Zhao Yan's carriage slowly returned to the courtyard, only to see that a carriage had been parked in front of the courtyard, Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian had already stood in front of the door and waited for a long time, when they saw Zhao Yan's carriage coming, the two immediately stepped forward to salute, at this time Zhao Yan did not snub each other anymore, but got out of the car and asked the other party to enter the mansion together.

After entering the living room, Zhao Yan ordered someone to serve tea, but Zhao Yan didn't ask the other party anything to find him, but said with a smile: "This king has just come back from the political hall, and he hasn't eaten dinner yet, so he just happened to let someone bring some food in Qiwei Building, so it's better for the two of them to accompany this king to eat and chat!" ”

"Your Highness works hard, and it is also an honor for your Highness to accompany His Highness to dinner!" Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian spoke almost at the same time, and the other two couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in their hearts, just now their calculations were seen through by Zhao Yan, and they were afraid that the other party would be blamed for this, but now they saw that Zhao Yan actually invited them to eat together, and his attitude was also very kind, so he was relieved.

The meal was quickly arranged, Zhao Yan invited Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian to sit down, he was not polite to the two, and after greeting the two of them, he picked up the rice bowl and ate first, after all, he was really hungry, Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian had already eaten when they were waiting for Zhao Yan in Qiwei Building before, but at this time they still pretended to eat a few bites, and then put down their chopsticks and waited for Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan ordered some home-cooked food that he liked to eat, as well as some rice, he ate two bowls in a row before putting down the dishes and chopsticks, took a wet towel and wiped his mouth, and then smiled at Zeng Bu and the two: "Just now Zeng Jixiang said that there is something important to discuss with this king, I don't know what kind of important thing?" ”

Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian were waiting for Zhao Yan's words, only to see them glance at each other, and then Zeng Bu took the lead in speaking: "Your Highness Qiqi, Xia Guan and Brother Zihou came here this time to ask His Highness to administer justice for us!" ”

"Oh? What kind of justice is upheld, is it possible that Ji Xiang and Zhang Judge Prison are saddled with some lawsuits? Zhao Yan asked knowingly with a smile. Although the enemy of his enemy is his friend, he does not need to help them unconditionally.

"Your Royal Highness, Xia Guan and Brother Zixuan are dedicated to the country, but they didn't expect to be suppressed by Lu Xiang everywhere. And also very recklessly snatched power from the hands of the lower officials, resulting in the lower officials being completely hollowed out in the weapons prison, there is no real power at all, for this kind of thing, the lower officials have nowhere to appeal, fortunately, His Royal Highness came down, and the lower officials dared to come to ask His Highness to administer justice for the lower officials! At this time, Zhang Dian also spoke, and when he spoke, his face was miserable, as if he had been greatly wronged.

Hear Zhang's words. Zhao Yan didn't immediately express his position, but looked at Zeng Bu next to him, and the other party also arched his hand and said: "Xiaguan and Brother Zihou are the same, they have encountered Lu Xiang sending someone to set up the power in their hands, and now this plan is also in name only, so please ask Your Highness to administer justice for us!" ”

After listening to Zhang Dian and Zeng Bu's complaints, Zhao Yan didn't say much, but said lightly: "Hehe." It seems that the two of them have really suffered a lot of grievances, but ......"

When it comes to this. I saw Zhao Yan pause for a moment, and then said with a serious expression on his face, "But your grievances with Lu Huiqing are put aside for the time being, and I want to ask you now what kind of attitude you have towards changing the law?" ”

Hearing Zhao Yan suddenly ask about their attitude towards the change, Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian were both stunned, and then glanced at each other. Then they all showed tangled expressions, Zhao Yan is notoriously dislike to change the law, so in their opinion, Zhao Yan is asking them to make a choice between the new law and the official position, if they say that they still want to change the law. I'm afraid Zhao Yan won't care about their lives or deaths at all.

Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian both have their own problems in terms of private morality, among which Zeng Bu is better, but Zhang Dian is a well-known womanizer, and it is said that he once committed adultery with the concubine of an elder in his family, and was also caught, which can be said to be swept away. However, although the two of them have personal virtues, they are out-and-out law-changers, and it is not easy to make them give up the ideal of changing the law in their hearts.

It is precisely because of this that after Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian listened to Zhao Yan's question, they all sat there and behaved very entangled, on the one hand, their official position and future, and on the other hand, they insisted on changing the law for many years, which is very difficult for anyone to choose.

After Zhao Yan asked, he sat there for a long time to observe the changes in Zeng Bu and Zhang Di's expressions, speaking of which he was more optimistic about Zeng Bu, because Zeng Bu not only had a relatively high official position, but also was very dedicated to changing the law, and even Wang Anshi praised him for being the most determined to change the law, so Zhao Yan thought that Zeng Bu would be the first to speak.

However, to Zhao Yan's surprise, I saw that after being silent for a long time, Zhang Dian took the lead in speaking with a resolute face: "Your Royal Highness, although the previous change of the law has caused criticism from many people, but the change of the law is not without any effect, at least the income of the imperial treasury has increased a lot, plus the three redundancies in the country, so the law of the Great Song Dynasty has reached the point where it has to be changed, so the lower officials think that no matter what, the law must be implemented!" ”

"Yes, although the change has suffered some setbacks, but looking at the ancient history, the changes of all dynasties have never been smooth sailing, although the lower officials are not talented, they are also willing to contribute their own strength to the change!" At this time, Zeng Bu also said loudly, and the faces of the two of them also showed a look of determination at this time, even if they lost their current official positions and future prospects, they would not give up changing the law.

Seeing that both of them chose to insist on changing the law in the end, Zhao Yan couldn't help but admire them a little in his heart, after all, not everyone can do one thing so persistently, not to mention giving up their official position and future, which is even more rare.

After Zeng Bu finished talking to Zhang Dan, he sat there and waited for Zhao Yan to serve tea to the guests, but what they didn't expect was that Zhao Yan didn't show an angry expression after hearing this, and even the expression on his face didn't even change, but tasted the tea again and said with a light smile: "It's rare that the two of you are so insistent on changing the law, and this king also admires it very much, but this king wants to ask one more question, what are you changing the law for?" ”

"For what?" Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian were all a little confused when they heard Zhao Yan's question, and they couldn't figure out what Zhao Yan wanted to do? In the end, it was Zhang Dian who replied, "Your Highness, the change of law is naturally to eliminate all kinds of shortcomings in the country, and make my Great Song Dynasty even more rich and strong!" ”

"Oh?" Hearing this, Zhao Yan asked rhetorically again, "You said that the purpose of changing the law was to make it strong, but why did your change not only bring prosperity to the Great Song Dynasty, but instead provoked the anger of the heavens and people, you can't deny this, right?" ”

Hearing Zhao Yan say the new law so bluntly, which caused people to be angry, Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian also blushed angrily, trying to distinguish something for themselves, but they didn't know what to say when they opened their mouths several times, after all, these were facts, and they were powerless to refute them at all.

Seeing Zeng Bu's angry and speechless appearance, Zhao Yan smiled calmly and said: "You don't know why you have made the change to the point where you are now, then the king will help you analyze it, first of all, does the Great Song Dynasty need to change the law?" This king can tell you very clearly that the Great Song Dynasty has indeed reached the point where it has to change, and this king has the same point of view as you! ”

"Huh?" Hearing that Zhao Yan also thought that the Great Song Dynasty had reached the point where it was necessary to change the law, Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian also looked at each other in surprise, and then saw Zeng Bu speak, "Since Your Highness also thinks so, why ......?"

"Don't be in a hurry to ask, listen to what this king has to say!" Before Zeng Bu's words could be finished, he was interrupted by Zhao Yan, and then he paused for a moment and then said, "In the hundred years since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, all kinds of domestic shortcomings have been very serious, and changing the law can indeed eliminate all kinds of domestic shortcomings, but you don't forget, freezing three feet is not a day's cold, and if you want to get rid of all kinds of domestic shortcomings, it is definitely not something that can be completed overnight, and the biggest mistake you make is that you are too anxious, and any change in the law will cause a huge shock, which will bring some unpredictable consequences. But in just a few years, you have introduced new laws one after another, ignoring the serious consequences of these decrees, which is the main reason for your failure! ”

"This ......" Hearing Zhao Yan say that they were too anxious, Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian were also silent, they were not as stubborn as Wang Anshi, since Wang Anshi resigned, they also reflected on the reasons for the failure of the law change, and they also agreed with Zhao Yan's words, if they could be more stable at the beginning, and deal with the problems in all aspects after the promulgation of a decree, maybe the new law would not have become what it is now.

Seeing that Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian were silent, Zhao Yan then spoke: "Of course, in addition to you being too anxious, there are many reasons for the failure of the reform, such as Mr. Linchuan's stubbornness, so that he doesn't know how to change at all, and he offended too many people in the early stage of the change, many people who originally supported the change turned to oppose the change, Sima Guang is one of the representatives, and there are also improper use of people, many officials of the reform faction take the opportunity of the change to make a lot of money, etc., which makes your reform faction lose the hearts of the people, Whether it is the people or the court, almost all have a hostile attitude towards you, in this situation of the enemy of the world, even if you can get the support of the imperial brother, it is impossible to succeed in changing the law! ”

Hearing Zhao Yan's very pertinent analysis, Zeng Bu and Zhang Dian also sighed helplessly, they also agreed with Zhao Yan for these reasons, and even faintly regretted it, but unfortunately it was too late to say anything now, Wang Anshi had already left in frustration, and the change did not get much support, as for Lu Huiqing, although in the name of the law change, but in fact, it was just to entrap some officials of the law change, and the real purpose was to seize power. (To be continued......)