Chapter 641: Seeing the Subtle Knowledge, Be Prepared

In September, Jingshi had not seen the sun for several days, and the sky had always been gloomy, and even the hearts of the people were extremely cold. Since the emperor led a large army to inspect the outside, and the state affairs inside and outside were handled by the crown prince, although the court meeting was suspended, the palace Wenhua Hall was busy everywhere. The ministers' mansions outside the palace are often in and out, and the calm on the surface can't hide the turbulent waves in the secret, but more people are living their own peaceful lives and enjoying themselves.

In the previous Shuntianfu Township Examination, Gu Bin and Zhang Zhen were both among the best in the Guozijian after all, and the former was Yang Rong's high foot, so Gu Bin was second in high school in one fell swoop, and Zhang Zhen's ranking was also among the top 20. Even Fang Jing, who was a little smaller, had excellent luck this time, and he was exactly the last one in the eighty place to be raised. Although he was not very good-looking, he was still very happy, and after the exam, he had to get together with the other two to celebrate, and even Gu Bin, who didn't drink, was drunk. Even in the past few days, the three of them often write together, and they all want to take the next year's exam in one go.

Yangwu Bo's Mansion has just been cleaned up these days, because the elders are not here now, and the grandchildren have only just come out of filial piety, and Zhang Yue, the only one who is still in the position of real power, is not there, but it is quite quiet.

After the sacrifice, he took off the Qi decay filial piety clothes on his body, and the various furnishings and ornaments that he had packed up at the beginning naturally returned to their original positions, and they were also busy measuring the size and making this year's winter clothes. Zhang Jingjingguan Zhang Fu is a young generation when they are growing up, and good clothes often can't be worn for a year. As for Zhang Zhen, who has just been promoted in the examination, not to mention, his patriarch's head of the house, Sun is filial piety, and he often has to go out to meet guests, so he naturally has to prepare all kinds of clothes, after all, this is also a façade. Although these are all prepared by Zheng Fangfei, she is shy by nature and often asks Du Juan for details, and the two are close.

On this day, it happened that Zhang Yue's letter was delivered to his home, and after Du Juan took it, he read it carefully word by word. Although looking at the meaning of the description between the lines, it should have been written when Xuanfu was in the palace, and it was less than half a month since now, but at least there was a letter back. After reading it, she found that Qiu Scar was watching from the side, so she casually put it over, and after seeing her smile and thanking her, she hurriedly got together with Amber, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart, and then calculated the return date.

"Oh, my grandfather, you can run slower! Third Miss, don't take this little ancestor with you! ”

After an abrupt shout, Du Juan immediately came back to his senses, but saw that the pine-colored curtain had been lifted by a corner. Immediately after, I saw a silver-red figure dragging a short figure running in quickly, and got into her arms like a joy. Hearing Zhang Jingjiao calling her sister-in-law, and Jingguan calling her mother in a milky voice, she nodded at the nurse who was curtsy, and held the two children in her arms one by one. first asked Zhang Jing how she read today, praised her two more sentences, and then she hugged her son on her lap.

"I don't go to school in the afternoon, so I'm going to my aunt's too...... Hey, my brother has a letter? Show me! ”

Zhang Jing's eyes were sharp, and when she saw that Qiu Zhen and Amber were reading the letter, she hurriedly rushed over and reached out to grab it. The startled Qiu Scar subconsciously raised his hand, making Zhang Jing pounce. The first move worked before she could be proud, and suddenly felt an itch on her waist, and suddenly laughed uncontrollably, and squatted down all of a sudden, and the result was naturally eating Zhang Jing and winning the letter.

"Sister Qiujian, this time it's me who won!"

The two were used to fighting, and Zhang Jing, who had won, was naturally proud for a while, and then stepped forward with a smile and returned the letter to Qiu Zhen, and asked Amber to read it to her coquettishly. After listening, she pursed her lips and said, "I thought my brother would have any extra instructions, but it turned out that there was nothing, it was all the same old words." Only we are mentioned at the end. ”

Du Juan had been laughing and watching them play just now, and at this moment he said angrily: "Silly girl, accompany you all the way, and someone will check all the private messages, and then you will be sealed, your brother is so bold, can you write anything important on this?" It's just a matter of peace! ”

"I thought my brother would say something nice to his sister-in-law in the letter!"

"You're a little ghost!"

Shaking his head angrily, Du Juan thought to himself that Zhang Jing was so eccentric at a young age, and he was not at all like Zhang Zhuo and the Sun family, nor was he at all like Zhang Yue. remembered that in the afternoon, sister-in-law Li Yun also asked a few concubines to go to the British Mansion to accompany Mrs. Wang to wipe the dominoes, so she stood up and prepared to take Zhang Jing to the British Mansion together. Now there is nothing big in the house, the men are all outside, and it is enough to keep the autumn mark amber housekeeper.

"Third sister-in-law, is the third sister-in-law here?"

Hearing such a voice coming from outside the door, Zhang Jing was stunned for a moment, and then rushed out like a gust of wind, and dragged a person in after a while. Du Juan took a closer look, and saw that the person who came was Zhang Zhen, who was caught off guard, so he smiled, hurriedly gave up his seat, and told Crystal to go to Li Yun to tell him that he would be late, and then sat down on the west end of the kang.

"Didn't the fourth brother go outside, and came back in a hurry at this time, is there something?"

Although it was a cold day, Zhang Zhen came back from his horse to blow the wind all the way, but he still felt a burst of heat on his body at this time. At this time, he made a steady effort, and then he spoke: "I have just come back from going out of the city with a few prisoners who have graduated from the Guozi Prison, and when I entered the main gate of Li, I saw a messenger entering the city quickly, saying that the emperor had won a great victory outside Songting Pass. I thought that the third brother should accompany the emperor from Songting Pass to Daning, and this time he was probably among them. ”

Before he finished speaking, Du Juan stood up. Seeing that everyone in the room was full of joy, she knew that they must have taken it for granted that the victory must represent meritorious service and peace. After bowing her head and pondering for a while, she instructed Amber and Autumn Marks: "You two bring Jing'er to the eldest grandmother, and ask them to take Jing'er to the British Mansion first, and by the way, pass on this good news to the eldest aunt, I just happened to remember that I want to go home to see my father, and I will go back later." Also, Master Peng went to Daning, Lingxi has been here to help these days, you go to thank her on my behalf, she has really worked hard. ”

Lin Lin always ordered a lot of orders, and seeing that Qiu Zhen and Amber did not doubt it, they dragged Zhang Jing to get up and leave, and Du Juan instructed the nurse to hug Xiao Jingguan down. Seeing that Zhang Zhen was still sitting still, she smiled and said, "Since the fourth brother is back, why don't you go to the British Mansion with the fourth brother and sister to meet the eldest uncle?" Since you hit the lifter, the eldest aunt is also very happy! ”

"Third sister-in-law, do you have any ideas?" Zhang Zhen was not so easy to deceive, and he didn't move at all at this time, "This great victory outside Songting Pass sounds simple, but knowing that the emperor led a large army to patrol the border, who would be so short-sighted to provoke?" Besides, how can it be so coincidental? And ......"

"Don't have it, your third brother said that you are vigilant, I can be regarded as believing it now!" Du Juan saw the two little girls in the room listening curiously, so he coughed lightly, "Fourth brother, you are right, this military report said that it was a great victory, and there would be nothing wrong with victory, but other things are strange." Now that your eldest brother Wan happened to be the envoy of Wara, I thought of Xiao Wu because of this, so I was planning to go home and ask, and it happened that my father was not on duty today. It's inconvenient for me to go back alone, I was worried about my father's main exam next year, but now it seems that most of them are gold bachelors, so you don't have to avoid him, how about going with me? ”

When Gu's 60th birthday, Zhang Zhen saw Du Zhen for the first time, and what impressed him was not this person, but the respect of Xiao Shen, who was specially invited by his father. It wasn't until later that he saw this cold-faced Mr. Du moving all the way up to the court, and finally entering the cabinet, that he thought more than once in his heart that if he had worshiped under him, what would have happened. It's just that these thoughts have faded later, and people have their own paths, and he is just as good now.

Even so, when he heard Du Juan say this, he still agreed almost without thinking about it.

Zhang Zhen wanted to go with Du Juan to visit Du Zhen, which was naturally a serious matter, and when Li Yun learned about it, he beckoned the concubines to go first. Zheng Fangfei didn't think much about it, but Zhao Fen couldn't help muttering in her heart. It's just that she now thinks that the title in this family must be inherited by Zhang Qi in the future, and she is the future uncle, plus Mrs. An Yuanhou has warned her several times, she has no choice but to pretend to be virtuous in front of the concubines, and the three of them have nothing to say for a while, so they took Zhang Jing out with them.

Because of Du Zhen's temperament, Du Mansion has always been deserted, and now the emperor is not in Beijing. When Du Juan came back that day, the family was busy. After Du Juan entered, another servant invited Zhang Zhen, who was escorting Du Juan back on horseback, to the hall to sit and serve tea. After only sitting for a while, Zhang Zhen was invited to the study.

Although he said that he came once when Zhang Yue got married, that time he was full of excitement and joy, where can he care about this. This time he had the opportunity to take a closer look, and he had to take a look, and saw that a few servants were neither humble nor arrogant, and the courtyard houses were simple and tidy, and his feet slowed down unconsciously, and he didn't take his mood until the study.

After being informed, he entered the room through the brown cotton curtain that had been lifted from the corner. It's about newly renovated, and you can still smell the faint smell of paint. The boxy study is divided into two rooms, the outside is a high table and two chairs, separated by a high bookcase in the middle, and a thick stack of books can be seen in every space above. Through the gap between the bookshelves and the books, you can faintly see the verdant gauze curtain behind you. At this moment, a young servant in a turquoise jacket came out and led him to the inner room.

As soon as Zhang Zhen entered, he saw a person looking for books on the bookshelf against the wall with his back to him, and when he looked around, he found that there were bookshelves on all sides, only a large bookcase in the center, a chair behind the bookcase, and two chairs on the left in front of the bookcase. Savoring this veritable bookstore, he was stunned for a moment before he remembered to salute.

Du Zhen found the book and turned around, and when he saw Zhang Zhen bowing in a daze, he nodded and said, "Sit down, don't be so restrained, you are Yuanjie's brother-in-law, not an outsider." Wan'er just mentioned it to me, I don't think you should just hear the good news and report it, right? Yesterday, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince granted me a day off, and it is not easy for me to go to the palace to inquire about the news at this time, since you are here, I will listen to it. ”

This straightforward posture without dragging mud and water at all caught Zhang Zhen a little off guard, and for a while he remembered the cold face he often saw in Kaifeng's house before. Yes, in his early years, he still slandered in his heart, such a person who was as cold as ice, Zhang Yue actually dared to worship under the door, and he was not afraid of being frozen into ice. He even remembered hearing Lian Sheng Lian Hu mention that when Du Zhen first taught Zhang Yue, the requirements were all one-size-fits-all, and there was no room for negotiation at all.

"Master Du, that's the case, when I heard the news at the main gate of Li, I happened to be with Little Brother Qi." After a sentence, Zhang Zhen finally felt more comfortable, and then his words became fluent, "Little Seventh Brother was very shocked when he heard the news, so we went back to the city together, and happened to meet an imperial history near the Metropolitan Procuratorate." Xiao Qi Ge and the man had a good relationship, the two talked for a while, the man said that between Daning and Songting Pass is Huizhou and Kuanhe, which used to be a rich place, but now it is a necessary place for the Wuliangha people to invade. However, the Uliangha people were defeated only last year, and now if they do not have other confidence, they will not dare to make rash attacks. ”

Hearing this, Du Zhen couldn't help but nod approvingly: "Well, this person is not bad, you continue to speak." ”

Because Zhang Zhen was not very good at military strategy and other things, he simply took out the man's words at this time: "He also said that most of the instigators behind him were Tatar Arutai. In this case, Arutai will definitely send troops as well, and it is by no means a small number of men and horses on both sides to be together. In the past, with tens of thousands of troops from the Tatar tribes, Arutai was able to trap 300,000 soldiers and horses in Qiufu. Now the emperor has no more than 30,000 soldiers, and if he wants to win a big victory in one fell swoop, I am afraid that not only will the brave win when they meet on a narrow road, but also use the soldiers to make a surprise attack, taking advantage of the relationship that one side cannot respond to. It's just that I fought so hard, and I don't know how the damage in the army was. ”

After listening to this remark, Du Zhen's brows went from frowning to stretching, and then twisted into a ball. He had only been in the cabinet for two years, but he had stood tall and looked far, and even if he was not proficient in military strategy, he knew that this was very pertinent. Although he should consider the emperor first, he couldn't help but ask, "What is this person's surname?" ”

"It's a test of Shi Yuqian."

Du Zhen immediately remembered this person - Shangke Jinshi, Yang Shiqi recommended the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and once impeached Zhang Yue once, but he was not liked by Liu Guan, the imperial history of Zuodu, and he never gave it - looking at the original bullet seal, he should be a square and solemn person, no wonder he and Gu Bin have a spleen, these two people are clearly people all the way.

He was about to speak, when suddenly his heart moved, and he asked Zhang Zhen, "Tell me what you think." ”

Zhang Zhen was immersed in thinking about Gu Bin and that Yu Qian, one was stupid and the other was hard, it was a perfect match, who would have thought that such a question suddenly got into his ears, and he was stunned. Immediately after, he realized that Du Zhen was indeed asking himself, and blurted out almost without having time to think about it: "I just thought, is this victory to cover up other news?" ”

As soon as the words came out, he immediately regretted it. You must know that Du Zhen is a close minister of the Son of Heaven, doesn't he seem to be ignorant when he talks like this? Just as he was about to explain, he saw Du Zhen nodding slightly, and he was at a loss.

"Maybe you're right. With the emperor's personality, he must personally lead the army in front, and to deal with such a big battle, I am afraid that this matter cannot be underestimated. In this way, if you are prepared, you will go to the Chengguo Mansion first......"

While Du Zhen was talking, a voice suddenly came from outside: "Master, master, someone has come to the palace, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has announced!" ”