White-robed Minister

Chapter 189 0187 [Winter of the First Year of the Xining Era]

Bu Chao was eventually appointed as a military officer, and his wife could no longer serve as a servant.

But his salary was too meager, and his wife was newly pregnant. So he temporarily moved to the inner courtyard, staying in Xu Lai's guest room, and hired a maid to take care of him.

After Xu Lai was promoted, his salary was quite high. In particular, Bu Chao and Chen Xiaoyi were both recruited by him to help Tongyuan Army. Since his family was short-handed, he hired one man and two women.

"Today is the Winter Solstice. Go home and visit your families. Take these things back with you." Yu'er called over the three local servants.

She always had a special status, and this became even more so after becoming a concubine.

Now Pianpian is only in charge of the accounts, and Yu'er takes care of everything else.

Inside the hall, Xu Lai was playing with the child. The baby was crying loudly in his arms, and Pianpian sat beside him, feeling extremely distressed, wishing she could snatch the child away from him.

"Alright, alright, here you go," Xu Lai said with a smile.

Pianpian quickly took the child, and the little one immediately stopped crying.

Xu Lai opened Yu Shuying's letter. His third brother-in-law wasn't a long-winded person, and the letter wasn't very long. It mainly talked about the physics experiments he had done, and then he mentioned Hu Zi's studies.

Tiger was the son of the second brother, Xu An. He had previously been fostered by Yu Shanyuan and received his early education under Yu Shanyuan's care. After Yu Shanyuan left, he was fostered by Yu Shuying.

Yu Shuying said that Hu Zi learns very quickly, but unfortunately he often slacks off.

Then, when the conversation turned to family and relatives, perhaps due to the emperor's favoritism, Xu Lai's brother-in-law, Yu Zhongxun, was promoted. Several of Xu Lai's brothers-in-law also received promotions one rank after another.

After reading the letter, Xu Lai lay back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest, his mind filled with thoughts of the court and the situation at the front.

Kaifeng, the imperial city.

Zhao Xu had already received two memorials from Xu Lai.

One of the letters was a secret memorial to the emperor, outlining the border expansion plan for the following year. Xu Lai was preparing to send troops to capture Weiyuan.

One of the memorials was an impeachment of Li Shizhong, accusing him of withholding grain and constantly finding various excuses to avoid it.

The two memorials, though not explicitly stated, conveyed a clear message to Zhao Xu: quickly transfer Li Shizhong away from Fengxiang Prefecture and replace him with someone willing to cooperate in opening up the border!

"Who should be appointed to govern Fengxiang Prefecture?" Zhao Xu asked.

Wang Anshi suggested, "Li Yi is the transport commissioner of Hebei. He often serves as an official in border regions and is familiar with the military and political affairs there. This year, Shaanxi..."

Much of the grain and fodder was transported by him from Hebei. Moreover, he was a man of great understanding and knew when to advance and retreat.

Zhao Xu nodded, indicating that he understood.

The young emperor is still very immature.

For example, some time ago, Sun Jue, the second-in-command of the Censorate, was ordered to have an audience with the emperor. Zhao Xu chatted with Sun Jue and complained about Shao Kang, the Deputy Chief of the Privy Council, believing that Shao Kang was completely ignorant of military affairs.

How could the emperor criticize the Privy Council ministers in front of the remonstrance officials?

After returning home, Sun Jue immediately submitted a memorial impeaching Shao Kang and recommended others to serve as deputy privy councilors.

In the past, if a censor had actually flattered him, Zhao Xu would have been overjoyed and would have easily dismissed Shao Kang.

What is Zhao Xu's reaction now?

He was furious, believing that Sun Jue was trying to guess the emperor's intentions and was unqualified to recommend a Privy Councilor. Therefore, he demoted Sun Jue by two ranks.

Zhao Xu asked with concern, "Xu Lai is going to send troops to Weiyuan next year. Can they really win the battle?"

Wang Anshi was also unsure, but he still supported Xu Lai: "Your Majesty, you should trust those you employ."

Zhao Xu then asked, "This year has been filled with natural disasters and anomalies, and many officials have said that I have lost my virtue—am I really lacking in virtue?"

"Your Majesty, the changes in the heavens are nothing to fear; we must do our utmost," Wang Anshi advised.

This year is the first year of the Xining era, the first reign title of the Zhao and Xiang dynasties.

But there are just too many natural disasters.

In June, the Yellow River breached its banks in Enzhou, Jizhou, and Yingzhou.

In July, the Yellow River breached its banks again in Enzhou and Jizhou.

Following this, Bazhou and Baoding were hit by floods.

From July to November, Kaifeng experienced six earthquakes in succession.

Within four months, the capital experienced six earthquakes, prompting not only censors to scramble to address the issue, but also other ministers to submit memorials to discuss the matter.

Some people took the opportunity to point the finger at Xu Lai, because the biggest move in the country this year was Xu Lai's expansion along the Qin-Feng Road front. It must have been Xu Lai's actions that provoked public outrage!

Emperor Zhao Xu originally intended to appoint Wang Anshi as vice prime minister and implement reforms as soon as possible. However, influenced by this series of natural disasters, he hesitated to make a decision.

Despite repeated delays, Wang Anshi's official position remained unchanged.

Su Song, who had been recommended by Xu Lai, was promoted by Zhao Xu due to his outstanding local achievements. He was first summoned back to the capital to compile the daily records of the emperor's activities, and has now been promoted to the position of Imperial Drafter.

Among the officials serving in Beijing, Zhao Xiangru's three most trusted advisors are Wang Anshi, Han Wei, and Su Song.

No matter what the matter was, Zhao Xu would consult with these three people.

To avoid suspicion, Su Song never dared to speak too much in favor of Xu Lai, only offering advice to the emperor quietly at crucial moments.

After discussing the Tongyuan Army for a while, Zhao Xu recalled Xu Lai's earlier suggestion and asked Wang Anshi, "Are you really not going to start the reforms by rectifying official corruption?"

Wang Anshi said, "Rectifying officialdom is not something that can be accomplished overnight, but reform can't wait that long. We can reform while simultaneously rectifying officialdom."

Zhao Xu actually thought Xu's words were more correct, but Wang Anshi's suggestion was more in line with his own wishes.

This young emperor couldn't wait to slowly reform the bureaucracy and was eager to implement reforms as soon as possible.

Wang Anshi further stated, "The core of reform is financial management, and the primary task of financial management is to control financial power. Therefore, reform should begin with the Three Departments!"

At this time, the prime minister did not directly manage finances; the national finances were handled independently by the Three Departments.

In order to control financial power, Wang Anshi's first move in his reforms was to target the Three Offices. He planned to establish the "Office for Regulations of the Three Offices" as a breakthrough point, allowing the vice prime minister to directly intervene in national finances.

The problem is that the current Commissioner of the Three Departments is Shao Bi, the emperor's teacher. And the Deputy Commissioner of the Three Departments is Zhang Heng, recommended by Xu Lai.

Both of them were very obedient to the emperor, but Wang Anshi wanted to suppress them and keep them firmly under his control. What would Shao Bi and Zhang Heng think?

Zhang Heng shared the same attitude as Xu Lai: he opposed radical reforms with serious flaws, but he did not completely reject the new law.

For example, Zhang Heng felt that the Green Sprouts Act was inappropriate. However, Zhang Heng did not oppose it outright, but rather improved and implemented the Green Sprouts Act at the local level.

Given Zhang Heng's attitude towards the reforms, he would likely cooperate with Wang Anshi at first. However, once the radical laws were introduced, Zhang Heng would be demoted to a local official by Wang Anshi for his strong opposition.

After the audience concluded, Wang Anshi took his leave.

Zhao Xu then summoned Han Wei and Su Song to inquire about their attitudes toward the reforms. Both of them supported the reforms at this time, but like Zhang Heng, they would certainly fall out with Wang Anshi in the future.

Han Wei and Su Song clearly expressed their support for the reform, and Zhao Xu finally made up his mind: after the New Year, he would promote Wang Anshi to the position of vice prime minister!

However, Zeng Gongliang, who had previously recommended Wang Anshi, had a very unpleasant falling out with Wang Anshi at this time.

Therefore, a new prime minister should be appointed, and he must be able to keep Zeng Gongliang in check.

Who else could keep Zeng Gongliang in check?

After much deliberation, Zhao Xu realized that he could only choose Fu Bi.

An inn outside Tokyo.

Liang Wensu had already arrived in the capital early, waiting to participate in the Ministry of Rites examination after the spring.

He was accompanied by many scholars from Guangdong.

Because the imperial examinations were held every two years instead of every three, the quota for each region increased. In Guangdong, the quota for more than a dozen prefectures increased from over 70 to over 90.

Eight of Xu Lai's former classmates received their exemption quotas this year.

My roommate Wen Zhonghe was also sent away for the imperial examination; this was his second time going to the capital for the examination.

Wen Zhonghe arrived a little late, and the first thing he asked Liang Wensu upon meeting him was, "Have you received Xingzhi's letter?"

Liang Wensu nodded: "Received."

Wen Zhonghe said, "I've already told my family that if I don't pass the imperial examination this time, I won't return to Guangzhou for the time being. I'll go directly to Tongyuan Army to join them. What about you?"

"I'd like to try the imperial examination again," Liang Wensu said.

His knowledge surpassed Wen Zhonghe's, and he had the money to bribe officials, so he always managed to get a quota. Once he went to work for Xu Lai, he would be too busy with mundane affairs to study, and he would never be able to pass the imperial examination again in his lifetime.

Another scholar from Guangdong named Chen Jun asked, "Are you two talking about the top scholar, Xu Lai?"

Wen Zhonghe laughed and said, "That's right. Xu Xingzhi and I used to live in the same room at the state school."

Chen Jun cupped his hands and said, "My apologies. I was far away in Kangzhou, but I had heard of Xu Xing's great name. I came to the capital a couple of days ago and heard the people of the capital talking about him. It seems that he has been appointed as the Pacification Commissioner of the Border Regions."

Liang Wensu said, "When Xingzhi was still in Guangzhou, he already showed great talent. The people of Guangzhou still benefit from his kindness in providing drinking water."

"We said back then that Xingzhi would definitely become prime minister in the future," Wen Zhonghe said with a smile.

Guangzhou.

The Ding family had already moved out of the foreign quarters, but they were still not well received by the officials.

This lack of welcome is not a comprehensive suppression.

As a wealthy merchant family, the Ding family was treated with considerable courtesy by both officials and commoners. However, Ding Zhengchen simply couldn't obtain the necessary permits!

This year, the number of students admitted to universities in Guangdong increased to nearly 100, with a very high proportion of students from Guangzhou receiving these quotas. Ding Zhengchen thought he had a chance and even secretly bribed the prefectural magistrate.

The magistrate promised to help resolve the matter, but after taking the money, he did nothing.

"Father, I want to go to Tongyuan Army!" Ding Zhengchen became angrier the more he thought about it.

Ding Rulin said, "That place is too far and dangerous. If they can't go to the capital to take the imperial examinations, so be it. The next generation will still have a chance. Your sons and your elder brother's sons don't look much different from Han Chinese. When they grow up, they should be able to get the title of Jie Que (a high-ranking official).

Ding Zhengchen said dejectedly, "I'm not even thirty yet, am I just going to give up like this?"

Ding Rulin remained silent.

Ding Zhengchen said, "I will set off after the spring, as this is my only chance to become an official."

Ding Rulin asked, "Are you really sure?"

"It's decided!" Ding Zhengchen said decisively.

Ding Rulin instructed, "Be careful and don't take any risks. I've hired twenty Tanka warriors, giving them generous resettlement fees, and they'll protect you at all times."

Ding Zhengchen was both amused and exasperated: "I'm not going to fight in a war."

The father and son were discussing when the door was suddenly pushed open.

That little girl of twelve or thirteen has now blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Ding Xiaomei exclaimed, "I want to go too!"

Ding Rulin asked with a headache, "What are you going to do?"

Ding Xiaomei, proud and arrogant, said, "In recent years, my father has been looking for a husband for me, but none of them are as good as Xu Sanlang. I would rather be a concubine to a great hero than marry an ordinary man! If my father does not agree to my going, I will become a nun in Guangzhou."

Ding Zhengchen said speechlessly, "You've only met Xu Sanlang a few times, where did this deep affection come from? I went to seek refuge with Xu Sanlang, but I brought my sister along too. What will others think of me?"

"I don't care, I'm going!" Ding Xiaomei was very stubborn.

Ding Rulin, however, had a different idea. He really wanted to get close to the top scholar, but he was afraid of being rejected.

If rejected, the resulting joke could be quite embarrassing: sending a daughter thousands of miles away, only to find she still can't be sent away.

But once the thought pops into your head, it's hard to suppress it.

Because Xu Lai is just too famous.

Not only was he the first top scholar in Guangdong, but he also rose through the ranks at a rapid pace, taking charge of frontline operations at a young age.

As Xu Lai's fame grew, his story is now widely circulated throughout Guangzhou. Some scholars even make special trips to Qingxi Village to admire the stream stones where the top scholar practiced calligraphy in his youth.

There's also the mulberry shears invented by Xu Lai, which are now widely used by mulberry farmers, fruit farmers, and tea farmers in Guangdong. They've even been renamed the "Top Scholar Shears."

Furthermore, the folding fan created by Xu Lai, who improved upon the Japanese fan, also spread from Guangzhou to the entire Guangdong province. It was called the "Top Scholar Fan."

In the summer, the schools in various prefectures of Guangdong are filled with the sound of fans swishing around.

Xu Lai's reputation in Guangdong was truly astonishing!

If the Ding family could get involved—Ding Rulin was thrilled just thinking about it.

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