October 15th, morning.
This morning, it was obviously a big storm.
Because the news that Lu Gongchuo and others were arrested has long been spread.
Therefore, at the court meeting, officials from various ministries had their own hidden agendas, waiting to see a good show.
Especially for Xia Song, he originally thought there was no hope of promotion, but he didn't expect that the case involved Lu Yijian, who suppressed him, and now he was in for a good show.
As for a large number of other officials, they were also looking at Lu Yijian's excitement.
Before Fan Zhongyan launched the Qingli New Deal, the prime ministers of the Constitutional Yuan all sided with Fan Zhongyan. Now that the interests of the prime ministers are involved, it depends on how they solve it.
Morning starts soon.
In the Chui Gong Hall, all civil and military officials stood in line.
Many prime ministers of the Political Academy stood at the front of the team, followed by more than a hundred people including ministers, ministers, servants, ministers, palaces, pavilions, palace bachelors, zhibaoshi, daizhi, xuzhan, zhige and so on.
In addition to various admonishers, censors, and palace ministers, a total of more than 200 people stood in the large hall. Looking from top to bottom, it seemed that only densely packed heads could be seen at a glance.
Because it was early winter morning, at four o'clock in the morning, the sky was dark, and the left and right beams, under the cloister, and side courtyard were all lit with candles.
The room is of varying light and dark, with a blur of yellow and soft light. The soft light of the candle shines on everyone's face, reflecting the mixture of black and white on their faces, either expectant, serious, happy, or with complex emotions.
The palace was eerily quiet.
Like the calm before the storm.
After a while, Zhao Zhen slowly walked in from the side hall.
"Your Majesty has arrived!"
Wang Shouzhong shouted.
"See Your Majesty!"
All officials saluted.
"No gift!"
Zhao Zhen raised his hands in vain.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The officials stood up.
Zhao Zhen sat on the dragon chair and looked down at the ministers below.
Almost immediately after the head official of the palace shouted: "If you have something to do, you will leave early, if you have nothing to do, you will roll up the curtain and leave the court."
Zheng Jian, the censor Zhongcheng, stood up and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, I impeach Lu Yijian, Sheng Du, Cheng Lin, and Li Zhang for colluding with Feng Shiyuan, a minor official in Kaifeng Prefecture, for taking bribes and perverting the law, collecting banned books, and selling their official positions."
In an instant, the expressions of all the officials changed.
Zheng Jian continued. He named more than ten senior officials in one breath and mentioned multiple crimes.
This case involves more than ten senior officials of fourth rank or above, and hundreds of people below fifth rank. These more than 100 people are not even qualified to be named.
And every time he read a senior official, the faces of the senior officials present showed frightened expressions.
Even if they had heard about it beforehand, it still frightened them.
Especially Lu Yijian.
Zheng Jian did a great job. Instead of looking for him in private, he asked directly in front of everyone at Yushitai what to do about this?
With so many people watching, it was natural that he could only deal with it impartially and could not give Lu Yijian the time at all.
In this way, even if he wanted to cover the lid, he couldn't.
The matter had started to ferment yesterday, and if it went to the parliament this morning, it might completely break out!
However, no one refuted it at this time.
Firstly, the evidence is conclusive, and secondly, as senior officials, they will not step down immediately.
"Your Majesty, please abolish the new policy of passing the examination!"
Taichang Shaoqing Zhao Lianggui interrupted Zheng Jian's words and fired the first shot.
He is the son of Zhao Anren, and Lu Yijian was a Jinshi in the third year of Xianping (AD 1000). In that year, Zhao Anren learned about the tribute examination, and Lu Yijian was his disciple.
At the same time, Zhao Lianggui also served as Taichang Shaoqing together with Zhang Yuxi. They were colleagues and were also good friends with Lu Gongchuo.
Zheng Jian looked at Zhao Lianggui with dissatisfaction and said: "Zhao Shaoqing, I am doing something, why do you interrupt me? Don't you have any rules at all?"
Zhao Lianggui ignored Zheng Jian, but said: "Your Majesty, the new law is harsh and all officials are suffering unspeakably. And it involves too many areas. Thousands of officials and tens of thousands of staff have been affected in all areas around the capital. If this happens again, If this goes on, I’m afraid officials across the country will be in distress.”
"A gentleman is magnanimous, but a villain is always worried."
Ouyang Xiu stood up and scolded: "Isn't it right for officials to do their part and complete what they are supposed to do every month? When did it become normal for officials to be lazy?"
This time the battlefield was completely opened.
Qian Yannian, who edited the Jixian Hall, said: "A gentleman thinks deeply and sees virtue and justice. Since your Majesty has appointed the world's virtuous men, you should believe in it. You can no longer be driven by treacherous and evil people to steal what your Majesty will not take."
What he meant was that the emperor should trust his ministers and should not arrange for people from the Yushitai to supervise the ministers to work every day.
Cai Xiang spread his hands and said: "I have not seen many good people in the world, but there are many corrupt officials in the world. I have not seen the five beauties of good people in the book, but I have learned the four evils thoroughly. If the world is really like what Xiu Zhuan said, then what else do we need the Yushitai and what do we need the Jiantai?"
"Hahahahahaha."
In an instant, many of his colleagues at the Yushitai started laughing.
Now the Yushitai is quite prestigious. In the past, there was no direct supervision and could only be impeached after finding evidence.
Nowadays, even if there is no leakage of officials, we can always monitor whether they are working hard and whether they are lazy and fishing every day. Isn't authority established in this way?
What's more, except for Zheng Jian, most of the censors in the Yushitai were appointed by Fan Zhongyan and Zhao Jun. They were upright people who they admired more.
When we see chaos, we will naturally retaliate and will never sit idly by.
"you!"
Qian Yannian was furious.
Others stood up and said: "Your Majesty, if you pass the exam, it will be bad governance. If this continues, officials will only focus on political achievements and ignore people's livelihood."
"You're laughing so hard. It's as if officials all over the world have cared about people's livelihood."
Wang Zhi said: "At least now that after passing the legal examination, officials can do some things, and they will not be like before."
Qian Xibai, a member of Zhongshushe, said: "I personally think that passing the Dharma exam will leave many unsolvable problems. Officials should be flexible in handling government affairs. If one pursues dogma, he will inevitably be rigid and may not be able to harm the people. "
"Do today's things today, and do tomorrow's things tomorrow. This examination system strictly implements the examination system. In the past, the examinations were in vain, but now that they have become strict, you can't accept it."
Wang Su retorted.
"No, the emperor is wise and humbly accepts advice. However, the ministers are not not doing their work with all their heart, but they are just a little negligent. They rise up one after another, make bad noises, and ruin their reputation. Why is this?"
"As the saying goes, ministers should not be spared when punishing someone for their faults, and everyone should be rewarded for their good deeds. Those who have merit should be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes should be punished. This is the law of the court. Do you want to despise the laws of your ancestors?"
"If you relax without relaxing, civil and military officials can't do it; if you relax without relaxing, civil and military forces can't do it. Relaxing and relaxing is the way of civil and military affairs. If you tighten it day by day, how can the officials in the world become hysterical? What's more, it's not a good thing to make mistakes in chaos. .”
“I can’t quite see it”
At present, the opposition held a debate with Yushitai and a small number of Fan Zhongyan's supporters.
It's actually pretty good at this point.
Because they are only discussing the abolition of the entrance examination law, and it has not yet reached the level of life and death.
In this regard, the Song Dynasty was slightly stronger than the Ming Dynasty.
Even during the period when Wang Anshi's reform was so intense, the two sides always said that the public was justified and the mother-in-law said that the mother-in-law was justified.
Sima Guang also scolded Wang Anshi for being "ignorant and stubborn." At most, the two sides would argue with each other but would not yell out loud.
The Ming Dynasty was much more interesting, scoldings were trivial, and a full-scale martial arts display would take place if they disagreed. The intensity was much greater than that of the Song Dynasty.
But as the debate deepens, both sides inevitably begin to rise.
Someone said: "I am impeaching Fan Zhongyan for nepotism, and the Censor's Office is his eyes and ears. I heard that the people who suggested it all hope that your majesty will be Yao and Shun, but they don't know that they ask for Gao and Kui to be the auxiliary ministers. Your majesty has the wisdom to adopt the rules and advice. But the assistant ministers blocked the way of speech. How can the country be peaceful for a long time?"
"snort!"
The censor of the reform faction immediately refuted: "On the censorship platform, I am worthy of the emperor, and below me, I am worthy of the common people. I have never blocked Tian Ting's speech. This statement of suppression is false. Do you want to make false accusations and frame me?"
"Emperor Taizu learned from the mistakes of his predecessors and did not have a prime minister. His affairs were transferred to the ministries and academies. His power was not matched, but his titles were changed. At that time, the official rank was not high, and there was no desire to be exclusive. Over the past hundred years, he has been good at doing power and blessings. Those who still avoid the name of prime minister and dare not live there are still afraid of it, because of the ancestral law."
Another person said: "Now that the political system has been established, Fan Zhongyan can safely regard himself as prime minister. He has also gained a reputation in the army, and it is not appropriate to take charge of political affairs at this time. When the admonishment officer discusses the matter, he must say: "I abide by the laws of my ancestors. "I ask you to rectify it immediately according to the ancestral law."
"In the ancestral dynasty, all political affairs were reported to the provincial government, answered by the ministries and supervisors, and carried out by the supervisors. I never heard of any impeachment by the prime minister. Under the new law, everyone has no escape, and everyone can distinguish the pros and cons of everything. "
The reformists refuted: "No matter the dignitaries of the dynasty or the princes and ministers, they all take office according to their departments. Anyone who has made mistakes can be found out in time. Isn't this the wish of the ancestors and the wish of the world?"
"After the imperial examination is completed, the imperial examination is completed and the imperial examination is completed. Each document has two volumes, one is sent to the Political Bureau, and the other is sent to the bill inspection. If the government office delays, the ministers will correct it. If the ministries are hidden, then the ministers will correct it. The imperial historian If it is hidden, the cabinet will correct it.”
The opposition continued: "My husband's ministry is responsible for state affairs, admonishing ministers, issuing memorials, and impeachment. This is his duty. The prime minister is ranked in the Imperial Academy, and he only prepares advisors to discuss his thoughts calmly. Zhong Yan created this and said that he wanted to threaten If the ministers and others are restrained and obey orders, is this the law of the ancestors?
"No one can restrain you, you are all serving the country. According to the laws of Kuang ancestors, all officials are required to perform their duties. If ministers are slack, it is the duty of the censor to urge them to act. This is also the case for thousands of years since the establishment of the censor. It’s a law that hasn’t changed over the years!”
The reformists also continued to object.
"Under the new law, when domestic and foreign ministers or ministers attack each other, or criticize each other, they start with self-interest and end up with the habit of winning. If the desire to win is endless, it will inevitably lead to angry disputes, and if the anger is endless, it will inevitably lead to party rivalry. The Niu of the Tang Dynasty , Li, didn’t we lose each other just by saying a word in the beginning? This is to compete for victory."
The opposition also said: "Flattery has become a common practice, and it is getting worse every day. When talking about ministers, wait for Yi and Fu; when talking about border commanders, plan to use Fang and Zhao; when talking about middle officials, praise the return of Lu and Zhang; when talking about foreign officials, , then Songzhuo and Lu Zhengsheng will be reborn. It is not just for marriage, but also for inviting bribes, which is flattery. How can it last long?"
"Oh, you guys have the nerve to mention Yi, Fu, Fang, Zhao, Zhuomao, and Lu Gong? How many corrupt officials were inspected in the new law? The son of Lu Yijian leaked that in addition to worshiping people in exchange for favors, people at that time compared him to Dou Shen. In my opinion, he is not like Dou Shen, but a minister of the Ministry of Personnel."
"Don't be eloquent. What we are worried about is the failure of the country. Now that we have received a strict decree, Fan Xiwen often says, "I will adjust it with all my strength, so it will stop." ". So I fear living in Fan Xiwen more than fearing His Majesty, and I feel grateful to live in Fan Xiwen more than feeling grateful for Your Majesty. I am so proud of myself that I have no court. What if this is the law of our ancestors?"
"After all, you are the ones who make the country ruined, causing chaos at all levels, deceiving Your Majesty, and searching the common people. Now the court has clarified the administration of officials and brought peace to the world, but you are open to corruption. How can you be so outrageous? I forgive you for being short-sighted, so what? Knowing this new law and decree, how will politics be clear?"
As the situation became more serious, Zhao Zhen sat on the stage and did not interrupt the debate and refutation between the two sides in time. After a while, the originally neat court turned into a vegetable market, and the reformers and the opposition were already The distinction between Jing and Wei is clear.
Most of them remained neutral, but as party members under Lu Yijian and Sheng Du took the lead in launching an attack, a large number of centrists also figured out their taste and immediately began to go into battle.
The main reason is that the examination method is really unpopular. No matter which dynasty it is in, everyone likes to be an official and hold power in their hands. It is not so hard and tiring. They can eat hot pot, sing songs, and hold girls in their arms. Here, he became an official, greedy for money, and lived a free and unrestrained life.
As a result, after passing the examination, every official had to complete his work seriously, just like when he was in school and had to complete his homework every day. This was naturally not accepted by everyone, so they took advantage of this opportunity and immediately joined the opposition.
In fact, later generations of workers hated this rolling method, which seemed to be the popular wish. But in fact, workers in later generations were paid thousands of dollars, but were PUAed by their bosses.
The bosses are shouting, don’t ask what the company can give you, ask what you can bring to the company, and they encourage employees to contribute. They also say that just thinking about making more money is no different from the walking dead, and money should not It is the dream of college students, and money is the result of struggle.
I want to change jobs once I find a good high-paying job.
The original boss is still yelling, I spent money to train you, I spent so much money, manpower, material resources and time, but you slapped your butt and left, then your next unit must at least compensate me for the training fees.
In this case, it is purely exploitation. It is strange that young people can tolerate it.
But being an official in ancient times was not the case.
Especially the Song Dynasty.
Not to mention the high salary, the life after becoming an official is far from being comparable to that of a worker in later generations.
So to be fair, since the court spends so much money to support you, isn't it right for you to work hard every day and work harder?
However, ancient officials just refused to do it.
I just want to get paid and not work. If you force me to work, then unite to oppose it.
Isn’t this nonsense?
But that's the reality.
Especially after it involves Lu Yijian and Sheng Du's son.
In the final analysis, it's all for one's own benefit.
Soon, as the debate intensified, it slowly began to develop in the direction of partisanship.
A large number of officials impeached Fan Zhongyan. Some said that he had too much prestige in the army and should not serve as prime minister, which would easily lead to the emergence of powerful ministers.
It is also said that he placed too many eyes and ears in the Yushitai to monitor the officials. This would only make the officials fear Fan Zhongyan instead of fearing the emperor, thus causing the emperor's authority to fall.
What's more, some people are already implying that Fan Zhongyan may rebel and threaten the imperial power like Wang Mang, Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao.
In the end, the whole morning turned into a mess.
Zhao Zhen looked at the scene below and couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed in Lu Yijian.
He clearly knew that reform was inevitable, but he still acted for his own interests, and as Da Sun said, he became a conservative interest group in history.
For this reason, they even framed Fan Zhongyan just like those opponents in history.
Doesn't Lu Yijian know that doing this will only deepen the emperor's dissatisfaction with him when Zhao Zhen already understands many things?
Maybe he knows.
But those are his two sons after all!
Zhao Zhen looked down at Lu Yijian, who had a dull look on his face and didn't know what he was thinking, and felt upset for no reason.
He stood up quickly and walked to Wang Shouzhong's side, leaving only one sentence: "Go and invite Han Long back!"
Then he walked away, leaving only an angry figure behind the officials.
matter.
It finally got to the point where I wanted to invite the eldest grandson back.
(End of chapter)
