I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 83 Seven Asterisks Multiplied by Two
Zhao Zicheng stopped Dong Chao from sliding to his knees, righteously dismissed his attendants, and then asked him alone about the whole story of Zhu Jie's death.

During the chat, Zhao Zicheng reminded him with a stern face: "Dong Tuanlian, be careful with your words. I'm not the prefect of this state yet, just a temporary one. I can't make any mistakes in my status. Are you trying to trap me..."

The other party quickly said that he didn't dare, saying that his wording was not precise enough and he changed it immediately.

Because Zhao Ji's imperial edict clearly stated that Zhao Zi was temporarily appointed as the acting magistrate of Suzhou because of the urgent war situation.

Specifically in written terms, the word "quan" is added in front. For example, "知苏州事" means the official governor, while "權知苏州事" means temporary.

The word "power" is indispensable in Zhao Zicheng's appointment, because his qualifications are too shallow. How can a young man who is only three months away from turning nineteen be a deputy at the provincial level?
The official system of the Song Dynasty was very complex, divided into official positions, ranks, and dispatches. This time, due to the emergency situation during the war, only Zhao Zicheng's dispatch was adjusted, but his rank was not adjusted. In other words, he still enjoyed the level of magistrate, but temporarily held the power of Tongpan.

However, those with keen political acumen, whether Dong Chao or Zhao Lin, understood clearly that in the unique circumstances of wartime, the emperor's favor and ability were paramount. Zhu Zhen's downfall would inevitably lead to a dramatic reshuffle of the Jiangnan officialdom. Those not aligned with Zhu Zhen would undoubtedly gain significant opportunities in the future, and this issue could not be considered based on temporary superiority or inferiority.

So such a strange scene appeared, people of higher rank than Zhao Zicheng had to temporarily turn around and curry favor with him.

Zhao Zicheng didn't waste any time talking to him and quickly asked Dong Chao to explain the circumstances of Zhu Jie's death that he had discovered.

Dong Chao fully cooperated, explaining that Zhu Jie's death was suspected to be the work of Fang La's men, who had seized the Taihu pirates' lair and organized them to do so. This was because bloody inscriptions inscribed with "The Holy Lord executed Zhu Jie here" were later found at the scene, and some remains at the scene also suggested they were left behind by Fang La's men.

However, Dong Chao was only an officer, not skilled in criminal justice or solving cases, and his insights were superficial. To thoroughly investigate the details, Gusu County or the Suzhou prefect would definitely need to have professionals, including a coroner, examine the body and physical evidence.

As for the witnesses, it seems that there are no first-hand witnesses at present, because all the trusted guards on the same ship with Zhu Jie died and there are no survivors.

Zhao Zi said that after he had thoroughly understood the extent of Dong Chao's knowledge, he put on a serious face:
"Ridiculous! Even if it's possible that Zhu Zhen died at the hands of Fang La, the military situation is dire right now, and the enemy's momentum is unstoppable. For the sake of the country, can we report it like this? What if it emboldens Fang La? Fang La started his rebellion under the banner of killing Zhu Zhen. If he really kills Zhu Zhen, he will have fulfilled his promise. How will his prestige rise?"

When reprimanding Dong Chao, Zhao Zicheng naturally couldn't bring up the excuse that "reporting this would improve Zhu Jie's reputation after his death." This was something Zhao Zicheng could only keep to himself and, at most, bring up with his confidants. Raising it with other forced collaborators would have seemed like a personal vendetta.

Dong Chao had framed Zhu Zhen and had sided with the wrong side, so he should have done his utmost to atone for his crime. But when Zhao Zicheng rebuked him, he dared not protest at all, saying only, "I will leave it to the judgment of Judge Zhao."

Just give us an explanation of how Zhu Jie died. Whatever you say is what we accept.

Zhao Zi said that seeing his remorse and attitude towards joining the team for the second time was quite good, and now was the time to unite as many people as possible, so he tried to win him over:
"In my opinion, the report should be this: Zhu Jie didn't actively attack the Taihu pirates, nor did he even intend to kill dissidents or hunt down those civil and military officials who were friendly with me. These matters should not be made public.

Anyway, Zhu Jie is dead, so we report that he was afraid that Your Majesty would punish him severely and that the disaster he had caused was too great, so he mobilized the navy to set sail under other pretexts. In fact, he wanted to escape from the crime, or there were other reasons, and the details could be made up in a more convincing way.

In this case, he sent Dong Tuanlian to train you because of the disorderly orders, and you failed to protect him, so there is no need to hold him accountable. We can just say that he heard rumors and fled for fear of punishment, and then he ran into pirates on Taihu Lake and was killed. Please note that I am talking about us Suzhou officials. We must all say the same thing and report this statement to the emperor in secret!
As for publicly stating the truth to the people, even the fact that he died at the hands of pirates cannot be mentioned. That would only embolden the pirates and would waste the government's painstaking efforts to depose him! What would the people think then? They would think that regardless of whether the government deposed Zhu Zhen or not, he had already been killed. They would not be grateful to the government for any favors. How could the government regain the hearts of the people in Jiangnan? How could it possibly put down the rebellion?

Dong Chao was led by Zhao Zicheng throughout the whole process. Following this line of thought, he also felt that it made sense.

Internally, he only secretly reported that Zhu Jie fled for fear of punishment and died accidentally at the hands of pirates. This was the best thing for Dong Chao, and he himself was relieved of the blame for failing to protect him. On this point, he had to follow Zhao Tongpan's orders completely, not changing a single word, and following Zhao Tongpan's footsteps closely.

But how to publicize it to the outside world? Dong Chao really couldn't think of it.

After much deliberation, he could only sincerely ask, "Has Judge Zhao come up with any solution to achieve the best of both worlds?"

Zhao Zicheng snorted, then revealed a look of generosity and compassion. "For the sake of the people of the world, I have no choice but to accept this and throw some dirty water on myself. Here's my plan: When we secretly report this to the emperor, we'll explain the above situation and request his approval."

Then, I told the public: "The emperor, fully aware of Zhu Jie's heinous crimes, has dismissed him from all official posts. He has also granted me the right to act at my own convenience in Suzhou to suppress the rebellion. Seeing that Zhu Jie, fearing his crime, had absconded and was disrupting the will of the army and the people to resist, I followed the emperor's order and executed him to appease the people."
Didn't you say that Zhu Jie's body was relatively intact, with only a bloody hole in the throat, but the head still attached to its neck? Then, arrange the execution as soon as possible. After the head is chopped off, display it to the gentry in Suzhou so everyone can see that it is indeed Zhu Jie who has been beheaded. This way, how can the people not rally? And then, quickly putting an end to the rebellion will be much easier! "Dong Chao was shocked when he heard this fantastic plan: "But wouldn't that be considered forging an imperial edict... a serious crime!"

Zhao Zi said, "That's why I want you and Lord Zhao to jointly sign this secret memorial and explain the situation! Tell His Majesty that this is an emergency, that Zhu Jie has already died at the hands of the bandits. To prevent the bandits from gaining more power and turning the people against them, we are using the waste material, pretending to behead the corpse, and winning back the hearts of the people for the emperor!"

Dong Chao's mind was a little confused. "But... even if Zhu Jie died of other causes, the emperor didn't say he deserved death. Even if this doesn't increase his sentence, it does increase his guilt, and there's still some suspicion of forging an imperial edict. If he's involved in such a serious matter, I'm afraid he'll be held accountable in the future!"

Zhao Zi said, "So you don't agree? Then let's handle this matter impartially! It's you who obeyed Zhu Jie's orders and acted recklessly, and at the same time failed to protect him!"

Dong Chao's mouth was bitter. Seeing that there was no one around, he knelt down in fear: "That's not what I meant! I'm thinking about the Tongpan! I'm afraid you don't know the seriousness of the matter."

Zhao Zicheng said with great righteousness: "I didn't say 'Your Majesty, please let me kill Zhu Jie'. At most, I just said 'Your Majesty, please give me the authority to act according to your discretion. I will make a judgment based on this authority. Zhu Jie fled out of fear of punishment. In wartime, he should be punished according to military law!'"
Did Zhu Jie still hold the title of Liangzhe Defense Commissioner before his death? As Liangzhe Defense Commissioner, if fleeing from the battlefield out of fear of punishment is considered desertion, can military law be enforced? At most, I was guilty of abusing my power, and it was a temporary power, a power in the sense of "power," but why would it be considered a forgery of an imperial edict?

After hearing this analysis, Dong Chao was finally speechless and had to admit that the legal basis had indeed been reversed. He also believed that all this was Zhao Zicheng's last-minute idea, all for the greater good, and he couldn't help but admire him sincerely.

"My Lord, you truly prioritize the greater good, disregarding the consequences of your actions... In this case, you are guilty of abusing your power and killing people, and defying the emperor's authority, but it's not a forged imperial edict. Exile and questioning is unlikely, but it's highly likely that you'll be dismissed from office after the war, or at the very least, exiled to a remote and desolate military prefecture."

"Please consider this, my Lord. If the people of Jiangnan truly believed that Your Majesty had granted you the authority to act at your own will, and that you had used this authority to improvise and kill Zhu Jie, how much more would they remember you after the war? As a member of the imperial clan, would the emperor still be confident in allowing you to remain in Suzhou? Perhaps, in name only, you would be retained in rank, but in reality, relocated to a remote and remote military prefecture to serve as a local official."

Zhao Zi said that doing so would definitely harm the dignity of the monarchy. This harm was not in the "reality" aspect, but in the "name" aspect, which would make people have bad thoughts about the decision-making and implementation process of the emperor's edict.

But for Zhao Zicheng, the benefits are also very obvious: as long as Zhu Zhen announces to the public that he was the murderer, his reputation among the people in Jiangnan will rise to a very high level.

So Zhao Zicheng was willing to do so. He knew very well that for him, the rank of his official position was not important, but his reputation was the most important.

Even if he became the Prime Minister, he would still be in power. Would it have any impact on whether the senior officials of the civil service group would support him during the Jingkang Incident? No impact.

Who can become emperor and who cannot has nothing to do with the previous official position of the candidate.

However, the reputation among the people and the literati is very useful when deciding who to support and can greatly influence the decision.

Zhao Zicheng said that exchanging an official position for a good reputation was a win-win no matter how you look at it.

Unfortunately, this logic couldn't be explained to outsiders. Therefore, when facing outsiders, he only gave those righteous reasons.

"With the country in ruins, how can we still be so petty and care about personal honor and disgrace? My surname is Zhao, so of course I must make more sacrifices for the stability of the people of the world! Even if I have to serve as an official in a remote and evil military state in the future, so what?

As long as it is beneficial to the country, life and death should be disregarded, let alone the fortune and misfortune of one's official career!

"I've made up my mind. After we return, you, Lord Zhao, and I will jointly sign a secret memorial to clarify this matter. Then, I will make a decisive decision, declare Zhu Jie guilty, and execute his body to appease the people of Suzhou!"

Dong Chao was completely stunned by what he heard. How could this Zhao Tongpan be so indifferent to his own personal misfortune and honor? It was unimaginable that the Song Dynasty actually had such a generous and righteous minister who worked for the public good.

(End of this chapter)