Chapter 15: A Challenge to Bureaucratic Politics

In fact, the Song Dynasty had its own official bulletin distribution agency called the Imperial Memorial Office.

The Memorial Office existed as early as the Tang Dynasty.

The bulletins mainly included the following contents: the emperor’s activities, imperial edicts, appointments and dismissals of officials, officials’ memorials, and important political and military intelligence.

It functioned as the capital’s channel to announce critical information to the entire realm.

The primary readers of these bulletins were local officials; the capital used them to communicate central government orders to officials across the country.

The Song Dynasty’s Imperial Memorial Office was subordinate to the Department of Political Affairs, with its executive authority held by the chancellor of that department.

The chancellor was an official of the Outer Court.

However, the Tokyo Daily, which Zhao Ning separated out, was directly under the emperor himself, essentially serving as the emperor’s mouthpiece.

Its readership was not limited to officials but extended to the common people.

As for the many illiterate commoners, there were methods to address this.

This was the arrangement of public opinion institutions, which could significantly influence the populace.

If one wanted to launch an all-out war against the Jin and Western Xia, a powerful army was essential.

To have a powerful army, a robust logistical system was necessary, including weaponry, manpower mobilization, and ample military funding.

To maintain sufficient logistics, multiple internal reforms were required.

Much like Wang Anshi’s reforms, which ultimately failed, but whose idea was undoubtedly correct.

To implement reforms, one had to confront the existing bureaucratic class.

To confront the bureaucracy, one had to simultaneously divide it internally and win over the people.

Winning over the people required tools like the Tokyo Daily, a vital instrument of propaganda with immense influence.

Moreover, it could counterbalance the Confucian orthodoxy to the greatest extent.

Great men have said similar things: the position of public opinion is there—if you don’t occupy it, the enemy will.

Qin Hui stepped down and actively began preparations for the Tokyo Daily.

Dawn was approaching, and the snow still did not cease.

News of Xu Bingzhe’s assassination quickly spread.

“What! The official killed someone?” Tang Ke suddenly stood up, disbelief written all over his face.

“Yes!” Wang Shiyong sighed, “Right outside the Chuigong Hall, they chopped him down. We all heard his screams.”

They were furious. A minister was slaughtered like a chicken or duck—this was a direct affront to the dignity of the scholar-official class!

That fatal blow to Xu Bingzhe’s neck was also a blow to the sanctity of the orthodox path.

In ancient China, there was a special social group known as the literati.

Their orthodoxy and principles were the supreme spiritual foundation.

In times of limited productivity, maintaining unity relied heavily on this orthodoxy.

An impoverished scholar could disdain a wealthy merchant because the scholar was a disciple of the sages, the interpreter of societal morality and legal legitimacy.

They believed themselves the bearers of the true knowledge for governing the state and pacifying the world.

During the late Tang, the five aristocratic clans were wiped out along the Yellow River, ending noble politics.

The Song, to stem the chaos of the Five Dynasties, embraced civil governance, elevating the status of the literati to unprecedented heights.

This gave rise to Wen Yanbo’s famous saying: "The ruler and the scholar-officials govern the world together—not the ruler with the common people."

The true meaning of this was that the scholar-officials possessed the sacred secrets of statecraft; the emperor might wield worldly administrative power, but to stabilize the realm, he had to rely on them.

Now, a man was killed—outside the Chuigong Hall, slaughtered like livestock—and the charges against him were widely disputed.

This was an invisible usurpation of power in the Song, a provocation against the disciples of the sages.

“Prime Minister Tang, what do we do now?”

Tang Ke fell into thought. After a moment, he said, “First, we must remain calm. Let Zhang Shuye take office and see what plans he has. If he is anything like He Li, all the grievances of today will be returned upon him!”

“If Zhang Shuye achieves success, won’t all the glory be his?”

“What kind of success do you mean?”

“If he can hold off the Jin army...” Wang Shiyong’s voice was low; even he doubted the words.

“Impossible!” Tang Ke shook his head. “This is a war of unequal strength. We cannot defeat the Jin, not a chance in the world, unless we negotiate peace or relocate the capital.”

Tang Ke was right. The military disparity between the Song and Jin was like that between a child and a strong man in his twenties.

Repeated defeats had thoroughly stunned these Song scholar-officials.

“So you mean Zhang Shuye’s downfall is just a matter of time?”

“Just a matter of time.”

“And what about Gao Qiu?” Wang Shiyong said angrily, “Have you not seen how arrogant and lawless he is?”

“There’s no need for us to act. Gao Qiu has already incurred the public’s wrath. Someone will impeach him. If the Censorate doesn’t, then we’ll arrange for someone to remind them.”

No one had anticipated today’s situation.

Originally, it was thought that with He Li’s removal, a pro-peace faction would take power. But who expected that Xu Bingzhe would be beheaded in the court just for uttering the word ‘peace’?

Now his head hung above the city gate, drawing countless onlookers.

Xu Bingzhe’s charges were also made public.

News spread swiftly through the city, stirring great excitement.

The emperor had made a statement!

By executing a minister from the pro-surrender faction, he declared: resolutely pro-war!

This was the voice of countless people!

Yet Xu Bingzhe’s death seemed only to tighten the political atmosphere further. No one knew what would happen next.

This day’s court drama yielded several outcomes for Zhao Ning:

First, it suppressed the pro-peace faction’s momentum. Xu Bingzhe’s head would shock all of Tokyo.

The people of Tokyo ardently hoped for war, and now the head of a surrender advocate told them all: resolutely pro-war!

Second, it bolstered Zhang Shuye’s position as coordinator, improving defensive efficiency to come.

The Song’s national war machine was finally beginning to move!

Third, with Zhang Shuye’s voice and Gao Qiu’s hand in killing Xu Bingzhe, a new faction had effectively been nurtured under the current circumstances.

Why so?

Zhang Shuye would inevitably be despised by some bookish scholars who revered the sages. Many would curse him. Yet, being promoted by the emperor now meant he was one of the emperor’s own.

Strictly speaking, all ministers were the emperor’s men, but Zhao Ning, as a time-traveler, intended to cultivate a faction loyal to himself.

In other words, to play one faction against another.

Gao Qiu was the same; he had offended all the civil officials and to survive, he had to become the emperor’s lapdog.

That was precisely what Zhao Ning wanted to see.

With his own agents, future affairs could be handled efficiently.

Fourth, the greatest impact was that it shattered the political stability ideas established since Emperor Taizong of Song.

Since Taizong, the Song rarely executed ministers. Wen Yanbo’s phrase of joint governance between ruler and literati had elevated the scholar-official status to new heights.

Consequently, the entire Song ideology had been distorting, with the military status declining generation by generation, leading to the deterioration of military prowess and the current Jin siege.

Today, Zhao Ning thoroughly tore apart that bottom line.

What was once a game of dismissals and removals had become one of physical elimination.

Why did he do this? Was it because he lacked political savvy?

No, no.

Because the coming situation was hellish—without harsh measures, it was impossible to reverse the Song’s plight.

After taking some light food in the morning, Zhao Ning was busy within the palace.

He ordered copies of all the accounts from the Three Departments Office to be delivered to him, along with records of taxation and land surveys from past dynasties.

He intended to digest all this thoroughly to prepare for the overall strategy ahead.

Governing a country was far more than just managing a few people.

Surrounded by powerful enemies on all sides and plagued by numerous internal ailments, the Song could barely survive in the cracks, with the Southern Song merely clinging to life.

He spent the entire morning immersed in taxes, negotiated incomes, and national expenditures, a stream of numbers taking shape in his mind.

“Your Majesty, your Majesty,” Wang Huaiji hurried over.

“What is it?” Zhao Ning looked up.

“The Secretariat clerks refuse to draft the edict for confiscation.”