In the second year of Duangong in Song Taizong (989), on August 2nd (September 5th), Fan Zhongyan was born in Gaojiazhuang, Changshan, Calm (now Gaoping Village, Quyangqiao Town, Zhengding County, Hebei Province) and went to Wang Ting, Wuxi (now Suzhou City) with his family for one hundred days. Father Fan Yong went to Xuzhou in the early years of Duangong (988) as the secretary of Wuning Army (the chief secretary of Xuzhou Military Region) and died in 990 AD. Xie was poor and helpless, holding two-year-old Fan Zhongyan in his arms, and remarried Zhu, a native of Henan Village, the governor of Shandong Zi County (now zouping county Village). Fan Zhongyan also changed his surname, named Zhu said, and grew up in Zhu's parents. Fan Zhongyan studied hard since he was a child. Zhujiajian Island is a rich man in Changshan, but in order to get inspiration, he often goes to the James Li Temple on the nearby Changbai Mountain for boarding study. Reading satirical recitations in the morning and evening left a deep impression on the monks. At that time, his life was extremely difficult. He only cooks a bowl of thick porridge every day, cuts it into four pieces after cooling, eats two pieces in the morning and evening, mixes some pickles and vinegar juice, and continues reading after eating. Later generations have the reputation of painting porridge, but he doesn't mind this poor life at all, and spends all his energy in books to find his own fun. Nearly three years have passed, and the books in Changshan Township have gradually failed to meet his needs. An accidental incident exposed the secret of Fan Zhongyan's family background. He found himself the son of the Wangs and has been taking care of his stepfather for many years. Fan Zhongyan was deeply stimulated and shocked by this incident. Under the intersection of shame and anger, he decided to leave the Zhujiajian family and set up his own family. He will always be outstanding in the future and then take over his mother. So he hastily packed some simple clothes, put a piano and sword on his back, said goodbye to his mother in tears and left Changshan on foot to study, regardless of Zhu Jiahe's mother's obstruction. In the fourth year (10 1 1), 23-year-old Fan Zhongyan came to Yingtianfu Academy in Suiyang (originally located in Suiyang District, Shangqiu City, Henan Province). Yingtianfu Academy is one of the four famous academies in Song Dynasty, with 0/50 school buildings and thousands of books. 1043, Song Renzong decided to change Yingtianfu Academy to imperial academy, Nanjing, and become the highest institution of learning in the Northern Song Dynasty together with imperial academy in Kaifeng, Tokyo and imperial academy in Luoyang, Xijing. What's more, there are many ambitious and intelligent teachers and students here. Studying in such a college, there are not only famous teachers to consult, but also many students to learn from each other and many books to read. Moreover, the college is free, which is especially popular for Fan Zhongyan, who is financially strapped. Yingtianfu was later renamed Nanjing, and Yingtianfu Academy was also called Du Nan Academy. Fan Zhongyan cherishes the brand-new learning environment and studies day and night. One of Fan Zhongyan's classmates, the son of Nanjing Liu Shou (the highest official in Nanjing), saw him eating porridge all the year round and sent him some delicious food. He didn't taste a bite, which made the delicious food moldy. It was not until people scolded him that he bowed deeply and said, "I am very satisfied with this life of cutting porridge and clams, and I am worried that once I enjoy a good meal, I will not be able to swallow porridge and pickles in the future." Fan Zhongyan's bitter life is a bit like Yan Hui, a sage of Confucius: a bowl of rice and a ladle of water, in a mean alley, others complain bitterly, but Yan Hui does not change his happiness. Fan Zhongyan's years of hard study also began in Zhixia in spring and ended in winter in autumn. Dance a sword in the morning and go home to sleep in the middle of the night. Others look at flowers and enjoy the moon, but he only finds pleasure in the Six Classics. Occasionally, I sing poems and express my feelings: "The hometown of the Baiyun rogue emperor is far away. Who will play Hanyuan Cave? It is difficult to sing a bird, but only a thin person can give it to a wren. When you miss Yan Zi's heart, you will be happy, but when you hate the piano, you will be betrayed. But if Sven Tian is not lost, why should Song Jian blame Miao Shan? " This poem was written by Fan Zhongyan to Yan Shu, a classmate of the Academy. A few years later, Fan Zhongyan's Confucian classics such as The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Yijing, Book of Rites and Chunqiu became a great pursuit. Writing poetry is also generously taking the world as its own responsibility. In the seventh year of Dazhong Xiangfu (AD 10 14), superstitious Taoist Song Zhenzong led a hundred officials to visit Taiqing Palace in Bozhou (now Bozhou, Anhui). The mighty chariots and horses passed through Nanjing (now Shangqiu City, Henan Province, the same below), causing a sensation in the whole city. People rushed to see the emperor, but one student stayed at home and still buried himself in his studies. A good classmate came to persuade him: "Go and see, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, don't miss it!" " But the student just casually said, "It's never too late to see you again", and then went on reading his book without looking up. Sure enough, the next year, he was a scholar. This student is Fan Zhongyan, a great reform thinker in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the autumn of the seventh year (10 14) and the spring of the eighth year (10 15), Dazhong xiangfu passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. When he took part in the imperial examination in Chongzheng Hall, he first met Emperor Zhenzong, who was nearly fifty years old. Later, he was honored to attend a banquet hosted by the imperial government. In February, Bianjing (now Kaifeng City) bloomed in spring. Jinshi rode across a fine horse and paraded through the streets amid the sound of gongs and drums: "Changbai is cold and Confucian, and he has been famous for more than two years." He sang such a poem and thought he was twenty-seven years old. Compared with Teng Zongliang and others beside him, he looks much older. Soon, he was appointed as the manager of Guangdejun to join the army (Guangdejun is located in Guangde County, Anhui Province, and the manager joined the army as an official in charge of litigation and trial, from Jiupin). Then, he was transferred to Qing Ji Army as our ambassador (Qing Ji Army is located in Bozhou, Anhui Province, and our ambassador is a curtain officer from Bapin). He took his mother to support him, officially restored Fan, and changed his name to Zhong Yan and the word Xi. From then on, he began his political career for nearly forty years. In the fifth year of Tianxi (102 1), Fan Zhongyan was transferred to Xixi Town, Hailing, Taizhou (now near Dongtai County, Jiangsu Province) as the supervisor of salt storage, transportation and resale. Xixi Town is near the coast of the Yellow Sea. Although peony can be seen occasionally in the town, its desolate scene is different from that in the mainland after all. At first glance, listening to the roar of the wind and waves and the sigh of wild cranes, Fan Zhongyan couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. Because Cang Guan was a idle official, he laughed at himself temporarily through lazy eating and drinking: "I didn't ask for a chair, but I dared to talk about my ambition to go to Wan Li! It's time to be black and white when you get old. Why are you complaining about Jianghu? When you are drunk and sing, you are lazy. Can people in the stream believe in laughter? " However, he soon found that there were many things to do here. The dilapidated seawall in the area has collapsed, and not only salt fields and pavilions have lost their barriers, but also large areas of farmland and houses have been repeatedly threatened by waves. Thousands of victims were displaced when they encountered tidal waves and even flooded the gates of Taizhou. The government suffered losses in salt production and tax. To this end, he wrote to Zhang Lun of Jianghuai Waterway, complaining about the interests of Chen Haidi, and suggested rebuilding a solid seawall weir along the coast of Tongzhou, Taizhou, Chuzhou and Haizhou (now Lianyungang to the north bank of the Yangtze River estuary). For this huge project, Zhang Lun generously agreed, and made Fan Zhongyan the magistrate of Xinghua County (now xinghua city, Jiangsu Province), fully responsible for weir management. In the autumn of the second year of Tiansheng (1024), Fan Zhongyan, the magistrate of Xinghua County, led tens of thousands of civilian workers from four states to the seaside. However, shortly after the dam body control project began, a storm with snow appeared, followed by a big tide, which swallowed up more than 100 migrant workers. Some officials believe that this is an act of god and the dike cannot be completed. They advocated banning the original proposal and stopping work altogether. When things were reported to Beijing, courtiers hesitated. Fan Zhongyan, on the other hand, was not afraid of danger and stuck to the weir. The wind swept the waves and rushed to his legs. The soldiers and civilians fled, and the officials panicked. Fan Zhongyan did not move. He saw with interest Teng Zongliang, a friend of the same year beside him. Zong Liang is quietly commenting on a standing levee. Everyone found that they were very calm and calm. Thanks to the efforts of Fan Zhongyan and others, defending the sea and harnessing the weir has been fully resumed. Soon, a long dike stretching for hundreds of miles stood on the beach of the Yellow Sea. The production of saltworks and farmland has been guaranteed since then. A few dry households in exile a few years ago were affected by the disaster and returned home to help the old and bring the young. People are grateful to Fan Zhongyan, the county magistrate of Xinghua, for his achievements, and they all call Hai Yan "Fan Gongdi". Many victims in Xinghua County actually took his surname Fan. Today, Xinghua still has a site of Gong Fan Temple, which is remembered by the elders. Fan Zhongyan wrote a poem when he was thirty-six years old, "A guest is crazy and pure, and a teenager loves fame" and "At thirty-six, he failed to become a hero". He didn't get married until he was about thirty-four or five years old. This year, he got a son and was transferred back to the capital, Dali Temple. Since then, he has entered the ranks of Beijing officials.

In the sixth year of Tiansheng (1028), Fan Zhongyan's mourning period ended. After Yan Shu's recommendation, he was promoted to be a captain of the Secret Pavilion-responsible for sorting out and sorting out imperial books and classics. The Secret Pavilion is located in Chongwen Hall in Miyagi, the capital. In fact, the post of a captain in the secret cabinet belongs to the emperor's civil servants. Here, you can not only see the emperor often, but also hear many palace secrets. This is a rare shortcut for bureaucrats in the Song Dynasty. Once Fan Zhongyan learned some inside information of the imperial court, he boldly intervened in the sinister political struggle. He found that Emperor Renzong was 20 years old, but all kinds of military and political events in North Korea were handled by Empress Dowager Liu, who was over 60 years old. Besides, I heard that on the solstice this winter, Empress Dowager Cixi asked Injong to kowtow to her with officials in the front hall to celebrate her birthday. Fan Zhongyan believes that family ceremony and national ceremony cannot be confused, and things that harm the dignity of the monarch should be stopped. He criticized the plan by playing a role. Fan Zhongyan's performance made Yan Shu panic. He was anxious to call Fan Zhongyan and blame him for being too frivolous. Aren't you afraid of bringing trouble to the Lord? Fan Zhongyan has always respected Yan Shu, but this time he refused to give in. He sank his face into his loud voice: "I was only recommended by you. I am often afraid that I can't do my duty and embarrass you for me." Unexpectedly, I was convicted of your honest remarks today. " A word made Yan Shu speechless. Back home, Fan Zhongyan wrote to Yan Shu again, defending in detail, and simply went to the next chapter, asking Mrs. Liu to abdicate and strike, and returning the power to Injong. The imperial court did not reply to this, but issued an imperial edict to demote Fan Zhongyan to Beijing and transfer him to Zhongfu (now Yongji County, southwest of Shanxi Province) as the deputy governor-judge. The servant of the Secret Pavilion sent him out of the city, and everyone raised their glasses to say goodbye: "Fan Jun's trip is extremely glorious!" Three years later, Empress Liu passed away. Renzong recalled Fan Zhongyan to Beijing and sent him to be an official who specially commented on state affairs-You Sijian. As a lecturer, he is more fearless in writing and speaking. In the second year of Ming Dow (1033), severe drought and locust plague occurred in JD.COM and Jianghuai areas. In order to calm people's hearts, Fan Zhongyan asked Injong to send someone to rescue the disaster immediately, but Injong ignored it. He asked Injong, "What will your majesty do if the imperial court stops eating for a long time?" Injong was surprised and ashamed, so he let Fan Zhongyan go to the disaster relief. When he came back, he brought back some weeds to satisfy the hunger of the victims and gave them to Injong and Hou Yuan Palace. At that time, Prime Minister Lv Yijian began to please Liu. As soon as the Queen Mother died, he spoke ill of her. This cunning behavior was once exposed by Empress Renzong Guo, and the post of Prime Minister was also removed. However, the relationship between Yi and Jane in the imperial court is still deeply rooted. Soon, he regained his position through Yan, a serving courtier, and colluded with Yan, trying to take advantage of the domestic dispute in Renzong to abolish Guo Hou. The young emperor who fell in love with Yangmeiren and Shangmeiren finally decided to abolish the imperial edict, and according to Lv Yijian's premeditated plan, officials were forbidden to participate in the discussion. Fan Zhongyan is well aware that behind this court housework dispute is a profound and complicated political competition. He and Daofu Kong, who was in charge of picketing, and several other people went to Ahe Palace and asked to meet Injong. They appealed to the cabinet for a long time, but no one paid attention; Simen officer slammed the door of the temple again. Fan Zhongyan and others, with bronze rings in their hands, knocked on gold leaves and shouted through the door, "Why didn't the queen listen to Taiwan Province's advice?" It's no use watching. Everyone agreed to a plan of Ganghuhang, and prepared to leave all the officials after tomorrow morning to debate with Lv Xiang in public. The next morning, his wife Li took Fan Zhongyan's clothes and repeatedly advised him not to make trouble. He went out and never looked back. Just go to the courtyard to leak, waiting for the court, suddenly listen to a letter from the pager, demoted him as far away from the river, Zhou Mu (now Meicheng Town, jiande city City, Zhejiang Province) year. Then, North Korea sent someone to his home to urge him to leave Beijing immediately. Daofu Kong and others, either demoted or punished, survived. Not many people went to the suburbs to bid farewell this time, but some people raised their glasses and said, "Fan Jun's trip is more glorious!" On the way to Zhejiang, Fan Zhongyan had no regrets, but felt a little unfair: "If you value your father, you must value your mother. If you are a good country, you should be at home first. Go to the end of the world with one heart and ten mouths, and return to your heart! " Some people laugh at him like the unfortunate Qu Yuan, but he thinks he is more like Monk: "Outside Fujiang, people laugh like poets" and "I am idle"! A few years later, he moved from Zhou Mu to Suzhou, and was transferred back to Beijing because of his meritorious service in water control, and was awarded the honorary title of envoy of Tianzhang Pavilion as the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture. Daofu Kong and others who were demoted together in the past also returned to the imperial court. Fan Zhongyan made great efforts to rectify the bureaucracy in Beijing, get rid of the disadvantages and arrange his work in an orderly way. In just a few months, Kaifeng House, known as the complex drama, was "governed by respecting the Lord". Fan Zhongyan saw Lv Yijian, the prime minister, open the back door and abuse his personal interests, and North Korea was extremely corrupt. According to the investigation, Fan Zhongyan drew a picture of Baiguan Map in Jingyou for three years (1036) and presented it to Renzong. He pointed out the promotion of the officials listed in the picture and sharply criticized the employment system of the Prime Minister. Not to be outdone, Lv Yijian retorted that Fan Zhongyan was pedantic. Fan Zhongyan wrote four chapters on Lv Yijian's cunning. Lv Yijian even slandered Fan Zhongyan for colluding with his cronies and alienating the monarch and his subjects. Many people can see clearly the dispute between Fan and Lu. It happened that Lv Yijian was wily and good at using the power of the monarch, and finally won. Injong is 27 years old and has no children. It is said that Fan Zhongyan once cared about the heir of Injong, and perhaps even talked about setting up a nephew. Although this incident originated from the sincerity and loyalty of the prosperous Song Dynasty, it inevitably hurt Renzong's self-esteem. After being slandered by Lv Yijian, Fan Zhongyan was deprived of his due title and demoted to the magistrate of Raozhou. Later, I almost died in Lingnan. In order to cater to the will of the Prime Minister, Taiwanese official Han Du asked Fan Zhongyan's colleagues to write a list and hang it on the court. Yu Jin, Athena Chu, Ouyang Xiu and others were also exiled to remote places because of their grievances against Fan Zhongyan. Since then, the DPRK officials have seized the air, and the straight people are staggering. Few relatives and friends saw Fan Zhongyan off outside Beijing this time. However, the honest Wang Zhi came here to help the sick and raise wine, and praised "Fan Jun's trip is particularly glorious!" Fan Zhongyan laughed after several ups and downs and said, "There have been three lights before and after Zhongyan. If you send me a whole sheep next time, please be prepared as a sacrifice! " The next day, Wang Zhi was warned that everything he said and did to send Fan Zhongyan yesterday was recorded on the monitor, and he would be censored as a fan party. Hearing this, the king was not afraid of color, but was proud. Raozhou is next to Poyang Lake. It takes at least a dozen States to get here by water from Kaifeng. No one went out to receive Fan Zhongyan except Yangzhou, and Fan Zhongyan didn't mind. He is used to being demoted from the capital to a local official. He twisted his gray mustache and sang a poem in Raozhou's official residence. "Three out of Qingcheng Mountain, the temples are like silk, and the sweepers are scattered in the lent." "There is no need to be proud of your lips in the world, just get stuck in the old man!" Fan Zhongyan was weak and sickly since childhood, and he suffered from lung disease in recent years. Soon, his wife Li also died in Raozhou. Mei, a poet friend who served as a county magistrate nearby, gave him a poem "Lingwu Fu" and told him that his many outspoken remarks in North Korea were regarded as ominous crows. I used to wish him to keep his tongue and lips closed, and fly high except for eating and drinking. Fan Zhongyan immediately replied a poem "Lingwu Fu". He replied that no matter how much people hate the crow's dumb voice, I died in Ningming and was born silently! Around the age of 50, Fan Zhongyan was transferred to Runzhou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) and Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang) as the magistrate. At this time, a great event shook the whole country and changed his fate. The Tangut people who lived in Ganzhou and Liangzhou (now Zhangye and Wuwei in Gansu) originally belonged to the Song Dynasty. From the first year of Baoyuan (1038), Yuan Hao, the leader of the Tangut, suddenly established the Xixia Kingdom, claiming to be the emperor, and mobilized 100,000 riders to invade Yanzhou (now near Yan 'an, Shaanxi) and other places in the Song Dynasty. Facing the sudden provocation of Xixia, the Song Dynasty was caught off guard. Some of the main attacks of the imperial court and some of the main defenses were in a mess, and Song Renzong hesitated. The border is even more embarrassing. Because there has been no war for more than 30 years, the frontier defense in the Song Dynasty has not been repaired, the foot soldiers have not fought, and Fan Yong, the general of the Song Dynasty, is incompetent. Most of the hundreds of villages in northern Yanzhou were looted or taken away by Xixia army. Injong consulted with Lv Yijian and sent Xia Song to coach Shaanxi's current line. Also adopted the opinion of Han Qi, then deputy commander-in-chief, and transferred Fan Zhongyan as deputy commander-in-chief, Shaanxi appeased and recruited an agreement. Later, Athena Chu was also transferred to the western front. Fifty-two-year-old Fan Zhongyan was first restored to the post of Tianzhangge, and in a blink of an eye, he was awarded the post of straight bachelor in Longtuge. After Fan Zhongyan resigned from Beijing Renzong, he rushed to Yanzhou. The hardships of his official career made him dye his temples, but his passion for serving the country remained unchanged. Fan Zhongyan personally inspected the front line, and he found that Song Jun's officers and men, war, logistics and fortifications had many shortcomings in all aspects. If we do not reform the military array system and adopt strict strategic defense, it will be difficult to reverse the war. Han Qi's view is different. He underestimated the advantages of the Xixia army and was encouraged by the indignation of repeated harassment. He advocated concentrating all forces and launching a large-scale counterattack. Xia Song sent Han Qi and Athena Chu to Beijing, requesting Injong to approve the counterattack plan. With the approval of Injong, Athena Chu was ordered to meet Fan Zhongyan and asked him to send troops with Han Shuai at the same time. Although Fan Zhongyan is close friends with Han and Yin, he thinks that the time for counterattack is not yet ripe and insists on not following. Athena Chu lamented: "The Han Palace said,' Scholars should put victory and defeat aside'. You are too cautious today. It seems that you are really not as good as Han Palace! " Fan Zhongyan said: "I don't know what's so high about the idea that once the army is launched, everyone's life is in jeopardy." In the first month of the first year of Li Qing (104 1), Han Qi received the battle report that Xixia army invaded Weizhou (now Pingliang, Gansu). He immediately sent the general Ren Fu to lead the army to attack. The Xixia army was defeated and retreated, and Ren Fu ordered an urgent pursuit. Chased to the foot of Liupan Mountain in Xixia, but was ambushed in Haoshui Kawaguchi. Ren Fu and other 16 generals died heroically and more than 10,000 soldiers died tragically. Han Qi was defeated, and met thousands of families of the deceased on the way. They shouted the names of their relatives and prayed that the deceased would come back with Han Shuai. Han Qi wept bitterly in front of Ma Yan. Fan Zhongyan's strategic defense is not a simple or passive defense measure. When he first arrived in Yanzhou, he comprehensively reviewed the army and made serious downsizing and reorganization. He promoted a number of fierce generals from soldiers and junior officers, and selected many militia from local residents; Strict military training was also carried out. He also banned the mechanical system of going out in the order of ranks, and instead chose the contingency tactics of war generals according to the enemy's situation. In terms of fortifications, he adopted Zhong's suggestion and built a city in Yanbei first. Later, in the war zone between Song and Xia, a fortress was built. For border ethnic minority residents, we will sincerely unite, give generous concessions, and establish strict conventions on rewards and punishments. In this way, a solid barrier gradually stands on the roadside defense lines such as roadside, celebration and Jingyuan. One day in March in the second year of Li Qing (1042), Fan Zhongyan secretly ordered his eldest son Chunyou and a general, Zhao Ming, to attack the Xixia army and recapture Mapuzhai in the northwest of Gyeongju. He went out in person and set out with a great army. None of the generals knew the purpose of the operation. When the troops were about to go deep into the defense line of Xixia army, he suddenly gave an order: start work on the spot and build the city. Building tools have been prepared in advance, and it took only ten days to build a new city. This is the famous isolated city-Dashun City, which entered the boundary between Song and Xia Dynasties. Unwilling to fail, Xixia sent troops to attack, only to find that Song Jun, with Dashuncheng as the center, had formed a solid strategic system echoed by the fortress. On the way back to Gyeongju from Dashuncheng, Fan Zhongyan was relieved. In the first year, Zhong Shiheng was sent to Yanzhou to build Qingjian City, and the northeast border defense was stable. The private message of the Xixia army also reached his ears. They said, "Yanzhou cannot be easily captured. Now Lao Tzu Fan has tens of thousands of armour soldiers in his chest, which is not as easy as Lao Tzu Fan. " Now the border defense in the north of Gyeongju is generally close to consolidation. Only his own body, but feel very tired. It's late spring, and the wildflowers on the hillside have just opened. If it were in Jiangnan, it would have been full of flowers. He recited four poems casually: "On March 27th, flowers began to appear in Qiangshan; The general went to the border, but Chun Lao did not return. " In a blink of an eye, it's summer in Qiu Lai. Fan Zhongyan had to go to Dashuncheng and other places for personal defense. He is over 54 years old this year, with white hair and swaying in the north wind. Looking at the geese flying south in the sky, his heart is filled with emotion. Insomnia in the middle of the night, he lit a lamp to write lyrics, and several times in a row, "The Fisherman's Pride" began with the same four words: the scenery in Qiu Lai was different, and Hengyang geese didn't pay attention. Around, the sound of the horn sounded, thousands of miles away, and the long smoke closed. A glass of turbid wine is Wan Li's home, but Ran Yan hasn't come home yet. The pipe strength is covered with frost. People don't sleep, and the general has white hair and tears. Fan Zhongyan also took some measures to improve the combat effectiveness of the army. The imperial edict of the Song Dynasty stipulated the number of troops commanded by generals at all levels. If the enemy invades, the junior officers will take the troops out to resist first. Fan Zhongyan said: "War generals don't choose people. The statues of Fan Zhongyan in Biyunxuan, Zhiyangshan and Poyang are only judged by the level of official rank. This is a self-defeating way. " Therefore, he carefully examined Yanzhou's army, eliminated a group of weak and incompetent distribution schools, and selected a group of war-tested talents to replace them. He eliminated the old and weak, selected18,000 qualified soldiers, divided them into six units, and let each general command 3,000 people to train separately, which changed the situation that soldiers and generals did not know each other in the past, and sent them to fight against the enemy in turn according to the number of enemy troops in the war. Fan Zhongyan is also actively recruiting. Because most of the original border guards were corrupt and forbidden troops transferred from the mainland, these people were not tolerant of hard work and were homesick for a long time, and their morale was not high. They recruit soldiers from local people, are familiar with mountains and rivers, are tenacious and dare to fight, and have strong fighting capacity because they defend their hometown. Refine soldiers and improve the combat effectiveness of the army. In addition, Fan Zhongyan can set an example. A soldier never says he is thirsty without drinking water, and he never says he is hungry without eating. The gold and silk given to him by the court were distributed to the soldiers. Fan Zhongyan's rewards and punishments are clear, rewarding soldiers who bravely killed the enemy, promoting and reusing generals who made meritorious deeds, and mercilessly beheading corrupt elements who deducted their salaries in public. In this way, under the leadership of Fan Zhongyan, many generals with both wisdom and courage like Di Qing and Zhong emerged in the Northwest Army, and also trained a group of brave soldiers. Until the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, this army was still a strong force in the Song Dynasty. With the efforts of Fan, Han and others, the border situation has been greatly improved. At this time, there were various crises in Xixia, and there were also many contradictions among the generals of Xixia army. Two years after Li Qing, the number of defectors from Xixia to Song Dynasty has been increasing. People in Song and Xia Dynasties hoped to stop military operations as soon as possible. The envoys of the two sides also began to secretly travel back and forth between Xingqing House (now Yinchuan City) and the capital of song dynasty. In the fourth year of Li Qing (1044), the two sides formally reached a peace agreement. Peace was restored in Song and Xia Dynasties, and the situation in the northwest turned to safety.

Since Yuan Hao rose up against the Song Dynasty, Song Jun's frontier defense expenditure has suddenly expanded. In order to increase income, the government has to increase the burden on the people. As a result, riots and riots against the imperial court broke out in various places, including near the capital. During the three or four years in Li Qing (1043-1044), Emperor Injong, who was eager to stabilize the political situation, was particularly cheerful and enterprising. He transferred the three commanders of the western front-Xia Song, Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan-back to the capital together and appointed them as the chief and deputy officials of the highest military institution-a parliamentary envoy and a parliamentary envoy; He also expanded the establishment of officials, and personally appointed three or four remonstrating officials-Ouyang Xiu, Yu Jing, Wang Su and Cai Xiang, which were later called "four remonstrating". "Four remonstrations" were made, and Xia Song, who had no military merit, was dismissed, and Du Yan and Fu Bi were replaced as military commanders. The official of the "four remonstrances" made another speech, completely removing Lv Yijian's military and political power. The "four remonstrations" made a third remonstration, expelling Vice Premier Wang Ju from Fan Gongdi.

Front, replace it with Fan Zhongyan. Facing this unprecedented excellent team, Shi Jie was overjoyed. He wrote a poem praising and saying, "Lift Liang Jun and sweep the charm!" ! Preaching sages is like pulling weeds, and a large number of people rise up to exorcise evil spirits, just like cutting chicken feet, which will never last long. In September of the third year of Li Qing (1043), Renzong urged Fan Zhongyan and others to take measures to change the situation. Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi and Han Qi drafted the reform plan overnight. Fan Zhongyan, in particular, seriously summed up the reform ideas brewed in politics for 28 years, and soon put forward the famous New Deal program "Answer Your Hand and Write Ten Letters to Chen", and put forward ten reform suggestions and ten things to Chen, which were immediately presented. Song Renzong discussed with other officials of the imperial court and agreed, and gradually released it to the whole country in the form of imperial edicts. Thus, the sensational Qingli New Deal in the history of the Northern Song Dynasty began under the leadership of Fan Zhongyan, and Fan Zhongyan's reform thought was put into practice. Just a few months after the implementation of the New Deal, the political situation took on a new look: the bureaucracy began to be streamlined; Children who used to be officials by family power were subject to many restrictions; In the past, bureaucrats who only talked about seniority increased the procedures for examining performance and morality, and they were promoted with special talents; In the imperial examination, the examination of practical argumentative papers was highlighted; Schools have been established all over the country. Fan Zhongyan also advocated changing the system of multiple leadership and actual decentralization of central institutions and seriously expanding the real power of ministers to improve administrative efficiency. In order to replace incompetent local officials, he sent many provincial judges to various places. As soon as the inspection report arrived, the name of the officer who stole was crossed out of the class record book. Fu Bi saw him with a book in one hand and a pen in the other. He looked like a ruthless judge in Yamaraja, and he advised him: "You are a fish that escaped the net, but the whole family is going to cry!" Fan Zhongyan replied: "It is better for a family to cry than for several counties!" The breadth and depth of reform are often directly proportional to the resistance it encounters. A large number of old-school bureaucrats began to talk privately. Among the officials of Yushitai, some people attacked some provincial judges-saying "Three Tigers in Jiangdong" and "Four Promises in Shandong". Fan Zhongyan's aides on the frontier line were also secretly investigated and encountered many troubles. Ouyang Xiu and other "four remonstrances" attempted to get rid of these conservative minions and replace them with several Taiwan Province officials. But they soon discovered that there were more powerful people behind Taiwan Province officials. Ouyang Xiu himself was secretly withdrawn by Ming Sheng and left Beijing for Hedong. Fan Zhongyan had a hunch that things were not as simple as Shijie praised: there were many hidden dangers on the road of reform; The future of the New Deal is also in jeopardy. In the midsummer of the fourth year of Li Qing (1044), Taiwan officials suddenly announced that they had uncovered a major rebellion. Shi Jie and Fu Bi are directly related to this case. Injong doesn't believe this will happen. Stone, rich second, is even more puzzling. However, Taiwan Province officials have a personal letter from Shijie to Fu Bi to testify; There is an intention to depose Renzong in the letter. Shi Jie denied this. Fu Bi was frightened before he could refute this false accusation. In fact, this incident was purely caused by Xia Song. Since he was removed from the post of envoy of the Tang Dynasty and denounced as a "traitor" by Shijie, he secretly bribed his maid to copy Shijie's handwriting. It hasn't been a day since the maid wrote a letter. When this case became popular, rumors spread everywhere. Later, it even implicated Fan Zhongyan's sincerity in reform and even had the intention of expanding relative power. Although Song Renzong may not believe all this, he began to waver when he saw that the force against innovation was so strong. At this time, there was a formal peace between Song and Xia. The political crisis has also been basically eliminated. Injong's interest in reform has gradually faded. In order to avoid suspicion, Fu Bi asked to go to the border. Fan Zhongyan also knew that he was boring and took a job to inspect Hedong and Shaanxi. Premier Zhang Dexiang and Vice Premier Jia Changchao once echoed Fan Zhongyan's New Deal. But in practice, they are obedient and disobedient. When the New Deal was frustrated and the reformers were falsely accused, they immediately defected. After Fan and Fu left Beijing, they simply joined forces with conservative forces to throw stones at Fan Zhongyan and others. And through Taiwan Province officials to create new unjust cases, to eliminate Beijing's innovative figures. At the beginning of the fifth year of Li Qing (1045), Song Renzong, who had been impassioned and wanted to make great achievements, finally completely retreated. He wrote to give up all reform measures, and Fan Zhongyan and Fu Bi were removed from important military and political posts. All kinds of new policies that have been implemented for just over a year have also been banned. The dignitaries and their children inside and outside the capital are still singing and dancing. Fan Zhongyan's painstaking efforts to get rid of graft were wasted in an instant. He was transferred to Xiangzhou (now Binxian County, Shaanxi Province) to be a magistrate, ready to do something good for Fan Zu's birthplace to show his ambition.