I studied in modern times

Chapter 782: Impeachment Again
April 17, the second year of Yuanyou.

Just one day later, another eunuch came to Princess Shoukang's residence.

Zhang Dunli and his wife arrived at the yard in a state of panic, set up the incense table, and welcomed the eunuch who came to deliver the imperial edict.

Fortunately, this time the decree was serious in tone.

But the content is still very mild.

"Imperial edict to Zhang Dunli: You were personally chosen by our Emperor, born in a literary family, and follow the path of poetry and books. You were chosen to marry the princess. Since you are related by heaven, you should follow the way of a sage and not compete with the common people for profit! Yes, you will be fined 3 years for additional years and 30 kilograms of copper. You should cultivate loyalty, righteousness, and integrity to meet my wishes!"

Zhang Dunli and his wife bowed their heads and kowtowed again, with tears of gratitude.

Princess Shoukang, in particular, faced the imperial city and expressed her gratitude again and again.

When the eunuch resigned, he was personally escorted to his doorstep.

After returning home, Princess Shoukang looked at her husband who had been revived to full health.

She sighed and said, "My dear, come with me to the palace tomorrow to express your gratitude!"

Zhang Dunli nodded: "Yes! I will obey your Highness!"

“In addition, you must personally go to the Chang and Wang families to apologize and return the money of these two families with interest. You must also sign a contract with them to return all the pledged shares to them!” Princess Shoukang added.

Zhang Dunli's eyes widened immediately, and he was extremely unhappy: "Your Highness!"

Princess Shoukang looked at her husband and couldn't help shedding tears: "My dear, do you want to ruin Bingyuan's fortune?"

Zhang Dunli watched his wife cry and quickly advised: "Your Highness, please don't cry! Your Highness, please don't cry!"

It wasn't because he loved his wife, but he was really worried that Princess Shoukang would be sad, so he ran to the palace to cry.

And today's emperor...

He is the most protective of his own people among all the officials in history!
If he angered the palace at this critical juncture, Zhang Dunli felt that he would have to report to the local prefecture or even the Imperial Academy.

He would rather die than go to the Imperial Academy!
There was no other way, Zhang Dunli could only say: "I will obey your Highness...I will obey your Highness...I will go find Chang Shan and Wang Jing and apologize in person!"

However, he never mentioned returning the money or even sharing the pawned shares with the two companies.

In Zhang Dunli's mind, since he was able to come and apologize in a generous manner, the Chang and Wang families should kneel down and kowtow to express their gratitude.

It's not that he's stupid!

It’s the arrogance of the powerful that’s at work!

The high and mighty ones have never regarded those who are lower than them in status as human beings!

In their minds, only people with a similar status to them are worthy of interacting with them on an equal footing.

You are a commoner, and it is a compliment for him to talk to you!
Princess Shoukang listened, wiped her tears, and said, "In any case, my dear, please bring some money with you!"

"At this critical moment, no accidents can happen!"

God has mercy on her. Since the news of the censor's visit to the palace came yesterday, she has been kneeling before the Medicine King Bodhisattva and praying hard for the entire night.

She also made a vow to exchange her own life for her husband's safety.

Now, thanks to the Buddha's blessing, I have finally gotten through this safely.

She naturally didn't want any more twists and turns.

Princess Shoukang knew too well the temperament of her mother, the almighty Empress Dowager!
She still remembered some things that happened in Prince Pu's residence when she was a child.

At that time, my father had not yet been made a prince by the Emperor Ren Miao, and the whole family lived in the Muqin House.

The queen mother has the final say in everything at home!

Even my father can’t get a word in!

Sometimes, when the emperor wanted to interfere, he would be blocked by the queen mother in a strong manner.

Whenever this happened, my father could only smile apologetically.

When my father ascended the throne, he was the supreme ruler, but he didn't have a single concubine in the harem!

This was partly because of my father’s poor health.

But the queen mother’s dominance accounts for the vast majority of the reasons!
When the previous emperor was alive, both princes lived in the palace. Especially the second elder brother, because he was favored by the queen mother, he could enter and leave the palace without any scruples!

Didn’t the late emperor ever think of moving the two kings out of town?

In the tenth year of Xining, the late emperor had already built the Qinxian House in Xianyifang for the two kings to live in when they were away from home!

But, it was not until the eighth year of Yuanfeng.

No matter how the late emperor hinted or stated explicitly, and no matter how the ministers in the court wrote letters to discuss the matter of moving the two kings out of the palace.

But in front of the Queen Mother, there is only one result - No!
Even though the fourth brother (Zhao Ju) had always said that he wanted to move out of the palace, the Queen Mother acted as if she didn't hear him.

It was not until the death of the previous emperor and the accession of the current emperor to the throne that the second and fourth brothers moved out of the palace at the request of the ministers and lived in the Qinxian House that had been built for them long ago.

Even so, from Princess Shoukang's observation, it was mostly because the current emperor was more favored by the queen mother than her second brother.

In addition, through his own efforts, he gained recognition from Empress Dowager Xiang and court officials.

From the eldest son of the previous emperor, he suddenly became the eldest legitimate grandson!

Perfectly hit the Queen Mother's sore spot!

As a result, the second brother, who was once the most favored, quickly fell out of favor.

To the extent that now, he can’t even take a step out of his Qinxian’s house!
Even his own son, the most beloved son in the past, would suffer such a fate once he offended him!

What’s more, he is my daughter’s husband?

Princess Shoukang remembered it very carefully.

When my second sister died, my mother only shed tears when she heard the news, and then she returned to normal.

In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, the news of Wang Shen's death reached the capital.

The queen mother only said one sentence: "He deserves to be put to death!" and did not comment any more!

It was as if a cat or a dog had died.

Now, if her husband is not tactful and continues to cause trouble for her, she will feel ashamed.

Princess Shoukang had no doubt that her mother was capable of imprisoning her husband.

If this happens, not only will the husband’s official title be lost, but even his descendants will be implicated.

Zhang Dunli was not as worried as Princess Shoukang.

In his opinion, this storm should be over!

After all, the emperor punished him - he had to pay an additional three years of labor inspection and was fined thirty kilograms of copper!
For relatives by marriage, this is a severe punishment.

Even if the villains in the court still want to dwell on this, the palace will no longer pay attention to them!
No double punishment for the same crime!
However, he still comforted the princess: "I will obey your Highness, I will obey your Highness..."

"I'll have someone prepare it right away!"

Of course, asking him to take out the huge amount of silver in his home and give it to Chang Shan and Wang Jing?
How can it be!

How can he face people if this gets out?

It just so happened that I heard that a new brothel had recently opened in the tile house at Baokang Gate. It was said that the ladies in this brothel were all Silla maids who had been carefully trained by the brothel owners!
It’s just very expensive!

I heard that even a glass of wine would cost thirty or fifty strings of cash.

If you want to have a romantic encounter with her, you will have to pay hundreds of strings of cash!

but……

Zhang Dunli felt it was worth it.

After all, she was a Silla maid!
This rare item became extinct after the founding of the Song Dynasty.

Its appeal to people like Zhang Dunli only came after the Wu Shi San from the Wei and Jin Dynasties reappeared in the market!
……

"Everyone..." Feng Jing came to Zhao Xu, who had just finished his morning exercise and was soaking in the bathtub with Meng Qingqing's help, and reported in a low voice: "The Interview Department has just sent us the schedule for the ministers to see the emperor in the next five days..."

"Hmm?" Zhao Xu closed his eyes and asked, "Read it to me!"

"Yes!" Feng Jing held up a piece of Yuanshu paper and began to read: "On the 18th day of the fourth month, at noon, the newly appointed Director of the Imperial College, Chang Anmin, and the newly appointed Censor Feng Ji, and others will appear before the Emperor in the Chongzheng Hall... The Imperial Court will ask for His Majesty's approval. Are you willing to come to the court to receive me?"

Zhao Xu thought about it and still had some impression of the people Feng Jing mentioned!

Especially Chang Anmin, he is a typical rational person.

In Zhao Xu's previous life, when he was in the court during the Yuanyou era, he spoke well of the New Party.

They said things like, "Actually, the new law has its merits," and "If things continue like this, the country will be ruined!"

Because Sima Guang had already become powerful when he said these words, no one tried to attack him on purpose, and no one was willing to listen to him.

By Shaosheng, the new party was fully revived and began to liquidate the old party.

He jumped up again and said things like, "The Yuanyou policies cannot be completely denied," "The Yuanyou system also has its good points," and "We must understand the Yuanyou issues objectively and impartially."

then……

He was repeatedly rubbed against by Zhang Dun, Cai Jing and Zeng Bu.

Eventually he was demoted to Chuzhou to supervise liquor taxes.

Yes, it is the Chuzhou where Ouyang Xiu wrote The Drunken Old Man Pavilion.

As for Fengji?

This is a two-faced person! A speculator!

Before Yuanfeng eight years ago, he had always been a member of the New Party.

In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, Sima Guang and Lu Gongzhu came to the court. He saw that the wind was not right, so he jumped ship and joined the old party!
Zhao Xu has some opinions about this person.

Because this guy is Zhang Dun's political enemy! And he is a mortal enemy!

In his previous life, Zhang Dun used the magical skill of Huanzhou in order to kill this guy.

At one point, he was transferred to serve as an official in six states and counties.

Often, he would have just arrived at a new place and hadn't even sat down yet when the imperial envoy would come to convey his order, asking him to quickly proceed to the next destination!

Even after all this, he didn’t die!

This shows how tenacious this man's vitality is.

However, after ten years of studying abroad in modern times, Zhao Xu no longer acts on his emotions in politics.

As long as he can get things done for him, he doesn't care what the minister's position is or who his enemy is!

Feng Ji has tenacious vitality and excellent physical fitness. As a double-dealer and speculator, he has a strong spirit of adventure - he made his fortune by taking risks!
At the beginning, he was part of the delegation that accompanied An Tao and Chen Mu on their mission to Goryeo.

And he shone brilliantly during that mission!
Legend has it that when the ship encountered a storm at sea, everyone else was in a panic and trembling, but he remained calm, commanded the sailors, dealt with various dangerous situations, and finally led the fleet safely out of the storm.

In addition, it is said that he also made a lot of money by doing business in Goryeo by virtue of his identity as a Song envoy.

Zhao Xu had read about this incident in modern Goryeo history books and had some impression of it.

According to Goryeo records, this time the Song envoy team was greedy by nature. They reduced the food supply by billions every day and discounted the trade silver a lot!
Therefore, this guy is not only a business-minded person, but also a team-oriented person. An Tao, Chen Mu and other members of the delegation kept their mouths shut about what happened in Goryeo and refused to let anything slip.

It can be seen that everyone benefited from that mission!
Recalling these things, Zhao Xu asked, "Feng Jing, go check who is the sponsor of Feng Ji?"

Feng Jing bowed and said, "Yes!"

Zhao Xu continued, "Report to me as soon as possible, preferably before the afternoon, and I will decide whether to go to Chongzheng Hall tomorrow!"

"promise!"

"Go on, let's see who else is there?"

Feng Jing took the Yuanshu paper and continued reading: "On the 20th day of the fourth month, the newly appointed judge of the Law Academy, the former governor of Luzhou Cui Taifu and others attended the court to see the emperor..."

Zhao Xu opened his eyes and smiled: "Cui Taifu has returned to Beijing?"

"Yes..." Feng Jing replied, "I am in the Tongjian Division. I heard that he arrived in Beijing yesterday and stayed in the Chaoji Courtyard. He immediately sent a letter to the Dutang to ask for an audience!"

"Good!" Zhao Xu nodded.

Cui Taifu is a contemporary expert on criminal law. No one knows criminal law better than him.

And Zhao Xu is lacking such a minister now!

At the beginning, Zhao Xu wanted him to study law and then write books, using his professional knowledge to argue for new criminal law provisions for emerging industries such as workshops and handicrafts.

Moreover, Cui Taifu's return to Beijing at this sensitive moment also means that Zhao Xu has an expert who can endorse the criminal code.

"Those who will attend the audience on the same day..." Feng Jing looked at the list and continued, "There is also the newly appointed Chief of the Ministry of Works, Li Jie..."

Zhao Xu smiled even more brightly.

Li Jie is back too?

very good!

My team is growing stronger!

……

After bathing, Zhao Xu changed into new clothes with the help of Meng Qingqing.

At this time, Guo Zhongxiao hurriedly submitted a letter requesting a meeting.

This is a little strange.

After all, didn’t Feng Jing just go to the Tongjiansi?

So he immediately ordered someone to bring Guo Zhongxiao to him.

Guo Zhongxiao met Zhao Xu, bowed, and then took out a letter from his bosom and presented it in his hand: "Your Majesty..."

"Just now, the Censor Zhu Guangting has once again submitted a memorial to impeach the son-in-law of the emperor, the commander-in-chief Zhang Dunli, for crimes such as deceiving the emperor, bullying others by taking advantage of his power, and having no regard for the law of the country!"

Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment.

Yesterday, the ministers met with the emperor to discuss the matter of the son-in-law, and in the end the ministers agreed with Zhao Xu's handling opinion.

However, in exchange, Zhao Xu also promised the ministers that from then on, the censors could no longer use real seals when dealing with matters concerning royal family and relatives without special orders.

Must use normal seal!
The difference between a general seal and a real seal is that it has no privacy at all.

Not only the people in the Tongjian Department, but everyone can see it.

Moreover, copies would be made and sent to the Dutang, the two palaces, and the Funing Palace respectively.

What’s even worse is that this thing also has a yellow sticker. The so-called yellow sticker, as the name suggests, is a piece of yellow paper pasted on the outside of the seal.

The yellow sticker is a summary and generalization of the contents of the seal.

and so……

The general content of Zhu Guangting's impeachment letter should be spreading rapidly now.

Although, Zhao Xu did it on purpose.

He deliberately left this loophole to facilitate his own plan.

However, Zhang Dunli did not even last a day before he was impeached again.

Moreover, the content of the impeachment seems to be very explosive!

Isn’t this prince consort too low?

However, Zhao Xu looked serious on the surface, and said with a hint of anger: "Didn't I punish the prince consort yesterday?"

"Why is the censor still pestering me?!"

Guo Zhongxiao didn't dare to respond and could only hold up the copied note in his hand.

Zhao Xu nodded, and Feng Jing immediately stepped forward, took the impeachment letter, and put it in Zhao Xu's hands.

When Zhao Xu opened it and took a look, he was immediately delighted.

He had seen stupid people before, but this was the first time Zhao Xu had met someone so stupid.

This is a blatant violation of the imperial edict and deceiving the emperor!
This is an exaggeration, which completely fits the charge that Zhu Guangting impeached - he has no respect for his superiors and is not a loyal subject!

(End of this chapter)