Daming Super Dimension Company, President Zhu Yuanzhang!

Sima Guang could only be a censor in the court.

Xiao Ran sighed and told the rest of the record, "In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, Sima Guang was 10 years old. You died of illness, and Zhao Xu, the -year-old Song Zhezong, succeeded to the throne. The Empress Dowager consulted Sima Guang on state governance. Sima Guang proposed to open up the channels for public opinion, advocated that the new law must be abolished, and implemented benevolent governance. He also mentioned the issue of rewards and punishments for employment. He believed that the Baojia system, the exemption system, and the military system were harmful to the world."

"Then the Empress Dowager issued an edict to appoint Sima Guang to the post. In order to abolish the new law, Sima Guang recalled Liu Zhi, Fan Chunren, Li Chang, Su Shi, Su Zhe and others who had been demoted for opposing the new law. Old officials such as Lu Gongzhu and Wen Yanbo were also recalled to serve in the court."

"The new law was abolished, but when Sima Guang was ill, he learned that the exemption law, the Qingmiao law and the general law had not been abolished. He wanted to entrust his wish to Lu Gongzhu. The empress dowager relied on him and appointed him as prime minister. Therefore, Sima Guang quickly abolished the exemption law and the Qingmiao law. Not long after, he died of illness. The empress dowager and the emperor went to pay tribute to him and posthumously conferred him a title."

To be specific, Sima Guang's most important achievement in literature was his book "Zizhi Tongjian".

"However, there was an unexpected change in Sima Guang's posthumous title."

Zhao Xu was surprised. "How could something unexpected happen when he is already dead? Could it be that he was found to have been corrupt and abused his power?"

"In the first year of Shaosheng, Zhang Dun was the prime minister. He discussed Sima Guang's changes to the laws of Xifeng. Soon, Song Zhezong issued an edict to cancel Sima Guang's posthumous title and destroy the stele. Later, he was demoted and reinstated several times. At the most serious time, Sima Guang's descendants were banned from holding officials in Beijing." Xiao Ran said.

Different emperors had different opinions on Sima Guang's abolition of the new law. Song Zhezong demoted him several times, but later Song Gaozong reinstated him. Song Lizong also listed Sima Guang as one of the twenty-four heroes of the Song Dynasty.

Xiao Ran finished speaking, took a sip of tea, and looked at Zhao Xu, "I have answered all your questions, do you have anything else to ask?"

After a brief thought, Zhao Xu asked the question in his mind, "The successor prince is young, so I guess I died suddenly. Why did I die?"

He thought that even if the reform failed, he should not die so early.

"Wang Anshi's reforms failed because you compromised with the conservatives. After he was dismissed, you did not give up the reforms."

It is said that Zhao Xu supported the reform, but he always gave up at the most critical moment. When he had no one to use, he took charge of the changes himself and made quite a few changes.

Xiao Ran spoke slowly, "In the second year after Wang Anshi was dismissed, the reign was changed to Yuanfeng. You stepped out from behind the scenes and stepped into the foreground. Without Wang Anshi, you faced enormous pressure alone. You implemented tough measures to implement the new law and severely punished officials who opposed the reform. After continuous efforts, a centralized system conducive to the monarchy was basically established in the court, and it was even used in the late Song Dynasty."

"You rectified the problem of redundant officials, and reversed the accumulated drawbacks of the court. You also unified the salaries of officials and changed them to be paid according to their ranks, so as to facilitate the assessment of officials."

Hearing this, Zhao Xu was delighted, "My reform was successful?!"

The next moment, Xiao Ran broke his fantasy, "No, it's not. Although the Yuanfeng reform has a certain effect, the conservatives still exist. There is no and it is impossible to carry out a thorough reform."

"If you want to carry out a thorough reform, I'm afraid the court will be in turmoil. At that time, there will be no ministers in the court who firmly support you. The difficult reforms will only treat the symptoms and not the root cause."

Sighing deeply, Zhao Xu couldn't help but smile bitterly, "I want to govern the country better and let the people live and work in peace and contentment."

Xiao Ran raised his hand and patted his shoulder, saying in a deep voice, "It's okay, you were still quite confident at the time. If it weren't for the disastrous defeat in the Xixia war, you would probably have been able to hold on for a few more years."

……

If you don’t know how to comfort, don’t comfort.

Zhao Xu endured it and still thought about the important matter.

"What is the situation of the war in Western Xia?"

"This defeat was the Battle of Yongle City."

Recalling the details slowly and leisurely, Xiao Ran first said a brief sentence.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, since the Qingli Peace Agreement, wars often broke out between Song and Xia, with both sides winning and losing and holding peace talks many times.

The Battle of Yongle City can be said to have changed the situation between Western Xia and Northern Song Dynasty.

"In the fourth year of Yuanfeng, the Song army defeated the Xia army in Qingzhou and occupied more than 2,000 miles of Western Xia territory. You were overjoyed and ordered Xu Xi and Zhong Yan, the general manager of the Fuyan Road Army, to lead troops to attack Xia in the fifth year of Yuanfeng."

"After the Song army arrived at the border, Xu Xi ordered to build Yongle City and station troops at the border of Xia, Yin and You for fourteen days. During this period, Zhong Yan's persuasion was fruitless. Xu Xi wrote a letter, and you ordered Zhong Yan to be demoted and transferred. Yongle City was soon known to Xixia. The Xixia army first dispatched cavalry known as the Iron Harriers, and then sent 300,000 troops to attack Yongle City. Xu Xi and others led troops to rescue it."

After a pause, Xiao Ran continued, "Xu Xi ignored the advice several times and lined up 10,000 soldiers outside the city. The Western Xia army crossed the Yongding River and launched a fierce attack on the Song army. The soldiers of Yongle City fought against the Western Xia army and the Song army was defeated and retreated into the city. The Western Xia army cut off the water source of Yongle City, and more than half of the soldiers died of thirst. The generals who stayed behind wanted to rescue but were blocked, and Zhong Yan resented the delay in rescue, so Yongle City was completely isolated and helpless."

"The Western Xia army besieged the city for many days and sent envoys to ask for peace. Xu Xi sent Wenhui to negotiate peace. After Wenhui arrived at the enemy's tent, the Western Xia general claimed that he was of low status and asked to see the Song general. When someone took the initiative to go, he was imprisoned by the Western Xia army. Not long after, it rained heavily, and the newly built city wall was soaked by water and was easily defeated by the Western Xia army. Finally, Yongle City was breached, and Xu Xi and others were killed by the chaotic soldiers."

"When the news of the defeat reached the capital, you were hit hard and had no choice but to negotiate peace with Xixia and cede territory and pay compensation. This was also why your illness worsened and you died after appointing a crown prince."

Zhao Xu suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

"In this battle, Xu Xi made a mistake!"

What he said was somewhat annoyed. Zhao Xu had always wanted to recreate the prosperous Tang Dynasty. After going through difficulties, the reforms had shown some signs of improvement. He did not expect that the war on the border would bring such a heavy blow.

Xiao Ran was speechless. "Didn't you also order Zhong Yan to be transferred? After all, professional matters should be left to professionals. The soldiers at the border have been stationed there for many years. It's not the turn of the civilian officials to make decisions."

This is not to belittle civil servants, but only those who have experienced it can understand what happens on the battlefield.

Civilian officials have never been on the battlefield to command, and their command is completely on paper.

Zhao Xu was unable to refute. His face was heavy. "Western Xia must be destroyed."

Almost unable to hold back his sarcasm, Xiao Ran managed to steady his tone, "Don't think so far ahead, you should reform first."

Without strong generals, money and food, it would be a waste of time to destroy Western Xia.

Hearing the implication of Xiao Ran's words, Zhao Xu felt a little embarrassed and realized that he was too anxious.

"Thank you, Mr. Xiao. I will pay you when the treasury is full."

Xiao Ran waved his hand, took the IOU and prepared to leave.

"When the time comes, I will come here in person to collect the debt."