It was the 19th month of the first month of the first year of Yuanyou.
Hu Ji was wearing prison clothes and sitting in a damp prison.
His condition at this time was extremely embarrassing.
Not only was his hair all white, his eye sockets were sunken, his mental will was on the verge of collapse.
Cai Jing, wearing a purple robe with a purple gold fish bag tied around his waist and the purple gold fish bag he had just been given, walked into the prison in great splendor surrounded by officials from Kaifeng Mansion.
Then he waved his hand, and the other officials retreated, leaving Cai Jing and Hu Ji in this narrow, damp, and smelly prison.
Hu Ji raised his head and saw Cai Jing walking up to him in high spirits, and laughed miserably: "Cai Yizheng, are you here to see the villain's joke?"
Cai Jing smiled and shook his head: "No!"
"Enough people have seen your jokes."
"I'm here to thank you!"
Cai Jing proudly played with the purple gold fish bag tied around his waist.
The fish bag is an ancient decoration for ministers and is an important component of the Zhangfu system.
It is said that it already existed in the era of Three Kings and Five Emperors.
In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it evolved into a turtle bag, and in the Tang Dynasty it became a fish bag. In the Tang Dynasty, only civil servants of the fifth rank and above could be equipped with fish bags.
However, the fish bags at that time had practical functions - the fish talismans of the Tang Dynasty were cut into left and right halves. The left half was in the hands of the cabinet officials, while the right half was put in the fish bags by the ministers. Every time you enter or exit the restricted area, you need to take it out for inspection.
But this was not the case in the Song Dynasty. The fish charm was no longer put in the bag, but tied outside the bag.
At the same time, it is no longer cut open and divided into left and right sides, but becomes a decoration for the fish bag.
Because the token for entering and exiting the palace has been replaced by a bronze talisman.
The fish bag therefore becomes a purely decorative item.
A standard used to distinguish superior and inferior status in officialdom.
Whether there is a fish bag and what kind of fish bag to use are things that need to be written on the memorandum and the letterhead of the post when submitting a letter, and should be listed alongside the official, dispatch, and lord.
For example, if Cai Jing submits a letter now, he must write: imperial court official, Longtu Pavilion to be controlled, superior protector of the army, Laiyang County founding candidate, power to know Kaifeng Prefecture, imperial gift of purple gold fish bag Chen Jing.
Yes, Cai Jing has been promoted now.
Ji Luguan has been promoted from the sixth rank Chaofeng Dafu to the sixth rank Chaoyi Dafu.
He also had a title - Marquis of the Founding of Laiyang County.
From now on, he can have a house and enjoy the treatment of an important minister of the country.
Of course, the most important thing is the royal gift of purple gold fish bag.
This is the configuration of Zaizhi!
Throughout the ages, all ministers who worship the emperor will be given a purple gold fish bag before being appointed.
Cai Jing can really thank Hu Ji for being able to collect all these benefits so quickly.
If it hadn't been for Hu Ji, it would have taken him at least one or two years before he could receive the purple gold fish bag from the emperor and be granted the title of Marquis of the Kingdom.
If it weren't for Hu Ji, how could Cai Jing rise so quickly?
Who else could a person be who was framed by a traitor?
He must be a wise minister and a capable general!
Otherwise, how could you be hated by villains?
Therefore, Cai Jing's treatment was implemented very quickly.
The emperor issued an edict and passed it without encountering any obstruction in the three provinces.
Hu Ji looked at the purple-gold fish bag around Cai Jing's waist, and his eyes suddenly turned red.
There is nothing more cruel than this in this world.
However, Hu Ji knew that he could never break his defense.
That will only excite Cai Yuanchang!
"Yin Zheng!" Hu Ji said coldly: "I will wait for you. Waiting for Yin Zheng, your reputation will be ruined!"
"Perhaps by then, Dao Zuo will meet again, and we can have wine and talk with Yin Zheng!"
Cai Jing laughed loudly and said, "Now I don't have to worry anymore."
"I am here to inform you."
"According to the law, I have signed the document and will take charge of Cangxi County on Zizhou Road!"
"I have a kind heart and have specially allocated 30 acres of land to you, so that I and your family can work and have enough food and clothing!"
Hu Ji's expression suddenly changed!
He stood up suddenly and stared at Cai Jing, his face full of disbelief.
Cai Jing smiled ferociously and looked at him: "You don't know yet?"
"Right!"
"People in prison don't know the outside world!"
"Someone, according to the imperial decree, I have been temporarily assigned to Dali Temple!"
"Your compilation of administrative documents is the first order issued by a certain person in Dali Temple!"
Who is Cai Jing?
Definitely not a good person!
You offended him and still want to run away?
How can it be!
Hu Ji was trembling all over, Zizhou Road, Cangxi County?
Where is that? Hu Ji didn't know, but he knew that since Cai Jing chose it, it was definitely not a good place.
And allocate 30 acres of land to provide food and clothing for his wife and children?
What do you mean? The whole family is exiled?!
"Cai Yuanchang!" Hu Ji clenched his fists and glared at Cai Jing. He had really broken his guard.
Will the whole family be exiled to Zizhou Road with him?
This road was bumpy and bumpy, with prison vehicles and equipment being delivered to us. Thinking about it, we knew it would not be easy.
It is common for whole families to die on the road.
Because he and his family have now been expelled from the ranks of scholar-bureaucrats and have all their reputations destroyed.
Naturally, it is impossible to enjoy the treatment of those civil servants who were demoted.
If you want preferential treatment, there is no way!
Even if they are lucky enough to arrive there alive.
However, exorbitant taxes and additional levies and assessments will inevitably follow.
In short, they will either be tortured to death on the road or tortured to death locally.
This is also the reason why the punishment of destroying the writings written since birth is considered a capital punishment for civil servants.
Because it is a slow death sentence.
For the scholar-officials, it was even a more terrifying punishment than Ling Chi.
How many pampered scholar-bureaucrats can endure the life of working day and night but still not having enough to eat?
Moreover, they had to watch their families, wives and children sink with him.
It's no wonder that Hu Ji returned to break the defense.
"Impossible...impossible..." he murmured.
Let Kaifeng Prefecture temporarily head Dali Temple?
There is no such precedent in our country!
And...and...Sun Sheng and the others promised themselves.
Even if he is demoted, he will take good care of his wife and children and arrange his family's livelihood.
"Sun Junfu!" he shouted crazily.
Sun Sheng is the son of Sun Guan, a famous minister of the country. Both father and son have very good reputations.
It is precisely because of this that Hu Ji believes in the other party's promise.
Seeing this, Cai Jing smiled and dashed his hopes: "Are you talking about Sun Junfu?"
"But I want to inform my subordinates that Sun Junfu has been demoted to Taizhou. Yesterday's imperial edict was to investigate him for his crimes of violating the law and dereliction of duty during his reign. He was conferred the title of Xuande Lang and was transferred to Jixian Academy. He was demoted to Jinghu North Road and knew Shizhou."
Sun Sheng could no longer protect himself.
Being demoted to an official position was a very serious punishment in the Song Dynasty.
This is because the promotion of official posts is either achieved through hard work, or comes from successive promotions due to outstanding political performance or winning the Holy Heart.
Therefore, for a civil official in the Song Dynasty to be conferred the rank of official with high salary, it was almost equivalent to declaring the end of his political life.
And Sun Sheng was demoted to Xuande Lang - which happened to be the top official position in the capital.
According to the Obstruction Law, a special decree from the emperor must be made before a Beijing official changes to a court official.
Therefore, Sun Sheng was restricted to Xuande Lang in his life.
You may even be settled by your queen - today's officials have a good memory and love to hold grudges, which is well known to both the government and the public.
Apart from other things, Cai Jing knew that after Zhang Ji's case, Zhang Chengyi's case of robbing his father's tomb and not burying his dead mother was due to the efforts of that official behind the scenes.
This is not going to stop until the Zhang family is killed!
So what good fruits can Sun Sheng enjoy?
Cai Jing felt that if Sun Sheng had more sense, he should die in Shizhou as soon as possible.
Otherwise, his father and brother's family may be implicated.
For the same reason, there is Liu Fengshi.
He must hurry up and die, so as not to cause trouble to his father, lest he lose face in the future.
Li Ding, who was demoted, was very sensible - news has been sent back from Xinzhou: In April of the first year of Yuanyou, the official was appointed, and Longtuge was waiting to be established, and Li Ding died in Xinzhou.
Hu Ji felt cold all over after listening to Cai Jing's words.
Sun Sheng has actually been demoted from Beijing and demoted.
The mud Bodhisattva cannot save himself when crossing the river!
So Hu Ji smiled miserably and sat down.
“Yoongi!”
"Huh?" Cai Jing smiled and looked at Hu Ji. He was enjoying the feeling now.
Tell you to harm me!
Now let me give you a try.
"Someone will be waiting for Yin Zheng in hell!" Hu Ji said with crazy eyes.
"Yin Zheng will come down to accompany so-and-so sooner or later!"
I have been working with Cai Jing for more than two years.
Hu Ji knew that Cai Jing's acting style was to have no principles but only the best.
In the past, Cai Jing would do whatever Cai Que asked him to do.
But now, whatever the emperor wants to do, Cai Jing will do it.
Such people will be defeated!
There have been countless precedents in history.
How could Cai Jing take the curse of the defeated dog to heart?
He shook his head and said: "Even if I, Cai Yuanchang, arrive in the underworld, King Yama will still use me in a important way!"
He is capable, strong in execution, morally flexible, and has no principles.
Even if you go to the underworld, you will kill those judges.
…
Funing Hall.
Zhao Xu accompanied Empress Dowager Xiang and walked in the imperial garden.
"Fan Chunchun of Shaanxi reported that a messenger from the Western Thieves Kingdom had handed over his credentials in Gyeongju and begged to come to the throne to celebrate the Holy Day of the Empress Dowager."
"On the other side of Waqiao Pass, a memorial was also submitted, and the Northern Dynasty messenger Yeluju and others also handed over letters of credence at the border, begging for entry."
"In addition, it is also said in Guangxi that the envoy of Jing Haijun, King Li Qiande of Jiaozhi, has sent his younger brother Chongxian Hou Li Taide as the country's envoy and has entered Yongzhou."
"Xiangong Zhang said that the commanders of Yulong and the first general of Yulong have received the imperial decree and will select a day to return to the court."
"In addition, Chen Muyan of Mingzhou saw envoys from Champa, Zhenla and other countries coming from Fuhai, begging to enter Bianjing to congratulate the Empress Dowager on the Holy Day."
He told the Queen Mother about the recent events that had been gathered in Bianjing from various parties.
Zhao Xu listened silently and did not speak.
He knew that people at the Qingshou Palace must be happy from ear to ear.
As the Holy Festival approaches, more and more envoys from all over the world will enter the DPRK.
Japan, Korea, Tubo, Khotan, and Dali may also follow.
What's this?
All nations come to court!
When the time comes, Di Yong, the first general in Yulong, will take advantage of the power of victory over Jiaozhi, answer Bianjing before the Holy Festival, and offer prisoners to the Ancestral Temple.
The Qingshou Palace has both face and dignity.
Isn’t it still a pleasure?
But Zhao Xu didn't care about these things.
His current energy is focused on matters in Kaifeng Mansion.
After Cai Jing temporarily took charge of Dali Temple, he was carrying out a major purge in Kaifeng Mansion and Dali Temple.
A large number of officials were purged based on the Li Yong case.
Of course, Zhao Xu is also very attentive.
Only Cai Jing was allowed to deal with those who were too involved or whose reputation was too bad.
other people……
As a benevolent emperor, Zhao Xu must be gentle.
Don’t be afraid of past mistakes and avoid future ones, treat illnesses and save lives!
But you can't force everyone to be on the opposite side.
Grasp the typical cases, treat the thorns, and give the rest a chance.
no way!
This is not the first time that inbreeding occurred in the officialdom of the Song Dynasty.
Especially in Kaifeng Mansion and Dali Temple, many people are relatives who are surrounded by relatives.
Many things are really inseparable from these people.
At least we can’t live without it now!
Therefore, we can only endure it for now, pretend to be magnanimous, and settle the matter later.
As Queen Mother Xiang was talking, she suddenly mentioned something.
"Sixth brother gave a decree to the General Secretary yesterday, asking him to put Wai Lang Jia Zhongmin, a member of the driving department, on the list for tomorrow's meeting?"
"Yeah!" Zhao Xu nodded.
"Why did Sixth Brother suddenly remember that he wanted to summon this Jia Zhongmin again and again?" Empress Dowager Xiang was very curious.
In the Song Dynasty, everything was systematic.
Even when an adult emperor summons ministers, the General Meeting Department will arrange the schedule.
There are also limits on the number of people you can meet every day.
Usually there are three classes.
Only under special circumstances will we work overtime.
Naturally, many ministers, even if they were promoted to court officials, had no chance to speak to the emperor when they were officials in Bianjing.
What's more, Zhao Xu is young now, so when ministers normally meet, they go to the Qingshou Palace to report to the two palaces.
Want to meet Zhao Xu?
He must personally issue the edict to the Tongjian Department, and the Tongjian Department will make arrangements.
Therefore, Zhao Xu has been on the throne for so long, and many important officials in Beijing have not yet seen him.
The only group that Zhao Xu saw was the military officials above Jingyao County.
Now, Zhao Xu suddenly notified the Department of General Meetings and put a court official on the list of meetings.
Moreover, this person's priority is higher than those waiting for ministers who have been waiting in line for several months.
Just jump in line and you can meet me tomorrow.
This is naturally very conspicuous.
Zhao Xu smiled and said: "My minister is summoning this official again and again to commend him for his contribution."
"Huh?" Queen Mother Xiang didn't quite understand.
"My mother doesn't know. Didn't my son set up the 'Promoting the Official Affairs of Bianjing's Inner and Outer Roads' in Kaifeng Mansion this year?"
"I've heard a little bit about it." He nodded to the Queen Mother.
A lot of things happened in Bianjing City this year, but Sixth Brother personally cleaned up the intrusion of the outer and inner rings of Bianjing Street, which still left a deep impression on the Empress Dowager.
Many relatives who ordered wives into the palace also mentioned this matter.
Everyone said it was true - the officials were kind, but the officials were not benevolent. I and other officials in my family were very impressed!
Queen Mother Xiang was very happy to hear this, and even rewarded a few of the ladies who spoke particularly nicely.
Zhao Xu said: "This matter of Bianjing's invasion of the streets has been around for a long time. I have discussed it with all the banquet officials, but there was no good solution..."
"but……"
"After Li Shiliang, the judge of Kaifeng Prefecture, recommended Jia Zhongmin, a member of the driving department, as a street patrol envoy, I heard that the congestion situation in and around Bianjing has been greatly improved, and there are no intrusions on many streets.
It’s bad.”
"So, I wanted to commend this official, so I granted him this favor."
After hearing this, Empress Dowager Xiang nodded and said, "This driving department member, Wailang, is quite capable."
Zhao Xu laughed.
If Jia Zhongmin doesn't have the ability, who does?
In fact, the reason why Zhao Xu wanted to set up the organization to "promote public affairs on the inner and outer roads of Bianjing" was to prepare it for Jia Zhongmin.
In his heart, Jia Zhongmin is the most suitable person to do this.
Why?
He is the founder of urban management!
During the Shaosheng period, he was the minister in charge of the internal and external renovation of Bianjing.
He was also the man who set the precedent for holding important officials under control and personally holding a stick to supervise work in Bianjing City.
Therefore, the so-called "promoting public affairs inside and outside Bianjing" is an organization set up according to people.
It's just that Jia Zhongmin's official position was too low and his seniority was too shallow. Zhao Xu couldn't promote him successively, so as not to attract bees and butterflies, he didn't recruit him directly into Kaifeng Mansion.
But who knew that this Jia Zhongmin had a very good relationship with Li Shiliang.
He actually used his own efforts to get through Li Shiliang's relationship and asked Li Shiliang to write a letter to second him.
Zhao Xu was overjoyed and readily agreed.
Then……
The people of Bianjing began to enjoy the services of urban management hundreds of years ahead of schedule.
Of course, Jia Zhongmin was a little rougher and more violent in his work, often using sticks and sticks, and beating people all over the floor.
This is to be criticized.
Besides, the things he is doing now are not profitable!
How can this be done?
Zhao Xu must summon him and give him face-to-face instructions.
"The surname is Jia?" The Queen Mother thought for a moment and asked, "But after the former Prime Minister Jia Wenyuan Gong (Jia Changchao posthumous title Wenyuan)?"
Zhao Xu hummed: "I guess so?"
"Oh!" He nodded to the Queen Mother, but he couldn't help but feel a little worried in his heart.
The main reason is that Jia Changchao had a very bad reputation back then!
During the Jiayou era, he was recognized as a traitor.
When he was in power, he suppressed dissidents, suppressed public opinion, and criticized the world.
So much so that after Wen Yanbo resigned as prime minister in the third year of Jiayou's reign, when public opinion spread that Jia Changchao might take over, the whole government and the public were in a panic.
The Yushitai opposed it with all his strength and kept reporting, attacking him for befriending ministers, appointing private persons, and doing illegal things.
Jia Changchao was forced to ask the county to serve as an envoy to the Zhenan Army, and he served as a right-hand servant to inspect the school, and to serve as an envoy to the Jingling Palace to judge Xuzhou.
That was his last time in court.
From then on until his death, he never returned to the court.
When Empress Dowager Xiang was young, she often heard her father and grandfather talk about the events of the Jia Chang Dynasty.
There are inevitably some questions in my heart.
Seeing Empress Dowager Xiang's expression, Zhao Xu smiled and said, "If the empress is worried, will you and your son meet this official together tomorrow?"
Queen Mother Xiang immediately shook her head: "I'll spare it!"
It is a good thing for Sixth Brother to summon ministers alone.
Especially after meeting my concubine, she ignored her sixth brother for her own reputation.
Empress Dowager Xiang has already decided to let this child take on more responsibilities, show more abilities in front of the courtiers, and gain more support and support from people.
Don’t be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of what happens!
After all, Xu Wanghao in Qinxian's house doesn't look like he has given up.
As for the things that the second great king did before and after the death of the late emperor, it was obvious that he was a wolf of ambition.
That is to say, the child now is still too young and still growing.
As long as he can have a fourteen year old.
Empress Dowager Xiang has already brought the Qingshou Palace back to the inner court to take care of her old age - even if the Qingshou Palace doesn't want to agree!
Because, among the three yamen, there are a lot of people who want to be followers.
Even in the Imperial City Department, many people have already hinted openly or covertly - Your Majesty, we are only loyal to the officials and your Majesty!
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!