RPAGF Chapter 761 Is there really discord?
Chapter 761 Is there really discord?
Seeing this, the other civil and military officials below also echoed and advised, "Your Majesty, calm down. The Second Prince is young and full of vigor. His moods are just a function of his nature, not necessarily of evil intentions. As the sages said, 'No one is perfect, but to correct one's mistakes is the greatest virtue.' Give the Second Prince a chance."
"Yes, father, please give my second brother a chance," the prince continued to plead with an expectant look after hearing this.
At this time, Zhang Ping'an saw that Zhou Ziming's expression had obviously relaxed. He must still have a lot of affection for this son. He still remembered how kind he was to his second son when he first visited the Zhou Mansion.
Many years have passed. Although no one knows what happened in the meantime that caused the relationship between father and son to change so much, the original intention of love should not change.
Most people who know what's happening will definitely take advantage of the situation and let it go. This matter is not a big deal, and it can be resolved by admitting the mistake.
Unexpectedly, the second prince did not appreciate it. He curled his lips and chuckled, with a straightforward arrogance and entitlement on his face.
He looked directly at his superior and replied, "Father, elder brother, there is a difference between master and servant. I am the master. What is wrong with the master teaching the servant?"
"You!" Zhou Ziming was so angry that he raised his finger and pointed at his unrepentant son, and his face suddenly became ugly again.
The Second Prince seemed oblivious to this, and continued in a somewhat sarcastic tone, "Father has always taught me, your Majesty, that the way to govern your subordinates is to use both kindness and authority. Without authority, your orders will fail. If you don't enforce strict discipline on these servants, they will become cunning and treacherous, and even take advantage of you. Why have you changed your ways now?"
"You are quibbling!" Zhou Ziming was obviously very angry, his face was also gloomy and watery, so the prince and the civil and military officials did not dare to interrupt for a while.
"Since you remember all this, you must also remember what I taught you: 'The people are most important, the state is second, and the emperor is least important.' Taking lives over trivial matters is not the sign of a benevolent person. They may be servants, but your cruelty is unworthy of the royal bloodline. You have been living a life of luxury since childhood. Do you know how hard it is to earn a meal? Do you understand the suffering of the people? Although they are servants, they were also born and raised by their parents. You treat human life with disregard. How is that any different from Jie and Zhou?"
After three stern questions, the Second Prince Zhou Shu finally stopped objecting.
There was complete silence in the imperial tent.
After Zhou Ziming finished speaking, he called out to the guards on his left and right: "Come here, get my horse whip!"
It was obvious that they were serious about this. There wasn't even any common polite words, such as asking him to go back and reflect on his mistakes, or being punished by writing "The Analects of Confucius" or "The Book of Rites".
It was extremely rare for the royal father and son to start fighting right away, especially since Zhang Ping'an had never heard of Zhou Ziming using corporal punishment on the princes under him before.
It further highlights the seriousness of the situation.
"Father!" The prince couldn't help but shout after hearing this, his face full of worry and anxiety.
Even Empress Wei lost her composure and finally raised her eyebrows and scolded, "Evil son, why don't you admit your fault to your father? There is no greater virtue than to admit one's mistakes and correct them!"
This is to give my son a way out.
You have to know that Zhou Ziming is an emperor who fought on the battlefield. He is both civil and martial. Naturally, his hand strength is not small. One whip will definitely make the skin and flesh burst. For a prince, it is a heavy punishment.
The physical pain was minor, but the embarrassment of having to go through this in front of all the civil and military officials was huge.
Seeing that he was about to be beaten, the second prince was calmer than his mother and elder brother. He stiffened his neck and said nothing, looking as indifferent as if he could be killed or shaved at will.
The guard on the side was a smart guy. He slowed down the speed of whipping and waited for the matter to come to a conclusion.
To prevent the fire in the city gate from affecting the innocent people.
If the emperor and his family reconciled in the future, he would inevitably be resentful by the second prince for his quick delivery. He had heard that the second prince was very narrow-minded.
But Zhou Ziming scolded him: "Where is my whip? Why haven't you brought it yet?"
Now the guards dared not delay any longer and hurried over to hand over the whip.
Seeing that the situation was about to become serious, Qin Qingshan finally stood up and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Your Highness has lived in the deep palace for a long time and has never known the suffering of the people. In governing your people, you have indeed failed to strike a balance between leniency and severity. This is not Your Highness's fault, but the fault of us ministers for our inability to assist and guide them properly.
Furthermore, although His Royal Highness the Second Prince has made a mistake, he should be punished according to etiquette and laws, not by force. In my humble opinion, Your Majesty should temporarily fine His Royal Highness the Second Prince a year's salary, have him confine himself to study and reflect on his mistakes in his residence, and have him copy "The Study of Benevolence" and "On Virtue" a hundred times. He should also personally provide for the injured and deceased servants and their families. This will not only demonstrate Your Majesty's fairness and impartiality, but also enable His Royal Highness to personally appreciate the importance of benevolence and virtue."
"Yes, what the King of Qin said is that the way of education is based on benevolence. A benevolent person loves others, let alone his own flesh and blood. Beating him with sticks may lose the original intention of kindness and only increase resentment. How can it be education? I beg Your Majesty to give the second prince another chance." Queen Wei said quietly on the side.
Help your son to plead for mercy.
With these two influential figures speaking for them, Prime Minister Lu and Grand Tutor Qian naturally had to quote scriptures and classics to plead for mercy.
This is the royal family. The matter between father and son is not simply a family affair, but also a matter of the imperial court. All civil and military officials have to get involved whether they like it or not.
Zhou Ziming also felt helpless. It is lonely at the top, which is exactly the situation he is in now.
Although he was the emperor and had centralized imperial power, he could not do whatever he wanted.
In the end, the matter was left unresolved. After all, I still felt reluctant to let it go because I was concerned about the father-son relationship.
After this incident, people who were familiar or unfamiliar with the second prince now became familiar with him.
At least Zhang Ping'an learned a lot from this incident.
First of all, although the emperor and empress seemed to have little communication, they were actually very affectionate with each other, and what Queen Wei said carried a lot of weight in front of Zhou Ziming.
Secondly, Queen Wei and Prince Qin Qingshan must have had a close relationship, otherwise she would not have stood up to help and plead when Zhou Ziming was furious.
Finally, there was an indescribable feeling between the eldest prince and the second prince, as well as between Zhou Ziming and the second prince. This pair of brothers, and this pair of father and son, might not really be in conflict as others speculated.
There are many things that only the parties involved know.
Although Zhou Ziming took in many concubines, he basically did not favor them. Many of them were only allowed into the palace and given a status in order to balance the power of various parties.
Up to now, there are only four princes in the palace. The third prince and the fourth prince are younger than Xiao Yuer, and their mother's family has no power.
Moreover, it seems that Zhou Ziming is not planning to support their mother clan.
Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, the throne will eventually be chosen between the crown prince and the second prince.
At present, the prince is more likely.
But maybe because he read too many history books, Zhang Pingan always felt that there were really not many people in history who could become the crown prince and then ascend the throne smoothly and officially. Most of them died halfway for unknown reasons.
He deeply agreed with what his father-in-law, Grand Tutor Qian, said: never get involved in the fight for the dragon's son.
These are all lessons learned from the blood of history.