Ning Jiang sat in the carriage and followed the eunuch Sili to enter the inner city from the west gate.

Along the way, you can also see the sinkhole caused by meteorites in the capital last year. Although it was cleaned up by the civilians who were forcibly conscripted, the surrounding scars were not so easy to repair.

The luxurious carriage drove towards the main entrance of the imperial city.

Ning Jiang was quite surprised by the title of his official position this time. The direct scholar of the Longtu Pavilion is not an official position with real power, it is more of a symbolic honor. The bachelor and direct scholar in the Longtu Pavilion are also called "geguan". The so-called "geguan" as soon as you enter the cabinet hall, you are a celebrity. If you say it, it is indeed a very identity. However, this official position itself is a virtual title with a seal and has no power in the court.

However, although there is no actual power, first of all, Longtu Pavilion is located in the imperial city. As a direct scholar of Longtu Pavilion, he can enter the imperial city even if he is not recruited by the emperor. This is a kind of kindness. Secondly, even if it is a false title, it is an official position after all, which means that Ningjiang is no longer a scattered official, and under the recruitment of the emperor, he can openly discuss matters in the court.

Finally, it is precisely because this kind of cabinet is a gift of the emperor, so it does not need to go through the Secretariat, but the emperor directly issued an order to increase the position, which bypassed the prime minister's authority. In history, there were indeed emperors who wanted to reuse a certain official, so they were granted the title of Longtu Pavilion and Baowen Pavilion to directly enter the court to discuss politics and cultivate qualifications.

Of course, there is another situation, after the emperor demoted a person, he was granted a bachelor's degree or a direct bachelor's degree from Longtu Pavilion or Baowen Pavilion, which means that although I demoted your official position, my favor to you is still there, and this is mostly a comforting nature.

Because the direct bachelor of Longtu Pavilion is a grant, generally speaking, he originally had an official position and "also" a direct bachelor of Longtu Pavilion, but Ningjiang does not have an official position, and the "Guardian" belongs to the medal position. This direct bachelor of Longtu Pavilion has become his actual official position.

At this time, the emperor suddenly conferred him a false title that seemed dispensable and had no real power. Ning Jiang pondered it carefully and soon began to realize that there was a deviation between the monarch's power and the prime minister's power on the issue of appointing him.

When he entered the imperial city, Emperor Song Shao summoned him directly in the deep palace.

Song Shao didn't look very good at this moment, and he was lying on the dragon couch.

Just like yesterday, I was exempted from ceremonies. After giving the seat, Song Shao sat up with the eunuch's support, waved his hand, and let the eunuch retreat to the door. Then he looked at Ning Jiang who was sitting upright on the mat and said, "After I discussed what you said yesterday, I have discussed with the right push and others, they all said that what you said is a bit unfair. The various troops of the Manhu have never been monotonous, and they have never stopped fighting each other. In the wilderness outside the Helan Mountain, it is not easy to raise millions of soldiers."

Ning Jiang said: "Do they know that there has been no major war between the various barbarian tribes for at least 20 or 30 years? The fertile land in the world is owned by my China. Outside the Helan Mountains and the thousands of miles of Yinchuan, although the land is large, most of them are ice and snow that are not suitable for living. Before my China had literary talent, the barbarians could not invade China. They could only fight for the limited resources of Yinchuan outside the Helan Mountains and kill to the death. The leaders of the tribes who could lead the clans to survive in that place.

All of them are cruel and ruthless people. There has not been a war in so many years. The only possibility is that the barbarian king who has unified the various divisions of the Manhu tribes with powerful force. Your Majesty, think that if the Chinese literary spirit is still there, it would be fine. Now that the literary spirit is lost, how could those barbarians be let go of the Chinese weak military and civilians and fertile land? This time the barbarian invasion is more of a test. Now their temptation has ended, and the next time, it will be a large-scale invasion of the Manhu."

Song Shao said: "If this is the case, what should we do?"

Ning Jiang said: "Reform!"

Song Shao said: "How to change?"

Ning Jiang said: "First of all, we must change the tradition of emphasizing literature over military affairs. Now our China is suffering from internal and external troubles, and the wind and rain are falling, and the Confucianism and Taoism are declining, and the military power is not obvious. Therefore, we need to make changes in the military and value talents who are proficient in military tactics and battle formations."

Song Shao said: "This type of talent is probably not easy to find!"

Ning Jiang said: "Talents from a lifetime are for the use of the whole life. With the vastness of China, talents from all walks of life can always be found. But in the past, such talents were difficult to stand out, and even if they exist in the army, they would not be valued. But now, it is an extraordinary time. Therefore, first of all, we should dismiss the class law, and use generals without regard for their background or qualifications. Those who have outstanding abilities in fighting against barbarians, Miao and Yi, and riots will be valued. As generals, each has their own strengths. There is no standard at all. Some people are good at governing the army with ease, while others

It is not appropriate to be good at governing the army strictly and leading the army without any restrictions. It is originally unsuitable to restrict all troops with a class law. When the country is in trouble, only military achievements are the only criterion. For those who perform well when fighting against barbarians, they are not stingy to be granted official positions and titles to win people's hearts. The more chaotic the times are, the more important talents are. Your Majesty, the mere minister also knows that many people in the court are used to being accustomed to dress up peace, but only by truly recognizing the dangers of the current situation can we have the opportunity to create a new peaceful and prosperous era. Those who cannot see the surging tide will eventually be swallowed up by the waves."

Song Shao pondered for a long time and carefully considered his last sentence.

From Song Shao's perspective, no matter what, he would not hope that the Great Zhou Dynasty, which had been passed down for nearly a thousand years, would collapse in his hands.

However, it is inevitable that the star of Emperor Wen and the collapse of Confucianism and Taoism will appear. The Great Zhou Dynasty was in dire straits that had never been seen in eight hundred years. Even the vassal reductions in those days were far from comparable to this moment. However, looking at the court, it seemed that everything was still and nothing had happened, and he was somewhat confused about it.

Even he began to feel that something had to change, but even in this case, the court was still like a stagnant pool, everyone lived in a strong inertia, and no one was willing to make changes.

But what happened yesterday made him suddenly realize.

The world is the world of his Song family. The southwest was in chaos, the fall of Bashu, and the ceding of the four states. Although these things were humiliated, they lost the "king land". They had no impact on the pampering life of high-ranking officials and nobles living in the capital. However, the news brought by Ningjiang made them afraid at once. Not only them, but even him were afraid. The catastrophe of the entire China, such news made everyone subconsciously unwilling to believe it.

However, Xu Xiusheng's words forced him to pay attention to the possibility of the demise of China. On this side, there was indeed a slight slight word from Ningjiang people, while Xu Xiusheng, who was a senior of the two dynasties, was a veteran of the two dynasties. Although the same words were said by the two people, the weight was different. On the other hand, after reflection, he began to realize the stubborn diseases in the court.

Faced with the China crisis brought about by the collapse of Confucianism and Taoism, the court must respond and change. However, in the court, any change is a symbol of bloody storm. And in such a change, who is the person who doesn’t have to worry about the least?

It's him, the emperor!

The eight hundred years of Confucian world have allowed the concept of "the king, the minister, the minister, the father, the son, the son" to be deeply planted in everyone's heart. Everyone in the court can be replaced, but he, the emperor, is irreplaceable.

But for others, most people care more about their hard work and the status and power they gain from fighting against political enemies. The more they are, the more they worry that their power and status will be affected.

It is easy to talk about changing such things. No matter how you change it, the emperor is the emperor, but no one of them can guarantee their position and can maintain it in the coming bloody storm.

This idea can be said to be the common voice of most people in the court. For this reason, a stronger inertia than before is pushed forward in this atmosphere of danger to everyone, even if there is a bottomless abyss ahead.

When he realized this, Song Shao's first reaction was disappointment, disappointment with the entire court. However, disappointment was disappointment, and the responsibility that was stronger than before was also pressed on his shoulders at this time. He didn't know where to change, but he knew that no matter what, the Great Zhou Dynasty needed to change, and this kind of change could not be expected to be anyone else except by the emperor himself.

Ning Jiang could actually understand Song Shao's current mentality. Just like Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty and Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty in another world, when they realized the crisis of the entire country, as emperors, they also tried to make changes to prolong the life of the dynasty that entered the final period. It was just that their own abilities were insufficient and the strong inertia they faced, which eventually led them to die or the country was destroyed. However, the nature of the feudal dynasty would inevitably make some sober emperors want to try to make changes because of the responsibility on their shoulders. After all, in theory, the country is their own country, not the court officials, nor the people.

Ning Jiang continued: "Abolish the class law, emphasize the use of military generals, rectify the army, strictly investigate and punish the practice of engraving and stripping soldiers, so that the soldiers can be united. On this basis, the baojia law was implemented. Each county and county all organized militias, with ten households as one armor and ten armor as one protection. Select low-level military generals from the army to train and mobilize all the strong men in China to prepare for war. The military power was trained and the military power was combined to form a team, headquarters, general, and combat units of the army. Heavy industry gathered craftsmen and blacksmiths from all over the country to develop weapons. In the past, they were in a low-level civil servants.

The craftsmen who are free from low status and who are able to design weapons that greatly enhance the strength of soldiers will be granted official positions and honors, which are equivalent to bachelors and direct bachelors. As for the bachelors in the Hanlin Academy, the students of the Imperial College of Imperial College can be allowed to go to the countryside to study. On the one hand, they reduce rent and taxes, so that ordinary people will not become refugees or mobs. On the other hand, they will give merchants appropriate status, promote their circulation, and then impose commercial taxes. Wars are happening all over the world, and there are many places that require money. Instead of taking it from the people, it is better to take it from the business."

He kept saying a lot.

After he finished speaking, Song Shao pondered for a long time and said, "It is probably not easy to continue to promote what you said in the court."

Ning Jiang bowed and said, "I know that these are easy to say and have great resistance to implementation, but Your Majesty, if these can be implemented, there will be a glimmer of hope for our Great Zhou Dynasty. If we don't do it, we will really wait for death."

He knew that Song Shao was not a smart and capable emperor, and only by the crisis of destroying the country and the clan could he truly inspire him. This is also the main reason why Ning Jiang directly revealed the fact that the barbarians had millions of soldiers yesterday. As the emperor, facing the abyss of the impending destruction of the country and the clan, if Song Shao could not be excited and inspire reforms, then there would be no need for him to give more hope to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Song Shao covered his forehead, was silent for a long time, and said, "You retreat first, let me think about it, let me think about it again."

Ning Jiang stood up and said, "I'm going to leave!"

Ning Jiang left and walked out of the palace under the leadership of a eunuch.

At this moment, a light and crisp sound rang in the corner on the other side: "Bachelor!"

Ning Jiang looked at it and saw that the one standing there was the beautifully dressed Red Butterfly Princess.

At this time, all morning had passed, and the sun was hanging high in the air. Princess Red Butterfly stood in the shadow, and for a moment, Ning Jiang almost mistakenly thought she was Luanmei.

Luanmei and Hongdie were originally the relationship between their aunt and niece. Now, they actually look quite similar. Of course, they are not as old as they are. Luanmei, who was originally in her 29th year, is considered an older young man in this world. Now she is reborn from the ashes, but she has become Luo Li, who looks younger than Hongdie.

Having said that, he hadn't seen Luanmei for a long time. The only thing he could know was that an organization called Momen was building rapidly in places that others could not pay attention to. However, at this time, not many people would care about an "ancient organization" like Momen, and not many people knew that such a "ancient organization" hidden a brand new idea.

Princess Hongdie, who had been waiting here for a long time, had a blushing face and walked towards him. Just as she was about to talk to Ning Jiang, two girls came from a distance: "Hongdie!" "Hongdie, it turns out you are here."

Ning Jiang looked at him and saw that the two people who came to Baotong County Lord and Miss Lu.

The Lord of Baotong County is the youngest daughter of Prince Hexiang and is also a member of the royal family. Miss Lu is the daughter of Luanmei Liujie and is a cousin with Hongdie.

The two girls grabbed Hongmei and said very quickly: "Hongdie, it turns out that you are here, so we are both easy to find. If you don't say a word when you get here..." While speaking, Miss Lu glanced straight at Ningjiang. She hid behind Hongdie shyly and looked at Ningjiang.
Chapter completed!