manynovel Chapter 1314 New and Old Prime Ministers
Chapter 1314 New and Old Prime Ministers
Chapter 1314 New and Old Prime Ministers
The next day, Zhang Yue bid farewell to Wang Anshi and went south.
Before leaving, Wang Anshi gave Zhang Yue a handwritten letter and asked him to pass it on to Cai Bian when he had the chance. The letter contained the six words "establish virtue, be broad-minded, and practice benevolence".
Zhang Yue accepted it immediately.
As the father-in-law and son-in-law, Wang Anshi did not pass the calligraphy to Cai Bian, but asked Zhang Yue to pass it on. There is a deeper meaning behind this.
Cai Bian is a man of deep thoughts, and sometimes he himself does not know what the other person is thinking.
Cai Bian's mind is complicated and difficult to understand, and he has a bit of femininity, but he is frugal and reliable.
In terms of personal integrity, the New Party officials appreciated by Wang Anshi were impeccable.
Zhang Yue concealed his tracks and did not return home in a high-profile manner, but he inevitably encountered the White Dragon Fish Costume incident along the way.
However, once Zhang Yue ordered Huang Haoyi to take the invitation from the Zhang Mansion to negotiate, the other party immediately apologized and admitted their mistake when they heard that it was from Prime Minister Zhang's residence, and tried to establish some relationship with him, so everything was peaceful.
In this way, we arrived at Hangzhou.
The economies of Suzhou and Hangzhou were the best in the Song Dynasty. In recent years, Zhang Yue gradually relaxed the salt ban and allowed private salt trading. However, everything had to be settled with salt notes.
Suzhou and Hangzhou were originally places where sea salt was distributed, and the silk and cotton industries were also vigorously promoted in Suzhou and Hangzhou.
In recent years, the economies of Suzhou and Hangzhou have been unrivaled in the Song Dynasty.
It is true that the character of the people in a place is closely related to the natural environment of that place.
The more commercially developed a place is, the more open and enterprising people are, and the more polite they are. Of course, the extravagant atmosphere also comes with it and is hard to get rid of.
Now Chen Guan is the magistrate of Hangzhou.
After Zhang Yue proposed to establish a crown prince, Huang Lu and Chen Mu were successively dismissed.
Chen Guan, Huang Shang and others proposed to Zhang Yue that they should serve as local officials, and Zhang Yue readily agreed.
Chen Guan offered to go to Hangzhou, and Huang Shang also offered to go to Dengzhou. Zhang Yue agreed and asked them to serve as Tongpans in the two states. Dengzhou was now a place for sea trade to Goryeo. After falling out with the Khitan, Song Dynasty merchant ships no longer had to sneak through Mingzhou but could sail to Goryeo in a high-profile manner through Dengzhou.
When Zhang Yue's ship arrived at the Wulinmen Wharf, Chen Guan was already waiting in the wine shop on the shore and was ready to come out to greet him.
At this moment, the dock was crowded with ships. The boatmen were first dismantling the sails, and the bluestone steps of the dock gradually became noisy.
Countless salt bags and rice baskets were stacked up like a pile, and lacquer boxes and tea strips were arranged in a long row.
Merchants in silk cotton clothes held axe boards in their hands, while bare-chested porters carried goods on their shoulders. An old official in the imperial tax booth nearby blew on his pen and recorded the goods declared by the guests in the blue register.
Petals fluttered in the sky and fell, getting caught in people's clothes. Zhang Yue witnessed all this and felt the endless spring and the vibrant scene.
This is Hangzhou, the economic center of the Song Dynasty second only to Bianliang.
"Teacher!" Chen Guan was overjoyed to see Zhang Yue and quickly helped him down the boat ladder.
Zhang Yue said happily: "This time when I passed by Wulin Gate, it was much more prosperous than when I passed by here eight or nine years ago."
Chen Guan was also very happy to see Zhang Yue. Seeing Zhang Yue's face full of emotion, he said, "Teacher!"
Zhang Yue said: "I think of my teacher, Mr. Gu Ling. It was because of his years as the governor of Hangzhou that the current situation of officials and businessmen being able to work together has come about."
The teacher and the student tasted wine at the wine shop and ordered some Suzhou and Hangzhou side dishes.
"Teacher, please try this dish of fish in vinegar." Chen Guan helped Zhang Yue serve the dishes.
Zhang Yue looked at the vinegar fish and thought, could this be the dreaded West Lake vinegar fish?
Zhang Yue picked up some fish meat with chopsticks and brought it closer. He smelled a vinegar aroma and after tasting it, he praised it: "Sweet and sour, fragrant, and tender in texture."
Chen Guan smiled and said, "As long as the teacher likes it."
Chen Guan helped Zhang Yue to carve out a large piece of fish, and Zhang Yue began to eat it with wine, one mouthful of fish and one glass of wine at a time.
Soon the shopkeeper brought another bowl of fish soup, and Zhang Yue ate half of it.
The two chatted for a while, and Chen Guan reported the news from the court to Zhang Yue.
There were two major events in the court. One was that the sixth prince had been officially appointed as the crown prince and his name was officially changed to Zhao Xu.
Zhang Yue was moved when he heard this, saying that the emperor really kept his word. He was much better than a certain emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Another thing is that after the Khitan was defeated and retreated by Lu Huiqing, they sent envoys to negotiate peace.
The emperor was overjoyed. As the country was now stable, he decided to follow the example of Emperor Xinzong and offer sacrifices to the gods on Mount Tai.
However, this move was opposed by a number of officials including Su Che, Qin Guan, and Chao Buzhi.
Chen Guan said at this time: "Teacher, His Majesty ordered you to go to Fujian Road as a pacification envoy. Logically, you have just arrived in Hangzhou Prefecture today, which is already too late."
Listening to Chen Guan's reminder, Zhang Yue smiled and said, "This time when the crown prince was enthroned, all officials were rewarded. Prime Minister Wang, Cai Zhizheng and others were promoted. Even Cai Yuandu and Cheng Zhengshu, who were lecturers in the crown prince's private residence, were promoted, but I was the only one who was not promoted."
Chen Guan didn't dare to respond after hearing this.
Zhang Yue said: "The post of pacification envoy is not a regular official position. It's too late. I'm just waiting for the imperial censors to impeach me."
After hearing this, Chen Guan sighed silently.
Chen Guan immediately said, "Teacher, I heard that Cai Zhizheng in the capital has already taken action. Taking advantage of the opportunity to negotiate peace with the Khitan, he has sent officials to the northwest to investigate Shen Cunzhong and Wang Chudao."
Zhang Yue said: "There is nothing we can do when the situation is volatile. This time I passed by Jiangning and asked Jing Gong to submit a petition on my behalf, but no one knows how much weight his words carry in the eyes of the emperor."
"You and Huang Mianzhong are both smart people, and you can tell the coming of autumn from a single leaf. Now one of you is in Hangzhou and the other is in Dengzhou, so you have avoided this storm."
Chen Guan lowered his head. He and Huang Shang both realized the political turmoil that would come after Zhang Yue was dismissed from his post as prime minister, so they asked Zhang Yue to let them leave the capital first.
Chen Guan said, "I am only worried about Ziyou and Shaoyou. Your Majesty has made it his mission to rebuild the country. If they oppose your majesty's Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai at this time, won't that just give Cai Zhizheng an excuse? It will definitely ruin Ziyou and the others."
Zhang Yue said: "Yingzhong, you are a Buddhist, you must know that this is called personal karma."
"Besides, they may not understand what you said about Ziyou."
Chen Guan was annoyed and asked, "Teacher, if Zhizheng has such an effect, don't you hate him?"
Zhang Yue looked at Chen Guan with a fixed gaze and asked, "Hate?"
"Yingzhong, if you hope others are good, they may not be good, but you will be good; if you hope others are bad, they may not be bad, but you will be bad."
"Don't waste your energy. Zhizheng and I will just walk and see what happens!"
Zhang Yue thought to himself that Cai Que was appointed by the emperor to succeed him as the right prime minister. Could it be that the emperor didn't know that he and Cai Que were at odds?
After a pause, Zhang Yue said to Chen Guan: "Take me to see the local customs and people here."
……
In Cai Que’s private residence.
He Zhengchen, Xing Shu, Xiang Qi and other close followers of Cai Que were all in the house.
As Cai Que was promoted to right prime minister, their status also rose with the tide.
He Zhengchen said: "Su Ziyou and his men are seeking death for what they deserve. They openly oppose Your Majesty's Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai. They say that this will not only cause trouble and harm to the people, but also that if the Khitans attack, how can we defend ourselves? Your Majesty must hate them deeply."
"We don't even need to collect evidence of their crimes; they just bring evidence to our doorstep."
Xing Shu said: "I don't think they will be so short-sighted. They are just fighting for reputation."
"Isn't it too hasty? After all, your majesty's body has not recovered yet, but you are anxious to perform the Fengshan ceremony on Mount Tai. This will make the journey very tiring."
Cai Que said: "The Emperor of Qin, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and Emperor Xuanzong all performed Fengshan rituals one after another. Now that Liangzhou has been recovered, we can once again access the Western Regions after hundreds of years. The Tanguts are willing to submit to us again, and the Liao Kingdom is willing to send envoys to negotiate peace. Your Majesty can finally fulfill your long-cherished wish!"
"From now on, Your Majesty can legitimately be the Emperor!"
The four words "Huang Jian You Ji" (imperial construction) are also Tsai Que's ideal.
As a minister promoted by the emperor, he was full of gratitude to the emperor. His ambition was of course to assist the emperor in "building his country to the highest level".
Listening to Huang Jianyouji, Cai Que said: "Follow the king's righteousness; do not do good, follow the king's way; do not do evil, respect the king's way. Without bias or partisanship, the king's way is vast; without party or partiality, the king's way is flat; without opposition or side, the king's way is upright. Meet the limit and return to the limit."
Cai Que's words are exactly the essence of the kingly way, and everything in the world is based on the emperor's will as the highest criterion.
Several people nodded in unison.
Xing Shu disagreed with this, but the family system had been in place for thousands of years, and it was inevitable in history. Without the suppression of the imperial power, the aristocratic families would have been rampant and rampant, and there would be no way for people like them to rise above the ordinary people.
But on the other hand, those poor families who have made it can also become new noble families and aristocratic families.
Although Xing Shu was a member of Cai Que's party, he also had the moral persistence of a scholar in his heart, so at this moment his mind was full of random thoughts.
Xiang Qi said: "Right Prime Minister, Jiang Gong went to Fujian to take up his post. He stopped and delayed along the way. It took him more than a month to reach Hangzhou. He must be late."
Xing Shu's heart trembled. Zhang Yue was exactly what he had thought of. He had emerged from a poor family and had become a new noble family.
As a retired prime minister, you must make room for the successor.
Cai Que said: "Immediately find a few outspoken censors to impeach him! Say that he has been on the road for a long time and is obviously resentful."
Xing Shu said, "Lord Jian was just dismissed from his position as Prime Minister. Would this hurt the dignity of the ministers?"
After Xing Shu finished speaking, he glanced at Cai Que and sneered at Xiang Qi, "I almost forgot that I and Uncle worked under Jian Gong for several years and we still remember the old friendship."
Xing Shu blushed when he heard this.
Cai Que said: "It's not like the emperor is abdicating, so why should we talk about whether it's decent or not."
"When Jing Gong was dismissed from his post, Zhang Duzhi expelled Deng Wenyue (Deng Wan), and Lu Wenzhi (Lü Jiawen) left the court, he was never merciful or lenient."
"Jian Gong understood it clearly."
Xing Shu thought to himself, but Zhang Yue had never said a bad word about Wang Anshi to outsiders, and also gave him the dignity to retire.
Cai Que's move reminded Xing Shu of a saying: one's own actions will lead to his own destruction.
Xiang Qi said: "Mr. Jian has retired, so he must have known about this arrangement. Besides, Zhang Zizheng and Shen Cunzhong should also be dismissed!"
Xiang Qi was filled with hatred when talking about Shen Kuo. He had never forgotten how Shen Kuo persecuted him.
But he also remembered that Zhang Yue had interceded for him on Shen Kuo's behalf, but he felt that given their friendship, Zhang Yue's help was not enough.
I don't miss the friendship we had as classmates at all.
Cai Que hesitated and said, "I will take care of Zi Zheng, but Cun Zhong needs to wait a while."
Xiang Qi said anxiously: "You Prime Minister has forgotten what happened in the past."
Cai Que knew that when Shen Kuo was the Minister of the Three Departments, he proposed to amend the exemption law, and it was his impeachment that led to Shen Kuo's resignation. This grudge could not be resolved.
However, Tsai did not want to expand it so much for the time being, but then he thought, since it has to be done sooner or later, he might as well do it all at once.
Cai Que nodded to Xiang Qi, and the other party was very happy to see it.