Chapter 10 190 Fan Zhongyan implements the New Deal

Due to Fan Zhongyan's strict military discipline and attention to reducing the burden on the people on the border, the defensive strength of the Northern Song Dynasty was strengthened.Xixia and the Northern Song Dynasty fought for several years, but did not get any benefits. In 1043 AD, Yuan Hao, the leader of the Xixia Kingdom, was willing to proclaim his vassal for peace. The Song Dynasty promised to send a batch of silver silk and tea to Xixia every year, and the border situation in the Northern Song Dynasty was temporarily stabilized. . Fan Zhongyan was not only a military strategist, but also a famous politician and writer in the Song Dynasty.He is from Wu County, Suzhou, and his father died when he was young. Because the family was poor, his mother had to take him to another family named Zhu.Fan Zhongyan grew up in a very difficult environment. He lived in a temple and studied. He was so poor that he couldn't even eat three meals. He had to cook some thin porridge every day to satisfy his hunger, but he still studied hard by himself.Sometimes, when I read late into the night, I was too tired to open my eyes, so I splashed cold water on my face, and continued my study when the tiredness disappeared.After studying hard for five or six years, he finally became a very learned person.

Fan Zhongyan used to be an admonisher in the imperial court, but because he saw Prime Minister Lu Yijian abusing his power and appointing private individuals, he boldly exposed it to Renzong.This incident offended Lu Yijian, and Lu Yijian bit back, saying that Fan Zhongyan made friends with cronies and provoked the relationship between the monarch and his ministers.Song Renzong believed Lu Yijian's words and relegated Fan Zhongyan to the south. He was not transferred to Shaanxi until after the Xixia War broke out. Fan Zhongyan made great contributions in the Song Xia War, and Song Renzong felt that he was indeed a talent.At this time, the Song Dynasty was in a financial panic because of internal corruption, coupled with huge military expenditures and indemnities during the war with the Liao Dynasty and Xixia.Song Renzong transferred Fan Zhongyan back to the capital from Shaanxi and appointed him as the deputy prime minister.

As soon as Fan Zhongyan returned to the capital, Song Renzong summoned him immediately and asked him to propose a plan for governing the country.Fan Zhongyan knew that there were too many ills in the imperial court, and it was impossible to get rid of them all at once, so he planned to take it step by step.However, Song Renzong couldn't help urging him again and again, so he put forward ten reform measures, the main contents of which are: First, the official history must be regularly assessed, and they should be promoted or demoted according to their political performance; second, strictly restrict the children of ministers from obtaining official positions based on their father's relationship; third, reform the imperial examination system; fourth, carefully select and appoint local governors.

There are also several articles that promote farming and mulberry, reduce labor, strengthen armaments, strict laws and so on. Song Renzong was on the verge of reform, and after seeing Fan Zhongyan's plan, he immediately approved the implementation of these ten reform measures throughout the country. Historically, this reform was called "Qingli New Deal" ("Qingli" is Song Renzong's reign title). In order to implement the New Deal, Fan Zhongyan first reviewed with Han Qi, Fu Bi (sound bi) and other ministers who were assigned to various roads (Lu is the name of the administrative division of the Song Dynasty) to serve as supervisors (supervisors).Once, Fan Zhongyan checked a list of supervisors in the government office, and found that there were people who had committed corruption and perverted the law, so he took up a pen to tick off the names, ready to replace them.Fu Bi, who was next to him, couldn't bear to see it, so he said to Fan Zhongyan: "Mr. Fan, this stroke of yours will make the whole family cry."

Fan Zhongyan said solemnly: "If the whole family is not allowed to cry, then the people in Yiyi (Lu is the name of the political district in the Northern Song Dynasty) will all cry." Hearing this, Fu Bi's heart suddenly brightened, and he admired Fan Zhongyan's insight. As soon as Fan Zhongyan's New Deal was implemented, it was like stabbing a hornet's nest.Some relatives of the emperor, powerful ministers, and corrupt officials made a scene one after another, spreading rumors and attacking the New Deal.Some ministers who were originally dissatisfied with Fan Zhongyan spoke bad things in front of Song Renzong every day, saying that some people in Fan Zhongyan made friends with cronies and abused their power.

Song Renzong was shaken when he saw that there were many people who opposed it.Fan Zhongyan was forced to stay in the capital, so he voluntarily asked to return to Shaanxi to defend the border, and Song Renzong sent him away. As soon as Fan Zhongyan left, Song Renzong ordered the New Deal to be abolished. Fan Zhongyan suffered a great blow in order to reform politics, but he was not upset by his personal experience.A year later, an old friend of his, Teng Zongliang, who was an official in Yuezhou (where the government is located today in Yueyang, Hunan Province), built the local scenic spot Yueyang Tower, and asked Fan Zhongyan to write a commemorative article.Fan Zhongyan wrote "Yueyang Tower".In that famous article, Fan Zhongyan mentioned that a person with lofty political ambitions, his thoughts and feelings should be "worry about the world's worries first, and enjoy the world's joys later."

(meaning "worry is before the world, enjoyment is after the world").These two famous sayings have been recited by later generations, and Yueyang Tower became more famous because of Fan Zhongyan's article.