Chapter 39 Sima Guang & Wang Anshi!
Bianjing
During this period, Bianliang became lively again, with candidates coming to Beijing for the imperial examinations one after another. If you caught a scholar-looking man on the road, he would most likely be a juren.
When candidates come to Beijing, the imperial examination will not be far away.
According to convention, officials taking the imperial examinations had to be locked up in the Court of Rites early in the morning until the yellow list of the imperial examinations was posted.
Chu Hong had to mark the papers, which was one of the few places where civil servants could improve their qualifications.
After the papers are marked, he, who has been editing books for three years, will be sent out to work, and he is afraid that he will no longer have time to relax.
So, before being imprisoned, he was preparing to meet two people he had heard of a long time ago.
Sima Guang and Wang Anshi!
Fan Lou
"Fan Tower? Jiefu had heard of it for a long time when he was an official in the local area, but he had never actually been there."
"The same is true for Junshi."
"Zifeng has heard of Brother Junshi and Brother Jiefu for a long time. Now that the two of them have been promoted to Bianjing together, I can finally see them in person."
Chu Hong smiled and looked at the two people sitting on the side, Wang Anshi (Zi Jiefu) and Sima Guang (Zi Junshi).
Some time ago, he learned from his teacher that Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were promoted to Bian Jing, and he immediately sent someone to arrange a banquet.
He had read a lot of history books before making the film "Becoming a Good Man", so he naturally knew about the rivalry between Sima Guang and Wang Anshi.
Of these two people, Wang Anshi advocated reform, while Sima Guang advocated conservatism.
Chu Hong had been studying for three years, and he had calmed down and had his own political views. This time, he wanted to have a conversation with the meeting.
"I've heard that Brother Junshi cares about government affairs. Two years ago, he wrote three consecutive letters requesting the appointment of a crown prince or the promotion of a royal family member. He is a brave and courageous man. He is truly a hero in the world."
Chu Hong blew lightly on the hot tea. This was a new popular product in Bian Jing. It was a mixture of plain tea and goat milk, which made it look a bit like modern milk tea.
"Unlike Brother Zifeng who personally made his speech in the court, we local officials have no choice but to make our own memorials when we are worried about the government. I have heard that Brother Jiefu wants to emulate Mr. Fan Wenzheng's ambition, and his "Ten Thousand Words Memorial to the Emperor" is quite impressive!"
Sima Guang looked at Wang Anshi with a smile, and there was a hint of unfathomable meaning in his calm eyes.
Sima Guang smiled modestly and passed the message to Wang Anshi, "I heard that Brother Jiefu has refused the imperial appointments several times. Why did you agree this time?"
Ok?
Chu Hong took a sip of hot tea. There was something wrong with what he said!
I haven't even tried to sow discord, but you guys are already quarreling?
Is Sima Guang's words a sign of jealousy or a joke?
Chu Hong knew that Sima Guang had asked people to recommend him for positions in the imperial court many times, but he had never been appointed.
One is to be recommended by others but not be accepted, and the other is to be favored by the court but to decline the offer many times and not take up the post.
Well... Wang Anshi's refusal did seem to be a slap in the face to Sima Guang.
However, although Sima Guang seemed to be smiling, his tone did not sound like a joke. It was more like he was speaking from his heart in a joking tone.
"Brother Junshi, you're joking. You and I met each other a few years ago. You must know that I don't want to be promoted beyond my level, so I naturally declined the offer."
Wang Anshi had a steady and mature temperament, and spoke neither hurriedly nor slowly. It seemed that he did not want to argue with Sima Guang. What the hell!
I don't want to cause a trend of promoting people beyond their level. This is exactly what Sima Guang said!
Chu Hong also nodded in understanding. It turned out that they had met before and there must have been many conflicts before. No wonder they started arguing.
Sima Guang looked at Chu Hong who nodded slightly, his expression somewhat unnatural. Is he pointing at me?
His previous position was the Tongpan of Bingzhou, a sixth-rank official position. Now he has been promoted to the fifth-rank Sheren of Kaifeng Prefecture, and has been given a fourth-rank official position as well. It seems like a direct promotion of three levels, but he was a local official promoted to a Beijing official. If the higher level of Beijing official is counted, then he was promoted directly to four levels. Isn't this an extraordinary promotion across levels?
Chu Hong sighed silently. He also didn't like Sima Guang's promotion beyond his level. He was obviously not in the same field, but he was forcibly brought up.
After all, Sima Guang was nearly forty years old and didn't look like someone qualified to be a cabinet minister. With this wave of promotions, he would become an invisible competitor.
Sima Guang quietly looked at Chu Hong who was drinking tea, and felt a little slapped in the face. His gentle expression immediately became a little embarrassed.
"I have heard that my brother intends to follow the example of Mr. Fan Wenzheng and change the ancestral law. Your Majesty has not adopted it?"
Sima Guang's expression returned to normal, and he asked casually.
Chu Hong was amazed. Previously they were Brother Jiefu and Brother Junshi, but now they are Brother Wang and Brother Sima.
However, is it so early that these two people have political disagreements?
Wang Anshi was one of the great reformers, while Sima Guang was the biggest conservative. The two had fought many times in history books. How could this conflict arise so early?
"Brother Sima, do you think that the laws of our ancestors cannot be changed or that we should reform them?" Wang Anshi's expression remained unchanged, but he secretly said in his heart that my way is long like a night, and the laws of our ancestors cannot be changed. This sentence was enough to block most requests for reform.
"What do you think, Brother Zifeng?"
Sima Guang kept silent and looked at the "neutral" Chu Hong.
"What's the difference between change and no change? Today's politics will be the laws of our ancestors a hundred years from now."
Chu Hong pondered for a moment and took a sip of tea.
Sima Guang shook his head and said seriously, "The laws of our ancestors have been passed down for thousands of years, which shows that they are the foundation of the country. If we implement the new policies recklessly, it may be too much, adding fuel to the fire and causing chaos in the world. Brother Chu, do you think we should change the law?"
Chu Hong's eyes lit up. Some of what Sima Guang said did make sense. Wang Anshi's reforms in history were almost the same. They were effective to a certain extent, but they were a bit too hasty, and eventually led to a counterattack from conservatives.
But, isn't it Brother Zifeng? How come it became Brother Chu again?
"Brother Jiefu, do you think the reform should be fast or slow?"
Chu Hong did not answer Sima Guang's question, but looked at Wang Anshi instead.
Sima Guang drank his tea leisurely upon seeing this. It turned out that this reform also had different speeds. It looked like there would be a three-way debate!
"It should be castrated quickly. It will hurt for one day, but you will recover for ten days, and you will have peace for a hundred days."
Wang Anshi did not hesitate at all. If the reform was slow, the emperor would no longer favor him. There would also be a counterattack from the conservatives, and the reform would be doomed to fail. The only right way was to reform quickly.
"Excessive reforms can easily lead to chaos, while no reforms will lead to long-term problems. Chu believes that if the new law is implemented slowly for a long time, the world will be at peace in ten years."
Chu Hong naturally stood on the side of reform, but this did not mean that he agreed with Wang Anshi's drastic reform style.
Being a prime minister for ten years may seem quite difficult, but there are actually many precedents.
According to the original novel of The Story of Minglan, the time confusion mainly occurred when his uncle succeeded to the throne. Emperor Yingzong of the Song Dynasty was in power for only a few years, but his uncle was in very good health and was probably in power for at least eight or nine years. His cousin Zhao Ceying was even more amazing, being in power for more than ten years. This time was enough for him to accomplish reforms and extend the life of the Great Zhou Dynasty by a hundred years.
While others worried about the king's favor, he did not have too many worries in this regard. His uncle and cousin were from the Taizu lineage, and after taking power, they would definitely have to support their own family members on a large scale in order to maintain the stability of the throne.
Moreover, he can live to be over sixty years old. If all else fails, he can wait for his uncle and cousin to pass away and support the young emperor to ascend the throne. This will free up more than ten years.
"Haha. Ten years is really too long. Wang Anshi doesn't think this is the way to reform."
Wang Anshi couldn't help laughing. What the hell, I finally found someone with similar political views to me, and now you tell me there is such a big difference, and he is still my enemy?
"Guan Zhong carried out reforms for 40 years, which made Qi strong and one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period; Su Qin carried out reforms for more than 10 years, which made the Hegemony Alliance; Shang Yang carried out reforms for 18 years, which made Qin strong and annexed the six kingdoms, unifying the world.
Most of the reforms in the past lasted for a very long time. Short-term reforms are undoubtedly unstable policies, with orders changing from day to day and the world in turmoil. "
Chu Hong calmly stated the facts, without expecting to convince Wang Anshi.
Just as he was confident in his own reform methods, Wang Anshi would not easily deny his reform methods. If it were so easy to convince people, there would have been no debate in the world long ago.
What Chu Hong did not say is that the reform must not harm the interests of local powerful families to a certain extent, or there must be gains and losses. Otherwise, without the support of local powerful families, it is basically impossible to succeed in reforming in a stable era.
No one knew better than him how deeply rooted the local clans of the Great Zhou were.
"Sima Guang, how do you think the reform should be carried out?"
Wang Anshi shook his head slightly, hoping that the "neutral" Sima Guang would give an explanation.
Well, the dispute between Wang Anshi and Sima Guang can be seen from Chu Hong, and the dispute between Chu Hong and Wang Anshi can be seen from Sima Guang.
"I think it's not a good idea to change the law!"
Yes, it’s no use asking.
"Haha, let's not talk about politics today, let's just drink and eat."
Chu Hong also shook his head. Sima Guang was the successor of Lord Pang Ji, Wang Anshi was the successor of Lord Wen Yanbo, and he was the successor of Lord Han. Each of them had a big father behind them, so it was normal that he could not convince the other.
Then, let’s see who climbs higher!
(End of this chapter)