Fortunate Young Gentleman

Tang Ning followed a young eunuch into the palace. Before he even got close to the imperial study, he heard a series of shrill screams.

The screams sounded very creepy. From the sound, one could tell that someone was suffering great physical pain.

Tang Ning walked through a door and saw someone being pressed on a bench in the square in front of him, being caned.

The court cane was raised high and then fell heavily.

This time, the two guards beat him with a stick, and the beating was obviously very heavy, which was not comparable to Tang Ning's situation that day.

The person being pressed on the bench looked like Prince Duan from a distance, and looked like Prince Duan from a close distance. When he walked up to him, he saw that it was indeed Prince Duan.

Prince Duan was being beaten while screaming, and Emperor Chen stood aside with a dark face. Tang Ning walked in front of Emperor Chen and saluted, saying, "I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

Emperor Chen just nodded slightly, his face gloomy, and he didn't say anything.

Tang Ning stood aside tactfully, secretly observing the situation around him.

Emperor Chen was very angry. Prince Duan was being punished. It was obvious that he had done something that Emperor Chen could not forgive. Prince Duan had done a lot of stupid things, but this was the first time Tang Ning saw him punish Prince Duan like this.

In addition to Emperor Chen, Grand Secretary Zhang was also here. He had a white gauze wrapped around his head, and under the gauze was bright red, the color of blood.

Tang Ning looked at Grand Secretary Zhang, then at Prince Duan, and was shocked.

Emperor Chen recently asked Grand Secretary Zhang to discipline Prince Duan. Could it be that during the process of discipline, the two had a conflict, and Prince Duan attacked Grand Secretary Zhang?

Let alone the issue of respecting the elderly and loving the young, Confucianism emphasizes "Heaven, Earth, King, Parents, and Teachers". Heaven and Earth need no further explanation, they are high above everything, and the status of teachers is only below the king and parents.

Born in this era, we should have the correct values ​​of respecting heaven and earth, being filial to parents, being loyal to the emperor and patriotic, respecting teachers and valuing education. People who are disrespectful to heaven and earth, disloyal to the emperor, unfilial to parents, heretic, despising teachers and destroying ancestors... such people will be despised by all people.

The status of Emperor Chen is high enough. In Chen State, except for God, no one is higher than him. But when Zhang Daxueshi hit his head with a cane, he could order the guards to take him down, but he could not fight back himself.

It is natural for teachers to punish students. If students beat teachers, it is despising teachers and destroying ancestors, which is treason.

This is the rule of this era.

It is true that the waves behind push the waves ahead, and the students are better than the masters. Prince Duan did what even Emperor Chen dared not do. Tang Ning admired him from the bottom of his heart.

Grand Secretary Zhang looked pale and bloodless. He looked at Emperor Chen, bowed to the ground, and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, I have failed your Majesty's trust. Please forgive me for my incompetence..."

"Grand Secretary, I apologize to you on behalf of this rebellious son..." Emperor Chen kicked Prince Duan and said, "Rebellious son, why don't you apologize to the Grand Secretary!"

The court stick was still falling, and Prince Duan said bitterly: "Grand Secretary, I didn't mean it, I really didn't mean it!"

"Forget it..." Grand Secretary Zhang glanced at him and sighed: "It's because I am weak. Your Majesty, let them stop, because I have made your Highness suffer, and I am really embarrassed..."

"That's what he deserves!" Emperor Chen glanced at Prince Duan and waved his hand and said, "Take him away!"

Prince Duan was carried away by two guards. Tang Ning noticed that the attendant standing behind Emperor Chen was holding a pen and writing something on the book in his hand.

He took a closer look and saw a line of words written on it.

"On the third day of the tenth month in the third year of Dingyuan, Prince Duan Zhao Ming beat his teacher and the emperor beat him with a stick."

The position of the Recorder neither participated in the government nor interfered in the inner court. The only duty was to record the words and deeds of the emperor, no matter big or small, good or bad deeds, all of which were recorded for the use of future generations to compile history.

The Recorder's small notebook recorded who the Emperor Chen met every day, what he said, and what he did. It may also record which concubine he favored, when, how many times, and how long each time...

Tang Ning had never seen the Records of Daily Life, so he didn't know what was written on it. It was possible that the Emperor Chen didn't know either. According to the rules, the Emperor could not view or modify the content of the Records of Daily Life.

Because the content on it was to be left to future generations, it might be infamous for thousands of years, so the emperor was actually very afraid that the Recorder would write something bad on it. It was okay if he met an enlightened monarch, but if he met a foolish and tyrannical monarch, this position would have to be replaced every now and then.

Seeing someone peeping, the attendant hurriedly closed the book and stood aside vigilantly.

Tang Ning curled his lips. He was just curious about new things. He had no interest in the fact that Emperor Chen visited Concubine Shu until Yinshi last night.

After beating Prince Duan, Grand Secretary Zhang was specially approved to go home to recuperate, which means that Prince Run would not have to go to class for the time being.

When Prince Run learned the news, he couldn't help but cover his mouth and laugh when he helped Grand Secretary Zhang leave.

After dealing with this matter, Tang Ning and Emperor Chen came to the Imperial Study.

Emperor Chen summoned him this time for tax reform. The tax system of the State of Chen was complicated and varied. It was extremely difficult to collect and it was also the easiest for people to tamper with it.

Since the founding of the State of Chen, the tax system has been revised several times, but they were all repairs on details. In the big context, there are still huge historical problems.

The court has realized that this tax law is not only laborious and costly to collect, but also makes the people miserable, and it is also easy for local officials and gentry to tamper with it.

What Tang Ning wants to do is actually to cancel those illegal taxes and merge the remaining parts into one big tax. In this way, the taxes that the people have to pay will be reduced, and it will be much easier for the court to collect taxes. The amount will also increase, which can be said to be the best of all three, but only harms the interests of the gentry and powerful people who profit from it.

This was another offending thing, but this time Tangning wasn't the only one to be offended.

Emperor Chen asked him and King Huai to jointly take charge of the matter, and they would discuss the details themselves. He only wanted the results.

After Chen Huang finished his instructions, he looked at Tang Ning and asked, "Do you have any ideas about this matter?"

Tangning shook her head and said, "No."

Chen Huang glared at him and said: "If not, why don't you go back and think about what you are dazzling in front of me..."

…

Chen Huang is a person who comes and goes when others call him. He can be said to be a model of burning bridges across rivers and killing donkeys.

Tangning accepted his character in her heart and reminded him that her daughter was in her hands, so Tangning no longer cared about these things.

When he was about to reach the palace gate, he saw a figure walking slowly in front of him.

The gate of the palace is not open. After entering the palace gate, there are narrow passages on both sides. This was built to prevent rebels from attacking from the outside. If there are rebels who break into the palace, they will immediately become the prey of the imperial army. target.

Academician Zhang was walking by the wall, with several palace maids walking in a hurry with their heads lowered in front of them.

In the palace, most of the ordinary palace maids and eunuchs walked with their heads down. This deep palace is no less than a dragon's pond and a tiger's den. If you see something you shouldn't see or hear something you shouldn't hear, after a few days, They will be found in a dry well or pond in the palace.

Academician Zhang walked slowly and lightly. A few people didn't seem to notice. They lowered their heads and hurried forward. The leader accidentally bumped into Academician Zhang and fell to the ground. His face immediately turned pale. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed. : "I'm sorry, I was careless, please spare me..."

The palace maid was knocked to the ground, but Academician Zhang's body just shook and stood still. He shook his head and said: "I'm fine, you can get up."

The maid hurriedly got up, bowed a few times to Academician Zhang, and left in a hurry.

Tangning watched this scene from a distance, with a strange look on her face.

Although Bachelor Zhang is old, he obviously exercises regularly and his lower body is extremely stable. The collision just now would have made even an ordinary person take at least two steps back, but his body just swayed. Such a strong body, Nothing like the "weak body" he claimed to have just now.

The strange thing is that the palace maid didn't knock him down even though she bumped into him in a hurry. However, she was pushed lightly by King Duan with one hand and hit the wall, breaking her head...

"Ginger is still spicy when old..."

Tang Ning sighed softly. He should have known that if he lived to this age and could still be as stable as a mountain in the court, even if he was called a clear stream, how could he be a kind person?