Song Chi was slightly stunned. Although Song Shiwen was his biological father, they actually had no father-son relationship. The two were very far apart. He didn't know much about his scumbag father, but he was very interested in knowing.
"It's not a secret. You'll know it in the future. I'll tell you."
Feng Yuan began to explain, "This story goes back to when Your Majesty ascended the throne. At that time, the previous emperor had few children, and many died young. The previous emperor suddenly passed away, leaving only his eight-year-old son to ascend the throne. At that time, Empress Wang was in charge of government, assisted by Wang Jin, the then Prime Minister of the Cabinet. The government was relatively clean and orderly."
Song Chi's eyebrows moved slightly. Queen Wang and the assistant minister Wang Jin both had the surname Wang. Could it be that they were from the same family?
As if he knew what Song Chi was thinking, Feng Yuan added, "Queen Wang and Wang Jin are siblings."
Song Chi then understood that this was because the ruler was young and his mother was strong, and the foreign relatives controlled the government.
"However... the young emperor was mischievous, and the accompanying eunuchs and palace maids were not optimistic about his future. He accidentally fell into the water and died. The late emperor had no children, and if someone else could inherit the throne, the country could not afford to be without a ruler for a single day..."
Feng Yuan said in a low voice, "So, His Majesty, who was still a vassal king at the time, was chosen to come to the capital."
This is truly a throne that fell from the sky. Song Chi knew that there would definitely be a fierce struggle between the new emperor and Queen Wang and others.
"Queen Wang proposed a condition: to show that Your Majesty was the legitimate successor, she must be recognized as your mother and honored as the Empress Dowager, and the late emperor must be recognized as his father, treating him as his own son. The cabinet ministers, led by Wang Jin, also praised this approach."
Song Chi listened and knew that Queen Wang and other foreign relatives did not want the government to fall into the hands of others, but they had no other choice. They wanted to take this opportunity to put shackles on the new emperor and continue to control the government.
"His Majesty agreed, but when the time came to recognize his biological mother, he changed his mind. He said that since his biological mother was still alive, how could he recognize someone else as his mother? ... Because of this, the court officials argued with His Majesty endlessly, saying that if His Majesty did not recognize his biological mother, his position would be illegitimate."
Feng Yuan shook his head and said, "How could Your Majesty tolerate such wrath? In his rage, he declared that not only would he not acknowledge his mother, he wouldn't acknowledge his father either. He also wanted to posthumously confer the title of Emperor on his biological father and have him enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. This way, he would be the son who succeeded his father, and his position would naturally be legitimate."
Song Chi was stunned for a moment, "There were many people who opposed it at that time, right?"
"yes."
Feng Yuan continued, "At that time, the court officials were furiously criticizing Your Majesty and were even trying to force Him to abdicate. Your Majesty refused to give in and even ordered the Ministry of Rites to draft an imperial edict to posthumously confer titles on his father and his mother."
"The Ministry of Rites didn't do it, right?" Song Chi could imagine the situation at the time. The power of the foreign relatives and all the civil officials in the court were criticizing and opposing it, and it was difficult for the emperor to sit firmly on the throne.
"No!"
Feng Yuan said calmly, "At the time, the civil officials were unanimously opposed. Conferring the title of empress on my biological mother is nothing, but to posthumously confer the title of emperor on my biological father when the previous emperor was alive is completely against etiquette and law."
"The Minister of Rites resigned on the pretext of retirement. This was a silent protest, meaning he would rather not serve as an official than obey His Majesty. His Majesty was furious and ordered the Vice Minister of Rites to continue drafting the imperial edict... At the same time, the Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Rites also resigned."
Song Chi sighed inwardly, these people are really proud. Even if you kill me, I won't do it.
There is a deeper meaning behind the emperor's choice of the Ministry of Rites to draft the summons. You are pressuring me in the name of etiquette and law, so I will let the Ministry of Rites draft the summons.
But if you think about it carefully, in that situation, whoever drafted this edict would be a traitor to all the civil officials.
etc.
Song Chi's pupils shrank slightly, and he suddenly thought of someone.
"It seems you've already guessed it."
Feng Yuan said in a low voice, "When everyone would rather be dismissed, resigned, or even beheaded than be summoned, a traitor appears!"
"He was a doctor in the Ministry of Rites at the time. He drafted two edicts for the emperor, both eloquent and eloquent, citing filial piety as the motto: 'How can one recognize another as his mother while his biological mother is still alive? How can one recognize another as his father even though his father has passed away?' Thus was born the famous 'Ode to Filial Piety'!"
Song Chi then understood why the Zhou Dynasty attached great importance to filial piety. It turned out that there was a reason. It turned out that the emperor used filial piety to secure his throne.
"The emperor was very pleased with this, but this man caused an uproar in the court. Accusations and insults were overwhelming and continued for over a month. He was a traitor to all the civil officials, but he didn't care at all. He knew... he was going to rise to great heights!"
Feng Yuan took a deep breath. "Three months later, he was appointed Minister of Rites. Six months later, he was appointed Minister of Personnel. Six months after that, he entered the cabinet. Six months after that, he became the head of the cabinet, becoming the top civil official of the Great Zhou Dynasty!"
Song Chi sighed softly, "This person is the current Prime Minister Song Shiwen."
"That's right."
I have to say that the scumbag father is capable. Others only see the scumbag father's flattery and betrayal, but in Song Chi's view, he is willing to be a knife of Emperor Yuan Jing.
Emperor Yuan Jingdi "broke his promise". Queen Wang and Wang Jin brought him to the capital and placed him on the throne, but Emperor Yuan Jingdi refused to acknowledge anything he had promised before. He knew very well that if he acknowledged his mother, he would be constrained by her, so he conferred the title of queen on his mother and posthumously conferred the title of emperor on his father.
He didn't really want to do this. He wanted to use it to break free from the shackles of his in-laws. He wanted to use it to select people who would stand with him and those who would stay away from him, so as to secure his throne and consolidate imperial power.
Emperor Yuan Jing was also a powerful emperor with great skills, and he used imperial power to the extreme. Song Shiwen was also a powerful man, and all he wanted was power.
"Do you understand now?"
"Understood."
Song Chi knew why Feng Yuan hated Song Shiwen so much, because he betrayed the civil officials and he was a disgrace to the civil officials!
"After so many years, Song Shiwen is no longer a lone minister. He has a huge literary party behind him, and he has become a role model for countless scholars to follow. The things he once did have become the past, but who could have known that behind his talk of benevolence and morality were unspeakable wounds!"
Song Chi nodded, feeling deeply touched by this.
After hearing this, he now understood that the so-called Wen Party and Qingliu Party were actually created when Emperor Yuan Jing ascended the throne, and it was even possible that he did it intentionally.
The struggle between the two parties is like fire and water. Feng Yuan is an orthodox civil official who hates Song Shiwen extremely. He has been involved in this party struggle and is naturally opposed to his scumbag father.
Song Chi's face was calm and his heart was as hard as iron.
He didn't care about any party struggles, he only knew that his enemy was Song Shiwen, and he wanted to enter the official career through the imperial examination.
If I were to live my life again, how could I be idle? I would live not only for myself but also for the original owner.
The original owner's greatest wish was to restore the reputation of his deceased mother. The Great Zhou Dynasty attached great importance to the imperial examination. Once a person passed the imperial examination, three generations would be granted titles. The court would then confer the title of Madam on his mother, so that his mother could be buried in the Song family's ancestral tomb and her spirit tablet could be placed in the Song family's ancestral hall.
Brother, go with peace of mind.
From now on, I am you, and I will complete your unfulfilled wish.
Your mother is my mother, and I will clear her name, but I won't let her go into the Song family's ancestral tomb, as I'm afraid it will pollute your mother's spirit tablet.
I will take the imperial examination, but not to prove myself to Song Shiwen, but to let him know that he has no idea what kind of son he has abandoned.
Feng Yuan turned to Song Chi and said, "After talking for so long, I also have a question for you."
"Master Feng, please speak."
Feng Yuan said in a low voice, "Why do you have such a strong hatred towards the Prime Minister?"
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