White-robed Minister

Chapter 174 0172 [Leaving the Capital and Heading West]

The driver of the Qin-Feng Road Military Commander, Yi Wenzi, was a core advisor to the local military commander. This position did not require the prime minister's approval; it was generally filled by the commander's own recommendation.

The real challenge is Xu Lai's handling of the Guwei Village matter!

This is the highest-ranking officer of the Song Dynasty's most forward military outpost, and he must have the approval of the prime minister.

Zhao Xu went to great lengths to grant Xu Lai an official position.

He first took advantage of Han Qi's strike to secretly invite Zhao Gai to communicate. Then he sent Xu Lai to ask Ouyang Xiu to persuade Zeng Gongliang privately.

How did he manage to persuade Zeng Gongliang?

Among the several prime ministers, Zeng Gongliang had the strongest desire for reform and was relatively radical in his actions. He had been recommending Wang Anshi.

After confirming that Han Qi was determined to resign, and after being repeatedly persuaded by Ouyang Xiu, and after carefully listening to Xu Lai's plan, Zeng Gongliang finally agreed to appoint Xu Lai.

Even with the emperor's appointment and the consent of the two prime ministers, the matter was not yet over.

It was necessary to find a relatively obedient imperial drafter to draft the edict. Otherwise, the person responsible for drafting the edict could refuse to carry out the emperor's and prime minister's orders if they deemed the appointment unreasonable.

Historically, there was a classic example during the Xining Reforms. The emperor and Wang Anshi wanted to promote Li Ding exceptionally, so they changed the appointment director three times in a row, and all of them refused to write the appointment edict.

After the edict was written, it could not be issued directly; it needed to be submitted to the Bureau of Approval and Rejection (later renamed the Bureau of Censors) for review.

If the Bureau of Rejection deems the edict unreasonable, it can also reject it.

If the emperor and his prime ministers lack prestige, nothing can be accomplished. Forget whether officials will carry out orders; even imperial edicts cannot be issued properly.

In any case, Zhao Xu finally managed to get Xu Lai appointed.

Fortunately, this official position wasn't too high-ranking, so there was no need to announce it at the court assembly. Otherwise, given Xu Lai's extraordinary popularity within the Censorate, all the censors would likely have opposed it, completely ruining the matter.

There's no need to announce the hemp, but you must press the hemp.

The ceremony of issuing the hemp tally was presided over by a vice prime minister, requiring only a small-scale public announcement. Zeng Gongliang was unwilling to appear in person, so Zhao Gai was asked to take charge.

The day after Xu Lai was appointed, Ouyang Bian came to visit him.

Ouyang Bian took out two letters and said, "My father will be leaving the capital in a few days. To avoid suspicion, Brother Xingzhi, there is no need for you to see him off. One of these letters is for Minister Cai, the military commissioner of Qinfeng Road, and the other is for Zhang Shouyue, the garrison commander of Guwei Village."

Thank you!

Xu Lai solemnly accepted it.

Ouyang Xiu was finally relieved of his duties as vice prime minister. The emperor promoted him to various honorary positions and sent him to serve as a prefect in a remote area. After a year or two in local government, he could officially retire.

Before leaving the capital, Ouyang Xiu gave Xu Lai a great gift: two private letters.

One letter was given to the civil official Cai Kang, and the other to the military general Zhang Shouyue.

Those two who received Ouyang Xiu's letter knew that as long as Xu Lai didn't go too far, they would definitely not clash with him.

This is Ouyang Xiu's "political legacy"!

Xu Lai invited Ouyang Bian to have lunch at his home, and then personally saw him off at the door.

Back in the inner courtyard, Pianpian was sulking: "I want to go to Guwei Village with you!"

Xu Lai tried to persuade him, "That place is remote and impoverished. I don't want you to suffer there. Be good, I'll be back in the capital in a year or two."

"No matter how hard it is, I'm going," Pianpian said sullenly. "I haven't seen you much before, and we've only been married for a little over six months. Now we'll be separated for another year or two. If you don't agree, I—I won't eat. Humph!"

Pianpian is stubborn by nature; once she's made up her mind about something, it's very difficult for her to change it. This personality trait is probably inherited from Yu Jing.

Xu Lai could only try to persuade her from another angle: "If you come with me to Guwei Village, what will happen to Dou Niang?"

"I'm going too!"

"Damian called from outside the door."

This was the first time Xu Lai had ever scolded Dou Niang: "Nonsense! It's very far away, and the climate is different from here. What if you get sick from the change in environment?"

The damselfly was a little scared and timidly poked out half of her head: "I'll be eleven years old next year."

Two girls, one older and one younger, started arguing with Xu Lai.

To be honest, the best option is to send them back to the Yu family in Shaozhou. Even if they stay in the capital, Xu Lai is not entirely at ease with them.

They sulked for several days in a row, which also affected Xu Lai's mood.

It wasn't until the day before he was to leave the capital that Xu Lai came up with a compromise: "You can come with me, but you can't go to Guwei Village. Although it's Song territory, it's surrounded by Qiang tribes. You must stay in Qinzhou City, where Yang Shu will be the magistrate. I'll be returning to Qinzhou frequently, so I might only be able to see you once every month or two."

"Mmm-hmm!"

The damselfly nodded repeatedly.

Meeting once every month or two is better than not seeing each other for one or two years, so Pianpian immediately agreed.

Xu Lai entrusted all his books to Ouyang Fa for safekeeping, and also asked Ouyang Fa to help him terminate the lease on his house. As for Ouyang Bian, he had already left the capital with Ouyang Xiu.

Xu Lai left the capital quietly with Wang Shao, Yang Shu, and Shen Kuo without alerting anyone.

Shen Kuo had just returned two days ago. He was going to Weizhou (Pingliang) to take charge of the Imperial Workshop, which housed the largest munitions manufacturing plant in the northwest frontier.

Shen Kuo also brought his wife and children with him.

His first wife, Lady Ye, should have died of illness around this time. But now she shows no signs of illness, presumably because Shen Kuo's life trajectory has changed, and Lady Ye has also left the environment where she used to fall ill.

After introducing his wife, Shen Kuo introduced his son, saying, "This is my son, Shen Boyi, who is eleven years old and does not yet have a courtesy name."

Shen Boyi was very polite and bowed to everyone in greeting.

Then, he stepped back to his parents' side and saw Damiens eating snacks. The two children were about the same age, and he couldn't help but glance at them a few more times.

Bean Sprout sensed the gaze and made a face at Shen Boyi.

Shen Boyi grinned.

Before leaving Beijing, Xu Lai wrote a letter to Yu Shanyuan, saying that he was going to work on the border.

That place is surrounded by Qiang tribes and is remote and harsh. If Yu Shanyuan is willing to come, he will welcome him warmly. If Yu Shanyuan is not willing to come, he will write to Yu Shanyuan again after he finds a better place.

-

On the official boat, Pianpian and Ye, the wife of Shen Kuo, spent their days chatting about matters concerning young women. With each other's company, they were not bored.

The two children also read and practiced calligraphy together. Shen Boyi was very serious, but Dou Niang was always lazy.

Xu Lai, Wang Shao, Yang Shu, and Shen Kuo had important matters to discuss.

Xu Lai said to Shen Kuo, "Cunzhong, do you still remember when we watched the Lantern Festival in Tokyo back then?"

"How could I not remember?"

Shen Kuo laughed and said, "When I saw the sky lantern, I had a sudden inspiration and later even made a hot air balloon."

Xu Lai said, "I also saw something like that back then, and I wanted to make it into a weapon. A weapon that could kill enemies from dozens of paces away, or even a mile or two away!"

"One or two miles away?" Wang Shao exclaimed in surprise.

Yang Shu hurriedly asked, "What weapon?"

Xu Lai asked the group, "Have you ever seen a drug-powered puppet?"

Shen Kuo immediately realized: "Xingzhi wants me to improve gunpowder arrows and thunderbolt fireballs?"

As early as the first year of the Tiansheng era of Emperor Renzong of Song, which was 44 years ago, the imperial court established a "gunpowder workshop" in Tokyo.

There are two types of gunpowder weapons.

One type is arrow-shaped.

For example, there were crossbows and bows with gunpowder arrows. During Wang Anshi's reforms, he even developed the Shenbi bow with gunpowder arrows. The purpose was not to shoot the arrows farther, but to use the burning gunpowder to ignite the enemy's clothing, equipment, or buildings.

Another type is the cannon type.

Using catapults to launch various fireballs, the explosive power is not great; the main effects are flames and toxic smoke.

Xu Lai had already inquired about it; the existing gunpowder formula could produce an explosion, but the power would be negligible.

He said to Shen Kuo, "I hope that Brother Cunzhong can improve the gunpowder formula so that the gunpowder can explode violently when ignited in a sealed environment. Please look at these two pictures."

Shen Kuo, Wang Shao, and Yang Shu all leaned forward.

One drawing was of a matchlock musket, and the other of a cannon. However, these were only exterior drawings, lacking details of the internal structure, as Xu Lai himself did not know what the interior looked like.

Xu Lai said, "This is a matchlock gun. The matchlock ignites the gunpowder, which burns and explodes, propelling the projectiles outwards. They can reach dozens of paces away. You can imagine, if there were five hundred, a thousand, or two thousand people—all holding matchlock guns at the same time, hundreds or thousands of projectiles would be propelled outwards, and ordinary armor could be pierced by the projectiles."

"Piercing through armor from dozens of steps away?" Yang Shu was captivated by the question, yet also doubted its feasibility.

Wang Shao said, "If such divine power truly exists, then with just five thousand arquebusiers, after recapturing the Hehuang region, I can march all the way to the capital of Western Xia!"

Shen Kuo felt immense pressure; he was being put in charge of the research and development of such a vital national instrument.

Xu Lai added, "This is a cannon, which can be large or small. The smaller ones weigh a couple hundred pounds, while the larger ones weigh several thousand pounds. The principle is the same as that of a matchlock gun, but the shells are heavier and the range is longer."

"I'll give it a try," Shen Kuo said, completely lacking confidence.

Xu Lai instructed, "Matchstick guns and cannons must be made sturdy, otherwise they are very easy to explode and injure our own people. The improved gunpowder is flammable and explosive, so its production, transportation, and storage must be handled with extreme care. Brother Cunzhong, you must formulate relevant regulations."

Shen Kuo nodded: "Understood."

Xu Lai then said, "Let's discuss the matter of Qin Prefecture again."

Wang Shao took out a simple map: "From Weiyuan to Qinzhou, there are at least hundreds of thousands of acres of abandoned fertile river valleys along the way. There are also countless Han and Qiang people who have been displaced by war. There are people and land, but they cannot cultivate it."

"So, we must first pacify the surrounding tribes?" Xu Lai asked.

Wang Shao nodded and said, "Yes, we need to pacify the various tribes. But we don't have the money or supplies to wage war, so we can only persuade them with words!"

How did Wang Shao actually do things in history?

He went alone to meet the chief of the largest local tribe, and slept there unsuspectingly that night. He managed to persuade the chief and gain the allegiance of 120,000 people!

Xu Lai believed Wang Shao: "Zichun, please explain in detail."

Wang Shao pointed to the map and said, "More than 30 years ago, Nezhi Linzhan was no match for the Western Xia, so he surrendered his territory to the Song Dynasty. The local Qiang tribes often rebelled, but the court suppressed them all. Fifteen years ago, the Guwei Village was established."

Guwei Village is where Xu Lai is going to take up his post as an official, and it is surrounded by Qiang tribes.

Wang Shao said, "Most of the Qiang tribes to the east and north of Guwei Village have genuinely submitted to the Song Dynasty, and those who were unwilling to submit have been suppressed. After you, Brother Xingzhi, go there, your first priority is to be on good terms with the tribal leaders and recruit some of their people to cultivate the wasteland. Also, the deeper the relationship between the commander and the tribal leaders, the more willing they will be to send troops to help you when you encounter trouble."

Xu Lai nodded: "Understood."

Wang Shao then said to Yang Shu, "In Chengji County, which is under the jurisdiction of my virtuous brother Jiezhi, there are also a large number of Qiang people in the west. These Qiang people have been living among the Han people for many years. You should handle the differences between the Han and Qiang people and recruit Han and Qiang refugees to reclaim wasteland."

"I understand," Yang Shu nodded.

Wang Shao then pointed to the map and said, "To the south and west of Guwei Village are Qiang tribes that have not submitted to the Song Dynasty. I will go and persuade them! Once we have persuaded these Qiang people, we can focus on land reclamation and trade."

Yang Shu asked curiously, "How many Qiang people are there?"

Wang Shao said, "I estimate it's around two or three hundred thousand."

Yang Shu and Shen Kuo looked at each other in dismay. Two or three hundred thousand foreign tribes, and you're going to try to persuade them with just empty words?

No wonder the prime ministers objected; who would believe such a thing!

Wang Shao explained, "To the west lies the Tibetan chieftain Muzheng, and to the east lies the territory of our Great Song Dynasty. Many Qiang tribes are caught in the middle, facing enemies on both sides. If we treat them sincerely and offer them the benefits of trade, they can be persuaded. During my travels, I met some Qiang people. They didn't want to fight; they only wanted to live peacefully."