Prime Minister

Chapter 1060: Showdown between the Emperor and His Ministers

Chapter 1060: Showdown between the Emperor and His Ministers

A ray of sunlight shone into the hall and onto the official's face, seeming to carry a sense of embarrassment and guilt.

Zhang Yue has truly made the emperor lose all his dignity today.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty!" Shi Deyi saw that Zhang Yue's words were no longer giving the emperor any face.

Zhang Yue thought to himself that since Wang Anshi and Han Jiang, Zhang Yue was the only one who dared to speak to the emperor like this in the court.

At this moment, Shi Deyi, as a loyal dog of the government, stood up and said, "Mr. Zhang, Your Majesty, please be patient and don't push your luck any further!"

The official said, "Shi Deyi, you step back first!"

"His Majesty……"

The emperor said, "I have something to say to Mr. Zhang!"

"Yes!"

Shi Deyi was silent after hearing this. He was a trusted minister of the emperor and he had never avoided him when talking to foreign officials. Why did he want him to leave today? There was nothing he couldn't hear.

Shi Deyi left with a frustrated look on his face, and suddenly only Zhang Yue and the emperor were left in the hall.

The official closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them. In an instant, a look that he had never seen before appeared on his face.

Zhang Yue woke up suddenly. He seemed to see the scene when the fourteen-year-old boy came to him to ask for calligraphy lessons for the first time.

That boy, who was a little timid and quiet like a virgin, looked like a young man who had no idea of ​​the feeling of sorrow, and his eyes were clear and transparent.

Then the scene changed to a twenty-year-old young man who had just ascended the throne and said to himself, "The emperor is like a teacher, and the king is like a friend."

At that time, he was respectful and humble, and showed a sense of helplessness about suddenly taking control of this huge empire.

Amid the discussions of his ministers, he maintained a forced composure. Facing the ministers' arguments in front of the emperor, he bit his lower lip and said nothing.

The imperial tutor Wang Tao did not take him seriously at all, as if he were a puppet; the ministers such as Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu were also in awe of him and did not dare to say a word; Wang Anshi's attitude towards him during lectures was like a strict teacher teaching a student.

On that snowy day, when Han Qi was dismissed from his post as prime minister and left after being impeached by Wang Tao, the emperor cried and held his hand, saying that even King Cheng of Zhou had his doubts about Duke Zhou.

Then Wang Tao was impeached and expelled...

The scene then shifts to the seventh year of Xining, when he returned to the court after pacifying Xihe. The emperor, who had long lost his childishness, was in high spirits.

However, a few days ago, he cried loudly in the palace because Zheng Xia submitted a memorial lamenting the suffering of the people, and finally Wang Anshi was dismissed from his post.

Then the scene turns to the ninth year of Xining, when Wang Anshi was dismissed from his post for the second time, and a sinister look occasionally appeared on the emperor's face.

In recent years, new laws have been enacted, old ministers have been expelled, censors have been seized, the national treasury has been replenished, secret letters have been secured, and territory has been expanded. Even though the new and old parties have quarreled fiercely in the court, the emperor has always sat firmly on the Diaoyutai and quietly controlled the world.

In the name of being a figurehead but a real prime minister, he let Wang Anshi, Lu Huiqing, and himself and others work hard to bring power to the Secretariat, and then he suppressed the power of the Secretariat and took it into his own hands.

Finally, he gradually stepped out from behind the scenes to the front of the stage.

There are parts that he is aware of, and some that he is not aware of... Only the emperor himself knows what is going on.

The ray of sunlight slowly climbed up from outside the window and shone on the official's profile. At this moment, half of his face was in the shade and the other half was in the sun.

On the positive side, he is an emperor who does not manage the palace, does not travel, works hard to govern the country, and is about to achieve great things. On the negative side... what is it...

The dark side of a person cannot be examined closely, but power will magnify it infinitely.

The emperor smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, I have always wished that if possible, I could let all the people in the world sit in my position, and everyone could be emperor once, and have everything I have. Then they would know the loneliness, hesitation and helplessness in my heart."

"When the late emperor was not yet the crown prince, the Emperor Ren Miao summoned him to the palace, but he refused to go. I asked him why he didn't want to go, and he shook his head and said that this was not a blessing but a disaster. Later, you came and talked to the late emperor, and the late emperor had to go. When I escorted the late emperor to the palace, I will never forget the fear and hesitation in his eyes. For so many years, I have been thinking that if you hadn't come, the late emperor and I would not have become emperors."

"To be honest, I would rather be a rich and idle prince than sit on the throne which is always burning and stabbing. If I could do it again, I would definitely persuade the late emperor not to enter the palace."

Zhang Yue felt the deep sadness in the official's words, and wondered how much truth and falsehood there were in them.

But being an emperor is not an easy job.

This is not about Empress Donggong making pancakes and Empress Xigong rolling green onions, this is real.

At this point, the official picked up the Mencius on the table and asked, "The other day you heard Sima Guang say that there is no evil or good, that is, the nature of the heart has good and evil intentions. Do you believe that this is the theory of human nature being good?"

Zhang Yue knew that he had never said this to the emperor, but the emperor heard it from somewhere. This action showed that the emperor had ears and eyes everywhere in the court.

Zhang Yue said: "Mencius's theory of human nature is good, Gaozi's theory of no good or evil, Yangzi's theory of mixing good and evil, and Xunzi's theory of human nature being evil are all different. It is not up to me to believe or not, but up to Your Majesty to believe or not."

"As long as Your Majesty believes that human nature is good, then the world will be good!"

The emperor laughed and said, "When I was young, I liked to read the books of Shen and Han, and I liked the theory of following the name and holding the truth to account the truth the most. But later, Master Sun did not allow me to read it!"

"Later, I read Confucius's words 'Benefiting the people according to their needs is a benefit without cost', and I agreed with them."

"I have recently been studying Mencius in the Imperial Lectures, and I have come to agree with him even more deeply."

"If you win the world in the right way and win the people, you will win the world. This is my opinion that never changes."

"So I agree with your suggestion that Mencius should be worshipped as a companion. I will give you 300,000 yuan to build a temple for Mencius."

In another time and space in history, in the seventh year of Yuanfeng, the government established Mencius as a co-worshiper, making him the third person to be worshipped after Yan Hui and Zengzi.

But the government at that time made the decision only after the Five-Way Attack on Xia and the Battle of Yongle City.

Zhang Yue stood up and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty! This is my wish!"

The emperor paused and said, "You are right. I only care about benefiting the country!"

"The late emperor had originally intended to reform the corrupt government, but unfortunately he died young, and the task finally fell on my shoulders."

"I listened to your advice and hired Wang Anshi to take back the power, but Wang Anshi wanted to sit opposite me at the imperial lecture and put the power of the Secretariat above me..."

When Zhang Yue heard the emperor's words, he first felt that it was absurd, and then thought to himself that the emperor was indeed the biggest leader of the New Party in the world.

The emperor had no choice but to change the labor service law. There were too many local people's unrest and discussions, so he used him and Han Jiang to relax the law. This was a temporary measure taken by the government.

There is no one in the world who doesn't understand. In fact, the emperor knows everything in his heart. Moreover, the emperor seems to have a good temper, is respectful to the wise, and is open-minded and eager to learn, but in his heart he is not easy to forgive.

"I appointed you as my chancellor because you are different from Wang Anshi! And Han Qing, I also know that he is as loyal as you are to the country! I never thought that he would fall ill in the end. I wanted to wait for him to change his mind."

"I am sorry to Han Qing!"

Zhang Yue sneered in his heart, but said on the surface: "Your Majesty, I am not as good as Lu Huiqing and Cai Que."

The emperor said, "Lü Huiqing and Cai Que are indeed loyal to me and have their own strengths, but they also value power and position. You are different. You care about reputation. This reputation is not only in front of us, but also after our death, right?"

Zhang Yue thought to himself, this exemption from military service and the worship of Mencius are the reputation given to him by the government?

A normal emperor uses both the "gentleman" and the "villain".

Of course, this does not mean that Lu Huiqing and Cai Que were villains in the true sense of the word.

Not to mention their talents, even their moral standards are extremely high compared to ordinary people. Once, Lu Huiqing asked his disciple Zeng Min, who do you think Su Shi is?

Zeng Min said he was a smart man.

Lu Huiqing disdainfully asked, "What kind of smart person is this? Are there smart people like Yao and Shun? Are there smart people like Dayu?"

Zeng Min said that although he was not as good as them, he was still a smart person.

What did Lu Huiqing say about what Su Shi learned?

Zeng Min talked about learning from Mencius.

Lu Huiqing asked angrily: "How do you know?"

Zeng Min said that Su Shi said that the people are the most important, and the country is second.

After hearing this, Lu Huiqing was as if he had drunk a mute drug and remained silent for a long time.

Although Cai Que and Lu Huiqing were too flattering, if the emperor had destroyed Western Xia, their reputations left in history books would surely make them famous ministers and good prime ministers, and it would be no problem for them to be enshrined in the Taimiao as ministers of the restoration.

As for the real "villains" and "traitors", not only are they looked down upon by the government, they have also been screened out long ago by the officialdom mechanism and the imperial examinations.

Most of the "treacherous ministers" in the history of Song Dynasty were members of the emperor's party.

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty admires the Legalist doctrine of following the name and holding people accountable for their actions. I also believe this. If something that benefits the people is in name only but not in reality, it is better not to do it."

The official sighed, "Every five hundred years a king will emerge, his rise will be sudden, and his fall will be sudden."

"Our dynasty has been around for 130 years, but if it is corrupted for a few years, it will be destroyed in a flash. The only two countries in the world that are our greatest threat are Xixia and Liao."

"I would rather work hard for several years and accomplish this with one heart. When Jin attacked Dongwu, there was a lot of opposition in the court, but the Emperor of Jin overcame all the opposition and finally won the battle!"

When the official said this, he looked inexplicably excited.

Zhang Yue had nothing to say after hearing this. The emperor looked like he knew you were right, but he was going to do it this way. What else could Zhang Yue say?

After the official finished speaking, he stared at Zhang Yue, who was silent, to see how he would respond.

Zhang Yue could only say: "This is a foundation for the ages. Your Majesty will surely succeed in this battle, to avenge the shame of your ancestors and achieve the rejuvenation of the country!"

The emperor remained silent without any expression. Zhang Yue added, "Your Majesty, you can tell me these heartfelt words. This shows your trust in me. I am truly grateful."

The emperor took a deep breath and was silent for a moment. Zhang Yue said, "In this case, I will take my leave first."

The emperor finally couldn't help it and stood up and said, "Don't you have anything else to say to me besides this?"

Zhang Yue looked back at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty is determined to attack Xia, which is not in the interests of the ancestral temple and the country. I, as the minister of justice, have no choice but to advise you again and again."

"Since Your Majesty has made up his mind to attack Xia, I know that I cannot stop you, nor can I make you change your mind... So I can only offer you a plan, and I hope Your Majesty will adopt it!"

The emperor was overjoyed when he heard this. He really needed a far-sighted minister like Zhang Yue to assist him.

The official said, "Tell me quickly!"

Zhang Yue looked at the emperor and said sternly, "Your Majesty, please move to the main hall!"

(End of this chapter)