BSI Chapter 86 0084 [Zhao Xu and Shen Kuo]
Chapter 86 0084 [Zhao Xu and Shen Kuo]
Chapter 86 0084 [Zhao Xu and Shen Kuo]
As early as the end of September, the new emperor Zhao Shu had already agreed to hold court, which means sitting in the main hall to receive his ministers.
But he only paid attention to the court and ignored its affairs.
I may meet with ministers, but I will resolutely not interfere in politics.
In early December, Zhao Shu agreed to listen to lectures at the Erying Pavilion, which meant that ministers would give him lessons.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to discuss the Analects and the Records of the Grand Historian, Lü Gongzhuo and Liu Er advised Zhao Shu to cultivate his moral character. In other words, they were subtly criticizing the new emperor for not offering sacrifices to the late emperor, and reminding Zhao Shu to be more careful in the future.
Zhao Shu was very unhappy, but he did not show it on the spot.
This is a huge step forward.
Six days later, he accepted Han Qi's suggestion and agreed to let Prince Zhao Xu of Huaiyang leave the palace.
Light snow was falling from the sky.
Zhao Xu slowly walked into the hall, bidding farewell to his father with a sorrowful expression.
Zhao Shu, wrapped in a thick blanket, nestled on the couch reading silently, only waving to his son to let him go.
Zhao Xu bowed again and withdrew.
Immediately afterwards, Zhao Xu went to bid farewell to Empress Dowager Cao.
Empress Dowager Cao, recalling the grievances she had suffered these past few days, embraced Zhao Xu and wept bitterly. Zhao Xu, remembering the troubles that had transpired during this period, also began to cry along with the Empress Dowager.
Immediately afterwards, the Prince of Huaiyang's carriage left the palace, where several people were already waiting in the snow outside the palace gates.
Those were the officials of the Prince of Huaiyang's residence selected by the prime ministers for Zhao Xu, namely Wang Tao, Han Wei, and Sun Sigong.
The Prince of Huaiyang's residence was located in the Muqinzhai area outside Tianbo Gate, which was actually the former Prince of Pu's residence. Zhao Shu and his son Zhao Xu once lived there for a long time.
Returning to his familiar surroundings, Zhao Xu instantly felt relieved, all the gloom of the past six months vanished.
Before even taking off his coat, Zhao Xu bowed to his three teachers, thanking them for their guidance over the past two months and expressing his hope to continue learning from them in the future.
The three of them quickly returned the greeting.
Afterwards, Wang Tao and Sun Sigong bid farewell, leaving only Han Wei lingering behind.
Zhao Xu asked impatiently, "Teacher, is that Mr. Wang you mentioned in Tokyo at this time?"
Han Wei pulled out a stack of manuscripts from his pocket: "Wang Jiefu (Wang Anshi) was in mourning in Jiangning. These are articles he wrote while he was in the capital."
After saying that, Han Wei reminded him, "Although Your Highness has left the palace, it is not appropriate for you to meet with officials outside the palace in private, nor should you associate with scholars from the common people."
This was a restriction imposed on princes and dukes by the Song Dynasty. They were not even allowed to dismount or get out of their carriages on the streets, and they had to report to the Grand Court of Imperial Clan Affairs if they left the outer city area.
Of course, the actual operation is another matter.
If strictly following the imperial court's regulations, high-ranking officials were not allowed to receive guests on non-holidays.
"I understand," Zhao Xu humbly accepted the advice.
After exchanging a few more words, Han Wei bowed and withdrew.
Zhao Xu eagerly opened Wang Anshi's manuscript. Although he couldn't understand much of the content, he still thought it was very impressive.
The main reason was that Han Wei kept praising Wang Anshi, which gave Zhao Xu an excellent impression of Wang Anshi.
Life is full of strange occurrences.
Han Wei himself could not have predicted that he would later oppose Wang Anshi's new laws after introducing Wang Anshi to Zhao Xu.
Upon reading Wang Anshi's "Ten Thousand Word Memorial" on "financial management" and "laws," Zhao Xu couldn't help but think of Han Fei and the Legalist school. Han Wei had once told him about Shang Yang's reforms that strengthened Qin, which had left a deep impression on Zhao Xu.
Zhao Xu summoned his personal eunuch Zhang Anji: "Go to the city and buy a copy of 'Han Feizi,' and while you're at it, inquire about the anecdotes in the capital. Don't make a scene, and don't let anyone notice."
Zhao Xu later became obsessed with Han Feizi, and even spent more than a month personally copying the book, which contained more than 100,000 characters.
Zhang Anji immediately changed his clothes and dressed up as an ordinary citizen.
He didn't even dare to ride in the Prince's carriage. After leaving the palace, he hired a donkey cart and went to several bookstores before finally managing to buy a copy of "Han Feizi".
This kind of book is not common.
Having completed his task of buying books, Zhang Anji then remembered his mission to inquire about anecdotes.
During his time as a prince and then a duke, Zhao Xu particularly enjoyed sending people to inquire about anecdotes. He even had the experience of personally visiting people in the countryside to seek them out.
Zhang Anji asked a scholar buying books, "Sir, my husband has just arrived in the capital and would like to know what interesting things are happening here. Could you tell me a few?"
The scholar asked with a smile, "Is your husband also a scholar?"
Zhang Anji fabricated a story: "My husband plans to take the entrance exam for the Kaifeng Prefectural School next spring, so he came to the capital to stay with relatives ahead of schedule."
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Anji said, "My husband has long admired the name of Wang Anshi (Wang Jiefu). Do you have any anecdotes about him?"
The scholar laughed and said, "There was such a thing last year. A rogue kept a quail, which was brave and good at fighting and had never lost. His friend was envious and asked for it. When his friend refused, the rogue snatched the quail away. The rogue chased after him and kicked his friend hard, hitting him in a vital spot and killing him instantly."
The Kaifeng Prefecture sentenced him to be executed in the autumn.
"What does this have to do with Prime Minister Wang?" Zhang Anji asked.
The scholar said, "At that time, Prime Minister Wang was in charge of investigating the criminal justice system in the capital. He said that this was a case of chasing thieves, and although someone was accidentally killed, it should not be punishable by death. This matter caused a great uproar, and everyone in the capital knew about it. They all said that Prime Minister Wang was willing to release a murderer for the sake of a quail."
Zhang Anji listened intently and couldn't help but ask, "Were the prisoners released in the end?"
The scholar said, "This case was submitted to the Court of Judicial Review and the Court of Judicial Review for review, and both upheld the original verdict of execution in the autumn. It was also because of this incident that Minister Wang requested to resign from his post."
Zhang Anji was both amused and exasperated. Wang Anshi had stopped investigating criminal cases, all because of a quail.
He then asked, "This is old news from last year, what about this year?"
The scholar said, "It seems that Minister Wang has left the capital this year?"
"I didn't ask Minister Wang what anecdotes there were this year. The newer the better," Zhang Anji said.
The scholar thought for a moment and said, "In the past two weeks, something interesting has happened. A student named Xu Lai wrote a poem on the wall at a farewell banquet, which attracted many scholars from Dongjing to come and see it."
Zhang Anji asked, "What poem did he write?"
The scholar immediately recited: "The poems of Li Bai and Du Fu are recited by millions, yet they feel somewhat stale now. Talented people emerge in every generation, each leading the literary scene for hundreds of years."
Zhang Anji, who was also educated, couldn't help but click his tongue in astonishment: "What a boastful tone."
"But this poem is well written," the scholar said with a smile. "Later, everyone remembered that this Xu Lai was already quite famous. This spring, his poem 'New Thunder,' written for Yu Jing, was already circulating among the scholars in Tokyo."
Zhang Anji hurriedly asked, "How is 'New Thunder' written?"
The scholar immediately began to recite, detailing the relationship between Xu Lai and Yu Jing.
Furthermore, the scholar added, "I only recently learned that the flower shears that are all the rage in Tokyo were also invented by this person. They were originally used to prune mulberry and fruit trees."
After talking about Xu Lai, Zhang Anji continued to inquire about other things.
A moment later, Zhang Anji left the bookstore, ran to the blacksmith shop to buy mulberry scissors, and then took a donkey cart back to the Prince of Huaiyang's mansion.
He took out his copy of "Han Feizi" and vividly recounted the story of the Quail Case.
After pondering for a long time, Zhao Xu asked, "What do you think the verdict should be?"
Zhang Anji replied, "This servant has not studied the law and dares not make any presumptuous guesses."
Zhao Xu muttered to himself, "Mr. Wang's judgment is reasonable. But the Kaifeng Prefecture, the Dali Temple, and the Court of Judicial Review also have their reasons. It's really hard to say who is right and who is wrong."
"Your Highness may seek guidance from the three gentlemen," Zhang Anji said.
Zhao Xu nodded: "That's true. May I ask you, sir? Are there any other anecdotes?"
Zhang Anji said, "There was a poor scholar in Guangdong named Xu Lai who met the military commissioner Yu Jing last winter. Commissioner Yu tested his poetic talent, and Xu Lai wrote a poem called 'New Thunder.' Commissioner Yu immediately accepted him as his disciple."
"Is it Yu Jing, the one who offered four remonstrances during the Qingli era?" Zhao Xu asked.
"right."
Zhang Anji picked up his pen to write "New Thunder," saying as he wrote: "This man was recommended by Minister Yu to study at the Imperial Academy, and he has recently become famous again. At his farewell banquet, he inscribed a poem on the wall of the Great Xiangguo Temple. The poem was extremely arrogant, attracting scholars from the capital city to come and see it."
After saying this, Zhang Anji wrote down "On Poetry" and took out mulberry shears, saying, "This thing is called flower shears, which can be used to cultivate and prune flowers and trees. Many scholars in Dongjing (Kaifeng) have them, and they have spread to Luoyang to be used to prune peony branches. I heard that it was originally called mulberry shears, which can be used to prune mulberry branches and fruit branches. It was invented by Xu Lai."
Zhao Xu looked at the mulberry shears and nodded, saying, "These are farming tools. Xu Lai comes from a poor background and can make farming tools, so he must be quite the talker. Hmm, his two poems are excellent."
Zhao Xiang had a slight impression of Xu Lai.
But that was all; he quickly moved on to other anecdotes.
There was a newly appointed scholar who, because he hadn't spent money to bribe officials, was still waiting for his post after more than half a year, unable to be appointed to a substantive official position.
Given his condition, it's estimated that he'll have to wait a few more months.
The scholar, carrying a handwritten copy of mathematics, trudged through the snow to the Yu residence and asked the gatekeeper, "Excuse me, is this the residence of Master Yu?"
The doorman nodded: "Neither Old Master Yu nor Young Master Yu are in the capital."
The scholar asked, "Is it permissible to come and go slowly?"
"Young Master Xu is studying at the Imperial Academy. Please come back on your day off," the doorman said.
The scholar said no more, nor did he leave.
-
He stood in the alley outside the door, pacing back and forth to ward off the cold.
Soon, he picked up a dry twig, took out the handwritten manuscript from his pocket, and started doing math problems in the snow using "A New Method of Arithmetic".
After working on the problems for a while, my hands got so cold that I tucked them into my sleeves, stood up, and continued walking around.
As it grew later, Xu Lai finally returned home from school, carrying his books.
The scholar quickly stepped forward and asked, "Are you Xu Xingzhi, Xu Sanlang?"
"That's right," Xu Lai replied, bowing slightly.
He assumed the other person had come to visit him because of his poem. There are quite a few people like that lately; the walls of the Great Xiangguo Temple are indeed very useful.
Although Xu Lai was not yet famous throughout the capital, he was already quite well-known among scholars.
"Very good!"
The scholar was overjoyed and bowed respectfully, saying, "Shen Kuo of Hangzhou, courtesy name Cunzhong, greets Mr. Xu."
"Shen—Shen Kuo?"
Xu Lai's mouth gaped open; he was genuinely shocked this time.
Shen Kuo asked curiously, "Has Xu Jun heard of my name before?"
"I've heard people mention it," Xu Lai quickly replied.
Shen Kuo took out his handwritten mathematical manuscript: "Xu Jun's 'New Methods of Mathematics' has already circulated in the Three Departments. I happened to obtain it and like it very much. Unfortunately, I only copied a part of it. Could Xu Jun lend me the original manuscript?"
Xu Lai exclaimed with delight, "The Three Departments have started promoting my 'New Method of Mathematics'?"
"It wasn't exactly promotion," Shen Kuo explained. "I heard that Minister Cai handed the manuscript to a subordinate official without ordering its distribution. That official then passed it on to a clerk, who then spread the manuscript around. It was, in a sense, circulated privately."
Xu Lai, too lazy to ask any more questions, pulled Shen Kuo along and said, "Hurry up and come inside, it's very cold in here."
He wanted to have a long talk with Shen Kuo.