White-robed Minister

Chapter 171 0169 [Yang Shu Returns to the Capital]

The Wang Tao affair actually had repercussions, but these had nothing to do with Xu Lai.

The intercalary third month passed in the blink of an eye, and the entire month of April was very leisurely for Xu Lai, so leisurely that he had time to read and study every day.

Zhao Xu, on the other hand, rallied and began to work diligently to govern the country, starting with small things.

He believed that the local tribute of "local specialties" was too much of a nuisance to the people. Some low-ranking military officers and commoners serving as yamen runners even lost their entire fortunes in order to escort the tribute.

Therefore, Zhao Xiang ordered a complete halt to local tribute payments and abolished the tribute items from forty-three prefectures, totaling seventy items.

Then, hundreds of palace maids were dismissed, the number of artisans in the royal workshops was reduced, and the number of carriages in the imperial city was cut.

There's no one to lead the reform, is there?

Zhao Xu then initiated reforms, starting with addressing the corrupt practices related to the emperor.

Wang Tao has already been demoted and exiled from the capital, but the censors are still making a fuss.

Censors Wu Shen and Lü Jing, among others, believed that Wang Tao had been forced out by Wu Kui and requested the emperor to dismiss him from his position as vice prime minister.

Furthermore, the censors impeached Wu Kui, saying that before he claimed to be ill and stayed at home, he took advantage of his position as vice prime minister to privately withhold the emperor's edict (the edict promoting Wang Tao to Hanlin Academician).

It was only then that Zhao Xu learned that his imperial edict had been confiscated by Wu Kui, and he blamed the censors for being too nosy.

As a result, the censor who impeached Wu Kui was fined copper coins, while Wu Kui was dismissed from his post as prime minister, demoted, and sent to a remote area.

Sima Guang and Teng Fu opposed the dismissal of Wu Kui.

Emperor Zhao Xu gave them some face by promoting Wu Kui by one rank, but still insisted on demoting him and sending him to a remote post. This was because Wu Kui had dared to withhold the emperor's edict without authorization!

Zeng Gongliang entered the meeting and requested that Wu Kui be allowed to stay.

After a conversation between the emperor and his minister, Zhao Xu felt that he had overreacted, so he recalled the decree that had demoted Wu Kui and reappointed him as vice prime minister—changing orders in a day and night, as if it were child's play.

"Please convey that Ouyang Bian has come to visit." Ouyang Bian handed over his visiting card.

The doorman, Chen Dequan, quickly invited him in, then took his name card to inform Xu Lai.

Xu Lai immediately went out to greet her personally and introduced Pianpian to Ouyang Bian.

Pianpian greeted the guests with a "Wanfu" (a traditional Chinese greeting), then instructed Yu'er to prepare food and wine, while she herself brewed tea to entertain them.

Ouyang Bian bowed deeply and thanked him, saying, "Brother Xingzhi, it was inconvenient for me to visit you the other day. Now that the rumors have passed, on behalf of my father, brother, and sister-in-law, I thank you for speaking out for justice!"

"This is the proper way, both for public and private reasons. Ji Mo, there's no need for such formalities." Xu Lai helped him up and then invited him to sit down in the hall.

-

Ouyang Bian sat there, suddenly at a loss for words, and sighed, "Alas!"

The once carefree young master of the prime minister's family has probably heard a lot of unpleasant things during this period, and has suddenly matured.

Xu Lai, trying to make conversation, asked, "Has Brother Shubi (Ouyang Fei) been appointed to an official position?"

Ouyang Bian said, "He has been appointed as the Chief Clerk of the Court of Judicial Review."

Don't underestimate the position of a mere registrar; it was responsible for the evaluation and appointment of officials in the capital and the court, a post that could only be held by officials from the capital. Before passing the imperial examination, Ouyang Fei had already been appointed to a position in the capital through hereditary privilege!

Xu Lai then asked, "I heard that Prime Minister Ouyang is ill and bedridden. As an imperial censor, it is inconvenient for me to meet with the prime minister privately. Is your father's condition any better?"

Ouyang Bian said in a low voice, "My father is not sick. He just doesn't want to be an official anymore, so he keeps claiming to be ill. You have a good relationship with His Majesty, so please persuade him to approve my father's resignation as soon as possible."

"When have I ever had a good relationship with His Majesty?" Xu Lai firmly denied it.

Ouyang Bian said, "This matter has already spread throughout the capital. Everyone says that the Emperor listened to your advice and agreed to demote Wang Tao out of the capital."

Xu Lai was both amused and exasperated: "No wonder those officials in the Censorate looked at me like they wanted to eat me alive."

Since Xu Lai became an imperial censor, two vice-imperial censors and two supervising censors have been demoted, and three supervising censors have been fined a total of 40 catties of copper.

They couldn't blame the emperor, nor could they do anything about the prime minister, and Xu Lai met with them every day. Therefore, the censors, filled with resentment, decided to vent it all on Xu Lai.

These guys are desperately searching for rumors about Xu Lai's illegal activities, hoping to find an opportunity to impeach him mercilessly.

"Third Uncle, I've finished practicing my calligraphy!"

The damselfly came hopping and skipping.

Xu Lai introduced, "This is my niece, Dou Niang. Dou Niang, this is Uncle Ouyang."

Upon seeing the stranger, the damselfly snuggled into Pianpian's arms and timidly called out, "Uncle Ouyang."

She smiled and said, "Did I forget to teach you manners?"

Dou Niang then stood still again and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Uncle Ouyang."

Ouyang Bian rummaged around on his body, seemingly looking for a gift, but then felt that giving something personal was inappropriate, so he said awkwardly, "I came in a hurry and didn't bring anything decent."

"I'll make it up to her next time; I'll just bring her some snacks," Xu Lai said with a smile.

The damselfly returned to Pianpian's side and learned from her how to brew tea.

Xu Lai chatted with Ouyang Bian, reminiscing about amusing incidents from his time in the capital. He also mentioned that he frequently corresponded with Su Shi and had recently received a poem from him. He further mentioned that Shen Kuo had written to him last month, mentioning that he had conducted a certain physics experiment.

Su Xun passed away last year, and Su Shi is currently in his hometown observing the mourning period.

As for Shen Kuo, he was secretly improving the astronomical telescope and studying the solar system planetary map drawn by Xu Lai.

When they finished chatting around noon, Ouyang Bian was invited to lunch.

A table full of dishes he'd never seen before left Ouyang Bian somewhat stunned. He tasted them one by one, and soon his eyes widened in disbelief: "Brother Xingzhi, where did you find your chef?"

Xu Lai smiled and said, "My wife's cook."

Pianpian said, "The recipes for these dishes were all taught to the chefs by Sanlang."

Ouyang Bian hurriedly asked for the recipe, and Xu said he would write it down for him when he had time.

In May, Zhang Heng returned to Tokyo.

Unaware that he had been privately recommended by Xu Lai, he went to express his gratitude and visit his mentor, Ouyang Xiu.

Ouyang Xiu shook his head: "Your return to court this time was not due to my recommendation. It was an imperial edict that ordered the Secretariat to recall you."

"Who recommended him?" Zhang Heng asked, quite surprised.

The Three Ministers were commonly known as the Minister of Finance or the Minister of Accounting, and Zhang Heng's sudden promotion to the position of Deputy Minister of Finance must have been due to a recommendation from a high-ranking official to the emperor.

Given Zhang Heng's qualifications, he was simply not qualified for this position; he wouldn't even qualify as "Deputy Commissioner of the Three Departments."

This kind of promotion was met with strong opposition from censors.

But the emperor insisted on his opinion, and the chief ministers tacitly supported it, leaving the censors with no choice but to shut up.

Ouyang Xiu thought for a moment and said, "You can ask Shao Bi; he should know."

Two days later, Zhang Heng went to the Three Departments to report for duty. When he paid his respects to his superior, Shao Bi, he tentatively thanked Shao Bi for recommending him.

Shao Bi said in a low voice, "You've thanked the wrong person. You should thank the Censor Xu Lai. However, it's best not to meet with him for now; it won't be good for either of you."

Shao Bi's way of dealing with people and situations was far superior to Wang Tao's.

When he was a local official, he only attended one banquet upon assuming office, and thereafter refused to participate in any banquets. This both saved face for other officials and demonstrated his impartiality and incorruptibility.

Adhere to principles, but don't easily offend people.

Upon hearing Shao Bi's words, Zhang Heng was extremely surprised: It was actually Xu Lai who recommended him privately? He didn't even know Xu Lai.

Regardless, I will remember this kindness.

He is currently the Vice Minister of the Three Departments, so it is inconvenient for him to have a private relationship with the Censor. He will visit him to express his gratitude when he has the opportunity in the future.

Baoji County.

Yang Shu has received orders to return to the capital and is currently handing over duties with a newly appointed Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

Once Yang Shu returns to the capital and passes the emperor's interview, he can enter the imperial academy to serve—just like Shen Kuo did.

Of course he knew that it was Xu Sanlang who was exerting his influence; otherwise, how could he have been chosen to participate in the examination for no reason?

In early July, after handing over his official duties, Yang Shu traveled eastward by official boat.

It was already mid-July when they were waiting to change ships at the Shanzhou post station. The official ship would not depart for another two days, so Yang Shu spent his days reading and practicing martial arts.

Upon arriving in the north, he stopped using the short spear and switched to training with the larger spear, which was more suitable for the battlefield.

"Great marksmanship!"

Just as Yang Shu was putting away his gun, a voice came from behind him.

He turned around and saw two middle-aged men. One was dressed in official's casual clothes, while the other was dressed as a commoner.

Yang Shu put down his spear, bowed, and said, "I am Yang Shu, returning to the capital after resigning from my post as the county magistrate of Baoji. May I ask your esteemed names?"

The official returned the greeting, saying, "My name is Liang Tao, and I am honored to serve as the Vice Prefect of Shanzhou. This is my fellow graduate, Wang Shao, whose courtesy name is Zichun. Prince Zichun is also going to the capital, and I have come to arrange lodging and an official boat for him."

Liang Tao still had official duties to attend to, so after talking with them for a while, he went into the city and returned to the magistrate's office.

Wang Shao invited Yang Shu to go for drinks.

Both of them were penniless at this time. Yang Shu was still burdened with a loan for his imperial examination; Wang Shao had been traveling for many years and had long since run out of money, relying entirely on the help of relatives and friends along the way.

Therefore, neither the wine nor the food was very good.

Yang Shu asked curiously, "Brother Zichun, in which year did you become a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination)?"

Wang Shao replied, "The second year of the Jiayou era."

"Judging from your attire, it seems you are not an official?" Yang Shu felt increasingly puzzled.

Wang Shao explained with a smile, "After serving two terms, I failed the imperial examination and decided to resign and travel. I have been traveling in Shaanxi for several years and have even been to the land of foreign tribes."

Yang Shu was greatly impressed and quickly offered Wang Shao a toast: "Brother, are you returning to the capital this time to take up a new official post?"

Wang Shao said, "Based on my travels over the years, I have written several strategies for pacifying the barbarians, which I intend to present to the current emperor."

Wang Shao conceived the idea of ​​presenting the "Pacifying the Barbarians Strategy" after hearing that the new emperor was ambitious and enterprising. However, according to the original historical account, upon returning to the capital, he found the court in chaos and never actually presented the "Pacifying the Barbarians Strategy."

It wasn't until Wang Anshi began his reforms that Wang Shao felt his opportunity had arrived.

Yang Shu asked, "May I have the privilege of reading it?"

Wang Shao smiled and said, "Of course."

The two began to talk about border affairs. Yang Shu knew nothing about it and kept asking Wang Shao for advice.

After boarding the ship, Yang Shu read "The Strategy for Pacifying the Barbarians" and admired and respected Wang Shao even more.

The two returned to the capital and stayed at an inn together.

Yang Shu first went to visit Xu Lai, and Wang Shao also went to visit his friend.

That evening, Wang Shao returned to the inn, his mind filled with complex emotions. He had already learned from his friend about the current political situation at court, making it impossible for him to carry out his plan.

We can only lie low for now and observe how the situation changes.

He went to the Ministry of Personnel to report for duty and waited patiently for his official appointment. For a scholar like him who had resigned years ago, who knew when he would be reinstated?