majesty told me that it was your Highness who advocated a thorough investigation of the salt administration, which shows that your Highness has the ambition to reform. However, if you want to reform, Feng Deguang cannot be executed by imperial decree." Han Zhang said.
"What a joke! Is Feng Deguang that important?" Zhao Xing sneered.
"He didn't, but the government's attitude is very important." Han Zhang said seriously.
Zhao Xing frowned slightly, as if he understood Han Zhang's meaning, and said, "My Lord, do you mean that this will provoke some people to resist?"
"Yes."
Han Zhang nodded and said, "Although many people opposed the previous thorough investigation of the salt business, it was limited to the court. Because many people were lucky enough to think that they would not lose their lives even if they were really bad. But if the government kills Feng Deguang, no one will be lucky enough to see similar things happen again in the future, because if they are not careful, they will lose their lives."
"It's ridiculous! What does it matter if they have a lucky mentality? Can they still rebel?" Zhao Xing said disdainfully.
"Of course we don't dare to rebel, but it will be more difficult to implement reforms," said Han Zhang.
"Have you ever thought about this, sir? It is because our father is too lenient that these people have completely lost their fear." Zhao Xing retorted.
"Of course I know, but we must put the overall situation first!" Han Zhang said.
"The overall situation is important? What is the overall situation?" Zhao Xing sneered and said, "My Lord, are you here this time to ask me to ask my father to revoke his decision? I have clearly told you that I will not beg for mercy. What are you going to do? Go to my father and make a desperate appeal?"
"When I came here, I had already asked the Secretariat to carry out your majesty's orders. We should be loyal to our emperor. I will only do my best to dissuade him. If I die trying to dissuade him, wouldn't I become a traitor?" Han Zhang said.
Zhao Xing's expression softened when he heard this, and he said, "My Lord, if there is nothing else, please go back first."
"I'm leaving now!" Han Zhang bowed and left.
Zhao Xing looked at the calm lake and fell into deep thought.
Han Zhang was worried that once the precedent of killing civil servants was set, it would arouse their rebellious psychology.
This idea is a bit too ridiculous. It is too fantastic to imagine that the Song Dynasty's long-standing problems can be solved by using conciliatory means.
Facts have proven that blind kindness is useless and cannot influence those people.
……
In autumn, all things wither. The ancients believed that autumn was a season of austerity and hibernation, so executions of death row prisoners were generally carried out after autumn.
However, there are also cases where people are sentenced to immediate execution. In this case, there is no need to wait until the autumn. They can be executed directly after their identities are verified.
Three days later, Feng Deguang was executed at Caishikou in the city of Bianjing, which attracted many people to serve as officials.
The current emperor ascended the throne at the age of thirteen, and it has been more than thirty years since then. This is the first civil servant to be executed.
The civil servants in Bian Jing all felt sad, and after Feng Deguang was executed, even the fighting among them stopped temporarily.
In the past, they always thought that passing the test was equivalent to having a golden medal of immunity from death, and that the status of a civil servant was more useful than the red-letter and iron certificate of a noble family.
It can be said that Feng Deguang’s death had a great deterrent effect on them, and some people became much more restrained in their behavior.
Even the ice gifts sent from local areas were not accepted by anyone and were all returned.
However, this deterrence will not last long. People are always greedy and there will always be people who take risks.
Haven’t you seen that in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang killed countless people, even skinned them, but he still couldn’t kill all the corrupt officials.
Some people say that it was because the salaries given in the early Ming Dynasty were too low. Zhu Yuanzhang was of humble origin, so he treated his subjects like farmhands for landlords.
However, the Song Dynasty was the dynasty with the highest official salaries in history, and emperors of all dynasties were very good to their officials, yet there were still so many corrupt officials.
However, what Zhao Xing cared about was not the deterrent effect, but the fact that his father had broken the rule of not killing civil servants since he ascended the throne.
In the future, when he ascends the throne, the so-called ancestral system will no longer be able to restrict him.
……
"Your Highness, I, the humble servant, greet you!" Fang Zhongrong and Sheng Wei bowed.
In early August, Sheng Wei and Fang Zhongrong completed the transaction and returned to Bian Jing.
After completing the transaction, Sheng Wei wrote down the details of the transaction and sent it back to Bianjing. Before they returned, Zhao Xing had already known the general process.
This time, Sheng Wei brought more than 1,200 kilograms of wine to the Song-Liao trade. In addition to the wine he gave away, he also exchanged it for more than 1,100 horses.
However, these horses were left in the north and not brought back.
The imperial court had a regulation that the imperial court would select and purchase the horses that merchants exchanged in the Song-Liao trade.
All horses that can be used as war horses must be sold to the imperial court, and only those that cannot be used as war horses can be disposed of by the merchants themselves.
Therefore, Sheng Wei sold all these horses directly to the court and brought back nearly 60,000 taels of silver.
To be honest, Zhao Xing originally set such a high price in order to test the attitude of the Liao merchants.
For example, the common wine on the market in the Song Dynasty, the best one only costs about ten taels per jar, which is equivalent to a few taels of silver per pound.
Of course, this refers to new wine, not aged wine.
There are also those that cost a few cents per pound.
Although his wine is good, it is sold at one hundred taels of silver per pound, which can be said to be a sky-high price.
His minimum price was twenty taels per catty, so that Sheng Wei could get a bargain. Unexpectedly, Sheng Wei actually exchanged more than a thousand war horses from the Liao Kingdom at the price of one catty of wine for one horse.
Although this is only the first transaction, it will depend on whether the Liao nobles will accept this wine.
However, Zhao Xing is very confident about this wine.
"Please stand up quickly. You have worked hard on this trip. Someone, please give you a seat!" Zhao Xing said with a smile.
After asking the two men to sit down, Zhao Xing asked them again in detail.
Over the years, Zhao Xing has learned some skills in controlling his subordinates.
Although he already knew the general process, he still had to give Sheng Wei and the others a chance to tell it. This would allow him to understand it better and also give them a chance to perform.
After Sheng Wei finished his story, Zhao Xing clapped his hands, and several palace maids came in holding trays with pieces of finely crafted jewelry on them.
Zhao Xing looked at Sheng Wei and said, "Thank you for your hard work this time. Your son is getting married soon. I will give you two months' vacation. These are my gifts."
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Sheng Wei stood up excitedly to express his gratitude.
Zhao Xing praised Sheng Wei a few words and let him go back first.
"Zhongrong, how credible do you think Li Ge's words are?" Zhao Xing asked.
In addition to studying over the years, he also learned about the situation in the Liao Kingdom and Western Xia.
Zhao Xing naturally knew the King of Qin, who was the younger brother of the current Emperor of Liao.
Their mother wanted to make King Qin the emperor, but was reported by the King of Qin.
Zhao Xing didn't believe that he had no idea about the throne. The King of Qin had reported his mother at the beginning, he must have known that he had little chance and even if he became emperor he would be a puppet.
That's why he reported his mother.
If we can cause civil unrest in Liao, even if we cannot take the opportunity to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, we can at least cause some chaos in Liao and weaken its strength.
"He should be telling a truth since he can mobilize so many war horses at once," said Fang Zhongrong.
"Yes." Zhao Xing nodded slightly and said, "I'll give you a few days off. Go back and have a good rest."
Even if Li Ge was really the King of Qin's man, his status was not that high. He could only look for opportunities later to see if he could contact the King of Qin.
As long as he has ambition, he will definitely be willing to get help from the Song Dynasty.
(End of this chapter)