Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

Xu Shi felt lingering fears about the ten-year-long, vigorous, and costly farce of creating gods in heavenly scriptures. Even though the choice of the new year name seemed to be overkill, the newly enthroned little emperor still insisted on going his own way and chose "" Ordinary' is the year number.

In the final analysis, the year name itself is just an auspicious name, so that people like "Shenlong, Yuanfeng" and even the first emperor had the nondescript "Dazhong Xiangfu".

Because of this, the little emperor's unconventional persistence did not bring about an excessive reaction from the court.

Even if "common" is used as the year name, it seems too unusual. The ministers felt dumbfounded, but only a few people handed in memorials and gave simple persuasion.

Seeing that the new emperor had made up his mind, he stopped there and followed the official's wishes.

Compared with the year title, which is harmless as long as it is not too out of line, everyone is more concerned about the rewards that are closely related to themselves.

Therefore, it is the first month of the first year of the ordinary year.

According to the usual practice, after the new emperor succeeded to the throne, before formally preparing for the funeral and burial, the earliest orders issued were all related to rewards without exception, and Zhao Zhen was no exception.

Filial piety comes first in everything, and he starts with the "Li Niangzi" whom he has called for more than ten years, and his birth mother, Concubine Li Chen, whom he has never met.

In the case of the vacancy of the first emperor and later emperor, he naturally promoted Li Chenfei to the rank of empress dowager, and moved to Jiaqing Hall of the West Palace where the first empress once lived.And in the case that the emperor has not yet married a concubine, the Empress Dowager Li will be in charge of the harem affairs first.

There is no objection to the former group of officials, only after all the power in the harem fell into the hands of Queen Mother Li, they were quite critical.

But if you think about it carefully, Liu E's "careful screening" over the years has left the harem empty, not to mention empty, and the remaining concubines are all peaceful and self-sufficient, living their lives honestly and not surprising in appearance.And the concubine who belongs to the new emperor...

None.

When the court officials suddenly realized this, they were all taken aback.

Actually it is not surprising.

Zhao Zhen himself put all his thoughts on taking care of the country's affairs, and he was not at least in the period when he admired Ai, so he was ignorant of romantic affairs except for being ignorant.

And the only one who can make decisions about his marriage is the late emperor Zhao Heng, who has been bedridden for many years, with few days of sobriety—even if he claims to be sober, no one will believe it—naturally he can’t think of Sixth Brother’s death The marriage has not yet settled down.

Due to a combination of circumstances and circumstances, today's holy majesty is still a complete blank sheet of paper in terms of love between men and women, and there is no maidservant to serve the bed.

... From this point of view, even if the Empress Dowager Li, who is not worthy of virtue, takes control of the harem, she really has nothing to do except to listen to the moans of the former emperor's concubines who have never been favored.

It's really not possible, after this year, the official family will be fifteen years old, and at that time there will be selections to fill the harem.

At that time, it is enough to take back the power of the harem lord.

You don't have to pick at this moment to refute the face of the officials who are on the rise.

Zhao Zhen, who already knew a lot about the calculations of these old and cunning courtiers, promoted the royal family and nobles one by one after he promoted his biological mother to the queen mother logically.

Even for the eighth emperor's uncle who almost asked Liu E to take him away and raise him, and planned to use him against him in the future, Zhao Zhen never expressed anger or held grudges, and rewarded him anyway.

Zhao Zhen didn't mind the cousin who was selected by Liu E, and he was named the king of Anding County, and he could even come to the palace to pay his respects during the festivals.

On the contrary, the 'Eight Great Kings', who had become more tactful and cautious since the fire, were suspicious and restless for a few days before giving up the idea of ​​entering the palace to resign and move the residence abroad.

After the internal rewards and external arrangements, Zhao Zhen simply copied what his father did when he ascended the throne: amnesty for the world, and all officials were promoted to a higher rank, especially the former Eastern Palace official, who became very popular for a while, and everyone envied: The first assistant, Li Di, was named You Servant, and the second assistant, Kou Zhun, was named...

In addition, Zhao Zhen was involved in party disputes because of his opposition to Tianshu, and a group of officials headed by Wang Zeng who were demoted from Beijing were rewarded more generously: Wang Zeng was promoted to be a political advisor...

Reading down a long list made the ministers' mouths dry, but the listeners had bright eyes and tried their best to conceal their inner excitement.

Even Wang Qinruo, Ding Wei and other factions, who had been anxious all the time, lost their hearts completely after listening to it.

Although Zhao Zhen dislikes them a little, he also knows that they are all capable people. If they can be properly controlled, they can also contribute to the common people and the Great Song Dynasty.

For the previous absurdity, rather than blaming it on traitors and sycophants, it is better to admit it honestly, even if there is something good at the top and effective at the bottom, most of the responsibility must be attributed to Dad's smooth sailing.

However, as a son of man, it is not easy to blame the father.

Zhao Zhen sighed lightly.

Besides, Kou Zhun and Li Di are loyal, reliable and talented, after all, they are not sages, and there is no shortage of shortcomings in being a human being in the world.

How could such a huge imperial court rely solely on these two people?

Since Wang Dinger's faction are all shrewd people who can quickly recognize the situation and are willing to be 'used' by him, he will first use his strength to check and balance, instead of rushing to kill them all.

Thinking of this, Zhao Zhen subconsciously cast his gaze in the direction of Ding Wei and Cao Yong, thoughtful.

Everything is easy to talk about, as long as the two of them are honest, they don't have to come here to sow discord between him and the young master.

Zhao Zhen is also quite optimistic. The wise man "Wang Zeng" who was mentioned by the little master is now reassumed the position of deputy prime minister, and he has placed high expectations on him.

It's just that after listening to the long list of rewards and seeing the dust settle, all the people present had the same doubt in their hearts.

...Where is Lu Ci?

How come at this most critical moment, Lu Sanyuan, who is the most valued by the officials, has completely disappeared?

Even without relying on the succession of the crown prince, the addition of the outstanding achievements and political achievements in the past few years is enough to return to Beijing and return to his original post.

Although the officials seem to have a lot of faith in Lu Ci, they are so hard-hearted that they keep him in the bitter cold place where the smoke of war can resurface at any time, and they are so hard-hearted that more than two years have passed without recalling him.

It is also intriguing.

If it weren't for the fact that when Qinzhou was attacked and the battle was in a hurry, the prince's official family still vividly recalled the appearance of the prince's official family who was so anxious and rushed to dispatch troops, they might not be able to help but suspect that this kind of favor could not be taken seriously at all. .

When everyone had different thoughts, Kou Zhun, Yan Shu, Wang Zeng and the others who either valued Lu Ci or made friends with them, frowned silently, then raised their eyes to look at Zhao Zhen.

The new emperor sat upright behind the bead curtain, his face was faintly visible, but it was not difficult to see that his face was as calm as water, without any waves.

But at the corners of the slightly pursed lips, the slightly upward arc was strikingly similar to Lu Ci's,

Therefore, these people who were concerned about Lu Ci moved slightly, and after a little realization, they chose to remain silent for the time being - trusting His Majesty to have a more appropriate arrangement.

To let Zhao Zhen know that Kou Zhun and the others had felt wronged for the injustice and worry that Kou Zhun and the others had just passed through their hearts.

Empress Dowager, we can all learn from each other.

In the whole world, the person most looking forward to the little master's return to the capital, besides the two friends Liu and Zhu among the "four friends" who were left in the capital, is probably him.

But what no one would have thought was that in the eyes of others, Qinzhou is a dark place to avoid, but it is worth making Lu Ci repeatedly push back his three reminders and four invitations, as if to be there Stayed for three years with a firm posture of not moving the pit.

I can't help my little master, so Zhao Zhen can only bear the 'black pot' of being disrespectful to his closest courtier depressedly, and then continue to work hard: he will send a letter every month, together with some special snacks specially made by the imperial dining room, which are easy to store. Make 'bait' and send it to Qinzhou by mail.

Then he waited eagerly to see if he could catch this big fish that was reluctant to leave one day.

After the imperial court, as soon as the new letter was written and sealed, Zhao Zhen was about to get up to personally inquire about the progress of the late emperor's funeral and burial.

But on the way, he was called by Queen Mother Li's servant.

Although Zhao Zhen was puzzled, he followed without hesitation.

——If it is said that there are generous and generous rewards for the emperor in this palace, it really feels inappropriate, and it must be a Queen Mother Li.

Although the mother and son were able to recognize each other thanks to Zhao Zhen's efforts, Liu E had been ordering him not to approach Zhao Zhen for many years. What to do.

What's more, although Zhao Zhen is not very old, he is not young, and because he has read through the classics and history collections since he was a child, the most envious time has passed.No matter how close she is, she will inevitably appear too deliberate.

"Miss."

Zhao Zhen entered the palace, and Wen Sheng recalled the spirit of Empress Dowager Li who had just run away.

Empress Dowager Li hurriedly said, "You are here."

Zhao Zhen nodded.

After asking Empress Dowager Li why he was in such a hurry to invite him, Zhao Zhen couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

It turned out that Empress Dowager Li knew that she came from a humble background and was oppressed by Liu E for many years. She was used to being cautious. The only bold thing she did was to secretly write her own flesh and blood's name on the blessing lamp, and then secretly prayed for her.

Now that she is in power suddenly, she really doesn't know what to do, she really wants to return this hot potato-like power to the emperor, so that the government can hand it over to someone who can be trusted.

But in the current harem, apart from his biological mother, where else can Zhao Zhen find someone credible?

Zhao Zhen had no choice but to comfort her for a while, and then she gradually got rid of the state of confusion, and with the mentality of 'let's try', she was willing to work hard.

Knowing that she might have delayed the emperor's business, she felt ashamed and sent him out of the house in a hurry.

Just before parting, Zhao Zhen solemnly told Zhao Zhen to wait for spring and March, and quickly choose some women to enter the palace to fill the backyard, so that she can return the power as soon as possible.

Zhao Zhen said he deserved it, but he lacked interest in his heart.

In an ordinary first year, he has many more important things to do, one person can't wait to be split into two, so how can he have time to waste on the relationship between men and women?

Moreover, Zhao Zhen thought to himself, after seeing the dazzling, well-educated, and exquisitely handsome young master, it is impossible for such an idle girl to catch his eyes.

——He didn't want to get married, and it was all the fault of the little wife.

Zhao Zhen, who confidently blamed the young master who was not around, did not know that Lu Ci at this time did not look "elegant, funny, and gentle like jade" at all.

Lu Ci was wrapped in thick clothes - in a world of ice and snow, he didn't care about his appearance at all, he didn't hesitate to wrap himself into three layers inside and three layers outside, a warm person who couldn't see his slim and well-proportioned figure at all round ball.

Teng Zongliang was relatively better, but in the cold wind, he did not dare to maintain his demeanor rashly, and also dressed very thickly.

Seen from a distance, the two balls, both majestic and full of weight, stand proudly on the top of the city in the cold wind.

When Lu Ci was discussing with Teng Zongliang the plan of digging a pond to raise fish, he suddenly shuddered uncontrollably.

Without hesitation, he shrank into the warm scarf again.

"You wear such thick clothes, you really don't look like you've been blown cold." Teng Zongliang said with a smile, relying on his tolerance to the cold, "Could it be that there is a girl named Liu Shi in Beijing who wants to belong to her lover."

Lu Ci glanced lightly at his friend who was also in the shape of a ball, but only fifty steps and a hundred steps, and then glanced at the ice and snow under the high wall, and pointed out: "You may want to understand what is called 'big pearl' Small beads falling on a jade plate'?"

Although there is only one big ball to roll.

Teng Zongliang suppressed his smile instantly, and took two steps back.

But Lu Ci knew that compared to Liu Qi who was still annoyed that he refused to return to Beijing, there was actually someone else who pressed him harder.

Although he could tell from the frequency of letters from the little emperor that there was an obvious urge to return between the lines in the seemingly well-behaved and sensible words, he still had to choose to pretend not to know against his conscience in order to continue staying in Qinzhou.

The author has something to say: Notes:

Ordinarily, this year name was really used by Emperor Wu of Liang.

However, the ancient meaning is not the modern meaning. The ordinary at that time seems to have something to do with Buddhism.