The fifth day of the second lunar month in the first year of Guangwu.
Several consecutive days of sunny weather, along with the gradual rise in temperatures, have made many people feel relieved.
Although auspicious snow heralds a good year, if it snows heavily in February, everyone knows something big is going to happen.
The senior officials of the imperial court relaxed their brows, had more smiles on their faces when they met, and their work efficiency also improved.
Until the order from the emperor to summon him came, it cast a shadow on the minds of the officials.
Officials feared the new emperor more than they respected him. Even the cabinet minister Liubu Tangguan was fearful every time he came to see him.
The imperial power is supreme. This is a normal situation. However, for many years, civilian officials have restricted the imperial power, so that they have forgotten their most important duty.
Now that Zhao Yanxun is reshaping imperial power, they will feel extremely uncomfortable.
Let’s talk about Zhao Yanxun. After a few days of traveling, he saw a lot of things along the way. After seeing enough, he returned to the capital.
He gained a lot during this trip, but it was these gains that made him not happy at all.
To sum up, the officials and gentry colluded to push the people to a dead end.
In Qian'an Palace, Zhao Yanxun was changing his robes.
"Everyone is here?"
"When you return to the emperor, you will all be waiting in the main hall!"
In the main hall of Qian'an Palace, except for Xie Xiaofang who was in the south, the remaining three cabinet ministers were all there. Behind them, the officials of the Six Departments stood bowed and waiting.
Only Zhou Chengping, the censor of the capital, was completely fearless at the moment, frowning as he pondered over several major cases in his hands.
When the emperor leaves the palace these days, there is no guarantee that he will see something dirty, which naturally worries the ministers.
They know exactly what is underneath.
Being suddenly called to discuss matters, everyone was inevitably anxious at this moment.
Everyone waited for about ten minutes before they heard footsteps coming from the back hall, so they became more respectful.
Zhao Yanxun was seen walking out of the screen on the left side wearing a yellow tuanlong robe and a black gauze winged crown. His gloomy look made everyone even more panicked.
Sitting on the dragon chair, Zhao Yanxun glanced at the senior officials.
"I'm waiting to see you, Your Majesty!"
After a few breaths of silence, Zhao Yanxun said: "No courtesy!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After everyone stood up, Zhao Yanxun said: "In the past two days, I have read the books of the sages, and there are a few sentences that I don't understand. Can you, dear friends, teach me?"
After everyone was silent for a while, the chief assistant Wang Tinghe spoke up and said: "I wonder what the emperor is unclear about? Even though I am stupid, I should try my best to relieve the emperor's worries and doubts!"
"Yu thought that there were drowning people in the world, so he drowned himself; Ji thought that there were hungry people in the world, and he felt hungry, so he was in such a hurry..."
Zhao Yanxun's eyes were as bright as a torch and he asked in a deep voice: "Who among you, sir, can help me clear up my doubts?"
It would not be an exaggeration to say that these people present are knowledgeable about the past and present, and such a statement would certainly not be difficult for them.
The key to the question is, what is the purpose of the emperor saying this at this moment?
But one thing everyone can know is that today’s test is not easy.
Everyone was thinking, including the chief assistant Wang Tinghe. Only Zhou Chengping walked out of the train, bowed deeply and replied: "Report to the emperor, this passage comes from "Mencius Li Louxia"..."
Zhou Chengping has no selfish desires, so he is fearless and can answer calmly at this moment.
In Zhao Yanxun's opinion, the county magistrate Hu Lizhen was Zhou Chengping.
Although the latter has a low official position, he still has the spirit of forging ahead and sacrificing his life to be benevolent.
In the main hall, Zhou Chengping's voice continued to recall.
"The meaning is that when Dayu thought about the people in the world who were drowning in the water, he felt as if he had caused them to drown in the water; when Hou Ji thought about the people in the world who were hungry, he felt as if he had caused them to drown in the water. It’s like I’m starving them, that’s why I’m so anxious!”
After saying the above paragraph, Zhou Chengping continued: "The emperor represents the herdsmen of heaven, and the ancient sage king is his teacher. This is the blessing of the country, the country, and the happiness of all the people in the world!"
With this last sentence of great importance, all the high-ranking officials present immediately started the chanting mode and felt lucky for the people all over the world.
After asking everyone to stop, Zhao Yanxun asked again: "Dear dear friends, is what Zhou Qing just explained wrong?"
While others were thinking about the emperor's intention, Cheng Wenguang stood up directly and replied: "Your Majesty, Zhou Chengping understood it perfectly, it is exactly what the sage meant!"
Zhao Yanxun nodded and sighed: "I must practice the teachings of the ancestors!"
Everyone lowered their heads to listen to the holy teachings, still thinking about Zhao Yanxun's intentions and how they should respond next.
"I am the herdsman of heaven, and you are the steward of the people on my behalf. This principle of drowning oneself in hunger, dear friends, should never be forgotten!"
The ministers did not dare to neglect the emperor's teachings, so they all knelt down to accept the instruction.
"Please keep this in mind!"
After laying a lot of groundwork, Zhao Yanxun looked solemn and asked: "Mr. Lu Ge, has this matter been implemented to increase taxes in January?"
Wang Tinghe was responsible for inventorying the land in various counties in the Central Plains, and Lu Chaowen formulated a plan for this task.
Only Lu Chaowen replied: "Report to the Emperor, this matter was formulated at the end of the 26th year of Tai'an, and will be handed over to various vassals for implementation, and will be supervised and audited by the Ministry of Household Affairs!"
Upon hearing Lu Chaowen's words, Wang Shiwei, the Minister of Household Affairs, quickly came out and reported: "Reporting to the Emperor, 30% of the additional tax has been put into the treasury, and it should be fully collected within two months!"
Wang Shiwei was originally the governor of Hexi. Only because he returned to Zhao Yanxun in time, he was now reused and became the Minister of Household Affairs.
Zhao Yanxun asked again: "The food has been collected. Do you know where the food was collected from?"
Wang Shiwei quickly replied: "In accordance with the emperor's decree, anyone with more than 200 acres of land will be levied this tax!"
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yanxun asked: "Really?"
Is it true? At this moment, Wang Shiwei didn't dare to make random votes, so he froze on the spot.
"This time I went on an inspection tour and saw several cases of collusion between officials and gentry to plunder people's property. How do you explain it?"
Zhao Yanxun would not lie, and Wang Shiwei could only kneel down and plead guilty.
"The Ministry of Household Supervision is not strict, please punish the emperor!"
At this time, Lu Chaowen also knelt down and said: "I am also guilty!"
Looking at the ministers in the palace, Zhao Yanxun said in a deep voice: "Officials are where the people's lives hang in the balance..."
"You are at the center and are responsible for governing the people. Every word you write and every sentence you speak is related to the life and death of the people!"
When the emotion was brewing, Zhao Yanxun slammed the table and angrily said: "If you always take the sages as your example and keep the people in your heart, how could such a thing happen!"
After hearing the reprimand, even those who felt that the matter had nothing to do with them felt frightened, trembled and uneasy, and quickly knelt down and kowtowed to listen to the instructions.
As the emperor who had once again conquered the world, and with the approval of God, Zhao Yanxun's authority was unparalleled. How could the officials not be afraid of his anger?
"I just went out in Suyi and saw several cases. I have so many prefectures and counties in Jin Dynasty, how many such evil things are there?"
Zhao Yanxun's tone was sharp, and everyone felt like a boat was sailing on a big wave, and their bodies were like duckweeds. How dare he even say a word of defense.
Standing up, Zhao Yanxun slowly walked down the imperial steps, looked at the ministers kneeling beside him, and then asked: "You are drowning yourself and hungry, and the poor people have no clothes to wear and no food to eat... have you ever taken it to heart?"
"
"Your Majesty, I am guilty!"
At this moment, Wang Shiwei was crying, but he didn't know whether he was really crying or pretending to cry.
With him taking the lead, the other officials also looked tearful, demonstrating their remorse and self-blame.
Zhao Yanxun's face was as dark as water and he said: "This matter will be investigated strictly by the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Punishment, and Dali Temple. I am waiting for your explanation!"
