[Comprehensive] Feasibility report on the restoration of the country

In the next few months, the world of Song Dynasty was always in a precarious state.After Zhengdan passed, Sima Guang, whose health was not as good as before, knew that the time was not waiting for him. On the one hand, he promoted his cronies to the stage, and on the other hand, he joined forces with Lu Gongzhu, Fan Chunren and others to request the complete abolition of the new law, and strived to put the new law before his death. The government affairs of the imperial court were restored to those before the reform.

After a verbal battle in the court, the two methods of Baojia and Baoma were first abolished.Then, it was the turn of the Market Change Law and the Fangtian Average Tax Law.

Different from the two laws of Baojia and Baoma, the Market Change Law stabilizes prices and restricts hoarding by profiteers; the Fangtian Average Tax Law hides a large number of fields and increases the tax revenue of the court, which is a good law.However, these two new laws are detrimental to the interests of wealthy businessmen and scholars, so they have been repeatedly attacked since their promulgation.Su Shi didn't want to see these two good governances also abolished, so he went to visit Sima Guang at night.

When Su Shi came to the prime minister's mansion, Sima Guang was meeting with Liu Zhi, the imperial censor Zhongcheng, in his study.On Sima Guang's desk, there is a new thing that has become very popular in Bianjing - a newspaper.Seeing this, Su Shi's eyelids twitched slightly, and he held back without making a sound.

A month ago, after a long talk with Murong Fu, this new thing called "Bianjing Times" appeared in the streets and alleys of Bianjing very quickly.This "Bianjing Times" is printed in ink, with a total of [-] front and back pages, and one copy is issued every ten days. Each copy is priced at eight copper plates, which can be described as high quality and low price.The content of its survey and recording includes articles and poems written by literati and refined scholars, as well as comments and comments on various folk arts masters, as well as introductions to various novel food and playthings in Bianjing.Due to its all-encompassing content, the "Bianjing Times" soon became popular in Bianjing, and gradually spread to the surrounding areas.

Sima Guang had suffered from leaflets, so he was naturally more sensitive to the appearance of this newspaper, so he quickly ordered his old servant to go to the street to buy a copy and bring it back for him to read carefully. "The sound of wind and rain, the sound of reading, the sound of reading, family affairs, state affairs, world affairs, and everything concerned." Sima Guang couldn't help sighing softly after reading this couplet printed on the masthead of each issue of "Bianjing Times" in a low voice. "The people who run this newspaper have conspired against them!"

The emergence of newspapers is indeed a product of a cross-age era, but in front of Sima Guang, it is also a hidden gem.Although Bi Sheng invented movable type printing during the Renzong period, the clay type was easily damaged, and the quality of the ink used for printing was not good, so the printed handwriting was not clear. Therefore, engraving was mainly used for printing books at that time.However, engraving printing plate making is slow, and the engraving plate is easy to wear, which increases the cost, which is why the price of booklets remains high.

The "Bianjing Times" run by Murong Fu only had one piece of paper, which was printed on both sides, but there was no ink leaking through the back of the words.And "Bianjing Times" will publish a new copy every ten days, and the first issue of the first issue will print [-] copies.Until it caught Sima Guang's attention, the newspaper had a print run of [-] copies each.In the face of such a huge workload, it is obviously impossible to use woodblock printing.Therefore, Murong Fu actually used movable lead type to run this newspaper, and prepared ink for printing.In order to ensure the quality, Murong Fu even ordered people to improve the paper-making process, and thus added a profit growth point for the industry under his name.

Liu Zhi, who was sitting by the side, comforted him and said, "Students have bought several issues of this newspaper. Except for some literati soliciting manuscripts, most of them are about love affairs. You don't have to worry too much. Besides, a few days ago, your husband presided over the abolition of Baojia and Baoma II. Fa, this newspaper once advocated for Mr. Xiang, this is a good thing!"

Sima Guang only shook his head slightly when he heard the words, and didn't say much.Even though Sima Guang knew nothing about economics and technology, he also clearly knew that there was no periodical issue number for books printed and sold in the Song Dynasty.Now this newspaper seems to have no threats, but once it points the finger at itself, its energy will be greater than that of the leaflets.

Seeing that Sima Guang was frowning, Liu Zhi said again: "If Xianggong is really worried, why not find a reason and ban it."

Seeing Sima Guang's thoughtful face, Su Shi was obviously moved, and hurriedly said: "Liu Zhongcheng is careful! When Mr. Xianggong returned to the court, he went to the officials' house to speak out. Now that the newspaper is banned for no reason, isn't it a slap in the face?"

Sima Guang frowned and then loosened, thanking him, "Thanks to Zizhan for reminding me!"

Su Shi didn't dare to claim credit, so he hurriedly bowed his head and said: "The purpose of this lower official is to abolish the Fangtian average tax law. This Fangtian average tax law hides a large number of unowned land and increases the imperial tax. It is really good governance..."

Unexpectedly, before Su Shi finished speaking, Sima Guang said impatiently: "The abolition of the new law is related to the country, and I have made up my mind. You don't need to say more!" After finishing speaking, he left Su Shi and left the study on his own.Su Shi, this unlucky ghost, was fished out of the fire pit by Sima Guang, and he was given the title of Hanlin Bachelor, and asked him to preside over the tribute of the Ministry of Rites to recruit his cronies.Unexpectedly, he just came back, thinking about opposing himself.Sima Guang couldn't help being very dissatisfied with Su Shi being so ungrateful and ungrateful.

Su Shi got bored at Sima Guang's house, and when he returned home, he didn't tell his wife about it until late at night, and sighed: "Sima Niu! Sima Niu!" Fight with reason, and don't make Jun Shi make a big mistake!"

Wang Runzhi was worried when he heard this.When Emperor Shenzong presided over the reform, Su Shi strongly opposed it and would not be tolerated by the new party.Now that the old party is in power, and Su Shi opposes Sima Guang's complete abolition of the new law, it is obvious that he will not be tolerated by the old party.In this way, I'm afraid that Su Shi's path in the court will be cut off by himself.Wang Runzhi knew that he could not persuade her husband, so he got up and went to look for Murong Fu.

After Murong Fu heard about Su Shi's experience at Sima Guang's house, he was only silent. After a long time, he sighed and said, "If it wasn't for Mr. Sima, the teacher would still be eating sand in Ruzhou. In the court tomorrow, if the teacher fights with Mr. Sima , people in the world will never praise the teacher for being righteous, but will instead scold the teacher for being ungrateful."

Su Shi was startled immediately when he heard the words, and immediately shouted: "Although I have been favored by Junshi, I have not sold it to him. Why can't I even tell the truth?"

Murong Fu smiled, but did not answer.In the real history, Su Shi slapped down the New Party's plot to restore the new party, and at the same time, he talked about Sima Guang's complete abolition of the new law. He is famous and speaks the truth, which is irrefutable.As a result, both the old and the new parties hated him to the bone, and the memorials to impeach him flew like snowflakes, forcing the empress dowager to send him to Hangzhou.

Murong Fu and Su Shi looked at each other for a long time, and seeing Su Shi's expression was firm and unrelenting, he said: "Since the teacher called Sima Xianggong 'Sima Niu', you should know that his stubbornness is no less than that of 'Stubborn Xianggong' Wang Jiefu. Even if the teacher and Sima Xianggong are tit for tat tomorrow." , Do you think the teacher can convince him?"

This time, Su Shi just groaned and remained silent.

Murong Fu smiled slightly, and said again: "If... the student dares to promise, there must be a solution to this matter. Will the teacher be willing to endure it temporarily and plan for the future?"

Su Shi looked at Murong Fu without knowing why, but he saw Murong Fu's gaze flicked to the newspaper at hand. "I run this newspaper not only to advocate for the abolition of the new law by Mr. Sima." The gains and losses of the new law, each interest group has its own views, and the rhetoric in the court may not necessarily win or lose.However, data does not lie.The implementation of the Market Change Law prospered the market and made the shops popular; the Fang Tian Jun Tax Law increased the tax revenue, and the court's expenses became more and more abundant.If these two laws are to be abolished, how will the redundant labor force be arranged?Were the ministers willing to reduce the budgets of various ministries?All these problems need Sima Guang to solve.

Su Shi said clearly: "Do you want to present this newspaper to the imperial court?"

"It's not me, but there's always someone else." Murong Fu, an eighth-rank official, doesn't even have the qualifications to participate in the court meeting, so he has no chance to present the newspaper to the royal audience.But Zhang Dun, the leader of the new party, has not been demoted yet, and he will definitely take action.

"Why not a teacher?" Su Shi asked in surprise.

"Teacher, do you really want to see neither the new party nor the old party? Sima Xianggong lived in exile in Luoyang for 15 years because he opposed the new law. Abolishing the new law is not only a state matter, but also a personal grievance!" Murong Fu said solemnly, "I know the teacher has always been used to being Gongsun Chu, but in the current situation, only Cheng Ying can save the world!"

Su Shi was startled, and immediately defended his good friend: "Jun Shi is not such a narrow-minded person!"

"If he is not narrow-minded, he should understand the benefits of the Market Change Law and the Fangtian Average Tax Law; if he doesn't understand the benefits of these two laws and just follows what others say, then what qualifications does he have for the post of Prime Minister?" Murong Fu replied immediately road.

Even though Su Shi has always been eloquent, he was speechless by the students at this time.After a while, he finally said sadly: "I hope your newspaper is really useful!"

"Teacher, for today's plan, the only way to do everything is to obey the destiny, and leave a useful body for the future." Murong Fu persuaded earnestly.Seeing that Su Shi nodded reluctantly, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.Sima Guang's life is coming to an end, and once Sima Guang dies, there is no one in the old party whose prestige can be compared with Su Shi's.Whether he can aspire to the position of Zaizhi depends only on this round.

The next day, Sima Guang really went to the eunuch to ask for the abolition of the Market Change Law and the Fangtian Average Tax Law.At this time, Sima Guang was in the limelight in the court, and there was no one who dared to speak up in the court, but Zhang Dun Shangshu refuted Sima Guang's attack on Erfa.The Empress Dowager saw that the two were still arguing, so she asked her idol's opinion again.

Su Shi received Murong Fu's admonition, and after a lot of hard work, he resisted the urge to speak out against Sima Guang. He only bowed silently to the Empress Dowager and the officials, then turned to Sima Guang, and walked away. .Su Shi made this move, and the court immediately knew that Su Shi did not agree with Sima Guang, but he was reluctant to say more because of Sima Guang's affection.With Su Shi taking the lead, some vacillating ministers in the court also became ambiguous, unwilling to express whether they supported the abolition of the two laws.

The court meeting dragged on for several days, and a copy of "Bianjing Times" finally came into Zhang Dun's sight.Zhang Dun originally read the "Bianjing Times" just to relieve boredom. He didn't want to be overwhelmed by the editorials written in the newspaper, so he immediately brought the newspaper into the palace to ask the empress dowager and the officials.At the court meeting on the second day, Zhang Dun was full of energy and asked Sima Guang the three questions listed in the newspaper.First, once the Market Change Law is abolished, how will the court stabilize prices?Second, once the Fangtian average tax law is abolished, the tax revenue will be greatly reduced. How can the court support the people?Third, how to arrange the surplus labor force that was laid off due to the abolition of the Second Law?

Sima Guang never thought about any of these three issues, and he only clenched on one: the second law competes with the people for profit, and there are evil officials who bend the law for personal gain, which is an evil law!

Zhang Dun smiled leisurely, and said loudly: "The only seven things that people open their doors are firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea, but the imperial court handles more than seven major national affairs every day? Cultural governance and martial arts, disaster relief and poverty alleviation, raising people to open up wasteland, paving roads and building bridges, Farming and doing business, which one does not need money? Sima Xianggong only knows two ways to compete with the people for profit, but he does not know how a poor court can support the world of rivers and seas? The so-called hiding wealth from the people is only for those aliens like tigers and wolves Raised a bunch of fat pigs waiting to be slaughtered! As for the unclear official system, it is unavoidable to go beyond the rules. How to clarify the official system should be planned by the minister. If the official system is not clear and you give up eating because of choking, isn’t it a joke?”

Zhang Dun's words were inconsistent with the newspaper editorial, which made Sima Guang choke.Because of the stalemate in the court, the Empress Dowager Gao had no choice but to announce the suspension of the abolition of the Market Change Law and the Fangtian Average Tax Law.

As the saying goes, one learns one's wisdom by eating a ditch, and when Shangshu abolished the exemption law, Sima Guang finally did his homework and chose an auspicious day that had just been published in a newspaper.This time, Su Shi still didn't say a word, and Zhang Dun became the lone hero.The lawsuit went all the way to the front of the Empress Dowager, and it was not yet decided whether the immunity law would be abolished completely, but Sima Guang had already seen Zhang Dun's weakness in character, and deliberately provoked him in front of the Empress Dowager.The irascible Zhang Dun really fell for the trick, and was demoted from the court to serve as the magistrate of Ruzhou because of his words and deeds.

With Zhang Dun being demoted from Beijing, the power of the new party in the court has been uprooted by the old party.Sima Guang was so full of ambition that he ordered the abolition of the immunity law and restoration of the official service law within five days.It has been 16 years since the Exemption Law was implemented in the third year of Xining. Sima Guang's request to abolish all of them within five days is obviously too hasty, and it can even be said to be a disorderly government.All of a sudden, there were many dissidents in the court, and only Cai Jing, the governor of Kaifeng, banned it, and the people of Bianjing complained.

On the one hand, Murong Fu was secretly annoyed that Zhang Dun's lack of combat effectiveness was easily cheated by Sima Guang, and on the other hand, he arranged for people to collect all kinds of illegal things about the abolition of the immunity law in Kaifeng Prefecture, intending to record them in newspapers and try to get them up to heaven.But when he was very busy, Su Shi, who had been quite sluggish recently, suddenly sent him a message-Zhang Dun, who was about to go to Ruzhou to take up his post, hoped to see him before leaving.

The author has something to say:

Murong: Teacher, can you shut up about whether the new law should be completely abolished?

Su Shi: Chick!Can I tell the truth?

Sima: Rub!If I knew you would bite me back, I should have let you squat in the fire pit!