Chapter 23 Two great plans are not yet unfolded

Zhao Shu is the son of King Pu Anyi, adopted by Emperor Renzong as his adopted son. King Pu Anyi has three concubines: Concubine Yuan Wang, named Mrs. Qiaoguo; second concubine Han, named Mrs. Xiangguo; Only half a month after Zhao Shu took power, Prime Minister Han Qi and others proposed to Zhao Shu that relevant departments be invited to discuss the identity of Zhao Shu's biological father.At that time, Emperor Renzong had passed away for fourteen months, and Zhao Shu instructed to wait until Emperor Renzong's Daxiang to discuss it again, that is to say, wait for twenty-four months before discussing it.

In April of the second year of Zhiping (1065), Han Qi raised this issue again, and Zhao Shu issued an edict to send this proposal to the Taichang Liyuan for discussion by officials above the two systems.This triggered a protracted debate, which is the famous "Pu Yi" in the history of the Northern Song Dynasty. There were two opinions in the discussion at that time. The two systems headed by Hanlin scholar Wang Gui, Sima Guang of Zhijian Academy, and Lu Hui believed that King Pu was the elder brother of Emperor Renzong, and Zhao Shu should call him the emperor's uncle; Zai Zhi, headed by Zhizheng Shi Ouyang Xiu, believed that Zhao Shu should be called Huang Kao.They also asked Zhao Shu to submit both plans to the officials for discussion.

Zhao Shu and the chancellors believed that some of the ministers would cater to their opinions, but the situation was exactly the opposite, and all the officials strongly opposed calling King Pu the Emperor Kao. When the ministers were arguing endlessly, the queen mother got the news, and she drafted an imperial edict by herself, sternly accusing Han Qi and others, thinking that King Pu should not be called Huang Kao. Zhao Shu and Han Qi realized that in order to win this debate, they must obtain the support of the Queen Mother.In the third year of Zhiping (1066), the ministers of Zhongshu Province jointly agreed that King Pu should be respected as the imperial examination. Ouyang Xiu drafted two edicts and handed one to Zhao Shu.At noon, the Empress Dowager sent an eunuch to send a sealed document to Zhongshu Province. Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu and others opened their eyes and couldn't help but smile. This edict was exactly the one drafted by Ouyang Xiu. signed by the Queen Mother.

Due to the discord between the queen mother and Zhao Shu, some people said that the queen mother signed the edict by mistake after drinking. The next day, the queen mother knew the content of the edict after she sobered up, but it was too late to regret.There is also a saying that Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu and others handed over the edict to the eunuchs around the queen mother, and the eunuchs persuaded the queen mother to sign and sign it.In any case, it is a fact that the edict was issued. Now that the Queen Mother had issued an edict, Zhao Shu ordered all officials to stop the discussion, and ordered to build a garden and erect a temple in King Pu'anyi's tomb.So far, the matter of Pu Yi has been settled.

Although Pu Yi was determined, the hearts of the people were not yet determined.First of all, Lv Hui and other admonishing officials handed over the imperial imperial edict, resigned collectively, and stayed at home to wait for the crime.Zhao Shu ordered the gatekeeper of the pavilion to return the edict to them, saying that they would not be allowed to resign.Lu Hui and others made a speech again, saying that they were incompatible with the ministers. After Zhao Shu read the memorabilia of Lu Hui and others, he was very annoyed, so he asked Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu how to deal with this matter.Han Qi and Ouyang Xiuqi said: "Since the envoys have said something that is incompatible, please make a decision. If the ministers are guilty, then they will be removed from their posts and investigated." : If the envoys are wrong, then expel those people from the capital.

It seems that the two factions turned into a quarrel because of their different views, and they have reached the point where they are incompatible with each other. Zhao Shu also understood in his heart that Lu Hui, Fan Chunren, and Lu Dafang were not terribly wrong, and it was their responsibility to say what they should say.However, several ministers supported him, and he had to rely on them to preside over the government.In desperation, he had no choice but to sacrifice several censors, and demoted the three of them out of the capital and sent them to other places.Since these few people were punished without fault, he specially instructed his left and right sides, and it is not appropriate to impose too heavy a responsibility.

Unexpectedly, just after dealing with the affairs of several censors, another person stood up to challenge him, and he was the privy envoy Fu Bi.Fu Bi's attitude seemed to be very firm. He played a performance every other day and went to two shuffles in five days. He said that his feet were sick and asked to resign as a privy envoy. The foot disease was just a cover, the real reason was in his heart. He thought that someone was taking him out of the way, and he didn't take him seriously as a privy envoy. It turned out that during the Jiayou period, Fu Bi was the prime minister and presided over the work of the Privy Council. Han Qi was the Privy Council envoy and presided over the work of the Privy Council.Now, Han Qi and Fu Bi exchanged positions, but Han Qi always handled things arbitrarily and never consulted Fu Bi's opinion. Fu Bi was very upset.

For example, when the Empress Dowager returned to power, Fu Bi didn't know in advance. When Han Qi suddenly urged the Empress Dowager to withdraw the curtain, Fu Bi said in surprise, "As a privy envoy, I am an important minister in the court. I may not know about other things in advance." , but for such a big event as the empress dowager withdrawing the curtain, wouldn't it be okay to say hello in advance?Could it be that Prime Minister Han is afraid that I, Fu Bi, will share his credit? Han Qi learned that Fu Bi had an opinion on him, so he also told people that this matter came from the empress dowager's intention, so it is inconvenient to say it in advance.Even though Han Qi said this, Fu Bi still felt unhappy.

After Zhao Shu came to power, Fu Bi suggested that Zhao Shu should establish a prince as soon as possible.Zhao Shu thought that Fu Bi was a golden idea, so he was specially awarded the Minister of the Ministry of Households as a reward. Fu Bi believed that the establishment of a crown prince was a major national plan, and the ministers of the DPRK and China were responsible for making suggestions, which was not considered a meritorious service.Moreover, His Majesty received the deep kindness of the first emperor, and the great virtue of the mother and queen has not yet heard of it as a repayment. Now he alone rewards him, and he dare not accept it.Therefore, he declined the reward.Zhao Shu refused.Fu Bi played again, but Zhao Shu still refused to approve, Fu Bi reluctantly accepted.

Seeing that Fu Bi had decided to go, Zhao Shu ordered Fu Bi to go out of Yangzhou and make Zheng Guogong.Later, Zhang Sheng also insisted on going, and Zhao Shu ordered him to go out to know Xuzhou. Since both Fu Bi and Zhang Sheng had been transferred to other posts, the Privy Council could not be without a leader, so Han Qi and Zeng Gongliang discussed and planned to promote Ouyang Xiu as a Privy Council envoy.After Ouyang Xiu found out about this, he immediately went to Han Qi and said that the emperor is in charge and has his own plans in appointing ministers. Although the prime minister praised me, he could not override the emperor.Seeing that Ouyang Xiu's words were reasonable, Han Qi stopped the thought.

Sure enough, Zhao Shu had long been interested in the position of Privy Envoy. After Fu Bi left Beijing, he immediately ordered Wen Yanbo of the Yongxing Army to serve as Privy Envoy.Before that, when Wen Yanbo went to Beijing to report on his work, Zhao Shu had briefed him and told him to stay in the west for a while, and he would be called to Beijing soon.Now he has fulfilled his promise. Zhao Shu also promoted Lu Gongbi, the envoy of the third division of power, as the deputy envoy of the Privy Council. Why did Zhao Shu promote Lu Gongbi?This has to start with an incident when he was the prince.At that time, Emperor Renzong gave Zhao Shu a horse, but the horse was small and hairy, and it was a bad horse.Zhao Shu approached Lu Gongbi, who was the herdsman at the time, and wanted to exchange for a good horse.Lu Gongbi didn't give Zhao Shu face just because he was the crown prince. He said that the horse was a gift from the emperor, and he couldn't change the horse without the emperor's decree.Therefore, he rejected the prince's request. After Lu Gongbi was promoted to be the Deputy Privy Envoy, he had to enter the palace to thank him as usual.Zhao Shu asked him: "Do you know why I promoted you?" Lu Gongbi shook his head, expressing that he didn't know.Zhao Shu said with a smile: "Last year, I asked you to change horses. You didn't give me face. I know you are an upright person." Lu Gongbi was promoted because of his integrity, so it can be seen that Zhao Shu, the emperor, did not do badly. After Lu Gongbi's farewell, Zhao Shu summoned the deputy capital of Jingyuan Road to deploy Guo Kui, who was appointed as the inspector of the Taibao and signed a letter to the Privy Council. Guo Kui is a military commander, who was originally Fan Zhongyan's subordinate. Fan Zhongyan often encouraged him and asked him to read more books. Today, he has finally become a talent.Back then, the death of Ren Fu in battle and the annihilation of Ge Huaimin's entire army were all within his expectations.People have praised him for his foresight.He made many military exploits in the border court, and was promoted to the post of deputy capital deployment on Jingyuan Road.Zhao Shu learned that he was wise and brave, so he called him into the capital to serve as a member of the Privy Council. The ministers of the Song Dynasty only had civil servants in mind, not generals.Di Qingdang of the Renzong Dynasty defeated Nong Zhigao and made outstanding contributions. As soon as he entered the Privy Council, he was attacked by civil officials and impeached him one after another.Guo Kui's achievements are not as good as Di Qing's. After entering the Privy Council, how can he hold the mouths of everyone.Shao Hang and others from the Court of Admonishment came forward to impeach him one after another. It probably means that under the ancestral system of the Song Dynasty, the Privy Council must appoint military commanders, such as Cao Bin, his son, and Di Qing, who have made outstanding achievements and high prestige, so they can deserve it.How could a shrewd young talent like Guo Kui be able to serve in the Privy Council?They asked Zhao Shu to take back his order. Zhao Shu is a very individual emperor, he will boldly use the people he sees, and he will not be influenced by the admonitors, so he ignores the irresponsible remarks of the admonitors. This year, there was a flood in Bianliang, and the outside of the palace was flooded.Houses collapsed, and countless people drowned.Just after the flood in Bianliang receded, another fire broke out in Wenzhou, and then a comet appeared in the west.Comets are also known as broom stars. The ancients believed that the appearance of comets was an ominous omen. Zhao Shu also had the same view. He believed that this was a warning from heaven to him, so he asked all the officials to express their opinions and pointed out the shortcomings of the court's government affairs.He himself also quit music and reduced meals to strengthen his personal cultivation. Some people suggested that the imperial court should not choose talents and appoint talents.Zhao Shu asked Ouyang Xiu about this question.Ouyang Xiu replied that the virtuous road was indeed too narrow in recent years, and he himself often discussed this issue with Prime Minister Han Qi. Zhao Shu was quite satisfied with his employment policy, but was surprised by the narrowness of the Xian Road, so he asked Ouyang Xiu to be more specific. Ouyang Xiu believed that since Zhao Shu came to power, he, Han Qi, and Fu Bi all felt the favor of the emperor, and carefully selected a group of officials, all of whom were reused by Zhao Shu. This may have been unimaginable in the past.However, the selected people are all capable talents with money, food and punishment, not literary scholars. Ouyang Xiu's remarks firstly praised Zhao Shu's good use of knowledgeable people, and then raised the problem that the selection of talents in the past was too single. After hearing this, Zhao Shu realized something, so he decided to recruit talents extensively, and asked Zhongshu Province to recommend wise men. Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu and others recommended 20 people for the post of Yingguan Pavilion. Zhao Shu ordered all these people to be called for interviews. Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu thought that there were too many people for one interview. But Zhao Shu said: "Since I asked you to recommend, I want to select talents and appoint talents. There are so many wise men for me to choose. If I can get wise men, wouldn't it be better to have more?" After discussion, ten people were called for an interview. After the interview, all of them were hired and assigned to the library. In the system of the Song Dynasty, the first Jinshi and the first person can often be promoted to the assistant minister. Scholars are especially proud of being on the stage and being promoted to the ban.At that time there was such a song: Ning Dengying is not a prince; Ning Baolong is not a prisoner. It can be seen that at that time, people's hearts tended to attach importance to the military, and they envied Taige even more. All the soldiers who sent troops to fight, even if Sun Wu and Wu Qi returned, and Lian Po and Li Mu were reborn, they were regarded as useless people.The reason for the weakness of the Song Dynasty can be seen from this. In the first month of the third year of Zhiping (1066), Khitan changed its country name to Liao again. In April, Sima Guang compiled eight volumes of "Tong Zhi" based on the style of "Historical Records", referring to other writings, about the first eight volumes later, and asked the emperor to give "Tong Zhi" the title of the book. Zhao Shu fully affirmed this and encouraged He continued to write and gave the title to the book after it was completed. He also allowed Sima Guang to choose and hire assistants himself, and at the request of the bookstore that organized the compilation of the deeds of emperors and ministers in the past dynasties, he instructed to set up the bookstore in Chongwen Academy, and licensed the books of Longtu Pavilion, Tianzhang Pavilion, History Museum, Jixian Academy, and Secret Pavilion. Books, and great care has been given in terms of funds and services. Zhao Shu's instructions greatly improved Sima Qian's conditions for compiling history, and provided a solid backing for the grand cause of compiling from the very beginning.In order to repay Zhao Shu's kindness, Sima Guang devoted all his efforts to the compilation of this great work in the following nineteen long years. It should be said that Zhao Shu also contributed to the final compilation of this great work of history. After Guo Kui entered the Privy Council, he still couldn't stand his ground after all. He was squeezed out of the capital by his colleagues and served as the Xuanfu envoy of the Fourth Route of Shaanxi, and he was also sentenced to Weizhou. In December of the third year of Zhiping (1066), Zhao Shu felt unwell again and could not go to court for dozens of days.Han Qi and other ministers came to visit him in the palace and saw that he was seriously ill with a haggard face. Even though he was leaning on a chair, he still looked exhausted. Seeing that Zhao Shu was seriously ill, Han Qi suggested to him to establish a crown prince so as to bring peace to the world. Zhao Shu nodded in agreement. Seeing that Zhao Shu agreed to establish the crown prince, Han Qi went on to play: "Since the holy will has been decided, please issue an edict to appoint a date for the grand crown ceremony." Han Qi did not wait for Zhao Shu's answer, and immediately ordered the scholars Zhang Fangping entered the palace to draft the edict, and first prepared the four treasures of the study for Zhao Shu. Zhao Shu picked up a pen and barely wrote a few numbers in cursive. Han Qi saw that the words on the paper read "Establish the Great King as the Crown Prince". Han Qi said, if you want to be a long-term successor, your majesty must be the king of Ying, so please write it down in your own hand! Zhao Shu then wrote the three characters "Ying Wangxu". Zhang Fangping immediately followed Zhao Shu's intentions, and respectfully drafted an edict, from beginning to end, in one stroke, leaving a space in the middle, and asked Zhao Shu to fill in the prince's name in his own handwriting. Zhao Shu seemed to be very ill and couldn't bear to sit for a long time. After staying for a long time, he mumbled a few words, but Han Qi and others couldn't understand what he said.When Zhang Fangping presented the drafted imperial edict and asked him to fill in the name of the prince, he was already sitting impatiently. He took the pen, exhausted his last bit of strength, wrote the name of the prince on the edict, and then put down the pen , sighed softly, tears streaming down like rain. The servant immediately helped Zhao Shu onto the dragon bed, fell down and fell asleep. Han Qi and others withdrew, Wen Yanbo said to Han Qi: "Did you see the expression on the emperor's face?" After speaking, he sighed softly. Han Qi said with emotion: "The emperor's conferment is just around the corner. I didn't expect that we would try our best to invite the crown prince again. The world is unpredictable. It's really amazing!" On the seventh day of the first lunar month in the fourth year of Zhiping (1067), Zhao Shu died of illness at the age of 36. He reigned for four years and was named Yingzong. Although Zhao Shu's reign was short, he had the ambition to eradicate redundant soldiers, redundant officials, and redundant expenses.This is a pity for the Song Dynasty. Chapter Four: The Reform Emperor Zhao Xu was born in Prince Pu's Mansion. His father Zhao Shu was just an ordinary member of the royal family. Because Emperor Renzong had no son, he was chosen as the heir to the throne, Emperor Yingzong.Since then, the fate of Prince Pu's grandson has undergone earth-shaking changes. Emperor Yingzong had three sons, and Zhao Xu was the eldest son. He was the best in terms of character and knowledge. After Emperor Yingzong passed away, it was his turn to be the emperor.