The sun had already set, not a single ray of light remained, the dusk grew darker, and visibility became lower and lower.
In the twilight, the small animals began to become active.
There was a praying mantis standing on the eaves of the study in Zhang's mansion, waving its arms towards the air in the twilight with a fearless attitude; in the gap of the eaves behind the mantis, there was another mantis that used the natural gap to hide itself tightly.
A yellow bird was in mid-air, with sharp eyes, flapping its wings quickly, swooping down like a black-edged yellow feather arrow...
"Uncle..."
Just as the mantis was about to become the oriole's meal, a man's deep voice suddenly came from the study.
flap
The oriole was startled, leaving the delicious food in its mouth and flew into the sky. The mantis stood on the eaves of the house, holding up its arms and two swords, looking majestic.
"Uncle, stop."
In the study, Yang Jisheng raised a mocking arc at the corner of his mouth and called Zhang Juzheng, who was asking for more wine, to stop him.
"No need to add more wine. Sheng won't drink anymore. To avoid his words being regarded as drunken talk." Yang Jisheng pushed the wine glass aside and looked at Zhang Juzheng with a half-smile, hinting at something.
"How could it be..."
His excuses and perfunctory attitude were exposed. A slight blush appeared on Zhang Juzheng's handsome face. He laughed and turned back to sit down.
"Uncle, don't beat around the bush. Just tell me the truth. Join me in this great cause. Together we can eliminate the traitors, uphold the moral integrity of the world, and bring peace and prosperity to the people of the Ming Dynasty. How about that?"
Yang Jisheng stared at Zhang Juzheng with burning eyes and asked directly, not allowing Zhang Juzheng to be perfunctory.
Zhang Juzheng was silent for a few seconds, then looked up at Yang Jisheng, hesitated for a moment, and still did not give a direct answer, but asked indirectly, "Brother Nian, Juzheng heard that it was not easy for you to study for the imperial examination, and it was even more difficult for you to enter the official career and serve as the Deputy Director of the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War. Brother Nian..."
As both were students of the teacher and were appreciated by the teacher, Zhang Juzheng knew Yang Jisheng's life experience. In Zhang Juzheng's opinion, Yang Jisheng was born in a farming and reading family, and his family background was only slightly better than Zhu Ping'an, who was born in a peasant family. A farming and reading family means half farming and half reading, and the family is relatively more prosperous than a pure farming family, otherwise it would not be able to support half farming and half reading.
When Yang Jisheng was young, his mother Cao died early, and his father promoted his concubine Chen to his stepmother. This stepmother Chen was jealous that Yang Jisheng was smarter than her son Yang Jimei, and treated Yang Jisheng badly. Not only did she secretly beat and scold him, but she also made Yang Jisheng herd cattle. Every time Yang Jisheng herded cattle, he would pass by the private school in the village and saw many children studying there. Yang Jisheng was envious. One day after herding cattle back home, Yang Jisheng told his brother that he wanted to go to a private school to study. His brother said, you are still young, what books do you want to read and what do you want to learn. Yang Jisheng replied, I am young and can herd cattle, so why can't I study? His brother told this to Yang's father, and Yang's father agreed to let Yang Jisheng study, but he also had to herd cattle.
After entering the officialdom through the imperial examination, Yang Jisheng's career was not all smooth sailing. He impeached Qiu Luan the year before and was first imprisoned and then demoted to the position of Dianshi of Didao. He was exiled to Didao, a remote place where both Han and Yi people lived together, for a year before being transferred back to the capital.
Zhang Juzheng tried to start with Yang Jisheng's difficult official career and let Yang Jisheng give up his crazy idea on his own initiative.
"Uncle, stop talking. I know what you mean. However, since ancient times, good and evil cannot coexist, and the king's career cannot be partial. Living a life of mediocrity and doing evil things are not what a seven-foot-tall man should do. We, the ministers who eat the emperor's salary, should not betray the current master, should not flatter the powerful, should not indulge relatives, should not form cliques, should not change our principles to meet the times, and should not sell our loyalty for the sake of position. If a traitor is in power, it will surely bring disaster to the world. In order to eliminate the traitor, I am not afraid of my blood being shed and my head falling off. Moreover, looking through the history of the country, there are many books full of names of people who were beaten to death for loyal advice, and many people who were thrown into the market and exiled. It is precisely because of these loyal predecessors that there is justice and fairness in this world, and the world has a bright sun and moon. Eliminating traitors for the country is not disappointing the people, and those who die are dead."
Yang Jisheng was full of passion and spoke passionately, looking at Zhang Juzheng with a determined look in his eyes.
I, Yang Jisheng, am not afraid of death!
What we fear is that traitors will take power, block out the sky and the sun, and make the people of the world suffer...
Zhang Juzheng was deeply impressed by Yang Jisheng's fearless attitude towards death and his upright character, but at the same time, he became more and more determined to avoid Yang Jisheng's mess.
However, Zhang Juzheng knew that if he directly rejected Yang Jisheng at this time, he would appear too weak and compromising compared to Yang Jisheng's fearless attitude towards death and upright character.
"Brother Nian, this matter is of great importance. Why don't you seek teacher's opinion before making a decision?" Zhang Juzheng narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke slowly.
Zhang Juzheng knew very well that if Yang Jisheng went to seek the advice of Teacher Xu Jie, the teacher would definitely stop Yang Jisheng.
The teacher is more dormant than me at this time.
"Haha, teacher, it's better not to ask at this time. Besides, I, Yang Jisheng, only want to do things with a clear conscience."
Yang Jisheng pulled the corner of his mouth, smiled faintly, and shook his head slowly.
"Well, Brother Nian, you and I are both teachers' disciples, so it is reasonable for us to seek teachers' advice. Moreover, the matter is of great importance now, and once we act, teachers will inevitably be implicated and cannot stay out of it. Based on this, we should inform teachers in advance so that they can make early plans and be prepared to deal with it, so as not to be caught off guard." Zhang Juzheng suggested again.
After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, the curve of Yang Jisheng's mouth became even more pronounced. He chuckled and shook his head.
"Uncle, don't say any more. I already know what you mean. Sheng came here today, the most important thing he wants to achieve is to join hands with uncle to make this happen; secondly, uncle, you don't have to show up, and you don't have to sign your name, just lend me a helping hand in secret; at the very least, uncle, help me to correct this memorial and check it... ... hehe... ... forget it, a forced melon is not sweet, today... ... uncle, just pretend that I have never been here."
Yang Jisheng sneered, took out a draft memorial from his sleeve, shook his head with disappointment, then put the memorial back into his arms, curled the corners of his lips, and bowed to Zhang Juzheng in disappointment.
Then
He turned around and walked out of the study.
"Brother Nian..."
Zhang Juzheng stood up, took two quick steps, and seemed to be about to say something.
"Haha, uncle, please stay and call me again. If I miss the curfew, I will have to stay overnight at your house. By then, I am afraid that even if you are cunning, you will have to share the same boat with me. Let's go back. People with different ideals cannot work together..."
Yang Jisheng waved without looking back, then put his hands behind his back, strode away with his sleeves wide open.
Zhang Juzheng followed Yang Jisheng silently and walked him out the door.
After walking out of the gate of Zhang's house, Yang Jisheng paused, without looking back, and left a message to Zhang Juzheng behind him: "Uncle, although you and Zihou are both scratching an itch through a shoe, one scratches it when he feels itchy, while the other dares not to scratch it... You are far inferior to Zihou..."
After saying this, Yang Jisheng put his hands behind his back again, swaying his body as if he was drunk, chanting a ballad as he left.
"The wind is whistling and the Yi River is cold; the warrior will never return once he leaves..."