A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 283 Torturing the Diarykeeper

The conversation then turned to the issue of Song Xuan being targeted during the palace examination.

Fan Zhongyan had previously had this idea in mind, intending to report it to the emperor after the mourning period ended.

Upon hearing of the injustice suffered by the students, I wrote down all my thoughts at once.

If they manipulated the most important imperial examination in the eyes of all students, it's hard not to believe they would also engage in underhanded tactics in other examinations.

This would destroy the hard-earned achievements of three generations of emperors.

This is no small matter.

Hearing Fan Zhongyan speak so eloquently, Zhao Zhen couldn't help but chime in:

"Yes, I never imagined that anyone would do something so infuriating!"

None of Wang Zeng and the others spoke.

It's hard to say without evidence.

If Chen Yaozi had been pinned down and killed back then, everything would have been fine.

Lu Yijian had not expected Chen Yaozi to be so ruthless in his work.

That was definitely an impulsive act.

Now we have to clean up his mess.

Even though he failed to win Song Xuan as his son-in-law, Song Xuan did see through his daughter's illness at a glance, which still helped Lü Yijian.

But gratitude aside...

Interests are interests!
What feelings or bonds?

Or should everyone put their own interests aside?

Seeing that no one responded, Zhao Zhen directly stated his position:
"Twelfth Brother, the officials in the Ministry of Personnel want you to serve as an official in Kaifeng Prefecture. You can choose between the positions of Judicial Officer and Military Advisor. What do you think of this arrangement?"

Upon hearing the official's question, Lü Yijian finally understood.

The Emperor is clearly favoring Song Xuan, implying that someone is trying to frame him.

However, Lü Yijian understood in an instant.

As the official grew older, he also wanted to cultivate his own people.

Song Xuan achieved the highest honors in all three categories, becoming the first scholar personally selected by the emperor on the spot.

This is unprecedented, and it's likely that no one will appear again for many years to come.

How can one avoid being regarded as a confidant by the officials?
Moreover, there's the matter of Empress Guo.

Song Xuan disregarded the risks involved and stood up for the emperor, which would surely win the emperor's favor.

But now the Empress Dowager is ruling as regent, and even the emperor has to bow down.

All of this shows that Lü Yijian underestimated the importance the Emperor placed on Song Xuan.

Upon hearing this, Song Xuan glanced at Lü Yijian, then smiled:
"I have no objection to the high-ranking officials in the court being granted official positions as Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) as is customary."

Song Xuan was clear about the duties of the judge; his superior was the prefect, Chen Yaozuo.

He hadn't had much contact with the other one, but it should be an official position lower than that of a judge.

"Your Majesty, this is inappropriate!"

Fan Zhongyan immediately spoke up:

"If someone dares to do this during the imperial examination, you can imagine how arrogant they are on ordinary days."

With Fan Zhongyan's offer as a pretext, Zhao Zhen naturally spoke up:
"Lord Lü, what do you think?"

Upon hearing Zhao Zhen's initiative in asking, Lü Yijian nodded in agreement:
"That makes sense."

Wang Zeng sat aside and watched the excitement.

He had seen the document beforehand.

After reading it, he chose to report it directly, wanting to see the government's attitude and subsequent actions.

After all, if the emperor wants to rule personally, he must demonstrate a certain level of political skill.

After all, the current Empress Dowager is quite experienced in ruling.

If adjustments were made suddenly and easily, it would be a disaster for the Song Dynasty.

"Since you gentlemen think this makes sense, Prime Minister Lü should still speak to the people in the Ministry of Personnel. I will speak to the Empress Dowager."

"Here."

Lü Yijian responded, realizing that the Emperor had indeed grown up.

He actually wanted to seize power.

Moreover, Empress Dowager Liu seemed to let it go unchecked.

Lü Yijian guessed that the Empress Dowager was not very satisfied with this matter either.

After all, what they did was so despicable that it disgraced scholars.

Just as the matter was being settled, Song Xuan spoke up:

"Your Majesty, I have something to say."

"Twelfth Brother, please speak freely."

Zhao Zhen felt a little smug at this moment.

My people.

I will certainly protect them.

"I understand Dean Fan's lengthy letter; I will refrain from commenting on the rest for now."

Song Xuan pointed to the first point in the text:
"Regarding the comments that people dislike the low rank of county magistrates and that young people are unwilling to do their jobs, I want to set an example by myself."

"Oh?"

Now even Wang Zeng wanted to hear Song Xuan's insightful opinion.

"After all, people like me who pass the imperial examination at a young age are a minority. Most people study hard for more than ten years and pass the imperial examination at the age of twenty-five, six or even thirty.

"Everyone thinks that they have worked so hard and finally achieved success, so they should be in a high position. This kind of thinking of being ambitious but not capable is normal."

"But the reality is that if you don't start from the grassroots and have no experience in governance, it will be a tragedy for the people of the Song Dynasty to implement policies and make judgments based on guesswork."

"If such a person holds a high position, he is merely occupying the position without doing any work, and his subordinates can use their extensive experience to deceive him, their superior."

“A stupid official is probably worse than a corrupt official, because he cannot serve his superiors or appease the people.”

"Therefore, since the Emperor and the Empress Dowager have kept me in Tokyo as an official, I would like to take up the post of Magistrate of Kaifeng County."

"The magistrate of Kaifeng County?"

Zhao Zhen had not expected that Song Xuan would choose to do this arduous task.

In his view, although the magistrate of Kaifeng County had a certain degree of autonomy, his superior was the Prefect of Kaifeng.

Although they weren't in the same building as the government offices, it was still a place where people were bullied.

The situation in Tokyo, in particular, is far too complicated.

"I, Song Xuan, a top scholar who passed the imperial examination in three consecutive years, am willing to serve as a county magistrate. What can the other scholars who are inferior to me say?"

"If I achieve results, I can be promoted; if I don't, I will be demoted, which is perfectly reasonable."

Fan Zhongyan stared at his student; he truly hadn't expected Song Xuan to get involved himself.

If that's the case, the official positions of the Jinshi graduates from the fifth year of the Tiansheng era probably wouldn't be very high.

Fan Zhongyan didn't care at all that Song Xuan, a student just starting out in officialdom, would hold a higher rank than him.

Because their scores were different.

Song Xuan was a first-class scholar, and also a triple champion in the imperial examinations.

He himself was only ranked ninety-seventh in the second category.

Wang Zeng, who achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations (passing the three imperial examinations in one go), was initially appointed as a sixth-rank official.

Song Xuan's attitude made him think more highly of him.

Lü Yijian did not expect that Song Xuan would directly choose a position himself, and even use the ten-thousand-word letter mentioned by Fan Zhongyan as his excuse.

The two of them, master and apprentice, work together so well!

After Song Xuan uttered such righteous words, the people in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment.

After all, what he said sounded quite sincere, and it was hard to refute.

"It's not impossible."

Wang Zeng, however, didn't let the conversation end there, and smiled:
"Song Twelve has such thoughts, we should encourage him."

"Your Majesty, what do you think?"

Zhao Zhen looked at Song Xuan.

His eyes seemed to ask if she really wanted to take that thankless and difficult position.
Song Xuan just smiled and didn't give him a definite answer.

Zhao Zhen then pondered for a while:
"This matter is rather complicated. I will discuss it with the Empress Dowager before making a decision."

Lü Yijian understood that the Emperor did not want Song Xuan to take that position.

However, they also did not want Song Xuan to become the judge of Kaifeng Prefecture.

It is estimated that he will follow the example of Song Xiang, who won the top three prizes in the previous examination.

Lü Yijian guessed that this was the Emperor's thought process.

Song Xuan is simply adopting a humble stance, which isn't wrong.

This young man is meticulous and, by utilizing his teacher's lengthy letter, he has positioned himself in a position where he can both attack and defend.

Fan Zhongyan didn't say much.

I'll talk to Song Xuan about it when I get back, to find out what he's thinking.

The official positions reported by the Ministry of Personnel were enough to show that the Chen brothers were exerting their influence behind the scenes.

None of the prime ministers raised any objections.

Fan Zhongyan directly pointed to Lü Yijian as the person behind the scenes.

He trusted Wang Zeng's character.

Zhao Zhen looked at Fan Zhongyan:
"Dean Fan, Prime Minister Wang strongly recommends you to me, and Yan Shu also recounts your past achievements to me because of this matter."

"I am aware of your previous work on repairing the river embankment, and the local people have built a shrine in your honor to commemorate and express their gratitude."

“Twelfth Brother, take a look at his essay on repairing the Yellow River in the provincial examination.”

The eunuch Zhang Maoze handed Song Xuan's policy essay to Fan Zhongyan.

“You have experience, but Twelfth Brother has theory.”

"When the time comes, the task of repairing the river will still fall to you. Chen Yaozuo has a lot of experience in repairing rivers, and we will inevitably have to work together in the future."

Although Zhao Zhen was displeased with Chen Yaozi's behavior, the two brothers had indeed made contributions to water conservancy.

Fan Zhongyan nodded to indicate that he understood, and took Song Xuan's policy essay to read.

He had never heard of Song Xuan's method before, but it was still much better than flooding the Liao Kingdom.

Li Chui had no intention of reclaiming the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun at all.

Fan Zhongyan offered so many suggestions in order to strengthen the military power of the Song Dynasty, and also had the intention of recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, and to deal with the rising Western Xia.

After all, the Western Xia's decisive victory over the Liao army of 500,000 men, demonstrating the continuous rise of Western Xia's military strength, was a testament to this.

The ambitions of these foreigners are never easily satisfied.

"Your Majesty, Twelfth Prince's strategy is quite refreshing."

Fan Zhongyan put down his essay and handed it back to the eunuch standing beside him.

"I just wonder when the imperial court plans to repair the Yellow River?"

"It's not possible in the short term."

Wang Zeng took over the topic:

"The imperial court's tax revenue is insufficient to cover the funding gap for repairing the Yellow River. It will take several more years to accumulate funds before we can begin."

Fan Zhongyan could understand.

The rivers they built in the south were not very large.

Not everyone can handle the Yellow River.

Without sufficient human, material, and financial resources, it's better to do nothing.

Otherwise, it would disrupt the original balance of the Yellow River, and even a slight heavy rain could cause a great disaster.

Zhao Zhen understood, but fortunately he was young.

The Empress Dowager did not have that kind of courage.

I have it!

"You two talk some more."

Zhao Zhen stood up and told Song Xuan to go to the back hall.

"Were you serious just now?"

"of course."

Song Xuan nodded slightly: "Besides, everyone in Tokyo knows that the Chen brothers are deliberately targeting me."

"Since you know this, why did you still choose the position of magistrate of Kaifeng, a position that invites humiliation?"

"The emperor can't possibly dismiss him, can he?"

"Even if they were to be transferred, it would be very difficult."

Zhao Zhen felt that although he had grown up, all matters, big and small, in the court were still decided by his mother.

Even the official positions assigned to Song Xuan and others were first shown to the Empress Dowager before being given to him.

Even if Zhao Zhen has great ambitions now, he has no place to put them into practice.

Therefore, he looked worried and distressed, and he was not sure if he could persuade his mother to agree to his idea.

"I'm doing this precisely because everyone knows!"

"They can be independent of him, yet they are subject to his control."

Zhao Zhen didn't understand. He knew Song Xuan was a smart man, but sometimes he couldn't comprehend him.

Because this is clearly a new pit!
Seeing that Zhao Zhen didn't understand, Song Xuan muttered to himself again:

"I'm a novice, and no one is mentoring me. Will I easily cause trouble at work?"

"good."

"How can it be my fault that a newly appointed county magistrate like me has caused trouble?"

"cannot!"

Song Xuan then pointed outside the hall: "There must be someone deliberately targeting me behind my back. Who do you think it is, Your Majesty?"

"hiss."

Zhao Zhen's eyes widened instantly:

"Can this still happen?"

"This is my first time navigating the officialdom, but Your Majesty must have witnessed how court officials blame each other for a single matter, right?"

"Yes, I do have that impression."

"But."

Zhao Zhen was somewhat conflicted:
"After all, this is the capital city of Tokyo, and all of them are my subjects. If my twelfth brother were to use some means to trick people and not even keep it from me, wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

"Hahaha."

Song Xuan then burst into laughter a few times:

"Your Majesty, please do not worry. I will handle this matter carefully. After I take office, I will first prove my abilities and then implement the subsequent plans."

"what's the plan?"

"Now that the Emperor has not yet assumed personal rule, many people have become part of the Empress Dowager's faction, including the Chen brothers."

Song Xuan lowered his voice and said, "We should find an opportunity to eliminate their power and prepare for the Emperor to take charge of the government as soon as possible."

Zhao Zhen glanced at the window subconsciously:
"Don't say such things. I am still young, and my mother..."

Zhao Zhen did not finish speaking; in fact, deep down he also longed to rule in his own right.

However, there are too many constraints.

"When does Your Majesty think the Empress Dowager will relinquish power?"

Zhao Zhen remained silent.

"I do not intend to sow discord within the imperial family, but we must be wary of the past actions of Empress Wu Zetian."

Upon hearing Song Xuan's words, Zhao Zhen's eyes widened in shock:

"Mother, she would never do such a thing."

Even Zhao Zhen himself wasn't confident in these words.

After all, his mother liked to wear dragon robes and did all sorts of things that emperors should do.

Finally, Zhao Zhen sighed: "According to my twelfth brother's opinion, would my mother really do what Wu Zetian did?"

"In my opinion?"

Song Xuan shook his head:
"How can I be sure of the Empress Dowager's true thoughts?"

"However, I see that Empress Dowager Liu looks very healthy, so I estimate that she can continue to rule for a long time."

Zhao Zhen knew that Song Xuan was a skilled physician.

Hearing Song Xuan's words, he felt even more sorrowful.

Wouldn't it mean that by the time I turn thirty, I might still not have the opportunity to rule in my own right?
That really gave Zhao Zhen a headache.

According to Zhao Zhen's reference to the lifespans of his ancestors, the concubines who lived in the palace and enjoyed a life of luxury generally lived quite long lives, but the emperor did not live long and did not have many children.

If I am not able to rule in my own right by the age of thirty, wouldn't I become a puppet emperor?
How to destroy the Western Xia, recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, manage the Yellow River, and rectify official corruption are all things that require a lot of effort.

"She is, after all, my mother!"

"Could it be that Empress Wu didn't seize the throne from her own son?"

Zhao Zhen fell silent again, recalling Lu Zongdao's assessment of Wu Zetian:
"The traitors of Tang nearly endangered the nation!"

This Vice Minister of Personnel, who works in the Ministry of Personnel, has recently fallen ill and has been recuperating at home.

"Besides, she isn't yet."

Upon hearing Song Xuan's words, Zhao Zhen's eyes widened immediately:
"What did you say?"

Song Xuan pretended to have misspoke:
"It's nothing, I just heard a little story that reflects something."

Suppressing his doubts, Zhao Zhen asked calmly:
"What little story?"

"The stories my twelfth brother tells are very interesting; I've loved listening to them since I was a child."

"Ok?"

Now it was Song Xuan's turn to be surprised: "What does Your Majesty mean?"

"After all, I haven't had my coming-of-age ceremony yet. My mother is ruling as regent, so in their eyes I'm just a child."

Zhao Zhen just laughed it off.

Because he knew that Song Xuan was also holding back and hadn't said everything he needed to say.

However, Zhao Zhen was aware that he harbored the intention to help him seize power.

"The emperor cannot continue to act like a child."

Song Xuan patted his chest: "I started working on my own when I was eight years old, and I only understood many things after suffering losses."

"Yes, I know."

Zhao Zhen wasn't in a hurry, because he needed to think it over.

Just at this moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Song Xuan picked up the tea without saying much.

His underlying logic was that the Chen brothers were the Empress Dowager's men, so it was better to target Empress Dowager Liu E directly than to target them.

Moreover, after Zhao Zhen assumed personal rule, he removed all the prime ministers appointed by Liu E from the central government.

"Your subject Song Xiang greets Your Majesty."

As Song Xiang stepped through the door, he saw the young official and Song Xuan, who was drinking tea.

"No need for formalities, Inspector Song."

Song Xiang is now the Crown Prince's Junior Advisor, a Director of the Imperial Historiography Office (an honorary position highly valued by scholar-officials as it represented their academic level and honor), and an Inspector of the Department of Revenue among the Three Departments.

"What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, I have been transferred to the Ministry of Revenue as a judge, in accordance with the Empress Dowager's orders, to work on the daily records of the Emperor's activities."

Listening to Song Xiang's words, Song Xuan didn't quite understand the official titles involved.

However, Zhao Zhen understood his mother's upbringing of Song Xiang.

The most important of the three departments is the Ministry of Revenue.

The Three Offices were mainly established to divide the prime minister's financial power, and it can be said that they now wield immense power.

They don't care about anything! Now they've even made Song Xiang compile the daily records of the emperor's life, which means he has to stay by the emperor's side and record his words and deeds.

All of Zhao Zhen's words and deeds, except for those related to his private life, were to be compiled and recorded.

"I understand."

Upon hearing Zhao Zhen's reply, Song Xiang immediately took out his booklet, sat down, and began grinding ink.
"The dialogue between the emperor and the newly appointed top scholar should be recorded."

Song Xiang sat down attentively to do his work.

However, there was no way to record the conversation between Song Xuan and Zhao Zhen just now.

Could it be that the two of them are discussing here how to get Empress Liu to return power to the emperor?
Song Xiang was definitely a spy sent by Liu E; there was no doubt about it.

"I have a question?"

Song Xiang pointed to himself and said, "Is Scholar Song talking to me?"

"Correct."

Upon hearing Song Xuan's affirmative answer, Song Xiang put down his pen:

"Please speak. Our conversation is not worthy of being recorded in the official's daily records."

"Is everything an official says to someone recorded?"

"good."

Looking at the young junior in front of him, Song Xiang added, "And it's usually kept secret; it's not publicized."

"But how does His Majesty know whether you recorded every single word, or whether you took things out of context?"

Song Xuan looked puzzled:

"Furthermore, people speak quickly, or arguments may occur, so it's inevitable that some parts of the record will be missing!"

It was perfectly normal for the emperor to read the daily records of his activities.

After all, Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Shimin) set a good precedent.

“I am the Imperial Diarist (Left Historian), and there is another person who serves as the Imperial Diarist (Right Historian). The two of us record the events simultaneously and check each other’s records to prevent one party from altering them.”

"Moreover, when Hanlin scholars participated in compiling the Veritable Records, they were required to verify the original records of the daily life records and make changes if any inaccuracies were found."

“Even when the prime minister was compiling the ‘Records of Current Affairs,’ he would compare it with the ‘Daily Records of the Emperor’. If there were any discrepancies in major events, the court would need to verify them.”

"Oh I got it."

Song Xuan looked at Zhao Zhen:

"Your Majesty, it seems that rewriting history only requires getting the Left and Right Historians on your side."

"Don't talk nonsense."

Zhao Zhen instructed Song Xuan to be cautious in his words and actions.

He had no intention of recording Song Xuan's flippant remarks in the daily records.

Song Xiang smiled:
"I cannot record what Scholar Song just said. However, since the specific personnel for the Imperial Household Department have not yet been determined, I will temporarily be responsible for recording it."

"If Your Majesty wishes to see, you may, but please do not blame me for refusing on the basis of the ancestral rules of the Great Song Dynasty once another person has taken their place."

Zhao Zhen wanted to see his own daily records, but Liu Chang refused.

Lu Yijian wanted to change his negative reputation, especially regarding his encouragement of the empress's deposition, but instead he was condemned.

Han Qi also faced a dispute over the records of Emperor Yingzong's succession, which was explicitly rejected by the historians.

"That's good then, I have nothing to see."

Zhao Zhen said with a smile:
"I trust Judge Song's character."

Song Xiang picked up his pen again and smiled:

"Then I shall begin recording. Please continue, gentlemen."

He wrote the date, time, and location in the booklet.

Basically, it's about writing diaries for other people.

Song Xuan never expected that Empress Liu would send someone to do such a thing. Why hadn't this happened before?

Could it be that because the emperor did not rule personally, there was no need to keep records?

Now that the emperor is showing signs of wanting to take control of the government, she immediately begins to retaliate?

After all, it was Zhao Zhen himself who made the decision to summon Fan Zhongyan to the capital.

Empress Liu E disliked Fan Zhongyan's lengthy memorial at all.

With outsiders present, especially those recording his words and actions, Zhao Zhen remained silent for a moment.

So the two of them drank tea.

Song Xiang wasn't in a hurry; he could understand the awkwardness between the two.

So he wrote in the booklet: "The Emperor and the top scholar of Song looked at each other without saying a word, and simply drank tea."

"No, you have to write even if you don't speak?"

Song Xuan thought this job was really disgusting.
"Scholar Song asked, 'Should we record this even if I don't speak?'"

The emperor sighed helplessly.

Upon hearing Song Xiang's words, Song Xuan immediately stood up. He paced a few steps before stopping.
"Your Majesty, we were just discussing Dean Fan's memorial to the emperor, which revealed rampant corruption in the bureaucracy. The selection of officials was based solely on family background, neglecting genuine talent, and corrupt officials filled the court."

"Well, that's true."

Zhao Zhen naturally cooperated, as he also wanted his first record of daily life to be written in a better direction.

As long as he sits on the throne, he is destined to be remembered in history.

Who wouldn't want to leave a good reputation for themselves?

Seeing Song Xiang taking notes, Song Xuan slowly started rambling on about this and that.

He understood that these conversations were ultimately aimed at Liu E.

The emperor is not allowed to read the daily records of his daily life, but there is no rule that the empress dowager is not allowed to read them.

Since she enjoys watching, Song Xuan will say more.

I'll say at least ten thousand words, since I have tea and time to spare.

Song Xiang's wrists would ache from writing all by himself, and he might not be able to keep up with Song Xuan's speaking speed.

Let Liu E go and see; it'll only waste her eyesight and energy.

At first, Zhao Zhen thought Song Xuan's words made sense, but after thinking about it for a while, he found that several sentences were just repeated variations of the same thing.

He's quite the chatterbox!
No wonder he started working on the streets at the age of eight; he's developed an excellent tongue.

Song Xiang thought that his words had intimidated Song Xuan and the Emperor, especially since the two of them dared not utter a single word.

Song Xiang was extremely pleased with himself for suggesting that the emperor could take the initiative to look at the document.

My wrists are sore and achy now.

After all, it was his account of the conversation between the emperor and the newly appointed top scholar, and it had to be recorded.

Furthermore, the two of them were discussing Fan Zhongyan's lengthy memorial, which had been the subject of much discussion in the imperial court recently.

This must be recorded.

Although the emperor's office was somewhat warm, Song Xiang's forehead quickly became covered in beads of sweat.

He discovered that Song Xuan was a chatterbox.

He wouldn't have said anything if he hadn't, but once he did, he started talking non-stop.

It was as if there were countless listeners outside the door.

The points mentioned above are quite reasonable.

Song Xuan would be cautious in his words and actions whenever Song Xiang appeared, but he never expected that Song Xiang would not follow his plans at all.

It had been three years since Song Xiang successfully entered officialdom after passing the "Triple Crown" examination.

He has never been this tired before!
Song Xiang dared not stop writing; at this moment, he truly longed for his partner to be confirmed as soon as possible.

This is definitely not a job that one person can do alone.

While Zhao Zhen listened to Song Xuan's words, his eyes drifted to the "spy" sent by his mother, noticing how exhausted he looked.

Zhao Zhen tried very hard to suppress the corners of his mouth.

After all, this is my first daily record, and it absolutely cannot be recorded because of laughter.

So Zhao Zhen, with a stern face, watched the silent war between these two "triple-crown winners".

"Pause."

The first to speak was Song Xiang, whose hand had cramped up. He quickly put down his brush and shouted:

"I hope Twelve will stop talking."

"What's wrong? Is there something you forgot?"

Song Xuan stepped forward, looked at Song Xiang's increasingly messy notes, and then pointed out several mistakes to him.

"Judge Song, how could there be errors in the Emperor's daily records?"

"If ambiguity arises in the future due to a misspelling, it will have a profound impact on the government."

"what?"

"That won't work!"

Zhao Zhen also stood up and walked over:

"I must take a good look."

"However, it's understandable that Judge Song is unfamiliar with this kind of thing since it's his first time doing it."

Watching the two of them sing in unison, Song Xiang could only keep shaking his arms, hoping to make things a little easier.

It seemed that his actions had angered Song Xuan, and he immediately thought of a countermeasure.

As expected of the timely rain that dominated Song City, he has plenty of strength and means!
Song Xiang decided that he would also go back and discuss this matter with Empress Dowager Liu.

Song Xuan is an unusual man; he uses some of the despicable methods of a street ruffian.

Zhao Zhen quickly skimmed through the document, confirming that he had not made any mistakes or omissions.

And Twelfth Brother's method is great!
We didn't say you couldn't take notes, but if you can't keep up, then it's not our problem.

Especially when a word is misspelled, it becomes a convenient excuse to be checked.

You must know what comes out of the emperor's mouth.

Homophones don't necessarily have the same meaning!

If this turns into a misunderstanding, it will be your responsibility as the court attendant.

And they bear a heavy responsibility!

Zhao Zhen put down the booklet in his hand and raised an eyebrow at Song Xuan:

"You drank too much tea earlier, are you going to the restroom?"

"What a coincidence, that's exactly what I was thinking too."

Looking at Song Xiang, who was covered in sweat from exhaustion, Song Xuan asked, "Judge Song, would you like to come along?"

"No need, I just need to correct some typos."

So Song Xuan and his companion went straight out of the palace gate.

In fact, emperors had special toilets, and their bottoms were cleaned and wiped by dedicated staff.

There were eunuchs who specialized in this.

Just like President Yuan had forty chefs in his residence, with specialists for tasks such as slicing and rolling dough.

The palace is never short of people who want to "test the eunuchs".

As the two turned into the corridor, they both burst out laughing.

Zhao Zhen stretched out his finger, his face full of smiles:
"Twelfth Brother, you're a little... a little naughty."

"He likes to record things, and I like to talk. Besides, this is the first daily record of the Emperor's life, and I, Song Xuan, am included in it, so I must make a good impression."

Song Xuan bent the emperor's outstretched finger back:
"This isn't bad. I just want to make a good impression on people, since it might even be recorded in history."

"Hahaha."

Zhao Zhen laughed loudly a few more times:

"In that case, I'll feel at ease placing you in the position of magistrate of Kaifeng County."

"You've come up with a countermeasure in such a short time, I believe you won't suffer too much."

"Actually, I think Empress Dowager Liu sent him to the Emperor's side to make him speak less, so she used this as a hint."

Zhao Zhen never expected there to be such a deep reason.

If it weren't for his twelfth brother by his side, he really wouldn't have been able to understand the deeper meaning behind his mother's sending someone.

"Then what should we do?"

"We must do the opposite and talk more about it from now on. Officials should also learn to speak in official jargon!"

"Ah, does the Emperor also have to speak in official jargon?" Zhao Zhen didn't quite understand the meaning behind Song Xuan's words.

"of course."

Song Xuan nodded: "This is a basic skill for navigating officialdom. Anyone who doesn't master it is just waiting to suffer."

"Where did you learn these fallacies?"

Song Xuan pointed to his eyes: "What I saw from outside was that you are just an emperor trapped in the palace. How could you be as knowledgeable as me?"

Zhao Zhen was speechless for a moment before asking:

How should I learn?

"It's very simple. Just watch the conversations between Wang Zeng, Lü Yijian, and the other vice prime ministers. They are all outstanding among them."

Song Xuan smiled and said, "Observation can reveal the secrets, but to use them with mastery, one must rely on their own comprehension."

"Alas, my comprehension is only so-so."

After seeing many geniuses, Zhao Zhen realized that his comprehension was truly not high.

"It's alright, you'll learn eventually, time will tell."

Song Xuan casually offered him a word of encouragement, then sighed with a hint of melancholy:
"Everyone says that the pen of history is like a knife, but the handle of the knife is always held by the hand of power. Since the three brothers of Taishi died one after another, the story of writing truthfully has rarely appeared."

Emperor Zhao Zhen had heard his tutor recount the story of Cui Zhu murdering his ruler. This story was from the Zuo Zhuan, one of the important Confucian classics, which even emperors were required to study.

Song Xuan changed the subject:
“Your Majesty, Judge Song is a newly appointed official who wants to make a name for himself. We should return to the council hall and have him record the conversation between the Prime Minister and Your Majesty.”

"In that case, let him record as much as he wants!"

Song Xuan didn't dare to openly declare in the corridor that he would let Empress Dowager Liu see him to her heart's content.

"it is good."

Zhao Zhen then instructed Zhang Maoze to inform Song Xiang and the other prime ministers about the contents of the ten-thousand-word memorial.

The two of them also used the excuse of going to the toilet when they came out of Wang Zeng's office.

It's time to go back now.

When the two returned, Song Xiang was already sitting there, ready to take notes.

Zhao Zhen was afraid they wouldn't know Song Xiang's identity as a court attendant, so he specially introduced him to Wang Zeng, Lü Yijian, and others.

Wang Zeng didn't care; he could see through this little trick from the Empress Dowager at a glance.

As for Lü Yijian, he understood that Empress Dowager Liu was probably dissatisfied with the Emperor's tendency to make decisions on his own.

That's why they appointed the nominal Imperial Diarist, in order to keep the Emperor from speaking too much!
However, Lü Yijian discovered that Empress Dowager Liu seemed to have miscalculated.

Knowing that their daily lives were being recorded in the imperial annals, Song Xuan and the emperor became even more enthusiastic and talked at length, as if they were afraid that Song Xiang might not have recorded their words in the annals, thus affecting their chance to be remembered in history.

As the one who proposed the idea, Fan Zhongyan naturally took it very seriously, providing them with answers and expanding on his own thinking.

Song Xiang, drenched in sweat, sat in the corner.

He had studied poetry and literature diligently for many years, and even in the examination hall, when he wrote with divine inspiration, he had never been as tired as he was today!

Song Xiang felt as if his wrists weighed a thousand pounds!

Those scholars who made money by copying books could only manage about three thousand characters a day if they were skilled, and they had to write them extremely neatly.

Since most of the books were copied by poor scholars, the average number of characters was only about two thousand, and they were even more reluctant to use oil lamps to copy them at night.

Not only is it easy to get contaminated and ruin all your previous efforts, but it is also extremely hard on your eyes.

The government hired people to copy the Taiping Yulan, stipulating that each person should copy 3,000 characters per day.

Song Xuan's monologue just now exceeded ten thousand words.

Now, each of them has a comment, and Fan Zhongyan is taking it very seriously, even including Wang Zeng and others in the discussion.

Song Xuan was also stirring things up, either arguing with his dean or attacking Lü Yijian, prompting Lü Yijian to refute him repeatedly.

He didn't even spare Wang Zeng, advocating an equal approach that brought everyone into the battlefield.

Say!
They talked about everything to the extreme.

Ideally, it would be better if it could spray saliva.

Instruct the attendant to take good notes.

Song Xuan's antics exhausted Song Xiang, the Imperial Diarist.

He couldn't even lift his wrist while writing.

Even after he became numb, Song Xuan still didn't let him go.

Because the argument escalated to the point where they both became quite heated.

As for the court attendant, nobody paid him any attention.

Anyway, that's his job.

The incomplete records make him entirely responsible.

Finally, after Song Xiang felt that his hand was no longer his own, Zhao Zhen felt sorry for him and took the initiative to end the conversation, telling them to go back and rest.

After everyone had left, Zhao Zhen came over and personally massaged Song Xiang's wrists:
"Judge Song should go back and tell the Empress Dowager to find you a partner as soon as possible."

"My twelfth brother is a free spirit. After learning that he could be remembered in history, he inevitably talked a lot."

Don't take it to heart.

Song Xiang was actually somewhat moved by the emperor's actions.

However, he was the top scholar personally selected by the Empress Dowager, and scholars cannot ignore the gratitude for being recognized and honored.

Therefore, when others labeled Song Xiang as the Empress Dowager's confidant, he didn't bother to remove a single mark.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. This is merely my duty."

"Ah."

Zhao Zhen nodded: "You should go back and get some rest."

"Here."

Song Xiang bid farewell with a bitter expression.

Then he took the booklet to Empress Dowager Liu's palace to report, and also showed the Empress Dowager the daily records of her daily life as requested beforehand.

Empress Liu put down the memorial in her hand and, knowing that Song Xiang had arrived, asked Madam Lin to call him in.

Empress Liu always felt that sending Song Xiang to revise the daily records of the emperor was a brilliant move that achieved multiple benefits.

I'm sure Sixth Brother will soon find out what I'm implying to him.

Study more, talk less!
You have no say in the affairs of the court.

When Empress Liu looked at the daily records, she could hardly believe it:
"So much was recorded?"

She thought it would be just one or two sheets of paper, but she didn't expect the paper to be quite thick.

Song Xiang's lips twitched slightly. These were not many words; in fact, he hadn't remembered all of them.

Because of an argument, they were exchanging words back and forth.

His mind was in a daze from all the torment, and he couldn't remember much of what they said.

"Your Majesty, my records are actually incomplete."

Song Xiang raised his head and said:
"This is not something one person can do alone. To be on the safe side, we need another person to keep the same records in order to ensure completeness."

Even the emperor couldn't read the daily records of his life, so how could the empress dowager read them?
Song Xiang was a man of Empress Dowager Liu E, so he could allow Liu E to view the daily records of the emperor's life without any restraint.

But for others, that might not be the case.

How can you let a third person know about something like this?
Liu E also liked a "good reputation"!
Faced with Song Xiang's request, Liu E looked down at the notebook he had kept:
"I believe in you. Now that you are a newly appointed official, and you have encountered Fan Zhongyan's lengthy memorial, it is inevitable that the discussion between the Emperor and the Prime Minister will be heated."

"It will be fine after this period."

Liu E quickly flipped through the pages; it was all Song Xuan's monologue. She never imagined that Song Xuan had so many thoughts about his teacher's lengthy memorial.

There were both criticisms and approvals.

In Liu E's view, any support other than absolute support would be considered disloyalty.

Song Xuan is somewhat two-faced; this kid has been hanging around on the streets since he was a child, which has honed his slippery nature.

Liu E no longer likes this kind of personality, because she feels that such people are prone to being disloyal and very likely to jump ship.

Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's reply, Song Xiang's face immediately turned grim, but he could only swallow his bitterness.

"Here."

(End of this chapter)