Chapter 1056 I don’t believe it anymore (two updates combined into one)
Chapter 1065 I don’t believe it anymore (two updates combined into one)
The essence of a feudal country is that the most violent people make the rules.
The core of it is Han Feizi's words, "When the ruler is over the people, he will sacrifice himself when there is trouble, and when there is peace, he will do his best."
The king and the people are a whole, and if they go up to conquer Han, they will follow down. If the officials insist on doing this, and the people cannot resist, then the people have another option, which is to lie down.
Buddhism and Taoism are the studies of lying down.
There is no doubt that the weak party must have more choices than the strong party.
Those who are more afraid of the country's demise are those with vested interests, not the people. Therefore, those with vested interests will eventually choose to give in and transfer more benefits to the people.
This is the essence of ‘Fali Confucianism’.
So some people say that Confucianism is hypocritical, because they don’t know that the world is governed by two sets of rules.
One set is light and the other is dark.
Calling officials parents comes from the allusion of Zhao Fu and Du Mu, which refers to Zhao Xinchen in the Western Han Dynasty and Du Shi in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Both of them were governors of Nanyang and had great political achievements in the local area. Therefore, they were called Zhaofu in the front and Du Mu in the back. From then on, they were called "parent officials".
This title lasted until the end of the Qing Dynasty.
Zhang Yue praised Cao Yi's theory of servants, but as a parent, I dare not.
I am just hired by the common people to do things, how dare I call myself my parent? Not even officials, the same is true for the emperor.
Mencius's student Wan Zhang asked, was it Yao who gave up the world to Shun?
Mencius said no, it was Heaven that granted the world to Shun, not Yao who gave it to Shun. It’s just that Heaven couldn’t speak, but Yao knew what Heaven meant, so he granted the world to Shun.
Mencius also emphasized that "the emperor cannot give the world to others."
Mencius also emphasized what is the Son of Heaven? That is, Heaven is with him and the people are with him.
At the same time, the Son of Heaven is the parent of the people and the parents of all peoples. Mencius believed that this is not the case. The Son of Heaven is only the leader of all peoples. Although you are the greatest, you are only one of them and are not qualified to be above them.
So what is ‘people-based’? Mencius’ thought is people-based.
Gu Yong once said that I heard that the people were born in disgrace and could not govern each other, so I wanted to establish a king to rule them.
Therefore, the emperor is also a servant of the people.
The sixth son of the emperor is the eldest son of an official. Of course, the official family looks up to him as the crown prince, and takes the word servant as his name.
Is it useful to advocate for domestic helpers?
it works.
Let the people be disenchanted with power.
For example, Filipino maids in later generations are favored for being obedient to their employers, so why can’t local nannies do the same? That means dissatisfaction. Even if I was hired by your family, it’s because of my bad luck, not because I was born inferior to you.
What about the officials? If you have to fight, you have to fight.
Legalism advocates treating officials as teachers and officials as parents of the people. We common people will not accept your tactics. Starting from Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, you have made my life difficult, and I have made your life difficult.
Zhang Yue once again lamented the official family.
Zhang Yue believes that the word "meritor" comes from the official's sincerity.
Cao Yi made this truth clear to himself when he came up, and of course he also said good things for the officials.
Zhang Yue said to Cao Yi: "Your Majesty's heart is really like that of Yao and Shun!"
Cao Yi said: "Mr. Zhang, don't let down the great empress dowager and your majesty's respect for you."
At this point, Zhang Yue ended the conversation. Cao Yi saw that Zhang Yue had no intention of changing the situation, so he had to say goodbye and leave.
Cao Ji returned to his mansion and wrote a letter to the Empress Dowager Cao.
However, Empress Dowager Cao has been unable to get out of bed since autumn. The filial piety shown by the officials to Empress Cao is almost better than that of Empress Dowager Gao. She would visit Empress Dowager Cao to attend to political affairs and sit there for a while before returning to her bedroom.
On this day, the official personally served the soup and medicine to the Queen Mother Cao. The Queen Mother Cao said: "I don't have much time left. These soups and medicines are very bitter. It doesn't matter whether you eat it or not."
The officials were very filial and tried to persuade me again and again.
Empress Dowager Cao had only finished half of the drink. The official took the candied fruit box from the maid and presented it to Empress Dowager Cao.
Empress Dowager Cao had a taste and said: "Han Jiang and Zhang Yue did a good job in Zhongshu. They changed the recruitment law to serve as a sergeant, and the people's praises came to the ears of a woman in the palace like me.
"
"Now that Han Jiang is sick, why does Zhang Yue also claim to be ill? Zhang Yue is a minister entrusted by the late emperors of the two dynasties, and your majesty should treat him with courtesy."
The official's expression was solemn when he heard this. He handed the box of preserves to the palace maid and said, "Grandma, how can I take what I heard from outside the palace seriously? I have heard a lot about the drawbacks of military service."
"Every word in the world has two sides."
Empress Dowager Cao said: "Now that Han Jiang is dying, he is no longer lying down. Zhang Yue is also called sick. The Zhongshu only has one reference and one reference. It is better to add a few other ministers to the Zhongshu. What do the officials think?"
The official said: "I haven't thought about the candidate for the government yet, but now it's very appropriate to work together. Wang Gui handles things properly, is mature and prudent, and Yuan Jiang is loyal and reliable. He is an honest official and never seeks personal gain. I plan to let him go first."
These two will take care of things first."
The official implication is that it is not bad for Wang Gui and Yuan Jiang to set up Zhongshu's airs.
Empress Dowager Cao said: "Your Majesty, Wang Guinai is in power and has no foundation in the court. Yuan Jiang has never set out to stand out and is certainly a reliable person. However, he entrusts the two of them to preside over the affairs of the court. But if something big happens, who can your Majesty turn to?"
What about discussion?"
Empress Dowager Cao made it very clear that the reason why the officials employed Wang Gui and Yuan Jiang was because they had weak foundations in the court, so they just obeyed the emperor in everything.
However, these two people have mediocre abilities and do not have the ability to deal with major and urgent matters. They can deal with them on a daily basis, but they will be in trouble when they encounter major problems.
The official knew it well and said with a smile: "I still have my grandmother to discuss it!"
Empress Dowager Cao said: "I am just a woman. Besides, I still have many days left. If you listen to me, you should invite Zhang Yue, Sima Guang and other ministers back."
The official said: "Wang Anshi also complained about it back then, because he was bullying me into not being able to take charge of the affairs of the court. But I am no longer the emperor ten years ago, and I am very effective in handling politics now."
Empress Dowager Cao said: "I know that Your Majesty is hard-working and has worked hard to seek governance since he came to the throne. He is afraid that his performance is not good enough, so he must do everything himself, no matter how big or small it is."
"We don't take a break even on New Year's Day. Sometimes the sun has set and lunch has not yet been eaten. The Queen Mother and I have to send people to urge Your Majesty again and again."
"But Your Majesty, governing the world is not about doing everything by yourself, but about appointing people on their merits. One wise person is not enough, but a group of wise people must support each other. Officials must not do everything by themselves, and only have ministers who respond to their orders."
The official said: "It's not that I don't use Zhang Yue, I just use his absence to do a few proud things!"
Zhang Yue's influence in the court was indeed great. In addition to Cai Jing, Cai Bian, Xu Xi, Lu Shengqing, and Shen Kuo, who all came from Zhang Yue's court, there were also Zhang Yue, Zhang Zhi, Zhang Heng and other relatives as well as Huang Lu, Wen and Fu. , Lu Gongzhu and other in-laws, as well as allies such as Xu Jiang, Zeng Bu, Han Zhongyan and so on.
That's why he had the confidence to disobey himself.
Seeing that the official finally spoke from the bottom of his heart, Empress Dowager Cao said: "As long as the official understands."
When he arrived at the palace, the chamberlain handed him a document.
This document was sent by two people, one was Lu Huiqing and the other was Zhonge.
It turned out that when the officials asked the two of them about the construction of the city on Jingyuan Road, Lu Huiqing and Zhong E unanimously opposed it.
Lu Huiqing believed that Jingyuan Road was the heart of Xixia, and the city must be defeated here. He once again advocated building up troops on Yanyan Road, so that if something happened to Xixia, he could send troops to attack Xia.
Zhonge, on the other hand, advocated taking Hengshan. He believed that by sending troops from Hengshan, even though there was a dry sea blocking them, as long as they occupied the Yinyan Prefecture, they would have a favorable advantage.
At that time, Xixia will cross the Dry Sea to attack the Song Dynasty, instead of the Song Dynasty crossing the Dry Sea to attack Xixia.
The officials asked Wang Gui and Yuan Jiang to discuss the matter.
Wang Gui had been an official for forty years and had been involved in internal and external affairs. He was not very good at military affairs. However, the officials were unwilling to discuss with the Privy Council. Feng Jing and others' attitude was that the officials should not ask, but asking would not do. So the officials had no choice but to discuss with Wang Gui. Gui, Yuan Jiang language.
Wang Gui said: "Your Majesty, Zhang Hong is a virtuous minister. Your Majesty thinks that Zhang Hong is not virtuous because he listened to slander. I am afraid that the virtuous ministers in the government and the public will not be able to advance."
"As the prime minister, I recommended Zhang Hong as a Hanlin scholar three times, but your Majesty recommended him three times and failed to use it three times. This is a dereliction of duty. I implore you to stop recommending him."
The officials were surprised. They didn't expect Wang Gui to attack him first.
I still don’t know why Wang Gui recommended Zhang Hong three times but I didn’t. Do you think I don’t know how much gold and silver Zhang Hong gave to Wang Gui?
During this period of time, the officials used Wang Gui and Yuan Jiang as prime ministers, without Han Jiang and Zhang Yue to control them. All affairs were governed by themselves, whether they were done to their satisfaction or not.
But I didn't expect that Wang Gui would also do this.
Yuan Jiang relied on Wang Gui and said: "Your Majesty, Zhang Hong is indeed a virtuous man, and I think he can be used."
When the official heard this, he knocked out his teeth and swallowed it in his stomach. He said to Wang Gui: "The prime minister is like this. Let me test you. You are so virtuous, so I should not worry about it."
Wang Gui was overjoyed.
When Wang Gui and Yuan Jiang acted like this, the officials were not in the mood to discuss it with them.
The official looked at the map of Shaanxi and thought, without Zhang Yue and the Privy Council, I can still win this battle.
I don't believe it anymore.
…
It's the end of the year.
Zhang Yue complained about his illness at home for more than a month.
There were indeed many important events in the court, and the appointment of Zhang Hong as a Hanlin scholar really made Zhang Yue feel the chill of early spring.
He was the one who sent Zhang Hong out of the capital in the first place. Wang Gui and Yuan Jiang recommended Zhang Hong as the fourth leader, which also gave them another potential rival.
Of course, I could definitely object when I was in Zhongshu, but who told me to leave?
As expected, it is still the same saying, if it is not for swords and knives, it is for fish and meat.
Saying that you are ill and unable to participate in power decision-making is a necessary price to bear.
Also, Cai Jing has been looking a little strange recently, looking a little absent-minded.
Now Zhang Yue is using charcoal fire to bake the small copper stove at home, and then cut it into thin slices, pick it up with chopsticks and put it in the copper stove to rinse.
This mutton comes from the Khitan. In comparison, the mutton from the Song Dynasty is just dregs. It’s just that the Khitan sheep traveled thousands of miles to the Song Dynasty. There are not many left. Except for the royal family first, the rest are astonishingly expensive.
As for the hotpot mutton, it is not Zhang Yue’s invention.
In "Shanjia Qinggong", it talks about mutton-shabu-shabu. The mutton is just cut into thin slices, soaked in wine, sauce, and pepper to taste, and then boiled in water, without seasoning.
There are charcoal pots lit in the four corners of the hall, and it can be said that the hall is as warm as spring, but it is so comfortable to have a meal of boiled mutton in this cold winter month.
When there is no official business, Zhang Yue is indeed quite comfortable.
Zhang Yue picked up a large handful of mutton with chopsticks, dipped it in garlic and green onion, put it in his mouth and chewed it. It was so comfortable to eat meat like this.
The current situation is also Zhang Yue's intentional decision. People can't always be too smooth, they have to stop and go.
There is no need to go back to the past. In the past, there was a long distance between Zhang Yue's official position and the official family, so the relationship between the monarch and his subjects has always been very good. Now that he has become a prime minister, it cannot be the same as before.
The conflict between the king and the king is not dependent on human will.
After Prussia unified Germany, Bismarck once said that a German-French war would occur in the not too distant future.
Moltke also said that the man who set fire to Europe and threw the match into the powder keg really deserved death.
What Bismarck and Moltke criticized were those who blindly advocated nationalism and used the patriotic enthusiasm of the German people to launch war.
But these people always stand on the politically correct side and are not afraid of being criticized whether they win or lose.
Nowadays, the officials are obsessed with "restoring the prosperity of the Han and Tang Dynasties and reviving the Song Dynasty." The officials below can only passively cater to it and use it more as a stepping stone to advance.
Regardless of whether Zhang Yue opposes the Xia expedition or not, he must pour cold water on the officials at this time to wake them up.
As the old saying goes, "If a king has dissatisfied ministers, his country will not be destroyed; if a father has dissatisfied sons, his family will not be destroyed."
Zhang Yue thought of this, added a few more pieces of charcoal, picked up the folding fan and fanned the fire under the copper stove.
The cold night was long, Zhang Yue took the book at hand and read it. While he was relaxing, he could see many things clearly.
He had no major conflicts or conflicts with the officials.
There is a principle for how people get along with each other, that is, 'Be strict with those who are close to you, and be lenient with those who are distant'.
Why do all the big leaders seem to be amiable, while the little leaders all look vicious?
Because the big leader does not have a direct conflict of interest with you, he will be lenient to you. But in private, the big leader will be vicious to the smaller leaders with whom he is directly related.
Zhang Yue is now dealing directly with officials, so there are bound to be many conflicts.
But to maintain a long-term relationship between people, a small quarrel must be better than a big quarrel. So why should we express anger instead of expressing anger.
Whenever William I disagreed with Bismarck, Bismarck immediately threatened him with words.
William I immediately obeyed him. Bismarck also proudly told others: "When I threatened to resign, the old man (William I) would cry and say, 'Now you don't even care about me, what should I do?
'?"
Later, Wilhelm II no longer tolerated you Bismarck. Bismarck resigned once and then nothing happened.
So Zhang Yue chose to 'complain', and we didn't lift the table, otherwise he would just say 'resign'. A quarrel can either be about falling out or maintaining a relationship, it all depends on what your purpose is.
As a politician, you must always know what your intentions are. Avoid being emotional.
And it would be easy for him, Zhang Yue, to return to the court. As long as his figure was soft, he would be the prime minister of the Song Dynasty again.
He is not a person who can't live up to his dignity. It's a waste of time for him to be in this position! When his relationship with Wang Anshi was so bad, he took the initiative to write letters to show his goodwill.
However, sometimes he deliberately sells a flaw to see something about some people or something, and this is also his intention.
This time Zhang Yue and the officials seemed to be at odds with each other, but in fact many people came to persuade them and were worried that this would happen. Zhang Yue must remember this.
And there are also people who take pleasure in others' misfortunes and add insult to injury, so...
And Zhang Yue is not like Lu Huiqing, who kills all his political opponents at once.
Solve some at a time, and solve some at a time, and kill people without spilling blood until you have nothing to say. Do not seek big victory but small victory.
His Zhang Yue's governing style is exactly the same.
At this moment, someone suddenly reported that Han Zhongyan was here.
Zhang Yue was overjoyed that Han Zhongyan finally surrendered and returned to Beijing.
Han Zhongyan was one of the few friends recognized by Zhang Yue except Huang Lu. However, Han Zhongyan's life was not very good after Xining because of Han Qi.
I was fined two or three times just for the bronze penalty.
The officials also used imperial power, and they would beat Han Zhongyan from time to time, and they would also use this to tell Han Qi in Xiangzhou.
Although Han Qi had no "rebellion", as the emperor, his thinking perspective was always different from that of the ministers. Zhang Yue remembered the anxious and uneasy expressions of the whole family when he was ordered to visit Han Qi's condition.
Now that Han Zhongyan has been dismissed, he no longer needs to be as cautious as before.
Han Zhongyan laughed when he saw himself and said, "You are really not sick!"
Zhang Yue said to Han Zhongyan: "Keep your voice low. If anyone knows that I am eating mutton boiled in a copper stove, then my complaint will be in vain."
Han Zhongyan smiled, moved a cushion and sat across from Zhang Yue. He picked up the hot-boiled vegetables and poured them into the copper stove hot pot without any courtesy. He ate with relish.
Zhang Yue was not polite and had a great meal with him, even opening a bottle of fine wine.
Han Zhongyan took a sip of wine.
Zhang Yue also took a drink.
Han Zhongyan said: "When I went to Beijing this time, I heard many scholars talking impassionedly in restaurants, saying that I wanted to conquer Xia."
Zhang Yue said: "Is it already known to everyone passing by?"
Han Zhongyan laughed and said: "Of course, the officials still think that he handles Zhou Xiang's affairs and even hides it from all the Privy Council ministers."
"Sanlang, what do you think? What is the chance of winning this dynasty's Wakaba Xia?"
Zhang Yue said: "Hold on, is this word Sanlang something you, Han Da, can call now?"
Han Zhongyan laughed.
Zhang Yue paused and said: "How can the Xia Kingdom be conquered overnight, a country that has existed for hundreds of years?"
"Then how long will you be sick now?"
Zhang Yue said: "I am not ill, I am just looking for a way to maintain my health. As for the expedition to Xia, I have thought about the fact that the officials and ministers in the court are so eager to fight that I can't persuade them.
"
"When the battle against Xia begins, they will know that this thief should not be taken lightly. It's ridiculous. Even Lu Huiqing, Zhong E and other capable ministers and famous generals think that Xixia can be conquered in one battle. As for the other people who strongly advocate it, I don't know how many others
.”
"The officials are also blind. To be honest, if we go all out to attack Xia, the chance of winning is only 60%. If we follow my words and make progress slowly, it is 100%!"
Han Zhongyan said: "If this is the case, you must assist His Majesty, otherwise once everything is revealed, there will be no chance to make progress in the future."
Zhang Yue smiled.
Han Zhongyan said: "You won't wait until everything is revealed before you go out to clean up the mess!"
Zhang Yue did not answer, but said in his heart, it is better to hit the wall once than to say it thousands of times!
The officials are not angry at all this time, and they will definitely make their own decisions and show off their ability to conquer Xia. Although they will not send a large number of troops, it is certain that they will work hard for the troops and the people.
