Summer has slowly gone away, and in the afternoon of Bianjing City, the heat quickly fades. Although the weather was hot, it was not uncomfortable.

Du Zhongxiao entered the Donghua Gate, along the avenue between the various yamen and the inner hall in front, and arrived outside the vertical arch. After waiting for a long time, he followed the praise official and the little yellow gate, entered the big inside, and arrived outside the Chongzheng Palace.

After the emperor had used the tea soup, he took a short rest, and then ordered Du Zhongxiao to enter. Du Zhongxiao saluted like a ceremony, and entered the hall with the small yellow door.

When he entered Beijing the first few times, Du Zhongxiao's status was not high, and he was relatively distant from the emperor. This time it was different, after the salute, he gave Du Zhongxiao a seat and served tea soup.

Du Zhongxiao held the wat: "Minister Du Zhongxiao, meet Your Majesty." ”

Zhao Zhen said: "No need to be polite. Zhongcheng went to the Western Regions within a few months, expanding thousands of miles, and going back and forth, which was really hard. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "To do things for Your Majesty and the court, where do you dare to say that you are hard?" It's all part of the business. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded: "Since the founding of the country, like Zhongcheng, he has expanded more than 10,000 miles, and he has not tasted a single defeater, but Zhongcheng is alone." The court should have rewarded him heavily, but Zhongcheng insisted on resigning. This time I returned to Beijing to serve as the imperial historian, and I was really aggrieved. Wangzhongcheng doesn't have to worry about it, and he will do this job with peace of mind, and there will inevitably be reuse in the future. Since the rebellion of the party in the northwest, the country has been worried about internal and external troubles, thanks to the many deeds of Zhongcheng, to now the government is harmonious, and the internal and external are clear. ”

Du Zhongxiao hurriedly said that he didn't dare. He returned to Beijing to serve as the imperial historian, not the ruler, and in the eyes of the emperor, he was cautious and cautious, and knew how to advance and retreat. If he relied on his military exploits and continued to be in charge of the army, this return to Beijing would not be like this. When sitting down with the emperor to discuss the Tao, Zhao Zhen directly called the official position, instead of the fictitious position like the inspector as before, indicating that his opinion of Du Zhongxiao has changed. At this time, Du Zhongxiao was a trustworthy courtier in his eyes. was able to hand over the military power in his hand as soon as he met the edict, without saying a word, such an attitude made Zhao Zhen feel at ease.

From the great victory on Hequ Road to the training later, Du Zhongxiao has always held the most powerful army of the Song Dynasty in his hands. Although theoretically speaking, its logistics and personnel are controlled by the DPRK, and there is no possibility of rebellion. But in charge of the army, this one thing worries the emperor. More importantly, Zhao Zhen did not have much contact with Du Zhongxiao before, and he has always been on guard. This time, Du Zhongxiao was relieved of the military power, so he was completely relieved.

In the imperial history, Cheng was a natural attendant, supervising hundreds of officials in the outer court, accompanying and suggesting internally, and had many opportunities to contact the emperor. When Pang Ji was right, when he returned to Beijing this time, Du Zhongxiao's most important task was to gain the emperor's trust. What you make is not that important. If it weren't for Du Zhongxiao's lack of literary brilliance, Zhao Zhen would have asked him to be Hanlin, which would be more convenient.

After a few words of gossip, Zhao Zhen said: "In the imperial history, the general constitution of the Cheng Dynasty, correcting hundreds of officials externally, and admonishing the monarch internally, is very responsible. Zhongcheng entered Beijing this time, I don't know what to think? What do you want to do in the Constitution? ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while, and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the imperial history platform is the duty of supervision, and the supervision of hundreds of officials is the core, and the rest are the stubble. There are two aspects to supervising the hundred officials. The first is whether it is in line with the ministry to do things for the officials, and the second is that they are selfish even if they are in line with the ministry and are discussed by the world. It is the ministry of officials in the world, there must be regulations, and the imperial history is tested by regulations. Officials govern affairs, and are discussed by the people, and the imperial history must know what the people are talking about. These are two things, and they are combined with the imperial history. ”

Zhao Zhen couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this, and didn't speak for a while. The imperial history is not the duty of supervision since ancient times, and there is a historical word in the official title, which was originally a historian in the pre-Qin period, and the emperor did it with a straight letter. In the Qin Dynasty, the content of supervision began to be added, and it was enhanced in the Han Dynasty. is really a hundred officials, and it will be time for the Tang Dynasty. The Imperial History Terrace of the Song Dynasty, inherited from the Tang Dynasty, added the content of the counselor, and increased its independence.

What exactly should Cheng do in the imperial history has not been very clear since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, and it has been changing. It began to strengthen by the time of Emperor Zhenzong, and the current emperor slowly perfected. However, what Du Zhongxiao said was obviously something that had never been done before.

The current imperial history Zhongcheng is clearly the supervision of hundreds of officials. How to monitor? According to the system of the Tang Dynasty, the first is to get information from the hands of the people, and to play in the name of wind news. The other is to check the account books and regularly check the official documents of each department to determine whether it is correct or not. In fact, one is to investigate how well officials are doing, and the other is to check how officials behave.

Du Zhongxiao's memory is more persistent in institutionalization, but more resistant to the success of people. Before entering Beijing, he was learning about the responsibilities of the Imperial Historian and thinking about it on his own. This position is not clear in this era, but it is also different from the inspection and inspection positions in later generations. Imperial History Zhongcheng is a position with distinctive Chinese characteristics, and in the political system of later generations, even if there are similar, there is no same.

To put it simply, in the imperial history, Cheng must not only investigate things, but also check people. Officials do not follow the rules, and of course the imperial history can be corrected. But if there are officials who have problems themselves, no matter how well things are done, they can also be impeached. The political philosophy of later generations is generally right about things and not about people. In this era, the principle of doing things is not like this, and how to conduct is the first thing that officials should pay attention to. Later, it was the dispute between the gentleman and the villain, as well as the dispute between the new party and the old party, so that the party struggle became the norm in the politics of the Song Dynasty.

Du Zhongxiao's purpose is to break away from the examination of the conduct of officials, first, to examine whether officials are suitable for their positions, and second, to know the will of the people in the world. Replacing individual inspections with the overall inspection of officials has freed us from the nihilistic party struggle and created a new situation.

Zhao Zhen thought for a while before he said, "I can understand that the imperial history is an inspector according to regulations." But knowing that the people are talking about it, this matter is a bit of nothingness. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Your Majesty, governing the world is nothing more than two ends. At one end is a rich country and a strong army, not being bullied by outsiders. On the other hand, it is natural that the country and the people are safe, and the people are happy. Mencius said, heaven is the people to hear, heaven is the people's vision, isn't the heart of heaven the heart of the people? As long as you win the hearts and minds of the people, there is no difficulty for a country to come. And how do the people know? It's a hard thing to do. The minister is the imperial history, in addition to those things that should be done, he also hopes to help the court know the people's hearts. Investigating political affairs with the will of the people is fundamental to those who govern. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "What you said about the people's discussion is the people's heart." To be honest, this matter is not reliable. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The people's discussions, of course, are not the people's hearts. In fact, the people's discussions, and even what they do and think, are often guided by outsiders, and many people are just trying to talk about it for a while. However, these discussions always reflect real life, and real life can most affect the hearts of the people in the world. Imperial history is to see more, listen more, and then think more, and summarize the truth more. Political affairs are naturally the investigation of history, and they are always based on the truth, and the truth cannot contradict the will of the people in the world. This is the general outline, as for how to do it, the minister has to think about it more. ”

Zhao Zhen was a little surprised, and asked Du Zhongxiao to be the middle of the imperial history, originally to be a high-ranking and idle position when he entered Beijing, and he was familiar with himself. Unlike before, he has done many things and made countless contributions, but he is not familiar with the emperor and the ministers of the court. The key person who promoted Du Zhongxiao was Xia Zhu. And Xia Zhu's reputation is not good, and he has died early, and the others are not familiar with Du Zhongxiao. But I didn't expect Du Zhongxiao to really have some ideas about this position and wanted to do something.

This is a good thing, as long as it is beneficial to the government and does not affect the government. Listening to Du Zhongxiao's meaning, the main focus is on knowing the people's opinions, rather than tossing the courtiers. The current prime minister, Wen Yanbo, is very strong, and if Du Zhongxiao is attentive to the government, I am afraid it will cause contradictions. And focusing on the people and avoiding the toss of the court is exactly what Zhao Zhen needs.