In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

The Qingli New Deal was successfully passed by the Political System Council. A few days later, on the morning of February 7, Fan Zhongyan formally took out his Kaocheng Law and proposed it in the court.

Unexpectedly, there were few opponents. With the support of the Political System Council, Zhao Zhen successfully accepted the birth of the Kaocheng Law.

At that time, Fan Zhongyan was still very surprised. He didn't expect that the Kaocheng Law would be promulgated so easily.

He thought it would be resisted by all the ministers in the court.

After analyzing with Zhao Jun, it was found that the officials did not know the power of the Kaocheng Law, so naturally they did not dare to offend Lao Fan, a great hero who had just finished the war.

Including in history, when the Qingli New Deal was first implemented, there was not much resistance.

It was after half a year, that is, in October 1043, the Qingli New Deal began. In April of the following year, 1044, because after the implementation of the new policy, the grace of favor was reduced and the examination was strict, people who hoped to get lucky felt inconvenienced, so the remarks slandering the new policy gradually increased.

There was also Wang Anshi's reform. It was also about a year after the decree was issued that the conservatives found that the reform violated their interests, which led to the "new and old party struggle".

In other words, when the court issued a new decree, it would not encounter much obstacles.

Only after the decree was issued and implemented, those whose interests were damaged found that the decree made them feel that their interests were damaged, so they began to resist, constantly engage in party struggles, and destroy the results of the reform.

At present, the reform has just begun, and everyone does not know what the performance evaluation law means, so the opposition will naturally not make any trouble.

So the performance evaluation law was smoothly issued.

The Jinzouyuan quickly conveyed the new regulations to officials across the country in just one month, ordering them to complete their duties every month, and starting from two months later, their performance will be checked every month.

The first two months of the promulgation of the performance evaluation law were very smooth. In order to give officials time to adapt, the court deliberately promulgated it in early February, and then in late May, it officially entered the assessment stage.

After all, transportation was inconvenient in ancient times. It took a month to convey the court's intentions to officials across the country.

It took about one or two months for officials to understand the meaning of the performance evaluation system and adapt to the new working conditions.

Otherwise, if the system was immediately checked after it was promulgated, it is estimated that at least half of the more than 40,000 officials in the country would be eliminated, which would be too outrageous.

So officials should be given some tolerance.

This means that officials across the country were given a minimum adaptation period of two and a half months. Officials who were closer to Bianliang and were quickly informed of the new policy even had an adaptation period of three and a half months.

This gave officials enough time. If they still could not adapt under such circumstances, the first batch of assessments would be dismissed, which was naturally not the court's problem.

Everything went smoothly during the adaptation period. Soon after a month, officials across the country basically understood the situation, and the will from above was also passed on layer by layer.

Officials at the court guided the road-level officials on the tasks to be completed each month, requiring them to do what work and things to handle. The road-level officials then passed this concept to the state, and the state passed it on to the county.

As a result, the officialdom of the Song Dynasty quickly entered the working state after one month, which greatly improved the previous situation where officials had unclear superiors and subordinates, confused responsibilities and did not know what they should do, slow efficiency of government affairs, and even many local officials who received salaries every day without doing anything.

Of course.

There must be officials who did not take the new policy seriously and continued to do their own thing.

Anyway, the court gave them two or three months, and the opportunity was given to them. If they could not grasp it, then they could not blame anyone.

So before the assessment officially began, everything was calm.

But the effect was also obvious.

At least the efficiency of officials in the central court was indeed much higher than before, and the speed of operation of various departments was also quite effective.

After all, the roads, states, and counties below were assessed every month, and the superiors and subordinates and the Censorate inspected once a month.

The officials of the court, the Censorate, and the inspection departments of various institutions were right next to them, watching every day. Even if there was no record and verification, the pressure naturally came to many officials.

Under the influence of this trend, even officials who visited prostitutes did not dare to go.

In fact, officials were prohibited from visiting prostitutes in the Song Dynasty, but everyone knew that this law was in name only. Su Shi often visited prostitutes.

Zhao Jun said in his elective course "History of Chinese Prostitution" in the History Department of Renmin University: Although the Song Dynasty prohibited visiting prostitutes, the trend was even worse than that of the Tang Dynasty. It can be seen how serious the trend of officials visiting prostitutes was at that time.

But now the court is cracking down on it. Although the stick has been raised but not dropped, the officials in Beijing are well-informed and know that the court is serious, so they have restrained themselves a lot.

Anyway, you can't visit prostitutes, but you can play with concubines, so there is no need to go against the wind.

For a time, the atmosphere in Bianliang was very good.

Officials at all levels were in order, and the public security, business environment, people's lives and all aspects of Bianliang were much better.

And when all this went smoothly, Zhao Jun formally proposed to Cao's mansion in February of the Qingli year.

After more than a month of tedious procedures such as three books and six ceremonies, the wedding date was finally officially set in April, and the bride was welcomed in May.

On May 6, an auspicious day, Zhao Jun's residence was quite lively.

He still lived in the small courtyard outside Xihua Gate. Since the place was not spacious, he rented Xiangding Building on the same street as a venue for a banquet for his colleagues.

He also held a small banquet at his own home.

The main guests at the banquet were people with relatively good connections, such as colleagues from the Constitutional Yuan, as well as Di Qing, Cao Xiu, Wang Su, Yang Cha, Yang Gao, Zhao Pian, Chen Xiliang, Bao Zheng and other more appreciated subordinates.

Zhao Jun didn't have many friends in the Song Dynasty, including Fan Zhongyan and Yan Shu. As for Lu Yijian, they were actually friends and enemies. The rest, Wang Zeng and others, were half colleagues and half friends. After all, the age gap between the two parties was too big to establish a relationship. close.

As for the one with the best relationship, it is undoubtedly Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen strongly requested to leave the palace to attend the wedding. The reason was that Zhao Jun had no relatives and no reason. As Zhao Jun's collateral ancestor, he should replace Zhao Jun's parents as the male elder.

certainly.

This reason was given to the Constitutional Yuan, and the external reason was that Zhao Jun was an important minister that he relied on, and he paid attention to his wedding.

But it was a big deal for the emperor to leave the palace, so the court was in commotion for several days and tried to dissuade him.

In the end, it was Empress Cao who took the initiative, and the imperial guards sealed Qingtai Street for about an hour in the evening when the wedding was taking place. The emperor and empress came to the venue to participate in the ceremony.

Anyway, Qingtai Street is right outside Xihua Gate, just after leaving the palace, and most of the street shops are closed in the evening.

Although this is still a bit ostentatious and a waste of money, the cost is not as high as going out of the city.

At around midnight, the Zhao Mansion was decorated with lanterns and a few tables were set up in the small courtyard outside. The guests had not arrived yet, so the main task now was to decorate the venue.

Because the wedding ceremony at that time was not called a wedding, but called a dusk ceremony, which was held in the evening.

Therefore, we often see that the wedding ceremony scenes in TV dramas are all at night, and the banquet must be prepared during the day.

Xiangdinglou has been taken down and ingredients are being prepared.

Zhao Jun's mansion was assigned a royal chef from the palace, and the standards were still very high.

By the afternoon, Zhao Jun was wearing a red robe, whose scientific name is Zhanjiaofutou, round-collar official robe, short shirt, trousers, long shirt, leather belt, black leather boots, similar to Zhao Zhen's dragon robe. Quite dazzling.

Surrounded by Cao Xiu, Di Qing and other Imperial Guardsmen, he mounted a tall horse, took the betrothal gifts in large and small packages, and headed towards the Cao Mansion in a mighty way.

The Cao Mansion was also very busy early in the morning. Not only did they have to prepare the dowry, Cao Miaoxin also had to put on a dress and look beautiful.

Unlike later generations who thought that ancient weddings wore phoenix crowns and harems, wedding attires were different in different dynasties.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the bride's clothing was mainly black, but by the end of the Han Dynasty, it gradually evolved into black and red. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the clothing became white. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it turned green again.

At that time, there was a saying that "the flower hairpin is green and the clothes are connected to the clothes, and the green clothes and leather are worn with sandals".

The Song Dynasty inherited more of the Tang Dynasty, and the bride also wore a green dress. She had to wear a "long-sleeved dress, blue quality, plain gauze singlet, knee coverings, large belts, leather belts, shoes of the same color as the dress, flower hairpins, and hairpins" , and the two temples are decorated with gold and silver."

It was not until the Ming and Qing Dynasties that Fengguan Xiapei began to be used.

Because the dressing style of the Tang and Song Dynasties was relatively cumbersome, Cao Miaoxin spent a whole morning dressing up at home. He had not eaten anything by noon, so the maid made a plate of pastries.

In the afternoon, Zhao Jun came to greet the bride, and Cao Cong, as the only elder of the Cao family still alive, came out to greet him personally.

The two parties saw the gift, and the guards moved the betrothal gifts in box by box.

Zhao Jun was actually quite poor. Even though he traveled all over the world and ransacked houses, many high-ranking officials had a lot of money, all of which he pocketed.

But most of them were handed over to the treasury by him to support the wars against Xixia and Liao.

The rest was put into the funds of the Imperial City Department.

Nowadays, the Imperial City Division has spread all over the country, selecting elite soldiers to serve as guards. Tens of thousands of them have gone to various roads, states, and counties across the country to establish strongholds.

These all cost money like water.

The officials objected to funds coming from the treasury, and Zhao Jun was too lazy to argue with them and raised funds himself.

For example, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has established many state-owned enterprises in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Nantong and other places to establish trade with Japan's Koryo. The money earned is not only used for enterprise development, but also turned over to internal funds to support the construction of the Imperial City. .

So he didn't have much money on hand. After all, he could feed himself and the whole family was not hungry, and his expenses were not large. The salary he paid every year would either go to the poor or go to the treasurer of the imperial city.

However, he has many valuable antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and treasures on hand.

It's not that they came from corruption. Most of them were gifts from Zhao Zhen, and some of them were gifts from Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng. It's no problem that the value exceeds one million yuan.

Therefore, although he didn't have much money, giving these things was more prestigious than giving money directly.

At this moment, guests from inside and outside the Cao Mansion gathered and came to congratulate one after another. They wanted to have a meal at the Cao Mansion at noon. The officials heard the praises being sung continuously: "A copy of Han Gan's "Royal Horse Picture"!"

"A jade crystal coral from the South China Sea!"

"A gilded jade Buddha in the Nanliang Palace!"

"Three letters written by Yan Zhenqing!"

"Ten pounds of dragon and phoenix tea!"

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Guests from all walks of life were shocked.

What a family.

Is this priceless thing a betrothal gift?

Zhiyuan is really generous.

Only Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and others who were sitting on the main seats looked at each other.

With tears in my eyes, tears fell like rain, and I fainted in the toilet.

Those are their treasures!

It's all a bitch.

But obviously Zhao Jun didn't bother to care about them.

Cao Cong happily welcomed Zhao Jun in and held a welcoming ceremony.

When it was the end of the Shen hour, the guests had almost finished eating, and the ceremony was over. The bride was carried out and sat on the sedan chair.

At this time, the Cao Mansion was very lively inside and outside, and neighbors from all walks of life came to ask for money.

The Cao family servants kept throwing out red envelopes and copper coins, and everyone scrambled for them.

The firecrackers were lit in an instant.

"Crackle!" "Boom boom boom!" "Toot toot toot!" "Ding di di!"

Various suonas, gongs and drums, and flutes played cheerful music.

Many relatives and friends, and officials who came to congratulate also went out one after another. The senior officials took carriages and sedan chairs, and the junior officials walked towards Qingtai Street.

At this moment, Qingtai Street had been closed off. Zhao Jun compensated each household with a certain amount of red envelopes, and Xiangdinglou prepared a sumptuous meal.

Most officials were welcomed into Xiangdinglou for dinner.

Zhao Jun still rode on his horse and took the bride back to his small courtyard.

Although the courtyard is small, it feels like home.

After getting off the sedan, the musicians and servants stood outside the sedan and sang poems to stop the sedan.

The maid next to Cao Miaoxin handed out red envelopes.

Then many children from the surrounding neighborhoods rushed over and clamored for red envelopes.

The maid also immediately threw out a lot of copper coins.

This was called "blocking the door for joy", "scattering beans" and "seeking good luck" at the time.

After finally getting off the sedan, Zhao Jun went up and held Cao Miaoxin's hand. Cao Miaoxin's cheeks flushed in an instant.

After all, people did not wear big red headscarves when getting married in the Song Dynasty, so Cao Miaoxin was particularly shy at the time.

However, feeling Zhao Jun's warm hand, she soon leaned over unconsciously.

The two entered the house.

This process is called entering the hall, and bowing to both parents is called worshipping the hall.

At this time, Wang Shouzhong shouted: "Your Majesty is here!"

As a group of imperial guards rushed in, separating the crowd of people watching the excitement, a wide and tall carriage slowly stopped at the gate of Zhao's mansion.

Cao Cong, Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and other high officials hurried to greet them.

Zhao Zhen took Empress Cao down from the carriage, looked around, and said with a smile: "I am not late."

"Just in time."

Cao Cong smiled and said: "We are going to get married."

"Then hurry up."

Zhao Zhen pulled Empress Cao and urged them to enter the house.

After a while, Zhao Zhen, Empress Cao, and Cao Cong and Cao Miaoxin's mother, Madam Shen, sat down on the left and right.

There was no way.

Zhao Zhen was a member of Zhao Jun's ancestors.

Cao Miaoxin's father Cao Wei died early, so naturally he had to be replaced by his uncle.

The sky gradually darkened.

The ceremonial officer said loudly: "The bride and groom enter the hall!"

Zhao Jun pulled Cao Miaoxin into the hall.

"First bow to heaven and earth!"

The ceremonial officer shouted.

The two knelt outside the hall.

"Second bow to the parents!"

The two kowtowed to Zhao Zhen, Cao Cong and others.

"Husband and wife bow to each other!"

The two bowed to each other.

"Send them to the bridal chamber!"

After the last shout, the two were escorted to the bedroom.

The bedroom was naturally redecorated.

There were etiquette female officials who performed the "spreading the tent" and "closing the bun" ceremonies for them.

Then Cao Miaoxin sat on the bedroom. After Zhao Jun apologized to him, he went out to accompany the guests.

During this process, Cao Miaoxin was accompanied by female officials and maids.

Zhao Jun was going to toast Zhao Zhen and others.

At the banquet, Zhao Zhen was very happy. He waved his hand and gave Zhao Jun some time to get married. The whole wedding was considered a successful conclusion.