Chapter 242 Leading by Example
What else Zhao Xing wanted to say, the official did not give him a chance to speak, and said: "That's it, let him serve as the prince's guest and guest. I still have something to do, you go back first Right.”
Prince guest is an official position, not a title for guests.
Prince's guest is a third-grade official, with attendants and the responsibility of disciplining and admonishing.
The things that the living person and the living person do are similar, they just have different names.
"Father, if I let him serve as the crown prince's guest, I can agree to it. If I don't, I'll let him be the guest. Otherwise, my father should depose Erchen as the crown prince." Zhao Xing said firmly.
The father was determined to send Sima Guang to the East Palace, and Zhao Xing could not refuse.
Sima Guang is a guest of the prince, and even if he is a little annoying, he can ignore him like his father.
But Qi Julang was determined not to let Sima Guang take the post.
Ki Ju Lang’s official position is not high, but he is responsible for recording Zhao Xing’s words and deeds.
Zhao Xing would follow him when he went out, including recording which concubine's house Zhao Xing spent the night in every night.
Many emperors in history were rumored to be illegitimate.
One of the most widely circulated rumors is that Qin Shihuang’s biological father is Lu Buwei.
In fact, this kind of thing was almost impossible to happen in the ancient palace.
Because there are clear records of when concubines were favored.
According to the regulations, the prince cannot read the things recorded by Qi Julang.
Zhao Xing used to be a daily man, but he used various means to keep him submissive. Every once in a while, the recorded content will be shown to Zhao Xing, and then modified according to Zhao Xing's instructions.
Some not-so-good content has been brushed off and not even recorded.
If Sima Guang were to serve as the daily man, wouldn't he record everything down to the smallest detail based on his temperament?
Furthermore, Sima Guang also had the power to give advice. Who could bear to have someone following him around all day long?
"Forget it, let him be the crown prince's guest." Seeing Zhao Xing's determination, Zhao Xing pondered for a moment and said.
"Thank you, father, I will take my leave!" Zhao Xing bowed.
…………
Back in the East Palace, Zhao Xing ordered people to find Wang Anshi.
After Wang Anshi arrived, he asked about the progress of the matter.
"Back to Your Highness, I have sent people to various counties and found evidence of illegal activities by some local landlords and squires." Wang Anshi replied.
"In this case, there is no need to continue the investigation. Let's start arresting people based on what we have found so far." Zhao Xing said.
He never thought of catching all the landlords and gentry in Kaifeng Mansion.
Not to mention that it is unrealistic to do so. Since the landlords and gentry have existed for so many years, they have their own reasons for existing.
The existence of landlords and gentry is very important in maintaining social stability at the grassroots level.
And they are also the link between the government and the people.
Rural governance, taxation, grain payment, military service, labor, and education all need these people to complete.
Without the landlords and gentry, there would be a void between the government and the people.
With the current staffing of county-level officials, it is simply difficult to complete the work of managing a county.
Zhao Xing only mobilized some people from the beginning to kill chickens and scare monkeys, and to frighten the rest.
"Your Highness, is this too early? Why don't you wait?" Wang Anshi said.
It has only been seven or eight days since Zhao Xing asked him to check the illegal evidence of the landlords and squires.
It may seem like a long story, but not many people have actually found conclusive evidence, and not many people can be moved.
"That's enough. I just want to tell them that I have a way to deal with them. The smart ones naturally know how to do it. If there are stupid ones, they also have time to deal with them." Zhao Xing said.
"Yes, I understand." Wang Anshi responded.
Zhao Xing warned Wang Anshi and changed the subject: "By the way, I heard that Jiefu and Sima Guang are good friends?"
Wang Anshi was startled when he heard this, and then smiled bitterly and said: "I and you are indeed true. They are friends, but that was all in the past."
"Oh?" Zhao Xing asked curiously: "Can you tell me about it?"
He remembered Wang Anshi and Sima Guang seems to be a friend. Although they later had political differences, the two have not fallen out because of their political opinions.
Zhao Xing originally thought that Sima Guang would come to the East Palace to serve. If it was too annoying, he would ask Wang Anshi to persuade him.
"There is nothing that cannot be said. Since Your Highness wants to hear it, I will talk to Your Highness."
Wang Anshi pondered for a while and said: "I and Junshi have known each other more than ten years ago. Regarding some of the long-standing abuses of the imperial court, , Jun Shi can always point out the problem to the point, and I admire him very much. Chen advocates reform, but Jun Shi always opposes reform. Neither Chen nor he can convince the other. Later, when he learned about the petition for reform, he and I agreed. I broke off the contact."
"That's it." Zhao Xing nodded and asked, "What do you think of Sima Guang?"
"You are indeed a gentleman. !" Wang Anshi said without even thinking.
"You think very highly of him. He opposes the reform. Are you not angry?" Zhao Xing asked.
Wang Anshi shook his head and said: "Your Highness, Jun Shi actually wants to solve the problems in the court, but his method of solving the problems is different from that of the minister. There is nothing to be angry about. Jun Shi broke off contact with the minister, and it is not because of the differences between the ministers. What he was thinking."
"Oh? What's the reason for that?" "Before severing contact, he wrote a letter to me, saying that he and I would have different ideas. Convince each other. But he and Chen are both relatively determined, so this will only affect their friendship. In this case, the two of them will simply cut off contact from now on and use their own knowledge to prove who is right." Wang Anshi said.
"You are very confident." Zhao Xing first praised, then said with a slightly cold face: "Then have you ever thought about how harmful this is to the court?"
The reason why they are praised for their confidence is because they agreed to use their talents to prove what they want.
Whether it is Wang Anshi's reform or Sima Guang's official rule, if they want to show their ambitions, they must be in high positions.
At that time, the two of them had low official positions, but they made such an agreement, which shows how confident they are.
The two of them did have the capital to be confident. Later, they served as husband-in-law and presided over the government.
However, the struggle between the two over whether to reform or not led to party strife. Not only did it not make the Song Dynasty prosperous, but it also made the struggle in the court very serious.
Wang Anshi looked at Zhao Xing blankly when he heard this.
He didn't know why Zhao Xing got angry suddenly. After all, he couldn't predict what would happen in the future.
"Sima Guang will take up a post in the East Palace in the next few days. Since you are familiar with him, when the time comes, you will take care of him on his behalf."
Zhao Xing's expression softened. It's indeed inappropriate to blame two people for things that didn't happen in the future.
But since Sima Guang and Wang Anshi can't convince each other, let them continue to persuade each other to save Sima Guang from bothering him.
“Yes!”
Although Wang Anshi felt a little baffled, he still agreed.
"By the way, when you arrest someone, you must ensure that there is sufficient evidence and you cannot give people evidence." Zhao Xing said.
"I will remember your Highness's instructions!" Wang Anshi responded respectfully. Seeing that Zhao Xing had no other instructions, he said goodbye and left.
…………
Wang Anshi acted very resolutely. Since Zhao Xing ordered to take action now, he did not delay. After leaving the East Palace, he returned to Kaifeng Mansion and took action.
In order to prevent the landlords and squires from learning the news in advance, he did not use the government officials from the counties below, but directly mobilized the government officials from Kaifeng Prefecture to arrest people.
Such a big movement naturally cannot be hidden from the officials of Kaifeng Mansion.
However, the officials of Kaifeng Mansion all knew that Wang Anshi was a confidant of His Highness the Crown Prince, and even though they were curious, they did not dare to inquire.
As the Shaoyin of Kaifeng Prefecture, Sheng Hong had to ask.
When he learned that it was Zhao Xing's order, Sheng Hong did not dare to ask any more questions, but instead took the initiative to cooperate.
With Sheng Hong's cooperation, many things have become easier.
Soon, the leaders of the Kaifeng government offices were called back. After Wang Anshi gave instructions, these leaders left the government office, summoned their subordinates to help, and left Bianjing.
The so-called helper is actually equivalent to zero-hour work.
In ancient times, the salaries of government officials were distributed by state and county officials, and did not require money from the court.
It is impossible for state and county officials to have too many government servants, but sometimes there are not enough government servants.
So there were temporary helpers, and these helpers were all found by the yamen servants themselves. Each yamen servant could find ten helpers.
If the superiors assign tasks and these government officials feel that they cannot complete them, they will call in helpers to help.
Although these helpers do not have a salary, they can earn some money from their normal missions. This status may not mean much, but it is enough to bully ordinary people.
The security of Bianjing is handled by the Five Cities Military and Horse Division, so there are not many government officials in Kaifeng Prefecture, only more than a hundred people.
There are more than a thousand helpers on the mountain, which is enough to arrest people.
Although the landlords and gentry raised some nursing homes, the emperor was worried about violating taboos, so they didn't raise many.
In addition, these government officials represent the government. Unless they want to rebel, no one dares to resist.
On this day, in several counties near Bianjing, more than two dozen landowners and squires were approached by the yamen and their subordinates.
Some families were arrested, ranging from a few to more than a dozen. In some families, even the whole family was arrested.
All those caught were escorted back to Bianjing. Those landlords and squires who had no family members were frightened.
Some people hurriedly sent people to inquire about the news, others sent people to contact their backers, others closed their doors tightly, and some even took the whole family to seek refuge with relatives.
While Wang Anshi was busy arresting people, a nursery rhyme came from somewhere in Bianjing City, and it quickly spread throughout Bianjing.
The content of the nursery rhyme is to praise the officials for checking the fields and implementing the Green Crops Law to benefit the people.
Needless to say, this nursery rhyme was written by Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing ignored this. This morning, he accompanied Zhang Guifen to the British government residence.
This is the second time Zhang Guifen has come back since she married Zhao Xing.
After getting on the carriage, Zhang Guifen looked very excited.
"Gudu said that you can come back often if you have nothing to do. It seems as if Gu doesn't allow you to go back." Zhao Xing scolded.
"I am the crown prince, shouldn't I lead by example? If I run to my parents' house every three days, what will the other concubines think?" Zhang Guifen shook her head.
(End of this chapter)