Linzhi

He Rong became famous overnight.

All the officials in the court and the high gates in the capital have all heard of this name.

It is said that Saburo, the eldest son of the emperor, advised the emperor to make an alliance between the imperial court and the Western Turks.

Many people's first thought is: This person is crazy.

Western Turks can go if they want?Let’s not talk about whether Moli Khan will see the imperial envoy, let’s say that the road is full of wind and sand, and half of his life can be lost by the long journey. Take your life in exchange.

If you go on an envoy to the Western Turks to form an alliance with those ruthless barbarians, it is better to persuade Xiao Yu to return to the imperial court, at least the latter is originally a Han Chinese and understands Chinese etiquette.

Young people, you are so ignorant!

But in just a few days, the memorials on the emperor's imperial case piled up high and high.

Some angrily criticized He Rong's whimsy, some persuaded the emperor to listen to the boy's wild words, and some were more gentle, saying that He Rong's proposal was unexpected and had some merits, but it still needs to be carefully considered.

Some even mentioned He Rong's life experience, saying that his birth mother was humble, and because of his mother, he was convicted of crimes. He grew up in the countryside and was limited by knowledge. It's a big matter, please think twice and be cautious, Your Majesty, just didn't say clearly that He Rong hadn't read any books since he was a child.

The emperor only thought it was funny, instead of being angry, he laughed, and actually laughed out loud, causing Ma Hong next to him to jump with fear.

"Tell me, why did the words of a child without an official position cause such a big repercussion?"

Ma Hong was cautious: "The little people guess, maybe they think that the third son has no official position, so he can't talk about government affairs?"

"No." The emperor shook his head: "Since I let the emperor's eldest son and his family return to Beijing, the water has become more and more muddy. They are just testing me with He Rong to see how I treat him. The attitude of the eldest son of the emperor."

Ma Hong was taken aback, and then showed a confused look: "This... is too convoluted, right? I'm sorry that the villain doesn't understand."

"So you can't be an official." The emperor chuckled, and seemed to be in a good mood, "I won't accept the fault of the crown prince, they have learned to be good now."

He casually picked up another memorial, read a few lines, and nodded slightly: "Well, this is not bad, let's discuss the facts, and propose that the imperial court can send envoys not only to the Western Turks, but also to the Eastern Turks at the same time. If we can form an alliance on both sides, we will be able to encircle Xiao Yu and isolate him. Who wrote it?"

The emperor turned to the front again to look at the signature: "Xue Tan, the Prime Minister of the Dianke Department of Honglu Temple? Have you heard of this person?"

One of the reasons why Ma Hong was so favored by the emperor at the age of less than forty is his extraordinary memory. After hearing this and thinking about it, he said: "Xue Tan and Xue Yushen, the villain remembers, he seems to be the emperor of the previous dynasty. The descendants of the famous minister Xue Zhou, but the Xue family has already declined in his generation. When he was admitted to Jinshi, his ranking was originally at the bottom. It was because His Majesty heard about his name as the great ancestor that he specially promoted him to the top ten. within the name."

The emperor also remembered: "Yes, there is still this relationship, but after Xue Tan took office, there is nothing extraordinary about it. Just this memorial, it is still to the point."

Ma Hong jokingly said: "After all, Xue Zhou is a famous official with a long history, but this Xue Tan has lived up to your insight and kindness."

The emperor shook his head, a little regretful: "Compared with his ancestor, this Xue Tan is still far behind."

Seeing that the emperor was very interested today, Ma Hong asked boldly, "Your Majesty intends to adopt Xue Tan's suggestion?"

Otherwise, why not praise others and only praise Xue Tan?

The emperor asked without answering: "Do you also think that what He Rong said was ignorant and eager for quick success?"

Ma Hong was stunned for a moment, thinking about his words, and said slowly: "The first time the villain saw the third son, it was by His Majesty's order that he went to Zhushan County to visit the Duke of Lu with the imperial physician Qi. There are many sons and daughters of the Duke of Lu. I didn't pay special attention to it, but what the third young master said later left a deep impression on the villain."

"Oh?" The emperor was really curious.

Ma Hong: "At that time, Xiao Yu and Le Bi conspired against each other one after another. Duke Lu asked about the situation, and the villain said it. But the third son asked me, did your Majesty mention marriage?"

The emperor was very interested: "How did he know?"

Ma Hong: "Yes, the villain was also surprised later. The third son said that their family was demoted to common people, so they shouldn't be involved in court affairs. The villain is serving His Majesty, so he doesn't even understand this taboo. But the villain not only said it, but also said it in detail, there must be something that needs them to do, so he thought that someone in the court might have mentioned marriage, and His Majesty also has this intention."

He glanced at the emperor, saw that the other party was not displeased, and then continued: "After this incident, the villain feels that the third son is very careful, especially observant. Generally speaking, it is impossible for such a person to act impulsively. He You must have thought it through before you speak out.”

The emperor nodded slightly: "These days, he is quite famous, and I think half of the people in the capital are getting to know him soon."

Mahon couldn't help laughing.

The emperor glanced at him: "What are you laughing at?"

Ma Hong: "The villain is just laughing. I'm afraid the third son doesn't want this kind of reputation, because those people are calling him a fool behind his back, He San is stupid."

emperor:"……"

……

"Do you know what people outside are saying about you now? They say you are stupid, that you don't even want your life for the sake of glory and wealth, and that you deliberately gave His Majesty a slant plan in order to invite fame, okay? Take the opportunity to show off..."

Yang Jun babbled, reading from the gate of Duke Lu's mansion to his rouge shop, and from the shop to the tavern.

He Rong only felt that there were ten thousand flies flying around his ears, his ears were numb from the reading, and even his facial expression was stiff.

"Heng Yu."

"Sanlang, don't take it seriously. Besides the capital, where else have you been? Your health is not as good as ordinary people. In case you get sick along the way... what do you want to say?" Yang Jun felt that his heart was really broken.

He Rong sincerely suggested: "I think it's a pity for you to be in business. You can consider serving as a matchmaker. You can keep your three-inch tongue and make countless golden and jade marriages. Even the imperial court will award you a plaque for the Iceman. It has been immortalized ever since.”

Yang Jun said angrily: "I'm worrying about you, and you still amuse me!"

He Rong patted him: "I know your kindness, but I've already been yelled at by Goro at home, and I really don't want to be yelled at when I go out."

Yang Jun was annoyed: "Do you know what those gossips call you?"

He Rong: "I know, isn't He San stupid?"

Yang Jun: "..."

He Rong: "Isn't this just right? If they all think I'm not stupid, wouldn't it be difficult for me to cheat someone in the future?"

Yang Jun: "..."

He Rong: "They said I was stupid because they didn't know much about Turkic, so they thought it was ridiculous. If there are people who have done business with Turkic, these people should change their rhetoric."

Yang Jun: "Then have you ever thought about encountering accidents on the road?"

He Rong: "I will be dead by then, and the dead will not be able to hear the slander, let alone whatever they say."

Yang Jun was angry: "Why is it all your reason anyway?"

He Rong: "There is no conclusion on this matter, it's too early for you to worry about it, it's time."

Yang Jun was so focused on talking, he didn't pay attention to the road at all, he stopped abruptly and raised his head in a daze.

This is a very ordinary wine shop, but because it is located next to Tao Chengzi Teahouse, the business has also improved.

Yang Jun frowned: "Do you really want to invite that wine lunatic to drink?"

He Rong hummed: "I never regret what I promised."

The two of them stepped into the restaurant, the hall was not big, and they could have a panoramic view at a glance.

The Xue Tan I just met yesterday was sitting by the window, cheerfully waving at them.

The other party grew a beard, which covered most of his face, except for a pair of eyes that were agile and free and easy, and some characteristics could be seen a little bit.

Yang Jun stared at the wine jars in front of him, with a displeased expression on his face: "I think the way he looks at us seems to be taking advantage of us."

When the two walked over, Xue Tan stood up to greet He Rong enthusiastically, and said with a smile to He Rong, "I've been waiting for you all morning, and I thought you were going to break your promise!"

Yang Jun was angry: "It was clearly agreed to invite Shi Dongchun, but you called Shuangfu to come, we won't pay the bill later."

Xue Tan smiled and said, "That's okay, anyway, I know where the third young master lives, and I'll just come and ask for the money for the drinks."

Yang Jun has seen many thick-skinned rascals in his business dealings with others, but he has never seen a person who carried his thick-skinned so openly.

When the two of them were talking, He Rong had already poured a glass by himself, picked it up and sniffed it, not understanding why some people were so addicted to alcohol.

He bowed his head and took a sip, it was slightly sweet, but more sour. He Rong liked sweets, but he didn't like the taste of wine, so he frowned and put it down.

"Do you always go to work drunk like this?" He Rong asked, a little unbelievable.

The last time Xue Tan said that he was a student of Bachelor Meng, he knew that He Rong would definitely inquire about his identity, and he was not surprised when he heard that, and said with a smile: "Honglu Temple has few errands, and I don't need to go to court. Just finish the errands in the day. Drinking will not delay the work, what's wrong with drinking more? I will go to the Western Turks with the third son in another day. If there is less wine on the way, I am not used to it yet!"

"..." He Rong was silent for a while, confirming that there was nothing wrong with his ears: "When did I say that I would go to Western Turks with you?"

Xue Tan raised his eyebrows: "Do you know the responsibilities of the Honglu Temple Destination Department?"

He Rong: "Handle the tribute of the four barbarians, and give gifts to welcome foreign guests, but the Eastern and Western Turks are not foreign guests, and they will not accept your set."

Xue Tan was a little proud: "I can speak Turkic, and I dare say that no one in Honglu Temple understands Turkic customs better than me."

He Rong was stunned: "Even so, why did you go to West Turkic? Everyone said I was sensationalizing."

Xue Tan: "I've also heard that they even gave you an alias."

He Rong: "...you don't need to add this sentence."

Xue Tan smiled: "I heard that when His Majesty was young, he had an outgoing temperament and loved adventures. Even now that he is old, he still retains some of his natural instincts. He will most likely agree to such suggestions, such as those whose success or failure is unknown. And even if it fails, there is no loss to the imperial court. As for me, I also want to make a career, maybe I can be famous in history in the future?"

Yang Jun curled his lips: "Do you want to make your name by drinking?"

He Rong looked at Xue Tan, as if he was looking at how credible his words were, Xue Tan let him observe without concealment, while raising the glass in his hand, he took the initiative to touch the wine glass in front of He Rong.

"What does the third son think?"

He Rong: "If Your Majesty agrees, I will ask His Majesty to agree to take you along."

Xue Tan grinned: "Thank you, Third Young Master, I will not let you down."

……

He even drank He Rong's wine for three days, and even ordered it to Guili. He Rong didn't say anything, but he still felt a little distressed. He just took Yang Jun's dividend, and he turned around and was about to spend the dividend. Clean and tidy, if Xue Tan's words are not true, He Rong thought that he must ask He Zhan to beat him up and ask him to pay back the money.

Fortunately, Xue Tan did have some skills. He collected a bunch of Western Turkic materials from Honglu Temple, re-transcribed them and handed them over to He Rong.

After the founding of this dynasty, there has never been any formal friendly contact with the Western Turks, and they used to deal with them in the form of war. Most of these materials were handed down from the previous dynasty. Due to the long history, it is difficult to distinguish the true from the false. Annotating places one by one, and adding his own thoughts, made He Rong's eyes shine, and felt that his few drinks were not in vain.

During this period, He Rong asked Yang Jun to inquire about Xue Tan's family situation. This was no secret, and Yang Jun soon found out.

Since the Xue family had a famous minister in the previous dynasty, the generations of descendants have been mediocre. With the change of dynasty, the Xue family has gradually declined. By the generation of Xue Tan's father, it is already an ordinary farming and studying family. There has been such a big celebrity.

Xue Tan was naughty since he was a child, he couldn't read or write well, and he was proficient in hunting chickens and catching dogs. When he was ten years old, his mother died, his father married another new man, and his stepmother gave birth to a son. She poured it all on the youngest son, and the stepmother even made up the idea of ​​letting the youngest son inherit the family business, and urged Xue's father to turn against Xue Tan. Xue Tan was young and energetic, and he didn't want to be aggrieved, so he just slammed the door and separated to support himself. .

I don't know if it was just to take a gamble, but Xue Tan became angry and tried to strengthen himself. He even passed the Jinshi examination and became an official in Honglu Temple. reconciled.

Unexpectedly, smoke rose from the ancestral graves of Xue's generation, and the promising children followed one after another.The youngest son of the Xue family, that is, Xue Tan's half-brother, is more up-to-date than him. Xue Tan took the Jinshi exam a few years later. The imperial edict can be said to be young and promising, and proud of the spring breeze.

Because of this, Xue Tan's stepmother looked down on Xue Tan more and more. Naturally, the relationship between Xue Tan's father and son could not be repaired, but worsened. In Honglu Temple, he was not as optimistic about his future as he was in Imperial Academy. The problem of alcoholism, I always smell of alcohol when I go out on weekdays.

These things are not secrets. Xue Tan's younger brother won the first prize back then, and there was a lot of rumors in Beijing. They all knew about their family's past. Many people laughed at Xue Tan just like they laugh at He Rong now, calling him unfilial. There are not a few of them, which may also be the reason why Xue Tan has not been promoted for a long time.

He Rong probably knew why Xue Tan would rather take the risk to go to the Western Turks with him.

Small injustices in the chest can be poured over with wine, but great injustices in the world cannot be eliminated without a sword.

From a certain point of view, He Rong felt that he and Xue Tan were indeed somewhat similar.

The emperor's decree has not yet been issued, and May has passed in a blink of an eye. People in the capital who always have new things to talk about gradually forgot about this matter, and they didn't even mention it after dinner.

He Rong was not in a hurry, he was still preparing everything in an orderly manner. After discussing with Xue Tan, he felt that the emperor was very likely to agree to the mission, but the emperor had the emperor's consideration, so he had to wait for the opportunity.

On this day, it happened to be the summer solstice, the Chongwen Museum was closed, and it was He Zhan's turn to take a holiday. The brothers heard that there was a Xia Mai Baixi opera in the east city of the capital, so they went to the street together.

But they still underestimated the enthusiasm of the people in the capital. A small summer solstice is not a big festival like the Mid-Autumn Festival and Lantern Festival. All kinds of interesting patterns are painted on the folding fan to attract children to stop and watch without taking their eyes off it.

Because there is still the custom of eating cakes and noodles during the summer solstice, those noodle stalls in restaurants take this bustle to the extreme, with stewed noodles, noodles with fried sauce, noodles mixed with sesame oil, all kinds of delicious fragrances are mixed in the air, even I wasn't hungry at first, so I couldn't help swallowing.

Not to mention that there are all kinds of people who go to offer incense, offer sacrifices, and visit relatives and friends. Almost all the streets are packed to the brim, and there is no gap.

He Mu and the others never expected that the summer solstice in the capital would be such a scene. The impression was still on the summer solstice in Zhushan County. He was washed away without paying attention, and the rest of He Zhan was concerned about He Rong's inconvenient legs and feet, so he held on to his arm tightly. The two brothers were still together by luck.

Barely squeezed into a corner where he could still breathe, He Rong couldn't help letting out a sigh. The crowd pushed and crowded just now, which made him sweat a little on his forehead.

"Fortunately, I resisted Jia Niang's begging before going out, and didn't bring her out, otherwise I must have neglected her." He said to He Zhan.

He Zhan was also a little scared: "No, I was almost knocked down just now."

The two of them didn't go any further, and simply walked along the stalls on both sides of the street.

Most of the products sold here are rouge and gouache that girls like, hairpin flowers, and some novel and cute gadgets. Most of the customers are young girls who go out together. Opening the slender neck, revealing the white and tender scenery under the black hair like clouds, the youthful breath rushing towards the face makes passers-by can't help but cast their eyes on it, but it is not vulgar and vulgar, but a pure appreciation mood.

There are not too many people in this area, and there is still room for strolling. The girls speak softly, and the two brothers can also chat in ordinary tones without raising their voices.

He Zhan and his elder brother talked about the interesting things they encountered when they were on duty in Beiya, saying that Song Yun would turn around and leave now when he saw him, and dared not confront him face to face again, saying that Zhang Ze was a living treasure, and he would provoke Mr. Chen every day He went crazy, and then doubled his punishment, and he was punished all day long, but he performed well, so Chief Chen appointed He Zhan as the captain of a ten-man team, leading the team to patrol the imperial city on rotation.

He talked one after another, and He Rong didn't interrupt him. When he heard it, it all turned into a smile on his lips. The arc was not clear, and he needed to look closely to see it, but He Zhan saw it in his eyes. , Knowing that the third brother likes to listen, he talked more.

The stall in front of them sold some silk flower headdresses, some of which were made of rabbit fur and made into fluffy shapes. The stall owner saw that He Rong stopped to watch, so he tried his best to sell them.

He Rong picked up one and asked He Zhan: "Do you think girls like this? Well, it's not a girl, it should be a woman."

"Huh?" He Zhan was dumbfounded. He thought that the third brother wanted to buy it for his sister, but it didn't sound like it from the description.

Could it be that the third brother has someone he admires?Or a married woman?

He Zhan was shocked by this guess, and suddenly felt a little bad.

"Ah, what?" He Rong glanced at him, wondering what he was thinking, "I mean Princess Zhending, she was born in Chang'an and grew up in Chang'an, she must miss every plant and tree in Chang'an, and even used to play with it when she was a girl." It's just that I don't know what she liked when she was young, so I can only guess."

He Zhan breathed a sigh of relief, and said in his heart that he was really scared to death: "I don't know either."

In fact, He Rong didn't expect him to answer, and immediately chatted with the vendor owner, asking about the current prices in the capital, and talking about people's livelihood.

Seeing that he had bought a lot, the owner of the stall was very happy, and he didn’t mind opening up the chatterbox, complaining endlessly, saying that things are getting more and more expensive now, just because the imperial court fought rebels and started a war with the Turks a few years ago. Even the price of food has skyrocketed, and other things will naturally follow suit, and life is about to be difficult.

He Zhan didn't understand: "What does the unrest in the frontier have to do with the soaring food prices?"

He Rong explained: "If the frontier is not peaceful, people's hearts will be unstable. Many people, especially grain merchants, will take the opportunity to hoard grain so that they can sell at a high price during the war. When the price of grain rises, the price of wine made from grain will also rise. , and the rest like tea, sugar, etc., are tied on a rope, so it will inevitably be affected.”

He Zhan was stunned: "But now that Le Bi has been executed, and Xiao Yu lives in a corner, there is no way to make a fortune. Why do these people still think that there is a possibility of war?"

"Do you think Xiao Yu can't make a fortune?" He Rong shook his head: "In fact, many times, merchants travel all over the world, and they are more sensitive to certain things than the court. Before Le Bi turned against him, Yang Jun once said that the Yang family knew Dangerous, retreated from Lingzhou early."

He Zhan was thoughtful.

He is not blindly obedient by nature, but when a person is young, there is always someone to point out the direction in front of him, either a father or a teacher.In He Zhan's life, the third brother He Rong played this role.

Even He Rong is not a few years older than him, but he did learn a lot from his third brother and benefited a lot.

He Zhan was about to speak, but he saw the third brother suddenly pulling him to the side.

He felt strange, turned his head subconsciously, and followed He Rong's gaze.

The author has something to say:

Small theater unrelated to the main text:

He Rong: Very good, the more stupid people think I am, the easier it will be for me to deceive people in the future.

He Zhan: Who do you want to cheat?

He Rong: (Looking at him) Of course...

He Zhan was nervous.

He Rong: It's not you.

He Zhan: (Heave a sigh of relief) Third brother wants to cheat anyone, I will help you! (*^__^*)

He Rong: ...