"Zhang Chao, did you make the very popular newspaper in Chang'an recently?" Li Shimin asked lightly.

Zhang Chao also replied very calmly: "Yes, does the emperor have any opinions?" ”

"Recently, some low-level officials have impeached you, saying that you have given the secrets of the court to the people to see, so that you are suspected of leaking the secrets of the court." Li Shimin said.

"Hmph, it's still like this, low-level officials explore the way, middle-level officials wait and see, and senior officials command behind the scenes. That's all you have to do with this set of methods. Zhang Chao thought in his heart.

These scholars, every time they attack Zhang Chao, they also send a few low-level officials as a test, and then if the emperor shows weakness or favors them, then they will also take the initiative to continue to let middle-level officials join the battlefield, and then impeach Zhang Chao together to increase this bargaining chip. However, senior officials will not come forward in person, because they know that it is not yet time for a life-and-death duel. Once the senior officials come forward, it will inevitably mean that the senior scholars and Zhang Chao will tear their faces, and they are not sure about Li Shimin's attitude towards Zhang Chao.

High-ranking officials have the usefulness of high-ranking officials, and every high-ranking official cherishes his feathers very much, and will not easily come forward to tear his face into a fight. A little high-ranking official came forward, and that represented a tearing face on behalf of your life. This is not usually the case with really smart senior officials, who know that once they come forward, it will be irreparable, and either the opponent will fall or they will be in danger, especially those at the prime minister's level. Generally speaking, it is to let the people under him go out for interviews, and then if it is found that there are results, then the middle-level officials strike while the iron is hot. What follows is the climax of the struggle, and as for whether the senior officials will come forward to fight in person, it depends on how far they will fight. If it is a fight between the two factions, then the senior officials will also come forward. If everyone only fights a medium-sized "campaign", then middle-level officials can also be competent.

Now these low-ranking officials of the clan have come out to impeach. That is to say, I hope to be able to test Zhang Chao's status in Li Shimin's heart, if Li Shimin does not trust Zhang Chao, then he can continue to increase the weight, and then work hard to clean up Zhang Chao. But it's okay for now. Li Shimin did not order Zhang Chao to be dealt with on the spot, but called Zhang Chao privately to interrogate.

Zhang Chao said casually: "Your Majesty, where did the minister leak the secrets of the imperial court?" ”

"You have announced to the people the latest policies announced by the imperial court. Let the people know, isn't this a leak of secrets? Li Shimin asked.

Zhang Chao asked rhetorically: "Since the policies have been issued, it is necessary to implement them, so what is not good to announce?" Among the officials at all levels in our imperial court, there are also Tang newspapers for the officials to read. And our newspaper is for the people to read, so what's not to do? As for this newspaper, if the people can understand the policies of the imperial court, it can also allow the people to take the initiative to cooperate and supervise the officials. ”

"Huh? Let the people supervise the officials? Li Shimin asked unhappily.

But Zhang Chao took the initiative to say; "Your Majesty. You should also know that the minister will never tolerate sand in his eyes on the matter of national reunification, and anyone who wants to divide the country in the local area is an enemy in the eyes of the minister. The minister is a very strong supporter of centralized power. ”

"I know, if I didn't know that you are definitely doing your best to maintain the unity of the country, then I would have let you go home and farm!" Li Shimin said politely.

And Zhang Chao was a little helpless, Li Shimin actually didn't like to see Zhang Chao very much. Since the last time Zhang Chao took the initiative to ask to go to the Four Sects, it meant that Zhang Chao wanted to establish a faction independently. Instead of becoming Li Shimin's lackey. As an emperor, for those who aspire to build a faction. I won't be too welcome. And Zhang Chao didn't know Li Yuan, the emperor's evaluation of himself, that is, he was either a great sage or a great traitor. And Li Shimin's feelings for Zhang Chao are also very complicated, Li Shimin admits that Zhang Chao is the only person he can't see through for so many years. Zhang Chao does not have the sacredness of imperial power in his heart, but he resolutely upholds the unity of the country, this kind of person is simply a complex contradiction in ancient times. Maintaining imperial power and maintaining national unity was one thing for the ancients. But Zhang Chao's thinking is separate. This made Li Yuan, the emperor, feel very complicated about Zhang Chao, so he made an evaluation that he was either a great sage or a great traitor.

Although Li Shimin is also appointing Zhang Chao, his feelings for Zhang Chao are also very complicated, on the one hand, he does think that Zhang Chao is a talent, but on the other hand, he is also worried that Zhang Chao will lose control. Zhang Chao is not the kind of person who is easy to control. Li Shimin even heard of Zhang Chao's words when he asked people to investigate Zhang Chao, that is, "If you are not free, you would rather die", which made Li Shimin feel the momentum in it, and did not want to be bound by any force. So Li Shimin really can't understand Zhang Chao, how can several complex thoughts be fused together.

And if Zhang Chao knew Li Shimin's thoughts, he would definitely think that Li Shimin's outlook on life, worldview, and values were different from Zhang Chao's, and then he would think that Zhang Chao was a complex contradiction. But if it is a later generation, then future generations will not think that Zhang Chao is a contradiction.

"Your Majesty, today I want to discuss with you about centralization and decentralization." Zhang Chao said.

"Centralization and decentralization? What do you mean by this? Li Shimin asked.

Zhang Chao first said: "Your Majesty, when Zhou Tianzi divided the princes, those princes became bigger one after another, and in the end, the world was turbulent. Then it came to the Qin Dynasty to unify the Central Plains and finally established the Qin State. Although the Qin state was short-lived, it gave us a template for later dynasties, that is, centralized power. And after the fall of the Qin State that year, Xiang Yu was the most powerful prince, and he could have sat on the dragon chair, that is, the emperor. However, he chose a dead end, that is, to divide the princes. ”

"Why did Xiang Yu fail in the end, I don't think it's how capable Liu Bang is and how able he can use people. Instead, history chose centralized power, because the people received too much war pain in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the people hoped to have a strong center, and Xiang Yu divided the princes, although it was conducive to winning over the princes, but it was isolated from the people. And the reason why Liu Bang was able to obtain the world was not because of his outstanding ability, but because he was the only one who was willing to choose the maximum centralization of power. ”

"After the Han Dynasty. Centralization has also become the mainstream, an irreversible mainstream. Any imperial court must choose centralized power, otherwise the country will not last long. ”

Li Shimin nodded, obviously agreeing with Zhang Chao's words. However, Zhang Chao's words changed, but Li Shimin raised his heart to his throat.

"Still. In fact, in the past dynasties, we have always repeated the centralization of power, then the decentralization of power, and finally the decline of the central power, and finally the chaos in the world. Then, once again, there will be a Ming Lord to unify the world, and then repeat that process! If nothing else, so will I Datang. ”

"What?" Li Shimin's face immediately turned red and said angrily.

Zhang Chao immediately said unceremoniously: "Your Majesty, your loyalty is contrary to your ears." If you don't want to hear it, then I won't talk about it! ”|

Li Shimin calmed down for a while, and then said; "Say it!"

"Your Majesty, in fact, centralization and decentralization have always been a kind of competition. Whether it is centralized or decentralized, it represents the interests of both people. One is the local powerhouse, and the other is the emperor. And the current scholar clan is actually a kind of local powerhouse. They had great wealth in the place, and then they had popularity. In this way, they will inevitably be able to control a lot of power in the local area, and the officials of the court must also obtain their cooperation in order to be able to govern. ”

"And any dynasty will have the existence of local powerful factions. So this one is irreversible. The central government sends officials to manage the localities, but the management of the localities will inevitably face the influence of the local powerful factions. The local powerful faction has long been rooted in the local area and has strong local popularity, so they will definitely be able to coerce the people and confront the central government. The minister said something unpleasant, once the emperor's order leaves Chang'an. Then when you go to the Lingnan area, how many people will listen to you at that time? They will not know any emperors, but they will know their officials. So in the distance, there are not many people who can really know the emperor. It's all a place where officials and masters are powerful. In their eyes, the emperor's power is not as great as that of the magistrate, this is not a joke. The officials, that is, the local emperors there, can do whatever they want. ”

"And the people are ignorant, they are also accustomed to such layers of management, and those marginal areas, or the areas controlled by the nobles there, they all have huge influence, but they only know that there are magistrates, but they don't know that there is an emperor at all, so this is the inducement of division. If the local powerful factions cannot be eliminated, then the struggle between centralization and decentralization will certainly not be completely eliminated. ”

Li Shimin immediately asked: "How can it be solved?" Can you maximize centralization? ”

"Actually, the best way is to take a salary from the bottom of the kettle! As long as we can make the people aware of the central government, can truly realize the existence of the central government, let them truly know the central government, and obey the central government to management. As long as the people know the existence of the central government, it will naturally be able to make their hearts turn to the central government, and then gain the support of the people. If the people have not known about the existence of the central government, then I am afraid that they will inevitably be coerced by the local government in the future. Once the local officials increased the tax collected by the central government to several parts, they also shirked their responsibilities and said that our central government was going to collect them. Then they again pretended to help the people speak, and then they undercharged a little bit of his extra taxes, so that they gained a good reputation, and then embezzled the wealth, and finally the central government took the blame. The emperor may not know about this method, right? Zhang Chao said.

"Hmph, these bastards!" Li Shimin said angrily.

Zhang Chao was a central official in his previous life, could he not know the character of those magistrates? In particular, the remote magistrates took advantage of the remoteness of the remote areas where there was no Internet or even telephone, and then took the opportunity to increase the tax and various fees required by the central government to two or three parts, and then the excess was eaten into their own pockets. Of course, this is only happening in very few very remote places, and in most places there are very few of them. However, in ancient times, the communication ability was very poor, and they were unable to obtain timely and effective information. That's what the magistrates say, these magistrates are good at deceiving their superiors and subordinates, and then blame the central government for their crimes, and finally they are pretending to be good people here. This kind of guy Zhang Chao knows very well, he knows very well what these guys are doing. In the later generations, there were such guys in the era when the supervision mechanism was perfect, and in ancient times, the supervision mechanism was almost equal to the era, if these magistrates didn't have this idea, then Zhang Chao could cut off his head and kick it as a ball.

Zhang Chao as an official. He absolutely does not believe in the conduct of officials, and what he adheres to in his heart is the thinking of "sex is evil". As an official of the Republican era, he only believed that officials could not make mistakes only if they were supervised, and that there was nothing unworkable in the absence of supervision, no matter how hateful he imagined those officials.

"Your Majesty, too many people are ignorant, and they all listen and believe. Because in their eyes. The local officials are also their emperors, their masters, and their masters. And we can only let the people understand that they know about the existence of our center. In the past, everything was what the local officials said, and the people had no other channel to receive information. And they don't have enough channels to absorb information, so local officials have a monopoly on the propaganda power of public opinion. They have the power of propaganda, and that allows them to coerce the people. Let the people know that we exist, then that's it! Zhang Chao said.

Zhang Chao then took the initiative to explain: "Your Majesty." That's when newspapers come in. It is only with newspapers that newspapers can hold local power. With newspapers, the local people can know the policies of the central government, and then the local officials cannot easily reverse the implementation of the policies. The imperial court collected a tax, and they could not easily increase it. When the time comes, the imperial court's tax exemption will be truly enforced. And on weekdays, you can also publicize more content from the central government and loyal to the emperor, so that you can also snatch the right of public opinion propaganda with local powerful factions. ”

"Those officials impeached. It's just that they are afraid that this newspaper will rob them of their right to public opinion. Nor will they have the opportunity to deceive the people! And as long as this newspaper can be obtained, it will definitely greatly strengthen the sense of existence of our imperial court center in the hearts of the people. In this way, you will be able to gain enough prestige. Then, when the time comes for local officials to coerce the local people to confront the central government, it will certainly not be possible to get enough support. The reason why their officials oppose it is because they do not want to give up the capital of their local officials against the central government. ”

"Once newspapers become popular, they will have no chance to coerce the people into confronting the central government. The people understand the central government, and they will listen to the central government. In this way, they will also be willing to follow the central government. And if local officials do anything bad, they will also come out and blame it. Even, if the newspaper can be popularized, and then the local officials do not act according to the orders of the central government, then they will also supervise it. At that time. If local officials want to be at ease, it will not be so easy. ”

And Li Shimin also drew inferences from one case and said: "If we can grasp this power of public opinion, then our central government can also control the popularity of the people, and some people who have done well, we can work hard to publicize them, and then set an excellent example." ”

Zhang Chao replied: "The emperor is wise. ”

And Li Shimin said that erecting an example is one positive aspect, but what Li Shimin and Zhang Chao did not say is that another aspect. If you have the right to public opinion, then you can make a stink as much as you want. As long as they can gain the power of public opinion, those so-called scholars have no room for survival at all.

Aren't those scholars able to grasp the power of public opinion propaganda, and then they step by step through the so-called layer by layer control of public opinion, and then there are various economic means to control public opinion, so that the people also blindly obey them? Ordinary people are under the layers of management of this kind of country, they only know those leaders who are directly under them, and they do not know what the highest emperor is. They are just accustomed to obeying the words of their direct leaders, which means that those direct leaders can also distort and distort the meaning of their superiors at will. They can completely distort and explain the meaning of their superiors at will, and then add their own private goods to the statements of their superiors, and then they gain benefits, and the emperor and leaders of the central government carry the black cauldron.

"Your Majesty, whether it is the army or the people, they are also blindly subordinate to their direct superiors. But this is also because the wisdom of the people and the army has not been opened, and they are all accustomed to blind obedience. If the rule of the people and the army in the world can be opened, then this can also make them directly loyal to the central court, so that they can gain enough loyalty. Otherwise, they will blindly obey their superiors even if they say anything, so once there is a problem in an intermediate link, then we will not be in turmoil next? Therefore, we must get important help in winning the hearts and minds of the people, so that the people can be loyal to our central court. ”

"As long as there is always our central court among the people, then we will be equivalent to directly extracting their threatening abilities from the bottom of the kettle. They will no longer have the ability to carry out the policies of the central court, and every common man will be our supervisor of the imperial history, and then help us supervise the magistrates. This is also the importance of opening up the wisdom of the people, only by opening the wisdom of the people, the people will not blindly obey him, and the horse will be loyal to our center, so that they can continue to provide strength to our center. ”

"Otherwise, if there is any problem, the local officials will give the central government the responsibility for it, and then they will get the benefits. The central government has become the one who carries the black pot, and when the local officials finally set themselves up as kings, they will also blindly obey, thinking that the local officials are really good for them! ”

Li Shimin immediately nodded, thinking that this newspaper was a good thing to open up the wisdom of the people and seize the power of public opinion propaganda. Only by grasping the power of public opinion propaganda can the gentry be curbed. Especially in the past, the ancient people were very contemptuous of public opinion propaganda, and the imperial court rarely used a group of imperial literati, and they rarely played a propaganda role through some imperial literati.

Many people think that the royal literati are bad, but Zhang Chao doesn't think so. Because how the royal literati will publicize it depends entirely on how the leaders publicize it. The royal literati themselves are just a "knife", and the real good and evil is to see whether the owner of the knife is good or evil. Many people think that the royal literati are bad and a symbol of undemocracy. However, throughout the world, every strong country must have a strong central government, and a strong central government must have sufficient power in public opinion.

Many people say that the Yankees have a free press, but few people know that the Americans are monitoring the whole world, and there is not much to say about Snowden. This is the so-called freedom of the United States, the so-called freedom of the press of Americans. Therefore, any truly powerful country must have a strong team of royal literati, otherwise the so-called public opinion is easy to be used.

The scholars of the Tang Dynasty era were an environment under absolute freedom of public opinion. Absolute freedom of public opinion will inevitably lead to private control of public opinion power, and once public opinion power is controlled by private individuals, what will be the consequences of this, the Tang Dynasty scholars are also a model.

Therefore, Zhang Chao proposed to use newspapers to counter the monopoly of public opinion of those scholars. Only by strengthening the government's public opinion power can the press open up the people's wisdom, so that the government's public opinion power can be directly controlled over every people. Otherwise, the nobles can mentally control the people through the power of public opinion, and then fool the people through propaganda with a large amount of private goods, so that they carry out deceptive propaganda for their own interests. Zhang Chao believes that public opinion propaganda can be free to a certain extent, but it cannot be absolutely free. Absolute freedom, especially in this era when the common people have a low level of education and are very easy to blindly obey, the power of public opinion is easily monopolized by private individuals. The scholars are also a product of monopolizing the power of public opinion, and they exalt themselves and grasp the right to interpret national policies, laws, and culture and religion, so that they can definitely destroy their propaganda.

At present, Li Shimin, the emperor's biggest enemy, is the Shi clan, so Li Shimin heard the way to fight against the Shi clan, and he was very supportive. (To be continued......)