"I'm not trying to whitewash Cai Jing and Qin Hui, because they didn't stick to their original aspirations, and that group of scholars and officials weren't good people either. But from a political perspective, isn't this the fault of Song Huizong and Wanyan Gou? These foolish, shortsighted kings, led by a group of scholars and officials who only knew how to maintain the monarchy, together fooled the people and sold out the interests of the country in exchange for a lingering survival. It would be unjust if this country didn't perish."
Zhao Jun bluntly stated, "So, to sum up, if you want a strong country, you must have a broad vision and a broad perspective. At the same time, you also need a group of farsighted elite bureaucrats. Given the foolish nature of the Song Dynasty's Zhao emperors, do you think it's possible to expect them to produce farsighted leaders and turn all their officials into elite bureaucrats?"
After the speech, everyone fell into deep thought.
Many people say that if the emperor of the Song Dynasty wanted to touch the interests of the literati, he would end up drowning.
Actually, not entirely.
Because the imperial power of the Song Dynasty was much greater than people imagined.
In terms of military power, it was firmly controlled through the Privy Council in the two governments, so that the generals were unaware of the soldiers and the soldiers were unaware of the generals, thus preventing threats posed by military generals.
In terms of government, the power of the prime minister was dispersed through the Three Departments, and only the Political Affairs Hall was retained. The prime minister had administrative power, and the heads of the three provinces basically did not participate in political affairs. At the same time, the finances belonged to the Three Departments, and the powers were checked and balanced.
In this way, the powers of government affairs, finance, military affairs, etc. were separated independently, and the power of the prime minister could not be monopolized, so the real power was in the hands of the emperor, forming the "two ministries and three departments" system unique to the Song Dynasty.
Therefore, during the Northern Song Dynasty, there were two large-scale reforms that harmed the interests of the literati, namely the "Qingli New Deal" and the "Wang Anshi Reforms". Neither of them posed a threat to the imperial power. It was only because the literati resisted and passively refused to cooperate that the two reforms failed.
Therefore, in a sense, the Northern Song Dynasty was a time when imperial power was relatively strong in feudal society. Throughout the Northern Song Dynasty, there was no truly powerful minister like Zhang Juzheng of the Ming Dynasty. It was not until the Southern Song Dynasty increased the power of the prime minister that a large number of powerful prime ministers were born.
Zhao Jun believed that although the Song Dynasty had developed economy and trade, prosperous commerce, and showed signs of the budding of capitalism, the ruling class of the Song Dynasty lacked foresight and held power too tightly, making it naturally difficult to promote industrial development.
However, since he was blind, he was completely unaware that the Song Dynasty's emperor and ministers were lost in thought at the moment, and the entire conversation venue was filled with silence.
This silence made Zhao Jun feel a little uncomfortable.
He was waiting for someone to respond.
Even if it was just one word from Wazamuguo or Granima, the two argumentative people, who refuted me.
But no one spoke, as if they were all mute.
This made Zhao Jun very uneasy.
So after this silence lasted for almost two or three minutes, he broke the deadlock and said, "Why, did I say something wrong?"
Still no one spoke.
Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and others kept silent. Even Fan Zhongyan, who was usually outspoken and dared to offend even the prime minister, remained silent.
Because the content of the conversation involved imperial power, they did not dare to touch these bottom lines.
Therefore, the only one who could respond was Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Zhen quickly recovered and realized this, then spoke with difficulty, "Teacher Zhao is indeed a child of destiny. You are absolutely right. I have benefited greatly from your words."
"That's a must."
When Zhao Jun heard that even the nitpicker Wazamuguo was praising him, he immediately said proudly, "I'm a history student, so I must study these things in depth."
Zhao Zhen pondered and said, "If Song Zhezong died and Song Huizong did not become emperor, could the Song Dynasty have been prevented from falling?"
"It can't be stopped."
Zhao Jun shook his head. "No matter who becomes emperor, even if they know what the Jin will do, they won't be able to stop it. The Song Dynasty is rotten to the core. The army is rotten, the bureaucracy is rotten, and even the wisest and most powerful emperor will be useless."
"Irreparable?"
Zhao Zhen asked.
"It's irreversible. Even if a Li Shimin appeared, he could only stop the Jin attack. Then what? A wise and powerful emperor will die sooner or later. Can you guarantee that every emperor will be wise?"
Zhao Jun scoffed, "Song Zhezong was already a pretty good emperor for the Northern Song Dynasty, but his successor, Song Huizong, simply destroyed it. The Qin Dynasty fought for six generations and ultimately unified the country. But all it took was one Hu Hai to bring about its downfall in the second generation. Feudal dynasties are inherently fragile."
"Is there no emperor who can sit on the throne forever?"
Zhao Zhen asked again.
"No, even in modern society, countries are overthrown. Park Kaka overthrew the democratically elected president. Political changes happen every day in Africa. Even in Southeast Asia a few years ago, there was the famous scene of Myanmar's military vehicles surrounding the parliament. Not to mention ancient times."
Zhao Jun shook his head. "So, Qin Shi Huang's wish of 'lasting for the second, third, and ten thousand generations,' is impossible to achieve. You must remember, there is no eternal system, no best system, only the most suitable system. And there is always only one way to ensure the longevity of a country."
"What is it?"
Zhao Zhen breathed rapidly and asked impatiently.
"It means a prosperous nation, possessing a military force that intimidates its enemies, a trustworthy reputation, and a global influence. Internally, the rule of law is fair, everyone enjoys dignity, everyone lives a prosperous life, everyone can eat their fill, and their material and spiritual pursuits are satisfied."
Zhao Jun said seriously, "If such a country really existed, then even if it was a feudal society or a primitive tribe, it would be stable both internally and externally. As long as this was maintained, the country would not decline or perish!"
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