Chapter 37 Is this too hurtful?
"Your Majesty, I have something else to report."
Chu Hong spoke calmly. Once the party struggle started, it would be a life-and-death fight and there was no possibility of stopping.
"Hey, let's do it together!"
Zhao Zhen sighed slightly.
He knew that this was a party dispute, but knowing it was also genuine anger.
Chu Hong looked deeply at Wang Qinruo, "Back then, the Ministry of Revenue had financial problems, and people led by Wang Gelao pushed to convert the rice fields in the Huai River area into mulberry fields, so that the people in Huainan could grow mulberry trees instead of rice.
Everyone was angry and resentful about this, and the whole country was in chaos. The people were in turmoil, and the number of bandits and robbers increased sharply. There were countless civil uprisings a few years ago. Wang Qinruo's policies have been poisoning the people of Huaishui for a long time. The cabinet ministers should consider the world, and those who have no talent and no virtue and are full of selfishness should be demoted! "
This was the ultimate killer move prepared by the Korean faction, the killer move to take down Wang Qinruo.
Wang Qinruo's expression changed immediately, and his hands in his sleeves trembled uncontrollably.
He was really scared!
He wasn't this scared even when Chen Duan was taken away and was biting people everywhere!
He was a civil official and a favorite of the emperor, so the internal references naturally had a bit of deceiving the emperor, but he could easily get away with it by saying that he didn't pay much attention to the details of the accounts.
But changing rice to mulberry is a different matter!
This matter is closely related to the evaluation of Zhao Zhen after his death!
Zhao Zhen's sleeves trembled slightly. He felt that he had a little bit of responsibility in this matter.
"When we change rice to mulberry, the people of the world all praise us, so why should there be unrest?"
Chen Duan was dragged away, and the Minister of Justice Zhao Ji had to bite the bullet and take over.
Chu Hong replied quietly, "If we change rice to mulberry, the people of Huaishui will have nothing to eat."
"Raising mulberry trees produces silk, and selling the silk earns money. With money, how can there be no food to eat?"
The Minister of Justice found that the difficulty this time did not seem to be that high, and Chu Hong's momentum did not seem to be as aggressive as before.
"This is indeed the original intention of changing rice crops to mulberry crops, and this is why Your Majesty agreed to implement this policy. The government is originally a good government, but the officials are not good officials."
"How to say?"
Zhao Zhen's slightly narrowed eyes brightened. In recent years, many people have rebelled in the Huai River area. It is an extremely fertile place, but rebellions continue. This made Zhao Zhen think that it might be a problem with his decision-making back then.
Therefore, he actually had some predictions about his reputation after his death.
Kindness is certain, but whether there is mediocre governance is not certain.
In other words, there is a high probability that there is mediocre governance, or even similar evaluations such as "kind but stupid".
Now, I heard a different answer?
"The Huai River is used to grow mulberry trees. At that time, Your Majesty also considered the problem of grain, so he asked the Ministry of Revenue to allocate grain to help the people of the Huai River."
Zhao Zhen nodded as he listened, but his heart was in turmoil.
Could it be that this political black spot can change further?
Can this name after death be changed?
Chu Hong continued, "It's a pity that Wang Qinruo secretly asked local officials to sell the court's grain at a high price, and also raised the grain price. He used rice as a cover to replace mulberry, but in fact he let his brother, who was an official in Huaishui, ruin the fate of our Zhou Dynasty."
"On the surface?"
"This was an order issued by His Majesty himself. Could it be that the Imperial Tutor has any doubts about it?"
Wang Qinruo was eliminated again. He could not stay any longer after hearing this.
"Why is Lord Wang so panicked? Could it be that he doesn't allow people to talk?"
Han Zhang stood out leisurely and looked at Wang Qinruo.
"go on!"
When Zhao Zhen saw this situation, he knew that there must be a problem with Wang Qinruo, and he immediately became a little excited.
At the beginning, he regarded "changing rice to mulberry" as an important political achievement. Even the conversation about this good strategy was written into a whole page in the history books.
Unfortunately, the result of "changing rice to mulberry" was not good. If it were passed down to future generations,
He was about to die of old age, and what he feared most was that future generations would have some deviation in their evaluation. The issue of replacing rice with mulberry trees was also a hurdle in his heart, and it was the thing that was most likely to make people talk about it.
Now that we have the opportunity to change the nature of the situation, we will naturally not let it go.
"Your Majesty, food is the most important thing for the people. If they don't have enough food, then even the best governance is useless. Changing rice to mulberry leaves the people with no time to farm and no food. All they have is the little money they earn from raising mulberry trees.
If the grain is distributed according to your majesty's arrangement, the local people will certainly have no worries about food and clothing, and they can also make a little money from raising mulberry trees. By then, the court will have silk, which can be sold to other countries at a high price by sea. The financial problem will be solved, and the people will have peace, which is the best of both worlds.
But Wang Qinruo's younger brother, under the secret instructions of Lord Wang."
"This is slander!"
Wang Qinruo interrupted him directly and stopped him from speaking.
"Yes, this is definitely slander!"
"Everyone knows that Mr. Wang is upright and honest. How can he be slandered?"
"This matter has already been determined. There is nothing more to say. Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
The people from the Wang family could not stay any longer. They knew everything about what was going on with Wang Qinruo's relatives, so they hurried to stop them.
"Shut up!"
Zhao Zhen was angry. What did this mean? Was he so scared that he wouldn't let anyone speak?
If the attendant scholar said one less word, I would be scolded thousands of times in the future!
"His Majesty."
"Shut up!"
Zhao Zhen stood up from the dragon throne and pointed at an official who was still trying to stir up trouble. "If you continue to make trouble, you will be demoted and exiled, and your entire family will be exterminated and their property will be confiscated!" Zhao Zhen was really angry. Even when Chen Duan deceived the emperor, he did not behave like this, nor did he care so much.
Now, no one dared to say anything.
Chu Hong nodded calmly, "Wang Qinruo instructed my brother to sell the grain that was supposed to be used for relief, and he also colluded with local tyrants to drive up prices.
Mulberry trees are grown in most places along the Huai River, but grain is even more scarce. People don't grow much grain at home, and the money from mulberry trees can't buy much grain because of the rising grain prices.
As a result, local gentry pushed down the land price, forcing the people to sell their land for a living. Although they had enough food for a while, they had no land to farm the next year and no way to make a living. There were countless civil unrests. Even the world-renowned Fan Wencheng personally tried to appease the people, but there were still constant civil unrests, and the turmoil and chaos continue to this day.
The common people are suffering, but Wang Ge's family has benefited greatly, and now has a total of more than 400,000 acres of land."
Zhao Zhen's face suddenly became gloomy. If the land was lost, wouldn't the common people have no way out?
The most important thing is that more than 400,000 acres of land were annexed.
This number is really exaggerated, it is basically the area of all arable land in the Huai River area!
Zhao Zhen did not particularly care about Wang Qinruo's greed. Four hundred thousand acres was within his tolerance. But what he could not tolerate was that the Wang family actually occupied all the land along the Huai River and left nothing for the people of the Huai River.
What can the common people do?
Either you become the Wang family's running dog or you rebel.
It's too ruthless, leaving no way out. No wonder the world is in constant chaos, with the Huai River being the worst affected!
Good man, he always thought it was his own problem, but he didn’t expect it!
This was a really clever move. The local big family did something that would exterminate their descendants, but they secretly concealed the matter. The Bian Jing Censor believed that it was caused by the emperor's decision, and after impeaching him once or twice, they dared not talk about it again. The matter just disappeared like that, and only the common people suffered, while the big family benefited.
"Great, great! It's really high!"
Zhao Zhen narrowed his eyes and sighed. He said nothing, and yet he said everything.
"What explanation do you have, Lord Wang?"
"Your Majesty, I am at the Huai River"
Wang Qinruo was a little flustered and frightened by this incident, but he reacted quickly and prepared to refute immediately.
"Oh! Stop talking, I don't want to hear it!"
Zhao Zhen did not intend to let Wang Qinruo speak. He did not want to be criticized by future generations for thousands of years, so he wanted to define the matter.
This was Wang Qinruo's fault, Emperor Zhao Zhen was not wrong!
The one who was wrong was the treacherous Wang Qinruo. Emperor Zhao Zhen's policy of "changing rice to mulberry" was a good policy, but it was destroyed by treacherous ministers.
If people in later generations want to curse someone, curse Wang Qinruo!
"Minister Wen, where is Fuchang, the commander of the Palace Front Department?"
"Chen is here!"
"Chen is here!"
Cabinet Grand Secretary Wen Yanbo and Palace Guard Commander Fu Chang quickly stepped forward.
"Investigate, investigate thoroughly!"
"promise!"
"promise!"
Wang Qinruo's hands, which had been shaking all the time, stopped shaking. He felt extremely cold in his heart, and his legs were so weak that he could hardly stand.
Wen Yanbo and Fu Chang, one is a cabinet minister with a faction, and the other is the imperial concubine's brother. Both are top figures in both the civil and military circles, and basically nothing can influence them.
He, the cabinet minister Wang Qinruo, is in danger this time.
"Retreat!"
Zhao Zhen didn't even look at Wang Qinruo and strode away.
Chu Hong secretly smacked his lips and changed rice to mulberry.
Well, how should I put it? It's definitely not that bad, but it's definitely not as good as he had praised it to be.
If productivity cannot be raised and local clans are not supportive, it will be difficult for commercial-dependent measures such as replacing rice with mulberry to be effective.
So, did I actually say that replacing rice with mulberry trees was a good idea?
Something is wrong. Do I have some qualities of a treacherous minister?
However, it is indeed a top-notch conspiracy trick thought up by a core member of the Korean department.
This can really bring Wang Qinruo down.
This move really touched the heart of Emperor Renzong.
Zhao Zhen was kind throughout his life, and "changing rice to mulberry" was one of the few mistakes in his political achievements.
It just so happened that Zhao Zhen had no offspring, and he was most afraid that future generations would make up stories.
This time, Wang Qinruo was linked to the black spot of Huaishui's political achievements, and Zhao Zhen had another opportunity to re-characterize "changing rice to mulberry".
Not to mention that this matter is linked to Zhao Zhen's evaluation in later generations. Even if Zhao Zhen did not consider his reputation after his death, this matter really has a lot to do with Wang Qinruo, and Wang really did it.
Based on this point alone, Wang Qinruo could not become the prime minister.
Chu Hong let out a long sigh. He had talked too much today and his mouth was a little dry.
Wang Qinruo is destined to never be able to turn things around!
Sheng Hong, who had been reducing his presence, was stunned.
Is this the fierce dispute in Bianjing?
Some time ago, they forced the emperor to obey, and now these days, the cabinet ministers are fighting for the position of prime minister?
How cruel! How unkind to a lowly official of the sixth rank!
However, how could the good son-in-law be able to handle so many big guys with ease?
But, aren’t those words of the son-in-law too hurtful?
Update early today, and update at 8 o'clock tomorrow.
Brothers, go to bed early after watching this. It’s not good to stay up late. Good night.
(End of this chapter)