What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
In June of the fourth year of Qiande (966), Feng Zhan of Zizhou Zhizhou was accused of accepting bribes, and Zhao Pu, the chancellor, presided over the case. It is said that a small Zhizhou does not need the hard work of the prime minister of the day, but Feng Zhan is different, his talent has attracted much attention, and even Song Taizu has exaggerated. When Taizu first transferred him from the center to the locality, he deliberately exercised his ability for future reuse.
Zhao Pu was well versed in the Sacred Heart and was ready to open up to Feng Zhan, but his subordinates found a letter in Feng Zhan's mansion with the words "Sent to Liu Qian", and Zhao Pu couldn't help but be shocked after reading it, and his killing heart suddenly rose.
Zhao Pu and Liu Feng did not intersect, but Liu Qi was a confidant of Taizu's younger brother, Yin Zhao Guangyi of Kaifeng Province. At that time, Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Puming were fighting secretly, and water and fire were intolerable, and Feng Zhan and Liu Feng befriended each other, indicating that Zhao Guangyi's political tentacles had extended from the central to the local areas, and if he let it go, his power would be gradually weakened, and I am afraid that he would not even have the right to speak in the future. This time it was hard to grasp Feng Zhan's handle, how could Zhao Pu easily give up? So he quickly sentenced Feng Zhan to capital punishment.
Zhao Guangyi understood Zhao Pu's "drunken intention" - not only cutting off his own arm, but also killing chickens and monkeys. Zhao Guangyi invited many ministers to intercede for Feng Zhan, and in order to balance the interests of both sides, Taizu neither pardoned Feng Zhan nor sentenced him to death, but exiled him to Shamen Island under harsh conditions.
Yao Shu was also taken by Zhao Pu to open the knife. During the annual flood season, the torrential rain did not stop for many days, and the Lanzhou section of the Yellow River was washed away by the flood, and the states and counties along the way became water towns and ze countries, with crops submerged, houses collapsed, and countless people drowned. When the news reached the Capital Division, Taizu was furious and immediately sent someone to Liaozhou to investigate, and the results confirmed that Du Xianzhao, the prefect of Liaozhou (Taizu's uncle), did not strengthen the embankment before the flood, resulting in the yellow river breach; after the flood, he did not take remedial measures in time.
Hindered by Taizu's face, the chief judge only dismissed Du Zhenzhao, and Yao Shu was taken to Beijing and convicted--Yao Shu, as a deputy, was familiar with the water nature of the Yellow River and had rich experience in flood control, but did not give advice to the ruler in time, resulting in a catastrophe. Zhao Pu firmly advocated that Yao Shu be sentenced to capital punishment, and many Dali Temple officials questioned it, saying that Yao Shu should only be sentenced and exiled according to the law. Zhao Pu said angrily, "Thousands of people in Lanzhou are buried in the belly of the fish, and the rest are homeless, and it is not enough for the people to be indignant if they do not kill Yao Shu." Yao Shu was eventually executed by Ling Chi.
Zhao Pu was proficient in criminal law and would not be unclear about the truth, so why did he have to execute Yao Shu?
It turned out that Yao Shu had also served as Zhao Guangyi's aide, and was deeply respected, and the major political strategies of Kaifeng Province were mostly from his hands. Yao Shu had his back to the big tree of Zhao Guangyi, not to mention ordinary courtiers, and even Zhao Pu did not pay attention to it. Once, Zhao Pu set up a banquet, and Yao Shu went to the banquet, only because the Doorman of the Zhao Mansion did not inform him in time, he was annoyed and left with his sleeves folded. After Zhao Pu learned of this, he sent people to the door again and again to apologize, but Yao Shu did not spare anyone and did not give any face, so Zhao Pu held a grudge in his heart.
Later, Taizu chose a deputy for Du Zhenzhao, and Zhao Pu vigorously promoted Yao Shu—on the one hand, he transferred Yao Shu out of the Capital Division and weakened Zhao Guangyi's power; on the other hand, the deputy was laborious and unflattering, often had to pay for the faults of his superiors, and once he caught the handle, he could take the opportunity to attack and make Yao Shu unable to turn over. Zhao Guangyi naturally did not obediently obey, and repeatedly looked for Zhao Pingrong, but he refused one mouth, and Yao Shu had to take office unhappily. The flood disaster in Lanzhou is the suffering of the people, but it is a good opportunity for Zhao Pu, who can finally shame and cut off this "arm" of Zhao Guangyi.