There are many alleys in the capital, and each alley has no name at first, but with the name of the people who live in it, or the market or the shop gradually prospered, there is often a conventional name.

For example, Li Ge Lao Hutong was named after the day when Li Dongyang entered the cabinet in the eighth year of Hongzhi, and now Li Dongyang has become the first assistant from the second assistant, and this Li Ge old Hutong has naturally become the hottest place in the entire Beijing Division, which can be seen from the scene of Li Dongyang's 60th birthday on this day alone.

However, Xu Xun, who came to celebrate his birthday today, was surrounded by a group of people, and there was a faint noise in it. It has been nearly a year since he became an earl, but in the past, everyone knew that the old ministers did not like this young and famous earl, and there were only a few who dared to make a bet at this time, but now it is different. Three or five officials who had been to Xu's Mansion surrounded him, scrambling to explain to him the officials in the hall, and some people even cast their envious eyes on Zhang Cai behind Xu Xun, and they were not without jealousy of his good luck.

This one was deeply supported by Ma Wensheng in the previous appointment in Wenxuan Shilang, and now that Ma Wensheng has not long fallen, he has a new nobleman!

"The old man is here!"

With a shout, Xu Xun, who was shaking a folding fan, saw Li Dongyang, who was slowly coming out of the hall over there, and bowed his head slightly, and many people immediately made his debut. Not long after walking forward, he took the lead in smiling and bowing, and then said: "Yuanfu is celebrating his sixtieth birthday today, and I was in a hurry to congratulate him, so I only packed up a few colored fruits, plus I just got a pair of bucket vases from the official kiln in Jingdezhen during the Chenghua period, and personally came to congratulate the birthday, and begged for a cup of birthday wine to drink!" ”

The so-called new and just obtained, others can't hear the sound outside the strings, but Li Dongyang knows in his heart that it must be something given by the palace, seeing that Xu Xun dares to borrow flowers to offer Buddha with this kind of thing, he was slightly stunned, he wanted to refuse, but it can be seen that Xu Xun smiled at the corner of his mouth, and as soon as his heart moved, he accepted it half a push and half a half, and asked Xu Xun to sit alone in the small flower hall. Although he said the day before yesterday that he would not do a birthday, as soon as the gift from the Son of Heaven arrived yesterday evening, the family hurried to prepare again, invited a few famous cooks to the house, and prepared ten tables of noodles. However, now seeing the endless stream of guests, he couldn't help but feel that he was swaggering and perfunctory to Xu Xun on the one hand, and on the other hand, he was going to find someone to quietly give a few words, and Xu Xun on the side put down the tea cup in his hand.

"Yuanfu, I see that although your house is big, there are many birthday guests who have heard the news today, and they may not be able to accommodate it in the end. So, before I came here, I had already ordered 300 servings of sushi cakes from Liu, a famous pastry in Beijing, and I would be able to deliver them later. I know that Motosuke is incorruptible, and he won't accept gifts when idlers come, so it's not in vain to send such a thing back. Speaking of this, Xu Xun said with a smile, "As for the pair of porcelain vases, they came out of the inner library of the palace, and the emperor originally gave them to you yesterday, and he couldn't stand my three or two sentences, so I borrowed flowers and offered Buddha to send them over." ”

Today, Liu Xie resigned and returned to his hometown, but he made a big birthday and spread it, some of Geng Jie's science and Taoist officials, or those who like to invite fame, or even have a vendetta with themselves, are very likely to make a big fuss about this, if Zhu Houzhao rewarded him yesterday with that pair of porcelain vases, Li Dongyang doesn't have to think about it to know what kind of uproar it will be. And it was sent by Xu Xun's hand, at most it made people sarcastic him.

"Pingbei Bo is bothered."

"I can't bother to talk about it, to be honest, I'm just afraid that Motosuke will also pick his son and leave, and then there will be a big trouble." Xu Xun saw that Li Dongyang's face stiffened, as if he didn't see it, he put away the folding fan with a brush, and said with a smile, "The candidates for the court recommendation of the Ministry of Officials, Criminal Department, and Military Department have all been sent, and the emperor just checked them one by one last night, but he has not yet sent the cabinet to the Ministry of Rites and Rites." ”…,

Li Dongyang has been an official for decades, and his temperament is not as radical and impulsive as Liu Jian Xie Qian, although he was shocked when he heard this, he didn't follow Xu Xun's tone to ask. Sure enough, the next moment, Xu Xun said it himself.

"With Lin Han, the secretary of the Nanjing Ministry of Officials, as the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, Zhang Fuhua, the secretary of the Nanjing Criminal Department, as the left capital of the Imperial History of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Yang Yiqing, the right capital of the Imperial History and the general system of the trilateral system of Yansui, Shaanxi, Gansu and Gansu, as the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Tu Xun, the left servant of the Criminal Department, as the secretary of the Criminal Department. With such a measure, what does Yuanfu think? ”

The list of court pushes, Li Dongyang has exceeded the goal, although he knows that Lin Han, Zhang Fuhua and others are already famous, and with Xu Xun's support, the chances of winning are very high, but now that he really knows that everything is as Xu Xun calculated, he still has a deep powerlessness. After a long time, he asked in a deep voice: "Pingbei Bo can actually have such a harvest when he goes to Nanjing, and the people who tried to send you out of Beijing at the beginning have all miscalculated." It's just that Lin Hengda and Zhang Jiexuan are all righteous men and gentlemen, and Shilin admires them, and if they don't dare to speak out after entering Beijing, I'm afraid they will lose their prestige. If they dare to speak, they may not be able to take care of you, the recommender, and you are not afraid to lift a stone and shoot yourself in the foot? ”

"Of course I'm afraid." Xu Xun calmly spread his hands, and when he saw that Li Dongyang seemed to be surprised by this answer, he said with a smile, "As soon as I came to the door today, some of the guests who originally came to congratulate Yuan Fu on his birthday tended to flatter me, and the threshold was almost broken in the past few days at home. Everyone knows that the wind has changed, so they flock to me, this is human nature, and it is short-sighted to dismiss these people because of this; But it would be foolish to use these people for this reason. In contrast, Yang Zongxian dared to take the heavy responsibility of receiving the assistance of the Datong soldiers when he was just passing by Datong, and Lord Lin and Zhang had a lot of support for me after the Jinling case, and they were talented and righteous gentlemen, and they were in the same boat with me, so of course I should recommend them. ”

Speaking of this, Xu Xun paused slightly, and said unhurriedly: "As for lifting a stone to hit yourself in the foot, don't say it's me, throughout the ages, the recommender has been injured by the person he recommended, and there are many examples of this, will everyone not recommend talents because of this article?" What did Motosuke know about Lord Lin when I invited him to Beijing before? Hearing is false, seeing is believing, what kind of person is I, Xu Xun, and I invite him to come to Beijing to see it. If there is something bad and spitting on people, isn't it better than gnashing your teeth at me in Nanjing? ”

"You're pretty confident." Li Dongyang simply felt that Xu Xun's self-confidence was a little arrogant, but a series of previous facts proved that this young young man had become the winner in the wrestling again and again, and the next sentence on his lips was finally softened, "Since you are so confident in Lin Hengda and others, why did you leave me alone?" ”

"Lord Lin, although they are good, they are still unable to enter the cabinet. I have a grudge against Jiao Mengyang, do you want to see him win the position of first assistant in one fell swoop? Xu Xun did not shy away from revealing this article, and then said with a smile, "Besides, I heard that Yuanfu was the best at reconciliation in the cabinet in the past, and there are many people who will use this ability in the future." ”

This kid really dares to say it bluntly!

Although Li Dongyang was amused by Xu Xun's words, even if Xu Xun had mentioned Jiao Fang's defection, he had no way to verify it, but he knew in his heart that this person had done such a two-faced thing in the same year. Thinking of the gloomy Ma Wensheng and the angry Liu Daxia, he finally took a deep breath.

"Do you want me to be a first-of-the-mill with mud? Or does the emperor want to keep me as a first assistant to the mud? ”

"Yuan Fu said that he was not in harmony, and his time was wasted on those useless things. When Yuanfu returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors, he once wrote poems on the road and lamented that there were bandits starving on the road, and now it's not good to spend time on these things? Speaking of which, Xu Xun didn't sell Guanzi, and simply stood up and said, "Instead of staring at the eight tigers in the palace, it is better to take care of the world's floods and droughts, civil bandits are rampant, and the Tartars knock on the customs to plunder and harass the people." That's all I say, and I ask Yuan Fu to consider it. Seeing Xu Xun walking out as soon as he arched his hand, Li Dongyang suddenly said in a loud voice: "If Pingbei Bo can look at the Eight Tigers in the palace and make it impossible to lure the emperor astray, even if he is called the first assistant of the mud, I, Li Dongyang, will be willing." ”

"Don't worry, Yuansuke, I'm in charge of this matter!"

Xu Xun replied without replying, and it wasn't until he left the small flower hall that he breathed a sigh of relief, secretly thinking about whether Li Dongyang's words were just to ease his heart, or whether he was a little sincere. After thinking about it, it was difficult to determine, so he simply didn't think about it, unfolded the fan and slapped it twice, and went to the main hall of the birthday banquet under the leadership of the little guy in front of him.

At that time, there were already many guests, because the birthday cake had been delivered, and the irrelevant guests could not send the birthday gift, so they had to go back, and most of the people present were Li Dongyang's fellow townsman of the same year, Xu Xun, who only felt that it was black, and he didn't know a few. It wasn't until Zhang Cai beckoned to him that he happily walked over, but found that there were many acquaintances at the same table with him, so he immediately nodded with a smile.

"Brother Bo'an, Brother Yuanming, long time no see. Changgu is also here? Are you ・・・・・・ Yan Weizhong? ”

Although Zhang Cai is a positive five-grade, but now he is sick at home, and he accompanies Xu Xun out today, and he doesn't bother to pay attention to the old rule of arranging seats according to official positions, ten people at a table, and others have to arrange for him to sit at the same table with Wang Shouren and Zhan Ruoshui and other three Hanlin Shuji scholars in this side according to his requirements. At this time, Xu Xun came over and called everyone's cousin directly, and the other two people at the table couldn't help but look at each other. And when he saw Xu Xun sitting down next to Zhang Cai's seat, the two people who were whispering just now were also quiet for a while.

Wang Shouren came to Li Dongyang's birthday banquet today because of his father's words, and he was a little depressed, and when he saw Xu Xun coming over and greeted them lightly, and even sat down, he suddenly became happy: "You sit here, how can those people at the first table deal with themselves?" ”

"Brother Bo'an's words are wrong, I don't go there, everyone can only breathe a sigh of relief, most of those are seventy or eighty old adults, who wants me to be a grandson at such an age and have a surplus of people dangling in front of me, and even have to be careful to speak?" Xu Xun smiled slightly, beckoned a little servant of the Li family who was waiting during the banquet to come over, and said that he would sit here, and then sent people away without thinking, and then smiled again, "As for me, I don't know a few people at the table, so what is it called, it's better to go back and eat my own seriously." I'll just sit here, Brother Bo'an, you don't want you to find another job! ”

Before Wang Shouren could speak, Zhan Ruoshui suddenly smiled: "This four words are really wonderful-, people who don't know, still think that you are fighting for some official position!" Okay, okay, Bo'an, don't stare at people with your eyes, you don't look outside our table, many people are looking at here from all directions, be careful of making a fool of yourself! ”

Xu Xun was used to that kind of situation, so he sat calmly, and after a while, he called the little maid to add tea, but he crossed Zhang Cai and told Xu Zhenqing next to him about Tang Yin, and he asked Yan Song about the homework of Hanlin Shujishi, and he asked Zhang Cai what the current situation of the Duyuan was talking to, and he asked about the body of Chen, the mother of Zhan Ruoshui, and even the other people in the banquet He smiled and asked his name and surname one by one, but Wang Shouren, who had a tiger face, ignored it. It wasn't until the end that the benevolent brother couldn't help it, so when the little guy on the side sent the teapot over, he personally stood up and took the teapot and stepped forward.

"What the hell do you want to do?" Wang Shouren covered the mouth of the teacup with one hand, and his face was helpless and annoyed, "I am congratulating Yuanfu on his father's birthday today, you have something to say directly, I will listen." ”

To this day, when Wang Shouren remembered that he was coaxed to Xiyuan by Xu Xunsan in a daze, he was both emotional and melancholy. During that time, he was finally able to show what he had learned, but it also brought him a lot of trouble. ..., especially when he finally went around and returned to the military headquarters, the life of dealing with Wen Mu all day long, no matter what he said, was not taken seriously, and his edges and corners were really sharpened. At this moment, although he looked at Xu Xun a little unkindly, he was a little curious in his heart about what Xu Xun would say that was not shocking and endless.

Xu Xun carried the teapot in one hand, swept everyone at the banquet, and saw that everyone seemed to be very interested in what he had to say, he smiled slightly, and poured a cup of hot tea for Zhan Ruoshui next to Wang Shouren, and said meaningfully: "There are too many people here, Brother Bo'an really wants to listen?" ”

Although Xu Xun is more than twice as old as he is older, Wang Shouren is only afraid that when he is alone, he will be fooled by Xu Xun's words, and immediately said with a heart: "That's right, you just say it here!" ”

"Okay, you're welcome." After putting down the teapot, Xu Xun ignored the atmosphere in the huge main hall that gradually quieted down, and said with a smile, "Baoguo Gong and Marquis Wuding proposed that the training of the 12th regiment battalion is not as good as before, and many of the soldiers are too old to use. Therefore, the emperor intends to select the elite from the twelve regiments and battalions, build the king's right official hall, and set up a general staff general. Brother Bo'an had a talent for military strategy before, but he was willing to be a civilian official and become a prison soldier again? ”

Xu Xun's voice was not too loud, however, countless ears on the left and right were pricked up, and at this time, the entire main hall had already heard about it, and even those whispers were gone for a while, and they were silent. Li Dongyang, who had just come in from outside the door, learned the truth from the little guy who reported it, and couldn't help but be shocked and confused, and immediately looked over to this side.

"You ......"

The crimes committed by Zhu Hui, the Duke of Baoguo, and Guo Liang, the Marquis of Wuding, were heavy in the past, and they could raid their homes and destroy their homes, but the emperor didn't mention a word as if they had forgotten, so Xu Xunzhi made them on this fold, which was naturally as easy as a snap. And how did Wang Shouren know about these many twists and turns, looking at Xu Xun's eyes full of shock. In the past, he trained the avant-garde of the military army, even if he had the ability, he could only show it in the five hundred young army who had not yet known the army, but now what Xu Xun said was the elite of the twelve regiments!

"Brother Bo'an thinks about it slowly."

Xu Xun naturally would not force Wang Shouren to express his position now, and returned to his position with a smile. At this time, his own little servant stepped forward and bowed his body cautiously to ask if he really didn't go to the first table, he waved his hand and sent people away, seeing that plates of various side dishes were served on the table one after another, he picked up the teacup and took a sip of hot tea.

"My lord is really a good general!"

Hearing Zhang Cai's whisper, Xu Xun glanced sideways at Wang Shouren, and when he saw that he was really unwilling, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "What general, I really fancy his full military strategy, and now that I have mentioned it, it is up to him whether I agree or not...... Alas, it is easy to get a thousand armies and it is difficult to find a general, and the emperor has always had the ambition to be peaceful, but it is a pity that the people below are not angry・・・・・・"

Although Xu Xun's voice was soft, Zhan Ruoshui, who was sitting next to him, could hear it clearly, and it was almost passed on to Wang Shouren, and he saw that the head of the military department in his early thirties had a darker face. And Yan Song, who was next to Xu Zhenqing, saw this scene, suddenly gently brushed off the chopsticks, and then excused himself to pick them up, he leaned down and snickered for a while, and then straightened up. At this moment, a voice came from next to him.

"Forgive your sins, forgive your sins, it's too late, I really think about that birthday poem so much that my head is broken, ah?"

When Xu Xun sat down, there were still two empty seats left at this table. Li Mengyang came straight to Wang Shouren, who knew that when he arrived here, he found that Xu Xun was also sitting at a table far away from the first table, and those two eyes suddenly widened like copper bells. Kang Hai, who was still following him, knew the opportunity quickly, and hurriedly drove Li Mengyang to Wang Shouren to sit down, and then sat next to Yan Song. ..., "It's all empty and crazy to write poetry there." Even if he is in a hurry, the thirty-eight rhymes are not as good as the usual quatrain poems, and it takes him a lot of effort to do them. Kang Hai glared at Li Mengyang fiercely as he spoke, and seeing that he was a little reluctant to turn his head, he looked at Xu Xun and smiled, "I didn't expect Ping Beibo to deign to sit at this table." ”

"If you sit here, you don't care about your official position, you just talk about your years." Xu Xun bowed his head slightly at Kang Hai, and then said with great interest, "Since it is said that Li Kongtong has a wonderful - good article, then I will listen to it later." ”

Li Mengyang saw that Kang Hai was talking and laughing freely with Xu Xun, and he was even more depressed for a while, and suddenly found that Wang Shouren next to him was preoccupied, he couldn't help but cross his elbow, and then frowned and whispered: "What are you doing in a daze?" ”

"Uh・・・・・・ it turned out to be empty." Wang Shouren found out that Li Mengyang was coming, and after being stunned for a while, he whispered Xu Xun's proposal just now, and saw that Li Mengyang was also shocked and couldn't help himself, so he smiled bitterly, "It's all my own doing, my long-cherished wish is in the front・・・・・・ it's really difficult ......to ride a tiger now."

Li Mengyang had the heart to persuade Wang Shouren to withstand the temptation, but if he thought about this matter, he might not be able to withstand such a big temptation, and seeing that the wine cup in front of him was full, he suddenly poured a large glass into his mouth as if he was ruthless. At this moment, with the sound of birthday greetings for Yuan Fushou, the people at each table in the four corners stood up and were lively all around, but while paying attention to Li Dongyang, who had successfully reached the highest peak of Wenchen, the same amount of eyes fell on Xu Xun's table.

At the age of four, Li Dongyang was known as a prodigy, Emperor Jing summoned twice and rewarded many people, Yan Zhishun Tianfu Xue, eighteen-year-old Zhongjinshi, even so he still entered the cabinet until fifty, but he was already a rare civil official. Now that Xu Xun is replaced by a civil official, no matter how talented he is, it will take decades for him to emerge from the top.

In the past, the sun that hung high in the sky for more than ten years has set, and now this round of the rising sun is clearly the rising trend!

Not to mention others, even Li Dongyang was paying attention to Xu Xun, thinking about Xu Xun's previous words to himself and Wang Shouren's suggestion, and feeling that the back waves of the Yangtze River pushed the front waves, so when he drank several glasses of wine in the midst of many birthday wishes, he thought about the successor he had never thought of before.

Although he is only sixty, how many years can he support in such a court now?

Therefore, when Li Mengyang stepped forward to present the birthday poem, Li Dongyang, who was already a little drunk, saw that everyone was looking at his proud protégé's good words, but he had no intention of looking at those beautiful words, only Xu Xun's high-spirited appearance in his eyes, and even when Li Zhaofan, the heir next to him, read aloud the poem "Thirty-eight Rhymes of the Sixty Birthday Poems of the Young Master Xiya Xianggong" under the instigation of everyone, he was in a trance, and he almost didn't listen to it.

"Longma Ten Year Meeting, Song Gao Ancient God, Negative Picture Zeng Yisheng, and Shen ・・・・・・ in the middle of the breath"

The little emperor is clearly because there was a change in the Beijing camp and the 12th regiment camp before, and he is ready to pack up the most elite soldiers and horses and firmly control them in his own hands! Since Xu Xun was able to invite Wang Shouren in public, he naturally had already been promised the position of chief soldier by the Son of Heaven.

“… ・・・ When you get drunk, the number of palaces is given to you. Article: Ban Ma Ze, Taoist Mengyan ......"

If this is the case, he expects Xu Xun to contend with those eunuchs in the palace, it should not be wishful thinking!

“… ・・・Gu Ming stayed Yuanbi, the former minister of the emperor's ceremony. Yiran Kuang Sheji, the public opinion is in the ...... of the gentry"

In this case, he is nailed to the court, and the first emperor is on his deathbed, and he is the only one left!

“… ・・・The ancient meaning is the same, and the middle and white brackets are present. Willing to be the golden stone, forever and forever. ”

When Li Zhaofan finished reading the last sentence, the hall was full of applause for a while, however, whether it was Li Dongyang's face as the birthday star Weng or Li Mengyang's face who was full of poetry and writing, there was not much joy in it, but Xu Xun stood up with a smile. In front of everyone's eyes, he walked to Li Dongyang with a pot in one hand and a glass in the other, poured Li Dongyang full with his own hands, and poured himself a shallow glass, then put down the wine pot and held the glass with both hands and said: "I would like to use this cup of wine for Yuan Fushou!" ”

Seeing that Xu Xun drank it all, Li Dongyang stood up and held the wine glass in both hands, but he didn't say anything and drank slowly. When he put down the wine glass, he saw Xu Xun smiling and was about to leave, so he said in a deep voice: "Uncle Pingbei and stay, today's old man's birthday banquet, there is also a glass of wine to toast you!" ”

He painted a gourd and sent a glass of wine to Xu Xun, and he said word by word: "Don't lose your holy hope!" ”

"That's nature!"

An old man and a young man glanced at each other, and drank it all in a moment.

The fifth volume of sharpening knives is finished side by side