"This guy is really amazing. He finally forced the official to reveal his identity."
Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei's hurried back and couldn't help but smile.
In fact, she was happy to see Zhang Fei know the emperor's identity, because she was as straightforward as her father, and she felt very uncomfortable being caught in the middle.
Look at Xu Zun, he never shows up whenever Wang Ye comes.
... ...
"Ahhh! Wang Ye, Wang Ye, isn't this 'Xu'? How could I be so stupid that I didn't even think of this... You can't blame me, who could have thought that the official would be so shameless as to pretend to be my little fanboy to trick me.
Fishing law enforcement is not that harsh. It is really too much to always catch one person fishing.
What did I say to him before? I guess I didn't say anything wrong, right
After leaving Xu's house, Zhang Fei did not rush back to his own home, but stayed in the alley, carefully recalling his conversation with Wang Ye.
After thinking it over, although he could not remember much of the conversation, after all, many of them were said after drinking, he believed that if he made the emperor unhappy, the emperor would not have come to see him today, and from the conversation just now, it was obvious that the emperor valued him more.
Therefore, he immediately adjusted his thinking, not thinking about the past, but thinking about what was about to happen next.
The emperor did not hesitate to reveal his identity and ask him about the reform, which shows what the next conversation will be about, and this time Zhang Fei must answer.
Zhang Fei calmed down and began to sort out the whole thing. Although I had already joined the game and had the support of Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, I still didn't have a clear direction. Which side should I lean towards
Following Wang Anshi is extremely risky. Under the current political system, it is almost impossible to achieve the goal of not increasing taxes on the people and having abundant financial resources for the country when productivity has not made significant progress.
Although following Sima Guang gives you a greater chance of success, it is also difficult to achieve anything.
Now that I think about it, the reason lies with the government. Without the government's support, I can only act according to circumstances and jump left and right. If I have the government's support, I can also be the banker like Wang Anshi and Sima Guang and play a game with them.
That's right, being a 25-year-old, jumping around left and right, if you are not careful, you may die without a burial place. If you want to play, you have to be the banker. Even if you lose, you can blame your own lack of ability. If you are dragged down by them, you will die with regret.
Zhang Fei pondered for a long time in the alley before pushing open the back door of his house.
"I...I am a humble servant, paying my respects to Your Majesty."
Arriving at the hall, Zhang Fei bowed and kowtowed, with an awkward rather than polite smile on his face.
"No need to be polite!"
Zhao Xu looked at his expression and shook his head with a wry smile. When Zhang Fei stood up, he said, "I concealed my identity from you because I didn't want you to worry about these red tapes and have a close relationship with me."
At first he just wanted to meet Zhang San, but as they chatted, they got along quite well. Many of Zhang Fei's ideas coincided with his own. As an emperor, he had no friends or confidants around him, so he kept his identity secret from then on. Although he really wanted to get some answers from Zhang Fei, this was really different from concealing his identity.
Do I think my life is too long to be intimate with you? Zhang Fei nodded with an awkward smile, but then quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, no, I am humble, how dare I be intimate with Your Majesty."
This was exactly what Zhao Xu didn't want to see, but he also knew that this was inevitable. He sighed and said, "Whatever you want." He then extended his hand and said, "Sit down."
"I... No, Xiaomin."
"sit down!"
Zhao Xu spoke again.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Only then did Zhang Fei sit down properly.
Zhao Xu said helplessly: "Actually, I really don't want to reveal my identity, but if I don't do this, I'm afraid you will kick me out."
Zhang Fei hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I am really wronged. I just wanted to go out by myself, but I didn't want to let..."
Halfway through his words, he seemed to feel that what he was saying seemed to be getting more and more wrong.
Zhao Xu laughed and said, "This is my fault, don't worry."
Zhang Fei didn't know whether to nod or shake his head.
Zhao Xu also saw that Zhang Fei was embarrassed, so he said sternly: "I have always hoped that you could serve as an official in the court and assist me in reforming the law. For this purpose, I even asked Xu Sishi to help, but you always refused, and you have doubts about the reform, which also makes me doubtful. Now that the reform is imminent, I must have a frank talk with you today."
These words came from the bottom of his heart, and were also the main purpose of his trip. Although Wang Anshi had told him how to govern officials, he still felt that Zhang Fei was still not optimistic about the reform, because this guy was making all kinds of excuses and was unwilling to be an official.
Although Zhang Fei was only a minor adviser, many of his views were deeply recognized by Zhao Xu, and judging from his attitude in the lawsuit, he obviously supported the reform, which also made Zhao Xu somewhat uneasy.
At this moment, he must know the answer.
Why do you just not look favorably upon the reform
Otherwise, he would not feel at ease with his reforms.
Zhang Fei was really flattered when he heard this. He really didn't know that the emperor valued him so much and even cared about his opinion on such an important matter.
However, Zhao Xu really guessed it right. The reason why Zhang Fei was very cautious about entering the officialdom was because he was not optimistic about Wang Anshi's reforms, but at the same time he also did not agree with Sima Guang's austerity policy, which made him very conflicted.
Zhao Xu asked word by word: "What is your opinion on the reform?"
Zhang Fei pondered for a while and said, "Your Majesty, the main problems of our dynasty are the three redundancies, that is, redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses. The first two disasters are the main causes of the third disaster. Why doesn't the court directly take appropriate measures to reduce the number of officials, soldiers, and salaries?"
Zhao Xu sighed: "If it were that simple, the Qingli New Deal would not have failed!"
Zhang Fei asked: "The court can't even save money, and it wants to increase revenue. Then the question is, who will the money end up on?"
The reason why Zhang Fei disliked Wang Anshi's reforms was because Wang Anshi forcibly inserted a set of advanced financial management concepts into an old system, which was bound to fail to adapt to the local environment.
Although Sima Guang's financial management ideas were completely confusing, he was very knowledgeable about politics, and his predictions were actually correct and very accurate.
Tax increases and tax hikes will eventually fall on ordinary people, no matter if it takes ten or twenty years, the result will not change.
Under this old system, the best way is for the court to reduce spending in exchange for tax cuts. This will reduce the burden on the people, stimulate civil vitality, and gradually increase tax revenue.
Zhao Xu said, "Grand Scholar Wang once said, 'If you want to enrich your family, you should invest in your country. If you want to enrich your country, you should invest in the world. If you want to enrich the world, you should invest in heaven and earth.' Do you think this is wrong?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I think this is absolutely right, but this is not the same as what I said, right?"
Zhao Xu asked, "Why are they not the same thing?"
Zhang Fei said: "I am not asking whether it is right or wrong, but whether it can be done. The current problem is redundant officials. The solution is definitely to reduce the number of officials, but the court cannot do it. It can be seen that the root of the problem is not to think about how to do it, but whether the court can do it. Therefore, the first problem that the court must solve is..."
Zhao Xu said: "Legal system."
In fact, Zhang Fei had mentioned this to him before.
"good!"
Zhang Fei said: "If Your Majesty really wants to enrich the country and strengthen the army, the first thing you need to do is to build a complete legal system, with everyone abiding by the law. On this basis, you can then carry out financial reforms, which will achieve twice the result with half the effort and be invincible.
Otherwise, as long as the court increases taxes, the people will suffer, thus falling into a vicious cycle. It is better to trust Sima Daxueshi and save court expenses in exchange for tax cuts for the people. At least the people will truly benefit. "
"But building a complete legal system is not easy, and it cannot be accomplished overnight. Now that reforms are imminent, I cannot back down!"
Zhao Xu was already sweating profusely. Now that the reform is imminent, it is really cruel for you to say these things to him.
He can't go back, no matter what, he must announce his policies this year.
People are about to collapse.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "On the contrary, I think this is a great opportunity."
Zhao Xu was surprised and asked, "A great opportunity?"
Zhang Fei nodded, "Your Majesty, there is no need to change the previous plan, but you can still fully support Wang Daxueshi's reform. If it succeeds, that would be the best, but if it doesn't, then we must make sure that they perish together."
Zhao Xutong's eyes suddenly shrank, and he looked horrified, "Jade... jade and stone are destroyed together?"
Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his cheeks, and his entire back was soaked.
Zhang Fei nodded. "If they don't perish together with us, how can Your Majesty help the Song Dynasty to rise from the ashes?"
Zhao Xu asked anxiously: "How to be reborn from the ashes?"
Zhang Fei replied: "The latent dragon should not be used."
... ...
It was already three o'clock in the morning.
Lanterns were hung in front of the palace gate early in the morning.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
"Ah? What's going on?"
"Your Majesty, we have arrived!"
Zhao Xu lifted the carriage curtain and found himself in front of the palace. He got off the carriage and stood beside it for a while. Suddenly, he raised his mouth and said, "What a good move of hiding the dragon!"
He laughed out loud twice, waved his sleeves, and walked lightly towards the door.
... ..
Zhang family.
"What did the official tell you?"
Xu Zhiqian's bright eyes stared at Zhang Fei with great curiosity.
She had been waiting, and unexpectedly she had to wait from morning till midnight. How could they talk for so long? What were they talking about
Therefore, as soon as Zhao Xu left, she immediately slipped over.
If I don't get this straight, I won't be able to sleep tonight.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I won't tell you."
"Why?"
Xu Zhiqian said weakly: "I care about you, too."
"Care about me?"
Zhang Fei rolled his eyes and said, "You kept this secret from me so hard, and you still have the nerve to say you care about me."
Xu Zhiqian curled her lips and said aggrievedly: "I... I don't want to hide it from you. What good will it do for me if I hide it from you? If you say something wrong, it will also implicate me. But the official has repeatedly warned me, do you dare to say it if it's your turn?"
Zhang Fei quickly shook his head and said, "I don't dare either! So don't ask."
“… … .!”
Xu Zhiqian was confused at the moment. Why did she just hand over the mask
Zhang Fei yawned, "Madam Xu, it's getting late. You should go back and get some rest! It's the middle of the night and my wife is not at home. It will have a bad impact."
Xu Zhiqian stood up and snorted, "What Madam? That's just fake, don't be so self-indulgent."
We have to make some fun of this guy.
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Okay, okay, she is fake, but you are real, okay."
"Bah! You lecher!"
Xu Zhiqian blushed and left angrily.
Zhang Fei laughed, came to the door, looked up at the starry sky, and said with a smile: "Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, there are three people at this table now."