vrcanaries Chapter 101 Dun: I, Hu Han 3, am back!
Chapter 101 Dun: I, Hu Han 3, am back!
Back to the live broadcast room.
Lin Ke then said, "However, Yang Wei's actions at the time were not an isolated case. Officials from the Censorate who were promoted during the Yuanyou era, such as Lai Zhishao, Shangguan Jun, and Xu Junping, all expressed their willingness to sever ties with the Yuanyou ministers and embrace the new dynasty."
Yuan You Minister: Bah! Traitor!
"Of course, compared to Yang Sanbian, this group of people still have more principles, at least they don't act recklessly like him."
"But these officials are not the kind of people who are ignorant of the new law. Many of them had participated in Old Wang's reforms, so they are quite accepting of whether the law is new or not. Aren't they all just trying to make a living?"
"In general, the support of these censors was beneficial to Emperor Zhezong's later success."
Wang Anshi of the Northern Song Dynasty: I think my new laws are quite good!
Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty: Stubborn Prime Minister, I actually think my method is better!
Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Xu: ...What the hell are you arguing about!
"In February of the ninth year of the Yuanyou era, Li Qingchen and Deng Ruofu, two veteran officials of the New Party, were finally recalled to the court and became the rulers."
"As mentioned before, Emperor Zhezong's initial attitude towards the Yuanyou ministers was more Buddhist-like. He used this ambiguous attitude to confuse the old party while simultaneously laying his own pieces within the power circle and accumulating his own strength."
"Even though this young emperor has been brainwashed by the Yuan You ministers around him for several years, he seems to be a natural-born monarch when it comes to playing political games. I wonder if it's an instinct born into an imperial family?"
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: After all, he is Emperor Shenzong's child!
An official from the Tang Dynasty: Accumulate strength gradually and proceed cautiously, step by step!
Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Xu: Good boy!
……
"After the New Party gradually gained control of the discourse, Li Qingchen and Deng Ruofu immediately proposed a new direction for governance before the emperor: King Wu of Zhou continued the path of his father, King Wen of Zhou... So the Great Song Dynasty should also continue the path of the late Emperor Shenzong, which is called 'succession'."
"In order to further consolidate his imperial power, Emperor Zhezong held a civil service examination a month later, which was the first time he had held a civil service examination since he took personal control of the government."
"The policy essay was written by Li Qingchen. It mainly consists of two points: one is to praise the new laws of the Shenzong reign, and the other is to criticize the chaotic government of the Yuanyou reign."
"On the other side, the Yuanyou ministers gradually sensed that something was wrong, but they were helpless. No matter what the Emperor Zhezong’s ambiguous attitude was or the out-of-control censors, they could not unite. After all, these people had been fighting in the court for many years since they expelled the New Party."
"Emperor Zhezong also discovered this point, and adjusted the court's layout step by step, gradually disintegrating the internal forces, thereby bringing the New Party back."
Emperor Zhezong of Northern Song: Secretly doing bad things!
New Party: Hey~ We're back!
"Lu Dafang also understood that the situation was hopeless. After stepping down as the mausoleum commissioner for Empress Dowager Gao, he repeatedly requested to be transferred to a post outside the capital. He was eventually granted permission. Su Zhe was unwilling to leave. He angrily impeached Li Qingchen and, citing the example of Emperor Zhao of Han correcting the harsh policies of Emperor Wu of Han in his later years, emphasized that the Yuanyou era was about adjusting the national strength, not about chaotic governance."
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: ...
The optimist Su Dongpo: Brother! Hold it in!
"However, his impassioned speech was quickly seized upon by the New Party, who impeached him, saying: 'Since you believe that the Yuan You era's reconciliation with the Shenzong era is like Emperor Zhao of Han reconciling Emperor Wu of Han's chaotic rule in his later years, then do you believe that the Shenzong era was Emperor Wu of Han's chaotic rule in his later years? How dare you disrespect the late emperor!'"
"At this time, Empress Dowager Gao was no longer there to protect Su Zhe, so Emperor Zhezong of Song simply wrote a few lines, and Su Zhe began his journey of demotion."
"And Emperor Zhezong finally dealt with Lü Dafang and Su Zhe, who insisted on the will of Empress Dowager Gao. Next, he set his sights on Li Qing and Deng Ruofu. These two were moderate but lacked prestige in the New Party and could only serve as a transition between the old and new parties."
"Moreover, he hoped that Shaoshu would follow in his father's footsteps, expanding the borders to the northwest and waging war against the Western Xia, so he had to find someone with greater prestige."
A Ming Dynasty soldier: Is Zhang Dun coming back?
A Tang Dynasty official: He sounds like a very ambitious person.
A young soldier from the Han Dynasty: Perhaps it's because of his father! (This is according to the observations of a scholar.)
……
"One month later, Emperor Zhezong of Song forcibly changed the ninth year of Yuanyou to the first year of Shaoshu."
"Perhaps he really couldn't stand the Yuanyou era anymore. It was a time that gave him only unfriendly memories. He wanted to create an era that belonged to him alone."
"So on April 21 of that year, one person finally returned to Kaifeng and was appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently the Vice Minister of the Chancellery, becoming the prime minister of the court."
"This person is Zhang Dun, a veteran of four reigns who is only sixty years old and also a founding father of the New Party."
"Besides him, there were two other people—Zeng Bu and Cai Bian, and these three eventually became the three most important leaders of the New Party during the Shaosheng Yuanfu period."
Zhang Dun: I, Zhang Miao, am back!
Zeng Bu/Cai Bian: Me too!
"Many people later believed that the Shaosheng Shaoshu during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song was the third stage of reform in the Song Dynasty after Wang Anshi."
"During this period, the Song Dynasty not only made up for the institutional problems left by the Yuanfeng reforms during the reign of Emperor Shenzong, but also created the most brilliant achievements in the mid-to-late Song Dynasty after the war in the northwest."
"The person who helped Emperor Zhezong achieve such brilliant results was Zhang Dun, one of the ministers he appointed."
"Although Zhang Dun was not a disciple of Wang Anshi's New Learning, he was one of the few who could be compared to Wang Anshi."
Lin Ke paused for a moment before continuing, "Furthermore, Lord Zhang did not betray Wang Anshi, which is quite commendable compared to others. His understanding of the reforms was more inclined towards Wang Anshi's Xining period than the Yuanfeng reforms of Emperor Shenzong."
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: Should we nominate Zeng Bu and Lü Huiqing here?
Zeng Bu/Lü Huiqing: Where's your manners?!
"Moreover, his proactive approach to expanding the borders also contributed to Emperor Zhezong's later military achievements."
Wang Anshi of the Northern Song Dynasty: Not bad, not bad!
Optimistic Su Dongpo: Oh, back then I had my younger brother, and we took the exam together!
Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Xu: Oh my child, you're amazing!
Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Xu: I feel a little embarrassed to be praised by my father!