Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 177 Bianjing

"What is Ziqian thinking about?" Zhao Tong asked.

"what?"

Li An came back to his senses and found that he had already boarded the boat. He said, "Nothing, Your Highnesses, it's still early. Let's take a boat to enjoy the scenery first, and then eat after dark."

"Guests do as they please. Today you are the host and we are the guests. We will follow your arrangements." Zhao Tong said with a smile.

"Hmph!" Zhao Xian snorted coldly, showing his presence.

Li An ordered the boatman to set sail, and soon the ship started to move.

"The scenery is indeed good." Zhao Tong stood on the bow of the boat and said looking at the lake in the distance.

It was in the evening, and the sun was setting in the west. The sunset turned the clouds in the sky into an orange-red color, which was reflected in the lake, forming a very beautiful picture.

The breeze brought up the ripples, rippling gently, making it look even more gorgeous.

It deserves the name of Slender West Lake in later generations.

Zhao Xian was angry, but had no intention of enjoying the scenery. He rolled his eyes and said, "My cousin is very talented in literature. Why don't you write a poem about such a beautiful scenery? Maybe it will become an eternal legend."

Zhao Tong was not angry in the face of Zhao Xian's provocation. He looked at Li An and smiled and said, "I have heard a lot of the poems Zi Qian wrote in Yangzhou a few years ago, and I have read the "Linjiang Immortal" many times. , I have a lot of feelings, how dare I show my shame in front of him. How about Zi Qian compose a poem?"

"Haha, your highness has given me the prize. I won't be able to compose a poem for a while. Your highness, please don't embarrass me."

Li An's original good impression of Zhao Tong disappeared in an instant.

Now it seems that neither of them is a good person.

Why do you think you have to involve a little person like me in the fight between you two?

Li An refused, which made Zhao Tong somewhat disappointed.

In fact, he just wanted to take the opportunity to see Li An's talents.

However, when Zhao Xian saw Zhao Tong's refusal, he inevitably made some mocking remarks.

Zhao Tong naturally retorted, and Li An watched the two of them fighting happily.

To be honest, when the two are compared together, Zhao Tong is obviously better.

No wonder King Yong stood out in the end and became the crown prince.

To be honest, if he hadn't had such a father, he might have become the emperor.

Although the two of them fought, they were relatively restrained.

After admiring the beautiful scenery for a while, the sky gradually darkened, and Li An proposed to go into the cabin to eat.

In Baobao Lake, fish is naturally indispensable. In addition, the time for eating crabs has not passed yet, so we have a fish and crab feast in the evening.

Because of each other's existence, the two did not propose to win over each other, which made Li An relieved.

After finishing the meal, the boat turned back and dispersed after docking.

……

Bianjing is still prosperous, but behind the prosperity, the luxury and laziness behind it cannot be concealed.

In the royal study room of the palace, the official put down his pen and rubbed his sore eyes.

Chen Neiguan, who was standing by the side, saw this and advised: "The officials should have a rest. I will ask someone to bring some soup and snacks."

"No need, the treasury is empty now. As an official of the Song Dynasty, we should set an example and save whatever we can." The official waved his hand.

Chen Neiguan heard the words and said without hesitation: "If the officials do this, the wealthy nobles in Bianjing are not extravagant."

The official was startled when he heard this, and sighed: "Now I have restrained myself. When I first took charge, I found out that the Ministry of Revenue was in deficit of millions of taels of silver. When I asked someone to check it, it turned out that it was borrowed by the nobles in Bianjing. . If I hadn’t ordered them to repay within half a year, or else they would be dismissed from office and seize the title, I’m afraid they would still be in debt now. Although they are still extravagant now, compared to that time, they have restrained themselves a lot.”

The officials treated everyone kindly, and the officials and maids in the palace were very grateful.

Although Chen Naiguan felt sorry for the official family, he also knew that he was just a eunuch and was not suitable to say this. He did not continue to talk, but said: "Let the old slave massage the official family and go away."

"Yes." The official did not refuse when he heard this. Chen Neiguan took two steps forward and came behind Guan Jia. He put his hands on Guan Jia's shoulders and started to squeeze them.

Guan Jia narrowed his eyes in enjoyment and said: "If you have more strength, why is it that I am not as strong as before? Do you think I am getting old and it is no longer strenuous for me?"

"The official is the emperor. He has a long life, so he will never grow old. It's the old slave who is getting old, and his strength is not as strong as before." Chen Neiguan said with a smile.

"Haha, you, you..." Guan Jia smiled and shook his head slightly.

At this moment, a young eunuch came in holding a memorial in both hands, bowed and said: "I would like to report to the official family, the memorial from the Imperial Envoy Liu Shi Yushi has arrived."

"Oh?"

After hearing this, the official opened his eyes and sat upright.

Chen Neiguan quickly let go, went down, took the memorial, and delivered it to the official.

The official took it and unfolded it to read.

After a long time, the official put down the memorial, closed his eyes and began to think deeply.

He had already expected the results of the investigation, but he would not get angry.

After pondering for a moment, the official opened his eyes and said calmly: "Draw up the decree!"

The Hanlin attendants in the hall quickly picked up their pens and ink to prepare notes.

"Xu Shigao, an academician in Yangzhou, was unfavorable in the invigilation of the exam. He was demoted to the magistrate of Chaling County. Liu Xuewen was ordered to re-mark the papers and publish the results." The official said calmly.

The attendants of Hanlin drafted a decree according to the official's wishes and submitted it to the official for review.

After the official read it and found that there was no problem, he copied it again and handed it over to the official to stamp the jade seal.

As soon as the official's house was covered with a jade seal, a eunuch came in, bowed and said, "To the official's house, His Royal Highness King Yan is asking for an audience outside the palace."

"Let him come in." The official said after pondering.

Hearing this, the little eunuch retreated. After a while, leading the dragon and tiger step, King Yan walked in with a tall and straight posture.

"I see your Majesty!" King Yan saluted.

"What's the matter?" Guan Jia said calmly.

King Yan's father died young, and his mother was born in a general, so she taught him the same tricks as a general from an early age.

As a result, King Yan liked to practice martial arts, and his figure was majestic. At first glance, he looked like a military general.

Therefore, the officials did not like King Yan very much.

What's more important is that King Yan's mother was a northern general and had a high prestige in the northern army. During the fight for the crown prince, the northern generals also supported King Yan.

If King Yan becomes the crown prince, he will definitely put emphasis on military officers after he ascends the throne. This will inevitably change the Song Dynasty's national policy of emphasizing culture over military affairs.

Although he was very angry at those conservatives who opposed the New Deal, Wu Xun was keen on enjoying himself and was no better than those civil servants.

Moreover, the reuse of generals will inevitably arouse opposition from civil servants.

When a new king succeeds to the throne, the most important thing is stability. If there is a civil and military conflict, it will be detrimental to the country.

In the hearts of officials, the candidate for crown prince still prefers King Yong.

But if possible, he would naturally want to pass the throne to his son.

There was a fight between King Yan and King Yong, so he had reason to delay the establishment of a heir apparent.

"Your Majesty, my eldest son was ordered to go to Yangzhou with Liu Xuewen, the imperial censor, to investigate the fraud case in Yangzhou County and discovered the inside story. Your Majesty, please read it!" King Yan said, taking out a memorial from his sleeve, Hold your hands above your head.

The eunuch on the side stepped forward to take it and passed it to Chen Neiguan, who then sent it to the official's house.

The official did not open the memorial, but looked at King Yan and said calmly: "I have just received Liu Xuewen's memorial, why is it not mentioned in it?"

(End of this chapter)