Under the guidance of Deng Guangjian, Ma Tingluan and Wang Yinglin suddenly realized that the debate between a foolish monarch and a wise monarch was actually meaningless. Emperor Taizong of Tang had always been praised by scholars throughout the ages, thinking that he was a wise monarch, but he was still a king who killed his brother and forced his parents to abdicate. Emperor Yang of Sui also killed his father and brother to ascend the throne. When he was a prince, he led the troops to destroy Southern Chen and quelled the rebellion in Jiangnan. People called him a wise king. After he ascended the throne, he presided over the construction of the Grand Canal, the Great Wall and the Eastern Capital Luoyang City, opened up the territory and opened up the Silk Road, three expeditions to Goguryeo, and pioneered the imperial examination.

However, the ending of the two was a difference between heaven and earth. Li Shimin was famous in history and worshipped by later generations. However, Yang Guang became a foolish monarch despised by thousands of people and was criticized for more than a thousand years as a negative example. The huge difference between the two once promising monarchs was because of the different environments and national conditions of their respective locations, which made them receive different evaluations.

"Your Majesty talks about this matter today, right..." Ma Tingluan suddenly thought of the little emperor asking what a wise monarch and what a tyrant monarch, would he also have the intention of tempting them?

"Is Your Majesty a warning to us?" Wang Yinglin said after hearing this.

"Confucius said: Friendship is the way for the king and the ministers." Deng Guangxuan said, "But Confucius still said: The king and the ministers use etiquette, and the ministers serve the king with loyalty. The sage once said: If the king treats the ministers as hands and feet, then the ministers regard the king as their hearts; if the king treats the ministers as dogs and horses, then the ministers regard the king as their countrymen; if the king treats the ministers as earth, then the ministers regard the king as enemies."

"This..." Ma and Wang both felt nervous when they heard this. These two sentences are many widely circulated "Confucian teachings" and are also the theoretical basis for Zhao's proposal to rule the world with scholars and officials. The meaning is:

The relationship between the monarch and the minister is not the same innate and immutable family as father and son, but the same friendship, acquired, variable, and selectable. If the monarch and ministers do not wear each other, they can be left; if they are unhappy, they can be left; if they are not righteous, they cannot be accepted. The minister can freely decide whether the monarch's behavior is "righteous" and whether the ministers are "pleasant" to the monarch's behavior. Therefore, both parties must work hard to respect and be loyal and trustworthy to maintain this kind of cooperation based on like-mindedness. If they are united, they will come, and if they are not, they will go. This is a very perfect friendship relationship.

When the monarch manages the subjects, he must have rules, that is, to follow the principles of etiquette and law. Then, the ministers must be loyal to their work for the monarch. Mencius is not as subtle as Confucius, and directly said what should be the opposite. If the monarch regards his subjects as brothers and feet, the ministers treat the monarch as the body and heart; if the monarch treats his subjects as the toys and tools like dogs and horses, then the ministers treat the monarch as ordinary people; if the monarch treats his subjects as grass, then the ministers treat the monarch as the enemy and bandits.

Everyone understands that this is the principle of Confucian ministers, that is, the unity of power and responsibility, and Confucius and Mencius never want to be abusive to the monarch's unscrupulous habits. But vice versa, if you are not loyal to the king, the king will naturally abandon you. However, the so-called "Confucian scholars" who were broken after the Qin and Han dynasties reshaped the totalitarian narrative based on the concept of Legalism and Huang Lao, turning this "friend" into a relationship between the monarch, minister, father and son, and even the master and slave. But what exactly do the emperors like? To put it bluntly, they are slaves. If they still insist on it now, they will probably be abandoned by the ruler and choose others. Thinking of this, the two felt even more heavy.

"Your Majesty is very clear that scholars are still the mainstay of governing the country in the court, and the Song Dynasty is in danger at the moment. It is difficult for civil officials and scholars to defeat the Tartars and restore their powers by relying solely on civil servants and scholars." Deng Guangjian said.

"Your Majesty still must adhere to military reform and implement the strategy of equal ranks of civil and military?" Ma Tingluan said.

"Well, Your Majesty often says that civil and military affairs are like the two legs of the court, and the current court is like a lame giant who can't run but can't keep up with the development of the situation, so changes must be made." Deng Guangjian nodded.

After the matter of self-reform reform was held in the court, it caused great shock in the court and the country. Although the civil officials did not oppose one-sidedly, they also had undercurrents. These officials and scholars who returned from the inland to the court were involved in it. However, they lacked understanding of the current situation of the court, so they naturally tended to maintain the old national policy of promoting civil and suppressing military affairs, and promoted it on inappropriate occasions, which caused considerable trouble.

Of course, the little emperor was unhappy when he learned about it, but these people were invited to be typical, and they were naturally not up to their original intentions. So he arranged for Deng Guangjian to lead them to leave the city in the name of investigating the local situation and temporarily escape from the whirlpool of public opinion, hoping that they could understand their painstaking efforts from it. As the imperial teacher and the figure in the core circle of the power of the little emperor, Deng Guangjian naturally would not watch, and would enlighten them in every way and do positive publicity.

However, these people in the inspection team were either famous scholars today or important officials of the previous dynasty. Their qualifications and statements were more important than theirs. Therefore, he dared not say it too straightforwardly and could only exert influence subtly. But the effect seemed not very good, which caused the young emperor to insinuately hurt these people. Of course, Deng Guangjian could not be silent anymore, and Wang Yinglin and Ma Tingluan still had potential influence in the court, so he bluntly pointed out the crisis they were facing. If this matter was handled improperly, he was worried that the young emperor would do something more extraordinary.

"Is Your Majesty so determined that he is not even afraid of the opposition of the ministers?" Wang Yinglin, who had served as the Minister of Personnel, naturally understood the difficulties faced by carrying out the reform of the official system and said with concern.

"Mr. Bohou, you should have some understanding of the Qiongzhou Bureau." He led them around Qiongzhou for so long, and from the perspective of these people, he saw more than just appearances.

"Well, although there are many old ministers in the court now and most of them hold high positions, they have no objection to His Majesty's administration. Local officials are familiar with the customs and culture, and they are very capable!" Wang Yinglin said.

"Mr. Bohou has served in the court for many years, so I can't see this all I see? It seems that Your Majesty is going to be disappointed." Deng Guangjian said unhappily when he heard that he was sloppy and slutty.

"Haha, although I was old, I was not blind, but I didn't even get out of my mind." Ma Tingluan waved his hand and smiled, "At present, the prime ministers in the court have all fate with Your Majesty except the Prime Minister. Although many ministers of each department were retained and could cooperate with Your Majesty's governance measures, they could not help but be in absent. Therefore, the ministers of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue were old people from the General Office; and more than 90% of the local officials were local officials who were appointed and deposed after His Majesty went to Qiong, and the clerks were more from the local gentry and scholars."

"In addition, the generals from the top and bottom of the guards are all from the old generals of the General's Office, and they absolutely comply with His Majesty's orders. The imperial guards in front of the hall were composed of the children of the Jiang family, but they suffered heavy losses during the Battle of Yashan, and they added many righteous and bravery, and now they all took His Majesty's orders first. Although His Majesty's orders were subordinate to the local area, they were no different from His Majesty's personal control. In addition, Daning Village intermarries with the royal family, Your Majesty can easily mobilize tens of thousands of soldiers, so it is not that they support His Majesty's rule, but that His Majesty has already controlled the government!"

"Mr. Xiang Zhong has a thorough understanding of the situation!" Deng Guangjian had to look at Ma Tingluan with a different look. Those who have been the right prime minister have sharp eyes.

"Xiang Zhong means that although Your Majesty has not taken charge of the government, he has already controlled the military and political affairs of the court?" Wang Yinglin said in surprise.

"Not bad!" Ma Tingluan nodded.

"How is this possible? Your Majesty is only six years old when he first arrived in Qiongzhou, and he is only ten years old now!" Wang Yinglin shook his head, not believing it.

"Bohou, we set out from the city and traveled almost all over Qiongzhou, and went out of the state and the prefecture. Whether it is the state officials or the people in the country, have we ever heard of criticism of Your Majesty?" Ma Tingluan asked with a smile.

"It's true, but this cannot be called Your Majesty who has completely controlled the government!" Wang Yinglin said unrestlessly.

"Although we have not seen each army this time, the guards have been guarding along the way, many of them are old generals of the General's Mansion. When His Majesty mentioned his Majesty, he admired them all, especially when talking about the Battle of Qizhou, His Majesty led a navy army to defeat Liu Shen, who was ten times more ten times his own. Although I don't know what happened, we should know that the warriors respect the bravest people the most, and that if they can sacrifice their lives to accompany them, His Majesty will definitely do something inhumane!" Ma Tingluan said.

"This..." Wang Yinglin didn't say anything after hearing this, but he still had doubts when he looked at his face.

"Mr. Xiangzhong, I will not say much about the difficulties in your Majesty. But I know that Your Majesty has fulfilled the 'rituals of the king and the ministers', and the soldiers have also fulfilled the 'means', and the ministers have fulfilled the 'means'," Deng Guang recommended.

"Oh, even so, why do the troops force His Majesty's army to reform and implement the same level of civil and military?" Wang Yinglin said in discomfortably.

"The military reform has nothing to do with the army, and it is all his strong proposal." Deng Guangjian chuckled.

"It's Your Majesty who wants to change the family rules of his ancestors, why didn't Zhongfu persuade him?" Wang Yinglin said anxiously after hearing this.

"The king and the ministers use courtesy, and the ministers serve the king with loyalty. Did Mr. Xiang Zhong forget the words of the saint?" Deng Guangjian teased.

"I think your Majesty's military reform is not wrong. Now is the time when military men use their lives. If they blindly follow the laws of their ancestors without knowing how to adapt, only know how to maintain morale with profit and wealth, and are constantly suppressed by civil officials, one day they will fall into a murderous puppet that does not know that there is a country. Once it is difficult to satisfy, it will be the reappearance of the Lu family's surrender to the Yuan Dynasty." Ma Tingluan said.

"Mr. Xiang Zhong hit the nail on the head, which is what Your Majesty is worried about, so he must promote the reform of the official system and prepare for the battle to restore the country!" Deng Guangjian praised.

"If this meeting is difficult to pass, what will happen to Your Majesty? Will you rely on the force of the warriors to advance? Are you not worried about the opposition of the scholars in the world? Will history be dirty?" Wang Yinglin said excitedly after hearing the two of them.

"Xiang Zhong, don't say anything!" Ma Tingluan frowned and whispered, then bowed to Deng Guangjian, "Zhongfu, Xiang Zhong said in a hurry and said nothing, please don't blame him."

"Zhongfu, I have lost my words, so don't let me forgive me!" Wang Yinglin also immediately reacted. He was facing the emperor's master at this moment, and his confidant. As long as his mouth was crooked, it would not only ruin his reputation, but also affect his family, so he quickly apologized.

"Haha, Mr. Xiangzhong doesn't have to worry about this. Although Your Majesty is young, he is a person who is willing to accept advice, and he won't care about the conflicts between his words." Deng Guangjian saw Wang Yinglin's face change drastically, and of course he understood his thoughts and comforted him with a smile, "I think that when His Majesty succeeded to the throne, Zhang Shumi was in charge of politics, and the monarch and ministers almost met with each other. However, after His Majesty took charge of politics, he abandoned his past grudges. Not only did he still value his talents, but he also leniently pardoned his troops. This time he conquered the North, and he ordered his troops to lead the army. He was very trustworthy!"

"Oh, Your Majesty has such a heart at such a young age. No wonder he can amazed all the ministers!" Wang Yinglin raised his sleeves to wipe the cold sweat from his face, and smiled awkwardly.

"Your Majesty actually made plans for the reform of the official system a year ago, and it is still being discussed so far, hoping to make a smooth transition and not to cause turmoil. If Your Majesty wants to force it, all the officials in the court will not be able to stop it. At the same time, Your Majesty also wants to solicit opinions from multiple parties in order to find out the omissions and make up for the shortcomings." Deng Guangjiang poured tea for the two of them and said.

"Oh, Your Majesty is also trying to maintain the stability of the court, not to trigger a dispute between civil and military officials. At the same time, delaying it to this day actually gives enough face to the scholars, it is impossible!" Ma Tingluan heard the implicit meaning. He knew that the little emperor was so kind and righteous, and he had the intention of politeness before military officials. Once he lost his patience, the situation would be very fierce. The civil servants and scholars would be suppressed, and the military class would take the opportunity to rise and fill the gap left by civil servants. The good days of scholars would come to an end and gradually become vassals.

"Yes, as you said, I was wrong!" Wang Yinglin had been a personnel cadre, so Daoer among them was naturally clear. He just misjudged the situation and learned some "insider" from Deng Guangjian, so he could figure it out.

At present, the imperial power is unique, military power is monopolized, and the prime minister's power is in decline, and the empress dowager basically no longer manages the office. With the fall of the Central Plains and Jiangnan, the scholars' life is already very difficult under the suppression of the Mongol Yuan. Qiongzhou has always been a place for scholars to transform, and scholars are rare, with the foundation of being weaker. It is difficult to reverse the decline with the scholars' blood. Besides, as long as the young emperor has military power, no one in the court or the country can stop the young emperor from doing anything, and the rise and fall of scholars is only in his thoughts.

"Bohou, I think the current situation is very different from when Taizu established his country. The current anti-Yuan Yuan restoration is the top priority. We scholars must also follow the situation and support Your Majesty's military reform, rather than keeping our ancestors' family rules in mind. Only in this way can we complete the great cause of restoring the country. What do you think?" Seeing that he admitted his mistake, Ma Tingluan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, fighting blindly will only lead to both losses. We should also give up our prejudices and eliminate the defenses of civil and military against the enemy. Only in this way can we restore our great Song Dynasty. Now we can do our best!" Wang Yinglin nodded and said.
Chapter completed!