Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 197 The Legal Principles of the Nation

The Song Dynasty shared the world with the scholar-officials.

The official family of the Song Dynasty is the emperor, but in fact it is more like a loose alliance of officials.

If everyone had not given up their military power over a toast, it would be hard to say who would be the emperor now.

This is why the Song Dynasty was so weak and why there was always a situation where the emperor was weak and the ministers were strong.

of course!

If you say that the imperial power of the Song Dynasty was really weak and was completely controlled by the literati, that is not entirely true.

It's just that the Zhao family itself came to power with unclean qualities, so when it comes to dealing with the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, there will be some fear and constraints.

To be honest, even Zhao Xin felt that at this moment, it would be best to develop a constitutional monarchy in the Song Dynasty and have the king rule under the law in the future.

This will fill the last gap in the founding of the Song Dynasty.

But the problem is...

Since ancient times, China has had the idea of ​​a unified imperial power.

He dares to talk about constitutional monarchy today, and the king will be under the law in the future. Tomorrow, they will develop themselves or fight each other.

The environment around China is also different from those in Europe.

Their country is small in area, so it is easier to manage.

And as someone said, they don't understand anything about capitalism. If they really want to implement constitutional monarchy, the king will be under the law, and then the court will inevitably come to a standstill. In the end, warlords will reappear.

As for...

Will they go to sea?
We must leave this sea.

How can we plunder the people of Song Dynasty without going out to sea?

In fact...

For example, Zhao Xin brought back spices from overseas and sold them to rich people, which was to reap the rich people's money and realize the redistribution of wealth.

But other people are different from Zhao Xin. Zhao Xin at least has the world in his heart.

Zhao Xin is also willing to give the poor job opportunities and give them money.

What if we allowed the landlords, gentry, and literati to ship spices back from overseas?

It would be a blessing if they did not double their exploitation of the people and further annex land.

The current Song Dynasty is in a very embarrassing position.

The imperial power has completely lost its sacredness.

The one with the strongest army and powerful horses will be the emperor, which has already said it all.

The establishment of the country also has inherent defects.

So no matter what you do next, it will be awkward.

This is why the Song Dynasty could only survive for three hundred years before its demise.

in fact……

This is all for the Zhao family.

As for the interests of the country and the nation, there is no need to think too much about it.

If his ancestors had not been defeated in the Battle of Gaoliang River, but had recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, would the outcome have been different?
……

The second year of Huangyou.

Amidst the doubts about why he was able to obtain the legitimacy of the country, no matter how others questioned it.

Zhao Xin had to come up with a reasonable and legal explanation for the new feudal state.

What is the legal basis for you to own this country?
Although there has been a saying since ancient times that "All under heaven belongs to the king; all within the four seas are the king's subjects", in fact, the source of this saying is a minister complaining that everyone says this world belongs to the king and all the ministers are the king's subjects. The next sentence is about why I always do hard and tiring work, and why the doctor always assigns work to me so unevenly.

spring is coming.

Zhao Xin simply took Du Yan, Ouyang Xiu and others, as well as Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi, to ask what kind of country the people really needed.

In the fields.

The group of people surrounded an old man who was drinking water from a stream with a scoop of his hands.

When the old man saw so many people surrounding him, a look of panic unconsciously appeared on his face.

After all, they are good citizens.

Are you here to arrest the old man?
Zhao Xin also asked directly: "Uncle, how old are you this year?"

The old man looked a little flustered and replied: "I am sixty-seven years old this year, so what?"

Zhao Xin then asked, "Then do you know that the emperor is going to build a new country in Xuchang and Nanyang?"

The old man said, "I don't know."

Zhao Xin added: "The system of this country will probably be different from that of the Song Dynasty." The old man: "So what?"

Zhao Xin said: "I am the second son of the official family. In the future, I will manage this country. I hope you can give this new country some advice. What kind of country do you think is a good country?"

The old man was completely stunned.

Although I have long known that these people must have bad intentions and must be very wealthy.

But how could he know that this person would actually introduce himself.

Should I salute the other party next?

and also……

What should I call the person in front of me?

He remembered!
It seems his name is His Royal Highness Prince Yu.

The reason why they felt so unfamiliar was mainly because common people like them would never have the opportunity to meet such a big shot.

It’s also fortunate that Li Yuanjun’s army is quite famous.

otherwise……

They may not even know what Zhao Xin's name is.

"I have met His Royal Highness Prince Yu!"

Zhao Xin asked, "How many people are there in your family?"

The old man replied, "Seven."

Zhao Xin asked, "Have you been able to eat enough in recent years?"

The old man looked at everyone suspiciously and said, "It's just barely passable."

Zhao Xin then continued: "Do you want to live a better life?"

The old man thought to himself, you little kid, are you trying to cheat me?

But still said: "I want to."

Zhao Xin said, "Now that you have this opportunity, you must contribute ideas and suggestions to this new country. After all... once the country's policies are determined in the future, how you will live will also be determined."

Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi never could have imagined that the reason they were asked to come out together was for this.

but……

You are asking these questions to a country bumpkin. It's not that Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi despise country bumpkins. The key point is...

Do these country folk really understand what it means to govern a country?
They haven't even read a few books.

The first person Zhao Xin asked was unable to utter a word.

Of course, there are still some more extroverted ones coming up.

Those who are more extroverted are relatively brave to speak up.

What is the greatest wish of the people? Of course, it is low taxes, not being forced to do labor service, everyone has land to farm, and everyone can have enough to eat.

Although Zhao Xin asked them what good national policies there were, they always talked about some strange things and their answers were somewhat irrelevant.

But it cannot be said that there was no gain.

At least……

After all this operation, the foundation for this new country was found.

These are the words of the people, and they are the support of the people.

Simply abandon the fact that the ancestor snatched the throne from someone else.

Start from scratch.

The country was founded on the aspirations of the people living on this land.

Zhao Xin said to Ouyang Xiu and others: "This time, we must write down what the people say. In the future, these words will become the foundation of our country."

Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi, looking at the small figure, seemed to see new hope.

only……

When he was about to go back, Fan Zhongyan always felt that something was wrong.

What's wrong here?
The night is deep.

Fan Zhongyan, however, couldn't sleep at all.

In front of the windowsill, walking back and forth.

Zhao Xin also came over directly. Zhang Huaimin, oh no, "Mr. Fan is not asleep either?"

(End of this chapter)