Zhao Zongquan can be said to be a filial man, but after all, in order to honor his father, he was willing to make enemies of most of the court.
Regardless of Zhao Zongquan's purpose for doing this, whether it was for political purposes or to compete for power with civilian officials, on the surface it was just such a thing.
There is even more reason to say that Zhao Zongquan was unfilial. Zhao Zongquan called Renzong dad and inherited Renzong's legacy.
Then he caught Renzong's widow and used various tricks to bully her.
His shameless appearance is no different from that of the wicked and destitute people among the common people.
Zhao Zongquan could not even speak of the word filial piety to the parents he recognized.
"Ze Cheng, everyone in the world knows that King Xianshu is the biological father of the Guan family. Now that the Guan family has ascended to the supreme position, if he cannot honor his biological father, how will the people of the world view your Majesty."
Even though Gu Tingye is in a high position, the scoundrel he grew up in was still the same.
"How you treat it, how you treat it, is how you treat it. When you become an heir, you take over the throne. Now the parents of the official family are the late emperor and the queen mother. King Xianshu is just a relative of the official family, and there is no father-son relationship with the official family. Folks.
Ordinary people understand the truth, Gu Er, can you still not understand it?"
Sheng Changbai scolded, Gu Tingye knew that he was being unreasonable and was pretending to be confused. Sheng Changbai was very annoyed and rushed him directly: "If you came here today just to tell me this, then go back."
"No, I haven't even had a cup of tea when I came to your house. I came here today to see you for something." Gu Tingye said ruthlessly.
"What's the matter?" Sheng Changbai replied with a black face.
"Some time ago, didn't you give me a training book? During this time, I trained several commanders' troops according to your method. During the military drill some time ago, these commanders performed well. The military formation drill
You are very skillful, I came here specially to report the good news to you and thank you."
"Thank you, so there's no need. If it's effective, just promote it among the Forbidden Army as soon as possible."
According to Zhao Zongquan, he was messing around in the court, ignoring government affairs and only focusing on fighting for power.
Artificially creating party disputes and causing chaos in the court, foreigners saw that Zhou Dynasty was weak, and war was really not far away.
These soldiers really don't have enough training, and they may go to the battlefield one day.
"You still have to thank me. Don't look at it. This time I came to your house empty-handed and didn't bring you any thank you gift. But I really prepared a thank you gift for you. I dedicated your military training book to the officials.
I will show my merit to you." Gu Tingye said with a proud expression again.
"It's superfluous and unnecessary. I can't be bribed and my attitude will never change." After hearing this, Sheng Changbai's instinct was to be wary. This was obviously a sugar-coated cannonball used by Gu Tingye and the emperor to win over people.
The emperor wanted to win over Sheng Changbai, not because of suppression, but maybe because of Gu Tingye's face.
Otherwise, the timing of Gu Tingye's performance for Sheng Changbai would be too coincidental.
"There is no intention to bribe you, this is indeed your credit." Gu Tingye said firmly, but Sheng Changbai didn't believe it at all.
"Then you have deceived me. You chose this time to show your merit for me. I cannot recognize this merit."
As expected, within a few days after Gu Tingye arrived, Sheng Changbai's promotion order came down.
"The supervisory censor, Sheng Changbai, performed his duties loyally, was self-denial and served the public, and presented military documents... The general of Jin Dynasty was appointed as a young eunuch and a doctor in the Ministry of War."
Sheng Changbai was promoted from a sixth-grade official to a sixth-grade dispatcher. Both the principal officer and the dispatcher were promoted one level to Sheng Changbai.
This time it seemed to be a serious arrangement. Because Sheng Changbai wrote a military book and knew military affairs, Sheng Changbai was sent to work at the Ministry of War.
"Double happiness is upon us. We are going to hold a banquet. Please invite Hua Lan and Ru Lan back with us."
After the decree was issued, Wang Ruofu, who was apolitical, had already gathered to celebrate.
Wang Ruofu's double happiness is probably due to the fact that Shanghai Chaoyun is pregnant and the Sheng family will have the fourth generation.
But the rest of the people, except Sheng Laoqi, all knew something about politics, including Minglan, who had a solemn look on his face.
"Lang Jun, what does official mean?" Hai Chaoyun said first.
After Sheng Changbai insulted the emperor, the couple prepared for Sheng Changbai to be driven out of Bianliang by the emperor.
"That's what it means on the surface. The officials want to transfer me away from the Yushitai."
Although Sheng Changbai no longer wants to be a censor and wants to do something practical, it is definitely not through this method.
The current situation is that Sheng Changbai cannot leave this position before the imperial examination battle is over.
Other positions are far less convenient than the censor's voice.
"Mother, you don't need to prepare for the celebration. I am not prepared to accept this will."
Sheng Changbai returned to Haichaoyun, then turned to Wang Ruofu and said.
"Changbai, let me tell you, you might as well go to the Ministry of War. I see that you and Gu Er often get together to study military affairs. Going to the Ministry of War is also something you are good at."
Sheng Hong comforted Sheng Changbai, but still wanted Sheng Changbai to accept this reality.
For Sheng Hong, who is an official fan, it would be a pity to refuse promotion when he has the opportunity.
"I cannot accept this will. If I accept this will, there will be endless troubles."
Not to mention that Sheng Changbai is collecting dirty information about Han Zhang to deal with Han Zhang.
The current situation is that Sheng Changbai, by virtue of his status as censor, was able to sneak into the Wende Hall and confront Han Zhang when he went to court.
Otherwise, if you are of the rank of Sheng Changbai, even if you advance to one level, you should be lined up outside the palace during the court meeting.
If the emperor doesn't shout, Sheng Changbai can't even enter the palace, so how can he make a sound?
When the time comes, if Zhao Zongquan wants to give his biological father the Imperial Examination, it will not be Sheng Changbai's turn to speak.
In this case, a fact will arise.
When Zhao Zongquan caused trouble again, Sheng Changbai was no longer qualified to speak, and others could not see Sheng Changbai speak.
In the opinion of scholars, it was the emperor who promoted Sheng Changbai to an official position, and Sheng Changbai changed his attitude.
The reputation Sheng Changbai had accumulated over the past few years was all gone.
Being an official is the same as being a star. Once your personality collapses, your future will be gone.
Without Shilin's support, Sheng Changbai had no choice but to lick the emperor if he wanted to have a future.
"My lord, let Brother Bai make his own decision. He is no longer a young boy who just entered the officialdom."
The old lady expressed support for Sheng Changbai, but the old lady was more decisive.
A person who has a very open mind about things like power and wealth.
"Changbai, do you have to keep fighting with the Guan family? When I knew that you had a conflict with the Guan family, I was so worried about my mother that I couldn't sleep. After all, the Guan family is an official family. Whatever she wants, you just let her
He can’t do it anymore.”
Wang Ruofu then said that it is difficult for a person who does not understand politics to understand Sheng Changbai's persistence.
"Mom, don't worry, I have my own sense of proportion."
In fact, it's not a discussion with these people at home, it's just a notification of the results.
The final result, of course, is Sheng Changbai's career, which Sheng Changbai takes control of himself.
The next day, Sheng Changbai handed over the letter and folded it, but did not accept it.
Waiting for the emperor's three orders to come down, Sheng Changbai resigned three times.
It means that Sheng Changbai is not pretending to be reserved about this matter, but he really doesn't want to do it.
This matter was temporarily deadlocked, and Sheng Changbai finally settled down as censor.
"My son, I have my own story to tell."
When he went to court that day, Sheng Changbai discovered that Zhao Jiying had returned to Bianliang.
Zhao Zongquan also knew that he did not recognize the old emperor and wanted to recognize his father. This kind of operation was unethical and shameless.
If you don't want your son, in the court, it won't be right to support you or not, and you will be in a dilemma.
Not wanting to affect his son's reputation or tarnish his son, he separated Zhao Zongquan from Bianliang.
Zhao Zongquan didn't treat his cheap parents very well, but he treated his eldest son really well.
Now that the matter has come to an end, Zhao Jiying has returned to Bianliang.
"Speak." Zhao Zongquan said.
"Before, my father sent his ministers to check the salt tax accounts, but now it has been clearly verified that in recent years, the court has only paid three-fourths of the 10% of the salt tax that should be paid. Salt, tea, wine, and iron are the things that I have taken charge of during the dynasty. Now,
The salt tax is unclear...I hope that my father will order a thorough investigation."
The imperial examination was put on hold, and the previous affairs in the court continued.
Originally, before the imperial examination was discussed, Zhao Zongquan was thinking about the salt tax and wanted to raise money first.
However, due to the influence of the Imperial Examination Controversy, the salt tax issue was directly shelved, and it was only now brought up again by Zhao Jiying.
"The salt tax is a chronic disease... The national treasury has been empty for more than a day. Now, it is indeed time for an inventory. Among the ministers, who is willing to go on my behalf?"
Zhao Zongquan cooperated with Zhao Jiying and said, but after Zhao Zongquan asked the question, the court was silent and no one dared to answer.
Many people standing in the imperial court can benefit from the salt tax.
This incident can be regarded as Zhao Zongquan taking money from the officials and putting it into his own pocket. Of course, no one responded.
Those who have relevant interests are unwilling to do it, and those who do not have relevant interests are unwilling to wade into troubled waters because the matter involves too many people and offends too many people.
Regarding the salt tax, whether it was the Queen Mother's party, Emperor Yuzhou's party, or Prime Minister Han Zhang's party, they were all deeply involved, and none of them were clean.
The Queen Mother's gold medal thug Qi Heng and her father Qi Guogong have managed the salt affairs for more than ten years.
This is because the late emperor, looking out for Princess Pingning's face, arranged a lucrative job for Duke Qi.
Even if he hopes that Princess Pingning can live a prosperous life, the Duke of Qi will certainly not be polite. After more than ten years, the Duke of Qi's palace has become extremely wealthy.
The leader of the emperor's Yuzhou gang, Gu Tingye, inherited the Bai family's Yangzhou salt village, made money every day, and became as rich as the country.
Of course, it is impossible to do business well. We must stop smuggling and pay taxes well.
Running a salt farm has become a hard job and earns hard money.
How could the former Bai family and the current Gu Tingye have amassed such a huge fortune if they paid their taxes properly?
It can be said that 99% of the huge wealth of the Bai family was obtained through smuggling.
Then Han Zhang was even more unclean, not mentioning how much protection fees the salt merchants usually had to pay.
It is only said that the Han family completely controls the people's livelihood in Xiangzhou.
Both private salt and official salt in Xiangzhou are under the control of the Han family.
Intimidated by Han Zhang's power, even private salt dealers did not dare to go to Xiangzhou to sell salt.
People in a state know how much benefit Han Zhang can get from the salt tax if they point out that the Han family eats salt.
The most powerful people in the court are these three waves, and all three waves have dirty minds.
I don't want to investigate this matter myself, and an ordinary neutral person would be even less willing to do such a thing.
"Salt tax is a major event in the world, and the administration of Qingming is an eternal problem. It is rare that among the ministers, there is no one who is willing to serve the court and the world in tea and salt affairs without caring about the feelings of relatives and colleagues?"
Looking at the court, no one answered for a long time, Zhao Zongquan continued to ask.
Nor is it true that there are no upright people in the imperial court who are dedicated to serving the public good and are not afraid of power.
But of course one would look down upon someone with such character. Zhao Zongquan, who started the imperial examination controversy, was unwilling to contribute to Zhao Zongquan.
Even Renzong, who gave it to Zhao Zongquan, was treated like this by Zhao Zongquan. Who dares to work hard for Zhao Zongquan?
An investigation into the salt tax directly offended most of the court.
According to Zhao Zongquan's work style, employing people should be forward and not using people should be backward.
The ministers offended most of the court for Zhao Zongquan and cut off the wealth of countless people.
Zhao Zongquan is an unreliable boss. After his ministers helped Zhao Zongquan collect wealth.
It is more likely that Zhao Zongquan sold the person and eliminated most of the anger in the court.
It's basically a fate that affects your wife, children, and even the entire family. Who is willing to do it?
On the other hand, there are not many people in the court who can preside over this matter, and ordinary people are not qualified to directly succumb to the three largest forces in the court.
No one with this kind of qualification is really a reckless person.
The emperor of the Zhou Dynasty did not kill civil servants, but the people below did not follow such rules when fighting.
If you want to check the salt tax, you are not strong enough and it is easier to enter and exit vertically.
Except for a few officials who can stand in the court, they have gone through a lot of ups and downs in the officialdom, and there are not a few who are stupid in the absolute sense.
Of course there are people who do something they know is impossible.
But for the sake of Zhao Zongquan, he did it knowingly that he couldn't do it. The common understanding in the court was that it was not worth it.
It's okay to increase taxes for the court, but the courtiers have also seen how you, Zhao Zongquan, spend your money.
It's not that Zhao Zongquan didn't have money. The noble Zhao Zongquan also made a wave of money when his family was confiscated.
But Zhao Zongquan spent all the money on rewarding the Yuzhou gang, and of course others were not willing to do it.
Various reasons led to the silence in the court, and the officials did not even dare to move.
It's not that he's afraid of being disloyal to the emperor, it's just that he's afraid of being noticed by Zhao Zongquan.
"Could it be that if something doesn't agree with you, you can give up and go to court?"
Seeing this situation, Zhao Zongquan couldn't sit still, stood up from the dragon throne, and angrily scolded the officials.
"Deserve...deserve it." Sheng Changbai praised in his heart.
This matter is completely Zhao Zongquan's secret change of concept.
This is not a simple matter that does not please the ministers. Zhao Zongquan is trying to dig out the roots of civil servants.
Without etiquette and law to restrain the emperor, civil servants had no power to restrict the emperor.
Zhao and the scholar-bureaucrats shared the world, which became a joke.
Zhao Zongquan violated the interests of civil servants and did not allow them to express their attitude.
"You cling to the etiquette and laws tightly, but let the moths devour the world. Is this right for the people of the world?" Zhao Zongquan continued to say incompetently and furiously.
"Your Majesty, you can recommend Grand Prime Minister Han Zhang to go." Sheng Changbai's immediate superior, Censor Zhongcheng, replied to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I would like to suggest that Grand Prime Minister Han Zhang should go there." The words of Yushi Zhongcheng were so in line with Sheng Changbai's wishes that Sheng Changbai immediately stood up and agreed.
"Your Majesty, I second the proposal." Then people one after another, officials from the Yushitai, Jianyuan, Taichang Liyuan, and the Ministry of Rites, all stood up to agree.
