People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 463 The road of reform cannot stop
After returning to Kaifeng, Li Xiaoji went home immediately.

Wang Anshi and others were transferred from other places and had no home in the capital, so they could only stay in an inn.

After that, after washing up, he followed Zhao Jun and others to Li Mansion to visit Li Di.

After all, they have been together for more than two years. The relationship between the few people who accompanied them is not from the same sect, but it is better than that of the same sect. They have already been branded as fellow disciples.

Zhao Jun first returned to his own residence, washed up, changed his clothes, shook off the dust on his body, and went to the palace first.

At this moment, Zhao Zhen in the palace had already received the news of his return, and sent Wang Shouzhong to guard the door of his mansion early.

After a quick meeting with his family, since both children had gone to school, Zhao Jun exchanged a few words with Cao Miaoxin, then hurriedly got on the carriage and went back to the palace.

Today's carriage tires are no longer the wooden tires of the past, but are all rubber tires, which can run very smoothly if you drive slowly.

If the ground in Bianliang City was not still paved with bluestone slabs and had not been replaced with concrete roads on a large scale, there would still be bumps when driving fast. I believe it would be more comfortable to ride in a car.

Soon the carriage entered the palace from Xihua Gate, and the speed was much slower than before. After all, the size of the imperial city had expanded several times, so the journey was naturally longer.

Fan Zhongyan, Yan Shu and their motorcade were also waiting at the palace gate. As the palace became larger, Zhao Zhen allowed the prime ministers to ride in sedan chairs or carriages within the imperial city.

Only when you reach the former location of the imperial palace will you change to walking, thus creating a distinction between the imperial city and the imperial palace, just like in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Unlike before, the entire imperial city and palace only covered an area of ​​1 square kilometer.

In the back garden, Zhao Zhen, who is 41 years old this year, was walking back and forth outside the Chenhui Tower with some excitement. He hadn't seen his eldest grandson for two years and missed him very much.

The most important thing is that although Zhao Jun has not been governing the country in Bianliang in the past two years, the development of Bianliang has been on the right track, and everything is proceeding in an orderly manner according to the policies left by Zhao Jun.

This not only did not make Zhao Zhen feel that losing Zhao Jun didn't matter, but he felt even more dependent on Zhao Jun.

The Song Dynasty has developed well without the eldest grandson. If the eldest grandson is here, the Song Dynasty will develop even better. Moreover, the eldest grandson's departure this time is for the future of the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, Zhao Zhen missed him all the time and hoped that Zhao Jun could come back soon.

"Sir, the prefect is here."

A young eunuch looked out from a distance and saw Wang Shouzhong walking in front, leading Zhao Jun, Yan Shu, Fan Zhongyan and others over, so he hurried to report the news to Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen immediately walked over and saw Zhao Jun from a distance. He was so excited that he went up to him and said, "Hanlong, Hanlong."

When there are many people outside, he definitely cannot call Dasun, otherwise he will be exposed.

"Official!"

Zhao Jun also took a few quick steps forward and was about to bow.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhen grabbed his hands and said with a smile: "There is no need for such empty talk between us."

Seeing that they had not become unfamiliar after two years, Zhao Jun also laughed: "Although this is the case, we still have to follow the proper etiquette."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Zhen again, and seeing that he looked very well, he added, "Your Majesty, I haven't seen you for two years. You look younger."

"Yes, we are getting old, but the official has black hair and a youthful face, and his body is always healthy."

Yan Shu said this with some envy.

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "This shows that the emperor has always maintained a young mentality and vitality. This is a good thing and can make people live longer."

In fact, he remembered that in history, Zhao Zhen was prone to sudden hysteria in the middle and late stages for various reasons, and there seemed to be some problems with his mental state. He even had an attack when he was dealing with court officials.

But it seems that there is nothing to worry about at the moment. Zhao Zhen is now radiant and in very good spirits, and does not have any mental problems.

I think it was because he had never been able to have children in history, and he was also sentimental, easily fanciful, and compassionate all day long, which led to his mental depression, and then he died in his fifties.

Now, not only do they have children, but they have also found a career that they love. I think such extreme situations will probably never happen again. In terms of life expectancy, they will probably live many more years than in history.

This was a very good thing for Zhao Jun. Otherwise, if Zhao Zhen passed away at this time, although they could stabilize the situation, they would be in a mess.

"I'm old. I'm old."

Zhao Zhen shook his head and said with some sadness: "I used to be able to stay in the laboratory for several days. Now I feel very tired in just one afternoon. Look at you gentlemen, and you, my grandson."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Jun's hair. Zhao Jun was already 37 years old this year. He was only 4 years younger than Zhao Zhen. Although he was still in his prime, his temples were gray and his hair had turned white prematurely.

After all, fifteen years have passed. Time flies and waits for no one. Even a young man will eventually become an old man with white hair.

"Everyone will grow old one day. I am open-minded about this. Anyway, we have seen that the Song Dynasty has become strong and is already the most powerful country on earth. In the future, the Song Dynasty will only go further and further. What is there to worry about?"

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Every few years we live longer, we can see the Song Dynasty become stronger. This should be the happiest thing."

"This is true."

Zhao Zhen smiled at first, then said, "What a pity for Prince Fugu. Forget it, let's not talk about this. You've had a hard time along the way. Let's go eat something and talk for a while. You can go see him later."

"Ah."

Zhao Jun nodded.

Several people then entered the lobby of Chenhui Building.

Due to the expansion of the Bianliang Imperial Palace, the back garden has become a huge back garden with continuous palaces, forests, rockery and lakes.

There were more places to play, and even some concubines in the harem raised some cats and dogs. For example, the Huskies that the sailors brought back from Siberia were loved by many concubines because of their good looks.

As the palace grew larger, the space for activities naturally grew larger. The concubines' residences and entertainment venues also moved from the former back garden to the back garden further north, which is outside the Xuanwu Gate where the royal family used to live.

Today, with the original Guanjia Hall as the center, the area from Linhua Gate in the east to the west wall of the original back garden in the west is now Zhao Zhen’s private domain, and Chenhui Tower is where he often stays now.

At this moment, a table was set up in the hall. Zhao Zhen pulled Zhao Jun to the table, and then asked Wang Shouzhong to order the kitchen to start serving the dishes.

When everyone was seated and there was no one around, Zhao Zhen said to Zhao Jun with a guilty look on his face, "My eldest grandson has had a really hard time on this journey, working hard for the country, and has been gone for two years."

As he spoke, he felt a little sad and sighed, "It's a pity that I don't have much ability, and my identity does not allow me to go out. Otherwise, I really want to accompany my grandson to go out for a walk and see the world of the Song Dynasty."

"Don't worry, brother. It will be done soon." Zhao Jun consoled him. "I have arranged to repair the palaces in Beiping, Hangzhou, and Jinling. The railway tracks are also being laid and constructed. As long as the railways from Bianliang to Beiping and Hangzhou to Bianliang are completed, you will be able to leave the capital and travel around in the future."

"That's good, that's good, that's good."

Zhao Zhen smiled happily and nodded repeatedly.

In the past, the court officials would have stopped him on the grounds that it would be a waste of money and time. For the sake of the people, he could only accept his fate and be locked up in this cage.

But now the world has changed a lot, so naturally people want to go out and see the world. Besides, building palaces everywhere is no longer a waste of money and labor, but a project that benefits the people, so we should build palaces everywhere even more.

"Hanlong, what did you gain from this trip?"

Fan Zhongyan asked the question that concerned him most.

Zhao Jun nodded: "It's a great harvest."

As he said this, he took out a booklet from his arms and placed it on the table.

Fan Zhongyan took it, opened it and glanced at it, and saw that the booklet was densely packed with countless words.

It contains detailed descriptions of various issues, some of which include solutions to the problems, while others are pending and obviously need to be taken to the Constitutional Yuan for discussion.

Zhao Jun said: "This time when I went to the grassroots, I collected all kinds of problems and encountered no less than a thousand situations, big and small. Among them, I think 113 are relatively important problems, covering all aspects, and a new round of reforms can be carried out."

"so much?"

Yan Shu and others were stunned.

Although the previous rounds of Qingli New Deal reforms also involved a lot, when classified and reformed in several times, the total amount was only more than 100 items.

As a result, they were really surprised that so much was obtained this time.

Zhao Jun said: "Many of the previous reforms were about big directions and big changes. Now many reforms need to solve grassroots problems. For example, there is a reform of farmers' associations, which is to strengthen grassroots control. There are also literacy campaigns and campaigns to break feudal superstitions, which are closely related to the grassroots."

He then looked around at everyone and said, "Breaking feudal superstition does not mean that people should not believe in ghosts and gods. I know how difficult it was to do this in ancient times. Even in our new era, there are still many people with superstitious ideas. So we must treat this matter correctly and not take a one-size-fits-all approach. What we need to break are those evil gods and obscene temples, and what we need to do is correct religious beliefs, such as Buddhism and Taoism."

Buddhism and Taoism?

Everyone looked at each other, and Zhao Zhen said in surprise: "The Song Dynasty does not prohibit the people from believing in anything. Most people believe in Buddhism and Taoism, so there is no need for the government to promote it."

"I am not saying that we should increase efforts to promote Buddhism and Taoism. People are free to believe in their religion and the government will not interfere."

Zhao Jun shook his index finger and said, "What I mean is that we should establish correct religious concepts. The teachings of Buddhism and Taoism are naturally to encourage people to be good, but in a new era, we should also add something new, bring forth something new out of the old, and establish the new."

For example, the Taoist priest said "believe in science", but after saying this, whether the Taoist priest would make sword gestures with his hands, and then with a sword sound, he would fly into the sky on the flying sword, that is another matter.

In the final analysis, whether it is Buddhism or Taoism, they are essentially tools to maintain rule, and are also a way to promote excellent culture and carry forward the traditional virtues of Chinese civilization.

Therefore, the imperial court would not interfere with the people's beliefs, nor would it interfere with the preaching of Buddhism and Taoism, but correspondingly, Buddhism and Taoism naturally had to cooperate with the work of the imperial court.

This is what each side needs, commonly known as a win-win situation.

"Well, the idea of ​​ghosts and gods has been around for a long time, but I have never seen one. If you want to believe in them, go ahead. I only believe in science now."

As the founder of science, Zhao Zhen first said: "Let Hanlong handle this matter."

"Hanlong means that the court should make certain corrections to the teachings of Buddhism and Taoism? Would this offend the gods and lead to punishment from heaven?"

"At our age, why do we still believe in ghosts and gods? Shengdu is a great believer in Buddhism, but we haven't seen him achieve immortality or go to heaven to become a Buddha? In the end, Buddhism is just a spiritual sustenance."

"Yes, in the past we thought things we didn't know were from gods, Buddhas, and heaven. Now we know that wind is the flow of air, and rain is the condensation of water vapor. Gods and Buddhas are our beliefs that arise from our fear of the unknown. If science can help us understand everything, why should we rely on gods?"

"That's exactly what it means."

Everyone was talking to each other.

To some extent, Chinese civilization is more suitable for the emergence of science.

The West has been shrouded and controlled by religion for centuries. The so-called divine right of kings has meant that the king's power has always been under the authority of theocracy.

It was not until after the three major movements that science emerged, theocracy gradually declined, and a new civilization came into being.

However, even in the 21st century, Christianity still has a great influence, and traditional religious beliefs still dominate in Western countries.

In comparison, the gods of Chinese civilization are much more practical. When needed, Buddhism and Taoism can become state religions and can be changed at any time according to the needs of the ruling class.

When you are not needed, they can worship Buddhism and suppress Taoism, destroy Buddhism and promote Taoism, or even destroy both Buddhism and Taoism, without caring at all about what gods are behind you.

After all, how many masters can God, Tathagata, and Haotian have?
Therefore, under this situation where pragmatism prevails, the court-led religious reform did not encounter as much resistance as in the West, which needed to be resolved through three major movements.

When they heard Zhao Jun's proposal to make certain reforms to Buddhism and Taoism, except for Song Shou who preferred Taoism and was slightly resistant, the others did not object.

“Well, Hanlong said before that we need to strengthen our control over the grassroots, including public security, the ability to mobilize labor, the ability to guide the people, and so on.”

Fan Zhongyan put down the book in Zhao Jun's hand and said, "We also need to disintegrate the power of the clans, liberate productivity, and make the people of the world obey the call and dispatch of the court. These are what we have to do."

“It’s extremely difficult to do all this.”

Yan Shu sighed and said, "The north is easy to deal with. When Han Long went to the north, the power of the Youyan family was almost completely destroyed. But the south..."

He is from Jiangxi and knows too well the power of Jiangxi clans. Apart from anything else, their Yan clan has grown since his great-grandfather Yan Yanchang settled in Linchuan more than a hundred years ago. There are now hundreds of members in the clan. Isn't it a big local clan?

The current situation in the entire south is basically the same, which shows how difficult it is to change the clan power in the south.

Zhao Jun said firmly: "It is because we know the difficulties that we must face them head-on. Reforms cannot stop, and the Song Dynasty cannot stop moving forward. Otherwise, we will be surpassed by others one day!"

Reform is like a car without brakes. Only by moving forward courageously and making continuous progress can the empire be guaranteed to last forever.

Otherwise, if we slack off, the country will soon be left behind.

Just like the early Qing Dynasty was at the top of the world, but it ended up closing its doors to the outside world, refusing to accept the changes of the new era, and was eventually submerged by the tide of the times.

(End of this chapter)