38. External and Internal Troubles (II)

On this day, Zhao Ruyu and Hong Shi quarreled again about the new law in the Golden Palace. And their respective supporters also waved their flags and cheered. The two sides were arguing with each other, each not giving in to each other, from the good or bad of the new law to the attack on the Jin Kingdom and the Western Xia, whether it was war or peace, each citing scriptures and classics, arguing all day, but still couldn't come up with a good solution. Zhao Chen had no choice but to issue an order to disperse the dynasty and discuss it again.

After retiring from the dynasty, Zhao Chen returned to the palace dejectedly, and he was too lazy to eat tea and rice. A man sat in the hall of wisdom and read the recitals of the ministers. In the past few days, the number of recitals in the imperial court has more than doubled compared to usual, and the extra part is almost all blaming the new law, or impeaching the ministers who participated in the new law. Zhao Chen read a few copies, and the more he looked at it, the more irritated he became, so he simply stopped reading the recital, got up and walked around the Rui Si Palace. But after walking for a while, I still felt panicked in my heart, so I simply lay on the bed in the apse, planning to think about nothing and sleep with my head covered.

It's a pity that although my eyes are closed, my mind is still a mess, all about the new law and the border. After lying down for less than a pillar of incense, Zhao Chen couldn't hold it back again, and sat up again as soon as he turned over.

I saw Yue Ying walking into the hall with a large plate, a few snacks and a pot of fragrant tea. Seeing Zhao Chen turn over and sit up, Yue Ying smiled and said, "Official, you haven't eaten anything since you went to court. That's not going to work, but you have to eat a little bit anyway. ”

Zhao Chen smiled bitterly and said, "I can't eat anything now, forget it." ”

Although Yue Ying was in the deep palace, she still knew something about what was happening in the court, and naturally she knew why Zhao Chen was troubled. put the tray on the bookcase, came to the couch, sat beside Zhao Chen, and said softly: "The concubine also knows that the official family is worried about state affairs, but the more this is the case, the more the official family has to take care of their health." If the official family is in a hurry at this time, then wouldn't the court be even more chaotic? And if the Queen Mother knows, wouldn't it make her anxious? ”

Zhao Chen smiled bitterly again, although he knew that what Yue Ying said was right, he was still panicked in his heart. It's just that the two have been very affectionate since they got married. Although he also accepted Concubine Yang, Concubine Xie, and Concubine Han, Zhao Chen was the most fond of Yue Ying, and in January, he stayed in Yue Ying's palace for twenty days. And he also knew that Yue Ying was thinking about her body. Therefore, it was finally decided not to force a little food, so that Yue Ying could feel at ease. So I got up and was about to stay.

At this time, Cao An hurriedly came in from outside and said, "The official family, the concubine and the eldest princess of Yongning are now outside the palace and want to ask to see the official family." ”

Zhao Chen was stunned, he didn't even put on his shoes, stepped on the ground with his bare feet, stood up suddenly, and said repeatedly: "Please, invite them in." The sorrow and annoyance on his face were also swept away.

Zhao Qianru was five months pregnant at this time, and her lower abdomen was obviously bulging. With Yang Yan's support, he slowly walked into the Ruisi Palace. And Yue Ying also waited for Zhao Chen to put on his shoes and tidy up his clothes. The three of them sat down at the round table.

Zhao Chen said: "My sister's body is inconvenient, just rest at home." What's the matter, just let people enter the palace to pass a message, why did you come in person. ”

Zhao Qianru smiled slightly and said, "What time is it, can you still care about this?" And the doctor also said that it is also good for the fetus to move around properly. At this time, Yue Ying brought over a plate of dim sum, and said with a smile: "If the saint is pregnant in the future, don't lie down all the time, get up and move." ”

Yue Ying's face turned red and said, "Sister made fun of it." Putting the tray on the table, he said to Zhao Chen: "Don't just remember to speak, eat something." ”

Seeing Yang Yan and Zhao Qianru, Zhao Chen felt much better in his heart, and also felt a little hungry, picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, put it in the saying, and said while eating: "Why did my brother-in-law come back so quickly." I'm counting that it will take three days to get younger! ”

Yang Yan said: "The minister also heard about the recent events in Haozhou, and knew that there would be chaos, so he first told Han Shumi to leave, rushed back, and happened to meet the edict of the official family on the way, so he immediately rushed back to Jiankang, learned what happened in the court, and then entered the palace overnight to see the official's house." ”

Listening to Yang Yan's tone, it seemed that he was in his chest, Zhao Chen was greatly relieved, and said: "Brother-in-law came back at the right time, I don't know what to do now, is there any good way for brother-in-law?" ”

Yang Yan smiled slightly, and said: "Officials, please rest assured, now the Great Song Dynasty seems to be suffering from external and internal troubles, the imperial court is turbulent, and the people are uneasy, but in fact, it is all because the Jin State has increased troops on the border, and the Western Xia has disturbed my border." So as long as the border can be stabilized, other things will be solved. ”

Zhao Chen thought about it carefully, and sure enough, as Yang Yan said, it was only after the document of the northwest emergency was sent to Jiankang that the voices of opposition and questioning of the new law began to appear, and then it intensified, and the momentum even overwhelmed the border emergency, but after digging deeper, it was natural to take the border emergency first. To put it bluntly, it was actually some ministers in the DPRK and the central and local governments who took advantage of the border crisis to blackmail the imperial court and stop the new law. After thinking about this, Zhao Chen calmed down a lot, and immediately said: "Then brother-in-law thinks that how we should deal with the joint attack of Jin Guo and Western Xia?" ”

Yang Yan said with a smile: "Officials, please rest assured, it has only been more than a year since the last war, and the national strength of the Jin State has not recovered so quickly, the officials do not have to worry about this, the increase of troops on the border is just a deliberate bluff of the Jin State, and from the report of the spies we sent to Dajin, the Jin State has no intention of invading the south again in the short term." What's more, now the border of our Great Song Dynasty is tightly guarded, and the reorganization of the Sanya Forbidden Army has been preliminarily completed, even if the Jin army fights, there is no need to be afraid of them. ”

Zhao Chen nodded, and asked again, "What about the northwest side?" Western Xia is really invading my Great Song border now. ”

Yang Yan said: "It is true that the Western Xia invaded my border, but the Western Xia has been peaceful for a long time, and the combat effectiveness is far inferior to Li Yuanhao's, from now on, the Western Xia army is just disturbing my border, because the Western Xia army can attack more, and they are all riding early, so that our army is tired to deal with it, but the Western Xia army has not penetrated into the territory of the Great Song Dynasty to attack the city and seize the land, which shows that they also have scruples." With Wang Xuanfu sitting in Sichuan, he should be worry-free. Only ask the official to issue an order, the people on the border of Song and Xia are moved back to the city, and then the wall is strong, so that the Western Xia army has nothing to plunder, and when the minister is in Haozhou, he has written to Yang Changpeng, and when the Western Xia army re-invades the border, it is not possible to divide the troops to attack, but to concentrate troops to encircle and annihilate all the way to the Western Xia people, so as to frustrate the spirit of the Western Xia. The minister thought that it would take about a month for the official family to receive the victory document from the northwest. ”

After listening to Yang Yan, Zhao Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief, and finally felt relieved. As long as there is nothing at the border, no matter how much trouble there is inside, Zhao Chen is not afraid. Because after last year's "Pu Yi Controversy", Zhao Chen also had a clear understanding of the struggle between the DPRK and China. The people who oppose the new law have not been in a day or two, but it was only because there were no major mistakes in the trial implementation of the new law in the past, and the court was in peace, that they all stopped temporarily, and now they took advantage of this opportunity to start making trouble again. But he is still the emperor in the end, and now that the military power of the Sanya Forbidden Army is in his own hands, Yang Yan has also returned to Jiankang, are you still afraid that they will fall out? Therefore, he smiled and said: "When my brother-in-law comes back, I will be relieved." It is really hateful that these ministers dare to use side affairs to blackmail the court, and it is really hateful to see how I will punish them when I go to the court tomorrow. ”

Zhao Qianru said: "Official, don't do this." ”

Zhao Chen was stunned and said, "Why did my sister say that?" ”

Zhao Qianru said: "Nowadays, all places are saying that the new law is inconvenient, which is a misguided move to harm the country and the people. Although there are many people who only want to be selfish and ignore the plans of the imperial court, but the official family must not be investigated in detail, and perhaps they are also people who really have the truth. ”

Zhao Chen was a little stunned and said, "Sister is so difficult that it is not good to say that the new law is bad?" Last year, the implementation of the new law in Lianghuai, Liangzhejiang, and Liangjiang Six Roads has achieved very good results. ”

Zhao Qianru said with a smile: "I'm not saying that the new law itself is wrong, but the first test of the new law, and it is inevitable that there will be some improprieties and omissions in the formulation and implementation. At the beginning, the new law was only tried out on the six roads of Lianghuai, Liangzhejiang and Liangjiang, precisely for this reason. Just because the new law has only been tried for one year, although some results have been achieved, it is not necessary to conclude that the new law has been perfect since then, and there is no need to change the attack. Moreover, the situation varies from place to place, and it is impossible to generalize. And it cannot be ruled out that there are also human reasons among them. ”

Zhao Chen was stunned and said, "What is the human reason?" Can my sister speak clearly? ”

Zhao Qianru said lightly: "For example, some local officials took the opportunity of implementing the new law to do some things that were corrupt and perverted the law, engaged in malpractice for personal gain, and harmed the people, while some were because the local powerful forces were obstructing the normal implementation of the new law. ”

Yang Yan also said: "Therefore, the officials must make it clear that among the people who oppose the new law now, those people are the reason why the new law itself is not formulated perfectly, those people are because of the problems that arise in the implementation of the new law, and those people are just opposed to the new law, and then treat them differently and deal with them separately, and do not mix them up and generalize." Otherwise, it will not be beneficial to the official family itself, to the imperial court, to the Jiangshan society and the people of the Great Song Dynasty. ”

Zhao Chen suddenly realized, in fact, these words were said by Yang Yan as early as last year when he was preparing to implement the new law, but since this year, the effect of the trial has been remarkable, and it has also made Zhao Chen overly optimistic, and now it seems that the various contradictions brought about by the trial of the new law have been revealed. said: "My brother-in-law and sister are right, it is I who think things too simply. I will definitely send someone to investigate these things thoroughly. ”

The next day, Zhao Chen ascended to the court, and first ordered the imperial garrisons in western Beijing, Hubei, and Lianghuai Zhulu to be strictly guarded against it, so that the Jin army would not have an opportunity. Then he ordered Wang Yan, the envoy of Sichuan Xuanfu, to order him to strictly guard the border, withdraw the people into the city, and fortify the wilderness to prevent the invasion of the Western Xia army. At the same time, he also ordered someone to go to Western Xia with a national letter and question the monarchs and ministers of Western Xia. At the same time, he also ordered the three forbidden armies of Jiankang Mansion to be ready to fight at any time and reinforce various places.

It is nothing to these points, strengthening the border guards, and rearming the army for war are also things that should be done now, and all the ministers unanimously agreed. Although Liang Kejia and Hong Shi have always been in peace, their main goal now is to attack the new law, so they have no objections.

After these matters were dealt with, Hong Shi immediately came out and said: "Your Majesty, there have been discussions about the inconvenience of the new law in various places recently, and the public opinion is like this, and the implementation of the new law, please think twice." ”

Zhao Ruyu listened to it in the train, and was about to go out to theorize with Hong Shi, when Zhao Chenji spoke: "I know all these discussions, and I have read a lot of concerts in the past few days. However, the new law is inconvenient, misleading the country and disturbing the people, I don't know how it is inconvenient, how it disturbs the people, and that Aiqing can talk to me? ”

Hong Shi was stunned for a moment, but immediately said: "The new law will change the old system of the ancestors, abandon the sage's benevolence and righteousness, practice the art of petty human rights fraud, emphasize profit over righteousness, take the last and sacrifice the original, so that the people's customs are more and more greedy, and the people's hearts are not ......ancient."

Before he finished speaking, he was immediately interrupted by Zhao Chen: "What Hong Qing just said, I heard a lot at this time last year, and my ears were calloused, so there is no need to say these big truths anymore." ”

Hong Shi was speechless for a while, looked at Zhao Chen with some puzzlement, and felt a little surprised, the emperor seemed to be a little different from the past today.

Zhao Chen ignored him, and continued: "What I asked is, now that they say that the new law is not good, what is the reason for the badness?" Whether the new law itself has flaws and needs to be improved, or whether the new law is implemented in a different place and needs to be adapted to local conditions; or the local officials who implemented the new law did not do their duty and violated their will; And if there are some local wealthy and powerful people who deliberately obstruct the new law because they are afraid that their interests will be damaged, who can explain these things to me? ”

I didn't expect the emperor to say such a thing all at once, and all the ministers were a little dazed all of a sudden, and the ministers who opposed the new law such as Liang Kejia and Hong Shi were speechless for a while. Because they were only opposed for the sake of opposition, no one carefully studied the shortcomings of the new legal system. Therefore, they all looked at each other, and no one could answer.

But Zhao Ruyu was secretly happy in his heart, it seemed that the emperor had finally sorted out his thoughts. Therefore, he immediately went out of class and said, "Your Majesty is wise and wise, so you have to say this." Weichen thought that he should send officials to visit various places to find out the reason. Then we will deal with them one by one, so that the implementation of the new law will be more perfect, and it will benefit the people and enrich the country. ”

Chen Junqing also agreed with this approach, and also listed: "Weichen thinks that what Zhao Shenzheng said is very true, please Your Majesty issued an order to let the imperial envoy visit various places in order to seek the truth." ”