Since the end of Yonghui, the large and small yamen of the six departments of the three provinces of Liyang can almost be said to be the Changing King Banner at the head of the city. A group of old people such as the first assistant Zhang Julu, the Minister of the Ministry of War Gu Jiantang, and the old master of the Song family either died or left the center of the capital. And a group of people led by Zhongshuling Qi Yanglong rose to high positions in the temple one after another. Among them were the "predecessors" in the capital like Chen Wang, the Zuo Sanqi, the regular servant of the province, and some who became famous in the imperial examination in the first year of Xiangfu. Li Jifu, Wu Congxian, Gao Tingshu and other young scholars with far less seniority than Chen Shaobao, and even Tang Tieshuang and Xu Gong served as servants from the local government, and among the old cabinet ministers, there have also been great changes, Zhao Youling and Yin Maochun included a large number of Almost all the ministers of Yonghui changed their official seats, and Wang Xionggui of Guo Hanlin in Yuanguo was even released to the outside world, becoming the official of the frontier in name.
Among these, only Huan Wen is an outlier. As a veteran of the three dynasties, no matter how the bureaucrats of the same dynasty change personnel, this Tantan Weng has always sat firmly on the Diaoyutai under his family. Zhao Youling, the second in command of Zhongshu Province, or one of the officials Yin Maochun, but for the civil and military officials of Tai'an City who are accustomed to wind and rain, as long as His Majesty does not make a clear decree, Tan Tanweng is still the one who is right for the whole Even if Huan Wen really retires and abdicates, as the only surviving meritorious elder and literary leader of the Liyang Dynasty, Liyang's political affairs will also be indispensable in the future. The old man who was hailed as "the most important treasure of the country" by the first emperor, it is no wonder that in Tai'an City, there will be kind ridicule from Huan's mansion.
When autumn is about to enter this year, the emperor asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to carefully craft more than forty inkstones engraved with "Xiangfu imperial use" and give them to important ministers. Those who got them thought they were treasures. Only Huan Wen won the three parties, namely Qi Yanglong and Yan Jie. Xi and Chen Wang only won two awards, and Huan Wen not only won this honor, but also gave him an old ginseng plant that can be called the best tribute in Liaodong and a jar of Chunling wine. The private discussion that might not be able to survive Xiangfu's two years disappeared in an instant.
After Zhang Lu and Gu Lu have become old things one after another, with the rise of the two provinces under Zhongshumen, the relocation of the Hanlin Academy, and the establishment of six pavilions, a large number of important civil servants have been diverted away. It lived up to the grand occasion of "all the officials and ministers of the Manchu Dynasty are here" in the early years.
On the day of the Beginning of Autumn, the emperor deliberately opened the Golden Autumn Garden, which occupies the largest area and has the best scenery among the four palace gardens, to feast the officials. Ask the eunuch Song Tanglu, the eunuch who is in charge of the ceremony, to bring a pot of phoenix trees that have been planted in the pot long ago. When the time comes, Chen Wang is asked to serve as the official historian for a while, shouting "Autumn is here", and the emperor picks it off with his own hands. A sycamore leaf means that the king will report autumn to the sky instead of the common people. In this unprecedented impromptu elegant event, Chen Wang, who became Liyang's first "autumn performance official", was undoubtedly the most eye-catching. Empress Yan Dongwu and her younger brother Yan Chiji stood together. After seeing this scene, this charming woman said softly to the upstart younger brother of the Imperial Academy: "You must strive to be the next year's announcer."
Yan Chiji, who was most afraid of showing off, had a headache and said: "Sister, there is nothing to argue about this kind of thing, and I can't compete. With Chen Shaobao Zhuyu in front, next year it is estimated that only Jin Lanting, the servant of the Ministry of Rites, or our Imperial Academy Only the new head of the academy can take on this matter. Otherwise, Song Keli and Fan Changhou would be more legitimate than me."
Yan Dongwu glanced at those civil and military officials with different expressions. He was as old as Qi Yang, Long Huanwen, after all, he was getting old, and he was already an extremely human minister, and he didn't need to use it to add to his official reputation, so he didn't care about this matter. They all hold the indifferent mentality of not competing with young people, while Zhao Youling, Yin Maochun and other slightly younger power ministers are slightly different. Chen Wang still had envy in his eyes. As for Gao Tingshu, Wu Congxian, these young people who have just made their debut in the Liyang Temple, all of them have fiery eyes. The old god Jin Lanting, who has been prosperous in Tai'an City for many years, seems to have already regarded the person who will report the autumn next year as something in his pocket.
Now Yan Dongwu, who is very handsome, does not look sideways, does not whisper to this beloved brother, and said calmly: "Your brother-in-law needs you to fight, but he won't tell you clearly, But if you have this enterprising spirit, he will be very happy."
Yan Chiji sighed helplessly: "Okay, then I will do my best."
From the corner of his eye, Yan Dongwu looked at Yan Yan's father, Yan Jiexi, a scholar of Dongyuan Pavilion, who was chatting and laughing with Wen Shouren, a scholar of Wuyingdian University, and Yan Jiexi, a scholar of Dongyuan Pavilion, and said in an unquestionable tone, "Our father has already helped you!" The road has been paved, the six major palace bachelors, plus the six newly established pavilion bachelors, these twelve people will be the first-class Qing noble cabinet ministers in our dynasty. After all, you are still young and have insufficient qualifications. Our Yan family has one sect and two halls, but it is not difficult for you to become a scholar of the pavilion in as short as ten years and as long as 20 years. Besides, the bachelor of the palace is a vain title similar to that of the Shangzhu Kingdom, and it is not because an official quits the court. And the deprivation, plus father will be able to be promoted from the palace in a few years without any accidents, and the grand scholar of the pavilion will be a real official. At that time, our Yan family will have a "family with two palaces". Dad is about face, you It is the son, father and son complement each other, at least three generations of the Yan family can be safe for a hundred years."
Yan Chiji timidly said: "Sister, we are relatives after all, so don't avoid suspicion..."
Yan Dongwu turned his head expressionlessly, but there was a bit of anger in his eyes, he interrupted his younger brother's words directly, and said in a low voice: "You really can't see the undercurrents of the current government?! Even your brother-in-law If you don’t help your brother-in-law, do you want to pin your hopes on those civil servants who are more and more capable of becoming officials?”
Yan Chiji hesitated to speak, but finally bowed his head and admitted his mistake.
The emperor walked up to the siblings from a distance, and seeing Yan Chiji's embarrassment, he smiled and joked, "Why, brother-in-law, have you been reprimanded by your sister again? Every time Master Yan sees me, he occasionally mentions your son. , always can't hide that proud smile. Your sister is good. I can't help but fight for you once I see you. My brother-in-law is very close, if you feel wronged by your sister in the future, just come and complain to me, and let's drink together to relieve boredom."
Yan Dongwu asked with a soft smile: "I don't know what distress your majesty wants to relieve?"
The young emperor who caught the handle was immediately speechless, and Yan Chiji, who was watching the fire from the other side, was overjoyed. The emperor Zhao Zhuan pointed at this brother-in-law who was gloating, "It's ungrateful, I accidentally set myself on fire just to help you. "
If an ordinary courtier heard the words ungrateful from an emperor, he would probably be terrified. I don’t know if Yan Chiji is too slow or what, but he really didn’t have any worries. He smiled slightly apologetically. .
Although the young emperor snorted coldly on the surface, deep down in his heart, instead of feeling annoyed by his brother-in-law's "proudness", he felt very comfortable.
Not a family, definitely not so casual.
The emperors of all dynasties, although they claimed to be widows. But which emperor really likes being alone
Yan Dongwu suddenly said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, we really can't delay the matter of the maid selection."
Zhao Zhuan hurriedly laughed for a while, and then made an excuse that he was going to discuss some important military affairs with Mr. Zhongshuling.
After the banquet, His Majesty the Emperor asked the officials to visit the Golden Autumn Garden on their own, so the civil and military officials scattered in twos and threes, seemingly casually, and there were many specialties in it. But there was no one accompanying him, but Zhongshu Sheng Zhao Youling, who resigned from the Ministry of Officials, took five or six senior officials with him. Yin Maochun, the current Tianguan, talked with the gang of Huang Menlang, who had a rich history in the Imperial Academy. Very happy, several newly-appointed Grand Scholars with unstable foundations naturally travel hand in hand. After Bi Yan'er's death, the six ministers of Shangshu Province, who have no leader, also have their own mountains, and they don't get together. Zhao Shixungui is more in a group Tang Tieshuang, the servant of the Ministry of War, accompanied two generals of the same generation as the benefactor Gu Jiantang, one of whom was General Zhao Wei who had not cared about the world for many years, and the other was Yang Shenxing who had been very disgraced in the past two years. It was Lu Baijie, Minister of the Ministry of War, who walked together with those young officials who were also from Jiangnan. In the past few years, the backbone of the Youth Party, Wen Taiyi, the minister of officials, and Hong Lingshu, the former general of Qingzhou who were recently called into the capital, had just made a statement two years ago that they would never get in touch with each other. The posture, they actually meet again today, it seems that the previous suspicions have been resolved, and they are in harmony, which inevitably makes people wonder if the Youth Party is going to make a comeback? As for the aristocratic families of the Northern Liao and Liao dynasties headed by the Peng family and the Liu family, they also stayed together tacitly in Tai'an City.
The two elderly people, Qi Yanglong and Huan Wen, actually walked not slowly, and their strides were also big, so they walked farther and farther away from the large group of officials behind them, and the two old people went straight to a famous scenic spot in the Golden Autumn Garden. Chunshen Mountain, which is built of hundreds of Chunshen Lake stones, although Chunshen Lake stones were admired by some celebrities in the south of the Yangtze River a long time ago, they can be regarded as really rising and are well known by the government and the public. It is a matter of the past five years. The boulders kept picking up rich courtyards from the bottom of the lake, and even "flyed" into the emperor's house last year, forming mountains overnight in the Golden Autumn Garden and becoming famous all over the world. Chunshen Lake stones are precious with three characters of thin and wrinkled. The top-quality Chunshen Lake stones are exquisitely undulating and natural, so there is a saying that one catty of stones is one or two gold.
Huan Wen did not climb the mountain, but stood tens of steps away from Chunshenhu Mountain. Ling Qi Yanglong saw that Tan Tanweng had no intention of climbing high, so he smiled and stood there with Tan Tanweng. The atmosphere in the Liyang court is extremely relaxed now, compared to when Zhang Lu and Gu Lu were confronting each other, with Zhang Julu and Gu Jiantang, two unsmiling civil and military leaders sitting in charge, the civil and military officials can be said to be trembling when they are officials, for fear of making mistakes, and now they have temper Qi Yanglong and Huan Wen were both very good, and everyone felt a lot more relaxed. In addition, it happened to meet Zhao Zhuan, a young emperor like Fang Deng who was not very powerful, so the seniors in the official circles of Tai'an City liked to joke with the juniors who had a good personal relationship. The old minister of Yonghui, it's a good time.
Tan Tan Weng, who had been drinking a lot at the banquet, hiccupped, turned his head to Qi Yanglong and asked with a smile: "Master Zhongshuling, do you know the origin of my nickname, Huan Wen, Tan Tan Weng?"
Qi Yanglong smiled and shook his head.
Huan Wen laughed and said: "At first, it's not called Tan Tan Weng. A guy helped me to nickname him Wine Gourd. If something annoys him, he will call him a wine bag and rice bag. The name Tan Tan Weng is relatively It was a very later thing. Once I was on duty with that guy in the prison. I couldn't control my mouth, so I drank alcohol secretly. I was caught by the late emperor who approved the book all night. As for me, I drank too much Now, talking freely, I told the first emperor that as long as I have wine in my stomach, Huan Wen will be open-minded all day long, but one day your majesty will be full of complaints regardless of drinking. Then the first emperor laughed, and let the palm print at that time The eunuch Han Shengxuan went to bring several jugs of wine. That time, a guy who never drank alcohol also drank a glass for the first time. His face was as red as a monkey's butt. When I was drunk, I laughed at him. The red face is fine. He replied, shut up and be your Tan Tan Weng. Probably since then, I have become a Tan Tan Weng. Maybe many officials think that this nickname means that I, Huan Wen, was in the Liyang officialdom In the end, no matter how turbulent the situation is, I am a tumbler who swayed along with me but didn't fall down in the end."
Qi Yanglong said with emotion: "Whether Tan Tanweng is a man or an official, he has never acted on his heart, and if he does not care about his actions, I am not as good as Tan Tanweng Duoyi."
Huan Wen rolled his eyes and said: "Master Zhongshu Ling, this is too much flattery. If someone else said it, I would even think it was a curse."
Qi Yanglong smiled and said nothing.
He is in charge of the Zhongshu Province, which has been abandoned for many years in the Liyang Dynasty. Decades ago, the old Liyang Zhao Shi, which lived in the north and was separated from the vassal town, had several titles such as Zhongshuling, Zuopushe, and Shizhong. They were all bestowed by the Zhao family on those big-tailed military generals and brilliant military officials who controlled the government to show their honor and favor. They were all empty titles, just like the later Dazhu Kingdom and Shangzhu Kingdom. It's just that today is different from the past. Zhongshu Province, which has lost its power, has once again become a veritable temple. Qi Yanglong also took advantage of the opportunity to become another chief assistant of the dynasty after Zhang Julu, and some of them were divided by the Hanlin Academy very early. The resignation of power also returned to the Ministry of Education. But Qi Yanglong knew very well that he, the Zhongshu Ling who was called into the capital by the late emperor to "fight the fire", was in the final analysis a transitional prime minister. Huan Wen is different, whether it is the former emperor or the current emperor, he treats this Tantan Weng who has a good personal relationship with Zhang Julu as a trustworthy figure of the emperor. However, it is clear that it is because the young emperor felt jealous and jealous towards Huan Wen, it is clear that Huan Wen himself had the intention of retiring, and this is the reason why Huan Wen alone won the inkstone from the three parties.
Huan Wen said softly: "Young people should be busy, and when they are busy, they will be able to shake the air. Old people should be free, so that they can enjoy the rest of their lives."
Qi Yanglong shook his head and said in a deep voice: "At this time, everyone in the court can be free, except Tan Tanweng. Guangling Road, Beiliang Road, and Liangliao Road are not safe everywhere. The court needs Tan Tanweng's help very much. Make up your mind. Many times and many things, even if Tan Tan Weng does not speak, as long as you sit there, even if you are dozing off, the hearts of the court will not be disturbed. If there is an old man in the family, if there is a treasure, it is Tan Tan Weng .”
Huan Wen continued to look at the hill for a while, then slowly turned his head and said with a smile: "In terms of age and seniority, Mr. Zhongshuling belongs to the same generation as my benefactor..."
Qi Yanglong quickly waved his hands and said: "Don't come here, your mentor and I were notoriously at odds back then. Regarding the dispute between Confucianism and Legalism, the two of them never came to an agreement in their entire lives. After entering Beijing, Tan Tan Weng did not embarrass the Guozijian and Zhongshu Sheng, I am already very lucky."
Huan Wen no longer used the respectful and unfamiliar title of Mr. Zhongshuling, and said sincerely: "Although Mr. Qi disagrees with his teacher's political views, his teacher admired him very much for his academic skills back then. In Huan Wen's view, everyone in the world is To say that it is better to be a commoner than to hide from the world is worse than to dress in a wrong way, in fact, it is either enough to be an official, or it is hypocritical to be an official, and it is far inferior to Mr.
Qi Yanglong smiled, "Tan Tanweng, Tan Tanweng, we two old men are flattering each other here, that's all, the problem is that no one listens to it, how to 'pass it as a good talk', how to leave a name in history? "
Speaking of this, Qi Yanglong said with a little sarcasm: "I think when I read history when I was young, when I read someone or something for the first time, I always felt that the blood was rushing or touching, but after thinking about it, I realized that I was trying to gain fame and reputation. Executionable."
Huan Wen laughed heartily, "Sir, you are so insightful. The students felt the same way when they were young."
Qi Yanglong sighed for no reason: "The former book writer, the future book-turner."
Huan Wen also sighed, and suddenly asked: "Have you ever met Xu Fengnian, sir?"
Qi Yanglong nodded, "The King of Beiliang has actually been to Shangyin Academy, but it's a pity that he never met."
Huan Wen chuckled and said: "My mentor and the old Liang Wang have scolded each other many times in court. As a student, although I have only met the young feudal king on both sides, the taste of it is really not for outsiders."
Qi Yanglong said unhappily: "What is there to show off?"
Huan Wen smiled happily and forcefully, without hiding his embarrassment.
Huan Wen asked again: "Mr. Qi, do you know the two things I like to do most since I became an official in Beijing?"
Qi Yanglong replied: "I would like to hear the details."
This Tan Tanweng narrowed his eyes, first raised his left arm and waved his sleeve, then stretched out his right hand, and put his index and middle fingers together in the air to make a light tapping gesture, "Every day at the court meeting, I see all the civil and military officials coming and going. , dizzying. Listening to the jade pendants on their waists knocking, ding ding dong dong, crisp and melodious. Never get tired of watching it, never getting tired of listening to it.”
Qi Yanglong smiled and said: "I didn't think so before, but I will pay attention to it in the future."
Huan Wen raised his head, not looking at the mountain, but at the higher sky, "The sky and the earth are a big jade plate, and big beads and small beads fell on it, crackling, shattered, and all died."
Qi Yanglong closed his eyes, tilted his head slightly, seemed to be listening, and murmured: "Yes, the brightest pearl in the world in the northwest is about to shatter at last. You and I, and the yellow and purple behind us Your Excellency, they are all the culprits."
Huan Wen laughed and said, "We scholars who are ashamed of classics."
Qi Yanglong still closed his eyes, and said with a soft smile: "It turns out that real scholars don't read books."