Volume 3 Chapter 19: The wide river cannot be crossed
Lu Haowen thought that Mr. Lu was also having a hard time. He was already old, and in such hot weather, he had to travel back and forth because Emperor Zhao was pretending to be sick.
However, Prime Minister Lu's attitude was still very good, and he expressed his approval of Emperor Zhao's political stance. He also believed that the families of the soldiers in the imperial camp should be redeemed uniformly, or directly pardoned, because doing so would be a favor to the soldiers and boost morale... In his words, 'tens of millions of dollars have been spent, there is no reason for them to end up in a bad way because of this kind of thing'.
However, the Prime Minister of the capital province opposed a large-scale unified amnesty, and even more so opposed abolishing the system of pawning one's body directly through legal means.
"I understand some of Mr. Lu's concerns." Although Zhao Guanjia, who was ill in Dengfeng, rarely showed extra expressions, his face was ruddy and his speech was smooth. "Hundreds of years of system and customs have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The country is not in a normal state now. Sudden changes to such important laws will only cause trouble. It is better to wait until the situation stabilizes and then discuss it in detail... I just don't understand why the refugees in Hebei can't be pardoned uniformly?"
"Because of the war for several years, most of the refugees from Hebei sell themselves not in Henan, but in Huainan, Nanyang, and even in the southeast and Jingxiang areas further south." Lu Haowen answered calmly in the pavilion under the flowers and trees in the backyard of Dengfeng County Government. "Your Majesty, Henan has experienced war disasters, and it is also the place where the emperor's imperial camp is stationed. It is related to military affairs, so most of the rich and powerful families can understand. Even if they can't understand, they dare not and can't cause any trouble. And those places must be in the rear, and some people may not know and understand the difficulties of the court..."
When Emperor Zhao, who was sitting opposite Prime Minister Lu, heard this, although he still had no expression on his face, the sense of anticipation he had before was obviously gone.
Obviously, he sensed the sincerity in Lu Haowen's words and realized the real difficulty of this matter... Because according to Zhao Jiu's poor understanding, such issues concerning personal interests as "I do have a concubine that I bought for five strings of cash" have always encountered huge resistance.
If he could be a peaceful emperor, with a stable country and abundant finances, and slowly sort out these things, it might be okay. But now, during the war, the military threat from the Jin people has always been constant, especially since the court has just increased commercial taxes in the southeast and in-kind taxes in Jingxiang, it would be extremely inappropriate to stimulate the rear.
Moreover, not to mention that people's joys and sorrows are not the same, one thing that made this time traveler alert is that, or in other words, as early as when he had no choice but to choose to increase taxes, he had already keenly realized that as the anti-Jin war became prolonged and its scale expanded, class contradictions would become more and more prominent.
What is even more frustrating is that the concept of nation-state had not yet been formed at this time, and it was very likely that a situation would arise where class contradictions conflicted with national contradictions.
We need to resist the Jin in the front, so we have to increase taxes in the rear.
The common people in the rear were suffering terribly, but their suffering came from the oppression of the imperial court. They had no personal feeling of the danger of the Jin army, so they had to choose to rebel... For time travelers, this was undoubtedly an act worthy of sympathy, but this act would inevitably lead to a lack of strength to resist the Jin army at the front, forcing the military forces that should have been used to resist the Jin army, or even to maintain the safety of the people in the rear, to be used to suppress the internal situation.
And this was exactly the reason why Zhao Jiu specifically called all the generals and ministers together that day and turned his face away in public.
Because deep down he always believed that no matter what the superficial reasons were, in terms of basic motives, the resistance of the grassroots people was always understandable and even correct.
In addition, as a time traveler, Zhao Jiu also had to face another problem derived from this, that is, his own positioning. And this matter was also a difficult problem that he had to face recently.
First of all, what was he doing here? Putting aside the vague and illusory theory of the Taoist ancestor, he must live a good life, and living a good life naturally means doing meaningful things... So what are meaningful things?
Resist the Jin!
There is no doubt about this.
Then what, be a good emperor?
How to be a good emperor?
Immerse yourself in this role, be a filial son and grandson of the Zhao Song royal family, learn from Guangwu to restore the country, and then be a "sage emperor" like Renzong internally and an "enterprising emperor" like Shenzong externally?
By then, the country's culture will flourish and it will be obvious... I believe it will also receive a relatively high historical evaluation.
After all, he is definitely more of a saint than Song Renzong.
There was a severe drought in the country. Song Renzong prayed for rain. He didn't find any followers with water on the way, so he resisted drinking. In the end, he really moved the heavens, and a timely rain fell in Tokyo. Only the people in Yizhou, Jingdong, continued to suffer from the disaster. Then they were so hungry that they chose to rebel, kill officials and rob food. What kind of saint is this? If it were me, I would definitely carry a big water bottle and take the initiative to share some with others on the way. Who knows, I can move the Taoist ancestor, and the Taishang Laojun will issue an urgent order, and even a few drops of rain will fall in Jingdong!
Then he became more aggressive than Emperor Shenzong of Song. After Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne, the Khitans came to blackmail him. He asked all the old ministers and they all said that they could not defeat the Khitans, so he was prepared to cede 500 li of land. If it was Zhao Jiu, he would definitely only cede 50 li! And he could also blame the ministers.
But how can one bear to be so saintly and enterprising?
But let's get back to the point. Given the current situation, it would be ridiculous for him to maintain the mentality of a time traveler and refuse to integrate into the values of the time. If that were the case, he would end up being a heretic and be regarded by everyone as King Zhou of Shang and King Jie of Xia.
More importantly, if we just resist and oppose, we will not be able to accomplish anything, let alone anything meaningful.
"Officials."
Under the flowers and trees, the pavilion was filled with fragrance. Seeing that Zhao Jiu had been silent for a long time, Lu Haowen hesitated for a moment and finally became a little uneasy. "Does the government really want to help these refugees from Hebei?"
Zhao Jiu came back to his senses and smiled slightly, but instead of answering, he asked: "Mr. Lu, my parents, sisters, brothers , and many relatives were all exiled to the north during the Jingkang Incident. You should know this, right?"
How could he not know ? Lu Haowen lowered his head and said nothing.
"Since ancient times, those who hold hostages should not care about the lives of the hostages and rush to attack... This principle should be understood by Prime Minister Lu." Zhao Jiu said slowly. "So, don't say that I am unfilial, but from a rational point of view, I should be more indifferent. So, that day in Mingdao Palace in Bozhou, after I decided to fight against the Jin, I always treated the two saints and the relatives of the Northern Hunting as dead."
Lu Haowen recalled the doubts about falling into the well that day, and was silent for a moment before he sighed: "The emperor is indeed in a difficult situation...it was us who acted too hastily."
"What are you talking about?" Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged. "I don't mean to blame you... Your ideas and practices are also considered mature and patriotic... It's me who is sometimes narrow-minded because of my youth."
"I am ashamed." Lu Haowen stood up and faced him to express his apology.
"Please sit down." Zhao Jiu continued to sigh. "Just now, Prime Minister Lu asked me if I really wanted to rescue these refugees. Of course I wanted to, because ever since I treated the Northern Expedition nobles as dead, I have been thinking of treating all the people in the world as my own family. I was forced by Zong Zhongwu to swear in person that I would not blame the heavens but the people. This was my intention... How could I not be worried when I saw my own relatives being pawned and sold as objects?"
"Your Majesty is very kind." Lu Haowen, who had just sat down, bowed again. "It is us, who are somewhat ignorant of the overall situation... Actually, when I asked your Majesty just now, I suddenly thought of a compromise."
"Let's not talk about this matter. I still have a question. I want to ask Prime Minister Lu in person today. You must know... Prime Minister Lu has been the de facto prime minister in front of the emperor since Mingdao Palace. We have been through ups and downs, from Bagong Mountain to Nanyang, and then to Tokyo. It's time to sit down and exchange some ideas." Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment, and then he called softly. "Prime Minister Lu."
"I'm here." Lu Haowen was standing in the pavilion. He was shocked and could hardly answer seriously.
"When Emperor Shenzong and Wen Yanbo were discussing the new law, Emperor Shenzong said, 'Reforming the legal system is indeed unpleasant to the scholars and officials, but why is it inconvenient for the people?' Wen Yanbo replied, 'It is to rule the world with the scholars and officials, not with the people.'" Zhao Jiu said lightly, talking about a past case. "What do you think of what Wen Kuanfu said?"
Lu Haowen looked serious. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself, obviously thinking.
"It's agreed in advance." Zhao Jiu suddenly laughed. "I know that Emperor Shenzong's use of Wang Shu to reform may not be for the sake of the people, but to some extent to increase income and make money. I also know that Wen Kuanfu's words are a bit of a stab at Emperor Shenzong . I also know that when the New Party does things, everyone from the literati to the people is 'unhappy'... But today, only our monarch and ministers are here, I just want to hear your opinion on the matter, Prime Minister Lu, and tell us what you think of Wen Kuanfu's words, that's all."
Lu Haowen became more serious, but he no longer hesitated: "Reporting to Your Majesty, speaking of the facts, I think that Duke Lu (Wen Yanbo's title) is wrong!"
"How do you mean?"
"If we don't trace back to the theory, what Duke Lu said is probably the words in Mencius, 'What the rich family admires is what the whole country admires'. However, since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it has been 1,400 to 1,500 years since Mencius. In the past, the rich family was the main body of a country, but now, the scholars and the people are the main body of a country, not to mention that the scholars and officials have gradually come from the people?" Lu Hao asked seriously. "Therefore, I think that Mencius' words, if applied to today, originally meant that the emperor and the people share the world! As for Duke Lu, maybe he was angry and said something stupid; or he was stupid and fundamentally misunderstood Mencius's theory... But in short, this statement is wrong after all! I think that the emperor should rule the world with the people! This is the truth!"
Zhao Jiu seemed a little relieved and nodded slowly: "Come to think of it, I remember that Prime Minister Lu is a famous Taoist scholar. Why is there so little academic activity recently? Is it because he has become increasingly busy as the Prime Minister?"
Lu Haowen became more serious, but he was respectful: "Good instructor, please know that what I said in the palace that day was all sincere. I was proud of being a famous Taoist in my early years, but during the Jingkang period, I was suspected of being disloyal. If it weren't for the fact that I fell into the well and was in poor health before and after the Mingdao Palace, I would have almost wanted to escape from the world and seek death. How could I have the face to continue studying?"
Zhao Jiu shook his head and smiled: "Fortunately, Mr. Lu didn't leave, otherwise how could our king and his subjects return to the old capital and sit here to discuss Taoism today? They always talk about Taoism, Taoism... What on earth is Taoism?"
Lu Haowen was very excited and wanted to tell the emperor in detail, but this topic was too broad and he was worried that his boring talk would cause dissatisfaction with the emperor. He was speechless and it took him half a day to utter a sentence:
"Good instructor, you know that Taoism is also called rationalism, which is named because it discusses the principles of heaven, earth and all things. So far, it has already spread very widely, but it is slightly inferior to the new learning..."
"Taoism is Neo-Confucianism? Then is Zhang Zai, who once said 'establishing a mind for heaven and earth, establishing a destiny for the people, continuing the lost knowledge of the sages, and opening peace for all generations', also a Taoist?" Zhao Jiu's heart was slightly moved, but he could not ask further.
"Zhang Hengqu is naturally a Taoist sage." Lü Haowen was getting more and more excited, so he quickly answered. "The Guanxue he founded was originally a famous Taoist school. In the past, during the reign of Emperor Shenzong, the Guanxue of Zhang Hengqu, the Luoxue of the two Cheng brothers, and the Newxue of Wang Shu and Wang Xue were already three major schools."
"Is the new learning also rational learning?" Zhao Jiu naturally knew about the rational learning of the Cheng brothers, but he couldn't help but be curious about the new learning.
"It doesn't count." Lu Haowen shook his head seriously. "Neo-Confucianism is about morality and the principles of nature. Although Wang Shuwang is well-versed in ancient and modern knowledge, his new learning is only for his new law, emphasizing utilitarianism, but lacking in principles of nature and morality..."
"I think it's better to talk about utilitarianism than morality." Zhao Jiu responded immediately. "Of course, we still need to explore the principles of justice."
Lu Haowen's instinct was stunned at first, but then he felt slightly moved.
"Then which sect do you belong to, Mr. Lu?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask.
"Your Majesty..." Lü Haowen became more serious, but he took a breath before replying in a serious tone. "Your Majesty is a family scholar. As early as the time of my grandfather Xianshen Gong (Lü Gongzhu), it was already known as Lü School. Although the so-called Lü School has the theory of 'focusing on the mind' and is also long-standing in Buddhist terms, it is also known to the world that it is similar to Zhang Hengqu's Guan School... In the past, when Mr. Hengqu entered the capital, the Guan School, Luo School, and New School were the three major schools of thought, and it was all done by my grandfather Xianshen Gong."
Zhao Jiu looked calm and nodded slightly, "So that's how it is. It's a pity... I always think that Wang Shuwang's new learning is the foundation of the country and should not be abandoned lightly. However, it is indeed lacking in the theory of heavenly principles and cannot compete with the Taoist concept of nothingness and the Buddhist concept of emptiness. If Taoism and new learning can coexist, wouldn't it be perfect? But the disputes between these schools seem to be deeper than the hatred between the Song and Jin countries, forcing me to stick to the new learning! It's really incomprehensible!"
Lu Haowen hesitated for a moment, but ultimately remained silent.
"Mr. Lu just said there is a compromise?" Zhao Jiufu returned to the previous topic. "What is it?"
"Although the government cannot use laws or decrees to force the wealthy families in the south to release the refugees they bought from Hebei, they can encourage them to release them voluntarily and reward the best of them with official titles." Lu Haowen quickly abandoned the confusing discussion and went straight to the pavilion. "At the same time, we can also hold special examinations to win over the hearts of the people in the south."
Zhao Jiu couldn't help but laugh: "The first one is fine, but the second one, isn't it that Prime Minister Lu is bullying me again for forgetting the story of falling into the well in Mingdao Palace? Even if I am confused, I know now that when Cai Jing was in power, he had already changed the imperial examination system to a three-level system of county schools, state schools, and imperial colleges, and then directly recruited scholars from the Imperial College... For example, Wanqi Xie and Hu Hongxiu were both students of the Imperial College, and Li Qiong was a state student... If you want to open an imperial examination, don't you have to abolish this three-level system first?"
Lu Haowen hesitated for a moment, but still tried to make a suggestion: "Governor, the three-level school system is unfair, and is often taken advantage of by the children of the rich and powerful. When it comes to the local system, it is simply as ridiculous as the recommendation system. I still think that we should restore the old imperial examination system..."
"Is there not enough officials in this dynasty?" Zhao Jiu shook his head. "But what you said makes sense. How about this? Let's compromise and split it into two parts. On the one hand, let the state students come to Beijing first, take the exam with a blank name, and admit a certain number of imperial students. The imperial students will then go to the palace to participate in the palace examination, which is considered a great grace. Then, for those who have been released and redeemed in large numbers, they will be directly granted the status of state students and imperial students. State students are allowed to come directly to take the exam, and imperial students are allowed to go directly to the palace to participate in the palace examination..."
At this point, Zhao Jiu seemed to be thinking about something, and then added: "There are also scholars who have made contributions in the army, and officials who have made outstanding achievements in the local area. They can all follow this example and be granted the title of state students or imperial students, so that they can earn a status... This can be a wartime rule, and this year's case can be handled before the Mid-Autumn Festival, how about it?"
Lu Haowen hesitated again, but finally nodded reluctantly: "Just as the emperor said, I will do my best to talk to Mr. Xu when I go back."
Zhao Jiu nodded slowly.
After saying this, the emperor and his minister finally sat down in the pavilion again, and just drank tea and chatted, no longer discussing unnecessary state affairs.
However, just as the two were chatting, Yang Yizhong, dressed in silk and satin clothes, suddenly came from the front yard, and only stopped in front of the pavilion, bowing and saluting solemnly.
Zhao Jiu and Lu Haowen looked at each other, and their hearts sank.
"Your Majesty, my lord... The army of Taiwei Lu in Jingdong reported to the Privy Council in Dongjing that the Pseudo-Qi army was making a large-scale move. The troops from Jinan Prefecture and Yanzhou went to Dongping Prefecture, and the troops from Qingzhou also went to Yizhou." Yang Yizhong kept reporting. "The Privy Council guessed that the Pseudo-Qi army was watching Taiwei Yue's troops and thought they had found an opportunity. At this time, Taiwei Yue should have already sent out his troops."
When Zhao Jiu heard that it was heading to Jingdong, he was completely relieved... He was worried that Zhong Xiang of Dongting Lake would make trouble at this time, and he really didn't care about Jinan.
This is not to say that Zhong Xiang is stronger than Liu Yu, Li Cheng, and Kong Yanzhou. In fact, according to Zhao Jiu's judgment and understanding, compared with those traitors and ambitious people in the Pseudo-Qi who at least have impeccable personal abilities, Zhong Xiang, who is sometimes loyal to the king and sometimes the King of Chu, is basically a mediocre person. However, the current situation determines that if Zhong Xiang rebels, he will cause the greatest harm to the overall situation, which is far beyond the reach of the Pseudo-Qi side, which has already made preparations for a rebellion.
Therefore, after listening to the report, Zhao Jiu did not move at all, but just replied casually: "I know."
Both Yang Yi Zhong and Lu Haowen were surprised, but had nothing to say. So, the three of them talked about a few more details and then decided that Lu Haowen would continue to return to the Eight Tombs to participate in the sacrifices, while Emperor Zhao would return to Tokyo to take charge in order to reassure the people.
In addition, in order to train the imperial guards to speed up the battle and decide the outcome quickly, Emperor Zhao sent Yang Yizhong to lead 2,000 imperial guards to Jingdong to assist.
In this way, the three of them agreed that Emperor Zhao would remain seated in the pavilion, while the other two stood up one after another.
However, Lu Haowen hesitated again and again, and when he was more than ten steps outside the pavilion, he stopped and turned around to ask a question: "What kind of minister does the emperor think Lu Gong is?"
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a long time before he realized who Lu Gong was. He laughed again: "Although I don't agree with Wen Yanbo's point of view, I still think that he has told the truth and pointed out the problem. He is a capable and honest person... After all, officials are all scholars and officials. If we don't let scholars and officials share the world, how can we share the world with the people? As for Lu Xianggong asking me what I think of Wen Yanbo himself, I can also answer directly that although this person is not as brave as Wang Shu, who is brave enough to take on responsibilities and face difficulties, he can still be a prime minister! In comparison, Feng Jing and Ma Liang are not worth mentioning."
Lu Haowen said nothing and bowed to take his leave.
There was no conversation that day. The next day, Lu Haowen traveled hard and crossed the Shaoshi Mountain to Xiaoyi Town, where he met Scholar Kobayashi who came to pick him up. When he was about to go north to the mountain tombs where the eight tombs were located, he saw Xin Zan, the magistrate of Dengfeng, who was personally chasing him as a messenger.
"The emperor asked me to give the text written before returning to the capital to the Hu governor in Guanxi?" Lu Haowen, who was sweating all over, took the scroll, but after listening to the brief explanation from County Magistrate Xin, he became serious for a moment.
Because not only Lu Haowen, but also the scholar Xiao Lin who came to support him instinctively thought of the text that Emperor Zhao asked Prime Minister Xu to give to Prime Minister Zhang Que that day. It can be seen that everyone is aware of Emperor Zhao's trick of using one thing for multiple purposes.
So, Lu Haowen opened it without any hesitation, and then he and the scholar Xiaolin on the side were stunned on the spot. County Magistrate Xin was a man who loved poetry, and he was itching to take a look, but he saw only a short poem with an unknown tune, and it seemed that there was only half a verse.
As the saying goes:
The mountains and hills are gathered together, the waves are raging, and the mountains and rivers are the road to Xijing.
Looking at the old capital, I feel hesitant.
It is sad to see that the palaces of the Han and Tang dynasties have all turned to dust.
When a country prospers, the people suffer; when a country perishes, the people suffer.
