Sheng Du and Song Shou also came over and looked at Lu Yijian with worried eyes.
In the past, Lü Yijian had the style of having the final say in the government affairs hall. In the past, Wang Zeng would argue with him, Cai Qi and Song Shou each supported their side, and Wang Sui and Sheng Du would watch the show.
But now that he had encountered a big problem, he still had to ask Lu Yijian for the decision.
In the final analysis, in the past, the most that was debated was a difference of standpoint, and the arguments were mostly about different opinions on some local policy arrangements.
But now it is almost a stage of life and death for the entire bureaucratic scholar-official class. The situation is different, so they naturally can only want to find someone who can make decisions and take the lead.
Lü Yijian knew what they were thinking, so he pointed at himself and said self-deprecatingly, "I'm from a conservative interest group, and you're asking me this?"
Wang Sui smiled awkwardly, revealing a mouthful of old teeth.
During the time when Zhao Jun's eyesight was not healed, he cursed all the bureaucrats and literati of the Song Dynasty, except for the incompetent emperors of the previous dynasties.
They have now become the conservative interest group mentioned by Fan Zhongyan, and have already stood in opposition to Zhao Jun.
"No matter what, it's still Prime Minister Lu who has to make the decision on this matter."
Sheng Du stepped forward and said, "Under Zhao Jun's instigation, the government has become increasingly harsh, somewhat austere. While this may not be a bad thing, it's not necessarily a blessing for the Song Dynasty."
He put it rather tactfully, but everyone understood what he meant.
Lu Yijian sighed, "There are things that others can say and do, but we cannot. This is the sadness of being a ruler."
"Yes, if we say it, we will be alienated from the government. If we do it, we will be at odds with the government. Because the government cannot let the Song Dynasty perish, we cannot let the Song Dynasty perish either."
Song Shou shook his head.
"Everyone understands these principles, but the scholar-officials cannot be destroyed in our hands."
Wang Sui spread his hands and said, "Besides, Zhao Jun advocates the use of force, suppressing the literati and elevating the status of the military. Are you worried that he might reform military law and restore the Han and Tang military systems in the near future?"
After this sentence was spoken, everyone fell silent again, because this was still a sore spot for the scholars.
The Song Dynasty's distorted policy of suppressing military power and prioritizing literati stemmed from the aftermath of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, when military officials were overindulgent. After the establishment of the Song Dynasty and the rise of literati, they were relentlessly suppressed, resulting in a state of servility among Song Dynasty military officials.
But Zhao Jun was a believer in the use of force and advocated restoring the Han people's martial spirit.
Now that his eyesight has been restored, he is gaining power step by step and is already suppressing the literati. What should he do if he continues to use military men?
No one spoke, and no one responded.
Lu Yijian sat back at his desk, lowered his head and looked at the official documents for a while, but he couldn't concentrate.
Glancing over, I saw that Wang Zeng was also upset and had thrown his pen aside.
No one is in the mood to work.
The government's attitude changed drastically today, causing everyone to feel a sense of crisis.
The literati and officials had achieved their current status through hard work over three dynasties, but the appearance of Zhao Jun now gave the government other ideas.
If they continue like this, the literati will be finished. Who will still have the mood to work?
"well!"
Lu Yijian suddenly sighed deeply, looked around, and said, "I have a method that can delay it, but it can't stop it. Would you like to hear it?"
"Oh? Prime Minister Lu really has a plan?"
Wang Sui and others immediately became excited and stood up from their seats and walked to Lu Yijian.
Even his old rival Wang Zeng looked over, wanting to hear what he had to say.
Lu Yijian smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It's not really a plan, it's just to get things back to their original normal state."
"What on earth does Prime Minister Lu have in mind? Tell me about it."
Wang Sui urged.
Lu Yijian looked around. The Council Hall was heavily guarded, and the Imperial Guards were waiting outside the door.
Originally there were some lower-level officials waiting to be dispatched in the Council of Government, such as the Inspectors and Supervisors of the Five Departments, namely, the Department of Personnel, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Military Rites, and the Department of Punishment. Now they have all been driven out, leaving only a few clever young eunuchs to serve inside.
Seeing his expression, Song Shou said to the eunuch not far away, "You guys go out first."
"yes."
The young eunuchs retreated.
Although it was a bit absurd to plot in the government hall, they all knew some things that could not be hidden from the government.
Zhao Jun had already analyzed the political system of the Song Dynasty so clearly to the emperor that he already knew what the literati hoped to gain and what they were afraid of losing.
How could the government not know about these few casual complaints?
Maybe it was done on purpose for the officials to hear.
However, the current conspiracy involves Zhao Jun, and many things are not convenient to be told to outsiders, so we naturally have to act with caution.
After everyone had left and only a few prime ministers were left in the room, Lu Yijian whispered a few words.
"There's already a barrier between us and the Emperor. If the Emperor wants to ensure that the Song Dynasty doesn't perish, then he'll definitely side with Zhao Jun."
"So if we want to ensure that the scholar-officials don't perish, we can't just think about getting Zhao Jun to integrate into the scholar-officials. Instead, we need the scholar-officials to try their best to get closer to Zhao Jun and make them the weapons in Zhao Jun's reform hands."
"As Zhao Jun said, no matter what policy we take, it's inseparable from the administration of officials. Reforming the administration of officials isn't actually a bad thing. Even if our students and former officials, their descendants, suffer as a result, the government is soft-hearted. If we stay close to them, to Zhao Jun, we might be able to benefit our descendants."
"Perhaps we were wrong from the beginning. The Song Dynasty is no longer what it used to be. Now that we have a bright future, we can't stand in the way. That would be like trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm. Perhaps a different approach will work."
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