Seeing the decadent posture of the two old masters, Yang Pu couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "Your Majesty... Prince Gan, the crown prince, I, Yang Pu, don't have much ability. I only know how to read and endorse. Thanks to the prince's promotion, I have done a great job." I have been serving as an official for more than ten years, and I have been in jail for three years, and I am still living in a state of confusion."
Zhu Gaochi sighed: "Mr. Yang, you are being humble. You are a Jinshi in the second year of Jianwen. You are both talented and knowledgeable, and you have good temperament. If you had not followed me and gone astray, your official career would have been smooth sailing. But I have dragged you down."
Yang Pu shook his head and said: "I have served you for twelve years, and I have been in Zhaojian for three years. This kindness of knowing and meeting you, Yang should be considered to have repaid me. I don't want to repay you. See the prince and the prince." If the prince is well, I will feel relieved."
Zhu Gaochi heard the implication: "Mr. Yang, are you leaving?"
Yang Pu nodded: "The current Prince Gan's Mansion is not what I expected. I thought I would only be loyal to one person in my life, but now it seems that this place is not suitable for me."
Zhu Gaochi did not try to persuade him to stay and asked, "Where do you plan to go, Mr. Yang?"
Yang Pu said with emotion: "The world is so big, it extends to all corners of the country. Wherever the wind blows, there will always be a place to settle down."
Zhu Gaochi thought for a moment and said: "I can write a letter of recommendation to the Chief Envoy of Jiangxi. He has some connections with me. I helped him a little when I was the Crown Prince. I can accept that the Chief Envoy of Jiangxi is Mr. Yang." For a job, the rank will not be too high, but you can always get a salary from the court."
Yang Pu chuckled and said: "I thanked Lord Gan for the promotion, but this matter is still exempted. Mr. Yang has received too many favors from you, and now he has finally paid off his debt. If I keep delaying you to find a job, wouldn't you be in debt again?" A huge favor?”
After that, he bowed, turned around and left, never looking back, his back was sad and sad.
He waited in prison for three years, until the hero fell and the world rebelled.
What Yang Pu is looking forward to is Zhu Gaochi who has the ambition to soar to the sky even if he is trapped in adversity, not the King of Gan who is willing to remain silent in the mud like now.
Everyone has his own ambitions. Since the first year of Yongle, he has been appointed as Prince Xi Ma and worked in the East Palace. He has worked conscientiously for Zhu Gaochi for twelve years. Later, he was involved in the turmoil and suffered three years of torture in Zhao Prison. He owed Zhu Gaochi's support. The favor has long been repaid.
Any regrets?
No regrets.
Zhu Gaochi stood up and wanted to see him off, but his legs and feet were inconvenient and he needed help from others. However, Zhu Zhanji, who was sitting opposite him, did not make the slightest move, and just stared at the chessboard with his eyes blankly.
In the end, the former prince, now the Prince of Gan, still failed to see his old friend off for the last time.
After the people left, Zhu Gaochi let out a long sigh.
Zhu Zhanji just slowly raised his head, his eyes were clear and sharp, and he was still dull as before: "Why not keep Yang Pu? He is a great talent. Our palace is short of such a capable minister."
Zhu Gaochi sighed: "I don't want to involve Yang Pu anymore. He has finally washed away the dirt on his body. How can I bear to let him go through the test of life and death again?"
Zhu Zhanji's eyes flickered: "Maybe there is no clue..."
"You think too much, cough."
Zhu Gaochi raised his hand to cover his mouth and coughed violently. When he put his hand down, he saw that his palm was bright red.
Zhu Zhanji was moved: "Dad..."
"You don't have to say anymore."
Zhu Gaochi raised his hand to interrupt his son's words, and said categorically, "I have only a few years to live. After I die, you will be unable to survive alone. For my sake, as long as you can take this seriously Prince Gan, the fourth child will not make things too difficult for you."
Hearing this, Zhu Zhanji's eyes darkened again: "Dad, you know, this is not my ambition."
"Isn't this the ambition?"
Zhu Gaochi felt a heavy feeling in his chest, "It doesn't matter, death is a handful of loess, and my terminally ill old bones can't stop you, but I tell you, as long as I still have some breath left, you will be able to live in peace for a day." "
Zhu Zhanji remained silent.
…
Zhejiang, Hangzhou Prefecture.
Taipingli in Qiantang County, also known as Qingwang Street, was called Nanxin Street in the Southern Song Dynasty. There is a "Yu Zhai" plaque hanging in front of the door of the street, and there are three entrances to the Haoqi style.
The Yu family was from Kaocheng, Shanxi. Their great-grandfather Yu Jiusi was the general manager of Hangzhou Road during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Yuan Dynasty, so the Yu family also moved to Qiantang. Although their ancestors were prominent, the Yu family has become increasingly decadent in recent years. The previous generation Yu Wenming was the head of the Ministry of Industry during the Hongwu period, but this generation Yu Yanzhao simply stopped serving.
However, the Yu family was not alone. Everyone in Taiping knew that Yu Yanzhao had a naturally intelligent son who was eager to learn and had a photographic memory of his studies. When I was six years old, I went to visit my ancestors' graves with my father on the Qingming Festival. When we passed by the Phoenix Terrace, my uncle said casually: "We are going to the Phoenix Terrace today."
And the six-year-old child responded loudly: "He will have the Qilin Pavilion to himself."
Everyone present was shocked and admired the child very much. They all felt that this child would become a great person in the future.
Sure enough, in the tenth year of Yongle, the boy of the Yu family passed the annual examination, was admitted as a Confucian student in Qiantang County, and became a scholar at the age of fifteen. The boy of the Yu family was named Yu Qian.
Scholars, as the bottom of the scholar-bureaucrat class, were naturally incomparable to dignitaries, but compared to ordinary people, scholars were undoubtedly the envy of others. Enjoy the privilege of not kneeling before officials, and do not have to suffer the harsh crime of corvee. If you are a junior student, you can also enjoy the court's allowance.
In the countryside, if there is a table of people eating, the conversation is very happy, but when a scholar suddenly walks in, everyone immediately shuts up, puts down their chopsticks, and treats him respectfully, and then the scholar takes up his chopsticks. , they picked up the chopsticks again. During this period, no one dared to talk loudly. Even some who were impatient could not hold it back, so they only dared to whisper and whisper, but they did not dare to say too much.
In the entrance hall of Yu's house, there is a portrait hanging. This is a portrait of Wen Tianxiang, the Prime Minister of the former Song Dynasty, collected by Yu Qian's grandfather Yu Wenming. He wrote in "Crossing the Lingding Ocean" "No one has died since ancient times, and he has left a portrait of his loyalty." "History", majestic and high-spirited.
Yu Qian, a young man who was in the age of dancing elephants, with delicate eyebrows and handsome appearance, stood in front of the table and looked at the portrait of Prime Minister Wen, and he thought about it for a long time before he started writing the lyrics.
For a moment, there were black and white words on the paper, majestic.
Yu Qian praised: "Woo Hu Wenshan, suffered in the Song Dynasty. Martyred the country and forgot oneself, sacrificed one's life for righteousness. Swallowed the world, sincerely felt the world. The tombs and valleys changed, the world was different. Sitting and lying in the small pavilion, trapped in the restraint. Strict words, over time. More and more experience. It is hard to deceive the heart, but the heaven is fearful. If you are willing to be upright, you will die, and if you are not obedient, you will be safe. Bow again to the south, with a smile on the nine springs. The great festival of solitary loyalty will be passed down through the ages. When you look at the portrait, the breeze is awe-inspiring."
Emphasis on fame and festivals, but light on fame and wealth.
Value benevolence more than death.
Although he is still young, Yu Qian's character is like a jade bamboo in the cold wind.
After finishing a good poem, he nodded slightly, and when he was about to go out, a distinguished guest came to the door.
"Where's Yu Qian? Who's name is Yu Qian?"
A sharp voice came from the house, making Yu Qian frown slightly. When he walked out of the door, he turned out to be a plain-faced man in a camel-colored robe, with a clean face and a feminine aura.
At this time, Father Yu also walked out of the room and asked with a little doubt: "Who is your Excellency?"
The man in camel-colored robes coughed slightly and said, "We are the eunuchs who are the eunuchs of the ceremonial department and came to Qiantang on the emperor's orders. Which one of you is named Yu Qian?"
Yu Qian took a step forward and cupped his hands: "I am Yu Qian. I wonder what your father-in-law does?"
The eunuch who delivered the order asked, "Why don't you kneel down when you see our family?"
"Why should I kneel?"
Yu Qian said calmly, "I am a student in Qiantang County in the 10th year of Yongle. As usual, I am exempt from kneeling."
Father Yu couldn't help coughing twice and glared at his son.
You are right, but eunuchs hold grudges the most. If you offend the person opposite, he will have ten thousand ways to make you feel uncomfortable.
However, the eunuch who delivered the order did not get angry when he heard this. He just chuckled and said: "Young people should be like this, with backbone and blood. Yes, our family likes young people like you."
Okay, let’s not chat with you anymore and let’s get down to business. "
The eunuch who delivered the edict carefully took out a sealed imperial edict and said, "Your Majesty has an edict, and Yu Qian, a student from Qiantang County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, will receive the edict!"
He glanced at the Yu family's child and thought, "You won't kneel down this time."
Yu Qian was just tough but not stupid. He immediately bent down and knelt down: "Student Yu Qian, I wish you the best, long live my emperor!"
The eunuch who delivered the order was thinking about how you learned to be smart this time. We also thought that if you don’t kneel down this time, we will charge you with disrespect. Why are you kneeling faster than anyone else?
Yu Qian's face was calm but he was sneering in his heart. You are such a dead eunuch, but you still want to deceive me. No matter how hard my head is, can it be as strong as a knife? Although I am not afraid of death, dying in the hands of an eunuch like you is too much. Shame on you.
Yu's father knelt in front of the imperial decree and thought to himself that my son is really the son of Qilin. If he can bend and stretch, he will be his husband, and he will become a great man in the future.
After some intrigues, the eunuch who delivered the decree gave up the idea of finding trouble when he saw Yu Qian kneeling so honestly, and declared: "The emperor is destined to be carried by heaven, and the edict says:
I heard that there is a young man in Qiantang named Yu Qian. He is smart when he beats the villain. You are a good young man. Keep up your efforts. I will make an exception and make you the Master of Ceremonies of Zuo Chunfang. You will go to Beijing to work in the East Palace. Although the young man has become an official, he still has to quit. Be wary of arrogance and impatience, and stay true to your heart. Admire this! "
The emperor's imperial edict was written in plain language, which was not uncommon in the Ming Dynasty. Neither Taizu nor the current Emperor Yongle liked to mince words.
However, after reading the imperial edict, the hand of the eunuch who held the edict could not help shaking.
He did not know the content of the imperial edict in advance, but after reading the edict, he realized a key issue——
This boy named Yu will work with the Crown Prince in the future.
Zuo Chunfang, Master of Ceremonies, was of the sixth rank. He was in charge of the attendants' instructions and remonstrances, as well as his refutation of the official memorials. Any actions of the crown prince that were recorded in the annals of history would be recorded as notes and sent to the history museum at the end of the year. He is an official of the East Palace who has good roots and Miaohong, and serves as the attendant of the prince.
