I studied in modern times

Chapter 1007 The Crying Child Gets the Milk (1)

Nearly four years later, Han Wei was once again led to the East Upper Gate in front of the Funing Palace.

I still remember that in the eighth year of the Yuanfeng era, the late emperor suddenly passed away, and he was summoned back to the capital.

In this way, he was led to the Funing Palace to pay homage to the new emperor.

However, at that time, the new emperor was just a child who was ignored by everyone.

Despite having already gained some reputation for intelligence and filial piety,

But nobody thought that a ten-year-old child could accomplish anything.
The real power will definitely be in the hands of the Empress Dowager and the Empress Mother.

Does the young emperor want to seize power?

difficult!
It's practically impossible for the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager not to die.

However, no one could have imagined that the seemingly frail young official would be able to consolidate power in just over three years.

Even the Empress Dowager was forced to remove the curtain.

The empress dowager who now rules from behind the curtain is, to put it nicely, the empress dowager ruling as a monarch; to put it bluntly, she's nothing more than a clay statue.

For important matters, the chief ministers would request permission from the Funing Palace.

For minor matters, the chief ministers usually only needed to report, and the Empress Dowager behind the curtain would simply say: "As you say, the Prime Minister's plan is excellent. I am a woman, and I will follow the Prime Minister's plan..."

In addition, the emperor appointed the officials of the capital to take charge of the affairs of the six ministries, with each person responsible for a specific department.

The Privy Council even treated the Ministry of War as its direct subordinate.

The power of the prime minister thus expanded rapidly!
But His Majesty remained completely unsuspecting.

It is said that they never resorted to underhanded tactics or underhanded methods.

So, when Han Wei returned to Bianjing...

He not only discovered that there was a constant sound of looms both inside and outside Bianjing city.

The government and its officials have become completely unrecognizable.

He even saw members of the Northern Barbarian delegation entering and leaving brothels in broad daylight, in full view of everyone, indulging in the company of beautiful women.

This Song Dynasty was no longer the Song Dynasty he remembered.

The only thing that remains unchanged is probably the magnificent palaces within the imperial city.

As he pondered these thoughts, the voice of the eunuch leading the way reached Han Wei's ears: "Prime Minister Han, please enter the palace!"

The side door of the east pavilion of Funing Hall has been pushed open by the guards.

The figures of the Imperial Guards, dressed in mountain-patterned armor, loomed behind the palace gate.

Han Wei snapped out of his daze, quickly thanked the emperor, and then, holding his court tablet, went to the gate of the East Pavilion and bowed deeply, saying: "Your Majesty, I, the Grand Master of the Palace, Grand Secretary of the Zizheng Hall, Governor of Beijing, and Prefect of Daming, respectfully wish Your Majesty a long and healthy life!"

A moment later, an imperial courtier came out and said to Han Wei, "His Majesty the Emperor has decreed: May I enjoy boundless blessings. Please come inside to speak, my lord!"

"Yes!" Han Wei bowed again.

Then, holding his belt, he bent over and carefully entered the hall.

Han Wei was very familiar with the Funing Palace.

Because he was a minister in the late emperor's former residence.

For a long time after the late emperor ascended the throne, he would gather his three brothers and Li Chun and others in the Funing Palace to plan new policies.

Wang Anshi was able to be highly valued because Han Wei and Han Zhen praised his talents to the late emperor every day.

Recalling the past, Han Wei stepped into an elegant study.

Out of the corner of his eye, he quickly spotted a young man sitting in the chair at the head of the study.

He immediately bowed with his ceremonial staff in hand, saying, "Your subject Wei pays respects to Your Majesty the Emperor!"

"Sir, no need for formalities!" A slightly immature young voice said, "Someone, bring the sir a seat and some tea!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

A chair was moved behind Han Wei, and then a female official served him tea.

Han Wei sat down and took a small sip of tea.

Its sweet and smooth texture bursts with flavor on the taste buds.

It truly lives up to its reputation as imperial tea; it is a delicacy beyond compare!

No wonder, it is said that even the Khitan rulers learned this way of brewing tea with milk and then adding honey or sugar for flavor.

Then the official asked, "How is the Duke of Kang's health?"

Han Wei hurriedly reported, "Your Majesty, my elder brother, Laiqian, has asked me to express his gratitude to Your Majesty!"

"Thanks to His Majesty for dispatching imperial physicians, bestowing imperial medicine, and sending medical staff from the Imperial Hospital to take care of him day and night, my brother's condition has improved considerably!"

Since Han Jiang fell ill on February 11 (11th), Zhao Xu dispatched an unprecedented medical team.

Chen Yijian, the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau, was appointed as the chief physician, with Sun Qi, a retired official and senior physician, in charge of all internal and external affairs. He was fully responsible for diagnosing patients and prescribing medicine.

The joint treatment team alone included more than a dozen renowned imperial physicians.

They are all experts who specialize in treating geriatric diseases and are skilled in recuperation.

Furthermore, dozens of medical personnel from the Imperial Medical Bureau, who had undergone training and practice during Yuan You's southern expedition, were selected to take turns providing care at Han Jiang's residence in twelve-hour shifts.

Whether it's decocting or taking medicine, or whether it's diet or daily care.

All of these were medical officers who had been trained in the wounded soldiers' camps during the southern campaign and had received two years of nursing training in the capital.

In addition, Zhao Xu also bestowed upon him a large quantity of imperial medicine.

It can be said that Han Jiang enjoyed unprecedented medical treatment.

It was only through the meticulous care and treatment of the imperial physicians and medical staff that Han Jiang's health was able to be maintained.

Otherwise, he would probably have died long ago.

Where else can I speak with my relatives and calmly arrange my affairs as I am now?

Naturally, Han Wei, who witnessed everything firsthand, felt both envious and grateful.

Zhao Xu exclaimed, "The Duke of Kang is my Zhuge Liang!"

"Back then, when my late father passed away, my mother and I were left alone and helpless. It was the Duke of Kang who, without sparing any hardship, came from Henan to the capital to assist me, to sort out the government, to resolve factional strife, to clean up the abuses, to remove the oppressive policies, to treat the people well, and to regulate all aspects of the country!"

"Without the Duke of Kang... how could our nation be so prosperous today?" As he spoke, Zhao Xu's eyes reddened, and he couldn't help but shed tears.

For an emperor, being able to express joy and anger at will, and to cry and laugh as one pleases, is a basic skill—don't think that only Emperor Zhaolie would cry so easily.

In fact, most people who achieve great things are emotionally rich and prone to crying.

For example, the wise and invincible Emperor Taizong of Tang was a crybaby.

Compared to these people, Zhao Xu's strength is still somewhat immature.

Of course, considering that Emperor Zhaolie and Emperor Taizong of Tang were both succubus-level emperors who appeared only once every five hundred years.

Even though Zhao Xu is 'somewhat immature', she is at least 'half a succubus'.

Therefore, upon hearing the emperor's moving words and seeing the official's reddened eyes, Han Wei was deeply moved and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty and I have received the emperor's favor for generations. It is our duty to repay Your Majesty's kindness with all our might!"

"Your Majesty's favor and kindness are deeply appreciated. On behalf of my brother, I kowtow in gratitude for Your Majesty's grace!"

As he spoke, Han Wei respectfully rose and bowed his head in gratitude.

Zhao Xu quickly asked Tong Guan, who was beside him, to help him up.

After Han Wei sat down, Zhao Xu continued, "The Duke of Kang has devoted himself to the country with utmost loyalty, and Chancellor Han is loyal to the nation. They are truly a pair of ministers sent by heaven to assist our family!"

"This is truly a blessing for my family, and a blessing for the whole world!"

"Therefore, all the favors bestowed upon the Duke of Kang today are well-deserved!"

Then Zhao Xu changed the subject and asked, "Lord Han, you must have some loyal advice to offer to the emperor today, right?"

"Then please, my lord, speak frankly and without reservation. I will listen attentively!"

Han Wei cupped his hands and said, "Yes!"

"Your subject respectfully obeys Your Majesty's decree!"

Then, he gathered his thoughts and reorganized his ideas before continuing, "To be honest, Your Majesty, I have come to the palace today for the imperial examination!"

"The selection of officials in our dynasty is based on the principle of utmost impartiality!" "This is because the previous emperors were mindful of this, requesting the utmost consideration, because the ruler sees no outsiders and the world as one family, therefore they do not discriminate based on whether the person is from the east, west, south, north, rich, poor, noble, or lowly, or whether they are scholars, farmers, artisans, or merchants!"

"We will gather the best talents from all over the world, and scholars from all walks of life will be united as one, and we will promote people based solely on their abilities!"

"Furthermore, by using the method of copying and arranging anonymous names, the examiners are unaware of the candidates' place of origin, background, and family, thus eliminating any feelings of favoritism or bias, and ensuring impartiality in their judgments. Since the beginning of our ancestors, nothing has ever been done in this way!"

"Therefore, the nation is at peace, and the world is at tranquility!"

Han Wei spoke these words with righteous indignation, because it was indeed the truth.

Throughout the Song Dynasty, the continuous reforms to the imperial examination system were all aimed at ensuring fairness.

They abolished the practice of writing essays and the use of classical texts to select officials, ultimately choosing to reject poetry and prose in favor of selecting officials based on classical texts.

Essentially, it was to expand the representativeness of the ruling group.

This made the sources of scholars in the Song Dynasty as diverse as possible.

In this way, officials can be selected from different social classes.

Of course, Zhao Xu knew that the so-called fairness was just a rhetoric used by the rulers to the outside world; it was merely a facade.

Otherwise, if we're really talking about fairness...

Why not abolish the back doors that were opened for the sons of officials, such as the locked hall examination and the separate examination?
If we truly believe in fairness and meritocracy, why impose so many constraints on the selection process?

It was both about following capital and about reducing capital.

It's obvious they don't want children from poor families to easily change their official positions and squeeze into the core of the ruling group.

Not to mention, they also created a whole host of discriminatory systems targeting civil officials who did not come from the imperial examination system.

Therefore, Zhao Xu was very clear about this.

Ultimately, so-called fairness is just a pretense; maintaining stability is the real goal.

Yes!

The Zhao family even used the imperial examination system as a tool for maintaining stability!

Yuan Hao rebelled against the Song Dynasty. The Song army suffered three defeats at Sanchuankou, Haoshuichuan, and Dingchuanzhai, and was forced to negotiate peace.

This led to the Qingli Reforms.

Although the Qingli Reforms failed, the Qingli Education Movement was a success!

Why?

Because Emperor Zhao knew that if he didn't maintain stability and bring the heroes from the common people into the ruling group, sooner or later someone would discover that it was actually easier to take over Bianjing than to pass the imperial examinations.

Zhang Hai and Guo Miaoshan were merely deserters.

However, once they coerced and joined forces with rebellious and deserted soldiers and bandits, they were able to fight across most of the country, causing the imperial court a great deal of trouble.

The uprisings of Zhang Hai and Guo Miaoshan had just been suppressed when Wang Ze of Beizhou launched another uprising under the slogan of Maitreya's descent to earth.

The north is in turmoil, and the southeast is not peaceful either.

Almost simultaneously with the uprisings of Zhang Hai and Guo Miaoshan, the Wang Lun uprising broke out in Haizhou in the southeast.

One can only imagine the panic and disarray that Emperor Zhao must have felt at that time, and the fear and trembling of his court officials.

Ouyang Xiu exclaimed in alarm, "The bandits are getting stronger year by year, and the thieves are getting more and more powerful."

The implication is that if the Song Dynasty doesn't reform, it's doomed!
In order to prevent the imperial court from suffering a major setback, the only option was to open up channels for advancement and expand the scope of talent selection as much as possible.

Just like Zhang Yuan and Wu Hao, they ensured that the imperial examinations of the Song Dynasty would no longer reject scholars.

After these uprisings and riots, the Zhao family immediately lifted almost all restrictions on their status in the imperial examinations—as long as their fathers and grandfathers for three generations had not committed the crime of rebellion.

Whether one was a merchant, farmer, craftsman, or scholar-official, anyone could participate in the imperial examinations.

In the decades that followed, schools were built and education was greatly promoted, and talents were recruited from all over the country, based on the Qingli Education Movement.

In the fifth year of the Jingyou reign (1192), before the uprising of Zhang Hai and Guo Miaoshan, the Song Dynasty selected 310 officials.

However, in the second year of the Qingli reign (1742), after Zhang Hai and Guo Miaoshan's uprising, the number of successful candidates soared to 432.

The next year, the Bingxu list of the sixth year of the Qingli era, reached an unprecedented peak of 538 people.

However, after the imperial court suppressed the uprisings of Zhang Hai and Guo Miaoshan, quelled the rebellion of Wang Ze in Beizhou, and suppressed the uprising of Wang Lun, the number of candidates selected in the first year of the Huangyou reign (1909) dropped back to 498.

During the peaceful Jiayou era, the number of people selected for official positions declined even further.

For example, in the second year of the Jiayou era, 388 people were selected as candidates.

However, by the fourth year of the Jiayou era, only 165 people had been selected.

In the subsequent imperial examinations of the sixth and eighth years of the Jiayou reign, the number of candidates hovered below two hundred.

This shows what?
Family, the squeaky wheel gets the grease!

Then why is it that the number of candidates selected in the imperial examinations nowadays is around six hundred?
This year, it's expected to reach over 700?
A: Because Zhao Xu's grandfather, Emperor Yingmiao, was a minor successor and during his reign, he also initiated the Puyi Incident.

In order to maintain stability and to win over the hearts and minds of the people.

Therefore, as soon as Yingmiao came up, it started to release water.

During the reign of Zhao Xu's father, the emperor carried out extensive reforms, which infringed upon the interests of many interest groups. In order to appease the people, he could only continue to loosen monetary policy.

The same principle applies to Zhao Xu.

Moreover, he wanted to promote the further development of Song society and productivity, but he did not want to cause widespread social conflicts and encourage landlords and gentry to raise their banners.

What?

Continue to ease monetary policy and compromise!

Boiling a frog in lukewarm water!
In any case, most landlords and gentry, as long as they held official positions, didn't care what the imperial court was actually doing!

Unless the imperial court puts a knife to their throats.

It was precisely because Zhao Xu was fully aware of all of this, even more so than Han Wei.

Therefore, after listening to Han Wei's words, he did not express his opinion, but simply smiled and looked at Han Wei with sincere eyes.

He had an air of "I may not be well-educated, but how could I not know what's going on in my family?"

This made Han Wei feel somewhat embarrassed.

Knowing he couldn't fool Zhao Xu, he had no choice but to tell the truth.

"Your Majesty, I know that you wish to revive the nation and revitalize the country, and therefore you wish to promote talented individuals and select heroes for your service!"

"Therefore, a system of public examinations for civil servants was established, and there was a desire to reform the imperial examination system to select capable and competent individuals..."

"But Your Majesty is aware that in this way, those you choose will mostly be from official families and the sons of powerful and wealthy people!"

Zhao Xu just smiled.

Because the man in front of him, Han Wei, was the son of Han Yi, from a family of officials for generations, and a top-tier noble who truly shared the throne with the Zhao Emperor.

However, in front of Zhao Xu, he acted as if he wanted to stand up for scholars from poor families.

But Zhao Xu could see it clearly.

Having been tempered in modern times, he now knows that behind every grand and impressive word lies the mind of a vested interest group.

Just like the Donglin Party at the end of the Ming Dynasty, they kept talking about the country and the world.

But the imperial court wanted to collect commercial and mining taxes?
no way!

His own home contained countless fields, people, and wealth!

Similarly, during the Xining Reform, the old and new factions accused each other of being villains and treacherous officials, while claiming to be gentlemen and upright men.

However, a closer analysis reveals that the vast majority of the old party members were vested interest groups who controlled most of the upward mobility channels and were stubborn conservatives who refused to relinquish them.

Among the new party members, apart from a few like Wang Anshi, the rest were young people who were dissatisfied with the monopoly on upward mobility, unable to get promoted, and frustrated.

Han Wei was the same.

He represents himself and the vast interest group behind him.

Undoubtedly, what Zhao Xu wanted to do harmed their vital interests and affected their wealth and the fortunes of their descendants.

Otherwise, why would Han Wei have nothing better to do than go to the palace to cause trouble?
Well, the problem is coming.

Why Han Wei, and not the chief ministers of the capital, or the elders in the capital?
What makes Han Wei different from these people?
(End of this chapter)