I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 33: You can use cheats, but you can’t live without them - Part 1

Zhao Zicheng had never expected that when he came to Genyue to deliver the flower and stone tribute, he would be personally inspected by the "hidden minister" Liang Shicheng.

According to the plan made by Zhu Zhen before departure, there was no need for Zhao Zicheng to contact Liang Shicheng.

Zhu Jie only arranged for Lu Jian, the steward who was in charge of the finances, to send a big gift to Liang Shicheng's house to take care of things. This was also a common practice.

Among the important officials in the court that Zhu Jie needed to manage, Cai Jing ranked first and Liang Shicheng ranked second. Zhu Jie prepared a total of 400,000 strings of cash, and these two people each received about 100,000 strings of cash, which together accounted for almost half of the total wealth.

After all, Zhu Zhen made so much money in Jiangnan and was rich enough to rival a country. If he didn't give more to the powerful ministers in the court, who would allow him to continue to bring harm to the country and the people?
As for Tong Guan, Wang Fu, Yang Jian, Li Yan and others, there are much fewer of them because they are not currently in charge.

So according to the original plan, Liang Shicheng should first receive a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry from Zhu Zhen, and then ask about the matter of the Flower and Stone Gang, and things will be much easier.

But now, Zhao Zicheng just entered the city and encountered the emperor punishing Lin Lingsu. The Taoist momentum was suppressed at once. Liang Shicheng was also worried that Gen Yue's progress would be disliked by the emperor, so he hurried to inspect.

So before he had time to return home to receive Zhu Zhen's money, he ran into the inspection and acceptance of the Flower and Stone Gang, and naturally he was not in a good mood.

It is important to collect money first or do the service first.

……

Zhao Zicheng had just listened to the introduction of Jia Dan, the chief clerk of the Ministry of Works, and had originally planned to avoid it for the time being.

Unexpectedly, Liang Shicheng and his group were in a bad mood. Seeing from afar that the flower and stone tribute seemed to be being delivered here, they quickly walked over, stopped Zhao Zicheng, Yang Zhi and others, and interrogated them.

Since there was no way to avoid it, Zhao Zicheng stepped forward and bowed, bowing slightly and saying, "I pay my respects to Lord Liang."

While paying his respects, Zhao Zicheng took the opportunity to quickly observe the other party. Liang Shicheng's skin was fair and smooth, and he looked much younger than his actual age. Perhaps it was because he had taken good care of himself as a eunuch. Of the treacherous people around Zhao Ji, there really wasn't a single ugly one.

Yang Zhi, who was standing by, could only kneel down and salute.

Liang Shicheng was initially displeased when he saw that Zhao Zicheng didn't bow, and even his kowtow wasn't a full-on, natural bow, but only a slight inclination. However, Liang Shicheng saw that Zhao Zicheng's clothes were elegant, clean, and crisp, and his demeanor was decent, so, out of a desire to be polite, he didn't bother with him.

Liang Shicheng was a man known for his pretense of literary talent. His mother was originally Su Shi's concubine, who later gave her away after she gave birth to him. Throughout his life, Liang Shicheng spread rumors that his mother was pregnant before Su Shi gave her away, and therefore that he was Su Shi's illegitimate son.

"What is your background? If you are a scholar, how could you be transporting flowers and stones?"

Zhao Zicheng replied, "I am a member of the imperial family. I was once a student at the Imperial College, holding two honorary positions. On my return home, I was unfortunately involved in a case involving thieves plotting to seize the Flower and Stone Gang. To prove my innocence, I was sent by Zhu Yingfeng by chance."

Just a few concise sentences, with many elements, clearly state the main points of the issue.

On the other hand, Liang Shicheng was a little confused at first, but his curiosity was aroused. He pondered for a long time and repeatedly confirmed several details with Zhao Zicheng before he fully understood.

Liang Shicheng couldn't help but be attracted by the young man's bizarre experience.

"You are actually a descendant of the lineage of the King of Qin and the Duke of Ying? As a member of the royal family, you were able to achieve two A's in the Imperial College exams on your own. That's not easy. You are also proficient in both civil and military skills, and have a keen eye for detail. It's not easy. You are a talent.

"Since I have talent and learning, and I have come here today at the right time to witness this magnificent sight of Mount Gen, I can improvise a poem."

Liang Shicheng considered himself Su Shi's illegitimate son, and his love of poetry was always written on his face. Seeing Zhao Zicheng's talent and strange experience, he naturally didn't want to let him go.

Zhao Zicheng couldn't help showing a brief look of embarrassment, but fortunately he had just heard that Liang Shicheng was coming to inspect, and he had already expected it in his heart and prepared it in advance.

Without giving it time to think, he randomly picked a poem that depicted the Northern Song Dynasty's wasteful and costly exploitation of the people, slightly altered some harsh phrasing, and recited it. "Wansui Mountain stretches across the Nine Provinces, yet the Bian Riverbank still worries thousands. Where in the world is not the king's domain? Why ask Yingzhou about mending the sky?"

Zhao Zicheng's hastily composed poem wasn't particularly good, and its criticism was too obvious. But he had no other choice. Firstly, the essay was strictly assigned a topic, requiring a connection to Genyue Mountain, which wouldn't work for most later poems about scenery and expressing one's feelings.

The poem Zhao Zi said he could remember was a later criticism of Emperor Huizong of Song's massive construction projects, which led to the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty. The original poem was even more brutal, with the last two lines saying, "Since ancient times, many countries have been destroyed in the Central Plains. Who knew that the fall of the Song Dynasty was caused by stone?"

Zhao Zicheng abruptly cut out those two sentences and changed it to a euphemistic statement: "The world belongs to the emperor. If the emperor wants to see the splendor of the world, why should he force the people to move it to his doorstep at great expense?"

He dared to recite it in front of Liang Shicheng because, firstly, he felt that his criticism of the current social ills had been more subtle. Secondly, after all, he was privately saying that the emperor was fond of ostentation and was wasting people's money, and it was not directed at Liang Shicheng.

Thirdly, Zhao Zicheng did not want to be branded as a flatterer of Liang Shicheng or Zhu Jie. In addition, he knew that Liang Shicheng was a person who boasted about his love of literature, so if he said this to him in private, the other party would not get angry immediately.

Moreover, Zhao Zicheng was a member of the imperial clan, so even if he was a distant relative, he still had a certain level of protection, so he didn't have to worry about the other party's immediate outburst. Furthermore, the emperor had just severely punished the imperial preceptor, Lin Lingsu, and everyone in the court was watching to see whether His Majesty would reduce his support for Chongdao.

Before the wind direction is determined, no one is willing to rashly deal with such remarks of "advising the emperor to reduce investment in Taoism."

What's more, Liang Shicheng also had to maintain his image as Su Shi's illegitimate son. If he were in front of Cai Jing or Wang Fu, Zhao Zicheng would never dare to take this risk.

After everyone heard the poem Zhao Zicheng recited, the atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point. Except for Liang Shicheng, no one dared to breathe.

"This poem isn't particularly good, but it's not bad either. The key is that it was written on impulse. Even Cao Zijian couldn't compose a poem in seven steps that fast. Zhao Zicheng is indeed a man of quick wit, and he deserves to be ranked among the top students in the Imperial College. However, he's too young to dare to criticize current social ills and express his true feelings like this."

Chief Architect Liu Geng, Chief Clerk of the Supervisory Office Jia Dan, and a few other civil officials present all thought so in their hearts, but none of them dared to comment.

Liang Shicheng's face was gloomy for a long time before he managed to hold back his outburst and just commented coldly:

"How dare you dictate to the Holy Emperor about his garden construction? Peace reigns supreme, so why would Your Majesty want to enjoy the world's wonders? Building a garden is much more economical than a tour of the land.

However, our dynasty has always been lenient with scholars and officials, and has never punished them for speaking ill of others. You are young and full of vigor, and with more practice you will understand your majesty's painstaking efforts."

As soon as Liang Shicheng said this, the civil servants next to him also understood his mood. They knew that Liang Xianggong wanted to maintain his image of appreciating literature and talent, and was unwilling to directly criticize him for "punishing people for their words."

Immediately, a petty official handed Liang Shicheng a knife and made an excuse: "Sir, this batch of rockery for the flowers and stones has been delayed for more than a month."

Even Jia Dan, the chief clerk who had just accepted the gold from Zhao Zicheng, was startled by these words. If the matter got out of hand and a thorough investigation was conducted, even Jia Dan, who had just accepted the money, might not end up in a good situation.

These officials in the Ministry of Works who were in charge of carrying out projects to please the emperor were all very ruthless. Every one of them wanted to report to a higher level and remove their superiors to get a position at the first opportunity. Their scheming had reached an extreme level.

Jia Dan thought to himself that if he could survive this disaster, he would definitely get rid of this talkative clerk.

Liang Shicheng was so busy with his daily affairs that he hadn't noticed that the shipment of flowers and stones was delayed. Only after someone reminded him did he realize this, and he became even more unhappy.

Zhu Jie's people were delayed in their mission. If Zhu Jie didn't give him more gold and silver as bribes, how dare the people he sent say anything!

"So, you delayed because you were dissatisfied with the court?" Liang Shicheng's tone had turned grim.

Zhao Zicheng remained calm and said, "I wasn't the escort officer, I was forced into this to prove my innocence. We've done our best to get it there as quickly as possible. The journey was difficult and delayed because we were transporting too much valuables and were constantly robbed."

"The students and the imperial guards who accompanied them in transporting the flowers and stones killed hundreds of bandits in Yang and Zhen, and hundreds of Wang Qing's subordinates in Caizhou, the Huaixi rebel, before safely delivering the flowers and stones to the capital. Even the students themselves killed dozens of bandits."

(End of this chapter)