Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 515
In the evening, Jupe told Fanning about the chat between her and Hoduo, "I can almost confirm that the little master is pursuing Hoduo, and Hoduo also has a good impression of him, but it's hard to guess what Hoduo is thinking. , I guess she doesn't quite understand it herself, I think what my husband said is right, the relationship between them needs time to settle, it can't be too hasty, but it can't be too cold, or it will make them miss a marriage."

Zhu Pei's attitude was still very pertinent, neither favoring his younger brother Zhu Qi, nor ignoring her husband's opinion.

Fan Ning thought for a while and said, "Then wait for another two years, get engaged to them first, and ask the two of them for their opinions after two years. Of course, they are allowed to associate with each other, either by letter or by appointment."

Engagement is not the same as engagement. This is actually a different stage in the wedding. Engagement is still in the initial stage. The two families exchanged marriage certificates that record the birth date and agreed to discuss marriage. The engagement ends here. If both parties feel that it is not suitable, You can also return the marriage certificate. Engagement is actually an intention to get married, but it is not mandatory.

But the engagement is different, the engagement has already come to the point where the man gave the dowry and engagement gift, if there is no special reason, then the marriage cannot be regretted, Fan Ning mainly thinks that the younger sister has just turned 17 years old, her mentality and physiology are not mature enough, and she needs to give it to her again. My sister thought about it for two years.

If after two years, my sister is still determined to marry Zhu Qi, then Fan Ning will not stop her.

On the other hand, this is also a test for Zhu Qi. If he really likes his sister, then two years should be a wait for him. If during this time, Zhu Qi empathizes with other women, Or if he passed the Jinshi examination and was recruited by a higher wealthy family as his son-in-law, Fan Ning would also give him a chance, lest he regret it in the future and blame his sister for delaying his future.

The husband proposed an engagement instead of an engagement, and Zhu Pei also agreed. Two years is not too long, just right, and they can communicate with each other, increase mutual understanding, and exchange emotions. Zhu Pei also thinks this is a more reasonable and appropriate solution.

Zhu Pei laughed again and said, "Husband, there is one more thing. The third grandfather asked you if you have time to guide Zhu Qi's studies. There are still two months before the imperial examination. If you work hard, there is still hope. "

Fan Ning was a little embarrassed. He had promised Zhu Yuanfeng to give advice to Zhu Qi in his studies. At first, he considered giving advice to Zhu Qi based on the imperial examination questions.

But history has been changed. Zhao Zhen, who originally died in April of the eighth year of Jiayou, passed away four months earlier, and Zhao Zhen wrote the imperial examination questions in the eighth year of Jiayou. Now that Zhao Zhen has passed away, the imperial examination questions must also be It has changed, whether it is Gao Taotao or the Empress Dowager Cao, it is still unknown, but it must be different from the historical imperial examination questions. How can he bet on the questions?

Fan Ning thought for a while and then smiled: "Let's do this! Let Sister Qian do me a favor, let Zhu Qi and Lu Min worship under her father, and ask my second father-in-law to guide them, what do you think?"

Zhu Pei gave her husband a blank look. What is the second father-in-law? It sounds awkward. She nodded and said, "That's not bad. The third grandpa must be happy too, but you should tell Senior Ouyang about it. At least it's a respect for him."

"Okay! I'll go tomorrow afternoon."

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the New Year's Court was held, and all officials in Beijing with rank nine or above had to attend. This was also the first official court meeting when the new emperor ascended the throne and the empress dowagers of the two palaces listened to the government behind a curtain.

'Boom!Boom! 'The low-pitched bell rang, and thousands of officials on the square of the Daqing Palace moved towards the main hall.

The court rules in the Song Dynasty were not as strict as those in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Officials don’t have to line up. They just need to keep quiet and enter the hall as soon as possible to find their seats. In addition, the main hall is divided into two parts: the official official area and the virtual official area. The virtual official area is usually empty. , Officials will only appear during the celebration of the Great Dynasty.

The serving official area is arranged according to the department, and the official position is fixed, but in the virtual official area, there are only ranks and no official positions. Everyone just needs to stand according to the rank.

In addition to the official official area and the virtual official area, there is also a special area at the front, that is, the third-rank area. All officials from the third rank and above are concentrated in this area. There are about dozens of people, including the royal family, the three princes, Xiangguo, Shangshu, great scholars, Jiedu envoys, generals, etc., gathered here the most powerful dignitaries and court officials of the Song Dynasty.

Fan Ning is the third-rank Jin Ziguanglu doctor and Zuo Sanqi's regular attendant, so he is naturally in this team.

With the sound of Shang Dynasty music, the young emperor Zhao Xu, surrounded by eighteen guards and eight maids, entered the hall from the side and sat on the dragon chair on Dan Majesty. In this space, blocked by bead curtains, the empress dowagers of the two palaces have already taken their seats.

But what everyone is concerned about is how to divide the power of the queen mothers of the two palaces and who is in charge of the government. This will be the key to the government in the next few years.

After a new year, this pattern has almost come out. Of course, the ministers don't know what happened in the middle, but there is one detail that can let the ministers understand the final result of power distribution, that is, the seats of the queen mothers of the two palaces, according to the habit of top right and bottom left , the queen mother sitting on the right side of the emperor should be in charge, and the queen mother on the left should participate in politics.

So when the two empress dowagers were seated, all the ministers looked at the empress dowager on the right, and Fan Ning was no exception. The moment he passed through the bead curtain, he suddenly found that the eyes behind the bead curtain were also looking at him. The familiar gaze immediately made him understand that Gao Taotao had won the initiative and became the ruling empress dowager.

Of course, Empress Dowager Cao is an elder, so according to the rules of superiority and inferiority, she should be in charge of the government, so there is only one possibility for the current result. Participate in politics.

Gao Taotao is known as Yao and Shun among women in history, and has made an indelible contribution to the prosperity of the Northern Song Dynasty. But from another perspective, her desire for power is relatively heavy, and she is likely to be born after Zhao Xu's weak crown Decentralization, and even secretly interfered in government affairs. Historically, she had secretly opposed Wang Anshi's reforms.

The ceremony of the new year's dynasty is more important than the substance. Today is the first dynasty after the new emperor's ascension to the throne. The main issue is to determine the year name. Contrary to Fan Ning's expectations, the new year name still adopts Song Yingzong's year name in history. , Zhiping.

However, it is also understandable that Jiayou will have a new year name after eight years. Zhiping should be the year name prepared by Renzong Zhao Zhen, so it is normal for the new emperor Zhao Xu to adopt this year name.

After the New Year's Eve, the empress dowagers of the two palaces issued a series of decrees that the provincial examination in the first year of Zhiping will be postponed for one month and held in early April.

Secondly, Di Qing, the overseas economic envoy, was changed to the crown prince Taibao, and Fan Ning, Zuo Sanqi's regular attendant, was appointed as the overseas economic envoy. Su Liang, the son of the right concubine, was appointed as a doctor in the Ministry of Rites and knew about Quanzhou affairs.

This appointment aroused widespread discussion among the ruling and opposition parties. At the critical moment of the new emperor's ascension to the throne, Fan Ning left the center of power in the imperial court and went overseas. The three major powers of military, government and finance, but compared to the loss of Fanning leaving the power center, this gain is really nothing.

However, some officials believe that Fan Ning lost the opportunity to enter Zhizhengtang because of his lack of qualifications. He was appointed as an overseas strategic envoy to make up for his lack of qualifications.

A confidant asked Han Qi what Fan Ning's real intention was, and Han Qi only said two words: Fu Zhe.

But in Ouyang Xiu's mansion, Fan Ning gave a completely different answer.

Ouyang Xiu was in a good mood. It was a foregone conclusion that his eldest son, Ouyang Hua, would be the county magistrate of Changzhou. A major heart disease was cured. The eldest son, who had been struggling for many years, finally embarked on the road of official career.

Out of gratitude to Fan Ning, he gladly accepted two students, Zhu Qi and Lu Min, to help them improve their writing skills and prepare for the provincial examination in early April.

"I heard Mr. Han said this morning that the appointment of a good son-in-law as an overseas strategic envoy is a dormant strategy. I don't understand it. What does it mean?"

Fan Ning said with a slight smile: "Mr. Han's explanation is just his understanding, not necessarily my idea. I explained to the two empress dowagers and the emperor. The establishment of Kunzhou brought great financial improvement to the Song Dynasty. In fact, , Kunzhou is just the beginning, I hope to find more wealth for Da Song, in short, there are two words: open source."

Ouyang Xiu nodded, "Of course you told me that the core of your reform is to make the cake bigger, and when distributing the new cake, it will be more inclined to the ordinary people, so that the vested interests of the rich and powerful will not be changed, and they will be given the opportunity to earn money." Hope for more interests, so your reform can win the broadest support."

"That's right. Families like the Cao family, the Gao family, the Zhu family, and even Zhang Yaozuo's family have obtained a lot of wealth such as gold mines and silver mines in overseas expansion, so they strongly support overseas expansion, and use the overseas acquisition This is the fundamental purpose of my appointment as Overseas Strategic Envoy this time.”

(End of this chapter)