The government hall gathered consensus, increased the 'Kaifeng Mansion pilot' again, and promoted to provide more supporting facilities for the 'new law', and Zhao Xu quietly returned to the palace.

Zhao Xu washed up, first went to see Concubine Zhu, then went to Queen Meng's to sit for a while, and then went to Cining Palace, although he couldn't get in as always.

The Gao family and the ten nobles were raided, even though there was such a big crime as 'digging up the Yellow River', I still don't know how many people pleaded for mercy.

Zhang Dian still has a sense of proportion in the end, and he didn't treat the Gao family too much, and finally retained the last trace of the bottom line of the Empress Dowager Gao.

The Criminal Department, the Household Department, etc. are cleaning up the family property of these people, even if it is only preliminary, the total amount is still jaw-dropping, enough to compare with the treasury income of the Great Song Dynasty for half a year.

Zhao Xu returned to the Funing Hall and began to deal with the accumulated government affairs.

Zhao Xu looked at them one by one and reviewed them.

It wasn't until Chen Pi quietly came in to light the lamp that Zhao Xu suddenly glanced at the already dark sky outside, and said, "The political hall is over?" ”

Chen Pi put the lamp in a position not far from Zhao Xu, and then said: "Not yet, Su Xianggong, Zhang Xianggong and others have also gone to the sixth department, and they are having a small meeting." ”

Zhao Xu nodded, it seems that Cai Bian's trip has given Zhang Dian and others a lot of new ideas.

Zhao Xu continued to bow his head and flip through the recital, the one in his hand was the joint recital of Jingnan Road, talking about the disaster situation inside Jingnan Road, and the impeachment of several prefects.

Zhao Xu looked at it and shook his head secretly.

The land of the Song Dynasty is not small, it is not big, it adopts the prefecture and county system, and the road was originally divided because of the transportation of taxes, and then evolved into administrative regions and military regions, but it is not an administrative body, and the provinces are still directly under the central management.

This is also a means for the early days of the Great Song Dynasty to worry about the recurrence of feudal towns, weaken the localities, and directly govern them.

"Save ......"

Zhao Xu said softly to himself, with the beginning of the 'new law', not only the imperial court needs to centralize power, but also the local chaos and the situation of people floating in things needs to be changed.

However, the territory of the Great Song Dynasty is not large, and with the Gyeonggi Road where Kaifeng Mansion is located, there are 23 roads, that is, 23 provinces!

This is bound to be too much and needs to be merged.

However, in order to merge the road, it is not so simple, in addition to the consideration of people's hearts and official hats, etc., the road also has the nature of administration and military region, and it is necessary to cooperate with the plans of the Privy Council and the Ministry of War, and vigorously promote it.

"I'm in a hurry......"

Zhao Xu muttered to himself and put the notebook aside.

The problems of the Song Dynasty were too complicated, involving the reform of the system, and it was definitely not something that he, the emperor and the imperial court, could change if they said that they could change it. You also need to be prepared enough to make sure that there is no major mess.

Chen Pi didn't understand, so he quietly stepped back and stood not far away.

I don't know how long it has been, but a yellow door outside the door came over and said, "Guanjia, Su Xianggong, Zhang Xianggong, Cai Xianggong, and Han Xianggong ask to see you." ”

Zhao Xu raised his head again, looked outside, saw that the sky was already dark, groaned slightly, and said: "Let them go to the side hall, let the imperial chef put food on the side hall, burn it with charcoal, and I will chat with you while eating." ”

"Yes." Chen Pi responded, turned around and went out to arrange.

Zhao Xu looked at it for a while, then got up and left the study and went to the side hall.

In the side hall, Su Song and the others were standing and waiting, and they were about to salute when they saw Zhao Xu coming in.

Zhao Xu waved his hand and said, "No courtesy." In the evening, you have worked hard, sit down, and talk while eating. ”

Saying that, Zhao Xu took the lead in sitting down, and Su Song, Zhang Dian and others sat down one after another.

Zhao Xu looked at the steaming porcelain pot and the fragrant food, suddenly had a good appetite, picked up the chopsticks and ate it, and said with a smile to Su Song and the others: "No need to be formal, eat at will." ”

Su Song, Zhang Dian and the others watched Zhao Xu eat, as if they didn't want to spoil the atmosphere, picked up the chopsticks, and took a bite one after another.

Zhao Xu was indeed hungry, so he ate half full of rice, then drank the soup, looked at the four people who had been sitting still, and said with a smile: "Tell me." ”

Su Song leaned over and said with a draft: "The official family, Guozijian, Taixue, etc. are basically ready, and in mid-March, you can start recruiting students." The ministers and others carefully discussed with the Guozijian side, and the first batch planned to recruit 300 people, and then gradually let go. In the early stage, branches were set up in other three capitals to expand the ...... in a planned way."

Zhao Xu listened, nodded and said, "I talked to Shen Kuo before. In Taixue, there are several things that are indispensable, the first is the erudite professor, that is, the talent. Second, it is the basic facilities, including money and food, teaching buildings, dormitories, meals and so on. The third is the teaching support, the first is the teaching materials, and the second is the auxiliary. The teaching material is not difficult. I thought that if I wanted to build the largest library building in Taixue, there should also be academies established in other places, and they should be open for people to borrow...... In addition, I said to Shen Kuo that in Taixue, it is necessary to be all-encompassing, there is no kind of teaching, not only to teach scriptures and righteousness, the six arts of gentlemen, and all schools of thought must have them, and they must not be excluded or targeted. Also, students and teachers can't engage in factions and party strife! Education, rich or poor, academic or relational...... All equal! Ten years of trees, a hundred years of people, in terms of culture and education, must be regarded as the first important thing to grasp, talent, when is the most important ......"

Su Song, Zhang Dian and the others listened with solemn expressions, and whenever Zhao Xu made a long speech, it showed that he attached great importance to this matter.

Zhao Xu's mouth was dry, he picked up the soup and took a sip, and said, "Let's listen to it, after a while, I will issue an edict to the Guozijian." ”

Su Song bowed down and said, "Yes." ”

Zhao Xu's gaze turned to Zhang Dian and Cai Bian.

Han Zongdao, who participated in the governor's affairs and the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, looked a little unnatural.

'Kaifeng Mansion Pilot', he, the prefect, seems to be an outsider.

Cai Bian opened his mouth and said: "The official, the minister has taken a trip to several counties in Kaifeng Prefecture, and only then did he find that the matter is more serious than the minister and others expected, and it is still developing further, continue to deal with ......"

Zhao Xu picked up the bowl, ate slowly, and listened.

After Cai Bian finished speaking, Zhang Dian began to talk about the response of the political affairs hall, Zhao Xu already knew about these, and now he is listening carefully.

"The ministers believe that this chaos is all caused by the laxity of the law and the superficiality of people......

Zhang Dan's face was serious, and he said: "Yes, the plan of the ministers and others, punish them with heavy canons, strengthen the crackdown on lawbreakers, and rebuild the prestige of the imperial court, so that those people can deeply understand the firm will of the imperial court and abandon their delusions......"

"Actually, I have other ideas,"

Without waiting for Zhang Duan to finish speaking, Zhao Xu held the bowl in his hand, interrupted him, looked up at the four people, and said slowly: "We have always wanted to eliminate maladministration, the people have been suffering from maladministration for a long time, we eliminate malgovernance, they should welcome and support it." But ignore that the maladministration is caused by the imperial court, and the imperial court comes to change it, do the people believe it? If the people don't believe, they won't support it. ”

Su Song, Zhang Dian and others listened, a little stunned.

It's not that they don't know this truth, but from their hearts, the court's 'change' doesn't seem to have anything to do with the people, they just need to obey.

Zhao Xu was also stunned when he saw their reactions, and then said thoughtfully: "The root of the 'Fangtian Average Tax Law' is not false, but it is more in the people and the people. I found too much wasteland in Yongqiu County, and the people had land, but they abandoned the land and fled to the wasteland, why? Because of the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes of the local government, they can't farm the land! The people fled and had nowhere to rely on, and the consequences were clearer than mine. Therefore, to 'change the law', we must win the hearts of the people, especially the support of the people! Before, we ignored it, but now, I feel that there are two things that need to be done: first, sort out the tax rules, clarify the tax in the world, and announce the world, and not collect any more! Second, to exercise strict control over local officials, especially when it comes to taxes, consider setting up a separate department dedicated to tax collection to bypass the local government. Third, it is public opinion. We must use all means to make the people believe in the court and believe that the court can really change! It won't get worse and worse, and it won't go back! This is especially important! ”

Zhao Xu said, put down the bowl, looked at Zhang Dian, Cai Bian said: "I told you before that the reason why the 'Xining Reform' failed was because you were small in number, did not win the support of the majority, and lacked consensus. Now, this sentence needs to be corrected, that is, the 'Xining Reform' has not won the hearts of the people, has not made the people believe, and the people do not believe it, that is, they are standing on the opposite side, so defeat is a matter of time. ”

Zhang Dian and Cai Bian had their own expressions and fell into deep thought.

Zhao Xu's words touched them a lot and forced them to reflect on it.

The 'new law' has always been a struggle in the court, the 'old and new' parties fought to the death, with the support of Shenzong, the 'new party' laughed proudly in the court for more than 20 years, but then, Emperor Shenzong died, and the 'old party' couldn't wait to abolish the 'new law' within a year.

Is this a simple partisanship?

Why was it so difficult for the 'New Party' to have the unprecedented support of the Emperor in the Shenzong Dynasty, but it was so easy for the Empress Dowager Gao to 'listen to the government' and repeal the 'New Law'?

In the final analysis, the 'people's will' is not on the side of the 'New Party'!

After seven years, not many people miss the 'New Party', what they miss is the Renzong Dynasty, that Qingping and prosperous era, whether it is the gentry group or the common people!

Su Song listened, silent. He has always 'sought stability', and although he has not been improving, he has been trying his best to prevent it from getting worse.

Even if the official family and the court were boiling and persecuted repeatedly, he was always unswerving and unswerving.

He didn't feel like he was at fault, and now, too.

Han Zongdao was suddenly a little excited, and couldn't help but speak: "Official, the people's hearts are not changing the law, the imperial court does have a lot of malpractices, but it can be completely eliminated, there is no need to dig into the ground like this, please amend the new law, so as to conform to the people's will and calm the world!" ”

Zhang Dian, Cai Bian turned his head to look at him fiercely, his face cold.

Han Zongdao suddenly seemed to realize that his words were impulsive, the corners of his face stiffened, and he didn't say anything more.

Su Song also frowned when he saw it, and said in a round way: "Official, there are indeed some problems with the implementation of the new law, and we should check and fill in the gaps to make it perfect." ”

Zhang Dian ignored these two people, looked serious, and said, "What Your Majesty said is extremely true. The minister believes that with the gradual advancement of the new law, the people of the world will understand that the 'new law' is the most beneficial and correct for the country and the people! ”

Zhao Xu looked at him and said in a deep voice: "It's not enough. In the past, the newspapers were for officials at all levels, and it was necessary to go deep into the localities and strengthen propaganda among the people. We now have to win the support of more gentry, and at the same time we must win the hearts and minds of the people, the support of the people, at this time, it is especially important! ”

Zhang Dian bowed slightly, looked rare hesitant, and did not speak.

Including Cai Bian, he was also silent.

Su Song and Han Zongdao were the same, silent.

Zhao Xu frowned, his words had already been said so clearly, why did these four people react like this?

Seeing this, Zhao Xu picked up the soup and took a sip, waiting quietly.

After waiting for a long time, Su Song saw that Zhao Xu didn't speak, seemed to understand, and said: "The official, the people can make it, but they can't make it known." ”

Zhao Xu naturally knew this sentence and understood the meaning, so he couldn't help but be stunned and stunned, and didn't know what to say for a while.

This sentence roughly means that the people only need to obey, and they can't let them know too much. The derivative meaning is that if the people know too much, it will be difficult to control, which will cause turmoil in the world and threaten the stability of the society.

As the head of today's feudal society, the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, Zhao Xu was really difficult to speak for a while, and he didn't know what to say.

Seeing this, Cai Bian hurriedly said: "Official, the ministers will grasp the proportions of this matter, convey it to the people, win the support of the people, and vigorously promote the progress of the 'measurement of acres of land', and will definitely complete the set tasks on time and on time......

Zhao Xu came back to his senses, looked at the four of them quietly, and said: "The matter of building a Guangjian Academy should be implemented as soon as possible, the 'new law' should be instilled in the students, and the students should be publicized on a larger scale, which is very important and urgent. The newspaper should also be amplified, not only distributed to all levels of government, but also to all levels of institutions, such as academies, post stations, government schools at all levels, county schools, etc., to spread to everyone......"

Su Song and Han Zongdao changed color, and Zhang Dian and Cai Bian followed with a condensation on their faces.

When did the affairs of the imperial court need to be explained to ordinary people?

But seeing Zhao Xu's repeated emphasis, they could only respond, but did not say more.

Zhao Xu picked up the bowl and knew in his heart that the positions and interests of the emperor and the imperial court were not always the same, and the two parties of the 'old and new' were not completely hostile, and they were the same on some issues, after all, they were of the same class.

These things have to be seriously supervised by Zhao Xu, and even arranged them personally.

"Official,"

Cai Bian saw that the atmosphere was a little wrong, and hurriedly said: "After the investigation of the ministers, in the sixteen counties, I found a few people with excellent ability and excellent conduct, Zhongmu County, Yongqiu County and other counties, acting decisively, and not retreating in case of trouble, the ministers and others appreciated it very much, and suggested that they be promoted to inspire officials at all levels in Kaifeng Prefecture." ”

Zhao Xu remembered that Zheng Hezhi and said with a smile: "Not bad." Heavy reward, but don't be promoted and transferred immediately, wait for things to stabilize. ”

"Yes, that's what the ministers think about as well." Cai Bian said.

Zhao Xu held the bowl and said, "There has been some progress in measuring the acres of fields, and the census should be put on the agenda." Kaifeng Prefecture is the focus, and other places have ordered to give them a census and report the population situation to see what they do first. ”

Zhang Dian said: "Yes." The government hall and Kaifeng Mansion have been making preparations. The ministers are thinking about it, this year's spring season is about to begin, and they have to wait for the end of the spring festival. ”

Spring is set for February 14, and it is already the beginning of February, which is indeed very soon.

Zhao Xu thought about a series of things in the imperial examination, which were also related to the reform of Kaifeng Mansion, nodded and said, "Okay." I've passed the exam, and that's it this year, and next time, I'll come out. ”

It is clear that he wants to select scholars from the reform faction, reserve talents for the reform of the law, and compress the political space of the opposition.

"Yes." Zhang Dan said.

Su Song and Han Zongdao glanced at each other silently, and the two did not speak.

It is not the first time that they have been ostracized as the 'old party'. More and more specific government affairs fall into the hands of Zhang Dan, so that the power of this 'de facto prime minister' is expanding day by day, and he is not far from the real prime minister.

The topic of Zhao Xu and others quickly turned to the imperial examination.

In Kaifeng City, waiting for the spring of the people, as high as 10,000 people, according to the past practice, the imperial court to admit almost 1,500 people, this proportion is quite high.

Most of them will not get official positions immediately, and more than half of them are still fictitious, but no matter what, as long as they win the jinshi, they will receive the imperial court.

The imperial examination is one of the main reasons for the redundancy of officials in the Great Song Dynasty.

Now, except for a few people in the political hall and the ministry, no more people know that the imperial court has decided to deal with the problem of redundant officials, and the first step is the imperial examination!

In this year's imperial examination, in Zhang's plan, less than 300 people will be admitted, which is about one-fifth of previous years!

10,000 people are admitted, 10 to 1; But if 10,000 people admit 300 people, it will be 30, or even 40 to 1, and such an admission ratio is unprecedentedly low!

It is foreseeable that after the release of the imperial examination this time, the scholars in Kaifeng City will definitely not agree easily!