Chapter 305: Roaring

Zhao Heju, the son of the Great Song Dynasty, is now a twenty-seven-year-old man, although he has nothing to do with words such as "naïve" and "frivolous" since he was six years old, but every time he sees him, Cui He is still faintly amazed in the depths of his heart.

What is the reason for the birth of such a calm and heroic Son of Heaven?

Naturally, he would not know that this was the tragedy of the 400 years of ravages of the Hu people and the 200 years of invasion by the foreign people, so that such a son of heaven was born to save the fortune of the country.

When Zhao and Ju saw them, although they were still modest and smiling on their faces, there was an indelible worry between their eyebrows. Cui often deals with him, even when there is no government affairs, he also likes to go to the palace, accompany the princes and princesses to play, and gossip with the emperor, so it is easy to find out Zhao Youju's hidden worries.

After seeing the ceremony, Cui He took the lead and asked, "Your Majesty summoned the ministers to wait, I don't know what happened?" ”

"Nineteen days ago, I followed the Guards Dragoons to lead Wang Qinian's play." Zhao and Ju motioned to the chamberlain, who hurriedly handed over a copy of the transcript to the four of them. Cui He's heart sank when he heard the "Guards Dragoon", originally he thought that there was a problem with the forbidden army officers of the Shaozhuang faction, but now he knew that the initiator was actually the Guards.

But after carefully reading the content of the recital, Cui He realized that his previous conjecture was wrong.

In Wang Qinian's recital, he only recorded the entire incident locally, and even Tang Shili, who escaped from the coal factory with great strength, was now recruited by him to enlist in the army, but he did not make any comments on the incident itself. The compromise naturally inevitably led to a plea, and he thought that the army had done something that was originally done by the guards, which was really a violation of the forbidden law, but the situation was urgent at the time, so he had to do it as a last resort.

"I didn't believe it when I received it, thinking that it might not be so serious, but then I sent someone to investigate, and two hours ago, the man's note came back - if I guessed correctly, this is already his last recital."

Hearing the word "last word", Cui and the four of them were shocked, the Son of Heaven naturally would not send a person who was sick to death to investigate the matter, and the good messenger died in the process of investigation, what it means, the four of them all know it in their hearts.

"What a daredevil, a dare! The people can be bullied and abused, the officials can be bribed, and even the envoys I have sent out, they dare to deceive. ”

Zhao Youju's anger swelled in an instant, like an exploding cannonball. Cui and the four of them have changed color, the anger of the Son of Heaven, bleeding thousands of miles, and ambushing millions of corpses, is this a trivial matter!

"What are I trembling with Zhuqing like walking on thin ice, and I can't eat and sleep? What are my loyal and brave soldiers fighting and dying for on the front line? Could it be that these sheep and wolves are greedy and lying on the mountains of gold and silver dreaming? Could it be that these corrupt officials and corrupt officials have been promoted to make a fortune? ”

"It's only been two years, two years! Whether it is an official recommended by the Zhuqing, or an official who I begged to be transferred, or an official of the former Jin State who was retained...... They all colluded together, deceived and deceived officials and businessmen to collude and commit lawlessness, this is rebellion, rebellion, and the life of the civil and military officials! It's to make my people thieves, to put me on the stove to be grilled, to eat my flesh and sleep on my skin! ”

A storm of anger poured out, and Choi and the four of them hurriedly knelt down and pleaded guilty.

"What are your crimes, and if they are guilty, I will send you to arrest them as soon as possible, and what will I call you to do?" Zhao Youju sneered: "What I want is not for you to ask for guilt, but for you to find a solution for me!" I have zero tolerance for such things, zero tolerance! ”

Although the ministers heard the word "zero tolerance" for the first time, as the name suggests, they also knew that it was the Son of Heaven who indicated that he would severely punish those corrupt officials and illegal profiteers.

"I want you to do three things." Zhao Heju said: "First, the Criminal Department and Dali Temple have formed a joint disposal envoy, I want you to investigate and deal with this matter as soon as possible, and all officials are not allowed to be transferred from Jingxi and Hedong provinces, I don't want these moths to spoil my big matter again!" ”

Zhao Kui, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and Yuan Shao, the Zhengqing of Dali Temple, all bowed down to receive orders.

"Second, the Ministry of Officials must draw up the provisions of the Great Song Dynasty officials' laws and regulations as soon as possible, clarifying the rule of officials, not tolerating and nurturing traitors, and the way officials are appointed and dismissed, and I must also change - now I just have an idea, just to talk to you, but, Zou Qing, since ancient times, the change of dynasties is not related to the corruption of officials, my Great Song Dynasty treats scholars and doctors well, and the salaries of officials are far better than those of the Han and Tang Dynasties, but those corrupt moths still come out in pieces...... If the salary of the officials is better than before, then if the officials violate the law and discipline, the punishment should be better than before. ”

"It is necessary to increase the cost of discipline of those cunning officials, if they are greedy for one penny, they will let them spit out ten pennies, and if they harm one side, they will make them live in peace for one generation, and the rest of the sins should not be linked, but this corruption cannot be stopped. Even if the corrupt proceeds of a ruler are used for himself and his wife, son, and daughter, he must also be severely punished for it! ”

"Set up a couplet in front of the yamen of the Ministry of Officials, and the upper couplet will write 'Erfeng Erlu, the people are fat and the people are anointed, the people are easy to abuse, and the heavens are difficult to deceive', and the lower couplet is 'Your power and your position, the national weapon and the country's interests, selfishness can be had, how can the national law escape'!"

"Third, Cui Qing, you take the lead in setting up a new official office composed of the Ministry of Officials, the Criminal Department, and the Dali Temple, and the name of this new official office is the Department of Integrity, which is specifically responsible for supervising the hundred officials - those big mouths of the Yushitai, who only keep an eye on the officials to eat and drink every day, but refuse to pay attention to the people's livelihood and sufferings in the local area, you reprimand them for me, and tell them that I am above the court, and do not raise animals who only eat idle meals and do not work!"

Zhao and Ju have always been tolerant and generous to the civil ministers and officials, and they are even more respectful to the imperial history and ministers, always saying that they are the bones of the literati, and they should be respected. But this time he was so angry that he even said "an animal who only eats idle food and doesn't work", and he didn't choose what to say, which made Cui He smile bitterly in his heart.

If there were only two of them, he would still have room to turn around, but in front of Zou Yinglong and others, this matter would be a little difficult to do.

"These three things must be done well for me, and they must be done quickly, especially the first joint disposal mission, the personnel must be transferred within three days, and those who are young, down-to-earth, diligent and honest must set off within five days, and must arrive in Hedong County within fifteen days, so I will check from Jingtong, and I will send 500 musketeers from the guards to escort them, and 100 military judges from the Military Intelligence Department to listen to the law and enforce the law, so as to comply with the law."

At the last moment, Zhao and Ju finally calmed down a little from their anger, and his efforts to make the judiciary independent since he became pro-government have so far had some success, at least at the local level, and the prison department and the guard army have become independent from the control of the local administrator. If he is desperate for today's affairs and allows the army to enforce the law, then in the future, the military power will definitely expand, and it will be common for warriors to interfere with the judiciary.

After listening to Zhao Heju's roar, Cui He was a little disapproving, corruption has existed in all dynasties, how can it be banned overnight, the emperor is so angry about this, it is really a loss of calm on weekdays, even if it is not a big fuss, it should be regarded as a gaffe.

However, the Great Song Dynasty is indeed in an extremely embarrassing situation now, since Zhao and Ju were in power, the control of the central officials is very tight, and there have been no bribes for several years, and in addition, the supervision of the officials for hundreds of officials is almost meaningless. On the contrary, there is a lack of effective supervision of local officials, especially in remote areas, and although the independence of the judiciary has curbed the practice of bribery, it is still difficult to put an end to it.

"Your Majesty, what about the other than that?" Seeing that Zhao Heju's expression calmed down, Cui Heju asked.

"Too little?" Zhao Youju was stunned, this incident in Hedong Province was a blow to him, but it was also an opportunity, for a long time, the relative independence of local officials made "the emperor far away", they lacked supervision, so they did whatever they wanted. The last time Zhao and Ju separated the judicial power from local officials, it was only the first step in reforming the rule of local officials, and now the establishment of the Department of Integrity has put a trap on these local officials in the system. Coupled with the economic jurisdiction of the household ministry and the appointment and dismissal of personnel of the ministry, the audacity of local governments will be subject to unprecedentedly strong constraints. Of course, it is impossible to eradicate corruption, but it can increase the cost of corruption to the greatest extent, and at least it will be difficult to repeat the corruption and dereliction of duty that spans two provinces and implicates dozens of prefectures and counties, as Wang Qinian said in his compromise.

"It is really lawless to impeach Wang Qinian, the leader of the Guards, to interfere in local government affairs with his military position, and to enforce the law with the army." Cui He said loudly: "Martial arts interfere in politics, for my dynasty's taboo, Wang Qinian learned of this, should play the Ming Sheng, and then deal with it, and should not be arrested without authorization, Your Majesty will not punish him, and know that among his future generations, there is no unscrupulous person who takes military power to self-respect, and does things that the world cannot bear?" ”

The anger that Zhao Youju had just pressed rose again, he stared at Cui Youju who was about to have a seizure, and after thinking about it, he felt surprised again.

Previously, Cui and He wanted to admonish, but they were all very tactful, and they mostly chose to get along with the two of them, rather than in front of the rest of the courtiers. This time he advised, why is it so gaffe?

Thinking of this, Zhao Youju suppressed his anger, looked at Yuan Shao and the others who didn't dare to breathe, and waved his hand a little impatiently: "Cui Qing stays, you guys retreat." ”

Yuan Shao and the three of them received the order respectfully, and quickly retreated, after leaving the Boya Building, the three of them smiled relatively bitterly, since they entered the cabinet, the emperor has always been amiable, but suddenly he was angry, it was an old man like Yuan Shao who was over seventy years old, and he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

Zhao Kui was even more in a cold sweat, before he was transferred to the center to take up the post of the secretary of the criminal department, he sat in Chang'an, although he was the governor of the military region, in fact, the province of Shaanxi was under military control at that time, and he knew more about the situation over there, and some of his forbidden army generals were inextricably linked with those who did illegal things. He was secretly vigilant in his heart, the anger of the Son of Heaven today was so obvious, and his former generals were afraid that some of them would fall down.

"Cui Xianggong ...... this time" Zou Yinglong opened his mouth and only said one sentence, and then shook his head: "Two, let's go and do something." ”

Yuan Shao and Zhao Kui nodded in unison, at this time the Son of Heaven was angry, but Cui He was abnormal, and it was really unwise to impeach the generals of the Guards who were the Son of Heaven in person. With Cui slipping with his old traitor, he shouldn't play such a hand, unless...... Cui He also has other plans.

After they left, in the Boya Building, Zhao and Ju stared at Cui and He for a long time, Cui He looked back with a smile, the two looked at each other for a long time, Zhao and Ju finally did not have the patience of this old man, and said first: "Cui Qing, why are you different from usual today?" ”

"Your Majesty, why is it different today?" Choi said with a smile.

Zhao and Ju couldn't help but be stunned, indeed, today he felt that Cui He was different from the past, but if he looked at Cui He's position, was he angry today, was it different from usual?

He frowned, since the reshuffle of the court, especially after bringing Shi Miyuan out to stimulate the ministers once, the government and military affairs of the Great Song Dynasty have been smooth sailing, could it be that it is precisely because it has been smooth for a long time, when there is an unexpected large-scale corruption, his patience has weakened?

"Cui Qing will say it directly if he has something to say." Thinking of this, Zhao Youju was vaguely annoyed in his heart, and he urged Cui Hezhi.

"Your Majesty used to think twice before acting, the prime minister, as long as he can coordinate the relationship between His Majesty and the ministers, there are wise ministers and virtuous ministers, and the ministers can be lazy. But today, His Majesty is impatient and angry, and if the minister still deals with it as usual, he is afraid that something will not be appropriate. Cui He restrained the smile on his face, and said: "The minister is fortunate to meet the master, Your Majesty does not think that the minister is old and talented, Jian pulls out the minister in the grass, the minister suddenly gets a high position, often worried, since ancient times, the person who is the prime minister, the mediocrity can retreat with the whole body, the loyalty and straightness mostly end up with depression, the minister is mediocre and retreat, or the end of depression, all in the thought of His Majesty." ”

This time, Cui He was not so polite, although he was still a little tactful, but he clearly told Zhao and Ju that he used to be a wise and wise lord who was thoughtful and patient, so Cui He seemed to be mediocre and inactive to preserve the relationship between the monarch and the minister, but if Zhao and Ju were always as irritable and angry as they are today, then Cui He would have to be Geng Jie's minister, even if he offended the Son of Heaven and ended up depressed. Zhao Heju was silent for a long time, his face was ashamed, and after a long time, he got up and saluted Cui He: "Cui Xianggong, I am carefully taught." ”

Cui He dared to be his courtesy, and hurriedly avoided it.

"Your Majesty, when Your Majesty is furious today, his words insult the official, and the ministers are afraid of tomorrow's imperial history official, and there are many people who say that they are sick and ask to leave. The minister thought that His Majesty might as well issue an edict to order all the imperial historians to enter the Department of Integrity and Integrity, and to take care of them, so that it would be the way for the Son of Heaven to govern. ”

"This matter depends on Qing."

"Although the matter of impeaching Wang Qinian is out of public interest, it can be suspected of insulting Your Majesty, and Your Majesty should edict the ministers and punish the ministers to protect the prestige of the Son of Heaven." Cui said again.

Zhao Heju smiled dumbly, and pointed at Cui Hezhi: "You old man, you are treacherous, you obviously want me to deal with Wang Qinian, but you talk about yourself...... Wang Qinian's unauthorized arrest of the people, although he was not a martial artist interfering in politics, he did exceed his authority, thinking that the matter was urgent, and he acted in moderation, I did not punish or reward, but only reprimanded the matter. As for Qing, I don't reward you for your kindness, I don't punish you for humiliation, I don't punish you for rewarding, how about it? ”

Note 1: "Eryu Erlu, the people are fat and the people are ointment, the people are easy to abuse, and the heavens are difficult to deceive", it is actually the words of Meng Chang, the lord of Shu during the five dynasties and ten kingdoms, and was later used by Zhao Kuangyin to warn the hundred officials, after Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne, he engraved 25 ring stone inscriptions and placed them in various provinces across the country.