The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

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"Great victory in the Northwest, a great boost to the country's prestige, the news of the victory came, and the whole country celebrated; in this battle, Fan Zhongyan, the envoy of Quyan and Huanqing [-]nd Road in the Northwest, Han Qi, the envoy of Qinfeng Road, Jingyuan Lu Jinglue appeases the margins and recruits Su Jin, the prefect of Weizhou, who is the envoy. The plan is proper and the response is calm. With the limited military strength and materials in the Northwest, they defeated the Western Bandits by tens of thousands of people and wiped out more than [-] enemies. Come back, to ensure the peace of the frontier, you have made great achievements and worked hard, and you should be rewarded."

Huang Peisheng's high-pitched voice echoed in the hall, and all the officials held their breaths and listened intently.

"I made a special decree today to reward and promote the three ministers who have made the most contributions. Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan were promoted to the positions of deputy envoys of the Privy Council, and their salary was increased by two levels. Since the situation in the Northwest has not yet been fully clarified, and the peace talks between Song and Xia have not been achieved, Fan Zhongyan will still retain his original position. On duty, Han Qi will take up the post of deputy envoy of the privy that day; promote Su Jin, prefect of Weizhou, to envoy to appease the margins of Jingyuan Qinfeng two roads, increase salary by two levels, and know Qinzhou; reward Han Qi, Fan Zhongyan and Su Jin with ten coins Ten thousand, fifty bolts of silk, and I will also give Su Jinmu an imperial order to consecrate a Jade Buddha in Xingguo Temple, Mrs. Wang, for her kindness and dignity, and her ability to teach children well. I admire this!". .

All the ministers exploded, such a reward was simply too shocking, Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan were promoted to the Privy Council, but not long after the year, there was a discussion between the court and the central government that these two people should be transferred back to the capital to take up important positions. Talent and character are enough to take on important tasks, and they are also well-known in the Song Dynasty; but Su Jin's appointment is far beyond everyone's expectations. Although this person is the champion of the new department this year, his appointment as the prefect of Weizhou was already a special favor from the emperor. It is not in line with the official system; and with the Northwest War, it is already very remarkable to be able to secure the position of the prefect of Weizhou. I thought that at most I would add some false titles such as a bachelor, but I didn't expect the emperor to promote him to the official position all at once. In terms of the position of envoy, and even Qin Feng Road is also under its jurisdiction.

In this case, Su Jin will become the No. [-] person on the Northwest Fourth Road, Fan Zhongyan's position in the Northwest will be unbreakable, and Su Jin will replace Han Qi as the real power faction in the Northwest. The two roads are slightly less important, but the area and population are much larger, and everyone is stupefied, feeling a faint feeling that a new star is rising; this kind of promotion speed is comparable to flying into the sky, There was no one before the Song Dynasty, and I am afraid that there will be no one in the future.

The three people shouted long live and knelt down to thank Su Jin. Su Jin felt that he was in a dream. The emperor was stingy before. This time, he was too generous. Liao envoys, the rewards they gave were all superficial benefits. Unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived in the northwest, they would immediately gain a lot of money, and immediately took the post of envoy of Qinfengjingyuan. Even he himself couldn't believe it. .

Naturally, some of the officials held different opinions. Du Yan Xia Song and others were unhappy, but the Northwest War completely reversed the situation. Besides, Xia Song knew better than anyone how difficult the mess in the Northwest was to manage. Once the war stopped, the court's relief to the Northwest would also stop. This is not something that can be done by bragging. Once the people have no food to eat, there will be chaos inside if the thief does not mess up. It is better to let this 17-year-old boy make mistakes by himself. At that time, it would be more appropriate to come forward to accuse the impeachment.

All the ministers congratulated Su Jin and the other three, and the three also saluted in groups, showing modesty and politeness.

"The three lovers, you still need to make persistent efforts. My Song Dynasty still needs more work from you. Don't be complacent." Zhao Zhen said with a smile.

Fan Zhongyan said: "How dare I, I would like to ask how far the peace talks with the Western Thieves have gone. If the peace talks fail, production will not resume, and it will affect the livelihood of nearly a million people in the Northwest. I hope the court will have an accurate answer soon. .”

Zhao Zhen asked Du Yan: "Private Du, the peace discussion is yours. Does the envoy Xia have any new proposals?"

Du Yan said: "Your Majesty Qizuo, since the great victory in the Northwest, the attitude of the Xia Envoy has changed drastically. He made a few new suggestions yesterday, which are quite restrained. I think I can agree."

Zhao Zhen said: "Oh? Those new suggestions?"

Du Yan said: "I invite you to declare the proposal and the chief minister, Han Jiang, to go to the hall to present it in detail."

Zhao Zhen said: "Yes!"

The servant immediately delivered the decree, and after a while, Han Jiang, who was tall and slender and arrogant, came to the hall. After paying homage, she respectfully stood aside.When Su Jin heard the name Han Jiang, he was familiar with it. When he saw someone else, he immediately remembered that this person was the third-best winner in the same subject as himself. He didn't expect that this person was also very capable, and he got mixed up so quickly. When it comes to the position of the chief negotiator between Song and Xia, he is obviously not an ordinary person.

Su Jin wanted to say hello to him, but after looking over, Han Jiang's eyes showed a kind of indifference, as if he didn't take Su Jin seriously at all, Su Jin knew that this person was not easy to get along with , when ri released the list, there were rumors that Han Jiang was not convinced by her high school champion. Although Su Jin didn't take this to heart, she was still quite upset at the moment when her hot face was put on her cold ass.

"Han Jiang, tell me about the peace talks with the envoy Xia in the near future." It can be seen that Zhao Zhen admires Han Jiang a lot, and he speaks kindly with a smile on his face.

Han Jiang stepped forward and said, "I would like to report to the emperor that the envoy Xia was unruly and rude. At the beginning, he made many rude requests, but all the ministers refuted them one by one. The envoy Xia saw that my Song Dynasty has a clear and firm attitude. Recently, he has made several new suggestions. The minister feels that a peace negotiation can be expected, and is waiting to report to Shumi Du in detail."

Zhao Zhen said: "Just talk about it here. It just so happens that the three adults from the northwest are also here. They have some understanding of the situation, or they have better suggestions."

Han Jiang nodded and said: "As ordered, Ye Lirenrong, the envoy of Xia Xia, put forward three new proposals yesterday. The first one is to divide the border at the beginning of the war in the first year of Baoyuan. Soldiers are no longer stationed to avoid conflict."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said: "This one is still a sincere move. Compared with the first year of Baoyuan, our actual control of the border is a little bit disadvantaged. In this way, it is equivalent to regaining the lost border without fighting. , I can agree."

Han Jiang said: "I think so too, since the emperor thinks it's okay, this one..."

"Wait a minute!" Someone shouted in a deep voice.

Everyone saw that it was Fan Zhongyan who came to interrupt Han Jiang with a dark face.

"Fan Aiqing, what's wrong with this?" Zhao Zhen asked in surprise.

"Qi Zou the emperor, the minister has no objection to the demarcation of the border, but how can the two sides agree to withdraw their troops for fifty miles?"

"What? Isn't it a sign of mutual sincerity to retreat separately?"

"Your Majesty, don't be fooled by the western thieves. The borders of the western thieves are quite different from the borders of our Song Dynasty. Take the border of our Huanqing and Yanyan roads as an example. There are at least fifteen or six small cities. These cities form a three-dimensional blocking situation on our border. The Xia army's attack on these cities is a favorable guarantee for blocking along the way; However, there is a large-scale cover-up, so there is no need to build a city wall, if we agree with their proposal to retreat fifty miles, a large number of our city walls will be useless, and our army's counterattack strategy will be disintegrated invisibly?"

Zhao Zhen frowned and said: "However, the two sides have reached a peace agreement, and there is no need to garrison troops in the city wall."

Fan Zhongyan said in a loud voice: "How can the emperor think so? You don't know what kind of temperament the western thief is? Now he is powerless to fight any more and just negotiated peace. How can it be considered that the world is peaceful? The emperor must not think so."

Zhao Zhen frowned and didn't make a sound, but Du Yan stood up and said: "Vice Envoy Fan pays attention to his words, are you reprimanding the emperor? Withdrawing troops is a sign of sincerity. If there is no sincerity in the negotiation, what's the point of making peace?"

Han Qi stepped forward and said: "Privilege Du, let me say something you don't like to hear. You don't know much about the West Thieves. The West Thieves turned back and said nothing this time. How did Taizu Taizong and the First Emperor treat them? Shouldn't Song Zili be sentenced as usual? How can you believe the words of the cunning fox?"

Du Yan said with an ugly face: "This is just a matter of discussing this matter, and you have turned over the old accounts for calculation. According to what you say, I can also say that your Han Qi's words are not trustworthy, because if you go back, you Han Qi Has there ever been a villain in Qi's ancestors who went back on his word?"

Han Qi said with an angry face, "You... How can Du Shumi talk about other people's ancestors? Even if you are my superior, you can't allow you to talk like this."

Xia Song came out to smooth things over and said: "Don't argue, my lords, Privy Du is just making an analogy. Since this article is controversial, let's put it aside for now. Why are you so red-faced and thick-necked?"

Fan Zhongyan shook his head and said: "It's not a matter of putting aside the issue, but of canceling the discussion of withdrawing troops. My Song Dynasty has sincerity, but we can't be defenseless. Not only can we not withdraw our troops for fifty miles, on the contrary, even if the two sides coexist peacefully, there will be no disputes on the border. It is even more necessary to build more fortifications, improve the defense system, and prevent problems before they happen; I suggest that Master Su must build more fortifications in the north of Jingyuan Road after returning."

Su Jin smiled and said: "Fan Shuai, to tell you the truth, before I entered Beijing, eight dangerous places within a hundred miles north of Weizhou had already been delineated to build a city wall. I can't let the western thieves take advantage of the loopholes."

At this point, Zhao Zhen understood that the attitudes of the three people in the Northwest were very clear, and they would never agree to the way of retreating. Although Zhao Zhen felt that the three Northwest officials were too cautious, it was probably a habit developed in the Northwest for a long time. , but it's always right to be careful, it's okay to delete this item, if the Xia people don't agree to delete it, it will naturally expose their intentions, if they agree, everyone will be happy.