I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 106 A rare woman
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Li Kefei felt that his daughter must have been spoiled by him. She even dared to think about going to the palace to watch the imperial examinations. Isn't she too bold?
More importantly, his daughter thought too highly of him and actually thought that he, a newly appointed official, could get her into the palace.

Oh my God, I am just a minor official of the seventh rank!

Under the feet of this emperor, it is not an exaggeration to say that I am just a small official.

In front of his daughter, Li Kefei certainly couldn't admit that he didn't have the ability. He could only use his father's authority to drive Li Qingzhao away, saying, "Go away, stop making trouble!"

After being driven away by Li Kefei, Li Qingzhao felt a little unwilling to accept the situation. She had heard that the harem was full of hidden talents, and it would be very interesting to compete with the concubines in literary talent. It would be even more fun if she could win first place.

"There has never been a precedent for women taking the imperial examinations. Taking the imperial examinations in the palace is a chance to test your skills and showcase your knowledge, which is a blessing."

Thinking of this, Li Qingzhao went to her master Su Shi's house, hoping to ask her master to help her think of a solution.

By the way, the reason why Su Shi liked Li Qingzhao was not because Li Kefei helped build a bridge between Li Qingzhao and Su Shi.

At the beginning, Su Shi was recalled to the capital by Zhao Ya to serve as prime minister, and all of Su's disciples agreed to go and welcome Su Shi's "return of the king".

On such an important occasion, Li Kefei would definitely not take the initiative to bring his daughter to show off. How snobbish does that make him seem?

However, Li Qingzhao was highly praised by Chao Buzhi, a famous literary figure and Su Shi's senior disciple. It can be said that Chao Buzhi felt that Li Qingzhao was talented and capable, and was close to that of his predecessor since he was a child.

Coincidentally, at that time, Li Qingzhao became famous for her poem "Ru Meng Ling: Last night the rain was sparse and the wind was sudden", which brought honor to Su Shi.

Therefore, Chao Buzhi specifically asked Li Kefei to bring Li Qingzhao to show their teacher Su Shi.

As a result, even Su Shi had heard of Li Qingzhao's name and her poem "Ru Meng Ling: Last Night the Rain Was Sparse and the Wind Was Strong".

Su Shi praised it generously, saying, "The language is novel and the conception is ingenious. It is truly a model of ci poetry. I applaud it!"

Li Qingzhao admired her master, a master of literary world, the most.

The two families are not far from each other.

Li Qingzhao often went to Su Shi's house to play.

Su Shi's family of disciples often stayed at his house, drinking and reciting poems.

Coincidentally, these are also what Li Qingzhao likes.

As a result, Li Qingzhao quickly became friends with these disciples of Su Shi.

In this circle with a strong literary atmosphere, Li Qingzhao's talent and learning improved rapidly due to the influence of her surroundings and her intelligence and quick thinking, and she was on the verge of standing out.

Seeing this, Su Shi liked his extremely smart little disciple even more. In his spare time, he would give Li Qingzhao some pointers or communicate with her through poetry.

As soon as Li Qingzhao arrived at Su Shi's house, she saw dozens of people, either disciples of Su Shi or people who wanted to join Su Shi's school, gathered in Su Shi's house.

Li Qingzhao knew that most of these people were here to seek official positions rather than to visit their master.

Now, Zhao Ya let Su Shi, Zhang Shangying and Li Qingchen be responsible for screening talents, while Su Zhe was responsible for anti-corruption and creating official positions.

Combining the two, what it represents is a real official career.

Of course, the reason why Zhao Ya chose Su Shi, Zhang Shangying and Li Qingchen to assess officials and recommend talents was not only because they all had excellent character, but also because he wanted to let these three people from different factions supervise each other.

Su Che was also a man of good character. When he arranged officials to investigate corruption, although he would choose people from the old party, he would definitely promote talents who could benefit the people.

This is not only because Su Shi and Su Zhe want to repay Zhao Ya for his kindness in recognizing their talents, but also because they have to be responsible for their own reputation, status and conscience. After all, if the talents they select and promote are not capable, they will not only lose face, but also be criticized.

The key point is that the cultural heritage of the Zhao Song Dynasty was too prosperous. There were one batch of imperial examinations after another, and one batch of students from the Imperial College after another. The Zhao Song court was extremely redundant, with seven or eight people crammed into one position.

The Zhao Song Dynasty certainly had no shortage of talent.

Under such circumstances, since Zhao Ya trusted and valued Su Shi and Su Zhe so much, they must have helped Zhao Ya and the Zhao Song Dynasty select and promote the best talents.

However, even so, coming to Sumen to try your luck is definitely an excellent way to become an official.

You know, many people don’t lack talent, but lack opportunities.

If you come to Sumen and show your talents, you may get such an opportunity.

It is precisely because of this that the most popular families in the Zhao Song Dynasty today are the Cai family and the Su family. Even the Zhang family is somewhat inferior to these two families.

This is also the reason why Zhao Tingzhi tried to find a way to join the Su School after offending Cai Jing.

Li Qingzhao greeted all the disciples of Su Shi warmly.

After asking, Li Qingzhao learned that Su Shi and Su Zhe were left behind by Zhao Ya to discuss matters after leaving the court and had not returned yet.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhao drank with several of Su's disciples in a very free and easy manner. They sang songs, recited poems and composed couplets to express their emotions.

By the time Su Shi and Su Zhe came back, Li Qingzhao was almost drunk.

At this time, Li Qingzhao had already forgotten why she came to see Su Shi.

Seeing Su Shi and Su Zhe coming back and so many people looking for them, they must have important things to do.

I also enjoyed it.

It’s better to go home so as not to disturb others’ work.

So, Li Qingzhao greeted Su Shi and Su Zhe: "I pay my respects to my two masters." Then she prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, Su Shi laughed at Li Qingzhao and said, "You love wine so much, how can you marry a good husband?"

Li Qingzhao said nonchalantly: "Without wine, how can there be good poetry? Wine is the spiritual spring of poetry. Without a good husband, it is fine. Without good wine, it is not."

Su Shi laughed heartily! Wasn't he also such a carefree person? How could he not understand that Li Qingzhao was not being pretentious, but was truly so open-minded.

Su Shi casually asked, "You have nothing to do all day, so you come here to drink. Doesn't your father care about you?"

After Su Shi's "reminder", Li Qingzhao slapped her forehead and said: "I was so drunk that I almost forgot the important things. Today I have something to ask Master."

"What do you want?" Su Shi asked.

Li Qingzhao said openly, "I heard that the palace is going to hold an imperial examination, so I came to see if you have any ideas for me to take. It would be wonderful if you could let me take the exam."

When Su Shi heard that Li Qingzhao came for such a thing, he laughed: "The imperial examination this time is an elegant event for the people in your Majesty's harem. You are not your Majesty's concubine, so why do you go?" The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional.

Su Che on the side looked at Li Qingzhao carefully.

Her figure was slender, like a willow swaying gently in the spring breeze, and every gesture revealed the delicate grace and elegance of a young girl. Her face was as fair as jade, with a drunken blush, like a wisp of cloud on the horizon at dawn. Her eyes were clear and bright, like a pool of autumn water, hiding curiosity and longing for all things in the world. Their movement was full of agility and cleverness. When she smiled, her eyes curved into a crescent moon, as if hiding a sky full of stars.

Overall, although Li Qingzhao cannot be considered a peerless beauty, she is also smart and cute.

Su Che thought, "Your Majesty is not short of beauties. Ordinary beauties would be hard to catch your Majesty's eye, and a woman as extraordinary as Li Yi'an is rare in a century..."

Su Che knew very well that although Zhao Ya was now taking a middle line, which was used by both the old and new parties, it was because Empress Dowager Xiang was still around. It was not so much the political line Zhao Ya wanted to take, but rather the political line Empress Dowager Xiang wanted to take.

Now, facts have proven that this political approach is somewhat unworkable. The contradictions between the old and new parties are too great, the prejudices are too deep, and each party sticks to its own views.

There is no guarantee that after Empress Dowager Xiang passes away, Zhao Ya will not be fed up with the endless quarrels and choose one side like Gao Taotao and Zhao Xu, completely abandoning the other.

So which side will Zhao Ya choose?
In fact, even if Su Che thought with his heels, he could guess that if Zhao Ya really had to make a choice, he would most likely choose the New Party.

This is not only because Zhao Ya is already on the path of reform.

Also, the Zhao Song Dynasty had now reached a point where reform was absolutely necessary.

To put it bluntly, if the laws of our ancestors had always been effective, the Zhao Song Dynasty would not have reached its current state.

The key point is that when the ancestral laws were effective, the situation was completely different from the current situation.

Putting aside other things, let’s just talk about how much land was occupied by tax-exempt people such as dignitaries, gentry, and wealthy families at that time, and how much land has not been annexed by these termites now?

Without the land as a major source of fiscal revenue, if the Zhao Song Dynasty wanted to survive, what else could it do but reform? Would it just wait for death?
In fact, when Gao Taotao was in power, these old party members had already tried it. They knew that it was impossible to keep this huge dynasty alive just by cutting costs.

Otherwise, why do you think Zhao Xu could so easily return to the path of reform after he took power?
Therefore, if Zhao Ya was really forced to choose between the two, these old party members would definitely be abandoned, and their fate would probably be even worse than before.

If it were just Su Che himself, although he did not sit on the position of prime minister like Wang Anshi, Sima Guang and Zhang Dun, he had been very close to this position many years ago. Politically, he actually had no regrets or nostalgia.

But his brother Su Shi was different.

Because of his straightforward and honest character, Su Shi had been depressed and frustrated for many years. He was demoted again and again by the court, and finally even demoted to Danzhou, Hainan Island, which was hot and full of miasma. He really suffered a lot.

Fortunately, just when Su Shi was about to collapse, Zhao Ya ascended the throne and issued an imperial edict to transfer Su Shi back to the court, promoted him to the position of prime minister, and used him in an important position.

After waiting for many years, Su Shi was finally able to realize the political ambition he had pursued for decades.

To be honest, Su Zhe really didn't want his brother to experience another major blow.

If it happened again, Su Zhe really didn't know if his brother, who was already not young anymore, could still bear it?
In that case, we have to think of a solution.

The old party’s biggest reliance now is definitely Empress Dowager Xiang, who has a high status and is grateful to Zhao Ya.

In theory, as long as the Empress Dowager Xiang is there as a protective umbrella, the old party should not suffer any more serious damage.

But recently, Empress Dowager Xiang's health has been very poor. Not only is she often ill, but she is also aging at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Consider also the age of Empress Dowager Xiang.

No one knows which will come first, tomorrow or an accident.

In this case, the Old Party would not continue to compete with the New Party. If they wanted to maintain stability, they would have to find someone who could replace Empress Dowager Xiang and persuade Zhao Ya at the critical moment not to listen to the slander of Zhang Dun, Cai Bian, and Cai Jing and kill the Old Party members.

In fact, some knowledgeable people in the old party have already realized this problem. For example, Han Zhongyan has already begun to make friends with Cai Jing.

Empress Dowager Xiang was also aware of this problem. She asked Zhao Ya to restore Meng Xiang to the position of empress in order to prevent this from happening.

However, Meng Xiang was only Zhao Ya's sister-in-law, not Zhao Ya's mother, and she was only a sister-in-law who did not have much friendship with Zhao Ya. She could not replace Empress Dowager Xiang at all.

In fact, Zheng Xiansu is a good candidate.

But Empress Dowager Xiang had already told Su Che and others that Zheng Xiansu was unreliable, and at the critical moment, Zheng Xiansu would definitely follow Zhao Ya's lead.

If not, Empress Dowager Xiang would not have been able to train Meng Shang as her successor.

But at the moment, it is definitely not enough to rely on Meng Xiang alone.

Then, we must create someone who can help Meng Xiang.

To be honest, Su Che was not sure whether Li Qingzhao, who was not stunningly beautiful, a drunkard, and said to have a gambler habit, could play this role.

But there is no doubt that Li Qingzhao definitely has a charm that other women do not have.

What if Zhao Ya, who has tried all kinds of women, likes this kind of alternative woman?

Moreover, Li Qingzhao had a good status, and the word "Su" was deeply engraved on her forehead. If she could really enter Zhao Ya's harem and gain Zhao Ya's favor, she would definitely help their old party, or at least speak for their Su family.

The key is that if it works, they will make a lot of money, and if it doesn’t, they won’t lose anything.

Thinking of this, Su Zhe began to persuade Su Shi, saying, "Brother, why don't you take this girl to His Majesty for an examination? If His Majesty allows her to take a look, that would be great. If not, the most he can do is send someone to send her back home."

Su Shi was somewhat surprised by Su Zhe's attitude.

But Su Shi had 120% trust in his younger brother Su Zhe. Without this younger brother, he would have died countless times.

Moreover, Su Shi knew very well that when it came to writing poetry and lyrics, Su Zhe was no match for him, but when it came to being an official, he was no match for Su Zhe. Since Su Zhe interrupted him at this moment, he must have a reason.

So Su Shi said to Li Qingzhao: "You are lucky girl. I will take you to see His Majesty later."

Li Qingzhao was overjoyed. The alcohol flushed her pretty face, like the most delicate peach blossoms on a spring branch. Her eyes grew brighter, as if they contained a starry sky, gleaming with spirit and joy.

"Really? Don't lie to me!"

Su Shi laughed: "It's a deal!"

Li Qingzhao was afraid that Su Shi would regret it, so she made a promise to him: "It's hard to catch up with him once you've done it!"

……

(End of this chapter)