Volume 4 Chapter 54: The Coupon
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the news that Lu Haowen had resigned from the positions of Prime Minister and Chief of the Secret Council was made public, but it did not cause much stir in the court or the public.
There are three reasons.
For one thing, the court actually re-initiated the Qingmiao Law, coupled with the national grand sacrifice and the grand words of turning defense into offense in the court bulletin, which have somewhat obscured this matter.
Secondly, the position of prime minister, also known as the so-called Pingzhang military and national affairs, was separated from the capital and did not interfere in miscellaneous affairs. It was an abnormal position from the beginning. It was used to place old ministers of high moral character. Whether they could be used or not depended entirely on the emperor's own will... In other words, when Lu Haowen held this position before, it itself had the political posture of team transition and appeasing old ministers. Now, he has been in this transitional position for more than a year, and it is time to move on from the past and turn from defense to offense, but it is time for him to leave.
Third, Lu Haowen himself is indeed almost seventy years old, and he has never been one to fight for power, so this move is not surprising... Moreover, if someone really understands the situation of Lu Haowen's family, they will probably understand that even from a selfish perspective of pursuing political prestige, Lu Haowen should pursue a clean retirement instead of continuing to seek power.
Why?
The reason is amazing. From the founding of the Song Dynasty to the present, there have been a total of six people who have been in charge of important military and national affairs, namely Lü Yijian, Wen Yanbo, Lü Gongzhu, Cai Jing, Li Gang, and Lü Haowen... Among them, the three with the surname Lü are actually from the same family. Lü Gongzhu is Lü Haowen's grandfather, and Lü Yijian is the father of Lü Haowen's grandfather.
Not to mention Cai Jing's shameful end, nor the delicate relationship between Li Gang and the current emperor, the Lu family has been in power for more than a hundred years since Lu Yijian's uncle Lu Mengzheng was promoted to prime minister. When it came to Lu Haowen's generation, it seemed that "the grace of a gentleman will be cut off after five generations." In fact, Lu Haowen was really disheartened after experiencing the Jingkang Incident. On that day, he asked his son Lu Benzhong to buy a house in Guangxi, ready to refuse all official titles in the court and die there.
But who could have imagined that a fall into a well in Mingdao Palace would force out five generations of three dukes and three generations of prime ministers?
Compared with the scolding that Han Xiaozhou received, Lu Haowen should have withdrawn early even if it was just for the sake of gaining family achievement.
However, one point must be emphasized here. To outsiders, it might seem that Zhao Jiu gave Lü Haowen the important position of Pingzhang Jun and state affairs precisely because of this Lu family tradition. But in fact, Emperor Zhao was not that knowledgeable... He gave the important position of Pingzhang Jun and state affairs to Li Gang because of Cai Jing, and he gave Lü Haowen the important position of Pingzhang Jun and state affairs because of Li Gang.
In essence, it was for the smooth transition of political situation. Who would have thought that this would involve Lu Haowen's family achievement points?
Of course, after such a long time, it is impossible for Zhao Jiu to remain so confused. Although he was not clear at the beginning, he should understand it now... After the ceremony, he returned to Tokyo. Originally, he wanted to give his serious husband a good title, but when he checked the classics, he came to his senses. It turned out that Lu Haowen's title and nobility were all prepared and could not be changed at all, because his ancestors had the same title and nobility for generations.
For example, Emperor Zhao had always wondered why Lu Benzhong, who looked so dissolute, was known as Mr. Donglai in the academic world. Now, after reading the book, he realized that the Lu family was the hereditary Marquis of Donglai County!
As long as the head of the Lu family wore a purple robe, he was destined to be the Marquis of Donglai County; and once he became the prime minister, he was destined to be a retired duke, that is, the Duke of Shen, the hereditary Duke of Shen; even in the semi-retired state, he still had the ancestral right to be in charge of important military and national affairs.
Of course, considering Lu Haowen’s merits and the current situation in this special period, it must be increased.
Soon, an imperial edict came down, and because of Lü Haowen's great contribution in supporting the throne, he was specially conferred the title of King of Shen, and was given the title of Grand Tutor, and continued to serve as the chief of the public cabinet.
This treatment of being crowned a king while still alive is obviously better than Xu Jingheng's Prince of Danyang... Of course, it is a retirement benefit after all, and it may not be better than Han Shizhong's Prince of Yan'an plus the title of Grand Tutor and Jiedushi of Three Towns.
But in any case, after seeing this result, everyone can only say that the current official is indeed generous in personnel matters. He gives power and reality to those in office and gives names and positions to those who have resigned. At the very least, he will not be ridiculed like Xiang Yu, who held on to the official seal and was reluctant to give it to others.
Turn back to the present.
Let me tell you, after three consecutive days of sacrifices on August 15th, two days later it was the August 21st Festival. From the early morning of this day, it began to rain heavily and the air became a little colder.
On this day, Emperor Zhao naturally did not go to the martial arts shooting range to practice archery, but the grand court meeting was calm. With the endorsement of the prime ministers and the advance approval of the secret cabinet officials, the package of financial plans of national debt - Jiaozi - New Qingmiao Law was formally passed.
However, after the court meeting, Emperor Zhao did not return to the harem to hug his little girl, play with the cats and walk the dogs, but returned to the nameless stone pavilion to sit for a while and carry out the routine "mulberry and fishing activities".
This is not to say that the official was deliberately pretending to be hardworking, but that the so-called "mulberry and fishing activities" had already evolved into a reference to other matters after the fish ponds and mulberry forests took shape.
For example, Yang Yi Zhong would make his daily routine intelligence report here; Liu Yan would submit the secret military reports that arrived yesterday but had no expedited mark; and Lan Gui, the chief escort of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, would compile some brief reports on the capital, the province, and the court affairs with the Yutang scholars on duty; finally, if the next day was a formal court report day, Emperor Zhao would also read the draft of the next day's court report here.
Basically, he had to listen to the overall situation of the court, military and national affairs, prices in the capital, domestic public opinion, personnel matters and rumors in the military. It was just that today's grand court meeting inevitably delayed him a little, so he was a little late.
In other words, although Zhao Jiu did not deliberately learn the daily work style of any great American president in later generations, he objectively achieved a daily work process similar to that of American presidents in later generations... This is not a problem. After all, sitting in the White House office and listening to intelligence briefings, there is also Roosevelt, right?
However, it is worth mentioning that perhaps great people always have something in common. Although Zhao Jiu cannot post on Twitter, he has acquired another bad habit of that person - he likes to interrupt and ask questions when others are summarizing intelligence, then complain for no reason, and interfere with the normal work of the staff in an extremely low-end way.
"Is this how the Xixia envoy understood it?"
Amid the sound of the drizzling rain, Zhao Jiu, who had changed into thick clothes, suddenly interrupted Yang Yizhong's report and frowned. "He took everything as a sign of a war? Did Prime Minister Lu resign because I wanted to get rid of the old minister and start a war? Did I make him king because I wanted to give him a high title to silence him? Did I reopen the Qingmiao loan, issue Jiaozi, and sell national bonds because I disregarded people's livelihood and tried desperately to make money in preparation for a fight? Did the Mid-Autumn Festival that just passed and the memorials and comments in the official newspaper also stir up people's hearts before the war?"
"Yes!" Yang Yizhong answered straightforwardly.
"Then, did I not go archery today? Did I mean to conserve my energy and prepare for a duel with Wanyan Wushu across the Yellow River?"
“…”
"How did the Imperial City Bureau get Gao Shouyi's memorial to Li Qianshun?" Zhao Jiu suppressed his desire to complain and asked another question. "It's so accurate?"
"Reporting to the emperor, this person simply copied the memorials himself and even had a clerk specially hired to write for him. He turned out to be a Confucian scholar from Guanxi who fled to Western Xia during the Jingkang Rebellion and was easily bribed by us." Yang Yizhong answered clearly.
"Why don't you write such a confidential report yourself?" Zhao Jiu asked without delay.
"So that the emperor knows that Li Qianshun likes to show off his literary talent . Except for some military generals, most of the ministers' memorials to the emperor are required to be literary. Gao Shouyi is from a famous family among the Confucian officials of Western Xia. His cousin Gao Shouzhong is the minister in charge of the affairs of cultivating talents in Western Xia's national studies. He can be called the master of Chinese studies in Western Xia. His father-in-law Xue Yuanli is even a prime minister. He is the driving force behind Li Qianshun's establishment of Chinese studies as national studies... Therefore, although Gao Shouyi is a yamen official and basically incompetent in literature, he dare not be without literary talent."
"I understand." Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly, and then sighed. "In that case, it's no wonder that Gao Shouyi revealed his flaws... Senior Official Lan, write down this matter in a note and give a copy to the prime ministers and Prime Minister Lu's family. Tell them that even the Xixia people are so particular, and the Song Dynasty cannot fall behind. Even if the prime minister's children are incompetent, they must understand the original learning."
Lan Gui, who was attending nearby, was startled for a moment, and after a long time he came around the corner. Then he quickly responded and did what he was told, but he opened his umbrella and went to a public house on the side to find the on-duty clerk to write a note.
"What else?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask after Lan Gui left.
"Also, Gao Shouyi repeatedly mentioned in the letter how powerful , how the Prince of Yan'an and General Yue were good at fighting, and how the emperor was still determined to fight. He also said that Xixia had previously lost 30,000 elite troops to Wanyan Loushi in Yinshan, saying that Xixia was now unable to get involved in the affairs of the two major countries, and that the two major countries were still full of hatred. He advised Li Qianshun, the ruler of Xixia, to properly handle border issues and not to attract the attention of the armies of the two countries..."
Zhao Jiu's heart was slightly moved, and then he asked seriously: "Why do I feel that Gao Shouyi is trying to scare Li Qianshun?"
Yang Yizhong was slightly stunned.
But the more Zhao Jiu thought about it, the more he felt wrong: "Think about it, Gao Shouyi is not young anymore. No matter how he behaves like a nobleman and comes from a Confucian family, as a minister of Xixia, how could he not have military knowledge? If I really want to send troops, the deployment of troops, horses, food and grass must be concealed from others. How could he not know that I have no intention of going to war immediately?"
"That's true." Yang Yizhong also nodded slightly in agreement.
"So, if I'm right, this guy is essentially doing the opposite, exaggerating the Song and Jin dynasties to a certain extent, and not allowing Li Qianshun to restore the field army." Zhao Jiu sat in the pavilion, clasping his hands and sneering. "Didn't we say before that there are two major factions in Xixia, the Han faction values literature and the Tibetan faction values martial arts? Gao Shouyi's identity, no matter how you look at it, is he the backbone of the Han faction? All crows are black, and since Li Qianshun has followed the Confucian officials and practiced Chinese studies, he deserves to be attacked by this kind of people..."
Yang Yizhong remained silent.
"The reason why the Xixia envoys came back this time is, of course, because of the death of Nianhan, and they are temporarily worried about the north." Zhao Jiu continued to analyze. "But in essence, we proved that we can match the Jin army in the Battle of Yaoshan... and Xixia is unlikely to really turn against the Jin people just because of the internal chaos in the Jin country. I'm afraid that Li Qianshun will do the same as he did in the past when dealing with the Khitan and the Song Dynasty, playing both sides and trying to please both sides."
Yang Yizhong still didn't say anything... because he knew in his heart that these words were essentially Emperor Zhao talking more to himself.
"How about this, I will help this Xixia envoy." Zhao Jiu thought for a moment and replied seriously. "If we can really scare Li Qianshun, it will be good to reopen Hengshan Douling and replenish the foreign cavalry."
"May I ask your Majesty, how should we scare them?" Yang Yizhong finally spoke.
"I want to write a note to Li Qianshun." Zhao Jiu thought for a moment, looking out into the rain, and answered seriously. "Go and urge Officer Lan to get our Scholar Sanzhao to come here and write."
Naturally, Yang Yi Zhong did not dare to delay, and immediately went to the public housing to look for Lan Gui and the Hanlin Bachelor on duty. A moment later, he hurried back with Lan Gui and Fan Zongyin... The latter was officially promoted to the Neizhi position after Lü Haowen officially retired, and became the Hanlin Bachelor commonly known as Neizhi, officially evolving from a Sanzhao Sheren to a Sanzhao Bachelor, and today was his first time on duty as a bachelor.
Since it was his first time as a scholar and his first day on duty, Fan Zongyin was still very proud of himself despite the cold and rainy weather. He was determined to write some serious documents. However, he did not expect that his first job would be to write those inexplicable private notes to the ministers, so he was naturally discouraged.
At this time, hearing that the emperor wanted to write a letter to the ruler of Xixia, the newly appointed Yutang scholar was naturally surprised and happy. He didn't even care that his 'jade face' was wet by the rain. He went straight to the pavilion and bowed, saying sincerely: "Your Majesty, do you want to use a private letter to show off your military power? I don't know what format and how many words are needed? How do you address the ruler of Xia? I will write it to you in person immediately."
"No, it's not a letter, it's just a note. No need to address, just write a few words." Zhao Jiu sat upright in the pavilion, his hands in his pockets, and said seriously. "The note only said two things. First, before the battle of Yaoshan, Yuwen Xianggong sent an envoy to see him, but he pretended to be deaf and dumb. I was very unhappy..."
Fan Zongyin was speechless and helpless, but he endured it in the end and just nodded in response.
"Secondly, I heard that he admired Chinese studies and had written poems, so I went to read his 'Ganoderma Song', but it was just a piece of lousy writing. You know, I didn't even dare to carve a stone tablet when I wrote 'Jade Case', but he actually carved his 'Ganoderma Song' on stone, which is simply a disgrace to society... Ask him to destroy the stone carving immediately after receiving the note, otherwise I will publicly mock his literary level in the official newspaper, and let everyone in the world know that Li Qianshun is a monkey in human form."
“…”
"Do you understand?" Zhao Jiu, with his hands in his pockets, looked up and urged.
"Yes." Fan Zongyin had no choice but to nod again. "I will write it right away."
"Just write it like this, and I'll sign it when you're done..." Zhao Jiu thought about it, and finally added something else. "Give him another copy of the Historical Records, and tell him that I'm afraid he can't find the source of the monkey in the hat."
Fan Zongyin seemed to be hesitant to speak, but in the end he bowed and listened to the instructions.
