Diqin Designer

Chapter 500: The Reform Could Not Succeed (History of the Northern Song Dynasty)
"But Lü Huiqing could not prevent him from returning to the capital. In the eighth year of the Xining era, Wang Anshi was appointed prime minister again, while Lü Huiqing was sent away from the capital."

Upon hearing that Wang Anshi had been appointed prime minister again, Wang Wan said, "Wang Anshi's return to the premiership proves that he still has the will to reform and innovate. However, this is no longer the first time he has served as prime minister, and the difficulties will only be greater!"

Li Nian nodded and said, "That's right. If Wang Anshi becomes prime minister again, he may not receive as much support as he did the first time. Moreover, the reform faction is also internally divided, and people are not united. It will be even more difficult for Wang Anshi to implement the new laws!"

Although it was their first time doing this, the reformists at that time were full of confidence, relatively united, and had the drive and determination to "change the world."

Although this is the second playthrough, and I have more experience than the first playthrough, people's hearts are different now. Zhao Xu has become hesitant about the reforms, and the reform faction has also split.

People's hearts change, which is also related to changes in their status and position.

Before being recommended by Wang Anshi, who were Lü Huiqing, Zhang Dun, and Zeng Bu?

Although they are talented, they have not yet held great power and are still undergoing trials and tribulations, slowly accumulating seniority. Even if they eventually become important officials in the Song court, this process will take several years, or even more than a decade.

It was Wang Anshi who recommended Zhao Xu, which led to their rapid promotion, allowing them to suddenly complete a journey that would normally take several years or even decades.

Their status and position have undergone a dramatic change since they were recommended, and this change in status and position will also lead to a shift in their mindset and thoughts.

Just like when people are very poor, they are fearless and have a lot of courage and drive, but when they are no longer poor, they become worried about this and that and lose their drive.

"Wang Anshi was also somewhat disheartened by this, and his health was poor. In the ninth year of the Xining era, he repeatedly asked Zhao Xu for permission to resign. In the same year, Wang Anshi's eldest son died, which dealt an even greater blow to Wang Anshi."

"In October of the ninth year of the Xining era, Zhao Xu approved Wang Anshi's resignation. Zhao Xu probably wanted to wait for Wang Anshi to return, but after resigning as prime minister and leaving the court, Wang Anshi never returned to the court."

"After Wang Anshi left, Zhao Xu did not stop the reforms; instead, he personally took charge of them."

Feng Quji said, "This Zhao Xu certainly has the ambition to reform the Song Dynasty!"

Having ideas is one thing, but whether they can come to fruition is another. Although Zhao Xu was also an emperor, the power he wielded could not compare with that of powerful emperors such as Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Taizong of Tang.

Li Niandao said: "After Wang Anshi resigned as prime minister, Zhao Xu's reforms mainly focused on the reform of the official system. He wanted to improve the administrative efficiency of the Zhao Song court and save the court expenses by reducing redundant officials and bureaucratic redundancies."

Upon hearing this, Meng Tian asked, "Has Zhao Xu failed?"

Li Nian shook her head and smiled, "It was a success during Zhao Xu's reign!"

Meng Tian immediately understood: if it was considered a success while he was in power, then it would be a failure when he was no longer in power...

"The reforms carried out by Zhao Xu are known in history as the 'Yuanfeng Reforms.' These reforms had some effect, but unfortunately, the problems of the Song Dynasty were already deeply entrenched and difficult to resolve. Zhao Xu lacked the courage and ability to completely eliminate the problem of redundant officials."

Given the situation in the Song Dynasty, if the problem of redundant officials were truly to be solved, those redundant officials would have to be dismissed from their posts.

To put it nicely, it's called "streamlining officials"; to put it bluntly, it means laying off all of these people.

However, those redundant officials would not be foolish enough to stand there and let Zhao Xu fire them. In order to protect their own interests, they would definitely oppose Zhao Xu, and even join forces with those officials who were not on Zhao Xu's layoff list.

Zhao Xu didn't dare to dismiss all these people and release them into society.

Confucianism and the imperial examination system were essentially a way to create a circle, both to select talent for the dynasty's rulers and to keep outstanding individuals within a circle, preventing them from plotting rebellion and thus making the dynasty's rule more stable.

But if we were to carry out large-scale layoffs, we would be putting these "heroes" who we had painstakingly cultivated back into society, and who knows what they would end up doing.

Emperor Chongzhen also laid off staff, but the result was that Li Zicheng was among those laid off.

Moreover, the ancestral system of Zhao Song's emphasis on literature and suppression of military affairs and preferential treatment of scholars made it difficult for Zhao Xu to take action. This ancestral system was different from other ancestral systems; it was the foundation of Zhao Song's rule!
If Zhao Xu were to lay off officials on a large scale, it would be tantamount to undermining the foundation of his rule.

Therefore, Zhao Xu could only patch things up within a limited scope and could not truly solve the problem of redundant officials in the Song Dynasty.

"Zhao Xu was an emperor who wanted to achieve great things, but although his wishes were good, his abilities were insufficient. Moreover, the problems of the Song Dynasty were deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of the Song people. If he wanted to solve them, he would have to be determined to dissect the Song Dynasty to cure its diseases."

"But he dared not, firstly because he lacked the ability and prestige, and secondly because he feared that if he dissected Zhao Song, he would not only fail to cure the disease but also cause Zhao Song's death. The latter possibility is extremely high!"

"Zhao Xu aspired to the same level of prosperity as the Han and Tang dynasties, and wanted the Song dynasty to be as successful as the Han and Tang. Therefore, compared to Zhao Heng and Zhao Zhen, Zhao Xu was more assertive in his foreign policy. Since he aimed to recreate the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties, the Song dynasty's territory could not be too much smaller than that of the Han and Tang!"

"Even if we can't reach the territories of the Han and Tang dynasties at their peak, we must still unify the land of China. Otherwise, we won't even have a unified country yet, so how can we compare with the Han and Tang dynasties? Are we going to rely on the praise of Song dynasty literati again?"

"Therefore, Zhao Xu had the idea of ​​attacking Western Xia and recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. In the fourth year of Yuanfeng, the Song army launched a five-pronged attack on Xia. The advance was initially smooth, but the Song army was defeated due to the commander's jealousy of his achievements."

This plot sounds so familiar. Isn't this something that happened to the Song army before? Why is it happening again?

No matter which enemy they encountered, the Song army could fight back and even gain the upper hand. However, the situation often developed smoothly at the beginning, with the Song army gaining the upper hand, but problems arose in the middle. Some generals made mistakes in command, while others were jealous of the merits of other generals. Then the enemy seized the opportunity and wiped them out in one fell swoop.

The Song army has had these problems since Zhao Guangyi's Northern Expedition, and after so many years, they're still like this...

Meng Tian shook his head, unsure how to comment, and simply said, "This Song Dynasty... what a pity for those Song soldiers!"

The Song soldiers were able to fight against the Liao and Western Xia armies, and were no less capable than them, but they were defeated because of the high-ranking generals of the Song army.

"Although the five-pronged attack on Xia failed, Zhao Xu did not lose his ambition. He still wanted to attack Xia. In the fifth year of Yuanfeng, he ordered the construction of Yongle City. If this city was built, it could trap the Western Xia army in Xingzhou, which would be beneficial for the Song army to attack Xia in the future."

"However, Zhao Xu's plan was good, but the Western Xia people were not stupid. How could they allow him to build this city? They sent a large army to capture Yongle City. The Song army suffered few casualties, but the craftsmen and artisans who built the city were captured by the Western Xia."

Losing a large number of artisans to the enemy is more unacceptable than losing soldiers directly, because artisans can increase the enemy's productivity and make the enemy stronger.

"After that, Zhao Xu lost his fighting spirit and stopped thinking about attacking Western Xia to realize his grand plan of 'making the Song Dynasty comparable to the Han and Tang Dynasties'."

The First Emperor said, "It's just a defeat. We can learn from it and fight again. The country hasn't been destroyed. To lose our fighting spirit and drive just because of a few defeats is nothing special!" He wouldn't have the same emotions as Zhao Xu. The First Emperor had also experienced the lowest points in his life, and he had overcome them all.
Back then, Li Xin led his troops to destroy Chu, but suffered a crushing defeat. However, he did not lose confidence or fighting spirit and went to ask Wang Jian to come out of seclusion and destroy the state of Chu.

"In my observation, apart from Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi, the other emperors of the Zhao Song dynasty were all somewhat accustomed to the inner palace and knew nothing of hardship and setbacks!"

Li Nian said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. The emperors of the Song Dynasty lived too comfortably, which led to their lack of experience."

There were definitely setbacks, but none of them were major setbacks, which led to them being easily defeated when faced with a major storm.

"The failure of the Western Xia plan devastated Zhao Xu both mentally and physically. His condition worsened, and he himself felt that his days were numbered. But at this time, Zhao Xu was only thirty-eight years old, not old at all!"

Wang Jian said, "His will has been lost, his heart is dead. Even with the elixir of immortality, there is no way to reverse his fate."

"Zhao Xu probably wanted to use the victory in the conquest of Xia to promote his new laws, but after the defeat, he had no choice but to abandon his plans."

Li Nian laughed and said, "The failure to attack Xia was not entirely his fault. Who told him to choose Gao Zunyu as the commander-in-chief? Gao Zunyu was the uncle of Empress Dowager Gao, the mother of Zhao Xu."

"When Zhao Xu was about to appoint Gao Zunyu as the commander-in-chief, Empress Dowager Gao advised him, saying that although Gao Zunyu was loyal to the country, he was narrow-minded and could not tolerate others' achievements being greater than his own, so he was not suitable to be the commander-in-chief."

"But Zhao Xu did not heed Empress Dowager Gao's advice and insisted on appointing Gao Zunyu as commander. As a result, when the Song army had already reached the walls of Lingzhou and was about to breach the city, Gao Zunyu quickly sent an envoy to stop them."

Wang Ben looked incredulous and said, "Because he hasn't arrived yet, the credit for breaching the city cannot be taken by others?"

Li Nian nodded, while the First Emperor and the others found it outrageous—was this even human?
However, upon reflection, considering that it was the Song army, the First Emperor and others found it quite reasonable, as the Song army had indeed pulled off many mind-boggling maneuvers.

Gao Zunyu deserves to die and should be executed. Zhao Xu, who insisted on employing Gao Zunyu, also deserves it.

The First Emperor and others, who had initially felt some sympathy for Zhao Xu, no longer did so. This was because Zhao Xu had failed to recognize talent, and his mother had already advised him against it, but he refused to listen.

In March of the eighth year of the Yuanfeng era, Zhao Xu, who was only thirty-eight years old, died of illness. He was posthumously honored as Emperor Shaotian Fagu Yunde Jiangong Yingwen Liewu Qinren Shengxiao, and his temple name was Shenzong.

"Zhao Xu had lofty ambitions, but his courage and ability were insufficient to support him in realizing them."

Zhao Xu was not incapable or lacking in ambition; rather, he had lofty ambitions, but his abilities and determination could not keep up.

"But compared to emperors like Zhao Heng, Zhao Zhen, and great calligraphers, Zhao Xu was already considered a capable ruler. After his death, the new laws he implemented were abolished by his mother, Empress Dowager Gao, but were restored after his son Zhao Zhe took power."

"Although the Xining Reform and the Yuanfeng Reform failed, they left some things behind in the Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, some of the new laws were still in use."

Wang Wan then asked a question: "Why do you think the Xining Reform and the Yuanfeng Reform failed?"

Wang Wan had his own views on the failures of the Xining Reform and the Yuanfeng Reform, but he wanted to hear Li Nian's perspective and whether he would give a different answer than he had thought.

Li Nian also understood the meaning behind Wang Wan's question and smiled, "Firstly, the reforms were somewhat presumptuous, and the reformists were blindly confident. They saw the problems and figured out solutions, but they did not consider whether the solutions they came up with were in line with reality."

"What is in line with reality at one time does not mean it will always be in line with reality. Feedback must be received in a timely manner and adjustments must be made."

"During the Xining Reform, the reformists thought that as long as the new law was implemented, all problems would be eliminated. Few thought that the new law should also adapt to the changing circumstances. Therefore, they forcibly promoted the new law, regardless of whether the new law had any problems."

The reformists like Wang Anshi and Zhao Xu, whose names contain the word "reform," often give the impression that their actions were all correct, and that the anti-reform faction who opposed them must be utterly wicked and completely wrong. But this is not the case.

Some members of the anti-reform faction did point out the flaws and drawbacks of the new law, but the reformists did not take it seriously, believing that these were just minor issues that were insignificant. They thought that as long as the reform was carried out and the overall direction was correct, these minor issues were not worth worrying about.

Little do people realize that although small problems may seem insignificant, if they accumulate, they can cause the overall direction to go astray.

"Secondly, the opposition was too strong. Even Empress Dowager Gao, Zhao Xu's mother, opposed the reform. This was inevitable! Reform and innovation, abolishing the old laws and replacing them with new ones, would naturally not be welcomed by those who benefited from the old laws but suffered losses under the new ones."

"Unless Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi can ensure that everyone benefits from the new laws, which is clearly impossible."

Li Nian's reforms to the Qin Dynasty also harmed the interests of a group of people. However, since the six states had just been destroyed and the world had just been unified, there were plenty of benefits that everyone could happily share, so there was no need to fight to the death.

If the Qin Dynasty had continued for several decades, and the benefits had already been divided up, then if Li Nian were to travel back in time to reform it, the resistance would be enormous.

Of course, the Qin Dynasty didn't last more than a few decades; it was swept into the yellow sands in just over a decade.

Moreover, those harmed by Li Nian's reforms were unable to retaliate under the pressure of the First Emperor.

Just as the second emperor did not need to fear the powerful ministers who overshadowed him, the first emperor was not worried about anyone jumping out to stop the Qin Dynasty's reforms.

Moreover, the Legalists were the main victims of Li Nian's reforms. This included members of the imperial family and other schools of thought, all of whom benefited from Li Nian's reforms.

"Secondly, we cannot blame Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi, because this was bound to happen. Thirdly, Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi lacked prestige and ability, mainly due to a lack of prestige."

"If Zhao Xu had the same prestige as His Majesty, how could Wang Anshi's assistance in reforming the laws not be successful? All the people of Song would listen to Zhao Xu's words and obey his orders. As long as the reforms are truly for the good, how could they not succeed?"

"Unfortunately, Zhao Xu did not have such prestige, and he was unable to control his ministers, which led to endless struggles between the reformists and the anti-reformists, wasting their strength!"

"Zhao Xu did not have enough prestige, but it cannot be entirely blamed on him. He ascended the throne after Zhao Shu's death and had nowhere to gain merit and increase his prestige."

"Furthermore, his inability to control his ministers was also related to the 'ancestral traditions' of the Song Dynasty. Since he chose the path of 'governing the world together with the scholar-officials,' he had to bear the drawbacks that came with it."

"Fourth, there are problems with the ancestral systems and traditions of the Zhao Song dynasty. Some of these systems and traditions were the foundation of the Zhao Song dynasty. How could Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi dare to thoroughly investigate them?"

(End of this chapter)