[Read the latest chapter] "With your brother's current reputation in the society, as long as you review for a while, you will definitely be in high school." He said with a smile. Zhang Dai knew that Zhao Yingong was not the right scholar - he could tell from his usual conversation. Although Mr. Zhao is very knowledgeable, he is very sparse in the Four and Five Classics.
"It's just when I can't get it..."
Zhang Dai smiled, lowered his voice and said: "You are a member of my generation, why do you need this deceptive thing? Just be clear about it!"
Zhao Yingong had long heard about Fushe's manipulation of imperial examinations - this was almost an open secret among the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River. Fushe had gained momentum since the Jinling Conference, especially the support given by officials from the Donglin faction at all levels, making people join Fushe. It became a shortcut to the imperial examination. When Zhang Pu's restoration was at its most prominent before his death, not only could it be determined who would win, but even the ranking could be arranged in advance.
In the late Ming Dynasty, many Qingliu people who were famous for their integrity had no scruples in this regard. Even officials and academicians such as Zhenmeng, who were always known for their integrity and were respected by the emperor, had accepted requests from Zhang Pu and others. , secretly arranged the ranking of the reinstatement officials - obviously, Zhao Yingong believed that the reason why Donglin's group of elites were willing to do this was first of all influenced by the thinking of "struggle for power"
In the court, integrity cannot stand alone. Not to mention the implementation of one's own political platform, it is difficult to protect oneself. Donglin and Fushe have seen this clearly from the fierce party struggle during the Tianqi years, and they must refresh the government. , first of all, there must be enough "own people" in the court and localities, and manipulating the imperial examination is the easiest way to achieve this goal. The main members of the society are scholars. As far as the imperial examination seal is concerned, it is not difficult to achieve the standard of passing the imperial examination. of
Zhao Yingong's heart moved. He had long been dissatisfied with his reputation as a scholar. He always felt a bit inferior when it came to socializing, especially those who were promoted to Jinshi in the countryside. Although they were very polite to him, they heard that he was just a "young man". shirt", it seems to show contempt.
However, this matter will probably cost money, and Zhao Yingong has not yet joined Fushe. From a work point of view, it is not appropriate for him to join Fushe.
Zhao Yingong said: "I'm not a member of Fushe yet..."
Zhang Dai nodded thoughtfully. He knew Zhao Yingong's "genuine talent and practical learning". If he really wanted to join the company, I'm afraid "Er Zhang" wouldn't be able to agree - that would really make a joke.
However, his eyes lit up and he added: "It doesn't matter, Brother Zhao, can you be a club member?" He closed his fan coolly, "You, a club member, are now well-known in Jiangnan, so there is nothing wrong with asking Tianru to help you get to the next level. proper”
The two of them chatted and arrived in Taicang smoothly.
Taicang is a prefecture in Zhili. It was a newly established place separated from Kunshan, Jiading and Changshu counties during the Hongzhi period. Taicang is located on the Yangtze River. The land is sandy and the terrain is relatively high, so most of the cotton is grown.
Since the Qing Dynasty, Taicang has been a very wealthy place. Even during the three-year difficult period, many local farmers had commercial grain to eat - cotton. However, in the late Ming Dynasty, the strange financial system made this cotton-producing area extremely poor. The reason is that there is very little grain produced here, but the annual taxes must be paid with grain. The locals have to sell cotton and then buy grain from other places to pay the grain tax. If grain from outside is cheap, the burden is not heavy. Once the price of grain from outside rises, Expensive, the burden becomes extremely heavy
In the past two years, the cotton textile industry in Jiangnan has been very depressed. Even the cotton planting industry in Taicang has also suffered a big blow. The villages along the way are very depressed.
When the boat arrived at Zhang Pu's home, the house in the river port was very new. The flagpole for Jinshi in front of the old house was not erected yet, and the paint was new, exuding a sense of joy.
Zhao Yingong knew that although Zhang Pu was born into a typical "second generation of rich" and "second generation of officials", his life was very difficult when he was young. His uncle was a minister of the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing, and his father was a famous landowner in Taicang. He was the only concubine among the people. Not only was he despised by his family members, but his uncle's servants also looked down on him, and he even didn't care about his father. /\/\ /\/\ Zhang Pu's father died when he was fifteen years old When he was a child, he and his mother moved out of the Zhang family and relied on his mother to spin yarn to earn tuition fees.
From the perspective of Zhang Pu's life experience alone, this period from a despised wealthy commoner to a world-famous academic leader is not only a model of successful academics, but also a wonderful subject for a novel.
Zhao Yingong notified Cai Shi of his post, and he and Zhang Dai were waiting on the shore. He knew that after Zhang Pu was selected as a shujishi, he showed his talents in the Hanlin Academy and was not liked by Wen Tiren, so he took leave to go home in the name of taking care of his relatives. He has been at home since then. He lived idle and did not return to the court until his death.
However, his influence grew day by day while he was at home, and at one point he even had the power to influence the situation of the government through the restoration of society.
Zhao Yingong thought to himself that Zhang Pu's idea was actually to control the government behind the scenes - after all, as a bureaucrat, he and Zhang Cai were too young and not qualified enough. If they wanted to implement their political program, they could only use those with high qualifications to implement it. Senior bureaucrats: Zhou Yanru is his choice
To convince him from the perspective of protecting Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren, we are at least 70 to 80% sure.
"My master would like to invite you two to meet me in the room," the doorman who was already waiting in front of the door said with a salute, and then led the two of them through the foyer, turned right from the patio, entered a small door, and wound along the corridor. After walking for a while, we came to a quiet courtyard. It was a three-part room with one light and two dark rooms. There were some flowers and trees along the wall. There was a pool in the west corner, surrounded by a green tile railing. Standing in the middle are two stone mountains with ancient postures and lush green bamboos.
Zhao Yingong had no intention of taking a closer look. He hurriedly arranged his clothes and towels. After waiting for the announcement from the hospital, he lowered his head, arched his head, walked lightly, and walked in through the curtained door of the courtyard.
Zhang Pu, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy, was already waiting for him in the room.
Zhang Pu is very young, only thirty years old. He is the same age as Zhao Yingong. He already has three strands of clear beard under his chin and looks very mature. Zhao Yingong paid attention and felt that his expression and face were quite generous. The occasional shining expression shows that this person is tough-minded and decisive in dealing with things, and is by no means a simple useless good person.
It is said that when Zhang Pu was young, he bullied his father because of his uncle's powerful slaves Chen Peng and Guo Kun, and he despised him many times because of his humble background. The slave was taken to Chongming County, where he was secretly executed after being judged by the county magistrate.
Seeing the two of them coming in, Zhang Pu had already greeted them with a smile. They bowed and saluted. Zhang Dai first introduced Zhao Yingong to Zhang Pu, and both parties were polite.
"I came to see Mr. Tianru today to tell you the truth and I have something to ask for," Zhao Yingong said straight to the point.
"The student already knows a thing or two," Zhang Pu looked into his eyes, quite captivating: He is worthy of being the leader of the Gaojutan Alliance, a person who can influence the government behind the scenes, "could it be about Sun Huodong?"
"Exactly." Zhao Yingong couldn't help but be secretly surprised - although he had told Zhang Dai about his plan, Zhang Dai was not interested in such things and would not have sent someone to report to Zhang Pu first. Zhang Pu knew the purpose of his visit as soon as he saw him coming. , it can be seen that it also has an information network of its own
"Yes, it's about Sun Huodong." Zhao Yingong nodded.
Zhang Pu didn't speak, seemed to be thinking about something, and said after a while: "Sir, why do you think that this student is so capable and can help Li Sun Huodong?"
"Sir, no, Fushe and Donglin do." Zhao Yingong said in a very positive tone. This is also a kind of horseback riding, which fully expresses the meaning of "Who else can I give you for a big job?"
Zhang Pu said: "Sun Huodong is a relative of Mr. Xu Ge and has children. Why not ask Mr. Xu Ge for help?"
"Because of this, Mr. Xu Ge shouldn't talk too much," Zhao Yingong said.
The other party was silent again for a while. Zhao Yingong knew that although he was in Taicang, he knew the format of the court clearly. At this time, he must be weighing the pros and cons. He thought about it and said in a very sincere tone:
"Above the court, Sun Huodong is just a small chess player. Now we have to find out who Sun Huodong is. Could it be that he is going after Prime Minister Zhou..." He paused to enhance the other party's impression. "If Sun Huodong falls, Prime Minister Zhou may not be able to do it either." Stand in the court for a long time!"
What can move Zhang Pu is Zhou Yanru's departure or retention. Zhang Pu himself must have weighed how important Zhou Yanru is to the current Donglin and Fushe.
"Why did you say this, sir?" The other party stared at him closely.
Zhao Yingong has done some homework on this issue. He has one advantage, that is, there are many research materials on the entanglement between Zhou Yanru, Wen Tiren and Dong Lin in later generations. There are also many historical materials in various aspects and a comprehensive grasp of the materials. And the depth may be greater than that of the people at the time, so he started from the Qian Longxi case and talked about the recent instigation of Xue Guoguan to impeach Zhou Yanru as the chief examiner and arrange the various struggles of Wu Weiye in the first class. Detailed and clear analysis, especially the entanglements and interests between the parties, organized in a clear and coherent manner
Zhang Pu had been listening attentively, but his eyes showed surprise from time to time. It wasn't until Zhao Yingong finished speaking that he said, "I didn't expect that the gentleman in Guangli would know so clearly about the affairs of the court!"
Zhao Yingong could only smile in return: These words are too sensitive.
Zhang Pu stood up, walked around for a few steps, turned around and asked, "Sir, do you really think that once Sun Huodong falls, Prime Minister Zhou will not be able to stay for a long time?"
"Yes!" Zhao Yingong said very simply, "The relationship between Sun Huodong and Prime Minister Zhou is well known to the whole world. If Sun Huodong cannot take the blame, how can Prime Minister Zhou deal with himself?" He then added something else. One sentence, "After Prime Minister Zhou is gone, Prime Minister Xu is in his twilight years again. Which of the other cabinet ministers is the right match for Prime Minister Wen?" To be continued If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support will That's my biggest motivation
