I studied in modern times

Chapter 942 The Palm Technique Falling from the Sky

After seeing off Lu Gongzhu and Li Chang, Zhao Xu sat on the cushion with his eyes narrowed.

"After this turmoil, the capital will most likely come up with a regulation to restrict the censors..." he murmured softly.

The ministers of the Song Dynasty, or the top leaders of the ruling group, actually always wanted to limit the power of the censors.

However, successive Zhao emperors have always been on high alert against this.

Even when Ying Miao suffered a stroke and was bedridden, his support for the censors did not diminish.

This is because the Zhao officials knew very well that the censors were tools used to criticize and whip the ministers.

It is also a barrier to limit the power of the prime minister and prevent the emergence of powerful officials.

It is also the reins that control the direction of national policies!
No matter who he is, no matter how much he has been trusted by Emperor Zhao, or how outstanding his political achievements are.

Once he loses the trust of Emperor Zhao, the Censorate will immediately issue an impeachment letter to him.

If he is respectable, he will ask to leave of his own accord.

If he is not decent, the censors will help him to be decent.

However, as time goes by.

The Censorate gradually developed its own will.

Moreover, it is becoming increasingly out of control.

Zhao Xu thought of Liu Anshi's note and his expression became even colder.

A tool with a mind of its own.

They even begin to speculate on their master's IQ and try to use their master to achieve their own goals.

This is absolutely intolerable!

No matter whether Zhao Xu is sitting on the side of the feudal autocratic emperor or the side of the country's ruler.

As for the former, Liu Anshi was already disloyal.

A disloyal minister will abandon himself to the world!

As for the latter, people like Liu Anshi are the source of danger and unrest!
It must be suppressed severely!

Kill one to warn the rest, to thank the world!
Thinking of this, Zhao Xu ordered Tong Guan who was beside him: "Tong Guan, go tell Feng Jing..."

"After the results of the meeting in the capital hall come out, have the Bian Jing Yi Bao immediately go to Pu Zongmeng, Cui Taifu, Wang Zishao, and Wang Cun to invite them to write a few articles criticizing the censors for making groundless accusations and endangering the stability of the country!"

These people have been proven to be loyal to the emperor.

There is no moral integrity, no character.

They would do whatever Zhao Xu told them to do.

Never bargain, never hesitate.

Therefore, every time there is such a propaganda opportunity, Zhao Xu will think of them.

"in addition……"

Zhao Xu leaned his head on the back of the cushion and said, "Let the Bianjing New Newspaper publish the full text of Liu Anshi's impeachment tomorrow!"

"Tell Shi Duzhi... to have the Investigation Department contact the storytellers, tabloid commentators, and other influential people in the theaters, brothels, warehouses, restaurants, and shoe shops in Beijing..."

"Let these people preach the censors. If they recklessly make up stories and attack the prime ministers and elders, the harm will be caused!"

"Yes!" Tong Guan took the order and left.

Zhao Xu leaned against the cushion, squinting his eyes and rubbing his little hands.

Keyboard politics is the favorite thing for idle men in the cities of the Song Dynasty.

Bian Jing was the worst!

This is because the literacy rate of the people in Bianliang is the highest in the world!

After two waves of large-scale education popularization movements, Fan Zhongyan's Qingli Education Promotion and Wang Anshi's Xining Education Promotion.

Today, the overall literacy rate of the Song Dynasty may have reached 10% (Cheng Minsheng's "Research on the Cultural Level of the Song Dynasty" verifies that it is about 8%)

In the city of Bianjing, the literacy rate has reached over 30%!
Thus, a strange sight was created.

When night falls, the streets and alleys, restaurants and inns, brothels and taverns are all places where politicians gather.

However, most people lack knowledge about the world, military affairs, and diplomacy.

At this time, the storytellers and tabloid commentators who were usually popular among these people became big Vs in the small political circles.

The influence of these people is actually very great.

At the beginning, Wang Gui was so angry that he vomited blood and died suddenly because of a doggerel written by such a big V.

Zhao Xu still remembers the doggerel written by that big V - Zuo Xiang is a descendant of a wealthy countryman, he has no fame but money in his life, he is a flatterer to Wang Tejin, he is diligent to keep Zhang Guancha, don't talk about jokes on the railings and wells, he doesn't count his years in the government hall, the East Palace has never had any land, he must be granted the power without authority!
Every word was like a knife, piercing Wang Gui's heart!
It was from that time that Zhao Xu began to pay attention to these big names in Bianjing City.

The Investigation Department has been contacting, cultivating and bribing these people over the past two years.

Give them some benefits, treat them to wine and meat, pay special attention to those who are particularly influential among them, and give them money and a way out.

The best part is that doing this doesn’t cost much money in a year.

However, it can influence public opinion and determine the direction of people's hearts at critical moments.

This palm technique of falling from the sky is the secret that Zhao Xu learned from the Lighthouse International Development Agency!
In the Middle Ages, no one can crack it!
No one can take it!

……

Lu Gongzhu and Li Chang walked out of the inner east gate and walked along the corridor of the imperial city towards the Zuo Zhaoqing Gate.

"En, Prime Minister..." Li Changzai looked back and saw the door of the inner east gate. He carefully approached Lu Gongzhu and took advantage of this rare opportunity to communicate. He whispered, "The emperor ordered us to convene the ministers of the capital to discuss and decide on the rules to constrain the censors..."

“Is there anything that needs to be considered?”

Lu Gongzhu paused for a moment, as if thinking about something, and then shook his head firmly: "If the emperor didn't want the capital to restrain Lantai, he wouldn't have ordered us to gather for a discussion!"

"En Xiang..." Li Chang felt a little unbelievable: "The emperor just agreed to it?"

Over the past hundred years, especially after the Renmiao period, the power of the prime minister and the power of the emperor have been in constant competition.

The overall trend is that the power of the prime minister is being tightened step by step, while the power of the emperor is being continuously compromised.

For example, in Renmiao's later years, the ministers who participated in the decision-making on the succession almost forced Renmiao to appoint Yingmiao as the crown prince.

But in Ren Miao’s heart, he totally disagreed!
But the arms cannot bend the thighs!

For example, after Ying Miao suffered a stroke, Cixi Guangxian wanted to rule the country from behind the scenes.

But Han Qi led all the civil and military officials in the court and forced Cisi Guangxian back to the inner court.

These two events have now become famous stories in the Song Dynasty.

However, from a historical perspective, it is actually very annoying.

Ministers participated in the royal family affairs, directly interfered and made decisions, and even made decisions on behalf of the emperor.

No matter how upright the ministers' slogans are, the fact is that the prime minister's power is usurping the imperial power.

After Xining, things went a step further.

Wang Anshi openly regarded himself as a "teacher and minister" and publicly promoted his fallacious and heretical doctrine that "the emperor follows the way of heaven, and the ministers follow the way of man."

He called himself the Duke of Zhou and directly challenged the emperor's arbitrary power.

Therefore, after Wang Anshi was appointed as prime minister for the second time, he was dismissed after only lasting for more than a year.

Because the late emperor was keenly aware that Wang Anshi and the new learning he advocated were threatening imperial power.

He wants to limit the imperial power!
This is absolutely unacceptable.

As a result, there was a great resurgence of the old party forces in the early years of Yuanfeng.

After Wu Chong was appointed prime minister, his counterattack against the new laws was even carried out with the support of the previous emperor.

how...

The turbulent events of the early Yuanfeng period flashed through Li Chang’s mind.

Most people only know that Wu Chong was dismissed from his post as an official because he was implicated by Wen Jifu and Wu Anchi, and died on the way to his new post.

But that's just an appearance.

There was only one real reason why Wu Chong was dismissed from his post as prime minister - the members of the New Party lacked martial ethics!
After discovering that the old party might come to power again, they began to move from attempting to restrict imperial power to unbridled flattery of imperial power.

The late emperor then turned back to his old ways.

Wang Gui and Cai Que were successively appointed as prime ministers, and the politics of Yuanfeng began to move towards the one-man rule of imperial power.

It was for this reason that Wang Anshi of Jiangning became disheartened and even began to wear a monk's robe, devoting himself to mountains and rivers and practicing Zen, not caring about worldly affairs and even refusing to treat his illness.

This is when one has become completely desperate politically, is disgusted with reality, and begins to give up on oneself.

It was not until the current emperor ascended the throne that he began to release some interesting information.

After Jiangning received the message, Wang Anshi stopped practicing Zen and reciting sutras. He actually became lively and energetic again.

Now he is in Jiangning, gathering his students and old friends to establish an academy, and is doing it in a booming manner.

Moreover, Jiangning Academy had no threshold for all students to study, regardless of their father’s ancestors.

Regardless of whether they are the sons or nephews of the New Party or the sons or nephews of the Old Party, all will be accepted.

The subjects taught are mainly arithmetic, economics and financial management.

Thinking of this, Li Chang's eyes were full of surprise and shock. He looked at Lu Gongzhu and said, "En Xiang, you mean... the emperor wants it too?"

Lu Gongzhu laughed: "Fool!"

"The emperor today is wise and sage, so he is not afraid of public opinion or criticism..."

This is the most likable thing about His Majesty - lifting the ban on public opinion.

In order to express his attitude, he even took the initiative to publish the Bian Jing Xin Bao.

Later, he allowed Sima Kang, the son of Sima Guang, to establish the Bian Jing Yi Bao.

This led to the flourishing of public discussion among scholars throughout the country.

The shadow left by the Wudai Poetry Case dissipated, and people from the Imperial Academy to the common people who were concerned about the country and the people dared to discuss national policies and laws openly without having to worry about being used as an excuse.

As a result, excellent works and famous articles emerged frequently.

Literati and scholars all sang praises to it.

"It's just..." A trace of gloom flashed in Lu Gongzhu's eyes. He lowered his voice and said to Li Chang: "I'm afraid the emperor has ulterior motives!"

Li Chang naturally memorized the entire text of Ouyang Xiu's "The Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man" and had already recited it by heart.

He immediately became alert: "What does En Xiang mean?"

He looked back in the direction of Funing Palace and felt a chill on his neck.

"Yes!" Lu Gongzhu nodded: "Gong Ze also thought of it?"

"The current government is wise and will not worry about power falling into the hands of others..."

He has seized military power and proved his ability to govern the country. Even diplomacy, which has always been the most difficult to handle, is now doing well.

Whether it is Jiaozhi and Dali in the south or the various tribes in the southwest.

Or the Tubo, Dangxiang and Qiang tribes in the northwest.

Even to the Liao Kingdom in the north and Goryeo in the east.

Today's officials are handling all these matters, big and small, with ease.

Using various means to gain benefits from it.

In just two years, both Xihe and Guangxi, the two places that were once recognized by the world as places of blood loss, were gone.

It has now shown signs of becoming a new source of fiscal revenue and taxation.

Such an emperor would naturally not worry about the harm that Wang Anshi's new learning would cause to his rule.

There is no need to worry about the prime minister's power being infringed.

Therefore, he could accept those ideas and scriptures that the previous emperors could not tolerate or accept.

They were even allowed to spread freely in the Imperial Academy.

Li Chang listened and was extremely shocked.

He approached Lu Gongzhu, lowered his voice as much as possible, and asked, "What does Prime Minister En mean... that the government is trading with us?"

The idea of ​​the emperor and his ministers making deals and each getting what they want was too shocking to Li Chang.

But Lu Gongzhu has already gotten used to it.

Because he has been in charge of the pawnshop purchase business since he became prime minister.

During this process, he and the government discussed the purchase of betting machines in secret many times.

So he knew that His Majesty would do more than just trade with ministers to get what they wanted!

He is willing to negotiate even with merchants, willing to listen to their demands, and even adjust relevant policies in a timely manner based on their feedback.

Moreover, he keeps his promise and never goes back on his word!

For example, Song-Liao Jiaozi has never depreciated since its issuance.

It even appreciated in value!

This is because many people regard Jiaozi as a tool for bribery.

So the demand exceeds the supply!

Originally, under this circumstance, the Jiaozi Bureau could issue additional Jiaozi.

But Jiaoziwu has never done such a thing.

The amount of Jiaozi circulating in the market is always less than the amount issued (because many people keep them without using them).

Even with something like Jiaozi, which could obviously allow him to plunder private wealth at no cost, he was unwilling to take advantage of it. He was willing to keep his promise and strictly control the issuance and exchange of Jiaozi.

Naturally, merchants' confidence in his other policies was immediately established.

There is a saying among the people: A promise from the emperor is worth more than ten thousand ounces of gold!

This was also the reason why wealthy merchants from all over the country were willing to bring their money to Bian Jing to buy a pawnshop.

Therefore, Lu Gongzhu was not worried at all that His Majesty would go back on his word - even though during the conversation between the monarch and his ministers in the quiet room just now, neither side had ever agreed or promised anything.

However, the government's credibility made him feel completely at ease.

Li Chang swallowed his saliva, looked at Lu Gongzhu, and asked, "En Xiang, why does the emperor do this?"

Let the prime minister of the capital take action against the Censorate.

It is like indulging the powerful servants in the house and beating the dog that guards the house.

Even these dogs have become a little wild and have even started barking at their owners.

But what happens after beating these dogs?
When other dogs see this, will they feel grief for their own kind?

What if they give up in the future?
Lu Gongzhu looked at Li Chang, his student.

"Gong Ze..." he said softly, "You are still too idealistic!"

This is Li Chang’s biggest problem.

Too idealistic.

I often take what is written in books as true.

But they don’t know that the most common people in this world are those who want to be hawks, dogs, slaves but cannot get them!

If you kill one hawk or dog, there will be hundreds of others outside, craning their necks, waiting to be replaced.

Moreover, the new lackeys will definitely work harder and be more stubborn than those who were killed in order to show their loyalty.

"As for the emperor's intentions..." Lu Gongzhu raised his head and looked forward.

Under the gloomy sky, the palace wall of Zuo Zhaoqing Gate has appeared before our eyes.

"Since the eighth year of Yuanfeng, the censors in the Censorate have been eliminated and dismissed several times..."

"But, there has never been a person who was personally killed by the emperor!"

"All the censors in the Imperial Censorate were either appointed by the previous emperor, or recommended by Sima Wengong, Han Kanggong, and me, and appointed by the two Empresses in the Palace..."

"A new emperor chooses his own ministers..."

"What's more, the censors are the eyes and ears of the emperor."

"How can the mouth, tongue, ears and eyes be owned by others for long?"

The young emperor has begun to show his ambitious political intentions.

He is constantly expanding his power.

From Kaifeng Prefecture to the Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Revenue, in the process he gradually turned these departments into his testing grounds.

From now on, he reached out to the Censorate.

This means that he has officially begun to intervene in national affairs!

He is getting his hands on state power!

This is his thing.

The ministers were all optimistic about it.

What's more, he was willing to exchange something for it.

(End of this chapter)