How to deceive a shrewd old man, three points of truth are essential, and the remaining seven points must also be interpreted in the direction he is willing to see, coupled with a sincere tone, few people are not fooled.

Shen Mo is a master, he used a set of beautiful cloud hands to fool Principal Gao, and he really believed his statement, and asked a little naively: "Will I be able to live in an official house in the future?" Sure enough, he was regarded as a fortune teller.

"Hehe, of course." Shen Mo nodded and smiled: "Didn't you say it, rich and mighty, an extremely powerful minister." ”

"That'...... How long will it take? Gao Gong asked a little eagerly.

Shen Mo pretended to pinch his fingers and calculated: "Three, five or seven years." ”

"Three-five-seven?" Gao Gong couldn't help but be ecstatic in his heart, and said quite excitedly: "So fast? ”

"I'll know then, but I can't say now." Silence still waited for him in the same old way. In fact, the term "three-five-seven" is a typical ambiguous number, three, five, seven, eight, ten, twelve, fifteen years can be far-fetched, and even twenty-one years, twenty-six years, and even more years, can make sense, but the high arch is more than fifty years this year, obviously there are not so many years to wait.

Gao Gong asked again: "Then how do you see the court situation in the next few years?" He actually wanted to ask, do you think it is King Yu or King Jing who is on the throne, but he can't be so straightforward, so he changed his euphemism.

"It's not within my reach." Shen Mo shook his head and said: "A person's fate still has a face to follow, so mortals such as me can get a glimpse of it; But the national fortune of a country is set against the backdrop of mountains, rivers and celestial phenomena, which only saints can understand. "You can't blow the sea without borders, otherwise no matter how stupid you are, there will be a time to wake up.

"Oh...... That's right. Gao Gong nodded, lost in thought.

Shen Mo waited for a while, but he didn't wait for his next words, so he had to say that he had something to do, so he left the sacrificial wine room, and muttered secretly in his heart: "Grandma, it won't be in vain, right?" ’

Two days later, the news of Zhao Zhenji's dismissal came, the reason why it was so fast was because the old master did not wait for the impeachment of the imperial history, but submitted his resignation first, Emperor Jiajing remembered that he had been diligent and hardworking for many years, and did not pursue his 'prevarication' again, and gave him the title of Shangshu, and the treatment should be issued as usual, which can be regarded as extraordinarily generous.

Hearing the news, Shen Mo asked Sanchi to inquire at his house to see when he would leave, so that he could send it off.

As a result, Sanchi came back and said that Zhao Butang invited him to come over, saying that he wanted to give him some books.

Everyone said so, and Shen Mo hurriedly put down the work at hand and asked for leave...... In the overall casual atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty, the harsh and harsh Gao Gong was simply an anomaly, and he was not allowed to be late or leave early, and he was not allowed to slip in the middle. There are also things that are not allowed to chat, play horses, or do private work during working hours, which makes his subordinates miserable.

Shen Mo is also very uncomfortable, especially every time he has something to ask for leave, he has to face Gao Gong's black face, even if he is finally approved, his mood will become very bad.

But when I told Gao Gong today, he didn't put on a bad face, but said with emotion: "When I first entered the Hanlin Academy, because I was a northerner and spoke Henan dialect, I was often teased by others, thanks to Zhao's predecessors who defended me everywhere, which allowed me to gain a foothold in the Hanlin Academy, and later taught me a lot of things - until now, he is also the object of my emulation." ”

Shen silently, I didn't expect that there was still some relationship between the two.

Then he listened to Gao Gong again: "This time he was designed by the Yan Party to step down, but I can't help it, now that he is leaving, I can't even send it, I feel really guilty......

Shen Mo knew that he was representing King Yu, so naturally he couldn't come forward to send him off, so as not to bring unnecessary trouble to King Yu. Then he said softly: "Zhao Butang will understand." ”

"Go, go and send Lord Zhao, and help me transfer a gift." Gao Gong got up and went to the inner room as he spoke, and after coming out after a while, he held a wine jar in his hand and said, "Give him this, and he will understand what I mean." ”

Shen Mo looked at the wine jar, there was no mark on it, and he didn't know what kind of wine it was, so he had to take it, nodded and said, "Don't worry, I will deliver it." ”

So he went out with the jar of wine, went to buy some gifts with Sanchi, and went to Zhao Zhenji's house in Tiekou Hutong.

The alley was far from the center of the city, almost close to the base of the city wall...... Although the capital of the Ming Dynasty was not as fortified as the Han and Tang dynasties, and different classes lived in different cities, they also had their distribution rules. Generally with the Forbidden City as the core, the closer you live, the more powerful you are, and the farther you live, the poorer you are.

When the sedan chair reached the outside of the alley, it had to stop, because the alley was too narrow to enter. Shen Mo had no choice but to get out of the sedan chair, carry the gift in front of the head to open the way, and lead him into the alley. A heavy rain had made the dirt road on the ground muddy, so the residents in the alley settled on bricks so that there was a way in and out.

Sanchi said as he walked: "My lord, you have stepped on the bricks, there are some places to jump, but be careful......"

Silence jumped forward, and although he didn't stumble, his robe was stained by the splashes of mud. If Sanchi hadn't come once, Shen Mo would definitely think that he had led the wrong way, where was this where the dignified people lived? Although it is said that the country's finances are tight, the Beijing officials can't pay salaries, and the ministries and halls take the lead in only receiving half a salary, but as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites and the preparatory cabinet member of the Ming Dynasty, there will still be no shortage of local Bing Jing Tan Jing, so he shouldn't get mixed up to this step.

Maybe it's to get into less trouble and not show your wealth? With this speculation, Shen Mo walked to Zhao Shangshu's door.

Sanchi stepped forward and knocked on the door, and Zhao Zhenji's voice came from inside: "Come in, the door is not closed." ”

Three feet pushed the door, dodged and let Shen Mo in, and saw that the yard was covered with mats, and the mats were full of books, Zhao Zhenji was working with an old family member, counting and packing boxes, and when he saw Shen Mo coming in, he put down a set of "Weizang Tongzhi" in his hand, and greeted him with a smile: "Lord Shen, you are here." ”

"The ministry calls me humble." Shen bowed silently and said, "In front of you, I can't afford to be an adult." ”

"Hehe, don't call me a minister, the old man is now a minister, and he has already returned the official position to the emperor." Zhao Zhenji smiled and said, "Call me Dazhou." ”

"It's still the continent." Silent laughter.

"Whatever you want." Zhao Zhenji smiled: "There is no place to plug in outside, so please go inside." ”

"Dazhou Gong, please." Silent laughter.

The two of them went into the house, and the furnishings inside could not be more shabby than the crowd of books outside, except for the necessary tables, chairs, and furniture.

Looking at the room silently, Zhao Zhenji smiled self-deprecatingly: "I can also be regarded as 'the family disciple sits on the four walls'...... I have been an official for 30 years, and my only savings are those books outside. ”

Shen Mo shook his head and smiled: "I don't dare to agree with what my lord said, if you don't learn from your honesty and self-discipline, can you learn from those people who are corrupt and take bribes?" ”

"Hehe, if the water is clear, there will be no fish, and if it is too clear, it will be annoying." Taking off the shackles of the official robe, Zhao Zhenji spoke very frankly, and said: "The old man has used this life to confirm a truth, personal reputation and meritorious service, like a fish and a bear's paw, it is difficult to have both. ”

Hearing the stubborn old master Zhao, he admitted the helplessness of reality, nodded silently and slowly, but his heart was mixed, and he didn't know what it was like.

Zhao Zhenji had no choice but to break the deadlock by himself, and said with a smile: "What's the matter, I still brought wine, do you have to practice it for the old man?" ”

Shen Mo came back to his senses, and presented the jar of wine to Zhao Zhenji and said, "This is the high sacrificial wine entrusted to me to give to Dazhou Gong, and he said that everything is in the wine." ”

"Huh...... This guy is still mysterious. Zhao Zhenji took the wine jar, patted the mud seal with his hand, and a rich aroma of wine came, he smelled it, and said with a smile: "It turned out to be Du Kang wine from their hometown." ”

"Be generous and unforgettable. How to solve the problem? Only Du Kang. Shen Mo smiled: "I see. ”

"I used to drink with him, and he always said that the wine was not as good as their Du Kang in Henan, and I argued with him, saying that we only have more wine miles in Sichuan, so this guy shouted that he wanted to bring me a jar from his hometown to calm us Sichuan people." Recalling all the things that were said at the time, as if it was right in front of him, Zhao Zhenji shook his head and smiled: "But later he became King Yu's master, so he was afraid of wolves and tigers, and closed himself, no one saw him, no one contacted, I said that he forgot this stubble, and he didn't remember it." ”

As he spoke, he poured the coarse tea in front of the two of them on the ground, flushed the tea bowl with boiling water, and poured wine into it.

A wry smile appeared on Shen Mo's face: "This is the ...... treasured by the tall man."

Zhao Zhenji smiled heartily: "Wine, isn't it just for drinking." He went to fetch a plate of peanuts and a few pickled cucumbers, and drank with Shen Mo.

After drinking for a while, he asked silently, "Why didn't you see Madam and your son?" ”

Zhao Zhenji gritted his teeth and smiled: "My mother-in-law and son have always stayed in their hometown in Sichuan, whether I am in Yanjing or Nanjing, they have not followed me. "Someone once asked him, you are now a scholar, and you are fully capable of bringing your family to reunite, why should you live separately for a long time? Zhao Zhenji smiled and said: "I'm an official with the surname of me, and I may go home at any time, what are my wives and children doing with me?" It's better to stay in my hometown in Sichuan and try to live in peace. ”

At that time, people still laughed at him for worrying about the sky, but in less than half a year, Zhao Zhenji was really dismissed, and I don't know if he was like a god, or if he had a crow's mouth.

As soon as the holy decree came, he packed his bags with his old family Zhao An, in fact, there was nothing to pack, except for those books, there was nothing, pack today, and you can open the road tomorrow.

"The old man loves books all his life and is obsessed...... Old Master Zhao said a little depressed: "In addition to basic food and clothing, all the salaries paid are used to buy books." ”

"Those books have been accumulated by the Duke of Dazhou for decades, right?" Shen Mo asked softly.

Zhao Zhenji nodded, shook his head and said: "I'm not afraid of your jokes, I didn't have money or power, I wanted books but couldn't, and after decades of hard work, I can't afford to save a lot of money, refinement, and treasure in the past few years," he said with a somewhat embarrassed smile: "There are more than a dozen copies of your Economic Bureau, you can take it back later." ”

Shen Mo shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I'm a lice that don't bite, and it's not bad for you." ”

"Why, there is a serious shortage of books in the treasury of the Economic Bureau?" Zhao Zhenji was surprised.

"Didn't you borrow a book?" Said silently.

"Haven't been." Zhao Zhenji shook his head and said: "I bought it from someone else, but I only knew that it was yours when I looked at the stamp of the Economic Bureau." ”

"Then don't give it to me." Shen Mo sighed and said, "Now everyone is so psychological...... The public is cheap, and whoever doesn't take advantage of it is a bastard. I can't really be more serious. ”

"Yes...... Zhao Zhenji empathized and said: "If the whole atmosphere does not turn around, how can we talk about Daming Zhongxing?" ”

The two sighed at each other for a while, and Zhao Zhenji said: "You have also seen it, there are only two people in my house, Zhao An and me, even if we hire two big cars, we can't hold so many books." He said with a painful face: "These are all rare books, ancient books, and even unique books, I have to find a good family for them, otherwise it will be really a tyrannical thing." ”

Shen Mo smiled and said, "You don't have to, haven't you heard of the 'Grand Canal Express'?" ”

"What are you for?" Zhao Zhenji asked.

"They were established by the Cao Gang, specializing in business travel and transportation business, and their branches have spread all over the country." Shen Mo smiled proudly. He can't help but be proud, the car and horse shop that he established in partnership with Ma Wuye at the beginning has also prospered with the prosperity of the city. In the past seven years, the branch has been opened to 11 provinces in 2 capitals across the country, employing more than 100,000 people, and taking advantage of the situation to integrate the Cao Gang, the Sand Gang, and the Boat Gang across the country, forming a powerful invisible force.

Of course, no one knew that his family had half of the shares.

Listening to Shen Mo's proposal, Zhao Zhenji was quite moved, but after thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, I'll take a car back, and please send the rest to Guozijian." ”

"Why?" Shen Mo asked softly.

Zhao Zhenji sighed and said: "Those books were all bought with Bing Jing and Tan Jing offered by the people below, and they were obtained from bribery, and I took them all the way back, what should I do with them?" Whether it's placed or hidden, I can't live in peace, where is it still a baby, but it's just a heart disease. ”

Shen Mo persuaded him a few more words, and when he saw his resolute attitude, he didn't say anything more.

Zhao Zhenji looked at him and said, "Those books are not coming from the right way, I won't give them to you, give you a copy that I bought with my own money." As he spoke, he got up, took a box wrapped in red silk, and sent it to Shen Mo, and said with a smile: "Actually, this is not the right way, it's [***]. ”

Silence immediately appeared in his mind 'Golden Vase Plum' three glittering golden characters, his heart pounded, opened the red silk cloth, saw that it was a wooden box, and then opened the box, and saw that there were generally yellowed books lying quietly inside, with only two words on it "Mencius".

Shen Mo couldn't help but be disappointed, and said in his heart, you can't always fall for someone's bag trick, right?

"Open it and take a look," Zhao Zhenji understood his expression, and smiled: "Look at the title page." ”

Shen Mo gently opened the title page, and saw a line of words printed on it: 'Qiantang Bookstore Shaoxing three years seal. Only then did he whisper: "Song Ben's? ”

"Not bad." Zhao Zhenji lowered his voice and said: "If you take it back and compare it with the current "Mencius", you will find that there are eighty-five paragraphs missing in the current book!" ”

Shen Mo is already an authentic Ming man, so he naturally knows that in this dynasty, Mr. Mencius is not welcomed...... In fact, compared to Confucius, who always spoke from the standpoint of the ruler, Comrade Meng Ke was a people-oriented and angry young man, and of course he could not please the ruler.

Many of Confucius's words were spoken directly from the perspective of the ruler, such as the most famous "the people can make it from it, but they cannot make it known." This famous saying, the rulers of the past generations have seen it as if they saw their fathers and mothers, that is called a heart to understand, absolutely practice, according to this, unswerving.

Another example, 'He is also filial to others, but he who is good at committing crimes is rare.' It is not easy to commit, and those who are good at making trouble are not there. To put it simply, if people are filial, they will not commit rebellion, and one sentence has laid the tone for the successive dynasties to rule the world with filial piety.

Another example is 'the king, respect the matter, and then eat it.' And so on, that is, to teach the courtiers to give more and take less, and it made the rulers feel so happy that it was passed on to hundreds of years later, and even foreigners took it as a guide, and an uncle named Sam translated this sentence in their dialect: 'Don't ask what the country has given you, first ask what you have done for the country.' ’

Therefore, the rulers of all dynasties, regardless of their level of education and interests, have one thing in common, that is, everyone loves Confucius!

(To be continued)