Zhang Dun and Lu Huiqing are not only party members, but also have very similar personalities.
Both of them are people with strong self-esteem and a strong desire for revenge. But the difference is that Lu Huiqing is adaptable. When the situation is unfavorable, he knows how to hide himself, temporarily dormant or even give in. When the situation changes to his benefit, he will strike ruthlessly without leaving any mercy.
And Zhang Dun will not repent even if he dies. He has a temper that would rather break than bend. When Lu Huiqing stepped down this time, many people were insulted, but Zhang Dun did not draw a clear line with him. After Deng Wan impeached him, he did not bother to defend himself and went to Huzhou to take up his post without saying anything.
This son is not only full of personality and charm, but also has a strong ambition to make contributions.
This time he went to Jingnan to quell the chaos. After Zhang Dun received the appointment, he was replaced by a timid person. He procrastinated on the way and waited until the matter was settled. But Zhang Dun was different. He traveled quickly to Jingnan day and night, fearing that his great achievements would be neglected.
As a result, Zhang Dun was unlucky and his horse stumbled halfway, falling off the horse and breaking his leg. Even so, he still headed for Jingnan regardless of this.
Due to the relationship between Zhang Dun and Lu Huiqing and their very similar personalities, he and Zhang Dun are likely to become political enemies after he pacifies Jingnan and returns to the court.
Of course, Zhang Yue would not interfere in Zhang Dun's attempt to pacify Jingnan. In this way, he would become a national thief. He would not do such a thing. And if it leaks out, the consequences will be disastrous.
But just like when he went to Zhending to negotiate with the Liao Kingdom, Deng Wan, Deng Runfu, Lu Jiawen and others slandered him in front of the officials and Wang Anshi.
What they were afraid of was that after they returned to the court with meritorious service, they would crowd out Wang Anshi and give up the new law. In this way, they will all be laid off and unemployed.
Zhang Yue also wanted to guard against Zhang Dun. Zhang Dun has a very strong personality, and it is obviously difficult for the two to get along. That's why he wanted to mention Huang Lu.
Yang's worries are justified. She is a very knowledgeable woman and will not misjudge politics.
However, Zhang Dun's appointment to Jingnan was issued only more than ten days before Zhang Yue returned to Beijing, and it had nothing to do with him at all. But Yang's words were a bit nip in the bud.
I heard from Seventeen Niang that Yang's health has been worse than before recently, and she may be thinking about her death.
Zhang Yue himself was able to marry the Wu family in the first place, and his aunt's words of persuasion were indispensable, but she never revealed a word to Qi Niang.
The moon passed over the treetops, and the red candles were half burning.
Seventeenth Mother lay quietly in her arms and talked about leaving.
Seeing the beauty in his arms, Zhang Yue fell asleep quietly while listening.
…
The next day Zhang Yue went to the palace in high spirits.
During the palace discussion, the officials brought up the matter of changing the reign name, but this was opposed by Wang Anshi.
It is said that there are not many days left before the Chinese New Year, and changing the year name now is too hasty.
Cai Que expressed his support for changing the reign name, but Wang Anshi still expressed his opposition. The officials and Cai Que all looked at Zhang Yue, but he remained silent.
Yuan Jiang and Deng Wan, who were affiliated with Wang Anshi, did not speak out either.
In the end, the change of the reign name was abandoned, but it was obvious that the officials were very unhappy.
The gap between Wang Anshi and the officials is growing day by day.
In the political hall.
Wang Anshi, Yuan Jiang, and Zhang Yue were having dinner, and Wang Gui returned to the main hall to rest.
Wang Anshi stopped eating halfway and thought for a while, looking at the sycamore tree in front of the hall.
Zhang Yue observed his words secretly.
A person's spirit cannot be deceived. To achieve success as an official, mental effort is particularly important.
Officials with strong minds and spirits are in excellent condition. No matter what means you use against him, the opponent will never be defeated or defeated, and whatever he wants to do, he will achieve his goal with the momentum of overcoming all difficulties and moving mountains and seas.
Officials generally do not show fatigue in front of outsiders when they are in office.
It will be ten years since "Xining". Since we met Wang Anshi when he first came to Beijing in the second year of Xining, we can feel that he has aged much.
Especially after the second reappearance, although the other party is still as stubborn as before, in terms of the past, it can be said that he is not as strong mentally as before.
Compared with Wang Anshi's dignity.
Yuan Jiang didn't eat much, so the waiter served him a meal. Yuan Jiang ordered the officials to reduce the amount again and again before picking up chopsticks to eat.
Zhang Yue knew that Yuan Jiang would eat all his food and never leave a grain of rice behind. So when he asked the waiter to serve him rice, he had to reduce it again and again. This is not the case only after people enter the political hall, but has been the case for many years.
Chen Shengzhi and Yuan Jiang were ill at the same time when they were in aspect. Chen Shengzhi said to Yuan Jiang, you are a person who knows how to diet and cherish blessings. Even if you have a minor illness, you will definitely recover in the future, but I am not.
Wang Anshi suddenly smiled while eating, as if he was laughing at himself. Hearing this laughter, Yuan Jiang and Zhang Yue didn't know what it meant, so they all stopped eating chopsticks together.
Wang Anshi was unaware of the two people's reactions, as if he continued to be immersed in his own world.
"Why did the Prime Minister laugh just now?" Yuan Jiang asked tentatively.
"Are you laughing?" Wang Anshi suddenly said: "Previously, Pu San Jing Xinyi Annotated the sentence 'peeling jujubes in August' in Chun Qiu. Pu San Jing said that he peeled off the skin and entered it for the sake of old age."
"Yesterday, my servant met a woman who said to her husband, My dear, pounce on the jujubes. The servant suddenly realized that peeling off the dates was not peeling off, but a alias of the word pounce. This peeling off the dates should be regarded as pounce on the dates. Do you think I committed a crime? Wang Wenshengyi’s disease?”
Yuan Jiang and Zhang Yue were relieved.
They thought that Wang Anshi was unhappy because of the official change of Yuan Dynasty, but it turned out that he was worrying about the mistakes in the new meanings of the Three Classics, which made him unhappy.
Yuan Jiang and Zhang Yue both laughed when they saw this and shook their heads.
Both of them felt that after getting along with each other for such a long time, they already understood Wang Anshi very well, but in the end they found that they still didn't understand Wang Anshi.
Zhang Yue said: "Prime Minister, in the past Kong Yingda and Lu Deming both used peeling as the sound of fluttering in their annotations."
Wang Anshi said: "Yes, now this book has been published to the world, and scholars all over the world have learned from it. It's too late to regret it!"
Seeing this, the officials on the side were all snickering.
After dinner, Wang Anshi returned to the main hall, and Yuan Jiang said to Zhang Yue: "To tell you, the Prime Minister is not happy with Japan today, so he should not say any more about the mistakes in this book."
Zhang Yue said: "I didn't expect it, but the Prime Minister really surprised me just now."
Yuan Jiang said: "The Prime Minister has not done this once or twice. The Prime Minister was really serious when he learned about Changzhou. At that time, the local government invited outstanding people to conduct exercises, and the Prime Minister burst into laughter."
"Everyone laughed when they saw this and praised the funnyness of advocating excellence, so they rewarded this person heavily. Afterwards, someone asked the prime minister why he was laughing? The prime minister said that he was thinking of "Xian" and "Chang" and had an epiphany, so he laughed."
Yuan Jiang and Zhang Yue chatted while walking, smiling throughout the discussion.
…
I was released from office today.
Zhang Yue did not go back directly to his hometown but went to an alley in the west of the city.
Zhang Yue hasn't been here for a long time.
When they arrived at the alley, the officials and the people looked at the dozen or so shouting officials and Qingluo Umegai, who represented the prime minister, and they were all surprised and confused. They didn't know which minister had come to such a remote place.
After all, there are no high-ranking officials in a place like this, which seems a bit unworthy of my husband.
In front of a mansion, Zhang Yue reined in his horse and stopped. Peng Jingyi knocked on the door and asked, "Do you dare to ask about the Huang Mansion here?"
Soon an old servant opened the door and was shocked to see such a guard of honor in the alley.
The other party immediately asked: "It's Huang Yushi's home. I wonder which husband is here?"
Peng Jingyi said: "It's Mr. Zhang who is the political advisor!"
The old servant was really startled when he heard this, and said in a trembling voice: "I'm going to report it right now!"
After a while, the gates of the house opened, and Huang Haoqian, dressed in formal attire, came out with more than a dozen followers to pay homage to Zhang Yue, who was on horseback.
Zhang Yue smiled and got off the horse, immediately helped Huang Haoqian up and said: "Brother-in-law, there is no need to be polite, this is not the court."
Huang Haoqian, the current censor, followed Cai Que. The two were classmates and acquaintances of the common people. Cai Que has been supporting him over the years.
At the same time, he also married Yang's daughter, who was Zhang Yue's cousin. In this way, Huang Haoqian was his cousin-in-law.
The four major families in Pucheng, Wu, Yang, and Huang, are married to each other.
Needless to say, the Zhang family and the Wu family are now inferior to the Yang family and the Huang family.
Huang Haoqian was a Jinshi in the second year of Jiayou's reign. At that time, when Zhang Yue became the top scholar, the two parties also had in-law relationships. Later, Huang Haoqian was working as an official abroad and never met Zhang Yue, so the exchanges between the two parties faded away.
Although Huang Haoqian was promoted by Cai Que and became a dignified censor, he and Zhang Yue were so different in status that he did not expect that the other party would visit his home in person.
Huang Haoqian led Zhang Yue into the gate, where Huang Haoqian's wife Zhang and his son Huang Shi greeted him. Huang Shi was a Jinshi in the sixth year of Xining and served as the magistrate of Henan Province. Now he has just returned to the court to report on his duties.
Zhang Yue called Huang Haoqian's wife sister.
The other party was also very happy and said: "Sanlang, I am so happy that you can come to our house."
Zhang Yue said: "I haven't been able to have time since I returned to Beijing. Today I just have time to visit my sister and brother-in-law, which can be regarded as visiting relatives."
Everyone laughed after hearing this.
There was a relative of the Xianggong. Of course Zhang was happy and immediately said to Huang Shi, "Call your Xianggong uncle quickly."
Of course Huang Shi knew this uncle's reputation, and he immediately saluted excitedly: "My nephew has met my uncle!"
Zhang Yue said with a smile: "Just call me uncle, there is no need to add any unnecessary extravagance."
Zhang Yue asked about Huang Shi's articles and knowledge and was quite satisfied. The servants served Zhang Yue tea soup, fruits and vegetables.
Zhang Yue drank the tea soup and said in a casual tone: "I dropped by here today and I didn't bring any gifts. If there is anything I can do to help my brother-in-law and sister, just ask."
Zhang's eyes flashed, and Huang Haoqian said: "Ms. sir... my cousin is interested. Everything in our family is fine..."
Zhang glanced at Huang Haoqian with dissatisfaction in her eyes, but now that her husband had spoken, he couldn't say anything.
Zhang Yue was insightful and could clearly see the flashing expression on Zhang's face.
He put down the tea soup here, picked up a towel and wiped his hands on the other side and said with a smile: "Brother-in-law, sister, do you really need my help with anything?"
Huang Haoqian smiled and said nothing, while Mrs. Zhang glanced at her husband complainingly, and then paused lightly before speaking.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Yue smiled and threw down the scarf and said to Mrs. Zhang: "Sister, since we are a family, we don't want to see anyone outside. Just say whatever you want!"
Both Huang Haoqian and Zhang were extremely embarrassed in front of Zhang Yue, but facing Zhang Yue who was calm and composed when visiting relatives, the two of them expressed their emotions of wanting to ask for help but being embarrassed to say it out.
Mrs. Zhang couldn't help but said: "Cousin, it's really hard to say this, that is, Quanzi. He is now working as an errand in Henan Prefecture, and his father is an official in Bianjing."
"Although Henan is not far from Bianjing, it is extremely difficult to meet...so...so..."
Zhang Yue continued what Zhang said: "So if you want your nephew to become an official in the capital, it would be best for him to be an official in the capital, right?"
"Exactly, exactly." Mrs. Zhang looked overjoyed, while Huang Shi beside him also looked uneasy.
After Wang Anshi's political reform, although it was easier than before to select people to change officials in the capital, it was still a chasm.
On the other hand, Huang Haoqian felt that his wife was going too far and even made this request. He immediately scolded: "What are you talking about? You have only been an official for a few years, and you want to beg the capital. My husband, my wife is talking nonsense, you must not take it seriously."
Zhang Yue smiled slightly and said: "A Beijing official can't talk nonsense. Now the imperial court is in a period of hiring people. As long as they have talents and knowledge, they can be promoted."
"I think the teacher is a talented person. Not only does his subject have a high reputation, but his political achievements as an official are also commendable!"
Huang Haoqian was overjoyed when he heard this, and Mrs. Zhang was even more excited and speechless.
Huang Haoqian originally wanted to ask Cai Que to handle this matter, but he always thought about it in three to five years. After all, with Cai Que's ability, he did not dare to transfer Huang Shi, who had only been a people-friendly official for three years, to a capital official.
But he didn't expect that Zhang Yue was so energetic that he killed Huang directly, giving their family a lot of time to reunite.
It was Huang Shi who reacted and bowed to Zhang Yue and said, "My nephew, thank you uncle for the arrangement."
Zhang Yue said with a smile: "What arrangement? It's up to you to strive for success and let us have another outstanding person among the young people in Pucheng. If you recommend one more, I will be proud of it!"
Zhang Yue was also a person who would repay even the slightest kindness, so he immediately said a few more words before leaving.
Huang Haoqian's family sent Zhang Yue to the door.
The neighbors who lived near Huang Haoqian's house, as well as the officials and gentry on this street, all knew what it meant when they saw that a husband-in-law deigned to condescend to visit the Huang family.
For Huang Haoqian and his son, the intention behind this is even more precious.
…
Cai Que, who was at home that night, was sleeping peacefully in his study after a busy day.
When he fell asleep, he had a dream. In the dream, a man took him to a very tall and huge palace.
There were four chairs in the hall. The other party led Cai Que to the last chair, sat down on it, and then left.
Cai Que looked at the chair with his name written on it. Seeing this scene, Cai Zhen couldn't help but be curious, so he went to the other three chairs and looked at them one by one, but saw the names of Ding Wei, Kou Zhun, and Lu Duoxun written on the other three chairs respectively.
Cai did not understand its meaning, and then woke up from the dream.
Cai Que immediately interpreted the dream. Ding Wei, Kou Zhun, and Lu Duoxun were all prime ministers. Could it be that the meaning of this dream was also the reason why he would inevitably worship the prime minister in the future?
Cai Que couldn't help but feel more confident when he thought of this, thinking that this was a good omen.
At the same time, Cai Que also thought that when the matter of changing the Yuan Dynasty was mentioned in court today, Zhang Yue did not stand up to support it.
Zhang Yue obviously supported the reform of the Yuan Dynasty, but at this time, he was still half-hearted and playing both sides, which really annoyed Cai Que.
He couldn't help but be filled with doubts. Was Zhang Yue returning to Beijing just to watch a show?
(End of chapter)
