On the morning of April 15th, the fifteenth year of the Jingkang era, in the capital city of Kaifeng.
A light mist shrouded the streets, and the cherry blossoms along the roadside were in full bloom.
A luxurious and ostentatious carriage quietly headed south of the city.
Liu Yanzong, the Inspector General of the Imperial Censorate, got off the carriage and boarded another quaint carriage in the alley.
In the current situation, people from various factions are lurking in the streets of Tokyo, monitoring the actions of important court officials and exposing each other when they find evidence.
People in the Zhou Dynasty accused Yu Yunwen's men of attacking the Empress and officials of the Three Departments in the streets, and of making irresponsible remarks about important state affairs in the marketplace, thus creating chaos.
Yu Yunwen's people accused the Zhou Dynasty of distorting the truth and attempting to overthrow Emperor Shengwu's new policies.
The verbal battle between the two sides escalated, and in the end, they even insulted each other for going to the toilet.
"I personally witnessed some of the officials in the Three Departments failing to help elderly people cross the road. Respecting the elderly and caring for the young is a traditional Chinese virtue!"
"I even saw people spitting on the ground in the Hall of State Affairs. They have no sense of public morality at all. Like father, like son. How can such people be allowed to enter the central government and govern the country!"
"I even saw someone in the Third Division peeping at the girl next door taking a bath!"
"Hmph! I even saw a wealthy man named Li in the government office seducing a widow from the east of the city!"
"Heh, you there, Zhang, the clerk of the Salt and Iron Bureau, didn't you sneak off to Mr. Zhou's house to meet his concubine while he was away? And you still won't admit it, Mr. Zhou, you'd better go back and verify it yourself..."
"..."
The two factions in the government are getting increasingly absurd with their insults.
The cunning Liu Yanzong did not get involved; he did not offend either faction and said some flattering things to the Imperial Noble Consort and the Empress.
Suddenly, Liu Yanzong, who had previously had a terrible reputation, received praise from many ministers.
In reality, Liu Yanzong had been secretly meeting with Prince Kang, Zhao Gou, during this period.
After Liu Yanzong alighted from his carriage at the back gate of the Prince Kang's residence, he was welcomed into the residence by the Prince Kang's attendants.
Perhaps influenced by his elder brother, Zhao Gou got up very early every day, loved reading, and would take time out to exercise every day.
He was slender with bright eyes, sitting upright at the tea table.
After Liu Yanzong entered, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty is in excellent spirits."
"Liu Yusi, please have a seat."
The two sat down and drank tea for a while. Zhao Gou kept reading Zhao Huan's "The Wealth of Nations," a book he had read at least ten times.
In his view, this kind of book, which teaches practical skills, is much more reliable than the Four Books and Five Classics.
This type of book is now widely accepted among the scholar-officials of the Song Dynasty.
Zhao Gou said, “Liu Yusi, back then, Wang Anshi implemented reforms under the pretext of enriching the country and strengthening the army. However, Sima Junshi denounced him as a treacherous minister who was ruining the foundation of the country, plundering the people’s wealth, and exhausting the world. He said that the wealth of the world is finite, and if it were in the court, the people would be poor. But now, His Majesty the Holy Martial Emperor’s new policies have proven that Sima Junshi’s theory was false.”
Liu Yanzong certainly knew what Zhao Gou meant; His Majesty the Holy Martial Emperor's core understanding of commerce was all contained in this book.
The book is a good book, and the new policy is a good new policy.
In just fifteen years, the Song Dynasty also achieved national prosperity and military strength.
However, there are also many problems.
For example, the railway deaths case that was recently brought up in the court and debated heatedly, according to the investigation by the Inspectorate, the death toll exceeded 500, all of whom died suddenly under heavy industrial conditions.
Normally, when these people die, local officials, in order to protect their positions, use various means to cover it up, so the news won't reach the capital.
But these are special times, and it's clear that some people in the government are up to something.
The railway case has now become a bargaining chip for Zhou Chao's faction to relentlessly attack Yu Yunwen.
The person investigating the railway case was Liu Yanzong. In order to avoid getting involved in the power struggle between the two big shots, Liu Yanzong cleverly revealed all the details in court.
Actually, this railway case was brought up privately by Prince Kang.
But no one knew that this depth charge was dropped by the reclusive Prince Kang.
Who benefits most from Yu Yunwen's resignation?
Zhou Dynasty?
Even if Yu Yunwen steps down, Zhou Chao will still be the Minister of the Three Departments, and he cannot become the Grand Chancellor.
However, given the current turbulent situation, with the Liao King rebelling and the Crown Prince still holding the legitimate position, it is impossible for the Zhou Dynasty to welcome the Liao King to the capital.
Therefore, the ministers will definitely put forward another person of high moral character and prestige to take charge of the overall situation.
Who is this person?
No one but King Kang could be it!
But Zhao Gou's thoughts went beyond that.
If his elder brother were still alive, he would never have dared to have any thoughts of ruling the world. But the moment he learned that Zhao Huan had died in the Western Regions, the ambition hidden deep in his heart suddenly burst forth.
Zhao Gou felt a great sense of relief.
Only then did I realize that I had been living under my brother's oppression all these years.
His elder brother's brilliance was so overwhelming that it surpassed that of all emperors throughout history.
Now, the crown prince is still young, and the King of Liao seems powerful, but in reality he is frivolous and incompetent. The hearts of the people in the court and the public are in turmoil, and the new situation accumulated by the new policies is about to collapse. This is the perfect time for Zhao Gou to be born.
Over the years, although he did not fully participate in politics, he observed the changes in the new policies from the sidelines and devoted himself to studying the essential teachings of his elder brother every day.
He believed that he too could become a powerful ruler who could make the world prosperous and strong.
The Song Dynasty now possesses the world's most advanced science, the most intelligent scholars, the most hardworking people, the most dynamic administrative system, the largest number of warships, a vast array of merchants, the wealth of the world, and the most powerful army.
Who wouldn't want to take it?
Zhao Gou was no exception!
He knew Zhao Chen very well: he was frivolous and boastful, indecisive, ambitious but incompetent, and while he appeared to be militarily strong, he was actually in internal chaos.
The Yan-Yun war zone was seized through trickery, and Xie Qian and others were only temporarily deceived. The core generals of the Yan-Yun war zone were all loyal to the imperial court.
Once it is discovered that the Liao King's so-called efforts to eliminate traitors and restore order have led to chaos and poverty, these generals will inevitably become disloyal to the Liao King.
No matter how much trouble there is, the fundamental principles of justice remain: those who obey will prosper, and those who resist will perish—this has always been the case.
There are still 30,000 Imperial Guards in the capital city of Tokyo, and in the south there are powerful regional officials like Zhang Jun who can mobilize troops to go north to defend the emperor at any time.
Zhao Chen has no chance of winning.
Zhao Gou had absolutely no opinion of Zhao Chen.
Right now, he wants the situation to become even more chaotic.
It would be best to take this opportunity to get rid of Yu Yunwen, so that he could have the opportunity to come out and assist in the government.
After all, this world still belongs to the Zhao family.
Liu Yanzong said, “His Majesty the Holy Martial Emperor’s new policies are naturally benevolent policies for all ages, truly ushering in an era of peace for ten thousand generations. However, the treacherous officials in the court are trying to use the new policies to amass wealth, which is truly despicable. At midnight today, I received a letter from Jiangnan West Circuit. Wang Zhishan, the Assistant Director of the Hongzhou Railway Bureau, has confessed that Zhang Zhiyao, the Prefect of Hongzhou, embezzled public funds to purchase fine ceramics in Jingdezhen, intending to present them to Yu Yunwen.”
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