I studied in modern times

Chapter 1070 Qionglin Banquet (1)

After seeing Yang Ji off, Zhao Xu leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and pretended to doze off.

Naturally, a large-scale project like the Huitong River couldn't be started by Yang Ji just because Zhao Xu made a decision.

This is a national plan that requires discussion between the two ministries and the court officials before it can be made.

After all, even in modern times, not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry could accomplish such a mega-project.

There was no strong central government and no efficient bureaucracy.

Even starting construction is a problem!
Fortunately, China has a long history of water conservancy as its foundation.

Since Yu the Great tamed the floods, every dynasty has been frantically developing new technologies for flood control—there's no other way!

Mother Yellow River is so gentle!

As a result, even foreign dynasties like the Mongol Yuan and Manchu Qing had to passively learn and study water management.

The Song Dynasty was especially favored by Mother Yellow River.

If Zhao Xu remembered correctly, since the Jingyou era, the Yellow River has breached its banks dozens of times, accounting for 40% of the number of breaches and dike collapses during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties!

He's definitely the Yellow River's favorite child!

At the same time, Da Song was also very ambitious and always wanted to compete with his mother.

Although he was a terrible cook with a huge addiction, he often amused Mother Yellow River. Even Zhao Xu, in his previous life, tried it once, and naturally ended up being hung up and beaten by his mother—but his courage was commendable, wasn't it?
Having become accustomed to illness through long-term experience, their water conservancy engineering capabilities are naturally quite strong.

You could even say it's very strong!
For the Song Dynasty, a super project like the Huitong River, which required the combined efforts of the Yuan and Ming dynasties to complete, was not a technical problem.

Therefore, Zhao Xu's concern was not about engineering and technical issues, but rather about Commissioner Zhao's situation.

Such a large project, if you include the time for preliminary preparation and planning, will take at least several years.

Moreover, it involves all aspects, from top to bottom, and countless bureaucrats.

From the capital to the local prefectures and counties, there were countless opportunities for people to take advantage of others.

If officials embezzle or cheat a little, as long as it's not too excessive, Zhao Xu will usually turn a blind eye. At most, he'll write it down in a little notebook and bring it out when he wants to deal with them in the future.

After all, what engineering project in this world doesn't have specialists?

Right? !
However, Zhao Xu was somewhat worried about a collapse-style corruption.

Just like when Yang Ji came to report to him, he subconsciously and reflexively thought of those modern engineering projects.

Of all these projects, Zhao Xu was actually most afraid of not the British HS2 or America's California High Speed ​​Rail.

The specialists in these projects are simply using various pretexts to make money.

Zhao Xu was afraid of projects like San Dezi's Berlin International Airport.

The Hans commissioners embezzled money, delayed the project, and the project quality was so poor that it was the worst of the worst!

If the inspection unit is irresponsible, it might be like opening for business and then immediately going to the funeral!

If there's a problem at the airport, at worst the people inside the airport will be unlucky, and the impact will be very limited.

But if a water conservancy project goes wrong, it's no joke...

Therefore, what Zhao Xu is thinking about now is how to prevent Commissioner Zhao and his team from turning this project into a shoddy mess.

“Sending Song Yongchen to handle this matter… is feasible…” Zhao Xu muttered to himself.

Although Song Yongchen was also greedy and took bribes, he also liked to promote his cronies and associates.

But as an inner court official, his life, death, honor, and disgrace were all controlled by Zhao Xu.

Moreover, Zhao Xu now holds his weakness in his hands—Song Zhihe, the adopted son whom Zhao Xu specially permitted him to take in last year.

This adopted son was actually his biological nephew.

This is my own son!
Song Yongchen's entire life depended on this nephew to take care of him in his old age, see him off in his final days, and continue his family line.

Zhao Xu's special decree allowing him to adopt an heir was a good thing, but also a shackle that bound him.

Therefore, Song Yongchen, while away from home, was greedy and took bribes as he pleased.

But he never dared to do anything wrong!
Moreover, a small report every seven days and a letter every half month, never stopped.

However, Song Yongchen was an inner court official.

By convention, in such large-scale projects, the inner court officials could only work with the project manager (equivalent to a modern deputy general manager of a project) or even the project director.

The officials in charge of such large-scale projects were all selected from among the civil servants.

Moreover, they will most likely emerge from among upright and honest officials.

Therefore, Yang Ji was also excluded—he was lucky to be able to serve as a co-supervisor alongside Song Yongchen as the Director of Water Conservancy.

The chief ministers of the capital, whether from the new or old parties, would try every means to replace the person in charge of the project with their own people.

This is politics!

This was also a tacit understanding reached between Zhao Xu and his civil officials after Zhao Xu ascended the throne.

Of course, Zhao Xu could also forcefully promote someone he likes to a higher position.

This is the power of the monarch.

But the problem is that if he does this, it will break the tacit understanding that has been formed between the emperor and his ministers since the Yuan You era.

It is also easy for many people to misunderstand.

They misunderstood that Zhao Xu wanted to follow the same path as Yuan Feng!

What was Yuanfeng's old path?
It wasn't Wu Juhou and his ilk adding layers of pressure, nor was it Jian Zhoufu and his ilk exploiting them to the bone.

Instead, the emperor held absolute power, deciding all matters, large and small, with a single word!

Without a doubt, this is a rather terrible thing!

This applies to the country, the system, and even the emperor himself!

The Five-Route Campaign Against Xia, the Battle of Yongle City...

The Second Return to the River, the Baoma Baojia System in Jingdong, the Salt Monopoly System in Jiangxi, the Tea Monopoly System in Fujian...

It caused enormous disasters in military, economic, and social aspects.

Zhao Xu is still cleaning up the mess left by the politics of the Yuanfeng era!
Even more critically, this method of governance would have a significant impact on the emperor's health!

Why did Zhao Xu's father suffer from various illnesses at such a young age, and ultimately pass away before reaching the age of forty? It was all due to overwork!
I get up earlier than the chickens and go to bed later than the dogs every day.

Even the strongest body can't withstand this kind of torment.

What's more...

The autocratic rule of the emperor during the Yuanfeng era was not as powerful as imagined!
The number of obstacles Zhao Xu's father faced back then is countless!

From the chief ministers of the capital to local officials, the subtle resistance and obstacles from top to bottom are countless.

Putting everything else aside, what exactly is the story behind Wang Gui's "Three Edicts to the Prime Minister"?
Was Wang Gui really that honest and obedient?
If that's true, then why would Wang Gui have so many schemes and thoughts, whether in Zhao Xu's previous life or this one?
So... Wang Gui's so-called "Three Edicts to the Chancellor" was merely a facade of obedience, a facade of resistance.

If Wang Gui is truly obedient and willing to be a puppet.

Where would the reputation of the Three-Decree Chancellor come from?
Putting aside other matters, the work of Ding Wei, the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, and Lü Yijian, the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Renzong, is right there in front of us. Wang Gui is well-read and familiar with the history of the dynasty. How could he not know this? How could he not copy it?
Therefore, this is the way Wang Gui met his end, and also the reason why Zhao Xu relentlessly pursued the Wang family, determined to fabricate charges against them and thoroughly eliminate them.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu realized that he had to respect the opinion of the Grand Chancellor in this matter.

At the very least, he had to act as if he respected the prime minister.

Just as he was thinking about these things, Tong Guan came to his side and whispered, "Everyone..."

"The Emperor has sent a petition requesting His Majesty's visit to the Qionglin Garden..."

"Oh..." Zhao Xu came to his senses, opened his eyes, and reached out to take the note from Tong Guan's hands.

He opened it and glanced at it. It was a formal letter from the chief ministers, inviting him, the emperor, to the Qionglin Garden the next day to celebrate with the newly appointed scholars.

"Tomorrow is the Qionglin Banquet..." Zhao Xu said with a dreamy look in his eyes, "Perfect, I can take this opportunity to give the ministers of the two offices a heads-up!"

Such a major undertaking as the excavation of the canal naturally required prior consultation with the ministers of both the central government and the provincial government to reach a certain consensus within the court.

So he instructed Tong Guan, "Tong Banban, bring me pen and ink!"

"promise!"

After Tong Guan brought over the brush and ink, Zhao Xu leaned back in his chair, took the wolf-hair brush, dipped it in vermilion ink, and then wrote a reply on the document: "Imperial Edict to the Imperial Censors: In accordance with the precedent of the Yuanfeng era, a banquet shall be held at Qionglin for all the newly appointed scholars!"
Then, he put down the wolf-hair brush in his hand and instructed Tong Guan, "Take this and give it to the ministers in the capital, and instruct them to carry it out!"

"promise!"

"By the way!" Zhao Xu stopped Tong Guan, who was on his way to deliver an imperial edict to the capital, and instructed him, "Tell Lords Lü and Pu that tomorrow's Qionglin Banquet is open to all officials in the capital, except for the ministers of the two ministries. If they have nothing else to do, they should all attend!"

"It also lets the world know my intention to promote education and culture!"

"promise!"

Zhao Xu watched Tong Guan's departing figure, his eyes becoming unfocused.

“Qionglin Banquet…” he murmured.

In his previous life, after he assumed power, the various events at the several Qionglin Banquets he had participated in flashed and lingered in his mind.

Therefore, he was very clear about what the so-called Qionglin Banquet represented.
It was not just a ceremony, but a ritual.

Whether it was the celebratory dances performed by the high-ranking officials in the Qionglin Garden or the pilgrimages of the newly appointed scholars.

They are all forms of coronation!
The established story over the past 150 years is this: when the new emperor presided over the Qionglin Banquet for the first time on his own, he received dances and greetings from the officials and newly appointed scholars.

This signifies a break in the relationship between the new emperor and the former emperor.

The country has officially entered the era of rule belonging to the new emperor!
This is why successive Zhao emperors attached such importance to their first imperial examination after ascending the throne.

That's why people all over the world called this imperial examination the 'Flying Dragon List'.

……

When Tong Guan arrived at the capital, Lü Gongzhu was slowly brewing tea.

This Left Chancellor has gradually stopped paying attention to specific matters lately, and he has slowly relinquished most of the power in the capital to Pu Zongmeng, except for the most crucial ones.

Just like Han Jiang back then.

Lü Gongzhu knew his physical condition and understood that he didn't have much energy left.

only……

He looked to the other side of his command hall, the seemingly bustling Right Chancellor's command hall.

Lu Gongzhu laughed: "Pu Chuanzheng... how many more days can you relax?"

Once he resigns and retires, the vacant position of Left Prime Minister won't necessarily be filled by the Right Prime Minister. Sometimes, a new Left Prime Minister might be appointed from outside the palace.

For example, after Cai Que returned to the capital, the emperor did not give him any new assignments.

However, he was granted the power to "participate in government affairs".

This means that he can participate in the deliberations of the two governments and have a voice in those deliberations.

Although this voice has very little influence.

When the ministers of the two offices were ordered to vote on certain matters, he did not have the right to vote.

But the very fact that one can participate in such a meeting sends a certain signal.

Therefore, Cai Que's residence is quite lively nowadays.

Every day, many people line up outside the Cai residence to present their visiting cards and pay their respects.

In this situation, once he resigned as Left Chancellor, Lü Gongzhu was certain that Cai Que and Pu Zongmeng would fight each other for the vacant Left Chancellor position!
but……

"I'm afraid of doing all the work for someone else!" Lü Gongzhu chuckled.

Zhang Dun has been observing mourning for his parents in his hometown for over a year.

In February of this year, he had already passed the Xiaoxiang Festival and left the mourning house built in front of his father's grave, and began corresponding with friends and old acquaintances.

Just last month, Lü Gongzhu received a letter from Zhang Dun.

The letter would naturally not discuss national affairs, nor would it involve anything else.

He simply extended a brief greeting to the Left Chancellor and, incidentally, asked him to send someone to the Zhang residence in Bianjing to check on the situation there.

They seemed to say nothing, but in reality, they said everything.

Zhang Zihou is eager to try!
By February of next year, he will be able to remove the Great Auspiciousness and prepare for the final Tan sacrifice.

Next May, he can remove the mourning period and return to the capital (the mourning period in the Tang and Song dynasties was twenty-seven months).

Therefore, all things considered, Pu Zongmeng and Cai Que only had ten months left.

If we factor in the time it takes for him to resign as Left Chancellor and for the court to select new officials, there may only be eight months left.

If the emperor is willing, he can easily delay and let him stay in the position of prime minister for a few more months. If he still refuses to approve his resignation by the end of the year, then he can do so.

Then we can almost congratulate Zhang Dun on successfully snatching the prize.

In the end, whether it's Pu Zongmeng or Cai Que, it will probably all be for naught.

It's possible that both of them will end up being eliminated together.

Lü Gongzhu's attitude towards this is quite interesting—he doesn't care who wins in the end.

He only wants to see the New Party internally fighting each other for the position of Left Prime Minister!

The more fiercely they fight, the better!

Ideally, the New Party should be defeated and disintegrated!

because……

The old party, as a political group, is now on the verge of collapse.

The Shu Party, the Shuo Party, and the Luo Party all began to take shape.

Moreover, they were tearing at each other very badly!
Why did Su Shi travel south?
It wasn't just the Shuo Party and the Luo Party, especially the Luo Party composed of Cheng Yi's students, who hated Su Shi's Shu Party with a passion, trying every means to find evidence of their crimes and doing everything they could to impeach them.

Finally, they managed to find a weakness in Kong Wenzhong.

Ultimately, this forced Su Shi, a leader who was very likely to enter the court this year and be appointed as a minister of the two administrations, and who would have the opportunity to enter the two offices in the future, to request to go south to the newly established Hainan Road to "await punishment".

Even so, all of this happened while Lü Gongzhu was still alive and in the position of Left Chancellor.

Once he steps down, or even dies.

The old party is about to fall apart—don't think Wen Kuanfu will intervene.

That old bastard now only wants to send his granddaughter to the throne of the empress, and then the Wen family will transform into powerful relatives of the empress.

How could that old bastard possibly get involved in this mess again?

They probably won't even have time to cut ties or avoid suspicion!
Thinking of this, Lü Gongzhu couldn't help but sigh.

Fortunately, the New Party has never been peaceful.

Even when Wang Anshi was still alive, divisions had already begun—Lü Huiqing, Zhang Dun, and Zeng Bu were all openly or semi-openly establishing their own factions and advocating their own ideas.

After the Yuanfeng era, Wang Anshi was left with only the title of "honorary leader".

People only showed respect to "Lord Jiefu" on the surface.

In reality, they have all established their own factions.

Today, how much of the so-called New Party still resembles what it was back then?

Even Wang Anshi himself probably couldn't explain it!

Putting aside other things, Wang Di has been in Bianjing for over a year, hasn't he?

For more than a year, Wang Di has been by his side.

That old scoundrel Wang Jiefu, however, paid no attention to it, acting as if he were letting things run wild.

This old scoundrel probably knows that after he dies, the New Party will split up on the spot, right?

Like Confucius and Mencius, he too will be unable to determine the interpretation of his own words and thoughts.
Even now...

Wang Jiepu probably couldn't control the New Party disciples' 'reinterpretation' of his thoughts and writings, could he?
You, Wang Jiefu, what do you know about new learning?!

Just as I was thinking about these things, Wang Di's familiar voice came from outside the door: "Prime Minister..."

"Lord Tong has arrived!"

Lu Gongzhu snapped out of his daze and said softly, "Please come in quickly!"

……

A quarter of an hour later, Lü Gongzhu smiled and personally escorted Tong Guan out to the command hall.

He watched as the official's close confidant walked towards the Right Chancellor's Hall across the street.

“Chuyi…” Lü Gongzhu said to Wang Di, “After you go back today, make some preparations!”

"Tomorrow morning, accompany me to the Qionglin Banquet!"

"Ah!" Wang Di exclaimed in surprise, "This...this..."

He was so excited that he started to stutter.

Lu Gongzhu looked at it and laughed: "Stop with the 'this, this, this'..."

"Chu Yi isn't an outsider!"

"I have already decided to send someone to Jiangning to discuss the marriage between my granddaughter and Cuyi with Cuyi's grandfather..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Di's face immediately turned bright red.

Over the past year, he and Lü Xizhe's daughter, Lü Yirou, have gradually become acquainted.

The two were kindred spirits, and being young and full of life, feelings naturally blossomed between them.

Looking at the shy Wang Di, Lü Gongzhu seemed to recall his own youth and immediately laughed.

……

In the Right Chancellor's Hall, Pu Zongmeng faced the Jiying Hall, bowed deeply, and received the imperial decree.

He quietly slipped a few coins to Tong Guan and asked in a low voice, "May I ask, Lord, does His Majesty have any instructions or instructions regarding tomorrow's Wenxi Banquet?"

Tong Guan touched the texture of the paper money in his hand and immediately knew that they were all large denominations of 100 strings of cash.

His face lit up with joy, and he skillfully slipped the money into his sleeve—he would have to hand it over when he got back.

Of course, the emperor was benevolent, and after he handed over the money, he would distribute it as a reward to his close ministers.

He, as the one who submits the money, usually receives 40%.

The remaining portion was then divided equally among everyone.

In this way, taking the money wouldn't be considered bribery.

At the same time, because all close advisors can receive the same favor, everyone is bound together.

Once someone embezzles money and it's discovered by others...

That would immediately lead to everyone's hostility and a mob attack.

Therefore, nowadays, palace officials no longer deliberately solicit bribes when they go out on official business; instead, they prioritize completing their duties.

Of course—the usual rules still apply.

If you don't give it, you'll offend everyone around the officials.

After carefully putting away the paper money, Tong Guan cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "So that my husband may know..."

"No one gave any special instructions or instructions regarding the celebratory banquet..."

"However, today everyone summoned the Director of Waterways and talked with the Director of Waterways for a full two hours..."

"Everyone's mind must be on the waterworks!"

"All water? Yang Ji?"

"Water-related matters? Could it be... the return of the river?!" Pu Zongmeng shuddered.

The Huihe faction was a persistent nightmare for the Song Dynasty.

Even though the two previous defeats on the river were disastrous, resulting in countless deaths and injuries and costing billions of dollars.

But the Huihe School remains tireless in its efforts.

For Pu Zongmeng, who was both the Right Chancellor and aspired to the position of Left Chancellor, the Huihe River was a slippery slope he could not even touch.

Because if he fails, he, as prime minister, will be condemned by thousands and despised by all people!

He doesn't want to take the blame.

"No..." Tong Guan shook his head with a smile: "I've heard it seems to be the Grand Canal..."

Pu Zongmeng was finally relieved.

As long as it's not going back to the river, everything is negotiable!
(End of this chapter)