Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 184 Song Shi'an Wants an Official Position

In the outer hall of the Ministry of Personnel, Song Shi'an and Song Ce sat together.

Song Ce was wearing official robes and a black gauze hat. Song Shi'an, on the other hand, wore his own robe, along with a crown and a white jade belt bestowed upon him by the emperor.

We are just waiting for the officials to announce it.

Both of them were quite curious. Ouyang Ke was on paid leave, and his own father wanted to avoid suspicion. So who was the interviewer? Was it Yu Xiu, Ouyang Ke's student?

At his level and age, he's practically skyrocketed in his career, but he's still a bit lacking compared to Song Shi'an.

It's not that I'm inferior to him, but the difference isn't that much.

Most importantly, can he represent the Ministry of Personnel?

Of course, this wasn't Song Ce's concern. Right now, he just wanted to get started quickly and finish quickly, while behaving appropriately throughout the process.

After all, he's only sixteen years old and doesn't have much work experience.

"Song Cejin—"

Finally, it was his turn.

"Brother, I'm going."

After bowing to Song Shi'an, Song Ce walked inside.

There were three people in the inner hall.

The physician Yu Xiu sat in the main seat, with a palace eunuch beside him, and another person sitting on a small stool to take notes.

"Greetings, Your Excellency; greetings, Father-in-law."

Song Ce took the initiative to bow to the two of them.

"Hmm." Yu Xiu nodded, then got straight to the point, "Anyone below the seventh rank who passes the imperial examination will be promoted to the seventh rank upon entering the workforce. After today, your rank will be the seventh rank."

Song Ce nodded slightly in response.

"I saw your results in this imperial examination; your ranking in prose and poetry was very high," Yu Xiu said. "Your strength should be in writing and composing, right?"

"Your Excellency, my literary talent is slightly better than my policy essays," Song Ce replied.

"Let me put it this way," Yu Xiu said. "Yesterday, most of the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) were appointed to the seventh rank. A large number of them had a strong desire to become county magistrates in prefectures and counties. However, there are only a limited number of county magistrate positions available this year, so even those waiting to be appointed will be given priority for those with high rankings in their policy essays. If you choose a prefecture or county, you may have to wait a very long time."

Although the position of county magistrate is not particularly desirable, and promotion is slow without connections, it doesn't mean no one wants to choose it. On the contrary, aside from those positions with high authority and fast promotion, the position of county magistrate is quite sought after.

After all, he was the highest-ranking official in charge of a region. Even if he couldn't be promoted, his power was incomparable to that of ordinary civil officials.

Some even say: "As the head of a county, the dreams I have today can come true tomorrow."

"This humble official is willing to obey all the imperial court's appointments," Song Ce said decisively.

“You mean well, but Lord Song, you’re no ordinary person,” Yu Xiu said with a smile. “You can make some requests or express your thoughts.”

Don't think of ancient times as being too strictly official; even if the eunuch was present, one still had to consider social etiquette.

After all, this was also a blessing from the emperor.

"Then I would like to stay in Sheng'an," Song Ce said.

"Okay, I'll report it for you." Yu Xiu asked, "What about the rest? Which government department?"

"Yes, sir, either is fine."

Song Ce was very clear about his position. He knew that the emperor could not marry off his daughter and give her power at the same time, so he simply kept quiet.

As for keeping him in Sheng'an, that's pointless.

"Okay, that's settled then." Yu Xiu smiled and extended his hand.

"Lord Yu, Your Excellency, I shall take my leave."

Song Ce bowed slowly, then turned around and left the inner hall.

Along the way, he caught a glimpse of a screen behind Yu Xiu.

I remember the last time I came to Shangshutai, this building wasn't there.

Is it newly added?

Or is there someone behind us?

It looks rather scary.

The emperor, behind the screen, rested his fingers on his knees and tapped them lightly.

Song Jing is still sensible.

It is known that the situation of three Song families in one family is impossible.

Of course, having been a member of the Song Dynasty for two dynasties was already a great honor.

It remains to be seen whether the other young master, Song, can live up to the attention of the entire nation.

"Your humble servant greets Your Excellency and Your Excellency."

Song Shi'an bowed as he entered.

"Why aren't you wearing official robes?" Yu Xiu asked.

“Your Excellency, I was previously demoted to the ninth rank, while my official robes at home are those of the seventh rank. According to the Great Yu Law, officials are not allowed to wear official robes that do not match their rank,” Song Shi’an said.

“The Great Yu Law does indeed contain this clause.” Yu Xiu nodded and continued, “The Earl of Pingbei is here today to discuss matters with you. Lord Ouyang is ill at home, and the Minister of Works needs to avoid suspicion. Given my rank, it would be against the rules for me to discuss matters with you alone, so Eunuch Lian from the palace personally supervised the meeting.”

"Greetings, Eunuch Lian." Song Shi'an bowed again.

Eunuch Lian stood up, smiled and returned the greeting: "Young Master, you are too polite."

Rank is rank, and title is title; they cannot be confused.

In officialdom, Yu Xiu was his superior.

However, Song Shi'an was a nobleman, so there was a difference in their social status.

Of course, the matter of titles was only mentioned briefly, a token gesture, and then we returned to the main business.

“Song Shi’an, the reason I spoke to you alone is not only to avoid the suspicion of the Minister of Works, but also for other reasons,” Yu Xiu said.

His mentor had told him long ago that Song Shi'an was someone he could contact privately.

Yu Xiu was prepared to handle this matter properly, but who knew that this guy would go straight to Beiliang, and after returning from Beiliang, he went to jail without permission, which meant that there was no chance to contact him at all.

Is this ridiculous?

"Please enlighten me, sir," Song Shi'an said.

Yu Xiu, having already received the emperor's instructions, spoke quite directly: "Some things cannot be said publicly, but they must be stated clearly. Your 'Strategy for Military Farming' was ranked first among all the policy essays, which is certainly due to your ability, but it was also because His Majesty valued this argument. Last year, General Xia Chun was ordered by the emperor to conduct military farms in Yizhou, solving the survival problem for over 100,000 people by utilizing existing refugees. This spring, although planting has not yet begun, the north wind has already delivered grain, weapons, troops, and over 100,000 to nearly 200,000 people to be relocated, also for the purpose of military farms."

After he finished speaking, the eunuch beside him added, "Young Master Song can request any official position today. And we can discuss how to implement the military-agricultural colonies and when to begin."

"Yes, this is what His Majesty has agreed to," Yu Xiu emphasized to Song Shi'an, "as long as it's a fifth-rank official position." Song Shi'an already knew that he could only start from the fifth rank.

However, Eunuch Lian suddenly said, "Lord Yu, may I say one more thing?"

"Please, sir," Yu Xiu said respectfully.

“Although it is a fifth-rank official position, it is only temporary,” said Eunuch Lian. “At the end of the year, it can be promoted to a fourth-rank official position according to the rules.”

The fourth rank in the Great Yu Dynasty was a hurdle.

It is the critical point where one truly wields real power.

The ranks of Lieutenant General, Captain, and then Brigadier General are all fourth-rank positions.

The chief secretaries of the Nine Ministers among the civil officials were all of the fourth rank.

Rank is not just for show; it's really important, otherwise command and dispatch will fall into chaos.

"Your humble servant understands."

Song Shi'an remained calm.

"What kind of official position do you prefer?" Yu Xiu asked.

“My lord, my lord, may I put my official title aside and first share my views on land reclamation?” Song Shi’an said.

"Of course," Yu Xiu nodded, his attitude humble.

“The military-agricultural settlements in Yizhou are the easiest to implement and are basically stable. The court should no longer need to provide relief or grain transport,” Song Shi’an asked.

Grain taxes were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture, but Yu Xiu also had relevant information. After reviewing the case files, he said, "They are already self-sufficient."

“If we’ve already provided support to Nanshuo County this year, we’ll likely have no resources left to cultivate new fertile land,” Song Shi’an said.

“Yes, that’s right,” Yu Xiu replied.

It's no secret.

The population records of Dayu, excluding hidden households, are only around 17 to 18 million.

Relocating 200,000 people to cultivate land and providing them with food would essentially exhaust the nation's resources.

It's worth noting that in the second half of last year, a major battle involving hundreds of thousands of people was fought.

“Therefore, the land reclamation should begin next year,” Song Shi’an said.

"And what about this year?" Yu Xiu asked.

"This year we need to make preparations for the military settlements," Song Shi'an said. "We will mobilize at least 30,000 soldiers, including some elderly imperial guards, to the land for the settlements."

He opened his mouth and immediately called out 30,000 people, which terrified everyone.

Even a first-rank official cannot mobilize 30,000 pure soldiers during peacetime.

Xia Chun went to Yizhou to establish military settlements, but he only had a little over ten thousand troops.

"What about the common people?" Yu Xiu asked.

"We will relocate about 100,000 people from the surrounding registered landless population. We will enter the list first, so it won't affect this year's production," Song Shi'an said.

“The number of registered landless people is 100,000, which is equivalent to the entire population of Sizhou,” Yu Xiu said.

Not everyone without land became a hidden household.

Some people whose land was taken over by large landowners and whose land was sold still had household registration and were considered legitimate full-time tenants—they had to pay poll tax and perform corvée labor.

"What about the rest?" Yu Xiu asked. "With 30,000 soldiers, you'd need at least 200,000 people, right? Where are we going to get them?"

"Hidden door".

These two words immediately stunned Yu Xiugan.

The emperor behind the screen also frowned and became very serious.

This topic is too sensitive.

This is about uncovering the foundation of a family's heritage.

Of course the emperor wanted to dig it up.

But how do you do it?

Can the entire population be identified with just one sentence?

“Continue,” Yu Xiudao said.

"The so-called 'military agricultural settlement' means centralized production and centralized living, maximizing the amount of land that each person can cultivate. Therefore, we need to build canals, irrigate fields, open up new land, and connect all the fields into one area, so that each person can be responsible for at least ten acres of land," Song Shi'an said.

Why were grain harvesting projects possible?
Because it was a direct relationship between people and the state, the taxes levied on counties, prefectures, and states were eliminated. Only the basic living needs and salaries of the soldiers stationed in the fields were required.

Furthermore, consolidating farmland saves on extra costs, and centralized irrigation can double productivity.

"All of them are connected into one piece?" Yu Xiu found it hard to believe. "At ten mu per person, that's at least 230,000 people, which is 2.3 million mu of land. If all this land is connected, what will happen to the common people and powerful families who were originally within the military farmland area?"

Without hesitation, Song Shi'an said, "The common people will be directly incorporated into the military farms, and their cultivated land will be increased. For the aristocratic families who move away, they will be compensated at a rate of one and a half mu per mu."

Upon hearing this, both Yu Xiu and Eunuch Lian were stunned.

The emperor even smiled.

He knew that Song Shi'an was extravagant and decisive, but he didn't expect him to be this decisive.

too naive.

Why was Northern Liang able to do this?
Because there is a war there, and you have soldiers at your disposal, even if you are from a powerful family, survival is the top priority.

Therefore, it can be cleaned and reorganized.

But how do you achieve the same level of strict discipline elsewhere?
Do you assume everyone will listen to you?
How naive!

“Your idea is excellent. If it works, the military-agricultural colonies will be established, and the country’s food crisis can be resolved in a year,” Yu Xiu said. “If it works this time, then it will be possible to promote military-agricultural colonies throughout the country in the future.”

"Yes."

You're still there!

“But this time, it won’t work.” Yu Xiu immediately rejected the idea. “Practically speaking, this is impossible.”

“I can do it,” Song Shi’an said earnestly.

"Good good."

Yu Xiu was amused and stretched out his hand, saying, "Then tell me, where do you want to implement this first military-agricultural colony project? Where is it feasible to implement it?"

“Huai County”.

The moment those two words were uttered, everyone, including the emperor behind the scenes, widened their eyes!

(End of this chapter)