Prime Minister

Chapter 1313 Dream

Chapter 1313 Dream

In the courtyard.

When Wang Anshi heard this, he said to the old servant, "Buy me a pot of wine!"

The old servant was surprised to hear this.

Immediately, he went to a nearby village to buy wine.

Wang Anshi said: "Although I don't drink, I have a distinguished guest today."

Zhang Yue said: "Thank you, Lord Jing."

Wang Anshi looked at the monk Mita repeatedly and said, "Jian Gong still has an idea."

Zhang Yue said: "Mr. Jing, this is just a draft. Whether it can be passed is still uncertain. Not to mention the long distance from Quanzhou to Japan, and Japan may not allow it."

"Japan"

Wang Anshi nodded and said, "But it is more or less an idea. Wealth comes from heaven and earth, and it can also be taken from all directions."

Zhang Yue said: "Mr. Jing is right. The benefits of trade are long-term benefits."

"There are three main trade routes in our dynasty. One is the Silk Road to the Western Regions. In fact, silk is just a name. You can call it gold or silver."

"One is to go north and east by sea to trade with Japan or trade with Khitan and Jurchen by land."

"One is the sea trade south to the southwest of Sindhu."

“This is not actually a road but a surface.”

Wang Anshi nodded slowly. Zhang Yue said, "The essence of a country is violence and economy."

"For our dynasty, for example, taking the occupation of Xihe, it seems that we have gained a vast territory, but it is easy to make ends meet over the years. However, it is different if we benefit from trade."

“Otherwise, the cost would be enormous, like carrying a mountain on your back, which would be difficult to sustain year after year.”

The cost of governing a border area is very high, often negative, like having to pay a mortgage every month.

After Zhang Yue finished speaking, he picked up the wine cup and took a sip.

At this time, dusk was gradually falling, and the shadows of bamboos were dancing in the garden halfway up the mountain. Wang Anshi stroked his beard and pondered for a long time before saying, "What Mr. Jian said, I still have a concern. From ancient times to the present, most businessmen who have accumulated a lot of wealth have used money to buy fame and finally got involved in power."

"Once the common people and merchants are allowed to pursue profits, it will corrupt the morale of the country and destroy the ambition of scholars."

"When customs change in the past, laws and regulations will change in the future. This is something we must learn from."

Zhang Yue said: "Mr. Jing, only when there is upward and downward mobility of classes can we truly reform rituals and customs. Otherwise, it is like looking for fish in a tree."

Wang Anshi's eyes fixed as if he wanted to refute, but then they disappeared and he fell silent. Zhang Yue knew that he had failed to convince the other party.

Wang Anshi did not agree with either the previous gradual reform or the current proposal of open trade and benefiting workers. He truly deserves to be called a stubborn prime minister.

I almost spit out blood.

Zhang Yue thought to himself, Wang Anshi was so stubborn and he couldn't be reasoned with at all. It would be so difficult for him to break the impasse!

Zhang Yue sighed inwardly, and Wang Anshi turned to another thorny matter and asked, "What about Aligu?"

Zhang Yue was silent for a moment and then said, "After Aligu captured Shazhou and Guazhou from the Tanguts, his ambitions gradually expanded. He used to listen to orders but not propaganda, but now he listens to neither orders nor propaganda."

"The government invited Aligu to Kyoto three times before but was rejected."

Wang Anshi was slightly thoughtful.

Zhang Yue and Wang Anshi did not tell the whole story.

Not long after he left Beijing, some people had already criticized Zhang Yue for letting Aligu break away from the rule of the Song Dynasty and become arrogant on the border, which eventually led to a situation where he nurtured a tiger and became a threat. As a result, before the Dangxiang rebellion was quelled, a new threat came.

In order to support Aligu, the imperial court spent no less than one million strings of cash, but why didn't it leave any means to check and balance Aligu?

In this regard, Zhang Yue really had no shortage of excuses to accuse someone of a crime. All of Aligu's family, as well as some of the families of his close associates, were now staying in Bianjing City, but Aligu's ambition was gradually expanding, and there was nothing they could do.

The policy of control is not originally a system of direct central government control.

Some officials even began to investigate whether Zhang Yue had transferred benefits to Aligu, and the blame was placed on Chen Mu and Wang Hou.

This is a rather dangerous signal.

Zhang Yue confiscated the money, but there was no guarantee that the people under him would confiscate it.

Zhang Yue knew that it must be Cai Que's followers who did it.

The saying "when people leave, the tea gets cold" is absolutely true.

Soon the wine was served. Zhang Yue held the cup and Wang Anshi replaced it with tea.

The two men raised their glasses and drank, and Zhang Yue and Wang Anshi drank three cups together.

Zhang Yue smiled and said, "Although it is village brew, the taste is indeed the same."

Wang Anshi said: "I don't know the taste of this. As long as Mr. Jian likes it, that's good."

Zhang Yue looked around and found that although this Banshan Garden was nice, he heard that Wang Anshi had decided to donate the house.

The emperor was shocked to hear that Wang Anshi was living a very hard life after being dismissed from his post, and he even sent someone to give Wang Anshi 50 strings of cash, but Wang Anshi refused.

Wang Anshi said: "Mr. Jian, the most urgent thing you just said is to eliminate party disputes first!"

"What will happen to the government in the future?"

Zhang Yue said: "Cai Zhizheng is now the right prime minister, in charge of government affairs. Zhizheng's personality is not narrow-minded, but he likes to take extreme measures!"

To be honest, this series of leaders of the New Party are not very tolerant.

When Wang Anshi first came to power, he was criticized for being narrow-minded and intolerant. When he was carrying out the reform, he was criticized by both the government and the public for employing people who were suitable and discarding those who were not. However, Wang Anshi was not harsh in his actions and just demoted his political opponents.

After that, Lu Huiqing became narrow-minded and intolerant. He even wanted to get rid of his strategist Wang Anshi.

After that, Cai Que was ruthless and had an extreme personality.

Then there was Zhang Dun. Zhang Dun was still tolerant, but not too much. By the time of Shaosheng, the New Party and the Old Party had no room for maneuver, and both sides had blood on their hands. Zhang Dun knew it was wrong, but he had no choice but to go all the way.

Zhang Yue said: "The most important thing for a prime minister is tolerance. A prime minister should be able to hold a boat in his stomach."

"From Jing Gong, to Lu Gong, to today's Zhizheng, there are few."

Wang Anshi did not comment much on Cai Que, but Cai Que did stab him in the back. Cai Que was recommended by Wang Anshi as the chief clerk of the third class and later served as the censor. Later, Cai Que helped Wang Anshi impeach Xiong Ben and Shen Kuo who opposed the reform.

At the same time, Cai Que made contributions to the promotion and revision of the Qingmiao Law and the Exemption from Military Service Law.

However, in the sixth year of Xining, after Wang Anshi was riding a horse through Xuande Gate and was hit on the horse by Zhang Maoze's men, Cai Que impeached Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi immediately gave Cai Que a negative evaluation in his heart, saying that he was "good at observing people's ideas and adapting to the times."

Afterwards, Cai Que explained to Wang Anshi that he had already repaid Wang Anshi's kindness in supporting him by impeaching Kumamoto and Shen Kuo.

Zhang Yue said: "Based on my understanding of Zhizheng, when he first became prime minister, he must have wanted to work together with the people, but he couldn't resist the instigation of his subordinates. At the same time, the world's affairs would not change for Zhizheng. So he had no choice but to unite with his party to attack those who are different from him."

"Once the purge and revenge become a cycle, once our aspirations to reform customs and practices degenerate into party struggles and power struggles, the country will be in danger."

Zhang Yue looked at Wang Anshi. If he couldn't convince Wang Anshi to support his political ideas, then the next best thing would be to reach a consensus.

After the three big bosses of the New Party - Wang Anshi was stubborn but upright, Lu Huiqing was vicious in internal strife, and Cai Que was extremely power-seeking, their demeanor became less and less than the previous one, and the original reformists had become a power group.

In another time and space, once Zhang Dun and Cai Jing came to power, the only outcome would be a tough purge.

Wang Anshi thought for a moment and said, "Party strife will bring endless troubles."

Zhang Yue said: "At this moment, I would like to ask Jing Gong to stand up and speak."

Wang Anshi said slowly: "I have not been involved in government affairs for a long time."

Zhang Yue said: "Jing Gong was able to save Su Shizhan during the Wutai Poetry Case, why not try it today."

Wang Anshi said: "Let's give it a try!"

Zhang Yue was overjoyed when he heard this.

Wang Anshi was old and felt tired, so he went back to his room to rest for a while.

When Wang Anshi came to the courtyard again, he saw a bright full moon in the east.

Zhang Yue looked at the bright moon and said to Wang Anshi: "When will the bright moon appear? I raise my cup to ask the sky. This poem is really wonderful."

Wang Anshi said slowly: "Su Zizhan's talent is worthy of what Emperor Renzong said back then, but it's a pity that he was unwilling to follow his example."

Zhang Yue could hear Wang Anshi's deep regret, so he asked, "Mr. Jing, who do you think can succeed Cai Zhizheng as prime minister?"

Wang Anshi said nothing.

Zhang Yue asked, "What does Jing Gong think of Yuan Chang?"

Wang Anshi said, "Butcher."

"How is Shi Pu?"

“I haven’t seen any talent yet!”

"What about Yuan Du?"

Wang Anshi said: "I am already a person who is idle and useless, and I often advise Yuandu to act in a way that is 'virtuous, broad-minded, and benevolent'."

"I can follow it quite well."

At this point, the wind chimes on the eaves rang softly, the moonlight permeated the courtyard, and Wang Anshi suddenly sighed.

"I remember that when I first became the Pushe, I held Yuan Du's hand and asked, 'Is this the limit of my career?' The reason is that when I was a juren, I dreamed of a hall. Someone pointed to a plaque on it and said, 'Pushe Hall', and then said, 'I will be appointed to this position in the future.'"

"It really came true after this. After the system was changed, I was changed to special promotion. Yuandu advised me to add it, but I declined and did not accept it, in response to his dream."

"Is this all just a dream? I don't know which dream I am in!"