The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

(Thanks to yjj and three yellow teeth for the monthly tickets, and thanks to moshoong for the reward!)

Gao Ruona suddenly yelled: "No, no, I don't understand something."

Su Jin put his hands behind his back and said, "What questions does Vice Envoy Gao have?"

Gao Ruona lowered his mind and said, "According to Lord Su's words, the public houses of the Yamen officials are only temporarily living here. After today, where will they live and work?"

Su Jin smiled but did not answer: "You all follow me to the Tenth Street in the West Wing, and you will naturally understand."

Su Jin took Zuo Daoying's arm and walked west along Asphalt Avenue to Tenth Street, but saw that the houses on both sides of the road had already hung various plaques, and the public houses and government offices of the various ministries under the Lushi's jurisdiction had all been prepared. The Tolerance Yamen servants have all taken their places; a two-story stone building in the south of the road has been newly painted, with two stone lions squatting in front of the door, and a large plaque of the Lushi Yamen is hung on the door.

Su Jin smiled and said: "This is the original location of the government offices at all levels of the road that has been prepared. I have named this tenth street Guoning Street. The house number of the government office is No. [-]. In the future, all roads will be When you settle in Pearl City, your office and residence will be at No. [-] Guoning Street, this is a rule I have set."

Zuo Daoying and Gao Ruona looked at each other in surprise. They had been here a few days ago on Tenth Street. At that time, there were no official residences at all. When they came back in just a few days, they turned into the original place that Su Jin said. Just choose the office address of the Yamen.

Gao Ruona was about to say a few words, but Zuo Daoying already understood what was going on, he hurriedly pulled Gao Ruona lightly, cupped his hands and said: "Master Su is thoughtful and admirable, he built a palace for the emperor in Mingzhu City, your majesty I am very happy to know that I will definitely report this matter to the emperor after I return to Beijing, and the emperor will reward me."

Su Jin waved his hands and said with a smile: "I'm sorry for the trouble of Chief Zuo. I have also written a memorial to the emperor. I respectfully invite the emperor to come to the west of Mingzhu City for a tour. The palace imitates the layout of the palace. The emperor's visit here will not be inconvenient for living. The courtiers are thinking about the emperor's little consideration."

Zuo Dao replied, obviously Su Jin saw through his purpose and arranged so many tricks overnight, not only taught people how to punish him for this matter, on the contrary, he expressed a heart of loyalty. It is the emperor who knows that he is playing tricks, so he can only praise him on the surface, but not punish him for this reason; he is powerful, he is really powerful, and he resolves the crisis lightly and skillfully. He is indeed the most difficult official in the Song Dynasty a role of .

Things have come to this, Zuo Daoying can only go along with the boat, even saying that he will report Lord Su's loyalty and sincerity to the emperor in front of the emperor. Zuo Daoying is on his way home.

The most depressing thing is Gao Ruona. He knows that Su Jin has played a trick, but he has no room to refute. What he said is completely true. Originally, the Zuo Dao should report the matter after he returned to the palace, and Su Jin would tell the truth. A catastrophe is imminent, but the situation is taking a turn for the worse. Su Jin has done something like this. No matter how everyone understands that this is Su Jin's trick, the emperor must not punish Su Jin in the face of it; Come out, can Su Jin forgive herself?

Under Su Jin's supervision, all the people living in the so-called "Pearl Palace" in the middle chamber were evacuated, and the yamen was relocated. Su Jin's residence was originally in it, but now he has to move out, leaving only a few dozen The gardener's servants and more than a hundred soldiers were left in it, responsible for the daily cleaning and guarding, and the huge middle compartment could only be left unused, which made Su Jin vomit blood with anger.

Little Hu'er was ignorant, and when he was moving, he ran over and pulled Su Jin's robe and shouted: "Daddy, Daddy, why don't you let Hu'er live here? Huer likes living here. The garden is more fun than outside. There are butterflies, bees and birds." , there are many flowers, which are not outside."

Su Jin was right, but secretly sulked.

In the back house of Shixin Yamen, No. [-] Road, Guoning Street, dozens of members of the Su family lived in a small house with two entrances, which seemed extremely cramped, which made Su Jin feel aggrieved and wandered around. Instead, he came back. The Pearl City he built with his own money did not have the right to live in the middle room. Instead, he had to leave the middle room vacant. A large family, old and young, crowded into this two-story building that was supposed to be used for business and residence. In the small house, how can I swallow this breath.

Yan Biyun didn't take it seriously. Seeing Su Jin frowning and sullen while eating, he hurriedly motioned for Xiao Xianer to pour Su Jin's wine, and he also took a glass of wine and said: "My husband is clever and clever, and a crisis will be revealed while talking and laughing." Resolve it, I will offer a toast to my husband, congratulations to my husband."

If Su Jin doesn't listen, it's all right, but when he hears this, he feels even more depressed, as if someone is slapping himself, he slapped his wine glass and said: "There is no reason, my Su family spent money to build a house. I was coerced to live here, is this the past? Originally, I wanted my family to live comfortably, but in the end I drove myself to this small house. It is simply unreasonable."

All the wives and concubines hadn't seen Su Jin get angry at home, and they all came forward to comfort him cautiously. Xia Siling said: "Husband, why bother? Husband is also thinking of the whole family, and he doesn't want to be spoken by a villain. We don't blame you. Having said that, , this place is also good, there are not many people in the family, and a dozen or so rooms in the courtyard are enough, but... the courtyard is a bit small, and the tiger can't run away."

Hu'er cried out in a milky voice: "There is no swing, no grass for Cuju, no butterflies and flowers."

Yan Biyun quickly stared and said, "Sir, children don't interrupt."

Hu'er was scolded, and his mouth was about to cry, but Huanniang hurriedly stopped him in her arms and stroked him.

Su Jin sighed and said: "I'm not angry because of the cramped living space. The house I rented in Yingtian Mansion back then was not much better than this one. When I first arrived in the capital, the house in Yulin Lane was also much worse than this. I was angry because Because...it's because...hey, it doesn't matter if I don't talk about it.”[

Yan Biyun thought for a while, waved away a few serving maids, and then said softly: "My husband's thoughts are more or less clear. Is my husband discouraged because of being suspicious by the emperor?"

Su Jin looked up to the sky and sighed, picked up a glass of wine and drank it dry, and said slowly: "The layout of the middle compartment is indeed my negligence, and I shouldn't be so careless, but what the emperor has done is really chilling; Officer, on the one hand, he praised me for my ability, stopped all military salaries and relief, and asked me to share his worries and self-sufficiency, which I also admit; The government not only needs to support itself, but also provides money and taxes for the court. The Northwest only wants to be self-sufficient, and the court has exempted it from taxes for three years. The emperor has already given me a lot of face. Tell me, after hearing such words, can I still refuse?"

Yan Biyun frowned and said, "The person who said that didn't understand the situation at all. Can the Northwest be compared with other prefectures? After several years of fighting, the land was abandoned, the people settled down, and the climate is not suitable for growing southern crops. There is only one season of wheat every year, so many people need food and clothing, so many soldiers need food and grass, and they also need to build border forts to guard against enemy attacks, and money is everywhere, where does the money come from?"

Su Jin waved his hand and said: "I won't talk about these things. I think I still have some skills. I dare not say anything else. It can still be done so that the people in the northwest will not be hungry or sleep on the streets; but how will the emperor treat me? I got Gao Ruona to follow me behind my ass to watch me. It is true that the officials outside the court and the establishment of military supervisors are regulations. This is understandable, but I have worked so hard to build a new city. The imperial court was so stubborn that the emperor didn’t even have any words of encouragement. Instead, he poured several ladles of cold water on me. After the completion, instead of sending people to congratulate me, he sent an eunuch to check whether the pattern I built violated the regulations and whether there was any difference. Heart? What is this? Who do you think Su Jin is?"

Su Jin raised the wine glass angrily and put it to her mouth, seeing that the wine glass was empty, she reached out to grab the wine pot and poured it into her mouth, Xiao Xian'er quickly snatched it away, and said angrily, "Master, don't trample yourself. "

Su Jin wiped the wine stains from his mouth and patted his knees, saying: "A sage king in ancient times, he wanted to put his heart in his heart when he met a virtuous man. The Duke of Zhou vomited his breasts when he met a virtuous minister. The Lord of Shu invited Zhuge to visit the thatched cottage three times. Although I, Su Jin, am not a great virtuous man He is talented, but he thinks that he is also doing his best to serve the Great Song Dynasty. What he did when he became an official was not for the consideration of the Great Song Dynasty, but for the consideration of the court. The more serious I am, I really want to go to Beijing immediately and ask the emperor what he thinks? Why do you use me, Su Jin, to send people to watch me so sneakily, not to pay attention to the big things I do, but to these trivial things? Carefully, why is that?"

Yan Biyun stood up, wiped the sweat off Su Jin's forehead with a silk handkerchief, and said softly, "My husband, don't be angry, what you have done is ashamed of the world, and your reputation among the people is very good, and the common people know good and bad; Besides, the emperor is not a foolish king. Think about it, if the emperor is suspicious of you, how can he put you in the important position of the Northwest Fourth Road envoy? This position is more important than some central positions in the court It's even more important."

Su Jin gritted his teeth and said: "That's because I can defend the northwest for him, and I can also help him get a large number of horses from Xixia, and I can also allow him to fill the stomachs of millions of soldiers and civilians in the northwest without having to spend money, exempting him from the Northwest. Otherwise, do you think he will give me this position? A few months ago in the capital, I only asked him to lightly punish Fan Zhongyan and others for their crimes, but he refused in every possible way, and even got into an argument with me in the palace, Han Fan The two adults have made great contributions in the Northwest. Once he makes a mistake, does he have the slightest intention to recite the merits? He said it was for forming a party, but in fact he attributed all the responsibility for the failure of the New Deal to them. He dared not take responsibility and would only blame them. My servant, what kind of emperor is this?"

Xia Siling hurriedly poked her head out to look out, and ordered the door to be closed tightly, Yan Biyun also hurriedly persuaded: "My husband, don't be angry, you can't talk nonsense, it's a big deal if it gets out."