Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

Throughout life, there will be confusion. How can we see a person clearly?The ancients said that those who know how to look behind people are smart people; those who can look behind people are villains. However, even if you look at the front and back of a person, he still has different sides.What's more, there are no parallel lines in life, as long as two people look at each other, there will always be mutual highs and lows... The most common thing in life is to look up and down.At that time, the noble and the humble were separated, and the human relationship was so cold and warm. Even if you are the king of a country, one day you will be so sad.He will eventually understand that the title of emperor is actually the same as that of a beauty, and no matter how glorious the title is, it will also fade with age.Is it the supreme life?You must not be sick.

Ever since Renzong fell ill this time, he discovered that while his courtiers were keen to take care of the country for him, on the other hand, they suddenly collectively glowed with unprecedented enthusiasm to... find him an heir.To say that this is something that has been held back for a long time, the war in the northwest, the rebellion in the south, the flood in the Yellow River, and even the emperor's illness, none of these things are understood by the civil servants, but the emperor himself is considerate, and suddenly fell ill Yes, refer to Renzong's age, 47 years old, healthy in the past, often in a coma.That's great, my dear friends, let's work together to do something really big!

If anyone hesitates, please despise him, because he has forgotten the farce that caused a sensation in Kaifeng City back then. It was the second year of Huangyou (AD 1050), and a relatively famous event at the same time was the mobilization of all the people to ruthlessly kill the imperial concubine and her uncle Zhang Yaozuo.Just when the civil official group had finished warming up and was about to fight under the leadership of Bao Zheng and others, two people suddenly came in front of the palace.One is an ordinary young man, and the other is a monk, with an accent from Jiangxi Province.

That day, these two people walked directly into the palace, acting as if this was their home, coming and entering whenever they wanted, it couldn't be more natural.At that time, the guards were rather disappointing, and they came forward to stop him.History has proved that if these two people went in that day, the show would be twice as exciting. "What are you doing?" the guard asked. The young man raised his head and ignored him with a haughty expression.The monk said solemnly, "Don't be rude, this is the dragon species of the holy one, the prince." A thunderbolt came from the blue sky, and the prince descended to earth.Everyone in the Song Dynasty knew that the emperor had three sons, but none of them lived past the age of three. Where did such a big "prince" come from? !

The guards looked like they had swallowed more than 200 flies alive, two lunatics, get lost!Can't help but drive these two people away. This is a fundamental error.When abnormal situations arise, is it better to strictly control the situation, or to leave the problem to the people?You must know that this is the most prosperous city in the world and the largest city in history. Over 1 million inhabitants! After the young monk was driven out of the palace, he went straight to the streets of the busy city, stood in the place with the largest crowd, and began to give a speech.Because the content was really hot and the crowd was surging, they immediately surrounded them.

According to the monk, the reason for this young man's grand visit was his mother.The mother was a maid in the palace more than 20 years ago, that is, the most high-end servant girl.All human beings know that the fate of a girl is uncertain, depending on who she marries or who she likes.That was the case with this legendary mother.She was "liked" by the current emperor Renzong. Afterwards, the development took a turn for the worse. For some reason or another that was not convenient to disclose, she was kicked out of the palace and lived among the people.Note that when she was persecuted, she already had Renzong's flesh and blood.

——He is the young man standing in front of you now!He is the crown prince that all the subjects of the Song Dynasty have been looking forward to for N years! The monk's speech ended, and the surrounding crowd were dumbfounded.real or fake?This is not sure, but the most interesting thing since ancient times is the crowd effect.After being watched by many people who didn't know the truth at the scene, the play of recalling the life on Huangtaizi Street has spread all over Kaifeng in an instant. Of course, it also reached the ears of the official person in charge, Qian Mingyi, the governor of Kaifeng at the time.When Mr. Qian heard it, is it worth it?Immediately catch the person back to me, confuse the crowd with false rumors, pretend to be the emperor's relative, and trap your majesty in... that unexpected and glamorous situation, how decent is it!

But after the man was caught, he had a lot of fun.I saw His Highness the "Crown Prince" who had been silent all this time, with a cold and arrogant expression, stared at him suddenly, and said arrogantly: "Ming Yi can't afford it!" Qian Mingyi was dumbfounded when he heard it, it was so kind, and the kindness contained contempt for his status as a courtier.Ming Yi...he really looks like a prince!Involuntarily, he actually stood up. After standing up, he slowly changed his mentality.The history books did not continue to explain what he found, but the judgment he gave was that His Royal Highness the "Crown Prince" was assigned to the editorial management of Ruzhou.Note that this is not a heavy punishment, which means that the person's status as the crown prince has not been completely denied.Otherwise, it is a great crime of treason and must be executed without a doubt.

Things have come to this point, it can be said that they have won the governance spirit of the rule of law society in the Song Dynasty.The matter is very big, the punishment is very light, the big matter is turned into a small one, and the trouble is driven away, so that the society can continue to be stable, and the rumors have no chance to toss.Apart from being yelled at in a moment of panic, Qian Mingyi had nothing to be ashamed of.But things still got worse, and the reason is also because it was in the Song Dynasty. The politics of the Song Dynasty were lenient, not only the top ministers could maintain their dignity in front of the emperor, but also in the officialdom, there was no such thing as a bad habit of being a parent.Qian Mingyi was reported by his subordinates.

A push official from Kaifeng Mansion participated in his chief official book.Saying that Qian did not handle things properly and letting the rumor-mongers return to the people is tantamount to supporting the rumor-making and continuing to spread rumors. For example, there are many new versions of the legend about the emperor's illegitimate son in the capital.Entering the impeachment procedure, the matter was finally known to the emperor himself. At that time, Renzong was still very sober. He thought and thought about it, and a certain court lady more than 20 years ago... It's been too long, I can't think clearly.So the problem was handed over to a legendary big man.

Bao Zheng, Master Bao of Zhijiao Academy, came out. Everyone on the earth knows that Bao Zheng's handling of the case is unprecedentedly strong.In a few days, things came to light.This young man's surname is Leng, his name is Leng Qing, and he is a native of Kaifeng.His mother did serve in the palace, and married a doctor named Leng Xu after leaving the palace.After giving birth to a daughter, Leng Qing had her second child. Leng Qing was at odds with her family, and went to Jiangxi to talk nonsense near Lushan Mountain, destroying her biological mother's innocence, and getting involved with the emperor.As for the monk, he was the first one who didn't know the truth and was excited by the crowd. The case came to light, Leng Qing was beheaded for public display, but the subjects of the Song Dynasty felt very complicated.To be honest, they hoped that this was true. The appearance of a healthy and adult crown prince out of thin air was the biggest surprise for the empire. Who cares if he was born by the official marriage of the Ming Dynasty.Everyone knows that the current Emperor Renzong's life experience is quite tortuous? And looking at the history of the Song Dynasty, the crown prince who appeared out of nowhere was real.History has proved that as long as the name is justified, everything is possible! Back to the original question, after the fake prince took to the streets, the matter of the real prince was put on the agenda.As I said before, this is one of the limited things that the civil servants can do. Almost everyone tried their best and used their own tricks to persuade the emperor and achieve the success of this "the most important event in the empire". The process was very exciting, and several famous people in Chinese history revealed their true colors. The first person is Fan Zhen. He is not very famous. I believe that not many people know of his existence after a thousand years, but he is considered a figure in the Renzong Dynasty. The cause was a scientific research 20 years ago. At that time, it was the eve of the war between Song and Xia. Wang Sui, Chen Yaozuo, Han Yi, Cheng Lin, Shi Zhongli and other old people were in power. There was a scandal in the scientific examination that year, and a large number of their trusted children passed the examination. As a result, there was a big cleansing, and Fan Zhen, who was originally the number one in the Ministry of Rites Examination, was implicated.The top three places in the palace examination were deprived, and she fell to the 79th place. He could have objected on the spot, but chose to remain silent.This kind of bearing and self-cultivation made him famous instantly, and everyone remembered him firmly.This is a truth, people must be famous, no matter what method or channel you use to get famous, as long as you are famous, you have everything. Fan Zhen entered the officialdom with a poor grade of 79th in the palace examination, but his promotion speed was astonishing. More than ten years later, in the year when Renzong fell ill, he became the leader of the officials and became the top official of the Song Dynasty. At this time, I want to clarify that in an era, no matter how many despicable and dirty people who are greedy for power, there will always be noble and innocent people, although there are very few.Fan Zhen is one of them.The magnanimity he showed during the scientific examination lasted throughout his life, and even became stronger as he got older, from belittling fame and status to later disdainful of life and death. As long as he thinks he's doing the right thing. When Renzong's illness had just recovered, he wrote a memorial directly without discussing with anyone, proposing to establish a crown prince to determine the successor of the country.He broke the precept, not only offended the emperor, but even the prime ministers in the Zhongshu Provincial Political Affairs Hall were furious with him. The emperor's illness is not completely cured, why can't you wait?The patient itself is sensitive, and if you tell the most suspicious things to a sensitive person, your head will be flooded.Comparing heart to heart, Renzong has ruled the world for more than 30 years, and his kindness is the most generous in ancient and modern times. Once he gets sick, someone will immediately jump out to prepare for the funeral, busy looking for a successor, who is not in a hurry?What kind of morality is this! The prime ministers were even more angry.At that time, Wen Yanbo had just brought down the privy envoy Di Qing, and it was the time when he was in power alone. For such an important matter, he bypassed the head of the family and went directly to the big leader to discuss the matter. Do you still take us seriously? More importantly, who told you that we don't want to do it? ! The most likable person in the workplace is the person who helps the leader complete the task in advance; the most annoying person is the person who disturbs the leader's good deal.This person Fan Zhen committed the old problem of the scientific examination back then, as long as he thought it was okay, then he would do it.Don't think about the various rules in the officialdom at all. In fact, before him, the Zaizhi Group headed by Wen Yanbo was already doing this. It is a pity that Emperor Renzong fell ill so suddenly that all the steps were disrupted.Now the illness has just started to improve, when suddenly Fan Zhen came out. No matter what the result is, the first referee of the next emperor will become Fan Zhen! Thinking about how Chen Zhizhong, a moron in the officialdom, got into the chancellor, you will know how much credit this is. As the current top leader, he was actually ambushed by his subordinates. This person has lost too much no matter what.Wen Yanbo couldn't help it no matter what, and sent someone to call Fan Zhen. What are you doing, why don't you ask for something like this first? Fan Zhen was very calm.I don't care about the consequences of doing something like this.If you come to ask first, if you say you don’t agree, will you stop doing it? Wen Yanbo was full of words, but was blocked back.This is the fatal wound of the unspoken rules in the officialdom. They are hidden. Although the hidden rules are more effective in this world to a large extent, they live in the sun after all.The ruler of the world is always the one that can be put on the table, must abide by the law, must be fair, must have justice! Whether you can do this depends on whether you dare to speak out and let something come to the fore. Fan Zhen is like this, I am not afraid of offending you, what can you do to me?Demotion, give me small shoes to wear, hehe, forget that I didn't even care about the champion back then.In fact, Wen Yanbo really had nothing to do, but as the prime minister, he could shrink all of Fan Zhen's efforts. Fan Zhen submitted a total of 19 letters, and he persisted for nearly half a year. Unfortunately, the documents were passed back and forth between the emperor and the ministers.It was submitted in a while, and posted in a while, and Fan Zhen could never find the exact person to discuss it.However, this did not make him give up. He is the Zhijianyuan, one of the two major speech officer systems in the country, and has the opportunity to meet the emperor. From July of this year, as long as he goes to court, he will definitely talk about the establishment of a prince.After tossing and tossing endlessly, finally the emperor and the prime ministers reached a tacit agreement to transfer work to Fan Zhen.Transfer him from Zhijianyuan to the Yushitai system, and find him a boss to take care of him!But it was useless, Fan Zhen was determined. He refused to go to work, and went home to lie down and compete, and it lasted more than 100 days.When people saw him again, they couldn't recognize him.Fan Zhen has white beard and hair, just like Wu Zixu when he passed Zhaoguan... When things got to this point, Wen Yanbo was powerless.If a person's persistence can reach Fan Zhen's step, no matter what he is doing, it will be enough to stir up the world. The most powerful thing in this world is sunlight, and all unspoken rules are only powerful in the shadows.Fan Zhen exposed this matter, public opinion began to form, and at least three heavyweight figures stood by his side.It's just that each one is too special, each has its own tricks, and the result, what everyone gets is also different. In order to distinguish, let's talk about the first two.One of them is Bao Zheng and the other is Tang Jie. Master Bao had ended his most legendary official career at that time, and it was past tense for Bao Longtu to sit in Kaifeng Mansion.Forgive me for an enduring legend, though it is only a legend.Let's talk about it. Bao Zheng's time in Kaifeng Mansion was only about one year.Nothing particularly serious happened during the year, no, not one.Some are just the state of his work.He allowed the people to see the governor of the capital of the empire and the head of the Kaifeng Supreme Procuratorate at any time. Bao Zheng ordered that the gate of the yamen be opened wide, so that no matter who has any grievances, they can come in and file a complaint.There will never be any more levels of checkpoints, so that good people who are illiterate, ignorant of the law, and ignorant of the way have nowhere to sue for injustice. In good conscience, this alone is enough for ordinary people to remember him forever.As for the stories that challenged the power of the nobles, there was also one during this period.Once there was a flood, the Huimin River in the capital swelled, and a large area of ​​houses were flooded.The reason is that some dignitaries built some waterside gardens on the river.One of the largest is the property of an eunuch. Bao Zheng was not ambiguous at all, he found the land deed, checked the original map, and immediately demolished any illegal construction.Strictly speaking, this is far from enough to make him a stern and selfless Bao Qingtian who can solve cases like a god.But the people, the Chinese people really don't ask for much.As long as someone is willing to do things for the people, no matter what step he has achieved, the people will praise him, commemorate him, and make him a myth. Treat him as a bright light in the dark, to comfort the soul that has been beaten to pieces in the real society. In the real history, the most important thing Bao Zheng did was his efforts in establishing the crown prince in Renzong's later years.At this time, he was promoted from Kaifeng Fuyin to Yushi Zhongcheng. Seeing Fan Zhen's performance, he felt that it was necessary to increase his efforts.Fan Zhen, you are too weak and dishonest. 19 memorials, but still can't answer a single question, it's really not ordinary stupid. Bao Zheng went directly to see Renzong, and when he saw him standing in front of the emperor, Renzong subconsciously turned his face back.There is no way, in Zhang Yaozuo's promotion story back then, in order to bring down Zhang's group, Bao Zheng sprayed all his saliva on Renzong's face. The emperor couldn't forget such a powerful force. What's the matter?Renzong asked.The next step is the endorsement. Regarding the importance of the prince, he is the foundation of the country, he is the hope of the future, and the happiness of all the people is tied to him... These are really clichés, endless talks.This is the case for any minister who wrote a letter, and Fan Zhen has emphasized it 19 times before! Renzong still had to listen.But the anger is also rising, and finally transformed into four words - "Who do you want to stand?" As soon as these four words are uttered, I believe that the vast majority of courtiers will have to kneel down and plead guilty.If it was Fan Zhen, his hair would change from white to black in an instant, and his endocrine system would be completely out of balance.The courtier wants to establish a prince, what is that but rebellion? ! Bao Zheng didn't care, he turned his face, wait a moment, according to research, Bao Zheng's face is not a big black sphere with a white crescent in the middle, he is a very refined, slightly thin, ancient standard man with white face and long beard .At this point he erased all expression from his face, became very formal, and answered calmly. Your Majesty is doubtful for asking this question.The minister is over 70 years old and has no sons, so there is no way to talk about future interests. The reason why this matter is discussed is entirely for the sake of the ancestral temple and the community.Think carefully, am I telling the truth? The 47-year-old emperor faced the almost 74-year-old Bao Zheng, watched for a long time, and finally smiled.Okay, let me think about it carefully, you go down. (Dixi said: "Xu should discuss it.") This is basically the end of Bao Zheng's official career. Before he left, he gave himself a rather unique ending.To be precise, without this sum, no matter how folks praise him, he is nothing in terms of official cognition. He went for strength, but unfortunately things backfired. Strength was easily dispelled by the well-tested officialdom and the emperor.The next one to appear is the power brother of Renzong Dynasty.He is the ultimate chapter of all powers, Tang Jie, the most powerful speaker appears. Tang Jie is the kind of person who can kill people with just one word without saying a word for half a year.Everyone should remember Zhang Yaozuo's famous saying in the story of his promotion: "...Jiedushi is not a rough official. Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong have served as both." Directly classify Renzong as an unfilial descendant who insulted his ancestors. At this time, he was transferred back to the capital and continued to be a speaker, in order to show that the court is lenient and speech is free.As a result, one day inadvertently, he spoke again.It was three months after Bao Zheng spoke, and their common old friend Zhang Yaozuo finally passed away.When everyone was thinking about the past years, Renzong said with emotion. You all exaggerated before, and you all said that Zhang Yaozuo is the current Yang Guozhong. If I use him, he will become the second emperor of Tang Ming, and the country will be ruined and his family will be destroyed. The officials below bowed their heads and remained silent. They have been embarrassing the emperor recently, so let's all be more honest now, as if we are respecting the dead.But Tang Jie, who was at the end of the line, suddenly spoke.Yes, Your Majesty is right. ah?Everyone was terrified, and then a little dazed... What is Tang Jie talking about, agreeing with the emperor?The emperor was also a little surprised, so everyone held their breath and waited for Tang Jie's next words. I heard from Tang Jie that if Zhang Yaozuo was used, there might not be an Anshi Rebellion, and he would flee to Western Shu.But once something goes wrong, His Majesty is not as good as Tang Minghuang!Tang Minghuang has his own son, Tang Suzong, who came out to clean up the situation, and then establish the country. May I ask who your Majesty relies on?Do you have a son? Renzong almost vomited blood in anger, did anyone speak and curse like that?Even if the ancient admonishers had the idea of ​​sarcasm, they wouldn't be so ignorant, right?They broke up unhappy that day, considering Tang Jie's usual behavior, I didn't bother to punish him this time.It's just that the establishment of a prince is still pending.It wasn't until the appearance of the killer-level figure who had a much greater influence on the Song Dynasty than Han Qi, Wen Yanbo, Bao Zheng, Fu Bi, etc. combined, that everything changed. From a macro point of view, whether it is Fan Zhen, Bao Zheng, or Tang Jie, the tricks they use are all asking, admonishing, and satirizing the emperor what to do and what not to do, and they always unconsciously stand on the side of the emperor. On the opposite side, especially the relationship with the prime ministers of Zhongshu Province is always unbalanced, either against each other, like Fan Zhen, or simply dismissive, like Tang Jie. This is not the way to do things.For this big man who is about to debut, these have become his help.Throughout his life, this person not only made all the emperors like him, but even the empresses and empress dowagers also favored him, especially among the people, his reputation was even more grand than Fan Zhongyan's.As for the officialdom, it was well received. The only exception is the Zaizhi Group.He and the best deputy prime minister in the Northern Song Dynasty were lifelong rivals, and even with that group of people, he couldn't tolerate it.But this was his period of rapid rise, and he could not only make the prime ministers of the Renzong Dynasty like him, support him, and even obey his orders.