I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 241 History is written by the victors.
...

The inner palace and the cabinet.

After seeing the memorial sent back by Yuwen Xuzhong through secret channels, detailing the massacres committed by Song Jiang's rebel army in Jiangnan, Li Lin glanced at Zhang Chun discreetly before leaving the cabinet.

Zhang Chun understood and followed him out.

The two arrived at a secluded spot one after the other. Li Lin berated Zhang Chun, saying, "You messed things up, letting Yuwen Xuzhong give Song Jiang the poem that Shi Nai'an fabricated about Song Jiang. Now look what's happened! Song Jiang really thinks he's Huang Chao. No, Song Jiang clearly wants to surpass Huang Chao. He's on the verge of exterminating all the officials, gentry, and landlords in Jiangnan!"

“This is exactly what we want. If Song Jiang and his men can really kill all the officials, gentry and landlords in Jiangnan, then the imperial court will definitely be able to implement the two new policies in Jiangnan.”

"By then, the land tax and poll tax of the entire Jiangnan region will be firmly in the hands of the imperial court, completely breaking the gentry class's monopoly on land and resources. The national treasury will become increasingly full, the people will be freed from their constraints, and the national strength will rebound from its lowest point."

"Although Song Jiang and his men's actions may cause turmoil in the short term, in the long run, it is a win-win strategy. It weakens local forces and strengthens the central government's authority. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and the people can also share in the peace and prosperity."

Knowing that this wouldn't convince Li Lin, Zhang Chun brought up Zhao Yu, the only person Li Lin feared: "The Emperor also has this intention, otherwise why would he tolerate Song Jiang and his gang running wild?"

Li Lin glared at Zhang Chun:
"Don't try to intimidate me with the government. I'm not talking about Song Jiang killing gentry and landlords, I'm talking about Song Jiang killing officials."

"If you hadn't guided Song Jiang to resemble the Song Jiang in 'Water Margin,' would Song Jiang have been able to kill officials without batting an eye?"

"The Emperor only tacitly approved of Song Jiang killing gentry and landlords, but now Song Jiang has started killing officials without any scruples."

"How is the Emperor supposed to appease Song Jiang and his heroes in the future? Will the ministers in the court tolerate them? The key is, what if people find out that Song Jiang and his men were released by the Emperor, and that they killed officials like this? Won't people feel sorry for them? It might even put the Emperor's throne in danger."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Chun said nonchalantly, "Didn't Song Jiang already explain that evil must be eradicated completely? The reason why the court couldn't implement the two new policies in the south is because officials and gentry colluded, outwardly complying but inwardly opposing, helping the gentry resist the court's reforms. They were also corrupt, oppressed the people, and were already major pests of the country. Only by eliminating them can the world be at peace."

Li Lin frowned and said, "That's true, but killing officials and killing gentry and landlords are two completely different things! Gentry and landlords are local powerful figures; if they are killed, the imperial court can step in to clean up the mess. But officials are the foundation of the imperial system. Song Jiang's wanton slaughter of officials has caused panic throughout the Jiangnan officialdom, with many requesting to be transferred north. Officials from various prefectures have also jointly petitioned the imperial court to send troops to suppress Song Jiang and Fang La. What's worse, the censors have already begun to subtly impeach him, saying that this is deliberately condoning bandits to harm loyal officials!"

"These censors are really annoying. They make a big deal out of everything. If they can't stand it, they'll go to the Emperor. Whoever keeps nagging will be replaced. They're just a bunch of redundant officials in our Great Song Dynasty. Do they really think the Emperor won't demote them to death?"

"Let me tell you, there are many spineless scholars among the literati. During the Yuan and Qing dynasties, when faced with the iron cavalry of foreign tribes, how many so-called upright scholars had knees softer than water?"

As the Yuan dynasty's iron cavalry marched south, Wen Tianxiang fought valiantly at the front, while a large number of Han officials in the court were busy submitting memorials to pledge allegiance, proclaiming "the mandate of heaven has been bestowed upon them." In order to keep their official hats and wealth, they were willing to become the lackeys of foreign rule.

During the Qing Dynasty, when the shaving edict was issued, countless scholar-officials who usually spoke of "loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness" did not hesitate to shave their heads and change their clothes. Some even actively helped the Qing court suppress uprisings by their compatriots, euphemistically calling it "following the trend of the times."

Zhang Chun suddenly kicked away a pebble at his feet: "These scholars and officials usually talk big and boast that they are the pillars of the country, but when their own interests are threatened, they immediately throw their integrity and loyalty to the winds."

Now, all they've done is slightly infringe on their privileges, and they're already crying and wailing, claiming it's 'harming loyal and virtuous people.' In the end, all they're protecting is their own privileges!

I dare say, if the government were to truly implement reforms through brutal methods, these spineless cowards would be more quick to kneel than anyone else, and there would be no need for this whole thing!"

"In the end, it all comes down to the fact that officials, gentry, and landlords only cared about their own interests and resisted the court's reforms. Otherwise, how could they have brought this disaster upon themselves? Now that so much blood has been shed, and they still haven't learned their lesson, it means that they haven't shed enough blood. So, without a doubt, we must continue to kill them until they are completely awakened or completely disappear."

"This is a game concerning the fate of our Great Song Dynasty, and there is no room for sentimentality."

Li Lin was once again convinced by Zhang Chun's fallacies and heresies.

The key point is that Zhang Chun said to Li Lin, "Don't worry, as long as the emperor holds the military power, these scholar-officials will definitely not be able to cause much trouble. Haven't you heard the saying, 'A scholar's rebellion will not succeed in three years'?"

Seeing that Li Lin's expression softened, Zhang Chun leaned forward and lowered his voice, saying, "Look at Zhu Yuanzhang's extermination of Hu Weiyong's nine clans, which implicated more than 30,000 people. Everyone in the court was in danger, but did the Ming Dynasty collapse? No! Kill a batch, then promote another batch from the scholars who have studied hard for years, and the six ministries can still operate flawlessly."

When Zhu Di launched the Jingnan Campaign, what did it matter if Fang Xiaoru refused to surrender even to the death? Scholars from all over the country were scrambling to enter the Hanlin Academy. As long as the emperor could provide them with a path to officialdom, why fear that no one would be willing to risk their lives for the court?

Zhang Chun casually broke off a withered leaf from a branch, crushed it into pieces, and threw it into the air: "In recent years, our Great Song Dynasty has opened up many special imperial examinations and expanded the number of students admitted to the Imperial Academy. Countless poor students are eagerly waiting to fill vacancies. As long as the Emperor issues an edict, the entire court can be filled with new faces. Without Butcher Zhang, are we still going to eat hairy pigs?"

Li Lin thought about it and agreed.

With so many people wanting to become officials, why worry that no one will be willing to risk their lives for Zhao Yu? Don't be fooled by the fact that Jiangnan is practically hell now. Once the rebel armies of Song Jiang and Fang La are quelled, it will definitely be a place where officials will fight tooth and nail to get their hands on the best positions.

Li Lin remembered that just two days ago, the Ministry of Rites sent over the list of candidates for this year's special imperial examination. In the Jiangnan region alone, there were 3,000 poor students who had signed up to take the exam. Moreover, many of these students had bold statements in their essays, such as "I am willing to follow the laws of Shang Yang and eliminate long-standing abuses." Clearly, these students had understood Zhao Yu's determination to reform and wanted to use this opportunity to break through the barriers to officialdom.

Therefore, Zhang Chun was right. Which scholar in the world doesn't dream of "rising from a humble peasant in the morning to a high-ranking official in the evening"? There's no need to worry about those scholar-officials quitting. If they don't want to be scholar-officials, there are plenty of scholars willing to become the new generation of scholar-officials.

"The scholar-officials believe that 'a good bird chooses a good tree to perch on.' As long as the government can give them official positions, salaries, and hereditary titles, many of them will certainly be willing to continue to serve the government, even if their relatives, friends, students, and former subordinates die in this incident."

Li Lin was completely convinced by Zhang Chun. She thought to herself, "The world is never short of smart people. As long as the emperor is still in power, even if he were a reincarnation of King Zhou of Shang, there would still be people vying to be like Bi Gan or Fei Zhong!"

Seeing that Li Lin was no longer pursuing the matter of her turning Song Jiang into Huang Chao, Zhang Chun secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued in a low voice:

"Most scholar-officials wouldn't be so foolish as to actually stand up against the emperor. Even if they suspected the emperor of condoning Song Jiang, who would dare to be the first to speak out? The officials in the Censorate would always quote classical texts and speak indirectly when impeaching the emperor, for fear of offending the emperor's wrath."

During the Yuanfeng era, Emperor Shenzong of Song implemented the Green Sprouts Act. Sima Guang, despite his strong opposition, only dared to write ten memorials of remonstrance in Luoyang. Would he dare return to the capital to confront Emperor Shenzong directly? Didn't he only dare to speak out after Emperor Shenzong's death?

"It's probably the same with the emperor. As long as the emperor is still in power, no one dares to criticize him. As for what happens after the emperor dies, who cares about the deluge?"

"Furthermore, after this great purge, the new policies and measures will definitely be implemented. We can then launch the Industrial Revolution and build a powerful army far surpassing that of this era, helping the Emperor to recover the five prefectures of Yan and the three prefectures of Pingluan and Ying to complete the unification. If that's not enough, we can also recover the Northeast, Mongolia, and the Western Regions, surpassing the Han and Tang dynasties. If that's still not enough, we can have the Emperor learn from Temujin and march into Europe."

"With such civil and military achievements, even if the emperor dies, most people would not dare to criticize him."

Li Lin largely agreed with this statement. Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang both had a lot of scandals, and Genghis Khan killed countless people. But did that stop them from becoming emperors of all time? Of course it did. They were revered when they were alive, and they were praised after they died.
Zhang Chun continued, "Furthermore, have you considered that the Emperor is only twenty-five, younger than the vast majority of officials, and extremely health-conscious? Which of these officials can outlive the Emperor? Once the Emperor outlives this generation of officials, who among the new generation of officials will care about such matters? At that time, won't the Emperor's word be law?"

Zhang Chun concluded: "Remember, history is written by the victors."

Li Lin was completely convinced by Zhang Chun.

Only then did Li Lin ask, "What about Song Jiang?"

Zhang Chun said, "The Emperor can do whatever he wants. If all else fails..."

Zhang Chun stretched out her thumb and stroked her slender neck.

Upon seeing this, Li Lin frowned and remained silent.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Chun asked, "Don't you want the Emperor to kill meritorious officials?"

Li Lin nodded.

Zhang Chun understood.

In the eyes of Zhao Yu's women, Zhao Yu was almost a perfect emperor, except for his excessive fondness for women. It was only natural for Li Lin not to want Zhao Yu to be tainted by the stain of killing meritorious officials and ruin his image in her heart.

After all, Li Lin is becoming more and more womanly, and it's only natural for a woman to have expectations of her other half.

Zhang Chun casually said, "Then let's not kill him. Anyway, Song Jiang is just an insignificant little guy. Whether he's killed or not won't have much of an impact. Well... we can't say that. If we keep Song Jiang alive, he'll be the most powerful and readily available evidence of the failure of the feudal exploiters and the class solidification system. It's better to keep him alive."

Li Lin nodded: "Then let's talk to the Emperor later and ask him to try not to kill Song Jiang, so as not to ruin his lifelong reputation."

Zhang Chun laughed and said, "You're worrying too much about this. Do you still think the Emperor is the same little emperor who, when he first ascended the throne, was hampered by the Empress Dowager, troubled by factional strife, and lacked prestige and achievements? He is now a wise ruler who holds absolute power and whose achievements surpass those of all previous emperors of the Song Dynasty except Zhao Kuangyin. How could he be troubled by such a trivial matter..."

……

(End of this chapter)