Chapter Fifty-Nine: Cheng Xuan Envoy

Zeng Ziren was put up on the third floor by these two guards, and he was dragged to the front of the door of the Tianfu Pavilion before stopping.

One of the guards slowly stepped forward and knocked lightly on the door of the pavilion, and cautiously asked inside the Tianfu Pavilion, "My lord, Young Master Zeng has already brought it." ”

Zeng Ziren, who had been making a lot of noise along the way, was quiet at this time. Because he knew in his heart that there were only a handful of people in Chengdu Mansion who could sit in this Tianfu Pavilion, and he could guess it.

The King of Shu has been ordered to go north, at least it won't be him, so Zeng Hanru is even more impossible, and the only one who can bring the official guards among the remaining people is .......

What is he looking for me for? Zeng Ziren inevitably drew a big question mark in his heart.

After a while, a slightly muffled voice came out of the Tianfu Pavilion,

"Come in!"

With the permission of the people inside, the guard took Zeng Ziren to push open the pavilion door and walked in.

As soon as he entered the Tianfu Pavilion, Zeng Ziren saw an old man dressed in an ink-colored brocade robe and dark cloud sleeves sitting on the ground next to the hollow carved coffee table of rosewood. Although the man's temples were gray, his bronzed face had a pair of shining eyes, and he looked energetic, without a trace of old age.

When Zeng Ziren saw the appearance of that person, he naturally recognized him, he was the father of the former Huayang County Commander Zhu Tori, and the current imperial court ordered Sichuan to declare the political envoy - Zhu Zongchen.

"If Lord Zhu is looking for a junior, he will ask someone to go and say goodbye, why do you want to send someone to tie him up from the street." Zeng Ziren patted the dirt on his body with his wide sleeved robe, and complained to Zhu Zongchen.

Zhu Zongchen looked at this complaining little young master, and also smiled tepidly and said lightly: "Young Master Zeng, don't worry about your subordinates. As he spoke, he pushed his hand towards the two guards behind Zeng Ziren, and the two guards immediately understood, bowed out, and covered the pavilion door from the outside.

"Come, Young Master Zeng will wipe his face first." He motioned to the maid on the side and handed Zeng Ziren a pair of handkerchiefs,

Zeng Ziren looked up and down at the political envoy who rarely took the initiative to deal with the envoys of their command, and then took the handkerchief from the maid's hand, wiped his bloody face clean, stepped forward, and sat opposite Zhu Zongchen with a big grin.

Zhu Zongchen still maintained the iconic smile on his face, and slowly filled the jade tea cup in front of Zeng Ziren, and then made a "please" gesture with his hand, "Young Master Zeng, try it, the best autumn tea." ”

Zeng Ziren looked at him, picked up the delicate teacup in front of him and took a sip, and chuckled: "Why should the political envoy make a fool of himself, isn't this just an ordinary Tieguanyin!" ”

"That's a mistake!" Zhu Zongchen shook his head with a smile, and continued: "This kind of Tieguanyin's best tea season is after the cold dew season, the freshest buds and leaves are picked from the tip of the tongue of the virgin, and then stored on the crisp breast of the virgin, and the 'initial baking' of the tea leaves is carried out through the body temperature, and the tea fragrance lingers with a faint frankincense, which is wonderful." ”

As he spoke, he squinted his eyes and smacked his lips, as if he was still unsatisfied.

"Lord Zhu went to great lengths to find it, wouldn't he just want to introduce you to the juniors?" Zeng Ziren asked Zhu Zongchen with some impatience,

Zhu Zongchen still didn't answer his doubts, as if he was talking to himself, "Does Young Master Zeng know where the essence of this tea picking is?" ”

Zeng Ziren was a little annoyed when he saw that he didn't answer directly, but Zhu Zongchen was not only his elder, but also the nominally highest-ranking local magistrate in Sichuan, so he couldn't offend directly, and replied with the anger in his heart: "That tea picking is all rough work done by some tea workers and tea girls, how do I know!" ”

Of course, Zhu Zongchen heard the impatience in the little young master's hurried words, he slowly picked up the jade teapot, filled the tea cup that Zeng Ziren had drunk in front of him, and stared at him with deep meaning: "Then let the old man tell you that the bigger and more beautiful the buds under the leaves, the more bitter they are, but the tea buds under the leaves with burnt yellow and narrow leaves are fragrant and sweet."

You know why?

That's because the bigger the leaves, the sun, rain, and all the gifts of heaven that should have been given to the tea buds are all obscured. ”

Zhu Zongchen's eyes looked at him, as deep as an abyss, so that Zeng Ziren couldn't see it at a glance.

However, after listening to his words, Zeng Ziren already understood in his heart what this political envoy meant, but he didn't dare to think like this in his mind, in other words, he didn't have the courage to say it yet, and he needed to fake the mouth of others.

"The commander of Zeng is old, the war in the northwest is tight, and now the court and the people need younger and more courageous people."

Obviously, Zhu Zongchen was willing to be the one who was borrowed by him, and his words were like a spark, which was being thrown into Zeng Ziren's bundle of dry firewood step by step.

"What do you do when you tell me this, I'm not a royal history, my father... I just want to be a rich man. ”

However, Zeng Ziren's bundle of firewood looks a little damp.

Zhu Zongchen didn't show a trace of regret, his gaze was like an invisible hand, grasping Zeng Ziren's deliberately evasive eyes, "Do you really think that when Lord Zeng is no longer in office, can you still be a rich man safely?" You hide in the countryside, maybe for a year or two, but after that? All your wealth, all your women, all your land, all these goodness, without the protection of power, will become your talisman! ”

Zeng Ziren's pupils flashed a trace of panic, how could he not understand the truth of people taking tea and cooling, without the protection of his father's black gauze hat, all his wealth would become fat for others to take and demand.

These subtle changes in his eyes, where the old fox Zhu Zongchen escaped, he planned to fill this bundle of damp firewood with the last fire,

"Those people gathered in front of your door this morning, I think Young Master Zeng should still remember it vividly. If one day, the Chengdu garrison general broke into your manor with men and horses, would the young master think that he would be the one kneeling at the bottom of the steps? ”

Speaking of this, Zhu Zongchen suddenly paused, then leaned over and said in a deep voice,

"Or is it just the one under the white cloth?"

"Teng!" Suddenly, the bundle of firewood in Zeng Ziren's heart, even if it still carried some damp firewood, had been burned by Zhu Zongchen's exceptional shrewd flame, and his panicked look had crawled all over his face without concealment.

But Zeng Ziren shook his head helplessly, feeling very conflicted in his heart, he lowered his head and frowned and said to Zhu Zongchen: "I know.... I know that I don't want the Zeng family to end up in that step, but I can't help it, I don't have the size of my work, and my father doesn't listen to my advice..... Alas......"

Zhu Zongchen looked at him, stretched out his hand and gently patted Zeng Ziren's shoulder and said, "I said that Commander Zeng is already old, and by the time he comes to his senses, I'm afraid it will be too late." And Young Master Zeng, you are a young junior, why don't you earn some merits and let the court reward you with an official and a half-position, which can not only save the family from fire and water, but also make Boss Zeng look at you differently. ”

After Zeng Ziren heard what he said, his eyes looked a little gloomy, and he sighed and said, "In these peaceful years, where can I go to find any merits." Besides, how much merit can be known to the imperial court, but my father? ”

The corners of Zhu Zongchen's mouth rose slightly, and he said in his heart that this little young master finally said that the idea came up, and he pretended to suddenly say: "That's right! If you don't mention it, I still can't remember, but I have a great merit for you here, but there are some difficulties......"

Zeng Ziren's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he directly ignored the second half of Zhu Zongchen's sentence, and asked: "The political envoy said that he wanted to send it to the next merit?" What merit is dare to ask? ”

Zhu Zongchen pretended to look left and right mysteriously, then slowly leaned down, covered his mouth with his hand, and said in a low voice: "According to a reliable report, after the Wugu Sect was disturbed by the regimental training envoy Anyi, he knew that he was exposed to the eyes of the imperial court, so he simply did not stop, and gathered about twenty or thirty thousand horses at the trilateral junction of Chengdu Mansion, Long'an Mansion and Shaanxi Province, and it seemed that there was going to be a big move. ”

"Is that true? Why didn't you go to my father and send troops to encircle and suppress it? ”

Zhu Zongchen waved his hand after hearing this, and said with a helpless expression: "Young Master Zeng should know your old man better than me, without the will of the imperial court, will he be willing to send troops?" ”

Zeng Ziren's eyes dimmed a little, like a deflated ball, and said dejectedly: "Why did the lord say that it was a merit given to me?" Isn't this a deliberate joke? ”

Looking at Zeng Ziren's appearance, Zhu Zongchen didn't feel a little funny, and said in his heart that this happy little young master still complained about him.

"These horses of the Wugu Sect are actually local homeless people and mountain bandits, twenty or thirty thousand people are all rabble, and it only takes three or five thousand officers and soldiers to make them collapse at one touch. After the matter is completed, I will help you polish a fold for the imperial court, and say that the young master, you are brave and invincible, killing more than 100,000 bandits, and ensuring the peace and tranquility of Chengdu and Long'an. At that time, the position of the Chengdu garrison general belongs to you, isn't this a great achievement? ”

Hearing the four words of Chengdu garrison, Zeng Ziren's eyes were about to shine, and he hurriedly pulled Zhu Zongchen's sleeve and said: "In this case, can you lend me some soldiers and horses, not too much, three thousand light horsemen, I will definitely be able to suppress the thieves of the Five Grain Sect!" ”

Zhu Zongchen patted his hand lightly with a wry smile, signaling him not to worry, "Young Master Zeng doesn't know?" This official is a party to the government, except for the few guards around him, how can he have any military power in his hands? But there is one thing in your father's place, and with it, let alone three or five thousand light cavalry, even if it is to mobilize tens of thousands of garrisons in this Sichuan province, it is not a problem. ”

Zeng Ziren grew up in the capital command envoy since he was a child, so he naturally knew what Zhu Zongchen was referring to.

"You mean.... Tiger Talisman? ”

The little young master finally enlightened for a while, and Zhu Zongchen nodded and responded: "That's right! It's the tiger talisman, you just need to quietly lend this tiger talisman for two or three hours, mobilize the light cavalry of the Chengdu pioneer battalion to wipe him out, and then quietly put the tiger talisman back, I think that in the end, your father probably didn't know what happened, and he had already received a general order from the court to reward you. ”

"Good!"

Zeng Ziren nodded heavily, if he was still black before a stick of incense, then now his face is completely red.

Zhu Zongchen saw that Zeng Ziren had agreed, so he regained his trademark smile and said: "Three days later, when the time comes, I will send people from the palace to wait for Gongzi's army in the western suburbs of Chengdu, and take Gongzi to the location of the Wugu Sect Tun Army. ”

Zeng Ziren stood up, bowed deeply to Zhu Zongchen, and thanked him: "Thank you for your kindness, the government will reassure you, and the younger generation will definitely follow what your lord said." If there is a place for the younger generation in the future, please speak up, and the younger generation will definitely not hesitate! ”

Zhu Zongchen also hurriedly stood up, walked in front of Zeng Ziren, and gently held up his arm, "Ziren doesn't have to be like this, if you want to talk about seniority, you have to call me uncle, there is such a good thing, of course, it is for my virtuous nephew first!" You also go back and prepare for your life, and the old man is here to wish you a triumphant return, General Zeng. ”

Zhu Zongchen's last sentence of General Zeng really made Zeng Ziren's bones lighter, he hurriedly thanked him again, and then said goodbye to Zhu Zongchen, bowed carefully and withdrew from Tianfu Pavilion, and ran out of the building with a spring breeze on his face.

At the railing of Tianfu Pavilion, Zhu Zongchen looked at Zeng Ziren's distant back, and the smile on his face became more and more intense.....