After about two hours, Zhao Zhen finally woke up from his daze.
"Forget it, Brother Xuan. Let's not talk about the matter of the Heavenly Circle for now. Let's start with the most basic reform. Tell me, if we want to change Great Song, where should we start?”Zhao Zhen looked at Zhao Xuan and asked seriously.
"Royal brother, let me ask you again. Do you really want to reform the Great Song?”
"If I didn't know these data, to be honest, I would really think that the world was peaceful and that there was no need for weapons. At that time, I would definitely not be willing to reform.”
"However, in just a short ten years, our Great Song's finances are already in such a tight spot. In a hundred years, how much money will we have?”
"At that time, just the word money alone can bring down the economy of Great Song. At that time, Great Song will be destroyed without the Liao Kingdom attacking!”
Song Renzong had made some progress in the past few years. Zhao Xuan had been instilling some economic knowledge into him. Therefore, although Zhao Zhen's understanding of economics was half-baked, he more or less understood the general direction.
"Alright then, does Imperial Brother know that throughout the ages, there have been reforms in every dynasty, but few have succeeded?”
"Because of resistance?" Zhao Zhen said hesitantly.
" Resistance is one thing, because the reform is to break the inherent class structure and reshuffle the classes. The classes whose interests are violated will naturally counterattack and form resistance.”
"But on the other hand, the failure of the reform mostly comes from the wavering of the Emperor. Because when the time comes, countless people will tell you that the laws of the ancestors cannot be changed, and the general trend cannot be changed. Even the Empress Dowager and all the ministers in the court will tell you that the reform is not desirable.”
Zhao Zhen fell into deep thought. If that really happened, the Emperor would truly be at the stage of being deserted by everyone. At that time, would he really have the courage to reform?
In history, during the Renzong period, there was a reform. The person who presided over the reform was Fan Zhongyan, the one who wrote the words " worry before the world, and be happy after the world ".
But in the end, just as Zhao Xuan had said, Zhao Zhen hesitated and the reform failed.
"At that time, I will be deserted by everyone!”Zhao Zhen muttered.
"Any reform monarch or emperor must have great perseverance and determination. Every reform has three words!”
"Which three words?"
"There is no need to fear the changes of the heavens, no need to worry about the words of men, and no need to follow the example of ancestors."
"There is no need to fear the changes of the heavens, no need to worry about the words of men, and no need to follow the example of ancestors!”Zhao Zhen muttered.
Then, his eyes became brighter and brighter, and his expression became more and more determined.
"That's right. There's no need to fear the changes of the heavens, no need to worry about the words of men, and no need to follow the example of ancestors. Since I want to create the foundation of the four seas, how can I be so afraid?”Zhao Zhen said with a determined look.
Seeing Zhao Zhen's determined gaze, Zhao Xuan faintly smiled. It seemed that Zhao Zhen had made up his mind this time. However, he only had this one chance.
If Zhao Zhen hesitated to reform, then Zhao Xuan would replace him without hesitation.
"Brother Xuan, I'm determined to change this. However, you have to give me a practical reform plan. If you change your mind in a moment of heat, I won't let you off!”
"Actually, reform is not as difficult as many people think. Royal brother, do you know why the founding ancestor of every dynasty always has such great authority?”Zhao Xuan asked.
"Because the founding father had a strong prestige!”Zhao Zhen said without hesitation.
"Then why was Taizong of the Great Tang able to overcome his superiors and ascend to the throne?”Zhao Xuan continued to ask.
In fact, this dynasty's Taizong and Song Taizong also had similar suspicions, but Zhao Xuan was used to being bold, so Zhao Zhen didn't mind.
"Because Emperor Taizong has been on a campaign to the south and north, and has military power in his hands!”
"Military Power, Military Power" Zhao Zhen's expression became hesitant as he began to ponder.
"That's right. In fact, whether it's the founding fathers or Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, or even the heroic emperors of the past, such as Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, they all have one thing in common. They directly control a large amount of military power!”
"Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had the Zhang-Building Camp and the Royal Forest Guards, while Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had the black-armored elite cavalry. This was their greatest confidence.”
"Now, although our Great Song has a million soldiers, how much can Imperial Brother control?”
Zhao Zhen's expression became rather unsightly. Right now, all the military authority in the capital was in the hands of Grand Preceptor Pang. He was only the commander in name.
"But Grand Preceptor Pang has a high position and authority. How can we seize military power now without an excuse?”Zhao Zhen said hesitantly.
Zhao Xuan smiled faintly." Why should we seize Grand Preceptor Pang's military power? The Liao army only has 100,000 soldiers, but they can already fight north and south. Even if the Imperial Army has a million soldiers, it will be difficult for us to win. Therefore, it is important to have quality soldiers, not quantity!”
"So, why don't we form another army? Why do we need the trash of the Imperial Army?”
"Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty can set up a chapter building camp in Upper Forest Park. Why doesn't our Great Song follow suit and set up an army for our Great Song Imperial Family!”
"Set up an army for the Great Song Imperial Family?”Zhao Zhen's eyes lit up as he said in surprise.
"That's right. Imperial Brother can use this as an excuse to establish a Royal Guard to protect the Great Song Imperial Family!”
"Of course, the Imperial Court is definitely unwilling to fork out this sum of money. Therefore, we can let the Imperial Family fork out the money themselves!”
"Since the founding emperor of the Great Song, there have been more than a dozen princes. Which one of them doesn't have a family fortune of hundreds of millions? Any random family can contribute 10,000 yuan, and in a year, it will be 10,000 yuan. It's more than enough to feed an army of 20,000 to 30,000 people!”
"But how could the imperial clan be willing to pay this money?”Zhao Zhen said hesitantly.
" It's simple. The Song royal family has many descendants. Although most of them are good-for-nothings, there will always be a few talented people. If such talents are kept in the Imperial Residence, wouldn't it be a waste? When the time comes, we will give them a certain military position according to the proportion of the capital each family has invested to protect their fiefs. In this way, wouldn't the princes be able to earn a future for their descendants?”Zhao Xuan said indifferently.
"But what if the imperial clan has military power and has the intention to rebel?" Zhao Zhen frowned when he heard this.”
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