Chapter 25 The Seven Half Volumes of "The Analects of Confucius" Rule the World

During the two Northern Expeditions, Zhao Jiong exhausted Zhao Kuangyin's well-trained elite soldiers and accumulated reserves, and was no longer able to regain the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun.Since then, the Song Dynasty has shifted from offensive to comprehensive defense against the Khitan people in the north, and the national policy has also moved towards an extreme "guarding the inside while ignoring the outside".From Zhou Shizong Chai Rong to Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, the concept of the great unification of the world has become an elusive dream due to Zhao Jiong's toss.

In fact, Zhao Jiong was still a very capable emperor. His tragedy was that he overestimated his military ability, tried to surpass Taizu Zhao Kuangyin in martial arts, and used troops blindly, so he had to swallow the bitter fruit of failure again and again.He forgot that although he fought the world with Taizu, he never commanded a battle alone, and Taizu Zhao Kuangyin was the emperor on horseback who was killed from the battlefield. The role of a general, the audience and the actor are always two different things. There is also a difference between talking about soldiers on paper and fighting with live ammunition. In the Warring States Period, Zhao Tian always won on paper. More than ten thousand people were captured by Bai Qi of Qin State and killed alive, and his own life was also involved.What's more, in terms of military theory, Zhao Jiong is far less skilled than Zhao Tian.

Zhao Jiong didn't want to be a coward. Although he knew in his heart that it was impossible for him to conquer the Khitan people, and it was just wishful thinking to regain Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures, the feeling of dissatisfaction was still lingering in his heart. Yu turned over and fought to the death with the Khitan.For this reason, he sent envoys to more than 40 states including Henan and Hebei to recruit strong men to join the army, and the ratio of drafting men was one out of eight. Years after years of war, young and middle-aged people who can run and move have gone to the front line, and those who stay at home are the old, weak, sick and disabled.JD’s transfer made Li Weiqing think that Bading pumped one too much.In this way, the young and middle-aged are all on the front line, and the farmland will be barren because no one cultivates it. They have submitted three consecutive petitions, asking the emperor not to do such a thing of killing chickens and taking eggs.

Prime Minister Li Fang and others also submitted their reports one after another, saying that there was a lot of discussion among the government and the public about the recruitment of troops by the imperial court, especially the people in the interior of Henan. Ask the emperor to take back his order. Kaifeng Governor Chen Wang Yuanxi (in July, Yuanyou changed his name to Yuanxi, he was named Kaifeng Governor and servant, and became the quasi-crown prince) also said that elite troops should be selected to guard the border and those villagers should be recruited as soldiers , What's the use of having too many people?Moreover, Henan people never practiced martial arts, and guarding the frontier is just a sham, so it's better not to recruit them.

Seeing the unanimous opinion of all the people, Zhao Jiong had to change the edict and only recruit troops in Hebei. In the winter of the fourth year of Yongxi (987), Zhao Jiong wanted to refresh his politics, so he issued an imperial edict to change it to Yuan Duangong, and the following year, it was renamed the first year of Duangong (988).On the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of this year, Zhao Jiong pardoned the world, personally plowed the native land, and advocated farming. Shannan Dongdao Jiedu sent Zhao Pu to Beijing to report on his duties. Zhao Jiong met Zhao Pu in the Zhaosheng Hall. Zhao Pu was so excited that he burst into tears when he saw the emperor, and Zhao Jiong was also moved by it.Chen Wang Yuanxi, governor of Kaifeng Prefecture, saw that the monarch and his ministers seemed to be emotionally moved, so he took the opportunity to ask his father to keep Zhao Pu in the capital.

Yuan Xi is a very scheming person, because the successors to the throne have passed away one after another, the elder brother Yuan Zuo was imprisoned due to madness, the East Palace is vacant, and there is no crown prince in the court, so he is the best candidate for the crown prince.Zhao Pu is the founding father of the country and the veteran of the second dynasty. Being close to him will definitely help him inherit the throne. Sure enough, Zhao Jiong adopted Yuan Xi's suggestion and kept Zhao Pu in the capital. Knowing that Hu Dan had a feud with Prime Minister Li Fang, he wanted to overthrow Li Fang, but he didn't dare to go out in person, so he instigated his friend Zhai Ying to be his gunman, and beat Deng Wengu to sue the imperial court. Criticize Li Fang for dereliction of duty.

When Li Fang learned that someone had impeached him, he took the initiative to resign from the emperor.Zhao Jiong took advantage of the slope to go down the donkey, removed Li Fang as prime minister, and was demoted to You Pushe (You Pushe is the rank of deputy prime minister). Zhao Jiong dismissed Li Fang as prime minister. He originally wanted to appoint Lu Mengzheng as prime minister, but he was worried that Lu Mengzheng was too young to convince the public, so he appointed Zhao Pu as Taibao and servant, and he was on the same level as Lu Mengzheng.The servant is also at the level of deputy prime minister, and the title of Jiaping Zhangshi is the prime minister.This is Zhao Pu's third photoshoot.

Zhao Jiong used Zhao Pu to make use of his experience and prestige to set an example for Lu Mengzheng. Zhao Pu is a very courageous and strong-armed figure. When he became a prime minister again, he re-established the squad and established the system and ruled the court.Lei Dexiang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry and the official of the imperial court, learned that Zhao Pu was the chancellor, and he was so shocked that the wat board in his hand fell to the ground. He knew that if Zhao Pu was the prime minister, he would have no role to play. It is better to leave first like a hero.So he immediately resigned from office.Even though Zhao Jiong tried to persuade him to stay, he didn't stay.

Deputy privy envoys Zhao Changyan, Hu Dan, and Zhai Ying have been very arrogant since the last time they knocked down Prime Minister Li Fang in one fell swoop, thinking that they are very powerful in the court and can do whatever they want.They often gather together to slander others by finding other people's privacy, and then destroy the current affairs, and use various means to recommend dozens of cronies and friends to important positions in various departments.The turmoil caused a miasma in the court, and the evil spirit spread. Zhao Pu is a person who can't tolerate sand in his eyes. Seeing that Zhao Changyan, Hu Dan, and Zhai Ying are colluding and corrupting the court, he and Lu Mengzheng jointly petition to arrest these people and judge them according to law.

Zhao Jiong saw the two prime ministers jointly signed a letter, knowing that the situation was serious, he issued an edict to demote Zhao Changyan to Chongxin Marching Sima; Hu Dan was relegated to Fangzhou Tuanlian Deputy Envoy;The rest of the relevant personnel have been punished as they should. Chen Lili used to be a counterfeit drug seller in the capital. He knew illusions and often dazzled the countryside.The privy secretary Chen Congxin told Zhao Jiong about this.Zhao Jiong summoned Chen Yong to test his skills face to face, and it was quite effective.Then Chen Yong was awarded a small official.However, Chen used his special skills to gain the trust of Zhao Jiong, and was promoted to the position of training envoy of the Chenzhou regiment.Chen Lili thought that he was the emperor's favored minister and acted unscrupulously. His home furnishings and usual clothes even imitated the style of the palace.Anyone who attaches to him can be recommended.A seller of counterfeit medicine, since he has such an ability to control the wind and rain, he has reached the pinnacle.Although the scholar and gentleman are dissatisfied in their hearts, they are afraid of his lust and dare not speak out.

After Zhao Pu's investigation, the above table stated that Chen used ten crimes, please bring them to justice.It is enough weight for a dignified prime minister to impeach a person.Seeing that Zhao Pu also impeached Chen Yong, Zhao Jiong knew that this person could not be kept, so he issued an edict to dispatch Chen Yong to Shangzhou.Soon afterward, Chen Lili was summoned to return to Beijing.Zhao Pu was worried that the emperor would re-appoint Chen Yili, and played again, please punish Chen Yili, and said that everyone in the world believed that he still had a chance to come back, and if he was left behind, it would be a disaster for the future. Zhao Jiong liked Chen Lili very much in his heart. Seeing that Zhao Pu was always staring at him, he said dissatisfiedly: "I am the king of a country, can't I protect one person?" Zhao Pu kowtowed and said, "If Your Majesty does not punish this treacherous sycophant, he will violate the law. Is the national law or Chen's utilization important?" When Zhao Jiong saw that Zhao Pu was going online, he insisted on persuading him to stop him, so he had to reluctantly cut off his love, and ordered Chen Yong to be beheaded. Chen Lili was on his way back to Beijing at this time, and he had already arrived in Shangzhou. He believed that he was favored by the emperor, but along the way, he was still arrogant and arrogant, thinking that when he arrived in the capital, he would be able to ascend to heaven again. After the imperial decree arrived, the governor of Shangzhou executed the sentence according to the imperial decree. Chen Lili had just subdued the law, and another court envoy flew to Shangzhou. When the court envoy learned that Chen Lili had just subdued the law, he couldn't help sighing and said: "The imperial decree has ordered a suspended sentence, but I was a step too late, and I didn't save Chen Lili." One life. Probably because Chen used all kinds of crimes to fill his body, God will not save him, I'm afraid I will be punished for being late." It turned out that when the court envoy rode his horse to Xin'an, he suddenly got stuck in a mud pit. When he got out of the mud pit, he changed his horse at the post station and rushed to Shangzhou. It was precisely when Chen Li's head fell to the ground.It's only half a stick of incense before and after. When the officials and people in Bian and Shaanxi learned about this incident, they couldn't help clapping their hands and applauding, saying that it was "the sky network is restored, and it is sparse but not leaky." From all these, it can be seen that Zhao Pu's governance does have its own merits. In November of the first year of Duangong (988), the Khitan invaded the south again, falling into the three prefectures of Zhuozhou, Qizhou, and Xinle. In the spring of the following year, they captured Yizhou.Everyone in the imperial court was talking about the fact that the Khitans were invading south again. Although Zhao Jiong didn't change his face when he talked about Liao Dynasty, he still had lingering fears in his heart. Zhao Pu, who was good at observing words and sentiments, said that it was not suitable to send troops because it was the middle of winter, so please don't send troops for the time being. The ministers in the court, such as Wang Yucheng, Zhang Ji, Song Qi, Li Fang, etc., also advocated repairing it to appease the strength of the people, and did not approve of sending troops.Zhao Jiong calmly agreed, and ordered the generals to stick to the fortress and fight with defense. The Khitan army learned that Song would not send troops, but took a defensive position and invaded south again.Zhao Jiong ordered Li Jilong, the guard of Dingzhou, to send more than 10,000 troops to escort food and pay, and to send the captive army. Brother Yeluxiu found out about this news, led tens of thousands of fine cavalry, and rushed to Li Jilong's only way to transport grain, preparing to intercept the Song army's grain. Yin Jilun, the patrol envoy of the Song Army, led more than a thousand soldiers on patrol, and suddenly saw a large group of Khitan soldiers and horses swarming, and hurriedly led them into the nearby woods. Brother Yeluxiu saw a small group of Song soldiers hiding in the woods in front of him, he thought that the number was limited and not enough to cause trouble, and he didn't bother to fight with them. In addition, he wanted to go to rob the Song army's food and grass, and he didn't want to entangle with the small group of Song soldiers, so he attacked this group of Song soldiers. Turn a blind eye and move on with the troops. After Yin Jilun waited for the Khitan soldiers to pass by, he said angrily to his soldiers: "The Khitan dogs bully people too much. They clearly see us but ignore us. This is despising our army and disdain to fight with us. If they return victorious, they will surely Drive us to the north, and if we fail, we must take revenge on us. No matter whether they win or lose, we will not die well. Rather than letting others be slaughtered, it is better to fight to the death." He ordered his subordinates to roll up the flag, put the horse on the head, The people were silent, quietly following behind the Khitan soldiers and horses, preparing to attack the Khitan people.At night, the soldiers were ordered to carry short weapons and walk quietly for dozens of miles.In the morning of the next day, I climbed up and looked into the distance, and saw that I had already reached Xuhe, and the Khitan soldiers were camping by the river, and I could faintly see smoke rising from the camp of the Khitan soldiers.Four or five miles across the river, there was also a large camp stationed, and I knew it was Li Jilong's grain transport unit. Yin Jilun pointed to the enemy camp and said: "The Khitan soldiers are making food, so we will kill them suddenly at this moment, so as not to let them eat this breakfast." The sergeant listened to the order, rushed forward, rushed to the river, and smashed into the enemy camp. The Khitan soldiers were preparing to have breakfast, when they suddenly saw the Song army descending from the sky, they panicked.They saw a leading general of the Song Army with a face like black charcoal, a black helmet on his head, and a black armor, sitting on a black horse like a black cloud, holding a shining big knife in his hand, slashing left and right, unstoppable. When Khitan general Pi Shi saw Song Bing coming suddenly, he hurriedly left his job and grabbed his weapon to resist. After less than three rounds of fighting, a head was chopped off by Yin Jilun. The Khitan soldiers exclaimed: "The black-faced king is here, run for your life!" With a cry, they collapsed immediately. The Song army attacked the Khitan army's rear tent, Yeluxiu brother was about to have breakfast, he was caught off guard, turned around and fled in a hurry, in a panic, his right arm was cut by the rebel army, and he screamed in pain, fortunately, the soldiers under the tent arrived, desperately Blocking Song Bing, Brother Yeluxiu climbed on his mount and fled in a hurry. Li Jilong on the other side of the river saw the panic in the Khitan barracks, knew that Song soldiers were attacking the camp, and hurriedly led his troops across the river to help.At this time, it was already daylight, and the Khitan people had already fled.Li Jilong expressed his gratitude to Yin Jilun when he met Yin Jilun. Yin Jilun attacked the enemy camp and saved the food and grass of the Song army. Yin Jilun kicked the enemy's camp bravely, vibrating the Khitan, but the Khitan did not dare to go deep, and they often warned each other: "You must avoid the black-faced king, this man is too powerful!" Because at that time Yin Jilun and his Song army were all Black helmet and black armor, the Khitan people called him the black-faced king.From then on, the Khitan people never dared to go deep into the Song Dynasty again. During the First Battle of Xuhe, Yin Jilun became famous far and wide. He was rewarded for his meritorious service and promoted to governor of Changzhou. The following year, Zhao Jiong issued an edict to change the year name to Chunhua, and 990 was the first year of Chunhua. Zhao Pu gradually saw that the emperor wanted to use Lu Mengzheng as his prime minister, and he didn't want to stay in the prime minister's position anymore. He submitted his resignation on the grounds of old age and poor health. Of course Zhao Jiong didn't agree.In order to keep Zhao Pu, Zhao Jiong made a special case for Zhao Pu.According to the system at that time, the prime minister came home from get off work at 3:00 p.m. every day. This summer was very hot, so Zhao Jiong specifically allowed Zhao Pu to leave work at 11:00 a.m.; in the second year, Zhao Pu was allowed not to go to court, and he only went to Zhongshu Province every day. Go and have a look, deal with it if you have something to do, stay at home if you have nothing to do, and send someone to ask him to go to the court to discuss something important.In winter, Zhao Pu fell ill again, and Zhao Jiong went to his home to visit him many times in person.Zhao Pu asked to tell the old man face to face. Seeing that Zhao Pu had made up his mind to go, Zhao Jiong reluctantly agreed to his resignation as prime minister, and still ordered him to stay in Xijing. Zhao Jiong gave a hand letter and said: "The old honor of the founding of the country is only Qing. He is different from others. There is no absolute concession. When there is a day in the first journey, he should be the first to say goodbye to Qing." Zhao Pu was holding the emperor's handbook, weeping unceasingly.So when he went to the court to see the emperor, Zhao Jiong gave him a seat, and the monarch and his ministers talked freely about state affairs. Zhao Jiong nodded frequently and did not leave until time passed. When Zhao Pu was leaving, Zhao Jiong personally went to Zhao Pu's home to see him off. One day in the early spring of the third year of Chunhua (992), because Zhao Pu was old and sick, he ordered Liu Changyan, the left-behind general judge, to come to the capital and beg the emperor to approve him to take office, that is, to retire.Zhao Jiong sent a special person to Luoyang to condolence Zhao Pu, awarded Zhao Pu the post of Grand Master, made Wei Guogong, gave him the same salary as a prime minister, and ordered him to return to the court to see him after recovering from his illness. Zhao Pu was not in good health, so he had no choice but to hold on. After a short time, he still fell ill. Zhao Pu fell ill this time, not only because of a serious illness, but also when he encountered a ghost knocking on the door.It's a miracle if you don't fall down if you are plagued by illness and the evil spirits are urging you to die. It turned out that recently, Zhao Pu had nightmares every night, as long as he closed his eyes, there would be ghosts demanding his life. Empress Dowager Du stood at the head of the bed and shouted at him, "Zhao Pu, return my son!" Qin Wang Zhao Tingmei stood at the end of the bed, and called out sadly: "Zhao Pu, give me back my life!" Zhao Pu yelled in his dream, sometimes calling the queen mother, sometimes calling the king of Qin, begging endlessly.Wake him up left and right, ask him what he saw in his dream, so yelling.Zhao Pu was just evasive and refused to speak clearly.When he fell asleep, he screamed again, restless day and night, in a trance, and restless.Even a good person can't stand this kind of torment, not to mention Zhao Pu is a frail and sick old man, and he can't stand it even more. It is really hard to live without restless food and restless sleep.Zhao Pu had no choice but to invite Taoist priests, build a funeral ceremony, chant scriptures, and pray on the table.The Taoist priest asked why he made an appointment and which one to save. Zhao Pu couldn't explain clearly. He opened his eyes and thought about it for a long time, then asked someone to fetch a pen and paper, leaned on the pillow, and wrote a few words himself: Love is about mother and child, brother and self are scheming by others, plan to cooperate with subjects, it is difficult for Zixian to go against God's will.Relying on the ghost, he suddenly shows off his strong yang, overlooks the decline of the minister's blood and qi, and unleashes the fierceness of the nightmare.Xin Zhou wished Haze's soul Yu Jiusu, He Pu Wu Xuepo's pheasant sutra, if it fits the emperor's heart, Zhu would not falsely control Cai, fortunately the original minister died, and thank Zhu Jun forever.Tell the sky, there is nothing to pray for! After writing, without signing it, I personally sealed it and ordered to pray to the sky.The Taoist obeyed the order and kept burning the fire, and then the fire was lit. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew the seal into the sky, and it floated away in the air. Everyone was amazed. Later, someone passed by Zhuque Gate and picked up a letter. The two sides seemed to be scorched by fire, and the middle was intact. When he opened it, he found that it was Zhao Pu's watch to pray to heaven, and the handwriting was still there. After reading it, he knew that Zhao Tingmei's death was completely It was a conspiracy by Zhao Pu, and when he was sick in bed, he was entangled by wronged souls, so he sued the heavens.Once spread to ten, ten to hundreds, everyone knew that Zhao Pu had plotted against Zhao Tingmei, king of Qin.This statement became Zhao Pu's confession. After Zhao Pu burned his watch and prayed to the heavens, nothing came of it. The evil spirit of Zhao Tingmei, the King of Qin, haunted him even more. Sometimes he would appear in front of Zhao Pu during the day, asking him to pay for his life. The decree, to arrest him to confront.After Zhao Pu was frightened by this, his condition worsened day by day. Zhao Pu couldn't take it anymore, so he took off the double fish treasure rhinoceros belt he was wearing, and ordered his cronies, Zhen Qian, to carry it to the Taiping Palace of the Shangqing Dynasty, and built a sacrificial offering. There was a Taoist priest named Jiang Daoyuan, who was good at the technique of supporting the Ji, and begged for the words of the gods to help Zhao Pu, but he saw that it read: "Zhao Pu is the founding father of the country, but the soul of the grievance is tied to him, and he can no longer avoid it." Jiang Daoyuan asked again: "Who is the ghost? Please give me a clear statement so that I can let go." I saw another giant card drawn by the shaman, with numbers written in disorder on the card, so unrecognizable, there was only a fire character at the end, which Jiang Daoyuan could not decipher.Jiang Daoyuan had no choice but to tell Zhen Qian to tell Zhao Pu about his prayer. After Zhao Pu heard this, he sighed and said, "This must be the King of Qin's court beauty, but he colluded with Lu Duoxun and caused disasters. He has to take the blame. What does it have to do with me? Why do you want to trouble me?" After all, he cried bitterly, and in the middle of the night, he yelled a few times, his hands and feet seemed to be bound, and he died of breathlessness. He was seventy-one years old. Rule the world When Zhao Jiong heard the news of Zhao Pu's death, he was greatly shocked. He lamented that Zhao Pu was the founder of the country and a loyal minister of the court. He issued an edict to suspend the court for five days. .He also personally wrote the inscription on the Shinto, wrote eight parts of the book as a gift, and sent Fan Gao, the right admonishment doctor, to take care of the funeral. He gave 500 pieces of silk and cloth each, and 500 stones each of rice and noodles. Zhao Pu learned how to be an official since he was a child, but his academics were not very good. Taizu often advised him to study more.Since then, he has never let go of the book.After becoming a prime minister, whenever he retreated from the court or had a meal, he would close the door and study when he had a little spare time.Work the next day, solve things quickly and decisively. It is said that what Zhao Pu read all his life is nothing more than that. Zhao Jiong once asked him about it, and Zhao Pu replied: "I know it all my life, but it is not because of this. In the past, I used half of it to assist the Taizu to rule the world, and now I want to use half of it to assist Your Majesty to bring peace. " There is no official history of this matter, but it is recorded in the Song Dynasty Luo Dajing "Helin Yulu".This is where the classic work called "Half Department Ruled the World" came from. Zhao Pu is good at remonstrating.Taizu once tore up his playbook and threw it on the ground, Zhao Pu still looked unchanged, knelt down on the ground, picked up the torn playbook, and took it home.The next day, thin out the pasted broken instruments and play them again.After Taizu realized it, the edict was implemented according to Zhao Pu's opinion. Zhao Jiong appointed Mi Dechao, a courtier, to dredge up his direct ministers.Zhao Pu often reminded him to use his power as prime minister to protect loyal ministers and eradicate traitors. Only Zhao Tingmei's unjust imprisonment was caused by Zhao Pu alone, which affected the official voice of a generation of celebrities. There was more than one hero in the early Song Dynasty, Zhao Pu, and Zhao Pu contributed the most, but also received the most criticism: Zhao Pu was one of the masterminds of Chen Qiao's change, and Zhao Pu was responsible for making Taizu an unfaithful and unrighteous person; Zhao Tingmei's prison , Zhao Pu is the mastermind, making Zhao Jiong an unfilial and unfriended person is also Zhao Pu. Chen Qiao's mutiny, Zhao Kuangyin's acceptance of Zen, matters related to the world, can't do women's benevolence, can't tolerate courtesy and humility, make decisions to help life, it's life and death, no wonder Zhao Pu; Zhao Tingmei's prison, Zhao Jiong is still afraid of people's words, Zhao Pu Tell Zhao Jiong that the Taizu has made a mistake, and His Majesty will not allow any more mistakes, and the Great Prison will also come into being.May I ask Zhao Pu, who is the witness for the fate of the Golden Chamber the day before yesterday?If the brother ends up with the brother, why didn't he dissuade him at the time, but then reneged on the alliance and disobedience? When Zhao Pu was dying, he was accompanied by evil spirits. There are records in both official and unofficial histories. Although they are not enough to be believed, whether it can be seen as a person who is about to die, and his words are good. This is a kind of Zhao Pu when he was dying. Conscience and remorse.There is a saying, don't do bad things for others, and don't be surprised when you knock on the door in the middle of the night.Therefore, the ghost that Zhao Pu saw when he was dying was not a real ghost, but his own suspicions. If explained in this way, this ghost really existed. When Zhao Pu died, he brought the secret of the "Golden Chamber Alliance" into Jiuquan. When he was alive, he didn't tell it. After he died, he brought the secret he didn't tell into the coffin. Apart from Zhao Pu, there is another person in the world who knows the truth of this secret. This person is Zhao Jiong. But Zhao Jiong became the emperor. Will never say it.Therefore, after Zhao Pu's death, the "Alliance of the Golden Chamber" and the sound of the shadow of the candle and the sound of the ax will always be a mystery to the world. In November of the third year of Chunhua (992), Yuan Xi returned to the mansion early and felt unwell, so he went back to the mansion early.After the court was dismissed, Zhao Jiong also rushed to Kaifeng Mansion to visit. Yuan Xi was lying on the bed in a semi-comatose state. Unable to answer, he died suddenly at home not long after, at the age of twenty-seven. Zhao Jiong was very sad and wept bitterly. After five days, he presented it to the crown prince and wrote "Poems of Thinking of the Dead Son" for the near officials to read. Yuan Xi's death was rumored to have been poisoned by his concubine, Mrs. Zhang. It turned out that Yuan Xi didn't like Li Shi, the main wife, but loved Zhang Shi.Mrs. Zhang is a shrew who pretends to be gentle and virtuous in front of Yuan Xi, but she is a tigress in front of her servants. She often punishes her servants to death, but the servants dare not speak out.Although Mrs. Zhang was favored, she still regarded Mrs. Li as a thorn in her side. She wanted to poison Mrs. Li, but she killed Yuan Xi by mistake. Knowing these things, Zhao Jiong was extremely furious, and sent someone to interrogate Mrs. Zhang. Knowing that she could not escape the guilt, Mrs. Zhang hanged herself.Zhao Jiong also issued an edict to stop Yuan Xi's posthumous ceremony and lower the standard of his funeral. Zhao Jiong loved Yuan Xi very much, and Yuan Xi had a good reputation. Many ministers in the court suggested that he should be made the crown prince. It is a pity that he died because of his concubines.