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Chapter 1: Chaos in Taixue

Zhao Bing returned to the court and wanted to take the opportunity to enjoy the joy of family life. After all, his wives were not around from pregnancy to having children, so they could also be compensated. But things were not as good as others wished. After breakfast, Xiao Huangmen sent a message to the left prime minister Lu Xiufu and several brother-in-law in Beijing to ask for an audience. He couldn't help but be angry that he was not a robot and needed rest and emotional life, so these people could not understand it.

However, state affairs are more important than family affairs, so Zhao Bing could only send an order to let them visit Wenyuan Hall, which was once the Zaixin Hall in Deshou Palace, and was separated from the inner court by a middle gate. Considering that there were more and more things, the Tanbo Pavilion seemed to be becoming increasingly narrow, and the concubines would often come here to live, so it was not appropriate to meet with foreign ministers here. Therefore, Zhao Bing ordered the Zaixin Hall to be transformed as his daily office space. Unfortunately, he led his troops to conquer himself before it was opened.

Zaixin Hall used to be the office and meeting place of Emperor Gaozong. It can be said that it is the administrative center of Deshou Palace, with an area larger than that of Tanbo Pavilion. The main hall is completely traditionally arranged according to the etiquette system and can hold small court meetings.

The left and right side halls were renovated according to Zhao Bing's plan. The left side hall was his daily office, divided into several spaces. In addition to the office, it was equipped with a conference room, information room, lounge, tea room, secretary room and guard room for small meetings. The right side hall was transformed into a large conference room, which could hold meetings of less than 50 people, and a temporary lounge and reception room were also built.

There are dozens of wings on both sides of the main hall, like birds spreading their wings, and they are built symmetrically as a steward room in the imperial front office, the office of the guard group and the guard camp. There are corridors built between the houses to connect to the former dynasty and the inner palace. Even in rainy and snowy days, you can travel everywhere without getting any water. This will become Zhao Bing’s main office for a period of time, and will be put into use with his return.

When Zhao Bing came to the left side hall, Lu Xiufu and others had been waiting for a long time. After a few greetings, they moved to the small conference room. At first glance, it was like a modern office layout, with an oval conference table, a high-legged ring chair, and some flowers could be decorated in the middle or a sand table. A recording table was also placed next to it to record the meeting situation. Thus, the emperor sat and everyone stood to discuss matters. You should know that giving a seat was an honor, and not everyone could have a seat.

"Your Majesty atones for your sins. I should not disturb Your Majesty, but when something urgent happens, I have to be rude!" Everyone sat down according to their ranks, and Lu Xiufu gave a tribute to him first and explained.

"No need to be too polite. It's all for national affairs, and I have no reason to slack off!" Zhao Bing looked at the people who were all serious, and the several priests all had a temple. He knew that there was something urgent, and no matter how frustrated he was, he could not complain, and waved his hand and smiled.

"During Your Majesty's departure from the capital, the Taishi students and gentry submitted memorials many times, and even intercepted the left minister's car on the way. My friends and I also comforted and explained, but they were not satisfied. They planned to intercept the imperial guards again when the Holy Lord returned to the capital. Due to the strict vigilance, they failed. I received the news that some students of the Taishi School wanted to submit memorials at the court on the day of the court meeting in three days." Liu Fu continued to introduce the situation.

"Well, I already know, how many people will participate this time?" Zhao Bing asked after hearing this.

"The specific number of participants is not known yet. It is estimated that there will be no less than 300 people, or even more. They are still in contact with some gentry!" Liu Fu replied, "This matter is very important, and I dare not deceive you. Please tell me what to do."

"What do you think?" Although Zhao Bing knew that the Tai students in the middle of the capital planned to submit a memorial, he suddenly heard the news and did not know the specific situation. He wanted to hear everyone's opinions.

In fact, Zhao Bing was not surprised by the incident of Fuque's memorial, because the Song Dynasty has always been a tradition. There were eight times that had a greater influence in the Southern Song Dynasty alone, which ran through the Song Dynasty. Each time it happened, it would have a great impact on the court and the public. Some prime ministers fell, some officials were dismissed, and even forced the court to revise national policies. There were several "Fuque's memorials" incidents that also had a great impact on the political field of the Song Dynasty.

As the main force of Fuque memorial, Tai Students can be said to be a special force on the political stage of the Song Dynasty. Strictly speaking, it is hard to say whether Tai Students can be considered "scholars" now, but they have knowledge and culture, and hope to get a name in the imperial examination field through learning; and they were students with a certain popularity at that time and had their own political ambitions. Therefore, the Tai Students group has a natural connection with the "scholars" class.

Because Tai students are essentially a group of intellectuals who aim to be an official, they study in schools established by the state to participate in the imperial examinations, gain fame, and prepare for official career. Secondly, Tai students and the ruling and the ruling scholars have a consistent knowledge system and educational background. It is precisely because of this similarity that the scholars not only pay special attention to Tai students, but also have a relatively consistent idea.

Therefore, Tai students' role in the political field is increasing and becoming an important force influencing public opinion in the government and the opposition. Relatedly, the status of Tai students in the Song Dynasty was not low from the beginning, and it can be said that they were a reserve member of the bureaucratic team. Once they passed the imperial examination, they would enter the official career. This made Tai students have a relatively special social status, and their special social status promoted their enthusiasm for participation in politics.

The courage of Taixue and Tai students to actively participate in political activities is due to their historical tradition of evaluating politics and public opinion supervision. Taixue students are quasi-official officials, and most of the teachers of the Taixue are court officials, which provides the Taixue with a condition to evaluate the government and criticize people. Because Taixue's participation in politics had a huge impact on public opinion in the court, after the opening ceremony, Taixue gradually became the center of public opinion across the country, and they even claimed to be the "official-free censorate".

Fuque’s advice is just like admonition, both referring to the actions of ministers kneeling in front of the palace gate and fiercely admonishing the emperor with an attitude of never giving up until he achieves his goal. The Tai students were able to play the role of the unofficial censorate through Fuque’s writing, which could not help but attract the attention of those in power. This is also the reason why Lu Xiufu and other sects were nervous.

"Your Majesty, let's see it first!" Deng Guangjian handed over a note first.

"Yes!" Zhao Bing took the letter submitted and looked through it. It was recorded in the content of the students who were preparing to submit memorials, and I don't know where they got it.

There are many written in the letter, but Zhao Bing read it very quickly, and what they mentioned are just a few points: First, he requires himself to abide by the family laws of his ancestors, respect Confucianism and scholars, and not forget his promise of co-governing with the scholars and officials; second, he advised himself to cherish the people's strength and not to be strong in military affairs; third, he accused the prime ministers of the court of the court of not advising the emperor, preventing him from issuing edicts and interfering in the government affairs; fourth, he advised the emperor to change the edict of "gentry and gentry to pay taxes together"; fifth, he demanded to dismiss Lu Xiufu, claiming that he had been in the prime minister for a long time, and formed a clique for personal gain; sixth, he demanded to respect "Neo-Confucianism" as the orthodox state...

"This memorial is nothing new. It's just a new bottle of old wine. The main theme is a dispute over interests!" Zhao Bing said after seeing it. After seeing it, he put the letter on the table. In the past, the matter of writing to the palace was mainly aimed at the power of the monarch, which was nothing more than four aspects: supervising the monarch to abide by family laws. He advised the monarch to change the edicts and prevented the monarch from issuing edicts within the monarch. Fourth, suppressing the female queen interfering in politics and power. This time, the female queen interfering in politics was missing. More than ten other articles were still focused on restricting the monarch's power. In the end, it was still a fight for power and interests.

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent, please give up your crime!" Lu Xiufu said first.

"What is the crime of the left prime minister? They are Zhuang Gong's sword dance with Pei Gong. They are mainly targeted by me, and they have nothing to do with you and all the ministers. And I will never do anything to hide the birds and bows. Please don't bother yourself. If you mess up our line, I will take responsibility for everything." Zhao Bing waved his hand and said, "Lu Xiang has been in the prime minister for more than ten years, and has performed his duties conscientiously and devoted himself to the revival of our dynasty. I will never do things that make friends and enemies happy because of this nonsense."

"Your Majesty is wise, I should fulfill my responsibility!" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and said in unison.

As old men in the officialdom, they certainly knew that when Tai students caused trouble, they were usually targeting the prime minister and important officials. Cai Jing, Qin Hui, Tang Situi, and Han Tuozhou were all powerful figures. Whether it was ridicule, impeachment, or criticism of these figures, they were all invisible pressure on them.

Moreover, although Tai students were suppressed by imperial power at some point, when major events involving regime stability such as the "Imperial Dynasty Chonghua Palace" came, the emperor would still consider their suggestions. The so-called "official Censorate" happened to be a true portrayal of the Song Dynasty's emperor using Tai students to check and balance court officials and maintain regime stability.

To a certain extent, the emperor's tolerance for the Tai students actually included the consideration of "the law of ancestors". They all knew that the "law of ancestors" was not just the principles of promoting literature and suppressing martial arts, but the principle of "the law of ancestors" was proposed by the early Song Dynasty based on the historical lessons of the Five Dynasties' chaos.

This principle emphasizes "maintaining a vigilant state of accidents, emphasizing prevention and control, and at the same time using the gentle adjustment of the system to maintain political stability." To put it more clearly, the emperor uses various power techniques, especially the means of restraining each other to prevent possible "internal troubles". The status of the Taixue and Tai students is so prominent, which is precisely due to the need for imperial power.

As the saying goes, "The public opinion is a thunder, two learnings are thundering, the emperor is weak and listens to it, and the prime minister bows his head and believes it." Therefore, some ruling ministers also see the weakness of Tai students and learn to use the strategy of using Tai students to influence public opinion through Tai students. However, with the shrewdness of the young emperor, he used Tai students to "make trouble" as early as Qiongzhou, which led to miscarriage with the Mongolian Yuan peace.
Chapter completed!
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