Chapter 90 Zhao Xiaosanyuan, you gave the officials some kind of drug...

The Censorate and the Remonstrance Bureau of the Song Dynasty were independent supervisory bodies separate from the administrative system. They possessed the privilege of "reporting based on hearsay," meaning they could submit a memorial without needing concrete evidence, simply by hearing rumors.

Everyone knows that public opinion is a powerful weapon, and those in high positions often have close relationships with several people in the censorate. During Wang Anshi's time in power, the censorate even had the power to influence the appointment and removal of prime ministers.

Let's not talk about the distant past, but about recent events. According to the original trajectory of history, in the fifth year of the Qingli era, which is this year, Ouyang Xiu would have been forced to leave Bianjing and be transferred to the position of prefect of Chuzhou due to rumors of his indiscretions with the women in his family, and because he was unable to defend himself. He would have written the timeless masterpiece "Record of the Drunken Pavilion".

The censors could even impeach the emperor for his mistakes. Not long ago, Sima Guang criticized the emperor for neglecting Prince Cheng, and Emperor Renzong, in order to help Su Zhe, had no choice but to swallow his pride and accept it.

The power of the censors was so great that when they spoke of Fusu, they truly didn't think their wording was excessive; in fact, it even aligns with the political correctness of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was founded on civil administration, and successive emperors were extremely wary of collusion between civil and military officials.

At first, everyone thought that this was a sure thing.

The emperor will surely be furious, believing he was blind to have misjudged the man—he bestowed upon Sanyuan Lang such immense favor, yet Sanyuan Lang is utterly ungrateful and colludes with military men. Sanyuan's official career will be over, and Di Qing will also have no chance of advancement.

Although the latter was implicated, there was nothing he could do. After all, he was a martial artist. He should hate Zhao Xiaosanyuan for specifically targeting him!

...But what about the official's counter-impeachment?

This is something that has never been heard of since the founding of the Song Dynasty, no, since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors!

Those who received the impeachment petition were all in a daze, as if they were still dreaming. Otherwise, how could they have encountered such an absurd situation?

But after flipping through a page in a daze, he was immediately jolted awake: the official said Zhao Xiaosanyuan was his party member? Suspecting Zhao Xiaosanyuan was tantamount to suspecting him?

"Is the Emperor bewitched?"

"What kind of bewitching drug did Sanyuan give the officials?"

The imperial examination system in the Song Dynasty was more prosperous than ever before. Which capable person in the court did not pass the imperial examination? Logically speaking, who among them was not a disciple of the emperor? But who really dared to consider themselves a disciple of the emperor? Not to mention the word "partisan," the emperor's bias and favoritism were blatantly displayed in his writings.

The remonstrating officials, and even those who instigated them, almost couldn't catch their breath. They even wanted to rush into the Chuigong Hall and shake Emperor Renzong's shoulders: Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?

You have never said those words to me, the "Party Members"!

Even Fusu was taken aback by Emperor Renzong's strong support.

"Now you can rest assured," said Empress Cao.

Fusu nodded heavily: "Yes."

Liu Ju, Li Chengqian, Yinreng… even the deadly predicaments that he himself couldn't escape even with bloodied heads, were now resolved without a scratch. As long as he doesn't make any brain-dead decisions like Emperor Huizong of Song opening the gates of Bianjing and allowing the Jin army to advance unimpeded, Emperor Renzong won't deliberately stop him no matter what he does.

Fusu opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Happiness came so suddenly...

It took him a long time to find his voice: "In that case, I can interact with General Di without any worries in the future."

"oh?"

Empress Cao's eyes seemed to see through something: "Is it really just a simple matter of visiting each other?"

“We agreed that I would teach him to read.”

In reality, it was a unilateral agreement made by him, and Di Qing was completely fooled into agreeing.

"Is this all you're doing this for?"

The speaker was no longer Empress Cao. Emperor Renzong strode into Kunning Palace, grabbed Fusu from under his arm, and shook him several times in the air to vent his anger: "Do you know how many times your father was choked up in the morning court, just to fulfill your dream of becoming a teacher?"

"Oh my, hahaha..."

Fusu, tickled, kicked his legs wildly a few times, his face soon turning red. Only after being put down did he notice that Emperor Renzong's face was also slightly flushed, clearly a result of his heated exchange with the ministers. It was no wonder the ministers were indignant; this was the first time since the founding of the Song Dynasty that the emperor had deliberately condoned such interactions between civil and military officials.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Fusu said earnestly. "I promise I'll do it next time..."

He meant to say "I will definitely not do it again", but before he could finish, he changed it to "I will definitely tell you in advance".

Emperor Renzong's eyes widened: "There will be a next time?"

He waved his hand: "Fine, even if there's a next time, you'll be in court then. I..."

He had intended to say, "I'll just wash my hands of this," but when he looked into his son's big, dark eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say, "I'll only take sides; you can defend yourself!"

Empress Cao turned her head away, unable to suppress a smile.

Emperor Renzong took a sip of tea to calm himself down: "Su'er, you still haven't told me why you went to Minister Di's door. It couldn't have really been just to visit him, could it?"

Fusu deliberately kept everyone in suspense: "Your Majesty, you didn't say either, did you buy them? Horses from the Liao Kingdom?"

Wang Anshi personally went to the border to find connections. He took matters into his own hands and also made connections with the Chai family, managing to obtain a large sum of money to buy horses. More than a month had passed, and there should have been a result by now.

Emperor Renzong nodded: "We've acquired it."

"You mean this matter is related to Minister Di? Or... to the Sixteen Prefectures?"

His voice was particularly soft when he spoke the last few words.

Emperor Renzong suddenly remembered that his son's essay on pacifying the barbarians, written during the palace examination, included two points: training soldiers' skills and cultivating superior warhorses.

Fusu nodded confidently: "General Di is a rare and excellent general. If that day ever comes, the Great Song Dynasty will probably have to rely on him. Of course, I need to cultivate a good relationship with him in advance."

The Emperor asked, "Is it really necessary to have him? Can't anyone else take on this role?"

Fusu: "Yes."

Di Qing was a renowned general whose achievements had stood the test of time. Moreover, his success was not unfounded. Even if Nong Zhigao's rebellion had occurred ten years earlier, he would have still fought exceptionally well. If one were to ask who was qualified to lead the army to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures, Fusu had no other choice in mind.

The Emperor said, "Su'er said, then let's go with him."

Perhaps even Di Qing himself couldn't have imagined that his second stroke of good fortune would come about during a casual conversation between the Tian family father and son.

At this moment, he was still incredibly troubled by the fact that he had been innocently dragged into a vortex where the New Dealers, the Conservatives, the Little Three Scholars, and even the Emperor himself were involved.

Seeing this, Empress Cao half-jokingly complained, "It's not even a sure thing yet, but you're all so confident about it?"

The Emperor: "..."

Fusu: "..."

My apologies, this person is a formidable figure who can draw maps freehand.

"Your Majesty, you are right."

Fusu silently calculated in his mind: raising a batch of purchased warhorses and putting them into training would take one or two years. Breeding a batch of foals and bringing them to maturity would take three or four years. As for teaching soldiers to read and write and to be polite, that would also be a long-term task. Neither of these could be accomplished overnight.

Therefore, his words are empty and his boasting is useless. It would be better to wait until everything is ready and then reveal the results of his efforts in raising soldiers and horses to the world.

"Let's worry about the most pressing matter first," Empress Cao said. "Su'er, are you sure you want to become an official?"

"Um."

The Emperor said, "The imperial edict appointing Su'er as the Commissioner for Encouraging Agriculture has been issued and stamped by the Ministry of Personnel."

Empress Cao continued, "Although His Majesty had prepared for this imperial edict, the court officials don't see it that way. They think it's a product of His Majesty's anger, so..."

"...So, I'll be seen as a treacherous minister trying to please the emperor?"

Empress Cao looked at her with a look of admiration and said, "That's exactly what I meant."

"So, Su'er, how are your preparations for the cotton going?"

Although her son was about to become a thorn in the side of many officials in the court, and even be labeled a treacherous minister, Empress Cao herself was not flustered at all, and even felt like she was watching her son make a fool of himself.

"Why don't you come back and be your King Cheng?"

Fusu looked helpless: "Your Majesty, please don't provoke me!"

"I have a general idea about the cotton, but I'm struggling to figure out how to promote it. However, since I'm practically being labeled a treacherous official, it means that millions of eyes are on me. Isn't that a free wave of publicity?"

"You've got a solution?"

"Um!"

After passing the imperial examination, each Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) was given a three-month vacation to return to their hometown and settle their families. Some returned home in glory, but for Zhao Xiaosanyuan, this vacation was just as exciting as his dazzling title.

A dedicated person pieced together his movements—

After his success in the imperial examinations, at the height of his fame, he neither held a banquet nor made any connections, and mysteriously disappeared. Even his "own father," Prince Pu, and his alma mater, the Imperial Academy, did not know where he was.

When he finally appeared, he brazenly paid a visit to General Di Qing, the military governor of the Protectorate Army, thus ruining his promising official career.

However, things took an unexpected turn. For some unknown reason, the Emperor openly clashed with the censors and even the entire court over the Three Excellence Awards, leading to several days of heated arguments during the morning court sessions. The censors, unable to contain their anger, began submitting memorials, joining the Emperor in their remonstrances!

Just then, Zhao Xiaozhuangyuan, who was at the center of the storm, mysteriously disappeared again. He did not respond to the emperor's protection, nor did he care about the "traitor" label that the censors were about to slap on him.

Several days later, when the turmoil had subsided somewhat, he reappeared. This time, he appeared at the gate of the Imperial College.

“You still know to come back!” Mei Yaochen said.

Heaven knows that when he heard that Zhao Xiaolang had visited Di Qing, his heart almost stopped for a moment. Then he immediately swallowed his pride and wrote to his friends, begging them not to kick him when he was down, but to say a few good words about Xiao Sanyuan, hoping to get as much as they could.

Who would have thought that the government would actually take action... And then, this student, who I don't know how to describe, appeared in front of the Imperial Academy as if nothing had happened!

"Mr. Mei, it's been a long time. I haven't been able to send my greetings in a while."

He said.

On that soft, adorable face, the serene and composed expression made one want to shake his shoulders and ask: Where have you been all this time? Did you go into seclusion like Tao Yuanming? You have no idea what happened in Bianjing, do you?

But Mei Yaochen didn't dare. He was afraid that if the other man said "Yeah," he would be furious. Besides, he was sure he wouldn't be the one who got the most angry.

"What are you doing at the Imperial College?" he asked irritably.

“Mr. Mei, you’ve forgotten. You wrote to me back then asking if I would be willing to return to the Imperial College to see the teachers and hold a literary gathering or something.”

"That's why I've come to keep my appointment!"

Fusu said with a smile, "However, I don't intend to speak alone. Besides the Imperial Academy, there are also students at the Imperial University, so let's invite them as well."

Mei Yaochen sensed something was wrong: "What are you trying to do?"

Knowing Zhao Xiaolang's troublemaking nature, with the court in turmoil, how could he possibly stay home and peacefully attend classes? That's impossible! He's the kind of troublemaker who'd call the emperor to witness even something as simple as planting vegetables.

"Help me boast about something," Fusu said.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of fabric, and slipped it onto Mei Yaochen's hand: "You are the gentleman, let me give it to you first."

As for the rest, of course, it's because the article is well-written.

Mei Yaochen looked down. It was April in the lunar calendar in Bianjing, almost the beginning of summer. After the fabric was put on his hands, his fingers gradually felt hot, as if they were being roasted by the scorching heat.

"Is this what you want people to brag about?" Mei Yaochen's tone became excited: "What, what's its name?"

“Cotton,” Fusu said.

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Author's Note: The Fusu that everyone thought he was: After instigating a major power struggle in the court, he concealed his achievements and fame, hiding somewhere secretly laughing.

The real Fusu: Leading the textile industry in the imperial estate, racking his brains trying to figure out how to operate a spinning jenny [dog head holding a rose]