Chapter 213 Marriage
When the Qingmiao Law was first implemented, common people did not dare to borrow money.
Even though the court's interest rate was very low, people still did not dare to borrow.
They would rather borrow money from landlords and gentry at high interest rates than from the government.
The reason for this situation is that the court lacks credibility, or the people do not trust the officials.
In the eyes of the common people, even if they could not pay back the money they borrowed from the landlords and gentry, at most they would become slaves or tenants.
But borrowing from the government could be fatal.
The reason why Wang Anshi is said to be somewhat idealistic is also closely related to the Qingmiao Law.
Wang Anshi once served in a local government and knew the situation among the people.
After the Qingmiao Law was implemented, very little money was loaned out.
However, he did not know the inside story and thought that the local officials did it on purpose in order to stop the new law.
So Wang Anshi assigned tasks to local officials, requiring them to lend out a certain amount of money.
In order to complete their tasks, local officials forced the people to borrow money, which resulted in widespread complaints.
In fact, most of Wang Anshi's reforms had little direct relationship with the people.
A big reason why Wang Anshi was scolded by the people was because of the Qingmiao Law.
The Qingmiao Law is definitely a good thing, but during its implementation, we must also pay attention to these things.
Although Zhao Xing wanted to use the Qingmiao Law to test the attitudes of the ministers in the court, he did not want any big problems to arise.
Otherwise it would be very disadvantageous for him to implement reforms after he ascends the throne in the future.
After chatting with Wang Anshi for more than half an hour and explaining in detail the possible problems and how to deal with them, Zhao Xing asked him to go back and draw up a detailed plan.
After Wang Anshi left, Zhao Xing thought about it carefully and decided that it would be a good idea to use the Qingmiao method to test the waters.
When it comes to reform, support or opposition does not represent good or bad.
For example, in history, when Wang Anshi was carrying out reforms, there were always some people who opposed it, including Sima Guang.
Yes, it’s the one who smashed the tank.
Wang Anshi is controversial, and Sima Guang is even more controversial.
On the one hand, he is thrifty, not greedy for money, generous to others, and strict with himself. From a moral point of view, he can be regarded as a moral role model.
However, he denied all of Wang Anshi's new laws. Although Wang Anshi's new laws had some drawbacks, they were not completely unacceptable.
However, he denied it all, which shows that he is a very pedantic person.
However, not all those who opposed Wang Anshi's reforms were like this.
There are also some people who do not oppose the new law, but oppose it because they see the drawbacks.
The Qingmiao Law had no influence on the ministers in the court. If they opposed even this, then they were either very pedantic like Sima Guang, or the kind of people who opposed just for the sake of opposing. After he ascended the throne in the future, he would definitely eliminate them.
Purge does not mean getting rid of them; it is inappropriate to send these people to places where they are located.
Given their ranks, they will be in charge of local affairs. When new laws are implemented in the future, these people will still become obstacles.
Zhao Xing has already thought of a good place for these people - to edit books!
When the time comes, we will come up with pinyin and let these people compile a dictionary, or compile a book similar to the "Yongle Encyclopedia" or "Siku Quanshu".
The ancients emphasized making achievements and establishing virtues. If a scholar coveted power, he would be looked down upon.
Editing a book, which will go down in history, is a great honor in the eyes of scholars all over the world.
At that time, anyone who opposes the reform will be sent to study law.
Even though those people understood that Zhao Xing was eliminating dissidents, they still had to be grateful.
…………
The Song Dynasty sent envoys to Western Xia to meet with the Western Xia emperor.
The Western Xia emperor warmly entertained the Song envoys and expressed his desire to make peace with the Song.
Although the Western Xia emperor was young, he was very intelligent and mature. He did not become proud and complacent because he had seized power and killed powerful ministers.
He knew very well that his uncle had caused great harm to Western Xia over the years. Now the court was in chaos and various internal problems were rampant. It was time to rectify the internal situation instead of making enemies with Song and Liao.
In fact, he was already preparing to send envoys to Song and Liao to repair relations with them.
I didn't expect that the Song Dynasty would take the initiative to send people here.
The Xixia emperor simply ordered his men to bring gifts and accompany the Song envoys to the Song Dynasty to express his goodwill.
…………
"What? A marriage?"
Zhao Xing looked at his father in disbelief.
His father suddenly called him over and said that the Western Xia envoy would arrive in Bian Jing in a few days and asked him to go out of the city to welcome him.
Zhao Xing was a little puzzled when he heard the news. Normally, when the envoy arrived, the people from the Ministry of Rites should go to greet him, and he, the prince, was not qualified to go and greet him in person.
As a result, his father told him that the princess of Western Xia had also come this time, and she intended to marry into the Song Dynasty.
He remembered that in history, it seemed that the Han Dynasty always sent princesses for marriage, but he didn't expect that it was the other way around in Western Xia.
It may also be related to the fact that there are no unmarried princesses in the Song Dynasty. After all, the Xixia emperor was not Songtsen Gampo. He was stunned by Li Shimin. As a result, Li Shimin just found a princess from the royal family to marry, and he was very happy.
The Song Dynasty did not have any princess of the right age, and the Xixia emperor was aware of this, so it was naturally impossible for him to ask the Song Dynasty to send a princess to marry.
Instead, he sent a princess over.
"I just had this idea. King Xia has a sister who is two years older than you. It is said that she has a very good relationship with King Xia. Let her come with the envoy. If she is willing, the two countries can make a marriage alliance." said the official.
"So she has to choose me first?" Zhao Xing sneered, "Don't I think the relationship between King Xia and his sister is very good? His queen is his cousin's wife. He committed adultery with her and killed his uncle's family. Why does he still care about his sister? I think he wants to see if the Song Dynasty is worth a marriage alliance. If it's not worth it, I'm afraid he will choose to marry the Liao Kingdom."
During this period, Zhao Xing also learned how the Western Xia emperor seized power.
In order to control the Xixia emperor, the uncle of the Xixia emperor married his daughter to him as queen.
As a result, the Western Xia emperor secretly had an affair with his uncle's daughter-in-law, who was also his cousin's wife.
It is said that the Xixia Emperor did not plan to take action so early, but the affair was discovered, so he had to take action early.
The young emperor of Western Xia was also a ruthless man. He killed his uncle's entire family and the queen, and then made his cousin the queen.
As far as he knew, the young emperor of Western Xia had no brothers or sisters from the same mother, and his so-called sister was also the daughter of his father and someone else.
Would such a person care about a sister who is not from the same mother as him?
"No matter what his plan is, it's always right to stabilize him first. I know you have great ambitions, but I'm old and can't help you much. After this matter is over, I will let Prime Minister Yu formally measure the land in the world." said the emperor.
Whether dealing with Western Xia or Liao, it will not be a one-day job.
He no longer had the mood to do that. He couldn't leave a mess for Zhao Xing.
He needed to stabilize Liao and Xia, maintain peace, and thoroughly check all the land in the country. If he still had the energy, he might be able to clear some obstacles for Zhao Xing.
"Father, you are the Son of Heaven. Living for a thousand years is a lie. There will be no problem for you to live to be a hundred years old," Zhao Xing consoled.
"Haha, do I still need you to comfort me? You go back and make preparations to welcome the eldest princess of Western Xia. If possible, try your best to reach a marriage agreement with Western Xia." The emperor scolded with a smile.
If another emperor heard this, even his own son would get angry.
As Zhao Xing said, "Long live forever" is a lie, but since ancient times, there have been too many emperors who longed for immortality. Didn't powerful rulers like Qin Shihuang and Tang Taizong also pursue immortality?
They may not know that it is impossible, but they still think about it, hoping for the best.
"Father, I understand. You don't have to worry so much. If you can't, just pass the throne to me and let me be the emperor emeritus. This way I can relax and live a long life." Zhao Xing said.
He understood what his father meant. The relationship between the Song, Liao and Xia kingdoms was very complicated. If Song and Xia formed an alliance, Liao would certainly be wary, and vice versa.
Therefore, marriage between Liao and Xia must never be allowed.
"Get out of here!"
Even though the emperor was kind-hearted, he still cursed when he heard Zhao Xing's outrageous words.
"Okay, father, I'll leave now. But you may also consider what I said." After Zhao Xing finished speaking, he saluted and ran away.
"Stinky boy!"
The official looked at Zhao Xing's back, scolded him with a smile, and a warm feeling surged in his heart.
A wise son is better than his father!
Even though Zhao Xing had been through a lot of things over the years, he could still see that Zhao Xing was lazy.
He only had this one son, and the throne would belong to Zhao Xing sooner or later. Zhao Xing was not worried about anyone competing with him for the throne.
If possible, Zhao Xing would probably be happy to be a prince forever, as he wouldn't have to be so tired and could enjoy himself.
But Zhao Xing just said that he should abdicate.
Although Zhao Xing said this with a smile, as if he was joking, the emperor could feel that Zhao Xing was serious.
Zhao Xing didn't want power, but he felt sorry for him and wanted him to take a break.
"Haha, you are still too young now. I have to do something to help you. If I really die one day, perhaps I will pass the throne to you so that you can enjoy a few days of peace." The emperor murmured.
The official's voice did not spread in the empty hall and was almost inaudible.
However, Eunuch Liu, who was standing beside him, heard it and a hint of horror flashed in his eyes.
Although he was just a eunuch, he did know everything and he did have some knowledge of history.
Since ancient times, has there ever been an emperor who passed the throne to his son while he was still alive?
There seemed to be such examples during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but at that time they were all kings.
It seems to have disappeared after the Qin Dynasty unified the country.
The only person he seemed to know was Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty. However, Li Yuan was under house arrest and it was not his own will.
But these have little to do with him. At his age, whether the emperor dies or passes on the throne, he will either be buried with the emperor or sit idle and enjoy his retirement.
As for leaving the palace, that was impossible because he had served the emperor and knew too many secrets.
…………
Zhao Xing didn't know all this. When he came out of Longtu Pavilion, he was thinking about the Princess of Western Xia.
This time the princess of Western Xia is coming, perhaps we can get some secrets of Western Xia from her.
(End of this chapter)