Chapter 170 I’m in a Bad Mood, so I’ll Tell You a Joke About the Song Dynasty

The mighty army moved westward and finally disappeared on the distant horizon.

Zhao Jun said goodbye to the army, but he did not leave. Instead, he stood in the pavilion and watched them leave silently.

He still didn't leave until the 20,000 soldiers were gone.

Looking at their retreating figures, Zhao Jun actually felt a little uncomfortable in his heart for some reason.

These are real people.

It is not the number of soldiers recorded in history books, nor is it the NPC formed from the data in the game.

Instead, each one has a name, a surname, and flesh and blood with parents, wives, and children.

Some of them may stay in the northwest land forever, fight for their country, and eventually be buried elsewhere.

They are defending their country and fighting the enemy with their lives.

They should be respected.

Instead of being insulted and insulted by others when they met, they said they were traitors to the army.

At four quarters in the morning, around eight o'clock in the morning, everyone's carriage drove back to the palace.

Everyone went to Chongde Hall. Zhao Zhen didn't even sit in the warm study. Instead, he stood outside Chongde Hall and waited, looking to the west in the direction of Yingyang Gate from time to time.

Seeing Zhao Jun and the others finally coming back, he hurriedly greeted them and asked, "Why are you coming back now? Are they gone?"

"gone."

Zhao Jun replied: "When we left, we stood there and watched them leave."

"Watch them leave?"

Zhao Zhen was confused and said, "What's there to give you?"

Zhao Jun shook his head and said: "I just feel that the team is a bit tragic. In fact, many soldiers don't know that they are going to fight. They think it is just an ordinary change of defense. Some people will stay in the northwest forever and never come back. Many parents will lose their sons. The wife will lose her husband, and the children will lose their father.”

Zhao Zhen was silent for a moment.

He was anxiously waiting for everyone to come back. In fact, he was not wondering about the news of Fan Zhongyan's departure, but he was wondering whether the northwest war would go smoothly.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty was always like this. Even if he had made up his mind, he still hesitated and hesitated.

After a moment of silence, Lu Yijian broke the silence and said, "It's cold outside, so let's go in first."

As he spoke, he pretended to cough twice.

"go in."

Zhao Zhen said.

Everyone walked into the house, which was as warm as spring.

Everyone took their seats.

The atmosphere in the room was very depressing.

Zhao Jun kept a straight face, which made everyone, including Zhao Zhen and others, a little at a loss.

They looked at each other, but no one spoke.

In fact, Zhao Jun has been in a depressed and solemn mood since the new year.

His character is actually that young people like to joke, and he is quite out-of-the-box. Otherwise, he would not tell so many lively Song Dynasty jokes when he was blind.

But after his eyes recovered, he could verbally threaten Zhao Zhen and Lu Yijian in various ways, and he could also lose his temper at every turn and ridicule them.

But after seeing Wuyou Cave and Ghost Fan Tower, and personally seeing off a group of soldiers who were about to rush to die on the battlefield, he gradually became calmer.

Many times, people will change after experiencing a series of things.

At least Zhao Jun lost his family and friends who cared about him in another world, and now he has another responsibility on his shoulders.

He could feel that every move he made was affecting the people of Bianliang and the soldiers in the northwest. Their lives, their beings, their entire lives.

In the future, even the people's livelihood and the security of the entire Song Dynasty may rest on his shoulders, so much so that sometimes, this burden makes Zhao Jun breathless.

So he has really changed a lot now. He is no longer as cheerful as before. Instead, he is serious and serious, which makes people feel a sense of awe.

Zhao Zhen is a little in awe of him now.

Seeing that Zhao Jun had a straight face and said nothing, Zhao Zhen hesitated for a moment and then cautiously asked: "Dasun, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm just not in a good mood."

Zhao Jun said something, and then felt that his mental state was very poor. He leaned on the Taishi chair, rubbed his forehead and said, "Maybe it's because of too much pressure."

Before his eyesight healed, he had mentioned terms such as financial pressure, food and grass pressure, and pressure to go to sea, etc. He also explained it in two sentences, so everyone understood the meaning of the word pressure.

Knowing that he had a psychological problem, Yan Shu said, "Maybe he's been too tired these days. Why don't we take a break first and then talk about state affairs?"

"fine."

Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "I'm just in a bad mood."

"Can you tell me?"

Zhao Zhen said softly with a mellow voice: "We are all outsiders here, so we may be able to help our eldest grandson solve his problems."

"Actually, there's nothing to say. One is that I miss home, and the other is that the Song Dynasty is such a mess."

Zhao Jun smiled bitterly and said: "Governing the country is really a tiring task, especially if it is such a mess from top to bottom. Sometimes I think about it, it's better to break it and rebuild it. Or maybe just ruin it and shut me down." Shit."

Everyone looked embarrassed.

It's really hard on you that my Song Dynasty is so bad.

However, when faced with Zhao Jun's hurtful words, Zhao Zhen looked away a lot.

After all, he is a person who is good at swallowing his anger. In the past, he was scolded every day, or pointed at his nose and scolded, so his mental endurance has become much stronger.

Therefore, he was not unhappy, but was concerned about Zhao Jun's mental state and comforted him: "If the eldest grandson feels tired, you might as well speak out what's on your mind, and you will feel better."

"oh?"

Zhao Jun was in the mood and said, "Really?"

"Really."

Zhao Zhen gritted his teeth and said, "Even if you scold me to pieces, I don't mind."

Lü Yijian and others beside him looked at Zhao Zhen with resentment.

Since the emperor said so, Zhao Jun must be embarrassed to scold the emperor, so he must scold them.

Sure enough, Zhao Jun suddenly became interested and his eyes shuttled between everyone.

Indeed.

Since Zhao Zhen said so, Zhao Jun really couldn't speak.

In order to relieve Zhao Jun's depression, he actually asked to be scolded. There is no such kind emperor in the world.

So Zhao Jun really can't continue to chase Zhao Zhen.

After all, he gives power to him if he wants it, and he is as obedient as he can be. He doesn't even want to say a harsh word to his grandson.

He really is, I cry to death.

Zhao Jun looked at Lü Yijian, Lao Deng is very bad, and he scolds him?

Seeing that Lü Yijian had already felt something was wrong, he immediately said, "Hanlong is exhausted because he has worked hard for the Song Dynasty. I have a coral from the South China Sea in my house. I am willing to give it to Hanlong as a token of my appreciation."

Huh?

Zhao Jun opened his eyes wide. Is there such a thing?

He turned his head and looked at Zhao Zhen and said, "Brother, is this reasonable and legal?"

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "Prime Minister Lu has a huge fortune. First, it was passed down from his ancestors, and second, it was earned from the family business. It is not against the rules. Giving gifts to colleagues is also reasonable."

Since the laws of the Song Dynasty only stipulated that officials themselves were not allowed to do business, the Lü family had so much money, at least in the Song Dynasty, it was indeed in compliance with the regulations and was not against the law.

Moreover, the laws of the Song Dynasty did not prohibit colleagues from giving gifts to each other. Even the emperor himself often gave gifts to ministers to win people's hearts.

So this matter is really not against the rules.

Hearing Zhao Zhen's approval, Zhao Jun coughed and said, "Well, these are all people's hard-earned money. Then I will keep them temporarily. When the time comes, I will auction them and donate them to the disaster area in Huainan. It can be regarded as Lu Xiang's contribution to the people in the disaster area."

Lü Yijian smiled and said, "Of course."

He didn't want Zhao Jun to take office so quickly before, so that the scholar-official class would not be overthrown by him.

But now that he has transcended the scholar-official class and entered the Political System Institute, he is in a high position and has reached another class. In fact, he doesn't want to conflict with Zhao Jun.

Now this is also an opportunity to make peace, and it is a reasonable and legal opportunity, which is good for both parties.

After Zhao Jun finished speaking, he looked at the rest of the people with unkind eyes.

There is no poor among them.

Yan Shu has real estate and shops everywhere in Bianliang, and he was impeached by Cai Xiang.

Wang Zeng, Song Shou, Wang Sui, Sheng Du and others are also from big families, with huge wealth, and they are all very rich.

Cai Qi was a little poorer. He was born in an ordinary family. He was an orphan when he was young and was raised by his grandfather. However, he had been the prime minister for so many years and had a lot of wealth.

So facing Zhao Jun's death gaze, everyone's face froze and they all said: "Hanlong has worked hard these days. He should really take a good rest. I have a painting by Han Gan at home. I will give it to Hanlong to enjoy it."

"Yes, I have a lot of dragon and phoenix tea at home, about half a catty, and I will give it to Hanlong. I will send someone to deliver it to your house. After drinking this tea, Hanlong will be full of energy and have a good mind."

"It's good to read books and articles while drinking tea. I have a few original works written by Yan Zhenqing. You can take a look."

"I have a jade Buddha here. It was once."

Everyone presented things, including calligraphy and paintings, corals, jade Buddhas, antiques and tea. Although the tea should be the cheapest among them, Wang Sui looked ashen when he presented it.

Dragon and Phoenix Tuan Tea is the best tea in the Song Dynasty. Ouyang Xiu said in "Return to the Fields" that "the best tea is Dragon and Phoenix, which is called Tuan Tea". It is said that one tael of tea is worth one tael of gold. Its status is equivalent to the Da Hong Pao in Wuyi Mountain in later generations. Half a catty is worth eight taels of gold, which shows how precious it is.

Wang Sui also saved up for a long time to get half a catty, and he was reluctant to drink it on weekdays. Because they were all rewards from the emperor, they were treasured. This time, giving them away was a huge loss.

Zhao Jun was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth and said, "Since it is the sincere intention of the gentlemen, I would rather obey your order than be respectful."

He really didn't love money, because he killed so many people and confiscated more than 10 million guan from the house. He could even use the money of the entire treasury at will, and he didn't lack money at all.

But since the old Dengs are willing to give it, why bother to refuse it?

These guys are all rich.

They would definitely not be happy to hand it over to the treasury for the sake of the country and the people. It would be better to give it to Zhao Jun and let him exchange it for money. Anyway, he is going to tour the world this time, and it is not a bad thing to bring more money.

After the gift-giving, Zhao Jun said with a refreshed spirit: "I feel much better, so I won't curse, and tell a joke of the Song Dynasty to adjust the atmosphere."

Then he turned his head and said to everyone: "Question: In the Song Dynasty, what is the difference between optimists and pessimists? Answer: In the Northern Song Dynasty, optimists learned Khitan; pessimists learned Vietnamese. In the Southern Song Dynasty, optimists learned Mongolian and pessimists learned sea swimming."

"Haha."

Everyone laughed awkwardly for a few sentences and didn't respond.

Still Zhao Zhen was curious and asked: "I understand learning Khitan, but what does learning Vietnamese mean?"

"Because the Song Dynasty fought the Song-Vietnam Xining War from 1075 to 1076 AD. Although it won, it was a tragic victory. The Song Dynasty soldiers and civilians were killed and injured 250,000, and the Vietnamese army was killed and injured 20,000."

Zhao Jun spread his hands and said: "The Vietnamese raided Yongzhou and massacred the people. Even if the Song army counterattacked successfully afterwards, it would be a great shame for the Song Dynasty."

"boom!"

Zhao Zhen said angrily: "Little Vietnam, how can it be so rampant?"

"The military armaments of the Song Dynasty were lax, and everyone in the neighboring countries dared to bully them. What can we do?"

Zhao Jun shook his head and said: "You have to be strong to make iron. If you are not strong enough, you can only be bullied. The Song Dynasty was criticized in later generations, and anyone can step on it. This is one of the reasons."

"well."

Zhao Zhen only felt powerless. Suddenly he felt the same feeling as Zhao Jun, and sighed: "Are we just going to let it be like this?"

"It definitely can't go on like this."

Zhao Jun looked around and said: "So we must find a way to change all this, so that the Song Dynasty cannot become a doormat who can be insulted by others, and we cannot let the Song Dynasty become a symbol of weakness and incompetence in future generations."

Wang Zeng asked: "Now we are indeed changing, and I believe we can get better in the future."

"not enough."

Zhao Jun said in a deep voice: "Whether it is the political system, military capabilities, economic development, education level, scientific and technological research and development, agricultural output, or domestic people's livelihood, they are far from enough. We are just getting started now, and we have to work harder. "

Lu Yijian wondered: "Now that the Constitutional Yuan has been established, administration has become much faster. Isn't it good enough?"

"It's definitely much better now."

Zhao Jun nodded and said: "The political system is like a bottle. No matter whether it is advanced or backward, as long as it suits the national conditions, it can bring stability and allow the country to develop. The bottle can hold water, shape, and increase. Without this bottle, The country is just water, flowing everywhere and a mess of sand. But now we have only established the Constitutional Yuan, a bottle that has not yet been filled with water.”

"How can I fill it with water?"

Everyone was used to Zhao Jun's abstract metaphors, so they couldn't help but ask.

“Expand this efficiency across the country.”

Zhao Jun said: "At present, only Bianliang has been improved. There is still chaos in all parts of the country, and the central government should be ignored. This is obviously not a good thing."

“How can we promote it nationwide?”

Lu Yijian asked.

Naturally, it’s a matter of taking the exam.

Zhao Jun replied in his heart.

But he didn't say it.

Because it is still a carnival for redundant officials.

When the official examination comes out and they are beaten to death, there will definitely be a lot of opposition from the official circles.

Therefore, it must wait until Fan Zhongyan wins the war before it can be implemented.

Zhao Jun said: "Now is not the time, let's take a look at the situation first. But I hope everyone can unify the position of national interests, with less opposition and more support."

"What is the national interest position?"

Zhao Zhen asked: "What does this mean?"

"The meaning is very simple, that is, we, the people, must at least ensure that whatever we do, we must do it for the good of the entire Song Dynasty!"

Zhao Jun said: "The government is composed of a large number of people with different factions, different interest groups, different thinking, and different working styles surrounding one leader. Different people will do different things. Everyone has their own reasons, and the leader is different. We don’t know which way to govern the country is correct, so it’s difficult to unify the direction.”

"Well"

Zhao Zhen felt that the leader Zhao Jun was talking about should be him.

"But now I have told everyone the correct way to run the country. If everyone still blocks it, it means they have their own interests and not for the country."

Zhao Jun looked around and looked at everyone and said: "Then such a government is a government with its own agenda, which is obviously not a good thing for the country. So I hope that when certain reforms are involved in the future, even if it has to sacrifice its own interests , for the supremacy of the country, everyone must still firmly support it. This is what a united government should do. Only such a government can achieve the goals it has set! "

This sentence has a profound meaning.

Fan Zhongyan went to the northwest, and he himself was about to go on inspection tours. It was inevitable that he would do something that would harm their interests.

Especially when Fan Zhongyan and himself come back in the future, they will promote the reform of officialdom.

Including the Qingli New Deal and the Examination Law, if we continue to implement them, it will inevitably cause a backlash from the entire bureaucratic class.

Therefore, Zhao Jun was also reminding them.

Know who you are.

Once you enter the Constitutional Yuan, you are no longer a bureaucrat or scholar-official.

Rather, it represents the entire country.

The interests of the country come first. Sometimes, we should make a choice instead of opposing the Qingli New Deal as happened in history!

This is also a piece of advice.