I studied in modern times

Chapter 751: Tea Color
When the note written by Lu Gong was delivered to Funing Palace, Zhao Xu was reading a book.

I was reading "Collected Works of Du Gongbu" presented by Song Churen.

This is a compilation of Du Fu's poems circulated among the people, collected by Fan Huang, the governor of Runzhou during the reign of Emperor Daizong of Tang Dynasty.

It is the ancestor of Du Fu's poetry collections throughout the ages!
Unfortunately, modern people no longer have the opportunity to witness this treasure.

The edition of "Du Gongbu Xiaoji" collected by Song Churen in his home is particularly precious.

Although it is not the original version but was copied from the fragments of the Five Dynasties, the people who copied it were the famous officials of the Song Dynasty, Wang Zhu and Wang Yuanshu.

This guy is the biggest fan of Du Fu in the Song Dynasty.

The "Collected Works of Du Gongbu" compiled by him has been passed down to the modern day and is recognized as the ancestor of Du Fu's poetry collection.

Not only that, Wang Zhu is also a great calligrapher.

Known as the best official script master in the Northern Song Dynasty!

The Fan Zhongyan Stele he wrote still stands in the Fan Garden in Yichuan, Luoyang hundreds of years later, and is a check-in spot for countless clerical script lovers.

In the "Du Gongbu Xiaoji" copied by Wang Zhu, at least thirty poems of Du Fu have been lost or scattered in modern times.

Future generations will never be able to see them.

And today, they still exist, but are bound on the Song family's bookshelf.

This has to be said, it is a pity.

Fortunately, Zhao Xu now has the tool "Bian Jing Yi Bao" in his hands.

Therefore, he has ordered the Bian Jing Yi Bao to publish poems by Tang Dynasty poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu on a regular basis.

This is also the reason why he asked Song Churen to present the book.

Good stuff, let’s share it together!

Zhao Xu was reading Du Fu's poems, immersed in the world depicted in his poems.

Feng Jing quietly came up behind him and said, "Everyone, Duke Shen has handed over a letter, begging to see Your Majesty."

"Oh!" Zhao Xu slowly put down the book in his hand.

"Mr. Lu is here quite quickly!" Zhao Xu said, "Please bring Mr. Lu to the quiet room in the East Pavilion!"

"I'll be there soon!"

As he said this, Zhao Xu walked towards the bedroom and ordered Wen Xunniang to prepare a bath for him.

Summon the prime minister, even if it is in private.

But we also need to give enough respect to the details!
The cheapest and most comfortable way is to take a shower and change into new clothes.

……

Under the guidance of Feng Jing, Lu Gongzhu came to the legendary quiet room in the East Pavilion.

The Imperial Dragon Guards stood at the door, straight and silent.

The figure of Yan Yuan, son of Yan Da, was looming behind the curtain.

Just as the legend says, there is a door on the inner wall of this quiet room.

It is said that this was specially excavated after the current emperor ascended the throne.

Legend has it that one day when the young master was reading, he saw the end of Gao Cheng of the Northern Qi Dynasty and felt deeply saddened, so he ordered people to dig such a door.

It is said that the imperial chefs in the palace were allowed to run restaurants outside the palace with special permission, which originated from this.

Therefore, it is said that the imperial chefs in the palace would pay their respects to Gao Cheng during every festival.

After staying at the door for a quarter of an hour, a familiar figure walked in from the door on the other side of the quiet room, came to the curtain and sat down. Then someone raised the curtain to facilitate the meeting between the king and his ministers.

Lu Gongzhu looked carefully. The official had just taken a bath, and his hair was still a little wet. His casual clothes were also changed into new ones. There was a faint fragrance, which must have been caused by incense.

This made Lu Gongzhu somewhat touched!
You treat me as a national hero, and I will repay you as a national hero!
This is the simple value of the literati.

What’s more, his family has received favors from the country!

Then, Lü Gongzhuo bowed slightly and said, "I, the Minister of the Left and the Minister of the Imperial Court, respectfully wish Your Majesty the best of health."

"Long live my Lord!" Zhao Xu sat down, looked at Lu Gongzhu, and ordered his attendants: "Come here, quickly give the lord a seat and some tea!"

Lu Gongzhu hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

Feng Jingze had already moved a chair and placed it behind Lu Gongzhu, and then had someone serve him some boiled tea.

After Lu Gongzhu bowed again to express his gratitude, he sat down, picked up the tea that was served to him, took a sip politely, and put down the teacup.

Zhao Xu waited until Lü Gongzhu put down his teacup, then asked, "Sir, you sent me a note today to ask for an audience, but what difficulties did you encounter?"

Lü Gongzhu quickly replied, "No one is more wise than Your Majesty."

"But there's a drought and no rain, and people are uneasy?" Zhao Xu asked knowingly.

Hearing the emperor mention the drought, Lu Gongzhu had to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue - there was no other way. The current drought had affected more than a dozen states and counties, including the capital and western Beijing, and more than one million people had been affected.

The appointment and removal issues of Cui Taifu and Yang Ji seem insignificant in the face of the drought.

Lü Gongzhu had no choice but to answer: "Your Majesty, the drought is serious now. I am the left prime minister, leading the country..."

"This is because I am a lowly minister, so I beg Your Majesty to issue an edict to dismiss me from my position as prime minister to alleviate the drought and thank the world!"

Having said that, Lu Gongzhu stood up and bowed his head.

Zhao Xu quickly asked Feng Jing to come forward and help Lu Gongzhu up, saying: "The drought is because I did not cultivate virtue and practice benevolence, so the heaven punished me. What does it have to do with you, sir?"

Although, neither Lu Gongzhu nor Zhao Xu believed in Dong Zhongshu's ideas.

But, there are so many people who believe in it.

Especially farmers in rural areas!

They just believe this!
"What's more, the prime minister has already submitted ten articles on benevolence and virtue. I have read them and deeply agree with them. I have ordered the officials to implement them!" Zhao Xu said, "I think that when all the articles are implemented, God will surely send down a sweet rain to benefit the people!"

The Song Dynasty already has a complete set of strategies to deal with natural disasters.

This approach can not only fool ordinary people, but also ease social conflicts and give some hope to the grassroots.

Its names are generally called XX Ten Things or Eight Things.

Its core is generally to release prisoners with minor crimes, reduce the sentences of serious criminals, crack down on bandits and appease them at the same time, provide disaster relief, reduce or exempt taxes, etc.

This time, Lu Gongzhu served a full set meal.

On the one hand, release minor criminals in custody in various places and reduce the sentences of serious criminals.

At the same time, he ordered all the troops to strictly enforce the law on bandits in their jurisdiction, and to strike hard at the culprits such as "murder, robbery and killing".

The local police were ordered to capture the more serious criminals within a certain time limit. At the same time, they would also provide a way out for those who were willing to surrender.

Then, as long as they have not killed anyone, their punishment can be reduced.

The affected prefectures and counties were ordered to report their losses, and the court sent imperial censors to inspect the situation, which would then take into account the losses and provide disaster relief.

There are ten measures in total, so it is called "Ten Things to Benefit the People".

These measures taken by Lu Gongzhu may seem old-fashioned, but they are actually very effective.

Because...

In the Song Dynasty, there were only a few places like Bianjing City where the people dared to sue, were willing to sue, and were not afraid of suing, and where the government was willing to accept the people's appeals and complaints.

It can even be said to be a special case!

The real Song Dynasty society, especially the rural society.

That is the real you-fa-me smile!
Some of the prisoners held in prisons across the country were randomly arrested by local officials to take the blame and meet targets.

Therefore, release minor criminals and reduce the sentences and penalties of serious criminals.

In fact, it is an effective measure to ease social conflicts.

It is also a way to strengthen the idea in the hearts of the people that "governors are wise and all bad ones are corrupt officials."

To crack down on bandits, we must capture those with extremely bad influence within a time limit, and at the same time, provide bandits who have not killed anyone with a way to be exempted from punishment or have their punishment reduced.

The purpose is to destroy the landmines that exist among the people.

Sending imperial censors to inspect local areas is to tell the people that the emperor is indeed wise. Look, he has sent people to see us and understand our situation!
Knock this combination of punches down.

It not only made the common people grateful, but also struck down and eliminated possible entrepreneurial teams such as Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, and Huang Chao, and even made it impossible for figures like Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, and Huang Chao to appear.

They also don’t have the social foundation for success!

I release the prisoner!

Serious criminal, I reduced your sentence!

Disaster, I provided relief!
I reduced my taxes!

The bandits were either suppressed by me or recruited by me.

What do you, Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, and Huang Chao, have to fight me?

In feudal society, a dynasty like the Song Dynasty was almost invincible as long as it had no external enemies and was not crushed by the Malthusian trap.

how...

Zhao Xu knew that powerful enemies were emerging outside the Song Dynasty.

Both the Jurchens and the later Mongols were the pinnacle creations of the cold weapon era.

Especially Mongolia, sweeping across the world!
There is almost no enemy that can match him!
And inside, Malthus's footsteps were getting closer and closer.

Therefore, if we do not change, if we do not take those critical steps.

Zhao Xu knew that his country would either be crushed by foreign enemies or shattered by internal pressure.

so……

Even if his butt objected, he had to go on for the sake of his head.

Lu Gongzhu bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Your Majesty puts the people first and cares about the common people. This will surely move the heavens and bring us rain soon..."

"only……"

He raised his head and looked at Zhao Xu, revealing his true intentions: "Your Majesty, in addition to facilitating and benefiting the people and practicing benevolence and kindness, Your Majesty should also employ virtuous and upright officials and stay away from treacherous and treacherous villains!"

"Keep the government in order and the country peaceful. Only in this way can we move the heavens and get them to send us rain soon!"

This is also one of the three tricks of Confucian scholars.

What's going on if it doesn't rain or it rains too much?

There must be some villain in the court causing trouble!

This is a warning from God!
In his previous life, Zhao Xu had already gotten used to this style of fighting of these scholars and officials.

Then, he looked at Lu Gongzhu seriously and said, "What you said is very true!"

"This is also what I want to ask my husband to do!"

"Now, the country is in trouble and the country is in turmoil. As the prime minister, you should lead the civil and military officials to rectify the government and the atmosphere, so that everyone can be united and work together to overcome the national difficulties!"

This is what Zhao Xu learned in modern times.

What should you do if you want to resolve the difficulties others bring to you?
Don’t prove yourself and don’t fall into the trap of test-takers.

You should change your way of thinking and look at the problem from the perspective of the question setter.

As long as you turn your own problem into someone else's problem, everything will be solved.

This is what it means to torture others rather than make things difficult for yourself.

Just like now...

I believe in my husband!

My husband, you need to work hard!

The unity of the country depends on my husband!
Lu Gongzhu was speechless for a moment.

Fortunately, he has become accustomed to Zhao Xu's unconventional thinking and way of speaking.

At the same time, he also knew that Zhao Xu was negotiable and willing to compromise.

This is also the reason why many ministers of the old party were willing to stay in the court instead of resigning like Xining and Yuanfeng.

Zhao Xu treats them like a scumbag and a green tea.

I often do things that give them the illusion that "if I just work harder, I can lead the emperor onto the right path."

Moreover, occasionally, Zhao Xu would actually follow their wishes and do things that were standard and in line with Confucian moral requirements.

For example, after purchasing Lingjinyuan, it immediately announced that it would also purchase workshops in various places.

He also announced loudly that he would follow the teachings of the saints and not compete with the common people for profit.

Don't even mention that it was written by Lu Gong.

Even Sima Guang couldn't stand Zhao Xu's style of play!
(End of this chapter)