"Minister Wang, are you still able to eat? How about going to Nanjing to supervise the battle in person?"
"This is what I wish for. Thank you, Your Majesty, for fulfilling it."
"The Japanese pirates are now rampant, repeatedly invading our Great Song. How dare such a petty thief bully our Great Song without anyone to blame! Today I write a poem for you. You, bearing my instructions, will immediately depart for Nanjing to oversee the suppression of the Japanese pirates."
"What's the point of being beheaded someday? Fighting the Japanese is a difficult and arduous battle. I'm going to Nanjing to recruit my old subordinates, with 100,000 banners, to destroy the enemy's den."
"Thank you for the poem, Your Majesty. I will not return to the capital until the Japanese pirates are destroyed." Wang Qiong thanked him and left the warm room.
After Wang Qiong left, Zhao Huan dismissed his attendants, leaving only him and Bai Shizhong in the warm room.
"Father, I heard that Wang Qiong has been impeaching you several times recently. He's truly ungrateful. Hou Cong will send him to Nanjing, so you can have some peace and quiet for a while."
"It's just that we have different political views. Your Majesty, there's no need to do this. As the saying goes, listening to both sides leads to wisdom, while heeding only one side leads to ignorance. Your Majesty should listen more to the opinions of other ministers, so that you can make better judgments."
Bai Shizhong said modestly. Although he felt very happy in his heart, he still put on an expression of fear and trepidation on his face.
Your Majesty, please give us some face. The old man Wang Qiong has been unhappy for a long time because he has submitted impeachment memorials again and again.
"Father, the Grand Court will be held in two days. I'd like to discuss the issue of the Japanese pirates there. After we've eliminated one group, there's another. It's very troublesome. We must find a way to solve the problem at its root."
"When I return, I will organize the officials to prepare and offer suggestions and advice during the grand court meeting."
"Okay, my father-in-law, do you have other important matters? I'm going to pay my respects to the Queen Mother."
"I'll take my leave!"
After sending Bai Shizhong away, Zhao Huan went to Renshou Palace to have dinner with Empress Dowager Zhang.
"Mother, the foot of the Western Hills is the fief of the Marquis of Shouning. The land there is barren. I will trade the farm of Prince Xing's manor in Beijing with my uncle."
"Marquis Shouning is an ignorant and absurd man. I hope Your Majesty, for my sake, can ignore his nonsense. I will reprimand him severely later. He is not worthy of being Your Majesty's uncle. Your Majesty, please do not say such things again."
"Without your approval, Hou Cong would not be able to come to the capital, nor would he have the opportunity to sit in this position. Hou Cong has always treated you as his true mother. I heard that Shou Ning Hou once had a quarrel with you over the fiefdom of Xishan. I think the scenery over there is quite nice, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to exchange places with Shou Ning Hou."
"Your Majesty, you must not do this." Empress Dowager Zhang refused to accept Zhao Huan's proposal.
"Okay, let's talk about it later. If Shouning Hou talks to you again about this, just tell me if it bothers you. It's really okay to change it."
He secretly sighed in his heart, thinking that Shouning Hou deserved to become rich, this dog-like thing actually had such good luck.
Once the Xishan mining area has grown in scale, the land prices near Xishan will naturally rise.
Take a hundred steps after dinner, and you'll live to be ninety-nine. Zhao Huan strolled back to the warm room and began writing and drawing, studying the coal company's next plan.
As the sun sets and the sky darkens, every household closes their doors.
In many people's impressions, the imperial palace is brightly lit at night. In fact, it is just the opposite. The palace is far less lively than outside.
Why was this? Because there were more men outside the palace, and with more men, there were more brothels, prostitutes, and restaurants. The Song Dynasty was not the 21st century, an era where men's spending power was even lower than that of dogs.
After a tiring day, it's time to enjoy a night out. Officials who had retired, scholars traveling to Beijing for the imperial examinations, idle sons of officials, and wealthy merchants from other places were the main consumers of this era.
The more elegant ones recite poems and write couplets in restaurants, the more vulgar ones drink and listen to music in brothels, and the more romantic ones talk about life in brothels.
There was also a curfew outside the palace, prohibiting people from walking freely on the streets. Thus, at night, the capital outside the palace was a scene of dazzling lights, feasting, and revelry. Beijing, while glamorous, boasted wealth and splendor, but deep affection was forbidden.
In order to protect the purity of the royal bloodline and prevent the emperor from becoming a prostitute, only eight men remained in the vast palace after dark.
So who are these eight people?
The first one must be the emperor. The palace is his home. He lives here and is the only male owner.
In addition, there must be someone to protect the emperor. Outside the warm room where the emperor works and sleeps, there are four imperial guards who are responsible for protection.
There are two imperial physicians accompanying the emperor. If the emperor has a headache, fever, stomach discomfort, etc., someone has to diagnose him.
Some people think that the last person is the prince, but in fact, the prince must also set up a residence outside the palace after he reaches adulthood.
Besides, there were many cases in history where princes secretly had relationships with the emperor's concubines. For example, Li Zhi of the Tang Dynasty stole his father Li Shimin's concubine, and this discovery resulted in the only female emperor in history.
The last person was a memorial officer from the Hanlin Academy. Being an emperor was a demanding job, often requiring overtime until midnight. If he encountered something unclear, who would he ask? The Hanlin Academy.
Four were good at brandishing swords and guns, two were good at bringing people back to health, and one was good at reciting poems and composing couplets. Not to mention that they were working the night shift, even if the emperor was resting, they couldn't piss in the same pot. They were not the same kind of people at all.
Let’s talk about the harem. You say the emperor’s harem is not lively enough, but there should be some entertainment activities at night for the three thousand beauties in the harem.
The harem is said to have three thousand beauties, but most of them are concubines who have been favored by the emperor. If they are lucky, they can be granted the title of concubine or maid, which are actually very low ranks.
According to the regulations of the Song Dynasty, concubines and young ladies did not even have their own private rooms and had to share a room with two people.
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