Five hundred and fifty-one chapters meet opponents
Yanhe Hall.
Wang Gui stood in front of the throne like an old monk in trance, never saying a word. If Zhang Yue hadn't looked at him with his eyes open, he would have thought that he was a dead tree.
Zhang Yue felt that Wang Gui was more like a human background wall than himself.
As for Sima Guang and Wang Anshi who were behind Wang Gui, they started arguing with each other.
It is normal for ministers to debate in court, but if there is no major conflict between the two, it would be better to just settle the matter in one or two sentences and let the officials make a final decision.
As for Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, they were still arguing normally for one or two sentences at first, but their arguments became more angry.
Because Sima Guang made the greatest contribution to establishing the heir apparent, he has always been the most powerful person from the Renzong Dynasty to today. From the late emperor to the present day, he has been given three points.
At the time of Pu's proposal, other officials who opposed it were demoted from the capital. For example, Fan Zhen, Lu Jie and other officials who had contributed to the establishment of the reserve were all driven out of the capital. Only Sima Guang could not be driven away and had to be persuaded to stay in the capital to revise books.
On the Puyi issue, all the officials of the Manchu Dynasty supported Sima Guang.
Now that the new official ascended the throne, for the support of Empress Dowager Cao, they completely negated the Puyi matter. Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu dismounted in disgrace. Sima Guang won again, and he stood on the politically correct side from beginning to end.
You can win once, but the hard thing is to win every time.
Now Sima Guang can completely use this momentum to gather party members, but he does not form a party. Sima Guang is far more terrifying than the Lu Yijian that Fan Zhongyan faced back then!
Now it is once again, when today the emperor wants to be a promising king, Sima Guang once again objects, whether he can stand on the politically correct side again.
But this time the person who challenged Sima Guang was not an official, but his best friend Wang Anshi.
The ceremony in the southern suburbs is an important ceremony. The big ceremony is the same as the grand ceremony.
If the emperor fails, he can be promoted to another level. On the emperor's birthday, officials can ask for help from the officials for their children.
In the first year of Jiayou reign, the official family canceled the rule of making sacrifices during the Holy Festival, which was also a measure to reduce redundant officials.
However, during the grand ceremony in the southern suburbs, officials can still ask for favors. This is a favor obtained by the official duties. The so-called vested interests, as for the rewards given to officials from the two governments, are also reasonable.
When Sima Guang and Wang Anshi first argued, they were still very calm.
At this moment, the official had not yet read the memorials of the two men, so he asked Sima Guang: "Why didn't the academy of academicians report the memorial of the prime minister's resignation as early as possible?"
Sima Guang said: "Someone is asking for leave."
Wang Anshi glanced at Sima Guang when he heard this.
The official asked again: "What does Wang Qing think?"
Wang Anshi said bluntly: "Everything I wrote is in the memorial. Your Majesty, please consult your ministers extensively before making a final judgment."
After hearing Wang Anshi's words, the officials looked up and asked, "Is there anyone who disagrees?"
Wang Anshi said: "Everyone except me agrees."
Hearing this sentence, the official was shocked and couldn't help but look at Sima Guang.
He had just asked the Academic Academy for its approval on the reward for the prime minister's speech. Sima Guang said that except for him and Wang Anshi, everyone else had asked for leave and therefore did not go to the academy.
But Wang Anshi's answer was that except for Wang Anshi, other Hanlin scholars such as Wang Gui, Lu Gongzhu, and Han Wei all disagreed.
Zhang Yue thought to himself that according to what Wang Anshi said, this was the second time that the four friends of Jiayou sided with him.
However, the fact is that only Wang Anshi and Sima Guang in the Academy of Sciences submitted the memorial, and the others did not express their stance.
Wang Gui is still like an old monk entering meditation. He is the first scholar in the Hanlin Academy. Doesn't he agree?
The official said: "You two nobles will discuss this with me."
According to what Wang Anshi said, Sima Guang seemed to be standing on the opposite side of everyone for the first time.
But Sima Guang remained calm and was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, now that the country is short of resources and there are many disasters, we should save redundant expenses. The two ministers can set an example."
Wang Anshi retorted: "Nowadays, the country is rich all over the world, and the suburbs are only a drop in the bucket. It only saves a few dollars, but it damages the country. In the past, when Chang Gun, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, was in power, the prime minister's meals were provided by the internal kitchen, which could serve more than a dozen people. Chang Gun resigned to the emperor.
However, at that time, others were arguing that the prime minister was in charge of the country's affairs. If he could not do it, he had to resign his position, not his salary. Isn't it true that the two governments declined rewards."
"Now that the country's resources are insufficient, there is no need to make efforts through frugality. This is not a top priority."
Sima Guang then said: "Chang Gun's Ci Lu knew integrity and shame. Isn't it inferior to those who have no shame and still receive high-ranking officials and generous salaries? Since Emperor Zhenzong, the state has been insufficient. Why is it not a top priority?"
Wang Anshi said: "The reason why the country is short of funds is because there are no people who are good at managing money."
Sima Guang said: "What does it mean to be good at managing money? According to ancient times, those who make money want everyone to tax them. If the people are so poor and homeless, how can it be a benefit to the country?"
Wang Anshi said: "This is expropriation rather than financial management. People who are good at financial management can make the people use money without giving them taxes."
At this point, although the two of them said something to each other, it was generally a normal debate.
But after hearing Wang Anshi's words, Sima Guang suddenly changed his expression and said: "The people do not pay more for the country and the country uses mercy. This is Sang Hongyang's words to deceive Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Sima Qian once satirized Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty because of this. Born from heaven and earth, wealth and goods are everywhere.
, all have a certain number, whether it is with the officials or with the people."
"Sang Hongyang said that if the people do not add taxes to the state and use the money, and if they do not take it from the people, then where can it be taken from? Don't you see, in the last years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a swarm of thieves sprang up, and they were captured by messengers wearing embroidered clothes. This matter can be observed in history, and is there no lesson learned from the past?
"
Sima Guang's expression changed, he was obviously a little angry, and he showed some real anger.
After listening to Sima Guang, Zhang Yue deeply understood what he said to Zeng Bu. Why should he be proficient in studying history?
As for learning from history, it’s not just talk.
Just like the pitfalls I stepped on in the past, they have become my own wisdom in life.
History will never be forgotten, but I don’t know if it will be overcorrected.
Let’s talk about scriptures again. What Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were arguing about was whether the country had money or not?
No, there is an ideological dispute between them, that is, a dispute between ethics and morality, centered on whether to increase revenue or reduce expenditure.
Open source means big government, and cutting expenditure means small government.
Confucianism has indeed always advocated the idea of storing wealth among the people. As long as the people have money, the country will also have money. This means that the people are enough and the king is not enough.
During the Warring States Period, the harsh government was as fierce as the tiger, and many princes imposed extortionate taxes. Therefore, Confucianism advised the monarchs to hide their wealth among the people. This is correct.
But Sima Guang also used this statement to simplify the problem into a binary.
Facing Sima Guang's long speech, Wang Anshi counterattacked calmly: "I have heard that if you want to enrich your family, you will enrich your country; if you want to enrich your country, you will enrich the world; if you want to enrich the world, you will enrich the heaven and earth. Wealth can be obtained from heaven and earth, but why should it not be with the people?"
That is, the theory of serving as an official."
"Why does the imperial court encourage mulberry farming, build weirs and dams? This is not taken from the people, nor from officials, but taken from heaven and earth, and both officials and people benefit from it."
Zhang Yue nodded frequently after listening. If a family wants to be rich, it must draw wealth from society. If society wants to be rich, it must draw wealth from natural resources.
In the final analysis, in addition to dividing the cake, there is also making the cake. Developing productivity is making the cake, and it is the only way to increase wealth.
Sima Guang's idea is to divide the cake and think in a zero-sum game.
For example, in the stock market, if there are no dividends from listed companies, it is a zero-sum game. No matter how you play a zero-sum game, you will end up cutting leeks.
Wang Anshi said again: "The difference between me and Jun Shi is not just in the different skills practiced, but also in the debate between name and reality. What Jun Shi said about seeking profit, in my opinion, is just closing the door and trading with his son.
Don't come in outside the door. What I do is not to levy and benefit the people, but to manage the country's finances. Today's insufficient state resources are not only due to unreasonable expenses, but also the loss of financial management. Since Emperor Zhenzong, there has been no way to manage finances, so the country has
Although he is frugal, he is not rich."
Close the door and let his son go to market, and let no one come in from outside the door. That is to say, the door is closed, and the father and his son do business, and no outside money comes in. How can such a family be rich? To be rich, a family must draw money from society.
Wang Anshi used this sentence to completely counterattack. Sima Guangzhi said that it's not about the officials but the people's zero-sum game thinking.
Sima Guang then said: "Jiefu, what is a name? Confucius said, 'The name must be corrected.' The correcting of the name should be based on the Zhou rites. In addition to collecting profits, does the Zhou rite also include financial management? What is the name of this financial management?"
Wang Anshi said: "First there is the truth and then there is the name. Although Zhou Li does not have the name of financial management, it does not necessarily lack the reality of financial management. Guan Zhong managed the country's finances, picked mountains, boiled the sea, dug for smelting, and took wealth between heaven and earth.
I see Confucius is to blame. Confucius was familiar with the Zhou rites, but he opposed Guan Zhong, so I was sent to Zuojun. How can Guan Zhong's actions be found in the Zhou rites?"
The debate between Sima Guang and Wang Anshi was a debate in name and reality.
Sima Guang talked about the Confucian classic Zhou Rites. As a code of conduct, scholars should cultivate their moral integrity and govern the country to see whether all behaviors are in line with Zhou Rites. If they are in compliance with the names, they are the rectification of names. Therefore, Confucius said that "the names must also be rectified", which makes it clear that theory guides practice.
Wang Anshi said it was wrong. Things existed first, and then we discovered them and then named them. This means that we have the facts first and then the names. Just because you haven’t seen it, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Sima Guang said: "What Jiefu did was done by something that Yao and Shun had never done before. It was not the way of the previous kings."
Zhang Yue lamented that Sima Guang was very powerful, and he was indeed a master among masters. He concluded that Wang Anshi's words were not the way of the previous kings, and all his efforts just now were in vain.
"What is the way of the ancestors of the kings? How could there be the way of the ancestors of the kings during the time of Yao and Shun? How could they not govern the world?"
Seeing Wang Anshi's refutation, Wang Gui, who had been silent, came forward and said: "Your Majesty, Sima Guang said that he should save money and start with the near, and what he said is extremely true. Wang Anshi said that he did not spend much money, and it is also extremely true. Your Majesty is the only one who has ruled."
What Wang Gui said is nonsense.
The only effect was to end the court debate between Wang Anshi and Sima Guang.
The official was very happy to see Wang Gui kicking the ball to him. He was very satisfied with the debate. The opinions of both sides were fully discussed and I gained something.
As for the decision, the official said: "My opinion is the same as that of Sima Guang. Therefore, today the Academy refuses to respond to the Prime Minister's memorial."
Wang Gui was confused after hearing what the officials were doing. I and Sima Guang had the same view, but I chose Wang Anshi's method.
At this moment, someone said: "I am reporting this to Your Majesty, I think it is inappropriate!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone's jaw dropped. Zhang Yue, who was the human background wall, actually spoke!
Ps: The Yanhe Hall Debate is a very important chapter in the history of the Song Dynasty. Like the Salt and Iron Debate in the Han Dynasty, it represents the change of the national economic system and national policy.
However, the debate part recorded in the history books was sidetracked by historians, only what Sima Guang said was retained, and much of what Wang Anshi said was deleted, so it seems that Sima Guang won.
But how could a person like Wang Anshi, who was so quibbling, be defeated so easily? Therefore, the part of Wang Anshi in this chapter was completed by the author, and it is all well-founded.
