The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 328 Morning Morning
Ever since the Northern Song Dynasty was established, Yue Wenxuan has had an extra troublesome matter.

Morning!

The Song Dynasty tradition was to hold a morning court session every five days.

Since the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, Yue Wenxuan would get up early every five days, possess Zhao Shi's body, and preside over the morning court session.

I was quite interested at first, but after a few times, it got a little annoying.

For example, he was very annoyed today.

I went to bed a little late last night, and when the alarm went off for morning court this morning, I couldn't get up at all. Yue Wenxuan was still lying in bed, so I switched consciousness and floated into Zhao Kuang's body to continue sleeping...

He only possessed the body, without taking control. Zhao Shi's body was still capable of performing some basic tasks. Yue Wenxuan, in a daze, followed Zhao Shi's empty shell and floated to the main hall, where he sat down...

Then the civil and military officials lined up in the hall.

There were actually very few officials!

The military officers are all out fighting wars, the civil service system is still in its infancy, and there are only a few palace staff scattered around the palace.

Qian Zhuoqun, the Right Chancellor, stepped forward first: "Your Majesty, preparations for your new imperial palace have begun... After discussion among your ministers, we have determined that Jiaoshui County, in terms of both geographical location and population and economy, is insufficient to support the status of a capital city. Therefore, we plan to build the imperial palace in Weizhou City. After three to five years of construction, once the palace is completed..."

Yue Wenxuan thought about it in a daze. Weizhou was the location of the future Weifang City. It was indeed more suitable as a capital than glue. However... in the context of the whole of China, it was not an ideal location for a capital. If he spent money to build it now, he didn't know how many years it would take to complete. And after it was built, it was really hard to say where he would end up.

He had no choice but to take over Zhao Shi's body and said, "Stop building it."

Qian Zhuoqun: "Huh?"

The ministers: "Huh?"

Yue Wenxuan: "It's a waste of manpower and resources, and it's useless. In a few years, we'll take back Yanjing and build an imperial palace for me there."

The ministers had initially wanted to oppose it, but upon hearing that they would march back to Yanjing and rebuild, they immediately stopped opposing it, and their spirits lifted: "Your Majesty's ambition is far-reaching, and we cannot match it."

Yue Wenxuan planned to take another nap...

Left Chancellor Qi Chongli stepped forward: "Your Majesty, these past few days, the Jiaoshui Primary School and Jimo Primary School you established have been packed to capacity. The classrooms are overflowing, and there aren't enough teachers. New students keep enrolling, and the principal is constantly standing at the school gate blocking out the local gentry, driving him to the point of cursing. I had intended to share Your Majesty's burden by establishing some schools to alleviate the situation, however..."

At this point, Qi Chongli looked embarrassed: "The curriculum taught in the Imperial Primary School is really strange, and I am not up to the task."

Yue Wenxuan: "Huh? Why is the elementary school suddenly so crowded?"

Qi Chongli: "It started after the last palace examination..."

Yue Wenxuan suddenly remembered: during the last imperial examination, he and Ma Congyi worked together to elevate the status of mathematics and casually promoted the new-style school he had created.

No wonder!
Those with high political sensitivity would definitely send their clan members to primary school immediately.

Their actions will inspire even more people, eventually forming a trend.

Yue Wenxuan nodded: "I understand. You don't need to worry about this matter. I will take care of it myself."

Qi Chongli withdrew.

Next, the court meeting consisted of very ordinary matters: the promotion of new crops in a certain place, the number of soldiers conscripted in a certain place, the improvement of mineral resources in a certain place... The ministers gave their reports, but there was nothing major.

Yue Wenxuan was just defeating the court...

Suddenly, a person stumbled in through the door, panting heavily. It was Wu Jialiang.

Today he was dressed in a civil official's robe, looking quite respectable, and more importantly, he had a rather smug look on his face. As soon as he entered the hall, he quickly apologized: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have just taken office as Minister of War and have only recently been granted the qualification to attend the morning court session. I rushed back from Weizhou, which is why I am a little late..."

Wu Jialiang has finally become the Minister of War, but his appointment document was only delivered to Weizhou City yesterday.

When Wu Jialiang saw that he had become a civil official, and even a minister, he was overjoyed. He counted on his fingers and realized that there was a morning court session the next day. He had to hurry to attend, so he immediately handed over Weizhou to Guan Sheng and rode his horse at full speed, traveling day and night to attend the meeting.

He used to dream of standing in the morning court just once.

Now that I've finally caught up, I'm radiant with joy. All the fatigue from running all night is gone, and I'm full of energy as soon as I enter the hall.

Seeing his smug look, Yue Wenxuan wanted to tease him and said with a smile, "You're too late. There's nothing left to discuss today. I was just about to adjourn the court."

"Huh?" Wu Jialiang was immediately dejected: "This..."

Yue Wenxuan continued to tease him: "Now that the Minister of War is here, perhaps there will be some new topics to discuss? Let's not adjourn the court for now. Does Minister Wu have anything to report?"

Wu Jialiang immediately perked up and said happily, "Yes, of course! When I was stationed in Weizhou, I surveyed the terrain of the neighboring Qingzhou and devised a complete plan to attack Qingzhou and then seize Jinan..."

Yue Wenxuan: "Our country has been newly established and has been engaged in continuous wars. Our national strength is already somewhat strained and we need to rest and recuperate for the time being. We should wait at least half a year before we can resume our war. It is too early to discuss attacking Qingzhou and Jinan at this time."

Wu Jialiang: "Ah!" His expression immediately darkened again.

Yue Wenxuan was overjoyed: This guy's behavior after becoming a civil official is quite interesting.

Okay, enough teasing him, let's get down to business.

Yue Wenxuan said, “Minister Wu, your appointment as Minister of War and your transfer back to Jiaoshui County is not for you to enjoy a life of leisure. Your responsibilities will be much heavier from now on. You will not only be in charge of the selection of military officers, military registers, weapons, and military orders, but you will also frequently need to personally lead troops into battle.”

Wu Jialiang: "Your humble servant is filled with trepidation."

Yue Wenxuan: "You must know the most important thing the Ministry of War is right now."

Wu Jialiang's spirits lifted: "In my opinion, the most important thing right now is 'armor,' that is, firearms."

Yue Wenxuan nodded: "The Ministry of Works is responsible for manufacturing firearms, but managing firearms, selecting and training soldiers to use them is your responsibility. You will have to put in a lot of effort in this regard and study the tactics for using firearms more thoroughly..."

Wu Jialiang bowed deeply: "Your humble servant has been pondering the tactics of using firearms day and night."

Yue Wenxuan said, “I have a subordinate of a Hu (non-Han Chinese) who is skilled in using firearms and knows a lot about the strategies and tactics of firearm units. However, it is not convenient for Hu people to use him to command our soldiers. So I want to introduce him to you so that he can share his strategies and tactics with you. You can then combine them with the actual situation of our army and turn them into tactics that are suitable for us.”

Wu Jialiang: "Huh? The Emperor has subordinates like this?"

Yue Wenxuan: "I have many more subordinates; you'll meet them later."

(End of this chapter)