Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 201 Song Qi
"Zhuangyuanlang, what do you think is the relationship between officials and the people in this world?"

Since Zhao Xin had never expressed his political views before, naturally no one knew what Zhao Xin was thinking.

Naturally, there was no question of deliberately saying something to please Zhao Xin.

of course!

Since Zhao Xin asked this, they would definitely think about how to answer so as to satisfy His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu.

Only if His Royal Highness Prince Yu is satisfied will they have the possibility of promotion and salary increase.

Then the champion looked at Zhao Xin cautiously and said, "Officials are parents, and the people are like children?"

Zhao Xin then said, "Then why are officials like parents and the people like children?"

Immediately afterwards...

The top scholar then explained to Zhao Xin how his parents became officials.

Zhao Xin said, "I don't want to know how this parent official came about. I just want to know what you think."

Through this question.

Zhao Xin also discovered a problem.

That is, if he does not put forward his own political ideas, the people under him will be at a loss and will not understand what they are trying to do.

This is like companies in later generations. If the boss doesn't tell you what he wants to do, the employees under him won't know what to do.

It is said that a good system is meant to guide others to develop in a better direction.

It is impossible for me to say that I can always find someone who works sincerely for the people in a natural state.

But at least he can use the system and put forward his own ideas to make even those who have never thought this way start to think that way.

This is just like those treacherous ministers who like to flatter the king.

When the king has decided that you'd better act as treacherous ministers to me, then smart people will understand what to do next.

The same is true when an official serves the country and the people. When he says that he needs officials who can serve the country and the people, most people will be slowly guided by him to become similar people.

of course!

There will definitely be people who take advantage of the situation, deceive their superiors and hide the truth from their subordinates, and say one thing on the surface and do another behind the scenes.

But it should be said that this is also a way to guide people.

The champion said, "I think that the official's statement may not be applicable anymore."

really!

When the top scholar saw that Zhao Xin didn't seem very satisfied, he began to test Zhao Xin.

Zhao Xin asked, "Then tell me, why is it not applicable?"

The top scholar then told Zhao Xin the story of Song Qi.

Song Qi is a very famous person in the Song Dynasty.

He also has an older brother named Song Xiang.

Because the two of them took the imperial examination together during the Tiansheng period and passed together, Song Qi even ranked first and his brother Song Xiang ranked third. The Song Dynasty has always attached great importance to etiquette.

Considering that the younger brother could not rank ahead of his older brother, in the end, Song Xiang won the top spot, and Song Qi was placed tenth.

There were two brothers like this. The younger brother, Song Qi, had an incident in his early years. One winter, Kaifeng had a good harvest and there was a peaceful scene everywhere.

Song Qi had nothing to do, so he went to the fields. When he saw an old farmer, he went up to him, bowed and asked, "Father, you have worked very hard and have been very diligent! However, in autumn, you may get a few hundred or even ten thousand boxes of grain. Is it because of God's luck or the Emperor's will?"

The general idea is that the father-in-law works very hard, and has to be exposed to the scorching sun and work very hard. But even so, by autumn, when there are few, there are only a hundred boxes of grain, and when there are many, he can receive ten thousand boxes. Is this a blessing from heaven or the help of the emperor?

The champion said to Zhao Xin, "Your Highness Prince Yu, do you know how the old farmer answered?"

Zhao Xin also asked curiously: "How to answer?"

The top scholar said, "As the old farmer said, it's none of God's business, it's none of the emperor's business, I grew all these myself."

"You don't understand farming. In the spring when the land is fertile and in the summer when the sun is strong, I have to work hard and weed diligently in the hope of getting the rain from heaven. In the fall when the weather turns cooler and everything begins to store, and in the winter when everything is dormant, I have to stay where I am and tidy up the house and the fields to restore the fertility of the land."

"Today's harvest is the result of my own hard work, not luck!"

"Moreover, I can bend down to pick, and raise my head to pluck. I use the hoe according to the season, and harvest according to the season. The wealth is accumulated, and the benefits are obvious. Officials cannot take away my time, nor can they encroach on my surplus."

"Today's happiness is earned by myself, not by the power of the emperor!"

"I am old and have experienced many things in the world. I have never seen anyone expect good luck from heaven without working hard, or hope for help from the emperor without making efforts."

The top scholar said, "After the old farmer finished speaking, he walked away."

After hearing this, Zhao Xin was so shocked that his mouth opened wide.

Why can’t I meet such an old farmer?

This old farmer must have been an employee of a state-owned enterprise and retired now, right?
But that's not right either.

There were no employees in state-owned enterprises in ancient times, only officials.

But if the other party really was an official, he should have some respect for officials and the emperor.

How could he say such words to Song Qi?

This idea! It can only be said to be very advanced!
But the old farmer probably said that because Song Qi was so stupid that he got angry.

I have a good harvest, what does it have to do with the emperor?
Are you stupid because of reading?

When Song Qi went to ask people, he must have looked like a scholar with a big turban, and he must have been still young at the time.

So I feel that it is a bit childish and a bit artificial for him to ask such a question.

No decent person would ask others such questions.

They also attributed the good or bad harvest to the blessing of heaven and the emperor.

After hearing this little story, Zhao Xin also asked: "What do you think about the relationship between officials and the people?"

Seeing that Zhao Xin's mood suddenly seemed to have improved a lot, the top scholar felt that he already knew how to answer, and answered directly: "I think that whether it is an official or a civilian, it should be the same. They just do what they have to do."

Zhao Xin looked at the other party, trying to see if he meant to please him. Of course, he couldn't tell anything in the end, so he said, "Xuchang is short of one person. I have another use for Zhang Kang. You can go and replace Zhang Kang."

Later he added: "Xuchang and Nanyang are each a country in their own right. You have only one mission when you go there, which is to think about the people, to be concerned about the people's concerns, and to solve the people's problems. Do you know why you have to do this?"

The champion did not take any more risks, shook his head and replied: "I am stupid, I hope Your Highness can teach me."

Zhao Xin said, "Because you don't grow your own food, you eat what they grow. To some extent, your salary can also be said to be given by them. The people are the foundation, and the country is established for the people. This is what Xuchang and Nanyang are going to do next."

(End of this chapter)