A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 55: I have a great scholar to argue for me
Zheng Jian's heart-piercing words made the four of them look sideways at the same time.

Everyone here has been an official, except you.

Is Song Xuan right?

Others may not understand, so how can we not understand?
Zhang Fangping also frowned secretly. Twelve Brother's words were not wrong. He wanted to open his mouth to defend himself, but Yan Shu spoke first:
"What's wrong with students expressing their opinions?"

"Such remarks are inappropriate!" Zheng Jian looked at Yan Shu:

"As officials, we must follow the words of the saints and serve the people. Even if this kind of person becomes an official, his intentions are not right."

"Your words are truly those of a scholar."

Yan Shu responded bluntly, which made Zheng Jian blush immediately.

Even though Zheng Jian always liked to confront others, his chest immediately puffed up with anger when he was suddenly scolded by Yan Shu.

A talented person like Zheng Jian would naturally uphold the words of the sages, that is, to uphold his own class.

Who would have thought that those of them who belonged to the scholar class would sneer at it.

In particular, Zheng Jian believed that the Song Dynasty had given him, a scholar, the opportunity to share the world.

After all, the phrase "sharing the world" is too tempting for people!

Zhao Kuangyin had a broad mind, but he and Zhao Guangyi were not bound by this sentence. They still killed the scholars and officials.

Zhao Kuangyin himself never gave up using the death penalty to punish officials. As a mature emperor, how could he allow his descendants, whose prestige was far less than his, to give up this method?

Forcibly restraining the hands and feet of future generations would certainly harm the imperial power. Zhao Kuangyin would not be so stupid.

It was not until the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, when the emperor's power fell into the hands of others, that this statement was exaggerated, but civil servants were occasionally executed.

It was not until the reign of Emperor Renzong, when he met Zhao Zhen, who was kind to everyone, that the plan was perfectly implemented.

Moreover, the first person to instill the ancestral system in Zhao Zhen was Fan Zhongyan, and then Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo and others followed suit.

All civil servants work towards this.

But Zheng Jian thought that when it came to the circle of scholars and officials, who wouldn’t take the initiative to protect the circle?
But he really didn't expect that Yan Shu, the former child prodigy and now the prefect, would not stand on the same side as him.

Yan Shu looked at Zheng Jian, who looked unconvinced, and said calmly:

"Taizu once said that those who submit serious memorials should not be executed. What is wrong with what Song Twelve said?"

Then Zhang Fangping saluted again:
"My dear gentlemen, actually, Brother Twelve also said something after that, which is what I heard from others:

"Reading is to understand principles. When you understand principles, you will have your own opinions and know what to do. But principles are constantly changing, and you can't stick to them rigidly."

"This is a great thing to say."

Fan Zhongyan was not a bookworm, and Song Xuan's words really touched his heart.

The most important thing is that he has experience in officialdom.

He was really disgusted when he met colleagues who talked a lot but never did anything.

He was full of wise words, but unfortunately they all went to the dogs.

Fan Zhongyan, who was praised as the most perfect man in the Song Dynasty, really looked down upon this kind of scholars.

Even Song Shou agreed with what Song Xuan said. He had been in officialdom for several years and of course knew the character of many scholars after they became officials.

Zheng Jian did not argue any further, at least he did not find any loopholes in Song Xuan's words.

If Song Xuan were present, he would definitely say, "I don't need to do anything, there are great scholars who will debate for me!"
Yan Shu put down the manuscript in his hand:
"I hope you can maintain your original intention and make further progress in your studies. Confucius said, 'When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher.' Song Twelve's words are thought-provoking. You should learn more from him." "Thank you, Mr. Yan, for your guidance."

Zhang Fangping naturally knew that Song Xuan was his close friend, and he didn't need anyone to remind him of this.

In particular, he felt that Song Shou's impression of Song Xuan had eased a little. Even if he passed the entrance exam for Yingtianfu Academy seven days later, with him as the examiner, it would not be too embarrassing to deal with Song Xuan's strategy.

Then Song Shou stood up again, called Zhang Fangping over, and gave him careful instructions on his strategy, which was really like giving special training to the top student.

"Brother-in-law, do you know Song Twelve very well?"

Although Zheng Jian and Fan Zhongyan were brothers-in-law, they had completely different political positions.

Even when Fan Zhongyan was the prime minister in his later years, Zheng Jian did not get close to him, but instead formed a group with the Song Yang brothers, who were also independent of the new and old parties.

"We have known each other before."

Fan Zhongyan then slowly recounted some of Song Xuan's life from childhood to adulthood.

Zheng Jian raised his eyebrows frequently after hearing this. It would be better for his father to die early than to be alive.

It seems that this boy has not fallen like his second brother. He is truly different from ordinary people!
Not to mention his talent for studying. He used to be a child prodigy, but was not valued by his family. Now he has worked hard on his own, has no worries about food and clothing, and can even go to school.

As he was growing up, no one taught him and his thoughts were different from other students, which was understandable.

Zheng Jian sighed deeply:

"Brother-in-law, although this boy is talented, I think you will need to spend a lot of effort to correct his thinking, and this is the most difficult thing."

Fan Zhongyan didn't say much. He had his own plans on how to educate Song Xuan.

Now, after listening to Zhang Fangping's retelling of Song Xuan's remarks, he felt even more strongly that when this boy became an official in the future, he would definitely not collude with others to exploit the people.

It is very likely that you will have to go against those bureaucrats who are dissatisfied with you!

Fan Zhongyan was encouraging towards Song Xuan. If a young man did not have a spirit of adventure, how could he move up in officialdom, better build the Song Dynasty, and benefit the people under his rule?
Do I have to go along with those insects?
Do they know how to better govern the Song Dynasty?

Ever since Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan had an in-depth exchange, Fan Zhongyan was full of anticipation for teaching in Yingtian Prefecture.

If we want to change the current situation of the Song Dynasty court, we must start with the students.

This was also the idea that Yan Shu had in mind when he wanted to promote education after being kicked out.

Zheng Jian believed that if Song Xuan was younger, he could be corrected in time, but he was over fifteen years old, his thinking and cognition were basically determined, and the chance of change was not great.

"We'll talk about the future later. If you're not in a hurry, you can take a look at his policy papers. They're definitely very interesting and might give you more references when you're serving as an official."

Fan Zhongyan gave Zheng Jian such sincere advice that he couldn't hold it in anymore.

He ranked third in the first class this year, but he did not stay in the capital to gain experience in a prestigious government office. Instead, he chose to be sent out to accumulate experience in governance.

Now my brother-in-law, who is an official, wants me to read the essays of scholars who haven't even completed the first step of the imperial examination. Maybe it will give me some inspiration for my own official career?

It's simply unreasonable.

But what made Zheng Jian even more upset was that Yan Shu, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, actually agreed with Fan Zhongyan's words:
"Tianxiu, there's no need to rush into your new post. The entrance exam for Yingtianfu Academy will be in seven days."

"Good good."

Even though Zheng Jian was not convinced, he still recited a few words in his mind before calming himself down and speaking out:

"I want to see how well Song Xuan writes his essay for the entrance exam!"

(End of this chapter)