Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

This spring, Song Huizong was very busy.

Just after the Lantern Festival, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty issued an imperial edict that as long as Taoist priests hold ultimatums, they can deal with local officials informally like respected rural elders.

Immediately, Gao Qiu was promoted to Taiwei, and Tong Guan took charge of the Privy Council.

When Sun Li returned to Beijing to ask Zhu Guoxiang for help, the Song Dynasty officially conferred Duan Yu as Yunnan Jiedushi and King of Dali.

Then, more than 2,000 Taoist priests were ordered to gather at the Baolu Palace of the Shangqing Dynasty regularly to listen to Lin Lingsu's sermons. Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty also occasionally went there in person to listen to Lin Lingsu preaching Taoism. Each event cost tens of thousands of dollars, which was called the "Thousand Taoist Meeting".

Song Huizong officially proclaimed himself the "Emperor, the Taoist Lord"!

Wang Zixi also lived in the Baolu Palace of the Shangqing Dynasty. One of his concubines suffered from eye disease, and the emperor sent an eunuch to ask for a talisman.

This guy randomly drew two talismans and said to Xiao Huangmen: "Burn the talisman and put it in water to make soup, then use it to wash your eyes."

"But... what if it can't be cured?" Xiao Huangmen was afraid of taking responsibility.

"Snapped!"

Wang Zai Xi slapped him across the face: "You are talking nonsense, you eunuch. If I say you can do it, I can do it!"

Xiao Huangmen was beaten so hard that there were stars in his eyes, and he covered his face and lowered his head with resentment in his eyes. But he didn't dare to contradict him anymore, so he took the talisman and left, for fear that he would be beaten if he stayed here.

Wang Zaixi had completely lost his temper, and it was common for him to beat and scold eunuchs. Even the emperor's eunuchs were treated as slaves by him.

He was introduced to the emperor by Cai Jing. A eunuch went to Cai Jing and asked Cai Jing to restrain Wang Zaixi.

However, Wang Zaixi no longer took Cai Jing seriously and believed that Cai Jing should no longer direct him to do anything.

Lin Lingsu was just the opposite. He flattered all the treacherous ministers.

Lin Lingsu said to Song Huizong: "There are nine heavens in the sky, and Shenxiao is the highest. The eldest son of God is the Yuqing King of Shenxiao Mansion, and he is in charge of the south named Changsheng Emperor. The official family is the Emperor of Changsheng who came to the world, and the minister is the emperor. Sit down as an immortal, my name was Chu Hui before reincarnation."

It was this sentence that made Song Huizong proclaim himself the Taojun Emperor.

Lin Lingsu added: "All the ministers in the court came down to earth as immortal ministers and were reincarnated to assist the officials. Lu Gong (Cai Jing) was the immortal uncle of Zuo Yuan who came down to earth, and Wang Xueshi (Wang Fu) was a Wenhua official who came down to earth. Sheng Sheng The bachelor (Shengzhang) came down to earth for Baohua officials..."

All the traitorous ministers, in Lin Lingsu's words, turned into gods descending to earth.

At this time, Liu Wanyi had been promoted to Concubine Liu Xian (the first grade). She was also a descendant of the gods, so she was canonized by the emperor as "Concubine Jiuhua Jade True An", and she was the only Taoist concubine in the entire palace.

Cai Jing and Zheng Juzhong, who were trying to fool each other, actually put aside their conflicts and praised Lin Lingsu for his profound Taoism.

Tong Guan got the news on the front line and knew that he was an immortal descended to earth. He also wrote a letter to praise Lin Lingsu.

Concubine Liu Xian also liked Lin Lingsu and often helped blow pillows.

Even Zhu Guoxiang had the identity of an Immortal Qing and was the Immortal in the Immortal Palace of the Emperor Changsheng. Well, that is, the fairy gardener cultivated celestial grass and immortal trees for the Immortal Emperor, so he could only find ten thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum after he descended to earth.

Wang Zaixi didn't understand his situation at all and was still arrogant and domineering.

After beating and scolding the little yellow gate away, Wang Zai was walking around the Shangqing Baolu Palace when he saw a group of Taoist priests hurriedly asking: "What are you doing there again?"

These Taoist officials stopped in a hurry and bowed to Wang Zaixi: "Today there is a Qian Taoist meeting, and we are all going to listen to Mr. Tongzhen (Lin Lingsu)'s lecture."

Wang Zaixi said angrily: "What does he know about the Taoist scriptures? I have reached a critical point in refining the medicine and I happen to be short of manpower. You all come to help me refine the medicine!"

The Taoist officials looked at each other. They didn't dare to offend Wang Zaixi, nor Lin Lingsu, but now they were forced to take sides.

After hesitating for a moment, a Taoist priest said: "Thousands of Taoists will listen to the scriptures. It is the decree of the officials. Poor Taoists dare not disobey the imperial decree."

The other Taoist priests also made their choices and turned to Lin Lingsu.

"Okay! Very good!" Wang Zaixi laughed angrily.

The Taoist priests left bravely. Anyone with a right mind would know that Wang Zaixi would definitely not be able to deal with Lin Lingsu.

Wang Zaixi returned to his alchemy room, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he even complained: "The officials are really stupid, that Lin Lingsu knows nothing about shit, and his Taoist teachings are not as good as mine, yet he is allowed to preside over the Thousand Taoist Conference. This job should be mine, how can anyone else be qualified?"

Calling the emperor stupid?

Sun Mijue, a Taoist priest who was assisting in alchemy, was horrified when he heard this and quickly lowered his head and pretended not to hear.

Wang Zaixi cursed again: "That Zhu Guoxiang also donated ten thousand years of Ganoderma lucidum, and I helped him refine the Ganoderma lucidum into elixir. We should help each other. When Zhu Ming improved the movable type, I also gave Lin a lot of lead. Lingsu is so arrogant, but Zhu Guoxiang doesn't speak for us. His ten thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum must be fake, that's why I haven't been able to refine the elixir!"

Sun Mijue buried his head lower, not daring to listen to such words again.

Wang Zaixi vented his anger and finally felt a little more relaxed. He asked Sun Mijue to lead people to guard the alchemy furnace while he rode a horse to the city for a walk to relax.

That night, Sun Mijue quietly found Lin Lingsu: "The prince used to resent the officials, but he actually said that the officials were stupid kings."

Lin Lingsu was overjoyed and immediately ordered: "The officials still hope that Wang Zai will refine the elixir in the past. There is no one to support this kind of resentment. He can't be killed for the time being. Don't make it public and keep a record of his disobedience." I will tell you all when the time is right."

Sun Mijue added: "Just a few days ago, Wang Zaixi insulted his chamberlain Feng Hao."

Lin Lingsu said in surprise: "But Feng Hao is introspecting?"

"This is the man," Sun Mijue said, "Feng Hao was sent a message and took the opportunity to ask for money. Wang Zai Xi scolded him and called him a eunuch without eggs."

"Very good!"

Lin Lingsu smiled broadly: "Just go back and pretend nothing happens, and listen to my instructions at any time. When Wang Zaixi is defeated, you will benefit a lot."

Sun Mijue bowed and retreated, leaving the secret room with brisk steps and a happy mood.

Lin Lingsu summoned a confidant Taoist boy and sent him to deliver a message to Cai Jing.

Cai Jing read the letter and immediately wrote back, telling Lin Lingsu not to act rashly and wait until Wang Zaixi caused everyone to rebel and leave before launching another attack.

"Father, Wang Zai used to use Wannian Ganoderma lucidum to refine elixirs, but he actually said that Wannian Ganoderma lucidum was fake," Cai You said with a smile. "We might as well wait until he is convicted and coerce and induce him to report Zhu Guoxiang for using fake medicine." Deceiving the king."

Cai Jing shook his head: "Zhu Guoxiang is very smart. When he entered Beijing, he said that the spiritual energy of Ganoderma lucidum had been exhausted. Since the spiritual energy has been exhausted, how can there be any truth or falsehood?"

"You can add this." Cai You took out a few pieces of paper, all of them were Zhu Ming's poems.

After reading it, Cai Jing still shook his head.

Cai You took out one and read: "Kuiqiu is as domineering as a rainbow. I don't know the origin of the Eastern Strategy. Qi Huan has already laid his body on the bed where Confucius and Jinhou met. This was written by Ju Ming in Lizhuang, Kuiqiu. He is clearly mocking the officials, comparing them to Duke Huan of Qi who became dim in his later years, and cursing them for being dead in bed."

Although Ju Ming did mean that, in the eyes of the world, this poem cannot be understood in this way, and it is purely based on history.

Scholars pay homage to ancient relics and often draw lessons from history. This kind of poetry accounts for the majority.

This poem is called "Kui Qiu" and has spread throughout Xingren Prefecture and Puzhou. Not only the scholars in Shandong like it very much, but even the local officials think it is well written.

There were even scholars from Xingren Prefecture who organized a group to go to Kuiqiu to pay their respects and followed the trend and wrote many similar poems.

Cai You also took out "Partridge Sky" written by Ju Ming when he left the capital, and quoted it out of context: "There are thousands of hatreds now and in the past. There is also such bad turmoil and difficulty in traveling. The officials promoted him to be a court official and magistrate of the state, and he took office. At that time, he wrote such lyrics. Where is his hatred? Where is the trouble and evil? Where is the difficulty of traveling? Instead of caring about the kindness of officials, there is a lot of resentment!"

This is even more outrageous, it is just nitpicking.

Cai You then took out the "Linjiang Immortal" written by Ju Ming and left it to Li Shishi and said, "This word is even more bizarre. He wrote the prosperous Tokyo as a dilapidated capital. Is he cursing the Song Dynasty for the destruction of the country?"

After reading these three poems, Cai Jing felt that they were nonsense, and said speechlessly: "The officials will be angry at most, and there will be no punishment. Why are you staring at the father and son all day long?"

Cai You explained: "The most favored ministers today are Wang Fu and Li Bangyan. Wang Fu is the number one general under Zheng Juzhong. Li Bangyan has a good personal relationship with Ju Ming, and Ju Ming also turned to Zheng Juzhong. Their merger is Sooner or later, adding Zhu Guoxiang will be a serious problem in the future."

Cai Jing thought carefully and said: "Zhu Guoxiang never likes to talk much, and Ju Ming is no more than a clown when he jumps up and down. You are inciting the officials to transfer Ju Ming away from Puzhou because of a trivial matter. This may have made the officials unhappy. The top priority is to deal with it. Wang Fu! The Zhu family and his son can leave it alone for now."

What Cai Jing hated most was Wang Fu. Traitors are always more hateful than enemies.

Moreover, there were more and more traitors, and Cai Jing felt that he could no longer suppress him.

The recently retired Privy Councilor Deng Xunwu, Zhu Shengfei's father-in-law, as a veteran of the Cai Party, also showed signs of defecting to Zheng Juzhong.

In the war against Xixia, Deng Xunwu believed that the war could no longer continue.

Moreover, Song Huizong revealed his intention to unite with the Jin Dynasty to attack the Liao Dynasty, and Cai Jing immediately set out to contact the Jin Kingdom. This was also strongly opposed by Deng Xunwu, who believed that it should be postponed for a few more years because the current financial resources of the Song Dynasty could no longer bear it.

Then a strange phenomenon occurred. Cai Jing actually joined forces with Tong Guan to persuade the emperor to masturbate Deng Xunwu.

Cai Jing would rather give up the Privy Council temporarily to stop Deng Xunwu's betrayal!

Of course, it's not like beating him to death with a stick.

When Deng Xunwu was dismissed from his position as privy envoy, he was also granted the title of Duke of Shen State, worshiped as Shaobao, and was as gracious as a prime minister. As long as Deng Xunwu is honest and obedient, Cai Jing will let him be the Privy Councilor again.

By the way, Deng Xunwu was granted the title of Duke because he suppressed the Wuxi barbarian rebellion.

Last year, not only the Lunan barbarians in Sichuan rebelled, but also the Wuxi barbarians at the junction of Guizhou, Chongqing, Hubei and Hunan later. The same reason was that local officials imposed excessive taxes, which provoked ethnic minority leaders to revolt.

By the way, people in Fujian also rebelled...

With rebellions everywhere and the war in Xixia continuing, Song Huizong had really made up his mind to join forces with the Jin Dynasty to attack the Liao Dynasty.

However, I don’t know how to contact the Jin Kingdom for the time being, and no one dares to cross the Liao Kingdom to the northeast.

Cai Jing did not take Zhu's father and son seriously, and warned: "As long as the father and son don't cause trouble again, there should be no more trouble. You should target Wang Fu!"

"yes."

Cai You's head hurt after hearing this. He knew that the emperor loved and trusted Wang Fu so much that it was impossible to bring him down.

When the man's head hurt, Zhu Guoxiang was begging the emperor to pardon Yang Zhi's murder.