Chapter 659: The Sad Man Has No Arms (Part I)

Zhang Yue lived in Nanjing for more than a year, and then came to inspect the granary, and was very familiar with this ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. Among the entourage, except for Li Guoxiu, Rui Yixiang, who was born in the north, the two teenagers saw everything fresh, and Niu Dare Zhang Bu, who went south for the first time, also looked around along the way. Most of the rest of the people have lived in this bustling capital for a while, and their reaction after entering the city is naturally normal. Today, Nanjing's population has plummeted by a third compared to that year, and the streets look a little empty.

The group entered the city from the Jiangdong Gate, and Zhang Yue asked Du Juan to take the others to the house to settle down first, and he and Sun Han went to the Yamen separately. He took Niu Dang and Zhang Bu along Jiangdongmen Avenue all the way straight, through several longitudinal alleys, and saw a wooden archway with the word "loyalty" written on it from a distance.

Ying Tianfu Ya is located in the middle of the archway of the west building, close to the east street of Fu, there are archways on both sides, Zhang Yue just passed by the west archway. Entering the main gate of the government is a three-zhang long big wall, engraved with Jiangya sea water and lotus patterns. Now that it is the end of the year, the lobby is idle, so the official who led the way directly took Zhang Yue to the second hall. Along the way, Zhang Buniu dared to look around, and saw that there were countless houses in this mansion, and he couldn't help but smack his tongue secretly, thinking that even the Yamen of the Military Department and the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites of the Beijing Division could not compare to such a scene, and when they heard that there were more than 200 houses inside and outside here, the two of them were even more surprised.

"In the eighteenth year of Yongle, the first emperor moved the capital and transferred nearly 30,000 craftsmen from Nanjing to enrich Beijing, but now Nanjing is much more deserted, and our government is not as busy as before."

Today's Yin Zhangxu of Yingtianfu used to be Zhang Zhuo's boss in the past, so after Zhang Yue visited, he smiled and summoned other subordinate officials to meet him, and personally led people around the palace. Because Zhang Zhuo once served as the governor of Jiangning County for a while, and then was promoted to the middle of the Yingtianfu Governor, now Zhang Yue has come here to take office, which just gives people a feeling of father going to son.

Zhang Zhuo did not take power or fight for power when he first took office, he was calm, and his bosses and colleagues got along well, but Ying Tianfu has never changed much, and now the officials have hardly changed from the beginning, so everyone is polite to the son of this former colleague. And even the oldest old officials will not rely on the old and sell the old at this time.

Fu Cheng is second only to Fu Yin, higher than Zhizhong and Tongju, even if Zhang Yue is young, he is also the boss!

When he arrived at the official residence at the back of the second hall, Zhang Xu turned his head and said with a smile: "Brother Yuanjie, behind this is the official residence of the government office, in addition to me, He Zhizhong, Luo Tongju and others also live in it. I've had people move a few rooms......"

Hearing the word "official house", Zhang Yue quickly glanced at a few colleagues next to him, and saw that everyone had a different color, and he naturally understood what was going on when he had been a seal official - although there are many houses in the government, there are also many subordinate officials, especially in Yingtianfu today. Fu Yin, the official of Zhengyin, occupies the most and best rooms, and the remaining few officials are so divided, and the rest of the house is naturally tight, and now although it is the vacancy of Fu Cheng that is filled by him, it may be that the house will be occupied by people when they leave.

Therefore, without waiting for Zhang Xu to finish speaking, he smiled and said: "This is the New Year, how can there be a reason to make people vacate the house?" At the beginning, my father also had a house outside, which was very close to the government, and I still lived there conveniently. It's just that the court has a system, and I ask you to help accommodate one or two, so don't let me be impeached for this matter. ”

Hearing that Zhang Yue did not occupy the official residence in the house, everyone from Zhang Xu and below breathed a sigh of relief. After all, not everyone who is an official has a solid family background, and if they have to rent a house outside to live in addition to being an official, they really have to drink the northwest wind. So, after the simple reception banquet, Zhang Xu personally sent Zhang Yue to the second gate, and when the people left, he nodded to the subordinate officials.

"From his father there must be his son, Zhang Zuo used to be humble and tolerant, and his son now seems to have some of this style, without the arrogance of being young and ambitious. It's just that when the yamen is sealed today, and when the office is sealed in the future, you have to be cautious. He is not as good as Zhang Zhuo, his reputation must be relied upon, don't make fun of young people! Besides, don't talk about any loss of power or anything like that, it's not our turn to comment on how the court employs people! ”

Zhang Yue naturally didn't know that he had come to make the people of Yingtianfu pay enough attention, and when he got home, he saw Sun Han who had also rushed back. Because the Sun family's former house had already been sold, and they were close relatives on both sides, when they left Beijing, the two discussed living together this time. Although the huge British Mansion was still empty, Zhang Yue didn't want to be so ostentatious, so he moved into the house where their father and son had lived in Nanjing, and Zhang Zhuo had stayed for a while.

This house was originally a small cross-courtyard, but since Zhang Zhuo lived in Nanjing a few years ago when he was an official, it has been expanded several times, and because Zhang Fu spoke, he deliberately included the two courtyards of the British Mansion together, and it was naturally more than enough for the two families to live. Although it has been empty for more than a year, it has been sorted out since I got the news a while ago, and now it has been cleaned up and tidy.

Nanjing has five military governors' mansions, there are six capital procuratorates, even the brocade guards and many guards are also readily available, like a small court, but the emperor and the crown prince are not here, there is nothing important to deal with here, so the main management of the whole Nanjing is the wealth of the south of the Yangtze River, like a nursing home that occupies a huge area, only Ying Tianfu is still busy. Even so, it is now the twenty-eighth day of the lunar month, and as soon as Zhang Yue has done everything he should take office, the yamen will be sealed, and he will get a few days off at once.

In the past, I wanted to take a few days off but couldn't get it, but now I have a holiday as soon as I come, and Zhang Yue, who has nothing to do, is naturally unaccustomed to this kind of idle days. Originally, he wanted to go out for a walk, but Du Juan said that he was half a patient, and said that he would wait for the Chinese New Year and then go out to visit guests, so he left people at home.

Seeing that everyone was busy packing up their things to prepare for the New Year, he simply sent people out to inquire about the news, and went to the study by himself to ponder and write couplets. This is the old rule that spread among the people during the Hongwu years, and now the funeral is due to the old Hongwu system, and there are not many taboos after the 27th, so the red paper was sold on the street very early. Not only do the Spring Festival couplets need to be pasted at the entrance of each household, but even the shadow wall furniture, windows, door panels and other places must also be pasted with blessing characters of different sizes, just to ask for a good mouth color for the New Year.

"Young Master, Gongzi Li and Gongzi Rui are here."

Zhang Yue, who was bowing his head and writing the word Fu, did not raise his head and ordered people to come in. Glimpsing the two of them entering the house to salute, he casually said goodbye, and waited until he wrote the last vertical of the word Fu, then put down the pen, picked up this bucket and blew it gently, and nodded to the two: "This should be the first time you go out of the house, and the first time you spend the Spring Festival outside, can you still get used to eating and resting?" ”

Li Guoxiu hurriedly replied: "Lord Hui, my family also moved to Beijing from the south, so I am not used to it." ”

Although Rui Yixiang is smart, he is honest: "There is a warm kang in the capital, but Nanjing often uses a charcoal stove and a soup woman to keep warm, and I often feel cold when I sleep for half a night at night. There is also fish and meat in the diet, I really feel that I can't go, the adults are too kind to us. ”

Zhang Yue saw Li Guoxiu nodding his head again and again like a chicken pecking rice, and couldn't help but smile dumbly, and immediately asked: "You should also know that the people in Class A in Ethnology are led by Master Chen, and we have already traveled down to the south of the Yangtze River. I only ask you, do you know that I let them go to Jiangnan this time, and I picked you two younger ones to follow, what is the purpose? ”

The two teenagers discussed this question countless times along the way, and they settled down last night and pondered for a while, and they always felt that the statements of the masters in the family science were very untrustworthy. At this moment, the two glanced at each other, and it was Li Guoxiu who spoke first.

"Most of the people in ethnography are from the north, and there are very few from the south. Putting aside the township test for the time being, in the past, there have always been far more students in the south than in the north, and the adults should want to take the opportunity to go to the south of the Yangtze River to let us see the talents of the south of the Yangtze River, so that everyone can put away their complacency and not be complacent because of their excellent grades in the clan studies. ”

Rui Yixiang saw that Zhang Yue was noncommittal, so he gritted his teeth and said: "Along the way, adults often test the two of us when they are resting, and they give a lot of advice, you ...... Do you want to keep us under the door? ”

Seeing Li Guoxiu's face change drastically, and he glared at his companions again and again, Zhang Yue finally couldn't help laughing, feeling that these two teenagers were really interesting. Because Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were very taboo in the two dynasties, the talented scholars of the people often used their brains in apprenticeship, but those literary leaders rarely accepted students easily. For example, Yang Shiqi and others, although there are many people who are recommended, there is no disciple in the real sense, but there are many more protégés who have repeatedly presided over the examination. He has never entered Hanlin in his life, and it is impossible for him to preside over the examination, and it is naturally hopeless to have a protégé all over the world, but he also wants to cultivate some usable talents.

"You're both right. I do want to warn those students in ethnology not to be complacent, there is no end to learning, if you sit in the well and watch the sky, even if you are named on the gold list, the future is limited. As for the latter...... My articles and knowledge are not the top, and teaching and educating people is just a misguided child. Being an official is not just about learning, and letting a well-educated Confucian preside over water conservancy may not be as good as an official who is proficient in water conservancy. People have specialization, officials have expertise, do you understand what this means? ”

The two teenagers were already stunned by Zhang Yue's words, and when they heard this last sentence, Li Guoxiu suddenly woke up, and hurriedly bowed down, and Rui Yixiang's movements were only half a beat slower than him. Seeing this, Zhang Yue couldn't help but laugh dumbly, so he shook his head and said, "Get up, I'm only in my early twenties, what kind of students do you accept, wouldn't it be ridiculous and generous to say it?" I just want to teach you something on this trip, not for any teacher-student status. I am in charge of the Ying Tianfu School, you will stay there for a month in the future, and then follow me into the yamen to study for a month, and then you will talk about it when you have anything to say. ”

Sending the two confused little guys away, Zhang Yue looked at the Spring Festival couplets on the table, and couldn't help but think of the three people who were still waiting in Beijing to take the exam. Gu Bin is one year older than him, and he has accumulated a lot of experience over the years, and he will try to be at least nine points sure; Zhang Zhen has been frustrated many times, and his temperament is becoming more and more calm, which is also very promising; Only Fang Jing ...... The little guy relied on the breath in his chest to pass the exam, and now he is studying hard at home all day long, and he has no time to send him first, but it is worrying to say that he will try.

The path of the imperial examination is not something that can be achieved by holding back one breath and working hard, and chance is more important than anything else.

The first time I welcomed Chinese New Year's Eve in Nanjing, Zhang Fu and Mrs. Wang were there, and the reunion dinner was still eaten with Zhang Wei and Zhang Yuan, and the atmosphere was as cold as ice; The second time he spent the Chinese New Year's Eve in Nanjing, he hugged his new wife to watch the fireworks for a night, and spent a warm and happy Spring Festival with his parents; Now for the third time, Zhang Yue drank a lot of wine, and actually fell asleep with his son Jingguan in his arms when he was watching the New Year around the fireplace, and when he woke up in the morning, he didn't remember what he did last night.

It's just that he doesn't have any regrets. The first three days of the new month were the most moving time of the year, and it was a great opportunity for him to visit. So, early in the morning, he and Du Juan dressed up and went out - but in different places. The female dependents on the side of the government were naturally Du Juan's visit, and the people Zhang Fu mentioned had to be seen by himself.

After the funeral of the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di, Zheng He was ordered to go to Nanjing, and these days he has been living in a royal mansion on Mafu Street. If it was in Beijing, there would still be a banquet on the New Year's Day, but now he is in Nanjing, and the first day of the first lunar month is idle. He had no complaints about leading the officers and troops to guard Nanjing, but when he heard the discussions outside, he felt disheartened.

has been adrift at sea for many years with his troops, and he naturally has a lot of affection for such an officer and army. These are all brave men who can drive boats and fight on the ground, and now some people say that these people will inevitably have accidents when they are idle, and they will be sent to repair the Nanjing Palace!

"Father, father!"

Seeing his adopted son Zheng Enming slamming into the door curtain, Zheng He reprimanded angrily: "What is so reckless and in a hurry? ”

"Someone outside the door sent a lot of gifts, and the Tao was brought by Gonggong Zhang in the palace." Zheng Enming smiled and handed over the gift list with both hands, then rubbed his hands and said, "After you arrived in Nanjing, almost no one came to see you, and I didn't expect Gonggong Zhang to still miss it." It's been a whole day, and this is the first Boxing Rite except for the merchants......"

"Grandpa Zhang? Zhang Qian? ”

Zheng He opened the gift list with a puzzled stomach, looked at it at a glance, and his heart immediately burst out. There are both ordinary local products and precious medicinal materials between the east and west, but if it weren't for the people who were very familiar with him, he would definitely not be able to give such a gift, which shows that it was indeed Zhang Qian's doing. However, at the place where the payment was made, it was clearly Long Feifeng dancing with Zhang Yue written on it. This little Lord Zhang, who was secretly descended by Mingsheng, actually promised Zhang Qian to bring something to him?