After this meeting, Zhang Yue and Sima Guang had a very happy conversation.
From the first time the two met and chatted at Shuuji Zhai, to Sima Guang taking the provincial examination, and then the system examination, Sima Guang and Zhang Yue reminisced about the past.
Although he said he was reminiscing about the past, Zhang Yue also understood that Sima Guang was his examiner for several imperial examinations. Although the two of them are now serving at the Sutra banquet, his official position and qualifications are far superior to yours in all aspects, so he still needs to correct his attitude.
Sima Guang is indeed a kind-hearted elder, and he does not have the slightest self-restraint in his superiors.
Sima Guang cleared his throat and said: "Now that you have joined the Sutra Banquet, I will tell you the rules. The Sutra Banquet Office and the Academy of Scholars will take turns to serve you. Whenever there are two people on duty, they will be on duty for two days. The first day will be called. If the head is straightened, it will be called Mozhi the next day. The night before the head straightening is required, one must stay in the Forest Zhilu in order to prepare for the publicity visit."
In the bachelor's college, there is a Hanlin bachelor. The Jingyan officials stayed overnight in Zhilu. When the emperor encountered an emergency at night, he would recruit the Jingyan officers and Hanlin scholars to join the palace to serve as advisers.
Zhang Yue said: "Don't worry, sir. During the two days of my shift, I will make arrangements in advance in the ceremonial court so that the banquet will not conflict with court affairs."
Because Jingyan officials are all part-time officials, they must balance the night shift and the affairs of the Yamen where they work. But having said that, Zhang Yue's Liyuan and Sima Guang's Jianyuan were usually fine.
The admonishment officer mainly supervises the prime minister. The emperor's decision to let the admonition officer know the scriptures and serve in the banquet is to check and balance the Zhongshu and keep the flow of speech smooth.
As for Zhang Yue's use of etiquette as an official, based on his personal speculation, it seems that the emperor's intention was still to change etiquette.
Of course, the most important thing is the admonishment officer, and the courtesy officers are all idle officials. If the three divisions, Dengwen Drum Court and other key departments are allowed to stay at the official banquet for two days, the yamen affairs will be delayed.
Sima Guang nodded approvingly and said: "It seems that I don't need to say more. Du Zhi has already wanted to be ahead of me. He is really a formidable person."
After that, Sima Guang looked through the duty book and said: "The Sutra Banquet is held on a single day. If nothing unexpected happens, Du Zhi should be scheduled to give the lecture ten days later. On the first day of the lecture, the ministers will be invited to attend. Now it is Zeng Xianggong who manages the Sutra Banquet House, I will confirm this with you after I understand it, and prepare for a good life these days."
Zhang Yue immediately said yes.
At the end of the day, Sima Guang said: "If there is anything you don't understand, you can come to me. You have also been to my house, so I congratulate you for coming. As long as I know anything at the Sutra Banquet, I will tell you everything I know."
Zhang Yue thanked Sima Guang and left the ceremony.
Nine days later, Zhang Yue took his turn at the secret pavilion.
In Zhang Yue's past, it was common for the emperor to have emergencies at night and summon the prime ministers to the palace for discussion.
In fact, this is not very realistic.
Not to mention how big the palace is? How far is the prime minister from the emperor's residence? The most important point is that there is a tradition of locking the palace doors after nightfall, and you are not allowed to knock on the palace doors at night unless there is something urgent.
This is why Princess Fukang knocked on the palace door at night and was scolded by Sima Guang and other ministers.
Therefore, it is impossible for the prime minister to enter the palace at night.
Therefore, officials on duty generally stay in the secret pavilion, which is within the scope of the palace. On the day of stay, Zhang Yue brought food and bedding and went to the secret pavilion to spend the night.
The summer night in the pavilion was different from that at home. Zhang Yue walked out of the straight house and looked at the starry night sky. The cool night breeze felt very comfortable on his body.
Zhang Yue looked at the night sky for a while and heard the sound of footsteps. It turned out that it was an old official from the Secret Pavilion who was holding a lamp.
The old official said: "Master Zhuangyuan, can't you sleep?"
Zhang Yue admitted: "To be honest, I was afraid of being suddenly summoned by His Majesty, so I never dared to sleep."
The old official smiled and said: "It's been peaceful recently. There won't be any urgent summons from the palace. Duke Zhuangyuan doesn't need to worry too much."
Zhang Yue was a little disappointed after hearing this. The old official said: "I still remember that after the official took charge of the government, he called Jingyan and Hanlin to perform every night. Several prime ministers today have won favor from His Majesty since they took office in Jingyan. Even Xixia This was also the case when the war was lost, but since Qingli, it has gradually become less and less."
Zhang Yue realized something. The failure of the Qingli Reform made the officials think that they should be put on the back foot. By the time of He Jiayou, most government affairs were delegated to the prime minister.
Naturally, the value of the Sutra Banquet Official is no longer what it was twenty years ago.
"I have some beef here. Lord Zhuang Yuan has to eat some, otherwise he won't be able to sleep."
After Zhang Yue agreed, he also brought food to the old official's house.
Zhang Yue's seventeenth mother prepared a lot of food for him, such as tofu. Seeing Zhang Yue bring the tofu, the old official shouted three good words in succession, and immediately said: "I have an iron pot, pickles, Zhuangyuan Gong, etc."
Zhang Yue whispered: "Didn't it say that raising fire is not allowed in the secret pavilion?"
The old official smiled and said, "If you don't tell me, I won't tell you. Who knows."
Zhang Yue said happily after hearing this: "How can there be no good wine without good food?"
After that, Zhang Yue took out another pot of wine. The old official sniffed it and praised: "Lamb wine, very good, very good."
Zhang Yue thought to himself that Qi Niang asked Su Zhi to prepare more food and drinks, so it was for this purpose.
At that moment, the old official set up an iron pot in the room. Zhang Yue took a razor blade and threw the tofu and pickles into the iron pot, and then used it as a spoon to stir-fry in the pot.
The old official twitched his index finger and said, "This tofu is also called Xiaozaiyang. It is the most delicious."
After saying that, the old official picked up the tofu in the pot with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.
Zhang Yue was not polite, rolled up his sleeves and ate hot tofu and pickles.
The old official took out the beef and drank it again. Although Zhang Yue had a good capacity for drinking, he still didn't dare to drink more and just drank a few sips with him.
But the old official raised his sleeves and said, "When Mr. Zeng was a lecturer at Tianzhang Pavilion, he also ate beef and drank like you and I do today."
When Zhang Yue heard this, he couldn't help but stop eating chopsticks and ate wine and meat with his husband. This was really awesome.
"Zeng Gong has a humorous temperament and is not afraid to talk to the old man. But in the future, as his official position increases, he will talk less."
Zhang Yue asked: "Then has Mr. Zeng ever..."
The old official said: "Are you asking Mr. Zeng if he ever mentioned it to me? Yes, but the old man rejected it. The old man is a contented person. Just like this, it is good to have a bowl of meat, so why eat it with five pots."
Zhang Yue nodded and said, "My father-in-law really sees through this."
The old official said to Zhang Yue: "On the first day when Zhuang Yuan Gong attends the Sutra Banquet, does he regard himself as the emperor's master, or as a lecturer, or as a holder of sutras?"
Zhang Yue thought to himself that the old official was giving him guidance. He said seriously: "Please give me some advice from my father-in-law."
The old official took a sip of wine and said, "I remember a minister once said that in the past there were three masters and three masters, who were both teachers of the emperor and ministers of the emperor, confusing the distinction between teachers and ministers. In the Han Dynasty, humble ministers were regarded as ministers. , From then on, Jingyan officials did not dare to call themselves Masters of the Emperor. I have seen that many officials came to Jingyan and claimed to be Confucian teachers, or even emperor teachers. These people are not good at serving the emperor."
"Therefore, since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, emperors have been taught scriptures by humble people. I just asked Zhuangyuan Gong if he has thought clearly about himself before entering the world."
Zhang Yue understood what the old official meant, and there were three levels of banquet officials.
The first class is the master, such as Yi Yin, Jiang Taigong, and Zhang Juzheng and Wanli in the Ming Dynasty.
This is also the dream of a Confucian scholar, an imperial master. But this approach can easily blur the boundaries between emperors and ministers.
Why is it possible for Shang and Zhou Dynasties?
Because the monarchy is not strong enough, for example, the Qing Dynasty first implemented the political king system, and the four Baylors managed the government together, but after taking over the Central Plains, they centralized power.
The grassland tribe has a tribal collegial system, so figures like Yi Yin and Jiang Taigong are allowed to appear. On the contrary, it would be tragic for Zhang Juzheng of the Ming Dynasty to serve as the chief assistant and the emperor's division.
Therefore, the emperor's teachers often ask strangers to teach and receive.
The old official used those words just now to let Zhang Yue figure out his position. Zhang Yue felt deeply that this was the right time to have a drink. This was all based on the experience of the elderly and the detours that predecessors had taken.
Zhang Yue humbly asked for advice: "Master will definitely not do this, so I dare to ask my father-in-law what is the difference between preaching and practicing scriptures?"
The old official took another sip of wine, and now his face was half drunk.
"Let's not mention holding scriptures for now. What is a sermon? To put it bluntly, it is a human skin book. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the chaplain had no job, but only served as a sermon. What is a sermon? You see, when a rich family eats, a group of people will be arranged on the left and right. If you respond, it would be better to just follow the instructions, which is what you call a lecturer."
Zhang Yue couldn't help but feel ashamed when he heard this. Isn't this just a background picture and a humanoid dictionary? As for reading from the book, it is similar to watching a movie in the app. It takes a few minutes to finish a movie that is more than an hour. The emperor is too tired to read page by page, so he invites someone to speak. After all, Chongzheng Palace is a storyteller.
The more Zhang thought of this, he pondered for a moment and couldn't help but ask: "May I ask my father-in-law how to practice the sutra?"
However, he saw that the old official was very drunk at this moment. His clothes fell down and he said, "I'm drunk. I just need to put out the charcoal fire when I leave."
Zhang Yue couldn't help feeling regretful when he heard this, but he also thought that it would be pointless to rely solely on what others said. The road was at his feet, so how could he still do it by himself when he was a banquet official.
What is sutra practice? It means reading the scriptures while holding them in hand. Confucian classics flourished in the Han Dynasty. Students held scriptures in both hands and respectfully presented them to the scripture master. The scripture master put his hands behind his back and looked at the scriptures in the students' hands to interpret the scriptures.
Zhijing is a first-class honorific title for teachers who worship their status.
If the emperor's teacher is looking for a chance, and the minister is like Zhuan Ying, then practicing sutras is the best choice.
Zhang Yue thought it through and ate a few pieces of meat to put out the charcoal fire, then went back to his room to rest.
As the old official said, if it was a smooth night, I thought that I would be summoned by the emperor on the first night of duty, but it was really impossible. Zhang Yue couldn't help laughing to himself while lying on the bed.
The night was uneventful, but the meal of pickled vegetables, tofu and beef was definitely worth it.
The next day Zhang Yue went to Erying Pavilion to give a lecture.
The Yiying Pavilion is next to the Chongzheng Hall and is also where the banquet is held. When Zhang Yue arrived at the Yiying Pavilion, he saw a purple-robed official there. He was about to salute but was stopped by him.
"Save it."
Zhang Yue looked closely and saw that it was Qian Xiangxian, a direct bachelor of Longtuge and a minister of Tianzhang Pavilion.
Qian Xiangxian's official position was not high, but because he had lectured for the emperor in Yiying Pavilion for more than ten years, he was given the special title of serving purple. Zhang Yue looked at the green robe on his own body, and then looked at the purple robe on the other party's body, and felt that the gap was too big.
Qian Xiangxian smiled and said: "Duzhi, it is my first time to give a lecture to the officials today. I have read the banquet style (the regulations of the lecture)."
Zhang Yue said: "Report to the bachelor, all the subordinates have seen it."
"That's good." Qian Xiang nodded first and said: "The new official has arrived, why don't you come up and pay homage."
After saying that, Zhuan Ying, who was in the Youying Hall, came forward to pay homage to the emperor's letters, hand-distribution, delivery, and guards and soldiers sweeping the court.
