Volume 2 Chapter 29: Outing (Part 2)
Nanyang was in a state of revival, and the Jin people were retreating strategically. Logically speaking, this was the most difficult time for the exiled Song Dynasty regime, which had just settled down. It was time to make every effort to do everything, since there was no shortage of things to do anyway.
And at this time, Emperor Zhao suddenly organized an outing in the name of entertaining guests, so... of course he was forgiven.
After all, the emperor had never heard of such behavior before, and it seemed not appropriate to conclude that Emperor Zhao was addicted to beauty and started to enjoy himself just because of this activity.
In addition, the sharing of happiness between the monarch and his subjects, as well as the enjoyment of nature, is something that is extremely consistent with Confucian moral pursuits and can even be called politically correct, and it is difficult to criticize.
The last and most important point is that before the Jin army retreated, everyone was generally very tired and tense. However, the government sat in the palace all day long, smiling and urging people to pay the bills, like a debt collector. It’s rare that the government gives them face today, so why do they still need a mule cart?
Of course, it is also true that after leaving the palace and returning home, the emperor suddenly summoned them again, and everyone was caught off guard.
Back to the present, the so-called outing is actually eating and drinking in the wild, and for this high-level outing, it is inevitable to add some cultural elements, but everyone has come out of the prosperous and prosperous season, so they are not afraid. What's more, the government has already determined the theme of today... The knowledge of the great scholar Su is basically a famous one. Which literati in the Song Dynasty has not imitated him?
With this thought in mind, everyone could not help but look at the Minister of Works ... It seemed that this person would definitely shine today.
In fact, this person is a direct descendant of Su Men...his uncle is one of the four scholars of Su Men!
In fact, today's theoretical guests of honor were Su Shi's eldest grandson Su Dan, second grandson Su Fu, third grandson Su Lu, and sixth grandson Su Ji, who were standing behind Ye Mengde with excited expressions.
By the way, Scholar Su Shi was a romantic scholar throughout his life. The Three Su brothers were famous in the world at that time, and Su's learning was the most prominent in the world. However, his three sons had been wandering at the bottom of society all the time because of the Yuanyou Party Monument... The eldest son, Su Mai, never took part in the imperial examinations, and was content to be an official all his life; the third son, after failing the exam once, was content to be a minor official and wandered around; the second son, Su Dai, was outstanding in learning, but when he was young, he only studied under Zhang Zai, and later he easily passed the imperial examination, but soon gave up his official career and became a pillar of Taoism.
By the time of their grandchildren's generation, they have basically become just like everyone else.
"Since we are entertaining guests, we must have wine and food." It seems that the Emperor Zhao is ready to develop the theme of 'Su Zi'. Just after the two drunkards were settled and everyone had just made some guesses, he stood on the river bank and continued to pretend. "But today there is wine but no food. Please follow the example and find some food. Let's also learn from the great scholar Su who never tires of coarse materials and fine food... Those without food will definitely not be allowed to sit at the table."
As he spoke, the palace chef prepared the seasonings, and the eunuchs and servants built the pot and chopped firewood.
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. They didn't expect that they would have to do it themselves when they got here. But since the emperor had spoken and forcibly dragged along the scholar Su, who seemed to be very interested, they could only go to pick wild vegetables despite being tired all day... Of course, the most popular activity was still fishing.
When we come to the riverside, how can we not eat Dongpo fish on a picnic themed after the great Su Shi scholar?
A few people who were interested went to look for fishing rods and indeed found those that had been prepared long ago. So a group of scholars and officials, especially the older and more important ones, starting from the Prime Minister of the temporary capital, Lu Haowen, each pretended to be a fisherman by the river.
The sun is gradually setting, the weather is beautiful and the water is white and golden. The emperor and his ministers are enjoying themselves together, fishing by the river and thinking of old friends. Perhaps there will be benevolent policies to be promulgated later... Isn't it beautiful?
However, after a moment, a group of scholars and officials near the river were stunned , because they saw with their own eyes that Emperor Zhao, who was probably impatient to wait, took off his linen robe, rolled up his trousers and went into the river to pull the net. Then, he took a few squad members and Yang Yizhong, who was in the river by boat, to cast a huge fishing net. They pulled up an unknown amount of fish, but it was enough for everyone here to have a full meal. All the interest was gone in an instant.
Seeing this, Mr. Xu sighed, threw away his fishing rod, and started washing his feet by the river.
On the other side, the net was ready, and all the fish and shrimp were caught. Emperor Zhao didn't even care whether the mercury he had poured earlier would cause heavy metal poisoning, so how could he care about what was elegant or vulgar? So the eunuchs and the chefs came up to clean up the fish and shrimp and cook them on the spot... steaming, baking, frying, boiling, stir-frying, and stewing. Soon, the riverbank was filled with fragrance and fishy smell.
And Zhao Jiu did not have the slightest official attitude. He just sat cross-legged on the embankment, put a large bowl on his knees, picked up his chopsticks directly, ate a few bites, and even picked out the fish bones with his hands... As for Mrs. Wu next to him, she was not so vulgar. She held a pot of wine and helped the emperor pour the wine carefully.
Most of the other officials had just returned home from the palace and were called in after changing clothes. They had been hungry for a day, so how could they bear it? Especially after experiencing the Jingkang Rebellion, the people here had experienced displacement to some extent, and they were no longer so particular about food. So they followed the lead of Mr. Xu, threw down their fishing rods, washed their hands and feet, and then sat down casually along the river bank with the emperor and Mrs. Wu, enjoying the food directly on the ground.
As for the previous words that no one is allowed to sit at the table without ingredients, everyone just thought it was nonsense!
Just like that, as the sun sank further to the west, everyone kept eating and drinking, but each of them had something else in mind, which was to write poems and lyrics after filling their stomachs… A few smart people and relevant people even made a connection with the "Great Su Theme Picnic", thinking that today's event was not just a picnic, and they might also have to deal with the matter of the Yuanyou Party that the government had perfunctorily brushed aside several times, so they naturally paid more attention.
In fact, let alone these people, even Zhang Jun, who was slightly sober, forced himself to be strong, washed his face with river water, and ate some fish, meat and vegetables as preparation.
And sure enough, when the wine was enough and the fish was enough, the official put down his hand and sighed slightly... and all the people who had been staring at the official with their ears pricked up also became stern.
"Zong Liushou received another note today." Zhao Jiu took a piece of silk from Wu Yu (Mrs. Wu's name) beside him, and sighed slightly while wiping the grease off his hands. "This time, he didn't persuade me to go to Tokyo, but he said something serious. He probably persuaded me to take advantage of the Jin army's retreat to prepare weapons and arrange food and fodder, and then strengthen Nanyang, Fangcheng, and several large cities along the Yancheng line. At the same time, he recommended several people to guard these cities... This coincides with the considerations of the court, but it is more detailed."
Hearing this, Yan Xiaozhong, the acting prefect of Nanyang Prefecture, suddenly stood up and said proudly on the dike, "Your Majesty, I still recommend Chen Gui, the prefect of De'an Prefecture, who is a member of the Longtu Pavilion. I have known him since he was a county magistrate and I know his ability. If he can manage the defense of Nanyang City, I am willing to give way to him."
"The emperor has transferred Chen Gui to be the Minister of War today." Wang Boyan interrupted. "Shao Yin Yan, please be patient."
Yan Xiaozhong was slightly startled, then he sat down.
It is said that Chen Gui was only the magistrate of Anlu at the beginning of last year. During the Jing Kang period, he led his troops north to try to support the emperor. However, when he arrived in Caizhou, he found that the two emperors had already gone north for hunting, so he had no choice but to turn back.
But when they returned to Anlu, they found that the local people had already risen up. Various heroes and a large number of defeated soldiers who had poured in from the north all felt that the Song Dynasty had fallen, and they were all eager to try. At the same time, the local governor of De'an Prefecture might also think that the Song Dynasty had fallen, so he just ran away... So, the local official forces loyal to the Song Dynasty jointly pushed forward the work of a county magistrate leading the entire prefecture.
Of course, in that situation, this was a display of great loyalty, so the imperial court, who was still in Nanjing (Shangqiu) at the time, posthumously awarded him the title of Zhilongtu Pavilion and the prefect of De'an.
This victory was not important, but Chen Gui shined. He started from scratch and led a group of local archers with no combat experience. He defeated Li Xiaoyi's army with a strength of over 10,000 (his brother Li Xiaozhong was occupying Xiangyang at the time); persuaded Yang Jin's army to retreat (later Yang Jin went north, first surrendered to Zong Ze, then rebelled against Song and surrendered to Jin, and is now being beaten by Han Shizhong); annexed the local tyrant Dong Ping who was good at using double guns... By the time the emperor traveled west to Caizhou, De'an Prefecture had been stabilized and Chen Gui also had 20,000 troops.
In short, such a person was living in Anlu next door, and he was a genuine imperial examination candidate, so it was impossible for Xingzai not to notice him.
In fact, when Emperor Zhao arrived in Fangcheng, he appointed Chen Gui as the governor of De'an Prefecture (now Anlu), Fuzhou (now Mianyang area), and Hanyang Army (now Wuhan) at the suggestion of Wang Boyan, and was responsible for sorting out the Yangtze River waterway. He never said that this position was not authentic. When fighting Xiangyang, he once followed the order of Ma Shen, the governor of Jinghu North Road, to lead troops to Jingmen to block Fan Qiong's retreat.
This time, to reorganize the city defense and build a gunpowder workshop, this old custom was recommended by various people in turn, and Zhao Jiu's ears were almost callused from it... Come to think of it, it is rare to have such a person among the civil officials.
Back to the present, Emperor Zhao was interrupted by Yan Xiaozhong and almost forgot what he was going to say. He thought for a long time before remembering it, but it seemed a lot stiffer: "Anyway... today I'm not talking about these things. I'm talking about... I suddenly remembered that in the memorial submitted by Zong Liushou before, he said something about the great unification of our ancestors... Did the Song Dynasty really have a great unification?"
"Officials!"
Hearing this, many ministers including Lu Haowen were shocked, and then quickly moved the plates off their knees and stood up. Then, it was Lu Xianggong who took the lead and responded seriously. "The three words 'great unification' come from the 'Spring and Autumn Gongyang Commentary'. 'great' does not mean big, but respectful; 'unified' does not mean the unification of the world, but the unity of the upper and lower! From this point of view, the great unification of our Song Dynasty is not an empty talk."
Zhao Jiu shook his head and smiled again: "I asked Lin Xueshi before I came here. This is the ancient meaning, the original intention... But Mr. Lu, let me ask you, if we already had the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, Liaodong and Liaoxi, annexed Jiaozhi, Xixia, Dali, and remotely controlled the Western Regions, and had the Han and Tang Dynasties, and talked about unification, do we still need to trace back to the ancient meaning? If he didn't know it well, why did Emperor Taizong make such a promise, and as a result, let Tong Guan, a eunuch, be named a king of a different surname? Or do you think that Emperor Daojun was wrong to even recover Yanyun?"
Lu Haowen suddenly paused... He was not stumped by Emperor Zhao's question. On the contrary, he suddenly realized what Emperor Zhao was going to say today, and he did not dare and did not want to talk about this topic.
"Officials!"
It is said that if Lu Haowen does not dare to take the responsibility, there will be others who dare to take it, or have to take it... Just as the prime minister hesitated, the deputy prime minister Xu Jingheng suddenly stepped forward and gritted his teeth. "If it were not for the sea alliance and the unauthorized attack on Liao, how could there be so many disasters in the Jingkang period? The Taoist Emperor was deceived by the six thieves and did these two things."
"I don't think so." Zhao Jiu waited quietly for the other party to finish speaking before continuing to laugh. "Let's not talk about being deceived... just think that it was the six thieves who deceived us! But the Jingkang disaster, I think it was the Flower and Stone Gang, the Fenghengyuda, the appointment of the six thieves, the civil peace and military playfulness, but not these two. Recovering Yanyun and the sea alliance are just military strategies, just like the art of war... What's wrong with this? In the final analysis, isn't the Jingkang shame because the Jin people are strong and we are weak?!"
Xu Jingheng wanted to speak but stopped. Seeing that the other party was speechless, Emperor Zhao raised his voice and continued with a smile:
"Given the barbarity of the Jin people and the weakness of the Liao Kingdom, if there had not been a maritime alliance, would the Jin people not be able to see the weakness of the Song Dynasty and not come to attack in the future? This kind of lucky statement that pushes the internal situation to the surface... is not what the most pragmatic Prime Minister Xu should say?"
Xu Jingheng remained silent for a long time, and finally did not refute. However, when the official gestured for everyone to sit down, he did not sit down, but stood there motionless.
Of course Zhao Jiu knew what the other party meant... In fact, it has been almost a year since he came here, and Zhao Jiu's political discernment is not as low as it was at the beginning.
Just like the current topic, from the perspective of personality and how he does things, the pragmatic Xu Jingheng is the last person who should be refuted. But a person, especially a prime minister, is bound to have complex characteristics, and it is impossible to simply label him with just personality, morality, and a few positions.
Let’s take Xu Jingheng as an example:
First, he was a war advocate. In the initial struggle between Li Gang and Huang Qianshan, he chose to support Li Gang without hesitation, and did not waver in the most important major issues.
However, although he advocated war, he was conservative. From the beginning, he hoped that Xingzai would go to Yangzhou instead of agreeing with Li Gang to go to Nanyang. Of course, he was also firmly opposed to crossing the Yangtze River to the southeast.
At the same time, he was a pragmatist. He remained silent after Li Gang was dismissed from his post, thus firmly occupying the position of Chief Censor. Even Huang Qianshan ignored him. In the process, he tried his best to protect Li Gang and Zong Ze... until someone climbed out of the well and suddenly kicked him out and replaced him with Zhang Jun.
Moreover, he is a rare capable minister who works hard without complaint and never complains despite the huge burden on his shoulders. He is really useful.
Finally, Xu Jingheng and Lu Haowen, as well as Ma Shen, the governor of Jinghu North Road, were all followers of Cheng School, or Luo School. Luoyang was the former base camp of the old party. Cheng School itself rose to prominence by criticizing Wang Anshi's new school.
Only by understanding this can you understand why Xu Jingheng behaved so fiercely, and the reason is self-evident... It would be fine if the emperor talked nonsense on ordinary days, but today the emperor is likely to directly express his position on the Yuanyou Party, the core members of the new and old parties. Then, if Lu Haowen hesitated, he would naturally step forward and express his position and pressure in advance in the toughest way, so that the emperor and the officials who arrived today would have some concerns.
As for the fact that the entry point violated his code of conduct and was blocked by the emperor with words, it was not his fault, because since the Xining Reform of Emperor Shenzong, the two factions had been in constant conflict and had long been incompatible... The matter was of great importance and Prime Minister Xu could not care so much.
In fact, Xu Jingheng's action was successful. Regardless of whether the emperor was frightened or not, at least after this incident, no official dared to take the risk of completely opposing a powerful minister and make blind speculations.
"Okay." Zhao Jiu waved his hand to signal everyone to sit down, and seeing Xu Jingheng stiffening his neck, he couldn't help but laugh again. "I said the three words 'great unification' just to make fun of it. Why are you so serious and even going so far..."
Are you kidding me?
As soon as these words came out, countless people on the riverbank cursed in their hearts, if you, Lord Zhao, were just trying to please him, why did you bother to ask Scholar Xiaolin for his opinion? He was obviously trying to test her with this, but was pushed back by Lord Xu, so he was just trying to please her.
"That's what I want to say." Zhao Jiu ignored Xu Xianggong standing there and continued, "Compared with the Han and Tang dynasties, our dynasty is indeed inferior in terms of territory, scholar style, and martial arts. Otherwise, the Liao people would not have called it the Southern Dynasty for so many years... But in terms of culture and elegance, our dynasty is not inferior to the Han and Tang dynasties ."
Everyone looked a little worried, and then they were stunned, because the next few words of Emperor Zhao were like making history:
"Let's not talk about Tang poetry and Song lyrics. Just talking about the basic articles, since the Tang Dynasty, prose has swept away the extravagance of parallel prose. Among prose, there are eight great writers in Tang and Song, and our dynasty alone has six of them... Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan in the Tang Dynasty made great contributions to the creation, but in our dynasty, Wang Shu , Wang Anshi, Ouyang Xiu, the three Su brothers, and Zeng Gong reached the pinnacle and completely set the pattern."
"Your Majesty's words are very insightful." Su Shi's four grandsons all bowed down to express their gratitude. The Minister of Works Ye Mengde also spoke carefully. "These eight people are enough to determine the top of prose... But if we rank them by age, how can Wang Shu be ahead of Ouyang Gong? If we rank them by achievements, how can they be ahead of the great scholar Su?"
"That's right." Zhao Jiu readily agreed. "In terms of literary achievement, the great scholar Su Shi and Ouyang Xiu are the top ones, on par with the two founders Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan, while the other four are slightly inferior."
As soon as this was said, people started talking about it... For example, some people thought that Zeng Gong's articles were better, and some people said that Wang Anshi's articles were not inferior to Ouyang Xiu's, but generally speaking, more people recognized Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi. In other words, the official's summary was quite insightful?
Of course, Zhao Jiu's idea was simple... How could he know who was higher? But besides the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasty, the saying of the Four Great Masters of Literature was also often heard.
