Chapter 7 Section VII

Qionglin Garden is the royal garden of Song Dynasty, covering hundreds of hectares.It is common for the emperor to shoot and hunt for leisure or summon his close officials there.However, since Zhao Xu took the throne, he has been diligent in state affairs and made great efforts to govern the country, so it is rare to go there several times a year.So Shi Yue was a little surprised to receive the emperor's order to summon him in Qionglin Garden. Qionglin Garden is not far from Baishuitan College. After Shi Yue entered the garden, he walked all the way and saw streams and paths weaving.The pagoda tree by the stream and the pines and cypresses by the roadside are staggered and shaded. It is already early spring, embellished with emerald greens, which makes people feel happy.It can also be seen that there are flower formations in the southeast and northwest of the garden. There are apricot groves in the east, peach blossoms in the south, a large pomegranate grove in the west corner, and plum branches intertwined in the north.

Walking along a clear stream, I heard the faint sound of clanging piano along the way. The sound of the piano was slightly chaotic, which unconsciously revealed the disturbed emotions in the heart of the piano player.Shi Yue became more and more puzzled.But he is in a very good mood today. The best craftsmen of the Song Dynasty gathered together. Although the effect of the first iron furnace was not ideal, they developed a more advanced blower. The temperature is closely related to the blower. Not long after, Shi Yue walked to a pavilion under the guidance of the eunuch.Looking around, I saw cursive script with the words "Xi Shi Ting" written on the pavilion—thinking that he could finally understand cursive script, Shi Yue couldn't help but smile.Sitting in the Xishi Pavilion playing the piano is the current emperor Zhao Xu, who was twenty-three years old at the time.He was dressed in a white silk robe with faintly embroidered dragon patterns, and he did not wear a court crown. He only tied his hair with a bright yellow ribbon, which looked quite refreshing.What Shi Yue disliked most about Da Song's costumes was the hat, no matter how you looked at it, it looked ugly. At this time, Zhao Xu didn't wear a hat, and in Shi Yue's eyes, his complexion immediately changed.

Seeing the emperor playing the piano, Shi Yue didn't dare to disturb him, so he had to wait at a distance, waiting for the eunuch's notification.Unexpectedly, Zhao Xu was absent-minded at all. Seeing Shi Yue approaching from a distance, he pushed Qin and said with a smile, "Shi Qing, come and talk." Shi Yue hurried over to pay respects: "My minister Shi Yue kowtows to see my emperor, long live." Zhao Xu waved his hand and said with a smile: "Today, the monarch and his ministers don't talk about this, just talk casually." Shi Yue didn't know what Zhao Xu's plan was, so he leaned forward and said, "I dare not."

Zhao Xu pointed to the spring scenery in the garden, and said with a smile: "I have heard the name of the Nine Changes of Stone for a long time, can you write a poem today and ask the music workshop to sing it?" Shi Yue smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I haven't written lyrics for more than a year, because I have sworn to the sky that I will never write lyrics or poems again." Zhao Xu was stunned and said, "Why is that?" "I am naturally good at writing lyrics and composing music. However, after I arrived in the capital, I realized that the scholar-bureaucrats were singing and dancing, and the quality was too much. I decided not to write lyrics. This is self-motivation. Although it is not enough to alert the world, it can at least keep myself from going Indulging in poetry and songs."

Zhao Xu clapped his palms and said with a smile: "It is said that Shi Ziming is young and old, and he did some extreme things unexpectedly. But I will not take your ambition away." Shi Yue respectfully said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your understanding." Zhao Xu leaned on the railing and pointed at the scenery in the garden, and said: "Shi Qing saw that the garden is full of spring, full of vitality, but after a few months, the flowers will fade away. I have read Qing's words, and there is a sentence called" Xichun is often afraid that the flowers will bloom early', which is exactly what is said in people's hearts."

However, Shi Yue knew that Zhao Xu specially called him to Qionglin Garden to meet each other, not to hurt the spring and the autumn, it was just to find an introduction by deliberately rambling, and now there are only two things that can worry the emperor, one It is the military affairs in the northwest, and the first is Wang Anshi's resignation.Yin said with a smile: "Your Majesty, I heard Prime Minister Wang's old words in the workshop a few days ago, and the artistic conception is exactly the opposite of my clumsy work." "Oh?" Shi Yue smiled slightly, and sang in a low voice: "Leave the spring and live here, have your own language from the heavenly court, wash away the redness and defilement, and thank you for the timely wind and rain. It is the most interesting pipa, and the joy extends to the end of the world. It's not just the palace wall and the vermilion households, where is it wrong? fly."

This song is cheerful and exciting, and it lifts people's mood when they listen to it. Zhao Xu smiled and said, "What tune is this, why haven't I heard of it?" "It was originally the tune of Qing Ping Le, but I changed the rhythm and tone slightly." Shi Yue blushed, he didn't remember the tune of Qing Ping Le, so he sang it with a tune of Yue opera, and it turned out to have a unique flavor. Zhao Xu laughed loudly and said, "Isn't this a slight change? I've heard this word before. It was written by Wang Anshi and his younger brother two years ago, right? After two years, my mood must be quite different now." .No matter how much I issue an edict, I can’t persuade him to return to the capital hall to take care of the matter.”

Shi Yue smiled and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I think that Prime Minister Wang will definitely come back and take care of things." "How did you see that?" "There are poems to prove it. There is a poem by Prime Minister Wang: In the ancient times, there was no sound, and the sun, moon, mountains and rivers should not be flat. The sky leans on the sword to chop the rocks, and the ground whips the horses. Even if Mount Tai is pressing the top, how can I do it?" Peng bird soars early. Borrowing the majestic wind to become billions of trillions, why not be afraid of a journey of thousands of miles. From this poem, I can see the ambition and mind of Prime Minister Wang, and know that he will definitely pay attention to things."

Zhao Xu read silently: "Borrowing the majestic wind to become billions of trillions, why not be afraid of a journey of thousands of miles. It is indeed extraordinary." After a long while, he suddenly laughed and said: "Young's improvement of the young crop method is quite successful, but the implementation of cooperatives is not enough in various places. Similarly, the places where it can be implemented have good results, but more than two-thirds of the country has not been able to implement it. I would like to set up an official to supervise this matter, what do you think?"

Seeing that the emperor suddenly turned to this topic, Shi Yue felt strange, but he didn't dare to be negligent. After thinking for a long time, he said: "Your Majesty, I think it's better not to raise officials." "Why?" Zhao Xu wondered. "The way to govern is to keep it simple and not to disturb the people. There are local officials in various places, and the emperor should trust their abilities. If they are not capable, they can be removed and replaced. There is no need for the central government to send another person to constantly supervise them, which is more likely to cause malpractice. .The cooperative is a voluntary organization. If the common people find it beneficial, it will become popular in time. If it is not beneficial, why insist on a form?"

Zhao Xu thought for a while, nodded and said: "Your words are also reasonable. I want to implement the law of improving young crops throughout the country within this year, and I will discuss it only after Prime Minister Wang returns to Zhongshu. Your contribution to this matter lies in Sheji, and when the time comes You Si Zi should praise you clearly, but your Baishuitan College has caused a lot of trouble." Shi Yue knew that the emperor intended to defend himself, so he put some words here.He quickly said: "I'm really guilty of lax discipline. However, the next head of Baishuitan College, I hope to organize a joint meeting of professors. The head of the mountain will be selected by the joint meeting of professors. I hope the emperor will grant permission." The emperor explained what a joint meeting of professors is and how it is elected. He hopes to use this method, on the one hand, to ensure that the head of the college is the professor of the school first, so that the management and leadership of the college will not fall into the hands of bureaucrats in the future, and avoid too much interference by political forces in the college; Among the senior intellectuals of the Song Dynasty, a democratic decision-making system was promoted.It's just that everything has advantages and disadvantages. In the future, if Shi Yue wants to maintain his personal influence over Baishuitan College, there will be many obstacles invisibly.However, this is not a problem in a short period of time. After all, as the founder of the academy, this kind of influence itself is very far-reaching. Zhao Xu heard him talking about these novel management methods, and said with a smile: "These are quite similar to some things in Qing's "Three Generations". Well, after the election of the joint meeting of professors, I will appoint them myself, thinking of it as a custom." Shi Yue hurriedly thanked Shengen happily, but secretly complained in his heart.Perhaps in Zhao Xu's view, this is an unparalleled compliment, but Shi Yue does not want Baishuitan College to become a government-run university, he hopes that the college can maintain relative independence, but in the face of reality, he has to compromise . Zhao Xu asked about the situation of the weapon research institute.With a blushing face, Shi Yue stammered and explained the "great significance" of the blower to the emperor, causing Zhao Xu to smile and say, "You don't have to be nervous, I'll give you two years, don't be in a hurry." He thought two years was already enough time. It's very rich, but it's not surprising that the invention that Shi Yue is going to make now won't be made for decades.Fortunately, Shi Yue didn't understand too well, and when he heard "two years", he couldn't help but let out a long breath. Zhao Xu seemed to just mention the Armament Research Institute incidentally, and didn't continue to ask any further questions. He suddenly changed the subject and said, "What I am most worried about now is whether Wang Shao can succeed in the Northwest. The treasury is not rich. All the money spent in a war is the blood and sweat of the people." Shi Yue's lips moved, but he finally restrained himself.He did know that Wang Shao would win once every five years in Xining...but it seemed inconvenient to say it out, and he was hesitating, when suddenly Zhao Xu said: "Fang Caiqing said that Prime Minister Wang will definitely come out to watch things, and now there is a war in the northwest , There is no one in the imperial court to preside over the overall situation, and the political affairs are in chaos. I have always believed in your ability, so this time, you will issue an order to urge Prime Minister Wang to return to the political affairs hall. Would you like to share my worries?" Shi Yue was stunned for a moment, Zhao Xu chatted with him endlessly, and it turned out that he wanted him to lobby Wang Anshi to come back and watch things!He didn't know if the emperor had rushed to the doctor because of a sudden illness, but he knew that he almost wanted to jump into the river.Asking him to persuade Wang Anshi is really... But no matter what, Shi Yue can't refuse in person, he can't tell the emperor: "Wang Anshi and I are at odds with each other, don't let me go." At that moment, Shi Yue could only accept the order obediently, and said bravely, "I will accept the order, and I will try my best to persuade Prime Minister Wang to return to Zhongshu Province." Perhaps in the depths of Shi Yue's heart, he really wanted to visit Prime Minister Wang's Mansion in Dong Taishi Lane.