"Thanks for your hard work."
In the palace, Zhao Kuo sat on the bedside, holding Tian Shu's hands and speaking softly.
He was not with An Ning when his first child was born, and he always felt a little regretful in his heart. This time, Tian Shu was finally able to be by his side.
"Your Majesty, urgent report from Hetao." At this time, Liu Ping's voice came from outside.
"Can't we talk about it later?" Zhao Kuo scolded in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, the country's affairs are important, you should go and take a look first." Tian Shu took the catkins away from Zhao Kuo's hand, her voice was very weak.
"You have a good rest, I'll be back soon." Zhao Kuo leaned over and kissed Tian Shu gently on the forehead, helped Tian Shu tuck the quilt, stood up and walked slowly outside.
"What happened?" Zhao Kuo quickly closed the door to prevent the cold wind from blowing inside.
"College matters." Liu Ping handed the letter from Li Fu to Zhao Kuo.
"Let Wei Wuji, Zhao Sheng, Xunzi, Kong Bin and others come over to discuss the matter." Zhao Kuo took a general glance and walked towards the outer hall, "What do you think of this matter?"
"I have not received any news from below about other forces spreading rumors, but Mr. Mao is a rare wise man in our Zhao country. What he said should not be false, and after all, he is in Shuofang and knows the local situation better than I and others. Liu Ping said.
"Is it possible that Qin did it?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"I think it is unlikely. After the Qin State and Qin Yue were captured, the Qin State's power began to shrink or dormant. In addition, our Zhao State has successively attacked it. Currently, the Qin State does not have this ability." Liu Ping shook his head.
He found that no matter what bad things happened to Zhao State, Zhao Kuo would immediately put the blame on Qin State's head, no matter what the reason was.
"That's the other forces in Zhao State." Zhao Kuo said in a deep voice, "It's been so many years, haven't they been found out yet?"
"My subordinates are incompetent and only found one family." Liu Ping lowered his head and said.
During the two-year snowstorm, a force in Zhao State attempted to use Zhao Bao's son to infiltrate Zhao State. Fortunately, Zhao State discovered it in time. Since then, Liu Ping has been investigating for two years.
"Which one?" Zhao Kuo stopped.
"Su family." Liu Ping said.
"What about the others?" Zhao Kuo continued to walk forward. The Su family is not a big family, and it is impossible for this family alone to make such a big move.
"The Wang family seems to be involved, but there is not enough evidence yet. Other than that..." At this point, Liu Ping hesitated.
"Say it directly."
"There are also signs of involvement from the Changshan Zhao family and the Zhongren Zhao family." Liu Ping gritted his teeth and said.
"Changshan Zhao family? The middle-aged Zhao family?" Zhao Kuo looked puzzled. There were so many people with the surname Zhao in the country, and they were everywhere in the country. How could he tell who was who?
"The Changshan Zhao family is a descendant of Lord Anping. Because they settled in Changshan, they are called the Changshan Zhao family. They are the largest branches of the Zhao family. The middle Zhao family is a descendant of Zhao Wen." Liu Ping said.
The Anping Lord here is not Tian Dan, Anping Lord of Qi State, but Zhao Cheng, Anping Lord of Zhao State, the son of Zhao Chenghou, the younger brother of Zhao Suhou, and the biological uncle of King Zhao Wuling.
He was appointed as the Prime Minister by Zhao Suhou, granted the title of Lord Anping, and jointly controlled the Zhao Kingdom.
This is also a characteristic of the three Jin Dynasties, because they all know where the position under their buttocks came from, and they are afraid that something like this will happen again, so they often use people from the clan and do not trust outsiders.
Zhao Cheng had served as the Prime Minister of the State of Zhao for decades and was so powerful that King Zhao Wuling had to convince him before any reforms could be implemented.
Later, the Sand Dune Palace changed. With the consent of King Zhao Huiwen, Zhao Cheng and Li Dui led their troops to surround the Sand Dune Palace for more than three months and killed King Zhao Wuling, the wisest monarch in the history of the Zhao Kingdom.
Zhao Wen was also a member of the Zhao clan during the period of King Zhao Wuling, but his power was far inferior to that of Zhao Cheng, and he was later named a middleman.
To this day, the fiefdoms they left to future generations have long been taken back by the State of Zhao.
However, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Although the fiefdom is gone, their power is still there. It is far less difficult for them to become officials and lead soldiers than other nobles.
These clan members are domineering in the local area, and even officials will act based on their faces.
"Has it been confirmed?" Zhao Kuo asked in a deep voice.
"I have obtained evidence to prove that someone in their house was involved, but whether the head of the family was involved... is still uncertain. This group of people is particularly cautious. I was afraid of alerting others, so I did not dare to investigate in depth." Liu Ping said cautiously.
Once Zhao is involved, things will not be trivial.
The Zhao family had too many internal problems. Ever since Zhao Jianzi abolished his direct descendants and established a concubine, and the Handan family rebelled against the Zhao family, there have been fierce struggles within the Zhao family.
Don't talk about why you are the legitimate son and you should be the king, and don't talk about how you are the son and you should be the king. If I don't like you, I will rebel.
The Zhao State itself was wary of the clan, but they did not dare to be too wary.
If you are too careful, without the help of the clan, it is easy for the three families to be divided into promotions.
If you don't be careful, things like Qu Wo Dai Yi will easily happen.
Zhao State itself was also in a very difficult situation.
And there is no good way to do this, it all depends on the monarch's methods.
If the monarch can suppress them, they are all good people. If the monarch cannot suppress them, they will be able to do anything.
"Continue to investigate. It doesn't matter who you find. No matter what happens, I will stand behind you." Zhao Kuo said in a deep voice. "The Guards can be mobilized directly if necessary."
Not to mention the mere descendants of Zhao Cheng, even if Zhao Cheng is still alive, he will kill anyone who dares to go against them.
King Zhao Huiwen did not liquidate them, but it does not mean that Zhao Kuo will not liquidate them. If the other party is not discerning, he does not mind uprooting the other party.
"No." After receiving Zhao Kuo's permission, Liu Ping immediately felt relieved.
This kind of thing was the most thankless thing. What he was most worried about was that at the end of the investigation, King Zhao would discuss with the clan, take some benefits, and then turn around and sell him.
The two of them didn't wait too long before Wei Wuji and others walked in from outside.
"Your Majesty." Several people bowed and saluted.
"Sit down, this was just delivered from Hetao, take a look." Zhao Kuo pointed to the letter and said, the eunuch next to him leaned forward, picked up the letter and handed it to Wei Wuji.
"We must find ways to increase the enrollment rate of school-age children to more than 30%." Xunzi said after looking around.
He had never expected a 100% enrollment rate, but only if it reached 30% would it be meaningful to popularize education, and Zhao would be able to reap rewards from it. "Several methods sent by Hetao have operational value, and I think they can be implemented."
"There is no problem in setting up poverty scholarships. The problem is how to distribute the money to those in need." Wei Wuji picked up the tea and took a sip.
If the payment standard is one-tenth of the total number of people, it does not require too much money, and Zhao Guo can completely afford it.
But the difficulty in this matter is how to distribute the money to those in need, rather than to the dean's son or the county magistrate's relatives.
Wei Wuji was well aware of the behavior of this group of people. If poverty scholarships were really set up, it would be a blessing if one-third of the money could be distributed to those in need.
