The officials were so shocked that they looked at Zhang Yue without saying a word.
When the official heard Zhang Yue's words, his face was filled with gloom and his breath could not calm down.
He had been emperor for ten years and felt that the biggest disadvantage in the world was that the civil servants or the entire bureaucracy could not act according to his wishes.
He used to think that Wang Anshi was okay and took the world as his own responsibility, even though he contradicted him many times.
But if Wang Anshi is like this, what about his son Wang Yu? What about Deng Wan whom he promoted? Lu Jia asked?
In particular, when Lu Huiqing left, he revealed that he had scolded Han Jiang and all the ministers below Wang Gui, which really shattered the impression of the officials on these officials. The minister has two completely different faces on the outside and inside, both calculating and powerful. More importantly, he realized that the bureaucratic group composed of officials was like a dense network.
Each of them seemed insignificant, but they formed this big net and almost suffocated me.
After Lu Huiqing returned to Beijing, he reported many things about Wang Anshi to the emperor. Although personal integrity is not a problem, there must be a lack of ambition.
Many of his private letters to Lu Huiqing contained the words "No one can make the best known".
This made him make the final decision to dismiss Wang Anshi as prime minister.
As for Zhang Yue's accusation of his misconduct, this is what makes the officials most angry.
Who likes to be criticized all day long? Not to mention the Nine-Five Supreme Emperor.
Officials thought that his kindness to his ministers and his humility in accepting advice would make them grateful to him and know that he was a virtuous king who could help them. Unexpectedly, what he got in exchange was that the courtiers would "sneeze at their faces" again and again, which really chilled his heart. Therefore, he made a statement by not allowing Su Shi to return to Beijing, but he still gave Peng Ruli and other ministers the opportunity to speak out and remonstrate.
Let's talk about Han Qi, Wang Anshi, and Han Jiang who criticized him. After all, they were all ministers left by the late emperor, even Emperor Renzong. He couldn't control them, but Lu Huiqing and Zhang Yue were cultivated by him.
He originally thought that Zhang Yue would work with him to plan the destruction of Xia, but Zhang Yue also opposed him on this matter.
This time, he was actually blamed!
However, after thinking about it, the official held back his anger and went to accept the remonstrance as usual: "I heard that there is indeed something wrong with what I said."
"But my original intention was to conquer Western Xia as a great cause, and to eliminate this inner trouble, everything is because of it. Regardless of the economy and people's livelihood, or politics and military, we should take the Western Xia expedition as our guide! At the beginning, you advised me to calm down the Xia Dynasty in five years. , now there are only three years left, you have forgotten what you said back then, but I have not forgotten it!"
And Zhang Yue also knows how the official feels at this moment. I replaced Wang Anshi and asked you and Han Jiang to be my husband. But you don't yell at me like Wang Anshi.
I didn't expect Wang Anshi to leave. Today Han Jiang contradicted me. Do you do the same?
Zhang Yue felt a little guilty at first, but when he thought about it carefully, what did I have to feel guilty about?
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the king and the horse shared the world. It was the emperor and the family who ruled the world together.
In the Tang Dynasty, it was also an aristocratic republic between the emperor and the aristocratic families.
In the Song Dynasty, the emperor and the scholar-officials jointly ruled the world!
To put it bluntly, you, the emperor, cannot rule this world alone!
This is not the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Wang Anshi can't bear to quarrel with you all day long, so he thinks he won't quarrel with you if he changes to another prime minister?
If I don’t criticize you, everyone in the world will criticize me!
Between the two, which one is more important?
Moreover, the official plan to destroy Xia was based on a timetable. If Xia was destroyed in five years, then all the offensive matters against Xia would be completed twelve years ago in [Xining].
According to Wang Anshi's original strategy of "Rebalancing the World", the entire country's resource allocation was to prioritize "Conquering Xia" and give in to the rest.
Zhang Yue said seriously: "Your Majesty, there is no conflict between exterminating Xia and benefiting the people, they just have different priorities."
"The troubles of the Song Dynasty lie within, not outside, while the troubles of Xixia lie outside, not inside."
"First manage the government and cultivate the people, and then plan the attack on Xia, which is the best move in the world. I hope that your majesty will prioritize benefiting the people and slow down the attack on Xia!"
The official said: "This is wrong. Back then, Renzong was so benevolent that he couldn't bear to exchange his reputation for nothing. He finally negotiated peace with Xia, which led to the humiliation of Qingli."
"Reducing military service money can benefit the people temporarily, but destroying Xia will benefit the country and the people forever. Otherwise, why did I ask you to capture Xihe? It was also a waste of time to conquer Xia."
Zhang Yue thought to himself, Wang Shao and I proposed the idea of capturing Xihe. When did it become your overall plan?
The official continued: "To pursue benevolence and righteousness blindly will only lead to weakness and easy play. I have been in charge for ten years, and the national policy should also change, changing Confucianism with law. Now the country should focus on exterminating Xia as urgently as possible, and benefiting the people as slow as possible! "
"I originally intended to entrust you with the task of conquering Xia, but if you don't agree with me, then go to the northwest and come back for Lu Huiqing!"
Zhang Yue was furious when he heard this, the emperor actually played this trick in front of him.
Is Lu Liu, a big horse monkey, worthy of competing with me, Zhang San?
Zhang Yue's face remained calm and he glanced at Shi Deyi, wondering if he had leaked his reluctance to go to the northwest to the officials.
At this moment, he said calmly: "Your Majesty, Lu Huiqing's talent is ten times better than that of my minister. I am a firefly who is only qualified to swim under the grass. How can it dare to compete with the bright moon in the sky?"
The official was stunned when he heard this, but he was also used to officials using retreat to advance and said, "That's it."
After the official finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Yue's expression, but saw that his expression did not change at all.
Zhang Yue might have been a little angry just now, but now he has understood and digested it.
What about the prime minister? After all, it’s just a job.
Zhang Yue certainly knew the disadvantages of the conflict between imperial power and prime minister power. In the Ming Dynasty, there was no prime minister in the name, but he was actually a cabinet scholar. In the Qing Dynasty, there was really no prime minister, and the quality of officials in the Qing Dynasty was the worst in history.
Compared with being unable to do what one does when he is in office or causing major hidden dangers in the future, it is better to leave early and get things done early, which not only preserves the wealth, but also does not lose the position of county governor.
If you can't find a life, how can you find a country?
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, although I have been demoted, I must give my loyal words and remonstrate with you."
"You tell me!" the official said angrily.
Zhang Yue did not give in at all and said: "The world must be governed with benevolence and righteousness. In recent years, natural disasters have continued, and thieves have continued in various counties and districts. Even the wealthy Huaihe and Zhejiang provinces have people eating each other. Your Majesty wants to conquer Xixia, but you have not seen the suffering of the people. It's like killing cattle and sheep for food. Those who eat are beautiful, but the people who are eaten are miserable. Your Majesty has never seen it."
"The imperial court raised 100,000 troops, but there were 700,000 civilians on the road. Even if we succeeded in breaking the summer, if the people cannot be cared for and their hearts cannot be attached to them, what's the use?"
"I always want to do one thing, never do it directly, but first think about another thing. This is the principle that if a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools."
"If you want to cut down the summer, you must first benefit the people. Benefiting the people is a tool. Only when the tool is ready can you cut down the trees. To say the least, even if you fail to cut down the summer, the tool has been tempered and the people's hearts have been planted by your majesty."
"The most difficult thing in the world is to use two things. You must not use one thing to destroy everything. I would like to ask your Majesty to take a closer look."
The official carefully studied Zhang Yue's words. This sentence comes from "The Doctrine of the Mean", "holding both ends and using them for the people, do you think this is Shun?" '
"If you hold on to one thing, you will lose a hundred." It comes from [Mencius] "Those who hold on to one thing are evil, they are traitors to the Tao, and if they hold on to one thing, they will do away with a hundred."
[Fighting Xia] and [Benefiting the People] are two-purpose, and those who can [use them] or [use them] are sages.
In fact, as an official, the biggest difficulty is the choice of direction, not the details. Because there are a lot of capable ministers to take care of the details for him.
The choice of direction often leads to differences in routes, and differences in routes become the origin of party struggles and the rise and fall of power.
And how can it be [used in China]?
[Zhongyong] has already given the answer, which is [Sincerity].
People who can be sincere are like gods.
"How sincere?" The official said this in silence for a while. Seeing this scene, Yuan Jiang knew that Zhang Yue was trying to persuade the official.
Zhang Yue said: "This is the way of the sages, but I don't know it!"
Officials thought Zhang Yue would argue that reason was on his side, but he said he didn't know.
The official laughed and said, "Zhang Qing doesn't know which is better, [Fighting Xia] or [Benefiting the People]?"
As the official smiled, the tense atmosphere between the two immediately relaxed. Because when people are criticized by people who disagree with their own ideas, they will have an idea, why is what you said is right and what I said is wrong.
Gradually, the atmosphere in the palace where monarchs and ministers chatted became better.
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, there are two levels. Those who know from birth are saints, and those who know through learning are sages."
"I may not be proficient in learning and knowing, so how can I talk about being a saint? That's why [the Doctrine of the Mean] says that sincerity is like God!"
"Then will you tell me the way of [learning to know]?"
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, I think you still have to listen to your words. You can believe but not listen to them. If you listen to your words, you should attack them in reverse!"
Everyone has a position.
Officials have the position of officialdom, and Zhongshu has the position of Zhongshu.
Nowadays, the official position is subjective and at the decision-making level, but now Zhongshu's position is objective and at the execution level.
All human suffering comes from the mismatch between subjectivity and objectivity. Simply put, it means 'not getting what you want'.
My brain tells my body to work and earn money to support me.
The body says to the brain, no, you should restrain your desires (just starve to death) or feel tired today (I want to lie down).
Therefore, the executive level always tends to be conservative. The bureaucracy keeps using Confucian slogans and asking the emperor to "control desires", which is actually protecting itself in disguise.
After Zhang Yue entered Zhongshu, he naturally switched from "Conquering Xia" to "Benefiting the People", which was determined by his stance. He is not Marquis Zhuge Wu. He has an emperor behind him who is willing to delegate power, so the palace and the palace are integrated. Wang Anshi and the official family were the same person back then.
But now as the prime minister, you are not only responsible to the emperor, but also to the entire bureaucracy and the people.
The war to exterminate Xia was not fought by officials and Zhang Yue. It was implemented at the execution level by millions of people and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, generals and officials.
You can use various means to force these people to go to the battlefield, but no matter you win or lose, you have to bear the consequences. Just in case, the emperor issues an edict and it will be fine, what about you?
The contradiction between monarch power and prime minister power is the contradiction between subjectivity and objectivity.
So don’t easily overstep your position and state the facts.
Belief cannot mean listening to one side. You have to understand which side you stand on, then listen to what the other side means, and then attack the opposite side and compare with each other.
The official thought for a moment and said, "Qing Zhang said this back then."
Yes, Zhang Yue discussed this with Sima Guang and Lu Huiqing to the officials at the Sutra banquet.
Zhang Yue said: "I have another saying: 'Things are practiced in the mind, and the mind is sharpened in the matter'!"
In fact, both [benefiting the people] and [defeating Xia] have their own pros and cons.
Benefiting people can be a long-term goal or a short-term goal. Cutting off summer can be a long-term goal or a short-term goal.
Zhang Yue has his own position, and the emperor has his own position. Don't rush to conclusions about who is right and who is wrong. You have to give it a try to find out.
When you encounter a point of view that you disagree with, don't rush to deny it, because you are not necessarily right. There is a 50% chance of tossing a coin, so why should you be 50%. If you can't predict everything, then you are 'born knowing it', and you are better than a saint! "
Let him go for a run before encountering the situation, give it a try, and let the bullets fly for a while.
The most important thing is that you have to keep trying it, and at the same time establish a timely feedback and rapid error correction system.
Use the results of practice to adjust your direction step by step, and finally get closer to "using it".
Yuan Jiang had never worked with Zhang Yue in the palace before. She knew that Zhang Yue was eloquent, but she did not expect that Zhang Yue could be so eloquent and speak such lengthy truths.
"Therefore, the same is true for the expedition to Xia. When I said five years at the beginning, it was just a rough estimate. Your Majesty must not really think of it as five years. This matter cannot be planned carefully. Maybe there will be drastic changes in the country of Xia tomorrow or it will continue forever. No."
"I believe that we should not be bound by plans. To destroy Xia, we can take two steps forward and one step back, or take one step back and then take two steps forward. We must do it according to the time and the situation. The most important thing is to always be calm and unhurried. Being able to handle things with ease and having enough energy to take care of people’s livelihood and other matters. ”
"In the past, the Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty defeated all the heroes, and left the world, what a hero. Then there was the siege of Bai Deng, and the humiliation of the marriage. But I don't see what happened to the Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, because he knew that the Xiongnu could not be destroyed overnight."
The official was almost convinced by Zhang Yue, but he still said: "Zhang Qing hasn't said yet why [Benefiting the People] comes before [Fighting Xia]?"
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, when I went to Huangce in Pinghe, I once said that when you are rich, you can take it. It is easy first and then it is difficult. If you can, you can show that you can't. This statement remains unchanged."
"Wealth means enriching the Xihe River. Farming and commerce in the Xihe River can also be considered as enriching the people and benefiting the world. Benefiting the people and conquering Xia, I think it is easy to benefit the people and difficult to conquer Xia. The most important thing is to be able to show it. It can't be done,"
"The more you plan something, the more slow you have to be. Slowness won't help you in haste, but slowness can confuse the opponent, making them fearful and unaware of what I am doing. Finally, when the momentum is full, I will strike with all my strength!"
The official's expression was completely relieved at this moment, he nodded and said: "That's all, you will continue to stay in Zhongshu."
Do I want you to stay? Am I someone you can come to and leave at a moment’s notice? ... Zhang Yue saluted and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The official smiled and said: "I can promise you that I will change the law of service first to alleviate the suffering of the people. However, I want Cai Que to know the admonishment court and judge Sinong Temple. You should discuss with him how to change the law of war!"
Officials have also become more skilled in using power.
Zhang Yue said happily: "I thank your Majesty."
The official said: "Also, you said that we can take two steps forward and one step back to conquer Xia, but where should we take this further step?"
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "Rong Chen, point it out to Your Majesty!"
After speaking, Zhang Yue walked to the big picture of Chongzheng Hall, picked up his wooden stick and pointed to the northwest, where Qingtang City is located!
"Destroy Ali Gu first?" The official's eyes were like those of an eagle.
"It's this thief!"
