Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1150 Epilogue VII: The Queen Mother's Teachings to the Young Emperor
The unemployed are rioting in factories in the suburbs, but this does not stop the rich from going out of town to relax.

When Xie Yan was returning, he saw a long line of carriages leaving the city.

The BMW carved carriage is elegant and luxurious.

There were groups of servants following him.

It was probably that several families had agreed to go out together, and there were four or five hundred servants following the carriages alone. Even those servants were all dressed in fancy clothes, as if they were superior people.

Such a luxurious lifestyle can provide employment for many people.

Xie Yan was surprised and said, "After all, I am also the son of a magistrate, and my father is the second-ranking official in Huangzhou Prefecture. Why is it that when they go out, there is such a big scene, but when I go out, only you follow me?"

Wang Sheng smiled and said, "The traditions of our schools are different."

Xie Yan said: "These families are difficult to manage, right? My father is an official in Huangzhou Prefecture, and I'm afraid he has to look at their faces."

"Everything needs to be discussed." Wang Sheng said.

Xie Yan suddenly had a question: "Even if my father doesn't care about ostentation, why doesn't he even take a concubine?"

Wang Sheng immediately held back his laughter: "My husband and my wife are deeply in love, and they won't tolerate any third person interfering."

"Why does this sound so fake to me?" Xie Yan was a little unconvinced.

Wang Sheng said very cryptically: "My wife comes from a distinguished family. She was married down from her parents. Although she is a woman, she has her own opinions."

Okay, Xie Yan understood now.

It’s not that his father doesn’t want to take a concubine, but he has the desire but not the courage.

Xie Yiqin claimed that he was able to become a prefectural magistrate in his forties thanks to his imperial examination results and his achievements as an official. Who would believe him if he told others about it? He was supported by his father-in-law.

Of course, the father-in-law’s ability is limited, so Xie Yiqin’s future career will depend on himself.

Xie Yan asked, "What does my grandfather do?"

Wang Sheng replied: "At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the tribe was relocated to Hebei. The second generation after relocating to Hebei passed the imperial examination and gradually became an official family. The old man was an upright official. He was demoted to Java during the Dingtai period and was promoted to the Governor of Luzon overseas. He requested to retire due to old age and died of illness at the beginning of last year."

"Then are there any uncles in my grandfather's family who are officials?" Xie Yan was quite looking forward to it.

Wang Sheng said, "There are two more people who are officials. Your uncle is a powerful official in Guangdong Province."

Xie Yan was very happy to hear this. He thought he had become a second-generation official in this life, as both his parents were officials.

Thinking about the hardships of delivering takeout before traveling through time, I finally made it through!
Thinking about delivering food, Xie Yan couldn't help but think of his parents in the original time and space. He could only comfort himself that his parents responded to the two-child policy and gave birth to a younger brother in their forties. Even if he was gone, his younger brother would still be there to support him.

Xie Yan pointed at the convoy that had already gone far away: "Where are they going?"

Wang Sheng guessed, "Maybe they went to Anguo Temple, which is very popular. It is said that Han Qi studied hard in the temple for several years, and Su Shi also visited the temple every one or two days for five consecutive years."

"It's almost noon, how long can we play?" Xie Yan didn't like those guys.

Wang Sheng said, "There are many elegant houses in Anguo Temple, which are specially provided for wealthy pilgrims to live in. As long as they can afford it, they can live in the temple for the rest of their lives. When leaving the city near noon, they must spend the night in the temple. Those wealthy people all get up very late, so of course they will be very late when they are invited to go out."

It was almost noon and they had to hurry home for lunch, so they called a donkey cart.

When getting off the car at the side door of the government office, Xie Yan unexpectedly met a fellow passenger - a takeaway boy.

This was a takeaway delivered to his house. It was placed at the gatehouse and he was not allowed in, so Wang Sheng helped to carry it to the backyard.

There are other meals at home too.

Mother explained, "I missed the chili from Huibinlou, so I ordered some to be sent over. Liulang's injury hasn't healed yet, so don't eat chili today."

After opening the food box, Xie Yan stared at the peppers and was stunned: "Is this kind of pepper available everywhere?"

Mother said, "It has spread to Hunan in recent years, and a few farmers in Huangzhou Prefecture are also growing it. The price is still quite expensive, but it will be cheaper in a few years if it spreads."

"Where did the chili come from?" Xie Yan asked.

My mother said, "There is a place called America overseas. In his later years, Emperor Taizong speculated that there was a beautiful country in the far east of the ocean, so he sent a fleet to explore it."

"Have you really discovered it?" Xie Yan asked in surprise.

Mother smiled and said, "Emperors Taizu and Taizong were both gods sent from heaven. How could their speculations be wrong? But there are rumors that things were not smooth at the beginning. The first and second fleets of sea exploration were lost. It was not until the fifth year after Taizong's death that the third fleet of sea exploration returned from Luzon."

Xie Yan asked again: "Is there a governor's office in America?"

Mother shook her head. "America is too remote, and not many people are willing to immigrate there. It has always been the imperial court that organized the exploration, and each time they transported a batch of death row prisoners. It seems that it stopped for 20 to 30 years, and I guess the population there is not much now."

After discovering that America was remote and poor, the imperial court still insisted on exploring its land, which made many ministers express their incomprehension.

But almost every emperor would organize a fleet to go to America, apparently looking for a treasure called rubber.

No rubber has been found so far, but many other things have been brought back.

For example, chili peppers.

For example, potatoes.

For example, tobacco.

The mother in this time and space can eat spicy food very well. The spiciness made sweat on her forehead, but she became more and more excited the more she ate.

Xie Yan also wanted to try it, but was forbidden to touch it because his injury "had not healed".

In the afternoon he returned to his study and took out various textbooks to study.

The Four Books are still compulsory for the exam, and one of the Six Classics still needs to be chosen. Xie Yan felt overwhelmed after just a few glances.

However, when I read those words, I always felt a sense of familiarity, probably because of this body.

"Is it possible to take a shortcut around the Four Books and Six Classics?" Xie Yan asked.

Wang Sheng said: "If you choose to take the science exam, the questions on the Four Books and Six Classics will be easier. Especially the Six Classics, the questions are very simple. But when taking the science exam, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geography are much more difficult."

"Then I will take the imperial examination!" Xie Yan was overjoyed.

Wang Sheng advised: "Liu Lang, it is really difficult to be a science scholar. I heard that the math and physics questions for civil scholars are ridiculed as child's play by science scholars."

Xie Yan said: "I just like to challenge difficult problems, don't stop me!" He opened a math textbook at random, and became confused as he read it.

He knew Arabic numerals and the symbols for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, but there were some symbols that seemed so incomprehensible that he had never seen them before.

These symbols were created by Ming Dynasty mathematicians!
Xie Yan quickly opened the physics textbook and found a lot of symbols he didn't recognize.

Damn, it’s incompatible.

Xie Yan spent the entire afternoon reading books seriously, mainly to familiarize himself with the various symbols and units in this world.

During dinner time, my second brother and younger sister went home, but my father never showed up. I guess the unemployed people’s riot had not been dealt with yet.

……

Luoyang.

A side hall of the Chuigong Hall, inside the council hall.

Yang Lide, a retired minister who had just returned to the capital, bowed to Empress Dowager Ye and said, "Your Majesty, reform is not something that can be done overnight. Being too radical and reckless will only do harm!"

Empress Dowager Ye asked: "Mr. Yang hurried to the capital and was eager to see the emperor. Is it because he wanted to persuade His Majesty to postpone the reform?"

Yang Lide said: "When the article in the Ming Xunbao came out, many places were in chaos. How could the court write an article to incite the people to riot?"

Empress Dowager Ye is less than 30 years old this year. She has deep eye sockets and a straight nose, but otherwise she is no different from the Han people.

The little emperor, who was eleven years old, sat there very sensibly, looking at this and that, as if trying to understand why the adults were arguing.

Empress Dowager Ye did not respond.

Prime Minister Deng Gongwu said: "The child labor ban was issued at the end of last year and took effect on January 1 this year. It's already summer, how many factories are complying with the ban? Not only do the factories not comply, but private newspapers and magazines don't mention it at all. What do they want to do?"

Yang Lide said: "Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. You can't be too impatient. Even if you have to act quickly, you should let the officials do it instead of inciting the common people to riot!"

"Did I incite the common people to riot?" Deng Gongwu sneered, "I have been speaking the truth and presenting the facts throughout the article. Not a single truth is wrong, and not a single fact is false!"

Yang Lide suddenly realized: "It turns out that the article was written by Mr. Deng."

Queen Mother Ye suddenly said, "I asked the Prime Minister to write it."

Yang Lide looked at Empress Dowager Ye again and found that she had a firm expression and bright eyes, which were not comparable to ordinary women.

He suddenly realized something.

Empress Dowager Ye was born as a prodigy, and she was the only prodigy in the Qihe region in the past 100 years. She persisted in studying until she reached the Imperial College, and was chosen as the prince's concubine.

A woman who can study in the Upper She of the Imperial College, even if she does not graduate successfully, definitely has great perseverance and wisdom.

It is very likely that the Queen Mother is leading this reform!
Of course, the actual operation could not be done without Prime Minister Deng Gongwu, because the Queen Mother had no political experience.

Empress Dowager Ye asked, "Do you know how chaotic the Qihe Protectorate was back then?"

Yang Lide said: "The Seven Rivers Protectorate has been sorted out by the late emperor."

Empress Dowager Ye sneered: "The Seven Rivers Protectorate is easy to manage. It's nothing more than suppressing a few rebellions and killing a few more civil and military officials and foreigners. But what if the Han area becomes chaotic?"

"The Han area will not be in chaos. The Ming Dynasty is now in its heyday," Yang Lide said. "The late emperor spent his later years recuperating and his finances have gradually become more abundant. After suppressing many rebellions, he also reorganized the armies in various places. Now the treasury is full, the army is strong, and the territory is vast, far exceeding the heyday of the Han and Tang dynasties! In such a prosperous era, why do we need to reform? Once reforms are made, chaos will inevitably occur!"

Deng Gongwu said sarcastically: "In this prosperous era, even the ban on child labor cannot be implemented?"

Yang Lide turned to Empress Dowager Ye and said, "Your Majesty, please reinstate me. I will implement the ban on child labor and ensure that within one year, no factory in the country will openly use child labor!"

Deng Gongwu laughed and said, "If it weren't for my article, would you have come back to the court sick and taken on the responsibility of enforcing the child labor ban? Since you are sick, you should go home and recuperate."

Empress Dowager Ye said: "Mr. Yang is loyal to the country. During his retirement, he returned to the court to discuss state affairs despite his illness. Such behavior should be rewarded. I will reward him with 100 silver dollars. The Ministry of Travel will select officials to escort Mr. Yang back to his hometown to recuperate."

Yang Lide wanted to say something but stopped himself because Empress Dowager Ye was staring at him.

Finally, he retreated.

The reason why they were able to be dealt with so smoothly was thanks to the coup d'état by Prince Yong. Dozens of dignitaries were killed in one fell swoop on the charge of treason, and more than 200 traitors were imprisoned and exiled.

The first three rows of the court were empty!
In the first ten rows, there are only a few defected generals left.

Many of them were killed unjustly, because they did not know the inside story of the coup and just subconsciously attached themselves to the "new monarch". After the new monarch sent a telegram to the emperor, they immediately chose to shut up and wait and see, and finally went to the outskirts of Luoyang to welcome the new monarch back to Beijing.

It does not matter.

What’s important is that they were promoted and reused by the false emperor!

Deng Gongwu also bowed and took his leave.

Empress Dowager Ye took the little emperor's hand, boarded the imperial sedan chair and returned to the palace.

She took out an old box and opened it with her own key. Inside were more than a dozen booklets. "In three months, the prince will be twelve years old. You should recite one page of these books every day and don't tell anyone else."

"What is this?" the little emperor asked curiously.

Empress Dowager Ye said, "Your Imperial Grandfather stayed with the abdicated Emperor Taizong from the age of six to twelve until his death. These books were passed down to your Imperial Grandfather by Emperor Taizong."

The little emperor took a look, reached out and picked up a book to read.

Empress Dowager Ye continued, "These books were secretly sent to me by your confidants by your grandfather after your brothers died young. You must remember that His Majesty Taizong is not wrong, and your grandfather is not wrong either. If any minister says something different in the future, then they must be treacherous ministers."

The little emperor didn't quite understand and just nodded.

Queen Mother Ye added: "Your uncle Prince Yong, who usurped the throne, is the leader of those treacherous ministers. No, he is not even the leader, but just a puppet chosen by the treacherous ministers."

The young emperor asked, "Weren't Prince Yong's uncle and those treacherous ministers already killed?"

Empress Dowager Ye said: "There is no end to the number of treacherous ministers. Your grandfather has killed many treacherous ministers, but he is old and can no longer kill them. Not only have treacherous ministers resurrected, but even some loyal ministers have become treacherous ministers."

The little emperor asked: "Mother said that Master Deng was a loyal minister, will he become a treacherous minister in the future?"

"It's possible, but not certain." said Empress Dowager Ye.

After hearing this, the little emperor showed fear in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)