The six-dimensional pictures of emperors of all dynasties were exposed, and the ancestors panicked

Chapter 376 Song Shenzong: I am the green mountain! You are the pine and cypress!
{Please welcome the next unlucky guy!}

{By the way, what does Shenzong mean?}
{The temple name is unclear. According to the posthumous name law, the people cannot name a god, and cannot name a good thing, which probably means that it is indescribable.}
{This word must be a good word, Shun used it to address Yao.}
……

The period of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty
"The establishment of temple names dates back to King Wen."

Liu Heng is explaining something to Liu Qi.

"There are many wise and virtuous rulers among them, and many of them are capable of governing the world."

"But there has never been anyone who uses God as a symbol."

“It is because God is able to describe all things in a wonderful way, and it is difficult for humans to compare with him.”

"The Book of History records the virtues of Yao, saying that he was a saint, a god, a warrior, and a scholar."

Liu Qi scratched his head and asked suspiciously:
"The Holy Spirit establishes the Way, and the Civil and Military establish the Work?"

"The Emperor of the Song Dynasty?"

Liu Heng spread his hands and then put them in his sleeves, saying without comment:

"You don't have to worry so much."

"Anyway, since Emperor Zhenzong, I don't take this temple name seriously anymore."

"Just like a posthumous title."

"I can't see anything anymore."

……

On the canopy.

The young emperor looked at the memorial in his hand with a worried look on his face.

The ministers below made their statements in a helpless manner.

"When our ancestors pacified the country, they collected the gold and silk and stored them in the treasuries, leaving a great legacy for future generations."

"However, since the Kangding and Qingli periods, the old treasury has been opened to help stimulate the development of the country."

"A hundred years of accumulation, only an empty book remains."

……

【When Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne, various social problems in the Song Dynasty gradually emerged. 】

[Emperor Yingzong wanted to do something, but due to poor health he was unable to handle state affairs, and instead more problems accumulated.]

[On the third day after he ascended the throne, Han Jiang, the envoy of the Three Departments, reported: Since the Song-Xia War during the reign of Emperor Renzong, financial resources have been mobilized and the national treasury has been used, "a hundred years of accumulation has left only empty books." ]

【Only then did he realize what a mess he had inherited.】

[His ancestors didn't leave him any money.]

……

The period of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty
Liu Qi crossed his arms, looking sarcastic.

"If they want to stay, they have to have the ability to do so!"

"Look at who has been in power since Emperor Zhenzong!"

"One is only thinking about Fengshan, and the other is fickle and unstable."

"Another one who got himself killed by talking nonsense."

"Everything is there, but there is no one to do the work."

"What good is this?"

……

The period of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty
Liu Bingyi wiped away his tears.

The future emperor of the Song Dynasty.

I understand you!
It’s a mess and it’s hard to clean up!
……

[The number of redundant officials and soldiers continued to rise, causing the annual deficit to be 3 million guan after the Qingli period, and the deficit reached 15.7 million guan in the second year of the Zhiping period.]

[The number of soldiers increased to 1.6 million, which was more than five times the number when Taizu founded the country. Military expenses accounted for five-sixths of the total fiscal revenue.]

[The ever-expanding army was repeatedly at a disadvantage in conflicts with Liao and Xia. The Song-Xia wars during the Kangding and Qingli years left the Song people frustrated.]

[Without establishing a land system and without suppressing annexation, in the late Renzong period, high-ranking officials and wealthy people occupied unlimited land. This trend of land annexation, combined with natural and man-made disasters, forced a large number of poor farmers with little or no land to fall below the poverty line.]

[Not only that, the officials and gentry who annexed a large amount of land also used their privileges to evade tax burdens. According to statistics during the Zhiping period, among the lands in the country, "seven out of ten were not taxed."]

[The direct consequence of land annexation and uneven taxation and labor service was that from the middle of Emperor Renzong’s reign, the number of desperate peasants and soldiers “increased year by year, and each group became stronger and stronger.”]

……

Great Sui.

Yang Jian's head was buzzing as he watched.

How did all this shit come together?

It’s tiring just looking at it.

Rubbing his forehead, Yang Jian started the process again.

The reason why the state's finances are insufficient is that officials are redundant and the military is not well-trained.

And the source of it...

This is because the Song Dynasty adopted a policy of strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches at the beginning, concentrating military power in the central government, greatly weakening local military power, and establishing a military system that emphasized the interior and neglected the exterior.

After the Treaty of Chanyuan, the Song Dynasty entered a long period of peace. The rotation system meant that frontier generals did not have a fixed army and the army did not have a fixed commander.

There is no permanent general for soldiers, and there is no permanent commander for generals.

There has long been a serious disconnect between generals and soldiers, and the soldiers' training level is low.

When there was a war on the border, the central army was hastily sent there.

As a result, the soldiers were unfamiliar with the enemy, the terrain, and their generals, so their combat effectiveness was naturally very low.

"But why are they recruiting more and more soldiers?"

"Why recruit so many soldiers?"

……

Datang.

Li Shimin twirled his beard, looking solemn.

"This...what do you think?"

All the ministers looked at each other.

What is this? Asking politics in the void?

We haven't even been to the site yet and you want us to come up with a plan?
Your Majesty, you are going too far!
Li Shimin also felt that the question was a bit excessive, so he changed the subject.

"How do you think the reform can be successful?" This is worth discussing.

Zhang Sun Wuji was the first to step out and said:
"Your Majesty, I think that since the problems are so deep, we should first eliminate them and then make changes."

“Reform is about getting rid of the old and bringing in the new. First get rid of the old, then bring in the new.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Zheng took a step forward and said loudly:

"This is absurd!"

"Then Wen Zhenggong eliminated himself in his quest for malpractice, so how can he easily take advantage of others?"

"Only by promoting benefits and achieving results first, while accumulating strength, can we truly eliminate the abuses with an upright momentum later on!"

"Minister Wei is wrong..."

"Changsun Sikong's words are wrong..."

Li Shimin felt tired sitting there and watching.

The Zhenguan Dynasty was like this, and his Song Dynasty...

……

[Faced with the many problems left to him by his ancestors, Song Shenzong did not panic. He began to think about how to get rid of the difficulties he faced. ]

[He then issued an edict to open the channels for public opinion and solicit the opinions of the ruling ministers. He also hoped that these measures would ease the crisis by living within one's means and saving money.]

[He was studious since childhood. Before he ascended the throne, he loved reading Han Feizi and was very interested in the Legalist approach of "enriching the country and strengthening the army."]

[The moderate ideas of Fu Bi, Sima Guang and others could not satisfy Emperor Shenzong's urgent desire to save the Song Dynasty, but Wang Anshi's views were deeply admired by Emperor Shenzong.]

【In the environment where the call for reform was growing louder and louder at that time, Wang Anshi's reform ideas were extremely popular among the scholar-officials. 】

[Sima Guang said that he alone had been famous for thirty years, and many people believed that the governance of the world would depend on Wang Anshi's governance.]

……

On the canopy.

The young emperor looked at the unkempt scholar opposite him and said directly:

“What comes first in governing a country?”

The scholar's eyes were like torches, and he spoke word by word:

"Choose the technique first!"

The emperor's eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his lips.

"How about imitating Emperor Taizong of Tang?"

The scholar pondered for a moment and said:
"Your Majesty should emulate Yao and Shun, why do you emulate Emperor Taizong?"

A hint of surprise flashed across the emperor's eyes, followed by endless admiration, and finally he asked solemnly:
"Our ancestors guarded the country, and there was no major change for a hundred years, which led to peace."

"Now I want to change it, how can I do it?"

The scholar stroked his beard and remained silent. After a moment of silence, he said:
"Our dynasty has been following the bad customs of the last century for generations, which has led to its weakness and poverty."

"The soldiers are tired and old, but they have never been ordered to train, and no generals are selected to keep them on the battlefield for a long time."

"They are generally incapable of managing finances, so although they are frugal, the people are not rich; although they are diligent and concerned, the country is not strong."

……

[In April 1068, Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty summoned Wang Anshi to take the next step to participate in the court discussion]

[Wang Anshi presented the memorial "A Hundred Years of Peace in Our Dynasty"]

[In August, due to the Yellow River bursting and other reasons causing disasters in Hebei, after the Southern Suburbs Ceremony, when Song Shenzong discussed the issue of routine rewards, Sima Guang advocated a reduction.]

【Wang Anshi believed that the amount of money cut was not large, with silk and silver totaling no more than 3,000 yuan, and further cuts would damage the national system.】

【He also believed that the lack of state funds was due to the lack of people who were good at managing finances. People who were good at managing finances should be able to improve the state finances and make funds sufficient without increasing the daily taxes on the people.】

【Sima Guang believed that being good at financial management was nothing more than plundering the people’s wealth. The wealth generated by the universe was limited. If it was not in the hands of the people, it would be in the hands of officials. It was a lie to say that the state could enrich its finances without increasing taxes on the people.】

[The two sides engaged in a heated debate.]

……

{I don’t quite understand why Sima Guang, such a smart man, would think this way. How many Han people were there, and how many Tang people were there?}

{The wealth of the world is constant, so why is the population increasing?}
{Sima Guang was somewhat pretending to be ignorant even though he knew the truth. Reclaiming land, recovering territory, and reforming the land system can all increase people's wealth, right?}
{He is afraid that he has to play dumb because he is in a situation like this. Or maybe he is afraid of repeating the mistakes of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty because he can see the big picture from the small details?}

{From the perspective of modern economic theory, Sima Guang's understanding was wrong. But we cannot be too harsh on the ancients with a modern perspective.}
{The growth of fiscal revenue in agricultural society mainly depends on taxation and population, so it is indeed difficult to increase it.}
{But this also shows that Sima Guang is traditional and Wang Anshi is radical, and he doesn’t care about right or wrong.}
{But history happened just like that, and Wang Anshi's reforms and adjustments were in line with the emperor's will.}
……

The period of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty
Liu Fuling looked at the words "Han Wu's mistakes were repeated" on the sky curtain and laughed. After laughing, he thought deeply.

"General, what do you think?"

Huo Guang, who was sitting next to him with his eyes downcast, raised his eyes to the sky after hearing what he said. After a moment, he bowed to the emperor and said:

"Your Majesty, whether they are so-called reformists or conservatives is actually not important."

“The important thing is to be consistent.”

“Things are gained from change.”

Liu Fuling leaned against the pillow and understood.

No matter what kind of policy it is, the most important things are the people who promote the policy and the people who implement the policy.

It all depends on the person.

I am afraid that it will happen over and over again, wasting national strength.

Just making the country rich and the army strong...it doesn't necessarily make the people strong.

If you don’t strengthen your people…your people have already started to flee in all directions.

Touching his beard, Liu Fuling thought that what Sima Guang said made some sense.

If there are other taxes imposed on the people when the country is rich, you might really repeat the mistakes of Emperor Wu of Han.

Haven’t you seen the old stories of Sang Hongyang?
As for whether you can come back after you have taken the first step...

It depends on God’s will.

……

[This is quite different from Wang Anshi’s advocacy of financial management as the first priority in governing a country.]

[Sima Guang's conservative faction also advocated reform, but their reform ideas were essentially different from Wang Anshi's reform ideas.]

【The conservatives’ reform ideas focus not on promoting benefits, but on eliminating disadvantages and the three redundancies. This is a form of cost-cutting.】

【Wang Anshi believed that we should first promote benefits and then eliminate disadvantages, which is to open up new sources of income.】

[In February 1069, Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty appointed Wang Anshi as Vice Minister of State Affairs and officially began to work on the reform.]

(End of this chapter)