Guo Zhongxiao put down the silver cup in his hand, the wine syrup he had just swallowed was still burning in his throat, and several companions took the wine jug to fill his cup with it, "Brother Lizhi, drink more." The drunken Miao of Gaoyang Zhengdian is difficult to find when you arrive in Taiyuan. ”

Guo Kui received the emperor's order to become the prefect of Taiyuan. It's just that he sat in Beijing for more than a month, and it wasn't until the end of the first month that he began to prepare to leave.

Tokyo is rich and prosperous, and can be close to the Son of Heaven, many officials are reluctant to go out to work, and even if they are transferred to foreign posts, they will drag out the time to go out. It takes a long time, three to five months.

This phenomenon is especially common among important ministers. Guo Kui plans to wait for the first month before he goes on the road, he has been guarding the Quartet for many years, staying in Beijing for a month or two, the Son of Heaven is embarrassed to urge him, an important minister, at most one or two imperial histories to gossip, where does Guo Kui care. Under the pretext that the ice of the Yellow River is thawing, he simply sat in the city of Tokyo and did not move.

That is, it was nearly February, Guo Kuijing was extremely thoughtful, and he had no intention of staying in Beijing for longer, and he wanted to leave Beijing and go north regardless of the fact that the Yellow River had not completely thawed.

Today's banquet in Gaoyang's store is set up for Guo Zhong's filial piety. Although Guo Zhongxiao is behind the door, he is worshipping under the door of Ercheng. The friends I made were also the children of the Wenchen family, not the Yanai of the Jiangmen.

However, the protagonist of the topic at the banquet was not Guo Zhongxiao, except for pouring wine and toasting, he was talking about Han Gang, who took the plate armor out on the Xuande Gate and made the Zai Fu look naught.

One person put down the wine glass, with a little drunkenness: "Han Gang knew that the iron ship of Ludao couldn't be built, it was just a gimmick, but in fact, he was already preparing to build plate armor." What is getting newer, the ...... of the deceitful ghost"

"So what, aren't all the princes of the two mansions fooled? Who didn't give him a cover in the DPRK? He Liu, weren't you fooled? Han Gang was alone in his stomach and laughing secretly. The other person's eyes bulged out, and he was half-squinted when he saw people, and he was very short-sighted, but his voice was loud enough: "What "Buoyancy Tracing the Source" seems to have some truth, and everyone in and outside Beijing thinks that Han Gang built an iron ship as proof. Who would have thought that the iron ship could not be built, but the plate armor did. ”

Chen Dingfu was right. Han Gang is extremely cunning. I'm afraid that neither of the two ministers and two counselors in the political hall thought that he would compete for the position of the military superintendent, and in the end it would be for this result. In his thirties, some wealthy middle-aged people laughed.

Chen Dingfu's eyes almost narrowed into a slit: "If you know that Han Gang went to the Ordnance Prison to make plate armor, will Lu Huiqing give him the opportunity to make meritorious service?" It's because he thought Han Gang was going to build an iron ship, so he put his mind down and prepared to watch the joke? ”

"Lu Huiqing is not the only one who has been fooled, there is actually another one in the political hall who has been fooled, and stealing chickens and rice after the most can't be fooled." The rich middle-aged man leaned forward, and his voice was lowered, "Do you know who took out the lightboat on the Shangyuan Festival?" ”

Guo Zhongxiao finally opened his mouth and asked suspiciously, "Isn't it Han Gang who presides over it?" ”

"Of course not!" The middle-aged man denied it: "First of all, the old lamp mountain of the ordnance supervisor was broken during the New Year's Festival, and Han Gang had not officially gone to the ordnance superintendent to take office at that time. It was not he who presided over the production of Xindeng Mountain, but the ordnance supervisor Cheng Bai Zhang. By the time the lightship was built, it was already the twelfth and thirteenth of the first month, and Han Gang and Zeng Xiaokuan only saw it at this time. If Han Gang didn't have a backhand, even if he destroyed the lightship and rebuilt it into another one, it would not be too late. When the time comes, if he can't build an iron ship, how can Han Gang still have the face to stay in the capital? The Son of Heaven will not spare him. It's good that this calculation is good, but who would have thought that this is falling into Han Gang's hands. ”

Guo Zhongxiao was suspicious: "Brother Bin, it's not that I don't believe you. I always feel that this thing is a bit too far-fetched! ”

The rich middle-aged man of the cousin Binzhi was obviously deaf and clear-eyed in the officialdom, and sneered: "Sentenced to the military weapons supervisor Cheng Bai Zhang is already going to be transferred to the Lingnan Prison Bow and Crossbow Academy, do you say it is true or false?" There is also a Ling Shi, who also went to Lingnan together. The two of them were in charge of building weapons and supervising Dengshan, and their transfer was recommended by Han Gang. The recommendation chapter said that the two were effective in building Dengshan, and recommended them to go to Lingnan to serve. ”

There was silence at the table, and it took a long time before someone spoke: "...... So ruthless! ”

"How could Zhongshu agree?" Guo Zhongxiao was even more puzzled.

Bin Zhi smiled: "Lizhi, don't you still understand? It was one of the four people in Zhongshu who succeeded, and Han Gang was just retaliating. Han Gang is not afraid of making trouble about this matter. In front of the Son of Heaven, he will never be the unlucky. That's why Zhongshu hurriedly approved this recommendation, if it weren't for the power of Zai Fu, how could he suppress Bai Zhang and the two to accept this appointment? ”

“…… Who the hell is this person? Even He Liu, who was drunk just now, was sober at this time.

"Whoever approves it is the person behind the lightship!" Bin Zhi sneered, "How harmonious do you think the four Zaifu in the political hall are and will cover up for each other?" Han Gang saw the right time to hand it over. ”

Another silence descended into the chamber. All of you here are the children of official eunuchs, and you have seen and heard a lot of intrigue in the political arena. But the competition between the little judge and the commander of the military not only did not lose the wind, but made people suffer the bitter fruit, and had to learn to cut off the tail of the lizard, which was too amazing.

"Say so much and do what?" Among the five people seated in the column, the only one who didn't speak slapped the table, "Han Gang is treacherous, yes, but his vision is inevitably too small. Under the guise of using Gewu Zhizhi as a cover, but the iron ship can't do it when he says it, and it will drag on for more than ten or twenty years, or even decades. This time, Han Gang himself is proud, but you go and see who else believes in Zhang Hengqu's Guan Xue? ”

“…… You Gongxiu is right when he says this, Han Gang is indeed only taking care of himself. He Liu nodded, "Turning 'Gewu Zhizhi' into a stepping stone, maybe Zhang Zai will be so angry that he doesn't recognize him as a disciple." ”

You Gongxiu sneered with disdain: "The reason why people are traitors is like this, there is nothing that cannot be used, but I don't know the four words of sincerity and sincerity, which are written together with Gewu Zhizhi." ”

Han Gang became famous as a young man, and he became the son-in-law of the prime minister's family, and there were many jealous people. Now that I've found the wrong place, how can there be any good words?

But Guo Zhongxiao did not participate in the attack on Han Gang. When he saw Han Gang with his father Guo Kui in Daxiangguo Temple that day, Han Gang was shopping around a stall and bought a set of Kong Ming lanterns. When I asked him what he was doing, he said he was buying a boat.

No matter how you think about it, you feel that something is wrong, Han Gang's words seem to have a deep meaning, making Guo Zhongxiao faintly feel that the answer is here. But it's like a layer of window paper, and there is no way to directly touch the truth.

Thinking about it, Guo Zhongxiao's brows couldn't help but twist.

"Lizhi, what's wrong?" Binzhi asked.

"Nope!" Guo Zhongxiao woke up and shook his head, "Nothing! ”

But He Liuyi next to him slapped the table: "Ah, we were wrong." Today is to give Brother Lizhi a lot, what is Hangang doing with that disgusting thing? ”

Binzhi, a wealthy middle-aged man, immediately made a sudden realization, hurriedly said a glass of wine, and saluted Guo Zhongxiao: "Don't blame it, the foolish brother can't make a loss here." ”

Suddenly, there was a commotion on the street below, and in the box next door, I remembered the sound of pushing the window open one after another.

You Gongxiu stood up and opened the closed window sash a crack, and the cold wind suddenly blew in through the crack, and a louder noise also came in. Looking out against the cold wind, I saw a group of people under the black pressure, all looking up at the sky.

You Gongxiu opened the window, poked his head out, and saw that the bag next door was also looking into the sky. He followed the public's line of sight, and immediately exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Several people stood up and rushed to the window together.

"Why are there so many people?" He Liu leaned on the windowsill, and when he saw a group of people under him, he was first surprised, and then raised his eyes to look up, and his eyes widened with Guo Zhongxiao, Bin Zhi and Chen Dingfu, "What is that?!" ”

Almost fifty or sixty steps away from Gaoyang Zhengdian, there is a foreign object the size of a plate, hanging in the air for more than 20 zhang, round at the top and sharp at the bottom, I don't know where the road comes from, and I don't know what the road is.

Chen Dingfu squinted, only looking at a black thing floating in the air, but he couldn't see the details clearly. But he had a way, he took out a crystal mirror carved with a silver ring from his bosom and fastened it to his right eye—whether it was a magnifying glass or glasses, it had now been passed down to the people, but only the rich and noble could match these two things—and at this time, he saw it a little more clearly.

The object was a bulging ball, with a dozen ropes hanging from underneath, and what appeared to be a basket hanging from it. Judging by the distance and the houses below, the ball flying in the air was at least the size of a house. With such a huge foreign object hanging in the air, most of the capital was shocked.

"What the hell is that?!"

After staring at it for a long time, no one could tell what it was. It's not a bird, it's not a bug, it's not a cloud, and there's not much wind that can make it so huge. Objects roll up to the sky.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, and the ball in the sky drifted westward. Onlookers in the street shouted and swarmed in hot pursuit. There was also a sound of footsteps outside the door, and they ran down the aisle outside the wing, and in a blink of an eye, they saw a group of people running out of the door.

"Let's go and see, shall we?" He Liu turned around and said, without waiting for an answer, he pushed open the door, and in the suspicious eyes of the companions waiting outside the door, he also rushed downstairs with a bang, and the rest of the people followed.

Looking at the empty box, Guo Zhongxiao sighed. walked out of the door, instructed his companion to make a banquet for himself, and followed downstairs together. I don't know if it's intuition, Guo Zhongxiao thinks that the foreign object he saw just now must have an inseparable relationship with Han Gang.