Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 229 Newspapers, Inspections, Entering the Capital!

July 11th.

The Anfu Division of Liangzhe East Road.

Jiang Zhao held a letter in his hand and read it word by word.

[I, the Emperor, hereby instruct Jiang Qing:]
I, having received the Mandate of Heaven to rule over all nations, rise early and retire late, thinking only of the well-being of the people.

The excessive number of soldiers and officials consumes half of the annual revenue, a situation even more dire than the annual tribute system. This has been a long-standing problem. Recently, a minister submitted a memorial to reform the system in order to eliminate these abuses and promote beneficial policies. After reading it, I was moved and wrote this letter to seek your advice.

In the past, the emperor and his ministers advised each other that reforms must be approached with caution, and the foundation must be solid. Now, the governor has appointed officials to govern Zhejiang and Jiangsu as a warning to others, and to subdue any villains. I have now grasped power, and the military and government are loyal to me; no one dares to disobey. This is the time!

However, the reform policy is a chronic disease that concerns the very foundation of the nation. A single move can affect the whole situation. Only you can make the decision and cure it. I dare not make a hasty decision.

I am writing to ask you: Is it feasible to implement reforms at this time?
If you think it's unacceptable, I will abandon this idea and discuss it again at another time; if you think it's acceptable, I will discuss the details with you and gradually move forward.

My questions for advice come from the bottom of my heart. I hope you will prioritize the affairs of the state, speak your mind frankly, without reservation or concealment.

Admire this! 】

"political reform?"

Jiang Zhao was surprised.

Perhaps it was because of the excessive number of soldiers, officials, and expenses that Zhao Ceying suddenly had the idea of ​​reforming these long-standing problems.

The purpose of writing this letter was to convey my desire for him to preside over the reform.

Of course, if reform is truly not feasible, one can refute his desire for reform and let Zhao Ceying endure it a little longer.

Jiang Zhao understood, pondered for a moment, and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

Throughout history, for reforms to succeed, there are essentially three requirements:
First, internal order is stable and external pressure is controllable.

Only in this way can there be an opportunity to coordinate reforms.

In years of major disasters, wars, or popular uprisings, the primary task is to maintain stability, not to attempt reforms.

Second, the absolute support of the authoritative core and the stable execution of the bureaucratic system.

Generally speaking, this means the support of a monarch with real power, and occasionally it may be the support of a regent.

The Sinicization of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the reforms of Shang Yang were examples of monarchs with real power supporting the reforms; the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty's system of laws and the reforms of Zhang Juzheng were examples of monarchs with regents supporting the reforms.

For any reform to succeed, the monarch's attitude must be unwavering; otherwise, failure is almost certain.

A typical example is the Qingli Reforms, in which the late Emperor Zhao Zhen sometimes supported them and sometimes hesitated and was indecisive.

As soon as they see any flaws in the new policy, they immediately turn to opposing it.

With that kind of temper, even the Duke of Zhou would be rendered useless.

In addition to the stable support of the monarch, the execution at the county and prefecture levels is also an indispensable part.

No matter how good a policy is, if it is not implemented, it is just empty talk.

Third, the reform policies were sufficiently precise.

Reform, in essence, is about readjusting the distribution of interests through the use of power.

This process is bound to affect the interests of a certain group of people.

If the interests of a small number of people are harmed, then there is no need to pay attention to it.

However, if the interests of a considerable number of people are harmed, then the issue of "compensation" arises, and compensation must be provided from other aspects.

Ultimately, through institutional adjustments, the majority of people were aligned with the new policy.

If this continues for a long time, lasting for decades, it will become an "ancestral system," and reform will be successful.

After a while, the pacing sounds disappeared.

"Tsk~!"

Jiang Zhao stood with his hands behind his back, gazing outwards.

It seems like it's not impossible.

Now, the Western Xia is in decline, and the Tibetan Empire has retreated, leaving only the Zhou and Liao dynasties in a covert standoff, with their national strengths being roughly equal.

As for external pressure, it is absolutely controllable.

There may be minor frictions between the two sides, but there will absolutely be no "national war".

After all, a conflict between two countries is not a game where you can just start over after losing one round.

Both sides will be cautious about the foundation laid by their ancestors and will not easily start a war.

Internal order is also a typical stable phase.

Since the founding of the dynasty by Emperor Taizu, the dynasty has lasted for a century. It is a typical mid-dynasty period. There may be some minor disturbances, but overall, it can be considered very stable.

The support of key figures in power is not a problem.

Now, a year has passed since the new emperor ascended the throne, and the core power holder has gradually shifted to Zhao Ceying.

Generally speaking, when a new emperor ascends the throne, all he has to do to gain real power is wait out the inevitable passage of time and gradually consolidate his control.

However, Zhao Ceying is indeed an exception.

He pacified the border regions, expanded the territory, and in one fell swoop, he seized military power and established a core group of military officers.

The new generation of military commanders, led by Gu Tingye, Zhang Ding, and Zheng Xiao, are the representatives of military nobles.

Since the emperor and his ministers had received such favor, the nobles naturally wouldn't dare to oppose the emperor.

The two political upheavals of remonstrance and the deposition of the empress led to the demotion of Grand Secretary Ouyang Xiu and Vice Minister of War Lü Gongzhu, as well as the deposition of the empress.

During this process, Zhao Ceying's tough stance was truly rare, making the vast majority of civil officials wary of him and dare not act recklessly in the slightest.

This time, the severe punishment imposed on Liangzhe Road has shocked the entire country and shaken both the court and the public.

In just one year, an external threat, an internal crisis, and the suppression of a rebellion easily helped him establish his authority and seize power, thereby greatly enhancing his imperial prestige and subduing the officials.

In terms of the real power he wielded and the ability to subdue the officials, Zhao Ceying far surpassed the late Emperor Zhao Zhen.

After all, the late emperor was too benevolent and often gave in.

Zhao Ceying, on the other hand, is almost never willing to back down.

Compared to a kind persona, a tough persona undoubtedly makes people more wary.

The power of a ruler lies in making his subjects think twice and intimidating them!
Given Zhao Ceying's tough personality, he was definitely a staunch supporter of the reform movement.

As for the implementation of the bureaucratic system, that is even less of a problem.

We should implement reforms gradually and proceed slowly.

Theoretically speaking, it really does have all three, except for the east wind.

Jiang Zhao raised his eyebrows, having made up his mind.

Since the emperor wants to reform, then let him reform!

Once the imperial tour is over, you can try to change things up.

In any case, his governing philosophy has always been to implement reforms gradually and over a long period of time.

Coincidentally, Liangzhe Road was targeted in a crackdown, so it can be used as a pilot area.

"Seventh Brother, grind the ink," Jiang Zhao waved his hand and ordered.

“Yes, sir.” Zhong Shidao bowed and hurried over to grind the ink.

There has been a saying about observing politics since ancient times.

The Empress Dowager ruled from behind a curtain, and the young emperor observed the administration.

Scholars and their disciples could also take the opportunity to observe politics while their teachers were in power in a region.

In the past, when Han Zhang was in charge of a region and served as a high-ranking official, Jiang Zhao had five years of experience observing the government.

This time, the emperor was on a tour of the two capitals and fourteen circuits, which was a rare opportunity to observe the government. Zhong Shidao accompanied him with the respect due to a disciple.

In no time, the ink was black and glossy. Jiang Zhao spread out the Xuan paper, walked over, picked up the brush, and began to write.

A letter of a thousand words was completed.

"Have it presented to the Imperial Palace," Jiang Zhao instructed, blowing away the ink.

"Yes."

Zhong Shidao bowed, picked up the letter, and went to make arrangements.

"clatter."

After cleaning the brush and setting it aside, Jiang Zhao lowered his head, unusually lost in thought.

Since the decision has been made to implement reforms, thorough preparations must be made for this.

Reform! Reform! Everyone's saying we need reform!
Reform, as the name suggests, mainly involves changing government decrees and redistributing the distribution of interests.

Having served in office for twelve years, Jiang Zhao naturally had some unique insights into how to implement reforms.

But where exactly should we start?

Eliminating redundant staff, reforming systems, performance evaluations, or even corruption in border regions?

Jiang Zhao shook his head.

wrong!

These are specific directions for reform, not the first step in "getting started".

Aside from securing the support of the highest authority, reformers throughout history have all taken similar approaches to how to implement the first step.

The first step of the Duke of Zhou's reforms was to propose the concept of "the Mandate of Heaven shifts, and virtue is the only support," to demonstrate the legitimacy of the Western Zhou regime's rule, and to establish rites and music to shape order.

The first step in Shang Yang's reforms was "moving a log to establish credibility," thus building public trust.

Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty initiated reforms, the first step of which was to move the capital to Luoyang under the pretext of a "southern expedition." He ordered the prohibition of non-Han clothing and languages, promoted Han clothing and the Han language, and personally offered sacrifices to Confucius, thus advocating Confucianism.

Zhang Juzheng's reforms began with the "lectures and public discussions" policy, which involved closing down academies throughout the country and prohibiting scholars and officials from discussing matters.

When it comes to what they have in common—public opinion!

The Duke of Zhou's use of the Mandate of Heaven, Shang Yang's establishment of trust, Emperor Xiaowen's sacrifices to Confucius, and Zhang Juzheng's closure of academies—whether it was establishing authority, establishing trust, or establishing the orthodox Mandate of Heaven, the essence was all about manipulating public opinion.

Throughout history, public opinion has always been something that can make or break things.

If the reformers do not control public opinion and make the debate about reform more active, then someone else will control public opinion and make the debate about reform more passive.

Almost all failed reforms failed because of public opinion.

The criticisms from Confucian scholars, intellectuals, and intellectuals—99% of those who opposed the reforms—were all attempts to influence the emperor and the reforms through public opinion.

The negative voices were too loud, drowning out the voices advocating reform. The monarch was affected and, unable to withstand the pressure, had no choice but to retreat.

"Public opinion!"

Jiang Zhao narrowed his eyes, and an idea surfaced in his mind.

newspaper!

When it comes to manipulating public opinion, newspapers are absolutely indispensable.

This is a powerful tool for manipulating public opinion. It has been used since the Ming Dynasty and has lasted for four or five hundred years. It is absolutely the ultimate weapon for manipulating public opinion!
In fact, there was something similar to a newspaper in this era, called "Dibao," which mainly recorded the emperor's daily life, the appointment and removal of officials, and memorials from ministers.

Theoretically speaking, its main readers are officials at the county, prefecture, and circuit levels, who can use it to read the imperial edicts.

However, theory is theory, and practice is practice.

In reality, the Great Zhou court had not yet developed the concept of large-scale, long-term manipulation of public opinion.

Therefore, the official gazette was merely a formality and was not taken seriously at all. Only a few dozen copies were issued at a time, so its reach was naturally quite limited and almost equivalent to zero effect.

"However, is it feasible?" A hint of hesitation flashed across Jiang Zhao's face.

To promote newspapers and manipulate public opinion, the most important thing is to solve the problem of mass production.

"feasible."

After only a moment's hesitation, Jiang Zhao reached a conclusion.

Shen Kuo's "Dream Pool Essays" records that during the Qingli era, a commoner named Bi Sheng invented movable type printing, which could print dozens, hundreds, or thousands of copies at an extremely fast speed.

Movable type printing has already been invented!

Decades later, movable type printing technology has still not been widely adopted, for three main reasons:

Firstly, the texture is too brittle.

Secondly, the master copy is too expensive.

Third, the printed content rarely changes.

The material is too brittle and easily breaks, indicating that the technology is not yet mature.

Of course, this shortcoming is not difficult to solve. It is simply a matter of changing the material of clay movable type printing, such as steel movable type printing or iron movable type printing. With the wisdom of the ancients, this problem is certainly not difficult to solve.

So why hasn't this technology been widely adopted? Because the cost of creating the master copy is too high!

A set of woodblock printing has fixed content, and only a few hundred characters need to be made at a time. In contrast, movable type printing requires making every possible Chinese character, and a set of movable type printing plates can produce at least three to five thousand Chinese characters at a time.

In comparison, the master plates for movable type printing are naturally much more expensive.

In addition, the greatest advantage of movable type printing is its flexibility, which makes it suitable for frequent changes to the content being copied. The more frequently the changes are made, the greater the advantage of this technology becomes.

Conversely, if the printed content is not significantly altered, woodblock printing has the advantage.

In this era, there were few scholars, and almost all the printed books and articles were related to the imperial examinations. The content of the printed books might not be changed for several years or even decades. In addition, the master plates for movable type printing were too expensive, and printing workshops were mainly profit-oriented, so they naturally could not accept movable type printing technology.

However, these three shortcomings were not intolerable to the imperial court.

The reason is simple: the imperial court did not produce newspapers for profit!
The printing workshops were in it for profit, but that doesn't mean the imperial court was also in it for profit.

For the imperial court, strategic significance outweighed everything else.

Since movable type printing technology is available, then it's feasible!

Newspapers? That's something!
As for newspapers being too expensive?

It can only be said that newspapers of this era were never meant for ordinary people.

“He Sheng”.

Jiang Zhao waved.

“My lord.” The pageboy Hesheng stepped forward a few paces.

"Have someone collect a few sheets of the more famous paper from the two capitals and fourteen circuits."

Jiang Zhao instructed, "Remember, present exactly what you can buy on the market."

It is said that it is not profitable, but if there is an opportunity to make a profit and not add burden to the court, that would naturally be the best.

"Yes." He Sheng bowed and withdrew.

Jiang Zhao gazed into the distance and sighed silently.

Even spending a little money requires meticulous calculation; it must be tough for the Grand Secretary!

As the sun nears the western mountains, a gentle breeze stirs.

More than thirty elderly men entered one after another, and without exception, they were all dressed in brocade robes.

"Grand Secretary!"

"Grand Secretary!"

More than thirty people stood up one after another and bowed with their hands clasped.

At the head of the table, Jiang Zhaoping said gently, "Please sit down."

"Thank you, Your Excellency!"

"Thank you, Your Excellency!"

After expressing their gratitude, the more than thirty people took their seats.

Whether it's anxiety, fatigue, tension, doubt, or panic.

“You are all rare leaders of prominent families in the Liangzhe River system.” Jiang Zhao looked down and said in a deep voice, “I am also a member of a prominent family, so I naturally understand your anxiety.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the thirty-odd elderly men all stirred slightly and turned their gazes toward the scene.

The Jiang family has produced three members who have received the purple robes in four generations, making them a first-rate and prestigious family with generations of officials and scholars.

Jiang Ge Lao said he understood the prestige of a region, and that's absolutely true!

"May I ask, Your Excellency, why have you summoned us?" one of the elders asked nervously.

Recently, the Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces have been plagued by constant killings and demotions, which is truly alarming.

“Starting tomorrow, I, Jiang, will be leaving Liangzhe. At that time, officials appointed by the court will take office in Dongzhe and Xizhe. Song Huai, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, will serve as the acting Pacification Commissioner of the Eastern Circuit of Liangzhe, and Wang Fuzhi, the Minister of Agriculture, will serve as the Pacification Commissioner of the Western Circuit of Liangzhe.”

"I summoned you all here specifically to offer some advice," Jiang Zhao said slowly, looking down at the crowd.

The two newly appointed officials of Liangzhe were Song Huai and Song Huai. Song Huai was appointed as a second-rank official with the rank of third-rank official, also known as "acting pacification commissioner".

The official rank of the fake Pacification Commissioner remains unchanged; he is still a third-rank official.

The difference is that if you don't make any mistakes for three years, you're almost guaranteed to be promoted to the second rank.

Wang Fuzhi, the Minister of Agriculture, was a man of Zhang Sheng, the former Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and was in line with the new Grand Secretary Tang Jie. Chen Ji, the Pacification Commissioner who was dismissed from his post after the purge of Zhejiang, was also a man of Zhang Sheng.

Promoting Wang Fu to a higher position was essentially a form of compensation.

"I hope you can give me some guidance, Your Excellency," the old man said, bowing.

First, adjust your mindset.

Secondly, get your position right.

“In the past, Jiang taught five members of the imperial clan. Some of them were worried that they would not be able to ascend the throne and would be purged. At that time, Jiang taught the five members of the imperial clan in the same way, calling it the method for losers to survive.”

"Perhaps it was good luck that all five survived," Jiang Zhao said heavily.

After saying that, Jiang Zhao waved his hand and said, "That's fine then."

More than thirty people quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Your Excellency."

After that, they walked out one after another, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Adjust your mindset and position.

What does it mean?
In the courtroom, Jiang Zhao glanced at it indifferently.

Once the new policy is implemented, these people will understand.

The rebellion in Zhejiang and Jiangsu was quelled on July 11th.

To better conduct patrols, the 30,000-strong army split into two groups.

One group traveled north along the border, while the other group traveled south along the border.

The group heading north was led by Teng Fu, the Left Censor-in-Chief; Wang Gui, the Acting Prefect of Kaifeng; Chen Jian, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel; Wang Shao, the Earl of Zhennan; and Yao Si, the Loyal and Martial General.

The group heading south was led by Jiang Zhao, a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion; Wang Anshi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice; and Gu Tingye, the Marquis of Ningyuan.

They split into two groups and patrolled together.

(As shown in the picture: this is how you walk.)
Wherever he went, he would gather the patriarchs of the prefectures and give them a pep talk about “keeping the right mindset and the right position”.

When Emperor Dai toured the country, the scope was so vast that Jiang Zhao stayed in most places for less than three days.

If someone filed a complaint of injustice, they would almost always leave some people from the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate to investigate the case without delay.

Even so, the journey alone took a full 120 days.

Finally, the two inspection teams converged, summarizing all the wrongful convictions and the arrests of corrupt officials, a process that had taken half a year.

February of the second year of the Xifeng era.

The imperial inspectors have now entered the capital!
(End of this chapter)