According to the traditional rules of Confucian scholars, before and after reaching the crown, they must travel to study in all directions. Those with wealthy families go as far as the north and south, and those with poor pockets at least have to go out of the state. Because Zhang Wence came from a family of officials and eunuchs, his father and grandfather had both been officials at the state and county level, so he was able to go very far, and his knowledge is not superficial.
Later, he went to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination. After being a Jinshi, he not only saw all the flowers in Chang'an, but was also summoned by the emperor, and was lucky enough to go to the imperial palace. Although I only attended the banquet with trepidation that time, I was also invited to enter the gates of many princes and nobles later, so I know how magnificent the residence of the Prince of Chang'an is.
In comparison, Prince An's Mansion in Qingzhou is not so majestic and majestic. In terms of the grandeur of the pavilions and lofts, it is only considered commonplace and does not make people feel intimidated.
Zhang Wence followed Liu Mingming and others, and stepped into the gate of the palace, but he didn't have the feeling of entering the dragon's pool and tiger's lair. Although he didn't dare to look around indiscriminately, he could also see that the officials and officials coming and going had normal expressions and never walked on thin ice.
Of course, they were not summoned by King An as soon as they entered the mansion, but were led to wait in a wing room of a compound. The wing room is quite spacious, without many resplendent decorations, and the furnishings can only be called elegant, not quite as rich as those princes, but the tea and snacks are not bad.
"Perhaps His Royal Highness King An is not as scary as the rumors say." Zhang Wence thought after taking his seat, his eyes resting on the scribe who brought them here.
The other party was a young man in his early twenties, personable, easy-going and talkative. On the way, they chatted with Liu Mingming all the time, showing a sense of intimacy, and it seemed that the two were very familiar with each other, and they often praised each other for their top grades and expressed their admiration.
"It's rare for Mr. Liu to come back. He Sima and Xu Canjun have already said that when Mr. Liu sees Your Highness and finish handling business affairs, he will invite Mr. Liu to a banquet at Mr. He Sima's residence. At that time, we will learn from Mr. Liu. Learn how to be a magistrate."
The clerk smiled and said, "Grand Liu will wait here, have some tea and snacks, and rest for a while. His Highness is currently receiving the envoy of Henghai Jiedu, so it won't be too long."
"Mr. Xu, just go and get busy." Liu Mingming asked with a well-hidden smug smile on his face.
Zhang Wence looked at Liu Mingming's posture with solemn eyes.
After entering Prince An's Mansion, several officials stopped on the way to greet Liu Mingming, who was indeed well-established in Prince An's Mansion.
Zhang Wence sighed secretly, and couldn't help being worried. He remembered what Liu Mingming said to him last night, and his speculation became more and more firm.
"Liu Mingming is so powerful, even if I reveal his scandals in Weizhou when I meet His Highness King An, I'm afraid it will have no effect... I may even never have the chance to speak. King An It is extremely rare to see us, so there is no time to talk to me, the county magistrate... "
Thinking of this, Zhang Wence has made up his mind.
Said that there was no need to wait too long, Zhang Wence and others were also bored in the wing room for half an hour, and then they were passed into the political affairs hall to meet King An.
Walking into the huge Zhengshi Hall in the team, Zhang Wence walked with his head buried like his colleagues to show respect, and only looked around from the corner of his eyes.
Behind the thick pillars on both sides of the main hall, there are rows of desks. Many clerks are burying their heads in the desks, writing quickly, or flipping through the official documents.
This is King An's pre-case scribe group, which cooperates with King An in handling daily military and political affairs, and even holds the military and political secrets and various affairs records of dozens of counties and counties in the nine towns. King An's absolute confidant.
As for the situation ahead, although Zhang Wence couldn't see it, he could imagine it. In front of them, on the three-foot-high platform, behind the majestic throne, the most powerful and most cultivated prince in the Tang Dynasty, who is also the most powerful prince in today's troubled times!
"I will pay my respects to His Royal Highness King An!"
Zhang Wence bent down together with his colleagues, facing north to salute the king who was sitting facing south.
"You don't need to be too polite, please take a seat."
A calm and easy-going voice sounded.
Contrary to what Zhang Wence expected, the voice did not reveal much majesty. When they saluted, stood up, and sat on the futon in two rows, there was no sense of coercion from the chief seat.
Zhang Wence breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but think in his heart: "It seems that King An is not a person full of majesty and coercion... and he is not that scary..."
Reaching this conclusion is very important to Zhang Wence, and it is related to his next move.
To choose one of the two terrifying existences to deceive or disobey, of course it is to choose the one that is relatively less scary.
At the moment when Zhang Wence relaxed, his eyes were no longer so rigid, and he swept left and right without any trace.
Because of this action, he saw a person, which made him startled slightly.
Weizhou officials sat in rows, some distance away from the main seat, and sitting in front of them was a woman in a purple robe with cold eyes, with a charming figure and charming eyebrows, full of maturity.
Zhang Wence just glanced at the other party out of the corner of his eye, and couldn't help trembling in his heart. He felt as if he saw an abyss and a high mountain. There is a dangerous atmosphere in the abyss that cannot be seen directly, and there is a strong pressure that makes people breathless on the high mountain!
Zhang Wence quickly retracted his gaze, not to mention taking another look, he didn't even dare to face him, his heart was beating wildly.
He noticed that Liu Mingming, who was like a giant in front of him, was sitting upright at the moment, not daring to breathe. Even though he was the closest to the purple-robed woman, his eyes were fixed on the floor, and he didn't dare to move even an inch, as if he was afraid that the other party would think he was rude.
"Who is this woman that makes Liu Mingming so frightened? Could it be that she is the number one master under King An's command? But aren't all the masters under King An's command the monster clan? Could it be that this woman is actually... Is it a big monster?!" Zhang Wence had such a thought in his mind.
He felt afraid, but he wasn't nervous. As a well-educated person and the head of a county, he certainly knew that even if the other party was a big monster, it was only to protect King An's safety, and he would have no problem with political issues. Opinion, let alone the ability to interfere.
As long as he is not abrupt and rude to King An, the other party will have no control over him at all, let alone affect his official career or his destiny.
At this time, Wang An's easy-going voice sounded again, "Yuantai, you got a first-class evaluation in the performance test last time, and the Weibo Jiedu envoy also praised you very much. It seems that you have done a good job in Weizhou and have not lost The lonely king is very pleased with the face of the lonely king."
Yuantai is Liu's well-known character.
Liu Mingming hurriedly got up and cupped his hands, and said very respectfully: "Mingming dare not forget his identity, let alone His Highness's instruction. The first-class performance evaluation is the result of his colleagues' concerted efforts to repay His Highness. Mingming dare not take credit for it. Your Highness is disappointed, but being famous is enough!"
"Okay, well said." Wang An's voice was still steady, as if there was a hint of approval, but it was not obvious, "Apart from the report on the paperwork, what else would Yuantai want to say about Weizhou's political and military affairs?"
Liu Mingming didn't raise his bowed waist, and thought for a while, "The documents are very detailed, and nothing is missing... It is really a blessing for the whole country to have His Highness in the Tang Dynasty!"
"Okay, take your seat."
From the corner of Zhang Wence's eyes, he watched Liu Mingming take his seat, who was still cautious. But he was very close to the other party, and he could still feel the relaxed and confident look in Liu Mingming's eyes. It was the grandeur that everything was under control!
"Is everything expected by Liu Mingming? It seems that he is mostly pretending to be sincere and fearful in front of King An. It seems that King An... can't see through his true colors. Everyone said Wang An's eyes know the pearl, but in fact it's nothing more than that...you can't ask An Wang too hard, after all, he has nine towns and dozens of prefectures under his command, how can he search for good and evil..." Zhang Wence smiled wryly.
When he was thinking about this, he felt King An's gaze, and then he passed by, and then King An's voice continued: "Except for Yuantai, everyone is either the governor of Weizhou, or the magistrates of the counties. The king now asks you, is it true that all industries in Weizhou are flourishing and the people live and work in peace and contentment, and is Governor Liu not corrupt and perverting the law?"
Hearing this, Zhang Wence couldn't help shaking his head secretly, and thought to himself: "King An's perfunctory question is more like affirming the credit of Governor Liu. Who can say otherwise?"
Zhang Wence got up quickly with everyone, and bowed down to the middle position together, "Your Highness is holy, the governor is wise, and Weizhou is prosperous!"
At this moment, Zhang Wence had already extinguished the idea of "attacking" Liu Mingming on the spot.
He was very disappointed, because Wang An could not see clearly, and his last hope was shattered.
But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel lucky, because he can continue to be the county magistrate of Wei County and keep his status and wealth.
Before that, when Zhang Wence stood at the head of Wei County, facing the Yicheng Army on the other side of the Yellow River, he chose to stick to his heart and offend the powerful.
After that, if Zhang Wence can still stand at the head of Wei County, then he will choose to follow suit.
A good official disappears, and a villain is born. When the situation does not allow officials to be upright and honest, they can only choose to bow down at the feet of power.
This is not their fault, because whether the officials in the world are black or white does not depend on themselves, but on the soil under their feet, on the real superiors, whether they have seen their meritorious deeds and evil deeds, have they not Rewarding evil and ignoring credit led them to change from white to black.
"Please take your seats."
King An's voice sounded again.
Zhang Wence saw the smile on the corner of Liu Mingming's mouth, it was a smile with the overall situation settled.
Next, if Wang An doesn't greet them, they can retreat.
Sure enough, Zhang Wence heard Wang An say: "The lonely king always doesn't have enough time, so I won't waste any more time with you, let's just talk about the result... the commander?"
Then Zhang Wence saw the purple-robed woman, flipped through the book in front of her, and said in a calm and calm tone as if she was studying: "After a thorough investigation by the Tsingyi Yamen, Liu Mingming, the governor of Weizhou, has been an official for half a year. , the government was dark, colluding with local tyrants and gentry to annex land properties, causing more than 1,680 people to be displaced, and 53 people to die in vain... For half a year, the "New Deal" has not been implemented effectively, which is equivalent to nothing. .. ... "
Hearing this, the smile on the corner of Liu Mingming's mouth suddenly froze, and he almost jumped up like he had seen a ghost in daylight!
Zhang Wence was startled, raised his head in disbelief, no longer cared about etiquette, and looked directly at the purple-robed woman who was studying, almost dumbfounded.
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Qing... Tsing Yi Yamen, this woman, is... the prestigious Tsing Yi Yamen chief Song Jiao? !
The other officials in Weizhou were all dumbfounded and almost thought they were hallucinating!
At this time, shouldn't Liu Mingming be commended and promoted to rank? Why did he suddenly change the subject and start accusing him of his crimes
Tsing Yi yamen actually grasped all the crimes of Liu Mingming, when did they know? How could they know!
how so!
However, no matter how the Weizhou officials reacted, Song Jiao turned a blind eye, and her voice did not stop, "Song Kexing, the county magistrate of Ji County, has served as the county magistrate of Ji County for three years. He was a mediocre official before, and he was barely worthless. , but after Liu Mingming took office, he quickly became the minion of the other party's rampant prefectures and counties, and the fish and meat people. He did all kinds of evil things, and it was verified by the Qingyi Yamen... "
"Liu Zhengjie, the county magistrate of Gongcheng, knows how to flatter and flatter. During his tenure, he plundered the people's money and flattered his superiors..."
"County Magistrate Zhang Cheng..."
As Song Jiao continued to read, almost all Weizhou officials were named, and the merits and demerits of the past six months were listed in great detail.
Except for a small number of two or three people, the rest of Weizhou officials, including Liu Mingming, were already shaking like a sieve!
Before Song Jiao could finish reading, they knelt down on the ground like mourning concubines. At first they yelled for grievances, but later they stopped making excuses, because the facts were too bare-bones.
By the time Song Jiao finished reading, the floor was already covered with sweat.
Zhang Wence lay on the ground, his thoughts were overwhelming, his emotions were mixed, and he couldn't even say a word.
He never expected that Tsingyi Yamen knew so clearly about Weizhou's affairs! This is simply unbelievable! There are so many officials in nine towns and dozens of prefectures. Could it be that the Tsingyi Yamen went to investigate? How can this be! But if they didn't investigate, how could they know so clearly about Weizhou's affairs
Tsing Yi yamen...is it so terrifying? !
Zhang Wence's limbs were cold, and he felt that he had fallen into the abyss of fear.
Song Jiao's voice finally stopped.
King An's voice sounded above his head: "King Gu gave you a chance just now, and asked you if you have anything to say. The King wanted you to tell the truth when you lost your way, but you didn't. It's very sad, what hurts is not that you have deceived the lonely king, but that the lonely king can no longer trust you. Come, take it down!"
The voice was still steady, without any pretentious majesty.
But Zhang Wence can guarantee that no voice he has heard in his life is more powerful and coercive than this voice at this moment!
Hearing Wang An's words, he finally understood that it was not the Tsing Yi Yamen that was really scary, but Wang An!
His Royal Highness Wang An, who dominates nine towns and dozens of states, manages many opportunities every day, and can clearly see every detail!
Can Wang An actually do this
How did Wang An do it
This is simply unbelievable!
Zhang Wence's fear of An Wang in his heart penetrated deep into his liver and gallbladder and bone marrow in an instant!
He finally understood that anyone who wants to deceive King An's eyes and thinks he can deceive King An's eyes, even an old man like Liu Mingming who has a deep foundation in the Prince An's Mansion, will only suffer the consequences of himself in the end, and there will be no second one. end!
King An like this doesn't need the majesty and splendor of his mansion to show his wealth and power, and make people fear his extraordinary status and unparalleled power, because he himself is as tall and powerful as a god. Anyone who has seen him Will be in awe from the bottom of my heart!
It can only be awe from the bottom of my heart!