Lu Haowen, the Duke of Lu, was also working hard. Despite his age, he had to travel back and forth in such hot weather because Zhao Guan Jia was pretending to be ill.

However, the Duke of Lu's attitude was still very good. He acknowledged Zhao Guan Jia's political stance, agreeing that the families of the Imperial Guards should be collectively redeemed or directly pardoned, as this would bestow favor upon the soldiers and boost morale… In his words, ‘Tens of millions of cash have been scattered, it would be pointless to gain a bad reputation over such matters.’

However, the Prime Minister of the Capital opposed large-scale collective pardons, and even more strongly opposed abolishing the system of selling oneself into servitude through legal means.

“I understand some of Duke Lu's concerns,” Zhao Guan Jia, feigning illness in Dengfeng, said, though his face still lacked excessive expression, it was flushed and his speech was smooth. “Centuries-old systems and customs are deeply ingrained in people's hearts. The country is not in a normal state now, and suddenly changing such significant laws would only add to the chaos. It's better to wait until the situation stabilizes before discussing it in detail… However, I slightly fail to understand, why can't we give unified amnesty to the refugees in Hebei?”

“Because the war has been going on for several years, and many of the Hebei refugees have sold themselves not in Henan, but further south to Huainan, Nanyang, and even the southeast and Jingxiang areas,” Lu Haowen answered calmly in the pavilion beneath the flowering trees in the backyard of the Dengfeng County Office. “Your Majesty, Henan has experienced war and is where your Majesty has stationed the Imperial Guards. It concerns military affairs, so wealthy families are mostly understanding, and even if they aren't, they dare not and cannot cause any trouble. But those places are the rear, and some people may not know or understand the court's difficulties…”

Sitting opposite Duke Lu, Zhao Guan Jia's face remained expressionless upon hearing these words, but the anticipation he had before clearly vanished.

Obviously, he sensed the sincerity in Lu Haowen's words and realized the practical difficulties of the matter… Because, according to Zhao Jiu's meager understanding, such issues concerning personal interests, like ‘I do have a concubine I bought for five strings of cash,’ always face enormous resistance.

If he could be a peaceful emperor, with a stable and prosperous country, he could slowly sort these things out. But at present, during the war, the Jin's military threat is constant. Especially since the court just increased the commercial tax in the southeast and the in-kind tax in Jingxiang, further stimulating the rear would seem extremely inappropriate.

Moreover, putting aside the fact that people's joys and sorrows are not interconnected, one thing that awakened this time-traveler was that, or rather, he had already keenly realized when he reluctantly chose to raise taxes, that as the war against the Jin became prolonged and larger in scale, class conflicts would become increasingly prominent.

What's more frustrating is that the concept of a nation-state has not yet formed at this time, and it is very likely that a situation will arise where class contradictions and national contradictions are in conflict.

The front needs to resist the Jin, so the rear has to raise taxes.

The people in the rear are suffering unspeakably, but their pain comes from the court's exploitation, and they have no personal experience of the Jin army's danger, so they may choose to rebel… For the time-traveler, this is undoubtedly a commendable act, but this act is bound to weaken the front's resistance against the Jin, forcing those military forces that should have been used to resist the Jin, or even to maintain the peace of the rear, to be used to suppress internal rebellions.

And this was the reason why Zhao Jiu had specially summoned the generals that day and publicly showed his displeasure.

Because deep down, he always believed that, regardless of the superficial reasons, the resistance of the common people was always understandable and even correct in terms of basic motivation.

In addition, as a time-traveler, Zhao Jiu also had to face another problem arising from this, namely, his own positioning. And this matter was precisely a difficult problem he had to face recently.

First of all, why did he time-travel here? Leaving aside the ethereal theory of the Taoist ancestor's appointment, it was certainly to live well, and living well naturally meant doing meaningful things… So what are meaningful things?

Resisting the Jin!

This is beyond doubt.

Then, be a good emperor?

How to be a good emperor?

Integrate himself into this role, be a filial and virtuous descendant of the Zhao Song imperial family, learning from Emperor Guangwu to restore the country, and then be a ‘sage emperor’ like Emperor Renzong internally, and an ‘enterprising emperor’ like Emperor Shenzong externally?

At that time, the country's culture would flourish, and it would be radiant for a time… Presumably, he could also get a relatively high historical evaluation.

After all, he would definitely be more ‘sage’ than Emperor Renzong when he became a ‘sage’.

When there was a severe drought in the world, Emperor Renzong worked hard to pray for rain. He couldn't find a follower with water on the way, and he endured not drinking. Finally, he moved the heavens, and Tokyo had a timely rain, so that only the people of Yizhou in Jingdong continued to suffer disasters, and then they were so hungry that they chose to rebel, kill officials and rob food. What a sage this was! If it were him, he would definitely carry a large kettle and take the initiative to distribute some to others along the way, and maybe he could move the Taoist ancestor to issue an urgent decree from the Supreme Lord Lao, and even drop a few drops of rain in Jingdong!

And when he became ‘enterprising’, he would definitely be more ‘enterprising’ than Emperor Shenzong. After Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne, the Khitans came to blackmail him, and after asking all the old ministers, they all said that the Khitans could not be defeated, so they were ready to cede five hundred miles of land… If it were him Zhao Jiu, he would definitely only cede fifty miles! And he could still put the blame on the ministers.

But how could his heart bear such sageliness and enterprise?

The only thing to do is to go back to the original topic. In such an era, it would be ridiculous for him to forcibly maintain a time-traveler mentality and refuse to integrate into the values of the era… If that were the case, he could only end up being a rebel and be regarded as Shang Zhou and Xia Jie by everyone.

More importantly, nothing can be accomplished with blind resistance and opposition, let alone meaningful things.

"Your Majesty."

Beneath the flowering trees, the pavilion was full of fragrance. Seeing that Zhao Jiu had not spoken for a long time, Lu Haowen hesitated for a moment, but still felt uneasy. "Does Your Majesty really intend to help these refugees from Hebei?"

Zhao Jiu came back to his senses, smiled slightly, but instead of answering, he asked, "Duke Lu, my parents, sisters, brothers, and many relatives were all taken north during the Jingkang Incident, you should know that, right?"

How could he not know? Lu Haowen lowered his head and said nothing.

"And since ancient times, those who hold hostages should not value the hostages' lives in order to attack quickly… Duke Lu should also understand this principle," Zhao Jiu said slowly. "So, don't say that I am unfilial, but rather that in principle, I should have been indifferent. Therefore, after I decided to resist the Jin in the Mingdao Palace in Bozhou that day, I have always regarded the two emperors and the relatives taken north as dead people."

Lu Haowen thought of the doubts surrounding the well incident that day, and after a moment of silence, he said with emotion, "Your Majesty is indeed in a difficult position… We were too hasty."

"What are you talking about?" Zhao Jiu's face did not change. "I don't mean to blame you… Your thoughts and actions are mostly considered mature and patriotic… It is I who am sometimes inevitably narrow-minded because of my youth."

"I am ashamed," Lu Haowen finally rose and bowed in apology.

"Please sit down," Zhao Jiu continued to sigh. "Just now, Duke Lu asked me if I really wanted to help these refugees. Of course I want to help, because since I regarded the relatives taken north as dead people, I have vaguely had the intention of treating all the people in the world as my own relatives. That's why I was forced by Zong Zhongwu to swear not to point to the sky but to the people… How can I not worry when I see my own relatives being pawned and sold as objects?"

"Your Majesty is benevolent," Lu Haowen, who had just sat down, bowed again. "It is we who seem to be somewhat inconsiderate again… In fact, when I asked Your Majesty just now, I suddenly thought of a compromise."

"Let's not talk about this matter, I still have a question that I want to ask Duke Lu face to face today, you must know… Duke Lu has been the de facto prime minister in front of the emperor since the Mingdao Palace, and our monarch and ministers have gone through thick and thin, from Bagong Mountain to Nanyang, and then to Tokyo, and it's time for us to sit down and exchange ideas." At this point, Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment before gently calling out, "Duke Lu."

"I am here," Lu Haowen stood in the pavilion, startled in his heart, and solemnly responded.

"When Emperor Shenzong discussed the New Laws with Wen Yanbo, Emperor Shenzong said, ‘Changing the laws is indeed displeasing to the scholar-officials, but what inconvenience does it cause to the people?’ Wen Yanbo replied, ‘The world is governed with the scholar-officials, not with the people,’" Zhao Jiu said lightly, mentioning a past case. "What do you think of Wen Kuanfu's words?"

Lu Haowen looked serious, opened his mouth to speak, but stopped again, obviously thinking.

"Let's make it clear in advance," Zhao Jiu suddenly laughed. "I know that Emperor Shenzong's use of Wang Anshi to reform may not be really for the sake of the people, but more or less for the sake of opening up financial resources. I also know that Wen Kuanfu's words were a bit of a quarrel with Emperor Shenzong. I know even more that the New Party people made things that made everyone from the scholar-officials to the people ‘unhappy’… But today, only our monarch and ministers are here, and I just want to hear you, Duke Lu, talk about your personal views on Wen Kuanfu's words on the matter itself, and that's all."

Lu Haowen became more serious, but he no longer hesitated: "Reporting to Your Majesty, on the matter itself, I think that Duke Lu (Wen Yanbo's title) is wrong!"

"How so?"

"If Duke Lu wants to trace the theory, it is probably the words of Mencius, ‘What is admired by the great families is admired by a country,’ but since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it has been a full 1400 or 1500 years since Mencius. In the past, the great families were the main body of a country, but now, the scholars, people, and common people are all the main body of a country, not to mention that the scholar-officials have gradually come from the common people?" Lu Haowen seriously responded. "Therefore, I believe that Mencius' words, placed today, are the meaning of the emperor sharing the world with the people! As for Duke Lu, he may have been sulking for a moment and said a stupid thing; or he may have been dull for a moment and fundamentally misunderstood Mencius's reasoning… But in any case, these words are ultimately wrong! I believe that the emperor should govern the world with the people! This is where the truth lies!"

Zhao Jiu was slightly relieved and nodded slowly: "Speaking of which, I remember that Duke Lu is a famous scholar of Taoism, why have I seen so little scholarship lately? Is it because he has become the prime minister and is becoming increasingly busy?"

Lu Haowen became more and more serious, but respectfully replied, "I want to teach the officials to know that what I said in the hall that day was all sincere. In my early years, I prided myself on being a famous scholar of Taoism, but during the Jingkang period, I inevitably had suspected disloyalty. Before and after the Mingdao Palace, if it were not for the officials falling into the well and being unwell, I would have almost had the heart to avoid the world and seek death. How can I have the face to do scholarship again?"

Zhao Jiu shook his head and smiled: "Fortunately, Duke Lu didn't leave, otherwise, how could our monarch and ministers return to the old capital, and even sit down and discuss the Tao today? Everyone says Taoism, Taoism… What exactly is Taoism all about?"

Lu Haowen's heart moved greatly, and he wanted to describe it to the officials in detail, but this topic was too big, and he was worried that the boring explanation would cause the officials to be dissatisfied, but he couldn't help stammering, and after half a day, he finally squeezed out a sentence:

"I want to teach the officials to know that Taoism is also called Neo-Confucianism, and it is named because it mostly discusses the principles of heaven and earth and all things. Up to now, it has already spread extremely widely, but it is slightly inferior to the New Learning…"

"Taoism is Neo-Confucianism? Then Zhang Zai, who used to ‘establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a life for the people, inherit the unique learning for the past sages, and create peace for all generations’ is also Taoism?" Zhao Jiu's heart moved slightly, and he asked impatiently.

"Zhang Hengqu is naturally a sage of Taoism," Lu Haowen's heart became more and more excited, so he quickly replied. "The Guanzhong School he created is a famous school of Taoism. In the past, during the Shenzong Emperor, the so-called Guanzhong School of Zhang Hengqu, the Luoyang School of the Cheng brothers, and the New Learning of Wang Anshi had already presented a three-legged situation."

"Is the New Learning also Neo-Confucianism?" Zhao Jiu naturally knew the Neo-Confucianism of the Cheng brothers, but he couldn't help but be curious about the New Learning.

"It can't be counted," Lu Haowen solemnly shook his head. "Neo-Confucianism must talk about morality and explore the principles of heaven, but although Wang Anshi is well-versed in ancient and modern times, his innovative New Learning is only for his New Laws. It mostly talks about utilitarianism, but it is lacking in the principles of heaven and morality…"

"I think that talking about utilitarianism is better than talking about morality," Zhao Jiu immediately responded. "Of course, the exploration of the principles of heaven is still necessary."

Lu Haowen was instinctively stunned at first, but then he was slightly moved.

"Then which school are you from, Duke Lu?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask.

"I…" Lu Haowen became more and more serious, but after a little adjustment, he replied solemnly, "I am from a family school. As early as my grandfather, the late Duke Shen (Lu Gongzhu), it was already known as the Lu School. And the so-called Lu School, although it has the theory of ‘dedicating one's heart’ and also specializes in the words of Buddhism, is similar to Zhang Hengqu's Guanzhong School, which is also known to the world… In the past, when Mr. Hengqu entered the capital, my grandfather, the late Duke Shen, did his best to make the three-legged situation of the Guanzhong School, the Luoyang School, and the New Learning."

Zhao Jiu's face remained unchanged, and he nodded slightly: "So that's how it is, but it's a pity… I often think that Wang Anshi's New Learning is the foundation of the country and cannot be easily abandoned, but it is indeed still lacking in the theory of the principles of heaven and cannot be matched by the nothingness of Taoism and the emptiness of Buddhism. If Taoism and New Learning can coexist, wouldn't that be great? But these school disputes seem to be deeper than the hatred between the Song and Jin countries, forcing me to only defend the New Learning to the death! It's really unreasonable!"

Lu Haowen hesitated slightly, but remained silent in the end.

"Duke Lu just said that there was a compromise?" Zhao Jiu returned to the previous topic. "What compromise?"

"Although it is not good for the officials to force the wealthy families in the south to release the Hebei refugees they bought at this time through laws or edicts, they can encourage the wealthy families in the south to take the initiative to release them, and reward the outstanding ones with official titles," Lu Haowen quickly abandoned the cloudy discussion just now and directly responded in the pavilion. "At the same time, we can also open the Enke examination widely to win over the hearts of the people in the south."

Zhao Jiu couldn't help but laugh: "The former is fine, but the latter, is Duke Lu bullying me again for forgetting the story of falling into the well in Mingdao Palace that day? Even if I'm confused, I know now that when Cai Jing was in power, he had already changed the imperial examination system to a three-level school system of county schools, state schools, and imperial colleges, and then directly selected scholars in the imperial colleges… Such as Wan Qixie and Hu Hongxiu are all students of the imperial colleges, and Li Qiong is a student of the state schools… If you want to open the Enke examination, do you have to abolish this three-level school system first?"

Lu Haowen hesitated for a moment, but still reluctantly suggested: "Your Majesty, the three-level school system is unfair and is often taken advantage of by the children of the powerful and wealthy. When it comes to the local level, it is as ridiculous as the recommendation system. I still think it is better to restore the imperial examination system of the past…"

"Are there fewer officials with hereditary privileges in our dynasty?" Zhao Jiu shook his head repeatedly. "But what you said also makes sense, so let's compromise again, divide it into two. On one hand, let the state school students from all over the world come to the capital first, and take the examination anonymously, and select a certain number of students from the imperial colleges. The students from the imperial colleges will then go to the palace to participate in the palace examination, which can be regarded as a wide opening of the Enke examination; then, this time, those who have released and redeemed more people will be directly granted the status of state school students and students of the imperial colleges, among which the state school students will be allowed to directly come to take the examination, and the students of the imperial colleges will be allowed to directly go to the palace to participate in the palace examination…"

Speaking of this, Zhao Jiu pondered, and then added: "Also, the scholars who have made meritorious service in the army, and the officials who have made special achievements in the local area, can all follow this example and be granted the status of state school students or students of the imperial colleges, so that they can obtain a background… This matter can be made a wartime regular practice, and this year's should be handled well before the Mid-Autumn Festival, how about it?"

Lu Haowen hesitated again, but finally nodded reluctantly: "Let's do as Your Majesty said, I will go back and try my best to talk to Duke Xu about it."

Zhao Jiu slowly nodded.

After finishing this matter, the monarch and ministers finally sat down again in the pavilion, and only drank tea and chatted, without discussing any more court affairs.

However, just as the two were saying some idle words, Yang Yizhong, dressed in a silk casual dress, suddenly came from the front yard, and only stopped in front of the pavilion, and bowed solemnly in salute.

Zhao Jiu and Lu Haowen looked at each other, their hearts sinking.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister… The military report from Eunuch Lu in Jingdong has been sent to the Privy Council in Tokyo, saying that the puppet Qi has launched a large-scale attack, with troops from Jinan Prefecture and Yanzhou marching out in two directions, heading towards Dongping Prefecture, and the troops from Qingzhou seem to be heading towards Yizhou." Yang Yizhong reported non-stop. "The Privy Council guesses that it should be that the puppet Qi is peeking at Grand Commandant Yue's reorganization of troops, thinking that he has an opportunity. And at this time, Grand Commandant Yue should have already sent troops."

When Zhao Jiu heard that it was in the direction of Jingdong, he was completely relieved… What he was worried about was Zhong Xiang's trouble in Dongting Lake at this time, and he really didn't care about Jinan.

This is not to say that Zhong Xiang is stronger than Liu Yu, Li Cheng, and Kong Yanzhou. In fact, according to Zhao Jiu's judgment and understanding, compared with those traitors and ambitious people from the puppet Qi who have at least unquestionable personal abilities, Zhong Xiang, who sometimes works for the emperor and sometimes the King of Chu, is basically a mediocre person. But the current situation determines that once Zhong Xiang rebels, his harm to the overall situation will be the greatest, far from being comparable to the puppet Qi, who have already openly set up their formations.

Therefore, after Zhao Jiu finished listening to the report, he didn't move at all, and just casually said: "I know."

Yang Yizhong and Lu Haowen were both surprised, but they had nothing to say. So, the three of them said a few more details, and then roughly decided that Lu Haowen would continue to return to the Eight Mausoleums to participate in the sacrifices, and Zhao Guan Jia would return to Tokyo to sit in town to reassure the people.

In addition, based on the mentality of training the Imperial Guards and speeding up the battle, Zhao Guan Jia also sent Yang Yizhong to lead 2,000 Imperial Guards to Jingdong to help.

In this way, the three of them agreed that Zhao Guan Jia would continue to sit in the pavilion, while the other two would get up and leave.

However, after hesitating again and again, Lu Haowen had already walked more than ten steps out of the pavilion, but he stopped, turned around, and asked a question: "What kind of minister does Your Majesty think Duke Lu is?"

Zhao Jiu was stunned for a long time before he realized who Duke Lu was, and then immediately laughed: "Although I disagree with Wen Yanbo's point of view, I still think that he stated the current situation and pointed out the problem. He is a capable and honest person… After all, officials are all scholar-officials. If you don't let the scholar-officials share the world, how can you share the world with the people? As for how Your Majesty thinks Wen Yanbo himself is, I can also answer directly. Although this person is not as courageous and willing to take responsibility as Wang Anshi, he can still be a prime minister! Relatively speaking, people like Feng Jing and Ma Liang are not worth mentioning."

Lu Haowen did not say a word, clasped his hands and said goodbye.

There was no talk that day. The next day, Lu Haowen hurried on the road. After crossing Mount Shaoshi and arriving at Xiaoyi Town, he met the Little Academician Lin who had come to meet him. When he was about to enter the mountains where the Eight Mausoleums were located again, he saw Xin Zan, the magistrate of Dengfeng County, personally chasing after him as an envoy with great effort.

"Your Majesty wrote this text before returning to the capital, and asked me to give it to Hu, the pacifier of Guanzhong?" Lu Haowen, who was covered in sweat, took the scroll, and only after listening to Magistrate Xin's explanation, he became solemn for a while.

Because not only Lu Haowen, but even the Little Academician Lin who came to meet him instinctively thought of the text that Zhao Guan Jia had asked Prime Minister Xu to pass on to Zhang Que, the Duke of Zhang, that day. It can be seen that everyone already understood Zhao Guan Jia's routine of using one thing for multiple purposes.

Therefore, Lu Haowen did not have any scruples and directly opened it. Then he and the Little Academician Lin on the side were stunned on the spot. Magistrate Xin was a good poet, and he couldn't help but itch for a moment. He also boldly peeked over, but saw that there was only a small poem with an unfamiliar title, and it seemed that there was only half a stanza.

As the saying goes:

Peaks are gathered, waves are angry, mountains and rivers show the road to Western Capital.

Looking at the old capital, my heart is hesitant.

The sad places of Han and Tang dynasties, thousands of palaces have all turned into dust.

In prosperity, the people suffer; in ruin, the people suffer.

ps: Thanks to classmate 靐焱骉 for being the 69th moe! Still that sentence, the weather is so good, are you guys staying at home today watching the games?