In the third year of Jingyou, at the beginning of the morning on April 12, 1036 AD, before dawn, Emperor Zhao Zhen of the Song Dynasty went to court with great enthusiasm.
During the Tang Dynasty, all officials in the capital had to attend court every day, but in the Song Dynasty, there were so many officials in the capital that it was too troublesome to attend court every day, so certain institutional changes were made.
Except for the officials above the rank of Menxia Shengjiulang, Zhongshu Shengjiuleng, Shangshu Shengshilang, and Yushi Zhongcheng, there was no fixed rule for other officials to attend court. Usually, whoever had something to report would come to attend court.
Therefore, according to past customs, Yan Shu, as the Chief Censor, was responsible for supervising the words and deeds of all officials and reviewing their reports, which should have been done every day.
But what was more surprising was that he was not there today. Only a few censors from the Censorate were on duty. They stared intently at the officials who walked into the Chuigong Hall, meticulously looking for their mistakes.
Officials entered the hall one after another. Chao Zongque, a Hanlin scholar and a member of the Longtu Pavilion, had a good relationship with Yan Shu. Seeing that Yan Shu was not there today, he asked Jia Changchao, a counselor and acting chief censor, who was standing beside him, with some confusion, "Old Jia, why didn't Yan Tongshu come to court today?"
Jia Changchao was also puzzled and said to Chao Zongque, "Yan Tongshu has been acting mysterious these past few days and hasn't come to the Censorate, so I'm left to manage all the Censorate's affairs. He didn't even come to court today, so I don't know what he's up to."
"Prime Minister Lu and his men have been acting mysterious lately." Shangshu Xingbu Yuwenlang Guo Zhen glanced at Lü Yijian and Wang Sui, who were standing at the forefront of the officials in the distance, and whispered, "They haven't been to the Privy Council, the Secretariat, or the Grand Council much. It's all Lord Li, Lord Wang, Lord Han, Lord Zhang, and Lord Cheng handling official business now."
The "Mr. Zhang, Mr. Li, and Mr. Cheng" mentioned by Guo Zhen refer to Li Zi, the head of the Privy Council, Wang Deyong and Han Yi, the co-heads of the Privy Council, Zhang Dexiang, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, and Cheng Lin, the envoy of the Three Departments.
The three prime ministers and three councillors often served concurrently as heads of the Privy Council, the Secretariat, and the Grand Council, overseeing national affairs. Their deputies, sometimes called vice-prime ministers, were the second or third in command of each government office, among the highest-ranking officials in the Song Dynasty. Now that the three prime ministers and three councillors were absent, only these deputies could take over.
"Mr. Guo!"
An imperial censor on duty not far away glared at Guo Zhen, and he had no choice but to shut his mouth and stand obediently among the court members.
"Your Majesty has arrived."
Following the eunuch's shout, many officials from the Secretariat, Privy Council, Three Departments, Ministry of Personnel, Kaifeng Prefecture, and Court of Justice all bowed and saluted, asking for permission to report on their affairs.
There were no lights in ancient times, so people had to get up early and go to bed late. They would work before dawn and go to bed when the sun went down, so court officials had to punch in for work very early.
It is around 4:30 in the morning, and many people are sleepy and yawning. No wonder Ouyang Xiu said, "I still remember the time when I got enough sleep in Chuzhou."
There were golden dragons coiled on the pillars on both sides, with trays on their claws. The trays, the entrance to the hall, under Zhao Zhen's dragon throne, and the walls on both sides were all lit with candles, making the room brightly lit.
Normally, Zhao Zhen would take a short rest in the Wende Hall before attending court, cheer himself up, and then go to court.
But because he had often worked hard to have children and slept in the same quilt with his concubines, even if he went to bed early, his energy was still very poor, and he would often yawn and would only go to the back to catch up on some sleep after the court meetings.
However, today the Emperor of the Song Dynasty was unusually energetic, as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood. He walked briskly to the dragon throne and sat down.
"Your Majesty!"
The ministers bowed and saluted.
Court ministers would still address the Emperor of Song as "Your Majesty" in formal occasions such as court meetings, and only call him "Your Majesty" in private.
"My dear ministers, please stand up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After the daily rituals were over, the eunuch Wang Shouzhong shouted, "Officials, report your affairs."
According to common practice, the prime minister and the official in charge of reporting affairs should first report the national affairs to be reported today, and then each government office should report the affairs within its own government office.
But today, Prime Minister Lü Yijian was the first to submit a petition, saying, "Your Majesty, Zhao Yuanhao has been harassing the envoys of the Celestial Empire and has shown rebellious intentions. Rumors suggest he may even declare himself emperor. If he does, he will undoubtedly attack the Song Dynasty. Your Majesty, I beg your majesty to make a ruling."
Zhao Zhen immediately responded, "What do you think, Prime Minister Lu, would you like to decide?"
Lü Yijian said, "The northwest's military preparations are lax, and Fan Yong, the Shaanxi Route Transport Commissioner, is not very knowledgeable about military affairs. If a war breaks out, it will be extremely disadvantageous to our army. Therefore, Your Majesty, please appoint a civil and military official who is knowledgeable about military affairs, capable of leading troops and maintaining peace and order, to take up his post in the northwest. This will help to rectify military affairs and deter Zhao Yuanhao from taking any rash actions."
"Um."
Zhao Zhen nodded, and according to his previous plan, he glanced at the ministers, locked onto Fan Zhongyan's figure, and just opened his mouth to say the word "Fan".
Then Fan Zhongyan stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial!"
......
......
Yan Shu got up very early this morning, even earlier than the chickens.
There was no precedent in the Song Dynasty for the prime minister to stay overnight in the palace, so he had to go out and enter the palace at two or three o'clock in the morning.
In fact, if Zhao Jun was not blind and there were guards outside the door, according to the law he would either be expelled from the palace or be castrated as a eunuch.
At this time, Zhao Jun was temporarily blind and had lost his sense of time. Every day, according to the three meals sent by Yan Shu, he estimated that dinner would be at five or six o'clock, so he thought it was five or six o'clock, and lay in bed, thinking about random things for an hour or two before going to sleep.
But what he didn't know was that he always had to eat at four o'clock in the afternoon, which was called "bushi" according to the ancients. He would lie in bed for an hour or two before going to sleep, which meant he would basically get up at two or three o'clock in the middle of the night.
Around four in the morning, Yan Shu would bring him breakfast and start asking him questions. When he was done, an old doctor would come and give him acupuncture.
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