Chapter 304 The Nature of the Xirong People
Lu Sen has a strong aura of "immortal", and most people look at him through a heavy filter.
There are only a few exceptions.
For example, his bedmates, and also Master Pang, Bao Zheng, and the Prince of Runan.
The Prince of Runan still attended court, and everyone knew that he was actually the emperor emeritus. But after Zhao Zongshi sat on the throne, his name was Zhao Shu... This name represented that he was the son of the late emperor Zhao Zhen, not the child of the Prince of Runan.
So the Prince of Runan is still the Prince of Runan.
Of course, the Prince of Runan had no objection to this. After all, it was his son who sat on the throne, so what did it matter!
After hearing that Lu Sen had already told the emperor about the reform in advance, most of the ministers in the court began to talk about it, surprised at Lu Sen's foresight.
Wang Anshi held the tablet in his arms and could not help but look up and ask, "May I ask Your Majesty, what is Master Lu's comment on this matter?"
Zhao Shu was still relatively young at this time, and didn't have much cunning. When someone asked him, he answered, "My brother-in-law once said that if Wang Aiqing talked about reforming the government, there would definitely be many people who would oppose it. However, Wang Aiqing is stubborn and too decisive. He will definitely find a way to silence all those who oppose the reform of the government and drive them out of the court."
When Wang Anshi heard this, he suddenly realized.
He knew in his heart that Lu Sen's evaluation was correct and that he was just that kind of person.
When the other ministers heard this, they looked at Wang Anshi strangely.
Recently, Wang Anshi has been highly valued by the government, and there are signs that he will succeed Grand Tutor Pang. After all, Grand Tutor Pang is already very old and it is almost time .
At this time, Wang Anshi was a popular figure in the court and the default successor of Grand Tutor Pang. It was not difficult to demote others from the court in order to reform the government.
So after Bao Zheng left the court, almost no one wanted to confront Wang Anshi head-on. Only Su Shi, a young man who had just been transferred back from Hangzhou, dared to do so.
Many people also know in their hearts that Su Shi is Master Lu's "confidant".
The emperor obviously also valued Lu Zhenren, who was also a royal relative. Therefore, the quarrel between Su Shi and Wang Anshi was essentially a struggle for favor within the royal family.
Listening to Wang Anshi's question, Zhao Shu thought for a while before saying, "My brother-in-law once said that both the Reform Party and the Conservative Party have their reasons, but the bad policies of the court are real, so the implementation of new policies is inevitable."
The words "innovation" and "conservatism" are not new words. Moreover, the meanings of the words are clear. All the people in the court are educated and they know what they mean as soon as they hear them.
Hearing this, Wang Anshi was overjoyed, while Su Shi was a little depressed.
As for the other court officials, their expressions were all different.
But Zhao Shu added, "My brother-in-law also said that if Wang Aiqing's personality is taken into account, this new policy will most likely cause problems."
The smile on Wang Anshi's face disappeared immediately.
Su Shi chuckled and glanced at Wang Anshi beside him, feeling somewhat proud.
Wang Anshi could not help but ask, "What good plan does Master Lu have?"
"My brother-in-law said that new policies must be implemented, but they cannot be implemented too quickly." Zhao Shu smiled and said, "He said that we can find a county as a pilot to implement the new policies. This way, we can see how effective the new policies are, what benefits they have, and what inappropriate aspects they have. If they are good, they can be implemented nationwide. If they are inappropriate, they can be limited to a county or a prefecture, and it will be more convenient to correct errors and omissions."
After hearing this, all the court officials started talking about it, and most of them showed admiration on their faces.
Master Pang stroked his graying beard and said with a smile, "As expected of Master Lu, he is indeed a man of great courage and spirit."
Wang Anshi thought about it for a while and nodded in agreement. It was indeed a safe approach. He did not have high demands at the moment, as long as there was a sign of the new policy being implemented.
The conservatives represented by Su Shi also agreed with this approach. The party struggles in the Northern Song Dynasty were not that serious at that time, and the scholars during this period did have some ambitions.
A big part of the reason they opposed Wang Anshi's reforms was that they felt the reforms were too radical and might cause unrest in the country.
The atmosphere became much more harmonious afterwards. After discussing for most of the day and after suggestions and considerations from all sides, the pilot project of the new policy was placed in Guangzhou!
There are two reasons. First, Guangzhou is now a big city with a large population. There is still a lot of arable land in the southern barbarian area, so it has great potential.
Another reason is that Guangzhou is far away from the Central Plains, and it is a big port and a big city, so the transportation is quite convenient, and the government orders are easy to pass. If there are any problems with the new policy, it will hardly affect the Central Plains.
Of course, the new policy cannot be implemented so quickly. The issuance of policies and personnel changes all take time to implement.
However, things have finally been settled.
The news of the new policy spread quickly throughout the Song Dynasty. Not to mention how people reacted to the matter, Lu Sen had already arrived above the port of Venice in his sun boat.
It was just night at that time, and when the shining sun boat came over, the entire Venice port was alarmed.
People came out of their houses in fear and horror, and looked at the sun boat shining with golden light. They all knelt down and lowered their heads.
Some monks in the monasteries ran around in panic, shouting that pagans were coming.
But some people were excited, like... the Doge of Venice, Domenico.
He stood on the balcony, looking at the solar boat in the sky with an ecstatic expression: "Here it comes, it must be Priest Lu."
More than a year ago, after Lu Sen flew away with Alice in a flying vehicle, Governor Domenico knew that Lu Sen was definitely the "mage" of the powerful empire in the East, the real one. After all, it was the first time he had seen that kind of flying method, and he was also sure that apart from the great priest Lu, he had not found anyone else with similar abilities.
At the same time, he secretly rejoiced that he had a relationship with such a powerful and mysterious Oriental man.
This was an opportunity, so he put Lu Sen's request first among all things and worked very hard to complete it. He sent most of his private soldiers to gather information, and at the same time spent a lot of money to invite many explorers to help.
Great efforts will definitely bring some results.
Although he did not find any information related to the "giant tree", his private soldiers and explorers traveled almost the entire Eastern Roman Empire in the past year and discovered something very strange.
He believed that Pastor Lu would be very happy to hear the news.
The shining solar boat stopped above the Governor's Mansion, and then Lu Xianxian, wearing a colorful feathered dress, floated down first.
Then Lu Sen and others came down in the aircraft.
The light emitted by her colorful feathered dress was particularly bright at night, and coupled with her fairy-like temperament, people dared not look directly at her.
Domenico just took a glance, then retracted his gaze, lowered his head and remained silent.
Lu Sen came out of the aircraft, walked up to the other party, and said with a smile: "It's been a year since we last met, Governor Domenico."
Alijie immediately performed simultaneous translation.
Domenico then dared to raise his head, and said with some fear, "I am very honored that Father Lu still remembers me. You must be tired after coming from the far east. Please allow me to prepare the best velvet bed and a warm and delicious dinner for you."
"That's not necessary. Just give us a quiet courtyard and we can take care of the rest ourselves." Lu Sen smiled.
Domenico naturally agreed.
Afterwards, Lu Sen and others were arranged to live in the small manor from a year ago.
After routinely enclosing a small home with wooden fences, Lu Sen and others took a rest.
Although we came here on a solar boat and didn't have to walk, but... anyone who has traveled knows that flying is actually quite tiring. What's more, the solar boat is even bumpier than a plane when flying.
After flying for one day and two nights, everyone was mentally tired.
After that, several people found their own rooms and went to sleep. With the wooden fence there, they slept peacefully.
They went to sleep, but the whole of Venice was in an uproar.
After kneeling and praying for nearly an hour, there was no other miracle or attack from the Sun Boat. The citizens of the entire city became bolder and stood up to start talking or pointing at the Sun Boat.
Many people are happy, but many people also think that the solar boat is not good.
In comparison, the atmosphere in the Governor's Mansion was obviously much better.
It was already late at night. Domenico pulled a chair and sat on the balcony, looking at the bright solar boat in the sky.
He held the glass of wine in his left hand, but did not drink it. He just watched. Next to him stood several local nobles.
"Is this the great priest from the East?" One of the young men sighed, "But why is his vehicle the solar boat from the Gnomes' legend? This is the sacred object of the alien god 'Ra'."
There was a strong sense of doubt in his words.
Gnomen refers to the Egyptians, which was the name used by the Greeks and Romans for a long time.
No one answered the young man's doubts, because others also did not understand why the symbol of "Ra" was in the hands of Oriental people.
"The Queen asked us to find a way to keep this man here." The middle-aged noble standing on the right side put his hands on the railing, looking at the sun boat in the sky, and said helplessly: "How can ordinary people like us keep such a mystic wizard?"
Domenico smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't really want to obey the Queen's orders in the first place, and now that I see the Sun Boat, I have even less of that desire."
Although Theodora had now ascended the throne and become queen, the institutional framework of the Eastern Roman Empire was still essentially based on the feudal system. Domenico was the king of Venice. If he stayed in his own little piece of land and refused to obey orders, even the orders of Queen Theodora would be of little use.
The people around him understood the Doge of Venice's thoughts, and they would do the same if they were in his place.
One of them said slowly: "Since the high priest from the East may have the forbidden fruit that can prolong life, can he give us the silk he promised to the governor before?"
They also wanted the life-prolonging potion, but they knew their own business and had no relationship with the high priest, so it was almost impossible for them to get such a potion. So they had to settle for the next best thing and take one or two rolls of silk, which was also a great fortune.
"Why can't I have them all?" Domenico looked at the noble who had just spoken with a smile.
The male noble chuckled and said, "There has always been a friendly relationship between our two families. This is a friendship that has lasted for hundreds of years."
The other nobles also showed the same smile.
These people are indeed related by marriage, and the nobles of the Eastern Roman Empire are more or less related by blood.
Domenico didn't want to offend so many families at once. He thought for a while and said, "If the high priest is willing to give me the potion, I will naturally be willing to sell you the silk at a reasonable price, but you also have to help me... deal with the queen."
The others showed understanding expressions, then laughed and clinked their glasses to drink the wine.
The next morning, after Lu Sen and others got up, they set up a large table in the yard to have breakfast.
There is no obvious hierarchy in Lu Sen. Shi Lei was not used to it at first, but now he can sit at the table and eat calmly.
When breakfast was almost over, Domenico came in with a few guards.
Domenico bowed slightly across the low fence, and Shi Lei took the initiative to stand up, open the fence door and let the former in.
Domenico glanced at the dining table and found that the food was very rich. In addition to several kinds of fruits, there were also hot dishes served in exquisite porcelain. They looked very good. Although he had never eaten them, he could tell from the smell in the air that they were definitely delicacies.
"Governor Domenico, would you like to eat something?" Lu Sen stood up, clasped his fists and asked with a smile.
Alice next to her immediately translated.
The customs and habits of different places are not the same. The Song Dynasty emphasizes politeness and face, but the people of the Eastern Roman Empire are not like that. Domenico immediately responded when he heard it: "Okay, okay, thank you for the hospitality, Father Lu."
After saying that, he found an empty seat and sat down next to Shi Lei.
Although he was not polite, he knew the difference between the host seat and the guest seat. After all, there was such a saying in the Eastern Roman Empire. Although Xianxian and Jingjing were really beautiful, he didn't dare to sit next to them.
But after sitting down, he found that the tableware used by Oriental people for eating was just two wooden roots. He was a little stunned and didn't know what to do for a moment.
At this time, Lu Sen took the initiative to take out the knife and fork from the system space and handed it over.
Domenico finally breathed a sigh of relief, then began to eat in big mouthfuls, exclaiming how delicious it was as he ate.
About two quarters of an hour later, Domenico was finally full. He touched his stomach and said, "This is the most delicious food I have ever eaten. Father Lu, let's talk business."
Compared with the people of the Song Dynasty, the Romans were more straightforward... Xianxian and others were naturally not used to it, but Lu Sen liked this way of speaking, after all, he came from later generations.
"Well, I was just about to ask you." Lu Sen took out two bottles of honey and several rolls of silk, and then pushed them: "As long as the Governor tells me the information, these things will be yours."
Domenico looked at the honey on the table, paused for a moment, and then asked cautiously: "Master Lu, can you exchange these two bottles of honey for a potion that increases lifespan?"
