Chapter 90 Double Happiness
“What do you mean?” the official asked curiously.
"My son, I heard someone say that one of the ways of being an official in the officialdom is to keep things high and low. It is better to say less when you know that something is wrong. Be prudent and protect yourself, but seek to make no mistakes." Zhao Xing said .
“Bang!”
Hearing this, the official patted the table and said, “Isn’t this a corpse meal?”
"My son didn't believe it before, and thought it was a bit exaggerated. But think about it, father, Feng Mingsong is already talking nonsense outside, which shows that his father often does similar things. There is no airtight wall in the world, isn't it possible that no one has one? Did you notice it? But who reported it?" Zhao Xing said.
After hearing this, the officials thought carefully and found that Feng Deguang did not impeach officials himself, but directed his officials to do it.
Those who are complicit with him will naturally not say anything.
But he didn't believe that a censor's platform had become Feng Deguang's dictum.
There must be people who are not of the same mind as Feng Deguang, but no one has ever exposed or impeached Feng Deguang.
Isn't this exactly what Zhao Xing said just now, don't worry about it if it has nothing to do with you.
The more the official thought about it, the angrier he became. He always believed in the beautiful agreement between the king and the scholar-bureaucrats to rule the world together, and was unwilling to break the tacit understanding with the civil servants and scholar-bureaucrats. He felt that if the emperor was wise, the ministers would be wise.
Even though many people opposed the New Deal, he never complained about the ministers who opposed it.
Because the New Deal did have many drawbacks, in his heart those who opposed the New Deal were also virtuous ministers.
But a series of things told him that these ministers were not as virtuous as they appeared.
Seeing that it was almost over, Zhao Xing did not continue the topic and asked about Wang Anshi's situation.
After learning that Wang Anshi would arrive in Bianjing soon, he said goodbye and left.
After Zhao Xing went back last time, he thought about it carefully. When his father ascended the throne as a young man, he had not yet taken power. Wen supported his young father and instilled in him the idea of not killing the scholar-bureaucrats, ruling the world with the scholar-bureaucrats, and ruling by doing nothing.
It can be said that my father is an honest child educated by civil servants. He abides by all the rules and systems compiled for him by the imperial power, ancestral system, patriarchal laws and even the unspoken rules of society, and never goes beyond them.
To break these, it is useless to rely on one or two persuasion.
Only by letting him realize the truest situation of the Song Dynasty can he break the ideas instilled in him by the civil servants and release the shackles on him.
So Zhao Xing is not in a hurry, just take his time.
…………
In late May, Sheng Wei returned to Bianjing alone.
Originally, he wanted to take over his mother and other children, but after discussing with his in-laws, he advanced his son's wedding date to mid-September.
It was expected that less than half a year would be left, so after discussion, the old mother and wife arranged the wedding arrangements for the eldest son, and he came to Bianjing alone to make preliminary preparations.
After his son got married, he left his son to take care of the business in Youyang, and the family moved to Bianjing.
Sheng Wei came to Bianjing this time, brought some old servants with him, and moved directly into the house given by Zhao Xing.
The house Zhao Xing gave him was only two streets away from Jiying Lane, covering an area of seven or eight acres.
In Bianjing, where land is at a premium, a house like this is worth tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Leaving his servants to clean the house, he went to the Sheng family.
The next day, he came to the East Palace and asked to see Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing was very happy when he learned that Sheng Wei was back. He couldn't attend to classes, so he found an excuse to ask for leave and met with Sheng Wei.
Concernedly asked about the situation at Sheng Wei's home, and learned about his arrangements but didn't say anything. He asked him to get the things out as soon as possible, especially the distiller, and asked him to go directly to Liu if he had any difficulties. Sanshi helps solve it.
It's almost the end of May now. Let's get the stills out and stock up on more wine to sell to the Liao Kingdom in autumn.
Autumn is here in the Song Dynasty, and it will be cold in the Liao Kingdom.
Coupled with the frequent heavy snowfall in winter, autumn is a good time for trading.
Maybe we can get some horses back this year.
The Song Dynasty could not defeat the Liao Kingdom. Although there were various factors, the lack of horses was also an important factor.
Although it cannot be said that having enough cavalry can defeat the Liao Kingdom, it can also narrow some of the gaps.
After Sheng Wei left, he went to take over Huangzhuang the next day and had people start building the distiller.
Simple distillation equipment is not difficult and can be made in just a few days.
Following Zhao Xing's instructions, he made some wine and asked people to try distilling it.
After distillation, the aroma of the wine was indeed much richer than before, which made Sheng Wei, who was not very good at wine, feel the urge to try it. Fortunately, he remembered Zhao Xing's advice not to drink the first wine that came out, so he waited for a while before taking some wine and tasting it.
The distilled wine is indeed much stronger than before.
After distilling enough wine, he asked someone to conduct a second distillation.
When the twice-distilled wine came out, he took two jars to the East Palace.
......
"Your Highness, the wine has been made. Although it is stronger, the taste is not very good." Sheng Wei said.
"Take a look."
Zhao Xing looked at the two wine jars brought in, stepped forward to open one and smelled it.
It smells no different from the inferior liquor of later generations.
As for whether it was good or bad, he couldn't tell. After all, he didn't like to drink this stuff in his previous life.
Zhao Xing dipped his hand into some wine, put it in his mouth and tasted it.
"Bah, bah, bah."
Zhao Xing spit out the wine in his mouth. No wonder Sheng Wei said it didn't taste very good.
The taste is very spicy, worse than the low-quality liquor he drank in his previous life.
Even if the alcohol content of this kind of wine is high and the taste is too bad, no one will probably like it.
Zhao Xing frowned and thought for a while, then patted his forehead and said happily: "I know what the problem is. Sanshui asked someone to bring a few jars of wine."
"Yes!" Sanshui responded and gave the order.
After a while, several eunuchs carried two jars of wine into the hall.
Zhao Xing asked someone to scoop out a pot, and then added some distilled wine into it.
The reason why it tastes bad is because it has not been blended.
Zhao Xing didn’t know how to blend, so he added some at will and let Sheng Wei taste it.
"Your Highness, although this wine is still very strong, it tastes much better." Sheng Wei's eyes lit up after tasting it.
“Just try it as you did just now, find more people who love wine to try the wine, and blend it to get the best taste.” Zhao Xing said.
“Yes!” Sheng Wei responded.
"Your Highness."
At this moment, Liu Sanshi walked in and saluted: "A man named Wang Anshi is outside asking for an audience with the appointment document from the Ministry of Personnel."
"Haha, it's a double happiness today. Sheng Wei, please take the wine back. When you make the best tasting wine, bring it to me, and I will give it to my father to try," Zhao Xing said.
“Yes!”
Sheng Wei bowed and left with the wine.
"Go and bring the people in." Zhao Xing ordered.
“Yes!”
Liu Sanshi withdrew, and after a while he led a middle-aged man in his thirties, with a thin build and a somewhat indifferent expression, in.
When Wang Anshi walked into the hall, he smelled a strong smell of wine and frowned without any trace.
As far as he knew, His Royal Highness was only eight or nine years old this year, and he started drinking alcohol.
In ancient times, drinking alcohol at the age of eight or nine was nothing unusual.
But now it is not yet noon, and there is such a strong smell of wine in the hall, which shows that he has drank a lot.
"Your Highness, I've brought you here." Liu Sanshi saluted.
Wang Anshi came back to his senses, bowed and said: "Your Majesty Wang Anshi pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
Thanks to Haoran and LHT for the reward.
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(End of this chapter)