Chapter 107 I Wish to Join Hands with the Masters (I Wish You All a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival)

Do we have such ideals and fighting spirit?

Fan Zhongyan's question made everyone stunned.

They didn't expect that Fan Zhongyan called everyone over to ask about their ideals.

For a while, except for Ouyang Xiu who was full of fighting spirit, the others fell into deep thought.

Fan Zhongyan didn't urge them, just looked at them and waited quietly.

After a while, Fu Bi asked: "I wonder if Xi Wengong has any rules?"

"Yes."

Fan Zhongyan nodded: "That master showed me some books and said some thought-provoking words, which touched me a lot."

And it would definitely not be possible to complete the ideological changes and institutional progress exploration by himself, so he had already found Lao Fan, hoping to unite with him.

But in a sense, Lao Fan couldn't be his companion.

Because Lao Fan was only slightly more advanced than those conservative interest groups, he was still feudal bureaucratic in nature and didn't have the awareness of the new era.

But in this era, as long as Lao Fan could help him find a group of companions who were slightly further ahead, it would be very good.

Let's work together to get the Song Dynasty back on track before we can move forward.

The papers were distributed and everyone read them carefully.

Ouyang Xiu read them very quickly. He only saw the sentence "Those bad guys who think they are superior and look down on others after becoming officials should be thrown into the manure vat, because no upright person likes it. Every upright person should like the way of the people, that is, the way that every ordinary farmer likes to accept." He applauded.

"Is this written by that expert? It's exactly what I want. Now many people become officials and immediately lift their heads to the sky, thinking they are so powerful. But they forget that their ancestors were also farmers. Who was born to be a scholar-official? Who was born to be an official?"

Ouyang Xiu sighed: "Even those who have been officials for generations, most of the generations before them were also farmers. It's a pity that most officials now forget their roots. After becoming officials, they become more and more aggressive to make money and fame for themselves. Most officials in the world are like this. Isn't the life of ordinary people getting worse?"

Fan Zhongyan's current idea is to reform the officialdom, so many of the copied "Selected Works" are about pointing out the problems of bureaucratic thinking. If they are seen by people like Lu Yijian, they will definitely regard them as poison. But if they are seen by these people, they are treasures.

Because everyone here later became a pioneer of the Qingli New Deal, they also tried to change the rotten and old atmosphere of the officialdom of the Song Dynasty like Fan Zhongyan, hoping to make the Song Dynasty a new look.

Therefore, everyone read it with great interest and couldn't put it down. They felt that the ideas and core in it were extremely profound and thought-provoking.

"We must not only propose tasks, but also solve the problem of methods to complete the tasks. Our task is to cross the river, but we can't cross it without a bridge or a boat. If we don't solve the problem of bridges or boats, crossing the river is just empty talk. If we don't solve the problem of methods, the task is just nonsense."

Fu Bi saw this sentence and was deeply touched: "This sentence is really well said. If you encounter a problem and don't want to solve the solution, then everything is just empty slogans, which is of no use to us."

"Xi Wengong, what do you think?"

Cai Xiang asked.

Fan Zhongyan pondered and said, "I am determined to reform the shortcomings of the Song Dynasty. If I rely on myself, I will not be able to accomplish anything. Therefore, I want to gather all my colleagues to join us in this great cause."

"What about that expert?"

Ouyang Xiu asked, "Can't he persuade the emperor? If the emperor helps, wouldn't things be better?"

"The emperor."

Fan Zhongyan's face was a little strange. Judging from the current situation, if the emperor can be trusted, a sow can climb a tree.

But the emperor is the emperor after all, so he can't say much. After a moment, he shook his head and said bitterly, "The expert is just moving forward with difficulty. Our enemies are too powerful. They control the entire court and the entire Song Dynasty. The expert can't support himself."

Zhao Jun talked a lot with Zhao Zhen, Lu Yijian and others, about the future outcome of the Song Dynasty, about the great ideas of the teacher, and many things they should do and change.

But now every step Zhao Jun takes is forcing Zhao Zhen and Lu Yijian, and they can't give full play to their subjective initiative.

Because the sad thing is that Zhao Zhen and Lu Yijian did not want to betray their class.

Or Lu Yijian did not want to betray his class, and Zhao Zhen did not want to anger the scholar-official class, fearing that something unexpected would happen and affect the stability of the Song Dynasty.

Even Zhao Jun did not want to overthrow their group immediately, but hoped for a gradual process.

For example, the officialdom reform should be carried out first.

At least the officialdom that is rotten to the root of the Song Dynasty should be cleared up.

Only when the officialdom is improved can new reforms be better implemented and efforts can be concentrated on major events. Instead of bloated official institutions and individuals being idle, there are so many officials, but the efficiency of government operations is pitifully low.

But these people still just want to increase the productivity of the Song Dynasty on the original basis, muddle through, and have no intention of changing the bottom.

So Zhao Jun can only move forward with difficulty like this.

Fan Zhongyan naturally knew Zhao Jun's situation, so he also needed to change. After knowing his future experience, he needed more ideological sublimation.

"How can you say that it's difficult to support it alone?"

Ouyang Xiu said dissatisfied: "Since this master wants to reform the Song Dynasty, we are not just mediocre people, so we must also contribute a small amount."

"Yes, Mr. Xiwen, we also have a heart for boxing. If you find a time and ask the master to show up, I am willing to be a host in Fanlou and let us have a talk with him? Hear it with your own ears This expert’s opinion.”

"Yes, since you want to do great things, such a master should be a role model for our generation, and he should work with us to create a great cause."

"We also want to admire the master's style, Mr. Xiwen, what do you think?"

Several people read some documents given by Fan Zhongyan and felt that the thoughts in them were really profound and enlightening. I was so excited for a moment that I really wanted to see the master in Fan Zhongyan's mouth.

But Fan Zhongyan shook his head and said: "The expert said that he still feels that he is shallow now, so he needs time to complete the precipitation. He plans to visit various places in the Song Dynasty after a while, and we will talk about the meeting later. ”

"Such an expert still thinks he is shallow?"

Ouyang Xiu said in shock: "If he is shallow, then who are we?"

"hehe."

Fan Zhongyan smiled and said: "Exalts naturally have their own ideas. It is not a bad thing to let him do it to understand the Song Dynasty in depth. The purpose of calling you here this time is actually to establish a forum to discuss the new policy together. Things."

"oh?"

Fu Bi was surprised and said, "Mr. Xiwen, have you already got an idea?"

Historically, Fan Zhongyan’s Qingli New Deal would not begin until six years later, but this does not mean that he had not had this idea for a long time, but it had not reached that level yet.

Now with Zhao Jun's help, I have been able to summarize a lot of things.

"Um."

Fan Zhongyan nodded and said: "If we want to give our Song Dynasty a new look, we must first improve the officialdom. Nowadays, corrupt officials are rampant in the Song Dynasty. There is so much dirt hidden in Kaifeng Mansion alone. Look at the people arrested by the Imperial City Department this time. Which one is not bullying good people and doing evil? So I plan to start with this!"

"OK!"

Ouyang Xiu immediately responded: "Although the Imperial City Department arrested people a little harshly, looking at the evidence of their crimes, they are really worse than pigs and dogs! I wrongly blamed Zhao Jun before, but now it seems that the officials should have eradicated these filthy people." only."

Fan Zhongyan smiled mockingly, weren't these filthy people connived by the officials? If Zhao Jun hadn't been forced to give the Imperial City Division authority, the Kaifeng Mansion would have killed many people.

But he did not say these words after all. Instead, he turned around and said: "That expert once said that without investigation, there is no right to speak. It would be best if there were detailed signatures. For example, how many officials are there in the Song Dynasty now? No matter how many things they handle and how many practical things they do, they can work hard to find problems if they have a coordinator.”

"We can do this"

Fu Bi thought deeply: "I am in Jianyuan, so I can naturally check many official documents."

"Then I'll be in charge of editing!"

"I'm in charge of the Ministry of Works secretary!"

"I can read official documents from all over the country in the Secretary's Office."

"I"

Wang Zhu reviewed the history museum and looked around. All the brothers were in key departments and had access to key data. What could he do if he was from the history museum?

Wang Zhu had no choice but to say: "Then what can I do?"

Fan Zhongyan smiled and said: "You can help copy some things, and then we can compile them together to see the situation in various places in the Song Dynasty."

Yin Zhu hesitated and said: "Xi Wen, although it is common for officials from various departments to take important official documents home or even lose them, will you be impeached if you blatantly steal official documents like this?"

"I can't. I don't need you to steal it. Just read it and write it down and tell me the situation."

Fan Zhongyan said: "Now is only an early investigation stage. Since we want to reform the Song Dynasty, we must understand everything. When the time comes to report it to the court and explain it to the officials, we will have regulations to follow. The Song Dynasty There are already too many problems now, and governance is only the first step. We will need to work together to solve more problems in the future.”

"In that case, why don't we form a club."

Ouyang Xiu felt that Fan Zhongyan was indeed a man who did great things, and he immediately said happily: "Nowadays, the trend of folk associations is prevalent. We are looking for a gentleman's style. If we want to help the country, why not call it a gentleman's society?"

Fan Zhongyan's face suddenly changed and he said: "No, we are also here to share the worries of the officials and solve the problems for the people of the world. We must not have the intention of forming cliques for the sake of personal reputation. You must remember that we are here for the Song Dynasty, for the officials and the world. People, never for themselves!”

"All right."

Ouyang Xiu was puzzled and didn't understand why Fan Zhongyan made such a fuss.

Folk associations are quite popular. Wouldn't it be more cohesive if they set up an association?

Only Fan Zhongyan knows that he was tricked to death by cronies in the history books. He must not repeat the same mistakes now, so he must not claim to be a crony to the outside world.

It's just that everyone in the court has their own political views. They have the same political views, so they support each other, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the officials.

"Come on, everyone, there are some things to do next. Let's talk and eat."

Seeing that the hot pot was boiling and all the dishes were served, Fan Zhongyan began to persuade everyone to eat.

Everyone's thoughts are still unfinished.

Ouyang Xiu said: "Okay, let's eat first. Anyway, what the master said has won my heart. I am willing to follow the master and participate in the grand event together!"

"Here, have a drink!"

Everyone raised their glasses, obviously very satisfied with Fan Zhongyan's expression of concern for the country and the people today.

For these young officials with ideals, this is also the best age to make friends (fool around).

Although they may go their separate ways in the future due to different ideas, at least today, they have come together because of their common ideals.

I hope everyone will have like-minded companions to join hands with me and create a great career! I wish you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and a full moon!