[Comprehensive] Feasibility report on the restoration of the country

The first year of Shaosheng, this is really a year worthy of being recorded in the annals of history.Just because this year, taking advantage of the east wind of the imperial court's destruction of the Xia Kingdom, since the sixth year of Yuanyou, the Zhengshitang has finalized the case, but due to various reasons, the reform of local officials has never been implemented, and finally started in Shaanxi and Gansu.And successfully walked a correct path of "encircling the city from the countryside" in the next ten years, and finally promoted the reform of officialdom in the entire Song Dynasty officialdom.

In March, the Ministry of Officials announced that the new establishment of Shaanxi and Gansu by the imperial court required a large number of officials to keep watch. Redundant officials with false titles and Jinshi of various disciplines who were idle at home were invited to submit files to the Ministry of Officials for screening.However, since Shaanxi and Gansu are the original homelands of the Xia Kingdom, not to mention the difficult conditions, there are even sporadic remnants of the party still fighting against the government and the army, which is really not peaceful.Therefore, this news was released for three months, but there were very few people who responded.

However, the local government cannot govern the people without officials for a long time.The official department had no choice but to announce again in June, recruiting senior officials with more than ten years of experience and at least passing the examination to go to Shaanxi and Gansu to serve as herdsmen officials.This move by the Ministry of Officials undoubtedly broke the boundaries between officials and officials, and obviously made many officials or quasi-officials with Jinshi status feel dissatisfied.But before they got into trouble, the "Bianjing Times" had eloquently reported the situation to the people, and finally said: Since it is against the rules to select officials as officials and herdsmen, then you do what you want!Jinshi immediately withered.

Is it over?Of course not!Song Jiang Jianghu, who ranks first in "Water Margin", is called "Timely Rain", and he praises him for his generous donations.However, a small prison officer in Yuncheng County, with a meager salary, an old father in court, and a beautiful wife to support, how can he get money to save people in distress?The answer, of course, is corruption and bribery.In the Song Dynasty, the salaries of officials were so low that corruption and bribery by officials had become an unspoken rule in the officialdom.These former officials who went to Shaanxi and Gansu to serve as officials have become accustomed to accepting bribes, and now they are even more unscrupulous with Wusha bodyguards, and many lawsuits have occurred within a few months of taking office.

Many Jinshi are waiting to see the joke, but the Zhengshitang has the foresight, and before the impeachment memorial becomes a reality, two working groups named "Disciplinary Inspection" and "Supervision" have already gone to Shaanxi and Gansu to investigate the behavior of local officials. and work performance.These two working groups have imperial edicts in hand, and it can be said that gods block and kill gods, and Buddhas block and kill Buddhas. However, within a few months, they killed a lot of people and killed many mediocre and lazy officials.Since most of the people convicted of crimes were officials who were former officials, although the "discipline inspection" and "supervision" were murderous, the officialdom was collectively silent, and no one bothered to intercede for officials.

After such a toss, most of the official positions in Shaanxi and Gansu were vacant again.The Ministry of Officials had no choice but to send another message. In view of the bitter cold in Shaanxi and Gansu, the Ministry of Officials will increase the salary subsidies of local officials as appropriate, and then invite qualified Jinshi and officials to submit files.As the saying goes, people make money and birds die for food. The bureaucracy's high-paying policy of maintaining integrity has really worked. Even though there are rumors in the officialdom that "discipline inspection" and "supervision" will sit in two directions for a long time, there are still many Jinshi and officials who are willing to "take risks." .

There are those who are willing, and naturally there are those who are unwilling.How should the remaining offices be filled?This time, the official department had nothing to do, so they had to threaten Lumi.Soon the imperial court issued an imperial decree, saying: As an official reserve but unwilling to be an official, he is really unfaithful and unfilial and owes the imperial court's kindness.That being the case, the imperial court decided to halve the annual Lumi and tax-free treatment of all Jinshi who had no real job, as a punishment.

The prosperity of redundant officials in the Song Dynasty can be described as a historical record.The territory of the Song Dynasty was only so large, and only three to four out of ten officials had real positions, while six to seven out of ten were redundant officials and scholars waiting for officials.But this time, before the Jinshi who had their lives affected collectively protested, the imperial court issued a second edict.There is no harm if there is no comparison. It is precisely because of the shameless faces of these Jinshi who are picky, unfaithful and unfilial that the court has become more and more aware of the loveliness of officials at all levels who work hard for the court.In order to commend their virtues, the imperial court decided to adjust and increase the salaries of officials at all levels.

Seeing the salary in hand, the entire officialdom once again lost their voices collectively.As for those redundant officials who have no real power in their hands or idle Jinshi who don't even have an official status, who cares?Is someone making trouble?some.But soon, these Jinshi who attacked the government were removed from the title of Jinshi and completely became civilians.Is anyone saying sour words?Of course there are.For example, "Pucheng Wind and Rain" reported that a Jinshi who had been filial piety to his father for more than ten years had a difficult life due to the reduction of Lumi.But soon the "Bianjing Times" retorted: In ancient times, filial sons mourned, which one was not ruined and mourned too much?Keeping filial piety also thinks about living comfortably, it seems that it is not true filial piety!

Such ups and downs, one bustling after another, it is really overwhelming.When all the dust settled, many officials made achievements in Shaanxi and Gansu, and "discipline inspection" and "supervision" gained a firm foothold in Shaanxi and Gansu, and the second year of Shaosheng was half over.Due to the improvement of administrative efficiency, the two roads of Shaanxi and Gansu have been completely stabilized, and the imperial court has fully controlled the situation.And inside and outside the officialdom, there is even a gossip that everyone is in danger: the imperial court is very satisfied with what the two working groups of "discipline inspection" and "supervision" have done in Shaanxi and Gansu.

Looking back on the past and thinking about the future, the officials at all levels probably have only one sentence to describe their feelings: they can't live, they can't die!And in later generations, countless students from the history department and the law department who failed in the exams expressed their heartfelt pain: Nima!

no thanks!Prime Minister Murong Fu replied indifferently.

In September of the second year of Shaosheng, 23-year-old Su Guo held a stack of plans to "reduce the Xiang army and immigrate to Shaanxi and Gansu", and went to Murong Fu's study with a heavy heart of a filial son going to the grave.

The first year of Shaosheng in the past was a year of change for the entire Song Dynasty.The same is true for the Su family.This year, Su Shi resigned and returned to the capital to preside over the "Dongpo Poetry Club"; Su Xi should be awarded the "No. [-]" award, and soon married his fiancée Wang Yuyan, and now he has gone to Yulin, Shaanxi to serve as a county magistrate.As for Su Guo himself, he also passed the solution test last year.Since the provincial examination will be next year, Murong Fu recruited him to be his personal secretary just after he passed the examination to help him handle various official affairs.Su Guo was naturally overjoyed to be able to stay with the prime minister and learn how to govern.But after only half a year, Su Guo was already desperate to live and die under the huge workload of Murong Fu.Now, a year later, he turned his head to look at Su Dun and Li Qingzhao who were playing in the garden without knowing the world, and suddenly realized: Childhood is indeed the most precious!

After seeing Su Guo's third draft immigration plan revised according to his suggestion, Murong Fu finally nodded and said, "Very good!"

Su Guo heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that.

Murong Fu raised his eyes and saw the relief on his face, he finally couldn't help laughing and said: "Doing things with me, is there really so much pressure?"

Su Guo hurriedly shook his head. "Uncle Dang learned a lot of skills from his senior brother."

"I also suffered a lot." Murong Fu said clearly, "Everything is difficult at the beginning! After finishing this matter, you should be able to have a general understanding of the procedures of the various ministries of the imperial court."

Su Guo has followed Murong Fu for more than a year, and knows that he is strict with things but gentle with others.Seeing that Murong Fu is not as busy as usual today, Su Guo finally couldn't help but said: "Senior Brother, Uncle Dang has a question in his mind, please ask Senior Brother to clarify."

Murong Fu didn't answer, but turned his head and looked at Su gently, motioning for him to continue.

"Now that Shaanxi and Gansu are peaceful, why do you want to immigrate to the border? Besides, the customs are different in different places, and it is inevitable that immigrants from different places will have conflicts with the local people. Isn't this a lot of trouble?"

Seeing that Su Guo had such considerations, Murong Fu couldn't help but smile slightly, and said slowly: "Your worry is indeed justified, but compared to the world, it's just a trivial matter."

"Small section?" Su Guo read the books of sages and sages since he was a child, and he deeply understands the truth that "the people are the most important thing in the society, and the king is the second."If the affairs of the common people are only trivial, then what is righteousness?

"The area around Shaanxi and Gansu was originally the homeland of China. It was only because of the sharp decline in the number of people fighting in successive years that foreigners took advantage of the loopholes to occupy this place. Now that the Song Dynasty has taken back the old land, it should be a good business, and no one else can occupy it. However, What is management?" Murong Fu asked in a low voice.

Obviously, there was a correct answer to this question, and Su Guo immediately blurted out: "Jing'an area, educate the people, communicate with each other, encourage farmers and businessmen."

"Then, what is the basis of these things?" Murong Fu asked again.

Su Guo hesitated for a while before carefully answering: "An efficient and powerful government?"

Murong Fu really shook his head. "Having officials but no people is like a clever woman managing a cook without rice."

"It's the common people!" Su Guo was surprised by Murong Fu's answer, but after thinking about it, it was only natural.

"There are people, so there is land." Murong Fu said in a deep voice, "As for conflicts among the people, that is the responsibility of an efficient and powerful government."

Su Guo nodded, and asked again: "Then what is the role of the army?"

"The army is not used to defend the people, but to defend against foreign enemies." Murong Fu continued, "As long as the world is peaceful, the population will naturally increase year by year. One day, the existing territory of the Great Song Dynasty cannot accommodate these many people. When the army makes meritorious service."

Murong Fu didn't speak clearly, but Su Guo already understood what he meant.Seeing Murong Fu talking about this matter so casually, Su Guo felt his scalp tingling and blood churning.Murong Fu's statement is obviously not in line with the "benevolence and righteousness" education that Su Guo received since he was a child, but for some reason, he didn't have the intention of rejecting it in his heart, but he explained it himself: the inner sage and the outer king are also the way of Confucianism!

"Today's Xiang army is mostly a local army with insufficient combat power. Instead of letting them stay in the army and tell stories, it is better to divide the land and let them go home to farm." Speaking of this, Murong Fu could not help but sigh. "There are redundant officials in the officialdom, and there are redundant soldiers in the army!" It would take time and effort to renovate Da Song's dilapidated car, and the slightest mistake would destroy the car and kill people, so he had to be careful.

Speaking of this, Su Guo immediately reminded him seriously: "Brother, the scholar rebelled, and it will take three years to fail. This army is not a scholar!"

"So, we have to set the standard first." Murong Fu said with a smile. "The imperial court values ​​civility over military affairs, and even the common people look down on soldiers. But they don't know that it is not so easy to be a soldier and eat food. Besides, although the Xiang army is abolished, the annual military expenditure does not decrease. Those Xiang troops will make trouble. , I have the forbidden army to go to the top."

Su Guo is not a fool who only knows the books of sages and sages. He naturally understands that the first criterion for a strong army is combat effectiveness, and the old, weak, sick and disabled naturally cannot serve as soldiers.Thinking of the establishment of the Song Dynasty, in order to prevent the refugees from gathering and rebelling, many old and weak were recruited into the Xiang army.Su Guo couldn't help sighing: "If you can get rid of a group of old and weak people and let them go home to farm, it will be a merit." Of course, once this measure is implemented, those old and weak who have no power and power will be happy. However, it is the powerful generals who are unhappy.But as long as he thought of the big earthquake in the civil servants' court last year, Su Guo believed that no one would want to offend Murong Fu at this time, and be charged with the crime of supporting himself.

"Okay, you copy a few copies of this plan, and send a copy to Master Zhang, General Zhong, and General Zhe of the Western Army. They are old in the army, and they know the disadvantages of the Xiang Army better than us. You can refer to their Opinion. Afterwards, I will go to the official family." Murong Fu finally said, "I want to go to the palace to face the saint, do you have anything else to do?"

Hearing this, Su Guo quickly bowed and said, "Respectfully send off my lord!"

Murong Fu entered the palace, but it was not Zhao Xu who had an audience with him, but the Queen Mother.Ever since Murong Fu was promoted to Prime Minister, Zhao Xu knew that the situation was over.Since he was disheartened and had no interest in political affairs, he just hid in the harem with his beloved Liu Jieyu, Hu Tian and Emperor Hu.Zhao Xu is so vulnerable, Murong Fu is naturally consoling, let alone persuading.On the contrary, he couldn't see the Queen Mother, and often summoned Murong Fu to beat her up from time to time.

This time, the Empress Dowager summoned him into the palace for Cai Jing.In the ninth year of Yuanyou, the Empress Dowager passed away, and Zhao Xu was in charge. At that time, he thought of repelling the old party and establishing a new one.Unexpectedly, Murong Fu won the hearts of the officials and the people with his achievements in destroying the country, and crushed Zhao Xu's plot to pieces.Now, after two years, Murong Fu is already a first-rank official, serving as an assistant to the king, and going down to An Lishu.However, the arrogance of the New Party has been suppressed and almost extinguished, only Zhang Dun is still striving for self-improvement and criticizing the government in "Pucheng Wind and Rain".Murong Fu never paid any attention to the gossip of the opposition parties.Only when he confuses the public, Chao Buzhi arranged for the "Bianjing Times" to come forward and slap him in the face.Murong Fuyuan thought that the Shu Party was already a single party seeking defeat alone, but he didn't expect that the Empress Dowager Xiang would suddenly think of Cai Jinglai.

Hearing that the Empress Dowager asked Cai Jing to be transferred to the capital, Murong Fu couldn't help being silent for a while, and said for a long time: "Cai Yuanchang is now the prefect of Yunzhou, why does the Empress Dowager think of him?"

He lowered his head to the queen mother and glanced at Murong Fu who was kneeling on one knee, and said softly: "The official family has always been unhappy for the past two years, their temper has become more irritable, and their health is not as good as before... Murong Qing, when you were promoted to the left minister It was the Ai family who insisted. Now the Ai family has to wonder if they did something wrong?"

Murong Fu heard the words, immediately put down the other leg, and said: "I am guilty."

"What's your crime?" The Queen Mother smiled bitterly, "With you in the court, the officials don't have to worry about anything."

Murong Fu looked down at the floor and didn't answer.

"Murong Qing, the official family is the official family after all." The Queen Mother said again, "The official family thinks of Cai Jing... he is just a small person, so what if you join the official family?"

Little people?Murong Fu couldn't help laughing.Such an adulterer who has manipulated the government and played tricks for 20 years, if he is also a small person, then who is the big shot?After a while, Murong Fufang replied slowly: "This world is originally the world of the officials. Whoever the officials want to use, I have no room to comment. It's just that the court has its own rules. If the officials want to use Cai Yuanchang, they must first meritorious service."

Murong Fu gave her an official tone like this, and Xiang Hou was furious immediately, and said sharply: "Cai Yuanchang has merits and demerits, isn't it just based on Murong Xiang's words?"

Murong Fu hurriedly kowtowed deeply, and said every word: "I don't dare to! Empress Dowager, the imperial court has its own rules!"

"So, are you absolutely refusing?" Empress Dowager Xiang was frosty.

"The humble minister will make Taiwan remonstrate and discuss merits." Seeing that the Queen Mother was about to walk away, Murong Fu hastily stretched out his hand to grab the corner of the other party's skirt, and said seriously. "If Cai Yuanchang really has meritorious service, I will never stop him!" Murong Fu knew that Cai Jing was once a new party and an old party, he was neither new nor old, but a chameleon who only knew how to climb.Just, so what?As long as the court's laws are not broken, Cai Jing will not dare to do anything wrong, so why bother to question his heart?Although it is dangerous to use him, it is better than letting the Queen Mother completely fall to Zhao Xu.

With this promise, Murong Fu finally softened the expression of the Empress Dowager, and said: "The Aijia is also to protect you!"

Murong Fu nodded, and said in a low voice: "Thank you, Empress Dowager, for your concern." But he understood very well in his heart: It seems that Zhao Xu has been depressed for two years, and finally healed up, thinking about turning salty fish over!Compared with Zhang Dun, Cai Jing is obviously more cunning, and I don't know who gave Zhao Xu the idea.

Murong Fu came out of the palace full of doubts, and was thinking about how to do something to dispel Zhao Xu's delusions, so he found an interesting memorial for him.Duan Zhengming, Emperor Baoding of Dali State, officially gave the Zen throne to his nephew Duan Yu at the beginning of the second year of Shaosheng, and Duan Yu succeeded him and changed the name of the country to "Rixin".After half a year, the emperor's throne has been stabilized, and the special envoy came to Song Dynasty to report the situation and request the imperial court to confer title.

Murong Fu looked at the memorial, immediately smiled lightly, and thought to himself: This is really sleepy and met the pillow!

Ten days later, Zhao Xu summoned the envoys from Dali Kingdom in the Daqing Hall.Unexpectedly, before the envoy opened his mouth to ask for canonization, Hu Zongyu, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, handed over the blood book memorial of the new emperor of Dali, Duan Yu's father, Duan Zhengchun, the king of Zhennan. For the ten major crimes, I request the Song court to dispatch heavenly soldiers to conquer the Gao family and relieve the people from falling into poverty as soon as possible.The Duan family is willing to lead the people of Dali to join the Song Dynasty, and from then on it is enough for the common people of the Song Dynasty!

The author has something to say:

Murong: If there is a way to heaven, if you don't go, there is no way to enter hell!

Duan Yu: TT