White-robed Minister

Chapter 252 0250 [Hedong Military Training Summary]

After the lecture ended, Xu Lai strolled back to the Academy.

Scholars of the Hanlin Academy often held multiple positions, thus having relatively flexible working hours.

For example, Yuan Jiang, Yang Hui, and Wang Yirou were all Hanlin Academicians. However, they also held concurrent positions: Acting Prefect of Kaifeng, Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Imperial Edict Drafter.

There are two situations where, regardless of what additional position a Hanlin Academician holds, they must come to work at the Academy.

The first is "Suzhi".

They took turns standing guard at night in the imperial city, ready to receive imperial edicts or inquiries at any time.

The second is "locking the courtyard".

When major events occur, such as the emperor's critical illness, the appointment of the crown prince, or the removal of prime ministers, Hanlin scholars are confined to the Hanlin Academy to work. If they hold other important positions concurrently, they must report this before they can be absent or leave.

Those who returned to the Academy with Xu Lai included Wang Yirou, Chen Xiang, and Han Wei.

They first arrived outside the Jade Hall, which is the main hall of the Academy.

At this moment, the Jade Hall was empty.

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Scholars only worked in the Jade Hall on their first day in office, or when the emperor himself visited. They also wrote imperial edicts in their own offices before coming to the Jade Hall to formally copy and draft them.

Wang Yirou bypassed the Jade Hall and headed to the East Pavilion. He was now the Chief Scholar and worked in the East Pavilion.

Chen Xiang bypassed the Jade Hall and headed to the West Pavilion. He was a scholar of the Second Hall and worked in the West Pavilion.

Xu Lai and Han Wei went to the third hall, which was also known as the Locust Hall because of the large locust tree in the courtyard.

The entire Academy had approximately 50 clerks.

After Han Wei arrived at Huai Hall, he followed Xu Lai into the office, waved away the subordinates, and then asked, "Does Xu Tianzhang intend to implement reforms?"

"The reform is in the hands of Prime Minister Wang." Xu Lai did not give a direct answer.

Han Wei said, "Why is Xu Tianzhang being so ambiguous? Your actions today have been seen by all the officials."

Xu Lai smiled.

Han Wei said, "The Song Dynasty is now weak, its people are poor, and it is plagued by numerous problems. Anyone with insight knows that it is impossible not to reform. I used to support Prime Minister Wang's reforms, but his Green Sprouts Law, Baojia Law, and Exemption from Service Law are suspected of harming the people."

Xu Lai remained silent and returned to his workstation to sit down.

Han Wei dragged a chair over and continued, "In Kaifeng, there was a farmer named Li Xiao'er who mutilated himself to avoid the Baojia system."

Xu Lai said, "I know Li Xiao'er. He caused quite a stir back then. But the authorities have already found out that Li Xiao'er is an idle loafer. He mutilated himself to evade the Baojia system, simply because he didn't want to participate in the village militia training."

Wang Anshi's Baojia system had many uses.

One of its uses was for training militia. That is, every farming household with two or more able-bodied men had to select one man as a militia member to receive military training during the off-season.

Li Xiaoer was just a country bumpkin who would rather harm himself than endure the hardships of training.

Han Wei said, "Although he is a country rogue, the fact that he forced farmers to mutilate themselves is truly appalling. I had only seen such things in history books before. And this year's exemption from corvée labor law actually drew thousands of people to Kaifeng Prefecture."

"Sigh, things are indeed in chaos," Xu Lai sighed.

Han Wei asked, "If Your Excellency were to lead the reforms, what measures would you take?"

Xu Lai said, "First, we should rectify the corruption in the bureaucracy."

"Officialdom?" Han Wei was quite surprised.

Xu Lai explained simply: "Leaving aside corruption, bribery, and double-dealing, at the very least, officials must be made to obey the central government's orders. If I were Prime Minister Wang, when I implemented the new laws in the north, I would never allow local officials to implement them arbitrarily in the south."

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"The new law has just been promulgated, and no one knows how much it benefits or harms people. If there are any areas that harm the people, we must do our best to correct them. Once they are mostly corrected, we can then extend the law to other areas."

"How can the Green Sprouts Act and the Exemption from Service Act be implemented in the south on their own initiative before their effectiveness has even been proven in the north? Such a disobedient act, yet they dare to claim credit from the court and even gain the favor of the prime minister!"

"If someone dares to implement a new law on their own initiative, then someone else will dare to use the new law to harm the people. If they are not punished, countless people will follow suit, and even a good law will be turned into a bad law."

Han Wei wholeheartedly agreed: "Xu Tianzhang is indeed a man of military knowledge; he understands that orders must be obeyed without question. Now that Minister Wang has stirred up public resentment, and Minister Wen remains stubbornly unyielding, it is our duty to stand up and turn the tide!"

To be honest, Xu Lai didn't want to cooperate with Han Wei.

Making friends is fine; Han Wei's character is currently quite good. But as political allies, especially allies in the reform movement, the Han brothers are all the same.

Xu Lai and Han Wei worked together at the Hanlin Academy for half a year. Although they didn't interact much, they often chatted.

He felt that Han Wei was a complete hypocrite, all talk and no action.

Unfortunately, Xu Lai was not familiar with the historical details, otherwise he would have known what Han Wei did later.

After Wang Anshi's downfall, Han Wei, who had become completely corrupted, joined forces with Sima Guang to urge the emperor to relinquish territory, even considering giving the entire Xihe region to Western Xia.

The reason was that when Wang Shao opened up the borders, he did not properly manage the Xihe region. The imperial court was simply unable to absorb it, and it cost a lot of money and grain every year.

Not only that, Han Wei also eliminated dissidents and appointed relatives and friends to important positions. These people were promoted and, under the guise of attacking the New Party, frantically pursued personal vendettas.

However, since Xu Lai wanted to lead the reform, he couldn't possibly have political fastidiousness.

Unlike Wang Anshi, before formally implementing the new laws, his first task was to establish rules.

Xu Lai was willing to appoint people regardless of whether they were conservatives, reformers, or centrists. He would use mediocre people who followed the rules, promote capable officials who followed the rules, and dismiss officials who did not follow the rules!

Han Weiruo is very suitable to be used to establish authority if he doesn't follow the rules.

Xu Lai planned to continue observing and decided it would be best to become friends with Han Wei first, since it was still a long time before he would carry out his own reforms.

The two chatted until it was time to get off work, then Xu packed his things and went home.

Han Wei stayed at the Bachelor's College because it was his turn to work the night shift that night.

The side gate of Xu Lai's house.

Xie Liangzuo stood from morning until evening without even having lunch.

Xu Lai is now a Hanlin Academician and a favorite of the emperor, attracting countless visitors and gifts. He closed his doors to guests six months ago, only receiving old friends.

Xie Liangzuo is 21 years old this year, and his son has just turned one year old. His father, Xie Hao, is an official in the capital, and he has brought his wife and child with him, taking the opportunity to study and socialize in the capital.

Some time ago, Xie Liangzuo joined a poetry society and came into contact with Xu Lai's scholarship through the book "Duo Sheng".

He visited for several days in a row, but still did not see Xu Lai.

He plans to block the door today.

Moreover, he had already found out which gate Xu Lai usually used to get home.

As the sun set, Xie Liangzuo saw two people approaching.

Xu Lai was walking in front, followed by Chen Xiaoyi who was helping to carry things.

"This junior, Xie Liangzuo, pays his respects to Scholar Xu!" Xie Liangzuo hurriedly stepped forward.

Xu Lai couldn't help but take a second look.

He wasn't familiar with history, but he was very knowledgeable about intellectual history; Xie Liangzuo was a very famous figure.

Zhu Xi's pursuit of knowledge originated from Xie Liangzuo.

Lu Jiuyuan's concept of "mind is principle" also originated from Xie Liangzuo.

Xie Liangzuo's academic thought gave rise to two branches: Neo-Confucianism and the School of Mind.

Regardless of their lineage, Xie Liangzuo's academic theories differed greatly from Xu Lai's. Was it because he was young and hadn't yet had the chance to become Cheng Yi's student, but was instead attracted by Xu Lai's scholarship?

Xu Lai returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "What brings you here, sir?"

Xie Liangzuo quickly replied, "This junior dares to ask to become your disciple—this is by no means an attempt to curry favor. I merely seek knowledge, not your recommendation for an official position."

Xu Lai took the lecture notes from Chen Xiaoyi and handed them to Xie Liangzuo, saying, "These are the contents of my lecture today. Take them home and read them first. If you don't disagree with them, go to the editorial department of 'Duosheng' magazine."

Xie Liangzuo was overjoyed and respectfully bowed, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, sir!"

Xu Lai turned and stepped through the gate.

Xie Liangzuo went home happily. He didn't eat lunch, wolfed down his dinner, and then ran back to his study to review his lecture notes.

His father, Xie Hao, was serving as a judge in Kaifeng Prefecture at the time and was renting a house in the capital.

"What is Sanlang looking at?" Xie Liangbi asked.

"Second Brother."

Xie Liangzuo stood up and said, "I met Scholar Xu today, and he even showed me the lecture notes from the Imperial Academy."

"Really?" Xie Liangbi quickly leaned closer.

Xie Liangbi was preparing for the military examination and greatly admired Xu Lai. This was not because of his academic ideas, but because Xu Lai had opened up the border at Xihe.

Xie Liangbi planned to go to the northwest border to kill enemies and make meritorious contributions after passing the military examination.

The two brothers quickly sat down together, their heads close together, reading Xu Lai's lecture notes, without even noticing their own father pushing the door open and coming in.

Seeing that his two sons were completely absorbed, Xie Hao quietly left the study and closed the door behind him.

Xie Liangzuo said, "Scholar Xu asked me to go to the editorial department of 'Duosheng' magazine. Although I haven't formally become his apprentice yet, there will be plenty of opportunities to learn from him in person in the future."

Xie Liangbi smiled and said, "If I have any questions, I'll ask you to help me ask them."

"Leave it to me!" Xie Liangzuo laughed heartily.

The next day, Xie Liangzuo went to the editorial department, where Wang Hou and Chang Anmin had already arrived. Chang Anmin was now frequently skipping classes, since he had already studied at the Imperial Academy for eight years.

After getting to know the two men, Xie Liangzuo asked curiously, "When will you be coming, sir?"

Wang Hou explained, "We come every day off, and occasionally during the week. We are usually responsible for the initial review of manuscripts, and we read here when we have free time."

Chang Anmin pointed to several Confucian classics and said, "Those are all books that the teacher read and contain many of his annotations. There are also two books, 'A Brief Discussion of the Analects' and 'A Brief Discussion of Mencius,' which were written by the teacher when he was a student."

Wang Hou further advised, "If you wish to become an apprentice, it would be best to read 'Mathematics' and 'Geometry'."

"Thank you both for your guidance!" Xie Liangzuo quickly bowed.

The three of them reviewed and discussed the manuscript initially, and then each went to read. They wrote down any questions they had and saved them to ask Xu Lai later.

Xu Lai, however, has been given a new position.

"Is this the Imperial Academy's Chief Speaker?" Xu Lai sat down in front of the emperor.

Zhao Xu laughed and said, "Sir, you have founded a school of thought, how can you keep your own teachings to yourself? You should also give a lecture to the students of the Imperial Academy."

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Xu Lai is currently a Hanlin Academician and Lecturer, and it wouldn't matter if he also served as a lecturer at the Imperial Academy.

Zhao Xu then produced another victory report, beaming with joy, and said, "A great victory has been achieved in Hedong! Cai Ting's troops have captured Ningyuan Village of the Liao Kingdom. Over 1,200 have been beheaded, and more than 3,000 Liao soldiers and civilians have been captured. We can now negotiate peace with the Liao envoy."

Yes, Xu Lai also has a part-time job, which is to be in charge of negotiations between Liao and Xia.

Xu Lai carefully examined the report of victory and discovered that Cai Ting had evolved once again.

Cai Ting trained his troops on Jingyuan Road for several years and on Qinfeng Road for another year, and he almost never lost a battle against the Western Xia.

Now he has spent another six months training troops in Hedong, imitating and improving Guo Kui's tactics by mixing traditional troops with firearms troops.

This time, Cai Ting took the initiative and used chariot formations, infantry and cavalry, three-eyed cavalry, artillery, divine crossbows, and ordinary bows and crossbows to defeat the Liao army in the open field. He then bombarded the stockade with artillery and captured Ningyuan Village of the Liao in one fell swoop.

The dilapidated location was unfavorable for the Song army's defense, so Cai Ting ordered the fortified village to be demolished and quickly retreated with the looted money, grain, goods, and prisoners to prevent being surrounded by the Liao army that came to retaliate.

Zhao Xu then handed Xu Lai a booklet: "This is Cai Ting's 'Records of Military Training in Hedong,' which I intend to print and distribute to the border armies along the way."

Xu Lai carefully read the training notes and found that the book specifically discussed mixed-unit tactics and how to effectively use firearms in combat.

After quickly glancing through the list, Xu Lai said, "Cai Ting should be richly rewarded!"

Zhao Xu said, "I plan to promote Lü Gongbi to the position of Vice Chancellor and Cai Ting to the position of Privy Councilor."

"Your Majesty is wise," Xu Lai complimented.

After the emperor and his ministers chatted for a while, Xu Lai went to Duting Post Station to continue negotiations with the Liao envoy.

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