I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 567: New officialdom, new customs, new Song Dynasty, a prosperous era is expected!

March 18th, five days after the Qionglin Banquet.

Four hundred and twelve new scholars successively received their official certificates and robes from the Secretariat and then began to take up their posts.

Outside the city of Bianjing, there were scholars and literati breaking willow branches to bid farewell.

What made Zhao Zhen, the ministers and Su Liang very happy was that none of the new scholars retreated.

The imperial court would naturally not treat them unfairly.

Special subsidies are given to the families of newly-appointed scholars whose financial conditions are not very good, and extra care is given to those who are going to very remote and poor places or who need to take their wives and children with them.

As long as they can shine in the places where they are assigned, their future will be limitless.

This move is also intended to make the scholars and students all over the world understand.

What is the official ethos advocated by the imperial court, and what is the value of scholars as officials?

The common people strongly support the court's move.

The streets were filled with praises.

This group of young people in the Song Dynasty who are the most knowledgeable and most knowledgeable about court reform should be at the forefront.

They are just starting their official career.

What we should learn is not how to flatter the superiors and bully the subordinates, enrich ourselves, abuse public power for personal gain, and embezzle money, but how to make the people live a good life.

at the same time.

Su Liang submitted a memorial requesting additional staff for the Censorate.

The number of censors was increased from four to eight, the number of chief clerks and prosecutors was increased by four each, and the number of civil servants was increased by more than twenty.

Zhao Zhen and the other ministers of the Secretariat agreed immediately.

At present, the general strategy of the Song Dynasty's reform has been proven to be correct.

Whether it can be implemented without deviation depends entirely on the rule of man.

And rule by man requires supervision.

Only strict supervision can reduce errors and omissions, avoid major problems in advance, and allow local officials to stay sober at all times and complete the many tedious details in an orderly manner.

In addition, supervision can also discover more loopholes and deficiencies in the law.

After all, some laws are not suitable for all places and all people.

Only by making continuous flexible adjustments and constant revisions on the premise of benefiting the country and the people can the best implementation effect be achieved.

This is the role of the censors.

……

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is the first day of May.

Su Liang was in charge of the Censorate.

It’s not very busy, but it’s not idle either.

The provincial governments, especially those in Xixia, Liao, Goryeo, and Dongying, would often report issues of investigation and impeachment among officials and ask the Censorate to make a ruling.

Zhongshu is even busier.

Information on reforms in various places is gathered in the Government Affairs Hall, and the gentlemen are busy and happy.

Zhao Zhen forced them to go home and rest several times.

On this very day.

Good news came from the northern border: the Song army had taken over all the Liao territory.

This took everyone by surprise.

Zhao Zhen's order was to occupy the entire Liao territory before July, but he never expected that it would be completed two months ahead of schedule.

You know, the territory of Liao State was thousands of miles, very vast.

The Jurchens in the north hid in the deep mountains and forests.

Not to mention fighting or stationing troops, it is extremely difficult to go deeper inside.

But when Su Liang saw the report from the soldiers in the northern border, he couldn't help but laugh.

In the words of Yang Wenguang, the vanguard general and former veteran of the Northwest: Their expedition to the north was not like fighting a war, but more like saving refugees from danger.

Compared with the Song people south of Yanyun.

Those Khitans, Jurchens and Bohais in the north seemed to be living in a primitive society and were very poor.

It is difficult to maintain food and clothing.

A large number of men died in the war, so they didn't even have the ability to eat enough, let alone resist the Song army.

So, when the Song army brought them food and made it clear that they would not loot or massacre them, they felt like they had met their savior and were willing to surrender.

After the reputation of the Song army spread.

There were even Jurchens who took them to find a way and occupy major towns and villages.

The Song army occupied all the territory of Liao with ease, almost without any fighting, just like going out on a sightseeing trip.

……

May 5th, afternoon.

The ministers of the two ministries and three departments in the capital and Su Liang were summoned into the Chuigong Hall by Zhao Zhen.

As soon as Su Liang entered the Chuigong Hall, he saw a huge wooden frame placed next to Zhao Zhen's throne. The wooden frame was wrapped in golden silk, and it was impossible to see what was inside.

The other gentlemen standing by also looked puzzled.

After a while, Zhao Zhen came out with a smile on his face.

"Guess what this is?"

Wen Yanbo smiled and said, "It should be that the emperor has written a new piece of Feibai calligraphy. He summoned us to appreciate it!"

Zhao Zhen shook his head.

"A poem or a painting?" Ouyang Xiu guessed.

Zhao Zhen shook his head again.

"That means the government has formulated a new reform strategy and wants to discuss it with us!" Wu Yu said.

Zhao Zhen shook his head again, and then his eyes fell on Su Liang.

Su Liang was stunned, and suddenly understood.

He smiled slightly and said, "This is the result of the joint efforts of the government, civil and military officials, and the people of Song."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

When Zhao Zhen heard this answer, he couldn't help but burst into laughter, and then pulled down the golden silk.

"Wow!"

The silk fell to the ground, revealing its true appearance.

Su Liang and others were attracted by the items on the wooden shelves.

On the wooden frame, there is a framed map of the territory of the Song Dynasty that is nearly ten feet long and several feet wide.

This map of the Song Dynasty's territory includes the Liao Dynasty, Western Xia Dynasty, Japan, and Goryeo.

Although it is not detailed enough, it shows all the territory of the current Song Dynasty.

It reaches the sandbar in the southwest and borders the Uighur Kingdom, and reaches the Altai Mountains in the northwest. The farthest northern border includes the entire Lake Baikal, and the farthest eastern border is a vast sea area.

If many areas outside the border regions were not currently suitable for human life, the Song army could have gone further.

Currently.

The territory of the Song Dynasty was three times larger than that during the Qingli period.

When everyone saw the territory of the Song Dynasty on the map, a sense of pride arose spontaneously.

then.

Why were Taizu and Taizong so eager to recover Yanyun? Why did they want to attack Xixia and Liao?
The main purpose was to prove that the Song Dynasty was orthodox and a unified dynasty that could be compared with the Han and Tang dynasties, rather than a local regime in a corner.

Now, this generation has finally done it.

In future history books.

The four countries of Liao, Xia, Dongying and Goryeo will all be short-lived, and only the Song Dynasty can occupy the throne for a long time.

After everyone finished appreciating the performance, they took their seats.

Zhao Zhen said: "This territorial map is stitched together based on the old maps of Liao, Xia, Dongying, and Goryeo. After a few days, I will make a more detailed territorial map and hang a copy in every government office in Bianjing City."

"In addition, the Secretariat, the Privy Council, the Censorate, Kaifeng Prefecture and other government offices must also place a sand table to remind everyone that this is the territory of our Song Dynasty. In the future, anyone who dares to destroy an inch of land will be a sinner for the entire Song Dynasty!"

Su Liang and others were very excited.

Anyone who sees this map of the territory in this life or in the future will think of these heroes who have made great contributions to this land.

Zhao Zhen continued, "These days, I have been thinking about a question, how to make our Song Dynasty enter a truly prosperous era. Finally, I found a sentence in a memorial written by Su Qing."

“To govern a prosperous society, we must base ourselves on agriculture, promote commerce, education, the military, and encourage all schools of thought.”

"I think that this sentence is the core of ruling a prosperous world."

"I have decided to vigorously develop agriculture, commerce, education and teaching starting from July this year. The court will reduce the land tax by 10%, reduce the business tax by 10%, double the number of public and private schools in the entire Song Dynasty within three years, and reward inventors generously..."

All the ministers and Su Liang were very excited when they heard Zhao Zhen's plan.

There is no fighting now.

If we want a prosperous era, we must mobilize the enthusiasm of the people, and giving benefits to the people is undoubtedly the best choice.

The reforms throughout the Song Dynasty during the Huangyou period were aimed at lifting the lower classes out of poverty and reducing the gap between the rich and the poor between classes.

The current reforms are aimed at making the whole nation rich.

Agriculture is the foundation. By reducing the tax on land, the people can have enough food and clothing.

Business is a major cause for prosperity in an era, and reducing or exempting business taxes can enable more people to participate in business operations.

But the most important thing is actually to promote learning and education.

Only when morality and education maintain stability can the people live in peace and the world be at peace. After that, all walks of life can flourish and a hundred schools of thought can bloom.

"Do you have any objection to my idea?" Zhao Zhen asked.

"I have no objection." Everyone bowed.

Zhao Zhen straightened his chest.

"Okay, next, you will work with me to write a plan for prosperity and then implement it. This time, we should seek stability and slowness, and we must mobilize the enthusiasm of all the people of Song!"

"My minister obeys."

At this moment, Zhao Zhen had become a true sage monarch. He wanted to work hard for another ten years to create a prosperous Song Dynasty.

……

Ten days later.

A document called "Seventy-two Strategies for a Prosperous Era" written jointly by the emperor and his ministers was announced to the world.

The content covers preferential measures for various industries including agriculture, construction, commerce, fisheries, textiles, shipping, mining, salt, iron, wine and tea, as well as some policies to support development.

As soon as this policy was announced, the whole nation was delighted. It was like giving money to the people, making everyone feel that the spring of their lives was about to come.

The future is expected.

……

A month later.

The book printing industry in the Song Dynasty was the first to experience a boom.

Book businesses in major book printing places such as Bian Jing, Nanjing, Jiangning Prefecture, Chengdu Prefecture, and Hangzhou all flourished and demand exceeded supply.

Most of them are needed by the Northwest, Liao territory, Dongying Prefecture, and Goryeo Province.

Taxes in these places were low and the demand for books was great. Merchants rushed to buy books, and books became hard to come by.

Afterwards, under the management of Wang Anshi, the commerce in the Yanyun area of ​​the Song Dynasty quickly rose and then continued to radiate towards the north.

Caravans loaded with goods headed to areas they had never visited before.

Under Su Liang's advice, Cao Yi, the commercial magnate of the Song Dynasty, opened up many new commercial tracks.

For example: a long journey at sea.

Sightseeing cruise ships allow the wealthy people of Bianjing City to travel directly from Bianjing to cities such as Dongying Prefecture, Goryeo Island, and Vladivostok to experience different customs.

You can even charter a boat for a long voyage, making it very convenient to go to Qiongzhou Island.

After becoming officials, the new scholars also proposed many novel and practical policies that benefited the country and the people.

The most famous of these is the rotation system proposed by Su Shi.

He believed that the chief and deputy officials of local governments could take turns to govern. For example, the prefect and the assistant prefect, the county magistrate and the county magistrate could be replaced every six months to complement each other's strengths and avoid a situation where one person had the final say.

This system was highly recognized by Su Liang and others, and began to be piloted in many places.

In terms of promoting education.

The three who did the best were Zhang Zai, Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao.

These three people are born to be teachers.

They created a unique teaching method for the local people based on their literacy level.

Easy to understand and humorous.

It has made many illiterate people fall in love with reading.

Whenever these three people gave lectures, the audience inside and outside the classroom was basically shoulder to shoulder, from six-year-old children to eighty-year-old white-bearded old men, people of all ages.

……

The soldiers of the Song Dynasty were also not idle.

After the war, their tasks became mining, road construction, city building, and market building...

Di Qing was very busy in the northwest.

He was unwilling to return to Bian Jing and attended court meetings every day.

……

In the blink of an eye, it was winter.

In less than half a year, the Song Dynasty seemed to have changed completely.

Business was booming, bookshops were everywhere, and small vendors were smiling all day long.

The number of scholars and businessmen among the people increased greatly.

Various rituals and laws have also been popularized and promoted on a large scale.

There were more than ten new tabloids in the city of Bianjing alone.

There are food tabloids, farming tabloids, poetry tabloids, advertising tabloids, legal tabloids, etc.

Civil order is also very good.

Sometimes, Kaifeng Prefecture would hardly handle a case in a month.

Moss had grown on the floor of the government hall, and Bao Zheng was so bored that he wanted to retire.

Baijia Academy is even more brilliant.

There are new inventions almost every month, all of which are rare items that help the development of scholars, farmers, merchants and workers and save labor and brainpower.

As the saying goes: A single spark can start a prairie fire.

At present, all walks of life in the Song Dynasty are springing up like bamboo shoots after a rain, growing healthily and vigorously.

……

The third day of the twelfth lunar month in the second year of Jiayou.

Later in the night.

A heavy snow covered the entire city of Bianjing.

Near noon, Su Liang received an oral order from Zhao Zhen and came to the Chuigong Hall.

In the main hall.

Zhao Zhen was eating hot pot with gusto.

When he saw Su Liang, he immediately called out, "Jingming, come and sit down. It's snowing and cold today, so it's a good time to eat hotpot. I'll treat you!"

Immediately, a eunuch brought a hot pot.

More than ten kinds of hot pot dishes and meats, as well as a pot of imperial wine were also served.

After Su Liang sat down, he picked up the chopsticks and put them down again.

He looked at Zhao Zhen and smiled helplessly.

"Sir, I wonder what you want me to do. I usually talk first and then eat, otherwise I can't eat."

Su Liang knew that if Zhao Zhen really wanted to invite him to eat hotpot, it would be impossible for him to choose the Chuigong Hall as the venue.

Zhao Zhen put down his chopsticks and said with a smile: "Okay, then I will talk about the matter first."

"At present, all walks of life in our dynasty are thriving and making steady progress. However, there are bound to be some problems in the 'rule of man'. After all, officials are not saints, and under prosperity, some bad habits are bound to arise."

"I originally wanted to travel incognito and tour the country, but I don't have enough physical strength right now, and there are still many trivial matters to deal with in the court."

"I want to have you tour the country on my behalf after the New Year for a period of three years to supervise all officials."

"I grant you the Emperor's Sword. With this sword, you can do whatever you want and kill the evil officials on the spot. I also grant you a thousand empty documents, which can be used to promote and transfer local officials at any time. Wherever you go, it is as if I am there in person. How do you do that?"

Su Liang looked hesitant.

Three years is too long.

This matter can be completely handed over to multiple censors. Although it will not be as good as doing it yourself, it will save more effort.

Zhao Zhen handed it over to him, obviously he was somewhat dependent on himself.

Before Su Liang could reply, Zhao Zhen continued, "I know what you are thinking. You don't want to go because you think it would be better to appoint more censors, right?"

Su Liang nodded very sincerely.

There was no need to be polite between him and Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen glared at Su Liang unhappily, and then said, "I sent you to tour the country for two reasons."

"First, I know you don't care about fame and fortune. Seeing that the Song Dynasty is already showing signs of prosperity and that talented people are emerging in the court, I'm afraid you'll want to retire early. Therefore, I want you to do something that is hard but also interesting."

"Secondly, this matter is extremely important to the court. I feel that you, as the head of the censorate, are the most suitable candidate. Only you can do it beyond my satisfaction."

Su Liang thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I do have the idea of ​​retiring early. The court is not in any great trouble right now, and I have owed a lot to my family in recent years. I would rather return to Yangzhou to live with my family and live a comfortable life as a commoner. Of course, if something big happens in the court and I am needed, I will return immediately."

"If I agree to tour the country on behalf of the emperor and complete the task successfully, I wonder if I can retire? If so, I am willing to go!"

"You're dreaming. You even negotiated with me on terms. I don't agree!"

Zhao Zhen stood up, walked to Su Liang, then pulled a chair and sat next to Su Liang.

If all the men saw this, they would definitely be shocked.

How can I sit opposite you like this?

Su Liang was about to stand up, but Zhao Zhen pressed him down by the shoulders.

"Listen to me."

"I know you care about your family, so I am going to grant you special permission to tour with your family. You can take the water route from Bianjing to your hometown Yangzhou, rest for half a month, and then return by sea. You can inspect along the way, and your family can enjoy the surrounding scenery. Then, when you reach the remote areas of the northern border, you can let them return by boat."

"So, in three years of inspection, you will be with your family for at least one year, how about that?"

A smile appeared on Su Liang's face.

This arrangement, with government permission and public funding for travel, really hit the spot.

If he retired, he would definitely take his family around to travel.

Zhao Zhen added: "As for your retirement time, my bottom line is three years after the new emperor ascends the throne. By then, Zimu will have grown up, and you can rest!"

Zhao Zhen had already planned Su Liang's official career, and was determined to have them, father and son, assist two generations of emperors.

"What? Are you still not satisfied?" Zhao Zhen looked at Su Liang again.

At this moment, Zhao Zhen's order did not seem like an emperor commanding his subjects, but more like a request between friends.

Su Liang immediately bowed and said, "Sir, I obey your orders!"

"That's right! Eat, eat..." Zhao Zhen's crisp laughter could be heard outside the hall.

……

The third day of the second month in the third year of Jiayou.

Bian Jing Wharf, on a merchant ship.

Su Liang, his father-in-law Tang Ze, his wife Tang Wanmei, his son Su Zimu, and his daughter Su Qin were all standing on the deck, all with smiles on their faces.

Wen Yanbo, Wu Yu, Ouyang Xiu, Wang Yaochen and other ministers waved and said goodbye to Su Liang's family.

Wang Yaochen said with envy: "Jingming is so lucky!"

"I heard that it was your majesty who suggested that Jingming take his whole family on the trip, and only then did Jingming agree to tour the country for three years on behalf of the emperor. An official should be like Su Jingming!"

aside.

Ouyang Xiu stroked his beard and said, "Jingming deserves such favor. In terms of reform achievements, he is the best in the whole dynasty. He refused the post of prime minister, which is something that ordinary people can do. Jingming is truly a saint of the time."

The gentlemen on the side nodded one after another.

Su Liang's contribution to the court, his emphasis on family, and his indifference to fame and fortune are all the attitudes of a saint.

……

Half an hour later.

Above the Bian River, flags are like clouds.

Su Liang stood on the deck, looking at the endless ships passing by and the dense crowds of people on both sides of the river. He looked into the distance and murmured, "The prosperity of the Song Dynasty is expected. My trip here is not in vain. How happy! How happy!"

-

The main text of the book is finished.

(End of this chapter)