Chapter 291 Testing the Father
Although Gao Bo was wrong, he should not be punished so severely.
The person who said that a gentleman can be killed but not humiliated should not treat Gao Bo's family like this.
He even compared Zhao Xing to the emperor, and almost said directly that Zhao Xing was too cruel and asked him to learn from the emperor's kindness.
Zhao Xing had a blank expression on his face and said nothing. After they stopped, he looked at Han Zhang, who had been silent, and said, "What do you think, Grand Lord?"
"Your Highness, I think Gao Bo was wrong, but your punishment was too severe. Gao Bo can be exiled, but his family should be exempted!" Han Zhang bowed.
"Hahaha…"
Zhao Xing laughed loudly, but his face was not smiling at all, instead it was full of sarcasm: "My dear gentlemen, you have been telling me that the punishment is too severe. Have you ever thought about what qualifications you have to say these things to me?
You are all husbands, the pillars of the country. Don’t you really know nothing about these messed-up accounts in the treasury?
I didn't hold you accountable, and you still have the nerve to tell me that I punished you too harshly?"
Zhao Xing didn't think that these people didn't know about this matter, even his father knew about it.
Back then, his father was able to force those lords to repay the money they owed to the court. Could it be that he didn't know about this?
This amount is several million taels. How can it be hidden from the government when the imperial court is so short of money?
However, my father could force the lord to repay the money, but he was unwilling to force these civil servants to repay the money.
Just because they are scholar-officials!
Han Zhang and his companions were speechless after hearing what Zhao Xing said. They did know something about this matter.
But for various reasons, we turned a blind eye to this matter.
What else could they say in the face of Zhao Xing's questioning?
Zhao Xing said calmly, "I have been merciful enough. I have neither held accountable those officials who knew about the incident but did not report it, nor those officials who have not repaid the money. If you gentlemen reject my letter, I will hold them accountable."
"Your Highness, the women in Gao Bo's family can be demoted but not sent to the Jiaofangsi!" Han Zhang said.
The other few people moved their lips, but in the end said nothing, which was regarded as their tacit agreement.
Zhao Xing was silent for a while, then said, "Let's do as the Grand Master says."
"We, the officials, shall take our leave." Han Zhang and his companions bowed and left.
…………
"Father!" Zhao Xing saluted.
"Fuer, come and sit down." The official pointed to the seat next to him.
"Yes!" Zhao Xing came and sat down next to his father.
"I have said that I will not be involved in state affairs from now on. I shouldn't interfere in state affairs, but what you did today was a bit too much." said the emperor.
"I don't think so." Zhao Xing shook his head and said, "There are powerful enemies outside and many problems inside. This is the only way I can do."
The emperor looked at his son who refused to give in. He was silent for a while and then said, "Fuer, what do you think of Emperor Wu of Han?"
Zhao Xing said without thinking: "The merits outweigh the faults!"
The emperor shook his head and said, "In my opinion, you are too much. Emperor Wu of Han conquered the northern desert and promoted the prestige of the Han people, but he used up decades of accumulation of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing. He was too aggressive and made the people suffer. If Emperor Zhao of Han had not worked hard after he succeeded to the throne, the Han Dynasty might have perished if it had been replaced by a mediocre emperor."
"Although Emperor Wu of Han's conquest of Mobei was the result of decades of accumulation by Emperors Wen and Jing, his own abilities are undeniable."
Zhao Xing said: "Emperor Yang of Sui also had Emperor Wen of Sui's many years of accumulation, and the treasury was piled with money and grain. However, the attack on Goguryeo led to the demise of the Sui Dynasty."
Emperor Wu of Han had both merits and demerits, but in Zhao Xing's view, his merits outweighed his demerits.
The north was often harassed by nomadic peoples. Emperor Wu of Han's Northern Expedition led to excessive military spending, but it greatly weakened the strength of the nomadic peoples and ensured the security of the north.
Merits and demerits are always mutual. Some things may seem harmful now, but may benefit future generations.
But there are also things that may bring benefits in the present but cause harm in the future.
Take the Song Dynasty for example, which emphasized culture over military affairs. This was not wrong at the time.
Taizu's advisers claimed that they could rule the world with half of the Analects of Confucius. Although this was a bit exaggerated, it was true that they did not read much.
It lasted for nearly a hundred years, from the chaos in the late Tang Dynasty to the stability of the world.
The long-term war has led to the people’s miserable lives, and there are even fewer people who can read.
Taizu was not wrong to emphasize literature.
As for the light use of force, that depends on personal opinion.
Although Emperor Taizu restricted the power of military generals, he did not despise them.
The one who truly looked down upon military power was Emperor Taizong.
But if Emperor Taizong did not look down on military power, would the phenomenon of looking down on military power not occur?
Zhao Xing felt that the phenomenon of neglecting military power was inevitable.
Because of the importance attached to scholars, their status was too high. Even though Emperor Taizong did not look down on military generals, civil officials would still suppress military generals.
This has been an inevitable phenomenon since ancient times, and Zhao Xing is not making an excuse for his ancestors.
Many policies have good intentions at the beginning.
However, it is inevitable that it will be exploited by others during the development process and some disadvantages will arise.
It is too one-sided to blame all the subsequent impacts on one person.
If this is really the case, then if we really want to trace the problem of separatist regimes that led to the demise of the Tang Dynasty, we have to put the blame on Li Shimin.
Li Shimin destroyed and annexed several regimes on the grassland and earned the title of Heavenly Khan.
But a large number of surrendered nomadic democracies were also resettled in the north.
In order to suppress these nomadic peoples, heavy troops were stationed in the north.
At the same time, there were many generals from nomadic tribes in the early Tang Dynasty.
Even without An Lushan, the situation of separatist regimes had already taken shape. It was only a matter of time before the outbreak occurred.
But can we blame Li Shimin?
Emperor Yang of Sui launched three expeditions to Goguryeo, which led to the destruction of the country. Can we blame him for not conquering Goguryeo?
In the future, Zhao Xing will definitely solve the situation where civil officials are more important than military officials.
He wasn't sure if he could succeed.
But if it succeeds, the Song Dynasty might be destroyed by a military general in a few years.
Wherever there is gain there is loss, one cannot judge one's achievements by the past.
"I didn't say that Emperor Wu of Han shouldn't have invaded Mobei, but there was no need to go to such lengths. He could have weakened the strength of the northern nomadic peoples and then stopped. Why did he have to fight all the way to Mobei?
It is far away from the Central Plains and cannot be cultivated. It is not suitable for the Han people to survive there. It is just a waste of national strength. "The official shook his head.
"Maybe, but it didn't happen after all. Maybe if Emperor Wu of Han hadn't fought to the northern desert and completely defeated the Huns, it wouldn't be long before the Huns would have recovered and made a comeback. For many things, if you make different choices, who knows what the result will be." Zhao Xing said.
"What you said makes sense."
The emperor nodded slightly and said, "I told you all this because I hope you can proceed step by step and not be too anxious. I know you have great ambitions, but since you just mentioned Emperor Yang of Sui, you should know that the reason why Emperor Yang of Sui failed was that he was too eager to succeed and always wanted to achieve success in one battle.
Emperor Taizong of Tang also sent troops to conquer Goguryeo, but withdrew when he saw that the situation was hopeless. It was not until Emperor Gaozong's reign that Goguryeo was successfully conquered.
I know you want to solve the court's long-standing problems, but the more anxious you are, the more problems you will not be able to solve. On the contrary, they may make them worse. Do you understand?"
"I understand what your Majesty said." Zhao Xing smiled and said, "The reason why I was so tough this time was because I was acting a trick with you, my Lord. Otherwise, I would not have done this."
"A whole play was flooded?" The official was stunned when he heard this.
Zhao Xing explained the reason to the emperor.
In fact, Zhao Xing had never thought about what he could really do to Gao Bo's family.
The original intention was just to send Gao Bo to exile to the frontier.
As for dealing with his family, although Zhao Xing wanted to do so, he knew that the resistance was too great and it was not realistic.
It is said that if you aim for the best, you will get the middle; if you aim for the middle, you will get the worst.
If he had initially issued an order to exile Gao Bo to the frontier, he would still have encountered resistance.
Zhao Xing did this with the purpose of testing.
One was to test the attitude of the court officials, and the other was to test Han Zhang's attitude.
The court officials did not disappoint him and delivered the imperial edict as soon as it was issued.
And Han Zhang did not disappoint him.
The rest of the people were against sending Gao Bo to exile, not to mention implicating his family.
But Han Zhang spoke up and directly said that Gao Bo could be exiled but his family should not be implicated.
Zhao Xing's attempt to get on the target also had an effect. The others were not very interested in protecting Gao Bo, so when Han Zhang said that, they also acquiesced in this statement.
As a result, Zhao Xing became furious and scolded everyone.
Han Zhang took the opportunity to say that Gao Bo's family could be exiled but not sent to the Jiaofangsi.
Zhao Xing, who originally only wanted to get average results, ended up getting above average results.
The others also accepted this result.
The emperor was silent for a while after hearing this, then he laughed and scolded, "Since you are acting, I just said that you went too far, but you didn't explain it, but argued with me instead. I'm afraid you are testing me, right?"
"Your Majesty, you have really wronged me." Zhao Xing said with a look of grievance.
He was indeed testing his father.
Although my father said that he would not interfere in state affairs after he abdicated.
But if he really wants to intervene, can Zhao Xing stop him?
When Zhao Xing didn't want to do anything in the future, his father came out to stop him because he disagreed.
He didn't say it at the beginning because he wanted to see if his father would stop him by force.
Zhao Xing was very satisfied with the results of the test.
Although the emperor disagreed, he did not intend to stop him by force. Instead, he tried to reason with him and persuade him.
Even at the end, he was just warned not to act too hastily.
But this kind of thing can be done but cannot be admitted.
When the emperor saw that Zhao Xing did not admit it, he did not investigate further.
He was not angry about Zhao Xing's test. Instead, he was very pleased with Zhao Xing's cunning.
Zhao Xing was able to know the importance of things and was not blindly tough. Instead, he had his own plans. He felt relieved to hand over the country to Zhao Xing.
In fact, the emperor was always a little worried. He knew what Zhao Xing wanted to do, but he was afraid that Zhao Xing was young and would be too eager for success.
Not only does it fail to make the situation better, it makes it worse.
When he heard the news, his first thought was to stop Zhao Xing.
But given his physical condition, even if he stops it this time, how long can he stop it in the future?
The emperor was pleased with Zhao Xing's performance, and Zhao Xing was also satisfied with his father's approach.
To be honest, if his father wanted to stop him, he really didn't intend to accept the throne.
What's the point of ascending the throne myself? It would be better for me to be his crown prince and then succeed to the throne after my father passes away.
(End of this chapter)