Chapter 284 Things

On the afternoon of June 28th, civil and military officials escorted the imperial carriage back to Tokyo. By then, the city of Tokyo was already in turmoil.

This is of course true. Although the proper daily court bulletins could not be printed so quickly, and the handwritten supplementary court bulletins could not be circulated on a large scale in such a short time, some basic information about Baima Shaoxing had already been spread by word of mouth through the court bulletins and officials who returned to Beijing early... and unexpectedly, for this serious political event that could almost be called a major change, there were only two things that were widely discussed and controversial in the various speeches on the streets.

The first thing, of course, is that if the peace talks fail, war will probably continue.

The other incident was that the government openly ridiculed the two saints in Shaoxingjin, and sent the two saints and the royal family members directly to Shaolin Temple, Dongxiao Palace, and Nanyang across the Tokyo city... For the common people, this blatant violation of "filial piety" was the most shocking, and many people found it difficult to understand.

Even though everyone knew that the two saints were really worthless, and even though some people took the initiative to defend themselves, saying that heaven and earth were above the emperor and parents, it was still impossible to stop the private discussions initiated by the lower-class people based on the ethics of filial piety. It can be imagined that from now on, this young official was destined to have another moral stain that could not be washed away.

Zhao Jiu's scolding of his relatives is probably on par with Li Shimin's imprisonment of his father.

Not only that, the seventy or eighty important officials who were purged were also labeled as loyal officials and filial sons who resigned in anger because they could not uphold the great principles of filial piety and brotherhood. Emperor Zhao even encountered the classic Xuande Tower blocking the carriage - several elderly Confucian scholars petitioned Emperor Zhao to take the Emperor Taishang Daojun back to the palace to take care of him.

The reason, of course, is that it is impossible for the two saints to seize the throne.

However, even though it was a little unexpected, Zhao Jiu was too lazy to care about it... What else could he do? Now that the matter was done, he had to look to the future, and there were a lot of things to do. Did he have to call the newly appointed Shaolin Temple Abbot Fahe over just because of a few old men, and then stuff two kilograms of arsenic into his mouth?

Sooner or later, those two guys will be forgotten by everyone and will be remembered by history alone.

Therefore, Emperor Zhao ignored the elderly Confucian scholars who were kneeling at the palace gate, nor did he punish them. Instead, he rode his horse past them and entered the main gate of Xuande Tower.

However, since Emperor Zhao showed an attitude of refusal, as if a dead pig was not afraid of boiling water, some people began to take the initiative to speculate.

Only on the second day, the Imperial Censor Wanqi Xie submitted another memorial, requesting the reorganization of the ancestral temple and the clarification of the clan system in the name of the brothers Taizu and Taizong; the successor of Yingzong; the brotherhood of Zhezong and Emperor Taishang Daojun; the brotherhood of Yuansheng and the current emperor... that is, the brotherhood of Emperor Zhao.

To be honest, with Zhao Jiu's low-level knowledge of clan law, he might not even understand what the clan system was, or the rules of the seven and nine temples. It was only because it was Wanqi Xie who made the report that he did not misunderstand that this matter was the same as the Confucian scholar who blocked his way yesterday. However, it was also Wanqi Xie who made the official understand instantly and realized that there must be something fishy going on.

Because no matter what, with two Shangshu, one Shilang, two Jiuqing, and one Jiancheng vacant, and Wanqi Xie having made his position clear on that day, it was impossible that this fellow's action at this time was to disgust Emperor Zhao.

So Zhao Jiu called the know-it-all Yang Yizhong, and after asking him a few questions, he immediately came to his senses.

It turns out that since ancient times, the number of positions in the ancestral temple that will be passed down for eternity has been limited, about seven or nine. Whether it is seven or nine, the rules of the great Confucian Zheng Xuan or the theory of the famous Confucian Wang Su, in any case, there is only one ancestor... For example, the Western Han Dynasty had the Han Taizu Gaohuangdi Liu Bang, and the Later Han Dynasty had the Han Shizu Guangwudi Liu Xiu... And as for the Zhao Song Dynasty, there was a dispute over the temple name of Taizu because of the issue of Taizu and Taizong from the very beginning.

When Yang Yizhong said this, Zhao Jiu already understood what he meant.

Although he didn't know the complicated rules of etiquette and law involved, Wanqi Xie's memorial had already pointed out a key point, that is, since he, the Emperor Zhao, was trying to establish a 'New Song', he might as well make a certain separation from the previous Zhao Song by manipulating etiquette and law, thereby laying the political and legal foundation for him, Zhao Jiu, to be the founding emperor of the 'New Song'... In this way, when he, Zhao Jiu, died, he could also learn from Emperor Guangwu and become the Emperor Taizu.

But how to say it?

Zhao Jiu was tempted for a moment, because it seemed that this was something he had to do sooner or later, but he also understood that with his current achievements, he probably wasn't qualified to do so... The time would come when he could attack Huanglong directly, destroy Xixia, pacify Dali, recover Nanyue, and plant a flag in the Western Regions, that would be the real time to do such a thing.

Therefore, after a little hesitation, Emperor Zhao kept the memorial and did not send it out.

However, this action immediately caused a misunderstanding... and it was a misjudgment on both sides. Subsequently, many opportunistic officials who remained in office submitted petitions requesting the reorganization of the ancestral temple. Even those who were originally planning to leave Beijing and return home were like being stung by a hornet. They immediately submitted petitions with their retained official status, requesting Emperor Zhao to ensure that the Zhao and Song dynasties be integrated.

Even many senior officials within the imperial court were opposed to discussing the issue of the ancestral temple at this time.

This meaningless incident, coupled with the need to fill vacancies in as many as seventy or eighty key positions and the debate among the people about the officials' unfilial behavior, quickly turned the entire Tokyo city into a mess.

Things were once again somewhat unexpected… Zhao Jiu had wanted to make his feelings clear, but unexpectedly, after discussing with Lu Haowen and several other husbands, he chose to continue to remain hesitant.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!