Chapter 0986 Prime Minister (Tonight and tomorrow make up
Just as Kou Ji had guessed, after Han Yang was suspended, the memorial to impeach Han Yang drifted into the palace like snowflakes. The people at the Yushitai briefly listed eight major crimes for Han Yang, one of which was treating his subordinates harshly.
Zhao Zhen took advantage of the situation and dismissed Han Yang from the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment.
After Han Yang was deposed, Song Chu asked Zhao Zhen for sick leave.
Zhao Zhen took advantage of the situation and gave Song Chu the false title of Crown Prince and Grand Master, and relieved him of his actual duties.
Since then, all the old ministers in the court have disappeared. Among the remaining civil and military officials, the oldest one is Fan Zhongyan.
After the young and middle-aged men completely occupied the dominant position among the officials of the Song Dynasty, the whole Song Dynasty was extremely energetic.
If the Song Dynasty Hall in the past was like a ruler, then the Song Dynasty Hall now is more like an unsheathed sword.
When the sword is unsheathed, something will naturally be gained.
Under the guidance of Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen, the first blow of the sword struck the Great Song Dynasty Hall.
The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Officials, Yushitai, Dali Temple, Honglu Temple and other yamen carried out a revolution.
All ministries, institutions and temples are under the control of Zhengshitang, which has the Censorship Department, the Government Affairs Department, and the Criminal Law Department established under the Zhengshitang.
There are nine sub-departments established under the three divisions.
The political yamen of the Song Dynasty were further improved and subdivided.
The Political Affairs Hall was renamed the Political Affairs Yuan.
The imperial court also established the Zishiyuan.
Together with the Privy Council, it is known as the Third Council.
Each of the three academies has one chief officer of the second rank and two assistant officers of the second rank.
Each of the nine departments under the three academies has one chief officer of the third rank and two auxiliary officers of the third rank.
There are twenty-seven departments under the jurisdiction of the Nine Divisions, each with one chief officer of the fourth rank and two auxiliary officers of the fourth rank.
In addition, each court, department, and department office has a number of subordinate officials.
There are high and low levels of rank, and the highest rank for an official should not be higher than the fourth rank, and the lowest rank should be the ninth rank.
In addition, the imperial court appointed a prime minister, from the first rank, ranking above the three houses, to assist the official prime minister.
The position of Prime Minister was specially created through petition by hundreds of officials.
At the beginning of its establishment, Zhao Zhen had already discussed it with the new prime minister Kou Ji and the chief envoy of the three academies. The prime minister was like the general regent in the political arena of the Song Dynasty, and was short-lived.
When Koji leaves office, the post of Prime Minister will be abolished and will no longer be established.
Kou Ji was regarded as the first Prime Minister, the last Prime Minister, and the last first-class official in the government.
After Kou Ji leaves office, there will be no more powerful ministers in the court.
Both the first-grade official and the first-grade official will become the officials given to the old minister after he leaves the court.
It is just an honor and does not have any actual power.
The imperial court's salary will not be cut off for four seasons and will support them until their death.
But their memorials could no longer appear in the court, nor could they affect the political situation in the court.
After they left the court, the only memorial they could write was a death remonstrance before their death.
Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen were sitting in the Zishi Hall, watching as Chen Lin led the maids and eunuchs in the palace to take down the Zishi Hall sign at the entrance of the Zishi Hall and put up the meeting hall sign.
Kou Ji looked helpless, "In the official family, I think I can serve as a minister of the Political Affairs Yuan. There is no need to give me the position of Prime Minister, which will only cause more trouble.
If future generations grasp this point and use the words of prime minister again, then the power of the prime minister that Taizu and Taizong worked hard to weaken may be in vain."
Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "Fourth brother, you want to serve as a member of the political council, have you considered whether the officials will agree?"
Kou Ji curled his lips and said nothing.
Zhao Zhen burst out laughing.
Kou Ji knew why Zhao Zhen laughed.
The reason why the officials asked Zhao Zhen to appoint a first-rank prime minister was to hold Kou Ji high and prevent Kou Ji from sitting in any of the three houses and affecting the other two houses.
After all, with Kou Ji's current power and majesty, it is easy for him to sit alone in one courtyard and control the other two courtyards.
The officials obviously saw the benefits of the unity of the three houses and did not want Kou Ji to destroy the situation of the three houses, so they asked Zhao Zhen to set up a special position and give Kou Ji a high position.
Kou Ji knew the mood of the officials and understood their actions, so he could only smile bitterly, "A bunch of little bastards, they are afraid that I will mix in among them and bully them..."
Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "If a dragon mixes among tigers and wolves, isn't that bullying others? People just think that if you, a dragon, mix among their tigers and wolves, it will affect the situation that the court has finally created, so they gave you to them.
It’s rolled out.”
Kou Ji did not refute Zhao Zhen calling him a dragon.
Although he had passed the throne to Kou Tianci, in the eyes of Zhao Zhen and the Manchu civil and military officials, he was still the King of Han.
Kou Ji said with emotion: "They insist on interrogating me, and I admit it, but you insist on keeping me in the palace to accompany you to review the memorials. Isn't it a bit inappropriate?"
Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "There is a yamen outside the palace for the Privy Council to handle errands, there is a yamen for the Political Council to handle errands, and a yamen for the Ziyuan to handle errands is being built, but there is no Prime Minister's Yamen for you.
Since there is no room for you outside the palace, you can only stay with me in the palace.
From now on, this meeting hall will be the place where you and I will review memorials. I will be in the middle, you will be on the left, and the general affairs of the three academies and the affairs of the academies will be on the right after they arrive.
When they come, you and I will accompany them to discuss politics. If they don't come, we will have the final say in the council chamber."
Kou Ji smiled bitterly and said: "As a foreign minister, I have stayed in the deep palace for a long time and there are many things that remain unchanged."
Zhao Zhen laughed and said, "I would still worry about others who have been living in a deep palace for a long time. But Fourth Brother, you have been living in a deep palace for a long time, and I am not worried at all."
Kou Ji smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Zhao Zhen came closer to Kou Ji and asked curiously: "Is the fourth brother more lustful as he gets older?"
Just as Kou Ji was about to speak, he heard Zhao Zhen shouting at Chen Lin: "Chen Lin, Chen Lin, go and replace all the people serving in the meeting hall with beautiful Gong'e. If the fourth brother likes her, let him go back to his house."
Bring it with you."
Chen Lin agreed with a smile, "I obey the order..."
Kou Ji looked at Zhao Zhen dumbfounded.
Zhao Zhen winked at Kou Ji and said: "If fourth brother feels that the women in the palace are not spiritual, I can select some beautiful girls to enter the palace in my name and let fourth brother choose."
Kou Ji quickly waved his hand, "No, no, officials can't do whatever they want."
Zhao Zhen waved his sleeves grandly and said: "Fourth brother, there is no need to worry. I am now in my prime. I have selected some beautiful girls to enter the palace, and no one has made any irresponsible remarks."
Kou Ji couldn't laugh or cry and said: "If the officials are selected, then all of them will be kept. Anyway, I won't want any of them."
Zhao Zhen heard this and sighed: "Fourth brother, in two or three years, you will be almost forty. Don't you want to give Tianci another younger brother? Don't you think Tianci is too lonely alone?
I heard that Mr. Liu Heng had hooked up with three courtesans from the Fairy Hall, and two of them were pregnant with his children.
I don't think Liu Heng has any friendship with those prostitutes. I think he just wanted to give his son two more brothers to prevent his son from being lonely.
That fool Liu Heng knows how to spread his ideas, doesn’t Fourth Brother want to?"
Kou Ji smiled and said: "I am blessed with a son from heaven. If the officials want to worry about me, why not worry about Run'er? Run'er has reached his age, so the officials don't plan to help him choose a beautiful girl?"
When Zhao Zhen heard this, he smiled and said: "No hurry, no rush..."
When Kou Ji saw this, he had a smile on his face, but he was cursing her in his heart.
It is obvious that the stubborn one is still obsessed with Kou Hui.
Kou Ji didn't want to discuss this topic anymore, for fear that Zhao Zhen would bring it up with Kou Hui again, so he chatted with Zhao Zhen in random chatter.
Chen Lin and her people quickly decorated the meeting hall.
After everything was arranged in the meeting hall, everyone from the three courtyards of the highest yamen in the court entered the meeting hall holding a thick stack of memorials.
"Your Majesty Ouyang Xiu..."
"Your Majesty Fan Zhongyan..."
"Your Majesty Yang Wenguang..."
"Meet the officials, meet the Prime Minister..."
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji waved their hands, and the three of them stood up.
Zhao Zhen was speechless, and Kou Ji stared at Ouyang Xiu with a smile: "Ouyang Xiu, the Political Council has just begun to reorganize its structure. The resistance below is very strong, are you still used to it?"
Ouyang Xiu cupped his hands and said: "Back to Shangguan, although the burden of the Political Council is heavy, but with the help of Bao Zheng, Tang Jie, Pang Ji and others, I am still used to it."
Kou Ji nodded and said: "That's good. If you meet some tough or pedantic people, don't be polite. Don't be merciful when it's time to strike."
Ouyang Xiu handed over his hand again, "I understand."
Kou Ji looked at Yang Wenguang again and said with emotion: "You are a general on horseback, but now you are buried among the papers all day long. I'm afraid it's not good, right?"
Yang Wenguang looked bitter and said honestly: "As a military minister, I am really not used to dealing with those complicated official documents."
Kou Ji said bluntly: "When you have nothing to do, you can learn more about how to deal with complicated official documents. It's not too late to learn now. There are no strong enemies around the Song Dynasty. Even if one suddenly appears, it won't be your turn to lead it yourself."
The soldiers are going into battle, so you are likely to spend a long time on the documents in the future.
If you don't learn, you will be easily fooled by your subordinates, and it will also easily affect state affairs.
Your father was like this back then.
He was stationed at the border and had outstanding military exploits, but he was so lacking in government affairs that he was fooled by his subordinates and was reprimanded by Taizong many times.
You can't follow in your father's footsteps.
People say that a general is a tiger, and a tiger is not only on the battlefield, but also in the court."
Yang Wenguang bowed deeply to Kou Ji, "I understand..."
Kou Ji nodded and looked at Fan Zhongyan again, "You are in charge of all the money and food in the Song Dynasty, and you have a great responsibility. You need to be cautious when things happen. No matter how cautious you are, if you make a slight mistake, the court may lose countless money and food."
Fan Zhongyan solemnly said: "I understand..."
After Kou Jiti ordered the three of them, he leaned back on his seat and stopped talking.
Zhao Zhen slowly sat up straight and said with a smile: "What the fourth brother said is what I said. I hope you three dear friends will remember it."
Yang Wenguang, Fan Zhongyan, and Ouyang Xiu saluted together.
"Here..."
Zhao Zhen pointed to the seat on the right side of the meeting hall.
The three of them bowed their hands, walked over and sat down with the memorial in their arms.
After sitting down, Zhao Zhen asked: "What major matters need to be handled by me and my fourth brother in recent days?"
Ouyang Xiu put down the memorial in his hand, cupped his hand and said: "Back to the official house, except for Kaifeng Prefecture, Shaanxi Prefecture, Sichuan Prefecture, Jiangning Prefecture and other nine prefectures, the remaining prefectures have been violative of the restructuring.
What I mean is to punish them a little, change their positions, and give them a warning to see the consequences. What do the officials think?"
Zhao Zhen thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Restructuring is not without bloodshed. I have no intention of scheming with those pedantic people.
Just follow your wishes and give them a warning first. If they dare to violate the law, they will be demoted and killed.
There is no need to hold back, and no need to care about who is behind them.
If someone embarrasses you with something like a backer, just tell me and I will deal with his backer as well."
Ouyang Xiu nodded slowly and said: "Well..."
Kou Ji asked: "How are the border prefectures doing?"
Ouyang Xiu said with a bitter face: "The border governments are now filled with a large number of criminal records, and many local government offices are not sound. It is easy to implement the New Deal, but if you want to achieve results, I am afraid you have to wait until all the criminal records become the people of the Song Dynasty.
That’s all.”
Kou Ji pondered and said: "In the future, we can find ways to slowly bring the criminal records from the border areas to the hinterland of the Song Dynasty. However, all the people from the border areas who have lost their citizenship can move part of them into the hinterland of the Song Dynasty.
At the same time, some poor people in the hinterland of the Song Dynasty can be relocated out of the country to make up for the lack of people in the border areas.
At the same time, we need to invest more in education.”
Ouyang Xiu nodded and said: "This matter has also been considered by lower-level officials. However, now the fourth batch of Meng boys in our Mongolian School of the Song Dynasty have graduated. They are far behind the local scholars, so they cannot enter the Imperial College, Imperial College, or Wenchang College.
He cannot enter the major academies such as Yingtian Academy.
The current situation is very embarrassing.
People who have no intention of continuing their studies have entered hundreds of industries and become the mainstay in hundreds of industries.
Those who are determined to continue their studies are now a little confused.
If they continue to learn, they will not know what to learn; if they do not continue to learn, they will feel unwilling.
Except for some children from wealthy families who have schools at home to continue their education, students from poor families now have no place to study.
So what the students want is whether we can carry out county schools and government schools in accordance with the previous plans set by the government and the Prime Minister."
Zhao Zhen lamented: "The conditions for opening county schools and prefectural schools are mature. It is easy to choose the location and school buildings of the colleges. The key is that it is difficult to find teachers.
After the establishment of county schools and government schools, students will not only be taught the inherent Six Classics, but also other subjects.
The county school has eight subjects, and the government school is probably divided into two colleges, each of which has eight subjects.
Therefore, the number of gentlemen needed is very large.
The court has no way to solve it now."
Ouyang Xiu was a little confused when he heard this.
After pondering for a moment, Ouyang Xiu asked in surprise: "Does the official plan to pass on some knowledge of Dashi?"
Zhao Zhen nodded, then shook his head, "Some of it is food knowledge, but most of it is books written by Fourth Brother and other erudite doctors.
For example, the arithmetic that the fourth brother worked out together with the teachers from Taixue, Imperial College, and Wenchang Academy, some of which are derived from our inherent Chinese arithmetic, some are derived from the arithmetic of Dashi, and some are derived from the arithmetic that the fourth brother based on his own experience.
The teacher taught and summarized the arithmetic.
Compared with the previous complicated arithmetic, the new arithmetic is more organized, progressive and extending layer by layer.
Doctors of arithmetic from Taixue and Imperial College have said that once new arithmetic is introduced, a large number of arithmetic masters will emerge who are not inferior to them.
But currently, the only one who is proficient in new arithmetic is the fourth brother.
Those PhDs in arithmetic from Imperial College and Imperial College can only be regarded as rough masters.
I can’t possibly ask a Prime Minister to go to each county to give lectures in person, right?”
When Ouyang Xiu heard what Zhao Zhen said, he said in a deep voice: "It is difficult for an official family to promote the knowledge of one family. Only by turning it into everyone's knowledge can it be widely taught.
Therefore, officials should not put aside the establishment of county schools and government schools just because of one school.
I believe that county schools and government schools should be established first, and existing subjects that can be promoted should be included in them.
Then new subjects such as arithmetic will be added slowly.”
Zhao Zhen said quietly: "I also know this truth. I am afraid that after the county school and government school are established, if new subjects are added, the gentlemen in the county school and government school will not agree.
If they use this to cause trouble, their power will be much greater than that of wealthy families.
It won’t be easy for me to deal with it then.”
When Ouyang Xiu heard this, he frowned. After pondering for a few times, Ouyang Xiu gritted his teeth and said, "Then we will establish Chinese studies on top of Fuxue. Chinese studies will be directly managed by the imperial court, and new subjects will be established within Chinese studies, and scientific examinations will be set up.
Anyone who cannot pass the scientific examination will not be allowed to enter Chinese studies.
If you don't enroll in Chinese studies, you won't be able to serve as an official for the rest of your life.
If people in local government schools and county schools want their students to become officials, they must establish new subjects.
Otherwise, you won’t be able to pass the Chinese Studies Examination.”
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji looked at each other, and Zhao Zhen said to Ouyang Xiudao: "In this case, the time students have to study may become very long."
Ouyang Xiu said in a deep voice: "I entered the Mongolian school at the age of five, the county school at the age of eleven, the government school at the age of fourteen, and the traditional Chinese school at the age of seventeen. It's just right."
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji looked at each other again, with a hint of smile in their eyes.
When Ouyang Xiu saw this, his heart skipped a beat.
He felt like he had been tricked.
He felt that Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji might have had the idea of establishing Chinese studies for a long time, but they didn't say it. They were waiting for an enemy to come and tell the story, so that they could take away the infamy.
He seems to be the one who was taken advantage of.
Zhao Zhen asked Kou Ji with a smile, "What do you think, fourth brother?"
Kou Ji smiled and said: "I think Ouyang Xiu's words are reasonable."
Zhao Zhen nodded and said: "Then do as Ouyang Aiqing said, and leave this matter to Ouyang Aiqing."
Ouyang Xiu's face looked a little bitter.
Listening to the conversation between the two as if they were acting, he was sure that he had fallen into a trap.
Kou Ji saw Ouyang Xiu's thoughts and said with a smile: "Relax, you don't need to bear the curse. It's just that education is a thousand-year plan and must be implemented consistently.
I won't stay in Bianjing for too long, and it's impossible for officials to keep their eyes on education all the time, so someone needs to keep an eye on this matter all the time.
When the new discipline is implemented, I will implement it in my name.
If others want to scold me, they will scold me, not you.
You just need to help me and the officials keep an eye on this matter.
In addition, I should go to the Imperial College more often and see if I can persuade Jia Changchao to serve as the head of the Ministry of Education.
He is a person with great potential to become a scholar, and he played an indispensable role in the compilation of Tiansheng Dictionary.
He also attaches great importance to education, so if he serves as the head of the education department, he should be able to achieve something."
When Ouyang Xiu heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief. He said with a very magnanimous wry smile: "I am really worried that I will be scolded to death by all the scholars in the world."
Kou Ji laughed and said: "Do you think that a simple study of Chinese culture can force those people to submit? Before the new school has completely opened up, the chiefs of each academies are probably all great Confucians who are proficient in the Six Classics.
If they lose their temper, they can risk their lives.
So just relying on Chinese studies cannot stop them."
Fan Zhongyan, who had been silent at the side, said in a deep voice: "The officials and the prime minister are planning to take a new exam in the imperial examination?"
Ouyang Xiu looked shocked.
The impact of incorporating new learning into the imperial examination system is much greater than that of restructuring.
The Six Classics, which have governed the imperial examinations for hundreds of years, suddenly have to take the examination together with the new students who have just emerged. Can those great Confucians and scholars who have studied the Six Classics so hard tolerate it?
Kou Ji glanced at Fan Zhongyan and Ouyang Xiu, and smiled calmly: "I know what you are worried about, so I will ask you a question. How can a person who is not proficient in arithmetic become an official in the Zhishi Yuan?"
Fan Zhongyan and Ouyang Xiu fell into silence.
Fan Zhongyan, as the head of the Zishiyuan, is very aware of how complicated the Zishiyuan's accounts are now and how much money it controls.
A person who is not proficient in arithmetic, accounting, and the government affairs of the Zishiyuan has no way of being an official in the Zishiyuan.
Arithmetic is only the simplest requirement for becoming an official in the Zishi Yuan.
If you cannot satisfy even this, then entering the Zishiyuan will be a disaster.
A small wrong decision, or a small omission in the accounts, is likely to cause the court to lose a lot of money.
Although Ouyang Xiu did not serve in the Zishiyuan, he had a good relationship with Fan Zhongyan, and he often heard about some of the government affairs of the Zishiyuan from Fan Zhongyan.
He generally knows how huge the money Zishiyuan is currently in charge of, and he also knows how complicated Zishiyuan's accounts are now.
People who are not proficient in arithmetic and accounting can only do errands and miscellaneous jobs after joining the Zishi Yuan.
To be an official, to be the chief official, is to harm others.
Seeing that the two of them were silent, Kou Ji continued to ask: "How can a person who is not familiar with criminal law serve as an official in the Criminal Law Department?"
Ouyang Xiu and Fan Zhongyan heard this but still remained silent.
Kou Ji said frankly: "You have also served as local officials. You should understand that accounts, criminal laws, etc. must be presided over by people who are proficient in them.
If people who are not proficient go there, they will be deceived.
Every year, there are many officials in the imperial court who are deceived by their subordinates because they are not proficient in various government affairs.
In the future, when we select officials, we can no longer choose officials according to the Six Classics.
Some highly demanding official positions must be filled by proficient people.
Therefore, it is imperative to add new things to the imperial examination.
Not only do we have to add new things to the imperial examination, we also have to arrange the elected officials into their appropriate positions.
In this way, the court can ensure that government orders are communicated clearly and there are fewer omissions."