Ren Hong never expected that he would still have a day when he was praised over and over again by the ministers of the court and the virtuous literature in the opposition.

In late February, the new salt and iron policy of the imperial court was promulgated, announcing that according to the decision after the salt and iron discussion, the redundant iron officials in Guanzhong would be abolished, such as the "Zhaoyi" of Zheng County in Jingzhao Yin, leaving only Lantian behind. Right Fufeng abolished the "Fu Er" in Qi County, and only left the iron officials of Yongxian County.

If there are more than one iron officials in a county, the iron officials with the lowest efficiency last year, the worst quality in the investigation of Huang Ba, and the iron officials with the greatest public grievances will be deposed!

Ren Hong originally wanted to learn Zhang Anshi's style - every time he discussed a major matter with the emperor, after making a decision, Lao Zhang always quit because of illness. After hearing the emperor's edict, this guy pretended to be surprised and sent someone to the prime minister's mansion to inquire. Therefore, even the ministers of the imperial court, most of them knew that he had participated in the decision-making, and everything was like the emperor's ruling of the emperor.

But this time, the Son of Heaven promulgated Ren Hong's recital in the court, so that he couldn't take credit for it.

As soon as this policy was approved by the Son of Heaven, it was immediately praised by the government and the opposition, in addition to praising the emperor Shengming, he also collapsed with Ren Hong by the way.

Even Lanling Xiao Wangzhi praised and said: "The iron official makes iron tools, how bitter and evil, the cost is not provincial, the pawn is annoying and the effort is inexhaustible, and the people compete for profit. ”

And the old lady Chang Weixian praised before leaving office: "Kong Wei and Dongguo Xianyang are treacherous and evil appoint private individuals, Sang Hongyang conspires against him, Tian Yannian is greedy for wolves and bribes, and only Dasi Nonghong is benevolent and righteous and can correct himself." ”

It means that Ren Hong is the only good big Si Nong in the past 50 years.

Of course, it is the kind of good that Confucian thinks, and in Ren Hong's view, although he deposed some iron officials for the sake of healthy competition, it can be regarded as "selling state-owned assets".

The deposed iron officials were not abolished, but were to be contracted to private individuals: princes without official positions, wealthy merchants who had secretly accumulated wealth over the years.

For a time, in order to compete for the right to operate the iron workshops in Zheng County and Qi County, the rich princes in Guanzhong were going to break their heads, and this time Dasi Nong took a bid, and the one with the highest price got it, and when he rented out more than a dozen iron workshops in one go, the money for the Northern Expedition to the Huns in the coming year was almost complete......

Salt and iron is a huge profit, in the early Han Dynasty, the Zhuo clan of Shu County, the prince of Nanyang Kong, who made a fortune by smelting iron, rode thousands of cars, and tens of thousands of slaves, and the latecomers also flocked to it, hoping to catch up with this once-in-a-century outlet.

Even Lu Jiuyu, who helped Ren Hong manage spices and tea, wanted to get a piece of the pie, and made a joint venture with businessmen in nine cities, wanting to take Ren Hong's relationship to win Tieshan in Xin'an County, Hongnong County, and be a little pig that went to the sky with the wind, but he was scolded by Ren Hong and gave up his plan in fright.

And those iron officials who have lost their iron jobs are afraid that they will scold Ren Hong for many years behind their backs.

"Taixue's side, from doctors to disciples, is also full of praise, saying that the master has completed what the general should have done more than ten years ago."

Today is Xiu Mu, Liu Gengsheng, the second son of the Zongzheng family, came to Ren Hong to ask for advice as usual, he is eleven years old, he is becoming more and more intelligent, and he has already begun to enter Taixue to audit, Ren Hong found that he really picked up a little genius.

Maybe Liu Xiang can't find it, so he can't find it.

Hearing Liu Gengsheng talk about this now, Ren Hong shook his head and began to teach his disciples the truth of being a man and an official: "In the first year, virtuous literature was summoned to Chang'an to discuss salt and iron, how did they initially tout the general? ”

Liu Gengsheng shook his head, then he was not born yet, how do you know?

Ren Hong shook his head: "Confucianism said, Hanxing has been more than 100 years, some people are not short or long, out of the hometown of Baiyan, holding the government of the world, sometimes there are baby masters, but driving, Anzhongxia." ”

During that time, Huo Guang was really touted as the reincarnation of Duke Zhou, and there was even a guy who pleaded with Emperor Han Chan.

"Then how do the beings belittle the Great General now?"

This Liu Gengsheng knows that the scolding of the Huo family has been heard endlessly since last year, and it has become the political correctness of Taixue and Qingliu circles.

"They said that the general was abolished and the deceased was courteous, and it was not a good way. And he didn't learn and didn't know how to do it, so he was dark in Dali, so the family was wiped out. ”

Ren Hong's head: "Those who build buildings and those who demolish buildings are always the same group of people. These are the men who praise me today......"

He smiled, thinking of the possible reaction of everyone after the true meaning of Liu Xun's "Jingning" era name was revealed: "By next year, I'm afraid that these are the same people who slander me!" “

"There is no need to mention this matter again, you and I continue to talk, the difference between pig iron, wrought iron, and steel is that the amount of carbon contained in iron is different......"

A few days ago, there was good news, saying that Lantian Tieguan had used Ren Hongti's method to smelt pig iron and wrought iron together.

"As the great Sinong said, he made a thin slice of wrought iron as wide as a finger and a half an inch long, and wrapped it tightly with iron sheets, and placed it on top of it with pig iron, and covered it with broken grass and covered it with mud. When the fire arrives, the raw steel is first melted, infiltrated into the wrought iron, the two feelings are combined, take out the hammer, and then refine and hammer, and so on, so as to get the material of a hundred refinements! ”

So the two iron officials Guo and Kong, who had just been recommended as "senior engineers", also joined the team touting Ren Hong, and in their opinion, no one in this world knew more about steelmaking than General Sima Wei.

Liu Gengsheng is not the kind of person who obediently listens to the teacher's words, so he said, "What is the use of the master teaching me these craftsman's things?" ”

"Ruzi, didn't you read Huainan's legacy and want to smelt copper......

"Master, it's alchemy."

Liu Gengsheng corrected: "The boy found a copy of "The Secretary of Hongbaoyuan in the Pillow" in the Huainan books in his father's collection, which recorded the cultivation of immortals, the envoy of ghosts, the art of refining gold, and Zou Yan's method of prolonging life, but I smelted gold according to the method in the book, but it was not ......."

This is also the reason why he asked Ren Hong to apprentice, Liu Gengsheng is smart by nature, but he is stubborn, and he has to solve the problems he encounters.

Still a little alchemist, Ren Hong was even happier and decided to work harder and make him an alchemist of Steel.

Then he laughed and said: "Yin and Yang Triad, what is the origin and what is the transformation? This is a question on "Tianwen", understand this question first, and the golden square will become. ”

Ren Hong told Liu Gengsheng not to rush to do experiments, but to learn theories first, and he could have taught his poor chemical knowledge - sometimes in order to integrate into existing theories and make them easy for the world to accept, he had to say something wrong.

"The yin and yang family thinks that there are five elements of yin and yang in the world."

Ren Hong talked eloquently: "But the teacher guesses that the things in this world are not only the five kinds of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, these are only five categories, and they can be subdivided." “

"Among them, copper, tin, iron, gold, and silver belong to the gold system, and carbon belongs to the earth system, and all things should be collectively called 'elements'!"

……

When Wei Xian and Xiao Wangzhi couldn't help but praise Ren Hong for the dismissal of the iron official, there was still one person in the court who remained sober.

Taichang Wei Xiang believes that although Ren Hong has done what virtuous writers have longed for for a long time, his purpose is still to make profits and accumulate wealth.

"You still have to watch his words and deeds, and don't be deceived by the politics of the moment."

With Wei Xian's resignation from the old man, Wei Xiang was transferred to this position, Wei Xian had several ups and downs in his career, and he had resigned gloomily in the prime minister, and relied on the empress dowager, mixed up the credit of Huo, and now with the old and sick begging bones, the Son of Heaven gave a hundred catties of gold, a car, and a horse, and his son Wei Hong became the work of his father, and he was always a waiter.

Wei Xian's life can be described as complete, but Wei Xiang is not only happy for him, but also secretly worried, because as soon as Wei Xian retreats, the leader of the "clear stream" in the DPRK and China will be absent.

Speaking of which, since the fall of Huo, there is no shortage of Confucian officials from all over the country who have entered the court as officials, such as Xiao Wangzhi's hometown, Lanling people are sparse because they are proficient in the "Analects" and "Spring and Autumn", and they entered the court as Taizhong doctors. There is also Liang Qiuhe's fellow villager, who is also a friend of Wang Ji, a doctor who once "celebrated" because of Wang Ji's reinstatement-this one is the main owner of this idiom, and this word was also a pure compliment at the beginning.

Gong Yu is known for his clean behavior in the Ming scriptures, and he is enlisted as a doctor.

However, Wei Xiang also found that although these Qilu Confucian scholars successfully entered the office, most of them were doctors and doctors, and those who held the real positions were still led by Su Wu, Ren Hong, and Fu Jiezi, and the faction of generals and envoys, which could be called "utilitarian ministers".

Although no one formed a party, in the eyes of Wei Xiang, the people covered were huge, from the Western Regions of the feudal officials to protect Chang Hui, the Shu County guard Zhang Chang, to Huang Ba and others who had just returned to the court and had been brainwashed by Ren Hong and gave up their original intentions.

Wei Xiang himself was also transferred to Taichang, and his power was not as great as when he was in Tingwei, and he could not even complete the full implementation of the Spring and Autumn Prison Break, Wei Xiang was worried, although it seemed that it was "Zhongzheng Ying Dynasty", and the Son of Heaven also humbly accepted advice and reused Confucianism.

But if you really want to compete, just their three melons and two dates, they are not the opponents of Ren Hong and other important ministers at all, and a victory like changing the year name is probably very difficult to encounter.

No matter how Ren Hong is praised, Wei Xiang is sure that sooner or later, there will be differences between them.

What's even more uncomfortable is that Ren Hong didn't take them and him in his eyes from beginning to end, and the court and China argued, and he often asked Yang Yun to receive Wei Xiang's edict, and he only stood aside with a humble smile and listened.

Ignore it, this is the most hurtful.

"As soon as Duke Wei goes, none of us are opponents of Xi'an Hou, once it comes to national affairs, I am afraid that the Son of Heaven will be influenced by him again, and he needs strong reinforcements to help."

Wei Xiang found Xiao Wangzhi and told him his plan.

Xiao Wangzhi was not so sensitive to the forces of the DPRK and China, and only knew that Zhang Anshi, the Marquis of Fuping, was unreliable, and all the princes of the DPRK were not the choice of the party, so he remembered from the foreign dynasty and proposed: "How about the prime minister and the imperial doctor?" ”

"Not the same people." Wei Xiang shook his head, Bingji and Yu Dingguo both learned the law first and then Confucianism, which is essentially different from his Confucianism and then the law, and Bingji seems to be honest, but in fact he is sleek and has his own faction, and Yu Dingguo is the same.

"I want to go up to the Son of Heaven and ask one person to re-enter the office."

Wei Xiang had a plan and said: "This person's political views are in line with ours, and he supports the cultivation of literature and martial arts, is frugal and tolerant, and is close to virtuous literature. ”

"This person used to be an important minister of the second government and nine ministers of the imperial court, although he was not the prime minister, but his power was heavier than that of the prime minister."

Wei Xiang smiled: "He deliberately asked me to be impeached and lost his official position, but he still retained the position of a prince and retired to repair the law, which is the best candidate to be a court lieutenant!" ”

Xiao Wangzhi knows who it is, and he also thinks that this person should be able to become the leader who leads "Jing Ning anyway"!

"Jianping waits, Du Yannian!"

……

PS: On the revival of the fairy arts, and Huainan has "The Secretary of Hongbaoyuan in the Pillow". The book says that the gods make ghosts and things gold, and Zou Yan is heavy on prolonging his life, which is rare in the world, and his father Emperor Dewu ruled Huainan Prison when he got his book. Read and recite it when you are young, and you think it is strange, and you can offer it, and you can say that gold can be achieved. - Hanshu. The Legend of King Chu Yuan