The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Ten days later, all parts of the Song Dynasty were caught in a storm of gossip. The common people gradually learned that Prime Minister Su Jin had left the Song Dynasty to go overseas. Under the continuous fermentation, various versions of speculation were rampant. There was a burst of panic.

Zhao Zhen was extremely worried. He was afraid that he would fall into the chaotic situation when Su Jin temporarily left a year ago, but he was helpless. Zhao Zhen rejected Bao Zheng and others' request to resign, and invited everyone into the palace After a long and heart-to-heart talk, he finally had to lower his noble head, agreeing to issue an edict of guilt, admitting that he had made a big mistake in handling Su Jin's affairs, and at the same time promised to continue Su Jin's series of policies and send people overseas to find Su Jin. Jin's trace, trying to recall Su Jin and others.

Early the next morning, the Pearl Newspaper, which had been suspended for ten days, suddenly reprinted a special issue with only one article on it, which was "A Letter to the People of the Great Song Dynasty" written by Su Jin before his departure.

"...I am the son of a merchant, and I was born in the wilderness. Like all the lords, I am an ordinary subject of the Song Dynasty who can no longer be ordinary; It is God's will for Bu Yi to grow into an important national minister who can serve the Song Dynasty, and I cannot refuse."

"In the more than a hundred years since the establishment of the Song Dynasty, the country that was supposed to be prosperous in the world has been repeatedly disturbed by foreign enemies and internal troubles have occurred frequently. People with insight have already seen all kinds of disadvantages. Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the country. The ministers of the Great Song Dynasty, self-restraint to resist foreign humiliation and revitalize the Great Song Dynasty to make a modest effort; therefore, there have been various measures in the past ten years. Of course, the results need not be talked about. You can only comment. If you say something has been achieved, it is far from what I expected Thousands of miles apart."

"The ideal country in my heart is a country that is rich, strong, civilized, and people's wisdom is gradually developing. I failed to achieve this. , Inheriting the style of Confucius and Mencius sages, talented people should emerge endlessly, and generations of people will work together, and the great Song Dynasty will rule the world just around the corner; what I have done is just a beginning, as the saying goes, "winter is over and spring is not far away", everything will come to an end. will come true.”

"As for my departure, gentlemen, don't speculate too much. As the saying goes, there is no banquet that never ends. I have put all the plans I know in my heart into practice. I have no regrets about leaving. However, there are too many restrictions, and this departure is my personal choice, which has nothing to do with others; all policies of the Development and Reform Department will remain unchanged within ten years; all national debts and commercial financing will also be left by me to leave six mines, The income of thirteen silver villages, the tax revenue of Mingzhu City, and more than a hundred Suji shops will never be written off, and the promised interest rates and profits will remain unchanged; First of all, do all the things at hand well, that is, love the Song Dynasty, love the country, and don’t act irrationally because of my departure, that will be a stain in my life that I don’t want to see.”

"The current emperor is a benevolent and righteous king. All the rumors about the discord between me and the emperor are false. As for some conflicts between monarchs and ministers, it is inevitable between people, such as between father and son, brothers, brothers and sisters. It is inevitable that there will be grievances, and it is harmless, and you should not spread rumors, let foreign enemies and people with ulterior motives take the opportunity to provoke, and harm the country."

"I set sail today to fulfill the long-cherished wish in my heart. There are thousands of worlds in the world. I want to see all kinds of worlds. Maybe one day, when I am tired of wandering, I will return to Song Dynasty. What I hope to see is that the Great Song Dynasty is prosperous and strong, the princes live and work in peace and contentment, the courtiers are honest and loyal, and the emperor's body is healthy, and it will be a pleasure to drink with the princes at that time!"

"..."

Eloquent and eloquent, a thousand-character long novel, either looking back on the past, or looking forward to the future, or vaguely looking forward to, or reluctantly, full of affection, each word is heartfelt, and the reading is unbearable and sad; the people of the Song Dynasty are silent, and Su Xiang may have expected There will be a chaotic situation, so this delayed farewell text is his last effort for Da Song.

After the "Book to the People of the Great Song Dynasty" was released, tens of millions of copies were printed within three days, and almost every household had one copy. People mounted it and treasured it, as Prime Minister Su's promise. With the issuance of imperial edicts such as "An Imperial Edict" and "An Tian Edict", the chaotic situation in the Song Dynasty was gradually reversed, and production and life tended to be normal.

According to Su Jin's suggestion before his departure, Zhao Zhen asked the demoted Fu Bi to return to the position of prime minister, and also deposed Zhang Yaozuo and other remaining party members, and recruited Bao Zheng, Sima Guang, Wang Anshi and other well-educated people into important positions in the court. Within ten years, following the various policies set by Su Jin as Prime Minister and continuing to develop, Xia Kingdom, Dali Kingdom, Tubo, Uyghur and others surrendered one after another, creating the hegemony of the world's most powerful country.

……

One month after leaving Mingzhou Port, more than 30 large ships sailed straight to the east on the vast sea. The offshore islands gradually disappeared, and the sea water became dark blue, and they had entered the deep sea area of ​​the Pacific Ocean.

The weather was fine, and there were many people on the deck of the big ship in the middle. Several large tables were lined up, and there were drinks, dried fruit and snacks on them. Yan Shu, Xia Song, Li Chong, Pan Jiang, Jingtai and others brought The family members were seated, and Su Jin, Yan Biyun, Xia Siling, Yeli Duanyun, Li Ali, Rouniang sisters, Xiaosuier and Xiaoxianer were also sitting under the sun umbrella. Seven or eight children were chasing and playing on the deck. There are smiles on their faces, leisurely.

"Su Jin, it's been a month, and you still won't tell us where we're going? Are we going to be adrift on the sea forever?" Yan Shu asked with a grizzled beard as he chewed preserved fruit.

"Yeah, I said I would tell everyone a long time ago, and I have been keeping secrets. My husband, if you tell me where you are going, how about I give you an unexpected surprise?" Xia Siling said coquettishly, holding Su Jin's arm.

Su Jin crossed her legs and smiled next to her ear: "What surprise can you give me? I have learned all your tricks..."

Xia Siling blushed, and raised her hand to fight, Su Jin waved her hand and said: "Forget it, I'm almost ready, I wanted to tell you a long time ago, but I was afraid that you would feel uncomfortable, so I made a secret thing, it's time for you to Eye-opening. Come on, lift it out."

The servants hurried into the ship building, and after a while, several of them worked together to lift out a tall thing covered with a black cloth, which was one person tall, and placed it in the sunlight on the deck. Su Jin got up and walked over, reaching out and grabbing a corner of the black cloth Shouted: "Everyone, please open your eyes!" After saying that, he shook his hands and pulled down the black cloth, and what appeared in front of everyone was a huge ball with strange figures painted on it, painted with various colors of paint, and written With densely packed small characters.

"What is that?" Everyone didn't know why.

"This is a globe!" Su Jin was very satisfied with everyone's expressions.

"What is the earth?" Everyone gathered around and asked.

Su Jin pointed at his feet and said with a smile: "The earth is the vast and boundless land under our feet, full of oceans, forests, mountains and lakes. That's right, we all live on this sphere."

"Nonsense, the ball is round, and we won't die if we stand on it." Yan Shu, Xia Song and others reprimanded with a smile.

Su Jin scratched his head and said: "How should I say it? I can't explain it for a while. In a word, the sky is round and the place is wrong. The sky has no size and shape, but the earth is round. If we keep walking in one direction, we will return to Our starting point; I will explain these to you later, and now I will answer your questions. This globe has all the ocean and land terrains. You see, this is Da Song, and our current position is in On the sea thousands of miles east of the Song Dynasty, there is a name called 'Pacific Ocean', and we are in the Pacific Ocean."

"Pacific Ocean?" Everyone stretched their necks and moved the ball carefully to look at the graphics and writing on it.

"Looking further east, that's where we're going. There's a barren land where no one has developed and established a country so far. Well, maybe a guy named Columbus will find it in a few hundred years... Far away, in short, we will occupy there. It has an area not smaller than that of Song Dynasty. There are large forests and rich lands. Of course, there are groups of wild animals and local natives. We will occupy that large area of ​​land. This is my goal for the rest of my life." Su Jin puffed out his chest, spoke excitedly, and looked at the east with piercing eyes.