What's wrong with me?
Zhao Zhen opened his eyes wide. Although he could imagine that Zhao Jun might be very angry, was he really that angry?
We have been spending time together day and night for some time, and it is obvious that the relationship between us, grandparents and grandchildren, has deepened a lot.
How come he became like this after only being out of the palace for twenty days?
As expected, distance creates estrangement. When they were together every day, the eldest grandson rarely scolded him, but as soon as he left the palace, they immediately became distant.
Zhao Zhen felt wronged and glanced at Wang Shouzhong. Wang Shouzhong was so scared that he hurriedly left the hall and closed the door.
"What's wrong, grandson?"
Zhao Zhen didn't dare to argue with Zhao Jun. He couldn't win the fight, and he couldn't beat him either. If he called for help, Zhao Jun might get angry and turn into a jerk or even commit suicide, which would be a big problem.
First of all, Zhao Jun made his identity as a time traveler clear. Both Zhao Zhen and those ministers needed his help. His attitude was the correct one. If he suddenly became cautious, it would make those people suspicious.
Therefore, as long as he maintained this attitude, they would have no choice but to worship him as their ancestor unless he directly revealed that he did not intend to take the imperial examination route.
So now he feels that in front of Zhao Jun, he is not the ancestor, Zhao Jun is the ancestor, and sometimes he really can't do anything to him.
Zhao Jun scolded Zhao Zhen without any scruples.
Secondly, Zhao Zhen’s personality was just like that, and saying he was weak and incompetent was actually a compliment to him.
If he had not acted more assertively, given Zhao Zhen's weak character, he would have been fooled by the civil servants and would have achieved nothing in the end.
Even if it is exposed, it doesn't matter. At most, it will only create obstacles for yourself, and both parties will enter into endless quarrels because of their different positions.
Then Zhao Jun can give up and choose to say nothing and do nothing to resist. Facing the threats of Western Xia, Liao, the Yellow River and the Jingkang Humiliation, they will definitely be the ones who are anxious at that time.
Zhao Jun sneered, "How dare you ask me this? I've only been in the outer city for over ten days, and I've seen fights, petty thefts, robberies in the busy streets, and even child thefts. We ran into a child theft, and one day I handed him over to the yamen runners, and the next minute he brought people here to take revenge on me. Don't you think you're so proud?"
Zhao Zhen moved his lips for a moment before sighing, "There's nothing I can do about the situation in Wuyoudong, my eldest grandson. They're hiding in the crisscrossing sewers of Bianliang. The government has surrounded and attacked them countless times, but they're simply unable to completely eliminate them."
Therefore, he must become strong in order to fight for his due rights.
"What's wrong?"
Zhao Zhen looked slightly embarrassed. In fact, there were more than just Han Yuan. There were also many upright censors in the officialdom. When he was patrolling around, he found a large number of corrupt officials, but they were suppressed by him every time.
For example, people like Wang Kui, Sun Mian, and Guo Chengyou, unless the noise is really too big, ordinary corruption is not a big deal at all.
"hehe."
Zhao Jun was amused. He laughed and said, "When Fan Zhongyan was the prefect of Kaifeng, he investigated everything. They gave hundreds of thousands of strings of cash to the officials of Kaifeng every year. A magistrate named Han Yuan protected them countless times. Fan Zhongyan impeached him, but you suppressed him. You really are a good emperor."
Song Zhenzong and Song Renzong, father and son, played an indispensable role in their continued indulgence of officials!
"Sure enough, your reputation as the Emperor Renzong was simply inflated by those people. You're only benevolent to the literati, not the common people or the country! I find you're mentally ill. Do you really think you can secure your throne forever by relying on those literati?"
No wonder Fan Zhongyan, in his "Letter to the Government," stated that corruption was a major problem. Su Shi, in his "Strategies for Resolving Obstructions," argued that if ordinary people wanted to seek redress or seek help from the government, they had to pay the government money to get their way; otherwise, nothing would be accomplished.
There are also Bao Zheng's "Bao Zheng's Memorials" and Wang Anshi's "Shou Shu Yan Shi", both of which talk about how corrupt and dark the officialdom is today, and how few truly upright officials there are.
Zhao Zhen opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
"I know you're weak and incompetent, but can you have some ambition? I've told you tens of thousands of times to stay put. You should be on the side of the people, not those bureaucrats and scholars!"
Zhao Jun suppressed his anger and said, "Even if you want to consolidate the imperial power, you can't do it this way. Power is not held in your own hands, but handed over to those civil officials. You think there are not many rebellions in the Song Dynasty, right?"
"I"
"What do you think?"
Zhao Jun said angrily, "Do you know how the scholar-officials of the Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty found excuses to claim their legitimacy and orthodoxy? The Song Dynasty was destroyed, and they simply replaced the emperor and continued to tyrannize. If the Zhao family is destroyed, you and I will be nothing. Can you wake up?"
Zhao Jun pointed at his chest, his face filled with disappointment as he said, "Do you know how the Yuan Dynasty fell? Zhu Yuanzhang said it fell because of its leniency. This leniency didn't refer to leniency towards the common people, but rather leniency towards the literati and officials. Taxation, governance, and justice were all handed over to the literati and officials, allowing them to exploit the common people to their heart's content, which ultimately led to the Yuan Dynasty's demise!"
Zhao Zhen was stunned and asked, "Is this how the great Yuan Dynasty fell?"
Zhao Jun said coldly, "You're not so naive as to think that simply finding those high-yield crops and the industrial revolution will guarantee the eternal survival of your empire, are you? I tell you, you're overthinking it. The Qing Dynasty was already the pinnacle of feudal society, with productivity sufficient to feed 400 million people. Yet, didn't it eventually perish?"
"Do you believe that if I make cannons and flintlock rifles, they will be stolen and sold to Xixia and Liao in a short time? Do you believe that even if high-yield crops appear, the oppression of the lower-class people will only deepen?"
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