Ancient promotion routine

"Recorder, the chief of the imperial guards next to the emperor has come, saying that he wants you and Zhou Changshi to take the order." Ruifu hurriedly reported.

Zhang Yanjin raised her brows, a good show is about to start?Previously, considering the confidentiality of the horseshoes, Blacksmith Lu made a large number of molds for Zhang Yanjin just before Zhang Yanjin came to the supply camp. Therefore, these soldiers only need to pour the smelted pig iron into the molds and beat them continuously.

Rui Fu, who followed Zhang Yanjin to the supply camp, and Lu Blacksmith's two apprentices never mentioned the function of the horseshoe. Those soldiers, encouraged by Zhang Yanjin's salary, were also devoted to Zhang Yanjin, and only buried their heads every day. Toil and think of nothing else.

Therefore, Zhou Qiye asked many ways, but he couldn't find out what Zhang Yanjin wanted to do with the horseshoe.

In addition, the idea that the horseshoe was nailed to the horseshoe and hurt the horseshoe was preconceived, so Zhou Qiye embellished what Zhang Yanjin did in the supply camp and gave it to his father. On the case.

This was the scene where the emperor sent Li Mingrui, the leader of the imperial army, to the supply camp to let Zhou Qiye and Zhang Yanjin enter the palace.

"The emperor's oral order: Shi Zhou Qiye, the supervisor of the military supplies, and Zhang Yanjin, the military supply officer, brought horseshoes into the palace to have an audience." The leader of the forbidden army beside the emperor stood with his head held high. He was wearing a black armor shining in the sun, and his thick black eyebrows were calm. His eyes looked at Zhang Yanjin and Zhou Qiye with dignity.

The last time Zhang Yanjin entered the palace, he noticed that Li Mingrui, the leader of the forbidden army in black armor, had been silently following the emperor. He had a high nose bridge, a hump in the middle, thin lips with sharp edges, and a Chinese character face with little expression on his face. It has a sense of majesty.

Zhang Yanjin thought for a while, and suddenly, the figure of the door god that every household in the countryside likes to post during the Chinese New Year popped into his mind.

Isn't Wumen God Yuchi Jingde?It is really similar to Li Mingrui, the leader of the imperial guards next to the emperor in front of him.

"Shi Zhou Qiye, the chief of the supply corps, took the order!" Zhou Qiye said loudly.

Zhang Yanjin also cupped his hands and said, "Military Quartermaster Zhang Yanjin leads the order!"

"Zhang Lushi, please." Zhou Qiye turned his body sideways, smiled and made a gesture for Zhang Yanjin to take the lead.

Zhang Yanjin was disdainful in her heart, and just pretended not to know Zhou Qiye's polite way of making concessions, assuming that Zhou Qiye was letting him go sincerely, and strode forward.

The corner of Li Mingrui's mouth twitched slightly, and he also turned and walked forward, pretending not to see the little friction between Zhang Yanjin and Zhou Qiye.

Zhou Qiye stared at Zhang Yanjin's back, secretly gritted his teeth and did not speak.He didn't expect Zhang Yanjin to be so ignorant of official etiquette, but after thinking about it, Zhang Yanjin, a rascal, was just like this. It was his carelessness that made Zhang Yanjin hurt face in public.

The two followed Li Mingrui into the palace all the way. The palace walls of the Great Wei were dark gray, and in the bleak autumn wind, they appeared even more majestic and heavy.

After passing the city wall, you will see layers of vermilion palace walls. The original design of the Forbidden Palace in the Wei Dynasty was based on the positive axis of east, west, north, south, symbolizing the square and circle of the earth.

The palace where the officials go to court happens to be located on the central axis of the north, which means the same.

Li Mingrui took Zhang Yanjin and Zhou Qiye along this path, but it was impossible for the emperor to meet Zhang Yanjin and Zhou Qiye in the hall of pilgrimage.

Zhang Yanjin and Zhou Qiye followed Li Mingrui to the side hall, and saw the emperor sitting on a soft chair in the center, with Zhao Guogong Zhu Chigong kneeling on the left side, and Rui Guogong Zhou Qin kneeling on the right side, next to Zhao Guogong On the other hand, sitting on his knees was Chen Derang, Chen Su's father, Minister of the Household Department.

Zhang Yanjin's scalp felt numb when he saw the cushion on which he was kneeling, what would he do if the emperor asked him to kneel on that cushion after a while?

Zhou Qiye walked into the hall calmly and saluted the emperor, as if he had already made up his mind.

The emperor was leaning on the soft chair, his waist was still straight in his forties, he was wearing a dark brown casual dress with bright yellow edges, embroidered with five-clawed golden dragons and auspicious clouds that could only be embroidered by an emperor.

After Li Mingrui bowed his hands and saluted, he silently stood beside the emperor, without moving or showing any expression, like a shadow in the darkness.

After Zhang Yanjin bowed down with Zhou Qiye, she waited for the emperor to speak.

But the facts proved that he really thought too much, the emperor had no intention of bestowing a seat on him at all.

After the two of them knelt down, the eunuchs outside also brought in the inspected horseshoes, took one and handed it to the emperor.

The emperor looked at the crescent-shaped horseshoe in his hand, and said respectfully to Chen Derang, Duke of Rui Zhou Qin, and Duke of Zhao: "You all have a look, too."

Hearing this, the eunuch took three horseshoes and handed them to Chen Derang, Zhou Qin, and Zhu Chigong.

"What do you think of this horseshoe?" After a while, the emperor asked.

Zhou Qin glanced at Zhao Guogong, Zhu Chigong and Chen Derang, but because this matter was related to Zhou Qiye, he didn't speak.

Chu Chigong and Chen Derang were biased because their children were in the same pair of pants as Zhang Yanjin, but they were also veterans in the officialdom, so Chen Derang answered very cautiously: "I have never heard of such things as horseshoes."

Zhao Guogong Zhou Qin looked at it over and over for a while, and it was obviously too low-level to scold directly in front of the saint, so instead, Zhou Qin said sincerely: "Reporting to the emperor, I think the stirrups and saddles made by Zhang Yanjin last time are very useful. , why not let him talk about it, if it is easy to use, wouldn't it be a blessing for me?"

The emperor is very clear about the virtues of several courtiers, these old guys!In front of him, he was still doing this, and he was not a little more cheerful. At the moment, he was not going to ask the calm bastard Zhang Yanjin, but instead looked at Zhou Qiye and said, "Zhou Qiye, you are Shi, the commander of the baggage supervisor, what do you say?" look."

Zhou Qiye's heart tightened, and he cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the emperor, Zhang Yanjin ordered people to seize the iron-making workshop, refine the horseshoe, and nail the horseshoe into the horse's hoof cruelly. This is what I saw with my own eyes in the supply camp. The key to the army, but he ignored the obstruction of his ministers and ordered his servants to gather a crowd to make trouble, disrupting the peace of the army and affecting the preparation process of the supplies, the ministers had no choice but to report to the emperor."

Listening to Zhou Qiye's rambling words, Zhang Yanjin felt uncomfortable all over.Don't you just want to sue him?He also pretended that he was being forced.

"Zhang Yanjin, is it as Zhou Qiye said?" The emperor's eyes were burning.If there is a difference between the truth and the truth, this bastard is really a bastard, he wants Zhang Yanjin to go to the supply camp to exercise, why does this guy use a chicken feather as an arrow?

Zhang Yanjin blinked, looked at the emperor honestly and said, "Report to Your Majesty, it is indeed so."

Seeing that the emperor was about to get angry, Zhang Yanjin quickly added: "But your lord, I also did this to reduce the injuries of the horses in the Western Expedition, but some people have some brain problems that limit their cognition. I explained that he still didn't understand. All the war horses of Zheng have horseshoes, which is why they took over the iron workshop."

Zhou Qiye's face turned green because of such sarcasm. Zhang Yanjin dared to insult him in front of the emperor? There is something wrong with his brain? !

As soon as these words came out, even Duke Rui was not happy in his heart, his face was calm, but his eyes turned cold.His eldest son, Zhou Qiye, was widely recognized as being extremely capable, erudite, and a leader among the children of the capital. How dare this scoundrel, Zhang Yanjin, dare to say that he was proud and out of his mind? !

Chen Derang and Li Mingrui, veteran officials who had been immersed in officialdom for a long time, did not hold back, and the corners of their eyes twitched slightly.

Only Zhao Guogong Zhu Chigong gave Zhang Yanjin a reproachful look. The last time he saw Zhang Yanjin, he felt that Zhang Yanjin was slowly becoming sensible. He never thought that he was still a master who would only cause trouble for Zhang Zhongqian!After going down, he must instruct Zhang Zhongqian to take good care of Zhang Yanjin!

"Zhang Yanjin, you seized the war horses and hurt them wantonly. I'm just reporting the truth to the emperor!" A scholar can bear it or can't bear it. No matter how calm Zhou Qiye is, he can't bear to be insulted by Zhang Yanjin in front of the emperor.

"Your Majesty, practice is the only criterion for testing true knowledge. Your Majesty is wise and powerful. Let me show you the effect of using a horseshoe on a horseshoe. Your Majesty will definitely understand the effect of a horseshoe!" Zhang Yanjin didn't even look at Zhou Qiye, but still looked at him with innocent eyes. With the emperor.

The emperor frowned slightly, thinking of the stirrups and saddle back then, he couldn't tell the difference between joy and anger: "A good sentence is practice is the only criterion for testing the truth! If that's the case, I'm going to see where your horseshoe is!"

Chen Derang, Zhou Qin, and Zhu Chigong present here were also shocked. Practice is the only criterion for testing the truth. How come they haven't heard this sentence with such profound meaning?Is this really coming from Zhang Yanjin, who is bohemian and only knows how to eat, drink and have fun every day?

This time, the place I went to was still the royal horse farm. Although there were no horses in the horse farm, the eunuchs still diligently took care of the emperor's horse, washing, changing fodder, etc. in an orderly manner.

When Zhang Yanjin, the emperor, Zhou Qiye, Zhou Qin, Zhu Chigong and others came to the racecourse, the eunuchs were sprinkling water on the ground to prevent the dust from flying up.

Seeing the emperor coming, the eunuchs stopped what they were doing and saluted.

After the emperor asked the eunuchs to get up, he raised his chin slightly towards Zhang Yanjin, motioned to Zhang Yanjin and said, "Let me see how your horseshoe protects the horse from being injured."

Zhang Yanjin quickly arranged for the eunuchs to set up wooden fences, and taught the craftsmen in the palace to shoe the horses according to his method.

Then he called the eunuch and said, "Arrange people to find sharp sand and stones to scatter on the ground. The sharper the sand and stones, the better."

They are too confused to listen, but they have been walking in the palace all year round, and they have already developed the habit of doing what their master tells them to do, especially since the emperor is still here, so they quickly arranged for people to find sharp sand and stones. .

Zhou Qiye, who was standing next to Zhou Qin, narrowed his eyes slightly. He wanted to see what kind of crap Zhang Yanjin, a rascal, could do!

Seeing that Zhang Yanjin actually led the emperor's imperial horse to the temporary wooden fence, Zhou Qin immediately stopped him and said, "Bold Zhang Yanjin, that horse is the emperor's favorite imperial horse, how dare you hurt the emperor's imperial horse? !"

The emperor looked at Zhang Yanjin's calm expression and his posture that couldn't stand upright, and he couldn't laugh or cry. Zhang Zhongqian's generation of Confucian generals were all rational and restrained in doing things, and had a measure of advance and retreat. How could there be such a rascal nephew?

"Forget it, let him try." The emperor raised his hand to stop Zhou Qin.

The craftsmen in the palace were as cautious as Blacksmith Lu, and even more cautious than Blacksmith Lu.

They held the horse's hooves carefully, as if they were holding a thousand gold treasures.

The craftsman looked at Zhang Yanjin regretfully, why did he want to show off in front of the emperor?He should have asked someone else to come just now!

The craftsman weighed it over and over again, but he still didn't dare to hit the hammer. This is the emperor's royal horse. If something goes wrong, his head may not be safe!

"Today you have to nail if you don't nail it, and you have to nail it. If you shrink your head, it's a knife, and if you stretch your head, it's a knife." Zhang Yanjin looked at the craftsman's hand holding the hammer and raised it a few times, then whispered in the craftsman's ear: "You A dignified royal craftsman, wouldn't he want to have the reputation of not being able to nail even a nail?"

The craftsman looked at the playful look on Zhang Yanjin's face, full of embarrassment after being teased.

People in this era pay attention to reputation. After being provoked, the craftsman gritted his teeth and drove the eight nails in with a hammer as Zhang Yanjin said.

After putting down the horseshoe and hammer, a layer of cold sweat oozed from the craftsman's forehead.

The horses used by the emperor are selected from thousands of thousands of people. Not only are their foot strength far superior to ordinary horses, but they are also quite docile. What's more rare is that they are quite humane. This is why Zhang Yanjin dared to choose the emperor's favorite horse. I don't want to hurt myself just because I'm doing an experiment for the emperor!

"Is the horse okay?" The craftsman squatted on the ground and didn't get up for a long time. He saw that the emperor's royal horse fell on the ground, and he didn't have any special reaction. He couldn't get used to it for a while.

Not to mention craftsmen, even Chen Derang and Zhu Chigong who stood behind the emperor in the stands were sweating for Zhang Yanjin. This guy is really daring, he dared to use the emperor's favorite royal horse as an experiment!

Zhou Qiye, Zhou Qin and his son were old gods standing there, waiting for Zhang Yanjin to make a fool of himself.

The emperor sat on the soft chair with an indistinguishable expression, as if he was looking at Zhang Yanjin or thinking about something.

After repeatedly confirming that there was really nothing wrong with the emperor's royal horse, the craftsman became bolder. Thinking of Zhang Yanjin's words, today he had no choice but to nail the arrow, so he took the hammer three times, five divided two, and gave the other three horseshoes to the horseshoe. The emperor's royal horse was nailed up.

Zhang Yanjin asked people to open the wooden fence, untied the hemp rope and let the horse out.

The eunuchs also laid the sharp sand and gravel while the craftsmen were nailing the horseshoes.

Zhang Yanjin looked at the direction, then turned to the other side of the horse, took the rein, and tried to take two steps with the imperial horse, letting the imperial horse get used to the feeling of increased weight on the feet.

The imperial horse neighed quickly, as if telling Zhang Yanjin that it was ready.

Zhang Yanjin pulled the imperial horse to the place paved with sharp gravel, and he walked on the flat ground beside him, letting the imperial horse walk on the gravel.

At first, Yu Ma still hesitated, but under the guidance of Zhang Yanjin's rein and gestures, Yu Ma finally walked out.

After walking a few steps, the imperial horse speeded up, as if walking on flat ground.

The people present looked at this scene, and the big stone in their hearts finally fell to the ground. It was not because they were worried about Zhang Yanjin, but because they were born with a fear of the current emperor. They were worried that the emperor would be injured and fly into a rage, which would affect them.

After this false alarm passed, everyone was amazed at the power of the horseshoe.

"Reporting to the emperor, this is the power of the horseshoe, which can make the horse walk on the ground when climbing over the thorns!" Zhang Yanjin handed the imperial horse to the eunuch at the side, and he ran to the emperor and said.

"You boy, let my royal horse walk on the gravel, and you walk on the flat ground!" The emperor also understood at this time, and he was very satisfied, so he stood up and cursed with a smile.

Zhang Yanjin smiled a little rascally: "It hurts when I walk on it, the emperor's royal horse has put on a horseshoe, so naturally it is not afraid of sand and stones, it is invincible!"

Zhou Qiye and Zhou Qin both looked at the safe and sound imperial horse, and couldn't think of the mystery behind it.

"Why doesn't this horse feel pain when it's nailed?" Chen Derang asked after thinking for a moment.

Zhang Yanjin put away the playful smile on his face, looked at the emperor very sincerely and said: "I received the emperor's gift to go to train in the supply camp, and the uncle of the minister who was leaving earnestly asked me not to live up to the emperor's expectations, and to do my best for the court. Therefore, he thought hard in the baggage camp and made this horseshoe."

The last time he made stirrups and saddles was to win a polo match, which makes sense.

He also had to give a suitable reason for the horseshoe this time, and the reason had to be in line with his dandyism, and it couldn't be done because of his cleverness, otherwise he would be targeted by the emperor, how could he be a rich idler? ?

Before the emperor asked, Zhang Yanjin continued: "I used to play in the wild, and I was lucky enough to see wild horses. I found that the white layer on their hooves was coiled on their hooves. Later, I went back and asked the servants at home. , I realized that horses need to have their hooves trimmed every three days, otherwise they will be easily injured, just like our nails. Since the horses will not hurt when trimming, the horseshoes will not hurt either. After I joined the army, I found that every year A large number of horses were scrapped because their hooves were injured, so I went back and asked my uncle to make this horseshoe.”

The emperor, Chen Derang, Zhao Guogong, Zhu Chigong and the others all sighed in their hearts when they heard Zhang Yanjin's reasonable reason.

Zhou Qiye was taken aback, since he saw that the horseshoe did no harm to the horse, he knew that he had lost, and he blamed him for being too proud, he didn't think a dude had any abilities, but thought it was whimsical.

In fact, nailing horseshoes to a horse is really unbelievable. A normal person wouldn’t think that it’s enough to nail a shoe to a person’s feet, right?This will not only have no protective effect, but will hurt the person to death, and the person will be destroyed in the future.

Zhou Qin sighed inwardly when he saw his eldest son's reflective expression, but Dan quickly reacted and cupped his hands towards Emperor Sheng Yuan.

"Horseshoes can make horses cross thorns. Your Majesty, God must be grateful for His kindness. That's why he bestowed the stirrups, saddles, horseshoes and other things on me to the Great Wei Dynasty, so that His Majesty can show his great achievements!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yanjin felt great admiration in his heart. Zhou Qin, an old fox, looked at him and put his precious son together. It was a lie in his heart that he was not resentful, but he was able to adjust in such a short time. I really can't even admire it.

When Emperor Sheng Yuan heard this, he couldn't help looking at the map ahead.

Going west from central Beijing is Ganzhou. After passing Yumen Pass, you will find the Hexi Corridor sandwiched between Qilian, Heli and Longshou Mountains. The Hexi Corridor is long, narrow and straight, shaped like a corridor. Therefore, it is called the Hexi Corridor.

This place is an accumulation plain, surrounded by mountains. Not only is the land rich, but because of the mountains, this place has become a battleground for military strategists. Because there is no other way to go west from the Central Plains, the only way is the Hexi Corridor.

The emperor looked to the northwest direction with long-distance eyes.It seems to be looking at the narrow and long corridor hidden between the deep mountains and valleys, or imagining the scene when the Great Wei cavalry crossed the Hexi Corridor and confronted the Turkic tribe gathered in the western grassland.

Is it his great Wei's iron cavalry, or the Turkic tribe that roams the vast grassland all year round?

Going west to the Central Plains, pacifying Hexi, and expanding our territory, there is no ambitious emperor who has never thought about it.

Chu Chigong and Chen Derang looked at each other. They had been officials for many years, so they didn't know the emperor's ambition.

Chu Chigong immediately stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, our army's war horses have stirrups and saddles, which can make the soldiers sit on the horses and fight without worry. At this time, we have horseshoes, which can make our army's war horses cross thorns. Such advantages , It is far better than that of the Xuanxuan tribe by thousands of times, and the treasury has been abundant these years, and the food and grass for the frontline soldiers have been dispatched, and this battle will definitely win a big victory!"

Zhang Yanjin carefully observed his uncle with big arms and round waist, and found that his uncle was far from being as crazy as it was written in the history books, on the contrary, he was thick and thin.It can be seen from the fact that he has been silently calculating the gap between the two armies just now.

"God bless my great Wei!" The emperor looked at the sun that was gradually rising to the mid-heaven and exclaimed, feeling that he was the rising sun.

Regardless of the soreness in his eyes, he stared at the northwest direction for a long time, walked up to several people, and said to Zhao Guogong: "Even so, Chi Gong and De Rang, the two of you, together with the minister of the Ministry of Industry, will calculate and equip all our army's war horses with horseshoes." The cost and time, after the measurement is completed, submit it to me as soon as possible!"

Chen Derang and Zhu Chigong immediately accepted the order.

Zhou Qiye made a big gift, and said proactively: "The subject is short-sighted, almost ruined the military aircraft, and please the emperor to punish him severely!"

Zhang Yanjin saw it in his heart, and couldn't help but give him a thumbs up. If he took the initiative to admit his mistake, the emperor would not punish him severely for Duke Rui's sake.

Zhou Qin's face was calm, and he didn't seem to care at all.

Emperor Sheng Yuan didn't understand, but he was very generous to his loyal ministers and nephews. These loyal ministers and nephews were willing to rebel against him and proclaim themselves emperor after he encountered a crisis.

"Zhang Yanjin, tell me, what should I do?" Emperor Sheng Yuan looked at Zhang Yanjin with a smile.

Zhang Yanjin complained in her heart, this is definitely a trap.

Others will definitely expose this, show your generosity, hello, hello, hello everyone, this matter is over.

Zhang Yanjin didn't answer immediately, which caused Chu Chigong to keep winking at Zhang Yanjin. Zhang Yanjin showed a reluctant expression on his face, which made Emperor Sheng Yuan and Chu Chigong want to whip him.

What he said afterwards made Emperor Sheng Yuan kick him out.

"Your Majesty, since Zhou Qiye himself said that he was short-sighted, then he really is short-sighted, so is it inappropriate for him to control a person with great foresight like me? I don't want to punish him or anything. Short-sighted, other errands are still good, but should the emperor make up for the grievances suffered by the minister?"

I have seen shameless ones before, but I have never seen such shameless ones. Emperor Sheng Yuan couldn't restrain himself and kicked him.

Zhang Yanjin still knows how to measure, he can be cute and stupid, or he can be shameless, but he still has to suffer.At the moment, he took the kick abruptly, but it wasn't serious, just like an elder wanting to teach a lesson to a junior for his helplessness.

After Zhou Qin and Zhou Qiye heard it, this kid was really full of bad water. Look at what he said, he said it three times with short-sightedness!Is it really okay to be so emphatic?