The narrow gate opens, and servants greet you.
Gu Zhengchen stepped over the threshold and looked at the long and narrow courtyard in front of him, which was only six or seven steps from east to west. There were green bamboos and flowers in the courtyard. There was a rain urn under the eaves, and the water lilies in the urn had withered.
The courtyard is three feet deep and has no side rooms, only a two-story small attic, with guests downstairs and an inner room upstairs.
This is neither a large house with a few steps nor pavilions and gardens. It gives people the feeling that the owner is as poor as the wind, living in elegance and happiness.
"You two sit down first, I'll be down soon."
The servant brought the tea and left.
"Nephew Liang is here."
There was a sound coming from the stairs. Gu Zhengchen stood up and looked around, only to see a middle-aged man slowly walking down the stairs. The sound of his footsteps on the wooden board was steady and powerful.
People turned around the screen and walked to the front of the hall.
This man is in his forties, with a dignified appearance, thick eyebrows, as if brushed by a heavy pen, and bright eyes, showing an unfathomable depth and a faint edge.
His perseverance looked like he had experienced countless hardships.
The short beard twitched slightly, showing a smile.
Liang Jiajun took a step forward and saluted: "Liang Heng's son, Liang Jiajun, is disturbing Uncle Kai."
Kaiji stretched out his hand to support Liang Jiajun and smiled heartily: "After we are old friends, why bother? I haven't seen you for more than ten years. How is your father?"
Liang Jiajun said respectfully: "Uncle Lao Kai asked me how my father is doing. This is my father's old friend - Gu Zhengchen. He was elected in the fifth year and was promoted to the county magistrate of Jurong this year."
Kaiji looked at Gu Zhengchen.
Gu Zhengchen felt an invisible pressure, which came from the unpredictable depth of the person in front of him: "Gu Zhengchen, I've seen him become a teaching assistant."
Kaiji raised his hand as a return gift, and said with interest: "Mr. Liang is cautious in making friends, and it depends on his character and ability. If you can become his old friend, you must be a talented person. You are a mere county magistrate. I have wronged you." "
Gu Zhengchen said calmly: "Whether it is a county magistrate or a bookkeeper, they are all serving the court, sharing the king's worries, thunder, rain and dew are all God's grace. There is no grievance."
"Thunder, rain, and dew are all God's grace. This is true. Sit down quickly."
Kaiji took a deep look at Gu Zhengchen, invited the two of them to sit down, and then looked at Liang Jiajun: "Back then, I asked your father for academic advice, and now I am working with you to study Guozi. Isn't it fate? It just so happens that I have a rest today, so why don't you come? How about getting drunk?"
Liang Jiajun readily agreed.
Gu Zhengchen smiled and nodded.
Speaking of the Ming Dynasty officials' holiday system, many people think that Lao Zhu was a workaholic and had extremely strict requirements on officials. He only gave three days off a year, namely New Year's Eve, Winter Solstice and Lao Zhu's birthday.
But in fact this is not the case, Lao Zhu is really wronged.
In the first few years before the founding of the People's Republic of China, many industries were waiting for development and there were many government affairs. It is reasonable for an official to be busy. Lao Zhu did have a three-day holiday rule. However, since the sixth year of Hongwu, Lao Zhu "ordered archaeologists to take a holiday, and the Ministry of Rites According to the six official holidays of the Tang Dynasty, all officials were ordered to give five days off every month, and it was stipulated that "every year's Zhengdan Festival begins on the first day of the first lunar month, and all civil and military officials have five days off. On the Winter Solstice Festival, if this day does not begin, there will be three days off." day."
It can be seen that in the sixth year of Hongwu's reign, the Ming Dynasty's resting system was basically five days off in a month. Although it was not as good as the eight days off in a month during the double rest period in later generations, it was still more rest than countless people who could not even enjoy the double rest period. one day.
It is nonsense to accuse Lao Zhu of not giving him vacations all year round and not allowing him to rest all year round.
After all, officials also had to wash their hair. The ancients had to wash their hair unlike later generations. They had water heaters and hairdryers. The ancients had to boil water, wipe their hair, and wait for it to dry naturally. It took only an hour or two to do it. How could it be done without giving them time off?
Kaiji arranged the food and drinks, and Liang Jiajun and Gu Zhengchen took their seats.
Gu Zhengchen looked at it and thought, well, they are all vegetarian dishes.
Stir-fried radish, stir-fried leeks, two bowls of green vegetables, and a bowl of chopped green onion and tofu soup.
As expected of the future Minister of Justice who is known for his integrity...
Liang Jiajun took a look and felt a little depressed. After all, I brought someone here to eat. If you don't want to serve whole chicken or whole fish, you should also get some pork.
Kaiji picked up the wine glass with a solemn expression: "Don't blame the simplicity of the food. I am also following orders."
Liang Jiajun was curious and asked why.
Kaiji straightened his posture and raised his hands to the north: "In the third year of Hongwu, His Majesty paid a private visit incognito. He saw that some officials were extravagant and lustful, living and drinking, and arrogant and indulgent. However, the people were in hardship and had not enough to eat for years. In order to rectify the extravagance, These four dishes were served at Empress Ma's birthday banquet that year."
As he spoke, Kaiji pointed to the stir-fried leek and tofu soup: "Leeks are green and green, which can bring long-lasting peace and stability to people's hearts. Green onions and tofu are green and white, just and honest like the sun and the moon. It has been decreed that only these four dishes can be served to officials at banquets. Soup, but if you violate it, you will be severely punished. Although some people forget this prohibition, we dare not forget it."
Liang Jiajun admired him: "Uncle Kai has a breeze on his sleeves and is as honest as snow. He will surely be famous throughout the ages."
Gu Zhengchen cupped his hands: "Admiration, admiration."
I can't help but admire him. This Kaiji is a bit powerful, a bit weirdly powerful.
Yes, he looks honest and upright now, and maybe he is indeed so at this time, but wait another ten years, when he is in charge of the Ministry of Punishment, he will have tens of thousands of taels of silver, doing great things that hide the truth...
He dared to commit corruption under Zhu Yuanzhang's nose and replace one death row prisoner with another. He was considered a talent.
Of course, this person did have great ability. Historical data says: All matters such as national economic system, land tax, prison litigation, labor service, and river and canal affairs are all matters that cannot be adjudicated. As soon as Kaiji made a calculation, he would be organized and styled.
But that’s it.
With so much corruption, he deserved to be chopped down by Lao Zhu.
But there is another reason why this person is powerful. He knows a person and becomes a friend with him. That person's name is Hu Weiyong.
But this friendship did not last long. Probably this year, Kaiji would "get sick" and leave Jinling. He would not come out again until Hu Weiyong was killed.
There are no more records in history, but when Gu Zhengchen looked at Kaiji who was full of righteousness, opened his mouth to be honest, and shut up his mouth to be loyal to the emperor, he always felt that this guy had seen through the court situation and saw clearly Hu Weiyong's plans and risks, so he resigned from office to avoid disaster. .
This vicious gaze and prediction of risks are Kaiji's strength, and presumably the source of his overconfidence in the future!
Liang Jiajun and Gu Zhengchen were both drunk, so Liang Wujin rented a boat and sent them to the inn. But when the boat arrived at Dazhong Bridge, Gu Zhengchen got off the boat on the grounds that he was drunk and wanted to go ashore for some fresh air.
Next to Dazhong Bridge is an intersection with the character "大" on the left. The "一" in the character is Tongjimen Street, the first is West Chang'an Street, and the second is Chongli Street.
The area separated from Nabao was the political center of the early Ming Dynasty: the Dudufu, Zhongshu Province, and the Five Ministries (the Ministry of Punishment was outside the city).
Gu Zhengchen stood at the intersection and looked towards West Chang'an Street. At the end of it was the Imperial City, which was the center of the Ming Empire and the highest will of the Ming Empire!
Zhu Yuanzhang is there.
Zhu Biao is there.
Zhu Laosi was also there.
"Are you a scholar?"
A loud voice came from beside him.
Gu Zhengchen looked sideways and saw a middle-aged man wearing a green t-shirt staring at him.
This man's forehead is slightly protruding, his chin is slightly long, his cheeks are slim, and his eyes are like stars. His left hand is pressed on the cloth belt. Although he does not make any movements, he exudes a majesty that is not angry but is intimidating.
"Exactly."
When Gu Zhengchen saw the appearance of the person clearly, his heart trembled. His lips felt dry for a moment. He moistened his lips, took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and lowered his hands to reply.
"Well, this is a drunken scholar. What are you thinking standing here?"
The middle-aged man stepped forward, followed closely by the guard with a long sword hanging at his side.
Gu Zhengchen's heart palpitated suddenly, as if he was being stared at by a wild beast: "Think of a question."
"What's the question?"
The middle-aged man stopped.
Gu Zhengchen raised his head and looked at the sky, half-moon Qinghui: "A problem that countless emperors and generals cannot solve, a problem that will take who knows how many years to solve."
The middle-aged man smiled generously: "Tell it and listen, maybe we can solve the problem."
Gu Zhengchen withdrew his gaze, looked at the middle-aged man, and said solemnly: "How can we make the dynasty immortal and the country last forever?"
"The dynasty is immortal and the country lasts forever!"
The middle-aged man was a little shocked.
Immediately, the middle-aged man walked to the wind outlet, let the wind blow, and said: "A dynasty is immortal, and a country lasts forever! This is indeed a difficult problem. Since ancient times, there has been no immortal dynasty, except that Xia, Shang and Zhou are too far away. , the Han Dynasty, which can be called the prosperous age, the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty lived together for no more than 400 years, the Tang Dynasty was less than 300 years old, and the Song Dynasty was more than 300 years old. As for the BC and Yuan Dynasties, Guo Zuo was less than a century old! If you want to make the dynasty immortal, Guo Zuo will last forever Yan, it’s really difficult, do you have any ideas?”
Gu Zhengchen shook his head and said simply: "No."
The middle-aged man snorted: "Then if you stand here and think about this problem, wouldn't it be a waste of energy? If you have this time, you might as well read more books by Zhu Shengren."
Gu Zhengchen said solemnly: "Is there a prosperous and immortal king in the book?"
The middle-aged man raised his hand, waved his sleeves, and insisted: "The words of the saint have their own way."
Gu Zhengchen retracted his hands into his sleeves, his palms sweating slightly: "Zhu Shengren assisted the Southern Song Dynasty and gave lectures to Song Ningzong. The Southern Song Dynasty was one hundred and fifty-two years old, which shows that he did not find the immortal dynasty and the eternal extension of the country. s answer."
The middle-aged man accused you: "You are a sour scholar. Zhu Shengren once gave Song Ningzong a lecture. However, Song Ningzong was too loyal. He had no great talents or great plans, and he had powerful ministers in power. How could you achieve great things?"
Gu Zhengchen nodded, took a step forward, clenched his fists, and said loudly: "Song Ningzong is too loyal and has no great talents and great strategies, but I, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, have great talents and great strategies! As a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, as a minister, shouldn't I We should find a way to assist the emperor and lay the foundation for the immortality of the Ming Dynasty and the foundation of the country for thousands of years?!"
The middle-aged man looked at Gu Zhengchen deeply, with admiration in his eyes, and nodded slightly: "Well said! Scholar, what is your name?"
"Gu Zhengchen."
"oh."
The middle-aged man raised his brows, nodded with satisfaction, and asked, "Then do you think there is really a way to achieve immortality in this world?"
"There must be!" Gu Zhengchen said seriously, with a hesitant look on his face: "It's just..."
"Just what?"
The middle-aged man said quietly.
Gu Zhengchen took a deep breath: "It's just that if this path really exists, history books must have never heard of it. Once you do it, you may do a lot of extraordinary things. Even if you have the intention to do it, I'm afraid it will violate the rules and cause disaster!" Without the courage to forge ahead, who would dare to overcome obstacles and blaze a new path?”
"Then think clearly, if you can find the right path, the emperor may not allow you to go out of your way once!" After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he turned and walked towards West Chang'an Street with a smile. After walking a few steps, he stopped again and turned to look at Gu Zhengchen added majestically: "The premise is that you can really find the key to the immortality of the dynasty and the eternal life of the country!"
