Chapter 286 Persuasion
After some hesitation, Han Zhang decided not to object to this matter.
Now that the matter is settled, what is the point of opposing it at this time?
Could it be possible that Zhao Xing should take back his decision?
Han Zhang also believed that it was necessary to limit imperial power, but the starting point of this restriction was for the good of the court.
Zhao Xing had just taken over as regent, so no matter whether this matter was right or wrong, it had to be this way.
Otherwise, where is Zhao Xing's authority?
He said that he asked the government for instructions only to temporarily appease everyone.
After hearing this, the other husbands thought about it and agreed with Han Zhang's proposal.
In their opinion, the emperor seemed to be kind and magnanimous and would not allow Zhao Xing to act so recklessly.
…………
Zhao Xing didn't know what was going on at the Zhizhengtang. After Wang Anshi arrived, Zhao Xing told him that he was going to transfer him to the Duzhishisi.
Wang Anshi was stunned for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I have always been an official in the local area and I don't know much about the affairs of the three departments. I am afraid that I will disappoint Your Highness if you directly let me serve as the chief of the Ministry of Revenue."
He had some confidence in working in the Ministry of Revenue, but he had no confidence at all to be directly appointed as the chief of the Ministry of Revenue.
It’s not that Wang Anshi was not confident in his own talents.
If he had to deal with any government affairs, even if he was asked to serve as the prime minister, he was confident that he could do it.
The Ministry of Revenue was responsible for financial auditing, an area in which he was not very proficient and had never been exposed to before.
"There are so many officials in the Duzhisi who can do other things, you just need to control the overall situation. I let you serve as the Duzhishisi because I suspect there are problems with the three departments and want you to investigate." Zhao Xing said.
"If Your Highness wants to investigate the problems of the Three Departments, I think there is someone who is very suitable," said Wang Anshi.
"Who?"
"Sima Guang!"
After Wang Anshi finished speaking, he was worried that Zhao Xing might misunderstand him, so he explained: "Sima Guang is upright and honest. If we leave this matter to him, there will be no problem."
Zhao Xing frowned slightly when he heard this. He really disliked Sima Guang's temper, but given Sima Guang's personality, he didn't have to worry about him covering up for anyone if he was put in charge of this matter.
After a long silence, Zhao Xing said, "I have previously punished him to reflect on his mistakes at home for half a year. If I summon him to the court and he refuses to accept, what should I do?"
With Sima Guang's temper, he was totally capable of doing such a thing.
Zhao Xing would not indulge him, but if he issued an edict and was rejected by Sima Guang, he would be embarrassed if the news got out.
"I can go and persuade him first. If he agrees, Your Highness can issue an edict later." Wang Anshi said.
Zhao Xing pondered for a while and said, "Then you can go there."
He had already made up his mind that if Sima Guang refused to accept his toast, he would be left sitting on the bench for the rest of his life.
No matter how talented someone is, he won't spoil them.
"Yes!" Wang Anshi responded, and said, "If Your Highness has no other instructions, I will take my leave first."
"Go!" Zhao Xing nodded.
"Your Highness, the emperor just sent someone to ask Your Highness to go over when you are not busy." Eunuch Liu reminded.
"Got it." Zhao Xing stood up and walked out after hearing that.
Ever since he became regent, his father has never sent anyone to look for him.
The reason why someone was sent here at this time was most likely because of the demotion of Gao Bo.
When Zhao Xing arrived at Fuyan Palace and saw Grand Chancellor Han Zhang was also there, he knew that he had guessed correctly.
"Your son greets you, father!" Zhao Xing bowed.
"No gift!"
The emperor waved his hand, asked Zhao Xing to sit down, and said, "Just now, the great minister told me that you demoted the Ministry of Finance?"
"Yes!" Zhao Xing nodded, told the story again, and said, "Now the northern horse farm has only added more than 10,000 stallions. How much money can be spent on buying fine grain? But Gao Bo told me that the national treasury can't even squeeze out this little money. Does your father think that this person should not be demoted?"
The emperor waved his hand and said, "You are now the regent prince. You will ascend the throne in a few months. I will not interfere in the affairs of the court. I called you here to tell you that I plan to announce my abdication at the court tomorrow morning."
Zhao Xing was stunned when he heard this, and quickly understood his father's intention.
Normally, there's no need to announce this kind of thing so quickly. By doing this, my father is showing his support for his demotion of Gao Bo.
"Your Majesty can decide on this matter," said Zhao Xing.
Anyway, the emperor has already planned to abdicate, and he has also made mental preparations to ascend the throne, so it doesn't matter whether the announcement is made earlier or later.
The emperor nodded slightly, looked at Han Zhang and said, "My Lord, the prince is not someone who won't listen to others. If you have any questions in the future, you can just talk to the prince directly."
"Yes!" Han Zhang replied. "Okay, all of you leave now. I'm a little tired." The emperor said.
"Your sons (I'm leaving!)" Zhao Xing and Han Zhang stood up, bowed, and left.
After leaving the palace, Zhao Xing asked, "Do you think I did something wrong, sir?"
"I dare not judge whether Your Highness is right or wrong. But I think that such a big matter should be discussed with the court officials before making a decision?" Han Zhang bowed.
"Discuss?" Zhao Xing sneered, "The Song Dynasty is short of horses. Which official in the court has found a way to solve the problem? I have spent a lot of effort to get more than 10,000 stallions. I didn't ask the court for a penny and handed them over to the court. What's the result? The court can't even provide the fine grain for feeding?
I summoned him personally and asked him if he could solve the problem, but he told me that the court had no money and could not move anywhere else.
The Grand Master wants me to discuss this with the court officials? If we continue to argue in the court, how long will it take to discuss this?"
"I understand what Your Highness said, but this is the rule," said Han Zhang.
"Rules? What are rules? Rules are used to control me?"
Zhao Xing's three questions in a row left Han Zhang silent.
"I heard about the new policy that Grand Chancellor Guan Yu and Grand Chancellor Fan jointly presided over. After the new policy failed, Grand Chancellor didn't have to leave the capital, but he still asked to leave the capital. Could it be that Grand Chancellor's edges have been smoothed out?" Zhao Xing said lightly.
What Zhao Xing said was a bit hurtful. He almost pointed at Han Zhang's nose and said that he had been assimilated by those conservatives.
Han Zhang was not angry when he heard this, but smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness has not yet ascended the throne, and being too strong is not a good thing."
"Why?" Zhao Xing sneered, "Do you think someone will oppose my ascension to the throne, or do you think someone will dare to rebel?"
"Your Highness is exaggerating. But back then, Prime Minister Fan was also very powerful, which ultimately aroused even greater resistance, leading to the failure of the new law. If Your Highness has great ambitions, you should use gentle means." Han Zhang said.
"Huairou bullshit!" Zhao Xing cursed upon hearing that.
"My Lord, you are really going backwards as you grow older. The more I try to be gentle, the more the officials in the court think I am weak and can be bullied. The people of the Song Dynasty are surnamed Zhao. Do I have to beg them for anything?"
"That's not what I meant. I just wanted to remind Your Highness not to use too harsh methods before you are fully prepared." Han Zhang said with a wry smile.
"My Lord, you are a smart man!" Zhao Xing looked at Han Zhang and said, "Gao Bo said in front of me that there is no solution. Tell me, is there any problem with the Three Divisions?"
"If I don't use tougher methods, will it give them time to cover up the problem?"
"Since Your Highness knows there is a problem, he should have someone investigate it secretly instead of alerting the enemy!" Han Zhang said.
"Why should I investigate secretly? I want to investigate openly and honestly, to alert the enemy. I want to see how many snakes are hiding in here!" Zhao Xing sneered.
Han Zhang looked at Zhao Xing in horror and said anxiously, "Your Highness, this is a critical moment for the construction of the Great Wall in the north. We can't allow any unnecessary trouble."
He never thought that Zhao Xing actually had this idea.
Han Zhang originally thought that Zhao Xing was blinded by anger.
"When will the long-standing problems of the Song Dynasty be solved after all these worries? I have made up my mind on this matter. You can either help me or go against me like those people. You can decide for yourself."
After Zhao Xing finished speaking, he left without giving Han Zhang a chance to persuade him.
"Ugh!"
Han Zhang looked at Zhao Xingyuan's back and sighed.
…………
"Why are you here again?" Sima Guang frowned as he looked at Wang Anshi.
"It seems that Junshi hasn't figured it out yet?" Wang Anshi said with a smile.
"I've figured it out. What you said does make some sense, but I have my own reasons and I can't agree with it." Sima Guang shook his head.
Wang Anshi had told him before that Zhao Xing had no intention of carrying out drastic reforms, and that reform was just a means for Zhao Xing to clean up the bureaucracy.
Sima Guang was indeed tempted after hearing this, but after careful consideration, he still felt that Zhao Xing's approach was in conflict with his ideas.
Sima Guang's proposal was to gradually resolve the accumulated problems without causing chaos.
Zhao Xing's proposition seems to be slightly milder than Wang Anshi's, but in fact it is more radical than Wang Anshi's.
Sima Guang found it difficult to agree.
"That's why you have to get involved. Only in this way can you do your best to minimize the impact. What's the difference between your current choice and escape?" Wang Anshi asked back.
"Don't try to provoke me. I won't be fooled by you." Sima Guang said calmly.
"Provocation?" Wang Anshi curled his lips and said, "I don't mean to provoke you at all. You are familiar with history books and like to learn from history. You should know that in all dynasties, even when there were incompetent rulers, there were many loyal ministers who tried their best to save the country from collapse!"
"But what about you? Just because the Crown Prince doesn't listen to you, you want to stay at home and ignore the affairs of the court."
(End of this chapter)