Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 921 0916 [Real Retirement Life]

When Liu Yu received Zhu Ming's instructions and saw the contents of pardon and debt reduction, he shook his head and said, "The government really went to great lengths to encourage immigration."

He personally drafted the edict, and after writing it down, he added three preconditions.

First, the crime and the loan must have occurred before New Year’s Day this year.

Second, the ten unforgivable crimes are excluded.

Third, to eliminate debt, the whole family must relocate.

This is to prevent people from committing deliberate crimes and defaulting on their debts, thus causing chaos in local public security.

Immigrating to Guizhou is tantamount to exile. If one moves his entire family to Guizhou just to pay off debts, then he will definitely not be able to pay them back.

Even without this policy, creditors would never be able to recover their loans.

Relocating the entire family of such debtors would actually be beneficial to local stability.

After the imperial edict was drafted, it was sent to Zhu Ming.

Zhu Ming expressed his approval, signed it personally and had the Tongzhengyuan seal it and publish it.

Picking up another memorial, it turned out to be Zhang Shuye's request for retirement.

Zhang Shuye is already 71 years old and started to resign last winter.

His intentions were obvious. After he had applied and declined three times, the palace examination just happened to be over, and he could participate in the examination papers for the last time before retiring.

Zhu Ming picked up his pen and wrote: "Allow him to retire. Promote him to the rank of Grand Tutor and Supreme Pillar of the State, and grant him a set of brocade clothes."

Then he wrote three more reports and submitted them to the Cabinet:
"Meng Zhao, the Minister of Personnel, will serve as the assistant prime minister."

"Chen Dong from the Inspectorate was transferred to become the Minister of Personnel."

"Wei Liangchen made great contributions in clearing the fields in Jiangxi, and was immediately promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief when he returned to Beijing. He was promoted to Jinzi Guanglu Dafu, and was also promoted to Shaobao, and his wife was granted the second-rank imperial edict."

When the cabinet ministers received these orders, they were all deeply moved by the treatment Wei Liangchen had received.

Although he has not yet entered the cabinet, he has two honorary titles of the first rank.

If it were in the early Song Dynasty, if one were to advance further up the rank of Jinzi Guanglu Dafu, he would have to be given the title of Kaifu Yitong Sansi.

With these honorary titles, Wei Liangchen could treat cabinet ministers as equals most of the time.

After the news was announced, Qin Hui was envious and regretted not going to Jiangxi to clean up the fields. His honorary position was only a bare title of Xuanfeng Doctor, which he got by working hard to get promoted.

After carefully analyzing the changes in official positions, Qin Hui could basically guess what the emperor was thinking.

Everyone knows that Meng Zhao's abilities are mediocre, but this time he was transferred to the cabinet, and Chen Dong took over the Ministry of Personnel.

It's just that there are too many officials from Sichuan and Hanzhong who have been promoted in recent years, so Meng Zhao can no longer occupy that position, so he might as well be put into the cabinet as a decoration.

Chen Dong was a loyal minister and was politically reliable. He was also from Jiangnan and impartial. If he were to take charge of the Ministry of Personnel, he could balance the distribution of officials' hometowns.

In the past two years, Qin Hui has been paying attention to the water conservancy on both sides of the Jingjiang River, and has personally dispatched capable personnel there.

As long as he could govern Jingbei well, he felt that there should be no problem in him becoming the Minister of Revenue.

……

April in the lunar calendar.

Zhang Shuye left Luoyang and all the officials came to see him off.

His hometown is in Kaifeng, which can be reached by boat in a few days. He welcomes everyone to visit him when passing through Kaifeng.

The willow trees beside the Luo River were in trouble again. People climbed and broke them and wrote poems about them. Even the newly-appointed Jinshi came to watch the fun.

As cabinet minister Zhao Quan watched Zhang Shuye go away, he also thought about retiring and going home to enjoy his old age. The main reason was that he was older than Zhang Shuye, and there was a strong emperor in power, so no cabinet minister could think of seizing power.

The work intensity of the cabinet is very high, and it is a bit too much for people of advanced age to handle.

As they were about to leave, they saw a large number of guards coming over, accompanied by many craftsmen. Then, carriages came to the shore and carried all kinds of things onto the boat.

Soon after, even a few agricultural officials came.

"It's the retired emperor who is leaving Beijing!" an official reacted.

Everyone chose to stay and wait, and those who had already left turned back upon hearing the news.

Finally, the emperor's carriage arrived.

The officials bowed hurriedly and said, "We respectfully send the Emperor on his western tour!"

Zhu Guoxiang lifted the curtain of the carriage, waved with a smile and said, "Goodbye, everyone. I will go to Wangchuan this time, but I will come back occasionally. If any of you are transferred or retired, you can come to Wangchuan when you pass by Lantian. I will definitely kill chickens and fish to entertain you. I will raise chickens and fish myself."

The officials all laughed. They liked the emperor and there was no pressure in dealing with him.

As for the fact that Zhu Guoxiang forced Zhang Gen to retire voluntarily, no one remembers this matter anymore. People are more willing to remember the side they like.

The emperor was moving, and he had a whole fleet.

The BMW was wrapped in layers of tarpaulin, pulled to the shore by a flatbed truck, and then hoisted onto the boat using a pulley system.

This thing also had to be moved to Wangchuan Villa, where the army was stationed at the entrance of the valley. All the craftsmen who developed lathes and steam engines had to go there, and by the way, they also took the time to disassemble and study the BMW.

After all the stuff was loaded onto the boat, Zhu Guoxiang stood at the bow and bowed, "No need to see you off. Let's all go back."

Even though they said that, more and more people came to see them off.

Many Luoyang citizens also came voluntarily. They often saw the emperor entering and leaving the city. Although there were guards between them, they could still greet him from a distance. There were also people who often sold treasures to the emperor.

Apart from anything else, the agricultural officials trained by the retired emperor made their dining tables more abundant.

Chinese cabbage has been popularized for a long time and is now available to ordinary people. It is cheap, delicious and is considered a winter delicacy.

There are also carrots imported from overseas, which are also sweet and delicious, and are said to be effective in preventing and treating larvae. There are more than one or two similar vegetables.

There are many mountainous areas around Luoyang, and more and more people in those areas are planting corn and sweet potatoes.

"His Majesty!"

Suddenly, an emotional commoner knelt down on the shore and cried towards the fleet.

More and more people knelt down, as if spreading like a virus, and the scene was filled with people crying.

People are so strange sometimes, they may not be so sad and cry when their relatives die, but they feel very sad when the emperor just leaves Luoyang, and they have to cry when the mood is right.

Prime Minister Liu Yu was also infected by this atmosphere, his eyes moistened as he said: "This is an eternal saint!"

President Zhu, the eternal sage, was made a little sad. His concubines and children all came out of the cabin and stood beside him.

Li Qingzhao said with emotion: "I have only heard of honest and capable officials, and the people cried when they left office. Today I learned that when the emperor left Beijing, the people also knelt and cried to see him off. How much the people love Your Majesty."

Shen Yourong wiped her tears and said, "Your Majesty loves the people like his own children, so he would do this."

Zhu Guoxiang's sadness soon disappeared, and he started smiling soon after the fleet left.

When passing by Yanshi County, he also visited his daughter and son-in-law, and finally took his daughter Zhu Yan to Wangchuan Villa to relax.

After entering the Yellow River and seeing the fishing boats, Zhu Guoxiang said to the guards: "Go ask those fishermen if they have caught any Yellow River carp. If they have, I will buy a few. Today, I will let you taste my braised carp cooking skills!"

The fishermen were a little scared at first, but when the guards handed them the copper coins, they smiled happily and said they didn't want to take the money, and just gave the fish to the emperor.

Whenever the ship stopped at a place for the night, Zhu Guoxiang would entertain officials, and if the place was far away from the city, he would entertain gentry.

He drank some wine, asked about the local scenic spots, customs and legends, and claimed that he would travel here in the future.

It took a whole month to finally reach Wangchuan Valley.

A castle had been built at the mouth of the valley, and there were many houses nearby for the soldiers and their families to live in.

The accompanying teachers, craftsmen, doctors, agricultural officials, etc. lived in various areas of the valley, and they wandered around freely for the first month, so that everyone could appreciate Wang Wei's leisurely and elegant mood.

There are still a few scenic spots that have not been completed yet and it is estimated that they will take another two to three years to be repaired.

After all, this villa stretches for more than twenty miles!

Only eunuchs and palace maids were allowed to enter the core area where the royal family lived. The soldiers living at the entrance of the valley took turns to guard the villa to protect its interior.

After several days of hard work, everything was arranged.

Zhu Guoxiang completely relaxed and took his wife and children for a boat trip on the lake.

The area of ​​the mountain lake is quite large, formed by the confluence of two rivers in a low-lying area. The widest lake is about 500 meters, and the longest lake stretches for six miles. There are mountains dividing the lake into two, and there are pavilions on the mountains in the middle of the lake.

“The mountains are picturesque!”

Zhu Guoxiang stood at the bow of the boat and took out his fishing rod with a smile on his face.

The women and children were also very happy.

Shen Yourong even raised chickens and ducks in the courtyard where she chose to live, and transplanted mulberry trees near the house. She could raise chickens and ducks, pick mulberry leaves and feed silkworms with her maids and eunuchs, and read books or play games when she was bored.

Wen Xiaomei's yard is surrounded by bamboos, which can be used for painting and for eating bamboo shoots.

An Niang didn't have these hobbies. She collected many musical instruments and sang songs for everyone from time to time. Li Qingzhao would also compose new lyrics, and An Niang was the first to try singing them.

"Put out the wine and food."

Li Qingzhao ordered the palace maids to do something.

This guy is a drunkard and a foodie. He plays chess and cards whenever he has free time. He has very little time for reading and writing lyrics.

Li from Jin and Du from Annan were already familiar with each other, but they were a little reserved and not as close as the other women. They were implicitly excluded from the small circle.

"Invite the fish to have a drink first."

Li Qingzhao raised the pot and poured wine into the water, then took a sip from the spout, then rolled up her sleeves and swung out the fishing rod.

Then she started eating snacks and drinking, only occasionally glancing at the buoy.

Zhu Guoxiang said with a smile: "Are you sharing your meal with the fish and shrimp? The fish bait in the water has already been eaten up before you finish eating these preserved fruits."

"Those who are willing will take the bait." said Li Qingzhao.

It was early summer now, and the children had no patience for fishing and wanted to go swimming in the lake.

Zhu Guoxiang sent guards to choose a place with shallow water, and a large group of guards and eunuchs who could swim were watching.

The sons jumped right in and started playing.

The daughters were more reserved and just soaked their feet and played on the shore.

In a few days, the academy here will start classes and the children will be able to meet many new classmates.

Zhu Ming also wanted to send his young children here, as childhood here was much more interesting than in the palace.

Fish in the deep lake are difficult to catch. Seeing the children having fun, Zhu Guoxiang took off his clothes, leaving only his shorts, and dived directly into the center of the lake.

"Protect the Emperor!"

The guards and eunuchs shouted in panic.

Zhu Guoxiang resurfaced and laughed, "The lake water is cool. I'm going to teach the kids how to swim!"

Zhu Guoxiang lay on the lake and swam on his back with his eyes closed. The temperature was just right under the sunlight. He felt indescribably comfortable and relaxed.

Whoever wants to sit on the dog emperor’s seat can do so.

(End of this chapter)