Chapter 233: One is mad to death
Over the years, in addition to cultivating Sheng Changbai, Gu Tingye and others, Zhao Xing also won over some people.
It is not appropriate to describe it as winning over. Zhao Xing was the only son of the emperor. As long as he was alive, he would inevitably succeed to the throne.
If the emperor has other children, almost no one in the court who is slightly smarter would have any contact with him.
After all, the prince is just a prince, and there have been many princes who failed to succeed to the throne since ancient times.
Zhao Xing's position was as stable as Mount Tai, and there was no need to worry about the government being wary of him when having contact with him.
There are many people willing to join him.
However, Zhao Xing collected very little, and most of those who now joined him were opportunists, and their official positions were not high.
When I ascend the throne in the future, these people will be of no use to me.
However, due to the special nature of the Censorate and the Court of Remonstrance, Zhao Xing carefully selected and accepted a few of them.
Zhao Xing benefited from this impeachment, as he not only impeached Zhou Yi Zhong, but also some officials who followed Zhou Yi Zhong in writing a letter to stop the measurement of land.
The excuse for impeachment was also very simple. The rumors that Zhao Xing had people spread before were a ready-made excuse.
The Wucheng Bingmasi arrested many civilians, and the families of those arrested beat the drums to file complaints and went to Kaifeng Prefecture to file complaints, which was also a reason for impeachment.
As expected of censors, Zhao Xing only gave a simple hint and they fabricated a bunch of charges against Zhou Yi Zhong.
First, not cultivating personal morality.
Second, in order to save face, he ordered the Wucheng Bingmasi to arrest people indiscriminately.
Third, there is suspicion of forming a clique for personal gain and rebellion.
As for evidence, I'm sorry, we censors have the power to report on rumors and are only responsible for impeachment. Finding evidence is not our job.
Now the news in Bian Jing is spreading like wildfire. As the censor, I have no power to investigate and cannot distinguish the truth from the false. So the impeachment is reasonable and legal.
Only the third point is a bit far-fetched.
But the censor who impeached also had his own reasons.
Although the Wucheng Bingmasi was responsible for maintaining public order in Bianliang.
But it was also part of the defense of Bianliang. As the prime minister, Zhou Yi Zhong could be easily mobilized, so it was not wrong to say that he intended to rebel.
What, you said that's bullshit?
It's just nonsense. Anyway, we, the censors, are only responsible for impeachment. It's not our business to worry about whether it's true or false.
Everyone with a discerning eye in the court noticed that something was wrong.
The rumors about Zhou Yizhong and others spread too quickly.
Not long after the Wucheng Bingmasi arrested people, the family members of the arrested people went to Kaifeng Prefecture to file a complaint by beating the drum.
Then the censor impeached Zhou Yi Zhong and even accused him of conspiracy to rebel. It seemed like it was premeditated.
Not many people can do all of this and dare to do so.
The first thing that comes to many people’s minds is the government.
But they quickly denied this speculation.
The emperor is kind and benevolent, but this series of measures is extremely disgraceful and does not seem like his style.
If others can think of it, the government can naturally think of it as well.
Considering what Zhao Xing had said to him before, the emperor was almost certain that Zhao Xing had done it.
The emperor sent away the censor who had impeached Zhao Xing and ordered someone to summon Zhao Xing into the palace.
When Zhao Xing arrived at Longtu Pavilion, the emperor had already sent everyone in the hall out.
When he saw Zhao Xing, he scolded him with an unpleasant expression without waiting for him to salute: "Didn't I tell you not to do anything? How dare you use such dishonorable means?"
Zhao Xing did not deny or quibble. Facing his father's reprimand, he said calmly, "Father, I don't think there is anything dishonorable about this method. No matter what the method is, as long as it can achieve the goal, it's fine."
"Asshole!" the official shouted angrily, "Do you think everyone in the world is stupid? It won't be long before everyone can guess that it was you who did it."
"So what if you guessed it? Do you dare to rebel?" Zhao Xing said nonchalantly.
In Zhao Xing's opinion, during the hundreds of years of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, there were not many people who could truly be called incompetent rulers, but there were quite a few mediocre rulers.
The emperors of the Song Dynasty had a common problem: they liked to reason with their civil officials.
Many emperors of the Song Dynasty were labeled as being modest and willing to accept advice. However, if you put it nicely, being modest and willing to accept advice is wise, but if you put it bluntly, it means you have no opinion.
If one is like Emperor Taizong of Tang, who has his own opinions and is willing to accept advice with an open mind, it would be a good thing.
The so-called humbly accepting advice has become a matter of reasoning with civil servants.
How could the emperor, alone, speak louder than so many people?
In addition, the emperors of the Song Dynasty were each softer in temper than the last, and their constant tolerance and retreat made the imperial power lack the dignity it deserved.
Just like what happened this time, my father pretended to be furious and cancelled the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, thinking that it would scare some people.
As a result, people still reported the matter to the authorities without any fear.
Throughout history, there have been people who dared to speak out against the emperor.
But they are a minority.
Only in the Song Dynasty were there groups of officials who dared to speak out against the emperor.
It’s not that they are so upright or fearless, but that they don’t think the emperor will kill them.
Even though my father had killed Feng Deguang a few years ago, it would not have awakened them and helped them change this mindset.
If you want to change these people's mindsets, it will be helpful only if you kill more of them.
However, we cannot kill someone just for this matter, and my father will not agree to it.
Zhao Xing wanted to use this method to tell some people that he was not a gentleman and would not reason with them.
If you make him angry, he has ways to ruin some people's reputation.
Therefore, Zhao Xing never intended to prevent people from guessing the answer from the beginning.
In Zhao Xing's opinion, ruining one's reputation might be more effective than killing some people.
"You..." The official was a little angry when he saw Zhao Xing didn't admit his mistakes. He took a deep breath and said, "Have you ever thought about the consequences of doing this? You act so unscrupulously that it will only alienate the civil and military officials in the court."
"Father, I have done what I have done. It is too late to say these things now." Zhao Xing said as a bachelor.
He had also thought about telling his father about the current shortcomings of the Song Dynasty and the situation it would face in the future.
But after thinking about it carefully, I gave up.
My father has his own ideas. He knows some things that will happen in the future, but he cannot judge things from a God’s perspective.
From the perspective of later generations, my father's retreat from the new policy was indeed wrong.
At that time, in my father's own opinion, there was nothing wrong with what he did given the situation.
How does he persuade?
It always takes time to verify right and wrong. He has seen the result, but there is no result now.
So Zhao Xing did not tell his father why he did that.
The emperor was also speechless when he heard this. Just as Zhao Xing said, it had already been done and it was too late to say anything now.
Should Zhao Xing admit what he did and apologize to all the civil and military officials in the court?
Not to mention whether Zhao Xing would agree or not, even the emperor himself would not agree.
The emperor was silent for a long time, then waved his hand and said, "I will handle this matter, you will..."
Before the official finished speaking, Eunuch Liu walked in hurriedly.
"What's the matter?" the official frowned.
He had instructed that no one was allowed to come in.
However, the emperor also knew that if there was no major event, Eunuch Liu would not have barged in.
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Zhou passed away due to illness!" said Eunuch Liu.
"What?" The official stood up in shock and asked in disbelief, "How could he suddenly die of illness?"
"Mr. Zhou's son came to the palace to report the news, saying that he had a sudden serious illness and died. And I heard that Mr. Zhou seemed to have been angered to death by the rumors outside." Eunuch Liu said.
The official sat down in a daze, speechless for a long time.
Not to mention the emperor, even Zhao Xing couldn't believe the news.
Is this going to make people angry to death?
Isn't it true that Mr. Zhou has such a low tolerance?
(End of this chapter)