Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 120 Who is the Good Grandson?
Within ten breaths, the six people entered one after another.

"Your humble servant Jiang Zhao greets Your Majesty."

Jiang Zhao, dressed in a purple robe, bowed deeply.

"Your subject Zhao Ceying greets Your Majesty!"

Your subject, Zhao Zhong

Zhao Ceying, Zhao Zhong, Zhao Shicheng, Zhao Shiyi, and Zhao Shiqian bowed in turn.

"No need to be polite"

Zhao Zhen waved his hand and said, "Please take a seat."

The group took their seats.

Zhao Zhen pondered for a moment, then looked first at his several "good grandsons" and slowly asked, "What insights have you gained during your three years in the border region?"

Upon hearing this, all the members of the imperial clan except Zhao Ceying averted their eyes.

Insight?

How should I answer this?
The tests conducted by several younger members of the imperial family will influence the decision on the position of crown prince, making it imperative to exercise caution.

For a moment, no one took the initiative to speak.

"Speak up, everyone." Zhao Zhen glanced down at them one by one, finally focusing on Zhao Ceying, whose expression was calm.

In terms of the letters presented, Zhao Ceying is almost in a class of his own compared to the other four!

With the emperor's attention on him, Zhao Ceying felt a chill and quickly stood up, replying respectfully: "For the past three years, I have served under General Huaiyuan, training five hundred soldiers, implementing the policy of military farming, personally suppressing bandits, pacifying various Tibetan tribes, and clashing with the Western Xia border army several times."

In my opinion, Tibet, influenced by Lord Jiang, has pacified many pro-Zhou tribes. We should adopt a policy of integrating Tibetans and Han Chinese, so that they can gradually learn to farm and weave, and protect our territory.

The Western Xia cavalry were fierce and brave. If it weren't for Lord Jiang's expansion of the Hehuang region and the opening of the tea-horse trade, which brought in many fine horses, the border troops would have faced immense difficulties in resisting them. To subdue the Western Xia, the only way is to breed superior horses, train the cavalry, and eliminate their weaknesses.

As he spoke, Zhao Ceying's eyes flickered slightly, and he said, "In my opinion, expanding territory is extremely difficult and will require several generations of rulers to govern diligently. It cannot be accomplished in one generation."

Jiang Zhao had said this several times when discussing the situation on the frontier with him, and it left a deep impression on him.

To be precise, it's not that "it can be accomplished in one generation," but rather that "it can only be accomplished by Emperor Zhao Zhen."

Zhao Zhen is too old!

Jiang Zhao entered officialdom at the age of eighteen and expanded the territory at the age of twenty-two. He was already a virtuous minister who was hard to find even in historical records.

However, Zhao Zhen was already fifty-one years old at that time.

The emperor and his minister were nearly thirty years apart in age!
With Jiang Zhao's abilities, if a wise ruler were to support him, he might actually be able to help the monarch achieve unification and become a great emperor for all time during his lifetime.

Unfortunately, Emperor Renzong (Zhao Zhen) couldn't wait!

Otherwise, if Jiang Zhao had been born thirty years earlier, both the emperor and his minister would have been in their twenties or thirties, and it might have truly been a case of "one generation achieving great things."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhen closed his eyes and sighed softly.

The saying "I was born before you were born, and you were born after I had grown old" perfectly describes this situation.

As a monarch, Zhao Zhen naturally knew that achieving unification would make him a great emperor for all time.

In recent years, Tibet has split apart, Western Xia has been in turmoil, and the Great Zhou has even produced a capable minister who has expanded its territory!

The right timing and the right people are both in place!
Unfortunately, that was the opportune time for the Great Zhou Dynasty, not for him.

He is old!

Zhao Zhen opened his eyes and calmly waved his hand.

Zhao Ceying's words were insightful and hit the nail on the head regarding current issues.

Ce Ying, full of heroic spirit and possessing martial virtue, the character "Ying" is truly fitting.

Zhao Ceying felt uneasy and slowly sat down.

After Zhao Ceying passed by, none of the remaining four members of the imperial clan immediately stood up.

Zhao Zhen looked up and glanced down.

The more they scanned the area, the more flustered the members of the royal family became, unsure of what to say to demonstrate their best behavior.

The Imperial Study remained silent for a full ten breaths.

Finally, Zhao Zhong stood up and bowed.

Previously, he worked at the Transport Department.

"For the past three years, I have served in the Transport Office, leading five hundred soldiers and responsible for escorting grain and fodder. During my tenure in charge of grain and fodder escort, I have strictly adhered to military regulations and made no mistakes for three years."

However, the soldiers are mostly uncouth, and I have disciplined them with propriety and law, daring not to slacken in the slightest. The Tibetans and Western Xia are both known for their fierce and warlike nature; if we implement education and promote ethnic integration, we can ensure the safety of the border regions.”

Zhao Zhong bowed respectfully, believing he had already exceeded expectations.

"Ah."

Zhao Zhen nodded, expressionless, and said nothing.

After observing for a while, Jiang Zhao couldn't help but glance at it.

In fact, judging solely from the answers, Zhao Zhong's responses were quite good. Whether it was "three years without fail" or "disciplining soldiers with etiquette and law," both reflected his own abilities.

My views on Tibet and Western Xia are based on a broader perspective.

Even if he can't compare to Zhao Ceying, he's still quite remarkable.

Unfortunately, Zhao Zhong misunderstood the Emperor's intentions.

If education and cultural integration are implemented, the border regions can be kept safe!

This statement has a major problem.

The emperor doesn't want a ruler who only maintains the status quo!
Zhao Zhen reigned for over forty years and held power for nearly thirty, which also allowed him thirty years of rest and recuperation.

Having finally had nearly thirty years of recuperation and with the hope of unification, what they needed was an emperor with abundant martial virtue, who would emulate the actions of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of Han in recuperating and laying the foundation for Emperor Wu of Han's territorial expansion.

"And you?" Zhao Zhen looked at the remaining three.

The three exchanged glances, none of them having decided how to answer.

After exchanging glances for a few moments, Zhao Shicheng steeled himself and stepped forward: "Your subject serves in the Ever-Normal Granary, leading 500 soldiers, and is in charge of maintaining the tea-horse trade. I have personally recorded and verified all inflows and outflows of accounts, and copied them by hand, ensuring there are absolutely no errors or omissions!"

Jiang Zhao lowered his brows inwardly.

Even now, Zhao Shicheng still hasn't realized that personally copying the account books is not a good thing.

However, he understood Zhao Shicheng's thoughts.

After all, how diligent it must be to transcribe it personally.

“In the winter of the year before last, a caravan was smuggling ironware. I led men to investigate for three days and nights and finally captured the head of the caravan. In addition, I have learned some Tibetan and can communicate fluently with the Tibetans,” Zhao Shicheng replied respectfully.

Jiang Zhao shook his head inwardly. Of the three who were in charge of military affairs, only Zhao Ceying was not limited to simply training soldiers. Instead, he took on tasks such as land reclamation, bandit suppression, and pacification of foreign tribes. The other two had not stepped out of the limitations of their assigned duties.

Or rather, neither of them was proactive in their work.

Given their positions, if either of them were to proactively request to their superior to perform tasks that would demonstrate their individual abilities, the supervising officer would certainly not refuse.

Like Zhao Ceying, whose original job was simply to train soldiers, he made some additional requests to Gu Tingye, thus embarking on the path of land reclamation and bandit suppression.

It's not like Xihe Road is poorly informed; as competitors, the two of them must know what Zhao Ceying has been up to.

Unfortunately, even knowing that Zhao Ceying's political achievements were almost unparalleled, the two of them never did anything else.

The reason, of course, is a lack of ability.

Furthermore, Zhao Shicheng did not discuss the overall situation of the confrontation between Western Xia and Tibet.

In this respect, there is a significant difference.

Zhao Zhen's gaze flickered slightly.

Having dealt with state affairs for many years, he naturally became aware of this.

Zhao Shiyi, son of the Prince of Yan, stepped forward and said honestly, "When I governed Yunshui County, I personally inspected the fields and got close to the people. Last year, there was a drought in spring, and I fasted and prayed for rain for three days. The rain came, and the people praised me."

A few years ago, after Jiang Zhao demonstrated the "personal cultivation" method, he did it again in private.

"In addition, I have also developed canals, established military farms, and implemented policies to integrate Han and non-Han peoples."

Zhao Zhen glanced at it and sighed inwardly.

In short, garbage!

Canal construction, land reclamation, and integration of Han and non-Han peoples were all policies of the Pacification Commissioner.

Zhao Shiyi simply carried out the orders from above.

Furthermore, Zhao Shiyi did not discuss the overall situation.

Or rather, he simply lacks a sense of the big picture!
The remaining person was Zhao Shiqian, the son of the Prince of Yong.

He rose and bowed, his eyes darting around: "In governing Huaishui County, I implemented education, canal construction, land reclamation, and integration of Han and non-Han peoples. In addition, I also captured several traitors who colluded with the enemy and beheaded them as a warning to others."

After everyone had answered, Zhao Zhen sighed slightly.

Apart from Zhao Ceying, everyone else is a bunch of ugly and deformed people!

"Truly a fine young man of the Zhao family!"

"You may all leave," Zhao Zhen said, gesturing for them to leave.

He will decide for himself which is better or worse.

Of the five members of the imperial clan, Zhao Ceying felt uneasy, Zhao Zhong felt he had performed exceptionally well, Zhao Shicheng and Zhao Shiyi felt they had performed normally, and Zhao Shiqian felt slightly flustered.

The five people, each with a different state of mind, all withdrew.

After the imperial clansmen left, Zhao Zhen looked towards Jiang Zhao.

Jiang Zhao was able to expand the territory within a few years of entering officialdom, and he was the "family heirloom" he had chosen!
At fifty-six years old, no one knew how many more years the emperor could last.

He hopes to decide who the good grandson is!

(End of this chapter)