Prime Minister

Chapter 1100 Your Majesty, military and national affairs are not to be trifled with!

Chapter 1100 Your Majesty, military and national affairs are not to be trifled with!

On that day, Zhang Yue was on duty in the Secretariat.

After spending the whole afternoon dealing with the military intelligence and urgent reports sent in by the various military governors in Shaanxi, Zhang Yue gave instructions and responded to each one.

It's mainly a communication problem.

Much of the news and reports from local generals, military governors, transport commissioners, prefects and other officials were from ten or even fifteen days ago.

No matter what instructions Zhang Yue gave, there was still a time lag issue.

That is why he advocated setting up a branch Privy Council in Shaanxi to solve the communication problem.

For urgent matters, the Privy Council can make the final decision, but for major and minor matters, the Secretariat can make the decision.

But after dealing with official business for an afternoon, Zhang Yue felt that he was a little exhausted. In the past, he had the help of a pen, so he could study for several hours without feeling tired. Now that he has no pen, he is almost forty years old, and he has been idle and lazy at home for a long time. After all the hard work, he feels that he can no longer continue.

Zhang Yue couldn't help but feel like he was going to work and then he wanted to take a day off. This is a common problem for people who have been idle for too long.

At this time, Song Yongchen went to the Secretariat and said to Zhang Yue: "Your Majesty knows that the Prime Minister will stay overnight today, so he has prepared a table of imperial meals and gave them exclusively to the Prime Minister."

After that, the eunuchs went into the Secretariat and set up a table of imperial meal. More than a dozen eunuchs came in carrying dozens of food boxes of various sizes. This showed how valuable the prime minister was and how highly valued he was by the emperor.

Zhang Yue took a look and asked, "Your Majesty, can you take a break?"

Song Yongchen said, "Your Majesty has not been in charge of anything since this afternoon, and only now has he taken in some medicinal food."

Zhang Yue said: "It's just right, I am about to go to the palace to report on something."

Song Yongchen said, "Prime Minister, why don't you finish the imperial meal before leaving?"

Zhang Yue said: "I dare not stay here because of the urgency. I will come back to use it later."

Zhang Yue immediately stood up and entered the palace.

Song Yongchen was staring at the table of imperial meal in a daze, and thought to himself, "Prime Minister Zhang has served the emperor honestly. I now understand why the government made him the prime minister."

Song Yongchen looked at the palace maid who was in a daze and said, "What are you thinking about? Send it to the imperial kitchen and heat it up immediately."

Zhang Yue came to the emperor's bedroom, where the emperor was lying on a couch, being fed medicinal food by palace maids. When Shi De saw Zhang Yue coming in, he immediately placed a chair in front of the emperor's couch. The emperor waved his hand to signal the palace maids who were feeding him medicinal food to leave.

Seeing that he had interrupted the official's meal, Zhang Yue apologized before taking his seat.

In the past, as a councilor, he could not often meet the emperor alone because of the prime minister's authority. But now that he has become the prime minister, he no longer has this concern, and the emperor and his subjects can talk privately.

The emperor said, "Your proposal to carry out the Privy Council is very good! I didn't expect it. If I had known this idea earlier, why would I have to do everything myself?"

Zhang Yue felt ashamed after hearing what the emperor said. What's the point of setting up a Privy Council? This was just a system borrowed from later generations.

The Xingshumiyuan was invented by the Jin Dynasty. The Xingzhongshusheng was invented by the Yuan Dynasty. This system was abbreviated as Xingsheng, and the names of various "provinces" in later generations have been passed down from this.

Why is there a provincial privy council? Why is there a provincial system?

In fact, it is related to the struggle for supreme power and the contradiction between the central government and local governments. Similarly, there is the governor-general established in the Ming Dynasty, which is equivalent to a branch of the Censorate.

There was a power game between the imperial power and the two governments. The emperor wanted to send troops to the northwest, but the Privy Councilor Feng Jing and many officials collectively opposed it. At the same time, the emperor did not trust the civil officials, so he let Wang Zhongzheng and Gao Zunyu, a relative and eunuch, lead the troops.

The failure of Fuyan Road proved that relatives of the emperor and eunuchs were not suitable candidates for leading troops. At the same time, the central government's remote control of the war situation was indeed difficult to deal with the ever-changing war situation.

The emperor appointed Zhang Yue as prime minister to take over the war against Xia. If Zhang Yue intervened directly, it would easily cause a conflict between imperial power and prime ministerial power.

So choose an official from the Privy Council.

In this way, the Secretariat can be in charge, the Privy Council can be in charge, and the Emperor can be in charge.

The same was true in the Jin Dynasty. The highest military institution in the Jin Dynasty was the Military Headquarters, which was a remnant of the tribal system. The Privy Council was directly controlled by the emperor as a way to weaken the power of the Military Headquarters and bring power back to the central government.

Zhang Yue said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. I have also studied the system of the Shangshu Province in the Sui and Tang dynasties. Local self-government is rough, while central management is sophisticated..."

The emperor said, "Very good. I was worried before that the Privy Council was too much power and responsibility to deal with the Six-Route Military Strategy and Pacification Office, but now it seems to be reasonable."

"As for the candidate Han Zhen, he is also very pleasing to me."

Zhang Yue said: "The Executive Privy Council is only responsible for military affairs and dispatching troops. It is not allowed to interfere in local people, finances, and personnel affairs. At the same time, it is not allowed to govern any state or region."

"I think that if the jurisdiction is small, then the power should be delegated, and if the jurisdiction is large, then the power should be shared. This is the system of our ancestors. It can also eliminate the malpractices of the Xingtai and the Inspectors of the previous dynasty."

Zhang Yue told the emperor about how to centralize power, and the emperor listened attentively.

After all, from ancient times to the present, the Legalist school has always been deeply loved by emperors and is also a qualification for officials to advance.

To be honest, Zhang Yue is proficient in this, but also rejects it.

What are the advantages of having a Privy Council?

The governor of a route would also serve as the prefect of a state in that route, and be in charge of the troops along the route. For example, the governor of Xihe Route was also the prefect of Xizhou, and the governor of Fuyan Route was also the prefect of Yanzhou.

The General Manager and Pacifier was in charge of both the military forces of a route and the politics of a state.

For example, in the Water Margin, Song Jiang was finally appointed as the Chuzhou Pacifier and Military General Manager. If you are not the governor of Chuzhou, you have no right to inquire about civil affairs. The Pacifier is just a nice title. Song Jiang's real job is only the Chuzhou Military General Manager, which is only the military general manager of the state, not the general manager of the road.

Lu Junyi is the deputy general manager, so this is even more ridiculous.

The six-route executive privy councilors have a lot of responsibilities, but their actual role is like that of the Chuzhou pacification envoy, which is like water without a source. Without support from above, you can't mobilize a single soldier. It's just that Song Jiang is in charge of one state, while the Executive Privy Council is in charge of dozens of military states.

Zhang Yue expounded the strategy of the Privy Council, which won the emperor's favor and made him very pleased.

After finishing this story, the emperor said: "I heard that the Secretary of State wanted to send a congratulatory letter on the victory in Lanzhou, but this is unnecessary."

Zhang Yue said: "According to the system, when a state is conquered, the ministers of the two governments must submit congratulatory letters, not to mention that Lanzhou will be an important town in Xihe Road and the seat of the road government."

The emperor shook his head and said, "I received a message from Tong Guan the day before yesterday. Dong Jian was about to succeed in attacking Liangzhou, but a captured Tangut leader said that the Westerners dug a seven-level canal in the Yellow River to flood Lingzhou. I don't know what will happen to the troops in Jingyuan Road under the city now."

Zhang Yue was shocked when he heard this. No wonder there had been no news from the troops in Jingyuan Road for five or six days.

"Now the Qingtang tribe has withdrawn from the city of Liangzhou. No matter how Tong Guan persuaded him, he would not stop. He was waiting for Renduo Yading to be out of the city before taking it. Yes, I heard that Renduo Yading is in Lingzhou city."

Zhang Yue looked at the official in silence.

From Liangzhou to Bianjing, this news came at least fifteen days ago.

The emperor said, "At this moment, I have no intention of accepting any congratulations!"

"You can truly be said to have been entrusted with a task in times of danger and to have been ordered to do something when the army was defeated."

These were the words in the Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital. Zhang Yue quickly left his seat and said, "Your Majesty, how dare I compare myself to the Marquis of Wu."

The emperor motioned Zhang Yue to sit down and said, "You should compete even if you don't want to."

"If the troops of Jingyuan Road are also annihilated, including Zhang Zhi's 20,000 troops of Xihe Road, once this happens, the northwest will almost collapse. It will be difficult to defend the northwest in the future, let alone destroy Xia. What a big mess."

"It's more difficult than Wu Hou's seven expeditions to Qishan. Can you handle it?"

After hearing this, Zhang Yue didn't know what to say.

Qing Tang withdrew his troops from the city of Liangzhou without authorization, which shows that they were only fighting a favorable battle. Once the situation became unfavorable, they would immediately surrender to Xia.

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, I think this matter is still unknown, or the Westerners are deliberately inciting the army."

The official forced a smile.

Anyway, the emperor seems to have lost all hope in the war against Western Xia.

Zhang Yue thought to himself, this is not what someone who wants to accomplish great things does.

Zhang Yue said sternly, "Your Majesty is wrong. When planning, you are full of confidence, but when doing things, you can't stand even the slightest setback."

"All those who have accomplished great things in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, have great willpower. How could they give up halfway due to setbacks? Your Majesty, do you think military and national affairs are child's play?"

After Zhang Yue finished speaking, the emperor was also stunned.

Shi Deyi who was standing by was also shocked.

The emperor was silent for a long time after hearing this and then said, "Mr. Zhang is absolutely right. What do you think of the situation in the west?"

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, I think that given the current situation, the attack on Xia is definitely a failure, but Lanzhou has indeed been captured."

The emperor shook his head and said, "How can we destroy Xia by taking Lanzhou?"

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, haven't you heard that as you practice skills, you gain more, but as you practice the Way, you lose more!"

Shi Deyi said: "Prime Minister Zhang, I have only heard that learning increases day by day, but practicing Taoism decreases day by day."

No matter what others think, Zhang Yue regards the Tao Te Ching as a success story.

To do something means to do it intentionally, and to do nothing means to do it unintentionally.

The original text of Tao Te Ching says, as for studying, if you put your mind to it every day, you will make progress every day; but if you put your mind to seeking the Tao, you will lose every day.

The chapter here has been revised.

Why should Tao be done without intention? Because Tao cannot be set as a goal.

People who talk about things all day long before they even do anything and spread the word so that everyone knows about it usually never get anything done.

Smart people know what to do and don't need to tell anyone.

People often criticize someone for being too purposeful in doing things. A minister clearly wants to be appreciated by the emperor, but ends up being too deliberate and ends up making things worse.

This is a mistake of "losing oneself day by day for the sake of the Tao".

'Do nothing and achieve everything' does not mean you should not do anything to gain the emperor's appreciation, but rather act more naturally and let things come to fruition naturally, which is what 'doing nothing is better than doing'.

The official's problem is like a young monk who, after reciting a few verses of Buddhist scriptures and sitting for a few hours, would pester his master and ask him whether he had attained enlightenment.

They are ambitious and think they can accomplish difficult things, but they are dismissive of things that can be accomplished.

Zhang Yue said sternly: "Your Majesty, my Western Army is more than enough to capture Lanzhou, but not enough to destroy Xia."

"The reason why I came out of retirement is that Your Majesty allowed me to adopt the strategy of shallow attack, which is 'accumulating small victories into a big victory'. I will conquer one state today, and another state tomorrow. I will seek the truth through tactics and complete small goals one by one in order to achieve the big goal of destroying Xia. If Your Majesty insists on completing the task in one battle, then I will not be able to do it."

The emperor listened and said humbly: "The Prime Minister is right. I was just anxious again."

"As you said, in order to destroy Xia, we should seek the Way for the sake of the Art, and never seek the Way for the sake of the Way!"

After hearing this, the official felt a little sad for some reason and looked out the window with a hint of helplessness.

Zhang Yue hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is in the prime of life, so why worry about not being able to see the destruction of Xia?"

"Even if it is extremely difficult, I will fulfill your Majesty's long-cherished wish!"

After saying this, Zhang Yue stood up and bowed solemnly to the emperor.

The emperor smiled and said, "Yes, I was worrying too much. I am determined to revive the Song Dynasty and avenge the shame of my ancestors. With a wise minister like you to assist me, why should I worry about not accomplishing great things?"

"In my opinion, I may not be as good as Taizong and Xuanzong, but Fang Du and Yao Chong are not as good as you!"

(End of this chapter)