Chapter 631: Sitting and Discussing
In the sight of Xue Xu, Fan Yang and others, three flat-bottomed boats were launched into the water and slowly rowed towards the empty boat in the middle.
On the boat in the middle, Qin Sheng helped Lu Songli onto the boat.
Xie Zhan also boarded the ship, bringing with him an unfamiliar guard, Ji Zhen. This man was his new subordinate, and he had a very high fighting ability.
Zhang Zhongxian's boat was the slowest to reach the shore. There was no other way. Zhang Ci was just a weak scholar and could not row as fast as the other two.
There was a long square table on the deck of the ship.
Among the three parties, Lu Songli, Xie Zhan and Zhang Zhongxian took their seats one after another.
Qin Sheng and Ji Zhen stood behind Lu Songli and Xie Zhan respectively. Zhang Ci also stood obediently behind his father, not daring to breathe.
Zhang Zhongxian looked at Lu Songli, Qin Sheng, Xie Zhan and others, and felt that they were all the best of this era.
Xie Zhan and Lu Songli were sitting opposite each other at the long table, and he looked at Lu Songli.
Qin Sheng: "Can we start?"
Xie Zhan said, "Of course you can, but who starts first?"
Lu Songli: "We don't care."
"Then let Mr. Zhang decide?" Xie Zhan suggested.
Lu Songli: "Okay."
Zhang Zhongxian pondered for a moment, then looked at Xie Zhan, "General Xie, will you come first?"
Xie Zhanxian said, "Master Zhang, I've come here this time because the Emperor has asked you to come out of retirement and take charge of the situation. You are aware of Dali's illness, and the situation is worse now than it was ten years ago. Dali needs you, and the people need you too."
After he finished speaking, Lu Songli slowly said, "Master Zhang, we in Pingzhou also need you. I think it is better to draw a new map than to make changes to an old one."
Xie Zhan raised his eyes slightly and looked at Lu Songli, "The old map you mentioned is Dali. It once supported thousands of people. Now it is just sick."
These words made Zhang Zhongxian feel very emotional. Dali was indeed sick.
"Do we abandon it just because it's sick? Just like our parents, do we abandon them just because they're old and frail?"
Lu Songli raised her eyebrows when she heard this. Is this a substitution?
"First of all, Dali is just a dynasty, not our parents."
"Secondly, it's not just sick, it's old. Life and death, sickness and death, the changing of seasons are natural laws, as are the rise and fall of dynasties."
Xie Zhan asked her, "Doesn't Pingzhou have the same problems that Dali has? Even if there aren't any now, will there be any in the future? Instead of solving problems, they just give up. Is this Governor Lu's way of doing things?"
"That's a good question. It's a very complex issue even at the national level." Lu Songli commented on Xie Zhan, "Xie Zhan, you're only the Grand Commander of the Army of Dali. You don't have the qualifications to sit down with me and discuss statecraft. Now, I'm giving you this opportunity."
Even if you now control the government, almost acting as a regent, so what? Do you dare to speak out? It's not legitimate.
Xie Zhan's face darkened. Her words were harsh, but they were also the truth. As long as he was not the master of Dali, he would always be inferior to her.
Qin Sheng looked at Lu Songli with shining eyes. He really liked Lili like this. Yes, that's it. Strike Xie Zhan mercilessly!
Zhang Ci didn't dare to breathe, the oppressive feeling of having him standing next to her was too strong.
"Now, let me answer your question..."
Lu Songli organized her words to answer his questions.
She would not be naive enough to think that there would be no corruption in Pingzhou. Pingzhou is now in a period of expansion and rapid development.
This period brought huge benefits to Pingzhou. Almost everyone in Pingzhou, from top to bottom, enjoyed the dividends brought by the development during this period.
Therefore, everyone works very actively and hard.
In the future, when Pingzhou develops to a certain stage, or when its expansion is completed, it will have reached a certain limit, which also means that the period of rapid development has stopped.
At this time, it is necessary to rectify Pingzhou from top to bottom and purge the ranks in order to keep Pingzhou strong.
This requires talents like Zhang Zhongxian.
To put it bluntly, Pingzhou is currently in a period of desperately trying to expand its market. As everyone works together to expand the market, it doesn't matter if someone steals a little. The benefits Pingzhou will reap are far greater than those lost.
But when the pancake is almost done, those who steal it will be punished if they don’t stop eating it!
This is a contingency plan for the upper level.
When that period really comes, problems will also arise at the grassroots level.
"People have different abilities, so naturally there are rich and poor. In Pingzhou, some people live well while others live poorly, but we will not exploit and force people to the point where they can't survive."
"We in Pingzhou are committed to protecting the right to survival of our people. We won't let them toil hard but struggle to survive. This is exactly why I came to see Master Zhang. It's always better to prevent problems than to remedy them later."
After hearing what Lu Songli said, Xie Zhan was stunned.
But he quickly grasped another point: "It's a cycle, a cycle. If we don't try, how can we escape this cycle?"
Lu Songli replied, "Replacing the old with the new is inevitable. Even if it's reincarnation, at least every reincarnation is progress."
Xie Zhan quickly said, "This is our disagreement. Elder Zhang, this is an opportunity. If the reform is successful, it may provide a new approach for those who come after us. Even if a new force emerges in the future to replace Dali, we won't have to fall into a repetitive short-term cycle, which will benefit the people."
This debate is not a simple debate, but a clash of paths and governing philosophies between the two sides.
Zhang Zhongxian listened very carefully.
Lu Songli asked back, "Everything you do is just to protect the interests of you and your family. Are you now asking the people to pay for your experiment with this new idea?" Even if Xie Zhan's idea is beneficial to the people in the future, he is making the people today suffer.
"No, that's not the case." Xie Zhan gathered his thoughts and said, "Da Li's overall strength is definitely stronger than Pingzhou's. Pingzhou is just a strong branch that wants to replace Da Li's main trunk. After the reform and the redistribution of wealth, Da Li's national strength will return to its heyday. The pacification of Pingzhou is just around the corner."
"Choose the lesser of two evils. If Elder Zhang joins Pingzhou, it will only intensify and prolong the internal strife between the two sides. The longer the internal strife lasts, the more the people will suffer. It will only be a waste of national strength."
"The Emperor and I both want to end this internal strife as soon as possible and allow the people to recuperate. Please consider this carefully, Elder Zhang."
Zhang Zhongxian also knew that the harm caused by war to the people was unspeakable, and the longer the war lasted, the more suffering the people would suffer.
Lu Songli smiled playfully. Wasting national strength? Does that mean Pingzhou won't be able to achieve anything?
"Emperor Taizu of Dali led 300 soldiers to kill the governor and start an uprising. At that time, he never thought that he could establish a country."
"Speaking of wasting national strength, what about the Dali court's abandonment of nearly a million civilians in Liangzhou and the northern border? They treated them like worn-out shoes back then, and now they're showing pity for the nation's strength?"
"Song Mo is not good enough to be the ruler of the world. What's wrong with letting the capable take over? This country didn't belong to the Song family before."
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