King of Song

Chapter 97
In February of the second year of Xining, Emperor Zhao Xu issued an edict to worship Wang Anshi as a political adviser, officially opening the road to reform.

At the same time, the Department of Regulations and Regulations of the Three Divisions was established to be responsible for formulating the content of the charter for the reform and presiding over the affairs of the reform.In the words of Wang Xianggong, it is "by drawing the country's plan, discussing the change of the old law, so as to benefit the world".

To some extent, the power of the three divisions and even the prime minister was emptied, and it seemed to become the most powerful Yamen in the Song Dynasty.It was jointly led by Wang Anshi, the political adviser, and Chen Shengzhi, the privy envoy.

Amid the opposition from the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, the Department of Regulations began to implement reforms. In the future, a series of reform measures will be introduced.

Although the courtiers opposed fiercely, and there were waves of remonstrances, but the emperor Zhao Xu was determined to support Wang Anshi and didn't pay much attention to it.Since the last time the Ayun case was used to hit the momentum of the conservatives, the young Zhao Xu has initially established the authority of the emperor.

With great ambitions, he has been looking forward to reform and reform, to enrich the country and strengthen the military. Now that his determination has been made, how can ordinary people be shaken?

Therefore, no matter how some ministers objected, he ignored them. Even the words of Hanlin scholars such as Zheng Xie and Sima Guang were deaf and coldly received.Sima Guang was fine, but Zheng Xie was exiled from Bianjing City and went to Hangzhou because of his poor popularity.

Another group of officials were also demoted because of this, and the ministers of the court were greatly shocked by this. They clearly realized the determination of the officials, and they wholeheartedly supported Wang Xianggong.For a while, the voice of opposition has slightly decreased, so let's wait and see what happens, and wait until we can grasp the handle in the future.

But there are still people who are against the wind. Zhao Xu just saw a memorial, and the content made him very unhappy, but he was not very angry.

Because the person who wrote the letter is quite special, it is the great river going east, the waves are gone, the romantic person through the ages... When will the bright moon come, Su Shi, Su Zizhan who asks the blue sky for wine!As for the title of Dongpo, it was only after the relegation to Huangzhou Tuanlian.

Su Shi's status in the history of ancient literature is self-evident. In the early years of Song Shenzong Xining, his official position was not very high, but he was already a very famous figure.

On the one hand, he is talented in poetry, and he is famous in Bianjing. There are not a few people who ask him to write lyrics, even the emperor's grandmother, the empress dowager Cao, is his fan.

On the other hand, it is talent and learning, or family background, not just him, but three members of his Su family, father and son.

A father and son, three poets, four masters of ancient essays, and three Su among the eight great masters of Tang and Song Dynasties, which shows how powerful his father and son are.

In the first year of Renzong Jiayou (1056), 20-year-old Su Shi went to Beijing for the first time to take the imperial examination.The next year, he took part in the examination of the Ministry of Rites, and won the appreciation of the chief examiner Ouyang Xiu with his essay "On Punishment and Reward for Loyalty". However, because Ouyang Xiu mistook it for his disciple Zeng Gong's work, in order to avoid suspicion, he had to be second.You know, that was Jiayou's second year's dragon and tiger list, and the person who could have been number one is self-evident how talented he is.

In the sixth year of Jiayou (1061), Su Shi took the middle school examination, which is usually called "three-year Jingcha", and entered the third class, which was "the first in a hundred years". He was awarded Dali to judge affairs and signed a letter to the magistrate of Fengxiang Mansion.Every time his younger brother Su Zhe would also be on the list. The two brothers are like stars on the imperial examination road of the Song Dynasty recently.

It was supposed to be the time when his brothers showed their strengths and had a bright future, but unfortunately, their mother passed away, so the Su brothers had no choice but to go home and Ding You to observe their filial piety.

It was not until Xining returned to Bianjing at the beginning of the second year. Just after returning, he caught up with Wang Anshi who became the deputy prime minister and began to reform.Su Shi, who worked in the History Museum, had different opinions, so he went to Shushu to persuade him.Needless to say, Su Shi's literary talents, citing scriptures, eloquent eloquence, and sharp words, had a great response in the court.

Emperor Zhao Xu was inevitably annoyed, but Su Shi's reputation was there, which made him different from ordinary officials.What's more, Su Shi's words are also utterly loyal, so it's not easy to be too harsh...

In the Chuigong Palace, Zhao Xu threw Su Shi's memorial on the imperial case, and couldn't help smiling wryly.The brothers of the Su family are also really wonderful. The second eldest, Su Zhe, wholeheartedly supports the reform. He and Wang Anshi also cherish their talents and plan to transfer him to the Department of Regulations of the Third Division of the System, responsible for reviewing texts and drafting the content of the reform.

But the boss Su Shi just went the other way, wholeheartedly opposing the reform and reform, and his words were still very fierce, which formed a sharp contrast between the two brothers.But Su Shi's reputation is there, how to deal with it, Zhao Xu really didn't know how to make a decision...

At this moment, the servant came to report: Mr. Wang, please see me!
Recently, Wang Anshi has been in and out of the Chuigong Hall quite a lot, and he has to talk with Zhao Xu about the reform almost every day.Zhao Xu politely ordered someone to invite Wang Anshi in. We talked about a lot of military and state affairs, but the content was the same as usual, and it was somewhat annoying...

Zhao Xu waved his hand and sighed: "Forget it, let's not talk about it today. Dongyang donated two things from Hangzhou, and even went to the report to say that they are treasures that benefit the country and the people and have merits for thousands of years. I am very curious, so Jiefu followed Let's take a look together!"

Speaking of a waiter brought a tray, and small brass seals appeared in front of him, Wang Anshi couldn't help being surprised, what is Lin Zhao doing?Generally, the official seals of imperial officials are made of brass, and the folks are usually forbidden to use them...

However, Lin Zhao's seal is really too small, and only one character is engraved on each. Zhao Xu explained: "Dongyang said that this thing is called movable type printing, which can replace woodblock engraving. Prepare enough movable type, and typeset according to the needs before printing. It’s simple, convenient, and cheap…”

Afterwards, the monarch and his ministers stared at it for a long time, kept playing with it, and tried it according to Lin Zhao's description. It seemed that it still looked good.

Wang Anshi said: "This thing is very good, and many books can be printed in this way. Whether it is the annual agricultural calendar or the sage books that scholars read and review, printing will be much more convenient. It is really beneficial!"

Zhao Xu said with a smile: "These are all created by Dongyang and Shen Kuo, I don't see that he still has the ability..."

"Your Majesty, is it just that the consumption of copper will be too large..." The Third Department of Regulations is now supervising some financial issues. Wang Anshi knows a little bit about the situation. The lack of copper has always been a serious problem in the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Xu waved his hand and said: "No, after all, there are only a few people who make movable type, and brass should not be used much. What's more, he also offered me a secret recipe, and the imperial court can increase the production of copper a lot in the future..." Then he put the courage The method of refining copper with water is roughly explained.

Wang Anshi was also very excited. He didn't expect that the bitter mountain spring water could turn into golden copper.

If copper production can be expanded, the money shortage in the Song Dynasty can be alleviated to a certain extent, and the economy is bound to be more prosperous.This is helpful to the implementation of the reform. Naturally, I am very happy and will strongly support it.

Emperor Zhao Xu said: "I will order the Ministry of Industry to try these two things. If it is really possible, Dongyang and Shen Kuo can make great contributions to the Great Song Dynasty!"

"That's right, it's really good. Dongyang is good at whimsical ideas!" Wang Anshi pondered: "But your Majesty sent him to Hangzhou, the real intention shouldn't be here, right?" People must not dare to be so rash.

Zhao Xu hesitated a little, and said with a smile: "It seems that Jiefu is very competent as a political advisor. You must have discovered the problem in the accounts of the third division, right?"

Wang Anshi tentatively replied: "That's right, the salt tax on Liangzhe Road, and even some places on Jiangnan East Road...seems to be somewhat discrepant..."

"Not bad!" Zhao Xu's face was gloomy, and then he smiled and said, "I don't intend to hide it from you, the problem of salt tax on the Liangzhe Road should be investigated... But the supervisory censor over there found nothing, clean It's a bit too much.

That's why I'm going to let Dongyang go to visit, and look around to see if I can find out some clues... It's just that he seems to be busy with these things recently, and I don't know if my explanation has made any progress..."

"Dongyang handles things properly, don't worry, Your Majesty..." Wang Anshi still trusts Lin Zhao quite a bit, and he is quite sure.

Zhao Xu nodded and said: "That's right, aggressive, bold and careful, I just let him go because of this..."

Wang Anshi knew the emperor's true thoughts today, and he couldn't help worrying: "Your Majesty, although Dongyang is capable, he is alone after all... It's fine if no one helps him. his……"

"It's true, it seems that Dongyang is really embarrassing..." Zhao Xu said leisurely: "But we have limited reliable people around us, and we can't use them ourselves. If we want to support Dongyang, we are powerless!"

Wang Anshi shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, it is not necessarily necessary to send someone to help him directly. As long as there are a group of honest officials on Liangzhe Road, they can stand on the standpoint of justice and support Lin Zhao when necessary, and the situation may be much better."

"It makes sense!" Zhao Xu's eyes moved, and his eyes happened to fall on Su Shi's memorial.Suddenly, a flash of inspiration flashed in my mind. I was at a loss as to how to deal with it, but now I seem to have a solution...

Wang Anshi sighed: "Lin Zhao's side is short of manpower, why not our side? There is a real shortage of talents... We can only wait for the next year's imperial examination to see if we can meet a few good ones..." Youdao is a newborn calf who is not afraid Tiger, aggressive, and more active in thinking, there are many young officials in the Department of Regulations of the Third Division.

"The scientific examination will be next year, so I'm afraid it will be too late..." Zhao Xu obviously couldn't wait any longer, and said, "Why don't you do it this way, let's advance it to this year...or hold a compulsory examination..."

Although the idea was a bit hasty, it was still a good idea, and Wang Anshi was immediately excited.What he lacks most now is talent, and being able to add a batch of fresh blood will also be of great benefit to the implementation of the reform.

The news that Xining's second-year scientific examination was advanced spread, many scholars were caught off guard, and there were not a few people who complained or even cursed secretly.

But there was a scholar from central Fujian in Bianjing who was very excited when he got the news.I went out early last year. I thought it was just for traveling and gaining insight. I didn’t want to come across such an excellent opportunity!

Goddess of Luck is so favored!Therefore, the scholar is full of confidence and is determined to be named on the gold list.

At the same time, I remembered that at the end of last year, in the nunnery outside Yingtian Mansion, I met a young man riding a white horse, and I wished him the best, I wonder if his wish will come true?

(End of this chapter)