The prince is more stable

Chapter 156: It’s Hard to Be a Gentleman
Knowing Zong Ze's whereabouts, Zhao Xiaoqian immediately wanted to go to the Yellow River to find him.

But after thinking about it, he calmed down.

It was a bit presumptuous to go and get to know someone for no reason. Besides, Zong Ze was a Jinshi and was still a serious civil servant. He was still far from being the "Grandpa Zong" who bravely fought against the Jin in the future.

After much thought, it's better not to be too deliberate in life. Just let fate take its course when you get to know Zong Ze. At least now that he knows Zong Ze's whereabouts, Zhao Xiaoqian will always keep an eye on him secretly.

The drink with Zhong Jianzhong lasted until very late, almost midnight.

It can be seen that Zhong Jianzhong is a very simple military general. When he said drinking, he meant drinking simply, without any evil thoughts.

There were no fancy girls singing and dancing to accompany him, and even the drinking environment was pitifully shabby. Zhao Xiaoqian, who was very thrifty, almost couldn't resist the urge to donate money to him to help the poor.

After a drink, Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhong Jianzhong were finally able to speak freely like friends, and they both left a very good impression on each other.

It’s just that Zhong Jianzhong is not good at speaking, and his way of expressing friendship is to pick up the jar of wine and toast, then drink it down.

In the end, both of them were drunk. Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but get drunk. He felt a little dizzy after drinking. Facing Zhao Xiaoqian's cheating, he didn't tolerate it at all. He directly picked up the jar of wine and poured it into Zhao Xiaoqian's mouth.

At midnight, the wine was finally finished.

Zhao Xiaoqian stood up and said goodbye, staggering towards the door.

Zhong Jianzhong did not leave. This simple little house was probably one of his properties. He was drunk tonight, so he went back to the house and fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

Before leaving, Zhao Xiaoqian waved to him weakly.

"Old Zhong, I'll treat you next time... with a girl. This place is too shabby, it affects my drinking mood."

Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Zhong Jianzhong suddenly grabbed his arm.

Zhao Xiaoqian turned his head and looked at him.

It was difficult to judge Zhong Jianzhong's condition at this time, as he seemed to be neither drunk nor drunk, but Zhao Xiaoqian clearly saw that his eyes were bright.

"Marquis, I know you don't like to be thanked, but I still want to say one more thing today. Marquis, thank you very much!"

"Regardless of whether the military service law can be passed or not, the soldiers of the three armies will surely remember the great kindness of the Marquis. Among all the civil and military officials in the court, only the Marquis understands the suffering and bitterness of the soldiers. After so many years, there is finally someone in the court who is willing to speak up for the soldiers. I... am very happy today."

Zhao Xiaoqian stared into his eyes for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Are you drunk?"

Zhong Jianzhong laughed heartily: "The Marquis said I was drunk, so I am drunk."

Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head, pointed at the half-jar of wine left on the ground, and said, "If you're not drunk, drink it up. It's good for raising fish."

Zhong Jianzhong did not refuse, picked up the jar of wine and poured it into his mouth.

After drinking half a jar of wine, Zhong Jianzhong fell straight to the ground, completely drunk.

"You fucking idiot..." Zhao Xiaoqian shook his body, sighed helplessly, turned around and went into the house to get a quilt and covered Zhong Jianzhong with it.

So the drunk Zhong Jianzhong fell on the dirt ground in the middle of the yard, covered with a mattress, looking like a deceased person who had just been killed and was waiting for a forensic autopsy.

It was the middle of the night and the scene was a bit creepy.

Zhao Xiaoqian shuddered, squatted in front of him and whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm drunk too, I really don't have the strength to help you to bed... Let's just leave it like this, don't blame me when you wake up."

After he went out, in the dim alley outside, Chen Shou and a group of imperial guards were still waiting for him beside the carriage.

Zhao Xiaoqian walked to the carriage, and Chen Shou and other soldiers saluted him and helped him into the carriage.

Before the carriage started moving, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly lifted the curtain and said, "Chen Shou, I'm very happy today."

Chen Shou smiled: "It can be seen that the prince is in a good mood today. I wonder what makes him so happy?"

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes seemed half drunk and half awake, and he murmured, "Maybe it's because of the beautiful night and good wine, or maybe it's because I've been walking at night for too long, but I suddenly saw a ray of light ahead."

"People say that Scholar Su is full of inappropriate ideas, but I just hope that my path will not be lonely. It is too difficult to change the world with the power of one person."

Chen Shou looked at him strangely, not understanding why the prince said such nonsensical words.

Maybe he was really drunk.

The curtain was lowered and Zhao Xiaoqian's lazy voice came out.

"...Don't wake me up when we get to the palace. Carry me inside."

…………

The debate in the court about the new and old laws is still going on, but in the past few days, something has gradually become off.

Perhaps Zhao Xu, who was determined, was already a little impatient and too lazy to listen to the nonsense of the old party.

Perhaps it was because Zhang Dun held the power of prime minister, and in the court, which was originally a place for gentlemen to compete with each other, Zhang Dun intentionally or unintentionally took a condescending attitude.

In short, in the later stage of the dispute between the new and the old, someone at the court was shocked to discover that several old party officials who insisted on continuing the old laws did not attend the court, let alone participate in the debate.

As things developed to this point, many people gradually realized that something was wrong.

Further inquiries revealed that the officials who had not attended court had been questioned by the Censorate and the Supreme Court, with various charges, including corruption, dereliction of duty, involvement in local murders, and sudden, inexplicable exiles ordered by the Ministry of Personnel. The simultaneous removal of several officials from the old party was certainly no coincidence.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was Zhang Dun taking action. His patience had been exhausted and he had no time to debate with the old party members at the court meeting.

The court's gentlemanly disputes that lasted for several days could not last long.

A person who can become prime minister cannot be a gentleman.

He clearly had power, and the other party was clearly an old party that had persecuted him for years. Why did Zhang Dun have to be so gentle and talk nonsense with others? It would be much easier to just take them down directly.

People say that "a prime minister has a big heart", but Zhang Dun really couldn't have that. He was a man full of resentment and revenge.

As the voice of the old party in the court gradually weakened, the so-called debates and discussions naturally came to nothing.

After killing the chicken to scare the monkey, the old party no longer dared to speak out. They were afraid.

The intellectuals of the Song Dynasty were not necessarily very strong-willed, otherwise the current situation of separatism and cowardice would not have arisen.

Of course, there are still some tough guys in the court.

Hard Bone's surname is Su and his given name is Zhe.

They were not afraid of being beaten to death and would never give in. The old party members were questioned and exiled one after another, but Su Che was the only one who seemed to have a desperate mentality and was still confronting Zhang Dun.

At the court meeting, Su Che rushed out first and, in front of the emperor and his ministers in the hall, sternly questioned Zhang Dun why he abused his power for personal gain and arrested officials from his old party for no reason.

Zhang Dun was so angry that his face turned blue, but he could only try to maintain his composure and remain silent.

A few days after Qingming Festival, the atmosphere in the court became chaotic again.

And Su Che's fate finally began to hang in the balance.

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is equivalent to the deputy prime minister, but Su Che is a die-hard old party member and cannot do anything about the general trend.

At the court meeting, Zhang Dun's eyes, when he looked at Su Che, hinted at murderous intent.

But Zhao Xu, sitting high on the dragon throne, seemed to see nothing.

…………

Early in the morning, Zhao Xiaoqian came to the Imperial City Office yawning.

After entering the door, countless officials and servants bowed to him and greeted him attentively. Zhao Xiaoqian was sleepy and could not tell who was greeting him, so he just nodded perfunctorily.

Normally, Zhao Xiaoqian would not come to the Imperial City Division. There was no need to find a reason, it was just because he was lazy.

But today is different. There is a confidential piece of information that cannot leave the gate of the Imperial City Office. It is a matter of great importance, and Wei Jie must hand it to Zhao Xiaoqian personally.

Who told him to be the boss of the Imperial City Bureau?

The intelligence was secretly sent by Xiao Guangjing, who was far away in the Liao Kingdom. It contained a map of the Liao Kingdom's military deployment on the Song-Liao border, as well as the names, backgrounds and personality analysis of the generals of each army and department of the Liao army.

Is it important?

Of course it is important, which is why Zhao Xiaoqian had to come to the Imperial City Office in person.

Compared with this important information, Zhao Xiaoqian was even happier that Xiao Guangjing, this chess piece, had finally begun to play a role and would be wholeheartedly loyal to the Song Dynasty in the future.

Compared with the IOU of 80,000 strings of cash, this information was even more deadly, and Xiao Guangjing could no longer turn back.

Of course, the next step is to send spies from the Imperial City Bureau to verify the authenticity of the intelligence. Zhao Xiaoqian is not so naive that he believes whatever Xiao Guangjing says.

"There is no need to report the information to the authorities for now. Wait until the spies confirm its authenticity before reporting. He is not of our race, so his heart must be different. We cannot trust Xiao Guangjing too easily." Zhao Xiaoqian said.

Wei Jie bowed habitually: "The county lord has a far-sighted vision. I admire you deeply."

Zhao Xiaoqian hummed and said, forget it. He didn’t have the energy to care about this guy’s inverted sentences. It was more important to go home and take a nap.

Just as he was about to stand up, Wei Jie said, "I'd like to ask a question. What's the relationship between the Marquis and the Minister of the Imperial Household, Su Zhe? I heard that you and Su Zhe had a few drinks together..."

Zhao Xiaoqian paused in his stretching and turned to look at him: "What do you mean?"

Wei Jie hesitated for a moment and said, "Last night, a spy in the Ministry of Justice reported that after the court was dismissed at noon today, Zhang Dun instructed the Minister of Justice Xing Shu to arrest Su Zhe and put him in prison. The charges against him are still being prepared. It is likely that he will not only be demoted to a remote place, but may even be dismissed from office and exiled..."

"Well, I just mentioned it casually. It's enough for the county lord to know about it."

However, after Wei Jie finished speaking, Zhao Xiaoqian, who had been looking lazy, straightened up and his expression gradually became serious.

"Zhang Dun wants to move against Su Zhe?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked in a deep voice.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Wei Jie smiled bitterly and said, "Perhaps Mr. Zhang doesn't like to hear different opinions."

(End of this chapter)