The Imperial Palace.
Yujian Pavilion.
Zhao Xu walked on a path lined with rockeries and flowing streams, but his face did not show the relaxed look of a vacationer. Instead, his brows were furrowed as he whispered, "The Imperial Edicts Song Minqiu and Li Dalin, the Censor Hu Zongyu, and the Imperial Censor Yang Hui?"
At this point, he tilted his head and looked at the guard beside him, "Are you sure it was them who did it?"
The guard said, "I am telling the truth. They happened to be in Panlou last night and must have heard what Su Zizhan said. Before dawn, they sent servants to secretly place this handwritten tabloid in front of the doors of various restaurants."
Because Zhao Xu had a bet with Zhang Fei, he specially sent someone to secretly monitor the matter, but he didn't expect that the tabloid would appear the next day.
This really surprised Zhao Xu.
"Why did they do this?"
Zhao Xu seemed very confused.
Hu Zongyu did impeach Wang Anshi, but Song Minqiu and Li Dalin were both moderates in the court and were devoted to learning, not fighters. Song Minqiu in particular could be considered a contemporary historian, especially one who had studied Tang history in depth. Zhao Xu admired Emperor Taizong of Tang very much and often talked with him about Tang history, so he knew what kind of person he was.
...
...
He was truly a scholar, with a collection of tens of thousands of books at home, including many rare copies. Writers such as Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, and Su Shi all went to his house to borrow books.
They are unlikely to engage in such intrigue.
The eunuch beside him suddenly said, "Su Wen, Song Zhigao loves writing, will they be against the ban on famous scholars publishing."
Zhao Xu glanced at the eunuch and nodded: "That must be the case. That must be the case."
At this point, he sighed and said, "If even they object, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to handle it."
Just at this moment, Lan Yuanzhen suddenly came here, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened."
Zhao Xu asked, "What's the matter?"
Lan Yuanzhen said, "There are more and more tabloids this morning, and hundreds of copies have been circulated among the people."
Zhao Xu was surprised and asked, "Have you found out who did it?"
Lan Yuanzhen said: "There is no need to check. It is those scholars who spontaneously copied the tabloid and distributed it to others, so the number of copies increased."
Then he added, "Your Majesty, if this continues, it may have an impact on Scholar Wang's new law."
He has always supported the new law. It's not that he agrees with the concept of the new law, but he doesn't like conservatives because they keep a close eye on eunuchs.
He and Wang Anshi had a common enemy.
Zhao Xu said: "I believe you will find a way to solve this problem."
He really didn't trust Wang Anshi in this matter, he trusted Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei had anticipated it and had his own solution, so there was no need for him to worry about it.
......
It turned out that this was all because Wang Anshi ordered Kaifeng Prefecture to investigate the matter, which directly led to the scholars in Bian Jing spontaneously copying the tabloid in order to protect the person who published the tabloid.
If you, Wang Anshi, have the guts, just arrest us all.
This was really unexpected for Wang Anshi.
Before, he thought that someone must be behind this and was trying to deal with him.
But now it seems that this is not the case.
This is also true.
There is really no one behind this matter, it is all spontaneous behavior.
Scholars in the Song Dynasty usually loved to discuss current affairs, criticize the prime minister, and criticize the emperor. When Wang Anshi and Han Qi were young, they also commented on this and that every day, because the atmosphere in the Song Dynasty was open.
This ban on discussing current affairs, regardless of whether it was in tabloids or not, made scholars feel very nauseated when they heard this. Even scholars who used to admire Wang Anshi now thought that Wang Anshi was a hypocrite.
You used to write various articles discussing current affairs, which were appreciated by prime ministers such as Bao Zheng, Ouyang Xiu, and Wen Yanbo. Now that you are the prime minister, you do not allow us to publish articles.
After all, "Mingshi Bao" only published one article, which was written by Han Qi, and it was also a traditional article. There was nothing wrong with it. Scholars would write this kind of article to discuss current affairs.
There is no reason for your ban.
Even some scholars who were indifferent to worldly affairs and devoted to learning were extremely disgusted with this. They also copied Wang Anshi's articles, read them all night, and showed them to others. So, is this considered a tabloid?
However, many vested interests in the court are only concerned about the issue of power. You, Wang Anshi, can ban us from publishing articles today, and you may ban us from speaking tomorrow.
As for the officials who had always been against Wang Anshi, needless to say, when they saw Wang Anshi coming to their doorstep, they quickly fanned the flames, got some cumin, and started roasting him.
This sudden storm immediately plunged Wang Anshi into a great political crisis.
Wang Anshi was really overwhelmed by the trouble.
I feel so aggrieved.
In the past, tabloids were dispensable and rarely seen, and you didn't care about them. Now, there is not even a month left, and it's as if you can't live without tabloids.
It's like I've done something terribly wrong.
"Master, we can't go on like this. We must make a decision quickly, otherwise the new law will be affected."
Lu Huiqing is getting anxious now.
Because he originally wanted to use tabloids to promote the new law, and at the same time attack Han Qi and step on Han Qi to get to the top. However, Wang Anshi directly cut off the source of the problem, and his plan failed.
This has dealt a heavy blow to Wang Anshi's reputation.
Because many people believe that Wang Anshi banned tabloids because he was worried that people would use the tabloids to discuss his new policies. This shows that there must be something fishy about these new policies.
You, Wang Anshi, are guilty as a thief!
Wang Anshi frowned and asked, "What can you do?"
There had never been such a case before, and he was somewhat at a loss as to what to do.
Lu Huiqing said: "Master, please report to the emperor immediately and ask him to abolish this ban."
Things have gotten to this point, and if he still enforces it by force, it will only cause more harm. No one will support him, and it will be impossible to ban it.
Wang Anshi seemed very hesitant. He did regret it, but he also thought that if he took it back immediately, wouldn't it prove that he was wrong?
But he always believed that his worries were not just the result of people worrying about nothing, but because they were short-sighted and did not know the harm.
Seeing Wang Anshi's hesitation, Lu Huiqing also knew what he was worried about, so he said, "How about going to Zhang San to think of a solution?"
Wang Anshi was stunned for a moment, "Looking for Zhang San?"
Lu Huiqing nodded: "This matter was caused by Zhang San. He also used this tabloid to help Xu Zhongtu get justice. It can be seen that he is very knowledgeable about this aspect. Why not ask him."
Wang Anshi was a little embarrassed and hesitated for a long time before he said, "Go find Zhang San."
"yes."
Soon, Lu Huiqing found Zhang Fei.
"You little brat, do you know how much trouble you've caused me?"
When he saw Zhang Fei, Wang Anshi just blew his beard and glared.
Zhang Fei said with a wronged look on his face: "Master Wang, how can you say that? If you said it was forbidden, I would obey your order immediately. If something went wrong, you can't blame me."
Wang Anshi said, "If you didn't publish the tabloid, would this have happened?"
Zhang Fei was about to cry but had no tears: "I was also forced to do that?"
"Who forced you?" Wang Anshi said, "You should have come to me at that time, and I would have helped you."
As expected of Wang Anshi, he begged for help so confidently. Zhang Fei knew it very well and was too lazy to argue with him. He said, "Now that things have come to this, then...what should we do now?"
Wang Anshi said: "You are the one who caused this disaster. You have to find a way to solve it."
Zhang Fei muttered quietly: "This disaster was obviously caused by you."
"What did you say?" Wang Anshi's eyes widened.
"No...nothing."
"What do you think we should do now?" Wang Anshi asked.
Zhang Fei hesitated for a while and said, "I...I told you, but I'm afraid you, Mr. Wang, don't like it."
Wang Anshi said: "No matter how harsh your words are, they are not as harsh as those people outside."
Zhang Fei said: "I don't think this can be done this way."
"Then why didn't you say it earlier?" Wang Anshi said with bulging eyes.
"I...!"
Zhang Fei almost swore, and chuckled twice: "Isn't it because Wang Daxueshi is doing this for my own good? I am not such a tactless person."
“Ahem!”
Wang Anshi coughed and waved his hands, saying, "Let's not talk about the past. How do we solve this problem now?"
Zhang Fei explained: "It is more difficult to prevent people from speaking than to prevent rivers from flooding. This is impossible to ban. The reason is simple. Scarcity makes things valuable. The more something is banned, the more valuable it is, and the more it will tempt people to take risks.
For example, the imperial court punishes smuggling salt and alcohol with a maximum sentence of death by hanging, but some people still take the risk. The imperial court is also constantly adjusting its policies in this regard to make it easier for merchants to obtain the right to sell.
Wang Anshi said: "But we must also guard against the harm of public opinion!"
Zhang Fei said: "The way to control water is to guide it properly. If it is guided properly, it can irrigate crops. The same is true for public opinion. Proper guidance of public opinion will be beneficial to national stability."
Wang Anshi asked: "How to guide them reasonably?"
Zhang Fei said: "Take the new law of Wang Daxueshi for example. No matter how you brag about it...!"
"Um?"
"Uh... ahem, no matter how earnestly you explain the benefits of the new law, in the eyes of others, it is just self-praise. No matter how reasonable your words are, there will always be people who doubt it. But if it is someone else saying it, the effect will be completely different. It is called a tabloid, but it can also be an official newspaper. An official newspaper with a tabloid as a cover is actually more convincing."
"An official newspaper with a tabloid hanging on it?"
Wang Anshi seemed to understand something.
He previously believed that public opinion cannot be controlled by businessmen. Zhang San is a businessman after all, but if this businessman is a person of the state, doesn’t that mean he is still controlled by the state?
And it's more effective.
The more I thought about it, the more I regretted it. Why didn't I turn this corner at that time?
Zhang Fei continued, "Not only that, only by allowing legal tabloids to exist can Wang Daxueshi punish those illegal tabloids."
Wang Anshi was furious and said, "Since you knew this, why didn't you say it earlier?"
Zhang Fei said: "Even if I said it at the time, Wang Daxueshi would not listen. After all, I am also a beneficiary."
Wang Anshi said, "Who said that? Didn't I listen to the advice you gave me before? Didn't it benefit you?"
Zhang Fei was speechless.
Wang Anshi glanced at him and asked, "What should we do now?"
Zhang Fei said: "We can only revoke this ban."
Wang Anshi sighed, "If I withdraw this ban, it means that I am wrong and they are right. Do you know how much impact this will have on my new policy?"
Zhang Fei thought for a moment and said, "I wonder if Grand Secretary Wang is willing to lose to the law?"
Wang Anshi was surprised and asked, "Lost to the law?"
Zhang Fei said: "Let's file a lawsuit."
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