Chapter 327 Undercurrents
Zhao Wubing, who was sitting on the big bed playing with puppet toys, saw his father. His delicate little face immediately smiled, and he spoke "Ahhh..." in baby talk, stretching out his two little arms to ask his father to hug him.
Regent Zhao Defang embraced his son lovingly and asked softly: "Lin'er, how about the puppet toys that Daddy carved for you? When Daddy is free, I will carve a legion for you, so that you can play the game of leading troops to fight."
Luo Li was amused and quickly took the opportunity to pack up the dozen puppets on the big bed. His father was the God of War of the Song Dynasty, and the toys he made for his son were all lifelike generals, war horses, and soldiers. She didn't want her baby son to lead troops to fight when he grew up, but there was no other way. Among so many toys, Lin'er liked to play this one the most. She
had no doubt about Zhao Defang's words. When he had time, he would really carve out an army and play games with his son about troop deployment and two-army battles. Because among these dozen puppet toys, there were several generals and soldiers who looked like Khitans and Dangxiang people. Every time Zhao Defang taught him, Lin'er would slap those foreign cavalrymen, "Hit, hit... hit!..."
The first pronunciation that the baby who had not yet learned to call his parents was the word "hit".
Luo Li was not surprised to hear Zhao Defang's account of what happened in the court today. What worried her was that she once again witnessed the cruelty of the young emperor Zhao Wuji. Using the blood of hundreds of thousands of people to clear the way for the emperor's uncle's new policy, it was a pity that a seven-and-a-half-year-old child could say such a cruel thing.
How can this turmoil and civil unrest result in fewer deaths and the smooth implementation of the new policy reforms? Luo Li frowned, and suddenly an idea flashed in her mind, "Newspaper!" Public debate is the most effective weapon.
"Zhao Defang, if you want to win public opinion, you can't just rely on word of mouth from the poor people who have benefited.
In this era, the right to speak is in the hands of the aristocratic families and the wealthy and powerful. Few of the great scholars who pass on books and establish theories are biased towards the poor people at the bottom. The poor people are illiterate and cannot use books and words to shout for their own interests. Start
a newspaper to compete with the aristocratic families for the right to speak, the direction of public opinion, and the will of the people."
"Newspaper?" Regent Prince Zhao Defang sat on the bed with his son in his arms, looked at the princess and asked seriously, "Is it something similar to the court bulletin issued by the court?"
: "Almost the same, but different. I'll think about it and make a detailed plan. If you see that it's feasible, we'll start doing it right away."
On the surface, the capital was calm and prosperous, but the undercurrents were surging, the waves crashed against the shore, and thousands of piles of snow were rolled up!
On the day of rest, few court officials had the leisure to go on an autumn outing in the suburbs, and few court officials were interested in drinking wine and attending poetry meetings. Few court officials rested at home, and they all gathered together to discuss the new policy that the Regent King Zhao Defang implemented in Shu and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.
Bohai County Prince Gao Huaide and Lu Guogong Cao Bin are loyal followers of the Regent Prince Zhao Defang. Although the new policy also harms some of their interests, they still follow the prince's ambition wholeheartedly.
In Cao's mansion, the two invited the trusted secret envoy Chu Zhaofu, the vice minister Luo Ji, the chief minister of the Dali Temple Shen Xi, the Minister of Works Zuo Dading, the Minister of Revenue Kou Zhun, and even the old lady She from Tianbo Yang Mansion was invited.
The secret was finally revealed. Kou Zhun excitedly explained the specific content of the new policy and what happened in Shu.
Although the old lady She was a woman, she was generous and open-minded. After listening to Kou Zhun's story, she excitedly slapped the table!
"Kou Zhun, it turns out that you have been missing for several months and went to Shu to personally participate in the trial implementation of the New Deal reforms.
After listening to your description of the results of these New Deal reform experiments, I, the Yang family, would be the first to raise my hand in support of the implementation of the New Deal in all parts of the Song Dynasty!"
Kou Zhun was very happy to see that his lobbying was successful, and he quickly gave him a few compliments. Kou Zhun deeply admires her.” Lady She laughed heartily
, “Kou Zhun, you are really good at flattering people!”
Cao Bin also raised his tea in admiration, “Lord Luo, I didn’t expect that you, who was in prison, would preside over such a revolutionary new policy reform experiment in Shu. I admire you!”
Thinking about what he had done in Shu, Luo Ji also felt a sense of accomplishment. He raised his teacup and said modestly, “Duke Lu, you are too kind. The new policy reforms were all formulated by His Royal Highness the Regent. I only It is only about the specific implementation."
Chu Zhaofu looked solemn, but there was a flame burning in his eyes, and he said: "Your Highness the Regent Prince is a man of great talent, foresight, and love for the people. This new policy may seem to harm the interests of the aristocratic families and the rich and powerful, but it will benefit tens of millions of working people.
If such a new policy reform can really be promoted and implemented throughout the Song Dynasty, five years later, the Song Dynasty will surely be strong and stand on equal footing with the world, and the Song Dynasty will truly last for thousands of years!"
Bohai County Prince Gao Huaide was a rough but meticulous person. He drank tea and silently observed everyone's reactions.
Shen Xi and Zuo Dading were high-ranking officials who came from humble backgrounds. Their family fortunes were not rich, and the land they owned was not even the highest standard of 1,000 mu under the new policy. Of course, they raised their hands to support the new policy of the prince.
Gao Huaide put down his teacup and said, "The new policy that His Royal Highness the Regent wants to implement will damage the interests of some aristocratic families and the rich and powerful, and will inevitably be strongly resisted.
We are all people who are loyal to the emperor and His Royal Highness the Regent, and we support the new policy of the prince.
So, the most urgent and necessary thing for us to do is to lobby the court officials who are close to us, and to keep an eye on those guys who want to fight to the death, so as to lend a helping hand to the new policy of the prince."
Everyone immediately agreed and discussed the tasks they needed to complete.
Other court officials also gathered in groups of three or five, each with their trusted colleagues, to discuss the pros and cons of the new policies of His Royal Highness the Regent.
The home of Minister of Rites Gu Pingzhou invited more than 50 guests, all of whom were officials of the court.
Cui Zhengqing, the Grand Scholar of Guanwen Hall, Lu Qian, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and Lu Mingde, the Imperial College Priest, arrived early. They really couldn't sit still at home, their hearts were anxious, angry, jealous and terrified, so they came to discuss an idea with their colleagues, how to fight against the new policies of Regent Zhao Defang?
After these officials from aristocratic families and wealthy and powerful families arrived one after another, they first angrily cursed the shitty new policy that harmed their family interests, and then calmed down to discuss countermeasures.
After everyone discussed and came up with their own ideas, the leader Gu Pingzhou stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then said, "We were all loyal and devoted ministers who supported the emperor and the regent. But now, the regent who has just sat firmly on the throne has come up with a set of new policies, which seriously damaged our family interests. If the new policy is really implemented, there will be no way for us aristocratic families and wealthy and powerful people to survive!
Therefore, we must fight to the death. We are not rebelling against the emperor or the regent, but the new policy that is extremely dark and cruel.
The regent holds the military power, acts decisively and ruthlessly, and the young, immature, and ignorant emperor supports him unconditionally. Therefore, we can only choose to fight with words, and cannot choose to fight with blood unless it is absolutely necessary. "
Everyone nodded frequently. Yes, they are not rebelling against the emperor or the regent, but the new policy. The regent holds the military power, they oppose the new policy but do not want to die.
Cui Zhengqing, the Grand Scholar of Guanwen Hall, asked anxiously: "Every word you said, Lord Gu, is reasonable. All my colleagues here are in the same camp without any second thoughts. Lord Gu, tell us how we should choose to fight with words? "