Chapter 1091: Acting as the Governor of Kaifeng Prefecture

Fan Zhongyan passed away, and people mourned him. But before long, except for his close friends who always mentioned him subconsciously and were still not used to the world without Fan Zhongyan, others no longer felt anything. Everyone continued to live and work as usual.

The one who succeeded Fan Zhongyan was Wen Yanbo, who was traveling abroad.

This was a ruthless man, and the main thing was that he could survive. Now that Zhao Zhen has reached the late stage of his emperor career, he is satisfied with the achievements he has made. Since Fan Zhongyan is gone, he has no intention of continuing to toss around. He just wants to wait for death in peace. So calling back the steady and conservative Wen Yanbo is a good choice.

Maybe there is not much achievement, but it can keep the Song Dynasty moving forward steadily. Although there are many holes, Wen Yanbo is also capable of repairing them so that too much water will not leak out.

Wang Yan is still in the Imperial College, constantly adjusting the national education.

In the past few years, the literary school, military school and Baigong Academy have almost been completed, but they still need to be repaired. Throughout the territory of the Song Dynasty, all county-level administrative units, even the worst ones, have an enlightenment academy for thousands of people.

This does not distinguish between Han and Hu. Even on the grassland, Wang Yan ordered local officials to find a place to build a school.

In fact, it is very good to build an academy on the grassland. Because the grassland is full of nomads, Wang Yan has not yet made a more detailed grassland division and pressed the herdsmen on the grassland in one place. This requires a lot of manpower and material resources. He cannot make the decision if he is not in power. And those in power do not treat foreigners as human beings and do not care at all.

But there is an academy on the grassland. In the past, many children studied in the academy. There is no need to think that the opportunity to receive education must be the more favored children in the family. The grassland is large, and they can be sent to school and picked up during holidays, so there is a fixed place.

Then putting the government office here will naturally facilitate management. It does not take time to ferment. The government will open a market here directly, so the herdsmen on the grassland will come here to trade.

As time went on, a city rose up on the grassland...

The free pens, inkstones, paper and inkstones were all produced by factories affiliated with the Imperial Academy, with large output and very low costs. Imperial Academy Bookstores were also opened in various counties, with good revenue.

The main reason was that Wang Yan launched books of various levels and invited many great scholars to organize their academic works. He published them and paid royalties to the great scholars according to sales.

This kind of academic works are definitely not so popular. Most people borrow books from the bookstore, while the rich have no restrictions. They only buy hardcover collector's editions, which are counted as family collections. They buy books when they are available.

They all have a strong sense of crisis. Throughout the dynasties, the disputes over academic traditions have been quite severe. It is impossible to guarantee that a great scholar will fall at any time, and the corresponding books will become banned books. It is definitely right to collect all books.

What really makes money is the various stories that Wang Yan has come up with. He gives a story collection for those that have been published in newspapers and have many stories under the name of an author. For those with few stories, many authors would publish a collection under the name of Story Collection.

The author who has opened up his Ren and Du meridians and writes all kinds of supernatural stories and all kinds of cool articles is the God of Wealth. Such curious books that can make people happy have very high sales. If someone is asked to draw exquisite illustrations, it will be even more amazing.

At the same time, comics were also launched. Wang Yan personally wrote children's educational and entertaining enlightenment stories, and asked people to draw them, print and distribute them, setting an example for people. And various details of publishing were introduced to improve the publishing industry.

The Imperial Academy of Books was opened all over the Song Dynasty, which naturally meant that the distribution channels of the Imperial Academy were fully rolled out in the Song Dynasty. In addition, his large-scale printing and publishing, as well as the establishment of factories in various important node cities for regional distribution, saved time and freight. In addition, the continuous research of the Baigong Academy improved the printing and papermaking technology, further reducing costs.

Wang Yan successfully lowered the price of books and protected the interests of his genuine books to the greatest extent. After all, the books in the Imperial Academy are extremely expensive, and the cheap ones are really cheap. They are free to read. Even if you want to copy books, there are quiet places. Even hand-copied books, as long as the handwriting is good, the Imperial Academy will recycle them.

In comparison, the jobs of the people supported by pirated booksellers are insignificant. Under the development of the current Song Dynasty, the number of these people is really insignificant, and they will not affect anything. They will be easily absorbed by other industries.

They will definitely not let merchants pay more money, but they are absolutely happy to see favorable policies that promote commercial development. Now the commercial development is even better.

In this way, the industrial revenue of the Imperial Academy is not cheap, and it is used to provide benefits to officials at all levels and various academy principals below to improve their treatment. In addition, a part of it can be used to provide subsidies to good seedlings to help them complete their studies and walk to the capital step by step. Whether they become officials or not is another matter, but they can definitely study in the Imperial Academy, and they are all Wang Yan’s disciples.

Over the past few years, the foundation of the education system has been basically laid. The next thing to do is to cultivate specialized talents as mentioned before, and to develop corresponding industries, etc. This can only be achieved through the coordinated development of multiple departments, and it will have to wait until he takes office.

During this period, there was another good thing, that is, the fleet he sent out came back, bringing back the seeds of potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, peppers, peanuts, etc. that he wanted, and they have been cultivated and improved in the experimental fields of the Agricultural College of Baigong Academy.

This is a necessary procedure for ancient time travel. Without these things, it is almost impossible to eat and drink well.

The main thing is to fill the consumption of food. People can eat it, and livestock and domestic animals can also eat it. Originally, people's rations remained unchanged, and there was more grain to feed livestock and livestock. After being supplemented by meat, food consumption would be reduced accordingly, and the grain could be used to feed livestock and livestock.

At that time, food will become more and more sophisticated, rice and white flour will be grown and processed step by step, prices will be reduced step by step, and more and more people will be able to afford it.

What's more, Wang Yan is still purchasing grain in Southeast Asia. All year round, as long as the ship can sail, it will be transported non-stop. Filling the food gap and stabilizing food prices.

He quietly did too many things for Da Song...

But no one can understand his painstaking efforts.

Zhao Zhen, who didn't understand his painstaking efforts, finally reached the end of his life.

In the autumn of the tenth year of Jiayou's reign (1065), Zhao Zhen, who refused to listen, fell ill.

"Wang Qing, you are sincere, how can I still be in good health?"

Zhao Zhen leaned on the soft pillow and reclined on the couch. He was weak and spoke slowly.

Wang Yan was sitting on a small stool next to the couch. Behind him, a group of ministers were waiting, all looking at him.

He shook his head and cupped his hands, sighing: "After all, I don't know the magic of immortality, and I have betrayed the divine grace."

Zhao Zhen was amused, but he didn't have the strength to support his laughter, so he coughed. Wang Yan stepped forward to help caress his chest, and tapped his back a few times, until a mouthful of thick phlegm came out.

Lying down again, Zhao Zhen let out a long breath and said with a smile: "Life and death are fateful, I know this truth. If I had listened to you back then, I might have lived a few more years to compare with Fan Qing. Lifespan.”

Wang Yan smiled and said nothing. Zhao Zhen has lived two years longer than before, which is pretty good. Old age is a warning. Zhao Zhen is greedy for sex, greed for power, greed for fame, and lack of restraint. Until now, Wang Yan is awesome.

Fan Zhongyan lived ten more years because Lao Fan listened to his advice. Every morning, I work hard and eat and drink according to the recipes prescribed by Wang Yan. No matter how busy I am with state affairs, I take my time absolutely. I don't go early, don't come back late, and don't stay up late. That is truly unmoved by the eight winds and as stable as Mount Tai. Lao Fan is a big shot who really lives his life.

Zhao Zhen was too far behind.

He shook his head and smiled bitterly: "This man is so ugly that it is a matter of life and death. Wang Qing, it seems that you have also set a precedent. I heard that the memorial texts are now read to the living. Come and write one for me, and let me read it too." Look."

"I obey the order." Wang Yan stood up and saluted respectfully.

"Go." Zhao Zhen waved.

Wang Yan turned around, followed the ministers present, and Zhao Zongshi, Zhao Zhongzhen and his son who were serving as filial sons and grandsons, bowed their hands in a circle, nodded in all directions, and left simply.

He wrote the sacrificial text on the same day and praised Zhao Zhen to the best of his ability. It seemed that none of the previous emperors were as awesome as him, Zhao Zhen. It is said that Zhao Zhen was very happy after seeing it and even gave Wang Yan more food. The official would definitely not be promoted, he was going to die, and he had no intention of disgusting Zhao Zongshi, so he could only pay more to show his honor.

Wang Yan did get off to a bad start. As Zhao Zhen said, unless someone died with a bang, anyone who has some time would like to read his own memorial before death.

This is the last word one person has for another person. Those who can write memorials to others are also true friends. Everyone is dead, so of course they are all nice words, which is a very happy thing. Who doesn't want to be flattered in different ways?

Zhao Zhen asked Wang Yan to write a sacrificial memorial for him, and also gave Wang Yan additional food, which meant that Zhao Zhen didn't care, so everyone naturally wrote sacrificial memorials to praise Zhao Zhen. It's still somewhat magical.

Zhao Zhen spent the last part of his life listening to the eunuchs reciting to him the memorial texts sent by various officials. He was immersed in his sweet dreams. I heard that the smile on his face never disappeared.

That visit to the palace to see Zhao Zhen was the last time Wang Yan and Zhao Zhen saw each other. They didn't see each other again for more than two months.

Until one day after winter, the bells rang in the palace. The bells spread throughout the imperial city, and the imperial city also rang the bells. The sound spread in all directions, so the city of Bianjing was filled with bells...

Zhao Zongshi successfully ascended the throne and became Zhao Shu. The first thing he did when he took office was to work with the ministers to deal with Zhao Zhen's posthumous affairs. A series of things such as the funeral, coffin closing, history compilation, and Zhao Zhen's harem all had to be arranged.

As Wang Yan expected, Zhao Zhen’s temple name was ‘Cheng’. Because this was what he proposed, everyone argued and decided that Zhao Zhen was "successful" enough, so they decided...

Then, Zhao Shu proposed to observe Zhao Zhen's mourning for three years and asked Han Qi to act as military and political agent.

This was of course a retreat in order to advance, because before that, when he was still Zhao Zongshi, even though he was established as the prince, he did not participate in many political affairs because he could not hinder Zhao Zhen's eyes. So although Zhao Zongshi has now become Zhao Shu and the new emperor of the Song Dynasty, he has no power in his hands, neither military nor political.

Han Qi was the main force during the dispute over the reserve affairs and firmly supported Zhao Zongshi as the crown prince. Zhao Zongshi owed Han Qi.

After Fan Zhongyan passed away, although Wen Yanbo was absent, Han Qi inherited all of Fan Zhongyan's political resources. In the years since Fan Zhongyan's death, the stability of the DPRK and China was the result of back-and-forth battles between Han Qi and Wen Yanbo.

But with Zhao Shulai's move, Han Qi became passive.

So Han Qi sincerely requested Zhao Shu to rule the country. After two rounds of back and forth, Zhao Shu came to power and asked Han Qi to serve as the envoy of Chengzong's mausoleum, and added the title of Menxia Shilang and Bingbu Shangshu, and was promoted to Weiguo Gong. To be precise, it was responsible for Zhao Zhen's funeral, which was considered a part-time job. This job really showed honor and favor.

At this time, Han Qi was the Privy Envoy, and Han Qi was originally the Prime Minister. But now that Han Qi received Zhao Shu's report, Wen Yanbo was a bit of an eyesore. But who is Wen Yanbo? He pretended that he couldn't tell the difference between the eyebrows and eyes, and waited for a group of people to kick him out.

And Zhao Shu still had an obstacle, that is, Empress Cao. After Zhao Shu came to power, he gave Empress Cao the title of Queen Mother. It was Empress Cao who read Zhao Zhen's edict, and Zhao Shu had little power in his hands. Empress Cao was not at peace and also won over some court officials.

Someone in the court suggested that Zhao Shu was not clear about political affairs, and asked the Queen Mother to listen to the government behind the curtain and handle state affairs on his behalf.

The current Zhao Shu is not the original Zhao Shu. His health is very good. Although his chronic headache has recurred recently, he has cultivated his character over the past ten years and his health is better. Now the headache is not a big deal.

Of course, he was unwilling to be deprived of power by Queen Mother Cao, so he made a move. As the saying goes, the great way is simple, and his moves are also simple, but they are really terrifyingly efficient.

After several rounds of arguments back and forth, at a small meeting in the Political Affairs Hall, Zhao Shu proposed that Wang Yan should be in charge of Kaifeng Prefecture...

According to the news obtained by Wang Yan, when Zhao Shu said this, there was no sound in the Political Affairs Hall.

Later, Wen Yanbo and others strongly opposed it. Ouyang Xiu did not say anything in agreement, but he asked to be sent out. Han Qi, Fu Bi and others did not express their opinions.

As an emperor, Zhao Shu did not have much real power. But the personnel arrangements he insisted on could also be implemented. Now that the Song Dynasty is in its heyday, there are no powerful ministers, and Zhao Shu still has the power to appoint ministers.

But it was not easy. They argued for a whole week over such a small matter. In the end, Zhao Shu insisted on his decision, and no one could make any difference.

The final result was that Wen Yanbo asked to leave the capital, and Zhao Shu approved it. Ouyang Xiu asked to leave the capital, but Zhao Shu did not approve it and still let him serve as the vice-chancellor. The vacant position of prime minister was naturally taken by Han Qi.

When the arrangement about Wang Yan was announced, the court immediately became quiet and solemn. Those who had previously clamored for the empress dowager to rule the country from behind the curtain all asked to leave the capital, and there was no other noise.

Zhao Shu felt that he seemed to have made a wrong decision...

Wang·Loyal and Assisting Minister·Silver and Green Guanglu Doctor·Minister of the Ministry of Punishment·Acting as the Governor of Kaifeng Prefecture·Student of Duanming Palace·Supervising the National History·Grand Guard·Founding Marquis of Guangling County·2,800 households of food·1,200 households of food·Granted Purple Gold Fish Bag·Yan, dressed in a purple official robe, knelt on the ground, looking at Zhao Shu sitting on the throne.

"Your Majesty, I, Wang Yan, kowtow to thank you. I will live up to your high expectations, fulfill my duties, work hard, and fight for the prosperity of our Song Dynasty with all my heart!"

"Please stand up, my dear Wang. I know that you are very capable. If you hand over the capital of our Song Dynasty to your hands, it will be peaceful and prosperous."

"Thank you, your Majesty!"

Zhao Shu waved his hand: "Prime Minister Han."

Wang Yan stepped back and stood in the team. Han Qi came out and presided over this ordinary yet unusual court meeting.

Because there was no big event, the country was peaceful and the people were safe, but there was also a big event, Wang Yan was reused, this was the worst news. After being suppressed for more than ten years, Wang Yan finally stepped into the center of power.

Kaifeng Prefecture is the capital of the country, and its status is very important. Many political orders must be implemented by Kaifeng Prefecture. It is qualified to participate in the central government and decide national policies.

Generally speaking, the position of acting as the governor of Kaifeng Prefecture is a transition for ministers, and within one or two years, you will really enter the center. Or the chief and deputy ministers of literature, or the chief and deputy ministers of military affairs, or the chief and deputy ministers of planning, all depends on the actual situation and the needs of the emperor. At this point, Wang Yan is really only one step away from ruling the world.

After the big court meeting, Wang Yan walked with Han Qi and others to the political hall for a small meeting.

"Zi Yan, you got what you wanted." Ouyang Xiu put his hands behind his back and looked at Wang Yan, who was also swaying beside him, with a very complicated tone.

"Teacher, the past is unclear, it's too early to speak. Even if he became the prime minister, he didn't stay for long. Wen Gong bowed three times and left. Now I have a heavy responsibility on my shoulders, and I am walking on thin ice."

"It's good to be walking on thin ice!" Han Qi, who was walking in front, turned his head and said, "I'm afraid that you, Wang Ziyan, will let go and do something big."

"Han Gong is joking. Since I entered the officialdom, I have been walking on thin ice every step of the way, for fear that something would go wrong and it would be difficult to recover. Now that I am in charge of Kaifeng Prefecture, I am naturally more cautious. . "

"Don't lie to me, everyone in the world knows that you, Wang Ziyan, are so bold." Han Qi put his hands behind his back and didn't even look at Wang Yan. "Now that everyone is here, tell me, how are you going to govern Kaifeng Prefecture?"

"It's just training soldiers, clearing fields, investigating people, collecting business taxes, and rectifying lawlessness. There's nothing new about it."

"Wang Ziyan, I have to remind you that this is Kaifeng Prefecture!"

"Kaifeng Prefecture is the best place under the feet of the emperor, and it must abide by the laws of our Song Dynasty! What do you think, Mr. Han?"

"Humph!" Han Qi left with a wave of his sleeves.

"You..." Ouyang Xiu smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"The student will do what I want to do!"

The atmosphere was not pleasant, because Wang Yan didn't give the prime minister of the dynasty any face. It doesn't mean that the prime minister of the reform faction must support reform. Because no one dared to support Wang Yan, his methods were well known to everyone, and he didn't leave any room for maneuver.

Why did Han Qi do this to Wang Yan in public? It was just to draw a line.

Why didn't Zhao Shu agree to Ouyang Xiu's request to leave Beijing to avoid suspicion? Because he still had to rely on the teacher-student relationship to tie Wang Yan down, so that there would be a buffer during high-level dialogues.

For the first time in his life, as a minister, he participated in a high-level meeting to decide the dynasty's policies, and Wang Yan's meeting experience was not ideal.

Because no one talked to him too much, and no one asked him to do anything. He just sat at the last seat, drinking tea and eating palace cakes until the end of the meeting.

There was nothing unusual about this meeting. It discussed personnel issues in several important positions, decided on the funding of several projects, talked about the situation in Dali, Lingnan, and Jiaozhi, talked about the situation in various places, discussed the personnel and logistics issues of the border generals, and talked about Zhao Zhen's funeral, etc. A whole morning passed like this.

Wang Yan felt that the cakes tasted good. The political hall was full of imperial chefs, and the level of these people was online.

As for other thoughts, after participating in this meeting, he decided that it was meaningless to come without being summoned. Because no one discussed reform much, it seemed that because of his arrival, he was the only reformer left, and everyone else became conservative...

He did not eat in the Political Affairs Hall, but went to the main office of the Military Patrol Court, where the food was still of the same standard.

He was going to start governing Kaifeng Prefecture, so naturally he had to find the old team to do the work. If he had power, he would use it, so as to avoid intrigues with his subordinates. Now that the Patrol Court was in his hands, whoever was dissatisfied would be dealt with...

In fact, when Zhao Shu was trying to get him to the position, his governance had already begun.

The turmoil in the court spread in Kaifeng Prefecture, and the public security in Kaifeng Prefecture improved a lot, and the Patrol Court Office also began to exert its strength. All those who could be arrested or not were arrested, and all those who could be sentenced or not were sentenced. The old leader was really back, and they had to show their performance. This once caused the sales of the brothels and officials in Bianjing to plummet, and the idle men hanging out on the streets were almost extinct.

At the same time, the grain in the Changping warehouse began to fill up, the accountants of various departments worked hard to balance the accounts, and merchants began to actively invite officials in the government to check the accounts and pay taxes. The hidden fields and population of the landlords were also registered a lot more out of respect.

In the month after Zhao Zhen's death, if statistics are taken, the data of Kaifeng Prefecture are all improving, and can even be described as soaring.

This is the deterrent power of Wang Yan's power...

Although he was in Beijing before, his power was only in education. People all know that he is a rule-abiding person, and even if he exceeds his power, he will not exceed it too much. Now he has the power to know the affairs of Kaifeng Prefecture, so everything in Kaifeng Prefecture, except for the imperial city, is within his power, and people are naturally afraid.

When Wang Yan was the inspector, he had already turned Bianjing upside down, sent away the prime minister, and sent away many wealthy and powerful people. Now his power is even greater, no longer limited to criminal judgments and lawsuits, what else can he do?

So they are taking action, hoping that their understanding can make Wang Yan understand, and everyone will be happy.

But obviously, this is impossible, and their suffering has just begun. Gritting teeth and throwing out two bones, you want Wang to stop? How can that be possible? What is his, not a penny less. What is not his, he does not want a penny more.

He is a person who insists...

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