In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

October 15th, morning court.

This morning court was obviously a big storm.

Because the news of Lü Gongchuo and others being arrested had been spread long ago.

So at the court meeting, officials from various departments had their own ulterior motives, waiting to see a good show.

Especially Xia Song, he originally thought that he had no hope of promotion, but he didn't expect that this case involved Lü Yijian who suppressed him, and now there was a good show to watch.

As for a large number of other officials, they were also watching the excitement of Lü Yijian and others.

Before Fan Zhongyan launched the Qingli New Deal, the prime ministers of the Political System Institute all stood on Fan Zhongyan's side. Now it involves the interests of the prime ministers. It depends on how they solve it.

Soon the morning court began.

In the Chuigong Hall, all civil and military officials stood in line.

Many prime ministers of the Political System Institute stood at the front of the team, followed by more than one hundred people including ministers, assistant ministers, servants, servants, halls, cabinets, palace scholars, direct scholars, waiting for system, editors, and direct cabinets.

Together with the various censors, imperial censors, and palace secretaries, a total of more than 200 people stood in the spacious hall. From top to bottom, it seemed that all you could see at a glance were densely packed heads.

Because it was early winter morning, at four o'clock in the morning, the sky was dark, and candles were lit on the left and right beams, under the corridors, and beside the side courtyard.

The room was bright and dark, muddy and blurry, and the soft light of the candles shone on everyone's face, reflecting the black and white faces of everyone, some expectant, some serious, some happy, or with complex emotions.

The hall was terribly quiet.

It was like the calm before the storm.

After a while, Zhao Zhen slowly walked in from the side hall.

"Your Majesty is here!"

Wang Shouzhong shouted.

"Your Majesty!"

All the officials saluted.

"No need to be polite!"

Zhao Zhen raised his hands in vain.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

All the officials stood up.

Zhao Zhen sat on the dragon chair and looked down at the ministers below.

Almost after the head official of the palace shouted: "If there is something to do, go out early to report, if there is nothing to do, roll up the curtain and leave the court."

Zheng Jian, the Chief Censor, stood up and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, I impeach Lü Yijian, Sheng Du, Cheng Lin, and Li Zhang. They colluded with Feng Shiyuan, a petty official in Kaifeng Prefecture, for corruption, collection of banned books, and selling official positions and titles."

Instantly, all officials changed color.

Zheng Jian continued, and he named more than ten senior officials in one breath, and mentioned multiple crimes.

There were more than ten senior officials above the fourth rank involved in this case, and hundreds of people below the fifth rank. These more than one hundred people were not even qualified to be named.

And every time he read a senior official, the faces of the senior officials present showed a look of fear.

Even if they had heard the rumors in advance, they still felt scared.

Especially Lü Yijian.

Zheng Jian was too ruthless. He did not find him privately, but asked directly in front of everyone in the Censorate what to do about this matter?

With so many people watching, he could only deal with it impartially, and there was no time to arrange for Lü Yijian.

In this case, even if he wanted to cover it up, he couldn't.

The matter had already fermented yesterday, and it was likely to explode completely at the morning meeting today!

However, no one refuted it at this time.

First, the evidence was solid, and second, as senior officials, they would not leave immediately.

"Your Majesty, I ask to abolish the new policy of the performance evaluation system!"

Zhao Lianggui, the junior minister of the Ministry of Rites, interrupted Zheng Jian and fired the first shot.

He was the son of Zhao Anren, and Lü Yijian was a Jinshi in the third year of Xianping (1000 AD). That year, Zhao Anren was in charge of the imperial examination, and Lü Yijian was his student.

At the same time, Zhao Lianggui also served as the junior minister of the Ministry of Rites with Zhang Yuxi, and they were colleagues, and he was also a good friend of Lü Gongchuo.

Zheng Jian looked at Zhao Lianggui with dissatisfaction and said, "Shaoqing Zhao, I am reporting to you, why do you interrupt me? Don't you have any rules at all?"

Zhao Lianggui ignored Zheng Jian and said, "Your Majesty, the new law is harsh and all officials are suffering. Moreover, it involves too many people. There are thousands of officials and tens of thousands of clerks in the surrounding areas of the capital alone. If it continues like this, I am afraid that officials across the country will be worried and uneasy."

"Gentlemen are open and honest, while villains are always worried."

Ouyang Xiu stood up and scolded, "Isn't it right for officials to do their duty and complete the things they should do every month? When did officials being lazy become a reasonable thing?"

This completely opened up the battlefield.

Qian Yannian, the editor of Jixian Hall, said, "Gentlemen think nine times, and think about righteousness when seeing virtue. Your Majesty has appointed the wise and talented people in the world, so you should trust them, and should not drive them with treacherous people. I think your majesty will not do this."

He meant that the emperor should trust his ministers and should not arrange people from the Imperial Censorate to urge the ministers to work every day.

Cai Xiang spread his hands and said, "I haven't seen many talented people in this world, but there are many corrupt officials in the world. I haven't seen the five beauties mentioned by the editor, but I have learned the four evils thoroughly. If the world is really like what the editor said, what is the use of the Censorate and the Remonstrance Office?"

"Hahahahaha."

Instantly, many colleagues in the Censorate laughed.

Now the Censorate is quite powerful. In the past, there was no direct supervision, and they could only impeach after finding evidence.

Now, even if the officials' leaks are not found, they can always monitor whether they are working hard and whether they are lazy every day. Isn't the authority established in this way?

What's more, except Zheng Jian, most of the censors in the Censorate were appointed by Fan Zhongyan and Zhao Jun. They are upright people whom they admire more, and they are upright.

Seeing chaos, they will naturally criticize it openly and will never sit idly by.

"You!"

Qian Yannian was furious.

Others stood up and said: "Your Majesty, if you pass the exam, it will be bad governance. If this continues, officials will only focus on political achievements and ignore people's livelihood."

"You're laughing so hard. It's as if officials all over the world have cared about people's livelihood."

Wang Zhi said: "At least now that after passing the legal examination, officials can do some things, and they will not be like before."

Qian Xibai, a member of Zhongshushe, said: "I personally think that passing the Dharma exam will leave many unsolvable problems. Officials should be flexible in handling government affairs. If one pursues dogma, he will inevitably be rigid and may not be able to harm the people. "

"Do today's things today, and do tomorrow's things tomorrow. This examination system strictly implements the examination system. In the past, the examinations were in vain, but now that they have become strict, you can't accept it."

Wang Su retorted.

"No, the emperor is wise and humbly accepts advice. However, the ministers are not not doing their work with all their heart, but they are just a little negligent. They rise up one after another, make bad noises, and ruin their reputation. Why is this?"

"As the saying goes, ministers should not be spared when punishing someone for their faults, and everyone should be rewarded for their good deeds. Those who have merit should be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes should be punished. This is the law of the court. Do you want to despise the laws of your ancestors?"

"If you relax but don't relax, civil and military officials can't do it; if you relax without relaxing, civil and military officials can't do it. If you relax every day, it's the way of civil and military affairs. If you tense up every day, the officials in the world will not become hysterical? What's more, making mistakes in chaos is not a good thing. ”

“I can’t quite see it”

At present, the opposition held a debate with Yushitai and a small number of Fan Zhongyan's supporters.

At this point it’s actually pretty good.

Because they are only discussing the abolition of the entrance examination law, and it has not reached the level of life and death.

In this regard, the Song Dynasty was slightly stronger than the Ming Dynasty.

Even during the period when Wang Anshi's reform was so intense, the two sides always said that the public was justified, and the mother-in-law said that the mother-in-law was justified.

Sima Guang also scolded Wang Anshi for being "ignorant and stubborn." At most, the two sides were red-faced in the argument, but they didn't shout loudly.

The Ming Dynasty was much more interesting, scoldings were trivial, and a full-scale martial arts display would take place if they disagreed. The intensity was much greater than that of the Song Dynasty.

But as the debate deepens, both sides inevitably begin to rise.

Someone said: "I am impeaching Fan Zhongyan for nepotism, and the Censor's Office is his eyes and ears. I heard that the people who made suggestions all hope that your majesty will be Yao and Shun, but they don't know that they ask for Gao and Kui to be the auxiliary ministers. Your majesty has the wisdom to adopt the rules and advice. But the assistant ministers blocked the way of speech. How can the country be peaceful for a long time? "

"snort!"

The censor of the reform faction immediately refuted: "On the censorship platform, I am worthy of the emperor, and below me, I am worthy of the common people. I have never blocked Tian Ting's speech. This statement of suppression is false. Do you want to make false accusations and frame me?"

"Emperor Taizu learned from the mistakes of his predecessors and did not have a prime minister. His affairs were transferred to the ministries and academies. His power was not matched, but his titles were changed. At that time, the official rank was not high, and there was no desire to be exclusive. Over the past hundred years, he has been good at doing power and blessings. Those who are still afraid of the name of prime minister do not dare to live there, because of the ancestral law."

Another person said: "Now that the political system has been established, Fan Zhongyan can safely regard himself as prime minister. He has also gained a reputation in the army, and it is not appropriate to take charge of political affairs at this time. When the admonishment officer discusses the matter, he must say: "I abide by the laws of my ancestors. "I ask you to rectify it according to the ancestral law."

"In the ancestral dynasty, all political affairs were reported to the provincial government, answered by the ministries and supervisors, and carried out by the supervisors. I never heard of any impeachment of the prime minister. Under the new law, everyone has no escape, and everyone can distinguish the pros and cons of everything. "

The reformists refuted: "No matter the dignitaries of the dynasty or the princes and ministers, they all take office according to their departments. Anyone who has made mistakes can be found out in time. Isn't this the wish of the ancestors and the wish of the world?"

"After the imperial examination is completed, the imperial examination is completed, and the imperial examination is completed. Each document has two volumes, one is sent to the Political Bureau, and the other is sent to the bill inspection. If the government office delays, the ministers will correct it. If the ministries are hidden, then the ministers will correct it. The imperial historian If it is hidden, the cabinet will correct it.”

The opposition continued: "My husband's ministry is responsible for state affairs, admonishing ministers, issuing memorials, and impeachment. This is his duty. The prime minister is ranked in the Imperial Academy, and he only prepares advisors to discuss his thoughts calmly. Zhong Yan created this and said that he wanted to threaten What if the ancestral law is the way to control ministers and wait for orders?

"No one can restrain you, you are all serving the country. According to the laws of Kuang ancestors, all officials are required to perform their duties. If ministers are slack, it is the duty of the censor to urge them to act. This is also the case for thousands of years since the establishment of the censor. The law has not changed over the years!”

The reformists also continued to object.

"Under the new law, when domestic and foreign ministers or ministers attack each other, or criticize each other, they start out for their own selfish purposes and end up in the habit of winning. If the desire to win is endless, it will lead to angry disputes, and if the anger is endless, it will lead to party rivalry. The Niu of the Tang Dynasty , Li, isn’t it because of one word that we lost each other?”

The opposition also said: "Flattery has become a common practice, and it is getting worse every day. When talking about ministers, wait for Yi and Fu; when talking about frontier commanders, plan to use Fang and Zhao; when talking about middle officials, praise the return of Lu and Zhang; when talking about foreign officials, , then Songzhuo and Lu Zhengsheng are not just marrying each other, but they are asking for bribes, which is flattery. How can this last long?"

"Oh, you guys have the nerve to mention Yi, Fu, Fang, Zhao, Zhuomao, and Lu Gong? How many corrupt officials were inspected in the new law? The son of Lu Yijian leaked that in addition to paying homage to people in exchange for favors, people at that time compared him to Dou Shen. In my opinion, he is not like Dou Shen, but a minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

"Don't be eloquent. What we are worried about is the failure of the country. Now that we have received a strict decree, Fan Xiwen often says, "I will try my best to adjust it, so I will stop it." When he gets a gentle decree, Fan Xiwen says again, "I will try my best to ask for it, and then I will get it." ". Therefore, I fear Fan Xiwen more than I fear His Majesty, and I feel sorry for Fan Xiwen more than I feel His Majesty. I am so proud of myself that I have no court. What if this is the law of our ancestors?"

"It is you who are causing the country to fail. You are causing chaos, deceiving Your Majesty, and searching the people. Now the court has sorted out the administration of officials, and the world is clear, but you are still promoting corruption. How can you be so rampant? I believe that you are short-sighted. How can you know how clear the politics will be under this new law and decree?"

As the situation became more serious, Zhao Zhen sat on the stage and did not interrupt the debate between the two sides in time. After a while, the court, which was originally quite neat, became a vegetable market. The reformists and the opposition were clearly divided.

Most of them remained neutral, but as the party members under Lu Yijian and Shengdu took the lead in attacking, a large number of centrists also figured out the taste and immediately started to fight.

The main reason was that the performance evaluation system was indeed unpopular. No matter which dynasty it was placed in, everyone liked to be an official, holding power in their hands, not so hard and tired, eating hot pot and singing songs, and holding girls in their arms. They just took this official position, made money, and lived a chic life.

As a result, after the performance evaluation system was introduced, every official had to complete his work seriously, just like completing homework every day in school. This was naturally unacceptable to everyone, so they took this opportunity to join the opposition.

In fact, workers in later generations all hated this method, which seemed to be what the people wanted. But in fact, workers in later generations were paid a few thousand yuan, but were PUA by their bosses.

The bosses shouted, "Don't ask what the company can give you, but what you can bring to the company." They also advocated that employees should contribute, and said that just thinking about making more money is no different from being a zombie. Money should not be the dream of college students, but the result of struggle.

Once you encounter a good high-paying job, you want to change jobs.

The original boss also shouted, "I spent money to train you, I spent so much financial, human, material and time, and you just left without a care. Then your next unit should at least compensate me for my training fees."

In this case, it is purely exploitation, and it would be strange if young people could be spoiled.

But it was not the case when being an official in ancient times.

Especially in the Song Dynasty.

Not to mention the high salary, the life after becoming an official is far from comparable to that of later workers.

So, logically speaking, since the court spends so much money to support you, isn't it right for you to work hard every day?

However, the ancient officials just didn't do it.

I just want to take the money without working. If you force me to work, I will unite to oppose.

Isn't this nonsense?

But this is the reality.

Especially after it involves the sons of Lü Yijian and Shengdu.

In the final analysis, it is all for their own interests.

Soon, as the debate intensified, it slowly began to develop in the direction of party struggle.

A large number of officials impeached Fan Zhongyan, saying that he had too much prestige in the army and should not be the prime minister, which would easily lead to the emergence of powerful officials.

There are also people who say that he has too many spies in the Censorate to monitor the officials, which will only make the officials fear Fan Zhongyan instead of respecting the emperor, thus greatly reducing the emperor's authority.

What's more, some people have hinted that Fan Zhongyan may rebel, like Wang Mang, Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao, posing a threat to the imperial power.

In the end, the whole morning court was in a mess.

Zhao Zhen looked at the scene below and couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed with Lü Yijian.

He knew clearly that reform was imperative, but he still became a conservative interest group in history for his own interests, as the eldest grandson said.

For this reason, he even framed Fan Zhongyan like those opponents in history.

Didn't Lü Yijian know that doing so would only deepen the emperor's dissatisfaction with him when Zhao Zhen had already understood many things?

Maybe he knew.

But they were his two sons after all!

Zhao Zhen looked at Lü Yijian, who had a dull face and didn't know what he was thinking, and felt annoyed for no reason.

He stood up suddenly, walked to Wang Shouzhong, and left only one sentence: "Go and invite Hanlong back!"

Then he left with a wave of his sleeves, leaving only an angry back to the officials.

Things.

After all, it was time to invite the eldest grandson back.