Pei Gonggui

After nightfall, the newly replaced yellow paper lanterns outside the Hou Zhongyi's mansion were lit brightly, and the snow fell a little more, and the servants in the mansion were doing their own things, quietly.

Pei Jun sat in the study room of the inner courtyard with a cup of tea and carefully looked through the recent documents of the ministry.

Deng Zhun copied it honestly, but when he copied it to the end of the third time, it was a bit difficult to level up:

"Master, Enke will die in a few months..."

Pei Jun read the documents of the Ministry of Rites and changed Jingzhao's account book, raised his eyebrows and glanced at him: "You think that Zhuang Zhou's inner chapter will not be tested, and you think it will delay the matter? Then you hold the inkstone and smash people Why don't you feel like delaying things? You still have something to say after being punished, don't you think it's too late for five times?"

As he said that, he put the teacup in his hand on the table, "Then copy it ten times."

Deng Zhun frowned, quickly lowered his head and didn't dare to speak anymore, he continued to write while holding the pen.

Pei Jun shook his head and sighed, then looked back at the account book in his hand, repeatedly comparing the "taxes" and "salt" in his eyes with the memories of his previous life, and only went back to his room to rest until late at night. , asked Uncle Dong to mend the hole in his mended gown, then thought about the past and future, washed up, and lay down on the quilt.

The next morning, as soon as the rooster crowed, a neat stack of Qi Wu Lun had been placed on the table in the flower hall, and the cups and plates next to it were clean, with porridge and side dishes served by Uncle Dong.

Pei Jun put on his patch coat and sat at the table. Deng Zhun didn't come out either, so he asked Uncle Dong, "Where are the others? Haven't gotten up yet?"

Uncle Dong frowned "Ouch" and said, "Get up! That doll copied to the fourth o'clock yesterday and didn't sleep much. A supervisor came to find him early in the morning and asked him to go to school together. It's already gone."

Pei Jun turned over the paper and paused, "The supervisor, looking for him? What kind of person?"

Liu Jin, who was following Uncle Dong, heard this, and hurriedly interjected, "I saw it! That man wears the same clothes as Brother Nanshan, green cloth, and is thinner than me, not as tall as me, and speaks in a high-pitched voice." Be careful. He came here twice before, but he didn't know what his name was. Every time he stood outside the door and asked me to call Brother Nanshan and then left. He must be an acquaintance of Brother Nanshan."

But Pei Jun never knew that Deng Zhun had such an acquaintance.

He suddenly discovered that in his previous life, he had devoted half of his life to the imperial power, officialdom and society, and had no way to care about him. In those ten years or so, he seemed to have never paid attention to whom this student had friends with, what hobbies he had, and his every move. I have never noticed it, and I just call him around when I have something to do, which is not a kind of dereliction of duty as a master.And these trivial matters of Deng Zhun, which he had never cared about before, could not help but feel a little conspicuous and strange to him now with the eyesight after ten years as an official.

"Next time someone looks for him, please report to me first." Pei Jun put down the paper in his hand, picked up the porridge and told Uncle Dong, "Today there are a lot of official affairs, and I have to go to the Ministry of Rites and Jingzhao. Xu Hui If it’s late, you don’t have to wait for dinner, you just watch and eat first.”

After finishing his breakfast in a hurry, he got up and got on the prepared sedan chair, thinking that he had to enter the imperial city to go to the Ministry of Rites, so Jiang Zhan in the palace would easily know about it and ask him to ask questions, so he felt that the matter of the Ministry of Rites was also a problem. There is no rush, it is better to procrastinate, so I asked someone to carry it to Jingzhaosi first, wanting to hurry up and take a look at the current case.

Although the Jingzhao Division of this dynasty was named after the Jingzhao Mansion of the previous dynasty, its functions were divided by the ancestor emperor at the beginning of this dynasty, and it lost the same status as the three divisions of Yushitai, Dali Temple, and Xingbu in the previous dynasty. The authority is no longer in charge of criminal and prison affairs, but only in charge of public security and government affairs in the Jingzhao area, all of which are practical errands.

At present, little Pei Jun has just been employed by Jingzhao Shaoyin for two years. His daily affairs are mostly liquidation and storage of grain, land division, and control of the salt industry. He made contacts with well-known rich households and country gentry, met many friends of wine and meat, and made many relationships in the market. Therefore, no matter when he looked at it, Jingzhao Shaoyin was an extremely useful seat for him. He brings oil and water, and can also bring him news from the market at special times, which is particularly important after Pei Jun's political ups and downs in the next ten years.

The eighth year of Yuanguang is a very special year.Just at the beginning of the first year, the Hezhen people in the Northwest Pass were no longer willing to pay tribute to the imperial court year after year, so they rebelled and aggressively invaded the border cities, trying to use the name "Chimu" to establish their own political power.When this incident happened, the government and the public were shocked, and Long Yan was furious, and immediately sent four generals to lead the army to suppress the rebellion. However, in April, they were beheaded and killed together with the eight generals of the Northwest Army, causing the army to be defeated. Low morale.

All of this was beyond the expectation of the ministers, dignitaries and officials in Beijing, and it was unavoidable for a moment to be panic-stricken and frightening.Facing the ferocious cavalry of the Hezhen tribe, some courtiers headed by the Taibao Zhao Qiming have begun to admonish the early court, asking the young emperor Jiang Zhan to recognize the reality of the Chimu Kingdom, divide the territory by him, and give gold and silver gifts in exchange for peace.

This remonstrance was not only angrily reprimanded by Jiang Zhan for being cowardly and incompetent, but also by the officials in charge of the battle. He was not reconciled to making peace in court for a while, and no one dared to go to the war.

Amidst such a turmoil and noise, a clear and faint voice suddenly said:

"Lonely willing to fight."

All the officials and ministers turned their heads suddenly, only to see Jiang Yue, the Prince of Jin, standing up from the high-backed chair beside the golden pillar in the main hall, and quietly said with his hands behind his back: "The country is still there, and the descendants of the Jiang family are still alive. Hand it over to others. If Gu Ye dies in battle this time, then it won’t be too late for you to find someone to make peace with.”

So on the ninth day of May that year, amidst the boos of the government and the public and the people, the Prince of Jin ordered 20 troops to go north to defeat the enemy. At the end of the month, the good news finally came to the capital like raindrops after autumn, saying that King Jin's army was invincible and invincible at the beginning.

But those with high merit will surely shake the Lord.King Jin was in full swing, and after alleviating the national power crisis of the Hezhen clan's invasion, it turned into a new round of threats to Jiang Zhan's imperial power, making Jiang Zhan almost unable to eat day and night when he thought of the 20 army in his hands. sleep soundly.Seeing that Pei Jun was worried, he proposed a plan. Jiang Zhan then discussed with the cabinet and decided to send Pei Jun, who was still the Minister of Rites at the time, before the army attacked the Hezhe land, and stated that our dynasty had no intention of invading and bloodbathing Hezhe. I hope that future generations will forge enmity, and this battle can no longer be fought, but if a peace is negotiated, the Hezhen people must agree to a more stringent tribute treaty, that is, they will send 25 cattle and horses every year, and [-] cloth, gold and silver each. The court proclaimed himself a minister.

This move not only brought back all the credit for King Jin's consecutive victories to the court, but even made King Jin's aggressive and unrelenting marching style more arrogant and ruthless. The pro-Jin faction and Qingliu had a long-standing feud for many years, and began to beat Pei Jun as a flattering, treacherous and boneless minister.

But Pei Jun didn't care.In order to help Jiang Zhan sit firmly on the dragon chair, he rushed to the northwest at night and risked his life to enter the land of the Hezhen tribe. After negotiating for three days and nights, his eyes turned red, and he was threatened with weapons and forced to die several times. When he heard that King Jin's army was approaching, he even added a horizontal line to the "25" in the treaty, raising it to 35, so that the imperial court would have more abundant funds to preserve its national power in the following years. .

King Jin's soldiers and horses heard that Pei Jun was coming to seize the meritorious service, so they rushed to kill the enemy more quickly.When the army finally bravely marched to Hezhe, it was already the second day of Pei Junyi's peace, and the capital city of Hezhe was covered with white flags.

It was also in the twelfth lunar month of winter, Pei Jun was wrapped in the cold, and with the thought of dying, he stepped into the barracks outside the city. Under the hatred eyes of all the soldiers in the camp, he walked into the main tent and met King Jin.

At that time, there was an extremely warm fire burning in the tent, and the King of Jin was sitting on the wooden marching couch paved with felt, his face was pale due to injury and blood loss and the hasty march, and he was resting with his eyes closed.Pei Jun walked over with his head down, and was about to kneel down to pay his respects as usual, but when he was about to kneel down, King Jin suddenly opened his eyes.

"...Master Pei." King Jin looked at him, and gently opened and closed his thin lips, "Excuse me." Then he sat pale and speechless in the snow-white blanket all over his body, and looked at him again quietly After a while, Shu suddenly raised the corners of his lips and smiled: "Well, Mr. Pei is fine."

Pei Jun also smiled and clasped his fists, "It's all about the blessings of the prince of Jin, and I can't repay you if I die."

King Jin shook his head and smiled when he heard the words, and suddenly raised his hand to hold the knife at his waist.

Pei Jun froze, but the next moment he saw that King Jin just slowly untied the knife, put it aside, and asked him leisurely: "Is the Beijing Central Division okay?"

Pei Jun replied: "It's nothing wrong to answer the prince's words."

King Jin nodded, and looked at Pei Jun calmly again: "Master Pei is here to get something from Xiang Gu, right?"

Pei Jun said: "Your Majesty has learned a lesson. I am here to retrieve the Tiger Talisman of the Three Armies on behalf of the Emperor, and to share the worries of the Prince of Jin."

"Sharing worries..." King Jin slowly raised his hand to support his forehead with a light smile, took out the three Tiger Talismans from his pocket with the other hand, rubbed them on his fingertips for a while, and then passed them forward without any worries.

Pei Jun immediately wanted to take it, but King Jin paused the hand he extended, and then withdrew some, and suddenly asked him with bright eyes and a smile: "If I don't give it to you, what will Mr. Pei do?"

Pei Jun's breath was stagnant, and before he retracted his outstretched hand, he almost immediately felt the slightest coldness from the back of his neck, and a smile appeared on his face: "Hey, what else can I do? I just raised my head and returned to Beijing. Holy, it’s only for you, my lord, I’m afraid I’ll have to find another Jingzhao Shaoyin.”

King Jin laughed softly when he heard the words, and after a while, Pei Jun felt his fingertips warm up, and all three Tiger Talismans were placed in his palm.

"I thank the prince for entrusting it to you." Pei Jun immediately knelt down to salute, but this salute was held up by King Jin again.

King Jin let go of his elbow, patted his arm, and said in silence for a while: "I have nothing to worry about if I can hand it over to Mr. Pei."

After four days, the army returned to Beijing again. In the long line, Pei Jun was at the head and King Jin was at the end. Occasionally they ate and drank together when the town was resting. That's the real end of the war.

Pei Jun remembered that at the ten-mile station in the suburbs of Beijing, it was still dusk before entering Beijing, and King Jin once asked him a question while sitting on a tall horse:

"Master Pei, they say you are a traitor, aren't you afraid?"

At that time, he replied to Prince Jin with a smile: "If there is only a traitor in a country who can blatantly accept money for the court and share worries for the emperor, then he is a traitor, and the minister has done a good job."

After he finished speaking, he turned to joke with King Jin again: "Lord Jin, they all say you are a traitor, are you afraid?"

King Jin's figure was jolting slightly on the horse's back. In the setting sun, he glanced sideways at Pei Jun with a smile, shook his head and sighed. He only raised his hand and pointed forward, without answering the question.

"We have arrived."

At that time, under the afterglow of twilight, Pei Junshun looked at the finger of the King of Jin, and saw a majestic city tower standing far away, and the big word "Jingcheng" on the city gate was as red as someone's blood, like a ghost-hunting talisman of a Taoist priest It was pasted on this beautiful city surrounded by piles, arrogantly and silently, and it was not known what was sealed.

……

"My lord, Jing Zhaosi has arrived!"

Pei Jun was dragged back to his senses by the bearer's call. He raised the curtain and looked outside, and saw that Jing Zhaosi was indeed in front.

He got off the sedan chair and entered the courtyard. He saw that the furnishings were all similar to those in his previous life, and he did not change a single penny. He walked around the vestibule and walked to the hall, and saw a very familiar navy blue figure sitting on the high platform of the main hall, reading a book. Zhe, Yuguan with black hair and a peaceful expression, saw him coming, before he could say good morning, he half-clenched his jade fists, Qi pointed at him and ticked off:

"Master Pei, I heard that Master Xue's advice on the new policy will be drafted in the cabinet this morning. Do you know about this?"

Hearing this, Pei Jun paused, and stood in the hall in front of King Jin, his expression gradually revealing his expected surprise.

"I haven't heard of it yet."

——No, in fact, he naturally knew.

Because this year is the eighth year of Yuanguang.

A new deal, which was later called "Xue Zhang's change of strings" by the court and the central government, is about to begin.