I studied in modern times

Chapter 1046 Su Shi's Ambition and Han Jiang's Death
April 13th, the third year of the Yuan You era (1000 AD).

Su Shi, along with the Kong brothers Kong Wuzhong and Kong Pingzhong, and more than a dozen civil and military officials who were willing to go to Hainan with him, knelt down in the Chongzheng Hall.

The imperial edict from the governor had been issued five days ago—dividing the five prefectures and two armies into five states, including Qiong, Ya, and Changhua, and establishing the South Seas islands as Hainan Circuit, with its capital located in Ningyuan County, Ya Prefecture (present-day Sanya City).

Su Shi, who was appointed as a Chaosan Dafu, Prefect of Dengzhou, and Bachelor of the Baowen Pavilion, was demoted to Chaoqing Dafu and then appointed as the Hainan Circuit Pacification and Control Commissioner, the Inspector of the Region, the Shipbuilding Commissioner, and the Protector of the South Seas, in charge of all affairs inside and outside Hainan.

He also ordered that Guangnan West Circuit should annually transport 100,000 shi of rice and 100,000 guan of cash to cover the expenses of Hainan Circuit.

This means that Cai Jing directly took over Hainan Road as his mistress!

Under such circumstances, if Su Shi still cannot achieve anything.

He should just go back to Changzhou and be his Su Dongpo as soon as possible!

And the bearded man truly lived up to his reputation as the top succubus of the Song Dynasty!

After news of his trip to Hainan spread, apart from Kong family members such as Kong Pingzhong and Kong Wuzhong, who 'voluntarily' and 'proactively' requested to go to Hainan Island to share the emperor's burdens and atone for Kong Wenzhong's sins, others...

Zhang Shunmin, Huang Tingjian, Li Gefei, and others who had worked with Su Shi in Dengzhou also expressed their willingness to follow "Scholar Su" to Hainan.

In Bianjing (Kaifeng), seven or eight officials also submitted petitions requesting to accompany Su Shi to Hainan to serve the court.

Even Yan Jidao and Mi Fu were clamoring to go to Hainan.

It's important to know that this isn't the modern resort town of Hainan Province, but rather Hainan in the medieval period!
Nowadays, the various prefectures of Hainan are places specifically for exiling people!

In the eyes of people at the time, it was a place almost synonymous with desolation and death!

His status was roughly equivalent to that of Okumura, who later became the leader of England.

It's a desolate place that no one would want to go to if there were any other way.

Therefore, when the story of Su Shi taking the initiative to go to Hainan to oversee the development and construction of the newly established Hainan Road, in exchange for the court not pursuing Kong Wenzhong for "slandering the emperor" and "being unjust to the emperor," spread, it became widely known.

The entire country and the public were shaken!

Su Shi's reputation for righteousness and integrity spread throughout the world in an instant!

Even the officials of the Luoyang faction who had always been hostile to Su Shi fell silent at this time.

Seated on the throne, Zhao Xu instructed Su Shi, who was about to take his leave: "Scholar, on your journey, you should cherish the people, establish relations with the countries of Southeast Asia, spread your teachings far and wide, and bring benevolence and righteousness to distant lands!"

"Yes!" Su Shi bowed deeply. "Your subject will humbly obey your virtuous teachings! I will rise early and retire late, never daring to forget them!"

He was not afraid to go to Hainan at all.

I was even a little excited!

Yazhou and Qiongzhou are dangerous and desolate places for others, where there is no chance of survival!
But for him...

But it was a vast and unknown land!

Su Shi was already looking forward to the scenery of Qiongya.

If he doesn't write dozens of poems and songs on this trip, it will be as if he went in vain!
Moreover, as a newly established administrative unit at the level of circuit, Hainan Circuit, as the first Hainan Pacification and Control Commissioner, also held the positions of "Shipbuilding Commissioner" and "Protector of the South Seas." Furthermore, he received a secret edict from the Emperor, which, when necessary, allowed him to use this edict to mobilize the naval warships of Guangxi and Guangdong to suppress disobedience and eliminate maritime pirates.

Su Shi found it even harder to suppress his inner passion.

He once wrote: "Holding the imperial staff in Yunzhong, when will Feng Tang be sent?"—a hawkish figure!
He's a warmonger hiding within the old party!

Moreover, he's a blatant Han chauvinist!

They expanded their territory, led armies to conquer other countries, and brought their rulers to justice before the emperor!

This is a dream hidden deep within his bones!

It's just that I've never had the chance!

"...Protector of the South Seas..." Su Shi licked his lips, murmuring to himself the most important mission in his eyes.

He can't wait!

He couldn't wait to arrive in his loyal Qiongzhou immediately, right now, and start working right away!
Others might not know, but what was the purpose of the Protector of the South Seas?

Doesn't he know it yet?

What were the Protector General of the Xiongnu, Protector General of the Wuhuan, and Protector General of the Xianbei during the Han Dynasty? What was the Protector General of the Southern Seas for?
In short, it can be summed up in one sentence: Southeast Asian countries, your father has arrived! For Su Shi, the most ingenious thing was that the Southeast Asian countries were frighteningly weak!
The once most formidable Jiaozhi (Vietnam) has now been subdued by the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, the countries of Southeast Asia can be understood as the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty!

If managed well, Su Shi (Su Zizhan) could have established a career in Southeast Asia that was no less impressive than that of Ban Chao and Ban Dingyuan!

Even surpassing Ban Dingyuan!

Just thinking about it made him even more excited.

Therefore, after taking his leave of the emperor, he did not even hold a farewell poetry gathering or a farewell banquet.

In just one day, he visited the homes of elders such as Zhang Fangping, Su Song, and Wen Yanbo.

On the 16th of the fourth month, Ren Chen, he took his concubine Chao Yun (his wife Wang and his sons stayed in the capital as usual), along with the brothers Kong Pingzhong and Kong Wuzhong, and more than a dozen officials who were willing to follow him to Hainan Road to make contributions.

They sailed south in a grand procession.

They would first arrive in Xuzhou, then transfer from Xuzhou to Haizhou, and from Haizhou take a sea voyage south to Mingzhou, then transfer to Guangzhou, and finally arrive in Qiongzhou.

The journey was arduous, with the boat rocking and the passengers exhausted.

Zhao Xu, however, no longer cared about the matter.

Because, on the morning of the 17th day of the fourth month of the third year of the Yuan You era, the day after Su Shi left the capital.

Han Jiang, the former prime minister, grand master of the Golden Purple Light, chief minister of military and state affairs, and duke of Kangguo, died at his residence at the age of seventy-seven.

To be honest, Han Jiang's health had been failing for a long time.

It was entirely due to the extraordinary efforts of the imperial physicians and nurses sent by Zhao Xu that the old prime minister's life was saved.

However, Han Jiang was getting old and had overworked himself in the past.

Having held on until now, I am completely exhausted and beyond medical help.

It was finally impossible to maintain!
Upon receiving the obituary, Zhao Xu personally went to the Han residence to pay his respects and shed tears in the mourning hall.

An imperial edict was issued to suspend court for three days in mourning, and the Ministry of Rites was ordered to discuss posthumous titles. The emperor himself inscribed the name of Han Jiang's epitaph: "A Loyal and Upright Minister!"
Both palaces also sent envoys to pay their respects and express their condolences.

The Ministry of Rites, naturally, dared not neglect the matter and immediately drafted several posthumous titles for Zhao Xu to decide.

Zhao Xu certainly wouldn't make the decision on his own—if he did, it wouldn't be good for Han Jiang's posthumous reputation.

The so-called posthumous title is a record of one's deeds, while the honorary title is a symbol of one's achievements!

Naturally, we need to gather opinions from all sides so that everyone can praise and commend Han Jiang's contributions.

That would be a wonderful thing.

At the same time, this can also test the obedience of the court officials—especially the main officials of the Six Ministries.

Zhao Xu then issued an edict to submit the posthumous title proposed by the Ministry of Rites to the court officials for public discussion.

The emperor ordered the chief minister and the officials of the six ministries to discuss the matter.

The result satisfied Zhao Xu.

Almost everyone agreed that Han Jiang had made great contributions and deserved a posthumous title.

They unanimously agreed that Han Jiang deserved the posthumous title of "Loyal and Dedicated," the highest honor bestowed upon any minister of the Song Dynasty!
Loyalty means risking one's life to serve one's superiors, braving danger and hardship; dedication means possessing wisdom and integrity, understanding without concealment!

It makes perfect sense to apply this to Han Jiang.

During the process of deliberating on the posthumous title, no foolish person jumped out to cause trouble for Zhao Xu.

This made Zhao Xu quite happy—his subjects were still very loyal!
Therefore, the Imperial Academy was ordered to issue an edict, bestowing upon Han Jiang the posthumous title of Zhongxian, and posthumously granting him the title of Prince of Yingchang. Han Jiang's descendants were granted official ranks and titles according to their merits, and the Han family was given 100,000 strings of cash for funeral expenses.

Such a high-level posthumous honor and monetary reward was essentially equivalent to securing Han Jiang a future position as a meritorious official to be worshipped in the ancestral temple.

The only question is whether Han Jiang will be placed in the temple of the late emperor or in the temple of Zhao Xu.

(End of this chapter)