Xianyang City, Beicheng.
Xu Yifu's family.
As the prince of the country's sacrificial wine, Xu Yifu was also a noble official in the court and a prominent official in the court. It's just that at today's court meeting, Xu Yifu defended Lin Feng, but Lin Feng defended him word by word, which made him lose face.
In the study, Xu Yifu and Xu Hongmiao sat opposite each other.
Xu Yifu had a gloomy face and was very serious.
Xu Hongmiao, who was sitting below, looked quite calm. The matter had been done anyway, so there was no point in worrying. What's more, Lin Feng has promised to arrange for his son to go to White Deer Academy.
As long as his son goes to White Deer Academy, it will be easy for him to become an official in the future.
Xu Yifu said in a deep voice: "Tell me, how did you and Lin Feng hook up? You want to help Lin Feng, why didn't you inform me in advance?"
Xu Hongmiao said: "Father, this is not the son hooking up with Lin Feng, it's Zhang Yunlai who took the initiative to contact him. Then, everyone agreed to Lin Feng's conditions. Not only the son, but Zhang Yunlai and others were the same. They couldn't inform Others. If anyone leaks the news, he will be excluded. Please tell me father."
Xu Yifu stroked his beard, his gloomy expression softened slightly, and he said solemnly: "Do you know that by standing up like this, my family will no longer be able to curb the advancement of the imperial examination?"
Xu Hongmiao held his head high and said firmly: "My son believes that since the imperial examination has been proposed and His Majesty is completely on the side of the Duke of Zhen, even if his father and others oppose it, it will be of no use and cannot be stopped."
"The reason why it was brought up at the imperial meeting was just a process. My son, Zhang Yunlai and others discussed it, and we all thought that the imperial examination was actually nothing."
"We have too many advantages."
"Everyone in the world can participate, can't we? Since it's all possible, what should we be afraid of?"
Xu Hongmiao said: "What's more, Lin Feng promised a place in White Deer Academy. As long as people from my Xu family can enter White Deer Academy to study, they will be able to become officials easily in the future."
Xu Yifu scolded: "Everyone knows that the imperial examination is a good thing. Everyone even knows that people from our aristocratic families will have an advantage if they participate. But don't you understand why many people are opposed to it?"
"not understand!"
Xu Hongmiao shook his head.
Xu Yifu said: "The reason is very simple. If the local government recommends talents by means of examination, recruitment, etc., in the final analysis, the right to choose talents lies in the hands of wealthy families like us. After it becomes an imperial examination, the right to choose talents, The right to use it is in the hands of His Majesty. We have changed from chess players to chess pieces. Do you know?"
Xu Hongmiao was stunned for a moment.
In the blink of an eye, he also understood that he was a member of a big family after all, so he could tell everything.
Xu Yifu said: "Do you regret it now?"
"No regrets!"
Xu Hongmiao shook his head and answered.
Xu Yifu was also a little surprised. He didn't expect that his son didn't regret it. It was surprising. He asked, "Tell me, why don't you regret it?"
Xu Hongmiao said seriously: "Father, what does the interest of a big family have to do with us? It is true that the Xu family is also a big family, but the Xu family is different from other big families. You are an important minister, and with you here, every generation in the family There are people in every generation, so why fear decline?”
"Are we, the Xu family, not even comparable to ordinary people?"
"The most important point is that your Majesty has reigned the longest among the kings of the Qin Kingdom, and he is also the wisest, wisest and most understanding king. His civil and military skills far exceed those of previous monarchs. Your Majesty carries the prestige of destroying the Xia Kingdom. , the whole country bows to you, who can stop your majesty?"
"It is impossible to stop what His Majesty has decided. Even if the family is powerful, it is insignificant in front of His Majesty."
"Compared with Your Majesty, the great families are like the light of fireflies competing for the glory of the bright moon. If the strength of the Qin State is not so strong and the prestige of Your Majesty is not so great, then that's it. The great families can struggle, and the powerful ministers can join forces to refute it. His Majesty."
"The key is, we can't do it now."
Xu Hongmiao said slowly: "There is another point. Under the advice of the Duke of Zhen, even if the Qin State invaded the Xia State, it did not expand aggressively. Instead, it fought steadily. The people in the country are getting better and better. People's minds are calm. , the imperial court also governed the Qingming Dynasty. The monarch and his ministers were united, and the superiors and superiors were united. Who could undermine the imperial court's great policy? Therefore, my son has no regrets."
Xu Yifu's eyes widened.
Very unexpected.
Does his son actually have such a vision and such a judgment?
Xu Yifu has been busy with government affairs. He was very unhappy because Xu Hongmiao stood up in the court today, so he left the office early and returned home to question and prepare to deal with Xu Hongmiao.
Unexpectedly, he heard such a shocking analysis, which surprised him.
"Okay, okay, okay."
Xu Yifu couldn't help laughing.
Laughter, showing relief.
Laughter, showing pride.
It is a good thing that my son is better than me, and Xu Yifu can only dream of it.
"Bang! Bang!"
A knock on the door came from outside the room, the door was pushed open, and the housekeeper walked to Xu Yifu's side and whispered something.
Xu Yifu nodded and the housekeeper stepped back.
Xu Hongmiao said: "Father, what happened?"
Xu Yifu said: "The people from Heibingtai are moving. Xianyang City is full of people from Heibingtai. Heibingtai has rarely acted with such fanfare. Now that they are dispatched, it must be for the imperial examination. The imperial examination is There is an untouchable bottom line. Anyone who dares to make trouble in this matter will definitely receive a thunderous blow from His Majesty."
Xu Hongmiao said: "Father is right."
The father and son were talking. Xu Yifu rarely mentioned court affairs to Xu Hongmiao in the past, but now he became interested and talked about it.
He had an idea and was ready to let Xu Hongmiao become an official.
He thought this was a good opportunity.
While the father and son were chatting, there was another sound of footsteps, and the housekeeper entered again and reported: "Master of the house, King Ping sent someone to deliver a message, please come to the house to talk."
"Just say that I am busy with work and have no time to go."
Xu Yifu answered directly.
The butler turned around and left. Xu Hongmiao said, "Father, Prince Ping criticized Duke Zhenguo at the court meeting. Could it be that he wanted to invite father to come over to discuss strategies to deal with Lin Feng?"
"It must be!"
Xu Yifu said firmly: "We will not get involved in such a matter, because once we are involved, we will face disaster. Lin Feng is His Majesty's enemy and no one can offend him. Furthermore, Lin Feng is a martial artist. A great master, he is not in the government, so it is not easy to attack him."
"Whatever King Ping has in mind, he will do it himself. We will wait and see what happens and ignore it. As you said, the imperial examination is an unstoppable trend. If King Ping wants to die, just let him go."
"Father is wise!"
Xu Hongmiao also breathed a sigh of relief.
He is also worried.
If my father gets mad and insists on supporting Prince Ping, things will be in trouble.
This is good now.
The father and son chatted, and the news of Xu Yifu's rejection quickly spread back to Prince Ping's Mansion in the north city of Xianyang City.
When Yinghong got the news, he was quite angry.
Xu Yifu actually refused, knowing that when he criticized Lin Feng, it was Xu Yifu who caused the most trouble.
Now, Xu Yifu has become a coward.
Yinghong looked at the staff aside and said, "Zou Man, if Xu Yifu didn't come, he obviously knew that the king was planning to deal with Lin Feng and block the imperial examination, so he found a reason to refuse. What do you think we should do?"
Zou Man, who was in his forties and slightly overweight, said seriously: "Your Highness, if Xu Yifu doesn't come, we won't care. Let's see other people's reactions first."
Yinghong said: "That's the only way."
"Report!"
The butler hurriedly entered, bowed and said: "Your Highness, Guo Tu said he is not feeling well and cannot come to the banquet. Please forgive me."
"knew."
Yinghong's cheeks twitched.
He sighed inwardly and rejected another one.
Not long after the butler left, Ying Hong had not spoken yet. The butler entered again in a blink of an eye and reported: "Your Highness, Cui Jing also said that he is not feeling well and cannot come to the banquet."
"I know, let's go down."
Yinghong waved his hand.
One after another, the housekeepers came in to report people who did not come to the banquet.
The look on Yinghong's face was completely wilted. This time he invited eighteen large families from Xianyang, including old nobles from Qin and aristocratic families from Qin, but to his surprise, none of them came and all of them refused.
Ying Hong took a breath and sighed: "Zou Man, it seems that these big families are all scared. No one is willing to come forward to deal with Lin Feng. What do you think we should do about this matter?"
Zou Man said: "Your Highness, can your prestige be compared with that of Prince Consort Lu Yi?"
Lu Yi was the consort of the Qin State and once served as Zongzheng. At first, because he blocked Lin Feng from carrying out reforms, he wanted to attack Lin Feng, but his later life was miserable.
Although he is immortal, he has lost all rights.
Ying Hong said: "There are many differences between me and Lu Yi. After all, Lu Yi has a different identity."
Zou Man said seriously: "In that case, we will not deal with Lin Feng for the time being. If all the aristocratic families are of one mind, that's it. We can risk our lives and give it a try. However, the people of the aristocratic families are afraid of Your Majesty and Lin Feng. They are all weak and fearful of trouble. If we are not of the same mind, it will be impossible to deal with Lin Feng at this time."
"well……"
Yinghong said: "I can't bear to see Lin Feng being arrogant and domineering. An outsider is used to being tyrannical."
Zou Man nodded.
But in his heart, he also admired Lin Feng's actions.
If the Qin State had held imperial examinations earlier, perhaps he would not have wasted half his life and then became a staff member.
"Your Highness, news just came from outside that people from Black Ice Platform are patrolling and swimming around. It seems that Black Ice Platform has big plans."
The butler entered again to report the news.
hiss!
Yinghong took a breath.
He shuddered with fright. The Black Ice Platform was a sharp sword in the emperor's hand. No one could escape whoever the Black Ice Platform was going to deal with.
Originally, Yinghong was still a little dissatisfied. Now after hearing about Hei Bingtai, he completely lost his thoughts and waved his hands and said: "You are telling the outside world that Prince Ping's Mansion will be closed from today on. I want to practice Taoism and will not receive any foreign guests."
"Here!"
The butler hurriedly left.
Ying Hong looked at Zou Man and ordered: "Zou Man, your Majesty is serious about it. Your Majesty has mobilized the Black Ice Platform to escort Lin Feng. No one in Qin can touch Lin Feng. This is the end of the matter."
"Your Highness is right, the trend is inevitable."
Zou Man was filled with joy.
He even secretly thought that maybe this imperial examination would also be an opportunity for him.
If he can take advantage of the imperial examination to become an official, he will have a chance to stand out in the future. Even if you can't get ahead, as long as you can hold an official position in the local area, it is still better than relying on others.
