Wei Lin was a little confused: "Does Miss Wen need to do something?"
"Try this wine first. How does it feel?" Wen Qingzhu did not talk about business directly.
Seeing her like this, Wei Lin didn't dare to question her. After drinking two cups of Huadiao, he put down the cup.
"The taste is acceptable. Southerners like this taste, but I grew up in the north. This wine is not strong enough." Wei Lin answered truthfully.
Wen Qingzhu nodded, raised the cup in his hand, and shook it.
The wine is fragrant and does not taste very intoxicating.
She smiled: "But this Huadiao has a lot of stamina. Unlike our northern wine, you may get drunk after three bowls, but you can drink ten bowls of southern wine without getting drunk, but you may have to sleep for three Tian Sanye, which one of these two wines do you think is more powerful?"
"What do you mean by Miss Wen?" Wei Lin knew that Wen Qingzhu came to him for something important, and after pondering for a long time, he still had no clue.
Wen Qingzhu took a booklet from the side, opened it, pointed to three names and said: "The number one scholar went to investigate the corruption case. You and Tanhua are accumulating political achievements on the canal, but there are also hidden names in the list of the winners below. There are many powerful people, half a year has passed, come and see, which ones do you care about the most?"
Wei Lin Yiyan took the booklet and looked around carefully. His eyes finally stopped on Zhang Ke's name.
"He, I feel like he's hiding his clumsiness." Wei Lin put his hand on Zhang Ke's name, and his expression became a little wary.
"You are indeed suitable for intrigue." Wen Qingzhu clapped his hands.
Wei Lin frowned and asked doubtfully, "Miss Wen is very optimistic about him?"
Wen Qingzhu no longer concealed anything, and spoke very directly: "Well, among you, you are the most similar to him. I also know that you are very ambitious, but if you were born twenty years earlier, your achievements would definitely be better than his." Gao, but now the rise of Hanmen is inevitable, unless the Wei family helps you with all their strength, I don’t think you can beat him!”
"Really?" Wei Lin's expression didn't change much, but his slightly flashing eyes betrayed him.
Although he came from a low background, he was still very conceited.
After all, it is not an easy thing to be appreciated by Mr. Wei and Wei Feng.
Wen Qingzhu poured him another glass of wine: "I know what you are thinking, but you each have your own position. Haven't you thought that one day, all the tablets of your father and grandfather will be placed in the Wei family's ancestral hall? "
In this era, the clan was the most powerful place besides the royal family.
The reason why Wei Lin tried his best to climb up was naturally so that his lineage could occupy a place in the Wei family tree.
Wen Qingzhu's words were originally one of his goals.
Seeing that Wei Lin didn't reply, Wen Qingzhu took back the wine bottle and poured himself a glass.
Then he picked up the wine glass and said: "Your current position is too low. There are some things that you don't understand deeply. When you reach a high position one day, you will understand what I mean. Come! I wish you a bright future in advance!"
Wei Lin frowned, but still raised his wine glass and touched it lightly with Wen Qingzhu.
Both drank it in one gulp.
After putting down the cup, he looked at the girl in front of him who was younger than him. She was only sixteen or seventeen years old, but she always gave him the air of an old man who had lived for many years.
He had seen this kind of temperament in both Mr. Wei and Mrs. Wei.
What surprised him even more was that in this temperament of controlling the overall situation, he even vaguely saw the power of a superior person.
Wei Lin has met the emperor and various concubines, queens and other superiors.
They did it because of their status, but where did Wen Qingzhu's power come from
Wei Lin knew that Wen Qingzhu was hiding well, but he also knew that he was an observant person.
He trusts his instincts.
"What do you want me to do?" Wei Lin suppressed his curiosity and finally got to the point.
Wen Qingzhu felt that the flower sculpture was beginning to work, and his slightly red cheeks showed a hint of drunkenness.
However, she always kept her head clear and looked at Wei Lin deeply: "Your opponent is not Master Fu or Prime Minister Pei, but Zhang Ke. What you have to do is to rise up from a humble family. Among them, protect the last position of the old family nobles."
Wei Lin's expression became serious.
In the capital, there are still many nobles from all the aristocratic families.
Although they are changing slowly, this is the general trend.
The older generation of the Cui family, the He family, the rising Li family and the Fu family, the new representatives of the Pei family and the Lei family, as well as the various poor scholars who appeared in the imperial examination this time.
No one can guarantee that when they reach the center of power in ten or twenty years, they will bring about the prosperity of a new family.
Wen Qingzhu knew that Wei Lin understood what she meant, but she still wanted to say it.
Although Wei Lin is experienced and steady, he is only a young man in his early twenties. He has not experienced the upgrading of power, and he does not know that it is watered with blood.
"The Cui family does not have a new generation of descendants to support the family. Currently, it is only relying on Mr. Cui to support the family. However, Mr. Cui is very aware of the cruelty of family changes, so he has transferred his hope to his disciples."
Wei Lin thought for a moment and then said a name: "Lei Xiushan."
"Yes." Wen Qingzhu nodded, "Lei Xiushan is a distant relative of the Lei family. The Lei family's own children are already good enough, and resources cannot be transferred to the children of the side branches, so the censor pointed out a clear path for Lei Xiushan and worshiped Mr. Cui as his successor. Master, he has a calm temperament, and if he doesn't make any big mistakes, he can inherit most of the resources of the Cui family. When a son of the Cui family appears who can restore the Cui family, with Lei Xiushan's temperament, he will definitely support him wholeheartedly."
Wei Lin fell into deep thought. Being able to trust an outsider so wholeheartedly was not something ordinary people could have.
Wen Qingzhu continued: "The He family married He Wenru to King Huai. This move was not wrong. It would be better to marry with the Zheng family to preserve their strength. The future of the He family is doomed. If the Zheng family can remain neutral, how many more years can it last? ten years."
"Then what's the problem between the Fu family and the Pei family?" Wei Lin directly asked his doubts.
Mr. Wei always felt that he didn't have enough experience in this kind of general situation, so he didn't talk to him about it.
Now that Wen Qingzhu analyzed it like this, he became fascinated unknowingly.
I am eager to understand the current general trend.
"The Fu family is rotten inside. If Fu Yu hadn't appeared, the Fu family would have been severely damaged after this imperial examination." Wen Qingzhu couldn't help but sneer when he thought about how nearly all the test papers were burned.
Is this an enemy they are already afraid of that has not yet grown up
Wei Lin thought about it carefully and vaguely understood what Wen Qingzhu meant.
During the six months in the Hanlin Academy, he had seen how the Fu family controlled everyone's promotion and demotion.
Even so, the Fu family still couldn't control those poor men who were destined to be extraordinary.
He already understood the rules of the Hanlin Academy and didn't want to stay any longer, so he left there.
However, he thought of one person: "Fu Shiyi and I have similar backgrounds. Fu Yu had a lot of contact with him before. Didn't the Fu family recruit him?"
"This is the difference between the Fu family and the Wei family. Fu Xuan is so stubborn that he doesn't even trust his own grandson. Do you think he would trust a side branch?"
Wen Qingzhu shook his head repeatedly, and then said: "Don't worry too much about the Fu family, the Pei family is the most difficult to deal with. Pei Yu was promoted by the emperor, and he made the Pei family a famous family in the capital, but do you think the Pei family is more difficult to deal with than the Pei family?" Where is the Fu family's fault?"
"Information." Wei Lin replied without hesitation, "The Pei family became prosperous with the promotion of Prime Minister Pei. In just twenty years, the Wei family is not as good as the Pei family on the surface, but the Wei family and the Fu family are It has always existed since the previous dynasty.”
Wen Qingzhu was very pleased that Wei Lin really got it right.
Then he should be able to accept the next thing about Zhang Ke easily.
"Well, that's right. The descendants of the Pei family are actually good, but Prime Minister Pei has gone astray. This is destined to be his failure."
"Are you saying that Mr. Pei values Pei Zhixuan more than Pei Yi?" Wei Lin immediately thought of what Mr. Wei told him before.
A bunch of grandchildren in the Pei family are all outstanding.
But I don't know what Pei Yu is thinking. He would rather praise Pei Zhixuan than Pei Yi.
"Well, relatively speaking, there is no internal fighting in the Pei family. To a certain extent, it is more difficult to deal with than the Fu family. But don't worry, Zhang Ke will replace Pei Yu."
Wen Qingzhu mentioned Zhang Ke again, and Wei Lin's expression changed slightly as expected.
He took a deep breath: "Did you recruit Zhang Ke? Or cooperate with him?"
Wen Qingzhu hesitated for a moment and told the truth: "I'm trying to recruit him, but he's unwilling. But when things on the canal are finalized, he may be forced to cooperate with me."
When Wei Lin saw the smile on Wen Qingzhu's face, he felt inexplicably unhappy.
This look clearly meant that he admired Zhang Ke more.
How is Wei Lin inferior to Zhang Ke
Wen Qingzhu saw his hidden dissatisfaction and did not expose him. Instead, he talked about the canal: "I have already discussed it with General Fu. When the time comes, he will recommend the King of Chu to take full charge of the canal and even protect him. convoy."
"You chose King Chu?" Wei Lin looked straight, feeling that this was not a good choice.
Unexpectedly, Wen Qingzhu shook his head: "The emperor is still in good health, and the court has been stable for at least the past two years. However, I can tell you in advance that even if we support one person to take the throne, that person will definitely not be the King of Chu!"
"Then you still..." Wei Lin felt that if he had to replace someone else in the future, he would be causing trouble for himself.
Wen Qingzhu chuckled softly and said in a helpless tone: "There is no way to do this. King Huai is ineffective and King Ning is too cruel. Only King Chu can temporarily cooperate. When the time comes to cross the river and demolish the bridge, it will depend on who can run faster."
Wei Lin was silent for a moment and then asked, "Does General Wei know about this?"
"I don't know. There is no need for the Wei family to be involved in this matter. Just keep your own political achievements. If necessary, the Wei family may need to break away from the relationship within a short time in the future."
Wen Qingzhu took out a design drawing, put it on the table and handed it to him: "This is the next plan for the canal project. It should be eight or nine. What you have to do is lead Ning Xiu to stabilize his position and work hard to get promoted. , you must form a network of connections that belongs only to you."
Wei Lin didn't say anything, but took the design drawing and looked at it.
Wen Qingzhu saw Lu Tao raise his hand to indicate the time.
She said succinctly: "In short, you will manage your power well in the next two years. I believe you understand what I mean. Anyone can cooperate because of interests. The King of Chu is the one who puts interests first." people."