"Even powerful nations of later times, whose productivity and technology are over a thousand years ahead of yours, still require a large number of intelligence agencies to maintain their existence. Even our great China needs a national security department. Why do you think it's not possible? Do you think your capabilities surpass those of all future powers? Or do you think you have surpassed the wisdom of future generations?"
"Ultimately, it's all about your own selfishness, wanting your group to have more power and more freedom of action. You don't want to have a pair of eyes watching over your head and a pair of ears listening. Many officials appear to be selfless and honest, but secretly do more outrageous things than anyone else."
"Do you know what Han Yuan, the current magistrate of Mizhou, did when he was the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture? And what do you know about what Wang Yiwen, the magistrate of Xiuzhou, did when he was the censor? Don't tell me these are isolated cases. There are so many of them that they are not isolated cases, but the norm in officialdom."
"Honestly, Lü Yijian and Wang Zeng, you've left a good reputation in history books. Don't force me to scold you. Could you please get out of your bureaucratic system and think about the interests of the people and the country instead of just pursuing your own selfish desires?"
At the end of his speech, Zhao Jun almost roared, his saliva almost splashing on everyone's faces.
Although he had read some history of the Song Dynasty before, he didn't know much about it and only knew the surface situation. So when faced with the deception of this group of old foxes, he didn't think too much about it and just believed it.
It has been more than 20 days since he regained his sight. When he really went to understand the situation, the information stored in the Imperial City Bureau and the information given to him by Fan Zhongyan were enough to make him dumbfounded.
Although there is nothing new under the sun, as long as Zhao Jun does not care about those things, and only thinks about romance, and has fun in the brothels, whorehouses and theaters in the inner city every day, and does not pay attention to the sufferings of the world, then he will pretend that he has not seen these things and that they have never happened.
Even further, Zhao Jun only cares about himself and doesn't care what the Song Dynasty will become. He chooses to go along with these people, which is completely against his conscience. He only cares about his own promotion and wealth.
But the problem was that Zhao Jun had his own ideals. He had no interest in the Song Dynasty, a country that was poor, weak, and had never been strong. He was only interested in making the Chinese nation great again and preventing the Han people from being enslaved by foreigners.
That's why he would go deeper to understand and see the darkness of the Song Dynasty, and go wherever there were problems.
However, it doesn't matter if you don't look at it, but you will be shocked when you see it.
The pile of information Fan Zhongyan provided was outrageous. Who would have thought that the entire Kaifeng Prefecture was, in all likelihood, tainted with corruption? The pile of files in the Imperial City Office was even more outrageous, with many of them including members of the imperial family.
The most terrifying thing is that these are just the tip of the iceberg. The Imperial City Bureau has also been corrupted, and it is common for insiders to buy and sell information. Many more things have been hidden and never seen the light of day.
Therefore, during the questioning by these people today, Zhao Jun became more and more angry, so he simply exposed these crimes, tore off their hypocritical masks, dissected these scholars from the inside out, and exposed their black hearts.
Hearing Zhao Jun's question at this moment, everyone looked at each other in silence.
The unspoken rules in the officialdom of the Song Dynasty were basically that I take my own gold and silver, and you do your bad things. Everyone understood this tacitly. On the surface, everyone was happy, and there were rarely any conflicts.
Now Zhao Jun has torn open the bloody reality and severely slapped the faces of those scholars and officials who clamored that the holy emperor should "rule the country with ease".
To put it bluntly, these people were not actually corrupt officials, and historical records did not say that they were treacherous ministers.
But now, apart from the military power and the power to appoint and dismiss senior officials, the emperor has almost all the ownership rights seized by the bureaucrats and literati.
In this way, the officialdom is supported entirely by people with wealthy families or who are upright themselves, and the remaining seven or eight out of ten are corrupt officials. What will happen if this continues?
So Zhao Jun told a lot of truth.
truth.
That's the most unpleasant thing to hear.
"Why, are you all silent? Honestly, we won't know until we investigate. If we continue to investigate further, I'm sure you gentlemen will be embarrassed."
Zhao Jun sneered, "Just because you can refrain from greed and take bribes doesn't mean others can't. You haven't done anything wrong, so why fear an investigation? I'm not going to kill the entire officialdom, but the current situation truly requires rectification. Otherwise, even if you can survive the Jingkang Incident, do you have the confidence to survive the rise of the Mongols under the pressure of the people?"
"So what are you going to do next?"
Lu Yijian's face was as gloomy as water, and he finally opened his mouth to ask.
Zhao Jun said without hesitation, "Reform is not limited to the officialdom, but also to external affairs. I intend to follow the example of the great sages of later generations. I will devote myself to the officialdom and understand its shortcomings. At the same time, I will support the government in strengthening the functions of the Imperial City Bureau, so that the Imperial City Bureau can be spread throughout the country and even abroad."
"Okay, in that case, then you should work hard on the imperial examination."
"Well, the Autumn Examination will be here in a few days. I hope you can focus on your studies first."
“Only by reading more books can one gain wisdom.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that Zhao Jun had no intention of giving up the idea of entering officialdom.
Because before Zhao Jun regained his power, they had already felt that Zhao Jun was very murderous. They were afraid that once Zhao Jun regained his power, he would go on a killing spree, so they wanted to lure him into the game.
First, it can slow down the speed at which he seizes power. Second, he hopes that the system will assimilate him. Even if reforms are implemented in the future, they will be more moderate and not kill all corrupt officials at every turn.
What they didn't know was that Zhao Jun was just a keyboard warrior at the time, not realizing he was in the Song Dynasty. It was only now that he had truly arrived in the Song Dynasty and witnessed this dark corner that he truly wanted to kill people.
Therefore, although the result is the same, the process is different. If they had chosen a gentler approach and fully supported his ideas, perhaps Zhao Jun would not be so angry and fight against them now.
"well."
Yan Shu sighed deeply, stood up, and said, "The officialdom really needs to be restructured now. Civil unrest is raging everywhere, and seeking change is not a bad thing. I just hope that you can handle it well, Jun. If the Imperial City Bureau becomes a knife, I'm afraid it will hurt many innocent people."
"Okay, I got it."
Zhao Jun said, "You know the situation in the Song Dynasty just as well as I do. If you can sincerely support my reforms and stop interfering in my decisions, the future of the Song Dynasty will be much brighter. I hope you can also see things clearly and stop sitting on the wrong side of the fence."
Everyone had stood up, and after looking at each other, they bowed to Zhao Zhen and said, "Your Majesty, we will take our leave."
This time, Zhao Jun has completely taken control of the power of the Imperial City Administration.
Although only the three ministers and three counselors agreed reluctantly, the officials below would probably still make a fuss. But as long as Zhao Zhen and Lu Yijian remained silent, it would be of no avail for the officials below to make a fuss.
(End of this chapter)
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