manynovel Chapter 1331 Negotiation
Chapter 1331 Negotiation
Chapter 1331 Negotiation
Cai Mansion in Bianjing.
It’s three o’clock in the night.
The candlelight danced on Cai Que's thin face. He put down the notes he had been reviewing until midnight and rubbed his swollen temples. There were three polite knocks on the door outside the study, and the eldest son Cai Wei walked in with a cup of hot ginseng soup.
Cai Wei gently placed the celadon cup on the desk and lowered his voice to a very low level: "Now the whole court is spreading the prophecy that 'the golden cup will fall and the destiny will change'. The official cup falling is considered a bad omen by the officials, and they all say that the intact golden bowl represents the world."
Cai Que held the spoon in his hand in the air for a moment, the heat of the ginseng soup blurring the shadows in his eyes. "Is Zhou Ling from the Ministry of Rites here to eat nothing? Let the Taichang Temple issue a notice tomorrow that anyone who plays the vulgar music of 'Cejinzhan' will be punished for disrespect."
"My son has ordered people to investigate the Jiaofangsi, and that tune is actually the old music of Xijing." Before Cai Wei finished speaking, he saw his father raised his hand to stop him. The sound of the bronze clock was particularly clear in the silence.
Cai Wei looked up at Cai Que, then lowered his head again.
Cai Que said: "Don't talk nonsense without solid evidence."
Cai Wei said: "According to the report from Henan Prefecture, Sima Twelve and Wen Yanbo spent three days in Duleyuan admiring plum blossoms last month."
"After Sima Twelve finished compiling Zizhi Tongjian, he had some free time. This time the emperor fell ill, and the government and the public had high hopes for Zhang Jiangong and Sima Junshi, and the voices for re-employing and even reusing them were growing louder and louder."
Cai Que glanced at Cai Wei and said, "The Empress Dowager thinks highly of Sima Junshi!"
"Your father-in-law is also a good friend of Sima Junshi."
Cai Wei was the son-in-law of former Prime Minister Feng Jing.
Cai Wei said: "Although Sima Junshi once said that my father-in-law was a neutral person, he actually criticized him for not opposing the new law when he and Wang Zhang served in the court, which was a bit of a criticism."
The father and son were silent for a moment.
Cai Que suddenly sneered: "Uncle Lu Hui went to the palace to take care of the sick for two hours yesterday. The Empress Dowager gave him the jade pestle used by the late emperor."
The candle wick burst into a spark, and Cai Que continued: "If the emperor really wants to entrust his son to someone else, the first thing he should be on guard against is Sima Twelve and Lu Huishu!"
Cai Wei hesitated after hearing this and said, "Father, the Deputy Transport Commissioner of Fujian Province, Wang Zijing, reported that the tea merchants in Jianzhou seem to be planning a civil uprising. Please dispatch troops from Liangzhe Province to Fujian to suppress it."
Cai Que said: "When Wang Zijing was doing things, people said he was eager for gain and was only interested in extortion. He even forbade the people of Jianzhou to keep their own tea. Even Zhang Zihou said that he took away the people's food, which was even more harmful. But it is an indisputable fact that the unruly people of Jianzhou used to engage in smuggling and resist official laws for a long time."
"Wang Zijing is willing to serve the country with his own life, so I must support him to the end. Otherwise, who will be willing to work for the court in the future?"
Cai Wei said: "I think Zhang Yue has repeatedly resigned from the post of Jiedushi of Jianzhou Road. If a civil uprising breaks out, then... he will be blamed."
Cai Que nodded slightly.
"There is another matter. Zhang Cheng, the son of Zhang Jiangong, entered the Imperial Academy by pretending to be a citizen, and took up the place of the child of the Han family..."
Cai Que held out his hand and said, "The best way to be an official in ancient and modern times is to hide one's edge in clumsiness and wisdom in foolishness as mentioned in Yan Xianggong's "Jieyoujian". Don't learn from me. Daddy, I have no choice."
Cai Wei retreated in embarrassment after hearing this.
……
Nanfeng Temple.
Zhang clan studies.
Returning to his old place, Zhang Yue was filled with emotion.
Walking on the boulevard lined with osmanthus trees, Zhang Yue wanted to find the place where he had written his graffiti when he was a student, but after searching for a long time, there was no trace of it.
No one knew where the doorman had gone, so Zhang Yue walked into the clan school, where the archery range and other things were still there.
The stone tablet inscribed with the names of the Zhang family’s descendants who had passed the imperial examination in front of Zhuojin Hall is still eye-catching.
The first one is Zhang Gu, the top scholar of Southern Tang Dynasty.
Former Prime Minister Zhang Dexiang ranked fourth.
By the time Zhang Yue left the clan school, there were already fifteen people, all of whose names were familiar to him; the subsequent additions were made after he came to Beijing.
The sixteenth is Zhang Heng, the top scholar in the second year of Jiayou, who was ranked first in the Dragon and Tiger List of all time.
The seventeenth is Zhang Dun, a Jinshi in the fourth year of Jiayou.
The eighteenth person is...myself.
Zhang Yue was overwhelmed with emotions when he saw this and reached out to touch the stone carving.
I couldn't help but use my fingers to write my name one stroke at a time along the depressions on the stone carvings.
Zhang Yue raised his head and glanced at Zhuojin Hall. He thought that he, who used to wear hemp shoes and squat outside the hall to eavesdrop on lectures through a gauze curtain, was now among those who were included in the list.
Currently, there are twenty-five Jinshi who have their names inscribed on the stele.
During the past thirty years, ten more of Zhang's sons and daughters passed the imperial examinations.
The osmanthus leaves swirl gently beside the inkstone pool.
The place for shoes under the Zhujin Hall was now empty. Zhang Yue lifted the curtain and found that the furnishings in the hall were unfamiliar, except for the calligraphy in the middle that remained unchanged: "Tao is the mother of heaven and earth."
This was written by my late teacher Zhang Youzhi.
Zhang Yue took off his shoes and socks and put them carefully at the foot of the stone steps, then walked into the hall and bowed solemnly to his teacher's calligraphy.
A draft blew through the hall, and the gauze on all sides of the pavilion fluttered, and the gauze just brushed past Zhang Yue's eyes.
At this time, footsteps were heard from the hall. More than ten disciples of the Zhang family carrying book boxes came over. They were surprised to see a stranger standing in the hall.
However, when they saw that although Zhang Yue was dressed in ordinary clothes, he had an extraordinary demeanor that was not expected of an ordinary man, they did not scold him.
The leading disciple bowed and said, "This is Zhujin Hall, which was built by the former Prime Minister Xun Guogong himself. May I ask who you are?"
Zhang Yue said to the calligraphy: "This calligraphy was written by my teacher Mr. Boyi, so I pay my respects here."
All the clan school disciples were relieved after hearing this: "Mr. Boyi never teaches outsiders, so you are also a disciple of my Zhang clan school."
Zhang Yue smiled bitterly when he heard this: "Although I am a disciple of Mr. Youzhi, I have never been accepted into the clan school."
When Zhang Yue was studying at the Zhang clan school, he was just an auditor from beginning to end.
It was because he was from a poor family and a distant clan. All the students in the clan school were children of officials.
"My roommates were all dressed in brocade, wearing hats decorated with red tassels and precious stones, with white jade rings on their waists, swords on their left sides, and perfume bottles on their right sides. They looked like gods. I was wearing a shabby robe and shabby clothes among them, and I had no desire to envy them."
Thinking of this, Zhang Yue couldn't help but sigh about his own experience in studying.
Why do you say this article is realistic?
My classmates were wearing the latest AJs, while I was wearing a domestic brand with holes in it. Although I said I had no envy at all, the inferiority complex in my heart would have been there if it had not been successfully resolved later... Even after so many years, Mr. Song Lian still remembers it clearly.
At this moment, more and more disciples of the Zhang clan school gathered.
Hearing Zhang Yue chant this, some of the clan's students couldn't help but speculate: "In recent years, there have been too many people pretending to be Mr. Youzhi's disciples..."
Zhang Yue heard this and when he was attending the class as an auditor, he was also ridiculed by the other students in the clan school as a crow trying to cling to the wings of a phoenix.
"Meet Mr. Jian!"
Zhang Yue looked back and saw a middle-aged man about his age standing in the hall.
Zhang Yue walked down the stairs, put on his shoes and socks, and bowed to the other party.
Zhang Cai looked at Zhang Yue with emotion. He of course remembered that Zhang Yue was a lecturer here and was ridiculed by his classmates for wearing hemp shoes and going barefoot.
Zhang Yue walked to the inkstone pond and said, "Only the mirror lake in front of the door, the spring breeze does not change the old waves. Brother, don't you think so?"
Zhang Cai heard this and said, "Lord Jian's 'The moon never changes its color like glass, and the common people and ministers are both Kunlun' is correct."
Jian Gong?
Jian Gong!
The disciples of the clan school nearby were all shocked.
Zhang Cai said solemnly: "Don't be rude, this is Lord Zhang Jiang!"
Zhang Jiangong?
Lord Zhang Jiangong who rose from a commoner to a prime minister!
Among the 25 Jinshi candidates were from the Zhang family of Pucheng.
The only two people who served as prime ministers were Zhang Dexiang and Zhang Yue.
The disciples hurriedly bowed. Zhang Yue smiled and said, "Everyone, I have never been to the clan school."
"But I also washed my brush beside the inkstone pond back then."
Everyone felt relieved when they heard this. They thought Zhang Yue was holding a grudge against what happened in the past and came back to show off.
The phrase "washing the pen" can be regarded as a recognition of one's own identity.
"I came to the clan school this time to look for Senior Brother Cunru."
In the dormitory.
A middle-aged man greeted Zhang Yue.
Zhang Cunru is the eldest son of Zhang Youzhi. He is now the head of the clan school and also the patriarch of the Pucheng Zhang family.
Zhang Cunru bowed to Zhang Yue and said, "Hello, sir!"
Zhang Yue was absent-minded for a moment in the study. The room was the same as before, but the teacher was gone.
Zhang Cunru saw that Zhang Yue was reminded of someone by the sight of the object, and he said, "My father always regretted that he was not able to go against the public opinion and accept you into the clan school."
Zhang Yue thought about the past.
At that time, the Zhang family was a household with only one male adult, and Zhang Shi was the only one who could be exempted from military service. If Zhang Yue became an adult at the age of 16, and one of his brothers had to serve in the military service, Zhang Yue would not be able to continue his studies.
Pucheng County School was a government-run school that exempted county students from labor service, making it the best choice for poor students.
The Zhang clan school was not exempt from military service, so it tended to accept children of officials. Children of poor families and distant relatives were not accepted unless they were particularly outstanding.
Of course, now that the exemption law has been implemented, the Zhang clan school can also accept children from poor families. Even poor children from fifth-class families can be exempted from labor service and have the opportunity to continue their studies by paying exemption money to the government.
So after Zhang Yue was admitted to the county school, he felt relieved about this matter.
After Zhang Yue and Zhang Cunru talked for a while, they both felt relieved about what happened that year.
"Brother, do you know that when I changed the exemption law, crows were building nests outside the government hall window?" Zhang Yue pushed open the carved lattice fan and pointed at the birds flying outside the courtyard: "Mr. Wang said that the crows' cry is a bad omen, but I think that every dry branch they bring is a ladder for poor students to climb to heaven."
In the final analysis, it was the court's policies that were good. After Zhang Yue changed the exemption law, he truly realized "all creatures compete for freedom under the frosty sky."
Zhang Yue said, "Brother Cunru, I came to see you today not because of the past, but because of the matter of the tea merchants in Jianzhou..." Zhang Yue suddenly asked, "What do you think of the Zhang family's matter about Wang Zijing?"
Zhang Cunru said: "Envoy Wang forced tea farmers to cut tea trees for firewood. The noble families in Jianzhou were very dissatisfied with this action."
Zhang Yue understood after hearing this.
The four major families in Pucheng are Zhang, Wu, Huang and Yang.
Wu is Wu Chong, a branch of Wu Yu; Huang is a branch of Huang Haoqian, Huang Haoyi and Huang Shi; and Yang is Yang Yi, a famous official during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong.
As for the Zhang and Wu clans, they were not only the top clans in Pucheng, Jianzhou, and even Fujian Road. If it weren't for the discord between Zhang Yue and Zhang Dun, even the two Hans and one Lu would have to admit defeat.
However, most of the children of the Zhang and Wu families lived in the capital or various states, and not many stayed in their hometowns.
However, the influence of several aristocratic families in the local area cannot be underestimated. They not only intervene in all walks of life, but also control the most important public opinion.
Zhang Cunru criticized Wang Zijing, which also represented the Zhang family's attitude towards Wang Zijing. He cupped his hands and said, "Please ask the court to abolish the tea monopoly law."
Zhang Yue waved his hand and said, "No."
Zhang Cunru, Zhang Cai said: "Sir."
Zhang Yue said, "I am here to ask you to spread the word - from now on, if any tea merchant in Jianzhou dares to smuggle tea again, no matter who it is, I, Zhang Yue, will destroy his path to the imperial examinations for three generations!"
Zhang Cunru and Zhang Cai were both shocked when they heard this. They almost forgot that the blue-shirted scholar who had listened quietly at the last seat in the Zhang clan school thirty years ago had already become the prime minister of the current dynasty, in charge of three provinces and six ministries and a person of humble origin who ascended to the throne.
During his five years in power, the advancement, retreat, honor and disgrace of officials and scholars all over the world depended on the cinnabar in his writing.
(End of this chapter)