Chapter 69 You child prodigies are a bit too individualistic…

"Huh, what's this?"

Little Su Shi received a treat from Fu Su, and of course knew he wasn't doing it out of kindness. But he held the dried lychees in his hands, examined them closely, and then curiously popped one into his mouth. At that time, candied fruit was still a very expensive commodity, requiring a lot of sugar; Su Shi had hardly ever eaten it before.

As he chewed, he asked suspiciously, "Young Master Zhao, why are you being so kind?"

Fusu was furious: "Get out!"

"Alright, alright. You two, stop arguing." Fan Chunren rubbed his forehead, exasperated. "Do you still want to hear His Highness Prince Cheng's story?"

"think!"

"……In no mood."

Fan Chunren simply assumed Fusu was deliberately contradicting Su Shi and didn't take it to heart. On the surface, Fan Chunren was the most illustrious person in their small circle, where the age and social status of the members varied greatly. Li Guanlan and Su Shi both came from scholarly families in the south; Zeng Gong's family had a high-ranking local official before their decline. Fusu's nominal father, the Prince of Pu, was merely an obscure member of the imperial clan, with neither achievements nor fame.

Fan Chunren, on the other hand, was the eldest son of Fan Zhongyan, the prime minister of the time, who placed high hopes on him and nurtured him with great care. As a result, he was exceptionally well-informed. Fan Zhongyan would never deliberately hide any developments in officialdom from him.

Therefore, as early as when Fusu's birth shook the court and the public, Fan Chunren had already heard of his great name: "His Highness Prince Cheng is the only son of the Emperor and the Empress. He was born during the Qingli era. If I do the math, hmm... he seems to be born in the same year as Zhao Xiaolang."

Fusu: "..."

Su Shi chewed on the dried lychee with relish, his cheeks twitching like a little animal: "Of course I know that. And then what? Senior Brother Fan, tell me something that nobody knows."

Fan Chunren stroked his chin, pondering, "Nobody knows this..."

"It is said that when he was born, the Song army decisively defeated the Western Xia army at the front line. Does that count?"

Zeng Gong raised his hand: "I know this."

At that time, His Highness Prince Cheng had not yet been granted the title of Prince. His father received letters from relatives and friends in the capital, mentioning that since this incident had occurred, the status of this legitimate young prince was now secure, and there could be no one else. They even joked that this was the master he would serve in the future.

To maintain his public image, Fusu silently raised his hand, indicating that he had also heard of it. Damn it, it's too unbelievable that someone surnamed Zhao hasn't heard of such a semi-public rumor.

“Then there’s another thing about him that none of you have heard of.” Fan Chunren wasn’t annoyed, but instead kept him in suspense: “Why don’t you guess? It’s related to something that happened this year.”

This year? Something?

Fusu's big eyes darted around—which one? Alas, having done too many good deeds is also a kind of trouble.

Su Shi almost jumped up: "I know! I know!"

Once all eyes were on him, he confidently replied, "I guess it's about peace talks between Song and Xia, isn't it?"

Fan Chunren: "Indeed."

Su Shi chuckled repeatedly, making faces at Fusu. Fusu couldn't help but become malicious: "Alright, alright, I know you want to use His Highness Prince Cheng to show off your achievement of repelling the Western Xia envoys at Xiangguo Temple. Actually, no one would forget it even if you didn't mention it."

Su Shi: "..."

Su Shi: "…………"

He shouted, "I...I didn't!"

Fusu: "Mmm, you don't."

Seeing that another world war was about to break out, Fan Chunren, Zeng Gong, and others exchanged glances as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, and then quickly stepped in to put out the fire. First, Zeng Gong asked Su Shi what he was chewing, and after receiving the answer "dried lychees," Li Guanlan jokingly complained, "Why don't you feed us? Zhao Xiaolang, you're really biased."

As Fusu distributed the items to everyone, he muttered under his breath, "It's all because he's too talkative."

But I felt a sense of relief.

He had finally managed to change the subject. He was genuinely afraid that if Fan Chunren said anything more, he would give himself away. No two leaves in the world are exactly alike, but there is only one Fusu. What a coincidence that two people born in the same year, both "child prodigies," and both surnamed Zhao?

He still has a use for this disguise.

It cannot be opened until at least the imperial examination is passed.

Meanwhile, everyone was tasting dried lychees, and Su Shi even gave a lengthy food review.

In short, it can be summed up in just a few words—

If I could eat three hundred lychees a day, I would wish to be a Lingnan native in my next life.

Fusu nodded repeatedly: That's more like it. The good Su Shi is the one who likes to eat lychees and writes poetry. Not that mean guy who was just teasing, joking, and trying to expose his past.

However, on second thought, how did Fan Chunren know about the events in the palace the very next day? It certainly didn't come from Fan Zhongyan's channels, that is, from official gossip; it must have been rumors circulating within the palace itself.

Those who have the ability, the motivation, and the audacity to spread rumors about him...

Alright, the case is solved.

Your Majesty, and Your Majesty! When I return to the palace next time, the first thing I'll do is settle accounts with you!

Under the deliberate guidance of Fan Zhongyan and others, the extra meal ended in a peaceful atmosphere of eating and drinking. Before leaving, Su Shi even took a large handful of dried lychees from Fusu, saying he would ask the Lord of Spring if he wanted some when he got home. The others couldn't bring themselves to do the absurd thing of feeding tribute to a cat, nor could they bring themselves to ask for some, but Fusu still stuffed a handful into each of their hands.

He returned to his small room at the Imperial Academy, washed his face, laid out paper, ground ink, and moistened his brush. Then, he began to ponder deeply, staring at the snow-white Xuan paper. The task assigned by Mei Yaochen was to investigate the deep-seated problems within the Song Dynasty's officialdom. This assignment had been postponed due to his birthday leave, and he was only now beginning to write it.

Sigh... how should I write this?

Fusu stared at the snow-white Xuan paper, looking troubled.

Some things are completely different from what you see from an omniscient perspective versus what you're actually experiencing. For example, later generations criticized the Song Dynasty for emphasizing civil administration over military affairs, stressing moral cultivation while neglecting military matters. To prevent military mutinies, a series of absurd systems were even implemented, such as soldiers not knowing their generals and generals not knowing their soldiers, and the policy of strengthening the central government while weakening local power, with 90% of the national tax revenue going towards supporting a massive and bloated imperial guard.

But when he actually arrived in the Song Dynasty, he found it wasn't like that at all. The people there emphasized moral cultivation above all else, fearing a repeat of the tragic fate of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. A few short lines in history books almost became a symbol of the end of the era of ritual and music civilization. Occasionally, when Fusu heard stories of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, he would feel a chill run down his spine and break out in a cold sweat.

It turns out that humans possess advanced intelligence, but once they abandon civilization and morality and become war machines, they are truly a thousand or even ten thousand times more terrifying than wild beasts.

He finally understood why Emperor Taizu of Song, who could only barely serve as a gatekeeper in the list of emperors of all time, was revered as an unparalleled hero in his own time. Even though he had flaws that could not be called "great achievements," he did end the chaotic world that had lasted for decades since Huang Chao, a time of moral decay and rampant evil.

So, on the other hand, how could the Song Dynasty overcome its fear of military commanders given such a background situation that was almost like PTSD?

The solution offered by the Song Dynasty was to separate civil and military officials, allowing civil officials to command the army and even govern the country.

Is there any other way?

Fusu bit his lip—indeed, there were such ideas. But raising them in the current social context would be far too radical. He could already guess the kind of opposition he would encounter before he even put pen to paper. It wouldn't be as simple as the emperor being spit in Bao Zheng's face.

But then I thought, it's written for Mei Yaochen anyway. Mei Yaochen even listens to talk about "reducing redundant officials," so he can definitely handle this, right?

I'm sorry, Dr. May.

This time, your mental fortitude will be tested.

Fusu blew on the candle flame, making it burn even brighter. Then, amidst the blazing candlelight, he wrote furiously.

-

The next day, an article suddenly appeared on Mei Yaochen's study desk, weighed down by a paperweight, but its owner was nowhere to be found.

Mei Yaochen unfolded it with great interest, and upon seeing the first line of small print, he couldn't help but mutter, "What kind of words are these, 'revering Heaven'? I've lived for so many years, what kind of articles haven't I seen? Zhao Xiaolang speaks so modestly, how come he becomes so arrogant when he puts it on paper?"

Upon reading the article, he fell silent.

"This?" Mei Yaochen's face turned ashen, and he exclaimed, "How can this be allowed? Zhao Xiaolang, he... he actually wants the soldiers to learn to read?"

In later generations, those who joined the army had to have completed compulsory education, at least a junior high school education. But things were different in ancient times. For the Song army, especially those who had been recruited through amnesty, being completely illiterate was an understatement. In the class structure, scholars and soldiers belonged to two distinct strata. The former were respected and could become officials. The latter were universally despised, had a terrible reputation, and were at the bottom of society. However, their actions certainly lived up to their reputation; extorting the people in peacetime and massacring entire cities during wartime were common occurrences.

If you teach soldiers etiquette and manners, how will they differ from scholars? Won't they seize the ladder of advancement that originally belonged exclusively to scholars?

Mei Yaochen could almost imagine that once this article was circulated and copied, it would cause an uproar among the civil and military officials and scholars in the countryside.

But that's not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing is that, as Fusu's narration unfolds in the article, Mei Yaochen actually finds what he says to make a lot of sense.

"Only when soldiers know propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame, understand the principles of family and country, and know the reasons for fighting the enemy, can their combat effectiveness be increased."

Mei Yaochen read those words aloud in his mind several times. A few beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead—he knew that those words were true.

He froze on the spot. His face flushed and paled several times, unsure of what to do with the article.

"Thump."

The person who broke the long silence in the study was Yang Anguo. This scholar and Mei Yaochen were friends for many years, and without much small talk, he began to complain as soon as he entered.

"I have no idea what kind of apprentice I've taken on. He's only written his first article, and it's already left me speechless."

Mei Yaochen thought to himself: That's because you haven't seen mine.

But he still took the paper from Yang Anguo's hand: "What did Su Xiaolang write this time? Let this old man take a look."

It can't be more outrageous than Zhao Xiaolang's... right?

As a result, the title of the article prominently featured three large characters: "Ode to Lychee".

Mei Yaochen: ?

Seriously, are all you child prodigies this unique? One of you wrote a book classified as forbidden literature on your very first attempt. And you wrote a food review on a book originally written for the imperial examinations???

Is that correct?