The court newspaper published some "take it as it is" remarks, starting with King Wuling of Zhao's adoption of the Hu clothing and horse riding, and refuted the opponents.

Then everyone in the world knew that Emperor Zhao had burned a ground dragon in a pavilion in the harem.

Later, it became popular throughout the North and Central Plains, and even some people in the South were crazy enough to follow suit.

Not to mention the earth dragon, just say that the moment they sat down, the five of them almost seemed to have telepathy. They secretly looked up at the same time, stole a glance at Emperor Zhao who had just thrown down some documents, and then quickly lowered their heads, just to look at the cracked stone patterns under the stone bench... These patterns have been seen and studied by countless people over the years, and they are afraid that they will continue to be seen in the future.

"No need to be so formal, and no need to stand up. I have questions, and you just answer them."

Zhao Jiu, who was wearing a cotton robe, of course noticed the little movements of the five people opposite him, but he had seen so many that he was too lazy to complain. "Before Bo Yao left Zhengzhou, it should have been winter. Do you know if the people along the way were cold and hungry?"

"You are joking!" Zhao Boyao was shocked and raised his head to answer seriously. "Zhengzhou is called another prefecture, but it is actually the same as the rest of the country. If the people along the way are starving and freezing, what will happen to the world?"

"That's right." Zhao Jiu nodded, then sighed. "That's a ridiculous question. Actually, after the snow fell the day before yesterday, I rode to Huazhou to have a look... Most of the villages along the Yellow River were converted from military settlements, and they were well protected from the cold. On the contrary, in the surrounding prefectures and cities, some poor people in the cities were suffering from the cold due to lack of firewood... Although the Emperor Taizong of this dynasty sent charcoal in the snow to win people's hearts, if you think about it carefully, from the perspective of the poor, it was ultimately a life-saving act, which is worthy of praise."

Zhao Boyao heard this and pretended not to have heard the words "buy people's hearts" and just flattered: "The emperor has this intention, which can be said to be inherited from the same lineage."

But Emperor Zhao immediately said solemnly: "Boyao, this is what happened. After the fall of Western Xia, the historical materials were also seized. I want to make you a Hanlin scholar and keep you to compile the "History of Western Xia", but in addition to this, you still have to do some work... I will allocate some coal and food to you, and you will inspect the surrounding areas on my behalf, and provide work-for-relief as appropriate to reduce the number of people who freeze to death."

"This is a benevolent policy. How dare I disobey it!" Zhao Boyao responded immediately, but with some hesitation.

"What?" Zhao Jiu certainly understood.

"Your Majesty." Zhao Boyao looked at him carefully. "Whether it's compiling history or inspecting relief, they are both top-notch tasks. Since I have accepted the order, I naturally have no objection. However, this time you directly transferred me to the internal affairs department, which is too much favor... Before the Jingkang period, the newly-appointed Jinshi who served in the local area and returned to the cabinet position had never been transferred so quickly."

"So what do you want?"

"I would like to offer my services to the government for the next few years and then go back to the local government."

Zhao Jiu thought about it and nodded immediately: "Alright! It is very appropriate for you to have this intention! Let's see the result of this relief. If you do well, you will be directly appointed as the official seal of a state."

Zhao Boyao was overjoyed... Obviously, the emperor was very tolerant of his first son-in-law, who was also a number one scholar and a martyred prime minister. Of course, it was also because this number one scholar understood current affairs.

You know, the court has always been somewhat dissatisfied with the simple and crude approach of cleaning up the libraries and directly merging them into two classes: Sheren and Bachelor. Especially now that the new scholars have gradually returned to the central government, once they are directly promoted to Direct Sheren, Sheren, Direct Bachelor, Bachelor and other close ministers, they will inevitably be suspected of being lucky. If they are simply left idle to compile history, the official, who has always been particular about doing things, will be dissatisfied first.

Therefore, this number one scholar's request for an external appointment was a good start.

After saying this, Zhao Jiu looked directly at the second person: "Chao Qing."

"I am here."

"Many people below say that you are very knowledgeable in writing. I intend to give you the title of Sheren and make you Bo Yao's deputy. Then you decide whether to compile history or go to the local area..."

"Your Majesty..." Chao Gongwu had never thought of choosing himself, and was nervous for a moment, but he did not dare to hesitate. "Your Majesty really wants to write history."

"Okay!" Zhao Jiu nodded, but he didn't know what he was thinking.

"Thank you..." Chao Gongwu hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

But at this moment, Emperor Zhao suddenly interrupted him and said, "You are in Mizhou. Do you know that Zhang Zongyan sent troops without authorization?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere inside and outside the stone pavilion suddenly stagnated.

Now, the three most discussed issues in Tokyo are the so-called three major cases of winter - one is the case of Pan Guozhang's cousin secretly selling treasury bond shares in advance; another is the case of Yang Zheng, a favorite general of Wu Jie in the rear army of the imperial camp, killing his concubine and skinning her alive; and the last one, which is the most controversial, is the case of Zhang Zongyan, the commander under Zhang Jun of the right army of the imperial camp, who crossed the Yellow River without authorization in October and was defeated by Wang Bolong, a ten-thousand-householder of the Jurchen army, in Shanghe, Dizhou, and returned in defeat.

Of the three cases, the first one was about personal greed, but it also involved relatives and national debts, while the second two involved the most sensitive imperial camp and generals, which might affect the basic policies of the court in the next two years... None of them were simple. And every case had its arguments. Even in the Yang Zheng case, some people pleaded for him with his merits in pacifying the Western Xia, not to mention Zhang Zongyan.

However, at the same time, it is also a fact that the main culprits in the three cases have all been imprisoned, and there are corresponding calls for severe punishment in each case.

And this matter is also the topic that the local officials who came to take office this time fear the most.

"Your Majesty." Chao Gongwu was nervous, but he answered quickly. "Of course I know about Zhang Zongyan's dispatch of troops and the use of supplies. Mizhou provided him with civilians and military equipment early on. And it's not just me who knows about it. There are few people in Jingdong who don't know about it... But at that time, I and Liu Zhizhou only thought that he was... he was..."

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!