After a while of silence, Zhao Zhen picked up the tea and sipped a few sips. Put down the bowl, looked at Xu Ping, and asked slowly: "It is very rare for you and my king and minister to be together. When you became the Jinshi and I was in the Xuan singing title, auspicious light suddenly appeared in the sky. Prime Minister Zhang Zhibai expressed his gratitude to me, and the world will prosper because of you. Now, fifteen years have passed! You are in charge of the three departments in the court, and there is no shortage of money and food in the world. You go out to command troops as the commander, and you will destroy Jiaozhi in one battle, and then destroy Dangxiang. Before returning to the capital, you will defeat the Khitan in Yunzhong. The civil and military affairs are complete, and Zhang Zhibai's words on that day have come true. Now I am summoning you back to the court. Although I am the second prime minister, I will pay you the world's affairs! People say that the rise and fall of the world depends on the prime minister. The prime minister is the most important position in the dynasty, and the rise and fall of the country are all related to this. The prime minister assists the ruler with the Tao, can you teach me the way of the saint?"

Xu Ping held the scepter, lowered his head and looked down, and said in a deep voice: "I heard that the sages are doing things, the people are happy, the country is peaceful, and the people are peaceful, and the world is peaceful!"

Zhao Zhenyu was displeased and said word by word: "I ask you the way of the saint to govern the world with sincerity!"

Xu Ping looked motionless and said, "I answered your Majesty's question seriously and without any false words!"

Zhao Zhen looked at Xu Ping, was silent for a while before saying, "Since that's the case, how can we achieve the way of a saint?"

"I was in the Longyou Army, before the Battle of Tiandu Mountain, and I chatted with the scholars in the army. They once asked me about my studies. I treated them with gentlemen, benevolence and righteousness. This is not a casual chat for scholars, but a way to govern the country."

Benevolence and righteousness are the political correctness of this era. After hearing this, Zhao Zhen sat upright: "I have heard from scholars about this discussion, but I have never known the final word and it is difficult to get the whole picture. The Prime Minister said it calmly and would like to hear it in detail."

Xu Ping stood up and held the tablet: "The sages of ancient and modern times explored the source of chaos, identified human nature, expressed benevolence, righteousness and morality, and understood the desires of heaven and man. Some said that human desires harmed heaven, so they must preserve the laws of heaven and eliminate human desires. Some said that human desires are the root of all, and my heart is the laws of heaven. My memory believes that life is born in the world, and parents are born with essence and blood. If you want to be born, you must have food to fill your stomach, so you must reproduce and reproduce later generations, so you have color entertainment, and know shame and have clothes to cover your body. This is a desire for human desire. If you have it in life, it will be difficult to survive. If you don't follow it, it will be difficult to survive. The race cannot reproduce, and it is actually unknown its evil. People must be born between heaven and earth, and they must be based on the customs of the earth. The so-called eating mountains and the sea and eating the sea, and on the grassland, you can only grazing cattle and sheep. The earth's energy is transformed by the laws of heaven, so you know that people must follow the laws of heaven."

"Things have yin and yang, and people have two sides of the heavenly principles and human desires. This is the norm. It is not that human beings are transformed by heavenly principles, nor that human beings can stand in the world based on human desires. Instead, this is the yin and yang of human beings, and they cannot be neglected. One yin and one yang are called Tao. If a single yin will not grow, and only yang will not be born. Yin and yang will have to be able to achieve the governance of the world. To understand the way of the saint, one needs to search for this celestial principle and human desires."

Speaking of this, Xu Ping held the scepter and looked at Zhao Zhen quietly with the light from the corner of his eyes. This is the foundation of all arguments. If Zhao Zhen disagreed here, it would be difficult to explain the following content. Human nature is good or evil, selfish or selfless, and selfish or beneficial to others. In the ideological system, it is not a simple sentence.

The moral judgment of society and the political structure of the regime must start from the most fundamental point. From the emergence of human nature, there will be a fork at the end, and various ideologies will evolve. Some are close, some are very different, and some are completely opposite. If the most critical nodes of ideology cannot be unified, the subsequent governance will cause fierce debate and will be difficult to be recognized.

Humans are social animals. First, human biological characteristics, and then human social nature. Denying human biological characteristics and building human nature from social nature will lead to great trouble. Extreme capitalists start from the need for the sacred and inviolable private property and reverse the nature of human nature. Extreme publicists start from the belief that private property will eventually be eliminated and selfless will make society sick. Whether the limitations of human nature will become irrelevant in the future, Xu Ping does not know that he was not born in a society that reached that stage. But now, this characteristic of human being is indispensable. From preserving the laws of nature and destroying human desires, to indulging the ***, this is not only a social phenomenon, but also an inner ideological context.

After pondering for a long time, Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "What the Prime Minister said, I think that the laws of heaven are in human desires, and human desires also contain the laws of heaven. Although the laws of heaven and human desires are divided into two, they are actually one. The so-called Yin-Yang Taiji Way is what it means."

Xu Ping let out a sigh, holding the tablet and bowing, saying, "Your Majesty has a profound understanding, and this is true. It is just that Yin and Yang Taiji, although it is called unity, Taiji is Taiji, Yin is Yin, and Yang is Yang. Although it is called division, it is like one when looking at it. Although it is like one, in fact, the combination of Yin and Yang is Taiji. Taiji contains yin and yang, which is the way of Yi."

Zhao Zhen nodded slowly: "You have been fighting in Longyou for several years, but you didn't expect to continue your studies and have the same principles as Yi."

Xu Ping could not go deeper into this issue. He was not proficient in Yi theory, but only took advantage of his useful parts to explain this set of theories. Zhao Zhen was taught by a wise teacher since he was a child, and in-depth discussions would inevitably reveal his fear. When he preached, he naturally had a minister and lecturer accompanied Zhao Zhen to study it. He was not the prime minister.

"Human beings are born between heaven and earth and grow up with people. Everyone has the principles of heaven and man's desires. Heaven and man's will be in harmony. If human desires are not in harmony, there must be a way to get along with each other. The so-called gentleman, benevolence and righteousness, that is, the way to get along with others, is also the basis for governing the country."

Zhao Zhen asked, "What a gentleman? I hope to hear it carefully."

"What does a gentleman mean? It is difficult for the minister to speak completely, just like the northern Chen in the sky. The so-called high mountains and the way of the scenery is to stop, even if it cannot reach, but the heart yearns for it. This is what I only know the behavior of a gentleman. The book "The Analects of Confucius" discusses it very carefully. It is to look for the essence, and do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you. A gentleman seeks himself. A gentleman is slow to speak and quick to act. A gentleman does not use words to judge others, and does not stop talking because of others. There is no need to do to others. A gentleman is not suitable for the world. A gentleman is concerned about the foundation, and the way is born. Smart as a master, it is just the way of a gentleman, and what is not the way of a gentleman? But what is a gentleman? A gentleman is like a northern Chen, and the way of a mind is to stop, but he cannot arrive."

"This is the true reading of the Master's book." Zhao Zhen nodded, "The Prime Minister sat down. Sit and discuss Taoism, ancient etiquette."

Xu Ping thanked him and sat back on his seat. At this point, he was recognized by Zhao Zhen and had become most of the time. He couldn't help but breathe.

After asking for tea, Zhao Zhen asked again: "Scholars and officials should follow the actions of gentlemen, and men should also follow the actions of gentlemen. This is undoubtedly true. However, if the Han governs the country with benevolence and righteousness, even if they have the achievements of civil and military governance, they will eventually be defeated. How dare you ask the prime minister, is the reason why the Han Dynasty loses benevolence and righteousness?"

Xu Ping held the scepter: "Return to Your Majesty, the way of a saint is like a gentleman who is a scholar who can illuminate the progress. However, the way of walking on the road is not completely returned to benevolence and righteousness. If you lose the world, you will lose benevolence and righteousness. This is without doubt. A temporary loss of benevolence and righteousness may not lead to the defeat of the world. This is just a technique of relieving benevolence and righteousness. There is a technique of relieving benevolence and righteousness. It is said that the world does not need to be based on benevolence and righteousness. This is the view of an ordinary man. If you do not practice benevolence and righteousness, even if you can win the world for a while, you will not be able to last for a long time. Therefore, the governance of the world will ultimately be based on benevolence and righteousness. Benevolence and righteousness are the basis of the world, not the use of the time. If you talk about benevolence and righteousness, you will not be able to pass the threshold of Confucianism."

By the Han Dynasty, the Han people in the Central Plains completed cultural unification, and the people in the world were called Han people, but no longer called Qin people, Chu people, Qi people, and Yan people. The unification of Han Confucians was based on the destiny of heaven. Although later generations said that they were fabricated and fooled the lower classes, in fact, they believed it very well from emperors to ministers at that time. Emperor Guangwu, who revived the Han Dynasty, believed in this set. From the Wei and Jin dynasties to Sui and Tang dynasties, the theory of destiny of heaven was no longer sustainable. The orthodox Central Plains that avoided Jiangnan could not revive the world. Those who remnants of the people would prosper, and those who bless the people would suffer.

When Confucianism resurfaced in the Song Dynasty, the theory of destiny was abandoned, and the Confucianism of Song Dynasty changed to the orthodox theory of publicizing the world and pursuing chaos. From the ancient literature movement to the sutra of doubts and confusing scriptures to the Six Classics, they were all part of this system. However, the efforts of Confucianism of Song Dynasty did not change the result of the destruction of the Mongolians and the sinking of the Central Plains. These efforts actually left with the destruction of the Song Dynasty.

History cannot assume what would happen if the Song Dynasty is immortal. In fact, this kind of thought appeared in the Song Dynasty. From the emperor to the literati, everyone is willing to make concessions because there are huge external threats. Without external threats, internal conflicts will become more intense, and the situation where the emperor and the literati will not appear.

After the fall of the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty was destroyed by the Ming Dynasty, and then the Qing Dynasty was destroyed by the Qing Dynasty. The orthodox theory of the late Qing Dynasty was taken out again to whip the corpse. From Liang Qichao to the intellectuals of the May Fourth period, starting from the breaking of the orthodox theory, breaking the cultural unity of the Han people and the unification of the Central Plains is another story.

With enough civil and military affairs, Xu Ping made such a great contribution and came to serve as the prime minister, which was more prominent than other power ministers. Will Zhao Zhen be suspicious or even attacked? If he thought too much, he regarded the special cases of history as a general rule. In fact, for more than 300 years, the emperor did not attack because of the prestige of the prime minister and the power. Even if the rules were not established during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Pu, then the power minister, even intervened in the dispute over the crown prince, did not do much in the end. He was dissatisfied with favors and demoted outside the country, and finally he was still grateful and died peacefully, and was filled with grief and honor behind him.

If you have this idea, you still don’t realize that the Song Dynasty’s “governing the world with scholars and officials” was not a false statement that won people’s hearts, but the foundation of the entire regime. Under this political structure, no matter how powerful the prime minister is, he cannot threaten the throne. However, the emperor who is suspicious and autocratic will not attack the prime minister, otherwise the world will be shaken.

The imperial power of the Song Dynasty had conflicts with the prime minister's power, but it was more about cooperation. The two sides were not more than you and I, but apart from a very small number of powers, most of the time the prime minister was strengthened, and the imperial power was strengthened accordingly. If you don’t realize this, how dare Xu Ping be the prime minister of this reform? No matter how selfless you are, you have to consider yourself and your family first.

He was good at being suspicious, mean and rude, vicious, and even diligent in his work. Emperor Taizong of Song was not inferior to Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. However, the Yongzheng Dynasty killed many people, and Zhao Pu of the Taizong Dynasty could still pass away safely even if he was involved in the prince's dispute and was defeated in the end.

Asking about the prime minister and governing the world, Xu Ping could only carry out powerful reforms by explaining to Zhao Zhen’s fundamentals and gaining his recognition. The reform was successful and achieved results. Xu Ping was meritorious and Zhao Zhen was virtuous, and everyone took what they needed. Xu Ping’s merits were far from threatening the virtues of Emperor Zhao Zhen, but in fact he greatly consolidated his throne.

After talking about human nature, Xu Ping will combine this set of ideology and talk about how he should govern.

Only by connecting ideology and political structure with specific policies can a smooth reform be implemented. As for whose interests this reform will touch, who is unlucky, who will benefit, there is actually no need to think too much. Officials who can affect the reform will not care about how much benefits they have gained and how much they have lost like they go to the vegetable market to buy vegetables. In fact, most of the time, they cannot calculate the gains and losses of their personal interests at all. What really makes them fight to the end is the difference in ideology.

To describe the success or failure of reform as where people sit on the butt is an explanation given by avoiding ideology and casually.

The Xining reforms decades later in history illustrate this point, and the reforms thousands of years later also illustrate this point. In the face of the torrent of history, personal interests are actually not that important.

No matter what the specific means of struggle are, we can tolerate opponents in our thoughts, support each other, and correct each other, and we can take the upper limit of reformers and opponents in reform. If we live to the death and form a party struggle, we will take the lower limit of both sides.

The key lies in the collision of ideas, but a means of not fighting. Even if both sides fight together, fight to death on the battlefield and achieve ideological tolerance, a good result can be achieved. However, if both sides are not tolerant in thought, even if both sides are polite, gentle, respectful, and humble, the lower limit of both sides will be taken out.
Chapter completed!