"Bang!"

Zhao Zhen angrily asked, "How could a small country like Vietnam be so arrogant?"

"The Song Dynasty's military is lax, and the neighboring countries dare to bully anyone. What can we do?"

Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "A good blacksmith must be strong himself. If you are not strong enough, you will only be bullied. This is one of the reasons why the Song Dynasty was criticized in later generations and anyone could step on it."

"well."

Zhao Zhen felt completely powerless. He suddenly understood what Zhao Jun was feeling and sighed, "Should we just let it go on like this?"

"This definitely can't go on."

Zhao Jun looked around and said, "So we must find a way to change all this. We must not let the Song Dynasty become a punching bag at the mercy of others, nor let it become a symbol of weakness and incompetence in future generations."

Wang once asked: "We are indeed changing now, and I believe it will get better in the future."

"It's not enough."

Zhao Jun said in a deep voice, "Whether it's the political system, military capabilities, economic development, education, scientific research, agricultural output, or domestic livelihoods, they're all far from adequate. We've only just made the beginning, and we need to work even harder."

Lü Yijian wondered, "Now that the Constitutional Court has been established, administration has become much faster. Isn't that good enough?"

“It’s definitely much better now.”

Zhao Jun nodded and said, "The political system is like a bottle. Regardless of whether it's advanced or backward, as long as it suits the national conditions, it will bring stability and enable national development. The bottle can hold water, give it shape, and increase its volume. Without this bottle, the country would be just water, flowing everywhere, a mess. But right now, we've only established the Constitutional Yuan, the bottle, and haven't yet filled it with water."

“How can I get water?”

Everyone was already accustomed to Zhao Jun's abstract metaphors, and couldn't help but ask.

"We will extend this efficiency to the whole country."

Zhao Jun said: "At present, only Bianliang has seen improvement. The whole country is still in chaos and people are still ignoring the central government. This is obviously not a good thing."

“How can we promote it nationwide?”

Lu Yijian asked.

It is the performance evaluation method of course.

Zhao Jun replied in his heart.

But he didn't say it.

Because it is still a carnival for redundant officials.

When the performance evaluation system comes out and they are completely wiped out, there will definitely be endless opposition from officials.

Therefore, it had to wait until Fan Zhongyan won the war before it could be implemented.

Zhao Jun said, "Now is not the time. Let's wait and see how the situation develops. But I hope everyone can unify their stance on national interests, with less opposition and more support."

"From the perspective of national interest?"

Zhao Zhen asked, "What does this mean?"

"The meaning is very simple. We must at least ensure that whatever we do is for the benefit of the entire Song Dynasty!"

Zhao Jun said, "The government is made up of a large number of people from different factions, interest groups, different thinking styles, and different working styles, all gathered around a single leader. Different people do different things, and everyone has their own reasons. The leader doesn't know which way of governing is right, so it's difficult to unite the country."

"Hmm"

Zhao Zhen felt that the leader Zhao Jun was talking about should be himself.

"But now I have told everyone the correct way to govern the country. If you still try to stop me, it means they are pursuing their own interests, not the country."

Zhao Jun looked around and said to the crowd, "Such a government is one where everyone has their own agenda, which is obviously not a good thing for the country. So I hope that when certain reforms are needed in the future, even if it means sacrificing your own interests, for the sake of the country, everyone will still firmly support it. This is what a united government should do, and only such a government can achieve its goals!"

This sentence has its own profound meaning.

Fan Zhongyan went to the northwest, and he himself was about to go on an inspection tour of various places, so it was inevitable that he would do something that would harm their interests.

Especially when Fan Zhongyan and I return in the future, we will promote administrative reforms.

Including the New Policies of the Qingli Period and the Performance Evaluation System, if they were to be implemented, they would inevitably cause a backlash from the entire bureaucratic class.

Therefore, Zhao Jun was also reminding them.

Know your own identity.

Once you enter the Constitutional Council, you are no longer a bureaucrat or scholar-official.

It represents the entire country.

The interests of the country are paramount. Sometimes, we should make choices instead of opposing the New Deal of Qingli as happened in history!

This is also a piece of advice.

(End of this chapter)