Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The emperor has been obsessed with elixirs recently and did not even attend the royal court on the first day of May.

When they heard that the regular court ceremony was going to be held, all the civil and military officials were very excited. They packed up their appearance early, rode horses and carriages and went straight to the palace.

But it was really embarrassing. The office building of the Secretariat Department and the surrounding buildings were demolished. When the ministers went to court, they had to pass by a large construction site.

Cai Jing was old and allowed to ride in the palace.

Although he got the job of building the city wall, Cai Jing was not happy at all.

Two months ago, he finally forced Prime Minister He Zhizhong to resign. But the emperor, who was obsessed with elixirs for longevity, suddenly promoted two prime ministers last month, one was Zheng Juzhong and the other was Liu Zhengfu.

Today, the three phases stand side by side.

It is true that Cai Jing is the top leader, but the second and third leaders are all political enemies.

Among the four deputy prime ministers, Hou Meng was Cai Jing's political enemy, and Yu Shen and Xue Ang were Cai Jing's party members. Bai Shizhong, who came to power through auspiciousness, has always been at both ends of the spectrum, and his factional positions are very unclear.

The seven prime ministers and deputy prime ministers formed a delicate balance.

"Enter!"

Amidst the sound of ritual music, Zhu Ming followed hundreds of officials into the main hall.

After all the ministers congratulated Sheng'an, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was about to demonstrate the movable type printing technology. Jiang You, the imperial censor, suddenly came out and said: "The official family's appearance is worth ten dollars, which brings disaster to the world and disorder of prices. Common people in the market and farmers in the countryside are all affected. If it’s harmful, please change it from ten to three!”

Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty became unhappy instantly and refused to open any pot.

I promoted you to be in charge of Yushitai because I asked you to criticize Tong Guan, Yang Jian, and Cai Jing. You can just complain about people, why bother?

If you don't mint ten pieces of gold, how will the imperial court get the funds to fight the war? Where will the funds come from for the large-scale construction projects?

Cai Jing was even more furious. He took the lead in casting big money and it was his most powerful means to please the emperor. How can I tolerate criticism!

Song Huizong still wanted to keep the trolls as dogs, and did not reprimand Jiang You. He just said: "We will not talk about anything else today. If you have anything to do, you can submit a memorial."

Jiang You said: "Your Majesty, I have submitted three memorials!"

Song Huizong was silent and looked at the many traitors.

Zheng Juzhong and his party gloated over the misfortune. They were happy to see Cai Jing defeated. But he didn't dare to talk nonsense, because it would definitely offend the emperor.

Cai Jing shook his head gently. Cai Dang, who wanted to jump out, immediately retreated when he saw this.

Party Cai actually didn’t refute?

Song Huizong was a little surprised, so he had no choice but to take action on his own, and then said: "Ai Qing performed meritoriously and was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War. Zhao Yu, the former Minister of the Ministry of War, became a German army."

This appointment was a stroke of genius, and all the ministers were stunned. They really couldn't keep up with the emperor's thinking.

Because of the defeat in the war against Xixia, Zhao Yu, Minister of War, impeached Tong Guan several times last year. Impeachment failed, and he asked to resign.

Song Huizong was unwilling to release him, and wanted to keep an upright minister in charge of the military department.

But Zhao Yu was resolute and either punished Tong Guan or resigned.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty asked Zhao Yu to lift Liquan Temple and go to the Taoist temple to calm down. The Minister of the Ministry of War would take charge of his duties first, and then come back to manage the Ministry of War after he calmed down.

However, Zhao Yu failed immediately, and Song Huizong was very unhappy.

Today, the censor Zhongcheng Jiang You criticized the money law, so he sent the Ministry of War to replace Zhao Yu. Firstly, it can shut up Jiang You, and secondly, it can demote Zhao Yu to the place where he can be out of sight.

Some people working in the camp cast envious looks at Jiang You.

After just spouting a few words about money, he actually became the Minister of the Ministry of War.

Jiang You stood there blankly. If he was transferred to the Ministry of War, he would have no right to criticize others. Moreover, it is not easy to be the Minister of the Ministry of War. They are all a group of traitors. I must have been ignored in the past.

Song Huizong glanced at the ministers and said sternly: "Don't discuss other matters!"

The ministers said yes.

Song Huizong finally showed a smile: "Let the officials and craftsmen of the Imperial Academy's library come to the palace."

"The official and craftsman of the library of Xuan Guozijian comes to the palace!"

"The official and craftsman of the library of Xuan Guozijian comes to the palace!"

Shouts came one after another from inside the palace to outside.

Huang Ai led a group of craftsmen and carried various people into the palace. The ministers were confused about what was going on.

Song Huizong said: "The most important thing in the country is culture and education. Today, destiny is in Song Dynasty, and auspiciousness appears frequently. Dasheng movable type and Dasheng ink have also been sent down, making it a hundred times easier to publish books. Huang Ai!"

"I'm here!"

Huang Ai was trembling with excitement. He was a small technical officer who was not even qualified to go to court, but he was able to show his face today.

Song Huizong said: "If I want to publish the Collection of Dasheng Ci, I will type and print a few pages in this hall."

When publishing the "Collection of Dasheng Ci", the works of Zhou Bangyan were naturally at the top of the list.

When the craftsmen were ready, the eunuch recited: ""Crossing the Qin Tower·Water Bathing with Clear Toads": Bathing with clear toads in the water, the leaves are noisy and cool, and the sound of horses in the alleys begins to stop. Leisurely leaning on the dew well, laughing at the flowing fireflies, disturbing the paintings Luo Qingfan..."

What content will be typed today has been arranged long ago, otherwise tens of thousands of movable types would have to be moved in.

In fact, the craftsmen have rehearsed more than ten times just to perform in front of hundreds of officials.

The word selection and typesetting speed was very fast. After repeated rehearsals, they knew which word was placed where even if they closed their eyes.

After the type plate was pressed, the craftsmen began printing.

Three hundred copies of the first page were printed, and the eunuchs and guards came to help arrange them. When the ink is dry, give it to the officials immediately.

Qian Jingzhen, Duke of Kang State, received the newly printed pages and exclaimed in a low voice: "The handwriting is so clear, it is no less impressive than the engraving."

He is a person who loves poetry and has also established a poetry club.

Seeing the improvements in movable type printing, he immediately came up with the idea of ​​publishing a collection of poems.

Even Cai Jing couldn't help but sigh after getting the pages of the book: "This method will greatly benefit the world, and poor scholars can also buy more books."

In addition to clarity, ministers are also concerned about fonts and punctuation.

Nowadays, only commas and periods are engraved, but everyone finds it convenient. Especially for those with presbyopia, they no longer need to slowly segment sentences and can scan the text at a glance while reading.

The craftsmen were still busy. Zheng Juzhong quickly came out of the queue, held up the wat board and said: "Congratulations to the official family for getting this sharp weapon. The achievements in culture and education can be traced back to three generations!"

Bai Shizhong, who became the deputy prime minister by offering auspiciousness, even shouted: "This auspiciousness means that my destiny in the Song Dynasty will last forever!"

Yin Shengzhang of Kaifeng Prefecture quickly echoed: "The officialdom is with him, and the country of the Song Dynasty will be forever solid!"

The compliments and flattery made Song Huizong so high that he was floating in the clouds.

Cai Jing suddenly took the lead and knelt down, once again repeating the concept of "prosperity and prosperity in Yuda".

Chang Chaoyi is not allowed to kneel down. If you violate the rules of etiquette, you will be fined wages.

But Cai Jingdu knelt down, and the emperor was very happy. Would anyone else dare not to kneel down?

Cai Dang knelt down in unison, Zheng Juzhong and Zheng Dang followed suit, and the other ministers could only kneel down one after another.

Looking at the kneeling civil and military officials and the craftsmen who were still printing, Song Huizong glanced at the main hall and felt like he was looking down on the world.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty laughed: "Ju Ming made great contributions to improving movable type printing. He was promoted to Tongzhilang and was sent to inform Xiangzhou affairs."

Although Tongzhiro was a regular eighth-grade man, he was only promoted one level from the previous eighth-grade man.

However, this thing belongs to the court officials!

The first time Ju Ming was appointed, he was a selected person, the second time he was appointed, he was a capital official, and the third time he was appointed, he directly became a court official. It’s only been a year.

However, compared with Cai Hao and Li Bangyan, Ju Ming's promotion speed seems nothing.

Cai Hao was promoted to the fourth rank in nine months.

Li Bangyan, the District School Secretary, was directly promoted to the Ministry of Civil Service, and was also in charge of the Bureau of Etiquette.

Ju Ming is still rising too slowly!

Hou Meng couldn't help but remind: "The official family, Xiangzhou and Zhizhou, at this time, his surname is Han."

Song Huizong was startled and muttered: "I forgot about this, so I sent Quanfa to inform Puzhou instead."

Zhu Ming was a little unhappy. He wanted to go to Xiangzhou and know the state, so he went to Yue Fei.

Even if you can't find Yue Fei, you can still dig up some oracle bones.

What's the use of becoming the magistrate of Puzhou instead?

But the Han family occupied the position. If Song Huizong dared to change people, he would be disobeying the late emperor's order.

Generally speaking, to be an official you need to avoid your place of origin.

The Han family is a special case. Han Qi is from Xiangzhou, but he has served as the magistrate of Xiangzhou many times. Moreover, his direct lineage can be hereditary to govern the state.

Han Qi's eldest son, Han Zhongyan, did not need to take the imperial examination and became an official directly. If he had enough qualifications, he became the governor of Xiangzhou.

The same is true for the eldest son Hanzhi, who is currently in the position of magistrate of Xiangzhou.

Han Xiaozhou, the great-great-grandson, has almost finished his seniority. He can only go to Xiangzhou to succeed to the throne after his father is promoted.

The title is nothing, they are guaranteed to be the hereditary governor of the state, and they can continue to climb up!

After announcing Zhu Ming's appointment, he upgraded Huang Ai's rank by two levels, gave him three hundred coins, and continued to serve as the chief registrar of the Imperial Academy.

Then, Song Huizong ran away and called Wang Fu and Li Bangyan.

The monarch and his ministers all took a carriage together to Yanfu Palace. Li Bangyan created a new erotic drama, which has been rehearsed, and he and Wang Fu performed in it themselves.

Other ministers gave banquets in the corridor.

Zheng Juzhong, Liu Zhengfu, Hou Meng, Bai Shizhong, prime ministers and deputy prime ministers all came to congratulate Ju Ming.

Everyone can see that the Zhu family's father and son are prosperous and must be won over.

Only Cai Jing couldn't help it. He was rejected by Ju Ming and has become a laughing stock in the streets.

Sheng Zhang took Cai Jing's face into consideration and did not show his kindness immediately, but he would definitely visit Cai Jing some other day.

Han Qi's fifth son and consort Han Jiayan also walked up to Ju Ming with Qian Jingzhen, who was also his consort: "Congratulations to Tan Hua Lang!"

"I don't dare to take it seriously." Although Ju Ming felt unhappy, a smile appeared on his face, "The Han family is hereditary to Xiangzhou. I was so presumptuous that I almost had a collision."

Han Jiayan said: "It doesn't matter. The official family really wants to grant the official Xiangzhou. I, the Han family, will only stay away for two or three years."

This operation also works. Immediately promote Han Zhi, the magistrate of Xiangzhou, and let Han Zhi's son wait for two years before throwing Ju Ming over. But Song Huizong was too lazy to do this. He didn't know what Yue Fei was, and felt that it would be the same wherever Ju Ming became an official.

Qian Jingzhen said: "Sheng Cheng has been very busy recently, so he doesn't come to my house to play much. It turns out that he is improving his movable type skills. We will hold a banquet another day, and Cheng Cheng must come. It can also be regarded as the practice of Cheng Cheng outside."

"The elders have invited me, but the younger ones dare not refuse." Zhu Ming cupped his hands and said.

Han Jiayan smiled and stroked his beard. He had a granddaughter who was similar in age to Ju Ming and planned to use Qian Jingzhen as a matchmaker.

The Han family is very noble. Although it is hereditary in Xiangzhou, it must be a fish and meat village. But he still wanted to have face, and he didn't exploit him too harshly. He had to maintain Han Qi's reputation after his death.

They did not cling to the traitors in the DPRK, and at the same time, the traitors did not want to provoke the Han family. They were considered a relatively unique neutral faction.

The Zhu family and his son were favored by the emperor and did not do evil, and their reputations were very good. This behavior was too good for the Han family.

Therefore, Han Jiayan wanted to recruit Zhu Ming as his grandson-in-law.