Prime Minister

Chapter 1280: Party Struggle (2 chapters in 1)

Chapter 1280: Party Struggle (Two Updates Combined into One)

Chen Guan was on his way to Zhang Yue to report the matter when he saw Cai Que coming out with a face full of anger.

After Chen Guan entered, he saw Zhang Yue, who was staring out the window with his hands behind his back.

Chen Guan rarely saw Zhang Yue so hesitant. He also guessed what had happened between Zhang Yue and Cai Que, and immediately stood aside in silence.

Zhang Yue calmed down and said to Chen Guan, "Zhizheng, I am so sad and upset."

Chen Guan said: "I know that the Prime Minister has always missed the friendship he had with the Left Prime Minister when they were classmates."

Zhang Yue said: "Yingzhong, you also know that I never leave anyone with a dead end."

"No matter who it is, whether they have offended me or not."

Zhang Yue released all those arrested by Cai Que in recent years because he did not want Cai Que to be able to hold the position of prime minister after he replaced him. But if Cai Que could do what he wanted, he would never have been banished to Lingnan and died.

But Zhang Yue would never tell Cai Que anything directly.

When someone is in Zhang Yue's position, he can only watch silently and screen people secretly.

Zhang Yue said to Chen Guan: "In the case of Chen Zhizhong's son Chen Shiru, there was no reason for Chen Shiru to be put to death. The punishment was too harsh."

“Even now, people are still horrified.”

Apart from the fact that Zhang killed her mother-in-law, there was no direct evidence that Chen Shiru was involved in the case. Even the emperor asked Cai Que if he could see the late Prime Minister Chen Zhizhong showing mercy to Chen Shiru.

However, Cai Que insisted on killing Chen Shiru in order to correct people's hearts and restore discipline in the court.

In the end, Chen Shiru was executed.

When this happened, everyone was shocked. Although everyone knew that Chen Zhizhong had offended Cai Que's father, Cai Huangshang, after this incident, everyone was afraid of Cai Que, fearing that they would offend him.

At that time, Zhang Yue resigned from his post in Dingli Temple, and Cai Que took advantage of Zhang Yue's absence to force the matter through. Of course, Cai Que also contributed to the smooth implementation of Zhang Yue's reform.

However, this was a different time. Since Zhang Yue proposed "manifesting the virtues" in the world, his intention was to ease the relationship between the New Party and the Old Party.

But his opinion differs from that of Tsai Que, who advocates the fight against the old party.

Zhang Yue said to Chen Guan: "From now on, I will rule the world with 'righteousness' instead of 'people'!"

After listening to Zhang Yue's words, Chen Guan asked, "Teacher, what you mean is to rule the world by advocating reform."

Zhang Yue nodded slowly and said, "That's right. From now on, those who agree with my principles are my friends, not me, Zhang Yue."

Chen Guan was shocked. The imperial court did not employ people based on nepotism but on political opinions.

Zhang Yue said: "I don't know who will take over after I retire?"

Chen Guan could sense Zhang Yue's emotion.

As they were talking, the Minister of Revenue Huang Lu and the Minister of War Han Zhongyan arrived.

Before the Yuanfeng reform, the status of the Three Departments was much lower than before.

For example, under the new law, the granary leveling, exemption from military service and irrigation were all transferred to the Sinong Temple, while the Military Equipment Supervisor, the Water Conservancy Supervisor and the Crafts Supervisor were separated from the Three Departments.

But after the reform, the power of the three yamen, the Sinong Temple and the original Ministry of Revenue, was all returned to the Ministry of Revenue.

From then on, the Minister of Revenue, the Vice Minister of Revenue, the Minister of Justice, etc. were no longer honorary titles for officials to receive salaries, but real titles, which were official titles of the second rank.

Why is Zhongshu so important to Zhang Yue?

Because the power of Zhongshutang was still there, the appointment of officials below the third rank was a matter of Zhang Yue's word.

After Huang Lu and Han Zhongyan had spoken for a few words, Zhang Yue said, "Just now I had a disagreement with Zhizheng, and he walked away in anger! We have fallen out."

Huang Lu and Han Zhongyan understood what was going on instantly.

Huang Lu sighed. He and Cai Que had always been good friends. They were called Zhang's party. Later, when Zhang Yue claimed to be ill, Huang Lu persuaded Cai Que to reconcile with Zhang Yue.

Han Zhongyan said: "I have long seen that Zhizheng has evil intentions. If this is the case, we will stop him with our troops and block him with earth."

Zhang Yue said: "I heard that Zhizheng has been recruiting soldiers in the Imperial College recently!"

"I'm afraid that if I quit, all the graduates of the Imperial College will follow Zhizheng!"

Chen Guan was shocked when he heard this. No wonder Zhang Yue suddenly took action to suppress Cai Que. It was a well-targeted move.

Most of the officials who supported Zhang Yue at the beginning were students of the Imperial College. Later, there were complicated factions, such as Shen Kuo and a large group of people from the Northwest Faction, the Cai and Su brothers, and Zhang Yue’s relatives and students.

They all believed in Zhang Yue and recognized his personal charm, but they did not fully agree with his political views, just like the Cai brothers and the Su brothers.

Officials who came from Imperial College students are relatively ambitious and extremely dissatisfied with the current officialdom. Some of them even plan to start a new career in the current officialdom.

When Fan Zhongyan carried out reforms, the Imperial College was an important supporting force for the reforms, including Hu Yuan, Shi Jie and so on.

However, when Wang Anshi was carrying out the reform, the students of the Imperial College did not support him, which led to the Six Lecturers Incident. In order to control the Imperial College, Wang Anshi replaced the lecturers with his own confidants and implemented the Three-Shed System, because the top-shelf students could directly become officials or be exempted from examinations.

This led to students competing with each other everywhere, and this trend of scholars remained largely unchanged until the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song.

In the late Northern Song Dynasty, prices were extremely high, and common people jokingly said, "Everything in the world is expensive, except for scholars' prices!"

After Zhang Yue took office, he used Cai Que to purge all the direct lecturers appointed by Wang Anshi in the Yu Fan case at the Imperial College and replaced them with new direct lecturers.

The disciples of Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao and Zhang Zai all entered officialdom at this time, and the academic atmosphere of the Imperial Academy finally changed.

After Zhang Yue, the Imperial College was reformed and half of the admission quota must be from poor families (no official position for more than three generations).

At the same time, Cai Jing proposed that the county school recommend two people to the state school every year, and the state school recommend two people to the Imperial College every year, forming a vertical management system from the central government to the local level.

The students who were admitted through independent enrollment and the students from prefectures and counties were trained and educated by the Imperial Academy and finally graduated from it.

Nowadays, one third of the officials are from the Imperial College, not to mention the military commanders and medical officers who are from the military and medical schools.

Now Cai Que is using his and Xiang Qi's influence in the Imperial Academy to recruit troops and horses, which has touched Zhang Yue's sore spot.

Huang Lu said: "Zhizheng, recently he has been setting up various societies among the students in the name of association, in order to recruit students and finally win over officials. I warned him about this, but unfortunately he didn't listen, otherwise it wouldn't have come to this."

The trend of forming associations among the people was extremely popular in the Song Dynasty.

When Zhang Yue was the judge of the Imperial College, he organized a Cuju Club in the Imperial College to prevent future generations from mocking that Chinese football had never stood up since Gao Qiu.

Nowadays, the Cuju Club of the Imperial College and the folk Cuju Club Qiyun Club still have competitions.

However, Cai Que used these societies as an outpost to secretly recruit his trusted followers.

Han Zhongyan's eyes flickered.

Zhang Yue said in a somewhat grim tone: "Zhizheng's action is also unwise. If he doesn't do it, it doesn't mean that others won't do it. If others don't do it, it doesn't mean that people won't do it later."

"Instead of hesitating, we might as well do it ourselves."

Zhang Yue looked at Han Zhongyan and asked, "Have you been discussing court affairs in Liang Garden recently?"

In fact, there were many officials in Zhang Yue's faction who were former students of the Imperial College. In addition to Huang Lu and Han Zhongyan, there were also Ye Zuqia who had served as a lecturer at the Imperial College.

After the students of the Imperial Academy entered the government, Han Zhongyan and Huang Lu selected the best from them to join the "Imperial Academy School", which had become an important political force of the Zhang Party.

Han Zhongyan also covered it up and said: "It's just a casual chat."

Zhang Yue said: "No, I agree. You can select more than ten or twenty people from the officials who graduated from the Imperial College."

They often gathered outside the city where Han Zhongyan bought a private residence called "Liangyuan", which was also another name for Bianjing.

Zhang Yue was moved when he saw them discussing state affairs here.

Zhang Yue also borrowed the settings of outer disciples, inner disciples, true disciples, elders, and masters in fantasy novels.

Zhang Yue thought to himself that it would be enough for him to be the [Supreme Master].

Huang Lu said: "This matter must be handled with moderation. Your Majesty does not like the officials below to form factions."

Han Zhongyan said dissatisfiedly: "Anzhong, you are too cautious. Ouyang Wenzhong has already said that there are gentlemen's parties and villains' parties. Who in the court does not form parties and who does not seek connections? Your Majesty also knows this in his heart."

"Now everyone says that we, the two Hans, one Lu, and one Zhang, have become the aristocratic families of the Tang Dynasty. I think Du Zhi is right. We should unite as a party of gentlemen based on 'righteousness'."

"We, the officials who usually discuss things in Liangyuan, originally support the Prime Minister's reform this time, unlike others. I think this reform is the righteousness of the world!"

Chen Guan thought to himself that the Prime Minister had just said that the country should be governed by righteousness rather than by people, and it seemed that he had a point.

As for the others Han Zhongyan mentioned, they were probably the Su brothers and the Cai brothers.

Zhang Yue thought that he would need this force to maintain his power after he stepped down. Compared with Cai Bian's appointment as the sixth prince's lecturer, this was a step forward. At the same time, he also needed an organizational force.

Zhang Yue said to Han Zhongyan, "You should handle this matter in secret. Anyone entering or leaving Liangyuan must be screened first."

Han Zhongyan said: "Don't worry, Prime Minister. There are many ambitious scholars in the Imperial College. They will surely be able to revolutionize politics when they become officials in the future."

"From now on, all officials in the world will be proud to be born in the Imperial Academy."

Zhang Yue nodded slowly and decided to get on with the work now that it had begun.

This class was the most powerful force in the Song Dynasty to challenge the vested interests.

Zhang Yue said: "Since we are setting up the Liangyuan Society, we must continue to run it. Don't do anything that cannot be done for ten years. Just do it steadily!"

"There is another prerequisite. We must seriously rectify the style of scholars in the Imperial College again and again."

After Huang Lu and Han Zhongyan left, the new Privy Councilor Lu Gongzhu arrived here.

After the six ministries were established in the Secretariat, the Ministry of War came into conflict with the Privy Council, and there was once talk of dismissing the Ministry of War from the Privy Council.

But the emperor did not agree.

Sun Gu stepped down and was replaced by Lu Gongzhu.

It was freezing cold, and the clerk brought hot tea to Lu Gongzhu.

Lu Gongzhu said: "Prime Minister, I am afraid that the western affairs will not stop."

"Most of those arrogant and brave generals wanted to attack the Tanguts."

Zhang Yue sighed, "I had expected this."

After the Battle of Pingxia City,

Shen Kuo refused to come back.

Zhang Gen also refused to come back.

Shen Kuo was unwilling to even return to the central government to serve as the deputy privy councilor, and cried and shouted that he wanted to stay in Jingyuan Road. The same was true for Zhang Gen. Zhang Yue and Shiqi Niang were both hoping that he would come back to get married, but in the end he also stayed in Jingyuan Road and did not come back.

In fact, Shen Kuo and Zhang Gen are just representatives.

Lü Gongzhu smiled bitterly and said, "In the past, officials all scrambled to be transferred to the capital for the five reductions, so as to avoid being drowned in the sea of ​​elections. Now, after the reform, there is no election, and officials are even less interested in being in the capital. Instead, they are scrambling to go west."

"Everyone knows that the Tanguts are about to be annihilated. Why would you go back to Beijing and give up such a great achievement?"

Zhang Yue and Chen Guan both laughed when they heard this.

Chen Guan smiled and said, "I gave an analogy to the Liao envoy before. Originally, a group of robbers robbed the house, and now the robbers have been killed."

"Everyone just needs to clean up the house and then they can move in."

"The people below have gained great merit for nothing, and now everyone is reluctant to let go."

Zhang Yue thought to himself that this was true. Shen Kuo was unwilling to even return to the capital to serve as the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, and he sent people to Zhang Yue's house to deliver gifts all day long.

Zhang Yue was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when seeing Shen Kuo's generous gift. If he did not accept it at this time, it would easily make the other party feel uneasy, so he had no choice but to accept it again and again without making any exceptions.

Lu Gongzhu said: "But Prime Minister, after the defeat of Pingxia City, the Dangxiang upgraded Dingzhou to Dingzhou Prefecture and even built a palace in Shengwei City."

"The Jisufang reported that they moved the place where the craftsmen built it to Shengwei City."

Zhang Yue said: "Yes, the Ministry of Personnel also reported that the Dangxiang had moved the craftsmen to Dingzhou."

The Tanguts attached great importance to the military industry, and the imperial palace was built next to the craftsmen's workshop. Whenever the Song Dynasty envoys went to see Li Yuanhao, they could hear the clanging sound of forging weapons in the banquet hall of the Tangut imperial palace.

The envoys of the Song Dynasty thought that Li Yuanhao was showing them power, but they didn't know that it was not an act but the ideology of the Dangxiang ethnic group.

When Li Yuanhao was shaping the Dangxiang people, he said that the Dangxiang people should "put loyalty first and fight first". He also used this to establish the national ethos from top to bottom. As the emperor, Li Yuanhao went deep into the front line to control military production. Would the people below dare not work hard?

The craftsmen's office is located next to the imperial palace, just like in large Internet companies, where the bosses of the company sit in the employee area to work.

"Prime Minister, the Dangxiang moved their capital to Dingzhou and used Shengwei City as their temporary palace. It seems they are determined to fight to the end with the Song Dynasty." Lu Gongzhu said.

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty and I have previously planned to capture Xingling as a means of destroying the Tanguts. If the Tanguts move their capital, this will be difficult to handle."

"Dingzhou is indeed too far away, and it's beyond our reach!"

Lü Gongzhu said: "I have calculated that after the Tanguts moved their capital to Dingzhou, even if we capture Xingzhou and Lingzhou now, we will not be able to destroy the Tanguts. Moreover, after we capture them, our dynasty may not be able to hold on to them. Now is not the time to destroy the Tanguts."

Lu Gongzhu always serves as the opposition leader.

Lu Gongzhu is different from Sima Guang. Sima Guang was stubbornly opposed and his arguments were completely unreasonable, while Lu Gongzhu at least started from reality.

Zhang Yue said: "I have sent envoys to negotiate peace with the Tanguts and asked them to hand over the oath, but unfortunately they were rejected."

That's right, after the Battle of Pingxia City, Zhang Yue sent envoys to negotiate peace, and even returned the captured Dangxiang royal family member Weiming Ali to the Dangxiang. However, he was rejected by the Dangxiang leader Li Bingchang.

"So I completely stopped the trade and annual gifts with the Tanguts. Now I heard that the Tanguts are short of money and can no longer bear it."

Lu Gongzhu said: "I absolutely agree with the Prime Minister's peace talks."

"On the contrary, officials and soldiers in the west, from top to bottom, were unwilling to negotiate peace with the Tanguts."

The temptation to directly take the credit of reviving Ling and destroying the country is too great.

The soldiers of the Western Army were all jealous of this achievement. If it weren't for Zhang Yue's prestige and Han Zhen's experience, Lu Huiqing, Shen Kuo, and Wang Hou would have submitted a petition to march west to attack the Dangxiang and directly attack Xingling.

This scene seems familiar.

Historically, after Aguda conquered the Liao Dynasty, the Jurchens saw that Tong Guan of the Song Dynasty had led his army to attack the Liao Dynasty and was defeated. They could not help but keep urging Aguda not to stop and continue to conquer the Song Dynasty.

Aguda did not want to destroy the Song Dynasty, but his generals and clansmen wanted to fight against the Song Dynasty. Aguda could not stand the urging of his soldiers, so he said, "I still want to keep the covenant with the Song Dynasty. As for you, after I die, you can do whatever you want."

A few months after Aguda said this, in the same year he conquered the Liao Dynasty, he actually died.

The current situation is that it is a bit unstoppable, and there is no specific opposition from anyone.

The six armies in Hedong and Shaanxi all vied to attack Xingzhou and Lingzhou to claim the credit for conquering the country. After Cao Bin pacified the Southern Tang, no other general had this achievement.

If anyone tries to stop them at this time, the only thing they can say is "it's hard to offend the public".

Lü Gongzhu said: "Wang Hou is still fighting with the increasingly ambitious Aligu in Liangzhou from time to time."

"In the direction of Jingyuan Road, we will fully consolidate the Tiandu Mountain and Xiaoguan line. In the direction of Hedong Road, Lu Huiqing can gradually advance towards the Dingnan Five Prefectures and gradually erode them."

"It's not a war to annihilate a nation now!"

Chen Guan said: "But we have finally wiped out the main force of the Tanguts. What if we give them time to develop and rebuild their army?"

Zhang Yue nodded.

Lu Gongzhu said: "It will take several years to rebuild the army. Even if it succeeds, it will definitely not be as good as the tens of thousands of elite soldiers under the city of Pingxia."

"It's not easy to destroy a country. After the Battle of Gaoping, the Northern Han Dynasty was no longer a threat, just like the Battle of Pingxiacheng today. However, Taizu and Taizong still fought for decades to destroy the Northern Han Dynasty."

Zhang Yue and Chen Guan also felt that Lu Gongzhu was too pessimistic after hearing what he said, but Lu Gongzhu felt good about himself and thought he was just being realistic.

"The Northern Han was far less powerful than today's Tanguts, but Taizu fought many times but failed to conquer them. Each time, he was blocked by Khitan. If you try to destroy Tanguts by force, you will fail. Don't say I didn't give you good advice."

Chen Guan said, "Prime Minister, when Emperor Taizong conquered Northern Han, Prime Minister Xue Juzheng opposed it and cited the reason why Emperor Taizu had been defeated so many times."

"You know, this is just for fun. Every time our dynasty attacked Northern Han, they forcibly plundered the population and brought it back to China. By the time Emperor Taizong destroyed Northern Han, Northern Han had been weakened by the Song Dynasty. The national population dropped from 270,000 households and 148,000 people at the end of the Five Dynasties to more than 30,000 households."

"Xue Juzheng is truly ignorant."

Lu Gong was anxious to argue: "Even so, the Northern Han will not surrender!"

"Even if we take over Xingling and Lingzhou, there is famine here now, and so many people are crying for food. Are we going to feed them?"

Chen Guan wanted to argue, but Zhang Yue said, "Lü Gong is right. It is not difficult to destroy a country, but it is difficult to conquer the whole country."

"It has come to this. We must prioritize the entire country over the rest of the country!"

Lu Gongzhu said: "That's right, Prime Minister. After the Liao Kingdom returned in defeat last year, it has not made any moves and has not sent any envoys to us, so we don't know its details. If we destroy the Dangxiang now, we will have to fight with the Liao Kingdom!"

After getting the answer he wanted from Zhang Yue, Lu Gongzhu retreated.

Chen Guan was full of indignation.