Chapter One Thousand and Ten: Snowy Night in Huangzhou
Winter has gradually entered Bianjing, and the sky is getting late and the chill is chilling.
Zhang Yue no longer rides horses to and fro, but rides a carriage in and out of Gongye Mansion.
Walking on the imperial street, Zhang Yue heard a noise coming from outside the carriage. He frowned and opened the curtain and saw that it was the servants of the Municipal Yisi who were locking up the vendors again. These vendors were indebted to the Municipal Yisi.
The money was taken away one by one without any hesitation.
Passers-by looked at this scene and were somewhat used to it. Some even laughed when they saw an arrested vendor falling to the ground.
As we all know, on this imperial street, no one is allowed to make a living without borrowing money from the Market Hall.
In order to make a living, the vendors have to operate, but they do not make enough money every day. Even in such freezing weather, they dare not close their stalls, so they can only continue to operate in order to make a living.
I could have set up the stall for two or three hours every day and then closed it down, but now I have to set up the stall for four or five hours and make almost the same amount of money. This is like getting involved and killing people.
Zhang Yue looked at the scene of these vendors and felt pitiful in his heart.
As early as the fifth year of Xining, Wen Yanbo had reflected on this scene. In the sixth year of Xining, the officials asked Zeng Bu, the third minister, whether there was any problem with the market change law, which caused a break between Zeng Bu and Wang Anshi.
After the officials took charge, they no longer talked about market changes and laws.
Those who know Zhang Yue well know that when he was not in politics, he tended to be royal and wanted to save the common people. However, after he became a politician, he turned to a domineering style that combines strength and softness.
Now that Wang Anshi has left, the official family is completely in charge, and ruthless Legalism has been fully implemented.
Do the officials know that the people are suffering? Yes. Do the officials know that Zeng Bu was wronged? They also know.
But so what? Zeng Bu will definitely not be able to come back now.
Under the escort of dozens of people, the carriage entered the Zhang Mansion. Outside the gate, there were still officials who came to visit despite the cold weather and asked to see him.
Zhang Yue arrived at the mansion and took a short rest before meeting the officials.
A month ago, Shen Kuo was dismissed from his post as the third envoy, and he was informed of the local situation.
The reason for Shen Kuo's dismissal was that Minister Afu clung to Han Jiang and Zhang Yue, and overstepped his power and made remarks. The law of exemption from military service belonged to Sinong Temple but not to the Third Division. This was inconsistent when Wang Anshi was there and when Han Jiang was there. Shen Kuo's dismissal was also a trend.
The power of the king is now superior to the power of the prime minister.
It is known that Shen Kuo was a member of the Zhang Party, and his dismissal caused a sensation.
It is inevitable that some people will speculate whether Zhang Yue will also lose power as Shen Kuo is dismissed.
But Shen Kuo was dismissed, and Cai Que, who was leading the matter, suddenly rose up.
Cai Que is good at observing the direction of the wind and figuring out the intentions of the people. This is the evaluation of Cai Que in the official circles. Regarding Cai Que's rise to power through criticism and removal, officials generally have a poor reputation for his conduct.
It's just that Shen Kuo's reputation wasn't very good, so Cai Que dismissed Shen Kuo so that everyone didn't have such a strong dislike for him.
On the matter of the immunity from service law, the emperor asked Zhang Yue to discuss with Cai Que and Xiong Ben, who were the judges of Sinong Temple.
Xiong Ben was born in the fifth branch of Zhongshu and was also a general of the New Party. After Wang Anshi resigned as prime minister for the second time, Lu Jiawen and Deng Wan went out again, which caused the world to doubt.
Suddenly, there were calls for new laws.
Xiong Ben was clearing up the road at this time, and the governance of the world was based on the cause and revolution, and it was just appropriate to govern at the right time. The commentators used the theory of holding on to profits and maintaining success, Wen Gou Jian followed the rule, and the officials of the world were based on regular habits.
Therefore, if you follow the common custom and speak vigorously to accept loyal people, the followers will frown and scold them. Your Majesty makes a big statement and carries out great policies. This can be said to be the principle of reform.
However, at the beginning of the restructuring, An Changxi and his friends were seen everywhere, having fun and making noise, criticizing the court, slandering the city, or being impeached. They were countless. Your Majesty sees the truth and will not take away his independence.
, although there is little concentration now, he will wait for an opportunity to succeed. May your Majesty think deeply about it, and do not let the noisy and happy people get a glimpse of it, and end up with a career that will be difficult to achieve in all generations. The world is very lucky.
Kumamoto's remarks overcame the doubts of the ruling and opposition parties about the new law and boosted the morale of the new party.
He stood up and opposed changes to the new law, becoming quite a mainstay.
When Zhang Yue killed Lu Jiawen, Deng Wan also considered whether to kill Kumamoto, but Kumamoto was really talented, so he didn't take action. Now it seems that he was too soft-hearted and did not take advantage of the situation to catch them all.
Kumamoto's omission made him and Han Jiang uncomfortable, and blocked their intention to change the new law.
Sinong Temple was originally set up for the reform. With the support of Kumamoto, Cai Que rejected the Zhongshu's intention to reform the military service one by one.
It was impossible for Zhang Yue to come forward to argue with Cai Que as prime minister, but the Cai Jing, Chen Mu, and Xu generals he sent were no match for Cai Que.
Cai Que quoted the classics and argued that he insisted on keeping the law of service unchanged, saying that Han Jiangzhang's desire to change the new law was as clear as Sima Zhao's.
Of course, there was such a dispute on the surface, but privately Cai Que recommended his party members He Zhengchen and Huang Yan to serve as supervisory censors.
Zhang Yue did not refuse, but instead agreed to Cai Que's request one by one. However, Cai Que, who had received the benefits, did not change his previous agreement and insisted that the service law remained unchanged.
Zhang Yue met several important officials and returned to his study. There were still voices outside the door. Chen Guan and Peng Jingyi were receiving other guests for him.
Zhang Yue sat alone in his study and thought.
Nowadays, the contradiction between the official family and Han Jiang is becoming increasingly prominent. Shen Kuo's resignation, Kumamoto's protection of the law, Cai Que's change of stance, and Yuan Jiang's peek are all intertwined.
In the final analysis, it is still the contradiction between monarch power and prime minister power.
In the past, officials liked to bypass Zhongshu and interfere in the affairs of their subordinates, and even took micro-manipulations. Now that they are in charge, they are even more unscrupulous.
But Zhang Yue also understands the difficulties of the official family.
Officials always feel that your ministers are not trying their best, are not willing to consider his sacred heart, and consider the overall situation for him. Of course, this is also a long-standing habit in the officialdom. In many cases, officials will not push for it, and can only take a step forward with a whip.
Officials are like parents who help their children with their homework. They are always angry about why their children cannot listen to them. As long as they don't urge them, their children will not learn, and in the end they have to watch their children learn in person.
There is a well-known entrepreneur who often angrily scolds his subordinates, saying that there is never any ability problem, only attitude problem.
When things are not done well, it is not a decision-making problem, but an implementation problem.
In other words, the direction is always right, but you are unwilling to try your best. This statement is similar to Chongzhen's edict that the officials misunderstood me.
My intention is good, but you are not willing to do your best, and the officials have misunderstood me.
There were problems with the Ming Dynasty's bureaucracy, but it was also a problem that the subjective could not understand the objective and could not proceed from the word sincerity.
The same is true for the conflict between the official family and Han Jiang. Zhang Yue recommended Han Jiang as Zhao Wenxiang, not because he was taking the blame for himself, but because he wanted to stand with him.
Cai did act according to the emperor's wishes, and now the emperor has resumed the situation of Yushitai supervising Zhongshu.
Yuan Jiang was a person who held different opinions in Zhongshu, and his different opinions interfered with the arrangements under the ancestral system.
Therefore, Han Jiang, Zhang Yue, the Emperor, Yuan Jiang, and Cai Que all belong to different positions. And if they hold different positions, there must be contradictions. Therefore, the distinction between ourselves and the enemy is not based on human will.
No matter how good our relationship is in the past, it is of no use.
Therefore, it is said that there are no eternal enemies or eternal friends, only eternal interests.
This is also the fact before us.
Although they are all at peace for now, the Guan family, Yuan Jiang, and Cai Que will definitely embarrass themselves from three directions in the future.
Of course, there is no way to resolve this situation.
There is nothing worse than a power struggle, and Zhang Yue disdains it.
The best is to win!
Use victory to eliminate all doubts.
Zhang Yue remembered that at the Sutra banquet that day, when the officials were talking about the Yan family's family motto, they used the words "teacher's heart" to knock Han Jiang, Feng Jing and other prime ministers.
Teacher's intention is to use it for your own use. Don't have your own ideas. Just listen to my wishes and do everything.
Don’t have your own ideas?
Yes, there are many places where monarchs and ministers have different ideas nowadays.
Han Jiang disagreed with the officials on the issue of whether the new law should remain unchanged.
On the issue of exterminating Xia, Zhang Yue had a huge disagreement with the official family.
The officials need to be urgent, but Zhang Yue needs to be slow. In another time and space history, a generation of genius Genghis Khan failed to capture Xixia in four personal campaigns.
It is really too urgent for the officials to complete their achievements in one battle.
In addition, whether Hengshan is the main one or Xihe is the main one, the understanding between the monarch and the minister is also different.
Therefore, if Zhang Yue wants to win, in sending troops to capture Huangzhou this time, he can only win but not fail.
Zhang Yue spread out the letter paper on the case.
Zhang Kai wrote to himself and said that he asked him to transfer Zhong Shidao as his deputy general and serve as deputy envoy of economic strategy at Xihe Road.
In this regard, Zhang Kai was too strong for others.
Zhong Shidao is now the general manager of the Quanxiao Yan Road Military and Horse Department. Although he has the title of Quan, he is almost on an equal footing with you, Zhang Kai.
How can I become a deputy? I'll give you a hand. Isn't this equivalent to being demoted for no fault? Only a fool can do that.
What's more, cultivating a teacher's way to guard Yanyan Road also had the intention of suppressing Lu Huiqing.
But now that Zhang Kai asked for help, Zhang Yue agreed. He decided to write a letter to Zhong Shidao personally to do his ideological work, asking him to follow the court's arrangements and take three thousand elite soldiers to Xihe Road to obey Zhang Kai's instructions.
After Zhang Yue finished writing the letter to Zhong Shidao, he immediately sent someone to deliver it.
But he knew that the differences between him and the officials had just begun regarding the plan to destroy Xia. However, regarding the choice of strategic direction between Hengshan and Xihe, Zhang Yue believed that he would definitely return to this route in the future.
When it comes to choosing a strategic direction, once it is decided, it should be carried out unswervingly.
No matter how the situation changes, I will never deviate from my roots.
Not only must we strategize on the frontal battlefield to achieve decisive victory thousands of miles away, but we must also eliminate interference from officials and give blind orders.
This is what it means.
Once you have grasped the key, you will overcome all difficulties and do it with all your strength. You will bite the Xixia people's eggs from the direction of Xihe Road, and then use all your strength to push you to death.
Therefore, Zhang Yue did his best to fully satisfy any request made by Zhang Kai.
Don’t trust people when you employ them, and don’t trust people when you are suspicious. I will support you till the end when I use you.
Of course, if Zhang Kai has made so many requests and still fails to fulfill them, Zhang Yue will personally book a ticket for him to go to an international tourist island. Even if you are my cousin, there is no room for mercy.
The letter had been sent, Zhang Yue looked at the few stars in the sky.
Two months later, one night at the end of the tenth year of Xining, it was snowing heavily all over Xihe Road.
Several Song armies disguised as caravans quietly approached Miaochuan City.
Further back, Zhang Kai led the Xihe Road army to attack in the snow!
