Tang Fan has been ill for half a month.
Suizhou also saw his popularity.
Those who passed the jinshi examination in the same year as Tang Fan will not be mentioned. Most of them have been released, and a few are among the best. Now they are still staying in the Hanlin Academy to get their qualifications - it is an honor to be able to get qualifications in this department. , Not everyone is as "stupid" as Tang Fan to be transferred from outside the Hanlin Academy.
In the past half month, there were four or five people who came to see Tang Fan one after another in the same year, including Xie Qian, the champion of the year, and others.
This number is already quite large. After all, Tang Fan is not a fan of people, and it is impossible to be loved by everyone. Moreover, the officials in Beijing are poor, and those who are not very familiar with Tang Fan. , Naturally simply did not come, and sent a post to say hello, it can be regarded as doing what you want.
In the Shuntian Mansion where Tang Fan worked, Wei Yu and Du Jiang, the inspector of the school, also came to see him.
In Fusi, Beizhen, Xue Ling, who knew Tang Fan well, also came with Pang Qi.
Of course, the two of them should be looking more at Tang Fan's friendship with Sui Zhou, and making good friends with the boss's good friend is equivalent to indirectly pleasing the boss. The connection between them is easy to understand.
However, Lao Xue is very humorous and talks a lot. He is completely different from his immediate boss. He sat here for a long time, and the laughter in Tang Fan's room never stopped, but Mr. Tang's voice became hoarse because of his illness. Laughing and coughing again, it sounded like ducks quacking, which really hurt the city's appearance, and Sui Zhou kept staring at them coldly, as if they were hindering Tang Fan's recovery, and finally Xue Bing couldn't sit still. , throwing away the gift, carrying Pang Qi and running away.
Then I have to mention, of course, Eunuch Wang of the West Factory.
Eunuch Wang recently estimated that he was busy fighting with the court ministers over the Northern Expedition, and was busy searching for the behind-the-scenes insiders who might have colluded with Fu Ru in the last East Palace case. At five o'clock, the people under his hand were sent over.
If Tang Fan is now the six ministers or the cabinet elder, or a big red man in front of the emperor, it is not uncommon for people to come to visit in an endless stream when he is sick, but the problem is that he is only a mere servant. Sixth-rank push official, everyone came to visit him, at best, they wanted to form a good relationship, get in touch with Tang Fan, or do their duty as a friend, instead of trying to draw something from him.
This shows how good Tang Fan's popularity is.
The people from Xichang came to visit Tang Fan in name on the order of the father of the factory, and they brought gifts every time, but Tang Fan, judging from Suizhou's cold face, always felt that the father-in-law Wang was deliberately coming to respond. Suizhou.
But after thinking about it, it seems that the two of them have no old grudges. Could it be that Xichang and Jin Yiwei were born to dislike each other
Tang Fan saw it in his eyes and found an opportunity to say to Suizhou, "Will I find a house and move out before I get better?"
Suizhou didn't expect him to bring this up, and frowned: "Why?"
Tang Fan said: "Although we have a good relationship, and you let A-Dong and I live for free, in the end, this is your place after all, and my friends and colleagues are always in and out. for your rest..."
Suizhou said: "Don't disturb."
What more did Tang Fan want to say, but was stopped by Suizhou, he asked an irrelevant question: "Wang Zhi is a friend or a colleague to you?"
Tang Fan was slightly stunned: "Not at all?"
Sui Zhou was a little surprised: "How do you say it?"
Tang Fan smiled: "Friends need to be frank with each other, treat each other with sincerity, and stick a knife in both sides. If Wang Zhi and I were friends, there would be less time for fire. You see, I live in your house now, and I'm going to occupy the magpie. Nest, you let me try to live at Wang Zhi's house? I definitely won't go."
The relationship between eunuchs and ministers in this dynasty is not new, but they should also be concerned about the influence. If it is Wynn, that's all. Wang Zhi, who is both righteous and evil, will easily affect the reputation of those who associate with him. Once the reputation is bad, the future of the official reputation is also over. Suizhou asked this question precisely because he saw the two of them being very close last time.
At this time, seeing that Tang Fan was sane and clear about all the mysterious things, he nodded with satisfaction: "Then don't mention the matter of moving out, and don't have to mention it in the future."
Master Tang hesitated: "But..."
Suizhou: "If you want, this place will be your home from now on."
Tang Fan was slightly moved.
Sui Zhou patted him on the shoulder: "Although you and I have known each other for a long time, the depth of friendship has never been calculated by the length of time. Knowing each other's hearts and minds is a friend. You are born to do big things, and you don't know much about small sections I don't care. Even if I move out, maybe one day I'll have to worry about rent or other issues. It's better to just live here in peace. In a few years, I won't get married for the time being, so you don't have to worry about it. , Besides, in my capacity, there is no Xiao Xiao who dares to break through the empty door, and I can rest assured that you live here."
In fact, Sui Baihu was not clumsy at all. He was just not willing to talk about it. Once he did talk about it, the effect would definitely be a hundred times stronger than that of a person who usually speaks like a lotus flower.
Master Tang was really moved to a mess, but he was always articulate, but suddenly he didn't know what to say.
Taking advantage of this time, Suizhou handed over the medicine in his hand. Master Tang was full of arrogance, brotherhood, and he didn't want to take it. He raised his head and poured it like boiled water.
As a result, his face was completely contorted.
What the hell is this... Sui Guangchuan, you are taking advantage of the danger!
Seeing his accusing expression, Sui Zhou showed a faint smile in his eyes, picked up the empty bowl, and fed a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus to it as if to appease a small animal.
Tang Daren hummed his face and expressed his disapproval.
Suizhou didn't care either, he raised his hand directly, and the sweet-scented osmanthus was put into his mouth.
Tang Fan: "..."
As soon as Suizhou left, A-Dong came in on his hind foot.
"Brother, someone has come to visit you again."
Tang Fan has been busy dealing with people who came to visit the doctor these days, and felt he was more tired than usual when he went to work. Hearing the words, he said, "You go out and say that I have drank the medicine and fell asleep, and let him leave his name and leave it for another day. I will come to thank you."
A-Dong agreed and was about to leave when the guest couldn't wait to walk in.
An unpleasant voice followed: "Runqing, you are not being kind, you are obviously not sleeping!"
Tang Fan: "..."
My lord, how could you not follow the rules! How can anyone run into someone else's house uninvited!
Pan Bin was still wearing an official uniform, and when he saw Tang Fan's tangled face, he waved his hand: "Okay, okay, I'm here today to tell you something!"
Tang Fan said helplessly: "Senior brother, I can go to the yamen in two days. What can I do? You have already sent Wei Yu and the others to visit me, so why do you need to come in person? Dong, quickly serve the adults tea, this is the Lord Pan Binpan, the governor of Shuntian, our parental official!"
A-Dong is a typical commoner's mentality. Facing the powerful father-in-law Wang, he didn't have any special reaction. On the contrary, when he heard about his parents' official, he even stunned and looked at Pan Bin for a while as if he was looking at a rare animal. Stomping on the ground and running out to make tea.
Pan Bin didn't even bother to pay attention to A-Dong. He sat down on the chair beside the bed and said in a hurry, "Runqing, our teacher is probably in trouble!"
Tang Fan was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly asked, "How do you say this?"
Their teacher is Qiu Jun, who is currently serving as a sacrificial wine in the Imperial College.
Pan Bin said, "A few days ago, Wang Zhishangshu requested to recover the Hetao. Do you know about this?"
Tang Fan nodded, more than knowing that Wang Zhi had consulted with him.
Pan Bin added: "I heard that the court was very opposed to him, and even His Majesty, who was very fond of him, rejected his proposal, but Wang Zhi did not give up. Two days ago, news came that the Tatars in the north had committed crimes. Wang Zhi went up to sparse the main battle again, and also invited to go."
At this time, someone came in with tea and handed it to Pan Bin.
Pan Bin didn't look at it, took a sip over it, glanced at it inadvertently, and almost spit out the tea!
The one who brought him tea was not the little girl he had just met, but Sui Zhou, who was dressed in brocade clothes!
Sui Baihu, dressed in Autumn Fragrance and embroidered with flying fish, with an embroidered spring knife pinned to his waist, stood in the room. Pan Bin didn't look at it.
Even though his official position was obviously much higher than Suizhou, he quickly stood up and said with a dry smile: "Is it Sui's brother? I heard Runqing say you several times. When I saw you today, you are indeed a talented person!"
Suizhou nodded and put down the tea set: "You guys talk, I have to go back to Beizhen Fusi beforehand."
It was said that he didn't take Pan Bin seriously, but under that aura, Pan Bin actually took it for granted, and didn't feel anything wrong, he just kept saying, "Okay, just go ahead!"
But seeing Suizhou take a few steps, he stopped and said to Pan Bin, "Sir, Runqing has just taken the medicine, and I'm afraid he will go to bed early."
In other words, don't talk too late.
What else could Pan Bin say, he could only say goodbye with a stiff face.
As soon as Suizhou left, Pan Bin finally breathed a sigh of relief, and just then came back to his senses, feeling that his performance just now was a bit humiliating.
But there are more important things in front of him, he said: "Where did you just say?"
Tang Fan reminded: "Wang Zhishang is the main battle."
Pan Bin: "That's right, but most people in the DPRK and China don't advocate war, but there are some who support Wang Zhi, and as a result, the two sides started to pinch. In fact, this is not our business, but seeing that His Majesty's attitude has loosened. , seems to agree to Wang Zhi's expedition, but at this time, there is a group of people who impeach Wang Zhi, saying that he is very happy, and for his own selfish desires, he wants to use military force, and he has to destroy the Ming treasury to clean up, and they also say that Wang Zhi is a The eunuch, but intends to encroach on military power, it is suspected of repeating the mistakes of Wang Zhen..."
He rambled on for a long time, but Tang Fan didn't interrupt him before he made a point.
Because from Pan Bin's words, we can also see some political situation.
Wang Zhi controls Xichang, and he is favored by the emperor and concubines. He is like a crab. He can come wherever he wants. The officials of the court are all taken down by him. , looks simply invincible.
But in fact, he is not that invincible, and he has to be subject to a lot of constraints.
This kind of control comes first from the emperor.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Chenghua Dynasty has been a rather strange dynasty.
why
Because the emperor didn't want to work, and the ministers under the cabinet were not strong enough to want to leave the emperor alone and support the country, everyone wanted to hug the thighs of the emperor and his concubine, and just get by.
So at this time, in the final analysis, the emperor is still in charge of the government.
The emperor is the emperor, and he also has the skills of the emperor. He will support people like Wang Zhishangming Wantong to fight against the civil servants and engage in some balanced strategies that the emperors of all dynasties like to do.
But this Emperor Chenghua was not that strong, so his mind would always sway from side to side.
Just like this time, he was reluctant to make a big deal at first, so he rejected Wang Zhi's suggestion to recover the Hetao.
The ministers below also saw the weather vane, and followed up to oppose Wang Zhi.
But as Wang Zhi talked more and more, the emperor would also start to imagine the situation of winning the battle. Which emperor would not want to expand the territory
So his mind started to waver.
At this time, some of the ministers who followed in the footsteps of the emperor, some of them reacted and began to agree with Wang Zhi, and some of them did not, so they continued to oppose.
In addition, since Emperor Yingzong was captured, this dynasty has long lacked the confidence in the early years, and the opinion of "defending danger" in the dynasty prevailed, and many people would rather be reconciled than go to war.
In the final analysis, everyone is still used to a comfortable life, worried that after angering the Tatars, the tragedy of the Tumu Fortress will repeat itself.
Of course, there are also some upright people who do not want to see eunuchs like Wang Zhi in power, or who are opposed to fighting themselves, and also follow Shang Shu to oppose it.
In this group of upright people, there is also Qiu Jun, Tang Fan, Pan Bin, their teacher.
Although Qiu Jun was not an official, he also had the right to make a statement. He was also opposed to this expedition and war, especially Wang Zhi’s going there. He felt that Wang Zhi just wanted to make military exploits, so he kept instigating the emperor to fight.
Wang Zhi really thought so.
Two days ago, the emperor finally agreed to Wang Zhi's proposal, and appointed the Imperial Censor of Zuo Du of the Imperial Court to supervise military affairs with the rank of Minister of War, Zhu Yong, the Duke of Bao Guo, as deputy commander, Wang Zhi to supervise the army, and lead his troops to the Hetao area to monitor the enemy's situation. Offenders may be hit as appropriate.
The phrase "monitoring the enemy's situation" is too gentle, in fact, he agreed with Wang Zhi to go to war.
Anyway, when we get there, Emperor Tiangao is far away, and Wang Yue is also the main battle faction who sharpens his knives. At that time, he will not be in complicity with Wang Zhi, and they can do whatever they want.
The problem came. Seeing that the emperor had changed his mind, and the opponents saw that the persuasion was ineffective, they gradually died down. Only Qiu Jun continued to play, and his words became more and more fierce, and even insulted Wang Zhi. Finally provoking the emperor, he waved his hand and told the old man to pack up and go to Nanjing to take office.
When Pan Bin said this, he sighed and said, "You said that our teacher is really unstoppable. He is not an official. What's the matter with him here? Can't An An be a sacrificial wine in the Guozijian? Now, let's go to Nanjing. Official, it sounds nice, it's still the right servant of the Ministry of the Household, who has been promoted by a whole level, but who doesn't know that Nanjing is a place for the elderly, and if you go there, you can expect to return to Beijing one day?"
The emperor of Yongle moved the capital to Beijing, and the court team also moved to Beijing, but Nanjing still retains a complete set of six departments as the capital. A beautiful flower stand.
Therefore, officials who are generally sent to Nanjing are either old and virtuous, the emperor is reluctant to let him retire, and he is not too tired to let them go to Nanjing to retire, or, like Mr. Qiu, offend the emperor and go to Feed mosquitoes there.
Anyway, if you don't work and don't have the power to get paid, just sit in the cold yamen, and you'll be dismissed early.
Going there is equivalent to saying goodbye to your political life, and the chance of being reactivated by the emperor is very small.
Otherwise, why would Pan Bin rush over to find Tang Fan
Tang Fan felt a little guilty.
In the final analysis, he encouraged Wang Zhi to propose to the emperor. Even if it is not the "culprit", it is also an "accomplice".
"Why don't you go and persuade the teacher, let him write a memorial again, and admit his mistake to Your Majesty. Your Majesty has always been soft-hearted and will definitely forgive the teacher. You are the most valued by the teacher, and your words are the most useful!" Pan Bin told Tang Generic.
Tang Fan shook his head: "It's not that you don't know the teacher's temperament. If he is someone who will flatter his favor, with his knowledge, how can he still be a sacrificial wine at the Imperial Academy?"
When Pan Bin heard this, his face became more and more worried. In officialdom, teachers and students are like father and son. They should have been teachers to take care of their disciples, but they turned out to be the other way around.
He couldn't help complaining that the old man Qiu was busy, but no matter what, he was still a teacher and student, and if he could help, he would definitely help.
Tang Fan also felt a little guilty. He didn't expect this matter to turn to his teacher in the end.
"Otherwise, I'll go to the teacher tomorrow and persuade him to see if I can make him change his mind?" He said hopelessly.
"Alright, I'll go with you. I can't just watch the teacher being demoted by Ming Sheng." Pan Bin said.
Qiu Jun is quite accomplished academically and has many students.
Some were his disciples during the exams, such as Pan Bin, some were people who came to apprentice because of his admiration for his knowledge, and there were a few others, he himself was so happy that he offered to accept him as a disciple, such as Tang Fan.
Among so many students, the most accomplished ones are Pan Bin and Tang Fan.
It's just that the temperaments of the three teachers and students are completely opposite.
Qiu Jun's temperament is stubborn and narrow-minded, and it is easy to be overwhelmed and easy to break.
Pan Bin is slick and sophisticated, but he is too sophisticated and easily compromises with the world.
Only Tang Fan has certain principles in his heart, but he is also willing to follow the trend in front of the world.
Qiu Jun's own character is not perfect, but he knows his own shortcomings and admires the character of his younger disciple. He took the initiative to accept Tang Fan as a student, and it was also from his calligraphy and articles that he was able to see his devotion to others. .
And the reason why Tang Fan was able to infer the young prince from his words last time was because he learned this trick from the teacher.
Tang Fan's grade was too low, and no one would take care of him when he pleaded with his teacher. Pan Bin was dismissed, and he was still a fourth-rank official. I know if it was taken by the cabinet people to stand on the table.
But in the final analysis, it was still Old Man Qiu himself, and it was useless for the students to plead for him.
The two agreed on this matter, and the next morning, they made an appointment to go out to Qiu Jun's mansion.
The Qiu family were packing their luggage and preparing to go to Nanjing. Although they were there to persuade, both Pan Bin and Tang Fan knew that it was difficult to change their minds because of the stubbornness of the old man Qiu.
Seeing that winter is coming, the north is cold and dry, and the south is warm and humid. Pan Bin brought two bottles of medicinal wine with the effect of eliminating rheumatism to the teacher, while Tang Fan brought some cakes to satisfy the cravings of the Qiu family's children, and bought some more. Always use off-the-shelf pills in case they need it on the road.
Qiu Jun was naturally very happy to see them coming, and he was busy getting tea prepared, while beckoning them to sit down.
Just after hearing their intentions, the old man Qiu became a little less interested.
He waved his hand and said: "There is no need to say more about this matter, I will not change my mind. An eunuch who does not know military affairs at first, led his soldiers to the north to fight wildly, and then he would just chop heads and pretend to take credit. This is also true. It's nothing new, the changes in civil engineering are still fresh in my mind, Your Majesty has forgotten the lesson of the late emperor, hum! Do you have to do another battle to defend Beijing to be reconciled?"
A person's academic achievements have nothing to do with his character, nor have much to do with his character.
Qiu Jun's knowledge is very good, but this does not prevent him from being short-tempered. Once he makes up his mind, no one can persuade him.
Pan Bin winked at Tang Fan.
Tang Fan said slowly: "Teacher, the student has something to say. I don't know whether to say it or not."
Qiu Jun glared at him and scolded with a smile: "What are you pretending to be honest in front of me, just say something!"
Tang Fan smiled at first, and then said with a straight face: "Eunuchs have been used heavily since Emperor Taizu, Zheng He, Hou Xian and others will not be discussed for the time being, and today's Wynn can also be regarded as a loyal person, the emperor appoints eunuchs It has become a custom, even if there is a Wang Zhen, it will not change this fact. The emperor's trust in eunuchs is indeed more than that of foreign ministers. This is one of them."
"Take His Highness the Crown Prince as an example. Back then, he was able to move around the palace and survived by luck, and it was all due to the protection of the palace people in the inner palace. After he ascends the throne, he will definitely trust the eunuch more. This is human nature."
"Since it is inevitable that eunuchs will take power, and this matter cannot be changed by you or me, then even if it is not Wang Zhi, it will be someone else. Although Wang Zhi took charge of the West Factory, many officials were arrested and imprisoned, but in detail, among these people However, there are no ordinary people, which is much better than the East Factory, with the West Factory as a check and balance, the East Factory does not dare to be too arrogant, which is also a benefit of Wang Zhi."
"Also, since the change in civil engineering, the national strength of Ming Dynasty has been declining day by day. In the past, he dared to take the initiative to attack, but now he does not dare to take action even when others come to the door. If things go on like this, if they stay back and do not fight, they will inevitably encourage the enemy's arrogance and make the surrounding alien races arrogant. They all think that I am weak and can be bullied.”
"So the students thought that this Wang Zhibei expedition was actually necessary, and the teacher should not get angry and hurt his body for this."
He thought that what he said was justified, but Qiu Jun didn't agree, at least he wouldn't be as excited as before.
Who knew that Qiu Jun's face was getting darker and darker, and when he finished speaking, he shook his head and said coldly: "Runqing, you have disappointed me so much, I thought that even if you didn't dare to write and strive, at least you wouldn't object to me. Opinion, who knows that you are still on Wang Zhi's side, do you still have the character of a civil official? Yes, it is indeed common for eunuchs to take power in the state, and Emperor Taizu also made a bad start, but you see In recent years, I have been very close with eunuchs. What will happen in the end? Even Yu Zijun, who is good friends with Wynn, would not dare to help Wynn publicize and build momentum like this! You are really talented and more interesting. !"
The more he talked, the more angry he became: "You also know that the national strength is not good now. You can't fight a war if you want to. The troops and horses are not moved, and the food and grass go first. All this is piled up from money. Is there so much money in the national treasury now? Fighting wars, You put it lightly, it’s easy to ask God to send God, but once Wang Zhi is released, it’s not bad that he doesn’t kill a few civilians and pretend to be a credit!”
Pan Bin didn't expect to call the younger brother, not only couldn't persuade the teacher to calm down, but added fuel to the fire, and hurriedly said: "You calm down, calm down!"
Qiu Jun's thoughts were still unfinished: "Runqing, if you can calm down and do your studies well, you may not be able to become a generation of famous scholars in the future, but you have to leave the quiet place of the Hanlin Academy and roam outside, I heard Something happened in the palace last time, and you were also involved? Are you messing with Wang Zhi now?"
Pan Bin gave Tang Fan a wink, telling him not to say anything to make the old man angry.
Tang Fan smiled wryly: "Nothing, it's just that when I investigated a case last time, I happened to meet Wang Zhi by accident. He knew that I was the official of Shuntian Prefecture, so he asked me to help him."
The incident that happened in the East Palace, because it involved Gong Wei, everyone only knew that it was Han Fang who died of his youngest son, and the murderer turned out to be his eldest son. After a while, Concubine Wan's suspicion was cleared, and the bowl of mung bean and lily soup Naturally, no one has mentioned it. As for other rumors, although they are vaguely rumored outside, they are all rumors without confirmation.
Tang Fan's achievements in solving the case left an impression in front of the emperor and concubines, but the credit was not obvious outside.
Especially Concubine Wan, although she was very annoyed that Tang Fan asked her if she was the murderer in front of everyone that day, and later angrily told the emperor that this person was frivolous and unbearable, but later Tang Fan not only solved the case, She also cleared her suspicions, which seemed to prove that Tang Fan was a courageous and capable official.
Concubine Wan has been domineering for a long time, and she doesn't take other people's favor easily, but this time she owes Tang Fan a big favor.
If she still remembers this favor, Tang Fan's promotion is just around the corner.
Fortunately, Qiu Jun didn't know the inside story. Otherwise, if he knew that his student had won the appreciation of Wan Guifei and Wang Zhi by mistake, he would probably have vomited three liters of blood.
Tang Fan naturally didn't dare to mention to him the matter of his suggestion to Wang Zhi for Beizheng, or he probably wouldn't even be able to do it with master and apprentice.
But that's it, the teachers and students still had a lot of trouble when they met.
Qiu Jun was very disappointed with Tang Fan and Pan Bin. He felt that they had been in the officialdom for a long time, and even lost the basic principles of being a human being.
When he came out of the Qiu Mansion, Pan Bin complained, "You shouldn't argue with the teacher just now, let him say what he says, and go over if you can't bear it!"
Tang Fan was helpless: "I don't want to, I don't know that the teacher can't even hear a word."
Pan Bin added: "The teacher is too, why is he so stubborn and stubborn, but if he is a little more mellow, with his qualifications and knowledge, it should not be just a sacrifice to the Imperial College now."
Tang Fan was silent.
To be honest, this meeting with Qiu Jun was a big blow to him.
There are many officials like Qiu Jun who insist that war cannot be waged, not just to go along with the emperor.
They are all frightened by the changes in civil engineering, and have lost the spirit of the early Ming Dynasty. If things go on like this, the court is filled with such a group of officials, what will the country's future be like
He originally thought that with the teacher's knowledge, he should be able to understand his views.
Unexpectedly, Qiu Jun not only did not agree, but also did not understand.
The two parted ways when they left the street. Pan Bin did not forget to tell him that he should go to work in the yamen tomorrow, while Tang Fan walked on the long street silently by himself, and the bustling and bustling in front of him could not catch his eyes.
He was thinking, was he actually concentrating on handling the case, and it would be better to be less involved in court affairs
After all, he is only a rank six minor official, these things are too far away from him, there is no need to get along with his teacher for this, and he is too lenient.
But another voice was telling him that his point of view was not wrong, he had to stick to his own opinion, and don't retreat easily just because he always disagreed with him.
He was walking absentmindedly, when at some point he heard a commotion and quarrel behind him.
Tang Fan turned his head blankly, and suddenly smashed his fist in the face!
The author has something to say:
small theater:
Suizhou: I heard someone said last time that I was fished out of a ditch
The author doesn't think about it: Master Tang said it!
Suizhou: Oh, then forget it.
Tang Fan: …