"This guy is really powerful. He finally forced the emperor to reveal his identity." Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei's hurried back and couldn't help but smile.

In fact, she was happy to see Zhang Fei know the emperor's identity, because she was as straightforward as her father, and she felt very uncomfortable being caught in the middle.

Look at Xu Zun. Whenever Wang Ye comes, he never shows up. ......

"Ah, ah, ah! Wang Ye, Wang Ye, isn't this 'Xu'? How could I be so stupid that I didn't think of this... It's not my fault, who could have thought that the official would be so shameless that he actually pretended to be my little fanboy to trap me. Fishing enforcement is not so cruel, and it's really too much to always catch one person to fish. What did I say to him before? I shouldn't have said anything wrong, right? After leaving Xu's house, Zhang Fei did not rush back to his own home, but stayed in the alley, carefully recalling his conversation with Wang Ye. After thinking about it, although he could not remember many of the contents of the conversation, after all, many of them were drunken words, but he thought that if he made the emperor unhappy, the emperor would not come to him today, and from the conversation just now, it was obvious that the emperor valued him more. Therefore, he immediately adjusted his thinking, not to think about the past, but to think about what was about to happen next. The emperor did not hesitate to reveal his identity and asked him about the reform, which shows what the next conversation is about, and This time Zhang Fei had to answer. Zhang Fei calmed down and began to sort out the whole thing. Although I have joined the game and have the support of Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, I still don't have a clear direction. Which side should I lean on? Following Wang Anshi is very risky. Under the current political system, it is almost impossible to achieve the goal of no additional taxes on the people and abundant national resources when productivity has not been significantly improved. Following Sima Guang, although there is a greater chance of winning, it is difficult to achieve anything. Now thinking about it, the reason is still... It's the government. Without the government's support, I can only act according to circumstances and jump around. If I have the government's support, I can also be like Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, and play with them. Yes, if you are a 25-year-old and jump around, you may die without a burial place if you are not careful. If you want to play, you have to be the banker. Even if you lose, you can blame yourself for your incompetence. If you are dragged down by them, you will die with regret. Zhang Fei was in the alley, thinking for a long time before pushing open the back door of his house. ..

"I...I am a humble commoner paying my respects to Your Majesty." When he arrived at the hall, Zhang Fei bowed and kowtowed, with an awkward smile rather than a polite one on his face.

"No need to be polite!" Zhao Xu looked at his expression and shook his head with a wry smile. When Zhang Fei stood up, he said, "I concealed my identity from you because I didn't want you to worry about these red tapes and have a close relationship with me." At first, he just wanted to meet this Zhang San, but as they chatted, they found that they got along quite well. Many of Zhang Fei's ideas coincided with his. As an emperor, he had no friends or confidants around him, so he kept his identity concealed from then on. Although he really wanted to get some answers from Zhang Fei, this was really different from concealing his identity.

Do I think my life is too long to be intimate with you? Zhang Fei nodded with an awkward smile, but then quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, no, I am humble, how dare I be intimate with Your Majesty." This was exactly what Zhao Xu didn't want to see, but he also knew that this was inevitable. He sighed and said, "Whatever you want." He stretched out his hand and said, "Sit down."

"I...no, Xiaomin."

"Please sit down!" Zhao Xu said again.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhang Fei sat down properly. Zhao Xu said helplessly, "Actually, I really don't want to reveal my identity, but if I don't do this, I'm afraid you will kick me out." Zhang Fei hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I am really wronged. I just wanted to go out by myself, but I didn't want to..." Halfway through his words, he seemed to feel that what he said seemed to be getting more and more wrong.

...

...

Zhao Xu laughed and said, "This is my fault. You don't need to worry." Zhang Fei didn't know whether to nod or shake his head.

Zhao Xu also noticed that Zhang Fei was very embarrassed, so he said seriously: "I have always hoped that you could serve as an official in the court and assist me in the reform. For this purpose, I even asked Xu Si to help, but you always refused, and you were skeptical about the reform, which also made me doubtful. Now that the reform is imminent, I must have a frank talk with you today." These words really came from the heart, and were also the main purpose of his trip.

Although Wang Anshi had told him how to govern officials, he always felt that Zhang Fei was still not optimistic about the reform because this guy made all kinds of excuses and refused to be an official.

Although Zhang Fei was only a minor adviser, many of his views were deeply recognized by Zhao Xu, and judging from his attitude in the lawsuit, he obviously supported the reform, which also made Zhao Xu somewhat uneasy.

At this moment, he must know the answer. Why do you just not think highly of the reform?

Otherwise, he would not feel at ease with his reform. Zhang Fei was really flattered. He really didn't know that the emperor valued him so much and cared about his opinion on such an important matter.

However, Zhao Xu really guessed it right. The reason why Zhang Fei was very cautious about entering the officialdom was because he was not optimistic about Wang Anshi's reforms, but at the same time he also did not agree with Sima Guang's austerity policy, which made him very conflicted.

Zhao Xu asked word by word, "What exactly do you think of the reform?" Zhang Fei pondered for a while and said, "Your Majesty, the main problems of our dynasty are the three redundancies, namely redundant officials, redundant soldiers and redundant expenses. The first two disasters are the main causes of the third disaster. Why doesn't the court directly prescribe the right remedy, reduce the number of officials, reduce the number of soldiers, and reduce salaries." Zhao Xu sighed, "If it were that simple, the New Deal of Qingli would not have failed!" Zhang Fei asked, "The court can't even save money, but has to increase revenue. Then the question is, who will eventually get the money?" The reason why Zhang Fei did not like Wang Anshi's reform was because Wang Anshi forcibly fitted a set of advanced financial management concepts into an old system, which was bound to fail.

Although Sima Guang's financial management ideas were completely confusing, he was very knowledgeable about politics, and his predictions were actually correct and very accurate.

Tax increases and tax hikes will eventually fall on ordinary people, no matter if it takes ten or twenty years, the result will not change.

Under this old system, the best way is for the court to reduce spending in exchange for tax cuts. This will reduce the burden on the people, stimulate civil vitality, and gradually increase tax revenue.

Zhao Xu said, "Grand Secretary Wang once said, 'Those who enrich their families endow their country, those who enrich their country endow the world, and those who wish to enrich the world endow themselves from heaven and earth.' Do you think this is wrong?" Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I think this is very right, but it's not the same thing as what I said?" Zhao Xu said, "Why is it not the same thing?" Zhang Fei said, "I'm not asking whether it's right or wrong, but whether it can be done. The current problem is redundant officials, and the solution is definitely to streamline the number of officials, but the court can't do it. It can be seen that the root of the problem is not to think about what to do, but whether the court can do it. Therefore, the first problem that the court must solve..." Zhao Xu said, "The legal system." In fact, Zhang Fei had mentioned this to him.

"That's right!" Zhang Fei said, "If Your Majesty really wants to enrich the country and strengthen the army, the first thing to do is to build a complete legal system, and everyone should abide by the law. On this basis, financial reforms will be more effective and successful. Otherwise, as long as the court increases taxes, the people will suffer, and it will fall into a vicious cycle. It is better to trust Sima Daxueshi and save the court's expenses in exchange for tax cuts for the people. At least the people will truly benefit."

"But building a complete legal system is easier said than done. It cannot be accomplished overnight, and now that the reform is imminent, I cannot back down!" Zhao Xu was already sweating profusely. Now that the reform is imminent, it is really cruel for you to say this to him.

He can't back off. He has to announce his policy this year no matter what. People are going to collapse.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I think this is a great opportunity." Zhao Xu was surprised and said, "Great opportunity?" Zhang Fei nodded.

"Your Majesty, you do not need to change your previous plan, but you can still fully support the reform of Wang Daxueshi. If it succeeds, that would be the best, but if it fails, then we must make sure that they perish together." Zhao Xutong's eyes suddenly shrank, and his face showed horror.

"Jade...jade and stone destroyed together?" Beads of sweat the size of beans dripped down his cheeks, and his entire back was already wet.

Zhang Fei nodded.

"If they don't perish together with us, how can Your Majesty make our Song Dynasty reborn from the ashes?" Zhao Xu asked anxiously, "How to be reborn from the ashes?" Zhang Fei replied, "The hidden dragon should not be used."...It was already three o'clock in the morning.

Lanterns were hung in front of the palace gate early in the morning.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"Ah? What's going on?"

"Your Majesty, we have arrived!" Zhao Xu lifted the carriage curtain and found himself in front of the palace. He got off the carriage and stood beside it for a while. Suddenly, the corner of his mouth raised.

"What a great move of the hidden dragon!" He laughed loudly twice, waved his sleeves, and walked lightly towards the door.

.....Zhang family.

"What did the emperor say to you?" Xu Zhiqian's bright eyes stared at Zhang Fei with great curiosity. She had been waiting, but she didn't expect that she would have to wait from morning till midnight. How could they talk for so long? What were they talking about?

So as soon as Zhao Xu left, she immediately came over. If she didn't ask clearly, how could she sleep tonight? Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I won't tell you."

"Why?" Xu Zhiqian said weakly, "I care about you, too."

"Care about me?" Zhang Fei rolled his eyes and said, "You hid this from me so hard, and you still have the nerve to say you care about me." Xu Zhiqian curled her lips and said aggrievedly, "I... I don't want to hide it from you either. What good will it do me? If you say something wrong, it will also implicate me. But the emperor has repeatedly warned me, do you dare to say it if it's your turn?" Zhang Fei hurriedly shook his head and said, "I don't dare either! So don't ask."

".......!" Xu Zhiqian was confused at once. Why did she just hand over the mask?

Zhang Fei yawned.

"Madam Xu, it's getting late. You should go back and get some rest! It's the middle of the night and my wife is not at home. It will have a bad impact." Xu Zhiqian stood up and snorted, "What wife? That's just fake. Don't be so self-indulgent." He had to make fun of this guy.

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Okay, okay, she is fake, but you are real, okay."

"Bah! You lecher!" Xu Zhiqian blushed and left angrily. Zhang Fei laughed, came to the door, looked up at the starry sky, and said with a smile: "Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, there are three people at this table now."