The struggle of the reborn prince

** and dictatorship have always been criticized, but sometimes ** is needed.Although Zhao Tong has lived in this era for many years, he still carries the memories of his previous life after all, which is out of tune with certain aspects of this era, and what he knows is even something that does not exist at the moment but is more needed.And if he wants to realize new things, he must enforce them, use iron wrists and be an independent husband, and the status of emperor also gives him such opportunities and platforms.

Years of management have given Zhao Tun a group of loyal subordinates, but what they lack is the same as himself in the experience of governing and the means of governing the country. When they first ascended the throne, they needed the assistance of the old bureaucrats in the court.Therefore, the court is divided into two factions, which can also become the old party and the new party.The new party has followed Zhao Tun for many years, and under his influence, they will often break stereotypes and act boldly in order to achieve their goals; There are people with high prestige and influence in the ruling and opposition parties, many of whom are former reformist advocates.

As the saying goes, 'It is easy to share adversity, but it is difficult to share wealth and honor'.In the early days of Zhao Tama's ascension to the throne, there were powerful enemies outside and turmoil inside.If ZTE is to be rejuvenated and the country is to be stabilized, the two parties must work together to tide over the difficulties, otherwise they will all capsize together. Therefore, although there were disagreements at the beginning, under the banner of righteousness, the two parties can help each other and work together to accomplish every task well. one thing.

However, with the stabilization of the political situation, Zhao Tuo found that the harmonious and friendly atmosphere in the court had changed. When the court was in court and the court was dispersed, he found that groups began to be divided.He ordered an immediate investigation.It turned out that some people in the old party looked down on those bumpkins who came out of the countryside with them. In fact, most of the people around Zhao Tong were frustrated politicians and scholars who failed the imperial examination.And if they were born as domestic slaves, people in the old party thought they were just lucky.The master became the emperor, and they also ascended to heaven with chickens and dogs, and were granted a Jinshi background, but now I am serving as ministers with these well-educated people who have studied hard for many years in a poor window, and I feel uncomfortable.

Zhao Tong figured out what was going on, and felt that it was normal. It was just because of their different tastes in life and ways of doing things. They were usually urbanites and looked down upon countrymen, not to mention these arrogant people. gentlemen.He thought it was just a little thing.As long as it doesn't affect the overall situation and it doesn't hurt to not bring those emotions to work, just stop paying attention.

However, after the navy army who assisted in the Battle of Goryeo won the victory, Zhao Tun's eyes and ears reflected some private gossips of the scholars to him.What made the scholars the most dissatisfied was that the emperor changed "regulating the military with culture" to "emphasize both civil and military affairs", so that the warriors could sit on an equal footing with them. The hearts of many scholars have been broken. Compared with the Jinshi Banquet in Jiying Hall, which they were proud of, it is not as good as it, and the limelight of parading horses in red is no longer envied by others.The emperor's behavior made them very uncomfortable.

After Zhao Tong heard about this new trend, he felt vigilant. This is not a good sign, and if not done well, it will turn into another battle between civil and military.But the ensuing Song-Jin peace talks, the crusade against Gaochang, welcoming the Liao king back to Beijing, and subsequent abdication turmoil made him dizzy with a series of family and state affairs.No time to delve into it at all.Until he decided to personally conquer Seljuk, he suddenly found that the court overwhelmingly opposed his personal conquest, and actually resisted himself in a passive and sabotage manner.

At that moment, Zhao Tong realized that the situation was serious.The ministers of the DPRK and China all vented their breath from one nostril, which paralyzed the central government agencies.Although not serious enough to get out of control.But he already knew that his personal conquest had come to naught.It may take two or three years to go by myself, once someone has evil intentions.If a new king is established on the grounds of his death or disappearance, a civil war will break out even if the army is still loyal to him, and the achievements of his years of hard work will be wiped out.

But Zhao Tun did not "give in" at the moment, and still insisted that he would personally conscript, and through his own strictly controlled secret system, commanded the town governors and local state capitals to issue edicts. They were ordered to enter the king of Jingqin, the side of the Qing emperor.At the moment, the abnormal situation in the court also aroused the vigilance of Zhao Ren and other generals. They realized that their kindness had been taken advantage of, and found that the emperor was in danger of being ostracized. They immediately entered the palace secretly to show their loyalty to the emperor. There is no intention of betrayal, and the letter is written simply out of concern for the emperor's safety.

At the same time, everyone found that a "strike" could not change the emperor's determination to conquer, and the local government did not have an order issued by them, and the emperor could still command the local army to mobilize the army through the imperial decree.They realized that the emperor was not afraid of throwing a rake, but put himself in an embarrassing position, and there was a danger of not being able to end it, so they cooperated with the emperor instead, hoping to regain the initiative through "soft means".

At this time, Zhao Tong already had a solid foundation in his mind. As long as the army was not in chaos, he could control the situation, and he didn't believe that those scholars would oppose him. Among them, there must be some who came together with the old party out of concern for their own safety. .So he pushed the boat along the way and announced that he would give up his personal conquest and lift his vigilance.And those scholars who forced the emperor to take back his order cheered for their victory, but they didn't know that their actions had attracted the emperor's attention...

Although this incident ended with Zhao Tun's 'surrender', he knew that it might just be an accidental incident, and his reaction seemed a bit excessive, but he knew that this incident was the first of its kind to remonstrate with the emperor in this dynasty.If there is no way to correct it, such incidents will increase.If they don't agree, they will repeat their tricks to fight against themselves, which will shatter their dream of dictatorship. Not to mention, if someone raises objections, it may lead to party disputes.

Needless to say, the harm of party disputes can be said to be a disaster for a country.In the Shenzong Dynasty of Song Dynasty, a major event was Wang Anshi's reform.According to the degree of freedom in the previous letter, some scholar-bureaucrats raised various doubts about the reform, and they were divided into old and new parties in the debate.However, under the political reform system, the government tends to become self-confident and assertive, and the new party puts the old party Su Shi in prison for the Wutai poetry case.Conversely, when Yuanyou was reformed, the old party was in power, retaliated with a tooth for a tooth, and also wove the Che Gaiting poem case, and exiled the new party Cai Que to Lingnan, where he was demoted to death.

This kind of life-and-death political ecology can no longer be compared with the Renzong Dynasty, and it also set a bad precedent for the subsequent literary inquisition and cultural corruption.The struggle between the two parties lasted for three more dynasties, and the political elites of the Song Dynasty were almost inevitably involved in it, and they lost everything in the mutual conflicts. Only then did Cai Jing and other traitors have the opportunity to take power.The national power has also turned from prosperity to decline amidst disputes, and there are many internal conflicts. Even without the Jurchens' invasion, the Great Song Dynasty has come to the brink of extinction.

Everyone understands the evil consequences of party struggles, but why do scholars still enjoy getting involved in it?For so many years, Zhao Tun has pondered over the reasons for it.

In the feudal officialdom where utilitarianism was paramount, eunuchs, relatives and scholars were often three irreconcilable forces.Among them, eunuchs are indispensable to the royal family and must be used; foreign relatives are the natural, fait accompli, and irrefutable attachments of the royal family.The scholar-bureaucrats had their natural political weaknesses in the feudal officialdom. They could only rely on their political ideas, the ethical display in line with the feudal ritual system, and the ability to govern the country used by the emperor to win status, so as to realize their power ambitions and political ideals. .

However, those moral talents possessed by the scholar-bureaucrats are flexible after all, and they appear thin, even nihilistic and empty in front of generals who attack cities and lands and expand territories.For the emperor, they can use one or the other; they can be used together, or they can attack each other, and they can even be discarded as garbage; they can be used now, or they can be reused in the future.In order to reduce the failure and strengthen the power, the scholar-bureaucrats must seek strength from outside morality and talent.

Forming cronies is the political choice that is the easiest for scholar-bureaucrats to think about, and also the easiest to operate.He tried his best to win over, use and support the scholar-bureaucrats and officials who were inclined to his own side, and cruelly persecuted and ruthlessly attacked dissidents.Then seek political power, status and interests, further strengthen and consolidate, expand and expand the relationship with political gains, form a huge and solid power network, satisfy self, facilitate self, and finally realize self, and benefit future generations, This is the ultimate goal of feudal political struggle.

Although I figured it out, how to avoid party disputes is still a difficult problem.Reasoning with them, Zhao Tang believes that his half bottle of vinegar is by no means a match for those learned scholars, they all understand it!Punish a few to warn others, although it is a solution, but it is a temporary solution, not the root cause. With the umbrella of the ancestral family law, they are not afraid of being demoted, demoted, or imprisoned.And the high-pressure policy is not conducive to the development of the country. All the good people will be driven out of the court, and the remaining flatterers will follow his father's old path.

After thinking about it, Zhao Tang thought of what a great man in later generations said: Where there are people, there will be struggle, and if there are three people, there will be left, middle and right.This shows that it is impossible to eliminate faction from the root. It can only be restricted by the balance of power. To achieve balance, there must be an arbitrator. The best referee is of course the emperor. As long as the imperial power is alone, he can control To adjust the situation, reconcile the contradictions between them, and avoid the deadlock between the two parties, which is in line with Zhao Tun's idea of ​​strengthening the imperial power and implementing the "democratic revolution".

However, Zhao Tong's behavior during the Spring Festival seemed absurd, but it was precisely his temptation to the important ministers, waiting for the opportunity to catch their little braids who are moral models, and make them understand not to whine with themselves because of trivial things. There is shit, it is not difficult to ruin your reputation if you want to fix it.Although this method is lowly, it can sometimes have miraculous effects, especially when dealing with these scholars who have a good face... (to be continued...)