People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 406: Determine National Day and serve the people

In August of the seventh year of Qingli in the Song Dynasty, after about three months of repeated measures, revisions, and discussions, the result was finally achieved.

On August 16, the day he went to work after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhao Zhen formally issued an edict announcing several major events.

The first thing is to naturally announce that the Song Dynasty will be changed into the Chinese Citizen Song Empire.

Since then, the full name of the Song Dynasty has been given, and the abbreviation can be either the Song Dynasty or China.

Then it was decided that February 26th would be the National Day, and the whole country would have a seven-day holiday.

On this day, the whole country celebrates to celebrate the return of the sixteen states of Yanyun that had been lost for a hundred years, and the reunification of the old land of China.

Because that day was the day when Fan Zhongyan sent his troops north to regain Yanyun after defeating Yelu Zongzhen.

On January 24, Fan Zhongyan only defeated Yelu Zongzhen and regained the land of Youyan. At this time, Yunzhou and Shenzhou were still in the hands of the Liao Kingdom, and they were not truly unified.

It was not until a few days later that Fan Zhongyan divided his troops into two groups, one heading north and the other heading east.

The emperor had no residence or study here, and even the Chui Gong Hall where he went to court was in the North Palace.

Originally, Zhao Zhen suggested choosing the third or fourth day of the Lunar New Year as the National Day.

After all, he is of the euphemistic style, and his style of lyrics is more subtle and subtle. The national anthem needs to be bold and majestic. Naturally, he cannot be clear and gentle, so he has to find someone else.

Because eighty-seven years ago, the third day of the first lunar month was the day when Zhao Kuangyin wore the yellow robe, and the fourth day of the first lunar month was the day when Zhao Kuangyin led his army back to Kaifeng, took control of Bianliang City, and officially ascended the throne as emperor.

Therefore, it can be regarded as a subtle mention that the Constitutional Yuan and the various ministries of the imperial court are the center of the country and the place where political orders are issued.

First, January had the most holidays in ancient times. During the New Year holiday, Tiansheng Festival holiday and Lantern Festival holiday alone, there were more than 20 days without work.

The Founding Day of the Song Dynasty was on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. At this time, it was still the Tiansheng Festival holiday. With the National Day and the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, there was really no need to go to work in January.

There must be a reason for National Day, and it must be a big reason.

Nothing major happened on the other days. Even Zhao Zhen's birthday was nothing compared to the recovery of the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun.

In addition, there are two solar holidays, namely Beginning of Spring and Ren's Day, with one day off. No matter how many National Days there are, there will be no need to work in January.

But this suggestion was rejected by Zhao Jun with one vote.

Second, there is already Tiansheng Festival on the third day of the first lunar month, so there is no need to add another National Day.

Moreover, what is celebrated is not the founding of the country, but the celebration of the Song Dynasty entering the process of unifying the country.

The background color of the flag of the Song Dynasty is red, symbolizing the fire virtues of the Song Dynasty; there is a dragon on the left and right sides, symbolizing the descendants of the Yan and Huang Dynasties, the descendants of the dragon; in the middle there are the sun, moon and stars, which means "Zuo Zhuan": "Three Chen Flag" The flag shows its clarity."

It's a pity that the recognized founder of the bold school is still only a ten-year-old child, otherwise Su Shi would have to be the one to make a contribution.

There's definitely a hint of royalty, but not much.

After that came a series of constitutions, new regulations, charters, etc., which laid the foundation for the transition of the Song Dynasty from a feudal system to the modern country of today's autocratic monarchy.

Finally, on February 26th, the Song army completely defeated the Liao army in Yunzhou and Shenzhou, and took back the sixteen states of Yanyun and Liaoyang Mansion outside the pass.

Yan Shu originally wanted to write the lyrics, but Zhao Jun was not satisfied after he wrote it several times.

Therefore, based on these three points, plus the fact that Fan Zhongyan regained the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture at the end of February, this day can be regarded as the National Day.

Because February and March are busy farming periods, having a holiday will delay farm work.

Therefore, in the end we could only choose the end of February as the National Day.

Then there are the 24 solar terms holidays, and there are all kinds of them. In the second half of the year and the beginning of the year, there are holidays almost every month. Only February and March have the least holidays, because this is the time to deal with spring plowing.

For example, in the Northern Song Dynasty, there were only 76 days of holidays in a year. In February and March, there was only a three-day holiday for Advent Day on February 15th. The other festivals were mainly concentrated in the second half of the year and the beginning of the year.

The national anthem is relatively simple.

The design of the national emblem finally has a hint of the royal family, with the Sanchen Dragon Flag on the top and the Xuandemen Gate Tower of the Bianliang Palace on the bottom.

Even on important festivals such as the Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival, farm work still has to be done, so it is not a big deal and will not delay things for a few days.

Therefore, on February 26th, after the return of Yunzhou and Shenzhou, the task of regaining their old places was completely completed.

However, everyone still has differences on this point. Some people think that even if the National Day is not placed in the first month, it cannot be placed in February and March.

In fact, today's autocratic monarchy can be regarded as a dual monarchy under a constitutional monarchy, and it is not yet a complete constitutional monarchy.

There are three reasons.

The second is that Zhao Kuangyin bullies orphans and widowed mothers. It is really not a glorious thing, so it is best to deal with it in a low-key manner.

It should be emphasized that the dragon above does not refer to the royal family, but refers to the "dragon" as a Chinese totem and a symbol of Chinese spirituality in ancient times. Therefore, the national flag of the Song Dynasty is collectively called the Sanchen Dragon Banner.

Because Xuandemen is the south gate, after entering, you will reach the Nangong. Although Nangong is also part of the palace, it is the office space of the Constitutional Yuan and some important departments.

The next step is to determine the national flag, national emblem, and national anthem.

Starting from April, there are more than ten traditional festivals including Tianqi, Hanshi, Qingming, Qianyuan (the festival of Zhao Zhen’s birthday in May), Dragon Boat Festival, Tiankuang, Zhongyuan, Chinese Valentine’s Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, and Clothing Ceremony. holiday.

Zhao Jun did not copy the songs of later generations, but asked Song people to write them themselves.

Fortunately, the productivity of the Song Dynasty is strong now, and farmers follow the laws of nature rather than national festivals.

But Zhao Jun had no choice.

So in the end, I found a master who wrote the music in Bianliang, and asked someone to write the lyrics. After several revisions, a song with a grand melody and majestic momentum was released.

The main reason is that songs from the Song Dynasty and songs from later generations are two different concepts. If you take songs from later generations, people at that time may not understand them, or they may not be able to get the meaning of the lyrics.

Because monarchy means that the actual power of the country is in the hands of the monarch, and now the state power of the Song Dynasty is in the hands of the Political Yuan, it can be said that it is now a semi-autocratic monarchy and a semi-constitutional monarchy.

After the new law was issued, the officials felt it was new, but there was no objection.

After all, it has nothing to do with them.

The content inside does not involve the interests of the officials, but just puts many things in the past on the surface and puts them into law.

What's more, the national flag and national emblem also appear formal, adding a sense of ceremony to the Song Dynasty.

It wasn't until the Constitution was handed down that they felt something was wrong.

Because there are many contents in the Constitution that restrict the power of officials and supervise them.

Obviously this makes officials uncomfortable.

Therefore, during the morning court meeting on August 17, some officials raised objections.

In the early morning, it started to rain today.

There was only one day off during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Northern Song Dynasty, unlike the more than forty-day holiday from December to January. The ministers were also in good spirits and stood in the hall in high spirits.

Since the last dynasty was changed to Chenshi, the lives of the officials have become much simpler. After all, going to court at three or four in the morning is indeed a bit anti-human.

The rain was pouring outside, but God was kind to us the day before yesterday. The sky was clear and the air was clear, and the people had a happy Mid-Autumn Festival.

It started raining last night and continued all night. It hasn't stopped yet this morning, but it has become much lighter.

"If you have something to do, report it early; if nothing happens, leave the court!"

With Wang Shouzhong's high-pitched shout, today's morning meeting began. The ministers of various ministries reported government affairs to the emperor one after another.

According to regulations, the morning court is from the beginning of Chen hour to the end of Chen hour, which is one hour.

But just reporting on government affairs takes up most of it.

Although it is a waste of time, this process cannot be omitted.

Because this means that Zhao Zhen also participates in state affairs, rather than being completely ignored, so there are still indispensable ceremonies.

When it was almost 4:00 to 5:00, and there were still about twenty minutes before the end of the morning morning, I finally finished reporting the daily morning work.

There are generally two situations at this time, one is to discuss other matters, and the other is that Zhao Zhen announces his early withdrawal from the court.

The former is rarely the case, and the latter is the most common, so Zhao Zhen plans to announce it.

However, before he could speak, Yang Wei, a fellow acquaintance of Kaifeng Mansion, stood up first, raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say."

"You say it."

Zhao Zhen actually guessed it.

Because Zhao Jun and the others discussed this issue during the meeting at Chongzheng Palace yesterday afternoon.

The new constitution actually severely suppressed the status of officials.

In ancient times, among scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, scholars ranked first, and once they passed the Jinshi examination and became an official, it was like a carp leaping over the dragon's gate. In their eyes, ordinary people were just ordinary people and could not be compared with each other.

But now that the new constitution has been issued, their self-esteem has been severely crushed. Although their power has not been affected, under the laws and regulations, their status has plummeted, and they are no different from ordinary people in legal terms.

This will naturally cause dissatisfaction among some officials.

But Zhao Jun didn't care.

Because for the vast majority of senior central officials, this will not be affected.

It is difficult for them to directly contact the people at the bottom.

On the contrary, those most directly affected must be middle- and lower-level county and state officials.

Once they continue to maintain a condescending attitude and ignore the questions and demands raised by the people as before, then the Yushi Division and the Imperial City Division will inevitably teach them how to behave.

Therefore, many high-ranking officials in the Manchu Dynasty were not affected. Only the officials of Kaifeng Mansion were the first to stand up and object. They were the people who had the most contact with the people in Bianliang, so they were naturally the most affected.

Yang Wei was the cousin of Yang Yi, the minister of the Ministry of Work, who wrote "Records of Song Taizong", "Cefu Yuangui" and "Wuyi New Collection" during the Zhenzong period of the Song Dynasty. He served successively as the magistrate of Longyou County, the prime minister of Dali Temple, and the counties of Tidian Kaifeng Prefecture. Official affairs, and the judge of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Historically, he served as the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture in March this year and became the prefect of Kaifeng.

But now that Zhao Jun appointed Bao Zheng, he was only promoted from the judge of Kaifeng Prefecture to the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture. However, Kaifeng Mansion has now raised its rank. Kaifeng Magistrate is the second grade, and Tongzhi Kaifeng Mansion is the third grade, so it does not count as downgrading him.

At this moment, he walked out of the team, raised his hands to Zhao Zhen and said, "Your Majesty, I think there is something wrong with the new law."

Zhao Zhen didn't speak, just looked at him.

Yang Wei gritted his teeth and said: "Although the implementation of the new law is good, it can be said that "if etiquette exceeds its rules, people will be humble and obedient; if music loses its order, it will lead to alienation and chaos." Hundreds of officials serve as herdsmen for the emperor. If they lose their authority, they will be intimidating. How can you convince the public if you don’t listen?”

"Hanlong, what do you think?"

Zhao Zhen asked Zhao Jundao.

Zhao Jun looked at Bao Zheng and said, "Bao Xiren, do you think Yang Ziqi is right?"

"wrong."

Bao Zheng shook his head.

"What do you think?"

Zhao Jun asked.

Bao Zheng said: "The prosperity of government lies in obeying the people's will. The failure of government lies in disobeying the people's will. The people hate poverty and labor, and I am happy about it. The people hate poverty and lowliness, but I am rich and noble. The people hate danger, and I live in peace. The people hate it. If I can destroy it, the people will suffer from it; if I can live with it, the people will suffer from it; if I can live with it, the people will suffer from it."

"very good."

Zhao Jun nodded.

This sentence is the best response.

He looked around and then said: "The ancients said that hundreds of officials set the order for the talented herdsmen. But I think the meaning of the existence of officials is not herdsmen. Herdsmen treat the people as livestock, raise the people, and finally kill them to eat. How can the people not be resentful if they kill themselves?”

"We are all from the common people. We have twenty generations of ancestors. Are they all high-ranking officials? As a human being, we must not forget our origins and think about the source of water. How could we once become an official and despise our origins and forget the principles of our ancestors?"

"So this constitution is established now to serve as the foundation of the Song Dynasty. I tell you, tell all the officials and the people of the world that the people are not livestock, nor are they the objects of your wanton behavior. They are the cornerstone of the country's stability, as Mencius said. "Book"!"

"The purpose of the court's current tone is to make officials not herders, but serve the people. Serve the people, plan for the interests of the people, and think about the well-being of the people."

"Only making the people rich, making the people happy, and making the people live a good life is the meaning of the existence of officials."

"If you only think about your superior authority all day long and care about how awesome you are in front of the people, are you serving the country and the people, or are you simply showing off your authority and showing off your own pomp?"

"Then I have to ask Yang Tongzhi, how many people have you done for since you became Tongzhi of Kaifeng Prefecture, and how much contribution have you made to maintaining the stability of the court."

As soon as these words came out, Yang Wei was already sweating profusely.

According to historical records, Yang Wei had no talent for drama, but he was prudent and diligent, and was known at the time.

Although he was praised by others, as mentioned in the previous sentence, he did not have the ability to manage Kaifeng Mansion well, he was just relatively honest and cautious.

So if we talk about merit, it is obvious that he is of little use. At best, he can be regarded as an incorruptible mediocre official.

Seeing that he was a little frightened, Zhao Jun continued: "There may be differences in status in this world, but there is never a difference in personality between people. The moral qualities of those who are officials are not as good as those in the countryside. A farmer is noble."

"So all living beings are inherently equal, so why should we care about status?"

He spread his hands, looked at the officials of the Manchu Dynasty and said: "Whether it is the officials, me, or the many prime ministers, what I hope is that you can focus on caring for and serving the people, instead of worrying about yourself here. There is a loss of authority.”

Yang Wei was choked by these words, and in the end he had to hand over his hands and said: "I will definitely bear in mind what I said to the magistrate."

"Ah."

Zhao Jun actually didn't know that Yang Wei had no talent, so he said: "I hope that Kaifeng Mansion can set an example for prefectures and counties all over the world. From now on, when you receive people, you can no longer be condescending, respecting the old and loving the young, which is the ancient virtue."

"From now on, when the people salute you, you will also respond. I have not weakened your power. What I just want to tell you is that in the eyes of the officials and me, there is no difference between you and the people."

He looked around at the officials, and then said: "Remember what I said, if you are good to the people, the people will be good to the court. If the court is good, how can it treat you badly? Only when the world is united and the government is harmonious and people are harmonious, is the best way, all the princes Please remember.”

"Han Long's words are very popular with me, do you know?"

Zhao Zhen said.

"I will bear in mind the words of His Majesty and the words of the Governor."

All officials bowed their hands in salute.

This constitution has been promulgated.

(End of this chapter)