The prince is more stable

Chapter 151: The Dispute over the Introduction
Zhao Xu and Zhao Ji were brothers, but half-brothers with the same father.

Zhao Xu's mother was Consort De Zhu, and Zhao Ji's mother was Consort Chen. "Consort" was an official title for concubines, such as talented person, or concubine.

The Empress Dowager Xiang in the palace today was made Empress when Emperor Shenzong was still alive, and was honored as Empress Dowager after his death.

Empress Dowager Xiang had no children in her life, but her position as the main wife was unshakable. According to ancient rules, even though Zhao Xu and Zhao Ji were not her biological children, they had to call her "Queen Mother".

In other words, Zhao Xu and Zhao Ji were actually both born out of wedlock. Most of the officials of the Song Dynasty had few offspring, and after the death of several officials, there was no biological son to inherit the throne, so they had to choose one from among their illegitimate children or clan relatives to succeed them.

After Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhao Ji had a drink together, they each left a deep impression on each other.

They are brothers from the same clan, so there is no such thing as dividing into enemies and friends when they meet. Zhao Xu was in his prime, and it was only a matter of time before he had a son. It was not Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhao Ji's turn to jump around.

But what Zhao Xiaoqian was wary of was the future Zhao Ji, and what Zhao Ji couldn't understand was the present Zhao Xiaoqian.

Unlike Zhao Xiaoqian, Zhao Ji was eager to understand Zhao Xiaoqian.

In the past year, Zhao Xiaoqian has shown his potential, and Zhao Ji could not turn a blind eye to it. The Zhao royal family has produced such a talented relative that the emperor even broke the ancestral laws for him.

Zhao Ji naturally wanted to make friends with such a person, because Zhao Xiaoqian was definitely worth making friends with, and being friends with him would be beneficial to Zhao Ji in every way.

Zhao Xiaoqian being appointed to an official position with real power was actually good news for all the royal relatives. If Zhao Xiaoqian could be an official with real power, other relatives could also do so.

Including Zhao Ji, he also had ideas.

If the ancestral rules are broken once, there will definitely be a second and a third time. The only question is whether the government is willing and whether you have the ability to do so.

Zhao Ji felt that he was capable, he just lacked an opportunity. Today he went to Funing Palace to meet Zhao Xu, actually with the intention of testing the emperor's attitude. However, before the topic was brought up, Zhao Xiaoqian arrived.

In the evening, Zhao Xiaoqian returned to the palace and was acting like a hooligan to Jiang Miaoxian when a servant came to report that someone had given him a gift.

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned. He went out to take a look and saw a big box in the yard. When he opened the box, he found some fine silk and porcelain, some framed calligraphy and paintings, Tianhuang stone seals, and several pieces of paper with poems written on them.

Zhao Xiaoqian could not tell the quality of a ci poem. He only understood the names of the ci tunes such as "Linjiangxian" and "Rumengling". The signature was Zhao Ji's name, and there was also a sentence "Please correct me, Brother Zi'an."

The gift was not expensive, but it had a strong artistic flavor. The person who gave the gift was a middle-aged man who claimed to be the manager of the Suining County Prince's Mansion. The gift was delivered by Zhao Ji personally.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't know what to say. He could only say that Zhao Ji really didn't understand himself.

He wrote several half-verse poems and his literary reputation spread throughout Bian Jing. Zhao Ji thought he was a cultured person, so he gave him gifts that suited his tastes and chose things that were full of cultural flavor.

Are you blind? Can't you see how happy your expression is when I pick your wallet...

And you gave me this junk...

Well, it’s not completely junk. If you pick it up carefully, it will be worth some money after all.

Too lazy to pay attention to the middle-aged steward's earnest flattery, Zhao Xiaoqian stepped forward and threw Zhao Ji's own lyrics aside in the box. This thing was the least valuable.

The porcelain and silk can be kept, the porcelain placed in your own room, and the silk given to Di Ying and Jiang Miaoxian, each of whom can be made into a piece of clothing, preferably a maid outfit.

After unfolding the calligraphy and painting, Zhao Xiaoqian found that it was also made by Zhao Ji himself. He curled his lips in disgust and threw it aside.

The Tianhuang stone seal can be kept. It will be more valuable than gold in the future and will be in short supply. You can keep it as a family heirloom to save some inheritance for your children and grandchildren.

"I've kept all the good stuff. Please thank your prince on my behalf. I'll treat him to a drink next time." Zhao Xiaoqian clapped his hands and said with a smile.

The middle-aged steward looked speechlessly at the calligraphy and poems thrown on the ground.

Are you sure you've kept it all? My prince's poem, written by you, you just glanced at it and threw it away. After I'm gone, will it end up in the trash?
Receiving the steward's gaze, Zhao Xiaoqian bent down, picked up Zhao Ji's poem, unfolded it and took a quick look at it.

"What a great poem! It is a brilliant literary talent with an unparalleled talent. It has the legacy of Li Bai and Du Fu, and even more so the charm of Li Bai and Yue Tian. It is enough to dominate the poetry world of the Song Dynasty!" Zhao Xiaoqian commented with shining eyes.

Without being modest, Zhao Xiaoqian had a firm grasp of the ways of the world and human relations.

The steward's face was bitter, and he hesitated to speak. "You just gave it a cursory glance. How can you detect the 'legacy of Li Bai and Du Fu' or the 'charm of Letian Jushi' in that glance? Even if it's just perfunctory, at least look a little longer, just to pretend."

The steward became more and more certain that after he left, the prince's poems would be thrown into the trash.

He wanted to say something, but the steward was a servant after all, so he didn't dare say anything disrespectful in front of Zhao Xiaoqian. He could only sigh and bow to say goodbye.

As soon as the steward's figure disappeared outside the gate, Zhao Xiaoqian immediately crumpled up Zhao Ji's calligraphy, paintings and poems.

"Someone, throw it into the garbage dump!"

…………

After Zhang Dun became prime minister, the court was in a state of low pressure all day long and was very depressing.

Zhang Dun was a staunch supporter of the new law, very firm.

In order to implement the new law, he was able to ruthlessly remove all obstacles, especially those from the old party.

After being appointed as prime minister, Zhang Dun took charge of the government affairs hall and began to vigorously purge the old party in the court.

Just a few days after he was appointed Shangshu Zuo Pushe, Zhang Dun issued a decree of demotion to transfer many prefects and governors from the Council of State, the Censorate, the Six Ministries, and the capital region to their original posts.

Not only that, Zhang Dun's purpose of eliminating the old party was to promote new laws, so the new laws were the top priority.

Just after Zhang Dun cleared out dozens of old party officials, at the court meeting that day, Zhang Dun stood out from the court ranks and submitted a memorial to Zhao Xu.

The content of the memorial is very simple, "Please Open the Memorial to Introduce the Story".

The word "Shaoshu" seems difficult to understand, but it actually means to inherit and carry forward the reforms during the Shenzong period.

Since Wang Anshi started the reform, the new laws of the Song Dynasty were abolished and established several times. The inside story is too complicated to be recorded in a few words in later history books.

Of course, all the inside stories are nothing more than one thing: "interest".

The so-called struggle between the new and the old is all about interests. As the laws of the court changed, policies became more targeted. The powerful and landlords who had made a fortune by relying on the laws of the court in the past found that the new laws were not conducive to their own profits.

At the same time, the new law also gave rise to court officials who supported the interests of the new law. Those conservative court officials suddenly discovered that not only were their interests seized by the new law faction, but even their power was about to be divided.

Of course, the court officials who supported the old law would rise up in opposition. Otherwise, what would they do? Would they just sit there and watch their money and power be taken away?

Thus, the decades-long struggle between the old and the new began.

So the question is, with all these people fighting, doesn't anyone care whether the people benefit?
I'm sorry, the people will naturally be on the lips of the dignitaries, but they must first be fed and watered, otherwise how will they have the energy to care about the people?

As a result, new laws and old laws were abolished and established several times, and the common people were suffering terribly, but the local officials and court ministers did not notice it.

And now, with Zhang Dun becoming prime minister, new laws are coming again.

The new prime minister made a powerful statement in the government hall, saying, I want to reform!

Who here is in favor and who is against?

Is there anyone who objects?

Of course there are. The old party is not dead yet, and they are not spineless. Why should they take whatever the prime minister says?
On the second day after Zhang Dun submitted a memorial requesting the start of an introduction, still at the court meeting, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Su Che, also submitted a memorial.

Please abolish the Qingmiao Law

The content of the memorial was very harsh and impolite. Su Che simply laid his cards on the table in the memorial, directly stating that most of the new laws implemented by Wang Anshi were evil laws and bad policies, which harmed the people, misled the emperor and harmed the people. Anyone in the court who discussed the new laws should be exiled.

When the new and old laws were laid out in the open, Zhang Dun and Su Che, the two leaders representing the new and old parties respectively, also openly broke off relations.

(End of this chapter)