【After Empress Gao took power, she went on a rampage abolishing the new policies. In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, she first abolished the Baojia Law. Within six months, the Square Field Equal Tax Law, the Market Exchange Law, and the Baoma Law were all abolished.】
【In the ninth year of Yuanfeng, Sima Guang, gravely ill, resigned, entrusting the task of abolishing the new policies to Lü Gongzhu. He quickly abolished the Exemption Law, exiled the New Policy faction members Zhang Dun and Cai Que, and then, the four-dynasty veteran Wen Yanbo returned to the court, and abolished the Qingmiao Law.】
【As the old party enthusiastically launched the movement to abolish the new policies, internal divisions inevitably emerged. They gradually split into the Lu Party, led by Cheng Yi of Luoyang, the Shu Party, led by Su Shi of Sichuan, and the Shuo Party, led by Liu Zhi and Liang Tao. For a time, the three parties attacked each other, plunging the court into chaos.】
【Three years later, Lü Gongzhu, citing old age, stepped down as prime minister. Lü Dafang and Fan Chunren took over as left and right prime ministers. Fan Chunren, dissatisfied with Sima Guang and others' blind abolition of the new policies, believed that the Exemption Law was carefully considered and maintained his support for the new faction members Zhang Dun and Deng Wan, and the old faction members Su Shi and Han Wei.】
【Four years later, he was attacked by the Shuo Party and forced to resign as prime minister for not supporting the excessive exile of the new faction member Cai Que. Six years later, Liu Zhi, the leader of the Shuo Party, became the right prime minister, but was also attacked and forced to resign for his association with Cai Que and other new faction members.】
【During the eight years Empress Gao reigned as regent, controlling the court, the old party not only controlled the entire court but also ruthlessly eliminated, exiled, and persecuted new faction members. Various cases, including the initiation of literary inquisition, became commonplace, turning the new and old policies into tools for power struggles and partisan attacks!】
【The old party even compiled a list of all the new faction members, including Wang Anshi, and publicly posted it, resulting in the exile of numerous officials. The Song dynasty court was shaken to its core.】
【At this point, the achievements of the new policies were almost entirely wiped out. If Wang Anshi's new policies were intended to address the challenges facing the nation and society, then the actions of the old party amounted to a purely emotional act of revenge and retribution. Not only were they unhelpful in solving the dynasty's problems, but they actually made these problems worse, leaving them in a tangled mess, spiraling out of control.】
…
In the Kaibao era of the Song Dynasty, outside the Chonggong Hall.
“Bang!”
“Damn it! Those old party members are all scoundrels!”
“How can they create chaos in the court, disregarding the righteousness of our Song Dynasty? What about the sovereign?”
Zhao Kuangyin, enraged, glared at the court, rising from his seat. The officials scrambled to kneel down.
Whether Wang Anshi's reforms were right or wrong, whether the outcome was good or bad, at least he genuinely intended to solve the social problems facing the dynasty and hoped for the revival of the nation!
But these old party members were not like that. They blindly abolished policies, attacked each other, and exiled anyone they disliked. The new and old policies had become tools for power struggles and partisan battles!
No wonder the Song Dynasty's party struggles were called the New and Old Party Disputes, that's precisely the reason!
Realizing this, Zhao Kuangyin looked around at the officials, coldly stating,
“You all have seen it, the old party's misconduct, completely ignoring the righteousness of the state and court. Our Song Dynasty was ruined by people like them!”
Seeing the officials remaining silent, Zhao Kuangyin sat back down and looked again at the list.
Rather than calling them the old party, it would be more accurate to say they were manipulated by Empress Gao, who was behind the scenes, reigning as regent!
She was the one who gave the old party members the power to engage in partisan struggles and exclusion!
Essentially, it was equivalent to a palace coup!
As expected, even our Song Dynasty could not escape the curse of palace interference?
…
In the Xining era of the Song Dynasty, within a courtyard.
After witnessing the disastrous outcome of his reforms, Wang Anshi’s body trembled and he collapsed to the ground!
“Master!”
The servants rushed to his side, helping him up and back to his seat.
“Master, are you alright?”
Wang Anshi let out a bitter laugh, his face filled with sorrow and despair.
“Unbelievable, I’ve toiled half my life, and this is the outcome of my reforms…”
“Father, it’s all the fault of Lü Huaiqing and those treacherous old party members, otherwise, Master’s reforms wouldn’t have failed!”
Upon hearing Wang Anshi’s words, his son, Wang Pang, suddenly stepped forward and roared.
Although they said this, both Wang Pang and the others knew that the failure of Master’s reforms was due to the early death of Emperor Shenzong and the regency of Empress Gao!
Without Empress Gao’s support, even if those old party members were dissatisfied, they wouldn’t have been able to make much of a fuss, and certainly wouldn’t have been able to completely control the court in the Yuan You era, launching a massive campaign to exile new faction members!
But what good would it do to know all this? Emperor Shenzong and Empress Gao were royalty, and even if Wang Pang had ten times the courage, he wouldn’t dare to slander them. In the end, he could only vent his anger on the traitor Lü Huaiqing and the old party members led by Sima Guang!
Wang Anshi, of course, knew this. Upon hearing Wang Pang’s words, he understood everything.
Emperor Shenzong’s trust in him had dwindled considerably, and the failure of the reforms was only a matter of time.
Realizing this, Wang Anshi felt a sense of relief. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and muttered,
“I’m tired, let’s go inside.”
“Yes!”
The servants were about to carry Wang Anshi back, when Wang Pang suddenly stepped forward, blocking their path. He looked at Wang Anshi with unwavering determination and declared,
“Father, why leave so early? Why not continue to watch? In my opinion, those old party members won’t be able to gloat for long!”
Hearing Wang Pang’s words, Wang Anshi suddenly opened his eyes, looking at his son’s determined gaze. He nodded without a word.
“Alright, let’s continue watching…”
…
【In the eighth year of Yuan You, Empress Gao passed away. Emperor Zhezong, Zhao Xu, took the throne and immediately recalled Zhang Dun, a new faction member from Emperor Shenzong’s era. He strongly supported the new faction, changing the era name to “Shaosheng.”!】
【For a time, Zhang Dun, Zeng Bu, and other new faction members regained control of the court and fully restored the Baojia Law, the Exemption Law, and the Qingmiao Law from the Xining era.】
【Furthermore, the new faction adopted a tough stance against Xixia in military affairs. In the first year of Yuanfu, they defeated 300,000 enemy troops in the Pingxia City battle, sweeping away the Song Dynasty’s century-long shadow of defeat against Xixia, achieving a rare victory in the Song-Xixia war.】
【After this victory, the Song Dynasty forced Xixia to make peace. However, the vast military expenditures burdened the treasury.】
【In the second year of Yuanfu, the Song Dynasty launched an expedition to Qingtang, subduing the leader of the Aegashila tribe, Xia Zheng. After the war, the prefectures of Shan and Huang were established.】
【However, Emperor Zhezong had always been in poor health. In the third year of Yuanfu, he became gravely ill and unable to attend court. On the twelfth day of the first month, Emperor Zhezong, Zhao Xu, passed away in the Foning Palace at the age of 25. Like Emperor Shenzong, Zhao Xu, who passed away at the age of 38, he died young.】
【Because Zhezong had no sons, Empress Dowager and the officials welcomed Emperor Zhezong’s younger brother, Prince Duan, Zhao Ji, to the throne. The following year, the era name was changed to “Jianzhong Jingguo”, historically known as Emperor Huizong of Song.】
【The new era name aimed to eliminate partisan struggles and promote harmony among talented officials. However, once Huizong ascended to the throne, the New and Old Party Disputes intensified. In the eleventh month of the same year, Cai Jing became prime minister and abolished the policy of reconciliation, replacing it with the advocacy of the Xining reforms, siding with the new faction.】
【But the new policies at this time were no longer the same as the Xining reforms…】
…
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