I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 5 The tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn’t stop
By the time Zhao Zicheng had calmed everyone down, it was already completely dark.

After all, they found the shipwreck in the afternoon and had been busy for so long.

So we can only spend the night on the lake tonight. We need to complete all the preparations first and secure all the floats and ropes that need to be tied.

The final salvage work will not be completed until tomorrow morning, and then the ship will be towed back to the port.

As for Zhu Zhen, he will definitely interrogate Duan Ming tonight, but that is not what Zhao Zicheng cares about.

"I've encountered so many things since I came here. This day has been really long. I hope everything will be over soon."

After washing in Taihu Lake, Zhao Zicheng lay in the cabin, lost in thought, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, at daybreak, the sailors began to work. Zhao Zi said he was awakened by the sound of dragging the noose.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes, opened the porthole and looked at the sky, estimating that it was only five o'clock in the morning.

It was inconvenient to make a fire on the wooden boat, and he hadn't had hot food for two days.

After a quick wash, Zhao Zicheng was about to take some dry food from his bag to fill his stomach when he heard a knock on the door.

When he opened the cabin door, he saw Murong Yan standing outside. He handed him two dried vegetable and meat patties and said, "Zhu Zhen sent someone to look for you again."

Zhao Zicheng was stunned for a moment, then realized that Zhu Zhen might have made some progress in interrogating Duan Ming overnight.

"Alas, the tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop. I really don't want to get involved in this kind of family scandal of Yingfeng Bureau." He sighed helplessly and took a big bite of the pancake.

The cakes are made of unleavened dough, similar to the fire-baked cakes of later generations, and are very hard.

"It's all my fault that I have implicated Brother Zhao." Murong Yan felt quite guilty.

"Why are you saying all this? Although I got into some trouble this time, I also got to know you, my dear brother, and Envoy Yang. It's not a loss."

Zhao Zicheng patted him on the shoulder with an open mind, then turned around and followed Zhu Zhen's personal soldiers.

After yesterday's experience, Zhao Zi said that he has adapted to this era and his mentality has also changed slightly.

He is no longer as cautious and self-protective as when he first came here, but instead has become more responsible.

Perhaps, people will experience some changes when they travel from a purely legal society back to a society based on human relationships.

……

After a cup of tea, on Zhu Jie’s boat.

After a night, Zhu Jie looked a little haggard and decadent.

He sat on the couch with his legs crossed. There were some files piled on the desk in front of him, which seemed to be confessions.

When he saw Zhao Zicheng, Zhu Jie did not stand up, but just pointed at the files casually.

Zhao Zi said he didn't want to cause trouble, so he bowed and stood quietly, pretending not to understand the other party's hint.

Zhu Zhen was stunned for a moment, then cleared his throat and ordered, "Just watch it. You are a talented person, and you can pass the Imperial College entrance examination. As long as you are willing to work hard and have my support, you are not afraid of not being able to rise to prominence."

Zhao Zicheng was startled. Zhu Zhen was clearly trying to recruit him.

Is it because I know too much, so I want to pull people into the same circle?
Zhao Zicheng knew that troubled times were approaching and time was running out, so he needed to quickly build his team and influence. He also knew that Zhu Jie had the ability to quickly advance him. However, Zhu Jie's reputation was too bad, and Zhao Zicheng was determined not to collude with him.

This logic is easy to understand: Zhu Jie will be listed as one of the Six Thieves in the future, and the Fang La Rebellion was instigated by Zhu Jie. If I take the initiative to get involved with Zhu Jie, I will have no chance in Jiangnan in the future, even if I am a "relative of the Song Dynasty".

It's like if you traveled back to the Eastern Han Dynasty before Dong Zhuo's Rebellion and took over Liu Bei's body.

Even though you know that the world is about to fall into chaos, Liu Bei must be promoted and build up his power as soon as possible in order to gain a high starting point in the coming chaotic times.

But you still can't ask the Ten Eunuchs to buy an official position, or even ask Emperor Ling of Han to buy an official position openly. Otherwise, your reputation will be ruined and your future appeal will be gone.

The six thieves today are just like the ten eunuchs in the past. Stay away from them if you can.

But in the current situation, Zhu Jie is powerful and is at the mercy of others. Zhao Zicheng must pay attention to the way and method of rejection and cannot be too direct and anger the other party.

"What should I do? If I refuse directly, I'm afraid he will get angry and embarrassed... and I already know some clues about Duan Ming. Zhu Jie definitely doesn't want the family's dirty laundry to be made public." Zhao Zicheng's mind raced, and his palms were sweating.

Zhu Zhen hadn't taken it seriously at first, thinking that as long as he made a formal offer, wouldn't this poor scholar be willing to submit? So what if his last name was Zhao?
Noticing Zhao Zicheng's hesitation and strange expression, Zhu Zhen's face darkened: "What? You don't know how to appreciate my kindness?"

Zhao Zicheng was pressed by this question, and suddenly an idea came to his mind. He immediately bowed and said:
"It's not that I'm unwilling to help you, sir. It's just that my status as a student is sensitive. As a member of the royal family, it's not appropriate for me to associate with court officials. According to the rules, even if I were granted an official position by the court, I would be a solitary official in idleness."

After hearing this explanation, Zhu Zhen put away his anger and laughed:

"So that's what you're worried about. You're quite a cautious person, but you're worrying too much. If even you can think of it, how could I not?
You are just a descendant of Taizu, not Taizong. Even the imperial court doesn't take you seriously. What is there to be afraid of?

Besides, I've promoted you, so I've naturally found a way to keep it from being noticed by outsiders. As long as you work hard, why worry that the court won't find a legitimate excuse for your promotion?"

Zhao Zicheng listened quietly with a respectful expression, while in his mind he quickly pondered Zhu Zhen's words.

What Zhu Jie said made sense. The Song Dynasty was less cautious about the royal family than other dynasties, after all, royal family members were allowed to take the exam.

Moreover, over the past hundred years, the imperial court had been wary of the descendants of Zhao Guangyi, because this lineage was closer to the imperial power and posed a greater threat of usurpation. As for the descendants of Zhao Kuangyin, they were already extremely marginalized.

This included the requirement in the Northern Song Dynasty that the descendants of the royal family should live in the city of Bianjing, at the feet of the emperor, for ease of management. This was actually mainly aimed at the descendants of Zhao Guangyi, so Zhao Zicheng's hometown was in Xiuzhou.

This also led to the fact that during the Jingkang Incident and the fall of Bianliang City, almost all of Zhao Guangyi's descendants were captured by the Jin Kingdom, with only one Zhao Gou escaping to the south by chance.

After Zhao Gou was frightened into eunuch by Jin Wushu, he could only choose a distant cousin from Taizu's descendants to be adopted as the crown prince. This was because Taizong's line was wiped out, while Taizu's line was spread all over the place.

Since Zhu Zhen noticed this and was willing to support him within the scope of "official affairs", he did not openly give him any special treatment. This level of connection did not damage Zhao Zicheng's reputation.

Of course, in the rotten official environment of the late Northern Song Dynasty, "no reward for merit and no promotion for ability" was the norm.

How many ambitious and talented people, despite having made contributions and offered suggestions, still cannot be promoted and can only rely on bribery to build connections.

Therefore, if the other party is willing to give you an opportunity to "handle things impartially" and allow you to be promoted fairly based on your merits and achievements, in theory, this is already a favor.

Zhao Zi said that he simply didn't want Zhu Zhen to drag him down and ruin his reputation, not that he liked to play tricks on him. Since the other party was also willing to pay attention to the impact of "court officials are not allowed to associate with royal family members" and did not require him to openly take sides, then it would not be impossible to temporarily feign compromising verbally.

"Thank you for your understanding, sir. As long as I have the chance, I will naturally be loyal to the court." Zhao Zicheng expressed his attitude briefly without leaving any room for error.

He kept on mentioning the word "imperial court", and in his heart he was just imitating Guan Yu who surrendered only to the Han Emperor and not to Cao Cao.

Considering his sensitive status as a member of the royal family, Zhu Jie did not take his words seriously and just thought that the other party was timid and cowardly.

Zhu Jie thought he had won over Zhao Zicheng, so he was willing to tell him some secrets. So he pushed the file on Duan Ming's interrogation forward again and asked Zhao Zicheng to read it first:
"Since you are one of us, it's okay for you to take a look. Anyway, you already know a lot about the case of Duan the thief, and I don't want more people to get involved.

If you can help catch more of these accomplices, won't the Ministry of Personnel appoint you as a Gusu County Magistrate? "With two A's in the Imperial College exam, you can only start as a County Magistrate at best, and that's unlikely to be a high-ranking one. Suzhou is a wealthy place, and a County Magistrate here is worth more than a county magistrate in a poorer place. Don't be ungrateful."

Objectively speaking, the conditions offered by Zhu Zhen were indeed quite generous. If Zhao Zicheng had waited for a vacancy on his own, he would definitely not have been able to get such a lucrative position.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the traditional imperial examination system was used to select officials. This continued until the reign of Emperor Shenzong, when Wang Anshi initiated reforms. He felt that the traditional imperial examination system, which relied on literary talent and prose, only selected conservative individuals with no practical ability. Consequently, Wang Anshi mandated that the Imperial College teach a new discipline and replace the traditional imperial examination system with a specialized examination for this new discipline. This is the origin of the "Sheshi" system.

Later, through the reigns of Song Zhezong and the current emperor Zhao Ji, the "imperial examination" and the "she examination" often alternated. When the new party came to power, the she examination was used, and when the old party came back, the imperial examination continued.

The most recent rotation occurred in the third year of Chongning (1104), when Cai Jing petitioned to abolish the imperial examination system and establish academies, a request Zhao Ji approved. For the next fifteen years, the Song Dynasty continued to use the Imperial Academy to recruit officials.

The Imperial College's entrance exams were divided into two rounds. The first was called the "Inner School Exam," followed by the "Upper School Exam." Those who passed both exams with "excellent" scores could then register directly with the Ministry of Personnel, similar to the traditional imperial examination system of provincial, metropolitan, and palace examinations, and wait in line for a vacancy.

However, the waiting time is often longer than that of the traditional imperial examination, because there will be more people with two excellent scores in the Imperial College - this is also the result that Zhao Zicheng's original owner achieved through his own real ability before he traveled through time.

From this perspective, Zhao Zicheng was already very lucky. Although he had integrated the memories of his original body after traveling through time, if he really had to take the exam in person, he might not be able to get "double A" scores.

If the total score of the two rounds of Taixue examinations is one excellent and one average, then in addition to the treatment of passing the provincial and metropolitan examinations in the old imperial examinations, one will need to take another examination in front of the emperor (equivalent to the original palace examination), and only after passing can one be in line for appointment as an official.

If the total score of the two rounds is one A and one F, then, like passing the provincial examination but failing the metropolitan examination, one can only enjoy the original treatment of a juren (one A and one F means A in the first round and F in the second round. The first round is equivalent to the original provincial examination. If you Fail in the first round, you are not eligible to participate in the second round.)
At this point, Zhu Jie’s meaning was very clear.

He didn't want more people to get involved in this case, because he didn't know what would come out later, and he didn't want more people to know about the shame of "a traitor in the Yingfeng Bureau." So it would be better to use the people who were already involved to finish the matter.

After this series of cases was concluded, Zhu Zhen would no longer have any personal matters that Zhao Zicheng would need to help him with. After all, there were too many officials in the Jiangnan officialdom who were eager to please Zhu Zhen and do things for him. By then, Zhao Zicheng would naturally be able to slowly withdraw.

……

Zhao Zi said that he had no reason to refuse, so he pretended to thank him first, and then he gritted his teeth and carefully read the confession that Zhu Jie had obtained last night.

"It turns out that Duan Ming is colluding with other forces behind the scenes? This case is quite big." Zhao Zicheng just took a few glances and his expression became serious.

Judging from his confession, Duan Ming has confessed that the main reason he betrayed Zhu Jie and embezzled money was for money, but it was not entirely for money.

It turned out that a while ago, a group of fire-worshipping, vegetable-eating Taihu pirates had infiltrated his residence and used threats and bribes to coerce him into cooperation. They had learned that Huang Shang, the prefect of Fuzhou, had a batch of Taoist canon samples for the emperor, along with other items, that were to be transported to Beijing along with the Flower and Stone Gang.

The Taihu pirates were willing to help him set up a scheme to steal the goods. After the deed was done, the pirates only wanted the things Huang Shang had given to the emperor. As for Zhu Jie's property, they would not take a penny, and Duan Ming would handle it all.

In order to gain Duan Ming's trust, they also allowed Duan Ming to replace the valuables in advance, secretly withheld them and did not ship them at all, but only pretended to ship a batch of sealed boxes filled with lead blocks.

This way, all the money would actually stay with Duan Ming, no one would know about it, and there would be no need to worry about the trouble of dividing the spoils. Finally, all he had to do was find a remote and secluded spot on Taihu Lake, secretly sink the boat, and leave no evidence.

Even if Duan Ming was held accountable, it would only be a case of negligence, not a crime punishable by confiscation of property or execution. He could also find other ways to shift the blame onto others. Once the storm had passed, he could find a way to escape. The proceeds from this one vote would be enough for him to move to another place and live a wealthy life for several lifetimes.

According to Duan Ming's confession, he had no intention of doing it at first. But the thieves were desperate criminals who had scouted the area in advance and held his family as hostages, threatening to kill him if he didn't cooperate. This statement might not be true, and perhaps Duan Ming said it to mitigate his guilt.

Zhao Zi said that after he roughly understood the other party's motive for committing the crime, although he felt there were still some doubts, he did not have the time to delve into it for the time being, so he continued to read the case and the modus operandi.

According to Duan Ming's confession, the thieves set up the trap because they heard that this batch of goods was particularly important and that the officer escorting it, Yang Zhi, was also the most skilled martial artist among all the officers on board. Therefore, they did not dare to fight with force and could only use wits to defeat him.

A few days before the incident, the bridge on the canal in Wuxi County was knocked down by a canal boat, blocking the canal transportation. This was also a trap set by this group of Taihu pirates. Their purpose was to force Yang Zhi to take the Taihu Lake instead, making it easier for Duan Ming to take action.

In addition, before the shipment started, Duan Ming also made the excuse in advance that "the rockery to be transported this time was too heavy" and the original sailors were unable to load and unload the cargo, so he temporarily recruited two extremely strong sailors to help with loading.

In reality, these two powerful sailors were members of the Taihu Lake pirate gang. After being arranged by Duan Ming to board the ship, they waited for an opportunity to sabotage the ship. Once they were in the right position, they caused an accident to sink the ship.

After the shipwreck, the two Taihu pirates pretended to have drowned in order to avoid being traced. They had Duan Ming, Yang Zhi, and other sailors rescued and faked the accident to mislead Zhu Jie.

However, Murong Yan's meddling, his attempt to salvage the ship after rescuing the people, and Zhao Zicheng's advice on locating the sunken ship were all variables that Duan Ming and the Taihu pirates had not anticipated.

According to common sense at the time, people believed that if a ship sank in the depths of Taihu Lake, no one would be able to find the scene or the shipwreck. They did not expect that the salvage operation would lead to the discovery of the case.

After all, this group of people are just thieves with low IQ, so it's pretty good that they can think of that.

That's why Duan Ming had to temporarily change his plan to prevent Murong Yan and his group from being framed. Before Murong Yan left the crime scene, he had someone drop the anchor stone and wooden barrel into the lake. Duan Ming secretly notified his allies, the Taihu Lake pirates, who returned to the scene early to cut the ropes and destroy them.

He thought that he had plugged the leak perfectly, but he didn't expect that Zhao Zicheng still had a trick up his sleeve. He somehow found the sunken ship, making all their attempts to settle the accounts and cover up come to nothing.

……

Zhao Zicheng read the part of the case in which Duan Ming confessed in one breath, and then carefully put the file back on the desk.

Zhu Zhen looked at him for a few seconds, and seeing that he had no intention of asking for orders, he cleared his throat and ordered:
"This is just Duan Ming's confession. There are still many things to deal with and some doubts that remain unresolved. The Taihu Lake pirates who colluded with him must be captured and eliminated.

The treasure hidden by Duan Ming, as well as the gift given to Your Majesty by Huang Zhizhou of Fuzhou, must also be recovered. We must also find out why they value Huang Zhizhou's goods so highly. After wiping out the pirates, we must continue to investigate those "vegetable-eating, fire-worshipping" demons in Suzhou.

Zhao Zicheng listened quietly to the other party's words, then put on a sincere and cautious expression: "I am just a scholar. I have never actually served as an official. I don't know how to lead troops to suppress bandits or lead yamen runners to solve cases..."

Zhu Zhen raised his hand and said, "Don't worry about the knife-wielding matters. I appreciate your meticulousness and will assist you in the secret investigation and offer advice. In addition, you have done Yang Zhi a favor. If you really need to mobilize the sword and soldiers when the case is critical, let Yang Zhi bring his men to help you."

Zhao Zicheng thought for a moment and said, "Since you trust me, I cannot refuse. However, it is not appropriate for members of the imperial clan to associate with outsiders. My involvement in this case is not justified. When you report to the court, can you please not publicize my actions?"

Zhao Zicheng said this, of course, his real purpose was to avoid being seen as Zhu Jie's follower in public.

On the other hand, he also realized that this matter was rather complicated and might attract the hatred of many undercurrent forces.

Those "vegetable-eating, fire-worshipping" bandits were clearly an organization similar to the later "Mingjiao." Historically, Fang La's uprisings often relied on similar forces from the people, suggesting that at this critical juncture, the penetration of such forces across Jiangnan was considerable.

Now that Fang La has not started a rebellion, these people are unlikely to be Fang La's subordinates. However, if Fang La rises in the future, these people are likely to be in cahoots with Fang La and become his accomplices.

Zhao Zi said that he has no power now, and he doesn't want to attract the hatred of these desperadoes too early.

It would be better to let Zhu Zhen be the one in the open so that they will hate him even more.

Zhu Jie didn't expect so many twists and turns. He just thought that Zhao Zicheng was so cautious because of his status as a royal family member, so he approved the request without hesitation.

"If you want to be more cautious, then don't show up, and just plot secretly. But then you can only mobilize Yang Zhi's people, and the others won't cooperate with you."

Zhao Zicheng said it was okay and that Yang Zhi's cooperation was enough, so the matter was settled for the time being.

Zhu Jie made such an arrangement not because he was careless, but because he was too arrogant. He never thought that there would be someone in the Jiangnan area who would refuse his kind recruitment.

Zhao Zicheng managed to calm Zhu Jie down, then he politely said goodbye and returned to Murong Yan's boat.

On the other side, while Zhu Zhen was talking to Zhao Zicheng, the sunken ship was finally successfully salvaged.

No new accidents occurred during the entire process, and the method used was exactly what Zhao Zicheng taught him.

There are many holes inside the Taihu stone rockery, which can fit many large wooden barrels. It also facilitates drainage and increases buoyancy, speeding up the salvage progress.

As for the sinking hull, the craftsmen lifted it up, drained the water a little, and then simply nailed a bunch of wooden boards on it to temporarily block the large leaking hole. In this way, they could directly return to the voyage by towing the rockery.

In the early morning, the fleet finally returned to the shore and landed smoothly at the dock.

(End of this chapter)