I studied in modern times

Chapter 799: Lu Huiqing's unusual movements
"Chuanzheng..."

As soon as Pu Zongmeng stepped into the capital hall, he saw Lu Gongzhu head-on.

He and Lu Gongzhu are naturally "old friends".

Starting from the first year of Yuanfeng, Lu Gongzhu returned to the court and served as the deputy privy envoy.

At that time, Pu Zongmeng was a Hanlin scholar in the court.

At that time, one of Pu Zongmeng's political enemies was Zhang Chengyi, the Privy Councilor who was executed for "unfilial piety" by the current emperor.

And Zhang Chengyi, Pu Zongmeng's mortal enemy, was naturally Lu Gongzhu's man.

Finally, with the defeat of Pingxia City, Lu Gongzhu asked to leave.

The struggle between Pu Zongmeng and Zhang Chengyi also ended in a victory or defeat.

Pu Zongmeng had the last laugh!
Zhang Chengyi was banished from the capital, while Pu Zongmeng was promoted to Shangshu Zuocheng, reaching the peak of his official career.

however……

Soon, backlash from all sides followed.

Pu Zongmeng knew very well in his heart that Zhang Chengyi was counterattacking.

As descendants of Xu Guogong Zhang Qi, although the Zhang family has declined, its influence inside and outside the palace is unmatched by ordinary people.

It is simple and easy to fabricate a scandal about Pu Zongmeng.

Besides, he has a dirty bottom to begin with!

In addition, the Lu family was behind the scenes, adding fuel to the fire.

so……

When Pu Zongmeng heard the news that the Zhang family was uprooted and Zhang Chengyi was executed for robbing his father's grave, he danced with joy.

Unfortunately……

Lu Gongzhu was appointed prime minister!

And now he is the Prime Minister with great power!
Pu Zongmeng looked at Lü Gongzhu, who was smiling in front of him, and immediately stepped forward and bowed: "I am Pu Zongmeng, your humble servant, and I pay my respects to the Left Prime Minister!"

"Why is Chuanzheng so polite?" Lu Gongzhu helped Pu Zongmeng up: "After so many years, Chuanzheng is still full of vigor, unlike me..."

Lu Gongzhu sighed, "I am already old and feeble!"

"The Zuo Prime Minister is old but still strong, a pillar of the country. How could he be like me, a subordinate, with a bad reputation..." Pu Zongmeng said self-deprecatingly.

"Why should Chuanzheng care about the opinions of ordinary people?"

Although both of them were smiling, their tone was gentle.

But the officials in the capital could all hear the hidden meaning of swordsmanship in the words of these two important figures.

So, they all wished they could install wheels on their feet, and they all lowered their heads and left quickly.

If they accidentally get involved in the fight between these big shots, these little people might die without even knowing how!

When Lü Gongzhu saw this, he said to Pu Zongmeng, "Chuanzheng, this is not the place to talk. Please follow me to my office to have a chat!"

"Your humble servant will follow the order of the Left Prime Minister!" Pu Zongmeng bowed and measured the distance very clearly.

He knew very well that there were countless eyes staring at him inside and outside the hall.

Watch his every move.

As for Emperor Zhao, his ancestral talent is - to control the big and the small, and to interfere with different opinions!

Therefore, since the Song Dynasty, the prime ministers in the capital have never been quiet.

No matter what their previous relationship was, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister and the last prime minister must fight to the death in order to satisfy the palace.

Is the whole hall harmonious?
nonexistent!

Back then, when Wang Anshi was in power, he had to fight with his favorite student, Lu Huiqing.

These are the rules of the game.

Oh……

Not right either!
Yes there are exceptions!

The exception was when Han Jiang, the recently retired Duke of Kangguo, was in office!
But, how many people in the Song Dynasty could be like Han Jiang, who could reassure the people in the palace and at the same time use flexible tactics to make everyone follow his rhythm?
Apart from other things, who else could be like Han Jiang, who time and again, almost swallowed his pride and asked Sima Gong to come to the Labor Law Review Office for "education"?
Even though Sima Guang refused again and again, he still insisted on inviting him!
Therefore, Han Jiang can only be a special case.

Pu Zongmeng knew that if he wanted to enter the two governments again, he had to tell everyone that he and Lu Gongzhu were not on good terms!

However, he also had to tell the palace that this discord was a private matter and would not affect official business.

This can be regarded as a skill that civil officials have developed to adapt themselves after successive dynasties played the game of "controlling the big and the small, and mixing up different opinions".

So Pu Zongmeng stayed in Lu Gongzhu's command hall for more than an hour.

The prime minister of the current dynasty and the former ruler were chatting and laughing, but, according to the legend of the clerks in Lu Gongzhu's office.

The left prime minister and the scholar were not in harmony with each other, and they exchanged sharp words and mocked each other.

……

Zhao Xu looked at the report sent by Shi Deyi.

He pursed his lips slightly, and then made a comment: "Good double act!"

Zhao Xu had seen through this trick in his previous life.

A typical example is the frequent conflicts between Zhang Dun and Zeng Bu.

The people under the two men were fighting all day long.

However, the national political situation during Shaosheng and Yuanfu remained stable.

No matter they fought, whether it was the war on the front line or the internal affairs at home, Zhang Dun and Zeng Bu cooperated with each other tacitly. Zhao Xu saw through it but did not say anything. He remained neutral in their internal fighting, occasionally taking action to balance it out and cool them down so as not to get really angry.

"What everyone means is..." Shi Deyi raised his head: "The left prime minister and Pu Xueshi are colluding?"

Zhao Xu shook his head: "How is that possible?!"

Alliance between Lu Gongzhu and Pu Zongmeng?
This is equivalent to Sima Guang and Wang Anshi working together, Zeng Bu and Cai Jing being as close as a family, and Su Shi and An Tao becoming sworn brothers of the opposite sex!
Zhao Xu looked at Shi Deyi and said, "Don't worry about them!"

As a mature political figure, Zhao Xu knew very well that one has to get into the role when acting.

Typical examples are Zhang Dun and Zeng Bu in his previous life.

Zhao Xu had seen the ending of this pair of enemies in modern history books.

After Zhao Xu's death, they completely fell out!
Zhang Dun did not want to establish Zhao Ji as the emperor, but Zeng Bu advocated that Zhao Ji be established.

In the end, with the support of Empress Dowager Xiang, Zeng Bu had the last laugh, and Zhang Dun was completely defeated.

During the Shaosheng and Yuanfu eras, two important officials of the Song Dynasty who worked together sincerely and shared the same aspirations became enemies from then on!
why?
Because, that's human nature!

Attacking each other and finding faults with each other every day, even if they are father and son or brothers, they will become enemies after a long time!
What’s more, they are just two ministers who have no blood relationship?

Even if the two of them could hold on and stay sober.

Where are the people below?
What about those who followed them?
Oh, so you don’t want to fight anymore?

Can you understand Mr. Zhang (Mr. Zeng)'s true thoughts better than me?
The ministers in the court never have any way out!

Those fairy tales where grudges are forgotten with a smile will only happen after these people fall into the abyss, hit the bottom, and bow their heads in submission to their former opponents.

Before that, the ministers couldn't admit defeat even if they wanted to.

This kind of thing is not only happening in the Song Dynasty.

A thousand years later, it will still be the same.

No matter ancient or modern, no matter China or foreign!
The Zhao officials were well aware of this.

Therefore, the Zhao officials never hid this set of political tactics of "interfering with different opinions and restraining the big and the small", but told everyone openly - this is the ancestral system!
Not afraid of cracking at all!
Because no one can break this set of rules of the game in the Song Dynasty's system.

All the ministers of the Song Dynasty knew how to play this game, and they all understood that it was meant to restrict and clamp them.

But they can only play this game according to the established rules.

Willingly wrap oneself in a cocoon, get deeply trapped in it, and cannot extricate oneself.

Just like the exploitation and oppression of modern capital.

The rules are clear enough that capitalists are even afraid that others don’t understand, so they will use all means to explain their ways of playing to the general public.

Generation after generation of workers are pulled onto the production line and sent to their desks, working from 996 to 007, turning day and night upside down, selling their health, youth and sweat in exchange for money that is already in excess in the hands of capital.

Of course, you don't have to play.

But the consequence of not playing is that you won’t even have the chance to sell your health, youth and sweat in exchange for money!
They can only fall to the bottom of society and rot in obscurity.

The same is true for the Song Dynasty!

You don’t have to play!
Become a hermit or an recluse, live a life of contentment with poverty, and stay away from power and wealth.

But, as long as you have ambition and aspirations.

Then we can only participate in this game according to the rules that Zhao officials have already set.

Moreover, the Zhao officials are afraid that you don’t understand the benefits of this game.

I have specially written a simple, easy-to-understand and catchy poem to tell you: Books contain your own golden house, when you go out, don’t be sad that no one is with you; when you marry a wife, don’t be sad that there is no good matchmaker, when you marry a beautiful woman, there is a beautiful woman in books…

This is the same as in modern times, when capitalism uses the extravagance of the middle class to publicize, seduce and encourage young people to continue to participate in their games.

It's all an open conspiracy!

Unable to crack, unable to resist.

Even if you climb to the top, you are still a slave to this game!
The same is true for the Song Dynasty and capital.

I can only say that this moment is just like that moment!
so similar!
Zhao Xu put down the report in his hand and told Shi Deyi: "Don't worry about these things..."

"promise!"

"Oh, right!" Zhao Xu picked up another report and asked, "Mr. Lu, have you been to Anjiefang outside the new city these days to see the Li family's spinning mill?"

"Reporting to everyone, it is indeed true..." Shi Deyi lowered his head and said, "Mr. Lu has been there no less than three times in the past few days..."

"Husband, do you always reveal your identity when you go there?" Zhao Xu asked.

Shi Deyi shook his head: "Every time Mr. Lu went there, he pretended to be a Fujian merchant..."

"My husband even went to the spinning mill himself to watch the grandmother spinning yarn..."

Zhao Xu listened and nodded thoughtfully.

In Zhao Xu's impression, Lu Huiqing's economic awareness and business acumen were the best among all the civil servants he knew.

Zhao Xu didn't even have any doubt that even in modern times, he would be able to thrive and become a dominant figure in a certain field.

Maybe he can be as successful as Lei Jun and Ma Baoguo!
There is no way! He has a strong execution ability and a strong gambling nature!

At the same time, in order to succeed, he can ignore all moral and ethical norms and never have any psychological burden.

Among the important officials of the Song Dynasty, who could be like Lu Huiqing, who used the Confucian classics to endorse his own murder? And could he even justify his murder by saying that it was for the sake of the country and the people?
Even for the sake of benevolence, righteousness and morality!

So, Zhao Xu began to wonder what Lu Huiqing wanted to do?

"Keep watching..." Zhao Xu ordered, "Report to me if anything happens!"

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)