Outside the old Fengqiu Gate, in the diagonal street outside Shuxiangfang where Chenzhou Bridge Street and Guangbei Bridge intersect, Zhao Jun listened to the rumors and could only exclaim that it was outrageous.
It is already past noon, and the news of yesterday's meeting in Chuigong Hall has spread throughout Bianliang.
The government established a new government bureau, which was superior to the two ministries and three departments, and was responsible for the overall administration of the country. With the exception of military power, it had all other powers, including the appointment and dismissal of officials.
Such great power has never existed since the Tang and Song dynasties.
What shocked the people of Bianliang even more was that Zhao Jun, the former head of the Imperial City, was granted the title of Duke of Song, Jiedushi of Three Towns, and was in charge of the Political System Council, with power comparable to that of the prime minister in ancient times.
Under such circumstances, the people of Bianliang had no time to think too much.
Even the spies from the Western Xia and Liao embassies in Bianliang knew the news and quickly passed this important information back to their countries.
Many people speculate that Zhao Jun’s true identity might really be the illegitimate son of the late emperor.
Only Zhao Yunrang remained calm and acted calmly.
After all, as long as his son, the Thirteenth Brother, has not been expelled from the palace, it means that Zhao Jun’s identity is false, and he has nothing to worry about.
Zhao Jun went to the Constitutional Council this morning and gave some instructions, and then came to Shuxiangfang in the afternoon.
He has a lot of things to do recently, such as organizing and preparing for the establishment of a new department, starting to deal with underground criminal forces, and researching and developing new weapons.
The most urgent thing is to have a printing factory, which will be used to print notices on a large scale and to establish newspapers and carry out publicity and public opinion activities in the future.
At present, the basic education in the Song Dynasty was still inadequate, and the literacy rate was low, as evidenced by the fact that only a little over 100,000 people took the provincial examinations each year across the country.
Even if this number is multiplied a hundred times, the number of literate people in the entire Song Dynasty is only 10 million. Compared with the population of over 100 million, the literacy rate is about 10, which is very unfavorable for the dissemination of newspapers.
However, as the capital, the literacy rate of the people in Bianliang is still quite good.
The main reason is that commerce is developed here, and there are many businessmen and officials. Even street vendors have to know how to read and do arithmetic before they can do business. Otherwise, they can't even do the math, so how can they trade?
Therefore, Zhao Jun planned to establish a newspaper in Bianliang first, occupy the high ground in the propaganda field through the newspaper, and lay the foundation for doing big things in the future.
Recently, he heard that the owner of Yuanjing Bookstore was planning to sell the printing factory, so he came here to take a look.
In the Shuxiangfang, scholars in long robes with slanting or round collars walked around. They either wore belts with jade pendants or silk ribbons or woven ropes tied in a knot in the center of their waists, with the excess hanging below. They wore shirts underneath and trousers or skirts, looking very elegant.
Because it rained lightly last night and the sky was rather dark, people were rushing back and forth. Some had just bought some study supplies and were in a hurry to go back, some had just come to check out some new books, and some were sitting in the teahouses, reciting poems and making merry.
Guangbei Bridge is located on the Wuzhang River. Willows are swaying on the river bank, and there is a small horizontal bridge to the east. It is late autumn and early winter, the autumn wind is bleak, and the bluestone slabs on the ground still have water stains from last night. The willows on the Sui embankment outside the small horizontal bridge have gathered countless tourists and poets.
After Zhao Jun came out of the Political System Institute, he went home and changed into scholar's clothes, and walked into Shuxiangfang. There were shops on both sides. Unlike other places, Shuxiangfang had mostly bookstores, but there were also breakfast shops and tea stalls. After all, even if scholars had a strong thirst for knowledge, they still had to eat.
The discussion at the stalls was still about yesterday's morning court session. Bianliang was a populous city, and the people loved to gossip after dinner. The biggest gossip right now was, of course, news about Zhao Jun. His reputation in Bianliang was already top-tier.
"The emperor has a keen eye for talent. Zhao Qingtian cleaned out so many pests in Kaifeng Prefecture, and now he is going to lead all the officials. This is a great thing for our Great Song Dynasty."
"It may not be a good thing. It's true that Zhao Qingtian investigated and punished those people. But investigating corrupt officials and governing a country are two different things. Moreover, I heard that this Zhao Zhisi is only in his twenties, which is too young. What if he doesn't know how to govern a country? Will he cause the country to decline?"
"Indeed, not to mention that even if the emperor thinks Zhao Zhisi is talented, I heard that he didn't pass the imperial examination to become an official. I don't believe the officials in the court would agree. Even if they force him to govern, I'm afraid he would be blocked from doing so."
"Who said he didn't take the imperial examination to become an official?"
At the tea stall in front of Yuanjing Bookstore on the street in Shuxiangfang, several scholars were drinking tea and chatting.
There was basically no literary inquisition in the Northern Song Dynasty. Even the Wudai Poetry Case was an internal fight among the literati. The emperor would not deliberately persecute the literati with literature, so it was not taboo to talk about the court and criticize the current ills on the street.
Especially in places like Shuxiangfang where there are many literati and scholars, scholars often talk and express their opinions in the hope of gaining the appreciation of high-ranking officials.
For example, Xia Song was originally a military officer who entered the officialdom through family connections, but because of his good literary talent, he showed his collection of poems to the then Prime Minister Li Hang, so he switched from military to literary position. Later, he participated in the imperial examination and passed the imperial examination, thus becoming a member of the literati and scholars.
Therefore, criticizing current social ills was a common practice among scholars at that time. After all, the policy essays in the imperial examinations were also a form of criticizing current social ills, which was beneficial to improving their policy essay skills.
At this moment, the scholars were chatting.
Zhao Jun was just stepping into Yuanjing Bookstore. Since he was surrounded by many bodyguards, he naturally attracted everyone's attention.
One of them was stunned when he saw him, then hesitated. Seeing that Zhao Jun was about to step into the book club, he finally mustered up the courage to stand up and shouted, "Brother Hanlong!"
"Um?"
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