In the Qianqing Palace, the process of Lu Tiaoyang giving a lecture to Wanli alone for the first time was not very smooth. As a Confucian known as a living code, Lu Tiaoyang's talent and learning are rarely matched in the imperial court, even if it is Zhang Juzheng, he may not be as good as him in terms of knowledge. He also served as Mu Zong's teacher before, lectured for Wanli's father, and now teaches Wanli, he can be regarded as the emperor of the two dynasties.

When Mu Zong was in class, he was already an adult, and he had been the king of the angry domain for many years, and he couldn't even settle down on the throne, so he was a little cowardly. In class, whether you like it or not, you will pay attention and listen carefully. Wanli is a half-grown child, and he has never suffered like his father, so he can't do it if he is as serious as Mu Zong. Lu Tiaoyang had also seen Zhang Juzheng lecturing for the Son of Heaven before, and in the eyes of this emperor, there was no so-called emperor, only students. If the little emperor is distracted or does something else, he will immediately reprimand, and even if the emperor mispronounces the words, he will also correct them mercilessly.

The little emperor was also afraid of this teacher, as long as Zhang Juzheng sat there, the little emperor would listen attentively. Even if this state is not maintained for a long time, he will try his best to cooperate on the surface, whenever the emperor wants to be distracted, as long as Zhang Juzheng's eyes look at him, he will desperately pretend to listen to the lecture and remain serious for a period of time.

As a minister, Lu Tiaoyang was actually very dissatisfied with Zhang Juzheng's authority at that time. In his opinion, this kind of authority, which silenced the Son of Heaven, has crossed the boundaries of human ministers and is embarking on an extremely dangerous path. But today, he suddenly missed Zhang Juzheng and this kind of authority, because without this kind of authority, the lecture could not be carried out at all. Even if the Queen Mother was in charge in person, without the domineering Zaifu on the scene, the emperor was still like a wild horse on the loose, and in terms of classroom discipline, he was not even in the mood to pretend.

Empress Dowager Li personally listened to the lecture, and Feng Bao, the master of ceremonies, was waiting by her side, this kind of specification was not only a kind of support for Lu Tiaoyang, but also an assessment. If this hurdle is passed, after the lecture is over, it will definitely be a verbal formal appointment of Lu Tiaoyang as the first assistant, so that his responsibilities will be formalized.

Lu Tiaoyang is not a person who is greedy for power, he has lived for such a long time, and he has already looked down on fame and wealth, he just feels that the current court is going too fast and too urgent, and so many dignitaries are going to come to the door and tell himself about the disadvantages of the new policy, which is enough to prove that this policy is too hasty. Even in the vicinity of Jingshi, it has attracted such strong opposition that the provinces do not know what it looks like. You need to slow down the country, and to achieve this goal, you must gain the corresponding power.

But this lecture was too much of a failure. The emperor scratched his ears and cheeks, obviously absent-minded, his eyes looked around, he didn't know what he was looking for, and the content of Yu Lu Tiaoyang's lecture didn't go to heart. Halfway through the lecture, Lu Tiaoyang found that this could not be carried out at all, if he ignored the emperor's performance and still spoke at his own pace, it would be tantamount to bullying the king.

How did Zhang Ju do it? He had to try to remember what Zhang Juzheng looked like when he was lecturing, but then he also realized that he couldn't learn from him at all. The Son of Heaven mispronounced a word, and Zhang Juzheng immediately corrected it loudly with a calm face, this kind of way of doing things, he will definitely not be able to learn it. And his relationship with the emperor is far from being comparable to Zhang Juzheng.

At the beginning of the Son of Heaven, he called Zhang Juzheng his father and later called Mr., and he called himself just Lu Qing. There is no compassionate reward for entering the temple barefoot, and Zhang Juzheng, who is wrapped in felt, is not the same as Zhang Juzheng, even if he puts on the majesty of this kind of teacher, there will be no good results. It seems that the only way to do this is to let the emperor accept what he preached, so that he can continue to teach.

Lu Tiaoyang stopped this meaningless lecture and asked Wanli: "Your Majesty, why don't we practice writing big characters now?" ”

"Lu Qing, practicing writing requires a calm mind, but my heart can't calm down, and I can't write well."

"What is it about Hooray that makes you upset? Can the old minister share His Majesty's worries? ”

"There is one thing that Lu Aiqing can't understand, if the minister is mourned by his parents, can he only go home to keep the system?"

It turned out that the emperor's worry was because Zhang Juzheng was leaving? As an old man, even if Lu Tiaoyang does not consider knowledge, he is already very rich in social experience alone, and he can guess the emperor's mind when he hears it. For a long time, the emperor regarded Zhang Juzheng as his backbone and his father. It seems to be a wind-blocking wall in front of Long Live himself, with him, whether the emperor is reading or playing, he can rest assured and bold, and he doesn't have to worry about the world.

Now that Zhang Juzheng is leaving the court, as far as the Son of Heaven is concerned, if an elder around him leaves suddenly, and this elder has always been responsible for ensuring the peace of the whole world, he will leave like this, and the emperor will not be reluctant to let him go. This also shows that the emperor is not at ease with the ability of his successor.

Zhang Jiangling can be so trusted by the emperor, which can be regarded as the ultimate of human ministers. Lu Tiaoyang's heart secretly turned, and replied: "Your Majesty, when you visit a loyal minister, you will go out of the house of filial piety, and if you are not filial, you will be disloyal." In the event of the death of his parents, he or she does not keep filial piety, and the owner is bound to be unfaithful. If the world is in turmoil, internal and external troubles attack together, and the country is in danger of overturning, the minister should repay the monarch's kindness, and he should give up his filial piety and loyalty, which is a special case. If the world is peaceful and the country is fine, no matter how high or low the minister's rank and power are, he should return to his hometown to guard the system. This is where the court ceremonies are, and it is also the need of the government. ”

"What Lu Aiqing said, I can't figure it out. Even if the country is safe and sound, what if this person is gone, or if the world is in turmoil because of this person's departure? ”

"If this is the case, it is that the successor is lazy and cannot be loyal to the Son of Heaven, and he should be held accountable for the sins of the officials, not the faults of Ding Wei."

At this time, the Empress Dowager Li, who had always used a bead curtain to isolate the inside and outside, and did not let the minister see Fengyan, suddenly said: "Lu Qing's family, the mourning family also has one thing that I don't understand. If the government is in ruins and the world is unstable, who should be blamed? ”

"Ministers and saints, each department has its own responsibility, and whoever can't fulfill his responsibilities can be strictly investigated and investigated, and no one can think of escape."

"Then you say, will there be people who are lazy on official duties and take the opportunity to be lazy because the first assistant wants to be worried?"

"This ...... The minister thought that if such a thing really happened, then this person must be a kingless and fatherless person, and should be severely punished to set an example. ”

"Okay, what you said, the mourning family has written it down. Lu Qing, you are also an old minister, there are many things that you don't need to say, you also know it in your heart. Now that Banzai is still young, he can't be pro-government, and he relied on Mr. Zhang's support in the past, so we can live a peaceful life. At present, the gentleman cannot look at the court, and you have to bear the burden of the world. The heavy burden of Jiangshan Sheji is on your shoulders, you are not only an old minister, but also a pillar of the court, at this time, you must do your errand well. If anyone neglects his duties and wastes his official duties, then he will be sorry for His Majesty, and he will be sorry for the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty! ”

"The minister should bow down and die."

"Well said! What I want is the loyalty of the Qing family. Although it is peaceful now, we can't be careless. At this time of year, the mourning family remembers that there are a lot of things everywhere, and there is a rush to work on the river, and there is also vigilance on the side. It's all common, and we don't have to say it. Two capitals and thirteen provinces, I don't know where, there will be some big things, waiting for us to come up with ideas, where there is a delay, there will be a big mess, which is not a trivial matter. In the past few years in the cabinet, Mr. Zhang has handled big and small matters very quickly, so he can not cause chaos. Although he can't look at the court now, the cabinet can't slow down because of this. We can wait, things can't wait, we have to hurry up and deal with it, understand? ”

"Obey."

"Also, Banzai's studies cannot be wasted. In the past, Mr. Zhang not only handled official business but also taught the Son of Heaven to read, and he did not delay any of them. The mourning family hopes that you will also learn from Mr. Zhang, and if there are any difficulties, just explain it in the recital, and the mourning family should be the master for you. But if anyone delays official business, abandons the government or the study of the Son of Heaven, the mourning family will not agree. Feng Bao, prepare refreshments for Lu Qing's family, at such an old age, he should also let him rest for a while. ”

It takes a long time to prepare tea and snacks, and it is not too early to use refreshments to give lectures and classes. The state of the Son of Heaven has always been not good, and he is worried, and the effect of Lu Tiaoyang's lectures is average. When the lecture was over, neither the Empress Dowager Li nor the emperor said anything, and Lu Tiaoyang himself felt that the effect of today's lecture was average, and he was afraid that he would doubt whether the lecturer could be competent.

Fortunately, he is not fighting for a short day, and he will teach slowly in the future. The current problem is that the official affairs of the cabinet and the schoolwork of the emperor are a bit conflicting in time. The Queen Mother not only wants to be full of lectures, but also has official duties that cannot be delayed, so she can only hope that Zhang Siwei can help.

By the time Lu Tiaoyang returned to the duty room, the cabinet's recitals had already piled up like a hill. Lu Tiaoyang looked at Zhang Siwei and saw that he was meditating like an old Buddha in meditation, and he didn't mean to turn the chapter, and he was quite unhappy in his heart. Coughed dryly, "Feng Pan, you're so comfortable." ”

Zhang Siwei opened his eyes and looked at Lu Tiaoyang, "Yu Weng, the lower official is so anxious, you are still happy to win the official." With so many pieces piled up, if we don't look at it, we won't be able to send it to the celebrant for approval, and we won't be able to do anything. The eunuchs have come to urge them several times, and their words are very ugly. But the pivotal pen can't be moved lightly, if you don't come back, how dare the lower officials read the concerto? You have to look at what is written in it, and then we can figure out what to do. ”

Lu Tiaoyang was stunned, he didn't expect Zhang Siwei's attitude to change suddenly. I didn't have any holiday with him, why did he suddenly choose this way of watching jokes, and use this method to confront himself. He raised his eyebrows, "Feng Pan, the old man has already said that there is no chief assistant in the cabinet at the moment, and whoever moves the pivotal pen is the same." When the old man is not in the cabinet, you can also review it first, and then refer to it together when the old man comes back. ”

"It's not going to be done." Zhang Siwei shook his head again and again and said: "The cabinet is a place where there are rules, and the lower officials don't dare to break the ancestors' laws." When Zhang Jiangling was there that day, everyone listened to Yuan Weng's orders. Now, naturally, it is also Xiao Gui Cao who follows and acts according to Lu Weng's wishes. Xia Guan has just entered the cabinet, and he doesn't understand anything, so how dare he arbitrarily correct the chapters. If something goes wrong, the celebrant catches the problem, and it's not easy to deal with it. Lu Weng is a young man with high morality, and he has been working in the cabinet for many years, so he has his own insights, and I ask you to look at it first, and the lower officials obey all orders. ”

Lu Tiaoyang, who was already exhausted from the lecture just now, picked up the music at this time, only to feel dizzy and dizzy, and the familiar words became so unfamiliar, and it took a while to calm down and read the words inside. The content of these recitals is complex, ranging from the approval of some of the yamen's daily work, to the local government's own inability to solve emergencies that urgently require instructions from the imperial court.

For example, the southeast was preparing to establish a cowpox bureau, and since there was no precedent to be found, the imperial court was asked to allocate funds and set up a yamen to set up official products for implementation. Then there is a border pass urgently, because I answered the westward advance, Liaodong Tumen Khan seems to have a strange movement, or there is a wave of the army to invade and attack the intention of answering me, ask the imperial court how to deal with it and so on.

While holding power, you have to take on the corresponding work. These things are not only old routines, but also some are completely new situations, once they are not properly handled, they will often bring disastrous consequences, and their impact is so great that even Lu Tiaoyang cannot and dare not deal with them at will. In the cabinet before, Lu Tiaoyang basically acted according to Zhang Juzheng's instructions, which is not to say that he lacked the ability to deal with things by himself, and he could do it to the point of being a cabinet minister, and his ability to handle things would not be lacking.

But the habit of obedience has been formed, and now let him make his own decisions and assume the corresponding obligations, at this time, in addition to ability, what is needed more is a kind of courage, and this is exactly what Lu Tiaoyang lacks. Such a huge number of concerts will not give him much time to think, so Lu Tiaoyang can only put aside the difficult concertos that he can't solve for a while, and first approve the concerts that have examples to be found or have relatively simple problems, and prepare to wait until the end to deal with these problems.

The eunuch who was in charge of receiving the recitals came regularly and forwarded the approved recitals to the celebrant of ceremonies. Although his footsteps did not stop, Lu Tiaoyang felt that the piled up of music was not missing at all.

Just as he was struggling to write, the little eunuch's sharp voice suddenly sounded outside the door: "Feng Sili has something to say, please ask Elder Lu Ge, how long will it take to approve today's recital, and the ceremonial supervisor should know whether to prepare lamps and candles." ”

Lu Tiaoyang raised his head, only to feel a blur in front of him. He hasn't worked so hard for a long time, after all, this was Zhang Juzheng's business in the past, he just needs to be the same as Zhang Siwei now, just sign his name casually, and he doesn't need to write his own opinions.

The sudden exertion, coupled with a night of sleeplessness, made his body quite unbearable. It took a long time for his eyesight to return to normal, and his gaze swept over the little eunuch's body to look at the sky outside.

The red sun is setting, the sun is shining, and the weather is already in the evening, and the urging of the celebrant is not unreasonable. Look at the hand again, those difficult pieces have not even been dealt with, and those that can be called difficult are all important and not easy to delay. He secretly said in his heart: This time I have to lose face in front of Feng Bao.

Reluctantly squeezed out a smile and said, "Please take these pieces away, some of the rest may be delayed later, please forgive Feng Sili." ”

The eunuch was very kind, "It's okay, Feng Sili also said that on the first day, Lu Ge Lao was in charge of the first assistant, and everything was not very clear." It doesn't matter if it's faster or slower, don't worry, take your time, and come back in a little one. ”

The little eunuch walked into the duty room as he spoke, picked up the approved recital, and walked towards the celebrant of ceremonies. In the celebrant eunuch, several eunuchs were bored in a daze, and some couldn't help muttering: "Lu Weng is old, why is he so slow, when will this be?" ”

Feng Baodao: "What are you urging?" People are so old, and it is natural for them to be slower, and they are shouting nonsense. In this way, you all go back and rest, tonight I and Dashou are staring at it, you don't have to worry about it. ”