I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 438: Ruling the country by Confucianism VS ruling the country by law! I want to overhaul the Song Dynasty Xingtong
In the afternoon, the sun is blazing.

The always lively Nanmen Street has few pedestrians except for cars and horses.

Bianjing City in June is as hot as a big furnace.

In the forbidden area, the hanging arch is in the hall.

Eight huge ice basins are placed at the four ends, with white cold air constantly coming out.

Several rows of mahogany chairs are lined up.

There is a table in the middle of each chair. There are tea, snacks, dried fruits and other snacks on the table.

Such arrangements mean that this meeting will be very long.

Not long after.

The princes of the two government and three departments, members of the Reform Department, Taiwanese admonishers, and foreign inspectors all walked into the hall one after another.

Under the arrangement of the chamberlain, they were seated separately.

"These problems are like ants. They seem to have little impact and are insignificant, but they are not. If things go on like this, they will be enough to cause the collapse of our Song Dynasty and even subvert the imperial power!"

"I originally ordered Taiwan to remonstrate with me on the foreign tour, with the intention of conducting a local inspection of the entire Song Dynasty. I thought there would be no major problems. After the foreign tour was over, the imperial court could focus elsewhere."

"I never thought that there would be no big problems in the implementation of the new laws and regulations, but small local problems are emerging one after another and are unpredictable..."

Although most problems are not serious.

There are various problems due to interests between officials and people, rich and poor, and different classes.

It’s not that they haven’t thought about it, it’s that there is no solution to this problem at all.

Zhao Zhen talked for nearly half an hour, but not a single question was the same.

After a while.

There are stacks of documents on the imperial desk, all of which are summaries of the foreign inspectors' inspections.

After Zhao Zhen sat down, he first took a sip of tea, and then said: "In the past few days, I have carefully read all the summary documents of this official's foreign tour."

But it proves that there are serious flaws in the management of the imperial court.

Let’s begin to detail the problems that occurred during Taiwan’s foreign inspection tour.

Throughout the ages.

Zhao Zhen opened the document.

When Zhao Zhen asked, the officials were stunned.

There are county officials who are lazy in their administration, there are landlords who occupy the land, there are those who are nepotistic, there are the rich who bully the poor, there are officials who seek personal gain, there are military attachés who are engaged in business...

During these internal meetings, Zhao Zhen didn't like the ministers' salutes. They all got straight to the point and spoke directly.

Zhao Zhen looked down and raised his voice.

"Do you have any good strategies to solve various local problems, especially the problems of local officials?"

Zhao Zhen walked in quickly and sat directly on the throne at the front.

Some officials use their power for sex, some officials use their power for money, some officials are greedy for enjoyment, and some officials engage in fraud...

No one is perfect and all have their own desires.

There were more than 20,000 officials in the Song Dynasty, but only a few could achieve the results like Fan Zhongyan, Sima Guang, and Wang Anshi.

The only thing the court can do is to punish severely if found.

Zhao Zhen looked around and asked: "Two offices? Three divisions? Taiwan admonition? Reform division?"

The officials lowered their heads helplessly.

Wang Anshi, who always had many ideas, curled his lips and did not come up with any countermeasures.

Su Liang had no idea.

But when the official asked him, he suddenly realized that the official might have a good idea.

At this time.

Prime Minister Wen Yanbo stood up bravely.

"Officials, this issue is quite complicated. I don't have a good solution at the moment. We can wait until after today's meeting to come up with a good solution and then report back."

When dealing with officials, Wen Yanbo could not call this problem unsolvable, so he wanted to buy some time.

There is no perfect solution. If you think hard, you can still come up with a few ways to reduce these problems.

Zhao Zhen shook his head slightly.

"I have a plan, please listen to it."

The ministers all raised their heads.

Zhao Zhen sat up straight and said: "Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, we have always implemented Confucianism to govern the country, putting morality first, law second, advocating etiquette, music, and benefiting the people. Until now, some laws and policies are too soft or too biased. Emphasis on reason and excessive preferential treatment to the powerful are one of the main causes of problems at the bottom.”

"Today, with the implementation of the reform throughout the Song Dynasty, we are also making continuous progress. Nowadays, no one can say that in the Song Dynasty, kings and scholar-bureaucrats jointly ruled the world, and no one can rely on punishment to violate the law. This is The changes brought about by the Quan-Song Dynasty’s Reform, however, there are still many minor problems that remain!”

……

“Even if I dispatch Taiwanese admonishers every year and send hundreds or thousands of people to inspect local areas, these similar problems will still arise. As for the way to fundamentally reduce the occurrence of problems, I believe that it is to emphasize the rule of law and ignore reason, and let punishment It’s punishment, it’s humaneness, it can’t be dealt with ambiguously.”

"I am ready to overhaul the "Song Xingtong" and improve the laws in light of current events!"

"Some crimes should be aggravated, such as human trafficking, corruption and perversion of the law, indiscriminate killing of domestic slaves, etc. Some crimes should be aggravated, such as stealing to treat maternal illness, hurting others due to oppression..."

"My method of the Song Dynasty should not be a tool to restrain the people, but should make them live happier. Only in this way can the Song Dynasty create a truly prosperous age!"

After Zhao Zhen finished speaking, Chui Gong Hall was silent.

No one expected that the official could say such astonishing words.

To overhaul the "Song Xingtong", even Su Liang and Wang Anshi did not dare to make such suggestions.

This is more serious than cutting officials and reducing the number of yin-en officials.

This is shaking up the foundation of the Song Dynasty.

The laws of the past dynasties reflect the will of the rulers, safeguard the fundamental interests of the rulers, prevent the people from rebellion, and are tools to control the people.

"Song Xingtong" is naturally unfair.

When the Song Dynasty was founded.

Prime Minister Zhao Pu governed the world with half of the Analects, which opened a new chapter in the Song Dynasty's use of Confucianism to govern the country.

Since then, successive emperors have regarded Confucianism as a country, with Confucianism and Taoism taking precedence, followed by laws and regulations.

But this time, Zhao Zhen brought the law to the forefront.

He believes that Confucianism is more important than education, and only the rule of law can demonstrate justice.

Zhao Zhen made this move.

That’s what we did from the root: going against the methods of our ancestors.

At this time, Su Liang suddenly laughed.

He remembered Wang Anshi's famous saying: There is no need to fear changes in the sky, no laws for ancestors, and no sympathy for people's words.

At this moment, the official became Wang Anshi.

Do not!
More bold than Wang Anshi!
The princes of the two governments and three departments were all stunned.

"Song Xingtong·Preface" says: The power of the end of the Song Dynasty will not be changed.

Officials go against their ancestors and want to revise the laws. If they do not do well, they will be reviled by the people in the world.

Before the ministers could speak openly, Zhao Zhen said again: "My lords, I have called you here to help me convince the ministers to do this well. If anyone objects, there is no need to give a reason, and you can leave immediately. I will not hold him accountable!"

Zhao Zhen's attitude is very tough. It seems that he has carefully analyzed the pros and cons of this strategy.

And this moment.

Wang Anshi and Yahuazi, who were sitting in the last row, both laughed.

He has long wanted to use "Song Xingtong", which is all about yesterday's laws.

Wang Anshi stood up and immediately expressed his position: "The officials and I think this is a very good move."

"If we compare our ideal prosperous age of the Song Dynasty to a feast, all the officials in the court are like a blazing fire, and all the laws and policies are like firewood, and the "Song Xingtong" after the overhaul will be a hot oil, which can make the firewood The firewood burns more vigorously, making the prosperous times appear faster!"

On the side, all the ministers in Zhongshu frowned.

If the "Song Xingtong" is really overhauled, then the Song Dynasty will really change the world and change its appearance.

Wen Yanbo stood up, cupped his hands and said: "Guan family, this is a big deal. If the "Song Xingtong" is overhauled, many things may change. I need to think about it carefully and think about the pros and cons."

"I'm not in a hurry. You guys think about it slowly. If you think about it today and make it clear, let's go out of the Chui Gong Hall again!" Zhao Zhen smiled, confident.

(End of this chapter)