Chongzhen Sunset Song

?one

Since the emperor was not in the palace, the eunuch Wang Cheng'en, the supervisor of ceremonies, lost more than half of his work.It is no longer necessary to choose whether to read the memorials to the emperor in person, nor to select important political affairs to report to the emperor orally every day, but to distribute the memorials to the supervisors of the Rites and ask them to follow the instructions attached to each book. , The bills that have been drafted by the cabinet can be approved by the emperor on behalf of the emperor.If there is a big event, and I will record it for the emperor, the rest of the time is spent drinking tea and playing with the birds, so I can be at ease.

"Hey, Eunuch Li." On the way to the cabinet to deliver the papers, Zhou Xi leaned next to Li Quan and whispered, "You say this prince is also strange. The villain always thinks that among the eunuchs in this palace, our prince This is it." Zhou Xi curled his lips, gave a thumbs up, and then looked puzzled, "But you see, the emperor didn't bring the prince with him when he left the palace, but he brought Zhang Dexiu with him. He’s still like a normal person, he’s happy and happy all day long, and he’s having a good time. What do you think...how does this matter?” Zhou Xi paused, then moved closer, “…Could it be that Zhang Dexiu is worse than Wang Gonggong? big?"

"Hey, what nonsense are you talking about?" Li Quan glanced at Zhou Xi, and then blocked Zhou Xi's mouth with words, "You have been in the palace for so many years, and you still haven't figured out such a thing."

"Understand what?" Zhou Xi was at a loss and hurriedly said, "I also ask my father-in-law to give me some pointers."

"Hey," Li Quan shook his head and said patiently, "If you think about it carefully, you will understand that Zhang Dexiu and Liang Yi are not on the same path as us. They take care of the emperor's daily life every day, and no one is closer to the emperor than them." It's close, no one among us ceremonial supervisors can compare to this. But no matter how long their hands are, there are places they can't reach, understand?"

"Oh..." Zhou Xi nodded with a half-understanding.

"The most they can do is blow the wind in the emperor's ears, but the things in the hands of the prince are real." Li Quan raised his eyes and looked around, and then continued, "that is, the emperor is wise now, and he must do everything by himself." Well, our prince is not that ambitious, but if the emperor is a little stupid, the chief eunuch who is in charge of ceremonies wants to sow right and wrong in the government, that's easy. Eunuch Wei was an example back then. As for Zhang Dexiu, don't mess with him, but it's okay. There's no need to get acquainted with him."

"The small thing is strange. Once when Eunuch Wang mentioned Zhang Dexiu, he wanted to bite off his teeth. Now that Zhang Dexiu is getting more and more favored, why doesn't Eunuch Wang hate him?"

"Who doesn't have a heart of jealousy?" Li Quan walked slowly while suppressing his voice, "But our prince is a sensible person, and we probably can't see it normally. In fact, the most important thing in the prince's heart is Your Majesty, fighting against Zhang Dexiu at that time was just a matter of flirting, and it was nothing serious." Li Quan said, and looked around again, "Okay, I will just say these words here, and you will be treated as if you are here." The gust of wind blows away the matter, do you hear me?"

"Ah, yes." Zhou Xi bowed his head obediently, "The villain knows."

two

"My lord is dressed like this today, but is there a visitor?" In the inner room of Wen's residence, the doorman Wang Cong pushed the door and entered the room, only to see Wen Tiren changing clothes in the room.

"That's right. Have you heard of Changzhou Zheng Yan?" Wen Tiren stretched out his arms and let the maid tie the crown for him.

"I have heard about it." Wang Cong nodded slightly, "In the early years, this person was demoted to a commoner because of the impeachment of Eunuch Wei. He has never been used, but he has quite a bit of prestige in Changzhou."

The maid dressed neatly for Wen Tiren, and stepped back out of the room.Wen Tiren tugged at the front of the front with his hands, and then brushed off the sleeves of his robe. "Well...you are young, but you still know a lot of people." The grey-haired Chief Assistant smiled slightly, "He is here today."

"Oh?" Wang Cong raised his eyebrows, "Why did he come to see you?"

"Why?" The wrinkles at the corners of Wen Tiren's eyes gathered slightly, with a trace of contempt on his face, "I don't know him before, he just came here to seek a future, what else can he do. It's just recommended by Mr. Cifu Qian, and he has to meet. "Speaking, he paced and walked to the study.The young doorman followed Wen Tiren all the way, and said in his mouth:

"Wansheng heard that this Zheng Xun is not only well-known in Changzhou, but also has a prominent family background and a wealth of wealth. The local students even came to ask him for recommendation. Although he was convicted and demoted, life is going well. He is neither downcast nor poor. He is still attached to the officialdom in the capital, so it seems that this person is really unwilling to be lonely." Wang Cong shook his head and sighed, "But do you really want to recommend him? There are also rumors that this person Su and Wen Zhenmeng have a good relationship, and coupled with their head-to-head confrontation with the Wei party, these two... are probably the same thing."

"Whether it's the same thing or not, we'll find out later." Wen Tiren said, with a cold smile on his lips.

At this moment, a family hurried in, holding a letter in their hands.

"My lord, Mr. Wu Zongda has a letter to send."

"Oh?" Wen Tiren took the letter, looked at the words on the envelope, and frowned.

"Master Wu's letter?" Wang Cong was taken aback, "Master Wu and Mr. Wen meet in the cabinet every day, why do you need to write a letter?"

"Do you know...Who is Wu Zongda?" Wen Tiren twisted the envelope with his fingers, lowered his eyes, and asked expressionlessly.

"Scholar of the East Pavilion, Master Wu, a minister of the cabinet, I don't know about this." Wang Cong smiled.

"Hmph." Wen Tiren sneered, "He is Zheng Xun's uncle."

"Uncle?"

"Is it Wu Zongda again after Qian Shisheng... This is forcing me to find a future for this Zheng Xing." Wen Tiren said, opened the envelope, took out the thin paper inside the envelope and shook it open, and after a cursory glance, But he showed his expression and laughed inexplicably.

"Why are you laughing, my lord?" Wang Cong asked with a blink of his eyes.

"Read it for yourself." Wen Tiren handed the letter to Wang Cong with a puzzled face, and with his hands behind his back, he walked leisurely, turned and entered the study.

three

Just after noon, Zheng Fu, who had been talked about several times, really visited Wen's residence.I saw him wearing an indigo brocade cloak, a tulle Dongpo scarf on his head, a neat beard, and a very elegant demeanor.Behind him was a servant, carrying two carved wooden boxes in his hands.The family member of Wen's mansion led the two of them to the hall. Zheng Xun looked at the house along the way, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart——the majestic chief and auxiliary mansion is so unexpectedly simple!The courtyard is not big, only a few dwarf trees are planted, there is no exquisite rockery, and there is no elegant lotus pond for swimming fish; the furnishings in the hall are old and simple, there are no luxurious furniture, tables and chairs, and no rare antique jade.An extremely personable minister, but actually only lives in such a mansion, Mr. Wen must be a good and honest official.Zheng Xun sat at the guest table, took a sip of weak tea, thought to himself, then looked down at the wooden box in the hand of the servant next to him.

"Oh, Mr. Zheng, I've been waiting for a long time." After a while, Wen Tiren came out from the back hall with a smile on his face, and raised his hands to Zheng Fu, "I have admired Mr. Zheng's reputation for a long time, but I have never had the chance to meet him. Fortunately, Mr. Qian introduced you today." , to have a chance to see the real face. Come, sit here."

"Where is it, Mr. Wen congratulates you." Zheng Xun stood up, and also respectfully returned the salute, "I have heard that Mr. Wen is highly respected, diligent and capable, and he is a pillar of the Ming Dynasty. Come on." He made a gesture, calling the servant to come forward and put the carved wooden box on the table, and he reached out and lifted the lid of one of the wooden boxes, with a smile on the corner of his eye, "A little gift , is not a respect, but please accept it with a smile, Mr. Wen."

Wen Tiren glanced at the wooden box. Apart from some jewelry, there was also a thick stack of bank notes inside. "Mr. Zheng... Is this going to trap me in an injustice?" Wen Tiren raised his eyes, lowered his expression, and said with a half-smile.

"Don't you dare. How can you come empty-handed if you want something from your lord?" The smile on Zheng Yan's face gradually became a little cramped.

"Hey~ Mr. Qian entrusted me, how can I not do my best." Wen Tiren said, and sat down, "But accepting gifts is really against my way of being an official, Mr. Zheng, please take it back."

"... I heard that Mr. Wen is honest and self-disciplined, but now it seems that it is not a lie." Zheng Xing nodded, his eyes were filled with respect, so he happily closed the lid of the box, let the boy take it down, and sat down again. Back to the guest seat.

The maid stepped forward with a tray and put the teacup by Wen Tiren's hand.Wen Tiren picked up the teacup, stroked the rim of the cup, took another sip, and said:

"Master Zheng is from Changzhou?"

"Exactly."

"I was born in Wucheng, Zhejiang Province, not far from Changzhou." Wen Tiren put down his teacup and smiled, "However, since the emperor gave him an important task, he hasn't returned to his hometown for many years. I don't know how the current political and public opinion in the south is?"

Zheng Xun also sipped his tea, thought for a while, and said loudly: "Everyone says that the Ming Dynasty is in urgent need of talented people, but the imperial court has not seen any move to recruit talented people. This is a major disadvantage of current politics."

The number one person in the imperial court was sitting in front of him, and this person spoke directly.Wen Tiren was slightly displeased, but on the surface he didn't show any emotion, he just sighed and said: "Hey... It's not that the imperial court doesn't accept talents, it's that it's really hard to find good talents in the world."

"Master Wen's words are wrong." Zheng Xun did not shy away from anything, and said bluntly, "Talents are not used in the court, how can they show their virtues? Even ancient talents need to be reused to know their talents. The frontier defense is restless, if the imperial court can emulate Xiao He's pursuit of Han Xin in the past, and Zong Ze knows Yue Fei, why worry about defeating the bandits and making the country unstable?"

Is this an insinuation that I don't have Xiao He Zongze's ability to know people?Wen Tiren suddenly felt an unknown fire welling up in his chest, but seeing the righteous face on that side's face, it seemed that he didn't seem to want to be sarcastic, so he could only suppress his anger and tug at the corners of his mouth, trying to hide his displeasure at least.But Zheng Xun didn't notice it at all, and continued to talk about the political problems for half a day, until the sun was setting, and finally got up to leave.

"I am very grateful to Mr. Wen for the hospitality of Mr. Wen for this visit to bother me." Zheng Xun said, bowing humbly. "As for the matter of sponsorship, please take care of Mr. Wen."

"Hey~ It's just a matter of raising your hands, why bother." Wen Tiren was already bored, but he still put on a smile and said, "It's just that the emperor is out of the palace in micro-clothes and is not in the palace. When the emperor returns, I will tell the emperor at the meeting Lord Zheng's ambition to serve the country."

"No hurry, no hurry." Zheng Xun felt joy in his heart, bowed and made a long bow, "Then thank you, Mr. Wen, Zheng will leave."

"Master Zheng, please go, I will not send you far away."

"My lord." After Zheng Fu went out, Wen Tiren had just returned to the hall to take a seat, when the doorman Wang Cong came out from the back hall.

"Have you heard?" Wen Tiren sat down, raised his head and drank the tea cup, the maid stepped forward to take the empty cup, and brought a new cup of tea.

"I heard that. Zheng Yan and Wen Zhenmeng are really the same. They are both ignorant and stubborn rotten Confucians." Wang Cong glanced at the gate of the courtyard that Zheng Zhen passed by when he left, and said disdainfully.

"Have you read Wu Zongda's letter?" Wen Tiren didn't comment on Wang Cong's words, but just sneered and tapped the armrest of the armchair with his fingers.

"I've seen it." Wang Cong also smiled with ulterior motives, "Master Wu's move...is really killing relatives."

"Hmph." Wen Tiren twitched the corner of his mouth, and snorted twice through his nose, "If you say that this Zheng Xun is really short-sighted, he is lucky to have such a family uncle who killed his relatives with righteousness. Sansheng is lucky."

As he spoke, Wen Tiren picked up the teacup again, blew on it a little, tested the temperature of the tea, and drank it all in one gulp.