Ancient Imperial Examination Daily

Chapter 754 Remarkable Results (Two in One)

But it doesn't matter if Du Jinning goes to Runzhou to be a fellow acquaintance. He is an official in a locality, but he is not yet the chief political official. There is nothing too taboo about their relationship.

But in order not to be too obvious, he suppressed his impulse and did not ask to go to Runzhou immediately.Now that Lu Jiuyuan and the others have such a good excuse, how can he not use it?
However, Zhao Chang's going to Runzhou was not a trivial matter, and he absolutely couldn't just walk away like Lu Jiuyuan and the others. He had to go to Zhao Meng for instructions and report.

Seeing that the time was right, it was time for the emperor to have dinner, so Zhao Chang handed over the sign and went into the palace, intending to have a meal in the palace, and let's talk about going to Runzhou by the way.

Zhao He values ​​family ties. As long as he is not too busy every day, he will take some time in the evening to go to the harem to have dinner with his mother and sister.

From time to time, Zhao Chang would go into the palace to greet the queen mother, and bring some small things to relieve Zhao Mingyue's boredom. Every time the queen mother would leave a meal, so it was not surprising to see Zhao Chang at the dining table.

He was just surprised by Zhao Chang's request: "What, are you going to Runzhou?"

Zhao Mingyue suddenly raised her head and looked at Zhao Chang, her eyes were shining brightly.

Empress Dowager Zheng frowned when she saw this.

"Yes." Zhao Chang replied honestly, "Brother Huang also read the article on the study of mind published in Sheng Shi Min Bao. Brother Huang also knows that I am obsessed with Confucianism. When I was in Guangxi Province, I heard Du Jinning I mentioned it to the three gentlemen Lu Jiuyuan, and I yearned for this theory. After reading their articles, I planned to go to the three gentlemen Lu, Shi, and Peng for advice, but I didn’t expect them to go to Runzhou.”

He raised his eyes and looked at Zhao Wei with clear eyes, "Brother Emperor, I'm going to Runzhou. Firstly, I want to chase after Mr. Lu and the others to ask for advice; secondly, I want to relax and have a chat with Du Jinning over wine. You also know that I have admired and appreciated him since I met him in Guangxi Province. It was only later that he was busy with his studies and government affairs, so I was ashamed to bother him all the time."

"Now that he has been released to Runzhou and has written such a deafening article, I want to take this opportunity to ask him for advice. Don't worry, Brother Huang, I will not delay his political affairs. I will spend most of the time with Lu Sir, they are together. When Du Jinning is free, I can have a chat with him, and I am satisfied."

After a pause, he said again: "And according to my estimate, they will give lectures soon. According to the academic achievements of the four of them, Du Jinning must be the center, so the lectures will definitely be held in Runzhou. I will go here , I also want to see this grand event.”

He looked up at Zhao He with calm eyes: "I'm here to visit a friend, and Runzhou is not far away. Brother Huang just needs to send a few guards to protect me. I'll say hello to Brother Huang here first. When I leave, I will leave a note, and those courtiers will not gossip about this matter and cause trouble to the emperor."

After hearing this, Zhao Mingyue's eyes became brighter and brighter.At the end, she opened her mouth slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she turned her head to look at her mother, then she closed her mouth lazily and lowered her eyes.

Empress Dowager Zheng knew that Zhao Chang's affairs were of great importance, and it was related to a game of chess in Zhao He's hands, which was not something that women in the harem like her could comment on.Although she sympathized with Zhao Chang's situation, she would not express her opinion on this matter.

In order to buy time for Zhao He to think about this matter, she changed the subject and asked Zhao Chang: "This Du Jinning, is he really so powerful? He is only 15 years old, so how can he study Confucianism more deeply than the old man?" Then she added, "The Mr. Lu you mentioned is not young, is he?"

Zhao Chang nodded: "Mr. Lu is in his fifties. Mr. Shi and Mr. Peng who are with him are also of the same age. Queen Mother, you don't know that they had a relationship with Du Jinning back then."

He then told how Lu Jiuyuan and the others went to Guangxi Province to be the graders, how they admired Du Jinning for wanting to accept him as a disciple, but were finally convinced by Du Jinning, and finally described Du Jinning's heroic posture in Qi Yuandao's speech on the party .

Empress Dowager Zheng glanced at her daughter whose eyes were getting brighter and more excited, sighed secretly, and asked, "I am so ignorant that there is such a talent in the world."

Zhao He said with emotion: "Du Jinning's talent is not limited to Confucianism? Mother, you don't know, in the Eastern Province, I just received a note from Guan Lehe today, saying that the opening of the road and the revitalization of commerce have achieved initial results. Guang The province's products are much richer than before. Some of them were transported by merchants from other places, and some were produced by local people. These products have been circulated and traded, and only tax revenue has come to Guangzhou in the past three months. The income is already the sum of the previous six months. Guan Lehe predicts that with the opening of the Dasong Bank and the guidance of precedents, the tax revenue in the next three months will double compared with the previous three months."

Empress Dowager Zheng took a deep breath.

She is not an ordinary boudoir girl who does not understand political affairs, and she knows the concept of doubling the tax revenue of a province.Although Guangzhou Province is the economic center in the south and is more prosperous than the surrounding provinces, it is nothing compared to the provinces in the south of the Yangtze River that have been prosperous since ancient times and are now the political center.Moreover, the area of ​​a province is so large, even if commerce is liberalized and the circulation of goods is allowed, what big waves can be made?However, if this is the case, the tax revenue in Guangzhou can still be doubled.It can be seen that opening up the road leads to the remarkable effect of commercial development.

If the entire Song Dynasty releases Lu Yin, encourages the people to do business, and develops business on a large scale.Due to the large-scale circulation of goods between provinces and regions, what kind of prosperous scene will it be?And the doubling of the tax revenue of the entire Song Dynasty will have an impact on the court and the Zhao family dynasty. Empress Dowager Zheng, who is well versed in politics, can fully imagine.

"These are all Du Jinning's ideas and proposals?" She asked.

Zhao He nodded: "All of them. Even the proposal of the Ministry of Household Affairs to open the Dasong Bank was proposed by Du Jinning."

He let out a long sigh: "Also, Du Jinning also proposed to vigorously promote manual skills and reward skilled craftsmen from all over the world. At that time, I didn't take it seriously, but because Du Jinning never talked about it, no matter how big or small his proposal was, there were always benefits. There is not much investment in this aspect, so I ordered the Ministry of Industry to follow his suggestion."

He looked at Empress Dowager Zheng with an uplifted expression: "But Queen Mother, you would never have imagined that such a small proposal, just conveying a will, would bring me such a surprise. Queen Mother also knows that some When a family masters a skill, the idea is not to pass it on to benefit the people, but to hide it and pass it on from generation to generation as a family heirloom. Often, these skills are either lost or incomplete .”

"Since the regulations written by Du Jinning to me were promulgated, dozens of families have reported these skills to the court for glory, and the effect is really remarkable. For example, cotton is very serious with pests and diseases. One family contributed a kind of The medicine, which is mixed in the seeds when planting, can prevent diseases and insects, and spraying this medicine when the moisture is insufficient after sowing can keep warm and increase moisture, and ensure the smooth germination of cotton. Local officials said that if this kind of medicine is used in a large area Pharmacy, according to the family's past cotton planting situation, this year's cotton harvest can at least increase by [-] to [-] percent compared to previous years. The cotton production in the entire Song Dynasty has increased by [-] to [-] percent. Think about it, mother, how big this benefit will be!"

Zhao Chang and Zhao Mingyue were dumbfounded and amazed.

Empress Dowager Zheng thought more far-reaching.She pushed forward and asked a question: "That family used to grow cotton for a living and owned a large area of ​​cotton-growing fields, right? Once the cotton production increases, the price of cotton will definitely drop. This is the case every year. Donate medicine prescriptions." Hasn't your family suffered a great loss? What are they planning?"

Zhao He said with a smile: "In the regulations written by Du Jinning, such pesticides, agricultural tools and various tools that are conducive to improving efficiency will be funded by the court to set up a workshop dedicated to the production of these things. According to the size of the profit, the person who donates the prescription can occupy two to three shares in the workshop. If the officials of the Ministry of Industry promote this kind of medicine to the common people who grow cotton, even if the price of the medicine is not high, but because of the large sales volume, the profit will be higher. It's still quite impressive. The [-]% profit not only makes up for their loss in cotton prices, but also makes them more profitable. What's more, the court will give them a reward, or a sum of money, or a small The number of officials, or my own handwriting. That's why these people are so generous to present the family's secret skills to the court."

"So that's how it is." Empress Dowager Zheng suddenly nodded and praised, "This Du Jinning, at a young age, is well versed in the world and has taken all factors into consideration. It is not unreasonable for her method to succeed."

"That's not true." Zhao He said with emotion, "It's my great fortune to have such a capable minister after I ascended the throne, and it's also the great fortune of the entire Song Dynasty."

Empress Dowager Zheng glanced at her daughter, seeing her blushing cheeks and amazingly bright eyes, she couldn't help but sighed deeply.

If it wasn't for Du Jinning's obsession with his wife, and a homosexual who likes men, there would be no more suitable son-in-law than Du Jinning in this world.

She made a point and said: "Yes, this is a rare talent. It's a pity that he beats his wife and still likes..." Before she finished speaking, she was patted, and immediately heard Zhao Mingyue say, "Mother, don't worry, I didn't think about that."

She turned her eyes to look at Zhao Mingyue, and saw Zhao Mingyue blinked at her and gestured towards Zhao Chang.

Obviously, Zhao Mingyue didn't want everyone to know about Du Jinning's homosexuality, even if it was Fifth Brother she liked, she didn't want him to know.

This act of protecting his weaknesses showed more and more the weight of Du Jinning in Zhao Mingyue's heart.

Empress Dowager Zheng couldn't help stretching out her hand, stroked Zhao Mingyue's cheek lightly, and asked her, "Second Young Master Xiao, what do you think?"

After Du Jinning and Qi Muyuan kissed, Queen Mother Zheng accelerated the screening of future son-in-law candidates, but the results were not satisfactory.

Among the new Jinshi from poor families, there are not many who are worthy of Zhao Mingyue in terms of appearance and age.After Du Jinning and Qi Muyuan were excluded, the remaining Guan Jiaze, Liang Xiankuan, Xu Chengyuan and others were all married.

Empress Dowager Zheng had no choice but to search among the children of the aristocratic family, but she found a few with good reputations.Then after various visits, several more were finally eliminated, leaving only three people.These three people are far from being able to compare with Du Jinning and Qi Mu in terms of talent and ability, but they are good in all aspects.And this Second Young Master Xiao is one of the best.

Empress Dowager Zheng originally planned to order a marriage directly, but Zhao Mingyue proposed to get along with him.The Song Dynasty inherited the legacy of the Tang Dynasty, and the atmosphere is quite open. Considering that this is a lifelong event for the daughter, if Zhao Mingyue and Xiao Ergongzi don't see each other well, their future marriage will definitely be unhappy.Queen Mother Zheng agreed to Zhao Mingyue's request.

That Second Young Master Xiao was also active, during this time he repeatedly asked Zhao Mingyue to go out to play polo and go to the temple to offer incense.Under the strong pressure of her mother, Zhao Mingyue went there two or three times.

"That's it." Zhao Mingyue said lightly.

Empress Dowager Zheng carefully selected candidates, and it was not easy for her to pick out some faults.That Second Young Master Xiao is a good-looking talent, he is willing to make progress, he has abilities, he has a good temper, and he doesn't have any bad habits.But with Du Jinning Zhuyu in front, no matter how good Second Young Master Xiao is, he can't attract Zhao Mingyue's interest.

Zhao He and Zhao Chang looked at each other, regretting mentioning Du Jinning in front of their sister.

Both of them are big men, their hearts are not so careful, and they don't think about their children's personal relationship. They just say what comes to mind, which makes the younger sister's mind come alive again.

Empress Dowager Zheng didn't stop her two sons from mentioning Du Jinning, but she actually had other deep meanings and plans.

She said: "Mingyue, the empress admits that Du Jinning is a very talented and outstanding person, but he doesn't have you in his heart, so why should you care about him? The second son Xiao is not as good as Du Jinning, but he always has you in his heart. How to choose between the two, with your intelligence, don’t you know where to go?”

Zhao Mingyue was silent for a while, and a stiff smile appeared on her face: "Mother, I understand."

"Then make a statement in front of your two elder brothers so that I can secure your marriage." Queen Mother Zheng didn't want to let her daughter go just like that.

During this period of time, she never mentioned Du Jinning, nor did Zhao Mingyue, and usually went out obediently with Second Young Master Xiao. Empress Dowager Zheng didn't know if she really put Du Jinning down in her heart, so Zhao Chang allowed Zhao Chang to mention Du Jinning here. .But judging from the situation just now, Zhao Mingyue still remembered Du Jinning in her heart, and her feelings were no less than before.

Empress Dowager Zheng felt a sense of crisis in her heart, for fear that Zhao Mingyue would cause trouble for her if she had a good eye.Now I have to force her.

Zhao Mingyue raised her eyes, looked at her mother, then at Zhao Wei, her lips moved.

But she didn't speak in the end, she lowered her eyelids, poking the rice in the bowl desperately with the chopsticks in her hand, her eyes slowly turned red.

Zhao Yu couldn't bear to see her like this.He was about to speak, but his mother gave him a hard look, so he had to close his mouth.

　This is the third, Chapter 4.around eleven o'clock

　　
　
(End of this chapter)