People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 470: Exchange of Interests with Fan Zhongyan
The Western Regions are vast, most of which are deserts and uninhabited Gobi.

These deserts and Gobi are blocked from human habitation and are full of dangers.

Therefore, in ancient times, the Taklamakan Desert was also called the vast sea, the sea of ​​death, the place where the dead rest, etc.

But nothing is absolute.

In this vast desert filled with death, there is an oasis of life, running along the edge of the desert, connecting China and the West.

This road is the Silk Road, located along the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. Because the air is blocked by the Tianshan Mountains, there is more abundant rainfall, forming a vast grassland.

Since Zhang Qian's diplomatic mission to the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty, the Silk Road has become an important corridor for communication between the East and the West, and has flourished for many years.

Now, thousands of years have passed and the world has changed dramatically. Most of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions have been buried in the dust of history, leaving only some ruins, still telling of the prosperity of the Silk Road in the past.

A thousand years later, another Han army, upholding the same enterprising spirit of the Han Dynasty when it opened up the Western Regions, came to the Western Regions, intending to take back the homeland of the Han and Tang Dynasties and make it part of the Song Dynasty.

Time slowly came to October of the eleventh year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty.

Di Qing sent out his troops in August and captured Gaochang in September, spending most of the month on the journey.

After taking Gaochang, he immediately sent people along the Silk Road, passing through Yanqi, Qiuci, Wochi and other places, to visit the Black Khanate and ask for submission.

However, Heihan was too far away from Gaochang, and the journey might take several months, so Di Qing was not in a hurry.

On the other hand, he immediately sent the battle report back to the court and conveyed the good news to all the officials in the court.

The message arrived in late September or early October.

At this time, the Song Dynasty court was not very excited about Di Qing's recovery of most of the Western Regions, because they were busy with another matter - a new round of elections for the Constitutional Yuan.

On October 3rd, it started to drizzle in Bianliang. The raindrops hit the window of the Constitutional Court, making a soft dripping sound.

A few little cats ran under the eaves to shelter from the rain, then rushed into the yard as if no one was around, jumped in front of the meat plates prepared for the prime ministers, and began to eat with relish.

Rats were common in the palace, so cats that could catch rats were worshipped since the Han Dynasty. Especially during the reigns of Emperor Zhenzong and Emperor Renzong, cats were everywhere in the palace, which gave rise to the legend of the cat replacing the prince.

Zhao Jun, Director of the Constitutional Yuan.

The actual master of this vast empire is now in the house reviewing official documents sent from all over the place.

The room was filled with sandalwood fragrance, and the gentle winter breeze blew in from outside, making people feel a little chilly.

Zhao Jun put the note he had just marked aside, raised his head and suddenly saw Fan Zhongyan frowning beside him, so he smiled and said, "What's wrong, Old Fan? Have you not slept well recently?"

"Yeah, it's a bit annoying."

Fan Zhongyan rubbed his temples. His eyes were dark and had big dark circles. He probably stayed up late a lot.

He is 62 years old and it is not a good thing for him to continue like this.

Zhao Jun raised his head and looked around.

Yan Shu went to the Ministry of Revenue today. The other prime ministers either had official business or were far away, writing furiously and reviewing notes.

Fan Zhongyan's table was closest to him, and Zhao Jun, out of concern for his friend, asked, "Is the nomination going to be held in a few days?"

"Yes."

Old Fan smiled bitterly and said, "Recently, Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, Han Qi and the others have come to my house many times, which makes me very embarrassed."

"Fu Bi has his father-in-law, Han Qi has Jia Changchao, why don't you recommend Wen Yanbo?"

Zhao Jun gave an idea.

Don’t think that famous officials who have left their names in history did not use connections.

In fact, there were indeed many famous ministers during Renzong's period, but the relationships between them were more complicated and intertwined.

First is Fu Bi, whose father-in-law is Yan Shu.

The second is Wen Yanbo. His father used to be the Hedong Transport Commissioner. The father of Zhao Zhen’s favorite concubine, Concubine Zhang, was once his father’s retainer. Because of this relationship, Wen Yanbo sent Shu brocade to Concubine Zhang many times in order to seek advancement.

Finally, Han Qi is even more interesting. He has family relations with Lu Yijian's family, Jia Changchao's family, and Wang Zeng's family, and his political inclination is to support Fan Zhongyan.

In recent years, Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan have been very close, and Han Qi has repeatedly shown his unwavering support for Fan Zhongyan in court meetings and political stances.

So now there are new changes in the court structure.

In the earliest period, Lu Yijian relied on his control over the power to appoint and dismiss personnel to dominate the court. Even Li Di, Wang Zeng and others were defeated by him, and his power was very strong.

This prompted Fan Zhongyan to go to the top of the government office and attack Lu Yijian.

After Zhao Jun arrived, Fan Zhongyan and others used Zhao Jun to achieve the goal of eliminating Lu's party and completed the cleansing of the middle and lower levels of Lu's party, causing serious damage to Lu's party.

Then the Constitutional Council was established. Although the Lu Party was severely damaged, Lu Yijian's existence was still the backbone, making the Lu Party the largest party in the Constitutional Council.

Wang Zeng also had the Wang Party, which was slightly less powerful than the Lu Party. However, he was deliberately supported by Zhao Zhen, Zhao Jun and others in order to restrain Lu Yijian.

Back then, Lü Yijian and Wang Zeng were fighting each other in the Constitutional Court, and outsiders such as Zhao Jun, Wang Sui, and Shengdu could only watch the show. The two groups often had different political views, or fought openly or secretly, and they often argued on issues other than the general direction.

Although Zhao Jun was an absolute authority during that period, he was often opposed by Lu Yijian. Every time he relied on PUA Zhao Zhen to achieve his goals, which shows that the influence of Lu's party was still very large at that time.

Five years later, in the second year of the Qingli period, the first term of the Political System Council was replaced. The Lu Party added Jia Changchao. The Wang Party did not achieve its goal, but it also gained the support of Jiang Tang and Fan Zhongyan.

And from then on, Zhao Jun began to slowly build up his own power, brought Li Di in, secretly put some pressure on Lu Yijian, and strike down Lu Yijian's arrogance.

The second term of office was in the sixth year of the Qingli period, which was in October 1046 AD. Although Lü Yijian was not dead at that time, he was already terminally ill and unable to interfere in politics. Therefore, Xia Song, Zheng Jian and Du Yan were elected into the Constitutional Council.

Basically, the second term change was a turning point. The Lu Party and the Wang Party gradually withdrew from the historical stage due to old age and illness, and Zhao Jun's Zhao Party began to dominate the political system, with no one to restrain them.

Now that we have reached the time for the third term change, it will obviously be another critical moment that will affect the structure of the Constitutional Yuan.

This is because there will be a huge shortage of personnel in this Constitutional Council. First, Cai Qi and Song Shou will not be re-elected. Secondly, although Jiang Tang and Jia Changchao are from the same term as Fan Zhongyan and Yan Shu, that is, they entered during the first change of term, but they are not among the original eight.

In this way, according to the ten-year limit, Zhao Zhen can only retain Fan Zhongyan and Yan Shu for another five years at most. Jiang Tang and Jia Changchao will not be re-elected this time. Taking into account the deaths of Li Di and Zhang Shixun, the vacancies will reach as many as six.

So according to the convention, Fan Zhongyan and Yan Shu, as prime ministers who were specially authorized by Zhao Zhen to be retained for an extra five-year term, should not have been allowed to recommend anyone. However, this term was short of half the people, so Zhao Zhen specially granted them one nomination quota.

no way.

This is the only way to do it in special times. After all, according to the procedure, one can only enter the Constitutional Council by recommendation by the prime minister. Although this makes it easy for party forces to emerge, the voting system will be even more ridiculous. It would be more reliable to let the prime minister choose a suitable successor.

Hearing Zhao Jun's suggestion, Fan Zhongyan shook his head and said, "Fu Bi and Prime Minister Yan have a bad relationship. Although Han Qi is related to Prime Minister Jia by marriage, the relationship is still distant. They will not help recommend him."

"Strange, I remember that the reason why Fu Bi and Yan Shu were at odds in history was because in the early days of the Qingli New Deal, Lu Yijian and other opposition parties opposed the new deal. Yan Shu not only did not help the reformists, but also openly and secretly protected the opposition, which made Fu Bi furious. That's why he angrily called Yan Shu and Lu Yijian evil. Why is it like this now when there is no such thing?"

Zhao Jun was very puzzled.

Fan Zhongyan said with a smile: "The three-foot-thick ice did not form in one day, just like my uncle in his early years."

He said with a slight hesitation.

Zhao Jun asked, "What happened in the early years?"

Fan Zhongyan smiled bitterly and said, "In the early years, I did not contribute to Your Majesty's personal rule. Instead, I found an excuse to go out and avoid disaster. I did not oppose the Queen Mother. In the eyes of many upright ministers, I was no different from a traitor."

"I see."

Zhao Jun suddenly understood.

This is a typical case of being a fence-sitter who cannot please both sides.

Yan Shu was a person who was cautious and self-protective. He would not easily reveal his position during political turmoil.

But in the eyes of the two groups, this behavior is not completely supportive, which is equivalent to completely not supporting. The earliest root of the trouble was the period when Empress Dowager Zhangxian Liu E was in control of the government.

So a group of ministers such as Ding Wei supported Liu E in taking power and were very flattering to her.

Another group of ministers, led by Lu Yijian and Fan Zhongyan, demanded that Liu E give up power and return it to Zhao Zhen.

The two sides attacked each other and fought constantly in the court.

However, the power was in the hands of Liu E, which led to the faction of the emperor who was pro-Zhao Zhen being gradually demoted to local levels.

This includes Yan Shu.

However, Yan Shu was not demoted because he wrote a letter to ask Liu E to return power. Instead, he found an excuse, made some minor mistakes, and took the initiative to be demoted.

The reason is also very simple.

As Zhao Zhen grew older, the possibility of him ruling the country himself became higher and higher. In order to make his position clear, he did not dare to directly target Liu E, so it was natural for him to do so.

So in fact, in the struggle with the Queen Mother's party, Yan Shu did not contribute at all and did nothing at all.

Later, because of his demotion, he was identified as a member of the emperor's party and was promoted again.

This naturally caused dissatisfaction among many members of the emperor's party, and their reputation became much worse.

In history, during the New Policies of the Qingli Period, Yan Shu continued to protect himself, but he openly and secretly helped the opposition such as Lu Yijian. The result is self-evident, and Fu Bi, Ouyang Xiu and others cursed him.

Although he no longer secretly opposed the new policies as he had in history, after the establishment of the Political System Council, Lu Yijian still had considerable political struggles with Fan Zhongyan.

For example, during the first Qingli New Deal, Lu Yijian's son was involved and the Kaocheng System was almost abolished.

If Zhao Jun had not turned the tide, the administration would probably not have improved.

Among them, Yan Shu once again tried to protect himself. Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, Ouyang Xiu and other people who supported Fan Zhongyan supported Fan Zhongyan while scolding Lu Yijian and were dissatisfied with Yan Shu's behavior.

Therefore, although Yan Shu is Fu Bi's father-in-law, to be honest, the relationship between the two is not very good, and Fu Bi will not use Yan Shu's connections to ask for a quota.

"I'm really overwhelmed by this matter now."

Fan Zhongyan spread his hands and said, "You know the situation this year. Six prime ministers are leaving the Constitutional Council, so basically if you recommend someone, you will most likely be admitted. But I only have one spot. What can I do?"

"Why are you asking me about your business? Wait a minute."

Zhao Jun rolled his eyes and suddenly realized, "Okay, no wonder you have been sighing in front of me today, with a sad face, you are planning to take advantage of me?"

Fan Zhongyan said with a smile: "Why, among the ministers of various ministries, is there anyone who has won the favor of Han Long?"

"That's not true."

Zhao Jun shook his head.

"So."

Fan Zhongyan spread his hands and said, "Since there is none, why not recommend talented people to the country. Hanlong, you also know that these are all geniuses in governing the country. I have never thought about party struggles, but it would be a pity if these great talents in governing the country could not enter the central government and jump from one department to the world."

"That's it."

Zhao Jun stroked his chin and thought for a moment. After a while, he let out a long sigh and said, "Okay, I can help you this time. You recommend Han Qi, I recommend Fu Bi, and Xia Song will recommend Wen Yanbo. But I hope that you will give me something back in five years."

Fan Zhongyan thought about it, nodded and said, "I will discuss this matter with them."

"That's it, just give me a definite answer if you're fine."

Zhao Jun said.

To some extent, this can also be considered a political exchange.

Although the Constitutional Council was the only powerful one, many prime ministers would actually divide Zhao Jun's power.

He was only in charge of the general direction, while other small details, such as local government affairs and various matters, were arranged by other prime ministers.

So in fact, although Zhao Jun held great power, in essence, he was only a representative of the prime minister. In many major issues, he needed someone to support and vote for him in the Constitutional Council.

Just like the implementation of the New Policies of the Qingli Period, it required constant revision and improvement, and the deletion of many of the more radical strategies, in order to gain the support of Lu Yijian and others.

Now that Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng's group are gone, his power is getting bigger and bigger, but this power comes from some special circumstances.

The most intuitive thing is that Yan Shu, Jiang Tang and Zhang Shixun remained neutral.

Fan Zhongyan temporarily shared the same ideas and path as him.

Li Di and Xia Song were his followers.

Cai Qi, Song Shou and Jia Changchao did not have the authority that Lu Yijian had to confront him.

Newcomers such as Zheng Jian and Du Yan have little say.

In this way, Zhao Jun can have the final say.

If a new group of people came to power, and if there was another figure like Lu Yijian, it might affect Zhao Jun's authority.

Therefore, he has been cultivating his own reserve forces over the years.

In the past few years, he took Wang Anshi and others to travel around the world, undoubtedly training them to be potential prime ministers.

But unfortunately, no matter in terms of qualifications or positions, they cannot be promoted to the position of prime minister all at once.

Yang Cha, Yang Gao and others are currently only assistant ministers of various ministries. They need to serve as ministers in first-level institutions before they have the right to be nominated.

Needless to say, the others such as Wang Anshi, Li Xiaoji, Chen Xiliang, etc. had to be promoted to the rank of assistant minister.

It is expected that Yang Cha, Yang Gao and others will be admitted to the academy in the next term, and it will be the turn of Wang Anshi and others in the next term.

Currently, the only person qualified to be nominated is Bao Zheng, the prefect of Kaifeng. The prefect of Kaifeng has been promoted to the second rank, the same level as the ministers of various first-level institutions, and has the right to be nominated.

However, Bao Zheng had two problems. One was the issue of qualifications. Although he was a Jinshi in the same list as Han Qi and Wen Yanbo, his parents died one after another, and there was a seven or eight-year mourning period in between, which led to his lack of qualifications.

Being promoted to the prefect of Kaifeng was already as fast as a rocket, and being promoted to the prime minister was too outrageous.

The second is a personality issue. Bao Zheng is not against people but against matters. No matter whether you are the one who promoted him or not, as long as he thinks you are wrong, he will criticize you even if you are the emperor.

Therefore, if Bao Zheng was allowed to enter the Constitutional System Council, he would probably not be able to live in peace there, as he is too rigid in character and would easily offend his colleagues and superiors.

Taking all factors into consideration, Bao Zheng was only suitable to be the prefect of Kaifeng, but not suitable to govern the world.

On the contrary, Han Qi, Wen Yanbo, Fu Bi and others were all good at governing the world, especially Han Qi. Although Zhao Jun hated Han Qi's rough style of doing things in the northwest, which caused the Song army to suffer repeated defeats.

But in terms of politics and governance, Han Qi is undoubtedly at the top level.

Therefore, we should make a deal with Lao Fan now, select these people, and then let his people help recommend our own people in the next term, which will make many things much easier.

If you think about it carefully, Zhao Jun would definitely not do this in the past.

But now, after fifteen years of ups and downs in politics, he has come to understand that the essence of politics in many things is the exchange of interests.

If you are still like a young man who knows nothing and just acts recklessly, then there is only one result and outcome - being pushed down by everyone.

Therefore, the only way to govern the country is to make as many friends as possible and make all the prime ministers of the Constitutional Court your own people, then your administration will be smooth.

This is also the best knowledge Zhao Jun learned from Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and others.

(End of this chapter)