Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Are all civil servants in Tokyo guilty?

of course not!

Because there are still many officials who have never even been on duty.

Shen Yuanheng was the last Jinshi last year. Due to the fierce competition for official positions, he could not fill the gap even if he gave gifts, and the gifts were not returned.

I can only live in the capital all the time, the rent is not enough, and I have to socialize occasionally.

Food prices have risen sharply in the past two years. Even though Shen Yuanheng's family is in business, it is not the kind where he makes a fortune every day. Just eating makes him a little unable to bear it.

After the siege, it was even more miserable. I was hungry every day for three days, and it was hard to buy food even if I had money.

At this moment, Shen Yuanheng was lying in the rented house waiting to die. He was so hungry that he was dizzy and had no energy to go out and see what Marshal Zhu looked like.

The servant he brought from his hometown died of malnutrition. There was no way to dispose of the body, so we had to throw it on the street and let the body collection team move it away the next day.

"Bang bang bang!"

After knocking outside for a long time, Shen Yuanheng wanted to open the courtyard door, but he used all his strength to get out of bed, but his vision went dark and he fell to the ground.

The courtyard door finally opened, because it was a house shared by several people.

An official came into the courtyard, took out an official document and asked: "Are Shen Yuanheng, Wang Yungong and Ke Jian here?"

"Here, everyone is here." Ke Jian in the next room was the most energetic.

The official said: "Marshal Zhu has an order to recruit the Jinshi who did not fill the vacancies last year and immediately go to the soup kitchens in the city to work!"

Wang Yungong and Ke Jian had already gone out, and the official had not seen Shen Yuanheng for a long time. After asking about the room, he came in to check and muttered: "We are both hungry and naked. It seems that we can't do business."

"If you can do it, give me a sip of porridge and I will have strength immediately." Shen Yuanheng said weakly.

The official felt that he was pitiful, so he carried him to the soup kitchen shack.

Ju Ming set up 80 porridge stations in the city, and queued up to receive the porridge in Baojia units. Sixty soldiers were assigned to each station to maintain law and order.

Shen Yuanheng was carried to the street outside Jiaomenzi, where people were already lining up.

Many people, like Shen Yuanheng, were carried there and were already too hungry to walk.

"Is he the one in charge here?" An officer pointed at Shen Yuanheng.

Shen Yuanheng said: "It's given to me for stuttering, but I can still... still write."

The officer curled his lips: "The porridge is not ready yet, give him a piece of cake."

These multigrain cakes are the soldiers' working meals and were baked in advance yesterday. Because after entering the city, many soldiers had to disperse to perform their tasks, and the food supply was not very convenient at first.

Shen Yuanheng took the pancake and wolfed it down, choking and coughing: "Water... give me some more saliva."

The officer handed over the water and sighed: "I have never seen an officer who looks like a beggar."

When Shen Yuanheng stuffed a piece of cake, the official brought a stack of household registers: "The household registers of the nearby people are all here. The governor said that when giving porridge, they will make new registers for them. There is no need to use a seal for the time being, just the signature of the husband. .”

Shen Yuanheng saw that there were many people queuing up, and it was probably difficult to find them, so he ordered the government officials: "Call the names in the order of household registration and ask them to queue up again. Before the porridge is cooked, make the household registration first."

"That's fine." The government official thought it was very convenient.

Shen Yuanheng opened the household register and said, "Chen Dunyi."

The official immediately shouted to the team: "Chen Dunyi, is Chen Dunyi here?"

No one answered, maybe he was too late in the queue and didn’t hear me.

The officer from before quickly separated into two groups of soldiers and ran to the middle and rear of the group to shout.

Not long after, a family came over to help each other. There are no old people, only young people and children.

Shen Yuanheng glanced at the household register: "Are you all here? Who is Chen Dunyi, the head of the household?"

A middle-aged man said sadly: "Chen Dunyi is my father, and he is gone. There is not enough food in the family, and my father said he would leave it to his children and grandchildren, so he hanged himself with my mother."

"well!"

Shen Yuanheng sighed softly, and after grinding the ink, he flicked the ink with a brush and asked, "But are you the head of the household?"

"Yes." The man nodded.

"Name."

"Chen Jizong."

"Is there any change of address?"

"No change."

"..."

Shen Yuanheng was unable to write at all. He pressed his wrist on the table and wrote crookedly.

The household registration information not only contains name, address, etc., but also indicates the general assets situation, so as to determine the household status of the family and facilitate the reasonable allocation of various taxes in the future.

The chief of security stood nearby to confirm whether the people in the household were lying.

This approach has too much room for maneuverability. Zhu Guoxiang has canceled it in Sichuan and no longer divides urban residents into households. If temporary apportionment is required in the event of an emergency, the area of ​​housing in the city shall prevail, and the area of ​​farmland shall prevail in the countryside.

Zhu and his son said they wanted to abolish exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, but some things must be apportioned.

For example, fire protection and sanitation in cities must be maintained by hiring servants, which must be allocated to residents, and it is impossible for the government to pay for it.

Perhaps the piece of pancake worked. Although he still had no strength, Shen Yuanheng's spirit became better and he said to the government official: "If the porridge is ready, give me a bowl to dry next to it."

Today is free porridge. Adults are limited to two bowls and children are limited to one bowl.

Grain will be sold at low prices starting tomorrow, and it is also subject to sales restrictions. Residents took copies of household registrations made today and queued up to buy food at the food sales point.

If you really can't come up with the money, you can work as a relief worker.

There are several rivers radiating out from the city of Tokyo, and people have to be organized to dredge them every year, otherwise they will slowly become clogged. There were also bridges on the moat, all of which were demolished by Zhao Huan's order and needed to be re-erected.

Around the city, a large no-man's land was created by the Jin soldiers. No one has come to collect the feces in the city. Today, Kaifeng is already full of stench.

Anyway, there are all kinds of jobs, which can temporarily arrange employment for many people.

Ju Ming has sent people to post notices to encourage merchants in the city to resume business and exempt all business taxes for three months. Economic activities must be launched so that more people can find a living.

Businessmen from several surrounding counties are also encouraged to transport and sell supplies to Tokyo, and they are also exempt from commercial tax for three months.

"Ms. Shen, take a break, you can't even write properly," the officer reminded.

Shen Yuanheng smiled awkwardly, put down his pen and went to pick up the bowl. Unexpectedly, he couldn't pick up a bowl of porridge, so he just lay on the table and licked it like a dog eating.

The official reminded: "There will be more work tomorrow, so we can't be exhausted today."

"It's good if you can do things." Shen Yuanheng said sincerely.

Although he was dizzy and weak from hunger, Shen Yuanheng felt extremely fulfilled because he had been idle in Tokyo for more than a year.

Song Huizong's last imperial examination in Tokyo provided many talents to Ju Ming.

No matter how low the Jinshi rankings are, those who cannot fill the vacancies are still Jinshis. Moreover, the officialdom relationship is relatively simple. They are all young and energetic, and can be vigorously cultivated. They are expected to form important factions in the new dynasty.

In addition to Hou Que's Jinshi last year, there are also some officials waiting for vacancies who were also assigned to work by Ju Ming.

That is, officials who have come to Beijing to report on their duties over the years, but have no money to give gifts or do not give enough gifts, so that they cannot be transferred immediately. Most of them are greedy and have no backers in the government.

…

Jinliangqiao Street.

Two streets across from Cai Jing's residence is Yu Wencuizhong's house, where the three brothers are discussing their future.

Yu Wencuizhong is Cai Jing's nephew.

Yu Wenxuzhong served as Tong Guan's court official.

Yuwen Shizhong had two older brothers to support him, so he no longer had to rely on anyone.

The edict passing the throne to Zhao Huan from Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was drafted by Yu Wencuizhong. This matter seemed to have merits of support, but Zhao Huan was jealous of him, and the three brothers were dismissed from office one after another.

Yu Wencuizhong said: "Marshal Zhu appoints minor officials who are in short supply without hesitation. This shows that he does not trust the old ministers of Zhao and Song Dynasties. Although they are doing some common affairs and can arrange civil servants to handle them well, there will definitely be promotions in the future."

"This has nothing to do with us." Yu Wenxuzhong said.

"We must write to Quan Ke (Yu Wenchang) as soon as possible. I heard that he has a close personal relationship with Marshal Zhu." Yu Wen Shizhong said.

Yu Wenxuzhong said: "The power is in Jiangxi, and it is not easy to deliver letters."

"No matter what, I have to write a letter and ask him to come and vote for Marshal Zhu as soon as possible. What can I do for that faint-hearted Zhao Ji?" Yuwen Shizhong said.

Yu Wenxuzhong said: "In fact, you don't have to take the path of Quan Ke. There are also children of the Yuwen family serving as officials in Chengdu. You can send your children and nephews to Chengdu to keep in touch."

Yuwen Shizhong shook his head: "We have moved to Tokyo for two or three generations, and the relationship with Chengdu has become increasingly weak. If they have connections, they must be taking care of their own people. How can they care about relatives far away in Tokyo?"

"Does your daughter-in-law have a brother who is an official in Hanzhong?" Yu Wencuizhong suddenly asked his third brother:

Yuwen Shizhong said awkwardly: "My daughter-in-law's two brothers both voted for Zhu Guoxiang. But..."

"But what?" Yu Wenxu asked anxiously.

Yu Wen Shizhong said: "But I forbid my daughter-in-law to communicate with her parents' family. We haven't contacted her for almost two years."

Yu Wencuizhong said: "Try writing another letter."

The atmosphere was a bit awkward, and the three brothers didn't say anything.

Yuwen Shizhong's daughter-in-law is Liu Jing's granddaughter.

Liu Jing was not only a good friend of Su Shi, Mi Fu and others, but also a die-hard reformer who followed Wang Anshi.

Zhang Gen and Liu Jing were old acquaintances. At that time, there was a shortage of officials in Sichuan, so he wrote to Jianzhou (Jianyang) to recruit Liu Jing's two grandsons to serve as officials.

"Puff puff puff!"

There was a knock on the door, and before the three brothers could open the door, Yuwen Shishen's voice came: "Two uncles and fathers, Marshal Zhu has sent troops to arrest people. Wang Anzhong's residence has been surrounded!"

The three brothers were shocked and quickly went out to check.

Wang Anzhong's house was not far from Yuwen's house, just across the street. When they arrived at the scene, some people who had finished receiving porridge had gathered there.

Brother Yuwen observed secretly for a while, but saw soldiers coming out and posting notices at the gate.

Yuwen Shishen ran to check and came back and said to his uncle and father: "Wang Anzhong was the prefect of Yanshan and embezzled more than 500,000 yuan in total, all of which were life-saving money for the people of Youzhou. This once led to cannibalism in Yanjing City. The marshal heard about this. The incident was so outraged that he was ordered to be severely punished, and three days later he was beheaded in public.”

"More than five hundred thousand guan?"

Yu Wen Shizhong said in disbelief: "He has only been an official in Yanshan Mansion for a year, and he can actually be greedy for so much money. No wonder Yanjing fell so quickly."

"You really don't know how to live or die. You deserve to be beheaded!" Yu Wencuizhong said scornfully.

Yu Wenxu muttered: "It seems that among the Zhu family and his son, there is no rule against killing civil servants. You should be careful if you become an official again in the future."

(Thanks to the leader of Golden Idea for the reward, O(∩_∩)O~)