Prime Minister

Chapter 1278: Demonstrating Virtue in the World

Chapter 1278: Demonstrating Virtue in the World

The official had a good sleep, which was the best sleep he had had in years.

The emperor drank a lot of wine before going to bed. After waking up, he sat on the edge of the bed with tears still in the corners of his eyes.

Starting from the first year of Baoyuan, Li Yuanhao rebelled against the Song Dynasty and established himself as the emperor. He first defeated the Song army at Sanchuankou, then defeated the Song army at Dingchuanzhai, and then defeated the Song army at Haoshuichuan. When the news reached Bian Jing, Prime Minister Lu Yijian exclaimed that one battle was worse than another.

Li Yuanhao even made the bold statement that he wanted to reach the Wei River and take Chang'an directly.

The entire Song Dynasty considered this a great shame and humiliation.

Not to mention the Liao Kingdom, which first increased the currency in the Qingli period and then demarcated the boundaries in the Xining period. Although Zhang Yue advocated it at that time and Zhang Qie defeated the Dangxiang at Taoshui, the Liao Kingdom still forcibly demarcated a hundred miles of land.

Then there was the Xining Reform, followed by the Yuanfeng Reform... Wang Anshi and Zhang Yue were the two successive prime ministers...

Working hard... Yesterday, news came that Shen Kuo annihilated 200,000 enemies under the city of Pingxia, and all the elite Tangut troops were killed. Li Bingchang, the ruler of Xixia, barely escaped with his life, the Queen Mother Liang died in the chaos, Liang Yibu surrendered to the Song Dynasty, the two Tangut generals Meiledubu and Weiming Amai died, and one surrendered.

The fake Golden Tent, the fake great banner, the golden seal made by the former fake ruler Li Yuanhao, as well as countless armors and swords were seized. At first glance, hundreds of thousands of cattle, sheep, camels, and tens of thousands of horses were seized.

When the emperor saw this letter from Shen Kuo, he once doubted whether it was a fake, but he still read it over and over again. As he read, tears began to fall. When his eyes became blurry, he wiped them and read again, over and over again.

After waking up, the emperor read it again before placing it on the imperial desk.

Fifty-five years have passed since the first year of Baoyuan, and this revenge can finally be taken!

When the official thought of this, he walked to the front of the hall, looked up at the sky, and saw thousands of miles of clouds.

His heart has never been so broad.

In history, Zhu Xi once commented on this official: "He is good at doing everything himself, but he only uses mediocre people to serve him."

But now the government has changed a lot. It finally understands the principle of entrusting tasks to wise ministers instead of doing things themselves. There was Anshi in the past and Zhang Yue in the future.

"I used two generations of wise ministers to carry out reforms, and finally put the country on the right track, correcting the Five Dynasties and avenging the hatred of the Qingli period!"

"All I have to do is capture Li Bingchang alive, and my achievement will be comparable to Emperor Taizong of Tang's capturing Jie Li alive!"

Soon Zhang Yue came to see him.

I adjourned court today because I had to report to the Taimiao.

Zhang Yue's expression was still calm when he met the emperor. Over the past ten years, both the emperor and his subjects had changed a lot.

The emperor is no longer the emperor who shows his emotions on his face. His mood swings are not so obvious, and there will probably be no more crying in the temple. Suddenly, Zhang Yue glanced and saw a wet mark on the paper of Shen Kuo's victory on the imperial desk, and then he understood something.

"Liangzhou reports that Aligu has already captured Shazhou and is heading towards Guazhou!" The government seems quite dissatisfied.

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty is the emperor, why bother with Aligu about this hundred-mile land!"

The emperor said, "I just want to make sure that the Hexi Corridor doesn't fall into the hands of Aligu!"

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, the original agreement was that Aligu would take the entire Hexi Corridor to contain the Tanguts for us!"

The emperor said, "This is a different time. Now that the main force of the Tanguts has been destroyed, the Hexi Corridor can be taken over. Why should we abide by the alliance?"

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, the Liao envoy has been forced to return. Now that the war between Song and Liao is still undecided, it is unwise to make enemies with Aligu!"

"Besides, Liangzhou has just been conquered, and the people are not yet attached to it. It is too far to take Hexi. Let's give it to Aligu for now, and it won't be too late to take it after we destroy the Tanguts."

The emperor sighed and said, "Well, I will listen to your words!"

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, you are willing to accept advice, you are truly a sage king!"

The official asked, "Mr. Zhang, what do you think is the most urgent issue for the country today?"

Zhang Yue said: "It is urgent to make the virtues known to the world!"

The official looked at Zhang Yue with a smile on his face.

The official said: "In ancient times, those who wished to make the virtues known to the world first governed their country. Those who wished to govern their country first put their family in order. Those who wished to put their family in order first cultivated themselves. Those who wished to cultivate themselves first rectified their hearts. Those who wished to rectify their hearts first made their intentions sincere. This is what was said in the Imperial Academy. I knew it when I was seven years old."

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, during the Xining period, Wang Anshi's reforms first advocated changing customs and legislating laws, and then advocated a morality. In my opinion, this morality lies between changing customs and legislating laws."

"It is to change customs first, then morality, and finally legislation!"

"I am the same."

"What is the difference between your Mingmingde and Yide?" the emperor asked.

Wang Anshi's "one morality" was aimed at the Confucians who had one moral principle for each person and ten moral principles for ten people, and it emphasized the unification of ideology.

Zhang Yue almost jumped up to oppose this matter. In the case of the Imperial College, the six lecturers were dismissed for opposing the reform, and Zhang Yue was demoted to the position of Tongpan of Qinzhou, which was related to Wang Anshi's "one morality".

The officials all said sarcastically: "When you were a minor official, you were demoted because you opposed a moral principle."

"Now as the prime minister, you are talking about virtue!"

When I opposed a morality as a minor official, it was to protect my own interests. Now I am practicing morality for the prime minister, also for my own interests.

Just like when locusts have two colors, solitary locusts are green, which can help you hide and protect yourself.

The gregarious locusts are black, which is a warning color of attack and also a way to protect themselves.

What is the purpose of first morality? It is to reduce internal friction within the organization by unifying ideology.

But internal friction is something that exists in every organization and it is unavoidable.

However, the necessary internal friction of an organization is also benign, which is why the Song Dynasty always insisted on mixing different opinions. This is like a person who is too concerned about hygiene, so this person must be unhygienic.

As long as the unity of an organization is greater than its internal friction, it is in the expansion zone. If the internal friction is greater than the unity, it is in the shrinking zone. So you have to find a balance in the middle.

A forced morality can be used in the short term, but it is harmful in the long term. However, a unified ideology is indispensable.

So Mingmingde came out.

The first "Ming" is a verb, meaning to demonstrate and promote, and the second "Mingde" means good morals.

I do not have a unified morality, but I advocate and demonstrate 'bright virtue'.

For example, if you oppose the reform, I will allow you to do so. I am not so petty as to banish all of you opponents, and I will even allow you to exist in the government. But if I promote officials who support the reform, you have no right to interfere.

The government has been quite harsh in suppressing dissenting opinions in recent years. For example, the Xiangzhou case, the Wutai poetry case, and the Taixue Yufan case were all major cases initiated by the government through Cai Que.

The opposition in the temple was almost wiped out.

Even opponents such as Sima Guang were afraid to speak.

Therefore, Zhang Yue used the lighter "Ming Ming De" to replace the official "Yi De Dao" which was more severe than Wang Anshi's. It should be noted that in addition to Su Shi, Sima Guang and more than 30 other officials were fined copper in the Wutai Poetry Case, which was a heavy warning.

Now that Liangzhou has been captured and a great victory has been won in Pingxia City, Your Majesty, you should allow the people below to "open up channels for expression" as appropriate.

But this cannot be said in name only.

You, Zhang Yue, proposed a 'manifestation of virtue', which seems to have the same meaning as the government's, that is, to control the people below, but in fact the intention is to relax it moderately.

When people are in good times, it is easy for them to accept different opinions, but it is difficult in bad times.

Tian Feng’s example should always be kept in mind.

The best effect is often achieved when you give advice to the official when he is in the best mood.

The emperor was confused by Zhang Yue at first, but now he finally understood what Zhang Yue meant. He looked at Zhang Yue and said, "If you can attack the heart, the rebellion will disappear. It has been known since ancient times that soldiers are not for the sake of war."

"If you don't judge the situation, then both leniency and severity will be wrong. You must think carefully when governing Shu in the future."

"This is what you and Su Shi said back then!"

Zhang Yue's heart trembled. The official still remembered the source of this psychological attack couplet.

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty is wise. When I was at Ouyang Xiu's house, I was writing poems with Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zeng Gong and others. I happened to draw Zhuge Liang, so I wrote a poem based on him."

The official said, "I think if you don't judge the time, then both leniency and severity will be wrong! This is the best sentence!"

Zhang Yue was overjoyed and said, "They all say that you are a righteous man. Your Majesty has shown me your kindness. I really have no way to repay you!"

Zhang Yue's words were truly heartfelt. Zhu Xi's evaluation of the emperor's character in history was quite accurate. But the emperor's ability to entrust him with important matters was beyond his expectation.

This is Zhang Yue's personality. It doesn't matter if you don't value me.

There are four truths when you are away from home: skills are not sold cheaply, the truth is not passed on lightly, a teacher does not come on the way, and a doctor does not knock on your door.

If you don't have the attitude to ask for help, why should I help you? If I help you by force, you will suffer the consequences.

So the government was willing to let him help him, so he became a wise ruler and a wise minister. Although a person's greatest benefactor is himself, this matter is mutually beneficial.

If you always express gratitude verbally and in your heart, your luck will be overflowing. You think that going from 1 to 100 is your ability, but without 0 to 1 you are nothing.

Seeing Zhang Yue like this, the emperor once again showed his emotions, helped Zhang Yue up and said: "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here today!"

"You stay here and continue to be the prime minister!"

Zhang Yue raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, I am not a person who would break my promises. If I set a precedent, how can it become a system in the future?"

"Your Majesty has been very open with me, and I have something to say. The Sixth Prince is already seven years old, and it is the right age for him to go to school. I ask Your Majesty to confer the title on him next month and then choose a good teacher to teach him, so that he can be passed down to future generations!"

The official looked at Zhang Yue with an uncertain expression.

If any other person said this, Zhang Yue would definitely offend the emperor, but since he was the emperor's trusted minister, he could say this.

The official said, "Isn't it too early?"

Zhang Yue decided to make his words clearer and said, "Your Majesty, the prince's education is of utmost importance. We must invite a wise teacher to teach him. Seven years old is the age when he starts to learn. We must not be careless!"

The emperor asked, "Mr. Zhang, what is the art of being an emperor?"

Zhang Yue said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, it is to show the virtues to the world!"

The official looked at Zhang Yue thoughtfully and said, "Yes, it is about manifesting virtue, not just one morality!"

"The way I govern the world must also change!"

After a pause, the official said, "Do you have a candidate in mind?"

Zhang Yue said: "The attendant Cai Bian can teach the University, and the lecturer Cheng Yi of the Imperial College can teach the Doctrine of the Mean!"

The emperor thought Zhang Yue's personnel arrangement was very interesting. He said, "I heard that Cheng Yi was in the Imperial College and once said something bad about you!"

Zhang Yue said: "Although Cheng Yi scolded me, his character, morality and writing are impeccable!"

"Cheng Yi's learning is profound and can be compared with Cai Bian's learning!"

The official thought that different opinions had already begun to arise so early.

The emperor said, "Since you said so, I will follow your arrangement! It will be one month after the sixth prince is canonized!"

Zhang Yue was filled with relief. This was a sign of the emperor's trust in him. He let his disciple serve as the teacher of the Sixth Emperor's son. It also meant that the future direction of national policy would have continuity!

Finally, the emperor said to Zhang Yue: "You don't have to thank me. If it weren't for you, how could I report to the Imperial Ancestral Temple?"

(End of this chapter)