Chiwuxing

Chapter [-] - Feng Ru angrily reprimands the eunuch party for poisoning, and Cheng Xin sighs when the Yan army goes to war

The bloated official got out of the sedan chair, and the roof of the sedan chair lost strength all of a sudden, swinging back and forth from left to right.The boy next to him hurried forward to meet him, holding an umbrella to shield him from the wind.

The official strode into Shangshu Province, and the attendant at the door saluted him: "I have seen Mr. Shao."

Shao Qian nodded, and walked in the door. The flowers, which were usually so beautiful, were not so beautiful at this moment. He hurried through the corridor and rushed to his room.

When he approached, he saw a person waiting at the door. He was short and thin. It was Feng Ru who had been seeing him frequently these past few days. He felt a burst of contempt in his heart, but he still smiled and said, "Bo Yong, why are you here today? Come on, let's go into the room." explain."

Feng Ru followed Shao Qian into the room. Shao Qian went to the inner room to take off the slightly damp outer shirt, changed clothes and came out. Seeing Feng Ru still standing in the hall, he did not sit down.

He laughed and said, "Bo Yong is here today, but what is the official business?"

Feng Ru forced a smile, and said, "Sir Shao, I still came because of the transfer of officials from Shangshu Province a few days ago, and the officials still have objections."

Shao Qian's expression turned serious, and he said, "This has been approved by the emperor himself, and the Ministry of Officials has already registered it, and it is difficult to change it now even if he wants to. Boyong, these people are not incompetent, and some of them have held positions before. I also have some administrative experience, so don't be too stubborn."

Feng Ru asked rhetorically, "Doesn't your lord not know that on this list, more than half of the eunuch officials have been reactivated? It may be difficult for your majesty to break through, but can't you see it?"

Seeing his impoliteness, Shao Qian also bluntly told him: "Bo Yong, you have been working hard in the officialdom for a long time, but there are some things you don't understand. You studied under the old Yushi, and entered the academy when you were young. Naturally, you have never experienced some people. How hard it is to climb up from below. When the water is clear, there will be no fish. Even if your intention is good, you still have to learn to be flexible.”

Feng Ru was not moved by his words at all, and said sternly: "Some things can be learned to be flexible, but this is a major matter that concerns the entire Yan State community, and there should be no such principled mistakes!"

Shao Qian became impatient when he heard him talk about the ways of governing the country and the world, and said: "What is a principle? Who sets the principles? Boyong, don't be that person who can't get out of the way of sages, Self-cultivation depends on the individual, and the government requires compromise."

Feng Ru came to him many times in the past few days, or excused his excuses, or was impatient with such perfunctory politeness, he said angrily: "Master Shao, you have an affair with the eunuch, so naturally you are more familiar with this officialdom than I am. The way to survive. In this case, if you don’t speculate, the lower officials have nothing to say! I wish you all the best.”

After finishing speaking, he walked away with a flick of his sleeves, leaving Shao Qian sitting there sneering, turning around in disdain.

Feng Ru came out of the Shangshu Province, and a young servant came over to hold an umbrella for him. With a worried expression on his face, he walked quickly to a small sedan chair, and said to the young servant, "Go to the Prime Minister's Mansion."

The sedan chair wobbled through the rain and stopped in front of the rich courtyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

But he said that Ni Congwen was writing in his room at this time, and when someone came to report to Shang Shuxing You Pushe, he had already speculated on the purpose of his visit, and opened the door to greet him, while thinking about how to deal with it in his heart.

"Master Ni." Feng Ru cupped his hands and saluted, but his complexion was not good.

Ni Congwen welcomed him to his seat, and said with a smile, "Bo Yong doesn't need extra courtesy. Since you and I belong to the same sect, we don't need these vain courtesy."

Feng Ru hastily brushed aside his polite words, and said straight to the point: "Your Excellency Ni is very polite. The reason why I am here today is because of the transfer list of Shangshu Province personnel that was finalized a few days ago. Your Excellency must be aware of the details."

Ni Congwen's face darkened, he already knew why he came, and said: "This matter involves a lot, His Majesty has already finalized it, and I am not the only one who can change it."

Feng Ru continued: "Master Ni, a few years ago that Jiang Hua was more rampant than he is now. It was because of his mentor's strong admonitions and his vigorous purges of officials in the court that he suppressed the eunuchs for a while. Today, the power of eunuchs is different from the past. Are we going to indulge the resurgence of eunuchs just because Mr. Xie passed away?"

Ni Congwen replied: "Bo Yong, today is different. Since the death of Mr. Xie, the eunuchs in the court seem to be suppressed, but in fact they are going against each other, and they gradually combine into a group of forces in private. Let me ask you, the previous teacher succeeded in suppressing the eunuchs. Apart from the teacher himself bluntly admonishing, is there any other reason?"

Feng Ru replied: "Naturally, it was His Majesty's instruction to shake the court."

"Wrong," Ni Congwen shook his head, "The reason why Jiang Jia and his wife were able to hold power is because of His Majesty's acquiescence. Both of them are ministers who have served His Majesty since he was in the palace. The intimacy is not what you imagined."

Feng Ru frowned: "That's Master Xie and the stern ministers around him admonishing to the death together. The courtiers of the Ming and Qing Dynasties don't want to see eunuchs dominate."

"Wrong," Ni Congwen shook his head again, and said with a smile, "When it comes to forming a party for selfish interests, how can the teacher be an opponent of an eunuch? What's more, individual courtiers in the court are not so much honest, as they seek neutrality for self-protection, and secretly accept them." With the favor of many eunuchs, which official society can't get along with money and official rank?"

Feng Ru thought for a while, and replied: "Perhaps the eunuch party is powerful, which caused the officials' private dissatisfaction, and finally joined forces to play, which is also reasonable."

Ni Congwen looked at the pure-hearted colleague in front of him, and sighed: "It's wrong again. The neutral courtiers mentioned just now are part of it. In fact, the minions of the eunuch party have been involved so deeply that even the teacher was framed for taking bribes from eunuchs. In the end, everyone It is true that the ministers joined forces to present the report, but it was just the icing on the cake after the charges were revealed, and before that, it was still the teacher and a few cronies who devoted themselves to collecting evidence."

Feng Ru said impatiently: "If you do something that endangers the country, you have to pay the price! What's the reason? The crimes of the group of eunuchs were clearly listed at that time, and the name of disaster was justified, so how can they deny it? The eyes of the people of Yan Kingdom are all If you can see clearly, you must give the common people an explanation!"

Ni Congwen nodded: "This is a bit of an edge, but Boyong, there is another key point that you haven't seen. Everyone in the eunuch party is very tight-lipped, and they are very tight-lipped in their work. They hardly leave any evidence. Many crimes even Everyone knows it well, but it is difficult to find real evidence."

Ni Congwen glanced at him, and said: "The fate of Yuan Shan's offense is still in front of us. At most, he just pulled out the minions of Jiang Hua's He and Zhuang. On Zhuang Deqing's head, the dead can't answer anyway, and the final result is that Jiang Hua's place was completely exonerated because of this incident."

"But if you look at Jiang Hua before this downfall? No matter how hard-working the teacher was during his lifetime, he may not be able to collect the evidence before Jiang Hua made a move. Then why did so much evidence suddenly appear in the end and forced His Majesty to change his mouth?" ?”

Feng Ru remained silent, Ni Congwen looked into his eyes and said, "The more important reason is the faction split among the eunuchs."

"Look at this, Jiang and Jia, one civil and one military, have different positions. Jiang Hua is the master of the text, and most of the eunuchs among the courtiers are led by him. Jia Yun is the master of martial arts. Although the military power of Yan is in the hands of King Yu, Jia Yun and King Yu have been in the army together for many years, secretly controlling the country's military and political affairs. Putting them together, they are already controlling the important arteries of the court. The attitude of conforming to the eunuchs, the teacher saw this before he was alive, so he took advantage of their mutual distrust to tear the gap that broke the situation."

Feng Ru said: "This is... the method of fighting between snipe and clam?"

Ni Congwen nodded: "You also saw the situation at that time, but the strategy behind the teacher was not exposed. So now that the eunuch party as a whole has suffered setbacks, it is natural to unite again, and with Jiang Hua playing around in it, there is gradually There is a rising trend. Your Majesty has always indulged them, and there are a group of people who see the wind and the wind in the court, so this matter really cannot be rushed."

Feng Ru said indignantly, "Aren't we just waiting for them to cause a catastrophe?"

"Wait for the right time, the teacher's thinking can be used for reference." Ni Congwen stroked his beard and said meaningfully, "They won't be rampant for too long... The crown prince has always had a bad impression of eunuchs."

Feng Ru listened to what Ni Congwen said, so he could only nod his head, and sighed: "If all the officials in the court are so upright and considerate, they don't need to bother about such things."

Ni Congwen's eyes darkened, and he nodded.

On the other side of the prime minister's mansion, outside the west chamber, there are two people who are at odds.

Ni Chengxin stood in front of the corridor, took the picture scroll handed over by the young man in front of him, and sighed softly: "Cousin, I'm already old enough, sometimes you come to see me and give me something. It's out of courtesy."

Zong Zhengyi stared at the skin on her side face. On the red dress, he felt more vivid than the woman's face in the portrait of a lady. He was dazed for a while, and then he heard her rejection, his heart was bleak, and he said : "I came here to discuss matters with my uncle. I happened to see my cousin going out at the Huachao Festival that day, so I made this painting. It's time to present a gift at the festival. My cousin doesn't have to worry about it."

The rain gurgled outside the corridor, and the crabapple flowers in the courtyard were scattered, crumbling in the rain.

Ni Chengxin looked at the heavy rain outside, with melancholy bitterness in her eyes, she said: "The frontier is bitterly cold, and there is heavy rain. I'm afraid this battle is not easy to fight. How difficult it must be for him."

Zong Zhengyi looked at her side face, knew that she still missed her brother, so he turned his head and said: "God bless me, Dayan, I will come back safely."

Ni Chengxin said to himself: "I never believe in God. He has suffered so much since he was a child. If God is really merciful, he will give him a little extravagant happiness. It seems that sometimes God is just blind."

Zongzheng said: "Brother, if he knows that you care about him like this, he will be very touched."

Ni Chengxin was stunned for a rare moment, but didn't speak.

Zong Zhengyi continued: "Cousin don't have to worry, the emperor has mobilized [-] Chijia Yiwei to help in this battle, and our country of Yan will definitely win again."

Ni Chengxin nodded, and said without scruples: "I hope so. I don't have any big pursuits, I just hope that he can come back safely."

Zong Zhengyi also turned his head, and the two of them heard the sound of thunder in the sky, and the rain fell at an accelerated rate.

The two of them watched the rain on the porch for a long time, and now the wind was getting tighter, Ni Chengxin knew that he could not teach the prince to return at this time, so he made up his mind and said, "It's raining outside and the wind is cool, why don't cousin go into the main room to take shelter from the rain and rest for a while? "

She thought that according to the prince's personality, she must obey and let her say.But at this moment, he saw him staring at her, and said in a daze: "Cousin, I have something to ask you."

Seeing that his expression was different, Ni Chengxin frowned slightly, and said, "What's the matter? Can't you talk in the room?"

Zong Zhengyi pursed his lips and said, "Let's rest at midnight on the Huachao Festival. I saw you enter the Hongxiang Pavilion. What do you mean?"

The Hongxiang Pavilion is the crown of the Qin Pavilion in the Chu Pavilion in the imperial capital. There are beautiful ladies in the art of beauty and barbarian Hu Ji. It is a place where talented scholars and nobles in Beijing often visit.

But no matter what, it shouldn't be a place where a lady like Ni Chengxin should go alone.

Ni Chengxin immediately turned cold and said, "Are you following me in private?"

"...I just went out to play in the palace in low clothes. I happened to see you on the street at that time, so I followed you to have a look, so as not to cause chaos in Beijing." Zongzheng said.

"Your Highness, let me come into the room and tell you." Ni Chengxin looked at him for a while, then immediately turned and entered the room without further words.

Zong Zhengyi followed behind her, found a wooden chair in the house and sat down, looking at the person opposite.

"I went to Hongxiang Pavilion because I have a friend who is in the pavilion."

"Who?"

"The exact name and surname are private, so I have no comment," Ni Chengxin said, "I stayed at home for a whole year last year, and I had nothing to worry about in the room, so I asked my father to invite a violinist to teach me the art of the violin. I met someone in the pavilion. If your highness doesn't believe me, you can ask my father."

"It's not that I don't believe it," Zongzheng said hastily, "it's just that there are mixed fish and dragons in such places, and I'm afraid that you, a woman, will be bullied there."

"I have also learned some self-defense skills since I was a child. I won't let others take advantage of me for nothing. Your Highness is too worried," Ni Chengxin said, "And when I went that day, I was already taking a break for singing and dancing in the main hall of the pavilion, so I It's a private room that went straight in."

"It's not the first time I've been there, and I know it."

Zong Zhengyi felt sad in his heart, and said: "I never thought that cousin, you would make such a big change because of one person..."

Ni Chengxin has been playing with swords and guns since he was a child, has he ever seen him settle down and learn to be a serious female rhythm worker?When and when did this transformation begin?

"It depends on who it is for." After finishing speaking, Ni Chengxin felt impatient, and said instead, "I just learned a little piano, and I don't know how to do anything else. It's a compromise with my father. .”

"...Okay, okay." When Zongzheng Yi lost his temper with her, it was just his wishful thinking. "If my cousin acts out of propriety, I will be speechless."

It's not that Ni Chengxin didn't see his expression, but he opened his mouth a few times, but still couldn't say anything, so he simply called the maid over to serve refreshments, and deliberately found some warmth in the room.

The two of them muffled their thoughts and waited sparsely until the rain stopped.