On that day, it was rumored that the officials had a long talk with Fan Zhongyan in Funing Hall, and when he returned to Chuigong Hall, they immediately summoned all the ministers in Zhengshi Hall.
After a while, when all the prime ministers and ministers arrived at Chui Gong Hall one after another, the official asked seriously: "Xiangong Fan has returned to the capital. I want to call him back to the center. I wonder what you will do?"
After hearing this, the expressions of Chen Zhizhong, Wen Yanbo, Song Xiang, Pang Ji, Gao Ruona, and Ye Qingchen changed slightly.
Regarding Fan Zhongyan's return to the capital, these six former ministers had different attitudes.
The first is Chen Zhizhong and Wen Yanbo. They neither support nor oppose Fan Zhongyan's return to the court, but their actual political opinions are leaning towards the "anti-reform camp". To be precise, they oppose the "yinbu" and "mokan" in Fan Zhongyan's reform. "The reform of two things is "clearly deposed" and "suppressed luck".
After all, both Chen and Wen came from literary families. Fan Zhongyan's reforms were detrimental to the interests of their family and their descendants. However, out of their responsibilities, they did not explicitly oppose Fan Zhongyan at the beginning. They just watched with a cold eye and waited to see whether Fan Zhongyan and others could implement the reforms. .
If they can, they can accept this change.
This is also a common attitude held by a considerable number of civil servants from aristocratic families in the DPRK. However, for another part of the civil service class, including opposition aristocratic families, their core interests also include "land."
Song Xiang and Gao Ruona were clear opponents. It was not so much that they had leftist political views and that the reforms proposed by Fan Zhongyan were detrimental to their interests. It was not that they had any personal grudges with Fan Zhongyan.
The remaining two people, Ye Qingchen and Pang Ji, had less obvious approval: they agreed with Fan Zhongyan's return to the capital, but they were worried that the resistance would be too great and that in the end they would not be able to help Fan Zhongyan but would have themselves dismissed from office.
However, the appearance of Zhao Yang made the officials firm up the idea of recalling Fan Zhongyan and put it into practice. This gradually made the support of Ye Qingchen and Pang Ji clear, and also made the opposition of Song Xiang and Gao Ruona gradually ineffective. In addition, Qian Mingyi He was demoted to the state magistrate, and Song Xiang was unwilling to break up with Zhao Yang in the past, so the "anti-revolutionary faction" gradually weakened in the court and seemed to be dormant. To this day, it is a foregone conclusion that Fan Zhongyan will return to the central government.
After a brief silence, Prime Minister Chen Zhizhong was the first to express his agreement on this matter: "Fan Xianggong is indeed a pillar of the country, loyal to the emperor and patriotic. I agree to call him back to the central government, but I don't know what official position the officials want to give him?"
The rest of the ministers looked at the official family one after another, among which Song Xiang and Gao Ruona were the most concerned.
Seeing this, the official thought for a while and then said: "I... want to restore Fan Qing to his former position of political advisor."
Participate in political affairs?
The ministers looked at each other and could not tell any reaction. After all, with Fan Zhongyan's qualifications, he returned to the central government and was appointed as a counselor and political advisor, which was the minimum.
After thinking for a while, Song Xiang glanced at Pang Ji and tried to say: "Fan Xianggong has been operating in the Fourth Road of Shaanxi for a long time and is very familiar with Xia. Now that the Privy Council has redrawn its strategy for Xia, why don't I appoint Fan Xianggong to serve in the Privy Council? ?”
Pang Ji looked at Song Xiang after hearing this, but said nothing.
However, the official shook his head and said, "It is enough to have the two Prime Ministers Song and Pang in the Privy Council. I, Prime Minister Fan, have other uses."
After hearing this, it became clear to all the ministers: the officials still planned to ask Fan Zhongyan to restart the reform.
In addition to the clarity of the matter, everyone was also surprised by what the official said just now, especially Song Xiang himself - why is it enough to have Song and Pang in the Privy Council? Isn't he, Song Xiang, about to be transferred to the capital to serve as the last prime minister?
The other husbands were also puzzled, but they couldn't ask rashly, so they remained silent.
Seeing that all the important ministers had no objection to this, the official said: "In addition, I also want to issue an edict to summon Ouyang Xiu, Han Qi, Fu Bi, Cai Xiang, Du Yan and others to return to the capital. How about the next one?"
As soon as these words came out, it became extremely clear that the reform would be restarted.
Among them, Gao Ruona hated Ouyang Xiu the most. Even if Zhao Yang called him "Xiao Gao" and "Ruona" on the left and "Gentleman and Thief" on the right, he didn't respond. That's because he already knew that he couldn't fight that kid. As he became more and more embarrassed and humiliated, it was better to just let it go, but Ouyang Xiu...
If Ouyang Xiu hadn't written a letter scolding him back then, how would that boy named Zhao call him a gentleman and a thief today?
"The official family..."
He was about to speak, but he didn't expect that Song Xiang also spoke at the same time, and his voice overshadowed him: "Most of the scholars such as Ouyang Xiu, Han Qi, Fu Bi, etc. are working in Hebei Road. At present, the floods in Hebei have not been quelled, and the Yellow River has changed its course. This attitude is unclear, and I do not think it is appropriate to recall you all at this moment."
Gao Ruona turned his head and glanced at Song Xiang, then fell silent after thinking for a moment.
The other ministers also looked at Song Xiang, but they could not deny that what Song Xiang said was indeed reasonable.
The official also fell into deep thought. He frowned for a while and said, "In that case, how about calling Cai Xiang, Du Yan, and Yu Jing first?"
Cai Xiang is currently serving as the magistrate of Fuzhou, while Du Yan is serving as an official and living in Yingtianfu, Nanjing. After the failure of the Qingli Reform, Yu Jing moved to the left as a young eunuch and was assigned to Nanjing. Although he was later promoted to Guanglu Shaoqing, he was never recalled. In the Beijing Dynasty, he had not yet taken office in Hebei. The officials wanted to recall these people first, but Song Xiang could not refuse because of what he had just said.
So the officials issued an edict that day, summoning Cai Xiang, Du Yan, and Yu Jing to return to the court.
After a while, when everyone left the Chui Gong Hall one after another, Gao Ruona asked Song Xiang in a low voice: "Why didn't Mr. Song stop him and watch Fan Zhongyan and others come back?"
Song Xiang shook his head and said: "Fan Zhongyan was recommended by Zhao Jingxing. Rather than saying that the officials trust Fan Zhongyan, it is better to say that the officials trust Zhao Jingxing. If you and I stop him, we will hate him again."
Zhao Jingxing, also known as Zhao Yang, felt a headache when he heard the name Gao Ruona. He said helplessly for a long time: "We only need to prevent the others from returning to the capital. Fan Zhongyan is the only one, and there is nothing he can do."
"Can it be stopped?" Song Xiang chuckled and said, "Don't forget, Zhao Jingxing already admires Fan Zhongyan, and the second son of the Fan family is still serving as an adviser in his technical department. If he comes forward, how can you and I stop him?"
Gao Ruona felt dizzy after hearing this, frowned and asked, "Mr. Song, do you mean... dragging?"
"It won't take long." Song Xiang shook his head and said: "You have also seen the gunpowder bombs supervised by Zhao Jingxing before. Although they cost a lot, their power is really amazing. If I were the Khitan envoy, I would definitely report to Yelu Zongzhen after seeing how powerful it was. Don’t coerce the Song Dynasty at this time..."
"What does Mr. Song mean?"
"First of all, our private grudges should not endanger the country. Secondly, since we can't stop it, we can slowly let it in... In short, there is no harm in letting its power grow. If these people want to promote the reform, they will definitely create a gap with Zhao Jingxing and interfere with it. I can show up later..."
"Hmm." Gao Ruona nodded in agreement.
At this time, Song Xiang suddenly asked Gao Ruona: "By the way, the officials have not transferred me to the capital hall for a long time. Do you know why?"
Gao Ruona shook his head and said, "I don't know about this either."
The two of them were puzzled by this.
In fact, the reason is very simple. Zhao Yang sent a second letter to the officials, urging them not to replace important ministers of the two governments frequently, so as not to cause chaos in the government of the two governments. The officials were at a loss as to what to do. The officials were quite hesitant after reading it. Therefore, personnel changes were suspended. Since it was Zhazi who went directly to Chui Gong Hall, no one knew about it.
As for Gao Ruona who has been transferred, it is naturally difficult to transfer him back.
In the evening of that day, Ye Qingchen held a banquet at his residence to entertain Fan Zhongyan and his two sons.
Since Fan Chunren is currently serving in Zhao Yang's Technology Department, and Ye Qingchen has a good relationship with Zhao Yang, the Third Secretary also sent an invitation to Zhao Yang.
However, when Zhao Yang asked about the banquet list, he guessed that it was a private banquet for Ye Qingchen to entertain the Fan family father and son alone, so he wisely did not join in the fun.
During the dinner, Ye Qingchen informed Fan Zhongyan and his son of the good news of the official edict: "...Today afternoon, the official convened everyone in the political affairs hall to discuss the matter of Brother Xiwen. After everyone's discussion, Brother Xiwen was restored to the position of political advisor. , this edict was issued after the Zhizhi edict was drafted. Brother Xiwen will receive the edict tomorrow at the latest. Congratulations to brother Xiwen."
Fan Zhongyan had a long talk with the officials in Funing Hall today. He knew that the officials still had the intention of reform, so he was not surprised by this. After thanking him, he asked: "I am asking you to recall Ouyang Gong and Han Xueshi." …”
"This matter is slightly hindered." Ye Qingchen explained Song Xiang's remarks at Chui Gong Hall. Even Fan Zhongyan was shocked: "The Yellow River changed its course?"
Ye Qingchen explained the diversion of the Yellow River again: "...Now the Khitan envoys are inquiring around Daming Mansion. It is estimated that this matter cannot be concealed. Therefore, Song Gong prefaced that it is not appropriate to recall Ouyang Gong and Han Xueshi from Hebei Road for the time being. However, It’s also reasonable. ...What happens next depends on the subsequent negotiations with the Khitan envoys.”
Fan Zhongyan frowned and said, "Who is ordered by the officials to receive the Khitan envoy?"
"Except for the special orders of officials, it stands to reason that they have the right to know the affairs of Kaifeng Mansion..."
"Zhang Yaozuo?" Fan Zhongyan looked strange and couldn't help asking: "How could he be the one to know about Kaifeng Mansion?"
"The harem can use its strength." Ye Qingchen said with a chuckle.
Fan Zhongyan shook his head repeatedly.
He had been in the center for a long time, how could he not know about Zhang Yaozuo?
Seeing this, Ye Qingchen seemed to have guessed something and advised: "Don't be in a hurry to persuade the officials to depose Zhang Yaozuo, otherwise you will offend Zhang Yaozuo, and even the young man who was so kind to you will be punished." view."
"Little Langjun Zhao?" Fan Zhongyan asked in surprise: "Little Langjun Zhao has a personal relationship with Zhang Yaozuo?"
Ye Qingchen nodded, smiled at Fan Chunren and said, "Erlang should know this best."
Fan Chunren then told his father what had happened succinctly: "...there was indeed a conflict between the two parties at first, but later Zhang Yaozuo showed his kindness many times, and he and Jing Xing gradually became familiar with each other... According to what his son saw, under Jing Xing's restraint , Zhang Yaozuo has indeed restrained himself."
Fan Zhongyan glanced at his son in surprise, then frowned and said: "Regardless of Zhang Yaozuo's character, I always feel that it is not safe for him to receive the Khitan envoy. The imperial court should recall Yan Guo. He is quite familiar with the Khitan..."
Yan Guo, whose nickname was Fu Bi, sent several envoys to Liao State.
Ye Qingchen shook his head and said: "Xueshi Fu is on Hebei Road... He has to deal with the aftermath of Wang Ze's rebellion and also provide relief to local flood-stricken people. I'm afraid he won't have time to return to the court in the short term. ... I think Brother Xiwen doesn't need to worry about this. , the official family has appointed Xiao Langjun as the deputy envoy to accompany the Khitan envoys."
"Little Prince Zhao?" Fan Zhongyan was surprised to hear Zhao Yang's name again. Since Zhao Yang was kind to him, he couldn't say anything about it. He thought for a moment and asked curiously: "Little Prince Zhao... said Do you know his political views?"
Ye Qingchen smiled and said: "Shouldn't I ask your second son about this matter?"
Fan Zhongyan turned to look at Fan Chunren, but Fan Chunren shook his head and said, "Jing Xing rarely talks about this matter."
Ye Qingchen was a little surprised and thought: "In that case, let's talk about my personal opinions. ... I think his ideas are more radical than Han Qi's, but he still maintains Brother Xiwen's poise, relaxation and restraint, which is quite interesting. magic."
"Please elaborate."
"He advocated that the Song Dynasty should not be content with the status quo, but should strive to conquer Liao and Xixia with strong troops, and prosper the Han and Tang Dynasties... As for the Liao and Xia countries, he also advocated using troops against Xixia first. This is what he said in the palace that day I heard what Gao Ruona and others were debating, but I don’t know the details. Maybe Song Xiang and Gao Ruona knew something about it. The officials once asked Xiao Zhao Langjun to go to the Privy Council to discuss the strategy against Xia with them. .”
"Like Han Zhigui?" Fan Zhongyan nodded thoughtfully.
What he calls Han Zhigui refers to Han Qi.
"No." Ye Qingchen shook his head and said: "Although they both advocate the use of troops externally, they are very different. If nothing else, it is said that Xiao Langjun wanted to improve the status of sergeants and even military attachés, and tried to change our 'advocating literature and suppressing military affairs' since the founding of the Song Dynasty. With such a trend, does Han Zhigui dare to do this?"
Fan Zhongyan listened quietly to Ye Qingchen's statement until he heard Ye Qingchen say that Zhao Yang once shouted to his imperial guards at the military camp in front of the palace, "Who knows that only those who sing the number one scholar outside Donghua Gate are good?" Fan Zhongyan was also shocked and couldn't help but ask: "There is no reaction from the DPRK?"
"Is there no response?" Ye Qingchen chuckled and said: "At that time, Qian Mingyi gathered eight people from Taiwan to impeach Mr. Zhao. Even Mr. Wen secretly favored them. As a result, Mr. Zhao refuted them one by one. Qian Mingyi Because of this, Yi was demoted from the capital. I was lucky enough to witness this with my own eyes. It was very exciting, but it's a pity that Brother Xiwen never saw it."
Fan Zhongyan smiled slightly and said with relief: "If this son can allow me to return to the capital, I know that he is deeply trusted by the officials. Now that I hear Dao Qing's praise like this, I feel relieved."
"Brother Xiwen, are you referring to the matter of receiving the Khitan envoy?" Ye Qingchen showed a subtle smile on his face: "Brother Xiwen, please take a look at this matter. The Khitan will never use the diversion of the Yellow River to coerce the Song Dynasty... Forgive me and your son Erlang for the specific details. We cannot disclose it unless we get official permission."
Fan Zhongyan looked at Fan Chunren in surprise. Seeing Fan Chunren nodding in confirmation, he was surprised and happy, so he stopped asking.
On that day, the host and guests were all happy.
On the way back to the inn in the evening, Fan Chunren hesitantly said to his father: "Dad, Zhang Yaozuo's nephew Shi Butong is also going to enter the high school to enter the scholar's program this year. For this reason, Zhang Yaozuo wanted to hold a banquet in Fanlou after the palace examination, so he invited not only Jing Xing, but also I have a baby, I don’t know…”
Fan Zhongyan frowned slightly and asked, "Has Mr. Zhao agreed?"
"accepted."
"...Then you go ahead." Fan Zhongyan agreed.
At the court meeting on the fifth day of March, Fan Zhongyan reappeared at the Daqing Hall morning meeting after more than three years. This greatly excited many upright officials in the court, or who claimed to be upright. For this reason, several censors impeached Zhang Yaozuo again. , but to no avail.
Zhang Yaozuo was very proud.
After the dispersion of the dynasty, Zhang Yaozuo called Fan Zhongyan to stay and intended to hold a banquet in Fanlou to welcome Fan Zhongyan, but Fan Zhongyan declined politely.
Thinking about it, with Zhang Yaozuo's reputation, if it were not for Zhao Yang's face, Fan Zhongyan would not allow his son to attend Zhang Yaozuo's banquet. How could he himself get too close to Zhang Yaozuo?
Afterwards, Zhang Yaozuo told Zhao Yang about the incident, but Zhao Yang ridiculed him: "What kind of reputation do you have that you dare to invite Mr. Fan? He has given you enough face by not scolding you in person."
Zhang Yaozuo was embarrassed, but he didn't dare to hate Zhao Yang or Fan Zhongyan, so he could only give up the idea of currying favor with Fan Zhongyan.
On March 20th, the officials presided over the palace examination in the Mingtang Hall to personally test the 498 Jinshi this year and test their current affairs strategies.
It cannot be denied that the officials in this year's provincial examination have really good eyesight, and their essays are excellent. Feng Jing, Shen Yu, and Qian Gongfu are still the most outstanding.
Even Feng Jing's article is slightly better than the other two.
It's a pity that officials also have preferences. When he saw Feng Jing, he thought of the fight in Fanlou that day that greatly damaged the court's face. He was even more angry that Zhao Yang had not reconciled with him so far. Shen Yu also stated the benefits of gunpowder and called the Great Song Dynasty Ying. He vigorously researched and developed firearms and was highly recognized by the officials, so the officials appointed Shen Tuan as the top pick, followed by Qian Gongfu and Feng Jing, which coincided with the list drawn up by Chen Xu and the provincial examination officials that day.
The next day, just as Zhang Yaozuo was preparing to host another banquet at Fanlou to celebrate his nephew Shi Butong's achievement of Jinshi status, the Khitan envoy finally arrived in Bianjing thanks to the efforts of Xia Song, who stayed behind in Daming Mansion.
However, judging from Xia Song's report to the court, the Khitan envoys had learned about the change of course of the Yellow River.
Zhao Yang, on his side, had also prepared gunpowder bombs to frighten the Liao Kingdom, waiting for the Khitan envoys to take the opportunity to attack.
