Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 17: A Little Bit Unbeatable
Yan Shu's home.

Zhao Xin’s ultimate goal must be his study.

Because only in a man's study can you see what he is doing for the court now.

Like some memorials that have been written but not yet sent out, or some drafts.

If he is lucky, he might be able to pick up a copy, and then he can start discussing the important affairs of the court with his teacher.

of course!

At the beginning, it certainly can't be so direct.

What Zhao Xin said was that he wanted to take a look at the teacher's study to see what books were hidden in it, and by the way, take a look at what poems his teacher had written in the past.

then……

After Zhao Xin searched for a while...

A poem that Zhao Xin still memorizes today appeared before his eyes.

'Huanxisha!'

'A new song and a glass of wine, the same weather and pavilion as last year. When will the setting sun return? The flowers fall helplessly, and the familiar swallows return. I wander alone in the fragrant path of the small garden.'

After Zhao Xin silently recited it in his heart, he asked Yan Shu:

"Teacher, did you write this?"

Yan Shu also replied modestly: "I wrote this poem in Xixi, Taizhou, when I was 20 years old. Now, it has been almost 20 years."

The popularity of this poem can be said to be very high.

In the Song Dynasty, it can even be said that it had become a household name.

of course!

We must thank those brothel girls. After all, if it weren't for them, it would be very difficult for this poem to be sung well.

Zhao Xin looked at the expression on his teacher's face.

It's called modesty.

In fact, he is secretly proud of it.

but……

He does have reason to be proud. After all, even he, who lives thousands of years later, can recite it by heart.

Even though I don’t remember the author’s name anymore, I still remember that I learned this poem.

Zhao Xin also quickly found an opportunity and asked, "What is this Xixi in Taizhou and where is it?"

Yan Shu didn't know how to explain it to him, so he just said, "Taizhou is next to Yangzhou. And Yangzhou is in the southeast of the Song Dynasty. Yangzhou has been prosperous since ancient times. It is not much worse than the capital of the Song Dynasty."

Zhao Xin also asked: "What does Guodu mean?"

Yan Shu: "It is where the Duke of Shou is now."

Zhao Xin: “Here?”

Yan Shu: "No, this whole area under my feet. It includes your teacher's home and the palace where you live."

Zhao Xin asked again: "Teacher, what do you usually do at home?"

Yan Shu said, "Drink some wine, read some books, and write some poems."

Zhao Xin: "Then you don't have to be on duty?"

Yan Shu: "The duty is inside the imperial city."

Zhao Xin: "So what do you do when you're on duty, teacher?"

Yan Shu said, "It's too complicated. Even if I tell you, Lord Shou, you may not understand it."

Zhao Xin also said: "I just don't understand, that's why I'm asking."

Seeing that Zhao Xin was very persistent, Yan Shu said, "Your teacher is now on duty at the Privy Council."

Zhao Xin then asked, "What is the Privy Council?"

At last……

After Zhao Xin's repeated questioning, he almost dug out the entire organizational structure of the Song Dynasty.

Yan Shu said, "... In this case, the Secretariat is responsible for administration, the Privy Council is responsible for military affairs, and the Three Departments are responsible for finance. To be honest... Duke Shouguo, do you understand?"

Zhao Xin also said: "It's a little bit messy."

Zhao Xin only knew about Zhongshu, Menxia and Shangshu. But you set up a Privy Council and the Three Departments. It's really hard to remember them all at once.

But this made Zhao Xin interested, "So... Teacher, you actually know how to fight?" Yan Shu also said, "Your teacher, I don't know how to fight at all. As a scholar, why do you need to know how to fight? There are naturally people below you who can fight."

Zhao Xin also said: "If you can't fight, why can you be the Privy Councilor?"

This sentence immediately got to the point.

Yan Shu looked down at Zhao Xin, considering whether to tell him that the Song Dynasty has its own national conditions.

Why didn't the previous titles of Zhongshu, Menxia and Shangshu be used, but instead we had to use Privy Council and Sansishi, such complicated organizations and official titles?

It was because the Tang Dynasty had set a good example. Also, Taizu came to power in that way, so they had to guard against military officers like thieves.

Since the process was too long and the background was too complicated, Yan Shu was just going to fool around and said, "This is too complicated to explain. I think it's better not to explain it. When you grow up, you will naturally understand it."

But Zhao Xin refused to do so and continued, "Teacher, just tell me! You don't even know how to fight, but I let you be in charge of military affairs. Aren't you just messing around!"

Yan Shu was silent for a while, then said, "...your teacher is not very good at fighting, but he is not so good at it as to do anything reckless."

Zhao Xin: "Teacher, please tell me."

Yan Shu: "Really want to say it?"

If he were to talk about this, Yan Shu estimated that it would take more than an entire afternoon to finish.

Zhao Xin also said: "Go ahead, I'm listening."

Yan Shu hesitated for a long time before he started to speak ill of the general.

"Do you know... what dynasty existed before the Song Dynasty?"

Zhao Xin thought, aren’t you talking nonsense?

How could a three-year-old like me know that?

Fortunately, Yan Shu also said directly next, "Before my Song Dynasty, there was a dynasty called the Tang Dynasty."

"The Tang Dynasty was undoubtedly very powerful in the early days, and it defeated all the barbarians around it and made them submit."

"But as the territory of the Tang Dynasty becomes larger and larger, the land outside needs generals to guard it."

"For this reason, the Jiedushi came into being."

"The military governors were normal at first, but with the rise of a Tang Dynasty emperor named Li Longji, who indulged in extravagance and debauchery, a military governor named An Lushan became dissatisfied with the court and rebelled."

Zhao Xin: "Then what?"

Yan Shu: "Then, the rebellion of the Jiedushi continued in the Tang Dynasty for more than a hundred years. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, those Jiedushi even established their own regimes and did not listen to the court at all."

"In name, they are still the military governors of the imperial court, but in reality, they have all established their own regimes."

"And that's how I, the Great Song, came here."

Zhao Xin: "How come?"

Yan Shu said, "He is also a military governor."

Zhao Xin: "Uh... So Da Song became the emperor because he was disobedient?"

Yan Shu tilted his head and hissed, "No, this makes it seem like the Song Dynasty is a traitor."

He could only try to make amends by saying, "At that time, the world was in chaos, and the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was not a good emperor. He made the people of the world live in misery and the people suffered terribly."

Then, Yan Shu continued, "Then, our Great Song Emperor Taizu, your great-great-grandfather, Duke Shou, pacified the world with his own strength. Otherwise, the people of the Great Song might still be in the midst of war."

Zhao Xin waited for him to continue.

Yan Shu said, "It is precisely because the Jiedushi in the late Tang Dynasty had too much power and liked to rebel. The so-called rebellion is... Therefore, in the early days of Emperor Taizu's establishment of the Song Dynasty, he discussed with his ministers a system that was different from the previous Tang Dynasty."

"This is the origin of the Privy Council and the Three Envoys."

"This is also the reason why the Privy Council cannot employ people who know how to fight, but must employ scholars like your teacher like me."

Yan Shu has given the introduction as briefly as possible.

Zhao Xin then said, "If you don't know how to fight, how can the Song Dynasty defeat others?"

Yan Shu suddenly felt that Zhao Xin must have an IQ of more than just a three-year-old to be able to ask such a question.

of course!

If you ask him what specifically he thinks is wrong, he will be unable to put it into words for a moment.

I just feel...

Then Yan Shu said, "It's a bit hard to beat him."

(End of this chapter)