After traveling through time, I became Han Zhang’s grandson?

Ouyang Wenzhong's death served as a reminder to all older Song Dynasty officials that they were no longer young.

They accompanied Emperor Renzong for nearly forty years, Emperor Yingzong for four years, and Emperor Shenzong for ten years of Xining.

How many fifty years do we have in a lifetime... only one!

They looked at each other and saw that their colleagues who were attending the court were all white-haired old men.

They have been fighting all their lives, and these political enemies sometimes know who they are better than their own families.

At this time, these old men who had been busy all their lives, having experienced an era of suffering and humiliation, also entered an era of revival and prosperity.

More importantly, they are about to witness the opening of an era that is no less prosperous than the former Tang Dynasty.

They don't want to fall behind, nor do they want to fall at the dawn of a bright future. They want to welcome the arrival of that era with their families and grandchildren.

It's time for them to come to terms with themselves...

. . . . . .

In the third year of Xining, Zeng Mingzhong, Shangshu Zuo Pushe, Menxia Shilang and Libu Shangshu, repeatedly resigned from the position of prime minister on the grounds of old age. Shenzong finally agreed and ordered him to serve as the governor of Heyang Sancheng and the envoy of Jixiguan with the positions of Sikong and Shizhong.

On April 1071, the fourth year of Xining (), he was appointed as the governor of Yongxing Army.

On May 1072, , the fifth year of Xining, Zeng Mingzhong was appointed as the envoy of Jixiguan. On June , Zeng Mingzhong, the prime minister who returned to Kaifeng, officially retired with the title of Taifu.

......

In August of the fourth year of Xining, Fu Yanguo, who served as the Left Prime Minister, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Co-Prime Minister, Grand Scholar of the Zhaowen Academy, Supervisor of National History and Translator of Scriptures, resigned due to poor health.

Emperor Shenzong appointed him as the military governor of Wuning Army, co-minister of the Secretariat, and judge of Henan Prefecture. In October, at the request of Fu Yanguo, his sentence was changed to Bozhou.

In March of the fifth year of Xining (1072), because Fu Yanguo submitted a petition requesting to retire and return to his hometown, Emperor Shenzong restored his posts as Jiedushi of Wuning Army and Tongpingzhangshi, and ordered him to retire with the titles of Sikong and Duke of Hanguo.

In the Song Dynasty, ministers began to retire with the title of envoy, starting with Fu Yanguo.

......

In April of the sixth year of Xining, Wen Kuanfu, the Right Prime Minister, Privy Councilor, and Vice Prime Minister, felt that he was unable to cope with the situation and asked to resign several times to return home.

Shenzong disagreed and appointed him as Sikong, Jiedushi of Zhenhai, and promoted him to Situ, and sent him to Yingtian Prefecture (now Shangqiu, Henan).

. . . . . .

A number of senior officials in the court submitted their resignations, causing Emperor Shenzong a terrible headache.

Due to the emergence of Han Ming, these people who had historically opposed "Wang Jiefu's Reforms" all became the stand-up and supporters of Emperor Shenzong and Wang Jiefu.

So much so that they all forgot the enormous pressure and countless heavy government affairs brought about by the New Deal reforms and the promotion of the "First Five-Year Plan".

After all, they were old, and there was a group of new people emerging, including Han Ming, Wang Jiefu, Sima Junshi, Sheng Changbai, Lu Haoqing, Lu Huiqing, Zhang Dun, Cai Que, Zeng Bu, Lu Jiawen, Shen Kuo, and Xue Xiang.

This new policy has successors, and they are happy to make room for these young people and support them in taking office.

Unfortunately, just as those who once opposed the "reform" changed their minds, the new court officials headed by Wang Jiefu also did not want to step into the center so quickly.

Because under the subtle influence of Han, their ideas became extremely down-to-earth, and they believed that new policy reforms must be based on the support of the people and the people.

The so-called 'coming from the people and going back to the people', relying on the people, helping the people and improving people's livelihood are the foundation of the prosperity of the Song Dynasty.

They agree with this statement, even including Han's "practice tests theory", "don't be complacent and conservative", "the practicality of borrowing", etc.

In short, under Han Ming's words and deeds, these former core figures of the "Wang Jiefu Reform" all thought about how to go down to the local level, practice their own governing philosophy, and then promote it nationwide.

Unfortunately, the older generation retired too quickly, and before the Mesozoic generation had a chance to come to the fore, the new generation had to start taking over and seizing power.

In order to balance this phenomenon, Emperor Shenzong promoted Chen Shengzhi, a young man from the older generation who was about to reach his seventies, to the position of head of the prime ministers.

Then there was Han Zhang's son Han Shipu, a representative figure of the Mesozoic era, who was also trusted by Emperor Shenzong and promoted to the position of the second prime minister.

Finally, regarding the question of the new generation, in fact, Wang Jiefu and Sima Junshi are both representatives of the Mesozoic era, but unfortunately, they have been hanging out with Han for a long time and were stuffed into the new generation team.

Wang Jiefu was officially appointed as the Acting Three-Division Envoy, Vice-Chancellor, and took over the Three-Division Yamen.

The "Regulations Office of the Three Departments" established during the reign of Emperor Yingzong also completed its historical mission and was abolished.

As for Sima Junshi, who wanted to give up and spend his whole life in a bookstore compiling the "Zizhi Tongjian", he was also pulled out by Emperor Shenzong and appointed to take over the two courts of Taijian and Jianjing, which had been leaderless for many years.

Sima Junshi thought about how he was appointed by Emperor Renzong to be in charge of the two courts of Taijian and Jianyuan, and to be the Chief Censor and Chief Censor because of his contribution to the "Jiayou Peace Agreement".

As a result, his subordinates almost overthrew their immediate superior because they opposed the new policy.

Now he has to once again be in charge of the two houses of the Taiwan Affairs Office, which are dominated by conservatives. He is really tired!

As for the position of Privy Councilor, Emperor Shenzong decided to appoint Han Ming.

However, this guy is now the judge of Daming Prefecture, serving Han Zhang and his wife with filial piety, so in the end, Fu Yaoyu, recommended by Fu Yanguo, can only take over the position of Privy Councilor temporarily.

Fu Yaoyu (1024-1091), courtesy name Qinzhi, was a native of Xucheng County, Yunzhou (now Dongping County, Shandong Province) and a minister of the Northern Song Dynasty.

In the second year of the Qingli period (1042), he passed the imperial examination and became the magistrate of Xinxi County, and was later promoted to the position of Supervisory Censor.

During the reign of Emperor Yingzong, he was promoted to Palace Attendant Censor, Emperor Jiudi, and Right Censor.

After Shenzong ascended the throne, he opposed Wang Jiefu's reforms and was demoted to a commoner for a time.

During the reign of Emperor Zhezong, he was appointed as Jieshi Zhong, Zhongcheng Yushi, and Minister of Personnel, and was later promoted to Zhongshu Shilang.

He died in the seventh year of Yuanyou (1091) at the age of . He was posthumously awarded the title of Yinqing Guanglu Dafu and the posthumous name of Xianjian.

Fu Yaoyu was a serious and taciturn person. He was not cunning. When it came to important court affairs, he would tell the emperor everything he knew.

He once wrote in a memorial: "Everyone has his or her own strengths. If I were asked to recommend the upright and punish the treacherous, despite my limited talent and knowledge, how could I not do my best? If I were asked to pry into others' privacy and nitpick, that would not be my ambition."

At the beginning, when he was transferred from the censor to a local official, everyone thought that he had opinions on the new law and would definitely not implement it.

However, Fu Yaoyu obeyed all the court's laws.

When someone asked him why he did this, he said, "A gentleman should act according to his position. The censors have the responsibility to make suggestions to the court, and the county magistrates should handle affairs according to the court's laws and policies."

Therefore, he was valued by bigwigs such as Fu Yanguo, who believed that he had the talent to be a prime minister and was very willing to train him.

Emperor Shenzong felt that his presence in the court was a panacea for both himself and the country, so he was happy to promote him directly to the Privy Council and take power.

. . . . . .

The changes in the court did not disturb Han Zhang and his wife and Han Ming's family at this moment.

After all, the core of the imperial court is like this, with people coming and going in waves like the tide, advancing and retreating, and never stopping because of an individual.