King of Song

Chapter 134 Cotton
Things are often more complicated than imagined, especially when it involves a major case of treason, and trivial details may also cause an uproar.

Zhao Shiju is the mastermind, and everyone related to him has become the subject of investigation.Those who were more or less involved in the rebellion were sent to prison.Then there are letters, or people who have interacted with each other on weekdays, and even some people who are indirectly related, all of which cannot escape the relationship.Since ancient times, whenever the word "rebellion" is involved, one would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go.

One piece of evidence was presented to Bianjing, and a lot of prophecies and rumors were found in the mansions of Zhao Shiju and Li Feng, all of which were Tiechen who conspired.There is also a saying that Zhao Shiju looks like Taizu. Although it is nonsense, it is undoubtedly more hated and feared.

Therefore, there are not a few people who have been implicated. Zhang Jing, the chief supervisor, Teng Fu, the magistrate of Mingzhou, Liu Yu, the medical officer, Qin Biao, a student of Sitianjian, and even Deng Wan, Zhongcheng, the censor of Quan, were all implicated.

However, as the investigation of the case continued to deepen, Emperor Zhao Xu's anger gradually turned into helplessness, and it was difficult to continue to investigate many things, and he even had to stop.Because unintentionally, many people who should not have been involved have been implicated.

For example, his younger brother Jiawang Zhao Kai once asked Liu Yu, a medical officer who participated in the rebellion, to come to his palace and serve as a medical officer in his palace.After the case broke out, Zhao Kai fell into deep fear, for fear of being convicted.Zhao Xu had to take care of brotherhood no matter what, at least in this matter, it was pure nonsense that his younger brother participated in the conspiracy.

This is just the beginning, and the next situation is what Zhao Xu least wants to see.The treason case involved not only officials, but also a legendary civilian——Li Shining!

This person was handed over to Kuang Kuang, famous for a while, and even a bit of a charlatan.But it's just such a person, and the people he associates with are all dignitaries and elites.As early as the Renzong Dynasty, Li Shining went in and out of the family-friendly house where the royal family lived, and had a good relationship with many members of the clan.

Originally, these were assets worth showing off, but this time, they were undoubtedly a reminder for him.Li Shining's crimes are very clear. He adapted Song Renzong's elegy for Yingzong Zhao Zongshi's biological mother, which became a prophecy that Zhao Shiju was destined to ascend to the throne.In addition to this, there is physical evidence that he had previously received the Qilong Dao presented by Zhao Shiju, and he often drank with Zhao Shiju.

Why did a little Li Shining give Emperor Zhao Xu such a headache?Because Li Shining has a lot of friends, the acquaintances are not known to be the clan, and there are many celebrities and ministers, such as Wang Anshi!
Wang Anshi's father passed away and he lived in Jiangning during his filial piety. Li Shining was his guest and lived in Wang's house for a while.

Having said that, it is already very clear that if Zhao Shiju's case continues to be investigated in depth, Wang Anshi will definitely be implicated.Zhao Xu would never believe that Wang Anshi participated in Zhao Shiju's rebellion at this time, especially at the critical moment of reform.

Wang Anshi is the minister of the humerus, and if there is any mistake, the reform plan will be affected.This is what he does not want to see. If this matter becomes a big issue, it will definitely be caught by conservative officials, and it will have a huge impact on Wang Anshi's reputation and reform matters.

Fortunately, it was Lin Zhao who noticed Li Shining's problem first, and told him first, otherwise things would be a little tricky.There is nothing to do now, Zhao Shiju's case can only be done in moderation.It was also at this time that Lin Zhao realized that this should be Zhao Shiju's so-called gift!
Soon afterwards, Emperor Zhao Xu issued an edict that Li Feng and others involved in Zhao Shiju's rebellion case beheaded, and a large number of those involved were exiled to Lingnan.As for Zhao Shiju's family, just like in the original history, they were supervised and exiled.

However, Zhao Xu will definitely not let go of this opportunity to attack Taizu's lineage. Zhao Shiju's uncles and brothers all lowered their ranks to warn others.

Later, the case of Yuhang County King Zhao Zongyong's illegal salt trafficking case officially surfaced. Zhao Zongyong never expected that he had already pleaded with the Queen Mother Gao Taotao, but he still ended up like this.The emperor issued an edict that the case should be jointly heard by Dali Temple and Yushitai, which made it clear that he would not give his uncle any face.

When the news came out, the country was shaken. First, it was despised by the greedy and dirty behavior of the clan and princes, and was filled with anger and righteous indignation.Then he expressed his appreciation for the wise and martial arts of the officials and their righteousness in killing relatives.

After Dali Temple and Yushitai found out the truth, Zhao Zongyong's sale of private salt was true, the evidence was conclusive, and the amount was huge. According to the law, he should be sentenced to a felony.

However, the emperor Zhao Xu personally came forward and called the king of Yuhang County my uncle. Even though he made a typo, the family relationship is not broken, it is really hard to bear the crime.The attitude of the officials is already obvious, and everyone knows in their hearts that the emperor is filial, so it must be fulfilled no matter what!
As a result, Zhao Zongyong died at a very old age, and took his title and returned to Bianjing to recuperate. As for the two sons, Zhao Zhongye and Zhao Zhongshan, they both won the title and served their father.In a word, Zhao Zongyong and his son were deprived of their titles and imprisoned.

Zhao Zongyong wrote a letter to plead for mercy but failed. Seeing this, the princes of the family of Prince Pu's family were saddened by the death of the rabbit and the fox, so they wrote to Zhao Zongyong to plead for mercy.Some people even went to lobby the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao, but they didn't get a good look at all.All the clans of King Pu clearly felt that the Empress Dowager fully supported the Emperor this time. As for the very authoritative Empress Dowager Cao, she was already dissatisfied with Prince Pu's residence, let alone speak for them.

They finally realized that this time it was the three generations of the emperor's grandparents attacking the Prince Pu's mansion, killing chickens to make an example to monkeys, which was a wake-up call for themselves.After thinking about it one by one, they were all a little terrified, but this time they gradually restrained, and their arrogance suddenly dimmed a lot.

After the two incidents of Zhao Shiju and Zhao Zongyong, the arrogance of the clan's children was suppressed, and Zhao Xu's throne became more stable.The world also saw a just, strict, benevolent and filial emperor, and his prestige was greatly improved.The bad influence of Zhao Shiju's rebellion has gradually disappeared, and the Song Dynasty is thriving again!
The emperor's disposal is only a word, but it still depends on the local officials.For example, the escort of Zhao Zongyong and his son back to Beijing had to be carried out in Hangzhou. As a result, it fell to Lin Zhao, the new magistrate of Qiantang County.

Lin Zhao did not expect that he would have the opportunity to be promoted to county magistrate so soon.Although he is a seventh-rank sesame official, he is still the top of the county, which is still very good.However, there is a saying called "Three lives are unlucky, the magistrate is attached to Guo", which refers to the person who is the county magistrate in the capital of a state.

Qiantang County and Yuhang County are where Hangzhou City is located, and there are Zhizhou and Tongpan above their heads.Needless to say, the relationship between Su Shi and Lin Zhao, but the upcoming Zhao Zhizhou, I don't know what is going on!
Lin Zhao took office in such a muddleheaded way, and only after entering the county government office did he realize that the county magistrate is not so easy to be, and the intricate things are really troublesome.The Emperor Biansheng still wants to find trouble for you, deal with Zhao Zongyong and his son, hehe... There is nothing left and right, so Magistrate Lin is very happy to find fault with them.

When he arrived at Yuhang County Prince's Mansion, he walked to the door and heard Zhao Zhongshan yelling and cursing loudly. It was nothing more than getting used to a good life and suddenly being a prisoner, so he was naturally upset.He kept reprimanding the guards guarding the door, but unfortunately no one paid any attention to him, no different from a shrew cursing the street.

The one who was the most angry was Zhao Zongyong, the former King of Yuhang County, this prince who was born in Tianhuang nobles, this would be a curse, not to mention how angry he was.As for the content, it's nothing more than Zhao Xu's ungratefulness and lack of family affection... In the words, there are wild words, and there are endless rebellious and immoral words.

He originally thought that as long as he sent a letter to the queen mother, the thirteen siblings would give him face.At least remember the previous love, there should be nothing wrong, so I have been staying these days, not taking it seriously.I didn't expect things to be like this, and the blow in my heart was really not small.

When Lin Zhao arrived, he could hear it clearly. He walked in and said with a smile, "Zhao Zongyong, be careful, if you can't control your mouth, I'm afraid you won't have a safe life in Bianjing!"

"Lin Zhao, you..." The enemy was extremely jealous when they met, Zhao Zhongshan was the first to see Lin Zhao, and immediately cursed, furious.

"What are you doing here? Are you watching a joke?" Among the three brothers, Zhao Zhongye was the most sensible.What's the point of swearing by a shrew?Talking is useless!Until I saw Lin Zhao, I couldn't bear it anymore.

Zhao Zongyong also looked straight at Lin Zhao. Before that, he looked down on a low-level official at all. His eyes were high above the top, and he could only feel disdain and contempt in his heart.But he never expected that his failure was thanks to him!How could he not hate Lin Zhao in this situation?
This time, the father and son had different expressions, but they all had one thing in common, which was anger and hatred!

Lin Zhao laughed and said, "Look at the joke? So what if it's true or not? I remember who spoke wildly at the time, saying that the Queen Mother and the officials would not believe it. What's going on... Now? It can be seen that people can't be ashamed!"

"Lin Zhao, it's you, it's you who killed us, I won't let you go!" Zhao Zhongshan angrily swung his fist, and was knocked to the ground by Lin Zhao who came with him before he got close.

"Save your energy, there is still a long way to go back to Bianjing, and the road will be very hard!"

"Hmph, Lin Zhao, don't be arrogant, one day I will take revenge, and I won't let you go!" Zhao Zhongshan still uttered wild words, with unwavering ulterior motives.

Zhao Zongyong, who was still sitting on the main seat, laughed wildly: "You ignorant child, just be arrogant, don't forget, I am a nobleman, and this is only temporary. One day in the future, the title will be restored, and then...haha... …Ha ha!"

Zhao Zongyong was already a little crazy at this time, presumably because of a huge blow to his mind, his sanity was a little out of order!

"Okay, take care of your father, the boat back to Bianjing has been arranged, let's go!"

Lin Zhao watched Zhao Zongyong and his son leave, and couldn't help feeling a little emotional!It is still forgivable for God to commit evil, but self-inflicted evil cannot live. In the final analysis, they are also to blame. They have fallen into this situation themselves, and they can’t blame others.

After arranging them, there is another big event, which is the treasures in the palace.

Now he is clear that these treasures have nothing to do with Zhao Zongyong and his son.Because the amount is so huge that it is unimaginable.Even if private salt sales make a lot of money, it is impossible to make such a fortune in a few years.

Zhao Shiju's last words must have been to confuse the public and deliberately create confusion, which is completely understandable.As for its true source, it is not difficult to find out.

Although Zhao Shiju and Qian Shi are dead, their cronies are still alive, and it is enough for one or two of them to reveal the news under torture.Lin Zhao was very surprised, he didn't expect that enchanting woman to be a descendant of King Qian of Wuyue.
What was even more unexpected was that the descendants of the Qian family also wanted revenge. Even though it had been almost a hundred years, they still couldn't let go of this hatred in their hearts.

Lin Zhao couldn't help but sigh with emotion, isn't the power of hatred so powerful?A hundred years is not enough, so how long will it take to let go?

Ugh!
With a sigh, Lin Zhao immediately ordered people to organize the treasures, and after they were packed and sealed, the Transit Envoy would send people to escort them back to Bianjing.

This batch of treasures came at the right time, so Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi must be very happy.With such a large sum of money backed up, many things are much easier to do.

As for this Yuhang County Prince's Mansion, let's seal it up first!

Of course, before sealing it up, Lin Zhao wandered around the palace casually to see if there were any good things.

There are quite a lot of curios and treasures in the palace, except for a few exquisite gadgets, I am not interested in others.

On the contrary, the garden of the Prince's Mansion is quite beautiful, such a layout is really good, but it can be seen that Zhao Zongyong and his son don't seem to be interested in appreciating it, it's a waste of money!
Really, the plants and flowers are all good, I have to bring a few back.Lin Zhao was very interested in walking around the garden, and was suddenly attracted by a plant in the corner, so he walked quickly to have a closer look.

It was already July, and the leaves of these plants were still green, with peach-shaped spheres above their heads.

This thing is—

Lin Zhao groaned and observed carefully for a while, and finally determined that this thing is common in later generations - cotton!
This is a treasure, Lin Zhao couldn't help sighing!
The main clothing materials in this era were silk and linen. People in the upper class were messy with silk and satin, and ordinary people could only wear linen clothes.

If there is cotton, it will be of great benefit to weave it into cotton cloth.Moreover, cotton can also be made into padded jackets and padded clothes. The winter in the Song Dynasty was really cold!If it is planted on a larger area, then the profit... Lin Zhao chuckled, and his eyes lit up.

I just vaguely remember that in history, cotton was planted on a large scale after the Yuan Dynasty, to be precise, during the Ming Taizu period.There are not many records before the Song Dynasty. How could there be cotton in the city of Hangzhou?
When Lin Zhao was curious, he saw soldiers escorting a group of servants of the palace out. Among them, several people were obviously different and stood out from the crowd.As soon as Lin Zhao turned around, he saw these familiar faces, and the doubts in his heart became clearer!

(End of this chapter)