"Summon Song Yunfan, the compiler from the Wenyuan Pavilion, to the palace. Have him bring the imitation silver frost charcoal so the Empress and I can see it."
When the Emperor's curiosity was piqued, nothing could stop him.
Song Yunfan never expected that just buying some charcoal for Xu Huaiqian would bring him before the Emperor. Not knowing whether it was a blessing or a curse, he brought a cartload of charcoal into the palace.
In the Xuanzheng Hall, he lit the imitation silver frost charcoal in a brazier for the Emperor and Empress to see: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, please look."
The silver frost charcoal basins in the Xuanzheng Hall had long been removed. The room was bitterly cold. As soon as the imitation silver frost charcoal was lit, the warmth of the burning coal spread through the room.
The Empress, being a woman with a weaker constitution, felt the difference immediately as the temperature rose: "Indeed, the warmth is no less than that of silver frost charcoal."
The Emperor was also pleased: "And the price is very low."
If this kind of charcoal were available throughout the land, even ordinary commoners could buy some for heating. Not necessarily to use every day, but at least to let pregnant women and the elderly enjoy it occasionally.
"Not only that," Song Yunfan said, seeing the Emperor was not displeased, "this fragrance-free imitation silver frost charcoal is especially suitable for the elderly and pregnant women."
As everyone knew, the scent of silver frost charcoal was pleasant, but not for everyone—especially pregnant women and the elderly, who are highly sensitive to smells. Staying in a room filled with the scent of silver frost charcoal for days could be harmful to their health.
"You've done well. That scholar from Yong'an Prefecture has also done well. And the prefect of Yong'an Prefecture has done well too." The Emperor was very satisfied. Remembering that Song Yunfan said this was created by a student of his in Yong'an Prefecture—who, to earn money, had no choice but to seek him out and ask him to promote it in the capital—he praised them all.
After the Huayin Prefecture incident, the Emperor hadn't heard anything that pleased him for a long time. Suddenly learning that a scholar from a remote county could create such practical, affordable charcoal that could be promoted throughout the country—and thinking that commoners could also use good charcoal in the future—greatly improved the Emperor's mood.
Moreover, if his memory served him right, Yong'an Prefecture, as mentioned by Song Yunfan, was an obscure prefecture under the Changnan Administration Commission.
If this charcoal were promoted throughout the Jin Dynasty, Yong'an Prefecture would surely ride the wind and rise, transforming from a remote prefecture into a prosperous one.
The more the Emperor thought about it, the more excited he became. He ordered his attendants: "Bring me the map of Changnan."
Unrolling the map of Changnan, the Emperor grew even more thrilled: "Oh, there's even a canal! No wonder they could sell charcoal to the capital. The prefect of Yong'an Prefecture is quite something—to have such a capable person under his governance. His performance evaluations over the years must be good, right?"
Those with sharp ears knew the Emperor was about to show favor to the prefect of Yong'an. They hurried to the Ministry of Personnel to retrieve the performance evaluations of Changnan officials over the years. But when they found the page for the prefect of Yong'an, they hesitated to hand it to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, this..."
"What? Is there a problem?" The Emperor was shrewd. The moment they hesitated, he stepped forward, took the evaluations, and his face darkened at a glance.
A string of "medium to low" ratings—no promotions, no demotions, just retained in position.
Logically, if a prefect achieved nothing in three years, he should be demoted. But the prefect of Yong'an was different: medium to low every year, yet retained every year.
Looking further, the magistrates under him were the same. Among the twelve county magistrates, not one had been promoted—only those who had been demoted.
How was this possible?!
Even in the worst prefecture, it was impossible not to produce a single magistrate capable of advancing to the prefectural city over many years. Were the magistrates who passed the imperial exams all blockheads, knowing nothing but poetry and songs? Couldn't there be one or two clever ones?!
Yet Yong'an Prefecture was like a stagnant pool—completely motionless. If there was no problem with this, who would believe it?
"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly!" The Emperor threw the evaluations on the ground. His excellent mood instantly turned to fury.
If it weren't for the imitation silver frost charcoal sparking his interest, leading him to look into Yong'an Prefecture and check the prefect's evaluations, he might never have discovered the issue.
Was the problem with the Ministry of Personnel's evaluation system? Or was the prefect of Yong'an Prefecture himself problematic? Or were both at fault?
What were they trying to do?
Heaven is high and the emperor far away—did they want to be local despots?!
The Emperor, who hadn't felt the urge to kill in a long time, was now filled with murderous intent, strongly wanting to execute someone.
"Rotten! Completely rotten! The entire Jin Dynasty is rotten! There isn't a single satisfactory minister in the whole court!"
Extremely disappointed with his court officials, the Emperor flew into a rage and ordered a thorough investigation into the prefect of Yong'an and the Ministry of Personnel's evaluation system.
Meanwhile, Yong'an Prefecture was also in turmoil.
First, the prefect of Yong'an discovered that magistrates from several counties near Taoyuan County had, through a married-in scholar's charcoal venture, sold to major official households in the capital and even curried favor with the Vice Minister of Personnel. Rumor had it that within a few years, these magistrates would be transferred to prosperous counties, leaving Yong'an behind.
It was unclear whether the news was true.
But the fact that so many ships from capital official households gathered in Taoyuan County was undeniable.
The prefect of Yong'an was momentarily uncertain. The capital was too far; his influence could maneuver around Changnan, but reaching the capital was beyond him.
And he couldn't act rashly against the scholar who produced the charcoal. His investigations revealed that the scholar had somehow befriended Song Yunfan, the "newly prominent" figure from Suzhou Prefecture. It was Song Yunfan's connections that enabled their charcoal to sell widely in the capital.
All of this had happened right under his nose as prefect, yet he hadn't detected any of it.
This left the prefect of Yong'an deeply frustrated. He considered himself corrupt, but toward magistrates under him who didn't oppose him, he was quite tolerant. Shouldn't they report their achievements to him first? Why did they bypass him and report directly to the capital?
Didn't they trust that he would promote them?
Little did he know that it all started because he embezzled exam supplies, causing Xu Huaiqian to fall ill and go blind, which earned Xu Huaiqian's dislike and led to everything that followed.
The prefect of Yong'an was utterly perplexed, trying to figure out how to make these disobedient magistrates and scholars disappear without attracting attention from above. While he was scheming, Gu Fengchao quietly rode out of the prefectural city and headed to Taoyuan County.
In winter, with little to do, after sending off a group of servants from capital officials who came to buy charcoal, the magistrate of Taoyuan County began discussing road repairs with the magistrate of Mishan County.
They needed to build a road from Xinghua Village to Taoyuan County so that next year's charcoal could be sold more easily.
Xu Huaiqian and Chen Liejiu had said that all charcoal should be shipped from Taoyuan County in the future, not from Yong'an Prefecture. The magistrate of Taoyuan also had to repair the dock to ensure that next year's charcoal-buying ships wouldn't have nowhere to berth, as they did this year.
So when Gu Fengchao arrived, he saw the spectacular sight of the entire Taoyuan County working together to repair roads and docks.
Without much effort, he learned in the county that the imitation silver frost charcoal came from the household of a scholar named Xu Huaiqian in Mishan County, who had married into his wife's family. The roads and docks were being built to sell his charcoal.
He then rode to Xinghua Village in Mishan County.
There, he witnessed a village completely different from any other!
Whether working in the fields or hauling charcoal from the mountain, everyone wore smiles on their faces, full of vitality—nothing like the hopeless, deeply suffering faces often seen in rural areas.
Drawn by these lively people, he dismounted and asked an old man working in the field: "Uncle, why are you all so happy digging in the fields?"
"Our village's Scholar Xu and Brother Liejiu are letting us grow ginger—how could we not be happy?" The old man, seeing Gu Fengchao leading a horse, knew he was no ordinary person. Since over a thousand cartloads of charcoal had been hauled out of Xinghua Village, people often came to inquire, so he wasn't surprised.
Gu Fengchao was puzzled: "Ginger?"
"Yes, ginger! It's all thanks to our Scholar Xu—you know him, right?"
Gu Fengchao nodded: "I know." He had once read Xu Huaiqian's exam papers for the Xiucai degree—his essays on people's livelihoods were excellent.
"That's him! Last year, he grew five mu of ginger, connected with medical clinics in Shengbei, and sold it for over seven hundred taels of silver!"
The old man sighed deeply: "Over seven hundred taels! We've farmed all our lives and never grown that much silver!"
"Now he's not growing it himself—he's letting the whole village grow it. Next year, we'll earn money too. Don't you think we should be happy?"
The old man's joy was unmistakable. Although each household only had two fen of land and could only earn thirty taels a year, thirty taels was still a lot—enough to build a blue-brick house with tiled roofs!
"Then he is truly generous." Gu Fengchao was also astonished. Not only did he earn over seven hundred taels from five mu of land, but he also shared the profits with the villagers—such generosity was admirable.
"Exactly!" Hearing him praise Xu Huaiqian, the old man nodded happily. "Scholar Xu is a great man in our village. After passing the Xiucai exam, he grew ginger for us; before passing, he hatched chicks for us to raise. And the charcoal burning—that was all Scholar Xu's idea. Everything he does is for the good of our village."
"He even hatches chicks?" Gu Fengchao was intrigued. He had always wanted to promote poultry farming, so hearing about Xu Huaiqian's efforts piqued his interest.
"Yes!" The old man enthusiastically told Gu Fengchao about how Xu Huaiqian started hatching chicks, praising him repeatedly afterward. "No one believed Scholar Xu could succeed with hatching chicks or growing ginger at first, but now everyone admires him. Whatever he says from now on, our village will believe."