A live-streamed Chinese language lesson under the sky—the ancients were taken aback.

A scene appeared on the sky.

In the imperial court, Fan Zhongyan stood among the assembled officials, presenting something to the young Emperor Renzong of Song.

At that time, he had just been promoted to Vice Chancellor.

He, along with Han Qi, Fu Bi, Ouyang Xiu, and others, submitted a memorial to Emperor Renzong.

"This memorial is the famous 'Ten Points in Response to the Imperial Edict,' which proposed ten reform measures."

Listed one by one on the sky:

The Ming dynasty abolished the system of promotion based on seniority and instead promoted officials based on their performance.

Suppress luck and limit favoritism, and reduce the number of high-ranking officials' children who can obtain official positions without examination.

He refined the imperial examination system, reformed the civil service examination, and emphasized policy essays while downplaying poetry and prose.

The selection of officials was rigorous, and local officials were strictly chosen. Provincial inspectors were dispatched to assess local officials.

The policy of equalizing public land allocation was implemented to ensure that local officials had equal rights and benefits, thereby promoting integrity.

Promote agriculture and sericulture, develop agriculture, and build water conservancy projects.

Reduce corvée labor, merge prefectures and counties, and alleviate the burden on farmers.

Military preparedness was improved, the Fubing system was restored, and soldiers were integrated into agriculture.

Qin Enxin implemented the imperial decrees.

Serious orders and strict laws are essential to gaining the trust of the people.

"Of the ten articles, the first five are all aimed at improving official conduct, which is the core of the entire new policy."

Fan Zhongyan believed that the root of all problems lay in the corruption and inefficiency of the bureaucratic system.

Without rectifying official corruption, everything else is out of the question.

At the time, this was practically a declaration of war against the entire bureaucracy.

The direction is correct; the root of the problem lies in the bureaucratic system.

Fan Zhongyan was too rigid; all ten of his rules offended people.

There's no way these measures will be implemented.

If you take away everyone's cheese, who's going to play with you anymore?

……

"The new policy has indeed achieved immediate results."

Fan Zhongyan dispatched inspectors to various regions to assess local officials, and a number of incompetent officials were dismissed.

It is said that when he was reviewing the list of supervisors, he crossed out the names of those who were not qualified. Fu Bi, who was standing next to him, said, "You know that his whole family will cry when you cross that out."

Fan Zhongyan replied, "It's better for one family to weep than for the whole community to weep."

The saying, "It's better for one family to cry than for the whole community to cry," truly resonates deeply.

Fan Zhongyan was a man of great courage and decisiveness.

Unfortunately, boldness cannot be used as power.

……

"Let's go and interview them, and see what those who oppose the new policy have to say."

The scene then shifted to a fictional interview setting.

On the screen appeared a fat, middle-aged official, dressed in an exquisite brocade robe, with his legs crossed.

The subtitle read "Representatives of Beneficiaries of the Grace".

"Let me start by saying that my father was a veteran of three dynasties, my grandfather was also an official, and my great-grandfather was also an official."

I don't need to take that damned imperial examination. I should be born an official; that's the law of our ancestors!

Fan Zhongyan's "suppressing luck" theory, which advocated restricting hereditary appointments, meant that my second uncle's brother-in-law's nephew could have been granted a ninth-rank official position through hereditary appointment, but now that's all gone!

Interviewer: "You got your official position through your father's connections, don't you feel ashamed? What happened to your loyalty to the emperor and your love for the people?"

"How am I not loyal to the emperor? My father serves the emperor in the court, and I continue to serve the emperor. Our whole family has served the emperor for generations. Isn't that loyalty?"

As for loving the people, once I become an official, the people will naturally be my responsibility. The problem is, he won't let me be one!

The second person to appear was a thin official, wearing a faded official robe, with sunken eyes and a sleepy look on his face.

The caption read "Representatives of beneficiaries of the survey system".

"I served as an official for 22 years, and I relied on one word: perseverance."

They move every three years and relocate every five years, living a peaceful and stable life.

Fan Zhongyan wants me to achieve political accomplishments? Where am I supposed to get those accomplishments?

I can't farm, I can't fight, all I can do is sit in the government office and stamp documents.

"You're suddenly asking me to achieve political success? Aren't you trying to kill me?"

Interviewer: "You've accomplished nothing for twenty-two years, yet you still collect your salary. Aren't you ashamed? Is this what you call loyalty to the emperor and love for the people?"

"How am I disloyal to the emperor? I report for duty on time every day, and I write congratulatory memorials to the emperor on holidays without missing a single word!"

Love the people? I don't disturb them either. They pay their taxes and then live their own lives. I don't bother them. Isn't that love?

Fan Zhongyan sending an inspector today to conduct an assessment tomorrow—that's real disturbance to the people!

I'm not going to cause them any trouble; my lying down is the greatest act of love for the people.

[I'm starting to get angry about this logic]

[The Self-Cultivation of Song Dynasty Officials: No Mistakes, No Merits]

……

The third person to appear was a shrewd-looking local official.

The subtitle read "Representative of Local Power".

Shouldn't we all have to find solutions at the local level?

Then Fan Zhongyan said I was incompetent and wanted to dismiss me from my post.

I've worked so hard to serve my superiors, and in the end I'm considered incompetent?

"Injustice! Utter injustice!"

Interviewer: "Are you serving the leaders or the people?"

"Serving the leaders well is serving the overall situation well!"

When the overall situation is good, the people will naturally be better off!

Fan Zhongyan's actions disrupted the stable order of officialdom!

This guy talks about unspoken rules with such confidence.

The primary job of local officials is to serve their superiors; this is a classic example.

No one in the power chain is likely to support reform.

……

The last person to appear was a sprightly old man.

The subtitles read "Representatives of Conservative Elders" (such as Prime Minister Zhang Dexiang and powerful minister Xia Song).

"Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi, Ouyang Xiu and their group formed a clique, calling themselves the Party of Gentlemen, and dismissed all the senior officials in the court as villains."

Lu Gong served as prime minister for twenty years, and the world was at peace. What need was there for new policies?

This is not reform, this is a coup d'état, a bloodless coup!

Interviewer: "But the country was indeed facing a crisis at the time. Wouldn't you change careers? What about your loyalty to the emperor and your love for the people?"

"The laws of our ancestors have been in effect for a hundred years, and they have their own reasons."

Upholding ancestral laws is the greatest form of loyalty to the emperor, and preventing political turmoil is the greatest form of love for the people.

If Fan Zhongyan's approach leads to chaos and officials are insecure in their positions, and the people are insecure in their livelihoods, then that is truly disloyal, unjust, and harmful to the country and its people!

"Okay, that concludes the interview."

The tone that had been hesitant to speak returned to calm. "To summarize, their logic for opposing reform is actually highly consistent: they tie their vested interests to 'ancestral laws' and 'national stability,' portraying themselves as guardians of tradition and order."

"Emperor Renzong of Song, a mild-mannered and indecisive monarch, wavered when faced with such strong opposition."

"The last straw that broke the camel's back was the problem of factionalism."

"The conservatives have brought up the most lethal crime in ancient Chinese politics: 'factionalism'."

They accused Fan Zhongyan and others of forming cliques for personal gain and plotting treason.

Even more fatally, Ouyang Xiu also wrote an essay titled "On Factions," openly arguing for the rationality of "gentlemen forming factions."

These words were spoken with righteous indignation, but to the emperor, they were tantamount to a direct admission: "Yes, we are in cahoots."

Ouyang Xiu's move was absolutely astounding.

This is tantamount to handing over one's own people's confessions to the enemy.

The emperor perceived the "faction of gentlemen" as "a clique of ministers."

……

"Immediately afterwards, Xia Song, a key figure in the conservative faction, orchestrated the most vicious attack."

He ordered someone to imitate Shi Jie's handwriting and alter Shi Jie's original words in the letter, "to do the things of Yi and Zhou" (to emulate Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou in assisting the emperor), to "to do the things of Yi and Huo" (to emulate Yi Yin and Huo Guang, implying that he had the power to depose and install emperors).

This political turmoil is historically known as the "Prison of the Imperial Secretariat."

"The authenticity of this letter cannot be verified, but it precisely struck the most sensitive nerve of imperial power, and Emperor Renzong's trust in the reformers completely collapsed."

In June of the fourth year of the Qingli era, Fan Zhongyan voluntarily requested to be transferred to a post outside the capital and was appointed as the Pacification Commissioner of Shaanxi and Hedong.

In August, Fu Bi was appointed as the Pacification Commissioner of Hebei.

In the first month of the fifth year of the Qingli era, Fan Zhongyan was dismissed from his position as Vice Chancellor and sent to govern Binzhou, while Fu Bi was demoted to govern Yunzhou.

In March, Han Qi was dismissed as Deputy Chief of the Privy Council, and Du Yan was dismissed as Chancellor.

The new policies and measures were gradually abolished.

"A reform aimed at saving the dynasty went from its inception to its complete failure in just one year and four months."

A timeline appeared on the sky, from the start of the new policies in September of the third year of the Qingli reign to their end in March of the fifth year of the Qingli reign, the distance in between was breathtakingly short.

Under the sky, in a teahouse on West Street in Bianjing, someone had already smashed a teacup.

"Serving the emperor generation after generation? Pshaw!"

A man carrying a load of goods stood at the doorway, pointing at the sky and cursing, "Your father serves the Emperor, you serve the Emperor, your whole family serves the Emperor, but what have you accomplished? You've served so well that weeds have grown on the city gates, and when the Jin army comes, there's no one to guard them! Is this what you call loyalty?"

An old scholar standing nearby shook his head repeatedly: "Disgraceful! Disgraceful!"

Such an ignorant and incompetent person was able to obtain an official position through his father's influence.

If the sky screen doesn't broadcast it, we'll still consider him some kind of breath of fresh air.

"Now look what's happened, all pretense of civility has been exposed."

"How dare he mention the ancestral laws!" Another young man was so angry that his face turned red. "Isn't Fan Zhongyan's 'suppression of luck' meant to get rid of these parasites who only eat and do no work? And what happened? A bunch of parasites banded together and turned around to say that Fan Zhongyan was a faction."

In an official residence south of Bianjing (Kaifeng).

The wine and dishes on the table had already gone cold.

Seven or eight people dressed in green official robes sat around, but none of them touched their chopsticks.

The person seated at the head of the table was a fifth-rank official named Zhou, known as Assistant Minister Zhou.

His father was a former official of the previous dynasty, who obtained his position through favoritism and enjoyed a smooth career. He was very particular about appearances.

His face flushed red and then turned pale.

"Absurd!" He suddenly slammed his wine cup on the table. "It's utterly absurd! Where did they find these clowns to put on official robes, spout nonsense, and slander officials of the court?"

If the uninformed common people saw this, they would think that officials of our Great Song Dynasty really looked like this!

A thin-faced official standing nearby quickly chimed in, "Exactly, Brother Zhou is absolutely right."

Tianmu's actions are clearly a deliberate attempt to smear the literati.

We are scholars who study the classics and receive salaries from the imperial court, how could we have such a face?

It takes things out of context, singles out a few scoundrels, and tries to drag the entire court of gentlemen into it—its intentions are despicable!

"If you ask me, Fan Zhongyan deserved to be demoted," the thin-faced official said again, his voice low but filled with barely concealed pleasure.

"What's the difference between one family crying and the whole road crying? That's a beautiful way to put it."

But did he ever consider that all those officials whose names he crossed out had spent years studying hard and had wives and children?

With just one word from him, that person's entire family starves.

Isn't that called being mean?

"Yes! He's just mean-spirited! And he calls himself a 'faction of gentlemen,' pshaw!" Another, his face flushed, seemed to have finally found a way to speak. "He calls others villains, but he's a gentleman. Is he the only honest official in the world? Are we all just mud? If he's so noble, why doesn't he become a hermit?"

The table was filled with resentment, and the wine glasses clinked loudly.

But for some reason, everyone's voices grew louder and louder, yet they sounded increasingly weak.

Finally, Zhou Yuanwailang got a little tipsy, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh.

"Actually, it's not that I don't acknowledge him; Fan Wenzheng is indeed talented."

But... but his approach is out of touch with the times.

When he said the words "inappropriate," his tone was ambiguous, as if he were trying to make excuses for himself.

"The rules and regulations that have been established in the officialdom of the Song Dynasty for over a hundred years cannot be changed so easily."

To be honest, if he hadn't offended so many people, he might have been able to accomplish a few things if he had taken his time.

But he insisted on following Shang Yang's example and taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

It's one thing to cut off others, but they don't even spare their own people.

Ouyang Xiu, Fu Bi, and their ilk were just busy stirring up trouble.

If something really happens, they'll run faster than anyone else.

The table fell silent; no one spoke.

After a long pause, a young official asked in a low voice, "Then... if we take it slowly, can things really be changed?"

Zhou Yuanwailang glanced at him, as if he wanted to say something harsh, but then swallowed it back.

He slowly finished his drink before saying, "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? All I know is that what happened in the sky hasn't happened yet."

"If that day ever comes, I, Zhou, will remain whatever official position I hold, as for the Great Song Dynasty..."

He gazed out the window at the still bustling Bianjing, and said nothing more.

In the late autumn of the sixth year of the Qingli era, in the backyard of the Dengzhou government office.

Fan Zhongyan was slowly grinding ink, with a roll of plain silk spread out in front of him.

He remained silent, as if he hadn't heard Tianmu speaking of him.

I've been working away from home for two years now.

The embers of the Qingli Reforms had long since died out. Fu Bi went to Qingzhou, Han Qi went to Yangzhou, Ouyang Xiu wrote his "Record of the Drunken Pavilion" in Chuzhou, while he himself wandered around Binzhou and Dengzhou, far away from everything in Bianjing.

But everything about Bianjing remains in my heart.

He recalled that many years ago, when he was studying at Yingtian Academy, he had said to his classmates, "If I cannot be a good prime minister, then I will be a good doctor."

I was young then, and I thought everything in the world was either black or white.

Now at fifty-eight, with graying temples, I realize that the affairs of the world can never be fully explained in a single sentence.