It is better to act than to act. Zhao Bing clarified the context and was ready to start designing the future political landscape. He was born in ship design, and the thinking habits he had cultivated for many years were also brought into the design ideas of the political system. In fact, he felt that it was no different. From the perspective of the big picture, everything is united and the truth is perfect; from the microscopic world, any matter is made up of the most basic atoms.

Based on this reasoning, Zhao Bing believed that a ship consists of three parts: hull, power system, and operating system. Then, it is subdivided through different uses to design different types of ships, and then select suitable hull, power system and operating system, add different modules, and build various types of ships of different sizes and uses.

If the current country is compared to a ship with blank drawings, as the "hull" that carries the entire system, it is the state system. On this issue, Zhao Bing had no choice but to be a feudal monarchy and a centralized bureaucratic political system; as for the country's driving system, he believes that of course it is the development of productivity. To put it more high-end, it is the progress of social material and civilization, the prosperity of the country and the people's pursuit of a better life; the operating system is naturally the state's bureaucracy and armed forces.

Now that the hull has been available, the engine has also existed. Although the engine is already insufficient fuel, the parts are aging, resulting in a decrease in power, it can barely support the ship's progress, but it is also urgent to find a gas station and add fuel. As for the operating system, although the captain's goal is clear, the crew members performed differently. Some were full of energy, some were lazy and lazy to work but not work, and some simply secretly hung in reverse gear.

Now Zhao Bing is the captain, leading a group of sailors of different qualities to sail on the "sea of ​​people" that can cover the boat and carry the boat. What he has to do is to allow the big ship to sail smoothly on the turbulent sea, ride the wind and waves, overcome many difficulties until he reaches the other side of happiness. In order to make the ship sail on the right route and speed up, the operating system must be upgraded and transformed.

When Zhao Bing inherited the ship, he was already full of holes and was about to sink. He had been a tinkerer for more than ten years and finally made the ship barely sail. However, these sailors became casual and stubborn because the previous captains were negligent in management and did not pay attention to ideological and moral education, and developed a bad habit.

The core content of this spiritual and cultural heritage naturally refers to the "Song School" created by scholars in the Song Dynasty. Those values, ways of thinking, moral sentiments and national character that emerged in the new era but influenced the present. This is not only an academic trend, but also as a social trend, it has also had a huge impact on national quality and value beliefs.

Zhao Bing also certainly understood that the progress of society in the world and the progress of thoughts is inseparable, and the ability of the Song Dynasty to create a splendid culture shows that Song studies are not useless.

First of all, the awareness of equality was born in the Song Dynasty. The social transformation of the Tang and Song dynasties opened the gates for fair competition in the imperial examinations, and children of all walks of life, including industrial and commercialists, may enter the officialdom. The entire bureaucratic team mainly comes from the selection of the imperial examination field. Although they have levels, they are "compared with the victims" and are equal in legal status.

The landlord class has no "differentiation between scholars and commoners". Land rights have begun to frequently transfer through economic means. Landlords, self-cultivated farmers and tenants may all have their status rising due to land gains and losses. Not only arable land rent, but relatively equal contractual relationships have also begun to enter many economic activities. Farmers and handicraftsmen have begun to have the right to move and the right to move, which has promoted the horizontal flow and upward flow between various classes.

All these changes have given rise to people's vague yearning for equality. Song scholars advocated "the people are my compatriots, and the things are my friends", which emphasized this view of equality. In society, the traditional idea of ​​agriculture-based and industry-commerce as the end was challenged, and the concept of equality among scholars, farmers, industry and commerce emerged. This was a revolution in identity before the emergence of modern civic consciousness.

The concept of equality is also projected on the program and slogan of the uprising peasants. Wang Xiaobo's "equal wealth and poverty", Fang La's "equality of law", and Zhong Xiang's "equal high and low" all express strong demands for social equality. Compared with the previous generations, this sense of equality was a new factor, but it still has an essential difference from the concept of equality in modern times.

As a modern person, Zhao Bing certainly supports the progress of this kind of ideological progress, but as a ruler, he must keep his reservations. The scholars and officials have become so arrogant that they want to seize power. They always think about undermining themselves, and of course they cannot tolerate them.

The second is the spirit of compatibility. It is precisely because the political atmosphere of the Song Dynasty is relatively relaxed that the spirit of compatibility emerged. During its establishment and formation period, the Song School adhered to an inclusive and open attitude, with a spirit of doubt and innovative vitality. Looking at the two peak periods of Song School, "learning is everywhere" and "discuss it themselves", but it is quite tolerant and coexist, and objectively affirms that other schools can be used to make choices.

At the same time, Buddhism integrates Confucianism and Taoism in theory, Taoism draws nutrients from Confucianism and Buddhism, and the supreme rulers also handle religious relations with a compatible spirit. Peaceful coexistence of the three religions became the norm of the Song Dynasty. As for the daily behavior of scholars and common people, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism often go hand in hand and get along without conflict. In the integration and coexistence of elegant and civilized cultures, the entire society is quite tolerant.

Zhao Bing also understood that it was inclusive that scholars, farmers, industry and commerce classes constantly absorbed, learned from each other, integrated other heterogeneous cultures, and created a brilliant and brilliant cultural heritage. In fact, this aspect was actually what he wanted to carry forward and inherit to promote his own innovation. However, often something will solidify when it reaches a certain stage of development, forgetting its original intention, which will become a stumbling block to progress.

Another thing is that Songxue has become secular to a certain extent. Scholars are influenced by the concept of worldly management. In essence, it is a world-wide culture, which emphasizes practice and emphasizes worldly management. The strong promotion of the imperial examination system has led to a rapid rise of a literati and bureaucratic class, fundamentally focusing on how the people survive and develop, and how the country is peaceful and strong, reflecting the worldly spirit of "taking the world as one's own responsibility".

The elites in the scholar class believed that they were the actual responsibilities of the world's safety and the people's interests and diseases. They called the emperor to "rule the world with scholars and officials", showing a self-conscious consciousness that was very different from those of the scholars of the previous generations. That is, in terms of Neo-Confucianism emphasizes the "way of sages and kings outside", it aims to study things, seek knowledge, sincerity, uprightness, and self-cultivation through the "internal sages" skill of pursuing things, achieving knowledge, and correcting one's heart, and cultivating oneself, and ultimately falling on the "outer sages" of managing the family, governing the country, and pacifying the world.

For example, Fan Zhongyan’s famous saying “Worry before the world is worried, and then the world is happy after the world is happy” and Zhang Zai’s call to “establish a mind for the heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, inherit the unique knowledge for the past sages, and open peace for all ages” are all classic expressions of this concept and sentiment. Of course, this feeling is out of date in modern times, and Zhao Bing also expressed deep support, but he also hoped that they could show their due respect to the emperor, not care about everything, and even wanted to let go of giving birth to a child.

However, Zhao Bing understood the truth that the moon was full and the loss was lost. Since the late Tang and Five Dynasties, loyalty, righteousness, integrity and shame were wiped out. During the reconstruction of the new Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, he spared no effort to commend reputation and integrity. By the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, he had "Chinese and foreign countries recommended gentry to be known as reputation and integrity." Famous morality urged outstanding scholars and officials to "not be in vain to seek progress", and regarded the evaluation of the current and future generations as higher than rewards and punishments, and beyond the eternal value of life.

He also did not deny that the new Confucianism, as the core of spiritual culture, has indeed injected many new elements into the times. However, with the pressure of the external environment and the strengthening of internal autocracy, since the beginning of the school of the Song Dynasty, Neo-Confucianism has gained respect and was promoted to an official school. The compatible spirit of the founding period has gradually disappeared. Doctrines such as "preserving the laws of nature and destroying human desires" and "starving to death is small, losing integrity is big", and finally becoming the spiritual shackles of the autocratic empire to control bureaucrats and tame the people.

Therefore, Zhao Bing's innovation faced a political legacy that was twilighting. Although his institutional design certainly ensured the centralization of the monarch and eradicated the division and separatism, he always and everywhere "prevented things and ordered them to be concise". In military affairs, each of them governed independently, lacked coordination, and difficulty in coordination, which seriously weakened the combat effectiveness of the army. In administration, many political careers, redundant officials, and inefficiency are common.

Zhao Bing knew that if this system could be maintained when world peace and country was peaceful and people were at peace, the negative factors could be covered up by the superficial complexity, and the emperor and ministers could be intoxicated and appreciate the prosperity of this prosperous era with serene satisfaction. However, when facing the pressure of a strong enemy and the current situation was chaotic, its lack of vitality, and the shortcomings of short-term response would be exposed, and the destruction of the country would be inevitable.

Faced with this mess, Zhao Bing has been seeking change, especially after regaining Jiangnan, which has become stronger, but there are many obstacles. He only needs to revise the law in order to implement the rule of law. Although the teacher is strict in terms of courtesy, the progress has been extremely slow in two years, and the officials below also delay and reject responsibility under various excuses and do not cooperate.

At that time, Zhao Bing was determined to rectify it, but when there were strong enemies outside, he did not dare to act, so as not to destroy the hard-earned balance. So two years later, when the situation eased slightly, he decisively launched the Northern Expedition and attacked the Mongolian Yuan, so that it could not threaten the Song Dynasty for a period of time, thus gaining time for himself to promote innovation.

When fighting, it is important to "shoot people first, shoot horses, and capture thieves first, capture kings first." Zhao Bing also knew that innovation must be carried out from top to bottom, and first establish a strong leadership team. Of course, he cannot move. The one who bears the brunt of the current dynasty is the priests of the dynasty. These people, as the weather vane of the scholar-in-law class, can only realize their plans if they get their support.

When doing business, you have to bargain, so you naturally need to compromise with each other. Zhao Bing now finds out the other party’s reserve price. Restoring the three provinces is actually to give up power, let the literati and officials benefit, and to pull them into a boat first. But his advantage is not so easy to take, and some private goods must be included...
Chapter completed!