In the camp of the Northern Expeditionary Army, in the tent of the commander of the Chinese army, Yue Wudi, Han Yanxuan, and Xin Qiji, after taking turns to read the peace document of the Jin State, glanced at each other, and saw the smiles in each other's eyes.

"Nephew Yue Xian, sure enough, everything is as you expected, the Mongols are in the territory of Jinguo, doing whatever they want, Wanyan Honglie finally can't bear it. Xin Qiji looked at the paperwork and said with a smile to Yue Wudi.

Yue Wudi also smiled and said: "If the barbarians on the grassland enter the Huahua World of the Central Plains, how can they still be expected to abide by the rules? ”

Han Yanxuan sneered first, and then said: "But Wanyan Honglie is too self-conscious, and actually asks us to return the Huaishui Dasanguan line, and give up the results of this Northern Expedition completely, and the price is just that the Jin State is a vassal to the Great Song Dynasty and pays the annual coin every year." ”

"Hehe, where in this world is such a cheap thing!"

Yue Wudi said: "After Yan Honglie's request, we should treat it as if we didn't see it, presumably in his own heart, he never really expected us to be able to spit out the meat that we ate in our mouths." ”

"In fact, the so-called peace charter was already laid down in the middle of the war. Henan, Shandong, and southern Hebei have been controlled by our Northern Expeditionary Army, and since the Jin State is unable to take it back, then no matter what, it can only be returned to the Northern Expeditionary Army. Wanyan Honglie wrote this on the paperwork, just going through the motions. ”

Han Yanxuan nodded and said, "Yue Shaoxia is right, since ancient times, only the victorious country has the right to stipulate the charter of peace, and as for the defeated country, all it can do is to bow down and obey orders." When the Great Song Dynasty was defeated, the Jin Kingdom never gave us any power to make demands!"

"Oh?" Yue Wudi thought for a moment. Then he asked Han Yanxuan: "So, Han Xiangxin already has a charter in his heart, so you might as well talk about it." ”

Han Yanxuan said: "Our Northern Expeditionary Army is like a bamboo, and the troops are approaching the capital of the Jin Kingdom, although they are now blocked by the Mongols, but the Jin State is also suffering from the Mongols. If our Northern Expeditionary Army does not retreat for a day, we will not be able to sleep peacefully for a day. Therefore, this time, we should take the opportunity to maximize the benefits of the country. ”

"It's not enough just to be a minister and pay the New Year's coin, we still have to cut the land, the land of Yanyun, it's time to return it to us!"

When Xin Qiji heard this, he also agreed: "Not bad. The land of Yanyun has been in the hands of foreigners since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, and now that we are in the forefront of our troops, it is indeed the best time to take back the land of Yanyun. ”

"If this great thing is completed that even Emperor Taizu has not completed, the prestige of Han Xiang in the court will be incomparable, and the king will not be enough to reward him. ”

Yue Wudi had been listening to the two of them in silence. After the two finished speaking, they shook their heads. said: "I know that the two of them are both famous and brave generals, and they have always had a long-cherished wish to recover the Central Plains, but now is really not the time." ”

"Once we take back the land of Yanyun to the Great Song Dynasty, Han Xiang's exploits will certainly cover the Manchu Dynasty. Even the official family has to give three points, but in this way, the contradiction between Han Xiang and the official family will inevitably be revealed. ”

"Our purpose is just to make Han Xiang an iron-clad prime minister. The Son of Heaven changes, but the Prime Minister remains the same. It's just that even if the Great Song Dynasty perishes one day, he can rely on the wings of Han Xiang to keep most of the wealth left by this imperial court. To do this, it is enough to restore the merits of the old capital, and the credit of recovering the land of Yanyun is too great for us to take over. ”

Hearing Yue Wudi personally say the words "The Great Song Dynasty is destroyed", Xin Qiji and Han Yanxuan's eyes shrank slightly, although this matter, between the three of them, has long been well understood, but it is really the first time that it has been announced like today.

"It's not that I, Yue Wudi, is rebellious, to tell the truth, the Great Song Dynasty has long been rotten to the roots, and both of them are people who have been in the court for a long time, so they must not understand this. This kind of rot is no longer something that can be reversed by one or two holy monarchs and one or two groups of middle-level and capable ministers. ”

"Even if we don't have any selfish thoughts today, Geng Geng loyally assisted the Song Emperor, helped him recover the land of Yanyun, and even swept away the Jin Kingdom, pursued the Mongols, pacified the Western Xia, and expeditioned to the Western Regions, so what?"

"I dare to say that if this court remains unchanged and does not change at all, perhaps before we grow old, this court will inevitably weaken again. Once the grassland peoples recover and go south again, they will inevitably return to the current situation that is even worse than the current situation. ”

Han Yanxuan's expression was fixed, but Xin Qiji was quite bitter, but he didn't speak.

Yue Wudi knew that Xin Qi's obsession with recovering the Central Plains was too deep, and he had to make it clear to him today, otherwise he would inevitably feel that he was simply replacing him for the Zhao family.

"In fact, in my Great Song Dynasty, the Wenchen was brilliant and brave like rain, since the Spring and Autumn Period, no dynasty can compare. And the king of my Great Song Dynasty neither favored his relatives in the inner palace nor relied on eunuchs, he kept himself clean and ruled the world with scholars. It can be described as a gentleman and a loyal minister. ”

"But why, in foreign wars, this dynasty has been defeated again and again? Is it because our treasury is not full enough, is our armor not sharp enough, or is our generals too incompetent?"

Xin Qiji shook his head and said: "Neither! The Great Song Dynasty is rich, far from the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Great Song Dynasty's ingenuity is not weaker than the ancestors, and the generals of the Great Song Dynasty are also brave enough to fight the three armies! From Fan Wenzhenggong to General Di Qing, from your ancestor Yue Wumu to General Han Shizhong, any of them can be called a famous general of the Gaidai. ”

"However, we are still defeated again and again!I think the two of you have also thought about the reason for this, I wonder what answer you have?" asked Yue Wudi.

Xin Qiji said: "In terms of military equipment in this dynasty, it is weaker than Fanbang, it is nothing more than because of the ancestral system of strong cadres and weak branches set by Emperor Taizu back then, and the virtuous nephew thinks, is there any other reason?"

Yue Wudi said: "Not only that! Everyone in the world knows that habits are terrible, and a person who has contracted the vice of gambling is often difficult to change for the rest of his life. As everyone knows, if a dynasty also develops a certain habit, then this habit will be passed down from generation to generation and penetrate into everyone's heart. From the king to the people, there are few exceptions. ”

"Even if there are one or two sober people who try to change this habit of the entire court. It is bound to attract the opposition of all those who benefit from this habit. ”

"At that time, Emperor Shenzong was gifted by God, and Wang Anshi tried to reform with the courage of 'the sky is not enough to fear, and the ancestors are not enough to law', but he was also met by the government and the opposition. Under the surging torrent of the whole world, no matter how high the prestige of the Divine Sect is, no matter how powerful Wang Anshi is, it will be difficult to resist after all!"

"If we follow the old path of Emperor Shenzong and Wang Anshi today, why won't we become the second loser?"

Xin Qiji was silent for a long time before he raised his head, opened his eyes, and asked, "What is this habit that the virtuous nephew said?"

Yue Wudi sneered a few times. Only then did he clench his fists, then let go, and said slowly: "The military strategy of strong cadres and weak branches is easy to change, and the ancestral system of ruling the world with scholars and doctors is difficult to change!"

As soon as these words came out, the peace document in Xin Qiji's hand immediately fell to the ground, and Han Yanxuan's expressionless face suddenly changed color.

"If I'm to the average Confucian. I would never say that. Because I know that once I say it, no matter how many people have supported me before. As long as you are a reader, you will inevitably be separated from me. But I believe that Master Xin and Han Xiang will never make a plan!" said as he spoke, his eyes opened, and he looked at the faces of Xin Qiji and Han Yanxuan steadily.

Seeing that the two of them were speechless for a long time, Yue Wudi sneered again. Said slowly: "This is the fundamental reason for the weakness of the Great Song Dynasty, I think the two of you have never really thought about it anyway." As the top scholars in the imperial court, the two have always been loyal to the country, how could they have imagined. Is it your own responsibility to blame for the country's weakness?"

Xin Qiji's hand was still a little trembling, and it took a while for him to speak with difficulty, and asked, "How can the virtuous nephew prove that ruling the world with scholars and doctors is the main culprit of the weakness of this dynasty?"

Although Han Yanxuan did not speak, but a pair of eyes, he also looked at Yue Wudi fixedly, wanting to hear him say a reason, all along, although Han Yanxuan was the left envoy of Mingjiao Bright, but in his heart, I am afraid that what he firmly believes most is the Confucian way of governing the country and leveling the world.

The reason why he was unreservedly loyal to Yue Wudi was half because Yue Wudi was strong in martial arts and was the leader of the Ming Sect, and the other half was also because in Yue Wudi's body, he saw the hope of the revival of China, so he was determined to follow. But now Yue Wudi said that the culprit that led to the country's weakness turned out to be a person like him, so how could he not be frightened? If so, even if he helped Yue Wudi get the world, what kind of good fate could he get?

Yue Wudi saw the demeanor of the two, but instead smiled, and said unhurriedly: "The two of you are a little too worried, I said that the culprit that caused the weakness of this dynasty is the ancestral system that rules the world with scholars, not scholars." ”

Xin Qiji and Han Yanxuan were slightly stunned, and after thinking for a moment, their expressions moved, and their faces softened slightly. But even so, the two of them were still waiting for Yue Wudi's reason. Although the culprit is the ancestral system, not the scholars, after all, it is also related to the scholars, how can they ignore it?

Yue Wudi said: "The class of scholars and doctors did not only appear in this dynasty, but has existed since ancient times, and since ancient times, it has been the backbone of the national court. It's just that in ancient times, they were called differently. In the pre-Qin period, the nobles mastered knowledge and official paths, and the nobles were scholars. From the Han and Wei dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties, the gate valve mastered knowledge and official roads, and the gate valve was a scholar. And in this dynasty, famous families and poor families can study and enter the office, and these scholars are the new scholars. ”

"Scholars have always been the backbone of governing the world, but the Taizu of this dynasty has raised this fact to the level of the ancestral system, resulting in the power of scholars becoming unprecedentedly strong. Since then, the literati have been exclusive, the status of the martial arts has declined unprecedentedly, and the atmosphere of emphasizing literature over military force has lasted for nearly two hundred years, which seems to have been a matter of course. ”

"If the Great Song Dynasty is a big tree, then the fruits it produces are all literati fruits, if there are one or two martial arts fruits, it will be unanimously excluded by the trees full of literati fruits, and there is no space for the growth of martial arts fruits on the big tree of the Great Song Dynasty. ”

"A country that values literature over military force and does not have the slightest martial spirit will only occupy a corner of the country, but it occupies the richest land, surrounded by strong enemies. Hehe, you can imagine what will happen to it. ”

"And the most terrible thing is that this kind of atmosphere has been deeply rooted in the bones of this country, and it is absolutely impossible to change unless new bones are created. Therefore, in the past two hundred years, the Great Song Dynasty was first oppressed by the Khitans, then humiliated by the Jurchens, and now faces the threat of Mongolia. Even a small country in Tiannan can divide mountains and rivers and call the emperor for hundreds of years. ”

Xin Qiji and Han Yan were silent when they said this, bowed their heads and said nothing, their faces were a little pale, both of them were strong martial artists, and it was really rare and unusual for such a situation to occur.

The two were silent for a while, and Xin Qiji suddenly said: "What the virtuous nephew said, of course, is very reasonable, so that the old man has not figured out the problem for decades, today suddenly becomes clear. ”

Yue Wudi knew that Xin Qiji must have something to say, so he didn't have an interface, just waiting for him to continue.

Sure enough, Xin Qiji frowned for a moment, and then spoke again: "As the virtuous nephew said, the ancestral system of ruling the world with scholars and doctors has led to the continuation of the culture of this dynasty, which has penetrated deep into the bone marrow, which has led to many foreign insults. ”

Emperor Taizu pacified the five dynasties and ten kingdoms, the wars that disturbed one after another, summed up the lessons of the previous generations, and came up with such a national policy of emphasizing literature over military force, strong cadres and weak branches, and for 200 years, the Great Song Dynasty has never suffered a catastrophe because of civil strife, which shows that this national policy is not useless. ”

"If you build a new dynasty again, emphasizing military force and ignoring literature, then the rebellion of the princes at the end of the Han Dynasty, the division of the late Tang Dynasty, and the continuous war of the five dynasties, won't it appear again?"

"Emphasizing military force over civil affairs can easily lead to internal strife, but it can win external victories; emphasizing military affairs over military force can easily lead to external insults, but it is easy to suffer the calamity of internal strife. Both of these are not only benefits, but also have disadvantages. No matter how many there are in this dynasty, it is just that it has chosen the one that emphasizes literature over military force. If the virtuous nephew can establish a new dynasty, what choice will he make?"

Xin Qiji thought that Yue Wudi would hesitate for a long time, even if he didn't hesitate for a long time, he would at least think about it, but he didn't expect that Yue Wudi blurted out without hesitation: "If the country is weakened, it will be invaded by foreign tribes; If I had to make a choice between this, I would rather die with the strong than with the weak!" )