Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 446 Heavy Rain
But Yuan Yu was also so angry that he laughed.

You have no relatives or friends, and you came to tell me these things. Who knows if you are a spy of the emperor? Sent here to test me?
But if you think about it carefully, it is impossible. Zhen Luan is just a sergeant of Feng Xiang, a minor official. His testimony is not convincing at all. No matter how stupid Emperor Yuan Hao is, he would not send him here.

It seems that Zhen Luan really wants to surrender to Guanzhong, but he has no fame, so he asks Yuan Yu for help.

Nowadays, the standards for selecting people in Guanzhong are also higher.

Yuan Yu recalled that when he was in Guanzhong, he accepted all the talents he recommended and looked eager to recruit talented people.

He recommended countless scholars from Liangzhou, some of whom have already held high positions in Guanzhong.

For example, Yuan Yu's good friend Qi Tai is said to be in charge of Chongwen Pavilion, Su Ze's confidential agency. Now, scholars who want to pursue a career in Guanzhong must study in Chongwen Pavilion and pass the assessment before they can be appointed.

The last time Qi Tai wrote to me, he was very excited and wrote that his family's "Book of Filial Piety" was highly praised by Su Ze, and he heard that it would be officially printed and published and promoted throughout Guanzhong.

Yuan Yu certainly knew what this meant. It meant that Qi Tai's family academic knowledge had been recognized by Su Ze and was ready to be promoted as official academic knowledge!

Since the Han Dynasty, family learning has flourished and the aristocratic families have mastered the right to interpret the scriptures.

However, every school of thought wants its own theories to be officially recognized and become official academic disciplines.

The Shiquge Debate in the Western Han Dynasty and the dispute between ancient and modern texts in the Eastern Han Dynasty were both for this purpose.

Although the "Book of Filial Piety" is not the most profound book on Confucian classics, and there are not many famous scholars who have studied it, Yuan Yu, his old friend, still envied the Qi family's success.

Moreover, Qi Tai also vaguely revealed a statement in his letter, that is, Duke Su was preparing to conduct a unified examination in Chongwen Pavilion, and the content of the examination would be taken from the "Book of Filial Piety" and the family annotations submitted by Qi Tai!
As a prince who was very interested in Confucianism, Yuan Yu certainly knew what this meant. It meant that if scholars from all over the world wanted to serve under Su Ze in the future, they would have to study the annotations on the "Book of Filial Piety" passed down in Qi Tai's family!
This made Yuan Yu a little jealous. Confucianism has the saying of three immortals, as the saying goes -

The most important thing is to establish virtue, then there is meritorious service, and next there is to establish words. Even if it lasts for a long time, this is called immortality.

To pass down one's own teachings through the ages is called establishing one's reputation, and it is the easiest way to get written into history books. But how many people throughout history have been able to be written into history books?

Yuan Yu felt a little bitter. He would definitely go down in history books, but being written into history as the prime minister of a fake emperor was probably not a glorious thing.

Yuan Yu really regretted why he had tried every means to transfer back to Luoyang. If he had stayed in Guanzhong, he would at least be a veteran.

Looking at Zhen Luan's young face, Yuan Yu softened his heart again.

He picked up his pen and said:

"Over the years, there have been too many scholars entering Guanzhong."

"To become an official in Guanzhong, no matter what position you hold, you need to gain experience in Chongwen Pavilion, and finally pass the assessment and gain the favor of Duke Su before you can serve as an official."

"This Chongwen Pavilion is in Guanzhong, and it is a place where the world's literary selections are gathered. I can write a letter of recommendation for you to Qi Xueshi who is in charge of Chongwen Pavilion, but from now on you will have to rely on yourself."

"Are you still willing to go to Guanzhong?"

Zhen Luan was slightly stunned. Although he was a Confucian scholar, he only had a rough understanding of Confucian classics.

Zhen Luan had a strange interest. He liked to look for contents related to mathematics, astronomy and calendar in Confucian scriptures, and then solve and annotate these contents.

Zhen Luan read a wide range of books. He was also very interested in military books and even invented several difficult mathematical problems related to marching. He often used these problems to test his colleagues in the Tai Shi Office.

Zhen Luan knew his own level. Compared with those scholars who had been familiar with classics since childhood, his ability was really not enough.

But when she thought about the disaster she had predicted, Zhen Luan knew that it was not a question of whether to choose or not, but that she would starve to death if she stayed in Luoyang.

Since the new emperor came to Luoyang, the population of Luoyang has decreased sharply, but prices have increased three times a day.

Now the nobles in the city have started to eat bran, and low-ranking officials like Zhen Luan have long been hungry.

The only good news is that Zhen Luan has not married yet, so if one person feeds the whole family, they can just about make ends meet.

I heard that many officials in the Southern Government offices have starved to death.

If a major disaster strikes, a minor official like me would really starve to death.

Zhen Luan made up her mind and said to Yuan Yu:

"Please show mercy, my king."

Yuan Yu sighed. The people in the Luoyang court had already lost their morale. He picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Qi Tai. After the ink dried, he handed it to Zhen Luan and said:
"Once you have made up your mind to go to Guanzhong, don't come back."

Zhen Luan left Yuan Yu's mansion with the letter, exchanged all her belongings for a skinny donkey, and found a few companions to flee westward together, and started on the road to Guanzhong.
-
"I want to see the Madam!"

Su Xiang (the boastful astronomy student) knelt in front of the Baizhang Tower and shouted. Lu Zhu led the maid out and said to Su Xiang who was kneeling on the ground:
"You bastard, the mistress never asks about military affairs. She always tells us to go to the government hall for military and national affairs. Why do you come here to make a fuss time and again? Can you afford to disturb the prince?"

Su Xiang said to Lu Zhu:

"Madam, the government office doesn't believe me. My lord is in Dingzhou now, so I can only ask my mistress for help. The situation is urgent, please listen to me!" Seeing that he was determined to see her, Lu Zhu had to return to Baizhang Tower again. After a while, Lu Zhu said with a cold face: "His Highness wants to see you, quickly put on your clothes and follow me in."

Princess Chenliu met Su Xiang in the Mingtang where Su Ze received foreign officials.

However, in order to show that she had no intention of interfering in government affairs, Princess Chenliu did not sit in the main seat, but set up a seat on the side to receive Su Xiang.

As soon as he saw Princess Chenliu, Su Xiang immediately knelt down and said:
"Madam! I am Su Xiang, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites. Recently, I calculated at the Observatory that Luoyang will be hit by a disaster!"

Princess Chenliu then remembered Su Xiang's name. The locust plague in the northern border was calculated by this unprepossessing astronomy student. After Su Ze brought back the little emperor, he also set up a court in Guanzhong.

This is the benefit of having control over the little emperor.

A large number of officials, who were originally miscellaneous officials under the Government Affairs Hall and the Shogunate, suddenly became official officials of the imperial court. This was also the reason why Su Ze was able to attract scholars from all over the world to join him.

Regardless of whether you, Su Ze, are a powerful official or not, and whether you want to usurp the throne in the future, as long as you don't usurp the throne now, I can serve the Wei Dynasty.

All we can say is that everyone has to be both responsible and independent, and this is especially true for scholars.

Taichang was a hodgepodge of departments. For example, Taishiling was an official position under Taichang.

Taichang was also responsible for a series of tasks such as sacrifices. During the Han Dynasty, Taichang was the department with the largest number of officials.

However, the young emperor fled to Guanzhong alone, and the work of ancestor worship was suspended. Su Ze reformed the Taichang Department, cutting the largest number of ritual officials and increasing the number of various miscellaneous officials.

Su Xiang's Taichang Langzhong was a mid-level official who was specifically in charge of astronomy and calendar, and his main job was stargazing.

There was no independent Imperial Observatory in this era, and astrology, astronomy and divination were all under the jurisdiction of the Taichang Yamen.

Princess Chenliu asked:

"Luoyang has been hit by a series of disasters in recent years. What major disaster is this?"

I thought Su Xiang would give an ambiguous prophecy, but I didn't expect Su Xiang to say it very specifically:

"It will rain heavily in Luoyang!"

Princess Chenliu was shocked. She remembered that not long after Luoyang City was built, it rained for several days in a row, causing serious urban flooding.

Su Xiang said again:
"It's not just Luoyang, the entire area around Luoyang will have heavy rains, and the water level of the Yellow River will surge!"

"really?"

Princess Chenliu stood up. Although she was the mistress of Guanzhong, she grew up in Luoyang since she was a child.

No matter how much she disliked the intrigues in Luoyang, Princess Chenliu still had many fond memories of Luoyang.

Su Xiang said with certainty:
"This is the worst rainstorm in the past ten years, no, the past thirty years. Hedong County may be affected. Please make preparations early, Madam."

Luoyang has great political significance, and Hedong County controlled by Su Ze is not far from Luoyang.

If there is a flood near Luoyang, a large number of victims will inevitably flock to Hedong County.

Su Xiang also said that the heavy rain might affect Hedong County, which might even affect Hedong’s defense and several important projects currently under construction in Hedong.

When Su Xiang saw Princess Chenliu hesitated, he immediately said:
"Your Highness, please give an order immediately and ask the Government Affairs Office to transport grain from Guanzhong to Hedong County! If no disaster occurs, Su Xiang is willing to be punished. If a disaster does occur, then these grains can keep Hedong safe!"

Hearing Su Xiang's certainty, Princess Chenliu was also shaken. She said:
"This is a serious matter, but I have never interfered in government affairs. How about this, please invite the prime ministers from the government hall to come over, and you can persuade them in person again?"

Su Xiang also knew that this was the greatest support Princess Chenliu had given him, so he could only cross his hands and say:
"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness!"

When Su Xiang left, Lu Zhu stepped forward and asked:

"Isn't it just about transporting the grain to Hedong County? Why are the officials in the Government Affairs Hall so unwilling? Just think of it as disaster preparedness."

Princess Chenliu glanced at Luzhu and said:
"That's easy for you to say. This route cannot be transported by water, so it can only be transported by land. It costs a lot to transport grain across the border. How could the Government Affairs Hall transport grain at will just because of a statement made by an astrological divination?"

Luzhu asked:

"Then Your Highness?"

Princess Chenliu said, "Su Xiang is my husband's close minister. How can I not help him when he comes to me for official business?"

"The officials in the Government Affairs Hall will make their own judgments. Let's see if Su Xiang can convince them."

"This is about government affairs, so I won't listen. Let's go back to the building."

(End of this chapter)