Volume 3 Chapter 45: Many Small Problems (Part 1)
Before the New Year, the new issue of the official "Dibao" issued by the Honglu Temple published a list of all the "patriotic and loyal people" who had purchased the so-called national bonds.
By the way, Wanqi Xie still overestimated Emperor Zhao. The reason why Zhao Jiu didn't speak directly in the palace before was that he had no confidence in this matter, not because he had any concerns. Later, when he found that it sold very well, he completely disregarded his dignity and revealed it.
There is no doubt that after the court reports are copied and taken away by civil and military officials, envoys, ministers and generals, this matter will undoubtedly be known to people all over the world.
However, there was no need for the whole world to know about it. Before the official bulletin was sent out, the city of Tokyo was already in an uproar.
Several censors and many other officials in the capital believed that the emperor's actions were a loss of dignity for the court and the emperor. Even if there was an urgent need, and even if Zigong's redemption was taken into consideration, these people should have voluntarily contributed, and the emperor should have given them appropriate rewards now and in the future, rather than signing a written agreement like a private loan.
There is another view, represented by Hu Quan, a newly minted scholar who had just joined the Privy Council. They all expressed a strong view that the government's actions were tantamount to actively informing the outside world of the court's financial secrets, which might allow evildoers at home and abroad to take advantage of the situation.
However, various memorials swarmed into Chongwenyuan, but before they were presented to the emperor, Emperor Zhao first issued a clear decree - saying that the country was still at war, and everything should be kept simple, and no empty ceremonies were appropriate, so there would be no court meetings at the end of this year and New Year's Day next year. Not only that, from that day on, except for necessary military officers who stayed behind, all government offices inside and outside Tokyo were officially closed until after the New Year.
This also means that these notes were handed over in vain.
After all, everyone knows what kind of figures the current emperor and prime minister are. If there is no court meeting for six or seven days, the matter will probably be swept under the rug, as there are military and national affairs to deal with anyway.
However, at this time, there were continuous imperial decrees in the palace. One of the most upright decrees was that the next day, which was the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor would take the initiative to leave the palace and inspect the Imperial College to express his condolences to the students who stayed in Beijing for the New Year.
When the news came out, some people naturally cared about etiquette and did not think much about it, but some people felt that it was a rare good opportunity and prepared to take advantage of the opportunity in the Imperial College to give advice and remonstrance.
"So, is it still difficult to print the official newspaper?"
On this morning, when they entered the Imperial College, hundreds of students and young officials had already gathered in the front yard of the hall where Confucius was worshipped, and the soldiers were also lined up in an orderly manner. However, when Emperor Zhao reached the gate of the courtyard, he was still discussing other things with the ministers accompanying him.
"Good instructor, I know. It's not impossible, but it's not necessary at the moment, and the court shouldn't spend its money on this."
Of course, the most qualified person to answer this question among the ministers accompanying him was Zhai Ruwen, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, who was in charge of this matter. However, it was Chen Gui, the Prime Minister who accompanied him this time as the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, who came up with the question, because Chen Gui liked to answer this kind of technical questions the most. " I still remember that when I was in Nanyang before, the emperor asked about movable type printing and the affairs of Shen Kuo and Bi Sheng. Now I have found out that movable type does exist, and Shen Mengxi has clear records. I also think it is feasible... But it is feasible, but not necessarily appropriate, because I have asked the merchants carefully, and they all said that movable type is still prone to errors and the printing quality is poor. The private and official still use woodblocks. According to the emperor's previous instructions, the court bulletin is to be published every six days, in order to meet the system of discussing politics in the Wende Hall every three days. Time is short, how can we get the woodblocks in time?"
"Mr. Chen is right." The Minister of the Honglu Temple, Zhai Ruwen, who was following behind, also joined in. "Moreover, the emperor has made the Honglu Temple the exclusive place for official reports, and has set many rules. How dare we not do our best? Fortunately, only the important government offices in Tokyo and the offices of envoys and commanders need to be transcribed by the officials themselves. The Honglu Temple has enough manpower to handle it properly, and there is no need to find a printing method."
Zhao Jiu shook his head slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but when he saw that he was already in front of the Imperial College, he put away these thoughts and walked in. The many important officials who accompanied him also kept quiet, held their heads high, and followed the emperor in.
When entering the courtyard, they saw an official in a red robe, a hard-winged hat with a gold belt, and behind him were more than a dozen senior officials. There were also many additional armored warriors pouring in. The red and purple colors and the metal colors were all shining in the sun. The courtyard was first noisy, and then solemn.
After the emperor and important ministers stood on the steps in front of the hall, hundreds of people bowed and saluted under the leadership of Chen Gongfu, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College. Then, according to the requirements of the palace, everyone took their seats in the courtyard where seats had been arranged long ago... Under the three-house system, the students of the Imperial College were substitute officials, so the etiquette of the monarch and his subjects was followed, and both sides sat down as if the monarch and his subjects were facing each other.
As for the steps where Emperor Zhao was seated, behind which was a hall with a wood carving of Confucius, Zhao Jiu certainly did not care too much about it. After all, he had attended court in Taoist temples and monasteries, and had held court meetings in front of the Taoist and Buddha ancestors. So it was just right that he should have a hall of the Imperial Academy and a wood carving of Confucius. It could be considered an achievement.
"You are all pillars of the court."
Without looking at the wood carving behind him , Zhao Jiu sat down and spoke directly in the sunlight, raising his voice and speaking slowly. "I am here today because, firstly, it is the end of the year and many of you are leaving home to travel far away, so I came to express my condolences; secondly, the Imperial College is a place for the court to store talents, but due to the system, you must be assessed before you can become an official, and I also have military and national affairs, so it is very difficult for us to meet normally, and it is even more difficult to communicate... So today, we, the monarch and the minister, should speak freely. If you have any opinions or doubts, please raise your hands and I will point them out at random. Unless the words are rebellious or involve military and national secrets, I will try my best to listen and answer in person... until sunset."
There was a commotion on and off the stage. The dozen or so important ministers accompanying the event were also stunned, but the people below were completely excited after the commotion.
"Let's start!" As the voice faded, Zhao Jiu forced himself to put away his usual wooden expression when attending court and slightly revealed a smile.
However, despite the excitement , many students were a little flustered. They wanted to raise their hands but were afraid and didn't know what to ask.
However, at this moment, among the people sitting below, there was a person who didn't care at all and raised his hand on the spot.
When Zhao Jiu saw this person, he couldn't help laughing.
It turned out that this person was Chen Gongfu, the chief academician of the Imperial College.
It is said that Zhao Jiu had been the emperor for more than two years since the day he climbed out of the well. Although his authority was growing and he was increasingly involved in military and political affairs, at the beginning, he was a complete blind, deaf and idiot. He knew neither the system of the Song Dynasty nor how to appoint people to positions. He just tried his best to hold on to so-called historical generals such as Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun, and tried to promote some useful confidants such as Zhang Jun, Zhao Ding, Lin Jingmo, Hu Yin, etc., and then tried his best to coordinate the selection of prime ministers.
Therefore, for quite a long time, even until now, most of the court affairs were still handled by the prime ministers, and this official had neither the ability nor the desire to intervene personally.
This resulted in the situation that, except for a few confidants and people he frequently interacted with, he only knew the names of many ministers, and he even had to research their names on the spur of the moment.
But it's really not his fault... For example, Chen Gongfu, the chief academician of the Imperial College, was in an extremely important position in charge of national education. And unless the Three-House System was explicitly abolished, this was a key position that was directly related to the court's selection of talents.
However, don't forget that before Emperor Zhao and Prime Minister Lu had that conversation this summer and decided to hold the special examination, the Imperial Academy was basically abandoned. How idle must Zhao Jiu be to care about the name of the person in this position and what his resume and background are?
In fact, this Chen Gongfu had indeed been appointed to this idle official position during the Huaishang period. Zhao Jiu met him several times in Nanyang, but he was just a passerby.
Only yesterday did I learn this man's name and a little information about his background from the know-it-all Yang Tongzhi.
However, this Chen Gongfu left a very good impression on Zhao Jiu... When the students were in a panic, he took the initiative to raise his hand, which showed his attitude as a teacher.
In fact, if Emperor Zhao had not known the truth very well, he would have almost thought that this person was a stooge.
"Mr. Chen, please speak."
Of course Zhao Jiu would give Chen Jijiu some face.
"Your Majesty." Chen Gongfu stood up and bowed. "Excuse me, Your Majesty's behavior today should be imitated from the Spring and Autumn Period when the people discussed politics in the township schools. It can be called the behavior of a sage, and it seems to be more in line with the sage's intention than the imperial lectures... Although I am an official appointed by the court, I also want to participate. I only hope that Your Majesty will allow me not to treat it as a memorial, but just treat it as a discussion in the school."
Of course, Zhao Jiu didn't know what the Spring and Autumn Period Township School Political Discussion was, but that didn't stop him from understanding that the other party was using a high-sounding Confucian allusion, so he admired the other party even more and spoke immediately:
"Of course, Mr. Chen should speak frankly and not think about his official position."
"Your Majesty." Upon hearing this, Chen Gongfu suddenly looked solemn. "I dare to ask, why is Wang Shuwang's new school still the main one in the Imperial College? The new school only talks about utilitarianism, and Wang Shuwang openly called Feng Dao, who served the 'Four Families and Eight Kings' during the Five Dynasties, 'the best at avoiding disasters and surviving'. This statement has caused the civil and military officials in the court to lose their integrity and loyalty, and has caused the ministers and officials to lose the way of being loyal to the country. Is this in line with the righteousness of resisting the Jin Dynasty?"
Emperor Zhao's expression remained unchanged and he nodded slightly... However, to be fair, he was stunned by the questions as soon as he came up... This guy is really ignorant.
