The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

"Master Uncle didn't expect Mr. Su to refuse, so he advised him in every possible way. Mr. Su heard that the errand was done, and the Holy One would be delighted, so he agreed to go to Beijing with Mr. Uncle to meet the Holy Spirit; When the emperor was in power, Su Jin put forward a condition. If he agreed to his condition, he would agree to take over the job. If he didn’t agree, he would refuse.

Ouyang Xiu shook his head and said: "How can there be such a thing, even bargaining with the emperor, Special Envoy Su really doesn't treat himself as an onion; then what excessive demands did he make?"

Yan Biyun didn't care about Ouyang Xiu's teasing of Su Jin, and said softly: "Young Master Su just asks the emperor to agree that if he satisfactorily resolves the grain affairs, he will ask the emperor to make a... a beautiful thing."

Ouyang Xiu was surprised and said, "It's a beautiful thing? You mean...the marriage between him and you?"

Yan Biyun blushed and nodded: "Young Master Su has a deep affection for the slave family, and the slave family will repay him even if they are a cow or a horse in this life."

Ouyang Xiu was very shocked. He didn't expect that Su Jin's food errand was originally to ask the emperor to come forward to lift the shackles on Yan Biyun. It is true that if the emperor came forward, Pang Ji would give the emperor face even if he didn't want to. I have to say that Su Jin It was a wonderful move, which saved a lot of trouble and was done in one step, which made Pang Ji absolutely irresistible.

"It's easy to find a priceless treasure, but it's rare to have a lover." Ouyang Xiu nodded in praise, but in fact there was still a voice in his heart muttering: Is it worth doing this for a woman?

There are many good women in the world. Although Yan Biyun is one of the ten thousand women, she is always a woman who has a marriage contract, which also affects Su Jin's reputation; It doesn't matter if you accept her as a concubine, but judging by the posture of the two of them, it is obvious that Su Jin intends to marry the daughter of the Yan family, otherwise she would not ask the emperor to come forward. Naturally, the emperor will formally marry a wife. People take concubines and come forward to mediate?

"The emperor...agreed?" Ouyang Xiu asked unwillingly.

Yan Biyun nodded and said: "Of course I agreed, otherwise how could Mr. Su be on business here in Yangzhou? The slave family was grateful for the young master's affection, so they asked their uncle to follow him to do the business; the slave family knew that the job was difficult, and they couldn't help much I'm busy, so I can only accompany him to serve him tea and take care of some trivial matters, so as not to distract him."

Ouyang Xiu was a little moved. He suddenly realized that he was actually quite envious of Su Jin.

Ouyang Xiu is a reader, and the emotions of readers are often extremely rich, but in the officialdom, he has to hide his true emotions, and the angle of consideration in his actions is becoming more and more utilitarian, but something hidden in his heart will appear from time to time. Jump out to disturb people's dreams.

In the eyes of outsiders, literati in the officialdom often give people the impression that they say one thing and do another, and that the articles they write are two different things from their actual behavior. In fact, it is because of the above reasons; , and when doing things, they are swayed by utilitarian purposes. It seems that all of them are so hypocritical and contradictory.

The reason why Ouyang Xiu admires Su Jin is that Su Jin still maintains himself. His purpose is very clear. He does this job not for his own future, but because of his love for a woman; The purpose is simple and clear.

Although from the point of view of utilitarianism, Ouyang Xiu disagrees, the matter of food affairs is a major national event, and Su Jin insists on linking it to personal love, which seems to be too short-sighted and lacks the sense of responsibility of a man to make contributions to his ancestors; It is such a great credit for the job to be done well, but it is too wasteful and too childish to just ask the emperor to come forward to solve such a matter.

However, Ouyang Xiu had to admit that Su Jin's actions touched the softest part of his heart. He Ouyang Xiu was once so innocent, and had a childhood sweetheart lover, but after he became an official, Ouyang Xiu categorically severed the past. Everything; he divorced his wife, Xu, and married Yang, the daughter of an official. Although Xu's gentle and pleasant appearance still appeared in his dreams from time to time, Ouyang Xiu knew that these were not enough; However, the great business of the Yang family also has a lot of status in the court. Between career and love, Ouyang Xiu chose career without hesitation.

I can't say whether it's good or bad, and I can't tell whether it's right or wrong. In short, Ouyang Xiu thought he was not such a person, but in fact he did so; because of this, he envied Su Jin for what he did, Feel very puzzled again.

"Niece Xian, I also hope in my heart that lovers in the world will eventually get married. Even if Su Zhuan is loving and righteous, I am also happy for you; but I have to remind you, no matter what Su Jin's purpose is? He is both When you take over the food errand, you must try your best to do it well; it may seem to him that it is related to your and his personal happiness, but in fact this is an important matter of the court, and there is no room for it."

Yan Biyun said: "Does Uncle Shi think that Mr. Su is not working hard enough? My family has never seen him do a job with such dedication. If he didn't want to do the job properly, he would risk his life and go deep into the bandits." How can you know that Feng Jingyao is powerful and powerful in martial arts, but risk your life to capture him and his minions? His body is already thin, didn't you see that his entire cheek has lost weight?"

Ouyang Xiu rolled his eyes and thought: Who has the time to care whether he is thin or fat? Only you who are around him will care about these things. The old man is not his follower, how would you know?However, Su Jin risked his life to seize food from the bandit's nest, and in order to dig out Feng Jingyao's grain, he was willing to risk his life to capture it in Yangzhou City controlled by Feng Jingyao. These two points show that Su Jin is serious about food affairs. Put your heart into it.

"I am not denying the merits of Special Envoy Su. In fact, he is very effective in his errands. Even the emperor praised him for his courage, but all this is not important anymore. Does my niece know what a big mistake Su Jin made? , and this matter is not only enough to make all his achievements disappear, but also bring him a catastrophe."

Yan Biyun said calmly: "Is what Uncle Shi said about Mr. Su's opening of a warehouse to release grain?"

Ouyang Xiu was surprised and said, "So you actually knew? Why didn't you stop it when you knew it?"

"My family can't stop it." Yan Biyun said: "If my uncle was in Yangzhou two months ago, I'm afraid he would have agreed with Mr. Su to do this. At that time, Yangzhou city was a hell on earth. There were countless riots caused by hunger every day. There was no one in the sky, only the officers and soldiers galloping to and fro to arrest the rioters; the common people had no food to eat, and no money to buy high-priced food on the black market. After a heavy snowfall, the bodies of the people who starved to death and froze to death in the city were lined up in several rows on the Yamen Square ;Some family members committed suicide due to the hunger and cold. Not to mention that at that time, my family was still helping Mr. Su to transport food in Luzhou, even in Yangzhou, my family would never stop Mr. Su from opening a warehouse to release grain .”

Ouyang Xiu shouted: "Stupid, do you know what kind of food this is? This is military food. You are also from a family of officials and eunuchs. Don't you know how powerful this place is?"

Yan Biyun looked up at Ouyang Xiu and said, "Uncle Shi, on the one hand, dozens of people starve to death and freeze to death, and there are frequent occurrences of beating, smashing, looting and burning every day; It's you, what choice should you make?"

Ouyang Xiu hesitated and said: "It is to open a warehouse. Maybe the Prophet will be approved by the Third Division and the Privy Council before proceeding. Unauthorized use of military rations for relief is not allowed by the national law."

Yan Biyun shook his head and said: "The situation at that time could not be delayed any longer. Mr. Su is not a fool. He naturally knew that the army rations could not be moved, but why did he insist on doing this? Isn't he afraid of death? Doesn't he know that even if he uses this method to solve the problem? Will he still be severely punished for a good job? But he still did it, why?"

Ouyang Xiu shook his head and sighed: "I also want to ask why? Could it be that he is desperate for you?"

Yan Biyun suddenly burst out laughing, and said flatly, "Master Zhongcheng..."

Ouyang Xiu keenly felt that Yan Biyun changed his address from Uncle Shi to Mr. Zhongcheng, and the relationship between the two suddenly became far away.

"Lord Zhongcheng, do you really think that Su Jin is bewitched by the beauty of the servant's family? You underestimate Su Jin too much, and at the same time you underestimate the eyes of your uncle and the emperor. If Su Jin is such a person who doesn't distinguish between green and red, uncle How could your lord entrust him with such an important matter, and how could the emperor agree to it?"

Yan Biyun looked out of the window and said quietly: "Young master Su did not do this because of the slave family. Maybe he took on the errand for the slave family at the beginning, but after arriving in Yangzhou, Mr. Su really put his personal feelings aside. Later; the reason why he was willing to take the crime of punishing the nine clans for military food relief was precisely because of his compassion in his heart. He could not turn a blind eye to the suffering of the people, and he could not just watch the grain piled up in the warehouse moldy and let Yangzhou The common people starve to death and freeze to death, he can't just watch profiteers make great fortunes for the country."

Ouyang Xiu said in astonishment: "Su... Su Special Envoy actually has such feelings?"

Yan Biyun smiled and said: "My family understands him, don't look at him joking and cynical on the surface, but in fact, his heart is not like his appearance; from my family's point of view, he has a heart as wide as the sea, as strong as the sea. Iron heart; how can others understand all this."

>vid