A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 17: Imperial Court Gazette
You have to know that Yan Shu was wearing a purple robe when he was in his thirties, which made others envious. It can be said that he had broad knowledge.

Many of the rumors here are just hearsay.

He scoffed at it.

"No, I read these official newspapers and tabloids all the time. Besides, this place isn't too far from Tokyo, only three hundred miles."

Fan Zhongyan took it and took a look at it. As for the situation in Tokyo, he had only lived there during the time when he went to Beijing to attend the Autumn Examination.

Jingdong is certainly rich and dazzling, but too many people are living in Tokyo.

He had seen many people living underground.

Fan Zhongyan paid attention to the news about the northwest. Li Deming had now built a new city in Dingzhou, called Shengwei City.

This place has fertile land and abundant grass, and has always been a place for the Tubo tribe to collect firewood and graze.

It seems that Li Deming wants to control Tubo and strengthen his own power.

Then Zhang Junping, a public official of Kaifeng Prefecture and County, wrote to the court, saying that Nanjing (Shangqiu), Chen (Huaiyang), Xu (Xuchang), Xu (Xuzhou), Su (Suxian), Bo (Haoxian), Cao (Heze), Cai (Ru'nan), Ying (Fuyang) and other states,

There are a large number of ancient water conservancy projects connected to Kaifeng Prefecture, but due to their age, they have never been managed.

As a result, the capital city suffered from floods several times, and Zhang Junping suggested dredging these water conservancy projects.

The government agreed to this.

Fan Zhongyan paid special attention to the construction of water conservancy projects.

This is a very good thing for people's livelihood. Otherwise, once a flood occurs, the money spent will certainly be much more than the money for construction, and it is also easy to cause plague.

Fan Zhongyan continued to read the court bulletin and found out that the famous scholar Long Changqi had gone to Fuzhou to give lectures.

It seems that many students in Fuzhou will look up and have an easier time passing the imperial examination.

After all, there are only one or two famous teachers.

Fan Zhongyan felt that the burden on him was even heavier, and he had to live up to the favor of Mr. Yan and set strict requirements for the students of Yingtianfu Academy.

"How dare anyone write about the Hat Monster case?"

Song Shou looked doubtful and shocked.

This unsolved case went viral in Kaifeng Prefecture, and even after several years, the popularity remains unabated.

After all, once such a thing happened, many people would think that there was something wrong with the emperor.

The occurrence of evil events means that the emperor is not governing the country well and it is a warning from heaven.

This happened to be the tenth year since Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty had offered sacrifices to the gods on Mount Tai, so the emperor was naturally furious.

It is said that rumors stop at the wise, but many people will be misled by rumors.

Not to mention the modern practice of storing salt, let alone the ancient times.

Emperor Zhenzong of Song used laws to suppress rumors.

Anyone who dares to say the word "hat monster" in Tokyo City will be sent to Kaifeng Prefecture Prison.

If you don't tell me the whole story, then you are the accomplice and the mastermind behind the Hat Monster case.

It was only by relying on this method that people dared not spread the news openly, but they still spread it privately.

This unsolved case has not been solved to this day.

"Don't worry about it." Yan Shu didn't believe in such things at all, and asked casually:

"Twelfth brother, what do you think?"

Song Xuan leaned on the bed and said, "Mr. Yan, only a brainless person would believe in such a weird thing. It seems that someone is secretly pushing something."

After all, when evil spirits appeared, the first person to be pointed out was the emperor. But the current emperor had not yet taken power, but there were already voices calling for the empress dowager to return power.

Fan Zhongyan was still thinking, and Yan Shu laughed when he heard the answer:
"That's it. Now that we're far away from Tokyo, we don't have to worry about those things. It's not our place to meddle in other people's affairs."

After all, many people were dissatisfied with Emperor Zhenzong's Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai and the fabricated auspicious signs in various places.

The world is not unified, how can an emperor have the nerve to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth?

Yan Shu believed that any emperor who unified the world in the future would no longer go to Mount Tai in person to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, because he would feel ashamed.

Just like after Sima Yi, no one swore by the Luo River anymore.

I don’t care whether it’s the Goddess of Luo River or not.

I don’t care whether Liu Xiu swore an oath or not.

Once there is a crisis of trust, it is very difficult to restore it to its original state.

However, Fan Zhongyan disagreed with Yan Shu's idea. Even though he was not in the position he was in, he still had to consider the people of the world.

But when he thought about the fact that he was still in mourning and Yan Shu's instructions, he remained silent.

After everyone had finished reading, the newspaper came into Zhang Fangping's hands. He quickly glanced through it without giving it much thought.

As long as he could understand some of the court's movements, he had long been accustomed to tabloids, using them as topics of conversation with Song Xuan, a way to relax after studying hard.

"Twelfth brother, you are really concerned about the affairs of the court."

Fan Zhongyan saw Song Xuan put the two newspapers in different categories, especially in a stack.

Song Xuan wanted to stay at home and listen to the explosive news from all over the country, but it was impossible. He could only watch the official news broadcast.

"Please let Mr. Fan know that I'm just bored and want to see the prosperity of Tokyo City. Don't exaggerate."

Song Xuan pointed to his head and said, "I haven't developed the habit of worrying about the country and the people all the time. That's not what I should be thinking about right now."

"Hahaha, interesting, really interesting."

Yan Shu could not hear any hypocrisy in Song Xuan's words. He was so open-minded and disdainful of performing in front of him and others.

Even Fan Zhongyan was speechless at Song Xuan's attitude. He shook his head and smiled. It was not appropriate to make such high demands on Song Xuan now.

It was really because I had too high expectations of him that he behaved like this.

But when I was sixteen years old, my mind was full of studying and imperial examinations!

As for official gazettes and the like, there is no extra money to collect them!

Song Shou sighed and looked worriedly at Zhang Fangping, the genius he believed in. He felt that if this continued for a long time, this honest child would be led astray by Song Xuan.

After laughing for a while, Yan Shu stroked his beard:
"Twelfth Brother, when are you going to leave? Then we can travel on the same ship and go to Nanjing together."

Song Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Probably three to five days. I still need to go home and say goodbye to my sister."

"Okay, then we'll stay here for a while. It's a good opportunity to climb the mountain. There's no need to rush back."

Yan Shu originally wanted to come out and relax, and by the way, he heard Zhu say that (Fan Zhongyan) was here, so he came to invite him to teach at Yingtianfu Academy. On the way, he met Song Xuan.

After two exchanges, Yan Shu felt that Song Xuan was extremely interesting. He was so interesting that he didn't seem like a typical young man from the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, I am willing to interact more with this boy. In my rare free time, I feel relaxed when communicating with smart people.

The people in Tokyo are probably going to be beaten to a pulp, but unfortunately, no one has any brains.

Yan Shu did not stay long, and went for a stroll with the other two with a smile.

Song Xuan watched the three of them walk away, then looked at his beggar friend who was drinking cold porridge:
"Xiao Qu, what do you want to eat tonight?"

(End of this chapter)