"I have long heard that the Governor is young and promising, and when I see it today, it really deserves its reputation, which really makes the old man feel ashamed!" The white-bearded old man sitting opposite Zhou Zhong praised him with a smile on his face, although the old man said very politely, but it was a tone of promoting juniors, which made people feel very unhappy.

"Old man Jiao Ge is polite, the kid is just lucky, he happened to get sweet potatoes and corn and other things to give to North Korea, so he got the attention of His Majesty, otherwise with the talent of the kid, where can he achieve such a high position, let alone compare with Jiao Ge Lao!" Zhou Zhong said very modestly on the surface.

No matter how unhappy Zhou Zhong was, he didn't dare to be too rude to the old man in front of him, because the identity of this old man was not simple, he was the first assistant of the cabinet when Liu Jin was in power, Jiao Fang, Jiao Mengyang. In addition, next to Jiao Fang, there is also an old man with gray hair, who looks a few years younger than Jiao Fang, and his spirit is also a little sluggish.

Speaking of the Jiao Fang in front of him, he is a legendary figure in the court of the Ming Dynasty, it is said that he was a young man and had a prosperous official fortune all the way from a young age. In the Xianzong period, Wan An, a university scholar, was the first assistant of the cabinet, Wan An and Jiao Fang were at odds, and once the imperial court promoted the minister to a bachelor, but Wan An once said in front of others, "If you don't learn like Fang, you will also be a bachelor" means that a person like Jiao Fang who does not learn and has no skills also wants to be a bachelor? Later, this word reached Jiao Fang. Jiao Fang was furious and said: This must be Peng Hua plotting against me behind my back, if I can't be a bachelor, I will assassinate Peng Hua on Chang'an Road. Peng Hua was very frightened when he heard this, and hurriedly passed the letter to the university scholar Wan'an. Wan An finally had to enter Jiao Fang as a bachelor.

This can be seen from the above. Although Jiao Fang was born as a scholar. But his personality is very strong, and he is even a little cautious, in a sense, Jiao Fang is actually not a good person, but a person who mixes in the officialdom, it is impossible for a good person to live, so Jiao Fang's peculiar style is nothing.

In the early years of Zhengde, Jiao Fang became a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion. And concurrently served as the secretary of the ministry, became a pivotal figure in the cabinet, and later Liu Jin took power, as a result, Jiao Fang used Liu Jin's power to squeeze Xie Qian and Zhang Jian away in one fell swoop, and at the same time compressed Li Dongyang's influence in the cabinet to a minimum, and he monopolized the power of the government as the first assistant of the cabinet, and most of the reforms proposed by Liu Jin were implemented by his hands.

Originally, according to the relationship between Jiao Fang and Liu Jin, when Liu Jin fell. He couldn't escape death anyway, but it was amazing. Just a month before Liu Jin's accident, Jiao Fang suddenly had an argument with Liu Jin, and Liu Jin also reprimanded Jiao Fang in front of others several times, which made Jiao Fang shocked and angry, and finally returned to his hometown, and even his son Jiao Huangzhong, who was a waiter, also resigned and returned to his hometown with his father.

Zhou Chong is no longer the first brother in the officialdom at the beginning, after this period of experience, he already knows that things in the officialdom can not only look at the surface, but to see the truth behind the matter through the surface, such as Jiao Fang suddenly resigned and returned to his hometown before Liu Jin's accident, Zhou Chong felt that it was not as simple as it seemed, after all, the timing of Jiao Fang's resignation was too coincidental.

Jiao Fang is eighty years old this year, and through the fall of Liu Jin, Zhou Chong also knew that the old guy in front of him was not as simple as it seemed, so Zhou Chong, whether it was public or private, at least on the surface, he had to maintain enough respect for Jiao Fang, even if he restored his status as a prince, he also needed to maintain a certain etiquette for an old minister like Jiao Fang.

Jiao Fang seemed to be very satisfied with Zhou Chong's modest performance, and praised Zhou Chong a few words at the moment, but never mentioned the reason why he came to Zhou Chong, nor did he introduce the old man beside him, and Zhou Chong out of respect for the old man, it was not easy to ask, so he had to deal with Jiao Fang without a word.

People will talk a lot as soon as they get older, and Jiao Fang is no exception, it may be that he has been out of the court for a long time, and there is no one to talk to except for his children and grandchildren, so this time he saw a young junior like Zhou Chong, he was naturally very excited, and he talked endlessly, and even inquired about Zhou Chong's family after that, such as how many children he had, whether he was in good health, and so on.

Originally, Zhou Zhong said today that he would accompany his daughter Xia Xia to go fishing, but he was interrupted by Jiao Fang's arrival, and now he heard the other party's endless talking, and he couldn't stand it anymore, so he piled up a smile and said: "Jiao Ge is already in his old age, and the younger generation heard that you have been staying in your hometown to make fun of Sun Wei, I don't know why you came to Shuangyu Port today, if there is anything that needs to be done by the younger generation, Jiao Ge Lao but it doesn't matter!" ”

As the so-called Three Treasures Hall has nothing to do, Jiao Fang is eighty years old, and he does not stay at home to take care of his old age, but he suddenly ran to a place like Shuangyu Port, saying something unpleasant, in case there is an accident along the way, I am afraid that he can only die in a foreign country, so Zhou Zhong thinks that Jiao Fang came to see him, there must be something important, and with his current status, I am afraid that Jiao Fang is likely to come to ask for his own affairs, after all, in the entire Ming Dynasty, he is also one of the few high-ranking and powerful people.

Perhaps hearing the impatient tone in Zhou Chong's words, Jiao Fang finally stopped chattering, and then saw him turn his head to look at the old man beside him, and then said with a smile: "Your Excellency, don't be impatient, before the old man explains his intentions, let me introduce you to this old brother beside me!" ”

When Jiao Fang said this, he finally stretched out his hand and pointed at the old man beside him who was a little sluggish, this old man seemed to be very calm, before Jiao Fang said such a long nonsense, but he never introduced him, but this old man didn't seem to be angry at all, just sat there and drank tea quietly, but secretly he had been looking at Zhou Chong.

I saw Jiao Fang clear his throat, and introduced with a somewhat solemn expression: "Lord Governor, the surname of this old brother next to me is Zhang Mingcai, the original official worshiped the official department of Shangshu, and later added the title of prince Shaobao, but unfortunately now he is implicated by Liu Jin, not only has no official position, but also has to be incognito, otherwise if he lets his political enemies know the truth, I am afraid that he will die without a place to hide!" ”

"Zhang Cai?" Zhou Zhong was startled when he heard this name, and the whole person stood up all of a sudden, and at the same time looked at the other party with some surprise, and after a while, he asked a little incredulously, "Aren't you dead, what...... How did it end up here? ”

In fact, it is not surprising that Zhou Zhong was surprised, when Liu Jin was in power, Jiao Fang and Liu Jin colluded, but the status of the two of them is not much different, they are cooperative with each other, and it cannot be said that Jiao Fang is Liu Jin's subordinate, but this Zhang Cai is different, he got acquainted with Liu Jin through Jiao Fang, and then became the most important adviser and assistant under Liu Jin, Liu Jin's reform of the Ming Dynasty in all aspects, most of them were from Zhang Cai's hands, and then handed over to the cabinet for implementation, but after Liu Jin fell, Zhang Cai was also arrested and imprisoned, I heard that he was tortured in prison, The last one died in prison, but now Zhang Cai appeared alive in front of him, how could Zhou Chong not be surprised?

Seeing Zhou Chong's shocked performance, I saw Zhang Cai, who had been sitting there quietly, smiled bitterly, stood up and arched his hand to Zhou Chong and said: "Don't be surprised, Lord Governor, whether life or death is in a place like Edict Prison depends on a sentence from Your Majesty, as long as Your Majesty says that I am dead, then there will be no more Zhang Cai in this world, and now the old man's name is Zhang Yu, after all, in this world, the old man is already a superfluous person, and now I only hope that the Governor can take in the old man!" ”

"Octopus?" Zhou Chong was stunned when he heard this name, and looked at Zhang Cai carefully, but he didn't find that he had eight claws.

However, Zhou Zhong didn't have time to pay attention to the above details, because he heard that Zhang Cai came to take refuge with him this time, which made him a little surprised, and then turned his head to look at Jiao Fang, who was smiling, and asked in great surprise: "Old Jiao Ge, will you come here to join me like Mr. Zhang this time?" ”

Zhang Cai should have died a long time ago, but he came out of the edict alive, and now he has the courage to run to himself, and even said that he wants to take refuge. It's just that Zhang Cai is just that, he is indeed a talent, and he is not yet sixty years old, he can indeed be his assistant, but Jiao Fang is already eighty years old this year, even if he has been the first assistant of the cabinet before, but at his age, I am afraid he will not live for a few years, so Zhou Zhong can't believe it anyway, Jiao Fang is also the helper that Zhengde found for himself.

However, Zhou Zhong obviously underestimated the unreliability of Zhengde, only to see Jiao Fang smile and say: "The Governor is really wise, the old man and Brother Zhang are now angry and resentful in the court, and it is impossible to go out again, fortunately, His Majesty took care of the old feelings, so he gave the two of us a chance to come to the Governor's Mansion to be the assistants of the adults, and I hope that the adults will take care of them in the future!" ”

Hearing Jiao Fang's words, Zhou Zhong looked at Jiao Fang, who was full of old age spots, and then looked at Zhang Cai, who was depressed and depressed, and he was speechless at the moment. Don't ask, the two people in front of me must be the assistants arranged by Zhengde to Liu Jin before, but with the fall of Liu Jin, Jiao Fang and Zhang Cai were also unlucky, fortunately, Zhengde is a person who misses the old love, so this saved their lives, and now they are arranged here to make up for them, it is estimated that they also want to compensate them, after all, only here in Zhouzhong, they will not be excluded. (To be continued......)