Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

After the Lantern Festival, the cabinet minister Zongze retired and returned home.

He has lived two and a half years longer than in history. Last year, his health was not good and he was bedridden and took sick leave many times.

After three requests and three resignations, it was postponed until spring, and Zhu Guoxiang approved Zongze's appointment.

The vacant cabinet minister's seat was filled by Zhang Shuye.

"You two also resign?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Zhong Shidao said: "In the official family, I am eighty years old this year."

Huang Shang said: "In the official family, I am already eighty-seven."

These two actually like being cabinet ministers, but the rectification of officialdom last year was too scary, and their old hearts couldn't bear it.

After New Year's Day and the major case ended, Zhong Shidao and Huang Shang resigned one after another.

Zhu Guoxiang whispered: "I still want to retire."

Huang Shang said: "Guan family, if I don't become an official this year, I'm afraid I won't be able to return home next year. The boat and carriage will be bumpy and I may die on the way."

"Officials and ministers are also like this. Please retire." Zhong Shidao said.

Zhu Guoxiang sighed: "That's it."

According to the "Book of Rites", officials cannot apply for retirement until they are seventy years old.

The preferential treatment given to civil servants in the Song Dynasty was also reflected in retirement benefits. When retiring, the official will be promoted to one level and all positions will be retained. The pension will be paid in full salary (retirement pension was only available after Shenzong of Song Dynasty).

The Ming Dynasty also retained the pension system, but they could only receive half of the normal salary.

In fact, the pensions of officials across the country are really small. How many officials can live beyond the age of seventy? How many years can you live after retirement?

There is no compulsory retirement system, and most officials are unwilling to retire unless their health is really bad. By issuing pensions, the court is actually encouraging officials to retire - you are all over seventy years old, why are you still working as officials?

After discussions between father and son, Li Hanzhang and Qian Chen were replaced as cabinet ministers.

There were major changes in the cabinet members, namely: Zhai Ruwen, Liu Yao, Xiao Chu, Zhao Quan, Zhang Shuye, Li Hanzhang, and Qian Chen.

This marks that the younger generation has entered the cabinet to pay homage to the prime minister. Both Li Hanzhang and Qian Chen are not yet fifty years old!

Pan Lianggui, who was second on the list with Zhu Ming, succeeded Li Hanzhang as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Pan Lianggui used to be the right minister of the Ministry of Justice, and he also tried last year's major case with Chen Dong. Now that he is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he will probably be trembling with fear that he will be affected by promoting a bunch of corrupt officials.

He raised troops to assist Li Bao in capturing Fang Mengqing in Huainan, and succeeded Qian Chen as the Minister of Household Affairs.

This person was very capable of doing things. At that time, Huainan was close to Ju Ming's territory, and he was the only one in Huainan who trained troops to resist the "Ju Ming".

Not to mention that the troops that Fang Mengqing personally organized and trained were deceived by Song Huizong's blind command, this foolish king also ran away with the elite Sayazi. Fang Mengqing was so angry that he led his remaining soldiers to join Li Bao, and he captured half of Huainan Province.

…

Fan Lou.

Last year's case caused a bleak business here.

As long as they are the children of officials, they are restricted by their elders and are not allowed to go to high-consumption places, for fear that if they do something wrong, they will be targeted for investigation.

As a result, Fan Lou lowered the price of drinks, and listening to music and theater became cheaper.

"Why go to such an expensive place?" Zhang Jun said while standing in front of Fanlou. Although his father was a Jinshi, he was too young when he died of illness, and after the separation of the family, he could only be regarded as a small rich man.

Min Zishun smiled and said: "Brother Yirong (Pan Lianggui) has been promoted to minister, so naturally he has to celebrate. Today's meal is on me!"

Pan Lianggui pointed at Min Zishun and said, "Does this count as bribing the superior officer with food and wine?"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Some were happy and some were sad. Many officials who were not investigated and punished were promoted.

Zhang Jun was transferred from Honglu Temple to Dali Temple and was promoted to Minister of Dali Temple.

Min Zi obeyed the local government and was transferred to the Sixth Ministry and was promoted to Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel.

He Su, the number one scholar in the same ranking as Zhu Ming, was thrown to a local place to practice for a few years, and was transferred back to the Ministry of Rites as the right minister.

These guys had known each other since the Song Dynasty, and now they had been promoted together. After seeing each other again after a long absence, they made an appointment to have a drink at Fanlou.

The bartender entertained them attentively and led them to a private room on the second floor.

Fan Tower has five floors, and the higher you go, the higher the cost. They chose the second floor as a sign of restraint.

After entering the private room and waiting for the bartender to leave, Min Zishun said with emotion: "When I went to Tokyo at night with the prince and saw the bright lights of Fan Tower, I felt that it was worth it to be able to open up and have a drink in it. In fact, I don't have much ambition, and I don't have much ambition at all. , I really didn’t expect it to be what it is today.”

"Eaaah!"

The door of the room was suddenly pushed open, and Li Hanzhang strode in: "You are telling the truth. When I first heard about the theory of Taoism in Yangzhou Academy, who would rather give up the exam to practice this study? What is the ambition of a good brother? Gaoyuan is just hidden in my heart."

Min Zishun laughed: "So I am such a person, but Brother Zhen is so ridiculous."

"Welcome Prime Minister Li!"

Everyone stood up and bowed to Li Hanzhang. There was also respect, but it was more of a teasing and joking expression.

Li Hanzhang said angrily: "This is not a government office. We are all old acquaintances. If you call me that again, I have to leave."

Everyone burst into laughter again, and each sat down to drink.

Min Zishun said: "There are still a few people missing today, but they have important matters to deal with locally."

Li Hanzhang sighed: "Bai Sanlang has the heaviest errand. It's very difficult for him to work as a tenant in Henan. Moreover, he was the cause of last year's big case. I don't know how many people are secretly jealous of him."

When it comes to major cases, the atmosphere is a bit delicate. This matter is particularly sensitive.

"Let's talk about something else," Min Zishun changed the subject, "I heard that Deyuan went to Japan as an envoy. Are there any foreign customs there?"

Zhang Jun passed the Jinshi examination one subject later, and he made friends with everyone through He Su: "Japan is a country that imitates the prosperous Tang Dynasty in everything, but it seems nondescript. The aristocratic women there have their teeth blackened, painted with lead powder, and their eyebrows shaved , with long hair, it’s really creepy to see at night.”

Pan Lianggui was extremely surprised: "Why do you want to dye your teeth black? Don't you think they are dirty and ugly?"

"I asked the Japanese nobles, but they couldn't understand it," Zhang Jun said. "Even the Japanese ministers imitated women's clothing. They shaved off their eyebrows and traced them into the shape of broad beans, smeared their faces until their faces were bloodless, and looked up. I think this outfit is so chic.”

He Su said disdainfully: "The barbarians from the other countries are like this. Even if you want to learn from the Tang Dynasty, you can't learn the essence."

Min Zishun asked: "Does Japan really have that much gold and silver?"

Zhang Jun nodded and said: "There is a lot of gold and silver, and it is estimated that the first batch will be shipped back this year. And there are also associated copper mines, which can make up for the copper shortage in the Ming Dynasty."

"God has given me the great Ming Dynasty!"

Pan Lianggui clapped his hands in praise and raised his glass to drink with everyone.

After a glass of wine, they asked each other about their experiences in the past few years, and while chatting, they started talking about state affairs.

Last year's major corruption case purged many officials and gentry. Although it caused turmoil in the officialdom and stagnated local government affairs, it also strengthened the prestige of the court, and Ju Ming took the opportunity to comprehensively promote the reform plan.

Starting this year, including Sichuan, all provinces will conduct an inventory of land, allocate land into acres, and reform civil servants.

This is your best chance, you don’t have to kill it all over again!

Li Hanzhang and others exchanged glasses, chatting and laughing, but someone was drinking in the room upstairs.

Li Bangyan sat by the window, drinking one cup after another.

He used to entertain guests at home, often dozens or hundreds of people, and the guests were either rich or noble.

Now he can't even find a drinking buddy. Those guys who used to flatter him now all avoid Li Bangyan like a snake or a scorpion. He thought he was very popular and had friends all over the capital, but now he realized that it was all an illusion.

The servant girl was babbling and singing in the room, and Li Bangyan suddenly fell drunk on the wine table.

Li Bangyan's home was also raided, and the person who executed it seemed to have a deep grudge against him. Li Bangyan couldn't even pay for the redemption of his old house, and he deliberately refused to sell it to him when the property was sold. As a result, he now doesn't even have a house of his own.

Life is so boring!

When he sobered up the next day and returned to his rented place, Li Bangyan said to his wife: "Let's move to Hangzhou. I haven't been to Suzhou and Hangzhou yet. I'm not yet sixty this year. If I have a room for a concubine, I might be able to have a son." When the time comes, I will be your legitimate son, educate and train him well, and let him do business in Hangzhou."

The wife said: "I asked someone to find out that Xu Fuyan's eldest son was reinstated a few days ago. Will your bastards also be pardoned someday?"

Li Bangyan said angrily: "Can that be the same? Xu Fuyan's eldest son and second son were innocently implicated. Your two sons, mine, and a few concubines were all corrupt and perverting the law. Even the officials and princes Thinking of my old love, I can at most restore my origin and writing. If I want a son, I can only have another one. If I can't have one, I can adopt one from my clan."

Li Bangyan was born in a small family. His grandfather was a gold miner and his father was a goldsmith who opened a shop. There aren't many clansmen to speak of, but it's still easy to adopt an heir.

The couple stopped arguing and made plans to move to Hangzhou and change their names from then on.

Li Bangyan found several familiar merchants and exchanged all the 100,000 yuan returned by the imperial court into money orders from Hangzhou. These merchants took advantage of the situation and charged him a thousand guan in handling fees.

Although all relatives were exiled, the court did not pursue the servants.

Li Bangyan dismissed a large number of servants, selected only a few trustworthy and loyal servants, and took a boat all the way to Hangzhou.

The journey was long, empty and boring, so Li Bangyan began to write dramas.

This time he will no longer write about a romantic drama about the city. He will write about a wealthy young man from the previous dynasty who encountered joys and sorrows when the country changed. It writes about events in Tokyo at the end of the Song Dynasty. There were political struggles in the court, wealth and extravagance, and the love between children. It shows the time when the fire was cooking and the flowers were blooming.

Corrupt officials have also been sacked in Hangzhou, and many properties are being auctioned by the government.

Li Bangyan bought a property by the canal and another hundred acres of land. He took his household registration book to the county government to register again, and changed his name to Li Guodong from then on.

Then he came to Yaren and wanted to take in a concubine.

Yapo said to Li Bangyan: "My husband has too many requirements. He must have a beautiful face, big buttocks, and be well-educated. The Ming Dynasty is not the former Song Dynasty. It is difficult to find such a young woman. After all, there are really few people who sell their sons and daughters. A few. The government is also very strict about the human teeth business. If the private teeth are caught, they will be imprisoned. If you are not careful, you will be exiled and beheaded."

Li Bangyan said angrily: "I'm not buying a maid or a servant, I just want to have a house of concubines, and I want you to help find a suitable one."

"Then you go find a matchmaker, I'm a matchmaker!" Yapo retorted directly.

Li Bangyan was speechless immediately, because what Ya Po said made sense.

Yapo suddenly said: "My husband can buy a Silla maid as a concubine."

"Silla maid?" Li Bangyan became interested.

Yapo explained: "In the past two years, the number of people selling their sons and daughters has decreased, and the deeds of maids and servants have been strictly checked. Silla maids have become popular in Suzhou and Hangzhou. It is said that in order to pay off debts in Goryeo, the nobles collected beautiful women. , teach them the etiquette of serving others, and then sell them to the Ming Dynasty to exchange for money to buy food. Some scholars in Hangzhou said that Goryeo was Silla. When Silla maids were in the Tang Dynasty, only the rich could afford them. These Goryeo women were She is called a Silla maid, so elegant!"

Li Bangyan, who was originally hopeless and too lazy to write dramas, suddenly became very interested in Silla Maid.

Li Bangyan smiled and nodded and said: "The Silla maids are indeed elegant. If we add Bodhisattva Man and Kunlun Nu, we will really catch up with the prosperous Tang Dynasty!"