But Emperor Chongzhen coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and asked, "Since it is Teacher Sun who intercedes for you, it is your creation." Let me ask you, what are your plans after you fall off the list this time? ”

Ji Qingwen was overjoyed in his heart - he didn't expect that the emperor of the feudal dynasty was also very humane, and he actually gave himself the right to choose.

Overjoyed, Ji Qingwen got a little carried away, and said casually without thinking about it: "Go back to Xi'an and be a rich man!" ”

"! No ambitions! Emperor Chongzhen was really not so easy to talk to, and immediately became furious, "I summoned you late at night, and you actually gave me such an answer?" Failing me like this, is it a long life? ”

Ji Qingwen was startled, and a few words immediately appeared in his mind, "Accompanying the king is like accompanying the tiger" - the emperor was clearly asking for his own opinion just now, but he told the truth, why did he scold again? It's okay to just scold people, and even the scary words like "long life" are said.

At this time, "Teacher Sun" came out to make a round and said to the emperor: "Shengshang, this dog doesn't understand the rules, and please ask the Shengshang to calm the anger of the thunder and let the ministers come to talk to him." ”

He saw that the emperor waved his hand, so he half-turned around and said to Ji Qingwen: "There is a way that is 'under the whole world, it is not the king's land, and it is not the king's minister', since you are the people of the Ming Dynasty, the place where the monarch's father is useful to you, it is your honor, how dare you have other thoughts?" ”

Ji Qingwen said: "It's not that I don't want to serve the emperor. It's just that I'm just a little learned, and I really don't know where I can help the emperor. ”

"Teacher Sun" said: "Although you can rest assured about this, now is the time for the court to employ people, and the emperor has the wisdom to know people, so it is a dog like you that naturally has a place to use, you just listen to the emperor's arrangement." ”

Having said this, Ji Qingwen finally figured out - although this "Teacher Sun" is fierce and speaks ugly, he is constantly speaking for himself, and he is a trustworthy elder.

So Ji Qingwen hurriedly said: "Since I said so, then I will reluctantly do it, if I can't do it well, please don't blame me, it's because I don't have enough ability, it's not that I don't have to do things." ”

"Teacher Sun" scolded again: "Since you have agreed, what kind of system will you call the emperor 'minister' and say 'me' to 'me'?" ”

"Yes, yes, minister, minister." Ji Qingwen hurriedly agreed.

Emperor Chongzhen was amused by Ji Qingwen, and also called him "dog talent" and said: "This dog talent is also interesting." Well, I'm not to blame for what happened before. ”

The emperor pondered for a moment and said, "It seems that this dog can't make a fuss, even if he takes the test a hundred times, he won't be able to pass the jinshi." If you can't get into the Jinshi, you can't enter the Hanlin Academy as a Jishi. It seems that it can only be released...... Teacher Sun, how about you give him a county and let him govern it? ”

"Teacher Sun" thought for a while and said, "Emperor Shengming, let this dog start from the county lord first, and it is good to accumulate experience as an official." However, the minister considered that only letting him be a seven-grade magistrate was afraid that it would damage the saint's high hopes for this dog. ”

Chongzhen's face tightened, and he asked, "How do you say this?" ”

"Teacher Sun" arched his hand and said: "Ji Qingwen, this dog is a businessman, he knows a lot of crooked ways, and he is not a serious jinshi, I am afraid that he will not be stared at, and he will be crushed and brought bad by those corrupt officials and bad officials." Even if it is not bad, more than ten years of ups and downs in officialdom have smoothed out the edges and corners, and he has become a mediocre bureaucrat, so what is the use of the emperor keeping him? ”

"How about making him a brocade guard?" Chongzhen asked.

"Teacher Sun" flattered a few sentences, and said: "Recently, the emperor has installed a lot of cronies in the brocade guard, and no matter how much he is alone, there are many of them, and there are many of them, it seems that it is ......."

Emperor Chongzhen began to be a little impatient, and said: "This is not good, that is not good, I didn't expect this dog to be so difficult to arrange." He cursed twice, and suddenly a flash of inspiration gave him a moment, and he said, "I have an idea!" Let him go to the weaving mansion yamen, go to Suzhou, and go to Suzhou weaving! ”

"Teacher Sun" was stunned for a moment and asked, "Suzhou weaving?" It doesn't seem appropriate to let this dog be the dog, right? ”

Chongzhen had a smile on his face and said, "I see that this dog has a lot of ghost ideas, and he can't be a serious official, so it's just right for him to go to the Yamen of the Weaving Mansion." ”

"Yes...... However, the weaving yamen in various places has always been presided over by eunuchs, and this Ji Qingwen ...... "Teacher Sun is embarrassed."

Ji Qingwen was also anxious, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, it's not that the minister is unwilling to serve. It's just that the minister is the third generation of the Ji family, and he hasn't left a son and a half daughter, so let me be a eunuch, I'm afraid that my father won't agree. ”

Chongzhen smiled: "When did I say that you should be a eunuch?" Although most of the weaving commanders in various places were eunuchs, it was not an explicit system. In this case, it can be broken and standable, and it is not a big deal that I have broken this convention today. ”

Emperor Chongzhen paused and said: "Several previous emperors of the Ming Dynasty have always trusted eunuchs, Wang Zhen of the Orthodox Dynasty, Liu Jin of the Zhengde Dynasty, and Wei Zhongxian of the previous Dynasty, which one is a good thing?" I have made up my mind not to reuse eunuchs again, and I will take back the power in the hands of eunuchs little by little, and rearrange people with both ability and integrity. This matter must be done, but it can involve a wide range of things, and it cannot be rushed. If I look at it, I can start by seizing the power of weaving yamen everywhere......"

Hearing this, the "Teacher Sun" suddenly knelt on the ground with a "poof", bowed a few times, and said: "The emperor is sage, he can have insight into the maladministration of the previous dynasty, and can be determined to reform, this is a good thing that is good for the present and for the future, and the minister is grateful!" ”

The middle-aged man who had been sitting on the side for a long time couldn't sit still anymore when he saw this, so he quickly got down from his seat, knelt next to "Teacher Sun", and kowtowed a few times.

When Ji Qingwen saw it, he also drew a gourd and knelt down and kowtowed.

Chongzhen is still a young man, and he can't stand such praise, so he immediately smiled and said: "As long as there is a discerning person, such a malpractice can be seen." The previous emperors of our dynasty, including the former emperor's brother, were just too lazy to ask. But I'm not afraid of trouble, but I have to put things in order. ”

The more Chongzhen spoke, the more excited he became, his white face was a little red, and he pointed at Ji Qingwen, who was prostrate on the ground, and said: "That's what Ji Qingwen said that day in the Liansheng Inn." After I came back that day, I didn't sleep well for a few days, and now it's too difficult to accomplish something in this world, and I have to start with the rectification of the bureaucracy. Cutting off the tumor of the eunuch party first, it is the breakthrough of this big article, the topic, the beginning, the beginning, and the text are still to come! ”

"Teacher Sun" listened, and hurriedly said to Ji Qingwen: "Ji Qingwen, the emperor has adopted those exhortations you gave in the Liansheng Inn, what an honor is this?" Why don't you hurry up and kowtow to thanksgiving? ”

If he took my advice and suggestion, it should be him who thanked me, so why should I thank him?

Ji Qingwen was honest in his heart, but his appearance was very sleek, and he immediately kowtowed again and thanked him.

Chongzhen was happy to see it and said, "Okay, it's good that you know my intentions, let's all get up." ”

Ji Qingwen knelt with a sore back and was about to get up from the ground, but he heard the emperor say again: "Ji Qingwen, don't get up first, I still have something to say." ”

Ji Qingwen was full of dissatisfaction when he heard it, but he still didn't dare to disobey the emperor's will, and he still knelt on the ground and didn't dare to get up.

But I heard the emperor say again: "You said these words to me in the Liansheng Inn, which is a great merit and deserves a generous reward." Let you do Jiangnan weaving, it is indeed a little difficult for you. But I am not a ruthless king, come, I will be the master today, and arrange for you to worship Teacher Sun as a teacher! ”

Ji Qingwen thought: If you want to reward me, then give me a lot of money, or simply promise a princess to me, and be a concubine when I am a concubine; How do you come up with a teacher for me? It's inexplicable.

Ji Qingwen hesitated, and Emperor Chongzhen became impatient again, and asked, "What?" Teacher Sun taught me and the first emperor brother back then, and he was the emperor's teacher! You can be his student, that is a blessing that you can't cultivate in a few lifetimes, why don't you hurry up and kowtow to the teacher? ”

Ji Qingwen sighed and thought: When I entered the palace today, I didn't do anything else, so I just kowtowed to people; But there are so many kowtows tonight, it doesn't matter if there is one more or one less.

So he turned around slightly, kowtowed to the bearded old man a few times, and said, "Sir, Ji Qingwen is polite!" ”