The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 519 is handed over to Prime Minister Li.
Li Gang was confused; the system sounded a bit far-fetched.

"Why do I smell the scent of factional strife again?" Li Gang said, "Young Master Yue, with your actions, it's inevitable that twenty powerful ministers will start factional strife and forming cliques just to get others to vote for them in order to decide important national affairs."

“Yes, there will definitely be factional strife.” Yue Wenxuan shrugged. “Does that mean there won’t be factional strife if we don’t use this system?”

Li Gang: "..."

Yue Wenxuan: "Party strife is a real and unavoidable phenomenon. Since that's the case, why not bring it out into the open? You can just go ahead and form factions, you can just go ahead and do whatever you want. No matter what you do, it's all for the sake of one big interest. There has to be a big interest in front of you before you can form a party, right?"

That makes sense, Li Gang nodded.

Yue Wenxuan: "As long as this interest does not contradict the national interest, I will allow everyone to form parties. It doesn't matter if there are parties all over the world. In the end, the parties will vote to compete, which is not necessarily a bad thing."

Upon hearing this, Li Gang suddenly understood that Yue Wenxuan was decentralizing power. He had brought the concept of "decentralization" to the forefront, allowing and encouraging it, breaking down power into smaller parts, distributing it to individual votes, and allocating it to various parties, so that everyone could participate in this way.

Li Gang wiped the sweat from his brow: "But factional strife can ruin a country!"

Yue Wenxuan: "The reason why factional strife harms the country is that in the past, factional strife was all about winning the emperor's approval. After all the fighting, in the end, the emperor could either veto or support it with one vote. Factional strife became a stage for opportunists and sycophants. Moreover, at the final implementation level, the losing party would deliberately hinder the winning party, leading to serious internal strife in the country."

"But our factional struggles are different. In the end, the side with more people has the advantage in votes. There's no need for a puppet emperor to make the decision; the votes will decide everything... In this way, the final outcome of the factional struggle is not determined by the will of the emperor alone, but by the will of a group of people. Moreover, the losing side must accept the defeat and cannot deliberately hinder the winning side. Once they lose the vote, they must wholeheartedly support the winning side."

At this point, Yue Wenxuan grinned and chuckled, "It might be too idealistic to expect losers to support winners, and it's not that easy. However, when a group of people consider a problem, they usually consider it more comprehensively than one person. Therefore, they are less likely to make mistakes in making decisions on the big picture. Even if the losers drag us down, it's still better than the factional strife of the past. Does Prime Minister Li agree?"

Upon hearing this, Li Gang felt deeply apprehensive.

Yue Wenxuan's ideas began to move in ways that Yue Wenxuan could not comprehend.

Yue Wenxuan: "I know that Prime Minister Li must have some doubts about this system, but besides this, does Prime Minister Li have a better solution to protect the fate of the Song Dynasty? If we don't use my method, the puppet emperor can be easily killed. The powerful minister who kills the puppet emperor will then ascend the throne and change the Song Dynasty into the Ming Dynasty or something. But if we use my method, no one will think about killing the emperor anymore. Anyway, the emperor is useless now. If they want to use dirty tricks, they will only target the regents, not the emperor."

The last few words, like sharp arrows, pierced Li Gang's heart with a soft thud.

Yup!

Once the system of appointing regents is implemented, the safety of the puppet emperor will be guaranteed. Who would bother to kill a puppet emperor? If anyone is going to raise a knife, it will be directed at the regents.

Having figured this out, Li Gang's eyes widened suddenly: "This method is feasible."

"I knew Prime Minister Li was a reasonable man."

Yue Wenxuan chuckled: "Since Prime Minister Li thinks it's feasible, I suggest he return to the Southern Song Dynasty and explain things clearly to everyone there. My Northern Song Emperor, Zhao Shi, is willing to promote the unification of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. He will voluntarily abdicate and pass the throne to Zhao Bocong. However, because Zhao Bocong is too young to handle affairs, a system of regents will be needed. If the officials of the Southern Song Dynasty agree, this matter can be implemented immediately. If they disagree, then our Emperor will not be willing to abdicate, and we will then have to rely on our own abilities to claim the legitimacy of the Song Dynasty."

Are they each vying for the rightful succession to the Song Dynasty based on their own abilities?
Isn't this tantamount to threatening to conquer the Southern Song Dynasty by force?
Li Gang could predict the outcome without even needing to think. The Jin dynasty had just made peace with the Northern Song, and there would be no fighting for a year.

The Northern Song Dynasty was already able to transfer its main army to the south!
With the firepower they had when they recaptured Kaifeng, it would probably take them less than half a day to take Lin'an.

If the Northern Song Dynasty had conquered the Southern Song Dynasty by force, Zhao Bocong could have given up on the dream of ascending the throne. The Northern Song Dynasty would have continued to be ruled by a fake prince, a fool whose eyes were dull and lifeless. Such a person was far less legitimate than Zhao Bocong.

A series of analyses flashed through Li Gang's mind, and he finally concluded that it was better to have Zhao Bocong as a puppet than Zhao Shi! At least Zhao Bocong was truly of the Zhao bloodline, and his children would also be of the Zhao lineage in the future, so the Song Dynasty could at least be preserved.

If Zhao Bocong died and Zhao Shi, that imposter, became emperor, it's unimaginable what kind of person would become emperor after that imposter's death. Could the Song Dynasty still be called the Song Dynasty then?

Li Gang sighed deeply: "I understand! Young Master Yue, you are right. In the current situation, the only way to preserve the Song Dynasty is to use the regent system you mentioned. I will set off south now to tell the Northern Song Dynasty the conditions they have offered."

He wasn't in the mood to stay any longer and immediately set off south.

They traveled day and night, not daring to delay even for a moment.

After traversing vast swathes of Northern Song territory, and reaching the border between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties, Li Gang witnessed a peculiar sight: at the border pass, large numbers of Southern Song civilians were gathered on the Southern Song side of the land, gazing towards the Northern Song side...

The soldiers of the Southern Song Dynasty watched these people like thieves, and if anyone tried to cross the border, the soldiers would rush over fiercely.

Li Gang instantly understood what was happening. He stood on the boundary bridge and shouted loudly to the south, "Fellow villagers, my name is Li Gang. I am going to Lin'an soon to promote the unification of the two Song dynasties. Once the two Song dynasties are unified, you will no longer have to flee north like this! Please wait for me for a few more days, and I will definitely get it done."

The people were stunned by these words and hadn't even realized what was happening yet.

It was the Southern Song border soldiers guarding the boundary bridge who reacted first: "Ah? Prime Minister Li! It's Prime Minister Li!"

"Prime Minister Li, is it really necessary for the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties to be united?"

"Do we really, really, really want to be united?"

Li Gang's expression was serious: "We must unite."

Before he could even finish speaking and before the common people could react, the Southern Song soldiers rushed across the boundary bridge and jumped onto the Northern Song side.

The people were stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening, and with a whoosh, they rushed over as well.

Li Gang: "?"

(End of this chapter)