For several days, there was no news from the Prime Minister's Office, and Shang Cheng couldn't sit still. It is inevitable that the imperial court will not be able to make up its mind to fight a decisive battle with the Turks, it will inevitably be a tortuous and long process, but the construction of a city on the grassland cannot be delayed any longer, and many preparations such as artificial materials must be started now. Time waits for no one, and he can't kill time in the inn. He decided not to wait for the notice of the Prime Minister's office, and went to the door himself.

That morning, when he was about to go out to the imperial city, the two officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Industry came to look for him again.

His county uncle's mansion was about to be completed, and the last plaque was about to be hung, so they came to ask him to inspect it on the spot, to see if there was anything he was not satisfied with, and to rework and rebuild it in time.

The merchant didn't want to make this trip. Where to live is not to live? Maybe the house built by the Ministry of Industry must be more beautiful than the mansion assigned to him by the Yanshan Health Department? Not necessarily; It's just that it covers a larger area and uses more exquisite materials. However, firstly, Duan Si and they were beside him, and the two mansions of the six petty officials were also sincerely pleaded, and secondly, the new mansion was in Chongyifang on the west side of the inner city, which happened to be close to the left of the Lixing Gate of the Imperial City, and he finally agreed to take a trip.

The rebuilt Yingxian Bofu is very magnificent. Needless to say, the four large lanterns that are high enough to be hung with thumb-thick iron rings under the courtyard of the high gate are the west side of the entire street and alley, which is a high blue brick hanging eaves and ochre-colored high walls, which compares the two or three families on the opposite street alone. On the five stone steps, the tall and wide ochre-lacquered main door is tightly closed, and the two canglang shops of a certain length are divided into left and right, and the tiger beast is angry and shows its teeth and rings, staring at the door viciously. There are two stone pixiu sitting at the bottom of the steps, the male beast has a solemn expression, and the female beast is strong and strong, both of them are majestic and majestic. With such a solemn and majestic atmosphere, where will Shang Cheng be dissatisfied? But he still didn't go in to inspect it, but handed it over to Li Feng.

Although Li Feng is a guard, he was only promoted by Shang Cheng when he was in Fangzhou, and he has never been to Yanzhou, nor has he seen the Admiral's Mansion, when has he ever seen such a pomp? After staring at it for a long time, he was knocked on the tip of Duan Si's horsewhip before he came to his senses, and then he had a bitter face and said, "I, I...... I'm afraid that it won't work. ”

"That's you." Shang Cheng said undoubtedly, "You can even build a walled city with troops, what is it to inspect and accept a count's mansion?" He casually pointed at a few guards who were eager to try. You all stayed. Gao Qiang, you also stay, help see what is lacking, buy back what you can buy, and order what you can't buy......" After speaking, he led Duan Si and the two personal guards away.

Enter the imperial city from the Lixing Gate, pass through the Yuehua Gate to the Prime Minister's Palace, this is the special passage for the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister to go up and down the Imperial Palace, although there are few people coming and going, but the security is more strict than other places. Duan Si had already stopped outside the Lixing Gate. It was Shang Cheng, who wore a black gauze head with double three or six golden wings on his head, a red general's robe with rolling gold threads, and a goldfish bag hanging from the general's sword on the belt of six gold nails.

When he arrived at the Prime Minister's Office, he bumped into Zhenqian head-on. Zhen Qian was coming out of the public hall, his feet had not yet fallen down the stone steps, and when he looked up, he saw Shang Cheng striding over, and his face was slightly cramped and flustered, and then he disappeared again, and walked two steps and arched his hand and said, "Why are you here?" ”

Shang Cheng returned the salute to the forbidden army on duty as he walked, and then said to Zhen Xiang: "I have something I want to talk to Zhang Xiang." ”

“…… Did Zhang Xiang know you to come? ”

"It's not. I only remembered it myself. Shang Cheng said. He was a little surprised when he saw Zhenqian's expression, and asked suspiciously, "Why, I shouldn't have come this time, or was it not the right time to come?" Isn't this the place I can't come to? ”

Zhen Xiang snorted twice. This place is indeed not something that can be casually visited. According to the system, even if they are important ministers of the imperial court, they are not in charge of their duties or are not called to order, and they cannot casually break into the prime minister's office. He opened his mouth to say the importance of it, lest Shang Cheng inadvertently leave a handle for others to deal with, but when the words came to his mouth, he suddenly remembered something, swallowed the words back, recalled the memory in his mind quickly, but a smile appeared on his face, and said, "Of course you can come." However, Zhang Xiang and several deputy ministers are discussing the matter and not disturbing it......" he muttered. "In this way, I saw Zhu Xiang come back just now, and I will lead you to find him first."

"Zhu Xiang?" Shang Chengleng paused. He has been here several times, and he held a meeting here for a few days last year, and he knew several prime ministers and deputy ministers, but he really couldn't remember that there was a prime minister surnamed Zhu.

"It's Zhong Kuangong." Zhen Qian smiled and said, "It's been two days since the appointment came down, and it hasn't been reported to the palace yet, and many people outside don't know about it." ”

Shang Cheng still couldn't understand, and he didn't know who this Zhu Xiangguo was. He felt that Zhong Kuan should be this person's table character, "Zhong" usually refers to the second oldest in the family or clan, and the meaning of the word "wide" is extensive, and he can't figure out which word corresponds to it. But listening to Zhenqian's tone, he seems to have a lot of respect for this Xiangguo, which shows that this Zhu Xiang is a highly respected senior. There are not many people in the court who can have these four-character comments, they are old, and their surname is Zhu ...... Could it be Zhu Xuan, a scholar of Wenyingdian University who dealt with Yanzhou in June?

Zhenqian smiled and nodded.

Shang Cheng followed Zhen Qian as he approached the row of big houses on the right side of the mansion, while thinking about Zhu Xuan's sudden appearance. The rank of the scholar of Wen Yingdian University is the same as that of the prime minister, and Zhu Xuan's personal qualifications and prestige are enough to serve as the deputy minister. But don't forget, Zhu Xuan is not really a civil official. In fact, this is a great Confucian who has been immersed in studying scriptures and ancient books all his life to figure out the righteousness of the book, except for being a few agricultural envoys, it seems that he has never held any real position, is such a person, can he really be qualified for the position of prime minister? Moreover, although the southerners are gaining power at present, they are far from the point of controlling the government, and the northerners are not completely losing power, and they can still compete with the southerners in many things, so the situation in the court is very complicated. In addition to the north-south dispute, there is also the prince's illness and the likely battle for the storage position, the two merge, the situation in Shangjing in the next few years is not as sinister as a sword and a sword, at least it cannot be as quiet as a drizzle, and the prime minister's office is the focus of all contradictions. In this situation, Zhu Xuan, a high-level intellectual who is neither south nor north, and concentrates on learning, can actually enter the picture, and all kinds of things hidden in it are really incomprehensible. Could it be that the position of deputy prime minister is so attractive that people like Zhu Xuan have lost their peace of mind and basic judgment?

Shang Cheng knew that the daily affairs of Da Zhao's prime minister and deputy minister actually had a division of labor. The left minister Tang Xing is in charge of the household department and the Ministry of Rites, the right minister Zhang Pu is in charge of the ministry of officials, and the rest of the deputy ministers also have their own functional jurisdictions, or simply the books of a certain department. He thought about it and asked in a low voice, "Which yamen is Zhu Xiang acting for?" ”

"Tobe."

"Tobe?"

"This way." Zhen Qian nodded, led Shang Cheng to turn left, and whispered as he walked along the corridor, "A few days ago, the Tai Hospital reported that Tang Xiang's condition has become more and more serious in recent days, and I am afraid that he will have to recuperate carefully for several months and a half, so Zhang Xiang will temporarily act for him in charge of the household department. Zhong Kuan's entry into the prime minister was also recommended by Zhang Xiang, and he had not had time to assign functions. But after all, among the officials of the DPRK and China, Zhong Kuan Gong is the most familiar with agricultural affairs. And Zhong Kuangong is pure and upright, whether it is article or morality, he is a model for us. ”

The first two sentences of Zhen Xiang's words were easy to understand, and the last two sentences were half-literate and half-white, but at the end, they suddenly changed to praise Zhu Xuan, and Shang Cheng was stunned when he heard it. He really can't understand, the deputy prime minister is the deputy minister, what does it have to do with the morality of the article? He felt that as a friend, it would be impossible for Zhen Qian to say such a flattering sentence inexplicably in front of him, it must have meant something. But what is the implication of this? He doesn't know anything about Zhu Xuan's past, so he has no right to say what this person's morality is; He has read Zhu Xuan's articles, and they are all big truths of "kissing and growing up", which are both vague and vague. The only thing that impressed me was the "Book of Re-Persuasion of Nongsang" promulgated by the imperial court this year...... I understand, Zhu Xuan is in charge of agriculture, which generally belongs to the household department, and can be regarded as Zhang Pu's assistant.

Thinking about this, the deeper meaning in the true words is naturally easily solved. Zhang Pu helped Zhu Xuan become prime minister because of two things, one was to help the imperial court reverse the problem of declining treasury revenue by relying on Zhu Xuan's ability to develop agriculture and mulberry, the second was to show goodwill to the middle forces in the court and win over the centrists to fight the northward faction, and third, he wanted to use Zhu Xuan's reputation and prestige to increase the support of scholars for the southward faction and strengthen the influence of public opinion. One piece of three birds, Zhang Pu, these southbound factions are really calculating!

He admired Zhang Pu's plan in his heart, and looked at Zhu Xuan, the bachelor who had already received the notice to go out to greet him, arched his fists with both hands, and said with a smile: "Boss." ”

Zhu Xuan also bowed his hand and returned the salute: "Don't come to the general?" Just as he was about to invite Shang Cheng into the house for tea and talk, the cotton curtain of the main house of the public house was lifted, and a group of people came out one after another, and it seemed that the meeting there had come to an end.

Zhang Pu walked first, followed by the two deputy ministers and the secretary of the military department. The four prime ministers did not go down the steps, but stood by the door, smiled and said goodbye to the people behind them. Among the people in the back, there are civil officials and military generals, the first one is an old general in his early sixties, who is also a six-winged red robe and admires the general's ceremonial sword, and the people who follow him are also in the same regular clothes, but the beard is pale and white, and he looks older. There were five or six other generals in the rest of the crowd, and they were all red-robed generals with swords, but the number of golden wings on their heads varied from six or four, and they were either on the Pillar Country or the Pillar Country.

These generals are known in Chengdu. The first one is Xiao Jian, followed by Yang Du, and then down are the three deputy chiefs of Poyang Hou and Liyuan Battalion, and some are veterans who are idle in the Pingyuan General's Mansion......

Seeing Xiao Jian and Yang Du, Shang Chengcai finally understood why Zhen Xiang looked cramped when he met him outside the public office, and because of what, Zhen Qian's face was a little flustered when he heard that he was not here to attend the meeting.

The smile on his face had faded as early as when he saw Xiao Jian and Yang Du. His deep gaze stared gloomily at the group of people, and he slowly raised his right arm. Anger burned in his chest, and his heart was filled with indignation! He is also a Shangzhu country, and he also has the position of a squire in the Ministry of War, which can barely be regarded as a great achievement, why should the Southern Expedition Conference that others can participate in, but he is left outside? A deep sense of sadness rose in his heart. He is a person with no background, no matter how good he does in Yanshan, others always feel at ease with him......

Xiao Jian was the first to see Shang Cheng. At first glance, he couldn't recognize Shang Cheng, he only saw the red robe on Shang Cheng's body, and knew that at least one of the pillars standing under the corridor was also a pillar country. When he returned the gift to Shang Cheng, he half-guessed and half-argued to recognize who it was. He pursed his lips and didn't come over to talk to Shang Cheng. He didn't have anything to say to Shang Cheng. He also had mixed feelings. There is remorse, apology, and loss...... He originally had several opportunities to make Shang Cheng his descendant, but he missed them all, so in the face of the gradual decline of the Xiao family in the army, he had to personally go into battle to fight Nanzhao, in order to help those generals who followed him, so that they could have a good way out. He also had to strongly recommend Zhu Xu to serve as the governor of Yanshan, not only to strengthen himself, but also to find an excellent successor for himself. Now, the best generals of the current Great Zhao are saluting him, and they still seem to respect him as much as in the past, but everyone knows that the contradictions between the two of them have reached the point where they are almost irreconcilable. Zhu Xu was in Yanshan for a day, and Shang Cheng couldn't reconcile with himself for a day. Even if Zhu Xuan leaves Yanshan, there will still be a southern expedition......

Yang Du and the Marquis of Poyang also followed Xiao Jian's gaze to see Shang Cheng under the corridor. After a brief period of consternation, they all returned the military salute, and then followed Xiao Jian away. No one came to inquire about Shang Cheng's condition, nor did they come to talk to him, in fact, these generals did not speak to each other again before they walked out of the imperial city.

Out of the imperial city, the generals dispersed. Yang Du and Poyang Hou have a deep friendship, but one of the two lives in Chongzhengfang on the west side of the inner city, and the other lives in Zhuangzili in the northeast of the city. But today is different, Yang Du is abnormal, he climbed into Poyang Hou's carriage first, turned around and beckoned the master and said, "Get in the car!" Go to your house and I'll talk to you about something. ”

"What's the matter?" Poyang Hou got into the car and asked.

"I'll talk about it later."

"What the hell is going on?"

"It's not a big deal." Yang Du said, "Didn't you say a few times ago, teach me to help you pay attention to whether there is a suitable young general ......?"

Poyang Hou was stunned for a moment, and then remembered what was going on. His youngest daughter is seventeen years old and is most loved by him, but because she is not a concubine, the people he likes are unwilling to marry his daughter, and he doesn't look down on the people who like his daughter, and he doesn't have a wife for a long time, so he has never found a mother-in-law for his youngest daughter. Seeing his daughter growing up day by day, he was also anxious, so he entrusted this matter to Yang Du in the first half of the year, and asked his old friends to help keep snacks. It's been almost a year since the words were spoken, and Yang Liehuo had never said anything about it, so why did he suddenly bring it up...... He opened his mouth sharply and stammered a little, "You, you, you won't mean ......"

"That's right, that's him!" Yang Du impatiently pushed Poyang Hou's fingers aside and said, "What do you think?" ”

Poyang Hou opened his mouth and couldn't speak at all.

"This man's appearance is not very popular, but he is a person with real ability." Yang Du snapped his fingers and said, "Now it's Shangzhu Kingdom, the county uncle of the fifth generation, the actual number of sealed households is only one hundred and forty less than your Poyang Marquis, how about it, the family background is not worse than yours, right?" ”

Poyang Hou still couldn't speak.

He didn't answer with a strange look on his face, and Yang Du thought he was going to object, so he persuaded him and said: "Yes, you have to think about your daughter, and you don't want Cicada to marry a man who looks like a door god." But a manly man, his appearance is a black bird thing, what a man wants is to be open-minded and open-minded, otherwise he looks like Wang Yi and has an embroidered pillow that looks like a fart again. It's a pity, several of my daughters and granddaughters are either married or young, otherwise this good thing will not be your turn. As he spoke, he smacked his lips and sighed, it was not worth it for a few married daughters. After a pause, he said, "As long as the cicada can agree, I think this family affair can be seven or eight points certain." ”

If this can be done, of course, it is a good thing. Poyang Hou asked, "You mean, as long as the little cicada agrees...... Did you talk to him? Because he was so happy, he forgot that Yang Du's last sentence was to say "seven or eight points certain".

"Nope!" Yang Du shook his head without hesitation and denied it.

Poyang Hou's eyes widened suddenly. I didn't even tell anyone, so I dared to pack a ticket?

"He'll definitely agree!" Yang Du nodded and said very firmly.

Poyang Hou had no idea where Yang Du came from. If the youngest daughter is the daughter of the concubine, he is still five points sure, but the little cicada is a concubine, and the dignified Shangzhu County Uncle is willing to marry her home?

Yang Du glanced at him with slanted eyes, and said disdainfully: "What's wrong with the concubine?" You can't just think about it. It doesn't matter if it's a concubine or a concubine, as long as the matchmaker you ask is capable, even if it's ...... Even if that's anything, I have to let him marry him back home! As the saying goes, the matchmaker is married if he invites him well, so the rest of this family affair is not worth mentioning, the key is to hire a good matchmaker. As he spoke, he raised a finger and pointed to the canopy above his head, with an unfathomable expression.

Poyang Hou immediately understood, and couldn't help but stroke his palms and nod his head and said, "Hmm! So good, so good! Haha, sure enough, it's still your old fire who is resourceful! ”