He is an extremely self-disciplined person, and his schedule has not changed since he was a child.
After getting up, I rinse my mouth first, and then drink a cup of extremely strong tea. Then I pick up the torn Zizhi Tongjian, sit at the table, drink strong tea with snacks, and read while eating.
He couldn't remember how many times he had read this book. But every time he read it, he would have different insights.
He read very carefully and happened to read the Mengchang Jun volume!
That's right, it's the rooster-crowing and dog-robber Meng Changjun.
Suddenly, Li Zhigang put down the book in his hand, thinking deeply.
"Zi Zhi Tong Jian is the product of Sima Guang and Wang Anshi's political opinions being inconsistent with the party!" Li Zhigang thought in his heart, "Song Shenzong agreed with Wang Anshi's opinions and wanted to reform. However, Sima Guang opposed the reform countless times, and even turned against Song Shenzong!
"
"When Zhezong came to the throne, he immediately wrote a letter of impeachment. Wang Anshi failed to understand the political system, used his personal opinions to disturb the old regulations, mistakenly appointed the emperor as an envoy, and many people lost their jobs..."
Thinking of this, Li Zhigang stood up, walked to the window with his hands behind his back, and looked at the hazy scene outside the window.
"Is Wang Anshi's reform good or not?"
He has read the book countless times, but has never seriously thought about this issue.
He reads in order to find solutions to difficult problems, find corresponding countermeasures, and find shortcuts to the peak of power from the vast historical documents.
Just as the Emperor of Ming Dynasty wanted to change the law, Li Zhigang never thought about whether it was right or not. He only had one thought in his mind, that is, if the emperor wanted to change the law, I would do what he wanted.
But now, he is beginning to face this problem squarely.
Because he suddenly discovered that if you cannot face up to the reform, you will not understand it, and if you do not understand it, you will not be able to promote it. If you do not know the hidden dangers, you will not be able to face the difficulties in the future.
"Wang Anshi's reforms reformed the imperial examinations, education, government and agriculture... are very similar to this dynasty. And the reason why conservative ministers opposed Wang Anshi's reforms was because Wang Anshi's new policies violated the interests of the officials and gentry!"
"This aspect is somewhat similar to this dynasty!"
Li Zhigang's personal entourage came in from outside and saw his master standing by the window meditating. They quickly retreated silently and closed the door.
"In the former Song Dynasty, they were afraid of offending the interests of the officials and gentry because of their inherent deficiencies. They were victorious externally, but internally they focused on literature over military force to suppress generals. From the very beginning, Zhao Song held officials and gentry scholars too high!"
Suddenly, he suddenly thought of something, an old thing he heard many years ago.
When the current emperor was still the grandson of the emperor, he was studying in the Wenhua Hall, and Liu Sanwu taught Zizhi Tongjian. The emperor's grandson read that in the former Song Dynasty, the scholar-bureaucrats were in charge of the country, making the number of scholars in the world more than ten thousand, and they were noble and extraordinary.
Therefore, during the Song Dynasty, there were constant fights between factions, from the king to the ministers, and it was impossible to make a great weapon out of a piece of loose sand!
"Probably from that time on, the emperor saw the hidden dangers of officials and gentry becoming bigger and gaining more say!"
Li Zhigang thought to himself, "So from the beginning of the planning of the New Deal, we have made an iron-fisted policy and will never compromise with the officials and gentry!"
"Song Shenzong later compromised with the officials and gentry, which should be one of the reasons why Wang Anshi's reform failed!"
"The second reason should be the crony warfare between Zhao and Song. There are too many constraints and obstacles, and Wang Anshi can't support him alone!"
"The third reason is that Wang Anshi... thinks things too well and is somewhat divorced from reality!"
As a scholar, especially a scholar of Li Zhigang's level, he would not treat those controversial historical figures and events as everyone else says.
As an official, who can reach the level of participating in political affairs, are there any fools? Can they be incompetent?
Wang Anshi has been both criticized and praised!
The so-called destruction is of various kinds.
But the praise is unanimous.
Su Shi, Wang Anshi's political rival, met each other after Wang Anshi left office and they laughed and put aside their grudges. He was full of praise for Wang Anshi's moral integrity and his talent in articles.
Even Master Zhu Xi, while blaming Wang Anshi for the harm caused by his changes, had to admit that Anshi was superior to the world in his articles and conduct, and he especially took moral economy as his own responsibility.
Like these ancients, Li Zhigang was a scholar, so he also understood scholars. When these scholars praised Wang Anshi, it can also be understood from another aspect that they actually agreed with some of Wang Anshi's views on the reform in their hearts.
Some, not all.
"As Sima Guang said, you can't use people who are good at making money!"
Li Zhigang continued to think in his mind, "Wang Anshi is not good at collecting money, but his reform is to open up the Zhao Song treasury! It's like the Youth Law, which prevents landlords, officials and gentry from lending money to the people at usury, but allows the government to lend money to the people!"
"Ha!" Li Zhigang laughed in his heart, "Aren't landlords, officials, and gentry good people, but officials? Since then, the income on the country's books has increased, and the officials' gray income has also increased, but... the burden on the people
I’m afraid it will be even heavier!”
"Wang Anshi, you must have thought too wonderfully!"
Li Zhigang sighed again in his heart, "Read Mengchangjun's article just as he did! Sima Guang praised Mengchangjun in Zizhi Tongjian for being good at winning over people's hearts, while Wang Anshi said that if Mengchangjun was really good at winning over people's hearts, why would he have a bunch of roosters and dog thieves under his command?"
"And if Lord Mengchang is really talented, the Qi State can be enough to fight against the Qin State. Why would he use the method of raising scholars?"
"In his opinion, Mengchangjun's so-called win over people's hearts is just a hypocritical appearance!"
"What he said was very good and right! But he just ignored or failed to see one thing clearly, reality!"
No matter how ambitious you are, reality is reality...
The reality is that if you think well, you will do poorly. The reality is that in life, you have to settle for second best and have to compromise.
And not being able to see the reality clearly is the most fatal trauma for officials of Li Zhigang's level.
If you think too well, but find that you can't do it that well, it will be frustrating.
Once people are depressed, they lack fighting spirit.
Once you lose your fighting spirit, you will have no ability to execute!
Wang Anshi's reforms were defeated by reality! His so-called new party lacked fighting spirit and execution ability, let alone indomitable perseverance.
"What's wrong with the court lending usury? As long as the country is rich, it doesn't matter if the people suffer!" Li Zhigang thought to himself, "Anyway, they have been suffering for several lifetimes!"
"The reality is that only when the court is good, the country... and the family are good, can the people be good slowly! Historically, only the country is rich and the people are strong, and there is no such thing as a rich people and a strong country! When you encounter problems, you must solve them, not just because they arise.
Be shaken!"
"At the same time, we must also believe that human nature is evil! Evil people are not just enemies, but sometimes our own people! No, most of the time it is our own people who are evil!"
"Wang Anshi may be a good person! But in order to implement the new law, he is suspected of forming a party! And the party struggle in the former Song Dynasty also started here, laying the foundation for the destruction of the country!"
"His ideas and original intentions were good, but he appointed a large number of people with bad intentions to cater to him. This caused the new law to be completely distorted in the local area. These people also allowed Wang Anshi's political opponents to find many reasons to cause harm to the country and the people!"
Li Zhigang was alert.
"I am a person who can do whatever it takes for my official position, but in the future, when it comes to hiring people, I must not hire people who are the same as myself!"
"At the same time, I cannot selectively ignore the behavior of certain people just because of the New Deal. If I can tolerate one, there will be countless others!"
"Besides, they also kick their noses in their faces!"
"Furthermore, we must strengthen local control..." Thinking of this, Li Zhigang suddenly said, "Ah, I think the emperor has already figured it out! That's why there is a saying that the New Deal and restructuring should go hand in hand!"
Thinking of this, he turned around and looked at the Zizhi Tongjian on the table again, slightly lost in thought.
"The Emperor is not Song Shenzong, and his ears are not that soft. I, the Ming Dynasty, am not Zhao Song, and I am not that afraid of wolves before and tigers behind!"
"I am not Wang Anshi or Sima Guang, but I must learn from their lessons..."
This is the role of history. China has been vast for thousands of years, and almost all the problems faced by future generations can be answered in the records of our predecessors.
At this moment, the entourage outside the door seemed to be unable to wait any longer.
He opened the door and said softly, "Old man, Tie Buzheng has been waiting for you for half an hour!"
"So early?" Li Zhigang was surprised, "Well, invite him in... No, I'll invite him myself!" Then he said, "Are everything ready? Let's set off for Suzhou in the afternoon!"