I studied in modern times

Chapter 861: Caught into a cocky mouth
After bathing, the person who brought clothes was not the female official, but Di Qiang.

Zhao Xu didn't ask anything. Since ancient times, serving a king is like serving a tiger, and it's not just about the king's fickle mood.

It also implies that the people around the tiger are also tigers! They also eat people!

Therefore, the fate of that female official can be imagined.

With better luck, it will probably be a return.

Moreover, it is very dishonorable to be returned home, and there will be problems in getting married in this life.

His luck was bad, probably because he was transferred away from Zhao Xu and transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The difference between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs seems to be only two words.

But the environment and treatment are completely different.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs was the agency that served the emperor and empress, while the Ministry of Internal Affairs was the agency that served the imperial city.

The former has a great future and has the opportunity to break through the class barriers and rise to the top.

The latter is like serving a prison sentence, living in darkness.

With Di Qiang's help, Zhao Xu dressed neatly, and then went to Chongzheng Palace under the escort and protection of Yulongzhi.

There, Lu Gongzhu and the brothers Ouyang Fa and Ouyang Fei had been waiting for a long time.

……

"His Majesty the Emperor is ascending the throne!"

Along with the eunuchs' praises, the sound of a whip tearing the air was heard.

Snapped!
Brothers Ouyang Fa and Ouyang Wei saw a young man in a yellow-brown uniform, appearing from the corridor behind the palace, surrounded by a large group of people carrying imperial weapons.

The two brothers quickly bowed their heads and followed Lu Gongzhu who was in front of them to salute.

"Your Majesty, I respectfully welcome you and wish you the best..."

The young emperor climbed the stairs and ascended the throne. Two female officials stood behind the throne and put down their fans. Between the walls of the palace, there was silence. After sitting down, he said, "I am in good health!"

"Three beloved ladies are free of charge!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Lu Gongzhu bowed again and stood up.

Ouyang Fa quickly pulled his brother and stood up after bowing again.

"Come here, give the three of you seats and some tea!" the young official ordered calmly.

Then three chairs were moved into the hall.

Lu Gongzhu held the ribbon and thanked him, but Ouyang Fa and Ouyang Wei were trembling with fear.

Given their official ranks, even going to the palace was considered an honor.

As for the seat before the king?

It's almost wishful thinking.

But the chairs have been moved in and the emperor has issued an order.

They could only thank him, put half of their buttocks on the chair tremblingly, then pick up the teacup with shaking hands, take a sip, and put it down quickly, for fear that they would be too late and be punished by God!
Yes!

Damn it!

The current emperor ascended the throne at a young age. He is wise and sage. He has repeatedly issued benevolent decrees, extended grace to the people, and provided relief to the people.

This is the emperor that the literati talk about!
But in the eyes of the yamen and second generations of the Song Dynasty, this young emperor had a completely different image.

A true emperor who is capricious and always blames his subjects!

because……

Since he ascended the throne, he has killed and offended many people.

Except for Li Ding, Zhang Zhijian and Zhang Chengyi, the rest of the people have one thing in common: they are the second generation of Yanei!
The son-in-law Guo Xianqing and Ouyang Fa's brother-in-law Wu Anchi are still in the Imperial College "receiving re-education and enlightenment from the sages' teachings."

I heard that you have to get up at 1 a.m. in the morning and can't go to bed until 11 a.m. at night.

Every morning, noon and evening, you should write an article to "reflect on yourself".

The instructors and academic officials of the Imperial College would review their essays and give them grades.

All results will be included in the monthly evaluation.

The quality of the monthly evaluation is related to food, treatment and the length of the study period.

Not only that, there is a quiz every seven days, a monthly exam every month, and a quarterly exam every quarter.

For the young masters, such a life is enough to make their scalps tingle even just thinking about it!
This time, the one who was hit hard by the emperor was still a second-generation official of a yamen.

Their brothers' uncle, Xue Zhanshe, one of the four great princes in Bianjing City.

As a result, the officials in the capital have become much more well-behaved recently.

I was afraid that I would be unlucky and run into the gun.

Coincidentally, Ouyang Fa and Ouyang Wei also belong to the yanei family.

Although they themselves do not think that they are in the same group as Guo Xianqing, Wu Anchi and others.

But, they are Ouyang Xiu's sons.

A typical Yanei family!
Ouyang Fa, in particular, had failed in the examinations many times and could only take the path of an official appointed through imperial favor like other dissolute young masters. Moreover, he was Wu Anchi's brother-in-law.

This is really fatal!
This year, Su Shi asked Zhang Anping and Su Song to act as matchmakers to propose marriage for his son Su Dai.

It was for this reason that Ouyang Fa’s daughter was skipped.

Therefore, Ouyang Fa felt really uncomfortable after sitting down.

However, his younger brother Ouyang Wei regained his composure after a brief panic.

After sitting down, Lu Gongzhu did not care about Ouyang Fa and his brothers, but looked at the emperor at the top and said, "Your Majesty, I came to the palace today to report to you about the pawnbrokers."

"Yes!" Zhao Xu nodded: "Sir, please go on..."

Therefore, Lu Gongzhu reported to Zhao Xu in a straightforward manner the details of the pawnshop he had bought the day before.

It is basically the same as what Liu Weijian reported.

After hearing this, Zhao Xu praised: "What you have done is very much to my liking. It is a great achievement. When this matter is completed, I will reward you for your contribution!"

Although Lu Gongzhu was already the prime minister, he had also been promoted to the rank of Jinzi Guanglu Dafu.

However, in the Song Dynasty's Mokan system, he still has a lot of room for upgrades.

There is a lot of room for fiefdoms, states, and honors.

Apart from anything else, Lu Gongzhu's current fiefdom is only 7,000 households, which does not even meet the standards of a marquis with ten thousand households!

Lu Gongzhu immediately stood up and said: "I have served my country and been loyal to Your Majesty, so I dare not expect any reward!"

Zhao Xu said: "When Zilu redeemed a man and received a cow, the sage praised him, but when Zigong redeemed a man without asking for anything in return, the sage disapproved of him!"

"Therefore, I have always rewarded those who have done good deeds and punished those who have done wrong!"

"I hope you will put the overall interests of the world first and don't refuse!"

Lü Gongzhu then bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

At this time, Zhao Xu finally took the time to turn his attention to the two ministers sitting behind Lu Gongzhu.

The two men look very similar and can be recognized as brothers at first glance - they both have beards and handsome looks, and even though they are older, they are still very handsome.

As a son meets his father, we can imagine Ouyang Xiu’s demeanor back then.

No wonder Ouyang Xiu was constantly involved in romantic scandals throughout his life, and wherever he went, there were people throwing themselves at him.

In his later years, his political enemies spread rumors that he was unethical, but people were willing to believe them.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu said, "These two beloved ministers must be the two unicorn sons of Lord Ouyang Wenzhong!"

Brother Ouyang Fa quickly stood up and bowed respectfully, "I am the Minister of the Imperial Ancestral Temple..."

"Chengwulang, please go to Chenzhou Tongpan Chenfei..."

"May His Majesty the Emperor be blessed with good health!"

"Long live the emperor!" Zhao Xu raised his hand: "My two dear ministers, please stand up and speak!" But in his heart, he was already examining them.

In his previous life, he didn't pay much attention to Ouyang Xiu's sons.

The truth was that they had all left politics and had no chance to show up in front of Zhao Xu - after Shaosheng, Zhang Dun, Zeng Bu, Cai Jing and others had become bloodthirsty towards the old party and had no mercy on them at all.

Not to mention Ouyang Xiu's sons, even if Ouyang Xiu crawled out of the grave, they would probably send him to Lingnan to eat lychees!
Therefore, this was the first time that Zhao Xu had seen Ouyang Xiu's descendants in three generations.

Fortunately, before coming, he had done some homework and had someone find out the background of Ouyang Fa and Ouyang Wei in advance.

He said, "I heard that the four sons of Wen Zhonggong each have their own abilities... Among them, the eldest son, Fa, was taught by Mr. Anding. He is good at bronze and stone carving, and is familiar with astronomy and geography..."

Ouyang Fa bowed quickly and said, "I dare not!"

"My humble talent is not worthy of being accepted into the hall of elegance..."

"Ah!" Zhao Xu said with a smile: "The study of bronze and stone inscriptions is the root of all literature in the world!"

"If you can't read metal and stone, how can you understand the politics of the Three Dynasties and the affairs of the previous kings?"

"I am also looking forward to gold and stone... I hope that one day, a scholar can find the classics of the ancient kings from gold and stone!"

Ouyang Fa was immediately delighted. He was fond of bronze and stone artifacts and collected many bronze artifacts at home, but this hobby was often criticized as not being in line with his work.

Unexpectedly, he was praised by the emperor!
This made him very happy, and he felt like he had met a close friend.

The emperor said, "I once told Doctor Lu of the Imperial College that one day I would build a museum in Bianjing to store and copy inscriptions from all over the world for scholars to study..."

"When that day comes, you may be able to work in the museum..."

Zhao Xu meant this sincerely.

Because there are too many things that need answers from bronze ware.

When the time is right, Zhao Xu will also dig out the oracle bones buried in Yinxu.

When the oracle bone inscriptions come out, they will surely reshape the entire Confucian ideological system and overthrow the countless ideological shackles since the Han and Tang Dynasties.

If the scholars and officials continued to talk to him about the three generations of kings, Zhao Xu would throw the oracle bone inscriptions in their faces.

Of course, not yet.

Zhao Xu would not touch the treasures in Yinxu until the economic foundation had been transformed.

Only when the economic foundation has completed its transformation and society is in need of change, can the oracle bones in Yinxu play its greatest role.

The economic transformation of the Song Dynasty society would take at least ten years.

Ouyang Fa was delighted when he heard Zhao Xu's words: "If such a prosperous era could come true, I would be willing to sacrifice my life for it!"

Zhao Xu hummed and looked at Ouyang Wei who was behind Ouyang Fa.

"You are the beloved son of Lord Wen Zhong who wrote the will for Lord Wen Zhong, right?"

"The Emperor once praised your literary talent to me!"

This is a fact!

This is one of the few moments that Zhao Xu III could remember of his father teaching him to read.

But...

Zhao Xu narrowed his eyes slightly, and the blurred scene in his memory flashed through his mind.

"This posthumous table is the best posthumous table in modern times!"

"It must have been written by Wen Zhong himself!"

Yes, his father had always suspected that the suicide note written by Ouyang Xiu was not written by Ouyang Wei at all, but had been written by Ouyang Xiu before he fell ill, and then asked Ouyang Wei to copy it.

no way!
Words have their own flavor, and the flavor of some people's words cannot be hidden no matter how hard you try.

Ouyang Xiu's writing style is very personal.

Therefore, Ouyang Xiu asked Ouyang Wei to copy his articles, with the original intention of paving the way for Ouyang Wei.

The result was the opposite of what was intended.

This greatly reduced Ouyang Fei's impression on Zhao Xu's father. From then on, he looked at Ouyang Fei with tinted glasses, and the more he looked at him, the more he disliked him.

To use one's father's name is unfilial.

To use one's father's name for fame and success is even more disloyal.

If you are unfaithful and unfilial, you are not suitable for use!

As a result, Ouyang Wei's official career was bumpy from then on. Finally, he became discouraged and simply returned home to serve his mother.

All I can say is...

Ouyang Xiu was born in the wrong era. If it were modern times, Ouyang Xiu's article alone would be enough to support him for the rest of his life.

Who knows, with the help of that article, I can become a director first and then a racing driver, with beauties on both sides, and enjoy the best of both worlds.

Ouyang Wei listened to Zhao Xu's words and bowed with trepidation: "Step forward, I, the magistrate of Chenzhou, pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor!"

Zhao Xu nodded slightly and asked, "After you passed the imperial examination, have you returned home to take care of your parents?"

Zhao Xu knew that he was actually being squeezed out.

Otherwise, among Ouyang Xiu's four sons, there was only one who was a Jinshi. Why did he stay at home to serve his old mother instead of his three brothers who even had backdoor connections with the Yanei and the second generation but still failed to pass the Jinshi examination?

But that’s how the Song Dynasty is. It always insists on being decent and warm.

Ouyang Wei bowed and said, "Your Majesty, my mother is old... I am really worried. My mother lives alone in my father's Luling..."

"Therefore..."

Zhao Xu immediately praised: "You are truly a filial son!"

"Since ancient times, filial sons must be loyal ministers!"

He looked at Lu Gongzhu and said, "Sir, such a talent should be used in the capital!"

"Yes!" Lu Gongzhu immediately stood up and bowed happily, saying, "I will arrange for the removal of the hall after I return!"

Ouyang Wei was very excited when he heard this. Although he declined politely and modestly, he was cheering in his heart.

He was a Jinshi in the third year of Zhiping!
However, after passing the imperial examination, he only served as the magistrate of Chenzhou for one term, and then stayed at home to serve his parents.

Although people outside say nice things about him, saying that he is a filial son.

However, looking at those former Jinshi who passed the same exam or even those who passed the exam several years later than him, all of them rose to high positions, but he remained just a Chengwulang.

It would be strange if I could feel good about the feeling I have inside!
Especially this year, after his daughter got engaged to Su Dai from Su Shi's family, he became even more anxious.

Because next year will be another imperial examination year.

If Su Dai arrived at the right time, the emperor would announce the victory and his name would be listed as a Jinshi.

If the ranking is good, for example, if you get a top three ranking, then the initial appointment will be Jiedu Tongpan.

In that case, in a few years the father-in-law and son-in-law will be on the same level!
It’s embarrassing to think about it!
Therefore, he wants to improve more than anyone else!
Zhao Xu felt proud when he saw Ouyang Wei, who was almost hooked by him.

With this grace, there is no need to worry about Ouyang Wei's non-cooperation.

Bring it to you!

Ouyang Yongshu's collected works and posthumous manuscripts!
He immediately struck while the iron was hot and said, "I have long admired the literary reputation of Wen Zhonggong, and now I am very happy to meet you two beloved ministers!"

"I wonder, my dear ministers, could you lend me the manuscripts, poetry collections, and other unpublished manuscripts of Wen Zhonggong that you have in your collection?"

Ouyang Fa and Ouyang Wei dared not refuse, and immediately bowed and said: "It is my honor that my writings have won the love of Your Majesty!"

"Good!" Zhao Xu was overjoyed.

As long as Ouyang Xiu's manuscripts entered the palace, Zhao Xu would never be able to return them.

After all, it is common sense for scholars to borrow but not return.

Didn’t Su Shi, the successor of Ouyang Xiu, borrow Mi Fu’s inkstone and refuse to return it?
Then, if Ouyang Fa and Ouyang Wei borrowed the manuscript today, they would have to admit tomorrow that "only the emperor understands my father the best", and the day after tomorrow they would be able to boast that "Your Majesty's thoughts are the closest to those of my father".

As for Su Shi?

How could Su Zizhan understand my father’s thoughts!
(End of this chapter)