No war in the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 61: The Road to Becoming Prime Minister (Please Read)

Su Ze returned to Zhang's house again, and found that Zhang Yaozuo had returned from Dengwen Drum Court very early today.

Ever since the incident in the Privy Council, Zhang Yaozuo's performance has been exemplary. He arrives at the Dengwen Drum Court early every day, and sometimes even stays overnight in the yamen on duty.

As soon as Su Ze returned home, Zhang Yaozuo called him into the study.

Zhang Yaozuo dismissed his attendants and said:

"The matter of the Privy Council has become a big deal again."

"The monks from Daxiangguo Temple and the Taoist priests from Dongxiao Palace performed rituals for a day, but the demon appeared again the next night and frightened a young monk from Daxiangguo Temple unconscious."

"and then?"

"The emperor has tightened the palace security, recruited experts to capture the demon, and ordered the Kaifeng Prefecture to investigate the matter."

Su Ze nodded slightly. It seemed that Renzong was not frightened by the demon, and he knew how to approach the case from both superstition and investigation perspectives.

Zhang Yaozuo added:

"Guo Zhen, acting governor of Kaifeng Prefecture, submitted a letter to the emperor shirking responsibility, claiming the Kaifeng Prefecture couldn't enter the Southern Court to investigate. The emperor appointed Bao Zheng from the Censorate to assist him. Guo Zhen is now sitting on a hot bed."

Su Ze looked at Zhang Yaozuo who was gloating. Even at this time, they were still trying to sabotage each other. They were worthy of being the ministers of the Song Dynasty.

It is no wonder that even though Zhang Yaozuo has a relationship with Zhang Xiuyuan, his career is still not going smoothly.

Zhang Yaozuo had been seeking the position of Supervisor of Prefecture Affairs, which was the second-in-command position in Kaifeng Prefecture. The reason why Zhang Yaozuo could not get this position was not only because the emperor was wary of rumors that he favored his relatives, but also because of the opposition of Guo Zhen, the acting governor of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Guo Zhen was able to hold such a high position as the acting governor of Kaifeng Prefecture, naturally because he had a faction. He belonged to Lu Yijian's conservative faction, and politically he also supported Empress Cao in adopting the son of King Pu'an Yi and confirming the crown prince as soon as possible.

This is a natural contradiction to Zhang Yaozuo, who is Zhang Xiuyuan's relative.

The reason why the position of Adviser of Public Affairs is so important is that the promotion of officials in the Song Dynasty also has its own set of paths, and this position is extremely critical.

Generally speaking, there are only two ways to be promoted to the prime minister level official.

One way is to be promoted from the position of poet in the two systems, because the poets in the two systems are closest to the emperor and are responsible for drafting imperial edicts, so their positions are very critical.

However, in both systems, only talented and well-educated Confucian officials can serve as poets, and they must also take the examination to be poets.

Zhang Yaozuo had no talent in literature. Even if Renzong favored Zhang Xiuyuan, he would not risk the disapproval of the world by promoting him to the position of the second-in-command.

Another way is to rise up through the path of a people-friendly official.

The path to promotion is from counties and prefectures to the imperial court. The two positions of "Inspector of Prefecture Affairs" and "Acting Governor of Kaifeng Prefecture" are both necessary paths.

Only by making achievements in these two positions, the highest among the people in the world, can one be promoted to the position of Sansi Shi, also known as "Ji Xiang", and then become the prime minister of the two ministries.

For example, Bao Zheng, who was just mentioned, first served as the acting governor of Kaifeng Prefecture in the history before Su Ze traveled through time, then was promoted to the Three-Division Envoy, and then was appointed as the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council.

Zhang Yaozuo naturally wanted to be the prime minister, so he was very eager for the position of Supervisor of Provincial Affairs.

Zhang Yaozuo gloated for a while, then said to Su Ze:
"Stay safe in the city these days and don't get involved in any more incidents. Also, you'll have to report to the Imperial Household Department soon regarding store and house affairs. Imperial Household Director Zhang is pressing you hard."

Zhang Taifu is Zhang Fangping, who is now the judge of Taifu Temple. Although he is in the same party as Lu Yijian in terms of political inclination, he is still a relatively upright person and is also a capable official in the court.

The Store and House Affairs Department is an institution under the Taifu Temple. Now all three positions of the director and two deputy directors are vacant. The work of the Store and House Affairs Department is almost paralyzed. Zhang Fangping naturally urged Su Ze to take office as soon as possible.

Su Ze nodded. He planned to visit for a few more days to find out the situation of the store and house affairs before going to Taifu Temple to take up his post.

After finishing the official business, Zhang Yaozuo said:

"Tomorrow is a day off. Your future father-in-law is coming to visit our house. You should not go out tomorrow." Su Ze agreed. At this time, Zhang Yaozuo's entourage brought fish sashimi. Zhang Yaozuo invited Su Ze to eat sashimi together, but Su Ze flatly refused again.

Zhang Yaozuo could only sigh that Su Ze did not know how to appreciate delicious food, so he let him return to his room.

Back in the room, Su Ze picked up a book from the bookshelf and silently entered the Peach Blossom Spring.

Next to Azhi's printing house, the [Countryside Iron Shop] (blue) has been completed, but a group of spiritual boys gathered around the [Countryside Iron Shop], and the fire in the blacksmith shop was not even lit.

Su Ze walked over and asked A Tie, the craftsman in charge of the [Countryside Iron Shop]. It turned out that the reason the blacksmith shop was not in operation was that the [Countryside Iron Shop] had no fuel and iron ore.

I was careless and actually forgot about this. How can I make iron without raw materials?

"A Tie, what do you need?"

Ah Tie shook the radish leaves and said:
"The best fuel is charcoal. Charcoal is easy to get. All you need to do is build a charcoal kiln and burn it. You can use the wood that Qiao Yun Tongzi chops down to burn it."

"Coal is also acceptable, but ironware forged from coal is not durable. There should be coal in the mountains of Peach Blossom Spring. All you need to do is recruit a mining boy to go up the mountain and look for coal."

"The same goes for iron ore. You just need to recruit a mining boy to go up the mountain to look for ore."

This Peach Blossom Spring is truly a treasure land. There are iron mines and coal mines on the mountain hidden behind the clouds.

Su Ze thought of something and asked:
"Are there gold and silver mines on that mountain?"

A Tie shook his head, and Su Ze was a little disappointed. It seemed that not everything was available.

Yes, if there were gold and silver mines, why would I develop a paradise? Or even if there were, they would have been mined out by the previous owner of the paradise.

"I'll recruit you right away."

Su Ze was unwilling to spend more cultural energy to build a charcoal kiln, so he recruited a mining boy and asked him to go up the mountain to collect some iron ore and coal.

This time, Su Ze's luck followed the European and African law of conservation. He only recruited a green-quality mining boy without any special skills. Su Ze sent him up the mountain to mine.

Having just finished dealing with the matter of the [Countryside Iron Shop], the Kitchen God from the [Neighborhood Shop] found Su Ze again.

"Master Taoyuan, I can't cook without even salt!"

Su Ze then remembered that the God of Cooking had a skill called "picky", which required him to use ingredients from Peach Blossom Land to cook.

This material naturally includes seasonings and salt.

No way, we even have to produce our own salt?
Su Ze spread his hands and said:

"How can I help you get salt?"

The God of Cooking held up the soup spoon and said:

"It's simple. There's well salt in the back mountain. Master Taoyuan, build a salt well, and the Mineral Boy will be able to bring the salt back."

Su Ze quickly unfolded the scroll. Fortunately, [Salt Well] was a green building and only required 10 points of cultural energy.

Su Ze felt distressed when he thought that he had to spend fifteen points of cultural energy just after coming in.

Fortunately, the chef's next words made Su Ze happy.

　Continue to add more

　　
　
(End of this chapter)