Of course, Zhou Yanru couldn't have known that in that world without traversers, he had actually been the first assistant for only four months before he was excluded by Wen Tiren and returned to his hometown because of the unfavorable situation, and because of Liu Cheng's victories in the northwest, the situation of the Ming Empire was much better than the world without Liu Cheng. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info But there is always a time when the life-prolonging medicine fails, this time Huang Taiji's breach in Shanxi finally made Chongzhen unable to endure this perfunctory Shoufu who took it as his own responsibility, and there was a more suitable candidate in Chongzhen's heart - Yang Sichang.

Of course, according to the unspoken rules of the empire's politics, it was impossible for Chongzhen to suddenly promote Yang Sichang, who was still just a soldier in the military department, to the position of the secretary of the Ministry of Rites and a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion (usually the official rank of the first assistant). Generally speaking, Chongzhen will adopt a two-step strategy: first, let Yang Sichang be the secretary of the military department and add the title of a university scholar, let him participate in the confidential affairs and become a member of the cabinet; Then let it be changed to the Ministry of Rites Shangshu and become the first assistant. Of course, his former first assistant naturally has to give up his position, and the usual reason is "illness". Therefore, today, after Zhou Yanru heard Chongzhen reveal that he would wait until Yang Sichang finished supervising the division and returned to Beijing to enter the cabinet and preside over the increase in troops and salaries, he immediately became vigilant.

Zhou Yanru gave a shrewd answer, he first praised Yang Sichang's talent and loyalty to the Ming Dynasty and the Son of Heaven, and then said that he was very happy to have such an outstanding colleague to share the burden, but he then used euphemism to remind Chongzhen that the current military reorganization in Shanxi is still very heavy, and it is inseparable from Yang Sichang, a capable governor, and he suggested that he wait until the situation there is completely stabilized before letting Yang Sichang return to Beijing. In the face of his first assistant's answer, Chongzhen didn't say much, but what made Zhou Yanru shudder was that he clearly saw doubt in the eyes of the Son of Heaven. If a Shoufu can't get the trust of the Son of Heaven, what could be worse than this?

The sedan chair stopped suddenly, and Zhou Yanru, who was thinking about his thoughts, pounced forward, and his head almost hit the wooden bar on the top of the sedan chair. He straightened his gauze hat and scolded angrily, "What's the matter? Can't even lift a sedan chair? ”

"Master, the little one has already returned home!" The voice of the housekeeper was aggrieved outside the sedan car, and Zhou Yanru was stunned, presumably because he was thinking about it just now and didn't hear it. He walked out of the sedan chair and glanced at the housekeeper coldly, the housekeeper hurriedly lowered his head and said, "Master, someone from my hometown is here, it's the young master of the Chen family, I asked him to wait in the study!" ”

"Oh? Is it a definite birth? A smile immediately appeared on Zhou Yanru's face: "You let him wait in the study, okay, well done!" ”

"Yes, sir!"

The housekeeper hurriedly asked the maid to take the wide clothes worn at home and change them for Zhou Yanru, and after a little freshening, Zhou Yanru walked quickly towards the study. It turned out that the young master of the Chen family in the housekeeper's mouth was Chen Zhenhui in the "Four Sons of the Late Ming Dynasty", this person's father Chen Yuting was a famous member of the Donglin Party, who was once an official to the imperial history of the left capital, and was also a native of Yixing, and had a friendship with Zhou Yanru. Chen Zhenhui is an important member of the famous "Restoration Society", and has always been famous for his literary style in Jiangnan, Zhou Yanru is quite fond of this little fellow countryman, and treats him as a son and nephew, and the housekeeper arranges him in the study, which is not to be regarded by outsiders, and he is naturally very happy.

"Mr. Jade Rope!" Seeing Yang Sichang pushing the door in, Chen Zhenhui hurriedly stood up and was about to kneel and bow, Zhou Yanru hurriedly stretched out his hand to support him, and said with a smile: "Get up, get up, I haven't seen you for more than a year, let me see!" ”

"Yes, sir!" Chen Zhenhui bowed and bowed, before standing up straight, he was a handsome young man, according to the customs of Confucianism in Jiangnan at the end of the Ming Dynasty, rubbed fat powder, dressed in incense brocade robes, and looked fair-skinned, handsome face, especially better than women. Zhou Yanru looked up and down, and said with a smile: "Confucius said that those who don't know the beauty of the capital have no eyes!" I think that you are the son of today! ”

"Sir, praise falsely!" Chen Zhenhui said with a smile: "If you talk about manners, how can I be as good as Mr. in case!" It's just that Mr. is now concentrating on national affairs, so he will give this path to me and other juniors. While speaking, Chen Zhenhui helped Zhou Yanru sit down, and her expression became serious: "Sir, I came to Beijing this time to thank you by the two Mr. Zhang!" ”

"Two Mr. Zhang?" When Zhou Yanru heard this, his expression also became serious, and he lowered his voice and asked, "But Lou Dong Erzhang?" ”

"Yes, it's these two!" Chen Zhenhui said with a smile: "They asked me to thank you, saying that you spoke up in front of the saint and saved a catastrophe in Jiangnan Shilin. It turned out that the "Lou Dong Erzhang" mentioned by Chen Zhenhui was the two main leaders of the Restoration Society in the late Ming Dynasty, Zhang Pu and Zhang Cai, who were both from Taicang and had read with classmates, and were called "Lou Dong Erzhang" at the time. In the Ming Dynasty, the scholars were selected by the eight shares, and the scholars sought fame in order to sharpen the article, so they respected the teacher and made friends, and the association became a trend, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. And the Restoration Society is a good example of this. At the end of Wanli, Zhang Pu and others felt bitterly that "the world is declining, and the scholars are not proficient in scriptures, but they are plagiarized and painted, and they are fortunate to be in Yousi, Dengmingtang can not lead to the king, and Changjunyi does not know Ze \ people", so they contacted people from all over the world and advocated that "rejuvenating retro learning will make those who are different from Japan useful", and it is called "Fushe". Although the original intention of the establishment of the Restoration Society was to study the eight stocks, learn from each other, and sharpen one's conduct, because the participants were young scholars and the reserve force of the bureaucratic class, it also had strong political overtones. Most of its members took Donglin's successor and put forward the idea of "renting, abolishing the register, removing the envoys, and stopping the internal exercises" (abolishing the taxes owed to the imperial court, recalling the officials who had been dismissed for offending the eunuchs, abolishing the eunuchs who went out, and stopping the training of eunuchs). Because the idea of the Fushe reflected the interests of the landlords and businessmen in Jiangnan who were "surnamed Wu Xing" at that time, it had a deep social foundation, and it was very powerful, and even manipulated the imperial examination, at that time the imperial examination in Jiangnan was almost monopolized by the members of the Fushe, since the establishment of Chongzhen in the second year, many members of the Fushe have ascended to the top, and the voice of the government and the opposition, and many civil and military generals and sergeants and doctors of the court, and school students, all claimed to be Zhang Pu's subordinates. Therefore, Wen Tiren, who is a member of the Zhejiang Party, went to the court to impeach Erzhang for "advocating the resumption of the society to disrupt the world". So the court issued a strict order. Fortunately, Zhou Yanru came to the rescue, and the case did not lead to a big prison.

"So that's it!" Zhou Yanru smiled reservedly: "You tell the two gentlemen for me, the essence of Jiangnan Shilin is gathered in the Restoration Society, how can Zhou allow people to be destroyed?" ”

"Yes, yes!" Chen Zhenhui nodded excitedly: "I came to Beijing this time, I heard that the imperial court is going to raise taxes, this is obviously the remnants of the people to enrich themselves, sir, you are Jiangnan Shilin Taidou, you can't let the traitorous ministers bewitch the saint!" ”

Hearing Chen Zhenhui mention the tax increase, Zhou Yanru's expression was gloomy, and he secretly thought in his heart where there were any traitors to bewitch, and the one who wanted to raise taxes the most was the Son of Heaven himself. After all, he had been an official in Beijing for many years, and he was very clear about the empire's already extremely embarrassed finances, so he coughed in a low voice: "Dingsheng, this matter is too much to do, so you don't have to talk about it again." You're still young, and you need to spend more energy on the right path, you know? ”

"Yes, yes!" Chen Zhenhui is also a smart person, and when he heard Zhou Yanru say this, he didn't dare to continue to say more, he talked a few more words, and suddenly changed his words: "Sir, I came to Beijing this time, and I met a stranger on the way, who is really a first-class person in the Zhu family!" ”

"Zhu Jiaguo Jie?"

"Yes, Mr. Don't hide it, the little nephew still encountered some trouble in Nandu this time, and this stranger helped me finish it!" The more Chen Zhenhui said, the more proud he became, it turned out that he went to Nanjing not long ago for a scientific expedition, and after the exam, he went to the Qinhuai River with a few friends to play, and he didn't want a friend to be played by a prostitute on the boat, and he went to the pit for hundreds of taels of silver. Originally, the children of eunuchs like them, this is just a matter that can be understood by a post, but at that time, because of the matter of the resumption of the society, the wind was very tight, if someone with ulterior motives grabbed the handle, but it would be a bad name, it would be a big loss. But a few of them were young, so they forgot it, and they couldn't swallow this breath. It happened that Chen Zhenhui was angry when they went to Jiming Temple, and when a person next to him learned about it, he patted his chest continuously, saying that the matter was wrapped up in him. Chen Zhenhui and the others thought that they were just fools, but they didn't want that two days later, the prostitute knelt in front of their apartment with the silver taels that had been pitted and pleaded guilty.

"Oh?" Zhou Yanru listened to Chen Zhenhui's excited words, and smiled noncommittally: "A few hundred taels of silver is not a decimal number, it seems that this person doesn't seem to be coming for silver money!" ”

"Not bad!" Chen Zhenhui said with a smile: "We were going to give him money at the time, but he said, 'It's full of money, and it's as if our family lacks these hundreds of taels of silver!'" If you really want to thank me, use the money to set up a soup kitchen stall and do some good deeds! ’”

"Oh?" Zhou Yanru's face did not change: "What about the result?" ”

"I really set up a soup kitchen, and after giving up the porridge for thirty or forty days, I saved thousands of lives!"

"So he's asking for a name?"

"That's not it, this soup kitchen stall is run by the monks of Tuojiming Temple, in the name of a few of us, and that person has nothing to do with it!"

"Don't seek fame, don't seek profit, that's seeking officials?"

"Not like that!" Chen Zhenhui smiled: "The little nephew originally thought the same way, but I can see that this person lives a very relaxed life on weekdays, if it weren't for the fact that he didn't know anything about piano, chess, poetry and painting, he would be a bit like a madman!" By the way, he always said that there are many people in the world who ask for help, and there are few people who reach out to help others, so he wants to help more people and ask less people! ”

"In this way, he is really a hero!" At this time, Zhou Yanru felt tired for a while, snorted, and said with a smile: "It's not too early, you can rest here with me tonight!" ”

"No need, the little nephew and a few friends are staying overnight in Chongfu Temple, it's more convenient than Mr. here, and I'll visit Mr. another day!" Chen Zhenhui got up to say goodbye.

"Could it be that your Zhu family Guo Xie is also in that Chongfu Temple?" Zhou Yanru's heart moved, and he asked casually.

"Exactly! A few of us are discussing doing something big! Chen Zhenhui said with a smile.

"Big deal?" Zhou Yanru wanted to ask, but then he thought that his little fellow villager here was a member of the Restoration Society, and the so-called major events he said should be related to the Restoration Society, although he had a good relationship with the Donglin Party, but after all, he was in the DPRK, and it was not beautiful to be too close to a group of scholars in the opposition, thinking of this, Zhou Yanru smiled slightly: "It's okay, you young people are also more comfortable together, and the old man will not force you, I will say hello to the two Mr. Zhang when I go back!" ”

"Yes, sir!"

Chongfu Temple.

Chen Zhenhui entered the gate and walked along a path to a small courtyard to the east, where a monk in front of him carried a lantern to guide him. The two walked for a while, and Chen Zhenhui saw a building not far away that was brightly lit, and the sound of chanting scriptures and chanting Buddha came from it, as if she was doing some Dharma work, so she asked curiously, "What is the place over there?" ”

Chen Zhenhui's father was a eunuch in the court, and he was a young man, so he naturally did not save on food and clothing. The monk of Chongfu Temple, who led the way, naturally regarded him as a big patron, looked in the direction of his finger, and hurriedly replied with a smile: "Hui Gongzi, there is the Compassion Pavilion over there!" ”

"Compassion Pavilion?"

"Yes, the son doesn't know, this temple was built in the Tang Dynasty when Taizong, the original name was called Minzhong Temple, in order to commemorate the soldiers who died in the Eastern Expedition. This dynasty was renamed Chongfu Temple when Yingzong, that Min Zhong Pavilion was rebuilt by Hu Kejian, the head of the imperial horse supervisor of the dynasty, and the pagoda in front of the temple enshrined the ashes of the soldiers on the border of the dead, and the new moon day will do things to exceed the dead. ”

"Eunuch!" Chen Zhenhui scolded hatefully: "Such inhuman people collude with martial artists, I am afraid it is not the luck of the national dynasty!" ”

"Childe is cautious, there are many ears and eyes in the capital, don't cause trouble!" The monk didn't expect Chen Zhenhui to suddenly come up with such a sentence, and hurriedly looked left and right, as if there was a certain Jinyi guard hidden in the dark, and he might jump out and arrest him at any time.

Chen Zhenhui looked at the monk who led the way with a frightened face, and couldn't help but be full of disgust in his heart, he was in the land south of the Yangtze River, where the scholars gathered, where did he know the majesty of the Beidi factory guard, and snorted coldly: "That's it, you give the lantern to my entourage, and we can walk the rest of the way by ourselves, you go back!" ”

The monk wanted to lead the way and mix up a few rewards, but he didn't want to offend the rich man inexplicably, so he had to give the lantern to Chen Zhenhui's entourage, and seeing the two of them go in the night, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and said: "Why don't you make trouble with that Hu Kejian, and take out anger on me as a little monk?" ”

Chen Zhenhui returned to her residence, still hating herself. One of the people in the room was reclining on the Luohan bed, facing the chessboard, playing for a play. When he heard the sound, he looked up and said with a smile: "What's wrong with Master Chen, isn't it that the first assistant officer of Zhou is the eldest and he doesn't recognize you as a little fellow?" (To be continued.) )