Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 192 Court Intrigue and the Aftermath in the Martial World [Seeking Monthly Tickets!]

"So it's Brother Lü and Brother Wang. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Cui Wenjing clearly didn't have the same complex inner thoughts as Lu Beigu. He simply felt that these two candidates had a special temperament; one had sharp eyes, and the other was exceptionally heroic.

But at this moment, we are all in the same boat, and his tone was more of a helpless expression of shared misfortune.

"I dare not accept such praise. May I ask your esteemed age?"

The group exchanged ages.

Cui Wenjing is the oldest, at 36 years old this year, followed by Wang Shao at 26 years old, then Lü Huiqing at 24 years old, and Lu Beigu at 17 years old, the youngest.

"Sigh, this Prefect Wang is indeed unconventional in his actions."

Lü Huiqing sneered, "Not just unconventional, it's downright domineering! We've studied hard for years and traveled thousands of miles to the capital for the imperial examinations, only to entertain him at banquets?"

Lü Huiqing was certainly no pushover, and he made no attempt to hide his contempt for Wang Kui.

Lu Beigu also noticed that there was a look of resentment in Lü Huiqing's eyes, a resentment at being controlled by others.

Perhaps it was this seemingly innate sense of discontent that drove him to keep striving to climb the ladder of power in the future political arena.
Wang Shao let out a heavy sigh, his thick eyebrows furrowed: "With power in hand, they can act so recklessly. I really don't know where the dignity of scholars is placed."

The scholar-officials of the Song Dynasty generally valued propriety, and there were very few who acted as rudely as Wang Kui.

"What you two gentlemen say is absolutely right."

Lu Beigu finally spoke: "We were just passing through and only wanted to find a quiet place to rest before setting off tomorrow. We never expected to get involved in such trouble."

Lu Huiqing then chimed in, whispering, "It's clearly Wang Kui who has a notorious reputation among scholars. Local gentry and scholars with even a modicum of integrity are ashamed to sit at the same table with him. That's why he needs us, these rootless and eager-to-get-on-the-road out-of-town candidates, to fill the seats! His invitation to Scholar Song is a pretense; his real purpose is to curry favor with the nobles in the capital!"

Although Lü Huiqing did not explicitly state who the so-called "noble person in the capital" was, it was not difficult to guess.

Naturally, it refers to Song Xiang, one of the "Big and Small Songs".

The two cliques that were at odds in the second and fifth years of the Tiansheng era have always been at odds. Five years earlier, in the third year of the Huangyou era, Song Xiang was dismissed from his post for the second time, which was Bao Zheng's doing. It is hard not to suspect whether Wen Yanbo and Han Qi were behind it.

Therefore, although Wang Kui and the "Big and Little Songs" had never had much interaction, when Song Qi came to Sichuan to serve as the prefect of Chengdu, knowing that he liked banquets, Wang Kui was so enthusiastic and treated him with such high standards. He must have thought that Song Xiang was also at odds with the small circle of the fifth year of Tiansheng, so he wanted to befriend Song Xiang through Song Qi and get Song Xiang to protect him.

The reason why Wang Kui did not align himself with Song Xiang before, but only now is he acting hastily, is quite simple.

—Because this year Wang Kui's powerful patron in the imperial court, the senior official Chen Zhizhong, retired with honors as the Duke of Qi and Minister of Works.

Chen Zhizhong's father was Chen Shu, a prime minister during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong. Chen Shu was extremely capable and was recognized as a top technical bureaucrat in the field of economics. The History of Song praised him as "the foremost capable official." He spent most of his life working in the Three Departments system and was in charge of the Song Dynasty's finances for more than ten years. His students and former officials were all over the country.

For this reason, after the failure of the Qingli Reforms, Chen Zhizhong was appointed prime minister and entrusted with an important task by Emperor Renzong to clean up the mess. In order to alleviate the financial difficulties of the Song Dynasty caused by the "three redundancies" (excessive bureaucracy, excessive bureaucracy, and excessive bureaucracy), the first Song-Xia War, and years of natural disasters, Chen Zhizhong chose to send the cruel official Wang Kui to Jiangnan and Huainan to make money.

Wang Kui was impeached seven times by Bao Zheng, but behind the scenes, Chen Zhizhong and Jia Changchao were actually clashing with Wen Yanbo and Han Qi.

Therefore, Wang Kui's transfer was merely the aftermath of a power struggle within the court. While Chen Zhizhong landed safely this year, having protected Wang Kui before his retirement, the problem is that Wen Yanbo has now become prime minister!
Having done a lot of dirty work and earned a bad reputation, how could Wang Kui not panic when he lost his backer?
Even though Jia Changchao was still in a high position, it was true that Chen Zhizhong and Jia Changchao were allies in the court. But that did not mean that Jia Changchao would protect Chen Zhizhong's lackeys after Chen Zhizhong left.

The only person in the court who is currently capable of challenging the small circle of Wen Yanbo, Han Qi, and Bao Zheng from the fifth year of the Tiansheng era is naturally Song Xiang.

Historically, Emperor Renzong did intend to reinstate the "Big and Little Songs" in the coming years to counterbalance Han Qi and others. However, Bao Zheng's impeachment was full of firepower, and in a nearly self-destructive manner, he prevented Song Qi from taking over the position of Minister of the Three Departments from Zhang Fangping, thus allowing Han Qi to begin a ten-year era of monopolizing the government.

Understanding this background explains why Wang Kui, also a prefect, went to such lengths to curry favor with Song Qi.

However, it's important to note that Song Qi doesn't represent Song Xiang. Regardless of whether Song Qi is just putting on an act, even if Song Qi genuinely wanted to accept Wang Kui, Song Xiang might not actually protect him.

After all, Wang Kui's reputation was simply too bad.

Lu Beigu pondered for a moment and said, "My two gentlemen, since we have both suffered this calamity, it can be said that we are destined to meet. At the banquet later, we should look after each other, be careful with our words and actions, and avoid getting involved in trouble."

Although Lü Huiqing and Wang Shao may not have been as insightful as Lu Beigu, they were not fools. Knowing that it was not a good idea to get involved in this mess, they quickly nodded in agreement.

“Brother Lu is absolutely right,” Wang Shao said. “We should just treat each other like clay puppets, keeping our eyes closed and our noses closed, and get through this.”

As they were talking, many more guests arrived in the hall, mostly scholars and gentry, and eventually filled all the seats at the banquet.

Soon after, footsteps and noises came from outside the hall, accompanied by a few laughs.

The main character of the banquet has finally made his appearance.

A strong, resonant voice rang out: "Young Scholar Song, you must be tired from your journey. Please take a seat!"

In the Song Dynasty, the title "scholar" could not be used casually, because anyone who could be formally called a "scholar" had an official title.

The so-called "official titles" were a part of the complex official system of the Song Dynasty, including Grand Academicians of various halls, Academicians of various pavilions, Academicians of the Privy Council, Academicians, Academicians, and Secretaries of the Three Academies. Except for the Secretaries of the Three Academies who had actual work responsibilities, the others were "titles attached to their duties, both inside and outside the capital, signifying their high literary talent." In simple terms, they were honorary titles.

These honorary titles are mostly of the third rank or higher, with the Grand Secretary of the Hall of Literary Brilliance even reaching the second rank.

Everyone in the hall immediately stopped talking, and whether they liked it or not, they all stood up and stood respectfully with their hands at their sides.

Lu Beigu looked up and saw two people walk in through the door.

The man at the front, dressed in a scarlet official robe, was about fifty years old. He was not tall but quite sturdy, with thick, sharp eyebrows and piercing eyes. He exuded a sense of oppression that was a mixture of shrewdness and ruthlessness.

It was Wang Kui, the Jiangling Prefect and Military Commander of Jinghu North Road, who left his mark on history as a "cruel official."

Beside him, entering side by side, was a middle-aged scholar dressed in a purple robe and with a jade belt around his waist.

This man had a face like jade, a flowing beard, and a nonchalant air about him. Although he was already old with graying temples, he still had a dashing and debonair appearance, and his demeanor as he walked was impeccable.

He was none other than Song Qi, also known as Song Zijing, a renowned scholar of the Duanming Hall, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and soon-to-be Prefect of Chengdu, whose famous line "Red apricot blossoms herald the arrival of spring" amazed the literary world.

(End of this chapter)