Song Gexing

Chapter 25: The father tricked the child and forced Zhao Fang to use his big move

"Brother, tell me why you stopped Ouyang Qing and Fan Qing in the court?"

After the court finally broke up, Zhao Zhen slipped Zhao Fangti to the Chongzheng Hall and asked. Fan Zhongyan and others who followed him also looked at him with burning eyes, waiting for his explanation.

Zhao Fang pursed his lips, glanced at the people present, glanced at Zhang Dexiang, and sighed helplessly, "I can't get around this old man. This old man is the prime minister. He will be present at important events. How can we handle this matter?"

Seeing that he didn't answer, Zhao Zhen urged: "Tell me, this is not a court. The people present are all loyal officials of the court. Don't hide anything you have to say."

"Dad, you are cheating me!"

After wailing, Zhao Fang asked helplessly: "Senior Uncle Yong, can you tell me who provided you with the memorial jointly signed by the Tai students?"

Ouyang Xiu was startled and immediately said in surprise: "Do you think someone is plotting against me?"

"Yeah! There are too many people involved in the matter of surreptitious household registration, and they are all state and county officials. Lizheng and even every village in the Song Dynasty are involved. If it is involved, it will affect the whole body. Some people want to use the most influential Things will hinder the imperial court's path to reform, leaving you with no energy to deal with major events that really shake their interests."

Zhao Fang simply said it, and quietly observed Zhang Dexiang. Sure enough, he saw his eyes narrow, and now he was even more sure.

When Ouyang Xiu heard this, he immediately said angrily: "It is unbearable to have such a treacherous minister in the court!"

"He may not be a traitor!"

Zhao Fang immediately interrupted him and said seriously: "Gentlemen, please remember one thing, those who support the reform may not be loyal ministers, and those who oppose it may not be traitorous ministers, they just have different political opinions."

Han Qi retorted loudly when he heard this: "The government's maladministration has become more and more prominent these years. The voices of the government and the public are calling for change. People with conscience are supporting everything. Does the First Prince still think that the opponents are not traitors? Don't they know that the maladministration is not good for the court?" , is it bad for the people?"

Zhao Fang smiled bitterly and said: "Does Privy Han only have black and white in his eyes? It should be noted that things in this world cannot be judged as right or wrong. Some people object not because they are not concerned about the country and the people, but because they are afraid that careless changes will cause greater chaos." In the end, it is the safest thing to stay safe, at least you don’t have to worry about getting out of hand.”

Han Qi was about to refute again, but Fan Zhongyan quickly stopped him and said, "The eldest prince is saying that there is a kind of person who is not actually opposed to change, but is worried that the change will not go well and would rather remain unchanged, right?"

Zhao Fang nodded seriously and said, "That's exactly it!"

Then he spoke again: "There is another kind of person who is worried about the ancestral system being changed. This kind of person is the most difficult to convince, because it involves not his personal interests, but the interests of an entire group."

"Can the interests of the group be higher than the interests of the court? What the eldest prince said is inappropriate."

Ouyang Xiuyang shouted.

Zhao Fang looked at him and replied seriously: "This is the truth. How many people can do it? Who dares to claim to be a gentleman and say that he has no selfish motives? Take the dispute between Ding Wei and Kou Zhun as an example. It really means loyalty." Is there a war between traitors? Without Ding Wei, would Uncle Yong be able to move towards the position of prime minister in the future? Prime Minister Zhang has the most say on this point."

As he said this, he looked at Zhang Dexiang, who had been watching the fun. The old man hesitated and smiled bitterly: "Da Lang said that if you don't talk about business, why bother talking about the past?"

Zhao Fang immediately replied: "Because of Taizu's ancestral system, southerners are not allowed to be prime ministers. Zhang Xiang is from Fujian, but now he is ranked as prime minister. It can be seen that the ancestral system cannot be changed, but when a group is strong enough, the ancestral system will also What can be changed is just like when Prime Minister Ding borrowed my grandmother's hand to overthrow the ancestral system that prevented southerners from becoming prime minister."

Zhang Dexiang's eyes narrowed slightly and he did not dare to look at him.

Ouyang Xiu's face turned red and he wanted to refute but opened his mouth and stopped.

Han Qi said angrily: "The eldest prince wants to vindicate Ding Wei. This thief wanted the Queen Mother to learn from Wu Zetian. He was extremely treasonous. Is it just the so-called group interest?" "Yes, Ding Wei's biggest crime is this. I did not say that he was not guilty, but I asked you, why did he take this path? Throughout his life as an official, he was not dedicated to serving the country and the people, but why did he later learn from Xu Jingzong? To be infamy for eternity?"

These words silenced everyone. Yes, Ding said that no one could clean up the crimes he committed later, but who forced him to do this was not the so-called ancestors and the ministers in the court at that time.

In terms of talent, no one here dares to say that he is better than him, even though he is not among the eight great masters of Tang and Song Dynasties in later generations, but he was hailed as a talented scholar who has been comparable to them in the past 200 years since Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan.

Moreover, this guy has a photographic memory. Without a golden finger like Zhao Fang, he can recite 10,000+ words after reading them once. This ability is simply incredible.

He was not included in the Eight Great Masters by later generations, probably because he was listed as a traitor, so his talent was deliberately ignored.

Like Cai Jing, Cai Jing's calligraphy can be said to be better than that of Mi Fu and others, but he is still not as good as the four great masters of the Northern Song Dynasty.

You must know that calligraphy and painting masters like Song Huizong were full of praise for his calligraphy, and even asked him to inscribe many of his paintings.

This is not because of favor. You must know that if the inscription on a painting is not good, it will destroy the beauty of the entire painting.

How could Song Huizong, who was obsessed with calligraphy and painting, tolerate this kind of thing? In the final analysis, it was Cai Jing's calligraphy that he recognized, which would not destroy the beauty, and might even enhance it.

Later generations believe that the Northern Song Dynasty was the pinnacle of cultural achievement and could not be surpassed by future generations. Why not for this reason? How many amazing talents like Ding Wei and Cai Jing were deliberately buried in history because of their poor reputations.

……

Lu Yijian's heart suddenly moved at this moment: "Zhang Dexiang is not right today, could it be..."

Thinking of this, he said hypocritically: "Does the eldest prince really want to change the ancestral system? It's not impossible. As long as the people support it, I will support it."

As he spoke, he quietly observed Zhang Dexiang and saw that his expression changed: "Brother Lu, please be careful! How can people like you and me not know the sentiments of the people and not trust them!"

Looking at Lu Yijian who was looking at him, Zhang felt really anxious. He could not care about the jumping of Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and others, but he dared not ignore Lu Yijian's position.

This is not because Fan Han and others are not as talented as Lu Yijian, but because their status is different. Lu Yijian, who has served as prime minister three times and once as deputy prime minister, is not comparable to the new generation of Fan Han and others.

The Qingli Reform in history was led by new members of the imperial court who did not get the support of the old ministers at all. Zhang Dexiang could just watch and make some sarcastic remarks without intervening.

Because he understood that these people were not powerful enough to fight against the powerful group, but Lu Yijian was different. He himself represented the established powerful group.

The Lu family is a family of officials in the Song Dynasty. They have been officials since the Tang Dynasty. Their great-grandfathers were high-ranking officials.

Among the next generation of Lu Yijian, three sons have entered the court, Lu Gongchuo, Lu Gongbi and Lu Gongzhu, and their in-laws and old friends are all over the officialdom.

The father-in-law was Ma Liang, a famous minister in the early Song Dynasty, and the three prime ministers of the Song Dynasty were related by marriage to the Ma family. All of these were helped by Lu Yijian.

On the contrary, Fan Zhongyan came from a grassroots background. Although Han Qi was also a child of a noble family, he was a concubine. The family backgrounds of Ouyang Xiu, Sima Guang and others could not reach the heights of the elite group.

Therefore, if Lu Yijian supports the reform, it will be a disaster for the veteran dignitaries.

(End of this chapter)