Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 497 The Emperor's Means
As soon as Han Jiang left, Fan Ning called Zhong Nan and said to him, "There is a need for tea boys at Zuochunfang. You arrange Wang Xi there, and I will find another one here."

Zhong Nan's face was pale, and he stammered: "My lord thinks he's not good?"

Fan Ning gave Zhong Nan a hard look, and if he continued, he would even change him. What do you mean, you need to explain to him?
Zhong Nan immediately realized that he had said something wrong, and hurriedly said, "I'll arrange it now!"

"and also!"

Fan Ning stopped him again, and said: "The prince's guest, Mr. Han, must have the same conditions as me, and no slight treatment is allowed."

"The villain understands that he will never treat one more favorably than another."

He saluted and left in a hurry. At this time, the tea boy Wang Xi said at the door: "Just now a eunuch came to deliver a message that the emperor was summoned. I saw the officials talking, so I didn't bother!"

Fan Ning suddenly became violent, he changed his mind, and immediately told the tea boy to leave, and he was not allowed to stay in the East Palace.

He hurriedly got up and hurried to Ziwei Hall.

He waited for a while outside the imperial study, and an eunuch came out, "Fan Zhan, the emperor calls you in!"

Fan Ning tidied up his clothes and walked quickly into the imperial study, only to see the emperor sitting in front of the imperial case drinking a bowl of ginseng tea with a tired expression.

Fan Ning stepped forward and saluted, "My humble minister, Fan Ning, sees Your Majesty!"

"Fan Aiqing is free from courtesy!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Fan Ning stood up and stood aside with his hands down. Zhao Zhen looked at him and asked with a gentle smile, "I heard from King Liang that you have a bad relationship with Ouyang Xiu and Weng?"

Fan Ning smiled wryly, "Your Majesty has to worry about the family affairs of this humble minister!"

Zhao Zhen chuckled, "Actually, I'm very interested. Changing my mind occasionally can improve my mood. Why don't you chat with me?"

Fan Ning thought about it, and then started talking about it when he came to Beijing and met Ouyang Qian when he was young.

Zhao Zhen laughed loudly, "I still remember that when you first came to Beijing with your grandfather, I gave you a pair of bracelets. I didn't expect you to fall in love with Ouyang Xiu's daughter at that time?"

"The bracelet bestowed by His Majesty has been kept by this minister until now."

Zhao Zhen was in a good mood, nodded and said, "Go on, what's Ouyang Xiu's attitude after he finds out?"

Fan Ning had no choice but to take care of Ouyang Qian all the time. After buying Ouyang Xiu's stepmother, Ouyang Xiu was forced to agree to marry his daughter, and then he put forward several conditions and said it again.

Finally, he said: "Actually, I know that Senior Ouyang's embarrassment is hard to let go, and I can't accept the fact that my daughter is a concubine, but I ask myself, I have always regarded Ouyang Qian as a wife, in fact, I also have a concubine, she She is the real concubine, and her status is completely different from Ouyang's concubine, I have always hoped that senior Ouyang can understand this, the status is not important, the happiness of the daughter is the most important."

Zhao Zhen nodded slowly, "Fame is important, happiness is also important, how about this! I will make an exception this time to help you, I hope you and your son-in-law can get back together."

Fan Ning knelt down to thank His Majesty, "I can't repay His Majesty's kindness to me, I can only do my best to assist His Highness King Liang."

"I also care about Donggong very much!"

Zhao Zhen asked again: "How is the East Palace running now?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the shelf of the East Palace has been preliminarily completed. His Royal Highness King Liang is studying in the Chongwen Hall, and everything is developing steadily."

Zhao Zhen shook his head, "It's a bit late for him to study now, my energy is not as good as before, I'm exhausted after only reviewing a few memorials, no matter how many tonics I take, I plan to transfer some minor government affairs to The East Palace, let King Liang get busy and share my worries, with the structure of the East Palace, the main thing is that Fan Aiqing and Han Aiqing should help King Liang more, so that he can grow up as soon as possible."

"I must do my best to assist His Royal Highness King Liang!"

"Does Fan Aiqing have any good suggestions for the structure of the East Palace?" Zhao Zhen asked again with a smile.

Fan Ning pondered for a moment and said, "I do have a suggestion, can a gentleman come to the East Palace every day to explain to His Highness why a certain government decision is made in this way, and the minister does not interfere with the affairs of the East Palace, but he wants to teach the government affairs Your Highness."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "I think it's inappropriate to let Zhizhengtang intervene in the East Palace. King Liang doesn't need Xiangguo to teach him, otherwise I will let him participate in Zhizhengtang's discussions. I have considered it for a long time and decided to promote Wenyan." Bo is the crown prince Shaofu, and he, Han Aiqing, and Fan Aiqing will form the Eastern Palace to discuss matters. Except for major military and state affairs and the appointment and dismissal of personnel above the third rank, all other memorials that require my approval will be transferred to the Eastern Palace. The three of you will assist King Liang to make Criticism."

"The minister obeys the order!"

In the afternoon, a decree came from the palace to formally change Liang Wang Zhao Zhongzhen's name to Zhao Xu, and canonize him as the heir of the emperor. In a sense, the heir is the crown prince, or the grandson of the emperor, but the two are still different. The emperor's heir is just a title, which can be canonized or abolished by decree.

However, the crown prince or the grandson of the emperor is the most important weapon of the country. They cannot be canonized, they must be canonized, and a grand ceremony must be held to establish the crown prince. Once confirmed, they cannot be easily changed.

It can be understood that the emperor's heir is the unofficial emperor's grandson, who is the backup of the crown prince.

Zhao Zhen's canonization also has his last resort. The Zhao family's rule is that the prince cannot be established early, and the heir must be determined at the last moment. However, Zhao Zhen's energy and physical strength can no longer support the operation of the government, so he has to delegate power to Liang Wang. , but delegating power to Liang Wang is also called unjust and unsatisfactory, so he used the compromise title of emperor's heir.

This rule of the Zhao royal family has indeed broken many major events. For example, when Song Zhezong died, he did not designate an heir. In the end, the Queen Mother ignored the opposition of all the officials and chose a well-behaved prince she liked as emperor. This is the mourning of the Northern Song Dynasty. Song Huizong of the great country.

Only Song Yingzong in history broke this rule. After he ascended the throne, he canonized his eldest son Zhao Zhongzhen as the prince. The reason was very simple. He himself had had enough of Song Renzong's refusal to canonize the prince.

Zhao Zhen then decreed that Wen Yanbo should be appointed as the crown prince's Shaofu, and form the East Palace with the prince's guest Han Jiang and the prince Zhan Shifan Ning to assist the emperor's heir Zhao Xu in handling the government affairs of the court.

In Mudu Town, Wu County, Fan Tieniu received a package from the capital. It was sent by his nephew Fan Ning from the capital. Inside the package were two wooden boxes containing some things he had never seen before. over seeds.

At the same time, there was also a letter. In the letter, Fan Ning repeatedly urged him to harvest these seeds and try to plant them in the spring tomorrow. These two are unique crops in the world.

Fan Tieniu panicked, why did he send such an important thing to himself.

"Tie Niu, what happened to you today?"

His wife, Mrs. Lu, saw that her husband was a little out of control all day, so she came over and asked.

Fan Tieniu said with a sad face: "A-Ning sent me some crop seeds, and asked me to try planting them in the spring of next year. They said that they are unique in the world. I was very panicked. What if one is smashed?"

Mrs. Lu laughed, "You are well-known for growing grain in ten miles and eight towns. Even if you fail to grow it, who can grow it well? Aning trusts you and sends you the seeds. Seeing how worried you are, It can't be that the seeds have gone moldy!"

"No, I have checked the seeds carefully, they are well preserved, they are in good condition, and they are well dried."

"That's it! You put it in the seed warehouse and keep it together with your wheat seeds and rice seeds. They will be planted after the spring of next year. Did Aning teach you how to plant them?"

"One is called corn, which he said is similar to planting millet, and the other is called pumpkin, which is the same as planting winter melon."

Jigu is sorghum, and there are relatively few in the south of the Yangtze River, but there are some. Fan Tieniu once planted it, and it is relatively easy to grow. As for winter melon, every household has planted it in front of and behind the house, and Fan Tieniu is not a problem.

"Tie Niu, if you are not at ease, you can use the few acres of land behind our house to try planting first. In winter, the land will be well ridged, and the base fertilizer will be applied adequately. The planting will start in the spring of next year. I guess there are still some seeds left by Aning. , He asked you to test it in the south, and the north must also test it! Don't worry too much."

His wife's enlightenment gave Fan Tieniu some confidence. Thinking about it, it is true. If he can't grow the land that has been planted for 20 years, there are really few who can do it well. He was relieved and nodded with a smile. : "Collect the seeds first. By the way, I'm going to Changzhou County today. It seems that Su Zhi County has been promoted. I'm going to congratulate."

"Then you have to change your clothes. After all, you are also an outsider. Wearing short clothes all day, you are not afraid of being laughed at?"

Fan Tieniu only wore a long gown when he went to Beijing to attend his nephew’s wedding a few years ago. Usually he likes to wear a short green cloth jacket, wide crotch trousers, a cloth belt around his waist, cloth shoes, and barefoot in the fields. , more like an old farmer than an old farmer.

Fan Tieniu smiled and went back to the house to change his clothes. He still understood the reason to tell the county magistrate to be decent.

(End of this chapter)