Chapter 72 Father's Stubbornness
The next morning, several families came to the palace early and went to the palace to apologize to the emperor.
The reason why they didn't go to find Zhao Xing was because in their eyes, Zhao Xing was still a child.
It was also childish of Zhao Xing to order not to release the prisoners.
If I ask Zhao Xing for help, he may not agree.
The emperor had no idea what was going on. When faced with a group of people coming to him to apologize, after he roughly knew the whole story, he comforted them with a few words, saying that he would reprimand the prince and ask them to release the people, and asked them to go back and wait for news.
After the people left, the emperor said, "Let's check what happened. The prince has always been sensible in his actions. Why would he tell the Kaifeng government not to release someone just because of such a small matter?"
"Your Majesty, this matter has been reported to the Imperial City Department. I was just about to tell you when those gentlemen arrived."
Eunuch Liu said this and briefly recounted what happened in Fanlou yesterday.
"Bastard!"
The emperor was furious when he heard this and asked, "How old is he to dare to bring the dancer from Fanlou to the East Palace?"
Those who could be sent to Fanlou were criminals and the families of convicted officials.
These people were originally rich and powerful, but were fined and sent to a place like the Jiaofangsi. How could they not feel resentful?
Zhao Xing actually brought such a woman to the Eastern Palace. What if that woman went crazy and wanted to take revenge on Zhao Xing?
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Highness took that woman back not because he was obsessed with women, but because..." Eunuch Liu explained the inside story.
Although Liu Sanshi had warned the musicians and dancers not to talk nonsense, Fanlou was the property of the Imperial City Bureau and they dared not conceal such a thing.
"So, there was an injustice in that incident?" The official frowned.
"His Highness sent away all the musicians and dancers later, and I don't know the details," said Eunuch Liu.
"Send someone to summon the prince," said the official.
He personally decided on the punishment for Li Daoquan, and the reason why he did not go through a joint trial by the three courts was because the official who was sent to conduct a thorough investigation wrote in a letter saying that the people of Shezhou were outraged and that Li Daoquan should be dealt with as soon as possible to quell public anger.
At that time, the government was already very angry about Li Daoquan's dereliction of duty. In order to quell public anger, the government punished him severely and even omitted the three-court trial.
Now it seems that he might have been fooled. How can the official not be angry?
……
Zhao Xing was having breakfast when he learned that his father had summoned him to the palace. He thought it was because of those playboys, so he changed his clothes and went to the palace.
"Your son greets His Majesty!" Zhao Xing bowed.
The emperor waved his hand and said, "I heard that you brought back a girl from Fanlou, the daughter of Li Daoquan, and she said that there was an injustice in the case of Li Daoquan?"
"Your Majesty, it is true. But it has not been confirmed yet. It is just her one-sided statement. I was planning to have someone investigate it and then report to your Majesty." Zhao Xing said.
"Does she have any evidence?" the official asked.
"She didn't, but she said her father did. According to her, when their family was imprisoned, her father once said that there was evidence and that they could be cleared of the charges during the three-court trial." Zhao Xing said.
The official was silent for a while, then said, "I will have someone go back with you to take the person away. I will arrange for someone to investigate, so you don't have to worry about it."
"Yes."
Zhao Xing responded and asked, "Father, if there is really injustice here, how do you plan to deal with those officials who deceived the emperor?"
"The crime of deceiving the emperor is unforgivable. I will treat them like Li Daoquan in the past." The emperor said angrily.
"Father, I think the sentence is too light. The crime of deceiving the emperor should be punished by death!" Zhao Xing said.
Like Li Daoquan, he was exiled and his family was confiscated by the Jiaofangsi. In Zhao Xing's opinion, this was too light a punishment.
The so-called exile means sending people to remote and wild places to fill up the population.
The conditions in such places are harsh, and for officials who have lived a life of luxury, going there is no different from death.
But things are not that simple at all. Who among these officials doesn’t have a few old friends?
As long as someone pays them for their services, life is not difficult.
The official frowned and said, "No official shall be punished. Since our ancestors, we have never lightly executed our subjects. This is a great virtue. Why do you want to destroy it lightly?"
"My father also said that he never killed people lightly, not that he didn't kill anyone. I have read the chronicles of Taizu and Taizong, and I know that Taizu and Taizong hated officials' corruption and lawlessness, but they killed many corrupt officials. How can he say that he didn't kill scholars and officials?" Zhao Xing retorted.
Influenced by later history, Zhao Xing always believed that the Song Dynasty would not kill scholars and officials.
However, as he learned more and read the chronicles of the previous three emperors, he discovered that the first three emperors of the Song Dynasty all had examples of killing scholars and officials.
On the contrary, his father has been on the throne for decades, and has never killed a single civil servant since he ascended the throne.
This gave Zhao Xing an idea: maybe the unspoken rule of the Song Dynasty not to kill civil servants was formed from his father.
After all, his father's future temple name will be Renzong.
The emperor's temple name was proposed by civil officials. Obviously, this "Ren" refers to civil officials, not the common people.
No matter how good you are to the people, if you are not good to the civil officials, you will never be given the temple name of Renzong.
Not killing scholars and officials, from a positive perspective, is a benevolent policy that gives scholars and officials more respect. After all, they are needed to govern the country.
But from a negative perspective, firstly, the imperial power lost the most effective means to restrain its subjects, and secondly, the civil service group composed mainly of literati would ignore the law.
Because for civil servants, the cost of breaking the law is too low.
Zhao Xing didn't necessarily want his father to kill the civil servants, but if people like these who deceived the emperor and framed officials were not killed, how could he intimidate officials all over the world?
"That was the early days of the country. In times of chaos, severe punishments should be used. It was natural that Taizu and Taizong did so. But now that the world is peaceful, we should implement benevolent policies and rule the world with benevolence." said the official.
"Father, there is nothing wrong with governing the country with benevolence. But we must also use both kindness and severity, right? We should be kind to officials who work diligently and serve the public wholeheartedly. But we must severely punish officials who are corrupt, abuse their power, and form cliques for personal gain," Zhao Xing retorted.
"Only wise and virtuous people can win the hearts of the people. Since ancient times, there have been many emperors who treated officials harshly. Are there no corrupt officials? Emperor Taizong of Tang said that we can learn from history to understand gains and losses. I agree with this statement very much. History tells me that blindly killing is useless." The emperor shook his head.
Zhao Xing was speechless, as his father was too deeply poisoned by Confucianism.
It is true that blindly killing people is useless, but it can scare some people.
At least let it have some convergence.
"Governing a country is not as simple as you think. I have told you many times that you are still young and should focus on studying. You will naturally understand these things when you grow up." said the official.
"Yes."
Zhao Xing knew it was very difficult to change his father's mind, so he didn't waste any more words, bowed, and prepared to leave.
"and many more."
The emperor stopped Zhao Xing and said, "It's enough to teach those dandy boys a lesson. Let them go."
"Father, I was just thinking of giving them a light punishment and a stern warning, to teach them a lesson. After all, with their family background, they will all be promoted to high positions in the future. However, when I asked Cao Qin to arrest them, not only did they not surrender, they also beat Cao Qin. By doing this, they are slapping me in the face. If they let them go so easily, what dignity do I, the crown prince, have?" Zhao Xing said.
"In that case, let's keep them locked up for a few more days," said the official.
Naturally, he had to maintain his son's dignity, so he didn't ask Zhao Xing to release him immediately.
(End of this chapter)