Prime Minister

Chapter 1154 A new era

Chapter 1154 A new era

The first state of Fuyan Road, Yanzhou City.

Lu Gongzhu, the minister who was in charge of negotiating peace with Western Xia, was now in Yanzhou City, discussing matters with Li Qing, the envoy and minister of Western Xia.

During the negotiations, all Xixia envoys had to admit that Lü Gongzhu was a truly honest and trustworthy gentleman. His elegant demeanor made people like him very much.

Through the correspondence between Lu Gongzhu and Li Bingchang, the king of Western Xia also believed that the other party was an honest and trustworthy gentleman.

In his letters, Li Bingchang also praised Lu Gongzhu as the modern Duke of Zhou.

Lu Gongzhu apologized but refused to accept it, which made Li Bingchang and Li Qing admire him even more.

The envoys of both sides drafted the document in front of Lu Gongzhu and Li Qing. The document was written in Songxia characters and eventually became the official state letter.

Lu Gongzhu said to Li Qing: "If we can reach a peace agreement, the two families will stop fighting and the people of both sides will no longer be trapped in the ditches. This will be a great merit."

Li Qing thought to himself that if Liang Yimai had not opposed it and he had ceded the five states of Dingnan to the Song Dynasty, the war between the two sides would have ended long ago.

Now, the five states have been reduced to three states, which is reasonable. For example, most of Suizhou was originally occupied by the Song Dynasty, so the three states are actually two states.

Li Qing said: "The previous border conflicts were all caused by Liang Yimai, which caused the two families to fall out and killed many soldiers and horses. Now that Liang Yimai is gone, it will be a blessing for the people."

"My Lord has always admired Song Li. I only hope that the two families will have no disputes in the future and will always be at peace with each other."

Fan Zuyu said, "When I was a classmate of Prime Minister Zhang at the Imperial College, I heard him say that war is only a means to resolve political conflicts."

“I now deeply agree with this statement.”

Li Qing understood the meaning of this sentence as soon as he heard it.

Empress Dowager Liang, before Liang Yimei, the Tangut system was like a breeding ground for poisonous insects, and the struggle was very fierce.

The fact that Li Bingchang and Li Qing promoted Confucianism and that the Liao Kingdom adopted this ideology at the same time shows that maintaining national power shifted from external expansion to internal stability.

The Dangxiang found that they could no longer expand, so they turned to Confucianism to govern the country. This was the biggest conflict between Li Bingchang and Liang Yimai and the Queen Mother Liang, and it was also the purpose of Li Bingchang's peace talks.

Li Qing knew what Fan Zuyu was saying and said, "Mr. Zhang is the most far-sighted person in the Song Dynasty. I didn't expect you to be his classmate at the Imperial College. You are worthy of my respect."

Fan Zuyu said, "I don't deserve it."

The envoys of both sides signed the letter of credence, and Li Qing and Lu Gongzhu each signed their names on the letter of credence.

Li Qing said to Lu Gongzhu sincerely: "I really hope that the two families can stop fighting from now on and never talk about war again."

Lu Gongzhu said: "The emperor is benevolent and treats the world as one family. As long as the Tanguts stop provoking border conflicts, the two families will surely be able to reconcile."

The Song and Xia envoys present were extremely happy.

Li Qing said: "Let's handle the handover of the three states' lands right away."

Lu Gongzhu still said calmly: "Okay."

He looked into the distance, his eyes somewhat moist.

……

In Yanhe Hall.

In the past, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang had a classic debate in this hall, in which they argued over whether or not the suburban gifts should be distributed.

Sima Guang accused Wang Anshi of excessive taxation.

Wang Anshi cited Sang Hongyang's "The people are not taxed more and the state has sufficient funds."

Sima Guang said that the wealth of the world has a fixed amount, if it is not in the people then it is in the government.

Wang Anshi said that one can make money from heaven and earth.

This debate was comparable to the salt and iron debate of the past, and it officially launched the Xining Reform.

Zhang Yue happened to be present at the meeting and made a suggestion that the debate between Wang Anshi and Sima Guang should not be limited to the two of them.

At present, there are two systems, and they are waiting to be discussed above, but this matter is much ado about nothing.

Now they were in the Yanhe Hall again, with all the attendants sitting together in the hall, allowing Zhang Yue to get what he wished for.

Zhang Yue is now the Minister of History, so he is responsible for supervising the national history. This is not an honorary position but a real job.

Since the Tang Dynasty, there has been a tradition of prime ministers compiling history. There are countless political events triggered by compiling history. For example, in another time and space, Sima Guang wanted to "replace the son with the mother" to completely abolish the Xining New Law, while Zhang Dun believed that "replace the father with the son" was inappropriate, which triggered a big debate.

In order to cooperate with the "reforming the mother", the old party made a fuss about the Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong.

First, Cai Que was dismissed from his post as the director of history compilation, and Sima Guang took over. After Sima Guang's death, Lu Gongzhu took over.

At that time, the four scholars of Su Shi's school, Qin Guan, Huang Tingjian and Fan Zuyu all participated in the compilation of history and criticized the policies of Xining. On the New Party side, Lu Dian and Zeng Zhao refuted them.

Huang Tingjian said that the other party was "a flatterer". Lu Dian said that the other party was "a slanderer".

During the Shaosheng period, Zhang Dun, the prime minister, became furious after reading the Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong and exiled all the officials who participated in the compilation of history.

……

Now Zhang Yue was in Yanhe Hall, and under the pretext of supervising the national history, he summoned all the attendants to ask them about how the national history of Xifeng's politics should be compiled.

After everyone sat down, Zhang Yue said, "The selection of national history is related to honor, disgrace, and interests. Since the Northern Wei Dynasty, compiling national history has been the responsibility of important ministers and prime ministers. Since I was ordered to supervise the compilation of national history, I dare not take the initiative. Please discuss it here!"

Zhang Yue remains the same as before, not giving up any political power, allowing you to discuss freely.

However, when Zhang Dun and others saw the faces of Sun Jue, Chen Guan, and Su Zhe, they all knew that Zhang Yue had come with bad intentions.

The discussion of Xifeng's new policies came up when compiling history. Sun Jue was the first to put forward his opinion, and then everyone else gave their own opinions on the same matter.

The officials inevitably debated on the spot whether it was right or wrong.

Zhang Yue sat at the top and listened silently.

When I was young and a minister, I really enjoyed this kind of debate. It gave me a sense of participation in the discussion of national affairs.

But now I am very tired.

For the people, this is a value, and for the country, it is "national affairs."

He knew clearly what would happen next if history did not change?

First, in the middle and late Yuanfeng period, due to the five-way attack on Xia and the Battle of Yongle City, the government decided to reconcile at the end of Yuanfeng. The government told Cai Que that he would use the old party to take the initiative to reconcile the situation, supplement the new laws, stabilize the political situation, and avoid future political turmoil.

The government had anticipated the situation, except for Cai Que. Zhang Dun was also very simple at this time. In addition to rescuing Su Shi, he also said that Liu Zhi had been expelled and no one would have different opinions. Shouldn't people be allowed to change their ways?

At that time, officials such as Liu Zhi, Li Chang, and Sun Jue, who had always criticized the new law, had already partially agreed with the new law. Zhang Dun believed that these people could be saved.

However, the old party did not appreciate it. During the Yuanyou Reform, almost all the new parties were liquidated.

Before the reform, Cheng Hao had foresightedly said that in fact, as long as the court corrected the shortcomings of the new law, it would be fine, and it should not differentiate between party members and should dismiss the new party altogether, but this would require people with great courage to do it.

But among the prime ministers, Sima Guang had the ability, but he was too stubborn, and Lu Gongzhu had the insight, but not the ability. In this way, the government was doomed.

Cheng Hao was truly a man of prediction.

At the end of the Yuanyou period, Empress Dowager Gao saw that the situation was not good. If it continued like this, the New Party would definitely liquidate the Old Party as well.

She took the initiative to show goodwill to the ministers of the New Party, calling it Yuanyou reconciliation. However, the harshness of the initial attack on the New Party made the subsequent reconciliation seem ridiculous.

After Empress Dowager Gao died, Emperor Zhezong took power and changed the reign title to Shaosheng, and made Zhang Dun the prime minister again. Zhang Dun knew the cruelty of political struggles, so he showed mercy to the old party, but the old party did not show mercy, and even Su Che stabbed him in the back.

Many people told Zhang Dun that he should never seek revenge after becoming prime minister.

Zhang Dun agreed, but after he came to power, his revenge on the old party was even more severe than that of the old party against the new party during the Yuanyou period.

Some people said that Zhang Dun had falsely agreed to the offer, and his true colors were exposed after he became prime minister. However, Zhang Yue thought that the prime minister was also a representative of a special interest group, and many things were beyond his control.

It's like when an author writes a book, the readers give all kinds of opinions, which makes it impossible for the author to write according to his/her own wishes, because this is your basic base.

Zhang Dun was angry, but he couldn't show mercy, and Zhezong was also involved.

Finally, when Huizong ascended the throne, he issued the Jianzhong Policy to continue the reconciliation. When the reconciliation failed, Cai Jing launched the Yuanyou Party Monument.

Some people say that Wang Anshi should be blamed for the fall of the Song Dynasty because he was the one who started the party strife.

The Xining Reforms, initiated by Wang Anshi, simply banished dissenting opinions and seemed to be no problem.

Afterwards, Cai Que set up a large prison, which everyone felt was a bit inappropriate, but acceptable.

Afterwards, Empress Dowager Gao demoted Cai Que to death in Lingnan, which crossed the bottom line. Then Zhang Dun did something even worse, and when it came to Cai Jing, he directly used a big move.

From Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, Empress Dowager Gao to Zhang Dun and Cai Jing, it was like a person who first bickered, then quarreled, then fought, and finally drew a knife.

Which step do you think was wrong?

It is definitely the step after taking action.

The parties are fighting to the death.

The Ming Dynasty fell because of the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party was a group of gentlemen, but what did they do after they came to power after Emperor Guangzong of the Ming Dynasty?

There is also a group of chameleons, with one color during the Xining and Yuanfeng periods, another color during the Yuanyou period, and another color during the Shaosheng period.

The representative official was Yang Wei, who belonged to the New Party during the Xining period, the Old Party during the Yuanyou period, and returned to the New Party during the Shaosheng period. He was nicknamed "Yang Sanbian".

Today, Yang Sanbian has been placed under the supervision of the Censor-in-Chief, and is on the stage vigorously defending the new law.

During this period, there were also relatively neutral people like Xing Shu who spoke up, and Xing Shu seemed very "rational".

Xing Shu is also a weirdo. During the Yuanyou year, he actually wanted to reconcile the conflicts between the new and old parties. Everyone, please give me, Xing Shu, some face and stop arguing.

As a result, he was the first one to be banished from the capital.

Zhang Yue looked at Zhang Dun, Lin Xi, Xing Shu, Yang Wei, Su Zhe, Chen Guan...

What happened to them in history had not yet happened. They did not know the cruelty of the party struggle in the future, nor did they know how their respective destinies would be twisted in the party struggle.

Zhang Yue looked at Lin Xi, who was sitting next to Zhang Dun in the audience. Lin Xi was a good friend of him, Zhang Dun, and Su Shi.

Historically, the imperial edict in which Zhang Dun demoted Su Shi and Su Zhe was written by them.

After Lin Xi finished writing the imperial edict, he threw his pen to the ground and cried, "From now on, my reputation will be ruined."

Zhang Yue still remembered the days when he, Lin Xi and Zhang Heng studied in Zhujin Hall. No one had expected this scene to happen in the future.

At this time, Chen Guan stood up. In order to make Chen Guan eligible to attend this meeting, Zhang Yue suddenly promoted him to the position of historian.

Chen Guan said: "The difference between the right and wrong of Xining's policies that we just argued about is actually just a difference in perspective."

"Governance is like riding a boat. Can you sail with one weight on the left or the right? If you lean to one side, it means you are leaning to one side. Only when both sides are in their proper place and understand this, can the boat sail."

"The policies of Xining were too biased, so we should discuss making some minor improvements. What's wrong with that?"

After Chen Guan finished speaking, he deliberately looked at Zhang Dun. Zhang Dun raised his eyebrows. How could he tolerate someone slandering Xining's politics?

He knew clearly that Chen Guan was provoking him.

Zhang Dun looked at Zhang Yue, who was sitting at the top without saying a word.

He also saw that Zhang Yue was sending all his followers here under the pretext of compiling history in order to create momentum to re-establish the Yuanfeng national policy. But Zhang Dun had nothing to fear.

Even if he had a thousand or ten thousand people opposing him, he would still maintain the Xining policy.

Zhang Dun said: "The policies of Xining were set by the court officials themselves. Those who criticize them are like traitors who are harming the country. Gentlemen, while Wang Shugong is still alive, will anyone want to overturn the policies?"

Chen Guan said: "It is because your majesty and Wang Shugong are still alive that we can discuss the fundamentals of politics. If you have any objections and make changes in the future, it will be extremely unfilial and disrespectful."

"I think if you continue to argue today, you will inevitably cause the disaster of factions in the future, and prevent the country from moving towards the middle path. Now is the right time to truly eliminate factions and save the country from the evils."

After hearing this, Zhang Dun thought about it for a while and felt that what Chen Guan said made some sense, but he was still uneasy because of his stubborn personality.

Immediately, Zhang Dun and Chen Guan gave eloquent speeches in the hall.

Zhang Yue shook his head when he saw this. What else could he say?

Wisdom is enough to resist advice, and words are enough to cover up mistakes.

In the hall, Zhang Dun was in high spirits and strongly rebuked what Chen Guan and Sun Jue had just said.

After Zhang Dun defended the new law with great conviction, Wang Anli, who had been silent until then, stood up and said, "Zhang Neizhi, I think you are wrong. My brother did not say that the new law cannot be changed after it is established."

"On the contrary, he once said that if it does not harm the people or the country, there is no need to change it according to one's own will. If it harms the people and the country, how can we sit back and watch without changing it?"

"At this time, the court should relieve the people's urgent needs and save the country from danger. Everything else should come after this."

Zhang Dun was stunned for a moment when he heard this.

He looked up at Zhang Yue, who was stabbing him with a sword, and it was the most painful one.

It turned out that Zhang Yue had a plan for today. He set up a trap in Yanhe Hall using the most aboveboard means and was waiting for himself.

Zhang Yue looked at Zhang Dun calmly and thought, don't do it anymore. The path you want to take has been taken by history, and it will not work anymore.

From now on, I will lead everyone in the world on this route.

Zhang Dun looked at Zhang Yue deeply. At this moment, he seemed to be fighting alone.

He turned his head and looked at Wang Anli and said, "You have always been against the reform, why do you say that?"

Wang Anli sighed and said, "Zihou, every word I said is true. Brother was against it at first."

"But later, when Prime Minister Zhang changed the conscription law, the people were pleased. But recently he and I sighed that it was Prime Minister Zhang who saved the people from their misery and really helped the new policy."

Zhang Dun still couldn't believe it when he heard this.

At this moment, Cai Bian, the head of the group, also stood up and said, "The rules in the chapter are indeed unbreakable. When the Qingmiao Law was implemented, my father-in-law and Lu Jifu also consulted Prime Minister Zhang. Prime Minister Zhang revised it and it was helpful."

"In fact, my father-in-law once said that the only person who could govern the country well at that time, besides my brother-in-law Yuan Ze and Lu Jifu, was Prime Minister Zhang."

Zhang Dun never expected that Cai Bian, who has always been the most determined member of the New Party, now fully supports Zhang Yue.

The knife that Cai Bian inflicted on Zhang Dun was more painful and cruel than the one inflicted by Wang Anli.

Did Wang Anshi, who had fought against the whole world with his own strength to decide the outcome, also agree with Zhang Yue's amendment to the exemption law?

In the future, we will have to revise the baojia system and so on.

Or it was Wang Anli and Cai Bian's own idea.

Zhang Dun still couldn't believe it.

Zhang Yue still sat high up at the top, saying nothing, but he was in control of the overall situation in the Yanhe Hall.

The Xining period has passed, and now it is the Yuanfeng period.

One era has passed, and a new era has come.