Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

After returning home, Defang went directly to the study with the booklet, called Nangong to discuss the matter, ran to Baili to put away the gold mace, ordered Xiaopeng to prepare refreshments, took the regular clothes and returned to the study, Defang changed into the regular clothes in the study, took Zhezi said to Nangong, "Your Majesty has read these Zhezi, and said that the number of rewards should be determined by the lonely king according to the usual practice, but the lonely king doesn't know what to do about the matter of brother-in-law Wu Yuanyi and Duan Shoulun."

"Consort Wu? Didn't he know that Dingzhou has a good political record, and His Majesty has summoned him to Beijing?"

"Yes, but when Dingzhou came, the people paid tribute to the imperial court and begged to stay in the post of son-in-law, and neglected ten things about his good governance, and asked for a stele of virtuous government to show his virtuous government."

"It's a good thing, Your Majesty should have the holy will?"

"Your Majesty can just say whatever you want. If the Gu Wang asks His Majesty to express it clearly, your Majesty can still say whatever. The Gu Wang doesn't know what to do."

"Then what is the prince's intention?"

"Of course King Gu wants him to return to Beijing. Since Princess Yan died of illness in the first year of Chunhua, Yuan Yu has been out of Beijing to be an official. It has been 14 years. Dingzhou is the place where he has been an official for the longest time. It is close to the border. , A little war will spread. Yuan Jian has been in Dingzhou for five years, recruiting soldiers, storing cool grass, and pacifying the land. The year before last, there was a severe drought in Dingzhou. The little official asked the wizard to cast a spell to pray for rain. After learning about it, Yuan Jian said: The demon people, the dragons stop the beasts, and they can conquer the heavens? Only sincerity can move the heavens. So he ordered people to set up an altar in front of the city gate, clean the fast for three days, personally lead the management to worship and pray, and make contact with the rain. The people I am very surprised, and I admire him very much." Defang patted the note, "But the imperial court has a system, and the magistrate will leave after five years of service and be assigned a new post. If you are allowed to stay in office, it will break the legal system of the court, and if you leave the office according to the system, you may hurt the hearts of the people, and the lonely king really doesn't know what to do."

"My lord, the son-in-law is a relative of the emperor. Unlike other officials, it is not wrong to have a special case, and Dingzhou is an important place. Now that Liao is about to move, we should be cautious in mobilizing officials. If we can appease the hearts of the people in Dingzhou, we will be more concerned about the upcoming situation. The war will help."

"Then what do you mean?"

"In the opinion of a villain, it is better to accept the request of the people of Dingzhou."

Defang thought for a while, "Yes, the son-in-law is indeed different from other officials. If there is a special case, it will not violate the court system. However, in the early years, there were officials who bribed the state citizens to go to Beijing to beg for their own benefit. For the son-in-law, will there be any officials? Do you want to imitate or take advantage of it?"

"Returning to the lord, the imperial court has set up a transfer envoy to investigate the achievements of state government officials. This is the right way. The imperial court can issue an edict to limit this. Those who are not transfer envoys should report in detail. Severe punishment."

"Well, that's very good. In fact, staying in Dingzhou is beneficial to the people. Seeing that the Liao army is about to invade the south again, it is imperative to stabilize the people's hearts. So be it. Gu Wang will discuss it with His Majesty tomorrow."

"My lord, what happened to that Duan Shoulun?"

"Rong people invaded Hongde Village, enshrined officials, closed doors and waited for Duan Shoulun to lead his troops to resist. After three days of hard work, many people were captured. According to the usual practice, they should be rewarded with more officials. However. The Khitan Liao army chased north across Yangshan Mountain at the entrance of the Great Wall. They were beheaded and won many military weapons. For such a great achievement, His Majesty did not increase officials as usual, but only issued an imperial edict to reward them, bestowing brocade robes and gold belts, and giving money to the soldiers. There is a difference."

"Does the lord wonder if he wants to add an official to Mr. Duan?"

"That's right. For the battle against the Liao Dynasty, according to the rule, you need to be promoted. However, General Wei only rewarded him for defeating the enemy. Now Duan Shoulun repelled the Rong people. Whether he should be promoted or not is not sure. I don’t know what His Majesty’s will is.”