The entry point that Chu Ge found was the phrase "ruling the world with scholar-bureaucrats."

This sentence was used before in the copy of Sheng Taizu, and now it is used again.

Coincidentally, these words were exactly what Wen Jun actually said.

This incident occurred during a court battle shortly after Wang Wenchuan's reform.

At that time, the old and new parties discussed everything from major national affairs to the details of the reform, and finally turned into mutual quarrels. In the end, the emperor, who wholeheartedly supported the new law, could not bear it anymore and ended up dead.

The original text in the historical materials records it this way.

Jun Shi said again: The ancestral laws and regulations are still there, and there is no need to change them to lose people's hearts.

The above said: Changing the legal system will greatly displease the scholar-bureaucrats, but why is it inconvenient for the common people?

Jun Shi said: To govern the world with the scholar-bureaucrats, not with the common people.

This conversation is actually very easy to understand.

When it comes to reform, Wen Junshi said that the ancestral law has been perfected and there is no need to change it. If you change it, you will lose people's support.

The emperor was puzzled: the scholar-bureaucrats were indeed unhappy with the reform of the legal system. After all, it harmed the interests of the scholar-bureaucrats; but what should the people be unhappy about? What could they lose their hearts for?

Wen Junshi said: The emperor governs the world together with the scholar-bureaucrats, not with the people.

The result of this conversation was that Wen Junshi made a big move and rendered the emperor speechless.

At that time, the emperor stumbled and said: "The scholar-bureaucrats...are not all opposed to it?"

This weak rhetorical question had no effect at all, and also proved that the emperor was actually frightened by Wen Junshi.

It can be said that Wen Junshi was indeed a very upright person and told the truth that has been true for thousands of years.

In the eyes of people of that era, the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats were both the ruling class of the country. The people were the ruled class of the country. If the emperor wanted to maintain his rule, he had to satisfy the scholar-bureaucrats. Otherwise, the emperor would rule

Can't go down.

In other words, when Wen Junshi said, "There is no need to be more open to lose people's hearts," the "people" here specifically refer to the scholar-bureaucrat class.

As for the people?

Those are cattle and sheep that are being ruled. Can they be considered human beings?

Since they are not considered human beings and can be fooled casually, and they will be cut no matter how they are cut, they can be completely ignored.

Only the two parties, the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats, were taken into consideration. If the reform was to affect the interests of the scholar-bureaucrats, it would of course lead to instability in the country.

In fact, not only Wen Junshi, but also other ministers basically had the same idea.

And it was precisely because the scholar-bureaucrats had such a consensus that the reform was almost impossible to succeed. After all, it meant being an enemy of the entire bureaucracy, and the emperor, the only one who could be of any use, was also very confused on this point.

But it was this conversation that allowed Chu Ge to find a breakthrough.

At that time, the emperor was indeed refuted and speechless.

But this does not mean that the emperor accepted Wen Junshi's statement.

On the contrary, the emperor felt resentful because of this. In his future life, he began to rack his brains to think about how to stop himself from being so aggrieved.

The "Yuanfeng restructuring" just shows that the emperor could never get over this hurdle.

In fact, this is how a normal person should react.

Who can refuse power?

For every emperor, mastering absolute centralized power is their lifelong pursuit. For ministers, they must do everything possible to reject the emperor's request, or even wrest power from the emperor's hands.

Therefore, just because the emperor has not thought of a solution for the time being, it does not mean that he does not want to change this situation.

What Chu Ge has to do now is to provide the emperor with a solution.

Thinking of this, Chu Ge said: "I believe that officials do not rule the world with scholar-bureaucrats, but use scholar-bureaucrats to govern the world.

"Everything in the world depends on the officials. If the officials want to do something, if the scholar-bureaucrats support it, everyone will be happy; if the officials want to do it, but if the scholar-officials don't support it, then the officials can naturally change a group of people to support it.

"Scholar-officials are herders on behalf of the emperor. How have you ever heard that scholar-officials are herders on behalf of the emperor?"

"Officials want to do things, but they are hindered at every turn. Don't you hear what Taizu said: How can you allow other people to sleep soundly beside the couch?"

After hearing these words, the emperor's eyes became brighter and brighter.

Obviously, Wang Wenchuan, played by Chu Ge, made many shocking remarks. Although it would cause an uproar when heard by other ministers, to the emperor's ears, they were as beautiful as fairy music.

Chu Ge's meaning is very simple. Your Majesty, why do you think Wen Jun is so stupid?

Why did scholar-bureaucrats share power with the emperor?

You are the emperor, and you can do whatever you want. In ancient times, officials were called Zhou Mu, which meant that they were herders on behalf of the emperor. But do they dare to say that they were herders on behalf of the emperor? That would be rebellion.

So, no matter what, it is the emperor who has the final say.

If the emperor can't have the final say, what else is he called an emperor?

These words really spoke to the emperor's heart.

Why didn't he think so?

In fact, in history, part of the reason why the emperor and Wang Wenchuan parted ways was due to this.

Wang Wenchuan himself is a very stubborn person and likes to take over everything. But when the emperor stands behind him, he always feels a little uncomfortable.

Wang Wenchuan did many things by himself. If the emperor had different ideas, he had to consider Wang Wenchuan's views and often had to compromise.

Over time, the emperor would naturally feel that there was no difference between Wang Wenchuan and Wen Junshi, and they would be more or less alienated.

Once there was a problem with the new law, the emperor's first reaction was not to take responsibility himself, but to think that this was a problem caused by King Wenchuan's sweeping responsibility, and that you had to bear the whole blame.

So later on, the emperor alienated Wang Wenchuan and personally carried out the Yuanfeng restructuring.

Although the effect of Yuanfeng's reform was not as good as Wang Wenchuan's reform, after all, it was what the emperor himself wanted to do. He himself was the first person responsible. Naturally, he could not find anyone to blame, so the matter continued like this.

This fully shows that any emperor wants to centralize power and does not want to share his power with the prime minister.

The answer given by Sheng Taizu was to directly cancel the prime minister and do all the work himself.

In the Qi Dynasty, it was not that the emperor did not want to do this, but they did not see the feasibility of doing so.

Sheng Taizu was a reckless emperor. He started from the grassroots level and knew everything. Naturally, he did not need the help of the prime minister. However, the emperor at this time was just an ordinary conservative king and could not have the perverted ability of Sheng Taizu.

He wants to compete with the civil service group on his own, but that is impossible.

But what if Wang Wenchuan is on his side?

The emperor's face showed an excited look, but then he hesitated: "Wang Qing, this matter... is really feasible? If it is feasible, how should I do it? I'm afraid... the world will be in chaos.

"

Obviously, the emperor's concerns were justified.

These scholar-bureaucrats were so powerful that even the emperor was afraid of them.

If he really takes the initiative at this time, he will inevitably arouse unanimous opposition from the ministers. At that time, he will really become a mere commander and a lonely man.

If it gets to that point, at least the decree will not be passed and the emperor's will will not be carried out; in the most serious case, the emperor may even be deposed.

Chu Ge was well prepared, with a bewildering expression on his face: "Officials, don't worry, I have my own good strategy.

“Of course this matter cannot be accomplished overnight, it must be done step by step.

"The key is that officials must clearly distinguish who is the enemy and who is the friend."

The emperor's expression became even more urgent: "How to tell the difference?"

Chu Ge smiled slightly: "Do you still remember the Ayun case?

"In short, those who recognize the official family are friends, and those who do not recognize the official family are enemies.

"If there are some people who don't even agree with the government to save a weak woman, or even agree with the government to change a few laws, then it's obvious whether they are enemies or friends.

"As for how to deal with these people, it's easy.

“First cut off the branches and leaves, then cut off the trunk, just do it step by step.

"The officials can leave these matters to their ministers. As for who to choose for these vacant positions, the officials can decide on their own."

At this point, Chu Ge finally revealed his conspiracy.

Of course, for officials like Wen Junshi, this might be a conspiracy, but for the emperor, it was an out-and-out conspiracy.

Chu Ge had told the emperor 90% of the entire plan without reservation.

The remaining 10% is his selfishness.

The breakthrough point of the entire plan was the emperor's desire for power.

At this time, the court was divided into two parties, one was the new party headed by Wang Wenchuan, and the other was the old party headed by Wen Junshi.

They have many differences, but they have one thing in common, that is, they all want to use their power to suppress the imperial power and are unwilling to hand over half of it.

Wenjun was like this, and so was Wang Wenchuan.

Therefore, the emperor was actually very depressed.

He wanted to make a difference, so he supported Wang Wenchuan's reform, but from beginning to end, he never really trusted Wang Wenchuan because Wang Wenchuan didn't want to share power with him.
To be continued...