Volume 4 Chapter 10 Buying and Selling
Lu Hao asked if Lu Gongxiang was sweeping through hundreds of schools of thought like a whirlwind.
During the seven-day Chinese New Year holiday, there should have only been one issue of the court bulletin that was copied and published on the first or second day of the Chinese New Year. But it was obvious that Prime Minister Lu came prepared, and had the full support of Emperor Zhao... In the following days, the court bulletin continued to be published, with a supplement published every day, just like the wartime state last year.
However, these supplements contained no political documents and only the last two issues of the magazine, so they were nicknamed "Seven Days of New Year Joy" in the streets of Tokyo.
There were two large pieces of paper. One was dedicated to "Miscellaneous Notes on Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons". Obviously, this was the result of someone's continuous update to support Prime Minister Lu Gong. The other was only filled with scattered articles, some small poems, some strange stories, and even Feng Yi and Feng Erguan recommended which store in Tokyo had the most delicious ginger and fermented black beans, so much so that it became a government-appointed store... Of course, everyone knew that on this piece of paper, Prime Minister Lu Gong's "Introduction to Principles of Mathematics" which he had been writing for several days was the real main course.
For five or six days in a row, during the holiday, Lu Gongxiang talked about everything from the creation of the world to the pursuit of knowledge through the investigation of things, from following human desires to discerning the principles of nature to utilitarianism, as well as the unity of knowledge and action, and the testing of everything through practice. In the end, he did not forget to forcefully say that he got his insights from Wang Shuwang… In short, when other famous scholars had no chance to speak, this minister of military and national affairs used this cheating method, and then with someone's highly politically suggestive recommendation, with a publicity resource that was simply unmatched by other theories, and in a way that was ahead of its time, he forcibly completed the outline of this patchwork theory.
What is slightly worth mentioning is that although the court bulletin officially announced the name of Lu Gongxiang's new school as "Principle New School", and Lu Gongxiang has been working on "Introduction to Principle School" these days, the common people and scholars still named it as Qixue, New School, Lixue, Guanxue and Luoxue, and gave this school, which was obviously a forced combination of Shu Wang's New School, Lu's Taoism and the New Heaven Theory, a simple name of "Original School".
After all, the article on the third day of the Lunar New Year said that after the chaos of heaven and earth ended, atoms were quickly formed in the origin of heaven, and then atoms formed tiny molecules of specific substances according to the laws of nature, and then the molecules piled together to form all things in heaven and earth... In other words, all things in heaven and earth are composed of the origin of heaven through the basic particle of atoms... This statement is probably the only thing that ordinary people can understand.
So if we say it is original learning, then it is original learning.
Of course, what is coming will always come. After the seven-day holiday, Mr. Qingshan Hu Anguo, who had been unable to find a way to publish the holiday bulletin supplement, directly blocked the gate of the Honglu Temple. At this time, Hu Quan, who came to work on duty, did not hide it anymore, but took the initiative to accept Hu Anguo's submission and promised to put it in the next issue of the bulletin.
Moreover, from a political perspective, the Han Confucian theories of the Five Virtues and the Cycle of Reincarnation, and the theory of the correspondence between Heaven and man, experienced the impact of Buddhism and Taoism in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, and the cruel reality of the Five Dynasties. After Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty offered sacrifices to the gods at Mount Tai, they basically died politically. From an ideological perspective, starting from Han Yu in the middle Tang Dynasty who witnessed the impact of Buddhism, all knowledgeable Confucianists gradually abandoned the old Han Confucianism and turned to seek a new Confucianism that would adapt to the times.
To put it bluntly, the elites of traditional Chinese society are by no means fools. As people who have personally experienced and implemented the theory of reincarnation of the five virtues and the interaction between heaven and man, how could they not know?
But the key is that the social problems are there. Han Confucianism is not good enough, and Han Dynasty classics are not good enough. You have to come up with a new approach! Moreover, after such a long time, Confucianism has already been integrated into the whole society and has unquestionable authority in politics. This means that if you want to reform, you have to start from within Confucianism and return to Confucian classics to make changes.
What else? Strip off the skin of Confucianism and use shock therapy?
Therefore, after the Song Dynasty, people like Fan Zhongyan, Wang Anshi, Zhang Zai, the two Cheng brothers, and now Hu Anguo, who are thoughtful social elites, have been studying related issues, trying to propose a new Confucianism to deal with social problems, while inheriting the old academic ideas of Han Confucianism and continuing to maintain China's great unified political and cultural achievements.
Back to the present, since Lu Haowen had begun to grit his teeth and become the sage of the original school, he was already prepared to be blown to pieces by the gunpowder pot. As the most advanced Confucian scholar who has gone the furthest, and the most physically distant Taoist master, Hu Anguo's counterattack was also something that almost everyone could foresee.
Moreover, we have to admit that Hu Anguo, as an expert who has been studying these issues for a lifetime, does have some knowledge. He pointed out a huge problem with the original school of thought from his own academic perspective - Lu Haowen's original school of thought did not have the concept of "qi", or in other words, Lu Haowen's original school of thought had no place for "qi" at its foundation.
You know, there is a reason why Hu Anguo's own doctrine puts everything on Qi. It is not just that he directly accepted some magical ideas from Zhang Zai and the two Cheng brothers and copied them... The important reason why almost all Taoists emphasize the concept of Qi is that Qi is invisible and at the same time fills the entire world, but it can be clearly perceived by people, and can also be connected to the person himself through the phenomenon of breathing, which then affects the two concepts of thought and morality.
In other words, Qi was carefully selected by Taoists and Neo-Confucianists of that time as an intermediary concept connecting complex philosophical concepts such as nature and man, life and non-life, tangible and intangible, inside and outside. Those illusory things were transformed into each other in the form of Qi.
Therefore, although there are some conceptual differences between the various schools, for example, Hu Anguo's concept of qi is particularly large and broad, while others may have less, but in any case, the concept of "qi" has an extremely important fundamental position in Taoism.
Hu Anguo said that Lü Haowen's original learning did not talk about "qi", which actually meant that Lü Haowen's original learning did not explain clearly the fundamental connection between life, morality and nature, and did not organically combine all things in the universe with humans and Confucianism... This was of course a sharp criticism and a kick to the sore spot.
To put it bluntly, what is the essence of human body?
How can humans, such a miraculous thing, with thoughts and morals, be considered an object? You say that objects carry the laws of nature? Can stones also think?
This kind of doubt is not only raised by experts like Hu Anguo, but also by anyone with a little common sense in Confucianism. If this wave of doubts from Hu Anguo cannot be defeated head-on, then even if this original school of thought is forced to become the official doctrine by relying on the government's favoritism and Lu Haowen's political status, it will at most be another new school of Shu Wang, and it will not be able to play the role of unifying thoughts. The following Neo-Confucianism and Taoism will still go their own ways and eventually occupy the mainstream.
Thus, in January of the fifth year of Jianyan, when many foreign generals and military commanders were confused, the official newspaper began to serve as a battlefield for academic confrontation in a special form that was only distributed within the capital and published as a daily supplement.
On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, before the spring ploughing had even begun, the court newspaper officially published Hu Anguo and many other great scholars' attacks and doubts on the "original school", as well as their support and discussion. Two full pages, no more miscellaneous articles or stories.
Among them, Hu Anguo was the most powerful because he had his own ideas and was full of confidence. The other opponents were probably afraid of Lu Haowen's academic and political status, and they were also a little cautious because of Emperor Zhao's attitude.
In this regard, Lu Gongxiang remained calm and composed. In this issue of the supplement to the official newspaper, he ignored the other minor figures, and did not elaborate on Hu Anguo's long article to supplement his complex philosophical concepts such as life and morality, inner and outer things, to defend the original school. On the contrary, the usually mild-mannered Lu Haowen just spoke out the essence of "qi" in the original school in a judgmental and plain tone.
According to him, Qi is also a substance, and it is only a substance. It does contain the principles of nature, but it is no different from stone, bamboo, water, ice, and soil! The reason why people think it is special is that people are in Qi, like fish in water, and it is difficult to perceive its material reality.
These words seemed to be just a perfunctory and hasty supplement to the concept of "qi" in the original school according to Hu Anguo's doubts, but in fact they were a defense of offense, and they were directly inserted into the heart of other Taoist schools such as Hu Anguo's... Because if qi is just a universal substance like water and soil, then what on earth are these people's theories?
The more crucial point is that, from the perspective of exploring the truth, how can Qi be a substance like water? Righteousness is clearly a moral concept, right?
In short, this absurd remark immediately angered Hu Anguo and many other Taoist celebrities in the capital.
After all, everyone is exploring right now. If it is just an academic discussion, a few problems can be further discussed. But the problem is that Lu Haowen's original school of thought is obviously intended to gain official support and then be promoted throughout the world. If everyone in the world regards qi as an ordinary substance, then what about his own school of thought?
And again, how can Qi be just a substance? How can the original school of thought become the official doctrine when it has such an absurd and fundamental error?
Wang Anshi knew that it was a good idea to leave some issues unanswered, didn’t he?
It is morally and logically impossible to allow this original school of thought to continue to develop so openly, whether for the purpose of eradicating heresy or for the sake of preservation.
It can be said that in this debate, the two sides only exchanged a single blow before there was no room for negotiation and they became irreconcilable.
So, that afternoon, without waiting to submit his paper for the debate, Hu Anguo directly led two professors from the Imperial College, seven or eight middle and lower-level officials, and five or six famous scholars in Beijing, all of whom were Taoists, to the outside of the Xuande Tower and requested to go inside to see the emperor.
Of course, Emperor Zhao was as amiable as ever. He directly asked Lan Gui to come forward and lead Hu Anguo and others to the harem.
"I didn't know that Your Majesty was performing the spring ploughing ceremony..." When they arrived at the harem, even though Hu Anguo and others were filled with righteous indignation, they still calmed down and responded respectfully after seeing what Emperor Zhao was doing.
"It's not the spring ploughing ceremony. This year's spring ploughing will probably take another ten days." The official Zhao, dressed in shorts, turned around with a shovel on his shoulder, sweating slightly, while behind him, hundreds of eunuchs rolled up their sleeves and trouser legs and worked there. "I am following the teachings of Lu Xianggong's original school, and I am practicing it to prove the truth."
Hearing this, the other visitors who had mustered up their courage were terrified and dared not speak at all. Hu Anguo, on the other hand, calmly looked at the official's expression, and then calmly asked, "May I ask, sir, what are you practicing and what are you proving?"
"That's right." Zhao Jiu said calmly, holding the shovel. "I read Mencius, which said that people can eat meat at the age of seventy, and I am a little confused... Mr. Hu, you are a world-renowned scholar, why do you say that people can only eat meat at the age of seventy?"
Hu Anguo frowned slightly, but still bowed seriously: "Sir, this sentence has a context. The original text is that if you have a house of five mu and plant mulberry trees, people fifty years old can wear silk clothes; if you raise chickens, pigs, dogs and pigs at the right time, people seventy years old can eat meat; if you have a field of one hundred mu and do not deprive it of its season, a family of several people will not be hungry. In other words..."
"In other words, this is about a family settling down in a five-acre plot of land. Not counting the grains obtained from the family's hundred acres of farmland outside, they plant mulberry trees and raise livestock around the homestead to achieve self-sufficiency in clothing and meat?" Zhao Jiu continued what the other party said.
"That's exactly what I mean." Hu Anguo also became a little cautious.
"I don't agree." Zhao Jiu shook his head. "I always feel that it's a bit ridiculous that a house of five acres can only achieve this level of self-sufficiency... So I want to try it myself to see if it can be better than what is written in the book."
Hu Anguo was definitely not someone who "keeps the emperor away from Confucian scholars". He did not refute Zhao Jiu on the spot. Instead, he carefully looked at the extent of the development of the wasteland in Emperor Zhao's harem and said sternly: "I wonder how much stronger the emperor wants to be than what is written in the book?"
"I was just wondering, can we make sure that everyone in the Song Dynasty can eat two taels of meat every day?" Zhao Jiu said something absurd under the helpless eyes of Feng Yi and other officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the looks of the Taoist scholars behind Hu Anguo. "Mr. Hu, think about it. If everyone can eat two taels of meat every day, and everyone becomes strong, won't we be bullied by the Jin people?"
Hu Anguo was silent for a moment, then he saluted and said, "Then may I ask Your Majesty, how do you plan to put it into practice to prove this?"
"Look, Mr. Hu." Zhao Jiu turned around and pointed at the wasteland and a group of people behind him. "Except for those who follow the official missions of Lan Daguan and Feng Erguan, there are more than a hundred idle eunuchs and palace maids in the palace. They are all old people who have gradually returned in the past one or two years and live in leisure in various places in the harem. And this wasteland, which used to be a lotus pond and a garden, is about fourteen or fifteen acres. It was the location of the imperial garden before Genyue was built. I plan to take these people and use this twelve or thirteen acres of land to repair the fish pond, transplant mulberry trees, feed chickens and ducks, and find a few old farmers to lead and teach them carefully... You say, if we can use these places to make the hundreds of people in the palace eat two taels of meat every day, regardless of chicken, duck, or fish, isn't it enough to prove that if people in the world work hard, they can also eat two taels of meat every day? And then make everyone strong?"
Hu Anguo was silent for a moment before he responded, "If the emperor can do this, it is of course sufficient proof. Moreover, this is the advice of the saints, the reason why the king is innocent. If the emperor wants to verify it, no one dares to stop him... But the emperor must be the son of heaven, and the royal family must have dignity. There are some things that do not need to be done in the palace, and the emperor does not need to do them personally."
Zhao Jiu kept shaking his head. "If we can't do it here, and don't do it in person, how can we put it into practice? How can we convince people? You must know that on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Prime Minister Lu said that practice is the only criterion for testing the principles of heaven. As for the royal dignity and the duties of the emperor, you don't have to worry about it. I am just practicing the principles of heaven according to Prime Minister Lu's original teachings. Once it succeeds, I will not bother about it personally... Just treat it as a little labor, and I will take this opportunity to endure hardships while the Jin people are still alive."
Hu Anguo sighed slightly, thought for a moment, but could only bow his head: "Your Majesty is simple and serious, and the barbarians have not been eliminated. I have nothing to say, I just hope you won't delay government affairs."
"How could that be?" Perhaps because he felt a little cold, Zhao Jiu put down his shovel and walked into the pavilion, but his tone became more and more nonchalant. "After Prime Minister Lu, the four Prime Ministers Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun, Liu Ji, and Chen Gui are all the best choices of the time. They can handle most of the state affairs properly. I can completely rule the country without any hesitation. Even if there are some disputes, I am just making a judgment..."
Hu Anguo was even more speechless, and he also realized that he could not be led by the emperor like this. Therefore, after a little thought, this great scholar at that time directly dropped these topics and stood outside the pavilion to get to the point: "Your Majesty, I have an idle position at home, and I should not ask for an audience without being summoned. But today I have something to ask..."
"I know that Qi is also a substance. People are unaware of it, just like fish are unaware of water." Zhao Jiu blurted out. "Is this the case?"
"That's exactly what happened." Hu Anguo responded sternly. "Sir, this is ridiculous!"
"How do you know this is ridiculous?" Zhao Jiu said bluntly.
"Confucius said, 'The blood is just beginning to grow'; Mencius also said, 'I am good at nurturing the great and righteous spirit'; even the Taoists have the concept of essence, energy and spirit... It can be seen that the concept of Qi is related to life and morality. How can it be just a physical object like water?" Of course, Hu Anguo blurted it out.
"But why didn't you misinterpret the meaning of the ancient sage?" Zhao Jiu still didn't pause at all. "I remember when Hu Qing first met me, he told me that if I did this and that, I could have some anger and make the world like this and that, and if a Confucian scholar did this and that, he could also have some anger and make himself like this and that... But I haven't seen any anger until now! If you say there is, why can't you actually practice it, learn from me to open ponds and plant crops, and show it to the world?"
"Your Majesty, this kind of Qi is a mysterious thing, it exists invisibly." Hu Anguo answered seriously. "It's not that I don't want to show it to you, Your Majesty, but my knowledge is shallow. I can only feel and realize its existence, but I don't know how to make it appear! In fact, the Qi of the Son of Heaven that you have cultivated has already taken effect, and the battle of Yaoshan is a clear proof of this!"
Zhao Jiu nodded, and suddenly realized: "I understand. Your Qi is invisible by definition, right?"
"right."
"Then why can't Mr. Lu be allowed to be like a fish in water and not be able to wake up?" Zhao Jiu spread his hands.
"Your Majesty," Hu Anguo said sternly. "Prime Minister Lu and I have been arguing with each other in the court bulletin. It seems that he is defending us, but in fact he is attacking us. I don't think Your Majesty can't see it..."
Zhao Jiu immediately laughed and nodded: "Yes, whoever takes the initiative is responsible, whoever proposes it is responsible for proving it... Yuan Xue was the last to learn but attacked first, so naturally they should prove it... Lu Benzhong."
Following Emperor Zhao's gentle call, Hu Anguo and others turned around in surprise, only to find that there was an extra person behind them. It was none other than Lu Haowen, the old son of Prime Minister Lu who had not been allowed to serve in an official position for decades, and Lu Benzhong, who had a place in the Jiangxi School of Poetry. They were all in awe.
Besides, Lü Benzhong's reputation was actually not very good, mainly because he was implicated in the old party because of his status as the eldest son of the Lü family when he was young, so he was not allowed to enter the officialdom. Therefore, he led a frivolous lifestyle. Moreover, as the natural heir to the Lü family's learning, his achievements in Taoism were far inferior to those of his father. Instead, he spent all day writing poems and lyrics.
In this era of clear contempt, writing poetry and lyrics is ultimately inferior to Taoism. Therefore, even though Lü Benzhong once joked about the concept of Jiangxi Poetry School, inadvertently establishing the first formal poetry school in the history of Chinese poetry and occupying an important position in the history of Chinese culture, it has always been despised.
However, at this moment, in front of this person, anyone who looks down on him would be a fool.
"I am here."
Lu Benzhong bowed and stepped out. It can only be said that although he did not hold an official position, as the eldest son of the Lu family, he naturally had an idle position through favors, just like Hu Anguo who held a position in the government but did not do any work.
"Did you hear what Mr. Hu said?" Zhao Jiu asked with a smile.
"I heard it." For some reason, when Hu Anguo and others looked back, they saw that this man who was obviously well prepared actually had a trembling voice. They didn't know what he was afraid of.
"Mr. Hu and his friends' meaning is very clear. Original learning emphasizes the principle of knowing through investigation of things, unity of knowledge and action, and testing everything through practice..." Zhao Jiu raised his eyebrows and smiled, and said some high-sounding things. "Now, let's not talk about anything else. Let's just say that your father mentioned this idea of being as energetic as water, which caused a lot of dissatisfaction among Mr. Hu and others. Prime Minister Lu has worked hard and made great contributions. He has been studying all day recently. I can't disturb you. I can only ask you two questions. Can you and your son prove this thing in practice?"
"Yes." Lu Benzhong answered with gritted teeth, as if he had made some decision.
"How to prove it?" Zhao Jiu laughed even harder. "We have to agree that you have to design an experiment that will convince people. Just like if I can use my ten-odd-mu land to feed hundreds of people in the palace two taels of meat every day, it can be better than proving that the whole Song Dynasty can eat two taels of meat every day."
"Your Majesty, Mr. Qingshan." Lu Benzhong bowed and said, "I have a way to prove that Qi is like water, and to prove that Mr. Qingshan's theory of Qi is wrong!"
"Tell me." As Hu Anguo frowned, Zhao Jiu also spoke sternly.
"Your Excellency, Mr. Qingshan." Lü Benzhong took a long breath and bowed again, but finally pointed at Hu Anguo. "My father explained in the original school that Qi is a substance, like water. As we all know, fish cannot feel it in water, but we know outside the water that water has weight after all. The deeper it is, the heavier it is and the more pressure it has... Therefore, according to the original school, although Qi cannot be seen or touched, it should actually have weight and pressure. It's just that it's difficult for us to measure it in it."
"I understand." Zhao Jiu suddenly interrupted. "I remember Mr. Qingshan said that Qi fills the universe and is endless. If Qi has weight and pressure like water, then wouldn't it crush people? So, if practice can prove that Qi has pressure and weight like water, then naturally the original theory is right, and Mr. Hu's is wrong... Is that what you mean?"
"Yes!" Lu Benzhong quickly lowered his head.
"Can you prove it?"
"Yes...yes!" For some reason, Lu Benzhong seemed a little cowardly.
"Mr. Hu, what do you think?" Zhao Jiu glanced at the other party coldly, then smiled at Hu Anguo again.
Hu Anguo thought about it carefully, and then said what he meant: "Your Majesty, the original meaning of the dispute between me and Prime Minister Lu is the relationship between life, morality and external objects, not the pressure of qi. Even if it can be proved that qi has pressure like water, it cannot be said that Prime Minister Lu's original teachings are correct in this regard. The idea of crushing people is a bit absurd... But as your Majesty said, I and most of my fellow Taoists believe that qi fills the universe. If qi really has pressure, then it means that qi has weight. At the very least, it can be shown that some of our thoughts and ideas on the matter of qi are wrong. So in this matter, we are still slightly at a disadvantage after all."
Zhao Jiu nodded hurriedly, then turned to Lv Benzhong and spoke impatiently: "Did Mr. Lu hear that?"
Lu Benzhong also nodded repeatedly, but for some reason his face turned a little pale.
"It will take at least a year for me to dig a fish pond, plant mulberry trees, and raise livestock. It may take three to five years to see results. This is limited by time, so I have no choice but to do so." Zhao Jiu continued to exert pressure. "But how many days will it take for you to prepare the practice of air pressure so that the world can see it clearly? I can wait for one or two months, and Mr. Hu and others will naturally have patience, but if it takes three to five years, not to mention that Mr. Hu and others will think you are playing tricks, even I will not allow it."
Hu Anguo and others were rarely in high spirits... They originally thought that the emperor was extremely partial to Lu Gongxiang and Yuan Xue, and that he had political purposes. But no matter what, if such matters could be restricted to this extent, it was enough to show that the emperor still valued fairness and justice.
As expected, Lu Benzhong was obviously in a state of doubt. After a long while, he nodded heavily and said, "My father is studying hard and it is difficult for him to do this. Please give me a month to borrow craftsmen and manpower to do the work for my father."
"Okay." Zhao Jiu nodded, but pressed on. "How big a venue do you need? Can it be in front of Xuande Building?"
Lü Benzhong was trembling with fear. Hu Anguo and others around him could see clearly that it was still chilly in spring, but he was actually sweating. It was as if he had been forced into a corner by Emperor Zhao and was running out of energy.
But no matter what, after Lu Benzhong took a few deep breaths, he nodded heavily: "All up to you, Your Majesty!"
Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly, extremely satisfied, but turned his head to face Hu Anguo and others: "You have heard it, I will make the decision. From tomorrow on, the court newspaper will stop publishing the dispute between Taoism and Yuanxue. Both sides can discuss privately, but they are not allowed to attack each other. They just need to stop fighting and wait for a month, and then let the world see the result in front of Xuande Tower... Just as Hu Qing said, although I dare not say who holds the truth in this matter, it is enough to decide the winner... Everyone, go away today, I want to continue digging the fish pond."
Hu Anguo and the others felt reassured and wanted to say goodbye, but after thinking about it, they decided to stay with Lu Benzhong and help Emperor Zhao carry a few baskets of soil. Only then did they feel satisfied and leave calmly.
However, let's not talk about the fact that a month later, the two sides will have a showdown in front of Xuande Tower to decide the original student's life or death. In the next few days, the spring gradually warmed up, and affairs piled up everywhere. However, Emperor Zhao was just digging in the palace or going to court ceremonies as usual. When he had a little free time, he would just go to Daxiangguo Temple and Yuetai Camp in the west of the city with Chen Gui, which was really not doing his job.
Of course, it may not be a bad thing for the official with absolute authority not to interfere. After all, the country should rule by doing nothing, and the most important affairs of the country are war and sacrifice... However, with the end of the Lantern Festival and the start of spring ploughing, the debate in the court about a major military and national event became more and more intense , and finally reached the point where the official needed to make a decision.
The matter was simple. Yue Fei had been keeping his troops at Dongting Lake for many days, which triggered fierce protests from the locals! Ma Shen, Liu Hongdao and other local officials, including dozens of military and state officials, all submitted memorials to impeach Yue Fei for nurturing thieves and wasting time, harming the country and the people.
In fact, various central departments had opinions about Yue Fei's stagnation, but they were suppressed by Zhao Jiu.
But now, with the New Year's Day over, news came that Wanyan Wushu rode alone into Daming Prefecture, and then returned north with Nianhan; as spring plowing around Dongting Lake was delayed, the spring flood could arrive at any time; with Yue Fei's tens of thousands of troops stationed on the north side of Dongting Lake, the logistical consumption has created tremendous pressure on the local area, and the common people are suffering. Instead, many people took advantage of the situation to abandon their land and fled into Dongting Lake to steal... All these incidents, both north and south, inside and outside, finally gave everyone a legitimate reason to oppose.
Finally, the Censorate, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of War all impeached Yue Fei one after another, and together with the Jingxiang locals, they demanded that the central government put pressure on Yue Fei to end the battle as soon as possible and not delay the overall situation. Soon, Liu Ji, the deputy prime minister of the capital province and the leader of the Jingxiang local faction, also stood up again and expressed his wish that Yue Fei would end the war as soon as possible.
Under such circumstances, Zhao Ding, the Prime Minister of the capital province, who was already dissatisfied with the stagnation of Yue Fei's military operations, maintained a kind of silence that was hard to tell whether it was good or bad, while Zhang Jun, the Privy Councilor who wholeheartedly supported Yue Fei, had to bear the pressure alone. This young prime minister with an eccentric personality had no choice but to write a public letter, expressing his willingness to guarantee Yue Fei with the lives of more than a hundred members of his family.
At this time, Zhao Ding suddenly wrote a letter suggesting that Zhang Jun go south to lead the army and, in his capacity as Privy Councilor, urge Yue Fei to put down the rebellion.
Zhao Jiu hesitated for a moment and chose to agree... The reason was simple. He was under a lot of pressure and he believed in Yue Fei unconditionally. But the problem was that the logistical pressure at the local level and the worries of the central government were also naked and reasonable.
After so much experience, Zhao Guanjia, who was no longer a novice in military affairs, knew without thinking that the people in the north of Dongting Lake, especially in Jiangling, were indeed paying a price similar to the destruction of their families for the logistics of Yue Fei's tens of thousands of front-line troops in the imperial camp. This was an indispensable price for using troops in this era. It can only be said that because it was Yue Fei who led the troops, the military discipline was better and the price was much less, but the essence would not change. It was like the Yaoshan Battle prepaid the financial resources of Bashu. It seemed that the gamble was won, but in fact the people of Bashu still had to pay the inevitable sacrifice for it.
In this case, as an official, if he has any sense, he must make a political gesture for his previous decision and pay the corresponding political price.
To put it bluntly, the previous advice and admonitions of Lu Haowen, Wanqi Xie and others were all reasonable. Whether in politics or academics, as an emperor, how could one do business without capital?
