Even if a thin dog went to pursue it, they would only catch some insignificant men. There has been no news about the White Lotus Saint in the past few days, and they even lost two Imperial Guards for nothing.
This shows that the extreme believers of the White Lotus Society have been completely brainwashed. They do not believe in the government, and even their confidence in this country has disappeared. They only believe that they must welcome the so-called "Maitreya's arrival" to overthrow the rule of the Song Dynasty in order to free the world.
In the sea of suffering, whoever opposes them at this time becomes a monster instead.
For example, we learned from the captured followers of the White Lotus Society that Ye An had become a "Heavenly Evil Star" and came to the world in order to prevent "Maitreya from coming to the world". He was a complete evil star...
The White Lotus Society is very good at deceiving people. They can describe confusing things vividly through stories and actions. Because the group they come into contact with is a group of people with low cultural level, there is no market for overly complicated principles.
.
Ye An quickly analyzed the behavior of Bailian Society and explained Fan Zhongyan and Wu Yu in detail.
"Associations like the White Lotus Society often have Buddhism and Taoism as the core, a mixture of various schools of thought, and even Confucianism running through it, in order to make people feel plausible and familiar, and the target audience they preach will not be scholars, or even people who are not educated.
They are those people who are literate. After all, they are worried that they will look for books to read by themselves. If they see it, they will be betrayed, right? According to my guess, the White Lotus Society should be aimed at rural women and traffickers. After its teachings are deepened,
With the development of the country, we may start targeting petty officials and even the family members of officials’ families.”
Fan Zhongyan and Wu Yu looked at each other. They both felt that Ye An's analysis was very reasonable, and they both asked in unison: "How should we deal with it?"
Ye An said with a helpless smile: "This brings us back to the original problem. The only way to deal with these cults is not to rely on the court to make great efforts to arrest the thieves, but to make the people's lives better. Bailian Society
It has existed for a long time, but why did it dare to be so arrogant now when there were not many believers before?"
Wu Yu frowned and said: "These monsters are really vicious. The worse the times, the more they come out to cause trouble!"
On the contrary, Fan Zhongyan said thoughtfully: "This statement makes sense. If the people are healthy, the country is prosperous, the cultivators have their fields, the residents have their houses, and the business owners have their property, how can this white lotus thief make trouble? The country and the dynasty will pay miscellaneous taxes."
It’s just one of them, we still have a long way to go!”
"This involves the issue of government functions!"
"Government Functions?"
Ye An nodded quickly. For him, this was an excellent way to promote his ideas. Moreover, the word government had already appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and was not a new vocabulary of later generations. The name "government" originated from the Tang Dynasty.
The combined name of "Zhengshitang" and the "Second Palace" of the Song Dynasty refers to the entire imperial court.
Ye An smiled and said: "What is the use of the government?"
"Of course it is to assist the officials in governing the world!" Wu Yu said the principles of scholar-bureaucrats without thinking.
Ye An nodded in agreement, but then said: "It is right to assist the officials in governing the world, but isn't the purpose of governing the world to make the people live a better life? In other words, if the people suffer, that is the government
Incompetence and official dereliction of duty. We have too many officials in the Song Dynasty. Redundant officials are used to show off and redundant troops are used to achieve success. Both of these naturally lead to redundancy. Isn’t this what Fan Gong advocated in his heart to get rid of bad government?"
Ye An's words hit Fan Zhongyan's heart directly. Three redundancies and three costs were the problems he discovered, but he had never mentioned it to anyone else. Unexpectedly, Ye An actually said what he had been thinking for a long time. This can't be said to be a surprise.
And was amazed by Ye An's talent and learning.
"You meet a close friend in the mountains and rivers! Changsheng really has the same idea as me. The harm of bad government lies in the three redundants, which is reflected in the whole court. If you hadn't presented potatoes and sweet potatoes to the country back then, there would have been more disasters and more chaos among the people!"
Lao Fan's sigh frightened Wu Yu to death. He knew that Fan Zhongyan had the ambition to get rid of the bad government, but could you please stop speaking in such a loud tone?
Wu Yu felt that Fan Zhongyan was speaking too loudly. If you want to reform the government, you must sit in the high position of the prime minister. Zhang Shixun and Li Di are still sitting in that position now. You are here clamoring to reform the government. Isn't it right?
Isn't there some nonsense in it?
No wonder Prime Minister Yan criticized Fan Zhongyan’s advice. This man was really brave. He thought that he could reform the bad government in the country just by being righteous. Who doesn’t know that the reason why the bad government exists is that it does not concern everyone and cannot be eliminated!
"Since the two pacifiers are to appease the disaster in the Jianghuai area, they should continue to go south now. There are such victims outside the Tianfu, let alone the Jianghuai Prefecture. If necessary, you can give me orders. Wu does not dare to refuse.
!”
Fan Zhongyan glanced at Ye An and laughed loudly: "Prefect Wu has reminded me! Changsheng, it's time for you and me to go south to Jianghuai!"
Fan Zhongyan didn't take Wu Yu's eviction order seriously. Ye An knew that it was reasonable for him to say that. Now that the problem of the victims outside Nanjing was solved, they reciprocated the favor and went to Zhazi to propose to the officials that they should exempt miscellaneous taxes.
, can be regarded as the most benevolent and righteous person in the officialdom.
There is no need to get on the ship since he is not a traveler. Wu Yu clearly realizes that Fan Zhongyan is just a pacifier specially sent by the imperial court. His real job is to advise you. He wants power but does not have power. He talks big words and is still talking here.
Talking about getting rid of bad government? It’s simply a fool’s errand!
Ye An smiled and did not answer, turned around and left with Fan Zhongyan, but he did not return the greeting to Wu Yu when leaving, and his attitude was extremely arrogant.
He finally saw clearly that people like Wu Yu were typical official opportunists. You can't say that he was not a good official. He was also busy working for the victims of Yingtian Mansion, but in the political game of officialdom, others
It has its own "way of survival".
At this time, Wu Yu had already regarded Fan Zhongyan's words as a solicitation for him, and of course he had to politely refuse. He even felt that Fan Zhongyan and Ye An had already formed an alliance.
But unfortunately this was not the case. Ye An only agreed with Fan Zhongyan on the matter of reform, but was not satisfied with Fan Zhongyan's reforms. He even felt that his plan was too drastic and difficult to implement in a real sense.
I am not considered to be a member of Fan Zhongyan's party, not now, nor in the future. I can support Fan Zhongyan's reforms and provide certain help, but I am by no means a part of the reform.
One thing about Wu Yu's attitude is correct. If you don't ascend to the throne, you are not qualified to say these big words. If you want to reform the bad government of the Song Dynasty, you must become the prime minister and minister of the Song Dynasty, otherwise everything will be empty talk.
And Fan Zhongyan is also accumulating strength now. Becoming Jianghuai's pacifier this time is the opportunity given to him by the government. Otherwise, there are many candidates to pacify Jianghuai, so why choose him Fan Zhongyan?
As for himself... Fan Zhongyan's request from Zhao Zhen is just secondary. This position of deputy envoy to appease is more of a reward for him after Zhao Zhen succeeded to the throne, or a way to make up for his guilt...