…

In August of the sixth year of Xuanhe, Zhao Ji issued an edict on the grounds of regaining Yan Yun’s loss of land and amnesty the world.

Zhao Ji said in the edict:

Those who prohibit violence regard not killing as a martial art, and those who are benevolent and righteous are in charge of their teachers; those who are in charge of fraternity as a public, and those who are in charge of their virtues are in charge of their virtues...

Zhao Ji issued this edict because, given the current tense situation between the Song, Jin and Western Xia, Zhao Ji wanted to convey the following news to the Jin Kingdom, the Western Xia and the waters of Liangshan that had just destroyed Japan:

First, the Song Dynasty recovered the Yanyun area only to fulfill a historical mission;

Second, except for recapturing the Yanyun area, the Song Dynasty had no interest in other regions;

Third, the Song Dynasty hopes to maintain peaceful and friendly relations with neighboring countries from then on.

Zhao Ji's political intention did not seem to have any reaction in the Jin Dynasty, nor did he respond. Perhaps it was because the Jin Dynasty was very busy and no one noticed Zhao Ji's edict. Or someone saw it, but there was no interest in in-depth interpretation, because the Jin people had no longer trusted Zhao Ji at this time.

Xixia did not respond to Zhao Ji's political intentions. Now, Xixia has been the leader of the Jin Kingdom.

Similarly, Shuibo Liangshan did not respond to Zhao Ji's response that Shuibo Liangshan was fully digesting the nine prefectures and eight counties, and did not take into account Zhao Ji's small edict.

Zhao Ji was very disappointed and frightened about the reactions of the three neighboring countries.

Zhao Ji felt that he should do something to change the current unfavorable situation in the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, Zhao Ji made some adjustments to the senior management of the Song State.

Zhao Ji promoted Bai Shizhong to serve as the special master. The Dazai was also the subordinate minister, and Li Bangyan was promoted to the Shaozai and the Minister of the Secretariat, and the Left Prime Minister.

Soon, Zhao Ji appointed Zhao Ye as the Left Chief of the Shangshu, and the Hanlin scholar, Yuwen Cuizhong as the Right Chief of the Shangshu, and Cai Mao, the Prime Minister of Kaifeng Prefecture, and the Privy Council.

These people, together with Cai You, who was in charge of the Privy Council, formed the high-level decision-making group of Song State.

Bai Shizhong was from Shou County, Shouzhou. He became the Jinshi and served as the Minister of Personnel, the Right Chief of the Shangshu, and the Minister of the Secretariat. During the Zhenghe period, he served as a Spring Officer and was responsible for editing various auspicious news from local reports. He was very serious in his work. When he could not use words to describe those auspicious news, he used pictures to express it. The "Zhenghe Revelation Record" and "Praise" he submitted was praised by Cai Jing, and Zhao Ji also liked it very much. Later, he rose to prominence with it.

At this critical moment, Zhao Ji asked Bai Shizhong, who only knew how to flatter, to serve as prime minister. This only shows that there were indeed problems in Zhao Ji's way of employing people, and it was no wonder that the Northern Song Dynasty perished.

The left prime minister Li Bangyan, the so-called "Li Langzi" and "prodigal son" are not people who can help the building to turn the tide and fall. He is handsome, has a good literary talent, is easy to deal with, is good at teasing and scolding, and can play Cuju. He often uses street slang as lyrics and songs, and calls himself Li Langzi. He once said that he wanted to "appreciate all the flowers in the world, play all the balls in the world, and be the official in the world."

Seeing that although Wang Fu, the chief tutor of the three provinces, had fallen out of favor, Li Bangyan secretly conspired with Cai You in private, intending to impeach Wang Fu.

There are many reasons why Wang Fu fell out of favor. For example, after he came to power, the situation in the Song State was getting worse and worse. For example, the complaints he promoted for husband-in-law money was full of complaints. However, the most important reason was that Zhao Ji discovered that Wang Fu and Liang Shicheng were actually neighbors, and the two families had a private party to figure it out. In other words, the two important officials inside and outside were too close, and there was a suspicion of concealing the superiors and bullying the subordinates.

In any dynasty, it is a taboo to have ministers and eunuchs interact with each other, and the emperor is quite sensitive to this.

The court officials were not allowed to make friends with eunuchs, and eunuchs were not suitable to make friends with the court officials. This was an important principle in preventing eunuchs' authority in the Song Dynasty.

According to regulations, if the two interact with each other, they will be punished.

However, during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, especially since Xuanhe, it became a common trend for eunuchs to get along with officials. Almost all scholars and officials rushed to the eunuchs and became accustomed to being eunuchs. They were proud of being attached to eunuchs. All the powerful eunuchs were crowded with people. They set up their own businesses and received bribes to sell official titles. However, Zhao Ji, who had been thinking about calligraphy, painting and Taoism, did not notice these things.

Zhao Ji was very disappointed with Wang Fu.

At the beginning, Zhao Ji opposed the public opinion and promoted Wang Fu in an extraordinary way. It can be said that he had high hopes for Wang Fu.

Zhao Ji also gave Wang Fu the highest treatment. Not only did he give his residence, but he also personally named his residence "Dexian Zhiding". He even wrote seven monuments for him, including "Zai Geng Hall", "Gaolu Hall", "Chongguang Pavilion", "Shifeng Pavilion", "Laoshan Pavilion", "Rongguangzhai", and "Yin'an".

Wang Fu and Liang Shicheng are good at performing in front of Zhao Ji.

Wang Fu was outstanding ingenuity, eloquent, good at attracting power and making money, and good at speaking cleverly, gradually won Zhao Ji's trust.

Liang Shicheng has a different style. He is stupid, humble, honest and kind, and cannot say that he cannot speak, but he is good at observing words and expressions and dealing with things. He is also deeply favored by Zhao Ji.

In recent years, Wang Fu and Liang Shicheng have been singing and talking in front of Zhao Ji, and they have disobeyed him. Zhao Ji felt that they had harmed him badly.

Soon, the 35-year-old Censor Shi He Li stepped forward and wrote a memorial to impeach Wang Fu, and wrote a seven-part memorial, listing fifteen crimes including Wang Fu's treason, stubborn disobedience, forming cliques for personal gain, clever robbery, arrogance, extravagance, and extravagance. He requested the court to remove Wang Fu and punish him according to the law.

Wang Fu had a very sensitive sense of political smell. He felt that the situation was becoming more and more unfavorable to him. So in early November, he took the initiative to submit a letter to ask for retirement. He said in the memorial: "Your Majesty uses me to do everything, and you are not willing to do anything. If you are not willing to do anything, you are not willing to do anything. If you are not responsible for me, you will gain evil spirits and fatigue, and you will mourn yourself. If you are willing to return the seal and ribbon, you will retreat and live in the turbulent storm, and you will get rewarded in the turbulent storm. People are not responsible for ghosts. If you are slow to lose their grudges, you will always say this kindness is for the end of your life."

Zhao Ji quickly approved Wang Fu's request. He wrote in his imperial pen: "Wang Fu Chen asked for retirement, and his number of benefactors, courtesy etiquette, etc., everything will be implemented according to Cai Jing's rules, and the governor's salary will be given."

That year, Wang Fu was forty-five years old.

Wang Fu officially served as the Shaobao in November of the second year of Xuanhe, and the Dazai was also the Minister of the Ministry of Education, and the position of Prime Minister.

In fact, before Cai Jing retired in June of the second year of Xuanhe, Wang Fu had already gained Zhao Ji's trust and began to control the government.

Wang Fu took the resolution of Fangtian, destroyed Biyong and medical mathematics, and wanted to reduce taxes and labor services and streamline government institutions, including the Six Documents Bureaus, which won wide praise from people at that time. People thought he was very courageous and praised him as a "virtuous prime minister".

Later, Wang Fu set up the Yingfeng Bureau and also took charge of the tribute. In the name of tribute to Zhao Ji, he distributed to officials from all over the country and asked to pay tribute to rare things from all over the world. This gradually aroused people's disgust. One tenth of these things could be brought to Zhao Ji's hands, and the rest were all divided by him and Liang Shicheng.

As the power and status were consolidated, Wang Fu became more and more autocratic, fierce and vicious, and said the same thing. He mercilessly cracked down on the persecution of ministers who were inconsistent with his views. China and foreign countries feared him and no one dared to speak out.

Therefore, after the news of Wang Fu being dismissed from office spread, the world was praised.

...
Chapter completed!