Su Dongpo tidied his clothes and bowed to Zhao Xu again, saying,"" Wang Anshi's reform changed the current situation. The current situation is grim. The expenditure of the Ministry of Revenue exceeds the income of taxes, and most of the taxes depend on commercial taxes and the gains of the market ships. If war breaks out, the commerce will decline. Nanyang and Western merchants will definitely not dare to go ashore to trade. When the tax revenue is not collected, the entire court will be in chaos. I think Wang Anshi's reform in politics is very correct and timely.”
Finally, there was someone who supported him. Wang Anshi heaved a sigh of relief.
Sima Guang was shocked when he heard this. Su Shi was Ouyang Xiu's favorite student, Su Xun's son, and Su Zhe's elder brother. The literary talent of the three of them was renowned throughout the world.
According to common sense, Su Shi should have opposed the reform.
However, Su Dongpo's words were completely in line with Wang Anshi's tone. There was no cautious support.
Sima Guang said unyieldingly,
"Su Dongpo, what you said will never happen. There are millions of soldiers in the Song Dynasty. Now that His Majesty is wise and has defeated the Western Xia, I believe that there will not be any major wars in the future. The business and trade will continue to prosper.”
Su Dongpo retorted sarcastically," Prime Minister, I'm afraid you people who oppose the reform still don't understand the core of the reform. I think the reform is for the Song Dynasty to become stronger and more prosperous. The country has surplus wealth, the people are rich, the army is strong, and the barbarians are awed. If that's the case, why would the people oppose it? How could society be in chaos? Why would Taizu Taizong be crying underground?”
"Enough! Su Dongpo, you, a mere scholar of the Imperial Academy, actually dared to be presumptuous here!”Fu Bi, the censor, stood up and reprimanded Su Shi.
Before Su Dongpo could respond, a dignified voice floated down from the throne,"
"Fu Bi, shut up!"
Fu Bi was shocked. The Emperor was looking at him coldly, his eyes filled with endless coldness and indifference.
"This lowly official was rude, please forgive me, Your Majesty.”Fu Bi hurriedly knelt down.
The entire court fell silent.
Zhao Xu stood up and walked down the jade steps with his hands behind his back.
Tian Zi's appearance was very handsome, but he did not lose his aura. He had the face of a handsome scholar and the physique of a valiant general.
"Zhen patiently listened to all of you ramble on and on about the reform. Such a small matter could make all of you fight with each other. I imagine how chaotic the court was in the past.”
After Zhao Xu came down, all the officials who had left the platoon hurriedly returned to the platoon. They bowed and held the ivory board in their arms.
"Let me tell you. You keep talking about the laws of the ancestors, but what are the laws of the ancestors? Can't the laws of Taizu and Taizong be changed? I want to say, did the Tan Yuan alliance that you are talking about violate the laws of the ancestors? When did Taizu Taizong have a law to give Liao annual coins?”
"During the reign of Emperor Taizu, he fought against corruption and governed the government with great speed. Why didn't he persist in such a law? As a result, corrupt officials prevailed, the people were in dire straits, and the court suffered losses every year. Although there were millions of soldiers, when had they ever won a battle?”
Zhao Xu said as he walked in the throne room with his hands behind his back. The hall was so quiet that only the sound of breathing could be heard.
"The ancestral laws that you follow are selective. Keep the laws that are beneficial to your official positions, but don't follow the laws that improve the people's livelihood and strengthen the military. The Qing Miao laws are beneficial to the country and the people, but they are not beneficial to profiteers and corrupt officials.”
"I'm telling you, the dog-headed guillotine outside the main hall was brought by Zheng Jimin from the Kaifeng government's yamen. You must know that Bao Zheng used this dog-headed guillotine to chop off many imperial relatives, high officials, and nobles.”
"Men!"
"Yes!"
Zheng Jimin, the commander of the imperial guards and infantry troops, bowed and obeyed.
"Drag the five Zhizhou who rejected the reform to the dog-head guillotine and chop them one by one for the officials in the hall to see. If anyone thinks that I'm joking, you can test how hard your necks are.”
With that, Zhao Xu pushed open the door.
The chilly spring north wind blew into the hall from the outside.
The Zhizhou of Rongzhou, Guazhou, Fuzhou, Xuezhou, and Chenzhou were pulled in front of the guillotine one by one. The executioner was half-naked in the cold north wind, ready to execute at any time.
" Since ancient times, reform has always involved bloodshed. Today, I am killing the Zhizhou. If anyone continues to oppose, I will kill them. The royal family, the three dukes, and the nine ministers are no exception! Execution!"
"Execution!" Zheng Jimin shouted.
Five dog-headed choppers were raised high up in the air. The snow-white blades looked pale under the sunlight and were reflected in the cold. All the officials present were dumbfounded and broke out in cold sweat.
Five heads instantly fell to the ground, and blood spurted out from their necks as far as two meters.
"Go back and continue attending court." Zhao Xu said coldly to the ministers.
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