When the hail fell, Zhang Zhou was already packing his things at home and preparing to return to Nanjing.
It was agreed with Zhu Youtang that he would be exempted from official positions before he could. The title of Lai Guogong was not taken casually. With the title in hand, returning to Nanjing can be regarded as a homecoming in glory.
"Are you in such a hurry to leave? The family always feels that there are too many people." Jiang Pingyu cleaned up for a long time and felt that things were different from when she came to the capital.
She came here in a low-key manner. Now her family has a big business. Zhang Zhou didn't say whether she would go to Nanjing to stay for a few days or live there permanently. She was reluctant to leave these two big houses in the capital.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Go back and take a look. If there are too many people in the family and it is inconvenient to take them away, then stay first."
Han Qing was standing at the window looking out, muttering: "Why is it hailing so well?"
"The hail is falling well." Zhang Zhou hugged Han Qing from behind and said with a smile, "Without the hail, I wouldn't have been able to go back to Nanjing to have a look. By the way, I'll go there to find out if there is any 'miraculous medicine' , maybe I will become an immortal."
Jiang Pingyu asked: "Is the master just joking?"
Zhang Zhou said: "Of course I'm joking, but as far as I know, there are many inaccessible places overseas, and there is no communication with the Ming Dynasty. Who knows if there is any strange fairy grass that can make people live longer? Hurry up and pack it up , we will set off tomorrow afternoon, and I won’t have to go to court tomorrow morning.”
The place was still busy and tidying up, and the maid came in safely and announced: "Master, there are guests outside who say they are your old friends. This is a greeting."
"Didn't I tell you not to see anyone?"
When Zhang Zhou took it over and took a look at it, he couldn't help but smile.
Now Liu Gui has returned to the capital with him and continues to serve as his disciple. He seems to be very good at selecting guests and communicating... The visitor is none other than Ping Jiang Bo Chen Rui.
"Invite the people in, give them a nice cup of tea, and I'll meet you later! This hailstorm... didn't kill anyone, which is rare."
…
…
In the Lai Kingdom Palace.
Zhang Zhou met Chen Rui in his hall. At this time, Chen Rui looked helpless, as if he had experienced hardships and nine deaths.
"Uncle Ping Jiang, what are you..."
"Don't mention it."
Chen Rui said helplessly, "In the past two years, Liaodong has made great achievements in running around, but it capsized in Ningxia."
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Can the rivers in Ningxia carry boats?"
Chen Rui said: "That's really not a place for one to stay. From last year to this spring, the little Tatar prince came to invade the country repeatedly. I... alas!"
The last heavy sigh also told Zhang Zhou how miserable he was.
This also illustrates a truth... Chen Liangjiu is not just afraid of being sifted by fire. The reason why he was said to be afraid of sifting by fire in the past is because he has little chance to fight Dayan Khan Batu Meng head-on... Waiting for the battle to drag on After a few rounds, others will know that you, Chen Rui, are just a fool.
The nobles of the Ming Dynasty were all like that. No one needed to laugh at anyone. Anyway, if the Tatars invaded, they would stay in the fortress and not leave. That was the best choice.
Even with artillery, there is still no strategy to defeat the enemy when fighting outside the city.
The Tatars are not targets. They stand there for you to hit. In fact, this made Zhang Zhou feel that Qin Hong, the chariot maniac, was quite important before. Only mobile forts can achieve battlefield flexibility.
Zhang Zhou said: "Uncle Ping Jiang has just returned to Beijing these two days, right?"
"Yes, I will follow you." Chen Rui looked regretful.
When Zhang Zhou returned to Beijing, the crowds were unprecedentedly grand. However, even though he returned to Beijing at almost the same time, he could only come back with his tail between his legs. Not to mention being greeted by others, he was still afraid of being known because he was afraid of embarrassment.
As a general, you can only lead your life with your head held high if you can win on the battlefield.
Zhang Zhou sighed: "The hail stopped outside. You should know what this hail means to me, right?"
"I heard about it." Chen Rui said, "The ministers in the court are ignorant and criticize a contemporary hero like Duke Yu Lai. Your Majesty is not a foolish king, so naturally he will not give up on a capable person like Mr. Zhang."
"I don't dare take the name of sir," Zhang Zhou said.
"You can bear it, you can bear it." Chen Rui looked at Zhang Zhou eagerly.
Zhang Zhou smiled, Chen Rui was an example of a cowardly minister. Once he suffered a defeat on the front line, he would think about mobilizing contacts to find another good job for himself, or find a way to gain military glory or something.
This fawning look on his face... I don’t want that old face anymore either.
"Uncle Ping Jiang, actually I know what you mean even if you don't say it. Do you want me to help you obtain military honors, or seek a position in the capital? I'm sorry, I will leave my post tomorrow and go back to Nanjing to have a wedding. , I can't help, sorry." Zhang Zhou was still laughing.
"Why do you want to go back to Nanjing?" Chen Rui was shocked.
Zhang Zhou said: "With this hailstorm, shouldn't I avoid suspicion?"
Chen Rui said hurriedly: "You don't have to. You haven't been to the northwest recently. I don't know how much the northwest soldiers respect you. Even the Tatars know your prestige and don't dare to invade. Look. Where do the Tatars like to invade now? Isn’t it Yansui and Ningxia? Both Pianguan and Datong know that is your territory, and the Tatars don’t dare to go there.”
"Haha, really? Do I still have this prestige?" Zhang Zhou replied with a smile.
Chen Rui sighed: "How else can I say that the Ming Dynasty cannot do without you? There are also those ministers who do not go to the border and do not know the sufferings at the border. It is not easy for the soldiers to take a breather this year. In the past, the Tatars were pressing harder and harder. They can't even get out of the city gate, and now at least wherever the artillery is pushed, the Tatars don't dare to invade the city gate, because they are also afraid of bombardment."
Zhang Zhou said: "But it's hard to go against God's will."
"God's will? Bullshit God's will!" Chen Rui seemed to admire Zhang Zhoudao very much, "Sir, if you have any inconvenience, let the general state the situation for you. You should not leave, even if you are not a civil servant, the title of Lai Guogong is in You can walk sideways everywhere in the northwest!”
Zhang Zhou thought to himself, I finally gave myself a chance to return to Nanjing to avoid the next earthquake in the capital, but you still want to find a way to keep me here?
Fortunately, I told the person above everything and discussed it all, otherwise you people would have done me bad things.
"No need. I will leave tomorrow. The mountains and rivers are far away. When I have the chance to return to the capital, we can say goodbye again."
Zhang Zhou stood up, as if to see off the guests, and reminded him by the way, "By the way, Uncle Ping Jiang, my daughter-in-law is still living in the house you gave me, but I have never been to the house. The house and the people are all together." I'll give it back to you. I heard that you still want to marry Zhijie, right? I think it's pretty good, just think of me as their matchmaker."
"No." Chen Rui heard this and said hurriedly, "My little girl..."
I was about to praise him for being "like a flower and a jade", but when he thought about it, Zhang Zhou was not a fool. Even if he had never seen his daughter, he should have heard about it. Besides, she was still a widow. This... I couldn't even think about it. Inking.
Zhang Zhou said: "Uncle Ping Jiang, if you stay here again, tomorrow when all the ministers attend the impeachment meeting, you may be included in the list. I am a person at the forefront of the storm, so don't cause trouble for yourself."
"this……"
Chen Rui felt aggrieved.
In the end, Zhang Zhousheng was almost forced out of the door.
…
…
Morning next day.
The ministers were so excited that they were almost all talking about the hailstorm last night, as if the suffering of the people in the capital was beyond their consideration, and as if God had finally fulfilled their wish.
As the biggest contributor to this incident, Qintian Supervisor Zheng Wu Hao, who calculated the incident, did not appear at the scene.
It seemed that he had completed his mission and retired with success.
Zhang Zhou, who was the central figure in the incident... was not there either.
The meeting begins.
Zhu Youtang didn't wait for the minister to say anything, and directly pointed to Xiao Jing who was standing aside. Xiao Jing walked out and said with a calm look: "Lai Guogong Zhang Zhou has requested to return to his hometown to visit his relatives. Your Majesty has given you a favor." allow."
"His Majesty."
Tu Yu came out.
Tu Jun was still speculating yesterday as to why Zhang Zhou had deduced that there was a hailstorm.
He even went to discuss countermeasures with Xie Qian and others.
Now he doesn't care anymore. No matter what Zhang Zhou's intentions are, if this hailstorm happened while Zhang Zhou was still in court, the blame must be drawn on the emperor's favor and trust in Zhang Zhou.
"Tu Qing's family, are you okay?" Zhu Youtang asked.
Tu Ting said: "By God's will, it rained and hailed in Beijing. Many people's houses and animals were damaged, and countless farmland and crops were lost. If such things are not investigated deeply, I am afraid it will be difficult to give an explanation to the people of the world."
Zhu Youtang asked: "If there is rain and hail in the capital, it must be blamed on one person. Then that person should be me, not anyone in the court, right?"
There's nothing wrong with that.
God will punish God, and the emperor should bear the brunt of it and directly blame the ministers below, for fear that there will not be enough people to take the blame.
Because there are a lot of hailstorms in various places every year. If one person needs to take the blame for the next one, this is not considered a storm, drought or flood... Can this be managed?
Tu Yun gritted his teeth and said, "But the Qintian Supervisor had something to say about this matter first. Zhang was also in court that day. Now that the matter has happened, we can't just settle the matter."
Zhu Youtang said in a calm tone: "What is that? To seize the title? To be dismissed? Or to go to jail for questioning? Find someone to torture him and ask him why the sky brings hail disaster?"
Bai Ang, the Minister of Punishment, said: "Your Majesty, Lord Lai Guo always boasts that he can predict the will of heaven. Why didn't he guess it this time?"
Zhu Youtang said in his heart, you are really right, Bingkuan figured this out, otherwise, if you don't expect Wu Hao... the day lily will be cold.
Xu Qiong stepped forward and said, "You can't say that. Could it be that every piece of God's will can be calculated, and if you want to hold people accountable for not being able to predict God's will, I'm afraid that would be too difficult, right?"
"enough!"
Zhu Youtang raised his hand to interrupt the argument below, "I can remove Bingkuan from his official position in the Governor's Mansion and the court, but I dare to ask you, if after this, what kind of natural disasters will happen again in various places, and will anyone give me a warning? ?"
Bai Ang said: "There is Qin Tianjian, this is within the scope of his responsibilities."
"Then if there is another natural disaster or man-made disaster, Qin Tian Jian can't calculate it?" Zhu Youtang asked.
Even Bai Ang couldn't answer this time.
Wu Hao could show off for a moment and predict the hailstorm in a few days. Everyone knows that this old boy is extraordinary. Next time, expect him to open his mouth and open up like Zhang Zhou... This is not called forcing people to make things difficult, this is not called Know the general idea.
As another "key party" in the incident, Zhang Mao came out and said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to ask Duke Lai to go back to his hometown to visit relatives. Let him stay in the capital and speculate on God's will at any time."
Zhu Youtang said coldly: "We want to remove him from his post, but also let him speculate on God's will. You have such a face, I don't!"
Zhang Mao said: "You can keep him in Qintian Prison."
Zhu Youtang glared at Zhang Mao and said: "So you think that Bingkuan's ability is limited to being a supervisor in Qintian Prison. This is the meritocracy that I always admire, right?"
"Uh..." Zhang Mao saw that the emperor was angry and retreated dejectedly.
Zhu Youtang raised his head and looked at all the ministers present, with a questioning tone in his tone, and even a hint of murderous intent: "I ask you again, if there is any disaster happening anywhere in the world in the future, you will still blame Bing Bing for it. Kuan, continue to put pressure on me and let me punish him?"
As if he was a loyal minister, Tu Yu knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, the words of the alchemist cannot be trusted!"
Zhu Youtang said: "Even if you think what Bingkuan said before was the words of an alchemist, but let me ask you, when did he say something wrong? And when did he mislead the country?"
Tu Yu said: "The traitorous ministers are in power and the country's foundation is shaken."
Zhu Youtang asked: "Then Bingkuan is a treacherous minister, and Li Guang is also a treacherous minister. Who were the people who had interacted with Li Guang before and gave gifts to Li Guang? The treacherous ministers among the treacherous ministers? It has only been less than two years, you guys. Don’t you think I’ve forgotten things in my old age?”
Tu Jing, who was kneeling there, was still about to show his attitude of remonstrance, but when he heard these words, his body was shaken.
Only then did he realize it.
Just because the emperor didn't investigate Li Guang's matter, it doesn't mean that the emperor didn't know about it. Among the people who bribed Li Guang at that time was Tu Yu. Tu Yu was still impeached at that time, but he was forcibly saved by the emperor.
As soon as the emperor said these words, Tu Fu knelt there and looked very embarrassed.
He didn't even get up, so he continued... He was afraid that the emperor would throw the account books from that year directly in his face... putting him in a dilemma.
Zhu Youtang said: "I want you to answer, do you think that after Bingkuan is dismissed from his post, if there is any disaster in the future, there is no need for anyone to warn him, and if there is any disaster, he must be blamed?"
The emperor asked this question almost in anger.
The ministers present can actually understand.
Now the emperor was forced by them to "punish" Zhang Zhou, and the way of punishment was to send hailstorms from the sky and dismiss Zhang Zhou from his post and return to his hometown. This was obviously not the emperor's wish.
Since the emperor was forced to make such a compromise just for the sake of peace, the minister must have something to say...
Min Gui, the censor of Zuodu, came out and said: "Your Majesty, if there is another natural disaster, it must be a warning from heaven, and it must be caused by Zhang Zhou."
"ah?"
When these words came out, Wu Xun, the civil servant present, was also dumbfounded.
Good guy.
In your mind, Min Gui, no matter whether Zhang Zhou is in court or not, if there are any natural or man-made disasters in the future, you can just blame him, right?
This is simply opposition for the sake of opposition, and party struggle for the sake of party struggle. It is simply unreasonable.
The emperor has agreed to dismiss Zhang Zhou and return him to his hometown, but there are still people who want to "put Zhang Zhou to death".
When Zhu Youtang heard this, he was not angry but smiled, but his smile was a little sad, and said: "Dear gentlemen, I also find it interesting. If Bingkuan leaves the capital tomorrow, the main hall of Fengtian Palace will be trampled, the responsibility will be on him? The day after tomorrow the Imperial Ancestral Temple Is Bingkuan to blame for the fire? Is he also responsible for the floods in the south of the Yangtze River the day after tomorrow? Haha... Are you saying that even if I kill him and bury him in the soil, I will still kill him if there are any natural or man-made disasters in the future? Crushing bones and scattering ashes? But then, there will be natural disasters...even the ashes can't be found, how can I blame him?"
These words are full of anger, and they are the kind of shame that cannot be tolerated by kings and ministers.
If it weren't for Zhu Youtang's good temper, he might have exploded on the spot.
Min Gui was also determined, knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, the alchemist is not available! Please give me your Majesty's warning!"
"Answer my question!" Zhu Youtang stood up angrily and said, "Unless I deal with Zhang Bingkuan, will you not blame him for any disasters in the future?"
Min Gui gritted his teeth and said, "Kill him!"
"ah!"
This time there was a complete uproar between the government and the opposition.
This actually made the ministers of the DPRK realize that many people felt that Zhang Zhou was on the same mountain and two tigers could not tolerate each other. If they managed to seize the opportunity to attack Zhang Zhou, they would have to force Zhang Zhou to death.
Zhu Youtang stood there with a stern look on his face and said, "What's the reason?"
"God's will!" Min Gui said loudly.
"Okay." Zhu Youtang suddenly looked at Xiao Jing and said, "Yesterday's hailstorm, are there any reports of casualties?"
Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty, because the early warning was timely, there were no reports of casualties. There was quite a lot of crop damage..."
At this time, Xiao Jing did not expect Min Gui to be so talented, but he still vaguely wanted to say something to Min Gui, meaning that the damage caused by yesterday's disaster was still huge and it was also a natural disaster.
Zhu Youtang said: "No one was killed or injured in yesterday's natural disaster, but you let me use this to kill Bingkuan who warned me?"
"Your Majesty!" Zhou Jing, the Minister of Household Affairs, hurriedly came out and said, "The one who warned us was Wu Hao."
"Yeah?"
Zhu Youtang said sternly, "Send Wu Hao to the palace!"
When all the ministers present heard this, they suddenly realized something was wrong...
It didn't take long for Wu Hao to be carried up by the Jin Yiwei. When Wu Hao saw the emperor, he knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Wu Hao, comes to see you."
Zhu Youtang said: "Let me ask you, did you predict the hailstorm yesterday?"
"No...it's not...it's Duke Lai Guo..." Wu Hao felt a little hopeless now.
Who have I offended?
The ministers present were all stunned. Of course, a few people also learned the news from Fu Han and Tu Fu in advance.
Zhu Youtang asked: "Then I ask you, why didn't he report it himself, but told you about it?"
Wu Hao said: "That day Duke Lai came to visit and said that many people in the court were involved in impeaching him. He had no intention of arguing and defending, so he wanted to go back to Nanjing to live a quiet life for a few days. He also said that he was going to find a panacea in order to prolong his life... It was just the right time. This opportunity... I was not willing to do so at the time, but he said... His Majesty ordered him to say so."
"Your Majesty?" Liu Jian also walked out.
Liu Jian had to come forward at this time.
Zhu Youtang said coldly: "It was Bingkuan who told me that he didn't want to cause disputes in the court because of those bad things, so I allowed him to return to Nanjing. It was also because I was obsessed and thought that he might be able to find a panacea when he went back. He can cure acne, and I am also a person with delusions of immortality. Who would have thought...not only do you not appreciate it, but you also use him as a warning, and want to put him to death! Do you want to be a traitor and a traitor? Come on, Send Min Gui to prison!"
(End of chapter)
