Zhao Gou's words awakened Zhao Min.
Zhao Min was shocked and realized that his situation was not good at all.
His foundation as an emperor is still unstable to this day, because he has no outstanding achievements. Since he ascended the throne, he has been a scapegoating emperor, wiping Zhao Gou's butt.
This makes his personal departure very bad.
If the blame cannot be entirely placed on Zhang Jun and the resentment inside and outside the government can be transferred to him, then this resentment will be transferred to Zhao Xun himself.
If this resentment is transferred to Zhao Yu himself...
"Think about it for yourself."
Zhao Gou waved his hand and asked Zhao Min to leave.
Zhao Xun returned to the palace, thought for a long time, and made his own decision.
After all, he couldn't bring himself to kill Zhang Jun, who had no merit but worked hard to help him stabilize the throne at a critical moment.
So he did three things.
First, Zhang Jun was deposed from his position as a Privy Councilor, deposed as a commoner, and exiled to Leizhou with his whole family. He would not be pardoned.
Second, Hu Quan, a well-known and experienced official who was also a member of the Privy Council, was appointed as a member of the Privy Council.
Third, Hu Quan was ordered to organize a new Privy Council team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the banditry on Jiangnan West Road and come up with a new plan for review within a month.
However, after these three things were done, the discussion between the government and the public subsided slightly, but soon it was picked up again.
The emperor did depose Zhang Jun, but he only deposed Zhang Jun and did not hold other guilty persons accountable. Moreover, Zhang Jun's guilt has not yet been clarified. Is it really enough to just depose him and send him into exile?
Then Hu Quan himself is a supporter of Zhang Jun, a die-hard Northern Expeditionist, and still supports Zhang Jun's behavior and stance. Isn't there a problem for such a person to continue to appoint the Privy Council? Doesn't the emperor's actions mean changing the soup without changing the medicine?
Zhang Jun's position is wrong, wrong, and cannot be maintained! It must be defeated completely!
In such a storm, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty launched a swift and violent attack on Zhang Jun's party, saying that they would never again recognize a person who mainly fought against radicals to continue to assume the military power of the Song Dynasty.
Many officials wrote a letter to impeach Hu Quan, as well as Zhang Jun's supporters Chen Junqing, Wang Shipeng and others. They criticized and slandered them, and threatened them by refusing to cooperate. They asked the emperor to think twice before he acted and to expel those who were causing harm to the country and the people from the court.
Zhao Xun was very angry and issued an order to reprimand these people who set the pace, saying that they were selfish and not public-minded, which was not the right approach, and asked them to restrain themselves.
But with little success.
In the Song Dynasty, the officials and the scholar-bureaucrats shared the same world, and they could not stop the scholar-bureaucrats' mouths. What the scholar-bureaucrats said was not guilty.
There was really no other way, Zhao Zhen was angry and anxious, so he had to find Shi Hao, who had been alienated by him for a while, and asked him for advice.
It had been several months since Shi Hao last saw Zhao Min.
He knew that Zhao Hao favored Zhang Jun, so he had no intention of competing for his favor. If Zhao Hao did not look for him, he would pretend that he did not exist. As the right minister of the empire, his powers as the right minister of the empire were almost usurped by Zhang Jun and other war factions.
However, he remained calm and did nothing. He only entertained himself by reading and painting at home all day long. He did not have any conflicts with Zhang Jun and other militant radicals, and chose to stay away from their aggressiveness. People at the time ridiculed him as "the lover of calligraphy and painting". .
Zhao Hao was dissatisfied with Shi Hao because of his conservative stance, so he deliberately alienated him and no longer took into account the contribution he had made to Zhao Hao's stable position.
But at this moment, Zhao Jun found himself in a dead end. None of Zhang Jun's loud-mouthed subordinates could help him. The only one he could turn to for help was Shi Hao.
Unsurprisingly, Shi Hao appeared in front of Zhao Hao as if he was neither happy nor sad, and greeted him. Zhao Hao was so moved that he stepped down from the throne and held Shi Hao's hand.
"Today I know that you are mature and prudent."
Shi Hao did not dare to show any emotion, but remained very calm and asked: "Your Majesty, I have come to see you. Is there anything important you have to do?"
"Teacher, are you still blaming me?"
Zhao Yan said with a bitter face: "We are already in this situation, how can you still not know? The entire imperial court has almost turned into a street food market. I have never seen so many memorials. Now I really have no choice. , Teacher, just give me an idea."
Shi Hao felt secretly happy, but his face showed no expression at all and he was still very respectful.
"This is your duty, Your Majesty, there is no need to blame yourself."
After finishing speaking, he pretended to think for a while and said: "Your Majesty asked the old minister to tell me, and the old minister will naturally say that the reason for all this is not Zhang Jun's mistake, but because your Majesty trusted Zhang Jun and appointed Zhang Jun." Too many people who did not conform to his political views were dismissed.
These people have lost their power because of Zhang Jun and his party members, so they will naturally hate Zhang Jun. It would be okay if Zhang Jun doesn't get into trouble. But if something happens to Zhang Jun, they will instantly become violent and will never give up easily. They must achieve their goals. The purpose is not acceptable.
Although few of these people are in high positions, a large number of them are in administrative positions. Without them working for the court, it would be difficult to get things done. If Your Majesty continues to force Zhang Jun and his followers to control the government, it may lead to internal conflicts within the court. The split was not conducive to the Song Dynasty. "
Zhao Min let go of Shi Hao's hand and walked back and forth for a while, looking very distressed.
"I know everything the teacher said. I know they have caused dissatisfaction among many people, but I didn't expect that they would make such a big fuss this time, and I didn't expect that Jiangnan West Road would be defeated so miserably. To tell you the truth, the Supreme Emperor also They came to me and asked me to deal with Zhang Jun seriously and even...execute him."
"I've heard this kind of sound a lot."
Shi Hao said, "Zhang Jun has been domineering in the court during this period, which has aroused the dissatisfaction of too many people. If your Majesty wants to prevent the government and the public from raising objections, you must at least make people believe that your Majesty will never use him again."
"Would you never use him again?"
Zhao Hao sighed and whispered: "Zhang Jun has gone too far this time. Even if they don't need to tell me, I will not use him again. That's why I decided to demote him to Leizhou. This means I will never use him again." I expressed my stance, but..."
"You can still be recalled no matter where you are demoted. It is not uncommon for someone to be recalled after being pardoned but not repaid. Such examples are not uncommon. Imperial officials are all smart people."
Shi Hao whispered: "Your Majesty, there is only one way to go with this plan. Only dead people will not be used again."
Zhao Min's pupils shrank and he looked at Shi Hao.
"Teacher, is this what you think?"
"This is not His Majesty's idea."
The specious sentence hit Zhao Yan's heart.
Zhao Min watched Shi Hao remain silent for a long time, sighed, returned to his seat, and sat down slumped.
It took a long time before he spoke.
"Teacher, I really envy Su Yonglin. I really envy him that he can do whatever he wants without being subject to any restrictions. He can kill the subjects he is dissatisfied with at will, and even go on a killing spree.
He killed so many people in Henan and Shandong, so many people were killed by him, but so far I haven’t heard of anyone rebelling. He did so much and no one can stop him. I really envy him, so much he……"
Shi Hao sighed.
"Mediocre people can naturally scold Su Yonglin for being cruel and unkind, but they cannot see that behind the appearance of Su Yonglin's cruelty and unkindness is his complete control and tenacious power over the Ming Dynasty.
Only when his control over the Ming Kingdom reached a certain level, only when his power as emperor was strong enough, and only when he had a group that firmly supported him, could he launch such a violent massacre. "
"So, I really envy him. He doesn't have to be forced to do things he doesn't want to do. He doesn't have to do things against his will. No one can force him, no one can intimidate him, and no one dares to bother him."
Zhao Hao smiled bitterly and said: "Teacher, I don't believe that the emperor can decide the life and death with just one word. This is never something that every emperor can do. Just like me, I can't do anything I want to do. Come on, teacher, am I really that bad?"
Shi Hao was silent for a while and then said: "Your Majesty is by no means mediocre and incompetent. Your Majesty can achieve great things."
"What should we do? Kill Zhang Jun and compromise with the court? Is this what a monarch who has achieved great things should do?"
Regarding Zhao Min's question, Shi Hao chose to persuade him.
"But forbearance is indeed what a monarch should do. Your Majesty, please don't forget that it was Gou Jian's forbearance that brought Yue's hegemony."
