People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 526 Zhao Zhen is on the road of practice

The rumbling train is still moving.

It crossed hills, fields, villages, and finally arrived in the city.

This is Luoyang, about 170 kilometers away from Bianliang. In the past, it would take at least two or three days to walk there.

But now, if you take a boat or train at Luoyang Ferry, you can travel between the two places in just a few hours.

The rapid changes of the times have made it difficult for people to keep up. In recent days, there have been countless poems about the new era published in Bianliang newspapers, all praising the prosperity of the Song Dynasty.

The train entered Luoyang Station and then stopped at a parking track specially set up at the station. At this time, it was only noon.

Local officials in Luoyang came hurriedly to greet them. Zhao Zhen and Zhao Jun had a meal in the local area accompanied by them, and also walked on the streets to see with their own eyes this ancient capital of thirteen dynasties, which was also so magnificent.

Due to the influence of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the population of Luoyang, the former eastern capital, dropped significantly, but it has been developing rapidly over the years, and its streets and alleys are still crowded with people.

When the people saw a large group of people surrounding a group of people, they thought they were high-ranking officials and did not dare to approach them from a distance.

However, Zhao Zhen was not shy about it. He walked into every store, looked at the goods on sale, and asked the owner how business was going. He also watched the pedestrians on the street from a distance, observing their clothes and their living habits.

They would even go to the streets and talk to people, chatting about their daily lives, wanting to know whether they had enough food and clothing.

Under normal circumstances, local officials would definitely arrange for some helpers, but there were too many people on the main street, so it was difficult to arrange.

Secondly, the Imperial City Administration is watching closely. If they drive out the local poor in advance and arrange some agents to deceive the emperor, or they can deceive the emperor, but if they dare to deceive Zhao Jun, then the outcome will be unquestionable.

Therefore, local officials were all trembling with fear and accompanied him carefully all the way. The surrounding Imperial City Guards watched closely and protected Zhao Zhen's safety at all times.

However, Zhao Zhen had nothing to do. He was wearing a casual Zhongshan suit and did not reveal his identity to the local people. He just held their hands and chatted with them for a while, asking with a smile about the local governance, whether their families had received land, and how their lives were.

Although it is somewhat distorted to ask in the city, if you want to ask, you should go to the countryside. However, people in the city do not necessarily live in the city. Many people go to the city to sell vegetables or find a job. There are also poor people.

So he could always get some very useful information, which helped Zhao Zhen understand many things.

In the afternoon, Zhao Zhen not only visited the Luoyang Museum and saw the treasures therein, but also went to Mangshan to see the burial places of so many ancient emperors, which gave him a different feeling.

In the evening, the group returned to the train, which was about to set off again.

This time the journey was much longer. The straight-line distance from Luoyang to Chang'an was more than 300 kilometers, and the train distance was more than 500 kilometers, which took more than ten hours.

Strictly speaking, it is not difficult for a steam locomotive to reach a speed of over 100 kilometers per hour, and the limit can even reach over 170 kilometers per hour.

The normal operating speed is maintained at 70 kilometers per hour. The total distance from Bianliang to Chang'an is more than 700 kilometers, which takes about ten hours, while it only takes about seven hours from Luoyang to Chang'an.

But Zhao Zhen was in the car and didn't dare to drive so fast, so he not only slowed down the departure speed of the cars in front and behind, but also maintained a constant speed of about 40 to 50 kilometers, which was still very slow.

Railway soldiers along the way were maintaining the tracks all the time, telegraphs were ringing non-stop, and they kept in touch at all times to prevent any situation that might cause a track accident.

Zhao Jun was not so exaggerated even when he traveled.

But there is nothing we can do.

In addition to Zhao Zhen sitting on the train, Zhao Jun was also there.

These two people ranked first and second in the Song Empire in terms of power and national reputation, and Fan Zhongyan could only be ranked third.

Therefore, the Imperial City Bureau, which was responsible for protecting the emperor and the governor, and the Ministry of Railways, which was responsible for railway operations, had to remain vigilant and not dare to make even the slightest mistake, otherwise they might lose their heads.

In the evening, the sun sets and darkness covers the world, leaving only a brilliant glow. The Qinling Mountains in the distance are undulating, and appear hazy and orderly under the silhouette of the setting sun.

Zhao Jun picked up a cup of tea. The children were tired from playing at noon, and now Queen Cao and sister Cao Miaoxin took them to sleep in the next carriage.

He and Zhao Zhen were still sitting in this carriage enjoying the scenery.

“I’ve actually figured it out a little bit.”

Zhao Zhen also picked up a cup of tea and suddenly said.

"Understand what?"

Zhao Jun asked.

"I figured out why you insisted on letting me walk among the common people."

Zhao Zhen smiled.

Zhao Jun asked curiously, "Oh, come and tell me about it, brother."

"Xunzi said that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. Mencius also said that the people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important."

Zhao Zhen pondered and said, "I also understood this sentence before, but I always kept it at the surface. I hoped that I would be diligent in government and love the people, and be kind and virtuous to the people. But now it seems that this is not the truth."

"Well."

Zhao Jun responded, took a sip of tea, and motioned Zhao Zhen to continue.

Zhao Zhen added: "The reason why I stopped at the surface is because I didn't go down to the people to see what they are like. I don't even know what the people are like, so how can I be kind and virtuous to them?"

He did not address himself as "I", but called himself "I", which is very rare even in private conversations.

Obviously, Zhao Zhen had a lot of new insights this time.

Then he continued, "Only by personally going there to see what the people need and understand what they are thinking can we truly serve the people and make them feel at ease."

"Just like today when I was chatting with an old man who came to the city to sell vegetables, he also talked about how miserable his family life was more than 30 years ago. His wife was sick and had no money to treat her, his son was beaten to death by the landlord, and his daughter-in-law died of dystocia during childbirth. He has been raising a grandson until now."

"But more than ten years ago, the local government gave him some land and exempted him from the rent he owed the landlord. Now his family not only has several acres of good land, but his grandson has also found a job building railways, earning him a lot of money to support him in his old age."

"These are actually the changes that you, my great grandson, have helped bring about. But if you hadn't traveled more than ten years ago, how would I know that they were living in hardship, and how could I have been kind to them?"

Zhao Zhen looked out the window, already feeling extremely emotional: "The civil officials didn't let me go out to see the world, claiming to be protecting me, but in fact they were weaving a trap to let me see the world they told me about. Fortunately, there are some upright officials in the court, otherwise I would have really thought that the world was full of beauty and there was no suffering in the world. But even today, I understand that there are still many people suffering. This is my fault. I didn't recognize these things earlier, and I only knew to fantasize and make arbitrary decisions. This is also my problem."

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Brother, you have such an understanding, which is not just as simple as surpassing all the emperors in history, but has risen to the height of dialectical view, which is admirable."

There was one more thing he didn't say.

This was actually something he often said before, and it was also one of his means of organizing the civil service group in front of Zhao Zhen.

So Zhao Zhen’s current understanding, although rare, is not surprising.

However, what happened next was beyond Zhao Jun's imagination.

Zhao Zhen asked: "Hanlong, how do you think we can achieve a more popular approach? Let the royal family be closer to the people?"

"this."

Zhao Jun hesitated and was stumped.

Not to mention him, it will be a big problem even for future generations.

There are so many countries in the world that retain royal families, but few of them choose to stand with the people.

The British royal family has to please the people, otherwise the British people will make trouble and want to further weaken the royal family or even abolish it, and then the royal family will suffer.

But no matter how much they try to please the people, it is just a show. After all, the royal family has no power to govern, and there is no need to go deep into the people to understand their suffering.

The Song Dynasty is still a royal family with real power, and there is no political crisis for the time being. Even if they want to go deep into the grassroots, it can only be Zhao Zhen alone. How can it be possible for the Zhao royal family to do so from generation to generation?
Unless Zhao Jun lives for hundreds or thousands of years and can suppress the imperial power with the power of the prime minister, it will be impossible to accomplish. He shook his head and said, "It's impossible to achieve. Brother, you can be like this now, or because you are you, maybe you can do it. If it were your descendants, would they choose to integrate into the people? This is a dead end."

"That's it."

Zhao Zhen was a little disappointed, and then said: "What if the heir to the royal family must go to the countryside several times a year to understand the suffering of the people?"

“That’s not realistic either.”

Zhao Jun waved his hand: "What's the point of not talking about these things? It will only be a formality in the future. Can it really understand the suffering of the people? I don't think so. I'm afraid that the officials have already prepared everything for them."

"Yes."

Zhao Zhen thought about it and said with a wry smile, "As expected, the royal family has many constraints. It is still difficult to get along with the people."

Although Zhao Jun didn't come up with any good ideas, he also comforted her: "There are always more solutions than problems. Since I have never encountered such a thing, I don't know the solution and I have no right to speak. But it doesn't mean there is no way. Maybe we can look for it."

"Hanlong."

"Ok?"

"You know what I like most about you?"

"what?"

"You just never brag."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "From the beginning, you have been emphasizing that without investigation, you have no right to speak. So you left Beijing several times and went deep into the people. This also reminded me of that sentence."

Zhao Jun wondered, "What did you say?"

"You have not investigated a certain issue, and your right to speak on it is suspended. Isn't this barbaric? Not at all. Since you have not investigated the current and historical situation of the issue and do not know the bottom of it, your speech on the issue must be nonsense. Everyone knows that nonsense cannot solve the problem, so what is unfair about suspending your right to speak? Many comrades talk nonsense with their eyes closed all day long. This is our shame. How can we talk nonsense with our eyes closed?"

Zhao Zhen smiled mysteriously: "No! No! Focus on investigation! Oppose nonsense!"

Zhao Jun was stunned at first, and felt that this sentence was somewhat familiar.

Then he thought carefully for a moment, and then seemed to have thought of something. His pupils shrank in an instant, and he turned his head and looked at Zhao Zhen in disbelief with wide eyes.

The rumbling train outside the window was still running. I don’t know when, the moon had risen, and the bright moonlight cast a silver glow on the ground and shone into the carriage through the window.

"you saw it?"

Zhao Jun asked silently.

"Ah."

Zhao Zhen nodded: "Although it is hidden a bit tightly, I have looked through every folder."

"Oh, it's my fault that I don't know how to use the combination lock."

Zhao Jun patted his forehead.

Those dragon-slaying books were electronic versions of what he had left over from his Mao Zedong Thought class in college, and they were all stored on his hard drive.

Later, I found that after I traveled through time, I hid the files in some very deep folders, and even made them invisible because I didn’t know how to use a password lock.

But he was discovered by Zhao Zhen.

If you think about it carefully, Zhao Zhen could even find his secret folder "Man and Nature", let alone those dragon-slaying techniques?
Even if the dragon-slaying technique is hidden more securely, the size of the folder cannot deceive people.

I right-clicked and saw that the memory was so large. Then I clicked in and saw that there was nothing inside. Even a fool would know that it must have been hidden.

It was just that Zhao Jun was busy at that time, and he could use the notebook to restrain Zhao Zhen. If he didn't obey, the notebook would be smashed at him. That's why he kept the notebook with Zhao Zhen.

Now it seems that he has shot himself in the foot.

"When did you find out?"

Zhao Jun asked.

"It's been five or six years."

Zhao Zhen thought for a while.

"Have you finished reading the content?"

"finish watching."

"What do you think?"

“His ideas are truly great.”

"Is that all?"

Zhao Jun frowned.

The thoughts of great men are more than just great.

It can more correctly shape people's values, world outlook and outlook on life, and is a true philosophical thought.

Although Zhao Zhen was a feudal emperor, his thoughts were criticized.

But Zhao Jun didn't believe that he couldn't find some truth from it.

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "What impressed me most was the theory of contradiction and the theory of practice. The dialectical thinking and class thinking mentioned in the theory of contradiction benefited me a lot."

"Oh?"

Zhao Jun asked curiously, "Tell me about it."

Zhao Zhen pondered and said, "What is the occurrence of the new process? The old unity and the opposing elements that make up this unity give way to the new unity and the opposing elements that make up this unity, so the new process replaces the old process. The old process ends and the new process occurs. The new process contains new contradictions and begins its own history of contradictory development. Now the Song Dynasty is in the stage of alternation between the old and the new, and the initial new and old have caused serious contradictions, so Hanlong, you need to kill so many people to resolve the old process."

"It makes sense."

Zhao Jun's eyes lit up. He didn't expect that Zhao Zhen actually had some insights.

"So I was thinking, if the imperial system is destined to be replaced by a new process, then can we find a way to integrate the imperial class into the people?"

"Do you think you'll find it?"

"It will be found."

Zhao Zhen looked into Zhao Jun's eyes and said seriously, "At least I'm on the road to practice. If... I mean if I don't find it in the future, I hope you can help me find it. If you can't find it, then forget it."

"Okay, I'll try my best."

Zhao Jun also looked into his eyes without any hesitation.

perhaps.

They will find the answer in the future.

(End of this chapter)