Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 136

Dying for ethics?

Zhao Kuangyin considers himself a person who is good at controlling his temper. He actually knows that his temper is bad. After all, he was born in the army, so every time he is angry, he will try his best to restrain himself and not let his impulse control his behavior. Try hard to be a wise and benevolent king.

But this time, Zhao Kuangyin really couldn't control it. At this moment, he just wanted to slam a pair of iron fists on the head of the person in front of him, break his skull into pieces, and see what was in his mind. What the hell.

Especially when he glanced at the ministers, Zhao Kuangyin was surprised to find that many of the ministers had expressions of sadness on their faces. Apparently they agreed very much with what this person said. Many of them even couldn't control themselves and kept secretly. nod?
I really couldn't control it, so the armrests of the dragon chair were damaged.

"I heard that all the people in Huainan are now happy, prosperous and healthy. Princess Yan told me that there are no disasters in Huainan now, and the people can even eat some meat. In addition, Shen Yilun He also told me that the number of merchants in Yangzhou this year was ten times higher than in previous years. The Third Division has accounts and data to prove it. If there are no accidents, Huainan's commercial tax this year will probably be even better than before, and the commercial banks will be profitable. It's so huge. Why do I see a prosperous scene in my eyes? The talent and virtue of my third brother are unprecedented in the past. Why is it that what I see is completely different from what you see? Am I blind or are you blind? What about? Could it be that my third brother, eldest sister, sworn brothers, Shen Yilun, Wang Pu and others are working together to deceive me? "

When Li Pingjun heard this, he raised his head proudly and said loudly: "This is a chaotic law! To help the strong and the weak is the way of the Legalists, not the way of the saints! His Highness, the King of Qin, is all a kind and loyal family. This country is originally a country, but the so-called admirers are all lazy people in Guizhou. They take the wealth of the rich and give it to the poor. How can the poor not be happy and encouraged? However, sharing our flesh and blood to eat, How is this different from banditry? Nowadays, when the court gives you benefits, you will turn your heart to the court. In the Ming Dynasty, if all the wealth accumulated over the years has been used up, how can you support them? They do not read the books of sages and do not practice the ethics of etiquette. , how can we rely on Zhong? Dare I ask the officials, is the Song Dynasty going to follow the example of the pre-Qin Dynasty and perish in the second generation? "

Hearing this, many civil servants could not help but nod their heads.

Zhao Kuangyin was so angry that his teeth itched, and he asked: "When you say a good family and loyal people, do you mean the Feng family in Chuzhou?"

But the guy was still stubborn and said: "If His Highness, King Qin, hadn't gone against the grain, how could he have done so with Feng's kindness?"

"Is it?"

Zhao Kuangyin looked at him gloomily for a long time, then suddenly asked the ministers: "Aren't you all eloquent on weekdays? Aren't you all well-educated and full of knowledge? This man talks so nonsense in front of the emperor, why don't you do it for him? The king refutes this person?"

After saying that, I saw that there was still silence in the hall. All the officials looked at me and I looked at you, but they seemed stunned as if they didn't hear what Zhao Kuangyin said.

Zhao Kuangyin's dark face was so angry that his dark face started to glow slightly.

"Speak! If you don't speak, do you think this thief is right?!"

Seeing this, Zhao Pu took a step forward and said: "The thief is talking nonsense..."

Zhao Kuangyin interrupted: "Don't talk!"

"........."

"You go back first and let them speak, let these scholars speak."

"........."

Then Zhao Pu quietly retreated.

In fact, although Zhao Pu is a civil servant, he is indeed not a scholar in the eyes of many people. Who is to say that he is not a Jinshi? Half of the Analects governs the world. This saying was actually first used to mock him as a prime minister for his lack of knowledge.

And as Zhao Pu retreated, those important ministers who were similar to him and were all former ministers of the Guide Mansion also lowered their heads and stopped talking. To put it bluntly, today's court meeting has nothing to do with them.

Then, the hall fell into an eerie silence.

None of those civil servants with Jinshi background actually stood up to share the king's worries and refuted the treasonous remarks of this rebellious minister and traitor!

"Okay, okay, great, that's very kind of you."

As he said that, Zhao Kuangyin had nowhere to place his iron fists. He unconsciously touched the jade ax in his hand and turned it around and around. At this moment, he felt a little regretful about giving the Hidden Dragon Sword to Zhao Guangmei.

Seeing that no one said anything for a long time, he turned around and asked Li Chongjin: "Do you think what your old friend said is right?"

Seeing this, Li Chongjin squinted his eyes slightly and sighed: "I have little education and is a pure warrior. I don't understand where this violent Qin Dynasty came from. Since Qin, there has never been a dynasty that lasted for more than 300 years. , and the number of Qin's kingdoms, if I remember correctly, should be more than 700 years, right? Why do they, the civil servants, say that the second emperor of Qin was killed by violence? His Highness was acting in Huainan. According to them, it seems that it was indeed It's quite similar to Qin's method, but what's wrong with Qin's method?"

When the officials heard this, they were immediately shocked. Fan Zhi couldn't help but pointed at Li Chongjin's nose and reprimanded him loudly.

However, Zhao Kuangyin's eyes lit up and he murmured aloud: "That's right. Although Qin's law was cruel, it was able to keep the strong Qin standing for more than seven hundred years and become stronger and stronger until it annexed the six countries and unified the mountains and rivers. How could there be nothing worth learning from?"

After saying that, I saw civil and military officials in the main hall, and there was silence for a while.

After a while, Lu Duoxun took the lead and stood up and said: "I think what Li Pingjun said is really ridiculous. Your Highness the King of Qin went to Huainan just to provide disaster relief. How could Qin Fa's theory come from this? It's clear that Li Pingjun maliciously slandered him and was doing it for himself. absolve."

"That's right. The law your Highness followed was military law. Huainan is a war zone. This chaos is clearly caused by the Southern Tang's evil intentions behind it. The King of Qin wants to resist the Southern Tang, so why not practice this military law?"

"Yes, yes, what His Highness traveled to Huainan was clearly military law, where did the Qin law come from?"

One person started, and everyone agreed. Soon, all the ministers who had cared about their words just now and refused to share the emperor's worries stood up one after another, citing the classics, and scolded Li Pingjun to the bone.

"Ha ha."

When Zhao Kuangyin saw this, he sneered disdainfully.

Sure enough, when Qin Fa was mentioned, these Zite Niang scholars became anxious. After all, Zhao Guangmei’s Huainan New Deal actually left some ways for them to survive. The commercial banks and the emerging citizen class could only be regarded as a threat to the rule of the landlord class. In terms of status, if the mother-in-law wanted to learn Qin's method, she would burn books and trap Confucians and kill them all.

He turned around and glanced at Li Chongjin, but he felt more and more like him.

However, if you think about it carefully, in fact, what Li Chongjin said may not really be unreasonable. On the contrary, if it is really unreasonable, why are these bird officials so anxious?
Although Qin's law was violent, at least before Confucianism was the sole focus, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the fate of those countries was longer than that of later ones.

Zhao Kuangyin had never thought about it like this before, but today he saw the faces of these ministers, but he couldn't help but wonder in his heart: "Did this Confucianism prolong the life of the dynasty and be the cornerstone of the unification of the world?" During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there seemed to be only a few countries that really adopted Confucianism as a national policy, but it could be passed down for a long time. Why did later generations respect Confucianism, but it never exceeded the 300-year limit?

The Song State today is indeed very similar to the Qin State of the past!

In the early Song Dynasty, in fact, he did not respect Confucianism very much. Zhao Kuangyin himself was not a Confucian scholar, and he even looked down on Confucian scholars. Coupled with Zhao Guangmei's influence, it is not surprising that he occasionally had some rebellious thoughts in his mind.

Of course, as a rational emperor, he quickly hid this rebellious idea and planned to talk to Zhao Guangmei when he had the opportunity in the future.

In the palace at this time, not only Zhao Kuangyin was disdainful of those civil servants, but even Li Pingjun didn't pay attention to the abuses and accusations. His shackles were gone, and he straightened his back and clasped his hands proudly. His head seemed to be looking down at a group of clowns, with a look of disdain on his face, as if talking to them would only bring him down.

After a while, when everyone's scoldings stopped, Li Pingjun said calmly and confidently: "It's useless to talk more. I know that what I have committed is an unpardonable capital crime. The officials will behead me immediately. I Even though I die today, my awe-inspiring righteousness will remain forever."

Zhao Kuangyin's eyes widened when he heard this, but he snorted coldly.

Of course he wanted to kill people, but it would really make him unhappy if such a thing was to go down in history. The key was that he didn't accept it. He didn't accept the fallacy of benevolence, justice and morality that this guy talks about.

A stinking thing like a dog should die like a dog. How can we let him die a worthy death?Why do you die like a hero, while I look like a coward, and my third brother looks like a sycophant? Why?

Seeing this, Zhang Yongde, the "honest man" who accompanied Li Chongjin to the court, snorted coldly: "Do you think you are very hard-boned? If you really have a clear conscience, why did you send your family to the Southern Tang Dynasty? Hum, now you After all the children have been taken into custody, the officials are kind-hearted and will not tolerate cruelty to you, but I am a cruel and ruthless person. I will order your son to be chopped up piece by piece. Are you still tough? I am the only one. Retired people are not afraid of what others say and are not afraid of anything.”

Hearing this, a hint of fear finally appeared on Li Pingjun's arrogant face, but he did not even look at Zhang Yongde, a warrior, but said to Zhao Kuangyin: "I heard that those who rule the world with filial piety do not harm others' relatives, and those who govern the world with benevolence. , The sacrifices of others will not be cut off, the life and death of the minister's family are all in the official family, I have nothing to say."

"........."

He had nothing to say, but Zhao Kuangyin also had nothing to say, but he did not kill him. Instead, he ordered him to be imprisoned again, and locked himself in the harem alone, feeling depressed.

Then in the afternoon, I heard that more than 1 Confucian scholars who were still under house arrest in Kaifeng took to the streets again. They broke out of the military camp for the first time and were now making trouble at the entrance of the palace. Yang Xin even ran over to ask To kill or not to kill.

Really, Zhao Kuangyin felt that he was about to crush his back molars, and he almost blurted out the word "kill", but in the end, he took a deep breath for a long time and ordered: "Arrest them all, but don't kill anyone." "

Finally, Zhao Kuangyin felt really angry and went to the garden to shoot birds with his slingshot.

But seeing Queen Mother Du actually in the garden, admiring the flowers, she instinctively hid the slingshot in her sleeve, and then stepped forward with a smile on her face to say hello: "Mom, why did you come out to enjoy the flowers today?"

Empress Dowager Du smiled and said: "I have heard everything about today's events. Are you feeling bad now? Do you want to kill them, but you are not angry?"

"Mother, you are wise."

"This is not a clear warning, but I would like to remind you that back then, Zhu Wen and Li Cunxu were also like this. They were unhappy with these literati who were so tough-talking. They always felt unhappy about killing them with one knife. That's why this method of punishment changed. It became more and more cruel, until the punishment of Ling Chi appeared."

When Zhao Kuangyin heard this, he felt even more confused.

Of course he also has the ability to be arbitrary. To be honest, in terms of centralization of power, he is actually far ahead of Zhu Wen and others. How could he not be able to do what Zhu Wen and others can do?
In fact, he also wanted to put that dead duck to death in Lingchi, and wanted to see if his mouth could be so tough if he was cut into pieces.

It’s just that, who has allowed him to use them as negative examples for many years and always draw lessons from them?Who asked him to keep pretending to tell the world that although he was also an emperor with a military background, he was different from the previous five founding kings?

Who made him want the Song Dynasty to continue and end the troubled times?

Even if you feel aggrieved, you have to endure it.

He could only say: "Mom, don't worry, I understand."

"You know shit!"

"what?"

"The reason why you feel pain in your heart is because you may not really have confidence in what Lao San is doing in Huainan. Nowadays, the situation is fierce, and that guy is so tough-talking and full of beautiful words. Do you dare to say that you really haven't wavered? If so. If you really haven't wavered, how can you, Zhao Kuangyin, shrink back because you are afraid of what others say? In fact, let alone you, even I feel that what this person said may not be unreasonable at all. "

"Ah, this...but...but the third child, the eldest sister, and, and..."

"Of course I don't mean that they will deceive you. Our own family members are no more trustworthy than outsiders. It's just an official family. As the saying goes, the person who untied the bell must tie the bell. The third child, haha, he is a little devil. If he If you didn't know that these bitches are troublesome, why do you think he sent the people alive to you in Kaifeng? With his flamboyant temper, he should have killed them all in Huainan."

"Ah~"

Zhao Kuangyin suddenly realized it, and then he stamped his feet angrily: "So that's it, the third child is so bad, he wants to take advantage of it, and then dumps his shit on me!"

"Haha, as long as you understand."

"Then mother, child, what should we do?"

Empress Dowager Du smiled and said: "I don't know what you want to do, but I am... a little curious about what the third child is doing in Huainan. Aren't you curious? I want to see what is going on there now. What's going on?"

When Zhao Kuangyin heard this, he immediately understood the situation: "That's right! The third child is staying in Huainan and won't come back. It's true that we can't do without him there, but we can go there!"

After that, Zhao Kuangyin was overjoyed, but he quickly returned to Duanwen Hall to convene a meeting with the ministers, or to announce that he was going to patrol Yangzhou, and at the same time, he also wanted to arrest these imperial prisoners and the 1 Huainan people who came to parade. Bring it to Zhao Guangmei.

(End of this chapter)