It's already mid-July. Zhao Zhen's body has already recovered and he can get out of bed and move around freely. He can even occasionally have a few concubines to have fun with.
The only regret is probably that I can no longer eat delicious saury and smell the fragrance of crabs.
For the royal chef in the palace, don't talk about saury now.
Not even the scales of the river fish can be found.
Zhao Xin personally issued an order - to enable His Majesty to see the freshness of the river and the sea, you will be beheaded!
This made Zhao Zhen really happy and a little sad at the same time.
The days when I can't eat saury are so uncomfortable.
Especially when he thought that autumn would soon come and the crabs would become fatter, Zhao Zhen felt even more disappointed.
Fortunately...
Wherever there is a loss there is a gain.
Today's Emperor of the Song Dynasty is extremely happy.
There is no need to go to the morning court. Every single day, Zhao Xin will show up at Chui Gong Hall on time to listen to the government, and then come back obediently and relay the content of the government hearing to him.
There is no need to go to the storyteller's office and listen to the chatter of the bachelors.
Now, the maesters have a new goal.
They began to hang around Zhao Xin all day long, and when they had time, they would invite Zhao Xin to listen to lectures and explain their righteousness.
Most of the general affairs were handled by the ministers in charge.
This day, to Zhao Zhen, is like a god.
Go to sleep every day until you wake up naturally, and then you can be happy in the palace.
"I have never been so happy since I came to the throne!" Lying on a bamboo chair and basking in the sun, Zhao Zhen said lazily: "I really hope it can continue like this!"
Unfortunately, such happy time is destined to be short-lived.
Zhao Xin was too young, and he, as a father, couldn't bear to get up so early every day.
Besides, the ministers probably wouldn't do it either.
"It would be great if Erlang grew up quickly!" Zhao Zhen said softly: "In this case, maybe I can abdicate and become a happy and carefree Supreme Emperor!"
This is Zhao Zhen's greatest ambition and expectation now.
This emperor is really tired of it.
You can't do this, and you're not allowed to do that. You have to get up early to manage politics and go to bed very late.
If you are not careful, you will be spitted on your face by the bachelors and Taiwanese admonishers.
However, I can only listen to these guys' advice obediently.
"By the way..." Zhao Zhen suddenly remembered and asked Zhang Weiji, who had been serving him by his side: "Zhang Douzhi, where did King Tang go?"
"Your Majesty, early this morning, Liu Chunfang came to invite King Tang to Yanfu Palace to review the first and second commanders of the Grenadier Army who had just been recruited!" Zhang Weiji replied.
"Oh..." Zhao Zhen nodded, and then asked: "Why did it take so long for the Grenadier Army to recruit two commanding troops?"
"It's not that the King of Tang had too many rules!" Zhang Weiji said: "As I know, the King of Tang made many rules when recruiting troops..."
"You must be six feet tall (more than 183cm), and you must be able to throw a ten-pound iron ball with one hand for more than twenty steps..."
"You must also have a clean family, no adultery, and no one who has rebelled against the army in the third generation of your ancestors..."
"Moreover, no prostitution or gambling trips..."
Zhao Zhen felt a little unbelievable when he heard this: "I'm afraid this is more difficult than me getting a Jinshi..."
Even if he were to get Jinshi, he wouldn't have so many requirements!
So, he became curious: "How did Erlang recruit so many strong men?"
He is six feet tall, which is already the standard for a straight man.
Throwing a ten-pound iron ball twenty steps with one hand... Although Zhao Zhen doesn't know exactly what kind of person can achieve it, he understands that this is not something that ordinary people can do.
The remaining standards are even more exaggerated than the previous ones.
It's okay to say that he is clean and has not committed any crime.
There has been no rebellion in the army for three generations of our ancestors...
Tsk tsk tsk, are there so many good families in the Song Dynasty Forbidden Army?
As for prostitution and gambling, these were the traditional arts of the imperial army of the Song Dynasty.
"Nothing else..." Zhang Weiji lowered his head and said, "It's just a big reward!"
"I have heard that Liu Chunfang has spoken on behalf of the King of Tang, saying that for those who can recruit the Grenadier Army, the salary of the above four armies will be provided according to the rice standard, and they will be guaranteed to be paid in full and on time!"
"In addition, the King of Tang also promised to select a site in Bianjing in the future to build military residences for the grenadier army generals and soldiers, and grant them to the grenadier army officers and soldiers with the specifications of one soldier and five people, three rooms, one living room and one bathroom...
"
"Only for these two items, there are so many people who responded..." Zhang Weiji said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I heard that not only the ministers in front of the palace, but also people from the guards, horse and infantry are also vying to surrender!"
"That's it?" Zhao Zhen felt a little incredible.
"That's it!" Zhang Weiji bowed his head deeply.
Zhao Zhen listened and became silent. After a long time, he sighed: "I am not a good king..."
There was no need to investigate, Zhao Zhen knew that since his son only relied on punctuality, full payment of military pay and rice, and promised to give the soldiers a house suitable for his family to live in, without even mentioning the standards,
This caused soldiers from all three yamen to rush to respond to the recruitment.
What's more, he actually recruited soldiers with extremely strict conditions in his opinion.
That can only mean one thing - the corruption in these three yamen is worse than he imagined!
But……
Zhao Zhen knew that there was nothing he could do about this situation.
Because it was the national policy of the Song Dynasty to indulge generals in corruption and bribery.
This is compensation for the military minister.
Since military officials are not allowed to hold power, they must be compensated financially.
Otherwise, that general would be so foolish as to work for the emperor?
Therefore, since Taizu, the generals of the Song Dynasty, except for a few people, are all good at making money!
"Go to the Sanyamen with my orders..." Zhao Zhen sat up from the bamboo chair and told Zhang Weiji: "The Tang Dynasty's grenadier army, up and down the Sanyamen, are not allowed to interfere in the slightest!"
"Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
After leaving these words, Zhao Zhen walked away with his hands behind his back.
Zhang Weiji looked at Zhao Zhen's retreating back and bowed his head deeply: "I hereby obey the imperial edict!"
Zhao Zhen walked back to Yanhe Hall in despair. As soon as he came back, he slumped down on his throne and flipped through the ministers' memorials on the table.
"Perhaps, I am not suitable to be a king..." he thought in his heart.
He knows that a king must be ruthless, cruel, and hard-hearted, and treat human lives like ants and the world like a chessboard.
But he can't do it!
After all, he could not sit back and watch the people suffer and be in chaos.
It is even more impossible to ignore these things.
As Mencius said: A superior man cannot bear to see animals alive and cannot bear to eat their flesh when he hears their sounds.
But he has no ability to change these status quos.
So, he was in pain.
Therefore, he kept escaping and resisting going to court.
Not only because he is lazy, but also because he knows that there are some things that he can't do anything about.
"Perhaps..." Zhao Zhen picked up a memorial: "It's time for reform in this world!"
This memorial was written by Fan Zhongyan.
"Yi Yun: If you are poor, you will change; if you change, you will be successful..." He chewed on what Fan Zhongyan said, and his eyes gradually became firm: "Perhaps, I should recruit Fan Xiwen to return to Beijing..."
When Zhao Zhen was thinking about this, suddenly, Zhang Weiji stumbled in and said, "Your Majesty, Daming Mansion is reporting urgently!"
When Zhao Zhen heard this, he immediately stood up.