Chapter 249 The Villain and the Gentleman
Without waiting for Yan Kuan to speak, Zhao Xing looked up at his father, the emperor, and bowed, saying, "Father, I recently received the Ten Thousand People's Umbrella. It is the people's thanks to me for renting the land I have measured out to them for farming. They also thank me for implementing the Green Seedling Law, which has enabled them to have money to buy oxen and farm tools.
Minister Yan said that I was deceived, but every name on the Ten Thousand People Umbrella has its own owner. Isn’t this what the people want? "
"If it's true, it's naturally what the people want!" The official nodded.
Zhao Xing turned to look at Yan Kuan and said with a smile, "How about I give the Ten Thousand People Umbrella to Minister Yan, and Minister Yan can use it to verify one by one to see if the people are sincere and whether I have been deceived."
Yan Kuan's mouth twitched and he didn't know what to say for a moment.
The so-called "Wanmin Umbrella" is an umbrella given by the common people to praise the good governance of the emperor. The umbrella is decorated with many small silk strips with the name of the giver written on them.
It is impossible for Wanminsan to have 10,000 signatures. A few hundred people would be considered a big win.
However, don’t think that an official is a good official just because he is given an umbrella by the people.
Although education was popularized in the Song Dynasty, the number of literate people far exceeded that of previous dynasties.
However, the overall proportion is still very low. Those who can sign on the "Wanmin Umbrella" are all local gentry and businessmen, not real people.
When an official is serving in a local position, as long as he has a good relationship with the gentry and merchants and gives them some conveniences, it will be easy for him to increase his reputation by giving them an umbrella when he leaves office.
Yan Kuan naturally knew the ins and outs of this. He had obtained this thing when he was working in the local government.
But Zhao Xing's confident look made him a little unsure.
It is hard to tell whether Zhao Xing was just talking nonsense or he was well prepared.
"I implemented the Qingmiao Law and did not change the laws of my ancestors. I just adapted to the current situation in Kaifeng Prefecture. Last year, the land that was measured was rented to the people, but these people lacked farm tools and oxen. I asked the government to lend money to the people to buy farm tools and farming tools. Minister Yan, do you think I did something wrong?" Zhao Xing looked at Yan Kuan with a smile.
Yan Kuan's heart tightened. Zhao Xing's smile was very warm, but he couldn't help shivering. However, he gritted his teeth and said, "If it is true as Your Highness said, Your Highness is certainly right. But Your Highness did not report the implementation of the Qingmiao Law to the court, which is not in accordance with etiquette. And can Your Highness guarantee that there will be no problems with the Qingmiao Law?"
Zhao Xing raised his lips and said, "I have reported this matter to my father. He said that I used the money of Kaifeng Prefecture and its subordinate counties, and did not ask the court for money. There is no need to discuss it."
The official at the top glared at Zhao Xing fiercely when he heard this. Zhao Xing had never told him about this matter.
The emperor was angry, but he did not expose Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing didn't know this, and he said to himself: "As for Minister Yan's concern about the Qingmiao Law, I have also considered this matter. I don't plan to promote it nationwide, and it will only be used in Kaifeng Prefecture within one or two years. Minister Yan, do you have any questions?"
Yan Kuan was a little surprised when he heard this, but he quickly came to his senses and shook his head, saying, "I didn't know that Your Highness was so far-sighted. I was a little worried. Please forgive me, Your Majesty and Your Highness!"
Since Zhao Xing promised that he would not promote the Qingmiao Law throughout the country, and Kaifeng Prefecture only took one or two years to implement it, it was tantamount to surrendering in disguise.
Their original intention of impeachment was to worry that Zhao Xing would be influenced by Wang Anshi and would implement reforms in the future.
Since Zhao Xing has given in, there is naturally no need to continue making trouble.
The emperor was full of confusion when he heard this. Why did Zhao Xing suddenly give in?
Not only the emperor, but also officials in the court such as Han Zhang who were interested in reform were surprised, confused and disappointed when they heard the news.
Zhao Xing measured the acreage of land and implemented the Qingmiao Law, which was a subtle intention of reform. However, those in the court who supported reform did not come forward to support Zhao Xing when he was harassed by the conservatives.
The reason for this is that they were frightened by the government back then.
They were also afraid that Zhao Xing was just acting on impulse, his attitude was not firm, and he was still waiting and watching.
Moreover, Zhao Xing is only the crown prince now. Even if he wants to reform, he has to wait until he ascends the throne in the future.
Therefore, they are not in a hurry to come out in support.
One reason was to see whether Zhao Xing was determined to reform.
Secondly, he was waiting for the opportunity. After all, there were not many reformists in the court. If they jumped out to support Zhao Xing at this time, they would inevitably be suppressed by the conservatives.
But Zhao Xing's sudden surrender made them completely disappointed.
If they support Zhao Xing's reforms, won't they end up like Grand Prime Minister Fan and his men in the future?
"Since this matter has passed, let's not mention it again. Let's adjourn the court." The emperor waved his hand.
"My son, I respectfully send my father off!"
"I will respectfully send you off to Your Majesty!"
Everyone bowed and waited until the official left before standing up.
Zhao Xing looked at Yan Kuan, smiled, and left the hall.
Yan Kuan felt a little uneasy when Zhao Xing laughed at him. He always felt that things were not that simple.
When Zhao Xing walked out of the hall, an eunuch came forward to pay his respects and said that the emperor wanted to see him. Zhao Xing nodded and followed him to Longtu Pavilion.
"Your son greets you, father!" Zhao Xing bowed.
The emperor sent away the palace maids and eunuchs serving in the hall, frowned and said: "The solution you told me does not include surrendering! Fuer, didn't I tell you that you must be firm in your attitude if you want to reform? There are still some people in the court who support the reform. What will these people think if you surrender today?" "Father, I did not surrender." Zhao Xing said innocently.
"If you haven't given in, why do you promise not to promote the Qingmiao Law throughout the country?" the official frowned.
Zhao Xing asked back, "Father, do you think the Qingmiao Law is good?"
The emperor was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said, "I have also read about the Qingmiao Law, and it does have some merits."
"But I feel that the Qingmiao Law has too many drawbacks. That's why I don't plan to promote it nationwide," said Zhao Xing.
"What drawbacks?" the official asked in confusion.
"People!" Zhao Xing said calmly, "The Qingmiao Law is naturally a very good policy, but policies need people to implement them, and people are the drawback of the Qingmiao Law.
In Kaifeng Prefecture, with the presence of the son minister, the officials dare not do anything small. But if it is promoted nationwide, when the emperor is far away, those officials will do something small, and the good policy of benefiting the people will become a policy of harming the people. "
"Is it that serious?" The official was somewhat skeptical.
Zhao Xing said seriously, "Yes, and it is even more serious than what I said. Local officials can collude with landlords and gentry and use tenants to borrow all the money. The money will not reach the hands of the people in the end. At that time, the landlords and gentry will exploit the people even more cruelly.
And how much money do local governments have to borrow? If the imperial court supports it vigorously, the imperial court will be dragged down by then."
Kaifeng Prefecture was able to implement the Qingmiao Law because he was watching over it and officials were able to review it strictly in accordance with the regulations.
Once it was implemented nationwide, landlords, gentry and officials colluded with each other and borrowed all the money from the tenants, and they simply paid some interest.
In any case, the imperial court could not leave too much money for local governments to borrow.
At most, they can charge higher interest when lending money and grain to the people, but in any case, they don't have to bear the cost.
Local governments can add layers of taxation, and the Qingmiao Law has plenty of loopholes to exploit.
The emperor thought about it carefully and realized that what Zhao Xing said was indeed possible. After a moment of silence, he said, "Then you shouldn't have said that in the court. What would those officials who support the reform think? When you ascend the throne in the future, they may not support you in doing something."
"If they don't support my reform because they think I'm submissive, do you think they really support the reform?" Zhao Xing asked in return.
Most of the officials in the court who still support the reform are those who remained after the failure of the new policy.
Those who supported the New Deal at that time, including the older ones, suffered a blow and died of depression after the New Deal failed.
But the younger ones did not. The emperor felt guilty and treated them very well.
Many of them are now in the imperial court, holding high official positions.
But do these people really support the reform?
Zhao Xing thought that was not necessarily the case!
The new policy was originally proposed by the government and received strong support from the government at the beginning.
There are always some people who follow the wind and support new laws for the sake of their future.
But when the new law failed, it was too late for them to get off the ship.
The conservatives will not tolerate them, and if they change their ways, their reputation will be damaged.
Although continuing to stand on the side of the reformists will have some impact on the future, they are not the main force of the reform, and they are not the main target of the conservatives.
Later, the government compensated those reformists who had been demoted. They all benefited and naturally would not betray them.
In history, Wang Anshi's reforms resulted in a huge mess. Was it intentional by the conservatives in order to stop the reforms?
In fact, it is not the case. Most of the officials who claimed to support the reform did so in order to gain benefits.
Therefore, Zhao Xing never had high expectations for the so-called reformers in the court.
"I understand what you said, but knowing is one thing and doing is another. If you want to do something in the future, how can you do it without anyone's support?" The emperor frowned.
"Don't worry, father. I understand the principle of giving a sweet reward after a beating. In the eyes of the ministers in the court, I am still young and lack scheming, so it is normal for me to do impulsive things. Moreover, I am the crown prince. In the future, as long as you give them some sweet rewards, there will be many people coming to me." Zhao Xing said nonchalantly.
After so many years, Zhao Xing has gained some understanding of the ways of the emperor.
The matter of political intrigue is complex, but it is also very simple.
Except for a small number of people, most of the ministers in the court still care about their own interests.
To put it bluntly, he is a fence-sitter, he will lean towards whichever way the wind blows.
Take the current conservatives for example. No matter what Zhao Xing does, they always jump out to oppose it and make things difficult for Zhao Xing.
But as long as Zhao Xing can bring them benefits, they will immediately change their ways and unwaveringly support Zhao Xing.
This kind of person is actually very pure and only cares about interests.
In Zhao Xing's opinion, they are more useful than those literati who claim to be serving the country and the people but are actually very pedantic.
It's the difference between a gentleman and a villain.
(End of this chapter)