Chapter 115: What is the foundation of a country?
June 20th
Shen Kuo and Yong'er hurried over and finally entered the city. The two of them rushed to the Military Headquarters together.
In the lobby of the Military Headquarters, a strange argument was still going on. So far, Bao Longtu had been patient and had not lost his temper. He was waiting for the other party to show his hand. Because these two people came to visit late at night, it was obvious that they wanted to drag him into the water, and they were determined to get it. So what was their ultimate goal?
This question has no answer yet. Wen Yanbo is the leader of the current officials, and Yan Shu is the role model of the previous scholars. They cannot be members of the Maitreya sect. So what are they trying to do? And why are they so sure that they can convince themselves? Everything depends on them.
"Mr. Yan, since you mentioned thirty years ago, I only heard a vague explanation and it's hard to understand the reason. Can you elaborate?" Lao Bao lowered his posture and asked. He hoped to make the other party feel that he was a member who could be won over.
"Haha, come to think of it, it was Wang Qinruo who conspired with the late emperor to create the Heavenly Book. He went to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the gods, and asked all places to offer auspicious signs. The government was in chaos. For a while, the county officials had no intention of governing the local areas. They were all looking for lotus flowers with two stems, double ears of wheat, intertwined plants, and thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum. These were all good things. In the end, even a half-foot-long locust was presented to the emperor as an auspicious sign."
"At that time I was farming and studying in the countryside, and I knew all these things."
"Bao Xiren must know that the second sage once said: The king should regard his subjects as his own hands and feet, and the subjects should regard the king as their own heart and soul." The old man frowned and considered, and he had to be very careful in choosing words and sentences. "On the contrary, if the king regards his subjects as ignorant fools who can be deceived, then the subjects can also 'wake up' and 'admonish' the king at the right time."
Mencius' original words mentioned the way for the monarch and his subjects to get along. In fact, there is a second half: If the monarch regards his subjects as dirt, then the subjects will regard the monarch as an enemy. This sentence was considered by Yan Shu and replaced with a more peaceful sentence, which roughly means that if the emperor thinks his subjects are easy to fool, then the subjects can also remind His Majesty appropriately.
"Of course what the sub-sage said is correct. However, the current emperor is kind and benevolent, and is a wise ruler who has never been seen before. Why doesn't he give direct advice?"
"Direct criticism is useful, why bother with all that?" Wen Yanbo joined in, "Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, the government and the literati have always ruled the country together. Your Majesty's use of gods and monsters has actually broken the tacit understanding between the monarch and his subjects. The government is bent on promoting reforms, and is afraid of direct criticism from us, so it borrows the astrology of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to suppress direct criticism with the will of heaven, leaving us speechless. Bao Longtu asked me why I didn't make direct criticism? That's putting the cart before the horse."
"That makes some sense." Lao Bao nodded. He felt that Wen Yanbo was hypocritical and treacherous, but he was also very clear-headed. The Song Dynasty was indeed as he said, a system of co-governance between the monarch and his subjects. The government's use of astronomy was intended to destroy this system, which was a sign of breaking faith with its subjects.
"In order to enlighten Your Majesty, I found the great master of the time, Mu Sheng Yu Hao, and built a villa in Gu Liu Gang in Zhongmu. I conspired with him to stage an old play about a hat monster in the two capitals. Many officials participated in it, and Lord Wen Lu was aware of it."
Wen Yanbo nodded, indicating that he was also a member.
"Oh... so it's been thirty years?"
"I saw the blueprint of the hat monster at that time. It was pulled by a thin line and smoke could rise. It couldn't be bad."
"But I heard from the person who saw the Hat Monster that the Hat Monster today is different from the past?"
"It is very different. Yu Hao must have realized something later, but unfortunately he only passed it on to his grandson Yu Jing. Yu Jing returned to the Maitreya Sect."
"So... so the Minister of Culture wants to recruit an insider into the Maitreya Sect? And then obtain the new method of the Hat Monster?"
"Bao Xiren's guess is mostly true." Wen Yanbo said proudly, "When I was in Beizhou, I saw that the Maitreya sect was quite good at pretending to be a god, so I wanted to use them to replace the old hat monster. After all, Yu Hao was dead at that time, and his descendants could not be found. The government used the Sitianjian's astrological report to force the Three Redundancies Reform, and it was imminent. I discussed with Lord Yan that it would be better to use the ready-made Maitreya sect to "admonish" the government - the mandate of heaven should not be used indiscriminately, otherwise there will be chaos."
"Since you told me this, there must be something else?"
"That's right." Wen Yanbo said, "Now, the guest star is about to disappear. The Maitreya Sect is..."
"Should we just cut it off?" Bao Zheng asked.
"No," Wen Yanbo shook his hand, "If there wasn't a complicated game between the emperor and his subjects, we wouldn't be here today."
"What is complicated and difficult to determine?"
"Did you know that the emperor is going to use the Heavenly Book of the Jade Palace again?"
"I heard from the noble that the emperor wants to hold a Luotian Grand Ceremony in Yuqing Palace and invite a Nuo master to perform a Nuo ritual. Is this true?"
"If it was just a Nuo ritual or Luotian Dajiao, it would be fine, but the government wants to use the Jade Palace's heavenly book to quell the demon. This is a huge defense that cannot be penetrated."
"Since the Heavenly Book was forged by Wang Qinruo, then using the Heavenly Book to suppress the demon was nothing more than a show, performed for the world to see. How can it be said to have broken the defense?"
"It is indeed only for the world to see. In fact, the heavenly book hanging in the caisson of Yuqing Palace is not the real thing, but a copy later. The real thing written by Wang Qinruo has been sent to the underground palace by Empress Dowager Zhangxian to accompany the late emperor. However , this move by the government is worth our consideration. As the saying goes, be cautious of what you cannot see and be fearful of what you cannot hear."
"Mr. Wen, are you afraid that the Heavenly Book is useless?" Old Baobao said confusedly.
"That's ridiculous. I'm just afraid it might be useful. I think the guest star is very likely to disappear in the near future. If we sacrifice the Heavenly Book now, won't it all be attributed to the Heavenly Book?"
"So what?"
"How? From now on, that thing is no longer a fake book hanging in the Yuqing Palace, but a sword hanging over our heads. The foundation of our dynasty, where the monarch and his subjects respect each other, is about to collapse again."
Wen Yanbo finally spoke out what was on his mind. He was worried that the guest star would disappear after the emperor took out the heavenly book, and the heavenly book would regain its divinity, and the imperial power would expand infinitely with the help of the divine power. The scholar-official class would not be able to rely on subtle words and great principles to check and balance. He did think too much. The emperor must not have taken out the heavenly book as he thought, but just wanted to stabilize the precarious hearts of the people.
Bao Zheng finally knew the ultimate intention of these two people. In their hearts, the court was not the first priority, but the game between the monarch and his subjects. Wen Yanbo had just said that the foundation of the Song Dynasty was the tradition of mutual respect between the monarch and his subjects. For this reason, they even wanted to destroy the "Heavenly Book" once and for all by the enemy, even if the country was facing eternal damnation. They probably assessed the situation and thought that it would be most beneficial to the scholar-official class to let the remnants of Maitreya Sect go and let them use them once, and then eliminate them after Maitreya Sect succeeded in destroying the Heavenly Book.
After all, Yan Shu just compared himself to Yi Yin and Huo Guang in a vicious way. Wen Yanbo also told the emperor fearlessly that the emperor shared the world with the scholars and officials instead of the common people. Their train of thought was similar. The so-called foundation of the country was that the emperor had to respect them. If he didn't listen, the foundation of the country would be shaken.
In Bao Zheng's view, there was nothing wrong with their political ideas. Politics needs checks and balances, and cannot be ruled by one person. However, what is hateful is that for this ideal, they would rather push the court into a tightrope-walking adventure, especially when the chances of winning this adventure are not great. Wen Yanbo is also very clear that the power of the Liao Kingdom is mixed in this game.
The hall was dead silent, and the three people were in a stalemate. Under the flickering candlelight, the shadows danced in all directions, and the atmosphere was particularly weird. Bao Zheng did not rush to express his opinion, he was thinking about countermeasures.
"What do you think? What does Bao Xiren have to say?" Wen Yanbo couldn't wait any longer and started asking, seeming confident of winning.
"You know, Lord Wen, that although the Heavenly Book is a false auspicious sign, it is also a pillar that can stabilize people's hearts at this time. If we allow the Maitreya Sect to cause trouble again and destroy the Heavenly Book, the consequences will be disastrous."
"How unimaginable is it?" Yan Shu said tremblingly.
"Mr. Yan, you must know that it's not just the Maitreya sect that's involved, there's also the Liao. If the Liao takes advantage of the fact that the people of the Song Dynasty are losing their morale and uses the excuse that the Mandate of Heaven is no longer with them to send troops south, wouldn't the consequences be disastrous?"
Bao Zheng's question really hits the nail on the head. Is the long-term checks and balances among the ministers more important, or is the immediate danger facing the country more important? Which is the foundation of the country?
"I also know what Bao Longtu is worried about."
"I would like to hear Mr. Yan's opinion."
"Using the thieves to destroy the Heavenly Book is a gain. However, the northern troops may take advantage of the chaos to march south, which is a loss. Is this what Bao Longtu meant?"
"Exactly."
"However, if we take advantage of the fact that the thief has aroused your majesty's suspicion and get rid of that soldier Di Qing, then our Song Dynasty will be restored and we will return to our ancestral system of governing the military with civil officials. This is a two-gain exchange for one loss. After this incident, your majesty will no longer use the stars to disrupt the government and use military officials to control scholars, and there will be peace from now on."
"this……"
"Wait a minute, Bao Longtu, listen to me. I have also read the court report. Although I have seen the northern troops mobilized and the market closed, I have not seen the Liao state's northern troops moving south. I have not seen the horses gathering at the horse farms outside the Great Wall. In the past, when the Liao State used troops, they would prepare horses and weapons in the spring, so there would be some movement. However, this year is almost July, and there are no signs of using troops. It can be seen that even if they want to invade the south, it is too late this year. If they wait until the spring of next year to use the sword. With Bao Longtu's skills, I am afraid that Maitreya Sect would have been wiped out long ago, and people's hearts would have calmed down long ago. Then the Liao State knows that our Song Dynasty is impeccable, so naturally they dare not send troops again in the spring night?"
"Haha, that's right, Lord Yan is a veteran of three dynasties, he is knowledgeable and what he said makes sense." Wen Yanbo echoed, "What Bao Xiren is worried about is nothing more than people's fear. However, since the first month of the year, the prophecies and nursery rhymes that Maitreya religion came up with did make people panic for a while, but unfortunately by April, they were just stories that people talked about in taverns and teahouses. Haha, people forget things, especially those ordinary people who don't read the books of sages, don't know what's going on in the world, and only seek food and clothing. They are all a mob. The so-called chaos in people's hearts may shake the foundation of the court, which is nonsense. Hahaha... the foundation has never been the common people, but people like us. If we are not in chaos, the world will not be in chaos."
"Mr. Wen, what you said is wrong..."
An old voice came from behind the screen.
Wen Yanbo and Yan Shu were both shocked. There was actually a fourth person here? And this voice was so familiar?
Di Qing, who was hunched over and unable to stand up, walked out from behind the screen, and Huai Liang followed closely behind him.
Yan Shu slumped down on the chair, his face pale, and he was so frightened that he didn't even notice that saliva was dripping from his mouth.
"I am just a common man, but Lord Yan values me and I am given the position of one of the two. I feel ashamed and unworthy of it. I don't deserve it."
Di Qing bowed to Yan Shu. Lao Bao looked at Huai Liang fiercely, knowing that he was acting on his own. There were too many people acting on their own around him recently. But he thought again, Huai Liang was a man who knew right from wrong, and perhaps Di Qing was the one who could solve the problem.
"What I just said, Wen Xianggong, is wrong. What I actually want to say is that the common people should not be underestimated. I have been fighting for half my life, and I know best that once people's hearts are broken, they will be irreparable. When the government army fought with the Xixia Iron Harriers, they were defeated in just one battle. That's because people's hearts were broken. It is said that the Xixia soldiers had wart armor all over their bodies, which did not need to be refined by fire, but was forged by cold, so arrows could not penetrate. So before the battle, just facing each other, the soldiers' hearts were five points of fear. Such an army formation will be broken with one charge. Even if the generals know how powerful it is, it is useless, because the defense of the hearts of tens of millions of soldiers is broken. With such an army formation, how can the people's hearts be a joke? If people's hearts are broken, will they think that the destiny of the Song Dynasty is gone? How to deal with it?"
Wen Yanbo stepped back and dared not answer. Neither he nor Yan Shu had recovered from the fear and embarrassment. When he said Di Qing was a soldier just now, he was talking nonsense. Now that the soldier was right in front of him, he really wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
Di Qing turned to Yan Shu and said, "Sir, you just said that the Liao state's northern government has not moved, which shows that there will be no military action this year. This is a big mistake."
"You you you..." Yan Shu was so scared that he couldn't speak.
"When deploying troops, you must use falsehood to show trueness, and trueness to show falsehood. If you don't see the enemy's mobilization, you will think that the enemy is not deploying troops, and you will probably suffer a lot. In addition, the Liao State uses mostly cavalry, which is different from the use of troops in the Central Plains. There is no need to prepare hay in advance. You can just let the horses go outside the Great Wall, and you don't need to wait for them to grow fat. You can deploy troops in the autumn."
"Use troops?" Wen Yanbo was the first to summon up the courage to ask, "How can we use troops if the horses are not fat and strong?"
"When cavalrymen from the frontiers fight each other, they can only fight after the horses grow fat in autumn. However, if the troops are heading towards the Central Plains, the enemy can catch up with the wheat harvest season in the north as long as they break through Hebei. If our army holds the city as before, the enemy will prepare their equipment and there is no need to attack the city. We can just let the horses go to the farmland and wait for the horses to grow fat. The Yellow River will probably freeze over, and we can reach Kaifeng this winter. In addition, even if we don't cross the Yellow River, we can retreat to Youyan in time. The autumn grain in Hebei will be destroyed, and it will be useless if the city is not lost. There will be famine next year and civil unrest. How did the Maitreya sect in Beizhou grow so strong? Wasn't it because of the drought and locust plague the year before? The people had no harvest, and the Maitreya sect took advantage of the situation and came in the next year to preach and deceive people?"
Di Qing, a mere military man, was able to explain the situation in great detail, which only showed how presumptuous Wen Yanbo and Yan Shu's previous judgments were.
"Haha, Bao Longtu, you betrayed the scholars and invited Di Qing to hide in the dark. You want to use him to betray me, right?" Wen Yanbo laughed wildly, "I am not afraid of going to the government to face the death penalty. I just hope that you, a villain, still have some conscience and let Lord Yan go."
"I wasn't the one who invited Mr. Di." Old Bao said calmly, not caring whether Wen Yanbo believed it or not.
"I invited you here on my own initiative." Huailiang said with his palms clasped together.
"Do you think I'm a three-year-old child? You're just in collusion."
"It was Master Huailiang who invited me here. Please calm down, gentlemen." Di Qing suddenly lowered his posture.
He walked in front of Yan Shu, but Yan Shu didn't dare to face him and could only look at him from the side.
Di Qing suddenly fell to his knees, which shocked everyone present. Bao Zheng hurried to help him, but Di Qing pushed him away.
"I have been killing for half my life, and I know that I don't have much time left. But with the enlightenment of Master Huai Bing, I finally understand the world. Today, I ask you two to put aside your disputes and think about the people."
"What a loyal and upright minister he is, he makes us look despicable." Wen Yanbo said coldly.
"Di Qing was just a muddled warrior in his life, but now he has thought things through. Di Qing heard everything you two gentlemen said just now behind the screen. Di Qing understood the principles of the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, and the mutual respect and love that cannot be neglected. However, you two have lost your minds and have been deceived."
"Got tricked?" Yan Shu finally came to his senses. He realized that Di Qing was not being unreasonable, he was trying to reason with him.
"Yes, you are deceived. I was also like that before, thinking that killing the enemy is to protect the Song Dynasty, and protecting the Song Dynasty is to kill the enemy. In the minds of the two ministers, the co-governance of the monarch and the ministers is the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty is the co-governance of the monarch and the ministers. However, we are deceived and forget that the world of the Song Dynasty is the countless common people of the Song Dynasty. We are generals and ministers, and we think that our obsession is right. Have you ever thought that we hold power and speak the law, and a single thought can cause millions of common people to suffer and die?"
No one spoke. In such a quiet scene, only Huai Liang sighed.
"Please stand up, Mr. Di." Yan Shu stood up and helped Di Qing. Di Qing wanted to stand up, but the pain from the sore on his back made him unable to stand. Huailiang and Bao Zheng went to help him up.
