On the night of October 12, the Jingshi Middle School was still singing and dancing, and no one seemed to know the news that the father of the first assistant Zhang Juzheng had died.

Since Zhang Han, the new secretary of the ministry, has been quite low-key since he achieved this position, refusing all invitations from colleagues and relatives, and staying at home in his spare time.

Those who are familiar with Zhang Han in the Beijing division know that this official Shangshu likes to talk with his hands, and he doesn't want any treasures from the gift-giver, but if it is a good sandalwood silver wire chessboard, jade chess pieces, etc., then he will gladly accept it.

When it got dark, Zhang Han's housekeeper walked around his master's study and drove away all the people who were still here. Because my master should be quiet when he plays chess, he doesn't like people to move around.

The study has been lit with lights, the best sandalwood has been burned, and the chessboard chess pieces have been arranged.

"Dong Weng, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

There was a loud laugh outside, and a middle-aged Confucian student walked in, looking at the robe he was wearing, it should be the identity of a person, he couldn't help but look clean and dusty, and there was a kind of unusual temperament between his gestures.

What is the identity of Zhang Han, the secretary of the ministry, when he saw this person coming in, he also got up, nodded and smiled:

"Mr. Qian is here, but after dinner, he only lost three sons five days ago, and he must win a game today."

The middle-aged man unfolded the folding fan in his hand, fanned it a few times, and wrote four words on the fan with the dragon flying and phoenix dancing, and it was the handwriting of the famous artist "the fifth in the world".

This middle-aged man is Zhang Han's chess friend, surnamed Qian, named Chunping, he took a number, called Black and White, this Qian Chunping's father had been a salt envoy in Changlu, and earned a huge fortune, Qian Chunping was not the material for the imperial examination, and he was only promoted at the age of thirty-five, and then he had no inch.

Unable to study, this Qian Chunping has a mastery, that is, this Go, when he was thirty years old, he was already known as the first in the north, but coincidentally, the best few people in the world who played chess were either in Hangzhou or in Songjiang, and the land in the north of the river was this Qian Chunping, he also went to Jiangnan to play with those few people, all of them were small defeats, so he asked someone to write this "fifth in the world" fan, and every time he took it.

His family has money, and he has the fame of raising people, and he lives freely, and there are often those high-ranking officials and nobles who like to play chess to talk with him.

Zhang Han likes to play chess, and the two have become friends, Qian Chunping never asks for anything with the master, that is, playing chess, or drinking and having fun, he also wants to be relaxed.

The new official department is still the secretary, what he is afraid of is that he is close to people and asks for officials, he does not give face, he gives and tells the truth, this Qian Chunping is everywhere, he can see it, he doesn't ask for anything, he doesn't need to say that he is good at chess, Zhang Han is more and more appreciative of him, and the housekeeper in Zhang Han's house is just arching his hand when he sees the staff of each department, and when he sees this Qian Chunping, he must be serious and courteous, and he must call him "Master Qian".

Yuzi Luotan Pan, the most exquisite, Luozi's voice is crisp and pleasant, adding Yaxing, Qian Chunping plays chess, and has an excellent grasp of proportion, which makes the other party feel that the fight is fierce, and the strength of the two sides is not far apart, and there is always an interest in continuing.

When the two of them play chess, they are also used to talking about some interesting anecdotes in the Beijing Division, although this Qian Chunping is a person from a high background, he can't stand to see a lot, and his thinking is also lively, although the status is very different, but he can often give good advice to Zhang Han, the secretary of the ministry.

After playing more than 20 moves, Zhang Han felt that he had a wonderful move, and after playing, Qian Chunping also thought for a while, couldn't help but feel good, and asked with a smile:

"If there is any interesting news in Beijing now, Mr. Qian said to hear it."

Qian Chunping seemed to have thought of a way to deal with it, and he fell down again, pondered for a while and said:

"Now the Jingshi is too tight, it's nothing more than what kind of girl came to the Qinglou, who got a big fortune in the gambling house, by the way, there is a thing, several plaything shops in Dongcheng and Xicheng are eating and drinking, and they said during the banquet that the promotion plan should be changed, otherwise it will not be suitable to play."

The promotion chart is a game, shake the dice to take points, decide the promotion and path according to the size of the points, and basically draw a road map according to the current officialdom rules, there are several options at the beginning, such as the imperial examination, monk Taoism, medicine and witches, etc., and the imperial examination has jinshi, lifting people, prisoners, and so on.

There is such a set of promotion charts, when children are having fun, they have a general understanding of the society and officialdom, this set of things is nothing more than a picture, a set of cards, a few dice, and people with a slightly decent family background will buy a set of preparations.

Hearing this, Zhang Han also became interested, and asked with a smile:

"This is fresh, how to change it, the Ming official system has not moved!?"

Qian Chunping owed a debt and said:

"It's strange to say it, Lord Zhang, this matter is still a little involved with the official position of the adult?"

This statement made Zhang Han, the secretary of the ministry, even more interested, and urged again and again:

"But it doesn't matter, it's just a child's plaything, and there is also the first assistant of the cabinet there, and I haven't seen Zhang Ge Lao ban this thing."

"Dong Weng, originally this promotion map, if you shake the right idea, step by step, there will be a fork when you reach the title of squire, go to be a scholar or be a royal envoy, or enter the cabinet."

Zhang Han picked up a cup of tea at the coffee table next to him, took a sip with a smile, and said:

"Children's stuff is also a little real."

"All the routes have reached the top, and this top is also divided into high and low, the first is naturally the first assistant of the cabinet, and the second is the second assistant, but the secretary of the ministry is in charge of the world's officials, and is often tied with the second assistant or even slightly higher, and the servant of the ministry is equal to the secretary of other ministries." Zhang Han shook his head and smiled:

"I remember that this official also played when he was a child, it is such a rule, but it evokes a lot of memories, Mr. Qian continued."

Qian Chunping showed a somewhat embarrassed look, and then spoke:

"The shopkeeper of those playthings shops said that now that Zhang Ge is in power, whether it is the cabinet scholars or the scholars of various ministries, they are all subordinates of Zhang Ge Lao and his old man, so why not change this bifurcation and flatten the ...... below"

The smile on Zhang Han's face gradually disappeared, and seeing Zhang Han's face change, Qian Chunping hurriedly stood up from his seat, clasped his fists and apologized:

"The student has said a lot about Meng Lang, and I ask Master Shangshu to forgive me!"

Zhang Han waved his hand and said indifferently:

"It's the truth, what's so weird, come on, play chess."

Bai Zi only realized that something was wrong, although he had only played more than 20 moves, but Zhang Han's move was a big stupid move, and he didn't need to play it next, and he would definitely lose. If he wins, it must be this Qian Chunping's power, Zhang Han sighed and stretched out his hand to mess up the chessboard.

Qian Chunping got up again, clenched his fists deeply, and said to himself:

"It's still a student who has said a lot, the adults are in turmoil, don't play this chess tonight!"

Zhang Han nodded, picked up the chess game and looked at it, sighed and said in a low voice:

"No one can see this...... Mr. Qian, remember to be cautious! ”

There was already a faint warning in Zhang Han's words, Qian Chunping chuckled a few times, and said freely:

"Qian has no intention of officialdom for a long time, and there is no shortage of food and rice at home, so he will not go out and chew his tongue, Qian and the adult have been playing chess for almost a year, what the adult and Qian have said, has it ever been passed on?"

"Mr. Qian, don't be careful, the official just has a few words of advice, Jingwen, you send Mr. Qian out of the house, and then come down."

Zhang Han raised his voice to beckon the housekeeper to enter the door, sent the Mr. Qian out, and waited for everyone to come out of the study, Zhang Han stood up and walked to the bookshelf, picked up a book and read a page on the lamp, and then threw it aside irritably, and walked a few steps in the study, the housekeeper had returned, Zhang Han said in a low voice:

"Daquan who came back in three days, let him stay in his own house, don't talk to others, don't go out, you send a hundred taels of silver and a reassuring person to go over, the silver is for him to eat and wear, and there is a reward afterwards, and the person who sent him let him keep an eye on Daquan!"

The housekeeper hurriedly bowed down and agreed, Zhang Han knocked on the bookshelf, and said in a deep voice:

"Give two words to Song Chanchan, be cautious."

The butler agreed, and walked out of the house quickly.

The Jingshi in mid-October can be described as an undercurrent of turbulence, but on the surface it is unusually calm, and everyone thinks that the wife is peaceful.

Wang Tong's life in the martial arts hall can be described as boring, and the only thing that impresses him is that the Wanli Emperor was quite puzzled and told him, saying that when the Empress Dowager Chen went to say hello to An one day, he took his hand and said:

"Your Majesty, this Ming Dynasty is the ...... of our Zhu family."

Rensheng Empress Dowager Chen is the empress of Emperor Longqing, and she was the crown princess when she was in Yuwangfu, although she was not the biological mother of Emperor Wanli, she was very good to Emperor Wanli, and the little emperor of Wanli has always been quite filial.

Wang Tong was also confused about this, thinking that this Ming Dynasty was originally the world of your Zhu family, is it necessary to emphasize it separately, but Wang Tong will not go deep into such a topic, that is, he will make trouble for himself.

His current interest was more in the blacksmith's shop, where the rich merchant led him to settle on the sixteenth of October.

The blacksmith shop Wang Tong's plan was to move to his own Zhuangzi first, and then make arrangements, go to the blacksmith shop, and the first thing he did was to let Zhang Shiqiang pay a month's salary in advance.

After the delivery, Wang Tong told General Tan the details of how the blacksmith shop moved to Zhuangzi, and then called several skilled blacksmiths together.

Wang Tong untied the burden he was carrying, put the short fire gun on the table, and asked:

"Can we build this?"

On the afternoon of October 16, a newspaper sent by Huguang to Beijing mentioned that the father of Zhang Juzheng, the elder of the imperial court, died of illness on September 26.

(To be continued)