The Hanlin Painting Institute in the Northern Song Dynasty was actually a part-time spy agency!

"Brother Shoudao, what do you say? Do we still have the responsibility of spying on the enemy? ”

Just after visiting the rooms of the Donglang Painting Bureau in Xuanyoumen, and politely greeting a few people who had known each other for a long time, Wu Haogu heard something that surprised him from his immediate boss Liang Shicheng, who was in charge of the painting bureau.

It turned out that he did not enter the ...... Not just an art institution, but also a secret service!

Liang Shicheng told him that in addition to completing the painting tasks assigned by the court, such as decorative paintings and portrait paintings, the responsibility of the Hanlin Painting Academy also has a very important and secret mission, which is to use the identity of the painter as a cover to spy on enemy intelligence.

Looking at Wu Haogu with a surprised face, Liang Shicheng smiled again, looking very kind...... This good face was bought by Wu Haogu with 20,000 personal friends!

This generous gift has exceeded Liang Shicheng's psychological price, so how can he be dissatisfied?

Liang Shicheng said with a smile: "Chongdao, you will soon be waiting for the edict to be straight, and this matter should be explained to you."

Our artists have always been responsible for drawing maps and spy paintings. The map drawn by the painting bureau not only has the map of the rivers and mountains of our dynasty, but also the situation of the mountains and rivers of the Western Thief and the Northern Dynasties, as well as the cities and rivers. In addition, the characters and customs of the Northern Dynasties, Western Thieves, Goryeo, Dali and other countries also need to be painted by the painters of the Painting Bureau, and then shown to the officials and the rulers of the two prefectures.

Chongdao's boundary paintings and portrait portraits are known as the first in the world, and in the future, it is indispensable to follow the messengers of the National Letter Office to the Northern Dynasty. If you can draw the situation of Yanshan and the appearance of the Liao lord and come back to the official family, you will be able to give the official immediately. ”

It turned out that the Hanlin Painting Institute of the Northern Song Dynasty not only had the function of a secret agency, but also a military surveying and mapping department!

Such an arrangement seemed to later generations to be completely nonsense, which was equivalent to the Central Academy of Fine Arts doing part of the work of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of State Security. However, it was completely normal in the Song Dynasty, because there were no cameras and no satellites in this era. Maps and portraits are all drawn by hand, and if the officials of the Great Song Dynasty want to know what the emperor and important ministers of the Liao State look like, don't they have to send a "humanoid camera" to draw them?

As for the errand of drawing maps and drawing Chengguan, who else can you give it to if you don't give it to a professional painter? The civil servant of the north room of the Privy Council? It's impossible, the imperial examination doesn't take this. An officer of the Forbidden Army? Lin Chong and Lu Qian are like this, can you see the pictures they draw?

So let's call the painters of the Hanlin Academy to paint. Therefore, the Hanlin Painting Institute of the Great Song Dynasty inexplicably became a secret service agency and a military surveying and mapping department.

At this time, Wu Haogu also remembered an allusion during the Song Taizu period, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin once sent Hanlin to wait for Wang Ai to go to the Southern Tang Dynasty as an envoy, and secretly drew a portrait of the Southern Tang Dynasty ministers Song Qiqiu, Han Xizai, and Lin Renzhao. also used Lin Renzhao's photo picture to make a discordant plan, so that Li Yu killed his general.

In addition, among the Song paintings that have been handed down to later generations, there are many works that are suspected of being "spy paintings", such as "Guanshan Travel Map", "Xialing Creek Bridge Map", "Liutang Horse Herding Map" and so on.

Not to mention, Zhezong Zhao Xu is really a bit "knowledgeable". Wu Haogu had practiced sketching and sketching hard in his previous life, and if he pursued speed, he could complete a character sketch in five minutes. At this speed, when it comes to the Great Song Dynasty, is it not the first person to properly spy and paint?

Moreover, Wu Haogu also helped people make realistic maps of China in his previous life, and he is quite familiar with the mountains and rivers of China. The map drawn is probably the best in the world.

With such skills, it seems to be a piece of cake to want to mix up an official body in the Hanlin Painting Academy and become an ace spy of the Great Song Dynasty.

However, he still couldn't cry or laugh a little, how could he become a senior agent of the Great Song Dynasty in a daze......

"Liang is enshrined, and the newcomer is good at Zhao Zhiwu?"

Just when Wu Haogu was still a little difficult to accept the reality of becoming a spy, a sharp and thin voice came from outside the door, and then there was the creak of the door being pushed open.

"It turned out to be Yang Offering." Liang Shicheng answered the words while pulling the sleeve of Wu Haogu's coat, "Chongdao, our family introduces you, this is Yang Xian of the Imperial Medicine Academy, and now he is the person who serves the official family in the palace." ”

The worship is a high-ranking official of the eunuchs, which is not a high grade, but it is not small, and it belongs to the middle level. The Imperial Medicine Academy is a very powerful government office under the inner nei servant, and the scope of its jurisdiction is extremely wide, one of which is to send palace attendants to follow the official family closely - when the official family and the prime minister ask each other, the only one who can serve on a regular basis is the palace attendant sent by the Imperial Medicine Academy!

And this Yang Xian is one of the palace attendants who served the official Zhao Xu in the Chongzheng Palace, and is Zhao Xu's confidant eunuch, with a single name and a Chinese character, about thirty years old, with a white complexion, a thin body, wearing a well-made green robe, wearing a crown hat decorated with a mink tail, and holding a whisk.

"Xiao Di has seen Yang Daguan."

Wu Haogu hurriedly bowed and saluted. He didn't know that the Yang worship in front of him was Yang Jian, who was ranked among the six thieves, but he still had to fulfill the number of courtesies.

Yang Jian glanced at Wu Haogu and said, "I have long heard that you are the first person in the painting, and when I see it today, I don't want to be so young."

Anyway, the official family announced that you should go to see you, and come with our family. ”

Wu Haogu didn't move when he heard this, but gave another salute, "Xiao Di is indeed young, and he doesn't know the etiquette in the palace. ”

As he spoke, a "personal friend" folded into the shape of dried tofu was stuffed into Yang Jian's hand. Yang Jian took the "personal friend" and put it away without looking at it, and the tone of his mouth when he spoke again was much kinder than before.

"The official family is easy-going, you don't have to be too afraid, after entering the palace, you will bow down, Your Highness stands, unless the official family permits, you can't look directly at the sky, and you can't speak loudly, and the official family can answer truthfully after asking. Also, look solemn and calm as soon as possible. ”

It is not common to kneel and bow in the Great Song Dynasty, even if the face is not necessarily kneeling down three times and nine knocks, only in the grand court meeting (every year on New Year's Day and the winter solstice), and the suburban ceremony once every three years needs to kneel and worship. Often, the court can worship (as a bow) ceremony.

In the third year of Chunhua, Taizong Zhao Guangyi ordered the Si to apply for the 15 articles of the etiquette of the regular staff, which stipulated: the military attache of the regular staff or the court to perform private salutes, kneel and worship, wait for the omission of the line to be out of order, talk and laugh loudly, enter the yamen misconduct, the line is slow, to the class train is not right, tend to worship the loss of etiquette, the language is noisy, wear the class, go out of the cabinet door is not on duty, leave the position for no reason, eat under the corridor, sit out of order, enter and exit the dynasty and retreat from the yamen, and enter the book on non-official business. The offender was given a month; There is a division of Zhenju, those who refuse to subdue, record and degrade.

In other words, it is not allowed for officials to kowtow to the emperor Lao Tzu in the ordinary reckoning!

As for when the common people see the emperor Lao Tzu, whether they bow down or make a bow, it is okay, even if they don't even do it, they will not cut off their brains. According to the information shown in the Song Dynasty paintings "Yingluan Tu", "Yujia Guanbiansheng Tu" and "Wangxian Yingjia Tu", the common people of the Song Dynasty had no rules when they saw the emperor......

After explaining, Yang Jian checked the waist card that Wu Haogu had just gotten as usual, and then led Wu Haogu out of the painting bureau, walked about dozens of steps north along a road, and arrived in front of the Chongzheng Palace.

Wu Haogu stayed outside the palace gate, and Yang Jian entered the hall to reply.

Soon, a word came from the hall: "Xuanwu is good to enter the hall." ”

This is the first time Wu Haogu has met the Son of Heaven, and he is a little scared, but he is more regretful. Although the history books do not have a high evaluation of the current Emperor Zhezong of the Great Song Dynasty, during the reign of Zhezong, the Song Dynasty defeated the Western Xia twice externally and recovered the Qing Tang Dynasty, and the people's livelihood at home was also considered peaceful. If he can live as long as Song Huizong, under his leadership, the Great Song Dynasty may be able to survive the chaos caused by the collapse of the Liao State!

When Wu Haogu entered the hall, he found that there was a familiar figure standing in the somewhat gloomy hall, which seemed to be the long-bearded eunuch Tong Guan.

However, Wu Haogu didn't have time to think about whether there was any reason why Tong Guan and himself appeared in the Chongzheng Hall at the same time, but according to Yang Jian's explanation, he bowed in the direction of the throne, and loudly announced his name, and then stood still.

Zhao Xu didn't go to find out whether Wu Haogu had lost his honor in front of the palace, but just glanced at him from a distance, and then let out the same emotion as Yang Jian: "I don't want to be so young." ”

He originally thought that Wu Haogu should be a person who has been famous in the painting world for many years, and he should be middle-aged. Unexpectedly, it was a young man who looked a few years younger than himself.

"How old are you?" The official asked again.

"Twenty years old." Wu Haogu replied truthfully.

His biological age is 20, but he has practiced painting skills for more than 30 years, and he has long been not "3,000 waste paper" (the ancients had limited conditions for learning painting, and it was impossible to open up painting like later generations), but "100,000 waste paper". In terms of solid foundation, there is indeed no one in the world who can match.

"You painted the Bishamen Atlas?"

"Exactly." Wu Haogu replied.

Zhao Xu was still incredulous, and asked again: "Then draw a piece of paper." ”

It's time for the exam. Zhao Xu felt that he had casually given a edict before, and he didn't take the exam, which was indeed a bit abrupt. Now that I find that Wu Haogu is so young, I feel that I need to make up for the exam.

He pointed to Tong Guan, who was standing in the main hall, and said, "Let's draw him, how long will it take to draw it?" ”

Wu Haogu knew that the emperor had to test himself, and this was his first test to enter the Hanlin Painting Academy!

If you fail the exam, Hanlin will be gone...... At that time, he will become the laughing stock of Kaifeng Mansion Calligraphy and Painting Company, and the 20,000 yuan he gave to Liang Shicheng will also be lost!

This official Zhao Xu is really hard to serve!

"If Your Majesty wants to test your subordinates, you can have a quarter of an hour."