A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 343 Borrowing chickens to lay eggs
"Evil cultivator?"

Song Xuan chuckled. Fan Zhongyan hadn't been in officialdom for very long.

In handling government affairs, is he really a "reputable and upright person"?
It's just that his cunning side hasn't been unleashed yet.

"Dean, you must have heard this saying, right?"

"What did you say?" Fan Zhongyan asked.

"What kind of master is likely to produce what kind of apprentice?"

Song Xuan pointed at himself:
“If I am an evil cultivator, then you are a great evil cultivator hiding behind the scenes.”

"Hahaha."

Fan Zhongyan laughed a few times; in fact, he agreed with Song Xuan's approach.

After all, I had worked hard for it for a long time, but I hadn't achieved any of my goals.

On the contrary, Song Xuan took advantage of the situation and facilitated the resolution of many problems.

Fan Zhongyan felt that there was still a gap between him and his students in handling matters.

For example, when he gave advice to Zhang Qi, Fan Zhongyan finally understood.

In reality, Song Xuan was just indirectly uniting a large group of people to deal with a small group of people.

Fan Zhongyan used to dismiss his father-in-law's words with disdain.

Seeing Song Xuan's actions now, I understand. It turns out that some people are truly self-taught and can make good use of their skills.

"But that's forming a faction."

"What's wrong with forming cliques?"

Song Xuan's question surprised Fan Zhongyan slightly.

Forming factions is never a good thing!

Forming factions inevitably leads to factional strife, and isn't factional strife ultimately about "usurping the country"?

"Master, have you not heard that the most dangerous thing in the world is when there is peace and tranquility, but in reality there are unforeseen troubles? If we sit and watch the changes without doing anything, it may become too late to save the situation!"

"If we rise up and forcefully do it, the world will become complacent with peace and tranquility and will not trust us. Only virtuous people, gentlemen, heroes and outstanding individuals are willing to step forward for the sake of the world and risk great difficulties in order to achieve great success!"

Fan Zhongyan subconsciously stood up, looked down at Song Xuan, and said with great surprise:
"Master, I have truly never heard of these two phrases."

Song Xuan coughed twice: "Didn't you hear that today?"

Fan Zhongyan did not remember the two sentences Song Xuan said, because the sentences were too long, and he clearly heard the words before the first sentence.

That makes a lot of sense.

"This is exactly the state of the Song Dynasty today. Since the signing of the Treaty of Chanyuan, it is no exaggeration to describe it as a time of peace and prosperity for the people and a time of stagnation for the military."

Song Xuan nodded: "So, Master, if you want to reform the Song Dynasty, don't worry about the methods. One is to get promoted as soon as possible, and the other is to use any means, whether they are evil cultivation methods or not, as long as you achieve your goal."

As the saying goes, it doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat.

Fan Zhongyan stroked his beard and smiled, "That sounds quite reasonable."

"That makes sense. When have I, Song Twelve, ever done anything unreasonable?"

Listening to Song Xuan's self-praise, Fan Zhongyan nodded and agreed that it was indeed true.

"So, your public insults against Chen Yaozuo, the Prefect of Kaifeng, in the main hall will probably not be tolerated by the Chen brothers."

Fan Zhongyan said with some concern:

"It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. The two brothers have suffered losses one after another, so they will definitely try to find ways to target you."

"so."

Song Xuan brought the topic back:

"It's good to use the eunuchs' unauthorized use of the jade and horse (a type of ancient Chinese currency) to create factional strife. Once the waters are muddied, they will be unable to control their own destiny."

Fan Zhongyan felt that he had benefited greatly. Although he had taught Song Xuan academically, how could this kid be so successful in officialdom?
Without spending a decade or so in officialdom, one couldn't develop such cunning and ruthless methods.

"Okay, then I'll wait and see."

Fan Zhongyan then said with great emotion:

"Looking at this county government office today, even if you don't say it's completely impenetrable, everyone is completely convinced of your abilities. I have never achieved anything like this before."

"Not to mention this is the county government office in the capital, it's no ordinary place."

"Hahaha."

Song Xuan smiled and said, "There's no secret to it. I can talk about profound principles with Master Fu and others, but I don't need to with them."

"Oh, why?"

“They don’t understand, and instead think that what you, the county magistrate, are saying is all nonsense.”

Song Xuan snapped his fingers:
"To put it bluntly, interests and violence are power, and rewards and punishments are the authority."

"The Emperor may not have these two items now, but I do!"

Fan Zhongyan indeed lacked understanding of Song Xuan.

To be honest, he himself had never fully grasped the intricacies of it all.

After hearing Song Xuan's memorable words and thinking about them carefully, is it really that simple?
However, in practice, Fan Zhongyan found it quite difficult.

Apart from Song Xuan, the other county magistrates were too inept at making money.

Have those businessmen been in arrears on taxes for a year or two?
It must have been at least several years.

People are all going there to pay the liquor tax because they really need it.

As for taxes, they were all in arrears. In the past, no magistrate of Kaifeng would dare to collect them.

Nobody knows who the real financial backer of Fanlou is.

The mere fact that Zhang Qi and Liu Congde have been promoted is enough to inspire fear.

“I gave them tangible benefits and a pie to be divided up in a short time. I don’t need them to sell their lives to me. They just need to follow my orders. What’s there to be dissatisfied about?”

"You've given too much."

Fan Zhongyan sighed softly. He felt that once the private school was established, those yamen runners and constables would probably really want to sell their lives to Song Xuan.

Too much?

Song Xuan nodded slightly:

"That's true. After all, the value of the labor produced by ordinary people has never been recognized since ancient times."

“They’re all cattle and horses, no, they’re even cheaper than real cattle and horses.”

Although Fan Zhongyan also pitied the common people, he was influenced by the current environment and was therefore slightly better to them than other scholar-officials.

"You're not entirely right."

Fan Zhongyan didn't quite agree with this statement, but for the time being he couldn't find a reason to refute Song Xuan.

So he stood there silently, lost in thought.

Song Xuan wasn't in a hurry. He stood up and strolled around a few times, just to help digest his food.

At the entrance of the Kaifeng County Government Office, Jia Changchao was still hesitating, unable to make up his mind to take the initiative to visit Song Xuan.

Although his teacher Sun Shi recommended Jia Changchao to succeed him, Jia Changchao failed the imperial examination shortly after Sun Shi set off for Yingtian Academy.

Now he's back at the Imperial College telling stories.

Jia Changchao was disheartened. He had thought that after taking over the teacher's position, he would rise rapidly in rank.

Unexpectedly, he was sent back the way he came after only a few days in the palace.

Neither Wang Zeng nor Lü Yijian had any fondness for Jia Changchao, who was granted official positions by writing eulogies for the emperor; in fact, they quite disliked such people.

Wang Zeng and Lü Yijian were surrounded by officials who had passed the imperial examinations or had been appointed through family connections.

Jia Changchao was nothing but a sycophantic villain. Even if the great Confucian scholar Sun Shi praised his lecturing skills, it wouldn't matter.

In addition, he served as a study companion to Zhao Tingmei's grandson, the Prince of Yingchuan.

Now that he's lecturing to officials, his status is even more questionable.

Regardless of whether the imperial family has any intentions, they must be on guard, because Zhao Zhen currently has no children.

But Jia Changchao didn't know the reason. He just felt that he had a lot of skills, so why weren't they recognized by the men?
He thought long and hard, and wanted to write to his teacher, Sun Shi, to tell him about the situation, but he felt ashamed.

The teacher had already fed him, but he didn't seize the opportunity.

Then today, he heard that Song Xuan had angrily rebuked Chen Yaozuo in front of all the civil and military officials, making him vomit blood, and yet nothing happened to him.

Jia Changchao then recalled his conversation with his teacher about Song Xuan.

Despite his young age, Song Xuan is a rising star.

If you don't befriend him when he's in a lowly position, and wait until he's in a high and powerful position before trying to get close to him, will you even get a chance?

Jia Changchao boasted of his own abilities, but unfortunately he had no patron, and now Song Xuan was much younger than him.

Even though his official rank was lower than Song Xuan's, their actual positions were incomparable; he hadn't even become a high-ranking academic official of the sixth rank.

Besides serving as a county magistrate, Jia Changchao also taught, so he still had to maintain a certain level of self-respect.

Jia Changchao felt embarrassed to take the initiative to visit Song Xuan.

After all, he couldn't change his "arrogant and aloof" habit of being a teacher anytime soon.

"You've come looking for my master?"

Just as Jia Changchao was struggling with his decision, Qi Lecheng smiled and cupped his hands in inquiry.

After all, this person had been lingering back and forth in front of the county government office for at least twenty or thirty times, so it was hard for him not to be noticed.

"Correct."

Jia Changchao was forced to give himself an opportunity: "I am Jia Changchao, a storyteller from the Imperial Academy, and I have come to pay my respects to Magistrate Song."

"So you are an official from the Imperial Academy. Please sit in the gatehouse for a while, and I will go and inform them."

Qi Lecheng smiled and invited Jia Changchao to come over and provide shade.

With a smile on his face, Jia Changchao resignedly stepped onto the stairs.

He was actually somewhat insecure, and afraid that Song Xuan would ridicule and mock him.

The Imperial Academy, though said to be the highest institution of learning in the Song Dynasty and founded during the reign of Emperor Taizu, was not worthy of the name.

It was built on the site of the Later Zhou Tianfu Puli Zen Temple. The number of students in the Imperial Academy was not fixed. Later, the quota was set at 200 students, and the sons of officials of the seventh rank and above were admitted to the academy. As a result, the students enjoyed generous material benefits.

However, most of these officials' children were only nominally enrolled in the Imperial Academy and did not engage in proper studies; very few of them actually studied at the academy.

Therefore, although the Imperial Academy held a high status, it was merely a name without substance.

Its main function at present is to build pavilions to collect books and print books. The books it prints are called "supervised editions" and are exquisitely printed, ranking first in the country.

Today, Yingtian Academy has become the premier academy of the Song Dynasty.

Students across the country are eager to get into Yingtian Academy to increase their chances of passing the imperial examinations.

After all, the fact that Song Xuan and his cohort of examinees dominated the list was extremely inspiring and an unprecedented achievement.

Which student wouldn't want to replicate this success?
In addition, Song Xuan was a top scholar who passed the imperial examinations in three consecutive years, an achievement that is not something that ordinary people can do.

Wang Zeng himself was not particularly fond of himself, so how could they not share the same view when they were ranked among the highest honors for scholars?
Just as Jia Changchao was inwardly terrifying himself, Qi Lecheng returned and invited Jia Changchao to follow him to the back hall.

Song Xuan couldn't figure out the purpose of Jia Changchao's visit. He wasn't supposed to be replacing the great Confucian scholar Sun Shi, so why would he come to see him?
"He was dismissed from his post and returned to the Imperial Academy to lecture."

Fan Zhongyan explained to Song Xuan:
“Nowadays, the Imperial Academy is just a place for the sons of the powerful and wealthy to squander their time. He finally managed to escape the quagmire, but now he goes back. Besides being ridiculed, how can he feel happy?”

“I heard from the great scholar Sun Shi that his student was a very good lecturer, otherwise he would not have recommended him to teach the emperor in his place.”

“He is a man who has risen through the ranks by chance; how could Minister Wang and others possibly regard him?”

Song Xuan understood.

After all, the hierarchy of disdain among liberal arts students is extremely strong.

The imperial examination was an insurmountable mountain in front of everyone; if you could overcome it, everything would be wonderful.

If you don't get through it, then you'll be in for a lot of torment.

Song Xuan stood up, took a few steps toward the door, and chuckled twice.
"I was completely surprised to see Jia Zhongshu here. Please forgive me."

Jia Changchao looked embarrassed: "Magistrate Song doesn't know yet, but I've already returned to the Imperial Academy to teach storytelling."

"Oh?"

Song Xuan stopped laughing, his face showing a look of surprise and disbelief: "How could this be?"

Just watching Song Xuan change his expression, Fan Zhongyan felt he could never learn how to do it.

How come my student is so adept at handling things?

Fan Zhongyan couldn't understand it.

Jia Changchao greeted Fan Zhongyan. Although he was of a higher rank than Fan Zhongyan, he knew that Fan Zhongyan was a close associate of the emperor and that even though he had repeatedly attacked the Empress Dowager's relatives in court, nothing had happened to him yet.

On the contrary, he was directly kicked back.

Song Xuan personally poured tea for Jia Changchao, making him feel flattered.

Jia Changchao sighed softly, "I don't know why, but I just didn't pass the tests of Minister Wang and Minister Lü."

Fan Zhongyan didn't want to speak; he wanted to hear what Song Xuan had to say.

After all, some things shouldn't be said aloud, especially since Song Xuan had just stated that he knew nothing about him.

Even if he wanted to tell him, he couldn't embarrass Song Xuan.

"Perhaps they don't like Sun Daru's educational philosophy, even if you are the one among Sun Daru's students who is most capable of replacing him."

Upon hearing Song Xuan's words, Jia Changchao's eyes lit up:
"Is it really like this?"

If it's not your fault, then there's nothing more to say.

"This is just my guess."

Song Xuan picked up his teacup and said, "Otherwise, I can't understand why none of the people recommended by the great scholar Sun were approved."

Jia Changchao also picked up his teacup, pondering Song Xuan's line of thought.

That does sound plausible.

“That’s not right.” Fan Zhongyan saw Song Xuan talking nonsense: “The gentlemen here have great respect for the great scholar Sun, how could it be like this?”

Upon hearing Fan Zhongyan's words, Jia Changchao nodded in agreement, agreeing that they made sense.

"That means they have someone else for this position."

Song Xuan put down his teacup:
"In this way, we can both save face for Sun Daru and give an explanation to the person they want to place in that position."

"An explanation?"

Jia Changchao also put down his cup, his heart already burning with anger.

Don't I need an explanation?
It's like a football; they just tell you to leave, kicking you out of the palace.

Song Xuan glanced at Jia Changchao's expression: "Jia, the storyteller, don't be angry. Perhaps there will be a turning point in the future."

Jia Changchao clenched his fist and then relaxed it: "It's going to be very difficult."

"Prime Minister Wang is young, and Prime Minister Lü is deeply entrenched in power. How could they possibly suddenly step down from their positions as prime ministers?"

"It looks like I'll be spending half my life bored at the Imperial Academy."

For a moment, neither Song Xuan nor his apprentice responded to his words.

After a long pause, Song Xuan finally brought it up:
"Since there are not many eager learners at the Imperial Academy, why not invite Jia, the storyteller, to teach some students in my county office? There are some ambitious people among them."

"I came here?"

Although that was Jia Changchao's original intention, he was too proud to say it out loud.

Unexpectedly, Song Xuan was so understanding and willing to give him this way out.

"Yes, Sun Daru's grandson will also come to my place to teach."

Song Xuan knew that Sun Shi must have spoken to Jia Changchao, otherwise he wouldn't have thought of coming here to find him after he was kicked out.

Since he has no face to lose, I might as well give him some face!
Song Xuan's thoughts truly resonated with Jia Changchao.

He was truly warmed by Song Xuan's words and actions.

The character 煊 was indeed chosen correctly.

In truth, Jia Changchao didn't care whether he taught or not; all he wanted was to curry favor with Song Xuan.

Now that Song Xuan has given him this opportunity, Jia Changchao is extremely excited.

"My teacher did mention this to me," Jia Changchao couldn't help but ask.

How many students could Magistrate Song possibly have in his county office?

"There will be around a hundred people, both boys and girls will participate."

Song Xuan stretched out his palm: "Jia, the storyteller, please listen to my story first."

“These children are not necessarily all suited for schooling, so I plan to have them all learn to read and write first.”

What is literacy education?

"A person who cannot read is like a blind person."

"Once people can read, it is like sweeping away the darkness in front of a blind person and restoring light; this is called literacy."

"A brilliant metaphor."

Jia Changchao exclaimed in admiration, "The top scholar really knows how to talk."

"Not only children, but even the constables and yamen runners in Kaifeng County were required to be literate."

"In the future, whether it's a policy being issued or an arrest warrant, they will be able to effectively publicize it when they go to the villages below."

"I don't expect them to take the imperial examinations; my only requirement is that they know more characters."

"It will also make it easier to investigate cases in the future, especially tax investigations, as tax evasion in shops in Kaifeng County is too serious."

Song Xuan's words were greatly appreciated by Fan Zhongyan.

In any case, the county school in Kaifeng County doesn't have any particularly good teachers. Most of the teachers are outsiders who come to rent graves to claim their ancestors, all for the sake of passing the exams.

However, after passing the preliminary examination, they faced competition from students all over the country in the provincial examination, and they still couldn't win.

"I never expected Magistrate Song to think that way." Jia Changchao nodded repeatedly: "Then I can come."

"Okay." Song Xuan nodded.

“After teaching these students to read, I don’t need them all to take the imperial examinations. There will always be some who can’t take that path.”

"So I plan to set aside some children to learn martial arts. The Tanguts in the northwest frontier invade from time to time, and Li Deming often has the ambition to become emperor."

"At that time, war may break out again. It is good to train some people in advance to join the Imperial Guard. Perhaps they will have the opportunity to make contributions in the future."

Jia Changchao never expected that Song Xuan would pay attention to matters on the northwestern frontier; this must have been due to the concerns of his father-in-law, Cao Liyong.

However, since the Song Dynasty valued literature over martial arts, martial arts did not make much of a difference.

However, it is still a way out for the sons of these yamen runners.

"Magistrate Song is truly thoughtful and farsighted. It's just that the people in the Kaifeng County government are lucky."

Jia Changchao couldn't help but slap his hand.

"Hey, I'm just showing you the prospects," Song Xuan said casually, waving his hand. "We'll have to see for ourselves before making a judgment."

Fan Zhongyan agreed with Song Xuan's words and asked:
"What should be done if someone is neither good at academics nor martial arts?"

"Easy," Song Xuan said, holding up a finger.

"The first one is law. I remember that the Imperial Academy had a position for a Doctor of Law, but it was not widely promoted."

“Now our county government has all sorts of cases for them to learn how to handle, and they can also find a way to make a living in the county government in the future.” “Scholar Song is truly thoughtful.”

Jia Changchao hadn't expected that Song Xuan had left them a way out.

"If there are any promising talents, they can study medicine and then enter the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in the future."

In the early Song Dynasty, medicine was initially under the jurisdiction of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and was divided into three departments: the Department of Medical Prescriptions, the Department of Acupuncture (acupuncture), and the Department of Ulcer Treatment.

Each department is staffed with one doctor, and the teaching content includes classic works such as "Suwen", "Nanjing", "Maijing", "Chaoshi Bingyuan", "Qianjin Yifang", and "Shanghan Lun".

"In the future, these students can also be given clinical practice opportunities, or even sent to military camps to hone their skills, which can be used as a basis for evaluation."

Upon hearing this, Jia Changchao realized that Song Xuan's actions were not just a passing fancy, but a genuine intention to continue this operation for a long time.

Thinking about it this way, it might not be impossible for it to develop into a new "county school" in the future, or even be merged into the Imperial College.

What if in the future the Imperial Academy doesn't only admit the sons of officials of the seventh rank and above?
"Ultimately, I want everyone to learn arithmetic."

Song Xuan leaned back in his chair:
"This way, whether you're studying, practicing martial arts, or learning medicine, you'll be more sensitive to numbers and won't be easily fooled in the future. That's why I'm still studying math textbooks."

Having spent a long time at the Imperial Academy, Jia Changchao naturally heard of the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, the Zhoubi Suanjing, Zhang Qiujian's Algorithm, and so on.

He truly hadn't expected Song Xuan to value mathematics so much.

Even if these people fail the imperial examinations in the future, it's a certainty that the Minister of the Three Departments will become a minor accounting clerk.

Jia Changchao stood up and bowed to Song Xuan again, saying:
"What Scholar Song thinks is something I can never catch up with."

"No matter what Scholar Song wants to do, I, Jia Changchao, will lend a hand."

"Since the Doctor of Laws at the Imperial Academy has nothing to do, I can bring him over. When the top scholar Song finishes compiling the mathematics books, if there is no one to teach them, I can also bring the Doctor of Mathematics over."

The Imperial Academy was a largely sinecure position.

The professors are a bunch of aristocratic sons, but they don't study seriously; they just wait for their families to grant them official positions.

I felt no sense of accomplishment whatsoever.

Even if someone wanted to use students to contact parents and pave the way for their own future, they wouldn't have much of a chance.

If you, as a teacher, cannot educate their children well, why should they help you?
Anyway, you've given the child to me. Whether I teach him well or not is my own business.

"Oh dear." Song Xuan quickly stood up and helped Jia Changchao up, saying:

"Having Jia, the storyteller, with me is like a fish in water!"

"If we can bring those people from the Imperial Academy over, the future of these children will be secured."

Jia Changchao smiled; he was indeed thinking of recruiting a group of people.

Otherwise, how could I increase my value in Song Xuan's eyes?
This is exactly the result he wanted.

Song Xuan knew that Jia Changchao's purpose was very clear, given how cooperative he was.

This is because they've suffered a setback and want to invest indirectly.

Human nature.

Fan Zhongyan watched the two of them putting on an act and sighed inwardly, wondering why he couldn't do it.
After chatting for a long time, Song Xuan called out:
"Wang Bao, go and call Qian Gansan here."

"Yes."

"What business does the master have with me?"

Song Xuan pointed to Jia Changchao in front of him:
"Take Master Jia to get a jar of Snowflake Wine that just arrived in the warehouse today."

"Since Mr. Jia is serving at the Imperial Academy, he has made a point of showing his courtesy by coming to my county office to teach everyone's children to read and write."

"Prepare a little wine so that Master Jia can enjoy it when he gets back."

Although Jia Changchao's ancestors were famous historians, after so many years, his family had long since declined. His father was just a minor official who wrote epitaphs, sacrificial texts, and prayers.

He's been in the officialdom for so many years and he's still just a minor official.

His family had long since run out of wealth for him to squander, and besides, how many historians' families were truly rich and powerful?

Song Xuan gave him a jar of Snowflake wine, which truly surprised and delighted Jia Changchao.

To be honest, he has never been to Fanlou in all these years.

He only had the opportunity to go later when he became a prime minister.

Snowflake wine is very valuable, not to mention it's not just a pot, but a whole jar.

Qian Gansan hurriedly came over and invited Jia Changchao to go with him.

"Is this appropriate?"

Although Jia Changchao really wanted it, he still pretended to refuse because of the arrogant attitude he had developed as a teacher.

"It's not easy to live in Tokyo."

Song Xuan stood up:

"Jia, you should tell the other scholars that they will not be able to come to teach at my county office for free; they will all receive a monetary subsidy. This will give them more motivation to teach their students."

"So what is a jar of wine? Let's take it back and drink it first."

"I would be honored to accept your offer. Thank you very much, Scholar Song."

Jia Changchao also lacked the courage to resign three times.

Because he really wanted to taste the flavor of this Snowflake wine.

"Wang Bao, go and ask Ban Feng to send one of his men to help carry the load and take Master Jia home."

"Yes."

Wang Bao responded, and Jia Changchao then bowed and followed Qian Gansan away.

Qian Gansan opened several locks before leading Jia Changchao into the warehouse.

Then Jia Changchao's eyes were glued to the glass. He never expected that the Snowflake Wine, which was said to be as precious as gold in the marketplace, was piled up in such large quantities in the warehouse!

Song Zhuangyuan was indeed skilled at accumulating wealth.

Otherwise there wouldn't be so many.

Seeing his expression, Qian Gansan proudly recounted how the master was preparing Mid-Autumn Festival gifts, which would be distributed to everyone in the county government.

Jia Changchao became even more certain of one thing: Song Xuan was indeed very generous to his own people.

I made the right choice this time!

"Damn it, I feel like your ambitions are even greater than mine."

Fan Zhongyan took a sip of tea and said:

“I only wanted to save Yingtian Academy from its predicament, but now you want to bring the Imperial Academy under your county government.”

"Well, you can't say that. How many people in the Imperial Academy these days actually study seriously?"

Song Xuan said nonchalantly:
“My brothers-in-law are just loafing around at the Imperial Academy, and the teachers won’t care. We might as well use the limited teaching resources here. It would actually help cultivate many talents for the Song Dynasty.”

Ouyang Xiu won first place in the imperial examination at the Imperial Academy, which was an absolute game-changer.

Even students from Yingtian Academy, if given the opportunity to enter the Imperial Academy, would still have no problem getting first place.

However, Ouyang Xiu has yet to meet a father-in-law who appreciates him and helps him enter the Imperial Academy.

"Alright, alright, I don't know where you learned this 'borrowing a hen to lay eggs' trick from."

Fan Zhongyan stood up: "I won't bother you any longer. I'll go back and think about what to do next."

"please."

Song Xuan saw Fan Zhongyan off, and then received a report from County Magistrate Zhou that no one from Wuyou Cave had come to sign up to clean the ditches; instead, quite a few people had run away.

"Ignore them. Go to the county office today and compile a list of all the prisoners."

"Everyone except death row inmates and exiled persons must participate in labor."

"Yes."

The Song Dynasty rarely used the death penalty, but instead used imprisonment extensively. In addition, there were criminal laws that held those responsible for transporting prisoners accountable if they died.

It was to populate the border regions.

These criminals are of little value in other places, but they become valuable for united front work at the border.

They could fill the local population and reduce the government's financial expenditure on the area.

County Magistrate Zhou went to find the jailer Mao Lang and asked him to take the selected prisoners to the courtyard to announce the news.

Many prisoners obediently followed, unaware of what was about to happen.

Qin Ying, the prefectural vice-prefect of Kaifeng, was among them.

He saw Song Xuan sitting on a high platform, surrounded by constables and yamen runners carrying knives and spears.

Under the umbrella, Song Xuan truly appeared extremely dignified.

Many of the prisoners were also confused about what had happened.

County Magistrate Zhou had everyone line up and sit down.

Even though the ground was a bit hot, it was still much better than the dark prison cell.

"The ditches in Kaifeng County need to be cleaned up. The high official will give you a chance to repent and start anew."

County Magistrate Zhou unveiled the notice and immediately announced:
"First, all prisoners may take a bath today."

The first point alone has excited many people.

"quiet."

clap clap.

County Lieutenant Ban Feng cracked his whip several times before ordering the men to stop.

"Secondly, each person will have meat for the first meal tomorrow."

"Eat meat?"

In Kaifeng County Prison, your family is allowed to pay for better meals, although the prices are a bit high.

Many prisoners cannot afford it.

As for going to jail, do you still want to eat meat?

In this sweltering heat, you're already showing some conscience by not feeding me spoiled food.

The buzzing from the crowd was incessant, and there were even sounds of people swallowing their saliva.

Incessantly.

Although Qin Ying had not stopped eating, he still couldn't figure out Song Xuan's purpose.

Was it simply for cleaning the ditches?

There are local militia, so letting them do it is definitely much safer than letting prisoners do it.

"Third, everyone is assigned a work area, and if they do well on the day, they can eat as much as they want for dinner."

That's what makes it so appealing.

"Fourth, I will divide you into groups. Group members with a high completion rate can eat mutton and drink mutton soup on the fifth day."

Upon hearing this, the prisoners below the stage immediately became restless.

Who would dare to dream of such a wonderful thing as eating mutton?

A constant murmur of discussion filled the air.

"impossible?"

Why should the top scholar Song allow us to eat mutton?

"So, is it really just clearing the silt from the ditches?"

"I suspect it's going to kill us."

Many people have this thought, after all, what family would treat its prisoners so well?

It was much better than the meal I had before I was beheaded.

Generally speaking, many prisoners cannot stomach the last meal they eat before their execution.

"quiet."

Ban Feng cracked his whip again.

He actually felt that these prisoners didn't deserve to eat mutton.

Lamb is something only the upper class eat.

However, since the high-ranking official showed great compassion by rewarding the reward with mutton, there must be a reason behind it.

The ditch clearing will reduce the probability of Kaifeng County being flooded.

After all, they had all heard about the Yellow River project.

In particular, there were many rumors that the Yellow River would flood Tokyo.

Fifth, since you are working for the imperial court, you will not be paid for the first five days.

“Starting from the sixth day, the wage will be one coin; on the seventh day, it will be two coins, and so on, until it reaches ten coins a day, at which point it will not increase further.”

"There's still money to be paid?"

The prisoners in the courtyard really couldn't understand Song Xuan's actions.

Even those outsiders would be willing to do such a thing!

It would be wonderful to have a meal of mutton.

For a moment, Qin Ying was at a loss for words when it came to evaluating Song Xuan.

Is he just burning money?

"Sixth, all members of the top three teams will be given the opportunity for reduced sentences."

"Can the sentence be reduced?"

"Seventh, if anyone escapes, they will be imprisoned and exiled to the frontier. Others who report escapees will also receive a reward."

County Magistrate Zhou put down the proclamation in his hand:

"Now, if anyone has a question, please raise your hand and ask. Master Song will answer it personally."

Immediately, someone raised their hand and jumped up:
"My lord, how do I know that what you're saying is true?"

"You can choose to withdraw, and then you'll know if it's true or not when you see them eating meat and getting money."

Song Xuan, fanning himself, said, "Do you think you're worthy of being deceived by me?"

The prisoners seemed quite pleased to hear Song Xuan's blunt words.

That high-ranking scholar, who achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, even dared to arrest the prefectural magistrate of Kaifeng.

Looking at himself, he had nothing. Apart from his physical strength, he couldn't steal anything.
Besides, we can eat meat on the first day, and we can eat mutton after working for another five days.

This bet is acceptable.

"My lord, how much mutton will the winning team get to eat?"

"A sheep weighing twenty or thirty pounds, except for the internal organs, will be cooked for you. It's enough for ten of you."

"Then, sir, who will eat the offal?"

"Give it to the losing team and their constables, so they can taste the mutton."

Upon hearing Song Xuan's words, the prisoner immediately burst into laughter, patting his chest:
"Don't worry, my lord, I'm definitely going to eat this mutton!"

"Teammates are not freely chosen by you."

Song Xuan waved his fan and reminded him:
"The teams were assigned long ago according to your respective crimes."

"If we want to eat mutton, we need everyone's effort; you can't do it alone."

"To be fair, and to ensure that you all have a chance to eat lamb."

Hearing Song Xuan's words, the prisoners were no longer so confident, and instead began to have doubts in their hearts, hoping that they would not be assigned a few old, weak, sick and disabled people.

For no other reason than that the conditions offered by Song Xuan were too tempting, making it hard not to want to have a meal with him.

Qin Ying stood up and asked, "May I ask, Magistrate Song, is the Yellow River flooding severely this year?"

Many prisoners naturally knew this famous person in the Kaifeng County Government Office.

"I don't know. I just want to reduce the losses for the people of Kaifeng County so that they don't have to worry about the flood."

Song Xuan answered Qin Ying's question very honestly:
“Recruiting prisoners was also a selfish thing of mine. I wanted to reduce your sentences based on your good behavior. If you had some money in your pocket, you wouldn’t be able to commit a crime and go back to jail immediately after you get out.”

"At that time, I will also recruit workers to clean up the silt in the Bian River, and the wages will be much higher."

“If any of you released prisoners want to work, you can come to Kaifeng County to sign up.”

Hearing Song Xuan's words, Qin Ying really didn't know what to say.

Because this is a method that has never been used before.

This is in Tokyo.

Which official would arbitrarily innovate and cause trouble?
Only by following the proper steps can one maintain their position for a long time.

"May I ask, sir, when will this wage be paid?"

"Two choices."

Song Xuan held up his finger: "The first option is to sign up and receive your wages on the tenth day. The second option is to receive your wages after you are released from prison."

"Third, if the jailers or other people in the county government dare to intercept the money or pay you less than your wages."

“Go outside the county government office and beat the grievance drum. If the matter is verified, I will imprison the person who dared to steal and dismiss him from his post.”

With Song Xuan's guarantee, the prisoners, though still unwilling to trust the government, began to consider giving it a try.

Song Xuan stood up, looked around, and said:
"Does anyone else have a question?"

"My lord."

"In this sweltering heat, how long are we going to keep working?"

"Two hours of rest each day at noon to avoid the sun; as for how long we work, the specifics are:"

"Now it gets light around 3:45 AM, we set off for our assigned work site at 5:00 AM, have our first meal at 9:00 AM, rest from 1:00 PM to 1:00 PM, have our second meal at 8:00 PM, and return to the county office before sunset. Is that clear enough?"

Not having to work during the hottest part of the day, many prisoners began to think that Song Xuan, this high-ranking official, was truly considerate.

Many people don't even consider them human beings.

That alone makes them superior to those who hire others to do the work.

"My hope is that you can earn a little money to support yourselves through labor, and not always turn to crime. It's not worth it."

Song Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the prisoners below:
"If you do a good job, we can provide you with some chilled rice gruel or mung bean water."

"I am not an official who is harsh on people. As long as you do things my way honestly, you can ask around the county government if you don't believe me."

They had long heard of Song Xuan's reputation.

Especially when you're in prison, you have nothing to do but chat idly, right?
They had long heard of the formidable reputation of the Earthly Tai Sui.

However, the remarkable feat performed in the main hall today has not spread within the county government, mainly because they are still keeping it a secret.

“We are willing to believe what you say, sir.”

The bolder prisoners shouted loudly; they had no regard for the laws of the Song Dynasty, otherwise they wouldn't be squatting here.

"Now that you are all satisfied, there is one more thing I have to say."

Song Xuan looked at the prisoners below and said, "Whoever doesn't want to do this job, step forward now and don't delay the others' chance to eat mutton!"

(End of this chapter)