Chapter 61: Honest Advice
Shangshu Song was in charge of the appointment, dismissal, assessment, promotion and demotion of officials in the court.
But the position of Shangshu was just an empty title for him, and the real power in his hands had long been stripped away.
Today, the atmosphere in the court is corrupt.
As long as you can please either the prince or the prime minister. Even if you are a fool, you can still get a job as an official by spending ten thousand taels of gold.
What's more, both sides are wary of each other's forces, and they will not pay attention to ordinary fools. But if other forces join in, the balance of power will be broken. The two sides are about to start fighting.
What kind of official position one wants to hold in the court is just a matter of words between the two forces. It is easy to bring down anyone with the same ideal.
It is not even possible for Minister Song to ask about this.
When Song Zigen saw this scene, he felt even more indignant. He recommended ambitious people to the emperor several times in the hope that new people could check and balance the power of the court.
It’s a pity that everything ended in failure and he didn’t even get to see the emperor.
This time was no exception, Shangshu Song was an honest and upright person. Seeing the corruption in the imperial court made him feel depressed and he had to do something to change the status quo.
Therefore, he continued to give advice to the emperor.
I beg the emperor to punish corrupt and incompetent officials, open up more channels, and employ people with lofty ideals all over the world.
However, the memorial was confiscated before it even reached the emperor.
Shangshu Song was already surviving in the gap between two forces, and this time the interests of both sides were touched, making it even more difficult for him to move forward in the court.
On this day, Zhao Fangye claimed to be ill and did not attend court, which gave the prince's party another handle to hold against him.
The emperor looked at the vacant seat and felt somewhat relieved.
"Why didn't Prince Ning come to court?"
Replied to Your Majesty: "Prince Ning said he caught a cold and is recuperating in his residence."
After hearing this, the Imperial Censor narrowed his narrow and sinister eyes and took a step forward.
He bowed and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, is Prince Ning ill? I clearly saw Prince Ning's carriage speeding on the street, scaring many civilians. He is truly worthy of being called Jade-faced Rakshasa. Even when he is ill, he is still majestic."
As soon as these words were spoken, various discussions arose in the court.
The emperor's originally happy expression darkened: "Are you telling the truth, my dear minister?"
"Your Majesty, I saw it with my own eyes. Horses were galloping in the street of Chang'an. Who doesn't know about the luxurious carriage of Prince Ning's mansion?" The Imperial Censor swore solemnly.
On that day, Zhao Fangye took Song Huaixi back home. We were indeed walking along Chang'an Avenue, and the carriage was moving fast but did not disturb the pedestrians. I never thought that this incident would be used as a handle to impeach him.
Some ministers from the prince's party immediately jumped out to fan the flames.
"Your Majesty! Prince Ning has overstepped his bounds recently more than once. He has no respect for Your Majesty at all. Prince Ning has a large number of troops in his northwest fiefdom. Could it be that his behavior shows that he has long been disloyal to Your Majesty?"
"Your Majesty, you don't know that Prince Ning relied on the war in the northwest. The people spread his reputation everywhere. They said that only with the protection of Prince Ning can the people live in peace. This is ridiculous! Your Majesty is the wise ruler who protects the world."
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole court was in an uproar.
The emperor's face immediately darkened, with a hint of anger on his face. He already hated Prince Ning and asked him to go to the northwest, but he just wanted to turn a blind eye to it. But he didn't expect that it would strengthen his power instead. There is a tendency towards rebellion.
The prime minister saw that he looked unhappy and knew that the emperor had been told what was on his mind.
At the beginning, I was attracted by the fact that the emperor had no ambition and no opinions of his own. Only then was he placed on the throne, making him a chess piece that could be easily controlled in his hands.
Unexpectedly, the unfilial daughter failed to control the emperor. He also pushed the emperor to Concubine Xiao. In just a few years, due to a moment of carelessness, General Xiao had now reached the point where he was competing with him.
Before the prime minister's men could think of a rebuttal, a man stood up from the crowd.
Everyone looked at Song Zigen, who had always had little presence in the court.
I didn't expect him to stand up at this moment.
Song Zigen bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the prince's pacification of the Northwest War was a great achievement. There must be a reason for him to ride his horse in the street. He would never have any intention of usurping power over Your Majesty as the Imperial Censor said. Please be wise and don't believe one-sided words."
After hearing his words, the emperor's expression did not ease at all, and he obviously did not accept his explanation. After all, Zhao Fangye's control of the military power was a thorn in his heart.
Any slight disturbance would deepen his suspicion of Zhao Fangye.
The emperor has not spoken yet.
The Imperial Censor sneered, "Minister Song, you have never made a report to the court, so it is rare for you to defend the prince like this today. Could it be that you have become the Ning Wang's father-in-law and started to protect Ning Wang?"
Seeing that he was so unreasonable, Song Zigen deliberately distorted the facts, arousing the emperor's suspicion.
He immediately knelt down and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty! I did not mean that. I am just advising Your Majesty not to listen to the slander of villains without knowing the whole situation. Please understand your majesty."
The Imperial Censor was not relenting and continued, "You are so anxious to prove your innocence. I'm afraid I was right about Minister Song. I heard that recently Minister Song has been trying to mediate with many ministers to send some ambitious people to the court."
"Why didn't you make any plans before? Now you are so active. Could it be that you want to build momentum for Prince Ning..."
The Imperial Censor did not finish his words, but the implication was obvious enough.
After hearing what the Imperial Censor said, the emperor looked at Song Zigen with a bit more doubt in his eyes.
Song Zigeng's beard was shaking with anger, but he was not good at arguing and his gentlemanly and upright personality didn't allow him to learn those roundabout ways.
He pointed at the Imperial Censor and said, "I just can't bear to see the court being controlled by you treacherous officials, blinding the emperor's heart and disrupting the government. This has caused loyal and righteous people to be suppressed repeatedly!"
After finishing his words, Song Zigen turned to the emperor and said earnestly: "Your Majesty! At present, treacherous people are everywhere in the court and the country, doing evil and causing the relaxation of discipline. The country is in danger! If this continues, the country will have no peace and the people will suffer, Your Majesty!"
Song Zigen knelt on the ground, his words of loyalty ringing loudly.
The Imperial Censor immediately took off his hat and said, "How dare you! We are all here to help His Majesty. Are you, Song Zigen, slandering His Majesty and not distinguishing right from wrong?!"
The emperor sat on the dragon throne, his face already looking like a storm was brewing: "Minister Song, are you saying that it is because I am incompetent and cannot distinguish between loyalty and treachery that the country is in danger?"
After these words were spoken, a triumphant smile appeared on the Imperial Censor's face. Of course he knew that what the emperor hated most was being constrained by others.
If it weren't for the purpose of competing with the prime minister, the emperor would not have allowed the Xiao family to grow in power.
This was also the emperor's weak spot, and today Song Zigen brought it up in public in indignation.
The emperor was naturally furious.
All the ministers knelt on the ground immediately. Everyone knew that the power in the hands of the current emperor had been slowly being stripped away. He said hypocritically: "Your Majesty, calm down."
The veins on the emperor's forehead bulged, his face was gloomy, and he raised his hand and said, "Come here, drag the disobedient man away and punish him with twenty strokes of the cane. All the ministers will watch the execution."
Minister Song knelt in the main hall, the light in his eyes gradually fading as he listened to the emperor's words. I thought that speaking frankly and giving advice would help the emperor to change his ways. But I didn't expect this result.
He smiled sarcastically. He shouldn't have had any hope in the emperor. A loyal heart was completely annihilated at this moment.
The guards quickly stepped forward and dragged Minister Song out. Minister Song stood still and allowed the guards to drag him away for execution.
The sound of the board rang out again and again, and the ministers who were watching the execution had playful smiles in their eyes, as if they were laughing at him for overestimating his own abilities.
Song Zigen clearly saw the contempt and complacency on their faces.
With his fists clenched, his heart filled with grief and indignation, his sincere heart was gradually covered by the smiles on these people's faces and gradually froze.
A feeling of unwillingness and resentment, anger with nowhere to vent, built up in my heart. I don’t understand how the world has become like this. Song Zigen's sincerity turned into blood that spurted out of his mouth and he fainted.
When Zhao Fangye learned everything, a gloomy look flashed in his eyes. A loyal person like Song Zigen.
His mind was extremely stubborn, his faith was shattered, and he was humiliated in public. The combination of the two caused him to vomit blood, which was nothing more than a mental illness.
Facing the secret guard beside him, Zhao Fangye tapped his fingers on the table and said calmly: "Go and invite Mr. Ouyang to the Shangshu Mansion for a chat."
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