These are two men in their thirties dressed in ordinary scholars' clothes, but what they say is different from the others, talking not about the subset of the Four Books and Five Classics but about the affairs of officialdom:

"Brother Shen has always been worried about it for the past half a day, but what difficulties have you encountered?"

"Brother Lu Xian, you don't know, I've been thinking about this for more than half a year, but I don't know how to confide in others. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoYou and I have a good relationship, but I don't hide it from you, it's because my Dong Weng is in a difficult situation now, and I, as a staff member, can't share the worries on my behalf, so ......"

"What kind of dilemma did Zheng Fangbo encounter, which was called a dilemma?"

"Uncle Fang...... My family can't afford this honorific title now. This political envoy is called a provincial governor, but there is still a governor above him, and now it seems that he is not as good as a prefect, or even a prefect. ”

"Why did Brother Shen say this?"

"Isn't it? Since the time of my Taizu, I set up a political envoy as the chief official of a province, in charge of the political affairs of money and grain, but later there was a governor, not only in charge of it, but also in charge of the criminal department and even the command of the envoy, so this political envoy has become a second official, what power is there?

"Moreover, the situation of my family Dong Weng is different from that of ordinary political envoys. You may not know that my family Dongweng was originally promoted by Master Gaoxin Zheng and was his close protégé. At the beginning of this year, Gao Xinzheng was resigned from the post of first assistant by the imperial court, and officials like my family Dongweng were naturally in a dangerous situation. ”

"I see, I finally understand the mystery."

Although the conversation between the two people was extremely quiet, and it was mixed with the conversations of many diners next to him, Yang Zhen still missed it in his ears because his ears and eyes were far better than ordinary people. And after listening to their conversation, Yang Zhen's movement of eating noodles couldn't help but slow, and he was already thinking about it.

Although he didn't know much about the situation of the political envoys mentioned by "Brother Shen", he still heard about such a major event that happened in the court this year. Zhang Juzheng replaced Gao Gong as the first assistant, and a large number of officials from the imperial court to the local government would naturally be replaced, and this Lord Zheng was just one of these people. If it was usual, Yang Zhen wouldn't take it too seriously, but now it's different, he is worried about how to spread the secrets he has and make a big fuss, isn't this Zheng Fangbo just a person who can help him?

If an official in a difficult situation is unwilling, once he seizes an opportunity, he will fight nine times out of ten! After turning this thought, Yang Zhen had already made a decision-just do it! He drank all the noodle soup in the bowl before shouting: "Little Er, the account!" ”

Two days later.

The sun has set, and the day has passed. Zheng Fang walked with somewhat heavy steps towards the mansion behind the Yamen of the Political Envoy Division, and although every yamen official who passed by him saluted him, he turned a blind eye and continued to move forward as if no one was around.

In fact, with his current situation, there is no need to stay in the front office until after sunset, because he has not approved a single official document or made a decision in the past six months. The departure of his mentor Gao Xin Zheng made Zheng Fang's power completely hollowed out by officials from top to bottom. But he still has a trace of illusion about his career, after all, he is only forty-nine years old, and he is in the prime of life, so he naturally does not dare to make self-defeating acts, so that people can take the handle. So even though he knew that he was only sitting at the front office, he still went to the office early in the morning and did not return to the back office until sunset, which is much more regular than most officials.

It's just that this person has arrived, but what about the heart?

Turning into the back office, Zheng Fangshi's body that was still holding on collapsed. As time passed, he felt more and more hopeless, and he seemed to be able to see the end of his dismissal. There is no achievement now, and next year will be the three-year period when he will be the political envoy of this lake, and with his status as a high-ranking student, it is presumable that some people will attack him for inaction and corpse food, and it is only a matter of time before he is dismissed.

"I think I Zheng Fang has studied hard for ten years, and I am lucky to get the second grade, and I have the importance of my teacher and continue to promote it to have today's status, and become a provincial political envoy. I can't imagine that I am just helpless now, I am not only ashamed of my teacher, but also sorry for my own ambitions! ”

Thinking of this, Zheng Fang's heart was even more congested, and he broke into the bedroom with scattered steps, just wanting to sleep with his head bored, and didn't even want to use dinner. But as soon as he entered the bedroom, his body suddenly stiffened, because somehow there was a young man sitting in the room, who was looking at him with a smile and a groan.

"You...... Who are you? It can be seen that this is an important place for the yamen, and you dare to break in at will! Zheng Fang was stunned, then quickly came back to his senses and scolded sharply.

In the face of his fierce drink, Yang Zhen just smiled indifferently: "I can't imagine that until now, Lord Zheng is still full of official authority, but he is disrespectful." But don't worry, my lord, I'm not here to hurt you. ”

"Huh?" Seeing the other party like this, Zheng Fang's thoughts stopped, and he also saw that this person was at least not here to assassinate himself. And he also knew his current situation, and it was really impossible for anyone to deal with him by such means. So he also sat down, and then said, "It seems that you know the official, so tell me your intention." ”

"Before I explain my intentions, there is one more thing I would like to ask your lordship. Have you ever thought about changing your current situation? Yang Zhen suddenly asked such a question. And Zheng Fangxin thought about this matter, and when he asked him like this, he subconsciously said: "I naturally want to change ......" As soon as the words came out, he felt that it was inappropriate, and he quickly stopped, but it was already a little late.

Yang Zhen stroked his palm and said: "Okay, it seems that I really didn't see the wrong person, Lord Zheng still has the heart to forge ahead." As far as I know, in the past six months, even if the adults have been squeezed out by others, they still arrive at the Ya on time and return at sunset. Watching the trip of the adults and listening to the words of the adults, the adults really want to reverse the current situation. Then I can give this credit to the adults. ”

What do you mean by that? What credit? Looking at the unashamed appearance of the young man in front of him, Zheng Fang was even more puzzled. Unconsciously, he had been picked up by Yang Zhen.

"I won't say much about the situation of adults now. In order to break this situation, it is obviously not enough to just wait, adults must find an opportunity, a chance to express themselves. If we can take this opportunity to make a contribution, it will be difficult for Huguang and even the officials of the DPRK and China to deny the merits of the adults, and this dilemma may be broken. I wonder if adults are interested in such an opportunity? ”

"What kind of opportunity is this?" Zheng Fang hurriedly asked, and then said not very confidently: "Where did such an opportunity come from in this world, so that they have nothing to say." ”

"Since I'm here, and I said so, I naturally won't coax adults." Speaking of this, Yang Zhen's expression was solemn: "I don't know if someone who cheated in this township test was found by an adult and caught someone on the spot, can it be regarded as a great merit, and it is enough to make people unable to deny it?" ”

"What? Is there such a thing? How did you know this? Zheng Fang asked several questions in one breath, his body straightened even more, and his eyes stared at Yang Zhen without a trace of relaxation. As an official of this era, he was too aware of the great significance of the imperial examination to the imperial court. It is precisely because of its great significance that whenever a fraud case is discovered, it always implicates many people, and he can't do it if he doesn't pay attention to it.

However, because these words came from the mouth of such a young man, Zheng Fang couldn't believe it, so he could only stare at the other party's eyes to see how he said it. After all, the stakes are high.

Seeing this, Yang Zhen knew that the other party had been completely attracted by his words, and he no longer hung people's appetites, and said: "I accidentally learned that Yao Boguang and Yao Shuguang from Jiangling County colluded with the officials and soldiers in the examination room to hide the test papers under the floor tiles of the examination room. ”

Hearing him say so clearly, Zheng Fang's heart couldn't help but beat wildly. But he still couldn't help but say, "Is this true? How did you learn about such a secret? "He knows too well what it means to cheat and be caught, and it is about the rise and fall of a person, a family, and the glory and disgrace!

"This is what I heard from the Yao family with my own ears, how can it be fake? As for how I got this secret, adults don't need to delve into it. ”

Zheng Fang couldn't help but believe it a little more, but he still had doubts, after all, this matter was too big, if the matter was false, and he really went to expose it, he was afraid that the situation would be even worse. After a long pause, he said, "Why are you doing this?" Do you have a grudge against the Yao family? And what do you want to get out of it? I don't think you look like a scholar. ”

Yang Zhen kept turning thoughts in his heart, knowing that in order to make the other party believe in himself, he had to show greater sincerity. After weighing it, he said: "I know that once the incident happens, this township exam will inevitably be retaken at a later date." I hope that the adults will be able to say something when they arrive, so that the invigilator can open up the net and let Yang Chen from Jiangling take the exam. "Only by saying what you want will the other person become interested in the proposal you throw. As for whether there will be other incidents as a result, Yang Zhen can't think too much about it at this juncture.

After a long examination, Zheng Fangcai said: "The official knows, I will make my own decision then!" ”

Yang Zhen looked at him, but he couldn't figure out what he was thinking. It seems that this political envoy has cultivated his qi cultivation skills for many years as an official. He also knew that this matter could not be forced, so he had to stand up and say, "Since this is the case, then I will leave below." This matter will be an excellent opportunity for Lord Zheng to regain his strength, and I hope that my lord will not miss it. After speaking, without delay, he pulled the door and went out.

Zheng Fang, who saw him leave, showed a look of surprise, somehow, he couldn't have too many doubts about what this young man said.