Volume 4 Chapter 19 Public Opinion (Part 1)
In March, Zhao Jiu watched a variety show in Gyeongbokgung Palace with two concubines, Prime Minister Lu Haowen, eunuchs, and accompanying civil and military officials.
The name of Gyeongbokgung Palace was taken from the Book of Songs, which means "May the gentleman live for ten thousand years, and bring you great happiness." It also means "May you enjoy and sacrifice to the gods, and bring you great happiness," which is exactly the meaning of the main palace where the emperor resides.
In fact, East Asian culture has been passed down from generation to generation. Not only in Tokyo today, but also in the Forbidden City in another time and space, and even in Seoul, the capital of Korea later, there is Gyeongbokgung Palace.
As for zaju, it originated from the military drama similar to crosstalk in the Tang Dynasty, but it has made great progress. The sheng, dan, jing, mo and chou roles have officially appeared, and the form of drama has also greatly improved. There are not only warm-up segments before the main performance, but also miscellaneous activities such as encores and filling the free time after the main performance.
In fact, Kaifeng Prefecture, with the promotion of Daxiangguo Temple, has had its own exclusive drama "Mulian Saves His Mother" since a long time ago. This Buddhist story must be performed for fifteen days starting from the Chinese Valentine's Day every year. Over time, it has become a tradition of Kaifeng Prefecture. When the day comes, the Kaifeng Prefecture government, Daxiangguo Temple, and surrounding residents will prepare together.
Of course, the believers' money is divided into 30% and 70%, and the rich man and the monks' money are returned in full.
Back in the present, it was quite common for Emperor Zhao and his close ministers to watch plays in the palace... One must know that in this day and age, dramas, military plays, and even storytelling were extremely common forms of entertainment, even more popular than singing and dancing. There was absolutely no such thing as ordinary people could watch and listen to them, but the palace could not.
In fact, as Bianjing increasingly regained its former vitality, the popularity of these forms of entertainment far exceeded Zhao Jiu's imagination. Rich families' gatherings and banquets, ordinary people's associations and meetings, including Buddhist and Taoist activities, would invite professionals to perform.
The palace was naturally no exception.
Even the palace was isolated from the outside world, and the nobles in the harem could not go out for activities. Instead, these storytelling and drama became their main form of entertainment... For example, a certain queen mother loved to listen to storytelling, and she listened to it almost every day. After the storyteller finished telling all the popular stories such as the Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West, she had no choice but to temporarily incorporate current affairs into the story for daily updates. As a result, one day, after pointing to the court's recruitment, she made up a story on the spot, and the effect was unexpectedly good. The queen mother liked it very much, and especially liked the character in the story who urged the protagonist to surrender to the court. So there was no need for the queen mother to say anything, and the emperor who noticed it nearby went back and upgraded the real person of that character by three levels!
This is true...if Zhao Jiu doesn’t climb out of the well!
However, the reason why storytelling, military plays, and variety shows were so popular in the palace was, after all, because of their low cost and another very important function.
"After talking for so long, I gave you the money for two rings, but you only bought one?"
At the beginning of the Flame section, it was just a play by a soldier. The soldier asked Cangtou to buy earrings as a gift for his husband's daughter. But the soldier was stingy and only gave one and a half dollars, but he wanted to buy a pair of rings. So the two sides had a funny argument because of whether to buy one ring or two rings, and whether to give money for one ring or two rings. In the end, Cangtou finally bought the ring, but it was just one ring in the end.
"Let the military officer know that this is one ring, but also two rings..."
“How can it be one ring and two rings at the same time?”
"Master, look at this ring. It's called the Holy Ear Ring. Isn't it two rings..."
"Oh my... how can it be so absurd? Even if it is called the Two Sacred Rings, what does it matter? My husband's daughter has two ears, and one ring cannot be taken apart, so how can she wear it?"
"Master, listen to me. If it really doesn't work, just let the young lady of the husband's family wear the ring behind her head."
"Well, let me put the two sacred rings behind my mind for the time being..."
The joke had not yet been finished. As early as when the homophonic pun of "Er Sheng Huan" came out, the audience was already silent. When they heard the last punchline, there was even more silence. But Emperor Zhao just sat there and ignored it, without making a sound at all.
The two imperial concubines kept silent, Prime Minister Lu just looked up at the sky, and several civil and military officials who were with him looked at each other, and then made preparations... Not to deal with the two actors who had the audacity to mock Emperor Zhao for being unfilial, but to be ready to advise Emperor Zhao at any time.
The reason is very simple. Since the military drama appeared in the Tang Dynasty, it has gone through the Five Dynasties and the confrontation between Liao and Song, and has formed a unique cultural atmosphere between the court... The actors in the court have a nickname, called "Wuguo Chong", which means that they are of low status and are innocent no matter how they are satirized.
For example, Song Huizong, the Emperor Taishang Daojun in the Two Sacred Rings...once encountered a commoner writing a letter on the Xuande Tower, in which he was accused of extravagance and abuse of power. As a result, this commoner was sentenced to death by burning with fire for the crime of "criticizing the imperial carriage" under the personal order of the Emperor Taishang Daojun, using the most cruel means to torture and execute him in order to deter relevant people. Moreover, he was always merciless in his denunciation of the literati who wrote to him... However, even such a person was given the title of "Na Yan" when faced with the ridicule of the actors.
For example, Emperor Xingzong of Liao, who was famous for "killing innocent people", was once mocked by an actor in person for being defeated by the Western Xia. He was furious for a while, but he still pardoned him under the advice of Crown Prince Yelu Hongji.
In fact, in the entire history of the two Song dynasties, there was only one example of an actor being killed for mocking current affairs. That was decades later in another time and space, when Qin Hui killed the relevant actors the next day because they were mocked in person for negotiating peace.
Back to the present, Zhao Jiu can't be worse than the king of a fallen country, the tyrant, and Mr. Qin, right?
As expected, Zhao Jiu thought for a long time, but he waved his hand and asked the two actors to come down to see him, and his tone was not very harsh. Seeing this, everyone around him breathed a sigh of relief.
Two actors came over, bowed, and stood with their hands behind their backs… Even though they had seemed brave before, they were still a little timid when they really came in front of the emperor.
Of course, Zhao Jiu would severely reprimand them, "You two didn't act well... You relied on homophones to make jokes, which may sound funny, but it's just a small story, not enough to be passed down as a famous article... It's not a good idea to try to get some fame from me. The matter of the two saints has been decided by the court since the first year of Jianyan, and it's not your business to say whether it's behind my head or not!"
The two actors looked at each other, one wanted to continue making jokes, while the other was a little frightened and prepared to apologize.
However, before the two of them could speak, Emperor Zhao continued to chatter: "According to me, whether it is a zaju, a storytelling, or a military drama, the essence is to tell a story. Only when the story is good, the characters are good, and there is connotation, can it be truly spread... Look at "Mulian Saves His Mother", although the Buddhist words are ridiculous and absurd, it is a complete story of mother and son after all. The son is filial and kind, and the mother is stingy and greedy. This is why the characters are prominent, and it is also mixed with the Buddhist theory of cause and effect and the promotion of filial piety. It can be said to have a main theme, so it can be called a famous zaju... And the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in the storytelling, the stories of Cao Mengde, Liu Xuande, Guan Yu, and Zhuge Kongming are natural, so they can last for a long time... You who are engaged in these popular arts must certainly find inspiration from history and life, but the key is to make it artistic, perfect, and finished."
After these words, the surrounding ministers, the imperial concubine, and the two actors who came out to warm up the audience were already stunned. Although some of Emperor Zhao's words were indeed strange, Chinese characters and words are of the same origin, and these people still understood the general meaning.
Therefore, after a while, the 'military officer' who had already given up the idea of failing to cheat was very cautious: "Let the emperor know that we assistant teachers (the sorcerers and fortune-tellers call themselves) are only roughly proficient in writing, and we don't have the ability to write a good story. As for "Mulian Saves His Mother", it was written by a great Buddhist monk himself."
"What are you going to perform next?" Zhao Jiu frowned.
The military officer and the young man looked at each other and became more helpless: "It is "Mulian Saves His Mother"."
Emperor Zhao immediately lost interest: "If that's the case, I won't read it... However, Concubine Wu has always been talented. I asked her to write a "Legend of the White Snake" tonight to kill the bald donkey's prestige. You can come and get it tomorrow. When it's arranged, I'll come and read it."
As soon as these words were spoken, the military officer and the maid were overjoyed, but the two imperial concubines beside Emperor Zhao had sad faces. Yang Yi Zhong, Liu Yan, Lan Gui, Feng Yi, Li Ruo Pu, Fan Zong Yin, Yu Yun Wen and many other close ministers who were serving as civil and military servants today seemed a little powerless behind them.
By the way, the emperor wrote all those messy things in the name of Concubine Wu, and did all those messy things in the name of Father-in-law Wu... Who doesn't know?
Moreover, everyone knows that those things are inappropriate for an emperor.
But coming back to the point, although it was inappropriate, this official knew how to provide a cover and give face to his superiors and subordinates. Why would anyone bother arguing with a powerful official over these matters?
"You are such a generous person, you are not angry at all?"
The play "Mulian Saves His Mother" had already begun to be performed in Gyeongbokgung Palace, but Zhao Jiu left the imperial concubine and the eunuchs behind, and went out of the Yingyang Gate with Lu Haowen and several close ministers. They arrived at the stone pavilion in the fish pond, which was the official's favorite place to stay. As soon as they sat down, Prime Minister Lu Haowen greeted them with a smile.
"What's there to be angry about?" Zhao Jiu didn't care at all. "Since they are a group that can enter the palace, they are the most famous actors in Tokyo. These people usually only hang around in the circles of the rich and powerful, but they don't really understand reason. It's normal to regard some people's words as public opinion in order to gain a reputation. Why should we blame them for their attitude?"
Lu Haowen thought for a moment, nodded slightly, and then added: "When actors perform on stage, they always like to talk about things and show off their attitude."
This means that artists have a strong desire to perform... This is true, Zhao Jiu nodded immediately.
However, after Zhao Jiu nodded in approval, both the king and his minister became somewhat silent again.
By the way, the current situation in the court is very interesting.
On the surface, it looks very much like the late reign of the Supreme Taoist Emperor in "Two Sacred Rings"... The emperor is high and mighty, holding great power but rarely interfering in mundane affairs; the court officials are divided into different categories, each with their own position and attitude, and there is a subtle situation of clear factions; in addition to this, there is a high-ranking prime minister who lives behind the scenes, in charge of the most basic ideological work.
However, it might be fine for others, but for the king and his minister sitting opposite each other in the pavilion, they know the huge difference between the two.
In the later period of Emperor Taishang Daojun, although Cai Jing, as the prime minister, was getting older, he was the only person who truly enjoyed the power of the prime minister. After years of management , he had grown astonishingly powerful. He could always offer opinions on all aspects of the court's work and exert influence... In other words, he was somewhat in a tug-of-war with Emperor Daojun behind the scenes at that time, but he just failed.
But does Lu Haowen have that ability?
Not to mention anything else, just say that it is now tied to Prime Minister Lu, almost becoming a trademark, and is also the original learning that maintains the prime minister's political life. In fact, it was all created by Emperor Zhao, and then studied and researched by Lu Haowen and his son.
Not only that, the so-called factions in the court, such as Zhang Jun's faction, the military faction, and the inner court faction, are actually all Zhao's faction! Even after Li Gang was dismissed, the remaining faction that seemed to be the most ruthless to Zhao, including key figures such as Chen Gongfu, had already made gestures in front of Zhao.
Therefore, in a sense, this court is really just a one-man show of a dictatorial tyrant who wears the Two Holy Rings on his head. As the head of state, his power is actually unlimited.
"The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop." After a long pause, the Emperor Zhao, whose power is boundless, suddenly expressed this feeling. "However, this is also expected."
The minister opposite, Lu Haowen, nodded repeatedly, but then asked in return: "What is the emperor going to do?"
Zhao Jiu, who was just sighing, just sneered and said what he had said to Zhang Jun before: "There are many people in the world who need to eat, so I would rather lose my country than give food to these people!"
"What does public opinion say?" Lu Haowen continued to ask seriously.
"This is exactly why I am looking for Mr. Lu today." Zhao Jiu finally looked at him seriously. "No matter what, I will carry out the matter of clearing up the accumulated abuses, and there will be no discounts. As for these people, if they continue to jump up and down like this, I will have to ignore my reputation and become a tyrant! Let's see whether they will go to Jinan or Damingfu?"
Not only Lu Haowen, but also the Hanlin scholar Li Ruopu who was standing next to him sighed softly.
By the way, everyone present knew that the ridicule of the actors and actresses today was not sudden, but had long been foreshadowed... For example, in the memorials presented yesterday, many people openly pleaded for the six noble families who had spread the rumors before. Most of them pleaded that these people were just unintentional mistakes and had no reason to deliberately incite; a small number of people believed that these people were not on duty and did not need to be held responsible for talking about these things, and it was against the system for the government to arrest these people; and a very few people simply pointed out directly that the main person responsible for this matter was actually Emperor Zhao, and that it was this emperor who allowed Zhang Jun to host a banquet in the city and was suspected of deliberately inducing related rumors.
In addition, some people reported that there were poems mocking the government at Wuyue Temple, Imperial University, and the Cuju field in Hanfang Garden in the north of the city.
So why did this kind of incident suddenly occur?
You must know that after Zhang Jun and Wu Jie left that day, things were still very stable. Six relatives of the emperor were dragged out to demonstrate, but women and children were not involved, the furniture in the mansion was not damaged, and the national debt was not returned. On the contrary, some people publicly praised the official for his "benevolence and righteousness" at the beginning.
The reason is very simple; it is what Emperor Zhao has mentioned as "clearing up accumulated problems".
As an ordinary college student in the future, Zhao Jiu, even if he had read a lot of high-end historical time-travel novels online, would not know how to govern the country. Moreover, as soon as he came out of the well, he faced an exiled court in an abnormal state, and for a long time, he did not need to know how to govern the country... At the beginning, basically, power was decentralized in all places, the front line became warlords, the rear became presidents, and the people in the central government, Lu Haowen, did some hard work of mending, and Zhao Jiu was responsible for carrying the dragon flag to cheer people up.
However, as the situation changed and the country gradually returned to normal, as an emperor, after figuring out the guiding ideology, he needed to formulate corresponding governing policies based on the guiding ideology... But the problem was, did he still know how to govern the country?
In fact, it is easy to solve. That is to clear up the accumulated problems - this is a brilliant governing strategy proposed by Wanqi Xie, the Imperial Censor of the Palace.
So what does it mean to "clear up the accumulated problems"? The answer is simple. It is to sort out the decades of ruling experience of the Emperor Taishang Daojun, whom Emperor Zhao hated to the extreme, from beginning to end, and then criticize it from beginning to end in chronological order. Finally, according to the relevant policy problems of Emperor Taishang Daojun that led to the country's demise, do the opposite and correct and sort them out.
For example, when the Emperor Taishang Daojun first ascended the throne, he first proposed to "reconcile the old and new parties" and strictly prohibited party disputes. Then, after giving up his power as regent to the Empress Dowager, he could not wait to launch a large-scale party imprisonment, promoted Cai Jing, and imprisoned the old party as well.
Then when it came to Zhao Jiu, he would naturally issue an edict, proposing to "reconcile the old and new parties", strictly prohibiting party disputes, and at the same time confirming that the new school of Wang Anshi had a higher status in political history... and then publicly criticize the Emperor Taishang Daojun's party ban, which had harmed so many loyal and good people.
Of course, the ridiculous strategies used by Emperor Yuansheng to promote the old party during the Jingkang period must also be publicly criticized and reflected upon.
Zhao Jiu had already done this. It was nothing more than mocking the Second Saint once again, and there wasn't much trouble.
However, during the days when Zhang Jun entered the capital, the court began to "settle accounts" with the Emperor Taishang Daojun who had lavishly awarded positions of favor in order to consolidate his position.
In fact, as soon as this matter unfolded, some of the nobles below became a little panicked, and the rumors they spread to Zhang Jun were somewhat tentative.
And it has to be said that these people finally guessed it right.
The day before Zhang Jun left, Emperor Zhao arrested those who spread rumors. On the day after Zhang and Wu left, the court began to formally review the favors and rewards issued during the reign of the two saints, and completely eliminated those who had made no contributions to the country since Jianyan. The so-called deprivation of writing ...
From a general point of view, there is certainly no problem with this policy. Zhao Jiu immediately issued an order for its implementation, and several prime ministers and important officials also expressed their clear support.
Even the public opinion among the Censorate and the Imperial College students was extremely positive.
However, cutting off someone's financial resources and removing him from his official position is a double act of killing his parents. Therefore, the lack of support from the bureaucrats and scholars did not prevent undercurrents from suddenly surging in the city of Tokyo. Zhao Jiu suddenly became a "harsh monarch", Zhao Ding and Liu Ji became "cowardly prime ministers", Zhang Jun and Chen Gui became "reckless villains"... Even Lu Haowen was given a new hat, and it was said that he "was in a position but could not correct the monarch's heart".
Things escalated and eventually culminated in the current situation.
Not only did some people write distorted poems, and not only did actors think they had the support of public opinion to criticize the emperor in person, but there was also a wavering among the bureaucracy, with some powerful people even openly recalling the "holy rule" of the "prosperous and prosperous" period.
The reason for the incident was clearly stated, so there was no need to say more. The key was how to deal with it? This was also Zhao Jiu's intention in coming to Lv Haowen today... Lv Haowen's family, the Lv family, was originally a first-class family besides the Plum Blossom Han family. It had some of the aristocratic attitude of the Yuan and Yang families in the late Han Dynasty. They had a considerable say in the bureaucratic system and the system of the powerful.
"Is it possible to do some screening and limit the scope of deprivation?" Lu Haowen hesitated for a moment and decided to persuade him again.
"no!"
"Why not sort out the old events during the Jing Kang period at the same time, and reward and posthumously honor the officials who have made contributions and used their loyalty since the Jing Kang period?" Lu Haowen seemed to have expected this answer, and after thinking for a moment, he made a suggestion.
"Great!" Zhao Jiu was cheered up and clapped his hands.
"Excuse me... Can we compensate the officials who have received half of their salaries in previous years in batches as much as possible?" Lu Haowen thought about it and continued to make his suggestion.
"As expected of Mr. Lu!" Zhao Jiu raised his eyebrows and responded immediately. "Anything else?"
Lu Haowen smiled bitterly and spread his hands, while several close ministers around him looked at each other in silence… There was no other reason. The two suggestions made by Lu Haowen had already been proposed to Emperor Zhao by someone else. For example, the matter of increasing the salaries of officials was proposed by Yu Yunwen, the attendant who was standing by the fish pond. Yet, Emperor Zhao was actually clapping his hands in praise of this?
I don’t know what’s going on?
"I do have some ideas." Zhao Jiu smiled and said, "Why not do both?"
"What does the emperor mean?" Lu Hao asked, puzzled for a moment.
"Yesterday I saw someone write a letter saying that the sericulture ceremony is a ceremony exclusively for the queen. If the name is not right, then the words will not flow. Since Concubine Pan is in charge of this matter, then Concubine Pan should be made queen..."
Lu Haowen frowned slightly.
"And what I mean is..." Zhao Jiu finally sneered. "These people are suspected of interfering in the palace when they talk about this. I am really angry, so I want to ask the Imperial City Bureau to arrest five or six more families to deter them!"
When Lu Haowen heard this, he knew that he came here to protect the emperor from being attacked, and he felt helpless: "Sir, be careful not to overuse your power!"
"I did not treat these people like Du Chong and Liu Guangshi. I left women and children behind, and also left national debts and furniture and houses behind. Most of the people involved were also exiled or sent to the army. What else do you want?"
Lu Haowen was completely helpless and could only do his best to remind: "There must be solid evidence, and no involvement is allowed."
Zhao Jiu nodded.
Yang Yizhong immediately stepped out of the line and bowed under the complicated gazes of several close ministers, but he said cautiously: "Sir, are you careful about these people's families running around?"
"No." Zhao Jiu sneered. "You can come to the palace to beg for mercy or cry to your relatives. I will see how they deal with it..."
No one was able to say anything, and Yang Yizhong immediately turned around and prepared to go to Yingyang Gate. The matter ended here, and there was no possibility of turning it around.
However, at this moment, a member of the imperial guard came hurriedly towards him, carrying a secret letter box. Yang Yizhong instinctively stepped forward, but when he got close, he saw that the other party was from the Red Heart Team. Then he realized what was going on, but quickly dodged, and then walked past him and went out... Liu Yan also realized what was going on at this time, and hurried forward to take it. However, when he opened it and saw the cover, he became solemn, and then went to the pavilion and handed it directly to Emperor Zhao.
Zhao Jiu was also serious when he saw that it was a message from the Taihang Mountains in Hebei. However, after opening it and taking a quick look, he couldn't help laughing and looked up at Lu Hao and asked, "Mr. Lu... Ma Kuo's letter mentioned an incident in the Kingdom of Jin. The King of Jin, Wu Qimai, suddenly suffered a stroke, and Nianhan took over the throne!"
Lü Haowen and the other attendants, both civil and military officials, all looked terribly pale.
"Your Majesty, do you want to call back Commander Yang?" Hanlin scholar Li Ruopu stepped forward with a serious expression.
"No need." Zhao Jiu continued to look at the second half of the report in the note, but shook his head slightly.
"Do we need to call the prime minister to discuss the matter?" Li Ruopu continued to ask.
"No need to discuss this specifically, just send this matter to the capital and the Privy Council..." Zhao Jiu threw down the note, raised his head, and said calmly, "By the way, let them deal with the matter of revoking the imperial favor quickly, strictly, and extensively! Otherwise, if the Jin people start to cause trouble in the north, the matter of clearing up the accumulated problems will inevitably be temporarily suspended... Then catch up with Yang Yizhong and let him arrest three or four more insects in the name of criticizing the emperor..."
"Your Majesty." Li Ruopu glanced at Lu Haowen, who remained silent, and replied earnestly. "Things have their priorities..."
"What kind of urgent matter is this?" Zhao Jiu disagreed. "The powerful ministers in power are at most suspected of imprisoning the king. People who have experienced the Jingkang Incident still care about this? On the contrary, depriving the abuse of favors and favors can save a lot of money and grain. Moreover, if these insects in the capital are not removed, how can we manage politics well and then fight against the Jin Dynasty in the north? Isn't it obvious which is more important?"
Li Ruopu was stunned on the spot, but didn't know how to refute?
