Although he had already met the emperor twice in succession in the Guozijian and Xinglong Tea Society, when the official summoning decree was transmitted to the vicinity of the Guozijian and the mansion specially set aside for the four summoned Confucians, as the head of the Zhaoming Academy, Yue Bufan still had to think about how to deal with it from beginning to end, and went to bed early that night, for fear that his spirits would not be good tomorrow.

And early the next morning, he got up to wash, but he also deliberately played a Tai Chi in the courtyard that was said to be left by Emperor Taizu, and was sure that he was refreshed, so he went to breakfast. He was summoned after the morning court, and a carriage and horse would be sent to pick him up, so he was not worried about delays.

As for what made him most proud and gratified, because he arrived early, the other three had not yet arrived in the capital, so he was in a position to take the lead. And now this huge place is only him and two students and two entourages as residents, spacious and elegant, when he dressed up and wore a well-cut azure shirt and walked out of the house, he was immediately greeted by two students who praised one after another.

Although he has long passed the age of caring about appearance, Yue Shanchang knows that people rely on clothes and horses to rely on saddles, and the first impression is particularly important. Even if it wasn't the first time he had seen the emperor, he wouldn't be even less sloppy. However, this kind of relaxed mood despite the importance was only maintained until he boarded the carriage.

Because the carriage was not empty, but there was another strange middle-aged man sitting in it!

Yue Shanchang originally thought that it was a junior official who came to pick him up, or simply a eunuch, but when he saw the other party's posture sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, he didn't feel like it. After sitting down with a little surprise, he saw the guard of the sharp cavalry battalion who had just greeted him outside the carriage and raised his hand to him with a smile.

"Originally, this car was specially designed to take you into the palace, but because the chief of Yuzhang Academy, Hong Shan, had just arrived in the capital, after the emperor learned about it, he ordered to take the chief of Hong Shan and you into the palace to meet you."

At first glance, I heard that the emaciated middle-aged man with a long beard and a cold face on the opposite side turned out to be the one who wrote to ask the emperor to take concubines for the eldest prince and the second prince as soon as possible, and at the same time recommended his daughter to be virtuous and virtuous, and was worthy of the eldest son of the emperor.

Fortunately, he is also a person who has seen strong winds and waves, so he tried his best to maintain his face at this time, but nodded lightly. When the curtain fell, he squinted his eyes and looked at the other party for a moment, then said with a smile: "Hong Shan is famous, I have heard of it for a long time, but I didn't expect to meet in this car so coincidentally today." If you want to talk about the time when you arrived in the capital, this is really just right. ”

Hong Shanchang didn't seem to hear the ridicule in Yue Shanchang's words, his face was also unmoving, and he said unusually coldly: "I came by boat all the way, and I was busy, and I walked and stopped, so naturally I couldn't take Yue Shanchang to take his students around the world and go fast. It's a pity that I couldn't arrive a few days earlier, and I didn't see Jiuzhangtang recruiting new people, nor did I see the emperor personally come to Xinglong Tea House. ”

"The system of the world, some can be changed, some can not be changed, especially the word etiquette, which has always been the pillar of the country. Thinking about it, Yue Shanchang is also a great Confucian who is full of peach and plums, so he won't even understand this, right? ”

Hong Shanchang didn't seem to see Yue Shanchang's stiff face, and said word by word: "The emperor can't leave an opportunity for the rebellious ministers and thieves to take advantage of in the future because of his temporary favoritism!" ”

"The world is peaceful, where are the chaotic ministers and thieves!" Where is Chief Yue willing to let Chief Hong Shan gain the upper hand in words, and he raised his eyebrows and said, "Besides, what system has the emperor changed?" It should be that over the years, some virtuous people in the court have ruined the ancestral system of Emperor Taizu for their own selfishness! ”

Hong Shanchang smiled and said-for-tat: "Emperor Taizu is a generation of heroes, and most of the ancestral systems in the past were eloquent and unchangeable, but there is only one heir...... That's a mistake. The young and the old are orderly, and the grandchildren are different. This is the law of succession that has been handed down from ancient times to the present, and all dynasties have proved it to be correct with the lessons of blood. ”

"Tang Taizong forced his father to kill his brother and punish his brother, then the Empress of Heaven not only killed his son, but also killed the clan, and Tang Xuanzong also forced his father to kill his son, so throughout the two hundred years of the Tang Dynasty, the days of real stability were just a few decades, and the rest of the time was infighting. In the final analysis, it is because Tang Taizong gave his descendants a bad start! This is also the case in our dynasty, if you don't want to continue this situation, you should be strict with the system. ”

Yue Shanchang stared at Hong Shanchang deadly, and it was unbelievable that this person would talk about what kind of heirs and what systems in this carriage full of soldiers of the Rui Cavalry Battalion outside. He took a deep breath, and then finally calmed down.

"The emperor is in the prime of spring and autumn, doesn't Hong Shanchang feel that he is worried about the sky? What's more, as a foreign minister, he rashly mentioned the internal affairs of the heavenly family, and even recommended his daughter, but now he is saying that the elders and children are orderly, and the concubines are different, and you dare to say that you have no selfish intentions? The crime of the eldest prince, the emperor has been made public to the world, are you still thinking about putting Taijia in Tonggong? ”

"It is because the emperor has made it public to the world that he wants the world to know that such an unvirtuous and unfilial son, although he cannot be heir, cannot be abandoned. As for Taijia...... Yue Shanchang also please respect himself, Taijia is the son of heaven who succeeded to the throne after Shang Tang, but the eldest prince is not even a prince, and now he is just the eldest son of a guilty concubine! ”

Although Yue Shanchang said that he had never seen the eldest prince, he was very sure that if the eldest prince was here and heard the three words of this eldest son, he would definitely be so angry that he would slap Hong Shanchang directly in the face, and he would definitely not want such a father-in-law.

Could it be that the person in front of him is really willing to sacrifice a daughter to become the emperor and be a benevolent and virtuous king? Instead of wanting to be a father-in-law to assist the eldest prince in his comeback?

Outside the carriage, among the guards who walked with the car, Hua Qi, who was dressed very inconspicuously, listened to the movement in the car, and couldn't help but puff his teeth slightly, thinking that the most complex and unpredictable minds in the world were indeed these scholars.

What do you say that there is a difference between the elders and the young, the young and the young are orderly, just now even he listened to it and felt that Hong Shanchang hoped that the emperor would establish a successor, but what was the result? What people are saying to Yue Shanchang now is simply frank!

The eldest prince is just the eldest son of a guilty concubine, and he can't be regarded as the eldest son, let alone enter the East Palace. In other words, just like the least popular rumor in the market, this Hongshan chief of Yuzhang Academy just hopes that there will be a virtuous and capable princess to watch the eldest prince and persuade or restrain him not to continue to degenerate.

In this way, the emperor who chose a virtuous concubine for his eldest son did not need to bear the reputation of being harsh to his son. And for the embarrassment of other people who didn't want to marry their daughters to the eldest prince, Hong Shanchang, who made this suggestion, took the initiative to report his daughter as a candidate.

Listen to this, it is simply Guangweizheng, tall and complete, and he almost didn't put the word saint on his face!

If this Hongshan chief knew that after receiving such a note, the emperor's already bad mood was even worse, and he was so angry that he left the palace late at night and went to the Buddhist temple that had been robbed during the rebellion of the king of the year to hang himself, would he still be so justifiable? This frank and unashamed momentum, after meeting the emperor at the end, how many points will be left?

Thinking about it this way, Hua Qi was just ordered by the emperor to come and see the two famous scholars and teachers of Hong Shan Chang and Yue Shan Chang today, and by the way, see what the situation would be like when the two of them faced each other in private, and now that he saw it, he remembered it in his heart, but his face was not revealed.

Escorting the carriage to Donghua Gate, he saw a celebrant who came to greet him greet Hongshan Chang and Yue Shanchang with a smile, he glanced around, and saw Chu Kuan standing alone in the most inconspicuous corner, and as soon as he jumped off the horse, he approached and asked with a smile: "If Gonggong Chu wants to observe these two, he should go to the Qianqing Palace, what's the use of standing here and looking at it from a distance?" ”

Chu Kuan and Hua Qi are also old acquaintances, and after glancing at people, he said lightly: "The teacher invited by the emperor to the princes, of course, the emperor himself took the school examination, why should I be a eunuch with a pestle next to me?" Besides, isn't there a more suitable person to accompany the palm eye in front of the emperor? ”

Hua Qi was suddenly surprised: "A more suitable person to accompany the emperor's palm?" You mean Mrs. Ge? ”

"What kind of person is the old lady, if the four people summoned by the emperor gather in the capital together, then maybe they can still work his old man to come and take a look, and now he is invited here, the emperor is embarrassed." Chu Kuan smiled, and when he saw Hua Qi showing an enlightened expression, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "The emperor has sent someone to listen over and over again, but it turned out that a fake Taoist was mixed in. ”

Hua Qi was stunned for a moment, and then whispered to Chu Kuan what he heard from Hong Shanchang to Yue Shanchang. After Chu Kuan listened, he asked the head of Zhaoming Academy Yue Shan's response, and learned that people initially ridiculed each other, but then he simply sneered, and he bowed his head slightly and said: "Compared with that grandiose fake Taoism, this Yue Bufan is much smarter. ”

Hong Shanchang didn't know that he had become a fake Taoist in Chu Kuan's mouth. At this time, after the eunuch who was walking side by side with Yue Shanchang to lead the way, he was not as sharp in his words as in the carriage, and the silence all the way was golden. And he didn't speak, and Yue Shanchang was even less interested in talking, thinking in his heart as he walked, what did this Hongshan Chang mean.

So, when the two people with different thoughts entered the Qianqing Gate, the guards who were nailed to the ground like nails, the two who were worried didn't even pay attention, and directly followed the celebrant who led the way to the front of the main hall. As someone shouted in front of the door, they only stood silent for a moment before they heard the voice of the announcement coming from inside.

But just as Yue Shanchang took a step and was about to go inside, he saw Hong Shanchang holding his head high and rushing in front of him. Although he was very angry about this, he rushed up to fight with others at this time, but it was not in line with his consistent principle of dealing with people, so he simply let Hong Shanchang take the lead, and followed with a cold face.

Judging from his understanding after dealing with the emperor twice, if Hong Shanchang thinks that he can win the trust of the Son of Heaven by trying his best to perform, it is definitely underestimating today!

When Yue Shanchang followed Hong Shanchang into the Qianqing Palace, he did not bow his head respectfully and lowered his hands like Hong Shanchang, appearing to be polite, respectful and humble, but quickly observed the surroundings generously. Immediately after, he noticed two unexpected people.

One is the emperor standing at the bottom of the right, with a calm and relaxed face, as if he was just Zhang Shou who accompanied the elders of the family to meet guests!

One is the little child who probed his brain behind Zhang Shou, it was the fourth prince he had already met twice in Guozijian and Xinglong Tea House, and today is the third time he has met, which shows the emperor's love for this young son.

In fact, if Zhang Shou hadn't taken the initiative to get up before people came in, the scene that Yue Shanchang and Hong Shanchang saw at this time should have been sitting calmly on the first chair under the emperor's right. Considering that Yue Shanchang and Hong Shanchang were more than twice as old as him, and the scene of sitting on the side and seeing people was not very good, Zhang Shou stood up.

And just when he was reporting outside, the fourth prince suddenly ran behind him from the side of the emperor's throne, which also made him a little unexpected, and he couldn't figure out what this small bear child meant.

The emperor saw the presumptuous actions of the four princes, but he didn't see it. In fact, he found Zhang Shou to palm his eyes, originally wanting to use Zhang Shou, who often has unexpected actions, to stimulate the two people in front of him, so as to observe their reactions. Sure enough, at this moment, he keenly noticed that the two people who came in one after the other had completely different reactions.

Hong Shan, who walked in front, did not raise his head, and looked at his nose and nose, which was not so much respectful as solemn. And Yue Shanchang, who was walking behind, not only looked at him calmly, but even nodded slightly with a smile after discovering Zhang Shou.

In this comparison, thinking of the first two times he saw Yue Shanchang, he had always behaved neither humble nor arrogant, and the emperor unconsciously had a bias in his heart. Although according to Chu Kuan, a student of Zhaoming Academy had twice made a big fuss in Guozijian and Xinglong Tea House, but after the emperor heard that Zhang Shou had taken in that outspoken young man, he laughed it off and didn't care too much.

At this moment, seeing the two of them stepping forward side by side to salute, the emperor lightly ordered to give a seat. Seeing that Hong Shanchang sat down on the first chair on his left hand side without giving up, but Yue Shanchang did not argue and sat down on the second chair under him, he couldn't help but give the two of them a completely different score in his heart.

And when he saw that Zhang Shou had already sat down with Shi Shiran, but the fourth prince was still staying behind people and refused to come, the emperor couldn't help but smile and shook his head slightly, and this was the beginning of today's formal summons.

Compared with the previous informal meeting, this summoning, the emperor is naturally not as approachable and casual as before. He first asked how many students there are in Zhaoming Academy and Yuzhang Academy, how the students' schoolwork is, how rich and poor they are, what the status of the imperial examination is, whether they are self-reliant or not, and even the details of the cost of school, the status of teachers, etc., all of which have not been let go.

And this time, whether it was Yue Shanchang or Hong Shanchang, they all showed the characteristics of an excellent mountain chief, and they knew the situation of their own academy well, like a few family treasures, and even took advantage of this summoning opportunity to spare no effort to promote their students.

For such a scene, Zhang Shou, who used to often take the opportunity to recommend students to the emperor, finally felt that he had met a competitor. But at this moment, he suddenly only heard the emperor ask with a smile: "Zhang Shou, do you think that you are a teacher, can you compare to this Zhaoming Academy Yue Shan and Yuzhang Academy Hong Shan Chief?" ”

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