The mighty army moved westward and finally disappeared on the distant horizon.
Zhao Jun said goodbye to the army, but he did not leave. Instead, he stood in the pavilion and watched them leave silently.
He still didn't leave until the 20,000 soldiers were gone.
Looking at their retreating figures, Zhao Jun actually felt a little uncomfortable in his heart for some reason.
These are real people.
It is not the number of soldiers recorded in history books, nor is it the NPC formed from the data in the game.
Instead, each one has a name, a surname, and flesh and blood with parents, wives, and children.
Some of them may stay in the northwest land forever, fight for their country, and eventually be buried elsewhere.
They are defending their country and fighting the enemy with their lives.
They should be respected.
Instead of being insulted and called a thief when meeting the army.
At four quarters in the morning, around eight o'clock in the morning, everyone's carriage drove back to the palace.
Everyone went to Chongde Hall. Zhao Zhen did not even sit in the warm study. Instead, he stood outside Chongde Hall and waited, looking towards the west in the direction of Yingyang Gate from time to time.
Seeing Zhao Jun and the others finally coming back, he hurriedly greeted them and asked, "Why are you coming back now? Are they gone?"
"gone."
Zhao Jun replied: "When we left, we stood there and watched them leave."
"Watch them leave?"
Zhao Zhen was confused and said: "What can I give you?"
Zhao Jun shook his head and said: "I just feel that the team is a bit tragic. In fact, many soldiers don't know that they are going to fight. They think it is just an ordinary change of defense. Some people will stay in the northwest forever and never come back. Many parents will lose their sons, Wives will lose their husbands, and children will lose their fathers.”
Zhao Zhen was silent for a moment.
He was anxiously waiting for everyone to come back. In fact, he was not wondering about the news of Fan Zhongyan and the others' departure, but he was wondering whether the northwest war would go smoothly.
The emperor of the Song Dynasty was always like this. Even if he had made up his mind, he still hesitated and hesitated.
After a moment of silence, Lu Yijian broke the silence and said: "It's cold outside, so let's go in first."
As he spoke, he pretended to cough twice.
"go in."
Zhao Zhen said.
Everyone walked into the house, which was as warm as spring.
Everyone took their seats.
The atmosphere in the room was very depressing.
Zhao Jun kept a straight face, which made everyone, including Zhao Zhen and others, a little at a loss.
They looked at each other, but no one spoke.
In fact, Zhao Jun has been in a depressed and solemn mood since the new year.
His character is actually that young people love to joke, and he is quite out-of-the-box. Otherwise, he would not tell so many lively Song Dynasty jokes when he was blind.
But after his eyes recovered, he could verbally threaten Zhao Zhen and Lu Yijian in various ways, and he could also lose his temper at every turn and ridicule them.
But after seeing Wuyou Cave and Ghost Fan Tower, and personally seeing off a group of soldiers who were about to rush to die on the battlefield, he gradually became calmer.
Many times, people will change after experiencing a series of things.
At least Zhao Jun lost his family and friends who cared about him in another world, and now he has another responsibility on his shoulders.
He could feel that every move he made was affecting the people of Bianliang and the soldiers of the northwest. Their lives, their beings, their entire lives.
In the future, even the people's livelihood and the security of the entire Song Dynasty may rest on his shoulders, so much so that sometimes, this burden makes Zhao Jun breathless.
So he has really changed a lot now. He is no longer as cheerful as before. Instead, he is serious and serious, which makes people feel a sense of awe.
Zhao Zhen is a little in awe of him now.
Seeing that Zhao Jun had a straight face and said nothing, Zhao Zhen hesitated for a moment and then cautiously asked: "Dasun, what's wrong with you?"
"I'm just not in a good mood."
Zhao Jun said something, and then felt that his mental state was very poor. He leaned on the Taishi chair, rubbed his forehead and said, "Maybe it's because of too much pressure."
Before his eyesight healed, he had mentioned terms such as financial pressure, food and grass pressure, and pressure to go to sea, etc. He also explained it in two sentences, so everyone understood the meaning of the word pressure.
Knowing that he had a psychological problem, Yan Shu said, "Maybe he's been too tired these days. Why don't we take a break first and then talk about state affairs?"
"fine."
Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "I'm just in a bad mood."
"Can you tell me?"
Zhao Zhen said softly in a mellow voice: "We are all outsiders here, so we may be able to help our eldest grandson solve his problems."
"Actually, there's nothing to say. One is that I miss home, and the other is that the Song Dynasty is such a mess."
Zhao Jun said with a wry smile: "Governing a country is really a tiring task, especially if it is such a mess from top to bottom. Sometimes I think about it, it's better to break it and rebuild it. Or just ruin it and shut me down." Bullshit."
Everyone looked embarrassed.
It's really hard on you that my Song Dynasty is so bad.
However, in the face of Zhao Jun's hurtful words, Zhao Zhen looked away a lot.
After all, he is a person who is good at swallowing his anger. He used to be scolded every day, or pointed at his nose and scolded, so his mental endurance has become much stronger.
Therefore, he was not unhappy, but was concerned about Zhao Jun's mental state and comforted him: "If the eldest grandson feels tired, you might as well speak out what's on your mind, and you will feel better."
"oh?"
Zhao Jun became interested and said, "Really?"
"real."
Zhao Zhen gritted his teeth and said, "Even if my body is completely bruised by the scolding, it doesn't matter to me."
Lu Yijian and others next to him looked at Zhao Zhen resentfully.
The emperor has said so. Zhao Jun must be embarrassed to scold the emperor, so he must catch them and scold him.
Sure enough, Zhao Jun suddenly became very excited and looked at everyone.
indeed.
Zhao Zhen said so, and it was really hard for Zhao Jun to speak.
In order to relieve Zhao Jun's depression, he actually asked to be scolded. There will never be such a kind emperor in this world.
So Zhao Jun really can't continue to chase Zhao Zhen.
After all, people want power to give power, and they want to be as obedient as possible, and they are reluctant to say even a harsh word to the grandson.
He really made me cry to death.
Zhao Jun looked at Lu Yijian. Lao Deng was very bad. Want to scold him?
When Lu Yijian saw that something was wrong, he immediately said: "Han Long is exhausted and has worked hard for the Song Dynasty. I have a coral from the South China Sea in my house, and I am willing to give it to Han Long to express my feelings."
Um?
Zhao Jun opened his eyes wide. Is there such an operation?
He turned his head and looked at Zhao Zhen and said, "Brother, is this reasonable and legal?"
Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "Prime Minister Lu's wealth is huge. Firstly, it was passed down from ancestors, and secondly, it was obtained from family property and business. It is not illegal. It is also reasonable to give gifts to colleagues."
Since the laws of the Song Dynasty only stipulated that officials themselves were not allowed to do business, so the Lu family had so much money, at least in the Song Dynasty, it was indeed in compliance with the regulations and was not illegal.
Moreover, the laws of the Song Dynasty did not prohibit gifts between colleagues, and even the emperor himself often gave gifts to ministers to win people's hearts.
So this is really not a violation.
Hearing Zhao Zhen's approval, Zhao Jun coughed and said: "Well, these are the people's treasures. The Imperial Academy will keep them temporarily. Then they will be auctioned and donated to the Huainan disaster area. It can be regarded as Prime Minister Lu doing his best for the people in the disaster area." One heart.”
Lu Yijian smiled and said, "That's natural."
In the past, he had not hoped that Zhao Jun would rise to power so quickly, lest he bring down the scholar-bureaucrat class.
But now that he has transcended the scholar-bureaucrat class and entered the Constitutional Yuan, he has a high and powerful position and has reached another class. In fact, he no longer wants to conflict with Zhao Jun.
Now this can be regarded as an opportunity for reconciliation, and it is also a reasonable and legal opportunity, which is a good thing for both parties.
After Zhao Jun finished speaking, he looked at the rest of the people with evil eyes.
There is no poverty here.
Yan Shu had real estate and shops everywhere in Bianliang, and was impeached by Cai Xiang.
Wang Zeng, Song Shou, Wang Sui, Sheng Du and others also came from big families and had great wealth. They were all very wealthy.
Cai Qi is a little poorer. He comes from an ordinary family. He was an orphan when he was a child and was raised by his grandfather. However, he has been a prime minister for so many years and has considerable wealth.
So facing Zhao Jun's death gaze, everyone's expressions froze, and they all said: "Hanlong has worked hard these days, and he should really take a good rest and flirt. I have a painting by Han Gan at home. I gave it to Hanlong to enjoy." .”
"Yes, I have a lot of dragon and phoenix tea at home, about half a catty, and I will give it to Hanlong as well. I will send someone to deliver it to my house when the time comes. After drinking this tea, Hanlong will be energetic and healthy."
"While drinking tea, it would be good to read a book or an article. I have some original works written by Yan Zhenqing, you can read them."
"I have a jade Buddha here from before."
Everyone presented things one after another, including paintings, calligraphy, corals, jade Buddhas, antiques and tea. Although the tea should be the cheapest among them, Wang Sui looked ashen when he presented it to them.
Dragon and Phoenix Tuan Tea is the best tea in the Song Dynasty. Ouyang Xiu said in "Guitian Lu" that "no tea is more valuable than Dragon and Phoenix. It is called Tuan Tea." It is said that one tael of tea is worth one tael of gold, and its status is equivalent to that of the big red plant in Wuyi Mountain in later generations. For a robe, half a pound costs eight taels of gold, which shows how valuable it is.
Wang Sui also saved up half a catty for a long time and was reluctant to drink it on weekdays. Because they were all gifts from the emperor, they were treasured and sent out this time, which is considered a loss of blood.
Zhao Jun was so happy that he said from ear to ear: "Since it is your wish, I would rather obey your orders than respect them."
In fact, he really doesn't like money, because he killed so many people, ransacked his house and confiscated more than 10 million yuan, and he could even transfer the entire treasury's money at will, so he was not short of money at all.
But since the veterans are willing to give it, why bother to refuse it just because of their status?
All these guys are rich.
It would definitely be unpleasant to ask them to hand it over to the treasury to serve the country and the people. It would be better to give it to Zhao Jun and let Zhao Jun exchange it for money. Anyway, he is going to tour the world this time, so bringing more money is not a bad thing.
After the gift-giving was over, Zhao Jun said in a refreshed voice: "I feel much better, so I won't curse anyone anymore and tell a Song Dynasty joke to lighten the atmosphere."
As he spoke, he turned his head and said to everyone: "Q: In the Song Dynasty, what was the difference between optimists and pessimists? Answer: During the Northern Song Dynasty, optimists learned Khitan; pessimists learned Vietnamese. During the Southern Song Dynasty, optimists learned Those who learn Mongolian, the pessimists learn to swim in the sea.”
"hehe."
Everyone laughed awkwardly and stopped talking.
Zhao Zhen was still curious and asked: "I understand learning Khitan dialect, but what does learning Vietnamese mean?"
"Because the Song Dynasty had a Song-Vietnam Xining War with Vietnam from 1075 to 1076 AD. Although they won the war, it was a tragic victory. The Song Dynasty soldiers and civilians suffered 250,000 casualties, and the Vietnamese army suffered 20,000 casualties."
Zhao Jun spread his hands and said: "The Vietnamese raided Yongzhou and massacred the people. Even if the Song army counterattacked successfully afterwards, it would be a great shame for the Song Dynasty."
"boom!"
Zhao Zhen said angrily: "Little Vietnam, how can it be so rampant?"
"The Song Dynasty's armaments are lax, and even the neighboring countries dare to bully one or two people. What can we do?"
Zhao Jun shook his head and said: "You have to be strong to make iron. If you are not strong enough, you can only be bullied. This is one of the reasons why the Song Dynasty was criticized by others in later generations. Anyone can step on it."
"well."
Zhao Zhen only felt powerless. Suddenly he felt the same feeling as Zhao Jun, and sighed: "Are we just going to let it be like this?"
"It definitely can't go on like this."
Zhao Jun looked around and said: "So we must find a way to change all this, so that the Song Dynasty cannot become a doormat who can be insulted by others, and we cannot let the Song Dynasty become a symbol of weakness and incompetence in future generations."
Wang Zeng asked: "Now we are indeed changing, and I believe we can get better in the future."
"not enough."
Zhao Jun said in a deep voice: "Whether it is the political system, military capabilities, economic development, education level, scientific and technological research and development, agricultural output, or domestic people's livelihood, they are far from enough. We are just getting started now, and we have to work harder. "
Lu Yijian wondered: "Now that the Constitutional Yuan has been established, administration has become much faster. Isn't it good enough?"
"It's definitely much better now."
Zhao Jun nodded and said: "The political system is like a bottle. No matter whether it is advanced or backward, as long as it suits the national conditions, it can bring stability and allow the country to develop. The bottle can hold water, shape, and increase. Without this bottle, The country is just water, flowing everywhere and becoming a mess of loose sand. But now, we have only established the bottle of the Constitutional Yuan, which has not yet been filled with water."
"How can I fill it with water?"
Everyone was used to Zhao Jun's abstract metaphors, so they couldn't help but ask.
“Expand this efficiency across the country.”
Zhao Jun said: "At present, only Bianliang has been improved. There is still chaos in all parts of the country, and the central government should be ignored. This is obviously not a good thing."
“How can we promote it nationwide?”
Lu Yijian asked.
Naturally, it’s a matter of taking the exam.
Zhao Jun replied in his heart.
But he didn't say it.
Because it is still a carnival for redundant officials.
When the official examination comes out and they are beaten to death, there will definitely be a lot of opposition from the official circles.
Therefore, it must wait until Fan Zhongyan wins the war before it can be implemented.
Zhao Jun said: "Now is not the time, let's take a look at the situation first. But I hope everyone can unify the position of national interests, with less opposition and more support."
"What is the national interest position?"
Zhao Zhen asked: "What does this mean?"
"The meaning is very simple, that is, we, the people, must at least ensure that whatever we do, we must do it for the good of the entire Song Dynasty!"
Zhao Jun said: "The government is composed of a large number of people with different factions, different interest groups, different thinking, and different working styles surrounding one leader. Different people will do different things. Everyone has their own reasons, and the leader is different. We don’t know which way to run the country is right, so it’s hard to unify the direction.”
"Well"
Zhao Zhen felt that the leader Zhao Jun was talking about should be him.
"But now I have told everyone the correct way to run the country. If everyone still blocks it, it means they have their own interests and not for the country."
Zhao Jun looked around and looked at everyone and said: "Then such a government is a government with its own agenda, which is obviously not a good thing for the country. So I hope that when certain reforms are involved in the future, even if it means sacrificing my own interests. , for the supremacy of the country, everyone must still firmly support it, this is what a united government should do, and only such a government can achieve the goals it has set!"
This sentence has a profound meaning.
Fan Zhongyan went to the northwest, and he himself was about to go on inspection tours. It was inevitable that he would do something that would harm their interests.
Especially when Fan Zhongyan and himself come back in the future, they will promote the reform of officialdom.
Including the Qingli New Deal and the Examination Law, if we continue to implement them, it will inevitably cause a backlash from the entire bureaucratic class.
Therefore, Zhao Jun was also reminding them.
Know who you are.
Once you enter the Constitutional Yuan, you are no longer a bureaucrat or scholar-official.
Rather, it represents the entire country.
The interests of the country come first. Sometimes, we should make a choice instead of opposing the Qingli New Deal as happened in history!
This is also a piece of advice.
(End of chapter)
