What is the predicament of the Great Zhou? Where is the solution?
The meaning of this title is what difficulties the Great Zhou is facing now and what solutions there are.
So what is the problem with the Great Zhou?
It was the emperor who was self-righteous and used imperial power to maintain balance and condone party struggles.
It was the civil servants who abused their power and ran rampant in the court, which allowed collusion between officials and businessmen to run rampant. The civil servants provided better promotion channels and tax evasion protection to the chaebols and landlords who were close to them. At the same time, these wealthy businessmen provided a large amount of funds to the officials, and the status of the scholar-official class became increasingly higher.
During the Yuan and Jing dynasties, scholars had the highest status.
All things are inferior, only reading is superior.
This situation reached its peak.
This led to an empty treasury and heavy taxes were placed on the people. Although it seemed that a lot of money was collected, in fact, it all went into private pockets.
What needs to be done at this time is reform, taking action against the group of civil officials, and conducting a major purge.
But Da Zhou was already terminally ill and beyond cure.
Those in high positions have no intention of saving the country and are only pursuing their own selfish ends.
This is true for the Wen Party and the Qingliu Party as well.
It's time to start a war. Song Chi can't change anything. He can only send Da Zhou on his way and ask him to die!
As the saying goes, there is no construction without destruction, so the situation became a complete mess.
The real intention of setting this exam question was that the imperial court wanted the candidates to endorse it in order to justify the imperial court's conscription of soldiers and grain.
If you were to write in a tactless way that the main problem of the Zhou Dynasty today is factional strife, treacherous ministers causing chaos in the country, and that forced conscription should not be carried out, then you would be totally wrong and would definitely fail the exam.
If you write in the emperor's heart, you will definitely be appreciated and you will have the potential to become the next Song Shiwen.
It took Song Shiwen only a few years to go from being a doctor in the Ministry of Rites to the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and all he relied on was an article.
Song Chi also wants to do this. He wants to be a treacherous minister and the prime minister.
Don't you want a reason to levy heavy taxes? I'll give it to you.
An essay suddenly appeared in Song Chi's mind.
In the second year of Xining reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi actively implemented reforms. Due to political differences, Su Shi asked to be transferred to other places and served as an official in Hangzhou and other places.
During the Jiayou period of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty, Su Shi presented a policy paper to the court. Based on the inevitable situation of war at that time, he suggested making preparations early to avoid unexpected disasters.
This policy paper is titled "Teaching on War and Defense".
At that time, the Northern Song Dynasty emphasized culture over military power, and Su Shi's suggestions were based on the current situation.
The Great Zhou is completely different from the previous situation. What it needs now is not war, but recuperation, accumulation of national strength, and reform to become stronger.
But Song Chi still had to write it to please his superiors.
He thought about it and started writing without any hesitation.
"The greatest worry of the people today is where the safety of the country lies. It is because they know safety but not danger, they are able to rest but not to work. This worry is not evident now, but will appear in the future. If we do not take measures now, we will end up in a situation that is beyond our control..."
Song Chi picked up the pen and began to write without any pause.
"Teaching on War and Defense" is a famous essay, and Song Chi used it as a framework for revision.
The Great Zhou Dynasty dominated the Central Plains. Eastern Chu, Northern Wei, Western Xia, and Nanyue were originally neighboring vassal states that should have paid homage to the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, they have become increasingly presumptuous in recent years, and even small barbarians dared to provoke them. In order to deter the surrounding villains, we should train our troops and prepare for war!
This is the core idea of Song Chi’s Ce Lun.
He wrote furiously and finished in a short while.
Just as he had put down his pen and taken a break, several people led by Crown Prince Mu Yunyin came to the examination room where Song Chi was.
One can tell his identity by looking at his attire. The other one is His Royal Highness Prince Qing who has been pursuing Liang Qingwu?
This man clearly has a cold-hearted look. In comparison, the prince is handsome.
"Just sit still and don't get up." Lu Taiyuan smiled and waved his hand, intending to take care of him.
Everyone knows that Song Chi is the head of the Donglin Academy in Jiangzhou Nandu Academy. Even the competition for the throne is open, so why should he pretend?
This is also a means of winning over, to show in front of Song Shiwen that Song Chi is a member of my Qingliu Party.
Song Shiwen sneered in his heart but said nothing.
Mu Yunxiu walked to Song Chi's desk and happened to see the policy paper Song Chi had just finished writing.
"You've already finished the first question. Let's see what good advice you, the champion of Jiangzhou, can offer the court."
He casually picked up Song Chi's test paper. If he was really talented, then he would be like real gold that is not afraid of fire. If he was a waste, then he would just discard it.
If Lu Taiyuan hadn't persuaded him, he wouldn't have lowered his status and come here.
The examination questions for this time were written by the emperor himself.
His intention was the same as Song Chi's. He wanted to start a war against the Northern Wei Dynasty, but the people were so angry that he didn't know how to quell it.
It’s just very obscure, and I don’t know if any candidate can answer it perfectly.
Mu Yunxiu wanted to see if Song Chi was the talented candidate.
He picked it up and glanced at it casually, then looked into it unconsciously.
The greatest worry of the present age is, what is the safety of the nation? It lies in knowing safety and not danger, and being able to rest and not to work hard.
This opening section is well written and the entry point is perfect.
What is the real trouble with the people nowadays? It is that they know comfort but not danger, that they can enjoy ease but cannot endure hardship.
This disaster cannot be seen now, but it will appear in the future. If we don’t find a solution now, there will be danger that it will be difficult to remedy in the future.
This problem did exist in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Because of its dominance in the Central Plains, people are arrogant and only know how to enjoy themselves without any worries.
The article is good, but it is not what they want.
Scholars serve those in power, and the articles they write also serve the rulers.
Good or bad is determined by demand.
Mu Yunxiu thought about it, but still wanted to continue watching, but soon his expression changed.
I thought the article would continue with the usual remarks about the court paying attention to people's livelihood and developing water conservancy, but I didn't expect there would be a twist.
The ancient kings knew that the army could not be withdrawn. Therefore, even when the world was at peace, they did not dare to forget about war.
Mu Yunxiu read carefully word by word without blinking, and his eyes became brighter and brighter.
The writing is sophisticated and the strategy is clear. In fact, the whole article only expresses one point of view and strategy, which is to recommend that the whole nation prepare for war!
Isn't this exactly what the emperor wants?
Isn't this exactly what he wants?
My father launched the war to retaliate against the Northern Wei invasion, and also to intimidate the surrounding areas.
He wanted to start a war in order to win the position of crown prince in this war.
The prince also wanted to start a war in order to gain military power through war.
The three of them had the same idea, and all the civil and military officials in the court could benefit from it, so this war broke out. Only the people were unwilling, so they had to be appeased.
This policy article perfectly explains the reason.
If you disturb the people for no reason, even if there is a little fear, what is worse than the danger that may come at any moment?
Mobilizing the people to prepare for war without any reason may cause some slight panic among the people, but which is more serious than the sudden danger of the country being in danger one day?
This is the last sentence, the whole article is finished!
It is also a stroke of genius, which has the effect of adding the finishing touch.
Reading it makes one feel heroic.
This is truly a perfect policy paper, a policy paper that the court needs most at the moment.
Mu Yunxiu took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Based on this article, Song Chi deserves to be the first in the Holy Examination!"
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