A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 124 You Still Say You Have No Connections in the Court (Part )

"Shi Er Lang, I was just about to go to your house to talk to you, and I heard from your servant that you came to the academy."

Lu Lejian came with a mission. His cousin Lu Yijian asked him to have good contact with Song Xuan and try to find out more information.

This was to satisfy Lu Yijian's judgment of some people in the court.

In this Dou Chou incident, Song Xuan is not the biggest winner.

Lu Yijian is the one.

The position of Hanlin Bachelor was handed over by Dou Yuanbin to Ding Du, and once Ding Du's position moved, all the people in the same line would follow suit.

Only in this way can weave more spider webs in the court to maintain one's own power in the court, so that Lu Yijian will have more say in the future.

"Wait for me at home for a while."

Song Xuan would not refuse to contact Lu Lejian, after all, he was a classmate who had been in jail with him.

The relationship between the two sides is also closer.

Lu Lejian followed Song Xuan to his home with a smile.

In his opinion, none of the students in the entire Yingtianfu Academy was as famous as Song Xuan.

He has received a lot of praise just after being admitted to the academy. If he achieves good results in the imperial examinations in the future, who knows what his future will be like.

My cousin specifically told me in the letter that if this boy has good character, you can get along with him wholeheartedly.

Although the Lu family has a large overall presence, they cannot put all their chips together.

"I really enjoyed listening to the story of the stone monkey that Shi Er Lang told me in prison. I wonder when I can listen to the next chapter?"

Song Xuan asked Lu Lejian to sit down and poured him some cold water:

"Brother Lu, don't worry. My bookstore will open in a few days, and there will be a follow-up. I just have to wait for the author to send it to me."

"Oh?" Lu Lejian nodded repeatedly: "I see. Then I'll wait a few more days."

Song Xuan heard Lu Lejian laugh again:

"Shi Er Lang, actually, when I was in prison, I felt a little conflicted and hesitant. I was afraid of staying in there for too long, and I was also afraid that if my cousin found out, it would bring shame to my family."

Lu Lejian knew that Song Xuan was a smart man. Moreover, the Lu family was so famous in the Song Dynasty. How could he not guess that his cousin was the prime minister Lu Yijian?

"Well, now that I think about it, I feel that it was a bit impulsive, but if I were given the choice again, I would still do it."

"Hahaha."

The two laughed for a while, and then heard Lu Lejian say:
"I was right about him. Twelve Lang is a chivalrous man. How could he let such a small matter hinder his righteousness?"

Song Xuan thought that Lu Lejian was flattering him, so he echoed, "Brother Lu, we are all the same kind of people."

"To be honest, I do have a question in my mind." Lu Lejian rambled on for a while before getting to the point:

"How did Twelve Lang know Minister Cao? He took such good care of you!"

Song Xuan leaned back slightly and immediately answered:

"Actually, that was the first time I saw him in prison. Did Minister Cao help us?"

"I have always felt that Minister Cao is a man of character, who enforces the law impartially. He couldn't stand the behavior of that villain Dou Chou, so he didn't protect the officials and seemed to be biased towards students like us."

Song Xuan's words were flawless, and Lu Lejian resolved the doubts in his cousin's mind. There was no collusion between the two of them.

It was entirely Dou Chou who ran into Cao Liyong's gun, and it was entirely his own fault.

"That's true." Lu Lejian immediately brought up his cousin:

"My cousin and I wrote to each other about this matter. He also told me about it. He has been complaining to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor about our grievances. It was also because Minister Cao came to investigate personally that we have reached the current situation."

"Oh?" Song Xuan smiled, "So that's how it is!"

Lu Lejian also wanted to help his cousin recruit people, especially someone like Song Xuan who looked like he would pass the imperial examination in the future.

It would be a good idea to win him over while his status is low.

Otherwise, if you wait until they become rich before you come, the difficulty will increase significantly.

"Yes."

Song Xuan immediately saluted and said, "I hope that when Brother Lu writes to me, he can thank me for your cousin's kind words."

"Hey, why do we have to say such strange things to each other?"

Lu Lejian knew that it was still a bit inappropriate to say such words afterwards, but if he didn't say it next time, there would be no chance to do so in the future.

Especially the fact that there was no connection between Song Xuan and Cao Liyong was what made Lu Lejian feel uneasy.

The two of them talked about some other fantasies about studying in the academy, and then Lui Lok simply wanted to say goodbye.

Song Xuan took the initiative to walk them to the door. The two of them made plans to get together next time. Then they saw a postman standing at the door:
"Is this Song Xuan's home?"

"That's right, I am."

Song Xuan was a little surprised and asked what was going on.

"A letter from Tokyo, for you."

The postman took out the letter from the cloth bag, handed it to Song Xuan, and asked him to sign his name to indicate that he had received it.

Song Xuan was a little confused. Generally speaking, most of the items delivered through the Song Dynasty Post Station were official documents. There were private messengers who specialized in delivering letters and items. In big cities like Tokyo, there were special letter shops that provided letter writing and delivery services.

"I don't know anyone in Tokyo?"

Song Xuan took the letter and felt that there was no such thing as letter fraud in the Song Dynasty at present.

"It says on it that it was sent by Cao Guanren to Song Xuan. There's no mistake about it!"

The postman mentioned it and left immediately.

People like him are usually employed by the court and don't need to be paid by Song Xuan.

Lu Lejian, who was about to leave, narrowed his eyes.

You also said that there is no close connection between you and Cao Liyong?
He even took the initiative to write to you!
If it wasn't Cao Liyong, could it be a descendant of the great general Cao Wei?
This family is a family of founding generals, and has nothing to do with you, so it is impossible for them to write to you!
"Mr. Cao?"

Song Xuan showed a thoughtful look on his face. After thanking him again, he asked Lu Lejian to leave.

Letters are private, how can they be opened by outsiders?

Lu Lejian also knew about this.

Because the letters between him and his cousin were also delivered through the post station.

Besides, the post station was originally intended to provide various services to the officials of the Song Dynasty.

"Song Twelve didn't tell the truth just now!"

"But then again, who would easily reveal their cards?"

"Just now Song Twelve was pretending to act in front of me. Hey, did he really think he could fool my eyes?"

Lu Lejian felt that he was lucky that he did not delay his cousin's instructions. Otherwise, if he missed today, how could he have found out such important news?
But he couldn't understand why Song Xuan, a country boy, caught the eye of Cao Liyong?

I heard from my family that Cao Liyong relied on his past achievements and had been in a high position for a long time, but he was too arrogant and looked down on everyone.

Ever since Kou Zhun was demoted and died, he looked down upon these prime ministers even more.

Although Kou Zhun had threatened to kill him if they couldn't reach an agreement, Cao Liyong knew who was truly capable and who was truly a villain! Song Xuan returned to his room and first confirmed that the envelope had not been opened. It was even sealed with mud. Then he slowly tore open the envelope with a knife.

A few sheets of letter paper fell out from inside.

"It really was written by Cao Liyong!"

"He doesn't really want me to be his son-in-law, does he? He takes a joke at the dinner table seriously, right?"

Song Xuan looked at Cao Liyong's letter, the content of which was mostly just bragging, saying that he had already taken care of everything regarding Dou Chou.

In the future you may encounter some difficulties from the remnants of the party, which is common.

But life in this world is not always smooth sailing!

Our daughter is still young. I'm afraid that even if she grows up a little, you, Song Twelve, may not be able to pass the imperial examination. It's better to give up this idea as soon as possible.

It's not that I look down on you, but if you don't make any progress in the exam, why don't you come to Tokyo and join me?

You look like a typical Song Dynasty person standing guard at the gate of the palace.

In addition, I heard you say that there will definitely be a rebellion in the Naga of Western Xia in the future. Li Mingde has recently made some movements on the border, and the prime ministers are discussing how to respond with your policy paper.

It has been several days since we could come up with a definite idea as to whether to fight or make peace.

If you ask me, just hit it directly, no need to waste time talking nonsense.

But when it comes to war, they start talking about how it's a waste of money and manpower, and that makes me annoyed.

By the way, I was just talking about something. If you have difficulty in the imperial examination, why not come and serve me as a guard? According to your guess, the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia will go to war sooner or later, and that will be a good opportunity for you to make a name for yourself.

Such an opportunity is hard to come by, so there is no need to waste your best years on the imperial examination.

Based on my many years of experience as an official, most of those who passed the imperial examinations turned out to be idiots after becoming officials.

Many people speak the words of sages, but when they serve as officials, they do foolish things.

Finally, Cao Liyong said that if he had thought it over, he would write me back.

I can easily fill you in among the imperial guards without even having to tattoo your face.

After all, Cao Liyong was the highest-ranking military officer in the entire Song Dynasty. It was no exaggeration to say that he was the Grand Marshal of the Army of the World.

But he really couldn't mobilize the army on his own.

Because this is how Zhao Kuangyin came to power, he knew very well how military generals seized the throne, and he took serious precautions against military generals usurping the throne.

"Hahaha."

Song Xuan thought that Lao Cao's letter writing was pretty damn cute.

How a friendship between men begins is generally very simple.

"But Lao Cao, you don't feel that you're in a miserable situation at all."

At least the example of Di Qing was deeply imprinted in Song Xuan's mind.

It is really sad to see such a heroic figure end up like that.

Song Xuan knew that no one might dare to open the letter from Cao Liyong, but the same might not be true for the reply he wrote to him.

So there are some words that Song Xuan would not write.

He began to think about how to write a reply to Lao Cao.

"Lao Cao, I have received the letter. You just wait for my high school list to marry your daughter. It is better to raise your daughter to be pretty, otherwise I will really choose to go to the wrong door and not come to your door to be your son-in-law."

"After all, I'm still young and my eyesight is very shallow. I can't see things like virtuous and benevolent. Of course, the first thing I see is the face, breasts, buttocks and legs."

"Otherwise, even if your daughter is as talented as Zhong Wuyan but ugly, I really can't bring myself to eat her."

"As for me serving under you as a guard, you really have good judgment. Everyone thinks that I, Song Twelve, am famous for my literary talent, but that's not the case. I know a lot more."

"..."

Song Xuan wrote a lot in a very eloquent manner.

Then wait for the ink to dry, then carefully seal it, and cover it with Indonesia on the top and bottom to prevent anyone from opening it.

"Young Master" Tao Hong knocked on the door and said, "The custom-made wooden cabinet has been delivered and installed downstairs."

Song Xuan picked up the envelope, pressed Cao Liyong's letter with a paperweight, and followed Tao Hong downstairs.

Song Xuan had no intention of trying anything high-tech.

The numbers one, two, and three were too easy to change, so he simply chose capital letters like zero, one, and two.

Although this set of numbers has existed for a long time, it was not until Zhu Yuanzhang cracked down on corruption that it was vigorously promoted.

Song Xuan stood in front of the counter, where there were four "ticket-issuing" positions.

There are 1,000 combinations in Permutation 3, from three zeros to three nines. Each time a number is drawn, the probability of winning is one in a thousand.

After promoting the game, he later started the Pick 5 game, so that he could proceed step by step.

Song Xuan pushed the number one, and the connection behind the counter shifted.

Tao Hong took out the seal of "1" and stamped it on the judged lottery ticket. The whole ticket was stamped with numbers, and the waiting time was very long.

The lottery ticket would have the issue number, the day of the draw, etc. printed on it early on.

Below is the number that needs to be filled in, and finally it is torn in the middle. The customer takes two-thirds and the store keeps the remaining stub.

In addition to being convenient for verification, it is also convenient for accounting.

This also makes it more difficult to forge fake lottery tickets to claim prizes.

Song Xuan chose three numbers, and Tao Hong figured it out easily. There are at most five groups of numbers on a lottery ticket, and the maximum number that can be bet is ten, which makes calculations easier.

Ten cents per chapter of a novel, and a single-number lottery ticket for free. If you want to buy multiple groups, you need to pay more.

The general price of mulberry paper is fifteen wen per sheet, but the cost of high-quality paper used for calligraphy, painting and official documents is at least double that.

Song Xuan cut an octave piece of writing paper into several small pieces. He could make a lot of money just by selling these small pieces of paper, not to mention this kind of winning model, which only a few people could win.

"Master, when are we going to start? The brothers can't wait any longer."

"Hold on, we haven't opened up the channel for Chengdu mulberry paper yet. Otherwise, even if we succeed, we will only be making wedding clothes for others."

Song Xuan fiddled with the props for a while, then smiled again:

"I forgot to tell you guys that I've asked Yingtian Academy to take the blame for this deal. I'll give them two out of ten cents. If anything goes wrong in the future, we won't be the first to take the blame."

Tao Hong and others naturally had no objection. It was foreseeable that after this business made money, many people would be jealous.

In addition to suppressing it, they will also imitate it.

They had already witnessed these things in Lema Town, and now they were just experiencing them all over again in Songcheng.

Besides, we brothers are all grown up. If anyone wants to cause trouble, don’t blame us for making trouble at night.

"Master, Mr. Lei has been running around these days, and there is still no news."

Tao Hong pointed to the warehouse in the yard:
"We bought all the mulberry paper available on the market in Songcheng, and even a lot of hemp paper for printing storybooks."

(End of this chapter)