When Zheng Haizhu offered advice and recommended talents to He Shijin, a practical man in Donglin, other Donglin people in Zhao Mansion, seven or eight miles away from the Suzhai Hall of Chengen Temple, were also drinking tea and discussing matters.
Zhao Nanxing, the head of Donglin, who was the Minister of Taichang Temple at the time, seemed to have a face as deep as water, but there was a hint of Shi Shiran in the depths of his eyes, and he looked at the "Autumn Mountain Travel Picture" hanging behind the flower stand on the east wall.
That was a month ago, when Dong Qichang resigned from the post of Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, he wrote and drew it himself and sent it to Zhao Mansion.
Zhao Nanxing happily accepted it, feeling a little contempt for Dong Qichang in his heart, but also quite satisfied.
This old cunning guy from Songjiang Prefecture always appeared as a friend of theirs in Donglin, but in fact he had frequent contacts with the scribes from the Qi and Zhejiang parties. After the new king ascended the throne, Dong Qichang's performance was even more shrewd in the eyes of the courtiers.
As soon as the emperor summoned his old mentor, the old man came faster than anyone else. He first took the seat of the young minister of Taichang Temple. All the senior officials in the officialdom estimated that he would then go to the Ministry of Rites to become the "eldest uncle".
Unexpectedly, only half a year had passed before the imperial master asked Zhu Changluo to resign and return to his hometown on the grounds that he was old and ill and could not adapt to the northern climate. The emperor didn't try to persuade him to stay. After rewarding him with a plaque written in imperial writing, he allowed his grandson Dong Ting to enter the Imperial College to study.
Civil servants in Beijing expressed their admiration for Dong Qichang's calculation.
In the shortest possible time, he would make the name of the Imperial Master famous, and the so-called masterpieces he would draw and sell would surely increase the price a lot.
As for the reason for his resignation, he probably saw that the Donglin faction had changed from the decline of the Wanli period and began to occupy important positions in various ministries and yamen like locusts. Dong Qichang did not want to offend Donglin by competing for the position of Minister of Rites, so he wisely avoided it.
Anyway, it seems that Dong Gong is more interested in painting and making money than he is in caring about the country and the country.
Zhao Nanxing never hid in front of his disciples that he should become the next Minister of Rites.
Therefore, Dong Qichang fled without a fight, and before leaving, he practiced the hypocritical etiquette among scribes and sent paintings to say goodbye. Although Zhao Nanxing looked down on the cowardice of this southerner who was not like a man, he actually felt quite comfortable.
Alas, as both were from Nanzhili, Zheng was not as knowledgeable about current affairs as Dong Qichang, so much so that he had to work for a heavyweight like Zhao Nanxing to think about this matter and speak to others.
"Will Mrs. Zheng accompany the eldest son of the emperor to Mount Tai, and let the eunuch named Wei go with him?" Zhao Nanxing took a sip of tea and asked Yang Lian who was sitting below.
"Probably not. Wei Jinzhong is leaving for Luoyang to ask King Fu to donate silver to the warehouse."
Zhao Nanxing narrowed his eyes: "Wei Jinzhong is the eldest son of the emperor's eldest son, so it is natural for him to accompany him to Mount Tai."
Yang Lian hesitated for a moment and responded: "Well, it doesn't seem like the Zheng family is always involved in everything with Wei Jinzhong."
"Haha," Zhao Nanxing sneered, "They seem to be in different fields, but in fact they are helping each other. One makes money for Long Live, and the other teaches the prince for Long Live. They are all on the path of being close ministers."
Yang Liandao: "Mr. Heting, let the Ministry of Rites refute Zheng's request."
Zhao Nanxing shook his head: "On the contrary, I will tell Mr. Han that I agree."
The "Han Gong" in Zhao Nanxing's mouth was Han Xu, who was the Minister of Rites at that time and one of the elders of Donglin. Han Xu is likely to join the cabinet in the near future and become the second assistant.
Seeing that Yang Lian was slightly confused, Zhao Nanxing couldn't help but sigh.
This Yang Huzi was indeed loyal to the Emperor, the Ming Dynasty, and his sect Donglin. However, his temper was as straight as the beams of the three main halls. Even though he was sitting in the position of the General Constitution, he still didn’t know how to twist around corners. People's hearts.
"Wen Ru, a woman's heart is like a needle in the sea. Do you think Zheng is going to Mount Tai, just like Dong Qichang, to put some money on his face? Think again, Mount Tai, Shandong..."
Yang Lian held the teacup, thought for a while, and finally understood: "What Duke Heting means is that maybe she wants to contact Qi Shijiao?"
Zhao Nanxing nodded: "After Fang Congzhe left the field, Qi Shijiao, a proud disciple, also returned to his hometown. The Zhejiang and Qi parties seemed to be suddenly in decline. In fact, they were not willing to give up. I remember that I asked you about Zheng's character before. You said that she prides herself on having no sectarian views. In front of you and Lao Zuo, she does not shy away from praising Qi Shijiao as a capable official who is good at disaster relief. It can be seen that she is no stranger to the Qi Party. Dong Qichang pulled the strings and paid a visit to someone from the Qi Party."
Yang Lian frowned and said, "But Yao Zongwen, a fellow Zhejiang Party member of Fang Congzhe, has always tried to punish her. The leader of the Qi Poetry Sect is Fang Congzhe. Doesn't Mrs. Zheng have a grudge?"
Zhao Nanxing pouted: "This kind of business woman always puts the word profit in the middle. For the word profit, she can worship her godmother in the palace today, and her godfather will be named Zhang tomorrow. It's not surprising. She has issues with the Zhejiang Party, but she respects the emperor. Qi Shijiao, a disciple of the leader of the Zhejiang Party and the leader of the Qi Party, shows that she is even more open-minded and can teach the emperor to appreciate it. Wen Ru, this is the pretentious and sincere attitude that businessmen are best at."
After Yang Lian heard this, he suddenly felt an uncomfortable feeling in his heart.
They, Dong Lin, originally advocated attacking large landowners and powerful clans, and supporting small and medium-sized landowners, farmers, and businessmen traveling between states. But at this moment, Zhao Nanxing revealed his deep contempt for the businessmen group.
But Yang Lian did suddenly realize that he felt that Zhao Gong's analysis was right. Qi Shijiao was the sect that Zheng was most likely to win over at the moment.
"Heting Gong, Lian has been looking for disciples in my Donglin forest for the past few days. He went to Laizhou to see if the Qi Poetry Sect would contact the Zheng family in the next one or two months."
…
At the beginning of the morning, Lao Qin was still sorting the newly shipped goods from the south into categories and pasting notes to be sent to various channels in Beijing, when he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the entrance of the alley.
Turning around and looking around, he immediately saw a father-in-law in a python robe.
Wei Zhongxian galloped forward, jumped down, and put the reins into Lao Qin's hand. He looked up and saw Zheng Haizhu walking out of the shop, and immediately showed an expression of "I'm here to support you."
"Mrs. Zheng, if you just say a word, Old Wei, I'll take care of that guy in the official department who doesn't even have hair on his lips."
Zheng Haizhu smiled lightly: "At this moment, Eunuch Wei is standing in front of me. I thought I was dreaming that I had become the queen mother of some dynasty, and someone would greet me as soon as I opened my eyes."
Wei Zhongxian felt happy.
After his friendship with Zheng Haizhu deepened, Wei Zhongxian discovered that this woman always looked serious no matter whether she was dealing with god-like generals like Ma Xianglin or those civil servants with their nostrils turned upward. Alas, for him, Old Wei, he would often come up with a few jokes that didn't take any care of proportion.
What does this mean? It means that she is really close to our old Wei.
Wei Zhongxian then carelessly swung his buttocks on the armchair in the main hall of the shop, and said to Zheng Haizhu, who was ordering the waiter to serve tea: "I heard that Madam has been wronged, can I not be anxious? I have long seen that those sour and rotten scholars in Donglin , their minds are as big as the tip of a needle, and they will punish anyone they see becoming Long Live Lord's favorite. Fortunately, Mr. Wang An respects them as if they are Bodhisattvas."
Zheng Haizhu sat down opposite Wei Zhongxian, and his smile disappeared: "Old Wei, I'm sorry for your concern. In fact, it's not a big deal to be scolded by a few stupid people who don't understand anything. After you deal with Ding Yun, I I have said that you should not become addicted to teasing people. Besides, Ding Yun used an underhanded trick on me at the beginning, and Dong Lin is still a gentleman who fights with open fire after all."
"Is this a gentleman? Oh my God," Wei Zhongxian muttered with hot tea in his mouth, "Okay, Madam has said that if you don't have the same knowledge as them, Old Wei won't be more and more embarrassed."
"It's Yue Zu who takes over."
"Oh, yes, I'll do it for you." Wei Zhongxian sneered and said with a flattering tone, "Madam always said that I haven't read a book, and I couldn't show it on my face, so I found two small signs from the study room and took them with me, teaching them I know how to read and learn how to speak like a scholar. It’s still early for me to become a teacher, so I’ve been making mistakes all the time, which makes Madam laugh.”
Zheng Haizhu waved his hand: "As long as you are willing to learn. When you go to Luoyang, you will also have to change your speech. The staff in the palace are as good as the civil servants in the court. When will you leave?"
"tomorrow."
"In addition to bringing back the money, you also have to start the long-term plan we have made for Long Live Master."
"That's necessary. Madam, don't worry. Old Wei will definitely remember all Prince Fu's property and Menqing. I will also take those two children who can write and do math to Luoyang."
"Okay," Zheng Haizhu responded easily, and said in a leisurely tone, "On May day, Luoyang has beautiful peonies. Please bring your wife with you to relax together, and also teach her how to be a ceremonial official." A prisoner with a handprint and pen, how can you have such authority as you to collect accounts for Long Live Lord?"
Wei Zhongxian thought to himself, Mrs. Zheng is really generous to Yinyue.
There was some helplessness on his face: "Madam, I wanted to take her there, but she didn't want to, so she said she would be more comfortable in the capital."
Zheng Haizhu thought to herself, then let her go behind Wei Zhongxian's back and steal a man for a while, and let Li Daniu and the others collect more evidence to show to your Eunuch Wei.
"By the way, madam," Wei Zhongxian put down the tea cup and said happily, "Yesterday, Long live the Lord gave me a new name. Old Wei, I will no longer call you Wei Jinzhong. From now on, I will call you Wei Zhongxian."
Zheng Haizhu smiled knowingly: "This is a great name. Under the word "Xian" is the word "贝". Long Live the Lord believes in you and is counting on you to get more money for Taicang and the inner treasury."
