Chapter 248: Debate in the Court
"There's no outsider here, so no need to be polite. Please sit down." Zhao Xing waved his hand and asked the two to sit down.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" The two of them expressed their gratitude and sat down.
"You have been working in the Eastern Palace for some time. I intend to let you go to the Northwest Army to gain experience for a few years. What do you think?" Zhao Xing asked.
Yuan Wenshao and Sheng Changwu were stunned at first, then a hint of joy appeared in their eyes.
"I am willing!" The two men came to their senses and quickly stood up to express their opinions.
It is much easier for military officers to be promoted than civil officials, but now that there is no war, their promotion rates are actually lower than those of civil officials.
As the saying goes, even if there is no merit, there is still hard work. Nowadays, if you don’t fight, you can’t get any merit. And guarding the border is hard work.
Zhao Xing sent them to the border army for training. According to convention, they would be promoted one or two levels. After guarding the border for a few years, they could be promoted again. Naturally, they would not refuse.
Zhao Xing nodded slightly and said, "Then you should prepare yourself and set off once you are appointed. You will be sent to the northwest to guard the border and won't be back for several years. I will allow you to bring your families with you to take up your post."
"Thank you, Your Highness!" The two became even more excited after hearing this.
Sheng Changwu had just gotten married and was in the prime of his life. Naturally, he was happy to be able to bring his family with him.
After Yuan Wenshao's excitement, his heart was filled with worries.
His mother has always been targeting Hualan. At least she restrained herself when he was at home. But once he went to guard the border, Hualan's life would become even more difficult.
One can imagine how excited he was when he heard that Zhao Xing allowed him to bring his family.
"The appointment should be issued in the next few days. You don't have to be on duty these days. Reunite with your family and prepare to leave." Zhao Xing said.
"Yes!" The two of them bowed and left.
When Yuan Wenshao left, he seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Ever since he came to work in the Eastern Palace, his mother had asked him many times to say a few good words for his brother in front of Zhao Xing, to see if he could get Yuan Wenchun to work in the Eastern Palace as well.
Yuan Wenshao was a filial son and did not want to disobey his mother, so he promised to give it a try when he had the chance to meet Zhao Xing.
He had forgotten about it just now because of his excitement, and now that he had already bowed and left, it was not in his position to speak again.
…………
In the end, Zhao Xing overestimated the civil servants in the court.
The news that the Liao Kingdom showed signs of raising troops did not spread, but the civil servants in the court still got the news through various channels.
But they didn't care at all and continued to file impeachment petitions.
This time they impeached Wang Anshi. They also knew that impeaching Zhao Xing would be meaningless and would instead displease the emperor.
The Qingmiao Law was proposed by Wang Anshi. Only by solving the problem of Wang Anshi can the problem be fundamentally solved.
Otherwise, even if the Qingmiao Law was stopped, Wang Anshi would still persuade the Crown Prince to implement other new laws in the future.
The Kaifeng government sent people to arrest people in the counties under its jurisdiction, so naturally they could not hide it.
And this also gave them a good reason.
In their mouths, Wang Anshi became an unforgivable person who deceived the prince into implementing new laws and retaliated wantonly, causing public outrage.
Not only did they write a letter of impeachment, but at the morning court that day, a group of officials led by Yan Kuan, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, directly impeached him in court.
The emperor was furious when he heard this: "The Liao Kingdom is now raising troops, but you are not thinking about resisting the foreign enemy, but are only focusing on these trivial matters. You really don't know what you are doing!"
"Your Majesty, when it comes to the crown prince, how can such a thing be trivial? The laws of our ancestors cannot be changed. Your Highness the Crown Prince is young and has been bewitched by them. If we leave him alone, the Song Dynasty will be in danger!"
Yan Kuan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, spoke righteously and with great aspirations, which won the support of a number of officials.
It seemed that if Wang Anshi was not dealt with, the Song Dynasty would be doomed.
Just as Han Zhang was about to step out, the official said calmly, "The Qingmiao Law has never existed before. How can you say that it is changing the laws of our ancestors?"
"Your Majesty, although it has not happened yet, the Qingmiao Law was implemented not long ago and the people of Kaifeng Prefecture were filled with resentment. In order to cover up the facts, Wang Anshi sent people to arrest people everywhere. If this continues, it will inevitably arouse civil unrest. It will also damage the prestige of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Yan Kuan said.
"Why did I hear the prince say that the people are very supportive of the Qingmiao Law? It's different from what you said?" said the emperor.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has been deceived by Wang Anshi and does not know the truth!" Yan Kuan said. "In that case, then ask the Crown Prince to come and confront him face to face. I want to see who of you is telling the truth!"
After the official finished speaking, without giving Yan Kuan a chance to speak, he ordered, "Call the prince!"
Yan Kuan lowered his head slightly, his brows furrowed.
He originally thought that the northern border was unstable and the government had no time or mood to spend more time on this matter. In order to calm the matter down as soon as possible, Wang Anshi would inevitably be punished and ordered to follow the Qingmiao Law.
But they didn't expect that the government would let Zhao Xing come to confront them.
However, Yan Kuan quickly calmed down. How could the Crown Prince be able to win an argument with them?
"We will discuss this matter after the prince arrives. Now let's discuss the affairs of the Liao Kingdom first." said the emperor.
The emperor asked Han Zhang to recount what had happened, and then asked the ministers to express their opinions.
In fact, everything that needed to be discussed had already been discussed yesterday, and now it's just a formality.
The officials in the court were also aware of this and did not speak out. Instead, several ministers spoke up and expressed their opinions.
After asking for the opinions of the others, the emperor said, "Draft an imperial decree. Duke Ying will lead 50,000 troops to the north. All troops in the north will be under the control of Duke Ying to prevent the Liao Kingdom from invading the border. Yan Kuan, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, will be sent as an envoy to the Liao Kingdom to ask why the Liao Kingdom invaded the border without reason!"
Yan Kuan was stunned when he heard this. The government actually asked him to go on a diplomatic mission to the Liao Kingdom.
Since the Treaty of Shanyuan, the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty have frequently exchanged envoys, and there has been no example of envoys being killed.
But the situation is different now. There are signs that the Liao Kingdom is raising troops. If the Liao Kingdom really sends troops, it will be dangerous for him to go on the mission.
Although the two countries did not kill envoys during war, the Liao Kingdom was considered a barbarian in the eyes of the Han people.
Before the Treaty of Tanyuan, there were also cases of the Liao Kingdom killing envoys.
"I obey your command!" The Duke of England stepped out and responded.
"Why, my dear Minister Yan, are you unwilling to share my worries for the Song Dynasty?" The emperor looked at Yan Kuan and said.
Yan Kuan came to his senses when the Duke of England spoke, and said quickly: "I am willing to do so, but I have never served as an envoy before, and I am afraid that I will make mistakes."
"It's okay. Minister Yan, you just need to ask the Emperor of Liao why he sent more troops to the border in a righteous manner, just like you did just now." The official said calmly.
"Yes!" Yan Kuan moved his mouth. He was complaining in his heart, but he had no choice but to agree.
If he said he would not go at this time, not only would the government not let him go, but his reputation would also be ruined if the news got out.
At this time, the eunuch standing at the entrance of the palace came in and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived."
"Pass it on!" the official waved his hand.
The eunuch bowed and left, and after a while, Zhao Xing walked in.
Yan Kuan's heart, which had just settled down, was weighed down again.
Zhao Xing did not attend the morning court, so he should have been in the Eastern Palace at this time.
It would take at least half an hour for the palace eunuch to deliver the imperial edict, including the time it took to get here.
But now it’s only about an incense stick of time, which means Zhao Xing has been waiting in the palace for a long time.
The government may have planned in advance to let Zhao Xing come to confront them.
"Your son greets you, father!" Zhao Xing bowed and saluted.
"No need to be polite!" The emperor waved his hand and said, "Minister Yan of the Ministry of Rites impeached the Prince's groom Wang Anshi, saying that he persuaded you to implement the Qingmiao Law, and that the Qingmiao Law caused the people of Kaifeng to complain. What do you have to say?"
"Father, this is nonsense!" Zhao Xing pretended to be angry and said, "Since the implementation of the Qingmiao Law, the people have praised it highly. Why are there so many complaints?"
"Your Highness lives in the deep palace and has no idea of the situation among the people. He has been deceived by Wang Anshi. The so-called Qingmiao Law has harsh conditions and it is difficult for ordinary people to borrow money. Now many people in the society are despising Wang Anshi, and even Your Highness has been implicated and his reputation has been damaged. In order to cover up these things, Wang Anshi even sent people to arrest people everywhere in an attempt to conceal the facts." Yan Kuan said.
"Minister Yan said that I was deceived and lived in the deep palace, so I didn't know the suffering of the people. But what I said was all what I sent people to find out. Could it be that I am surrounded by treacherous villains?
As for the people arrested by the Kaifeng government office, I also know that these people are all criminals, and the evidence is irrefutable. The Kaifeng government office arrested people based entirely on the evidence, so what's wrong with that?" Zhao Xing said calmly.
(End of this chapter)