Inside the Imperial Palace, in the Wende Hall.
Song Shenzong Zhao Xu, who had only ascended the throne for three years, sat behind the imperial desk, watching his officials debate the Green Sprouts Law.
Wang Anshi, unkempt with visible oil stains on his cuffs, extended his slightly withered right hand and pointed at Ouyang Xiu, shouting, “Brother Yongshu, do you have any idea why the court is poor and weak? Or do you wish for the Green Sprouts Law to suffer the same fate as the Qingli Reforms!”
Zhao Kuangyin seized power through a military coup. After establishing the dynasty, to prevent military officials from emulating his actions and becoming regional warlords, he centralized administrative, financial, and military powers, and adopted a system of dividing responsibilities to maintain central authority.
Politically, he implemented rule by scholars, and militarily, he adhered to a policy of internal consolidation and external weakness.
At the same time, to weaken the power of civil officials, he introduced the practice of multiple roles for a single office. Coupled with the widespread use of imperial examinations and the system of hereditary privilege, he pursued a policy of appeasement, showering officials with favors, leading many to cling to their positions. The bureaucratic structure became vast and bloated.
This was the problem of surplus officials.
To prevent invasions from northern ethnic groups, the Song Dynasty implemented a policy of maintaining a large army, forming a vast military system.
Maintaining an army meant that soldiers were paid wages.
Concurrently, to prevent military officials from gaining too much power, the "Gengshu Law" was enforced, ensuring that soldiers and commanders did not become familiar with each other. Although the soldiers were numerous, they lacked elite training, placing them at a disadvantage in external conflicts.
This was the problem of surplus soldiers.
The surge in the military and official ranks led to increased financial expenditures, exacerbating the already strained government finances. Furthermore, the rulers indulged in grand construction projects and the building of temples and monasteries, resulting in "redundant expenses."
These "three redundancies" were not ailments of a single day but had, over time, caused the Great Song Dynasty to become impoverished and weak.
As the court faced a deficit in its expenses, it had to extract resources from the populace, levying various taxes under different pretexts.
In times of peace, this might have been manageable, but prolonged warfare, coupled with natural disasters causing reduced harvests, made it impossible for the common people to withstand such pressure. Consequently, some began to rise in rebellion.
Throughout the Song Dynasty’s three-hundred-year reign, there were over 400 peasant uprisings. In the first 160 years of the Northern Song alone, there were 203 incidents, with the uprisings of Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun being representative.
Of course, the heroes of Liangshan and the Fang La uprising also occurred, though they had not yet transpired at this time.
Ouyang Xiu had, along with Fan Zhongyan, presided over the Qingli Reforms. However, due to the dominance of the conservative faction, the reforms ultimately ended in failure.
That failure came at a heavy price.
By bringing up the Qingli Reforms now, Wang Anshi was undoubtedly reopening Ouyang Xiu's wounds and rubbing salt into them.
This literary scholar’s greatest flaw was his low emotional intelligence; there was nothing to be done about it.
Ouyang Xiu’s beard trembled with anger. He and Wang Anshi were once friends, and he could not fathom being treated in such a manner.
He had not felt this hurt even when falsely accused of grave-robbing by Jiang Zhiqi five years prior.
At least, at that time, it was obvious to all that it was a false accusation.
But now, being thus suspected by a friend was truly unbearable.
His lips moved for a long time, wishing to retort, but considering Wang Anshi’s stubborn nature, he finally stepped forward to the imperial desk and bowed, clasping his hands.
“Your Majesty, I have been transferred to Qingzhou as governor for a year now, and I implore you to allow me to leave the capital and assume my post.”
This was already his umpteenth request to leave his post, all of which Zhao Xu had previously refused.
Zhao Xu, behind the imperial desk, also wore a look of helplessness, pressing his temples with both hands to calm himself.
Whenever such moments arose, the debates among the court officials were always a case of each side having their own valid points, making it truly a headache.
After a while, he sighed, “Prime Minister Ouyang’s health is not well; he should remain in the capital to recuperate.”
The capable ministers left by the late emperor were few. If they were all dispatched from the capital, he would have no one to consult when issues arose, which was why he was reluctant to let them go.
“Your servant’s eyes are dim and his judgment is clouded; I am unable to assist Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to show leniency and grant my departure from the capital!”
As Ouyang Xiu spoke, he prepared to kneel and kowtow.
This was a great禮 (li, a formal ritual). Zhao Xu quickly emerged from behind the imperial desk and supported him, saying, “Prime Minister Ouyang, why is this necessary! It was merely a thoughtless remark by Jiefu; why take it so personally.”
“From what I understand, you and Jiefu are still friends in private; there is no need for this.”
“My mind is made up; I implore Your Majesty to show leniency!” Ouyang Xiu’s expression was indifferent, devoid of his usual spirit.
“Brother Yongshu, Qingzhou is a distant place; it would be best to remain in the capital and recuperate,” Su Dongpo quickly interjected, seeing the situation.
“Report~~~”
Just then, an imperial guard appeared outside the hall.
Zhao Xu’s eyes lit up with joy, and he quickly summoned him in, asking, “Is there important news to report?”
He emphasized the words “important news” and gave the guard a meaningful look.
Having a temporary urgent matter provided ample reason to divert the issue of Ouyang Xiu requesting to leave the capital.
The imperial guard stepped into the hall, cupped his hands, and reported, “Reporting to Your Majesty, two Taizong Emperors have descended from the sky outside the palace!”
Zhao Xu: ???
I asked you to conjure up a major incident as a diversion, but not to conjure up something this massive!
All the officials were equally bewildered. This was preposterous!
Taizong Emperor, and two of them at that?
This was a joke!
Ouyang Xiu said with a wry smile, “Your Majesty, even if you don't want me to leave the capital, you shouldn't have had him fabricate something like this, should you?”
“Yongshu, wait a moment.” Zhao Xu waved him off, then walked over to the imperial guard.
“You said, two Taizong Emperors, descended from the sky?”
“Yes, I dare not lie, Your Majesty. A group of people indeed descended from the sky, just outside Xuande Gate. The messengers said that Emperor Taizong of Tang and our dynasty’s Taizong were among the group.”
The imperial guard, sensing the unusual atmosphere in the hall, nervously wiped the sweat from his brow and continued.
“Ah, yes, Your Majesty. When I came to report, our dynasty’s Taizong was beating Scholar Sima.”
This caused everyone in the hall to become restless. Sima Guang being beaten outside Xuande Gate – was this not a grave matter?
Zhao Xu’s anger also flared. He turned to the ministers in the hall and said, “My esteemed ministers, let us temporarily postpone our discussions. How about we accompany me to Xuande Gate to take a look?”
“As you command!”
“Your Majesty, I believe we should bring the Imperial Guards along. If these fiends act unlawfully, they should be struck down on the spot!” Zhang Dun suggested from the side.
“Granted!”
Zhao Xu flicked his sleeve and was the first to step out of Wende Hall, heading outside.
Outside Xuande Gate, Sima Guang had already been beaten into a pulp.
His cheeks were swollen as if he had stuffed walnuts inside, and his eyes were also bruised like a panda’s. His old face, originally full of wrinkles, was now smooth and shiny, with not a single wrinkle to be found.
“Your Majesty has arrived~!”
As the eunuch accompanying the guards from the gate let out a shrill cry, the imperial guards slowly opened the heavy palace doors.
Zhao Guangyi shook his wrist and got up from Sima Guang, then strode out of Xuande Gate, observing the approaching figures from within.
Sima Guang scrambled up from the ground and scurried past Zhao Guangyi, disappearing into the palace gates.
This movement was certainly not befitting of an old man in his fifties!