After a night of trembling in fear, at dawn, the civil and military officials changed into clean court robes and went to the Daqing Palace.
The Daqing Hall was particularly lively today. Officials of low rank and status who were usually unable to enter the hall for meetings were also granted permission to meet the emperor.
It has just passed the You hour, so it must be 7:06 as usual.
Zhao Huan, wearing a dragon robe and a crown, supported Song Huisong, who was wearing a Taoist robe, and sat on the dragon throne above the hall.
All the civil and military officials in the court knelt on the ground and shouted: "Long live the emperor!"
After the worship, it is time to discuss business.
Zhao Huan gave Shao Chengzhang a look, and Shao Chengzhang bowed and quietly retreated.
At the foot of the hall, the ministers who had participated in the new emperor's coronation ceremony shuddered in unison, grinning bitterly in their hearts: "What are they going to do again?"
Once bitten by a snake, one is afraid of ropes for ten years. I am afraid that the strong men around His Majesty, who do not look like eunuchs, will come over again with cannons.
Rumble, the earth shakes.
What is happening???
The cultural relics officials forcibly restrained their curiosity, looked straight ahead, and maintained official etiquette.
Sure enough, it was that group of strong men again, and this time they were even more excessive. They used a small cart to place dozens of boxes above the hall.
Zhao Huan stood up from the dragon throne, walked to his own podium, and slowly began, "It's been a year since I last saw the throne. I want to thank every official for their hard work. No matter how dire the situation, the Zhao court and the Song dynasty are still standing. You all deserve credit for this."
"Many officials may still be wondering if His Majesty is going to do something strange again. Let me assure you, today is not about judging crimes, but about rewarding people."
As Zhao Huan finished speaking, several big men opened the boxes in the hall. Some of them were shining silver, and some were shining gold.
"Honestly, most officials probably don't know me very well. Don't worry, you will all get what you want next year."
Zhao Huan said with a smile, "Starting from the official start of work after the Lantern Festival next year, I will invite an official to have lunch with me every day to talk about work, plans, and life."
"That's it for this year. You definitely can't expect any promotions. Just share the money. If you feel your talents are underappreciated, work hard. If you feel you've overdone something, tone it down."
"The results of the Ministry of Personnel's assessment have come out. I have suppressed them. All promotion assessments are suspended until the end of next year."
"In previous years, the Song Dynasty paid 255,000 taels of silver to the Western Xia and 1.5 million taels of silver to the Jin Kingdom. Do you know how much that is? It's one-third of the Song Dynasty's fiscal revenue."
"Think about it, if this money was used to exempt taxes, build water conservancy projects, and strengthen military defenses, would there still be these barbarians around causing trouble?"
"From now on, none of this money will be given away. Half will be used to enrich the national treasury, and the other half will be distributed to officials in the court. I hope you will do your job well and not embezzle it. Next year, I will conduct a thorough investigation into this matter."
"Today's distribution of money will be six times your current salary. Now, let's get started. The censors, please don't check the official etiquette yet. Let everyone move freely."
After Zhao Huan finished speaking, he returned to the dragon throne and whispered something to the emperor.
The officials below the hall finally breathed a sigh of relief. Not only did they save their heads, but they also received a large reward for free.
Wang Shiyong, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, looked at the 150 taels of silver in his hand and calculated quickly in his mind.
The monthly salary was 25 taels, and I told my wife it was 20 taels. She had to hand in 18 taels every month, leaving 2 taels for pocket money. This time, the pocket money was generous, 42 taels were directly deposited into my account.
Let me explain to you what three hundred taels of silver a year means. This is the annual income from one thousand acres of fertile land.
After the year-end bonuses were distributed, it was the emperor’s turn to perform.
The retired emperor stood in front of the podium, glanced at the ministers below, and then slowly spoke.
"I never thought I would say goodbye to you all in this way. Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Liang Shicheng, Tong Guan, Zhang Bangchang, Gao Qiu... You are not only ministers of the Song Dynasty, but also friends of me, Zhao Ji."
"Now that I'm old, I don't have that many thoughts. Young people have their own ideas. I'm old and can't keep up. Even if I can't help him, I can't hold him back."
"I've been thinking these days, I'm already this old. I should just retire and enjoy life. Painting, playing the piano, playing cuju, calligraphy, porcelain making, hunting, which one wouldn't be more comfortable than being an emperor?"
"Yuanchang, you're already 78 years old this year, right? Do you still have the energy? I shouldn't have asked you to come out of retirement. You've been delayed from enjoying family happiness."
"Retired Emperor, thank you for not despising me. I am able to realize my original intention. I now give out porridge every day. When I hear those refugees call me a kind-hearted person, I feel very happy."
"You are shameless. You and the Emperor are in-laws. His Majesty wouldn't do anything to you even for the sake of Princess Fujin. We don't have that kind of relationship. Besides, you are already seventy-eight. It's time to calm down."
"Your Majesty, I have also thought about resigning. I have been away from Bianliang for over two years, and the position of Privy Councilor has always been held by someone below me. It just so happens that Your Majesty can hand the position of Privy Councilor to someone close to you."
"We'll play Cuju together then. We haven't played together on the field for a long time. I really miss it."
"How difficult is that? Why not hold a Cuju competition? The 25 routes of the Northern Song Dynasty will gather 50 teams and play in a round-robin tournament until a champion is crowned."
Zhao Huan explained the concept of the World Cup to a few people. He suggested that once it matured, he could also host competitions like shuttlecock kicking and running. He could also open a gambling house and make some extra cash.
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