novelaction Chapter 84 Reconciliation Failure (Part 2)
Chapter 84 Reconciliation Failure (Part 2)
During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Northern Song Dynasty
Zhao Kuangyin frowned. "What Miss Lin said is that I will be the emperor after the Song Dynasty."
Why do these civil officials only know how to engage in factional strife all day long?
Besides the Song Dynasty, there were also the Western Xia and Liao Dynasties, and a group of conservatives in the Song Dynasty did not support border expansion!
Could it be that my original idea of governing the country together with the scholar-officials was wrong?
……
Lin Ke sighed softly and said, "Empress Dowager Gao, responding to Fan Chunren's suggestion, issued a decree [on the matter of Wei Fance], while at this time, the old faction in the court is focusing its firepower on attacking Lü Huiqing."
"Unfortunately, Lü Huiqing wasn't as lucky as Deng Wan. Empress Dowager Gao had already heard all sorts of gossip about Lü Huiqing during Emperor Renzong's reign and disliked him intensely."
"Therefore, the old lady had no chance of speaking well of Lü Huiqing. In September of the same year, Sima Guang passed away."
"It was precisely because of the death of Sima Guang, the leader of the old party, that Wang Yansou found an opportunity to submit a memorial stating: 'With Sima Guang's death as the leader of the old party, the people of the old party in the court are in a state of panic. It would be better to first demote a few members of the new party to intimidate the court and the public.'"
New Party: ??? You don't want to listen to the bullshit you're spouting!
"What's outrageous is that Empress Dowager Gao thought this made a lot of sense, so Zhang Zao, who was in power under the New Party, was made cannon fodder!"
"This line of thinking is so bizarre that I can't quite understand it. You issue an edict for the New Party one minute, and then the New Party's key members are exiled the next. Doesn't this clearly tell the world that the court's edict is as good as nothing?"
"Wang Yansou previously openly stated that Ren Antao was wasting national resources, so why isn't he criticizing Empress Dowager Gao now?"
"Perhaps the situation was too outrageous, and Lord Lü wanted to salvage it by transferring Zhang Dun, who had been exiled to Ruzhou, to the large prefecture of Yangzhou, in an attempt to ease tensions between the two sides."
"At the time, Zhang Dun was ill and paralyzed, but he still felt the court's goodwill and returned to the capital to take up his post."
"Alas, if Lord Zhang has not yet set off by now, please do not proceed."
Zhang Dun, who was packing his luggage (uneasily): ? ? ?
A farming whiz from the Ming Dynasty: Did I make a wasted trip?!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: This is outrageous! His mother opened the door for him! This is outrageous beyond belief!
……
"When Zhang Dun, dragging his ailing body, finally arrived in the capital, Empress Dowager Gao found out and felt that Lü Gongzhe had disrespected her by promoting someone she disliked, Zhang Dun. She severely reprimanded Lü Gongzhe and even revoked the decree."
"It was only thanks to Fan Chunren that Lü Gong managed to persuade Empress Dowager Gao to back down, thus giving her a way out."
"You should know that Lü Gongzhe was the son of Lü Yijian, and Fan Chunren was the son of Fan Zhongyan. Back then, Ouyang Xiu also tried to reconcile the relationship between the two families, but was severed ties by Fan Chunren."
"Even Ouyang Xiu probably didn't expect that while Empress Dowager Gao mediated the factional strife between the old and new factions during the Xining era, she would unexpectedly also mediate the factional strife between the old and new factions during the Qingli era. Who wouldn't say that this is both absurd and laughable!"
A certain internet-savvy teenager from the Ming Dynasty: Empress Dowager Gao: Just tell me if it's tuned or not!
A spoiled brat from the Tang Dynasty: Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter!
A farming whiz in the Ming Dynasty: Lord Zhang's trip was in vain!
……
"On the other side, Zhang Dun, upon learning of Empress Dowager Gao's actions, could only swallow his anger. He requested a transfer to Suzhou to care for his elderly father, but this resulted in fierce criticism from officials like Liu Zhi."
"Even Empress Dowager Gao intervened, stating bluntly that Zhang Dun's crime was tantamount to a capital offense and he was not entitled to a pardon!"
"It wasn't until after Zhang Dun's father had passed away that he returned to Suzhou with the help of Lü Gongzhe. The father and son never managed to see each other one last time."
A peasant boy from the Ming Dynasty: This is too much! Why are you pushing him like this!
A romantic scholar from the Tang Dynasty: A bunch of people are crazy, they wouldn't even let someone's father see them one last time!
Zhang Dun of the Northern Song Dynasty: !!!
……
"As for Empress Dowager Gao and Duke Lü, seeing Empress Dowager Gao's various outrageous actions, they must have felt quite helpless. What could they do with such a useless teammate? She was the Grand Empress Dowager!"
"However, the censorate forces led by Liu Zhi slowed their offensive at this time. Had they suddenly become wiser? Of course not!"
"It turns out that after the New Party members were successively sent to other posts, a position in the central government became vacant. These junior officials hoped that their elder brother, Liu Zhi, could fill this position, so they extended a friendly gesture to Lü Gongzhe."
"Although Liu Zhi was a cunning and treacherous man, he wasn't stupid and wouldn't be a hindrance like Empress Dowager Gao. Therefore, Lü Gongzhu accepted their offer and made Liu Zhi the regent."
"This small circle has made peace, but these two forces are only a small part of the court. There are also the Shu School led by Su Shi and the Luo School led by Cheng Yi."
"Both of them have followers, and unsurprisingly, they dislike each other. Of course, Liu Zhi dislikes both of them as well."
A farmer in the Ming Dynasty: My goodness! A group of grown men divided into several small groups!?
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: I feel like things are getting a bit confusing!
A spoiled brat from the Ming Dynasty: Their emperor seems so tired!?
……
"So after these three entered the court, they frequently engaged in mutual insults. The insults among scholars were always the same: your thoughts are garbage, your character and morality are corrupt, your opinions are ruining the country, and so on. They even used the same insults they used against Wang Anshi to apply to themselves."
"Ahem, I digress. Let's get back to the main topic. In December of the first year of the Yuan You era, Hanlin Academician Su Shi was setting questions for the examinations for official positions at the Academy. In essence, he outlined the strengths and weaknesses of both the reigns of Emperor Renzong and Emperor Shenzong, hoping to reconcile the relationship between the old and new factions."
"However, during Emperor Renzong's reign, politics was always used by the old party as a pretext to attack the new party. Su Shi used this as a negative example, which was quite bold of him. This caused even those who disliked Su Shi to break down in their defenses, becoming furious and ready to attack him."
"The first to launch an attack was Zhu Guangting, Cheng Yi's younger brother, who said that Su Shi's actions were disrespectful to the ancestors and deserved punishment. Censor Wang Yansou also joined in, and they impeached Su Shi on the spot."
"However, Su Shi was no stranger to social interaction. His friend Lü Tao refuted his accusations, which led to an impeachment by his adversary, Wang Di. Lü Tao suggested that only Su Shi be punished, and the officials who had spoken out should be spared."
"Now it all depends on how Empress Dowager Gao, the head of the family, chooses!"
A romantic and talented scholar from the Tang Dynasty: Wait, were court sessions really this chaotic later on? They've become a place for debate!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: I'm rooting for Su Dongpo this time!
"Empress Dowager Gao valued Su Shi quite a bit, so this time she joined forces with Lü Gongzhe to resolve the dispute, and the censors rarely suffered a setback."
"A bellyful of anger always needs an outlet, so they turned their attention to the New Party, who were watching the spectacle from the sidelines."
New Party: ??? Not getting involved is wrong, getting involved is wrong, it's so annoying!
"It was clear that Empress Dowager Gao did not care about the conflict between the old and new factions. With key members of the new faction being successively transferred to other posts, her previous decree to reconcile the old and new factions became meaningless. The court failed to seize this opportunity, and thus, the Northern Song Dynasty gradually descended into collapse."
"Actually, if there were a powerful monarch at this time who could maintain emotional stability, perhaps the two parties, the new and the old, would have a chance to reconcile."
"It can only be said that Empress Dowager Gao lacked both the talent and the ability to uphold her principles when facing these ministers, which is somewhat regrettable."
"The Yuanyou era was marked by a longing for the reign of Emperor Renzong, but Emperor Renzong's emotional control was exemplary. It is said that the former Bao Zheng, who became a censor because he dared to speak frankly, often berated Emperor Renzong, even spitting on the emperor's face, and Emperor Renzong would just smile and nod!"
Bao Zheng: I swear I didn't! This is blatant slander!
Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen: Why do I feel like being an emperor is a bit frustrating? Wait, did this actually happen?!
"However, Empress Dowager Gao failed to learn even a fraction of this, leading to a deteriorating relationship between the two factions!"