Chapter 18 There is no immutable law in the world!
To the west of Chongzheng Hall is Yiying Pavilion.
Although the imperial system has not been restored since the death of Gui, neither Zhongshu nor the Queen Mother have forgotten to cultivate the young emperor.
On every weekend, Li Jie would attend lectures at the Yiying Pavilion to the west of Chongzheng Hall.
"Zizhang asked: Can we know the tenth life?"
"The Master said: The gains and losses of the Yin Dynasty due to the Xia rites can be known; the gains and losses of the Zhou Dynasty due to the Yin rites can be known. Those who may have succeeded the Zhou Dynasty can be known even if they last for hundreds of generations."
The lecturer today is Lu Zongdao. For today's lecture, he has been preparing for a long time and specially selected a famous passage from "The Analects of Confucius".
After reading this paragraph in a cadence, Lu Zongdao paused slightly.
"Does the official know the meaning of this sentence?"
Li Jie said bluntly: "Sir, are you testing me?"
"Um."
Lu Zongdao was not polite and admitted this point directly. Everything has its own rules. In the classroom, he is the teacher. Even if the official is the emperor, he is also a student.
As a teacher, you should ask your students.
"This chapter is the Weizheng chapter in The Analects. Marquis Wanqiu (Zizhang) asked the sage master (Confucius) if he could predict things."
"The most holy teacher replied that the rites of the Yin and Shang Dynasties originated from the Xia Dynasty. There are both losses and increases. There are traces of which ones have been increased and which ones have been lost.
In the same way, Zhou originated from Yin.
Taking the Yin and Zhou as examples, we can still know it even if it lasts for hundreds of generations."
After hearing this answer, Lu Zongdao was very satisfied, and his official knowledge became more and more advanced. However, he did not show anything on his face, and he still had a straight face.
"Do the officials themselves have any income?"
read?
What is reading?
To only know its meaning without knowing its rationale is to study for death.
Real reading should be about understanding its meaning, understanding its principles, and then skillfully applying it to life.
Only in this way can one be considered a true scholar!
Li Jie pretended to think deeply and answered after a moment.
"Sir, I think this article is similar to a sentence in "Book of Tang: Biography of Wei Zhenggong (Zheng)"."
"If you use copper as a mirror, you can dress appropriately; if you use people as a mirror, you can know gains and losses; if you use history as a mirror, you can know the ups and downs."
"good!"
Lu Zongdao touched his palm and praised: "If an official can understand this section, he can be said to have advanced in learning!"
This sentence is Lu Zongdao's heartfelt exclamation. It can connect "The Analects" and "Book of Tang", which shows that the officials have understood these two books.
Moreover, it is not ordinary proficiency, but true understanding.
At this time, Lu Zongdao couldn't help but recall the words of the late Wang Sijian (Wang Yucheng).
'Since ancient times, monarchs and ministers have interacted with each other like fish in water.'
Now, he feels quite at home.
What kind of student does the teacher like the most?
A student who knows everything from one point to another and draws inferences from one instance!
Lu Zongdao lost his father when he was young and his family was poor. He was fostered in his grandmother's house. His uncles despised him. Fortunately, he had the opportunity to study due to his grandmother's upbringing.
His childhood experiences made him study harder and harder. In his career, there was one person who could not be ignored.
Qi Lun, the Bole in his life.
It was precisely because of Qi Lun that Lu Zongdao had the opportunity to meet the famous minister Wang Yucheng.
(Qi Lun and Wang Yuchen were both Jinshi in the eighth year of the Taiping Xingguo reign, in the same year)
If Qi Lun is Lu Zongdao's Bole, Wang Yucheng is Lu Zongdao's "idol". Most of his style of daring to give direct advice was learned from Wang Yucheng.
"How do officials view change and stability?"
After a long while, Lu Zongdao asked the question he had been preparing for a long time.
The reason why he talks about Weizheng today is precisely to elicit this sentence.
Although the country and the dynasty have been peaceful for a long time, this is just an appearance.
In the past, during the Taizong Dynasty, Wang Sijian wrote a letter stating five issues. Although times have changed, some problems have not only not been solved, but have become more serious.
For example, the problem of redundant officials and redundant soldiers.
Lu Zongdao now also has the power to judge Liu Neiquan, and he has a deep understanding of this issue.
Nowadays, the world has been settled. There is a fixed number of states and counties, but there is no quota for officials. Hundreds of Jinshi can be obtained in each subject. There are only so many professions, but more and more officials are waiting for the job.
This is redundant.
At the beginning of the Dao period (the reign of Emperor Taizong), when Wang Sijian was admonishing Shang Shu, the total number of imperial troops in the world was only more than 600,000.
At that time, there were conquests, but now that the world is at peace, the number of imperial troops has not decreased, but has increased.
The country supports millions of soldiers and spends more than 50 million yuan every year.
If faced with external threats, there is nothing to say about raising so many sergeants.
But now that the world is at peace, why do we need to feed millions of troops?
Although Lu Zongdao was not the Third Secretary (equivalent to the Minister of Finance), he still knew something about the taxes of the dynasty.
Last year, the total income of the country was about 150 million guan, and the expenditure was about 120 million guan, with a surplus of only 20 million guan.
(This data is taken from "History of Song Dynasty·Shihuo Zhi", the time is the last year of Tianxi, that is, the previous year)
Twenty million guan seems to be a lot, but part of it needs to be handed over to the internal treasury (the emperor's private treasury), and the remaining money of the three divisions is not much.
(Also, let me mention one more thing. This is the consensus that the Song Dynasty respected the ancestors the most.
However, the ancestral method was formed slowly, not overnight. The time points in the book are during the formation period and have not yet been completely finalized.
Liu E and Song Renzong contributed a lot to the formation of the ancestral method.
PS: The laws of the ancestors can be simply understood as following the laws of the ancestors and not changing easily)
The southern suburbs reward at the beginning of the year and Zhenzong's funeral, combined, had exhausted the financial resources of the three divisions.
If it were the 'original body', I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to understand the deep meaning of Lu Zongdao, but now that Li Jie is in control, he naturally knows what Lu Zongdao is thinking.
Therefore, of course, his answer would be pleasant, and it would be best to directly hit Lu Zongdao's heart.
If not, how could Lu Zongdao advocate for him and cheer for him?
“There are eternal rules that never change, but there is no unchangeable method of treatment.”
Finally, Li Jie also used the content in Taizong's Records.
"It is recorded in the records of Taizong that in the past, when my eldest father (grandfather) came to the throne, he read the previous king's decrees and corrected the bad governance of the Five Dynasties. He reformed the old and made new changes, so that the sea, Yan and rivers were clear."
It is not allowed to rely on the contents in Taizong's records.
After all, Li Jie's remarks were a bit too advanced.
The current social atmosphere is still mainly conservative. Although some people are clamoring to cut redundant officials and reduce redundant soldiers, these are only a small number.
In addition, in order to consider the influence of Shilin, Li Jie also deliberately added the previous sentence, "There are eternal and eternal scriptures."
There is no way, who let the civil servants have the overwhelming right to speak.
Even if Li Jie wants to change the civil servant training system, that will only happen after he takes power.
Moreover, cultivating talents does not happen overnight.
On the other side, after hearing Li Jie's words, Lu Zongdao's heart was filled with excitement!
What the official said just now simply exceeded his expectations!
There are eternal rules that never change, but there is no unchanging rule of law!
This statement should come to light!
Immediately afterwards, an idea suddenly came to Lu Zongdao's mind.
He must tell others what happened today!
Widely advertising!
The dynasty has such a wise king, and there are many successors!