White-robed Minister

When Xu Lai was planning the water diversion project, the atmosphere in Bianliang was somewhat heavy.

On the eleventh day of the second month of the lunar calendar, Emperor Renzong of Song fell critically ill.

On the twelfth day, mercy is given to the world.

All prisoners will be demoted one degree. Those sentenced to imprisonment or less will be released immediately.

This is to pray for the emperor's well-being and to ward off disasters.

On the 14th, Emperor Renzong's condition improved slightly, and the heads of the Secretariat and the Privy Council collectively requested an audience.

The four prime ministers, Han Qi, Zeng Gongliang, Ouyang Xiu, and Zhao Gai, along with Privy Councilor Zhang Sheng and Deputy Privy Councilor Hu Su, gathered in the Funing Hall, the emperor's sleeping quarters.

The officials first wished the Emperor good health, then reported on the government affairs of the past few days, and then chatted about various anecdotes and interesting stories in the capital.

They kept going in circles, neither of them getting to the point.

Zhao Gai remained silent, Zeng Gongliang was expressionless, only Ouyang Xiu seemed a little anxious. All three waited for Han Qi to speak.

What are you talking about?

Please, Your Majesty, formally designate an heir!

Zhao Shu is now in an awkward position. Although he has been made a prince, he has been assigned to the Imperial City Guard. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the Imperial City Guard was usually headed by the crown prince, but Zhao Shu has no real power and cannot even meet with outsiders.

It's tantamount to house arrest.

Emperor Renzong of Song nearly died a couple of days ago, but now he is finally in the energy to speak, and his ministers want to finalize the selection of the crown prince.

Han Qi carefully examined the curtains inside the hall, and then looked at Emperor Renzong's bedding, as if there was something wrong with these things.

Emperor Renzong said impatiently, "What else is there? Speak."

With tears welling in his eyes, Han Qi sincerely lamented, "Your Majesty is so frugal that even your personal belongings are simple, old, and faded. How can you take care of your health with such worn-out bedding? I request that new bedding be selected for replacement."

Such heartfelt words made Emperor Renzong of Song tremble with anger.

Privy Councilor Zhang Sheng (Fan Zhongyan's son-in-law) was so frightened that he lowered his head and remained silent, afraid of being noticed.

Hu Su, the Deputy Privy Councilor, was bold enough to stare directly at the emperor.

Inside the Funing Palace, there was a deathly silence.

After a long silence, Emperor Renzong suppressed his anger and said to Han Qi and the others, "I have always practiced frugality while living in the palace. This is the people's hard-earned money, and it should not be wasted lightly. The old bedding is fine as long as it works; there is no need to rush to replace it with new ones."

Now it was the husbands' turn to get angry, each one of them seething with rage.

Since a prince has already been established and nominally put in charge of the Imperial City Guard, why can't an heir be officially appointed?

The crown prince is the foundation of the nation.

The emperor is jeopardizing the very foundation of the nation!

Zhao Shu was already frail, and the repeated frights nearly drove him insane. Now, although he was a prince, he was under house arrest in the Imperial City Guard, living in constant fear.

If this continues, I'm afraid the prince might die before the emperor.

But after Emperor Renzong finished speaking, he closed his eyes and went to sleep, not wanting to communicate with his ministers anymore.

The eunuch approached quietly, smiling tactfully as he saw the guest off.

The six gentlemen looked at each other in bewilderment and had no choice but to bow and take their leave.

They had come to pay their respects during office hours and were now returning to the outer court to continue their work. It was not convenient to speak much inside the palace, so the group walked out in silence and soon arrived at the Inner East Gate.

The Inner East Gate Office was located at the intersection of Chongzheng Hall and the North-South Street. Everyone, whether people or goods, had to register here to enter or leave the palace.

If you forget to register when you leave, it's equivalent to being trapped in the palace without ever leaving.

Han Qi entered first, signed his name, and then turned to leave.

Today, it was Wang Yuanbi's turn to be on duty. He took the initiative to chat with the officials, mentioning the elephants that Jiaozhi had sent as tribute this spring. He complained that the tribute procession was moving too slowly; it had left Guangzhou a month earlier than him, but it didn't arrive in the capital until a month later.

Unfortunately, the gentlemen were in a bad mood today, and none of them bothered to pay him any attention.

Wang Yuanbi's current position is "Gou Dang Nei Dong Men Si".

The official rank was not high, only the seventh grade. However, the person in charge of the palace gates and the delivery of goods had to be a eunuch with experience in serving outside the palace.

There are four people in this position. If you can outcompete your colleagues and get promoted, the next position will be to work in the Imperial Pharmacy—which allows you to have contact with the Emperor and Empress.

The old emperor is about to die, and the eunuchs are all trying to curry favor with the crown prince.

However, the crown prince was placed under house arrest in the Imperial City Guard, and the palace eunuchs had no opportunity to contact him.

Wang Yuanbi could only watch helplessly. He didn't even dare to ride on Yu Jing's coattails, much less reveal his friendship with Cai Kang. If he said anything inappropriate and it reached the emperor's ears, his fate would be dire.

Wang Yuanbi naturally also kept the poem that Xu Lai had given him.

However, Xu Lai's poem "New Thunder" had already begun to circulate in a small circle in Bianliang through a letter written by Yu Jing to Ouyang Xiu and then through the mouth of Ouyang Xiu's son.

……

Guangzhou State University.

"Survey the mountain terrain?" Yang Shu had just returned to school when Xu Lai approached him.

Xu Lai explained his plan in detail, and then said, "I have heard that Mr. An Ding (Hu Yuan)'s method of dividing the classroom for teaching involves going to investigate the mountains and rivers every few months. Although Guangzhou does not implement this method, we can put it into practice ourselves."

Yang Shu hesitated slightly, unsure how long it would take and worried that it might affect his studies.

Xu Lai continued his deception: "From an official perspective, this matter will benefit the people of Guangzhou, freeing them from the bitter taste of salty water. From a personal perspective, if this method succeeds, we will surely be valued by Minister Yu. Moreover, we can accumulate experience that will be useful when we become officials in the future."

Having said that, how could Yang Shu possibly refuse?

Moreover, he couldn't help but feel excited, believing that this was just a small test and that it would surely benefit all people in the future.

"Then count me in!" Yang Shu laughed heartily.

Xu Lai said, "Brother Jie, please also inquire about the students in the inner quarters. Anyone who is willing can participate."

"Okay, I'll pass on the message for you," Yang Shu immediately agreed.

Xu Lai bowed and took his leave, then turned and returned to his own quarters.

As soon as we stepped through the gate, Wen Zhonghe greeted us: "There are 41 people in our study group. Liang Wensu and Chen Yanhong have not shown up for a long time. Huang Yu and Zheng Jijing, as the head of the study group and the instructor, are usually busy with other matters and cannot leave. Of the remaining members, 12 have signed up to participate."

"Is it that little?" Xu Lai asked with a smile.

Wen Zhonghe explained, "Many people think this method is far-fetched and impossible to accomplish. Instead of wasting time surveying the mountain terrain, they'd rather stay in their study and diligently study the scriptures. After all, the first monthly exam is just a few days away."

Xu Lai asked, "I said I'd go after the monthly exam."

"They're all pretty much the same. There's still the next monthly exam," Wen Zhonghe said. "The Wenzhai is the lowest-ranking dormitory in the entire state school, and everyone is eager to get promoted. A delay of a day or two is fine, but no one wants to wait any longer."

Xu Lai said, "I estimate that even more students from the internal training program will sign up."

The inner scholars had already studied various classics; the rest was simply a matter of how to integrate them and apply them to poetry, prose, and policy essays. They wouldn't take the provincial examination until next autumn, and the imperial examination the following spring; they had plenty of time to waste.

For the next nine days, Xu Lai devoted himself to reading.

There were indeed many students willing to sign up, and people came to inquire about the details every day.

Another ten-day weekend has arrived.

However, there will be no holiday this time; instead, the monthly exam will be held during the holiday.

Chen Yanhong, who rarely appears in the dormitory, finally graced us with his presence once again. This time, he was quite polite, even taking the initiative to greet his classmates with a cupped-hand salute.

There was nothing he could do; he was trying to curry favor with Principal Chen Cigong.

Chen Cigong believed in Li Gou's doctrine, which elevated "rites" to an infinite height, and that all things were components of rites.

Chen Yanhong must be respectful from now on, unless he gives up trying to please Chen Cigong.

"Did this person take the wrong medicine?" Wen Zhonghe asked.

Xu Lai shook his head: "I don't know."

Wen Zhonghe found it amusing: "Even though he took the initiative to greet me, I still feel really awkward. Hmm... it's just..."

"It's really fake, isn't it?" Xu Lai asked.

Wen Zhonghe repeatedly said, "Yes, yes, yes, it's so fake, so hypocritical. He wasn't as aloof and arrogant as he used to be."

This means you've practiced the wrong cultivation method.

A person who is already used to arrogance will eventually drive themselves crazy if they insist on always adhering to etiquette.

Liang Wensu also appeared, carrying a book bag. Upon meeting him, he immediately asked, "Xu Sanlang, I heard you're going to survey the mountain terrain? Can I join you?"

"Of course," Xu Lai readily agreed, his only concern being the lack of manpower.

After chatting for a while, Sun Ligeng arrived.

The senior student in charge of the assessment called out as soon as he entered, "No noise, everyone return to your seats. This month's test will only cover the Analects and Mencius, and those are some of the earlier passages. All questions will be based on the classics."

"Pasting scriptures" is a form of dictation and fill-in-the-blank exercises.

Xu Lai listened to the question, quickly wrote down the answer, and was so bored that he wanted to yawn.

These daily quizzes are too easy; those who fail must have been playing around with them all along.

I heard that the quarterly exams are more difficult, and if you pass, you can apply to be promoted to Lent. But that's just an application; whether you can actually be promoted depends on taking another Lent exam.

Just fifteen minutes later, the students began to hand in their papers.

Fifteen minutes later, only three people remained working on the problems.

These three are doomed. They can't even answer basic fill-in-the-blank questions, and they're worse than the schoolchildren in the countryside. They used to be able to do them, but now they've forgotten the contents of the scriptures.

Sun Ligeng graded the papers on the spot, ignoring the three students still working on the questions, and said loudly, "A total of twenty-nine people got all the questions right. Five people got one question wrong. Two people got two questions wrong... Not bad."

A few days later, Xu Lai gathered the applicants and set off for Baiyun Mountain.

The three major festivals of Shangsi, Hanshi, and Qingming have been combined by the imperial court, resulting in a seven-day holiday, which is perfect for conducting surveys.

The Qingming Festival is a seven-day long holiday!

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(Note: In ancient China, a day was divided into 100 ke. 1 ke = 14.4 minutes.)