There was the sound of the female relatives screaming in the carriage, obviously frightened by the sudden bumps of the carriage, fortunately, the frightened horse was quickly restrained by Mu Jingyan, dusk is the most lively time in the lamp market, most people are on foot, there are many sedan chairs, but there are very few carriages and horses, it is because of the dense pedestrians here, and the livestock are easily frightened - one of the two passers-by who was knocked down by the frightened horse quickly got up, grabbed the coachman and scolded, look at this person Fang scarf shirt is a student, about forty years old, should not have suffered any injuries, but shouted very fiercely, asking the coachman to pay silver, The other one who fell to the ground was a fat woman, Mu Zhenzhen stepped forward to help her, but was pushed away by the woman, sat on the ground and shouted: "The slave family has been knocked out of the internal organs, but I am afraid that my life will not last long. While shouting, he rubbed his chest, rubbing the two ** under his shirt and shaking - the business travelers on the Dengshi Street were gathered, bustling, and when he heard the turmoil here, a group of people suddenly surrounded him to watch the excitement - the coachman saw Mu Jingyan's scabbard touching the horse's eye, and shouted: "It's none of my business, it was this soldier who shocked my horse, you go to him to theorize." He pointed at Mu Jingyan.

The student turned his head and glanced at Mu Jingyan, a tower-like man, who turned his head and still shouted at the coachman: "It was your carriage that hit me, I only want you to settle accounts." ”

Someone in the carriage said, "Old Wang, what's the matter?" ”

The coachman was bold, knocked off the hand of the student who was holding him by the collar, and turned around and said: "Master, there is a soldier who startled the villain's horse and knocked down two people, and these two people did not go to the soldier to settle accounts, but came to pester the villain crookedly and asked the villain to lose money, which is really unreasonable!" ”

Mu Jingyan frowned, and thought, "How can I be blamed for this, I am also unintentional." "I think the identity of the people in the carriage is not low, not that he is a fallen military household can reason with, in this capital is still quiet, but don't delay the delivery of ordnance back to Yulin, he still has more than 20 taels of silver in his waist, this is almost all his savings, originally planned to buy some dresses and accessories for Zhenzhen, accidentally got into such trouble, now I'm afraid to break some money, but don't worry, and see what the people in the carriage say - the student grabbed the coachman's chest again, and shouted:" I don't see anyone startling your horse, I just know that your horse rammed me. ”

The fat woman sitting on the ground cried out, "Ahhh

There were two servants next to the carriage, and the man in the carriage said something to one of the servants, and the servant came over and said to the servant, "My lord asked you to go with me to the Dongcheng Soldiers and Horses Division to deal with this matter." He pointed at Mu Jingyan and said, "Don't leave this soldier." ”

This member of the living group is also quite domineering in Lifang with his fame, and said angrily: "Who is impatient to go to the Soldiers and Horses Division with your slave, who is in the carriage, please show up and say something?" I thought: "In today's world, even a businessman dares to call him a master——"

"Okay, you go talk to my master." The servant couldn't help but drag the student to the car window, the curtain of the car was lifted from the inside, it was twilight, some of the shops on both sides had turned on the lights, the student was close enough to see the people in the car, and after listening to the people in the car say a few words, he immediately bowed again and again, and did not entangle the coachman, turned around and shouted at Mu Jingyan: "You soldier, you shocked people's horses and hit people, but you didn't have half a word of apology!" ”

Mu Jingyan knew that the person in the car must be a powerful official gentleman, and this student didn't dare to provoke him and came at him, but he had no choice but to ask the student: "Where is this Xianggong injured, and the villain is willing to pay for Xianggong's treatment." ”

The fat woman also got out of the chariot and cried out, "And the slaves." ”

Mu Jingyan estimated that one or two pieces of silver was enough for one person, and he was not seriously injured, so he said: "Then let's go to the nearby medicine shop together for diagnosis and treatment, and see where the injury is?" ”

The student didn't dare to provoke the people in the carriage, so he vented his anger on Mu Jingyan's head and sneered: "You stupid soldier, who is impatient to talk to you, pay ten taels of silver." ”

The fat woman also exclaimed, "I am also ten taels." "It's so deceitful to borrow Xiucai's momentum.

Mu Jingyan was also annoyed, and said in a deep voice: "The two of you are too much, this market is full of people, bumps and bumps are inevitable, and I am willing to pay for the two of them to heal, but you will ask for twenty taels of silver when you open your mouth, is the silver so easy to earn!" "Mu Jingyan has been in the army for two years, and he has fought for his life, and he is no longer as afraid of things as he used to be in Shaoxing.

Mu Zhenzhen said crisply: "Besides, you were also hit by a horse, how can you blame my father." Gently tugging on the sleeve of his father's shirt, ready to run away, what the young master said, the hero does not suffer the loss in front of him - the student and the fat woman shouted and shouted, the student wanted to call the people of the Soldiers and Horses Division to come, and the healthy servant who followed the carriage also sneered: "It was not you who were hit by the horse, it was not you who were shocked by the stupid soldier, how could the horse hit people and dare to climb." ”

Another servant with the car came over and asked Mu Jingyan: "Listen to your military accent, you seem to be from Shaoxing?" ”

Mu Jingyan also heard that this servant had a local accent from Shanyin, and arched his hand: "It is the Shaoxing Shanyin people's clan below." ”

The servant smiled and said, "My lord is also from Shanyin, so let you go over and ask questions." ”

Mu Jingyan was waiting over, Mu Zhenzhen hurriedly grabbed his father, but asked the servant: "May I ask your lord's surname?" ”

The servant replied, "The surname is Yao, and it is the surname of Shanyin." ”

Mu Zhen was really shocked, surnamed Yao, could it be Yao Tiezui's cousin Yao Zongwen, Yao Zongwen is the opponent of the young master, if Yao Zongwen learns her identity, she will definitely embarrass her father, then it is not a matter of losing twenty taels of silver, when even Jin tugged on his father's arm, and said loudly: "Daddy, you will go back to Jinshanwei tomorrow, you can't delay, hurry up." ”

The father and daughter ran to the entrance of the lamp market, and Xiucai shouted to stop him, but Mu Jingyan stretched out his hand and gently flicked it, and fell to the side of the road, and the fat woman couldn't catch up, and didn't dare to pester the carriage anymore, crying and screaming, scolding the military household for being unscrupulous - the carriage drove slowly, and the servant who asked Mu Jingyan leaned over the window and said to the people in the car: "Master, that military man is from Shanyin, but he suddenly ran away for some reason, otherwise the old man would say a word for him in front of his fellow villagers, how could that Xiucai dare to pester him, I really don't know what to do, Dare not come to see the master. ”

The man in the car said: "I don't know how to lift." Putting down the curtain, the carriage drove through Dengshi Street and went to Chongwenmen - some onlookers asked the student: "Hua Xiucai, that soldier is rude, and it is just that he can't catch up, but why did you let go of the carriage so easily, who is in the car?" ”

The student surnamed Hua said: "That's Lord Yao in the matter, who dares to provoke it?" ”

The officials are the leaders of the Taoist officials in the matter, and even the officials of the six departments and the ministers have to make friends, Yao Zongwen is a small official with the seventh grade but is the leader of the Zhejiang Party, the reason is that the small officials can suppress the big officials, which is also the characteristic of the officialdom of the late Ming Dynasty, the party struggle is more intense, and the power of the official is heavier——...... Mu Jingyan and Mu Zhenzhen strode out of the Dengshi Street, bypassing the Shuntianfu Gongyuan, and saw that no one was chasing them, so they slowed down, the father and daughter looked at each other, Mu Zhenzhen suddenly laughed, and said: "Daddy, that year, my daughter was collecting firewood in Lingshan, and I saw that the peach tree had peaches, so I picked a few, but I didn't expect that the peach tree had an owner, and the evil dog of the master's family chased me and bit me, and refused to let me go when I got to the bottom of the mountain. By the way, Daddy, how old was my daughter that year? ”

Mu Jingyan looked sideways at her daughter, who was tall and beautiful, vigorous and sassy, and said with a smile: "You were eight years old that year, so fast, and you were eighteen years old in a blink of an eye, but our father and daughter are still being chased and run." ”

Mu Zhenzhen said: "Daddy is now the chief flag officer, much stronger than before in Shanyin, it is not uncommon to be chased by others, the young master was also chased by people in Nanjing Guozijian the year before last, and the young master and I are still hiding under the bridge." Thinking of that, Mu Zhenzhen laughed again.

Mu Jingyan hurriedly asked what was going on, Mu Zhenzhen said 1510, Mu Jingyan laughed and said: "Happy, happy, Young Master Jie Zi is a good method." He also said: "When I stay up in the guard for a few more years, it will be good to be promoted to 100 households, and 100 households will no longer be soldiers, but low-level generals. As he said this, the yellow-bearded man looked up to the sky and let out a long breath.

Mu Zhenzhen also felt that Yuzi was very hopeful, but said: "Daddy, you must take care of the border guard——"

"A fullback is not the place to take care of your body." Mu Jingyan interrupted his daughter's words with a smile, "I joined the army to fight for my life, how can I be promoted if I don't fight for my life, Young Master Jie Zi can't say that there will be a big war in Liaodong in three years, I look forward to that day, General Du Shen was originally the general soldier of Liaodong, and he is familiar with Liao affairs, as long as Liaodong goes to war, the imperial court will definitely reuse General Du, then I also have a place to use - really rest assured, your father is now skilled in bows and horses, and Yan'an Wei's martial arts are not much stronger than mine. Gave a head to one of General Du's cronies—"

In the twilight, the father and daughter returned to the Shang's courtyard in the East Fourth Pai Building, and Mu Zhenzhen told Zhang Yuan about the matter of Dengshi Street, and said: "Young master, isn't it good that the maid and father ran away like this?" ”

Zhang Yuan smiled: "Of course you have to run, are you still waiting to be blackmailed." He added: "Could it be Yao Zongwen in the carriage, that's really a coincidence." ”

This is just a trivial matter, Zhang Yuan didn't care, his mind is now in the East Palace, waiting for the monstrous waves caused by the boulder falling into the water——...... On the first day of the fifth month, Zhang Yuan went to the Hanlin Academy as usual to drink tea, read the newspaper, and take notes, which said that the lecture to Shu Jishi was Zuo Chunfang Zuo Zanshan Xu Guangqi of the James Mansion, and the lecture was "Sweet Potato Shu", Xu Guangqi hoped that Shu Jishi could have a pragmatic learning, Shu Jishi's studies in the Hanlin Academy were very easy, in addition to practicing calligraphy, only need to submit three texts and three poems per month according to the proposition, of course, the class is to be taken every day, and the teaching is not limited to the four books and five classics, as long as the knowledge related to the national economy and people's livelihood can be taught- The Shujishi system is to train high-ranking officials of the Pingzhang military state, so it attaches great importance to practical government affairs, but in the past, the practical learning is still rarely spoken, because the instructor in charge of the education of the Shujishi is himself a word forest official of the Hanlin Academy and the James Mansion who have no practical experience in governance, and his knowledge is very profound and his character is good, but he can't talk about the learning that has been applied to the world, and it is very broad and empty to talk about, and it doesn't matter when he is peaceful, but when this disaster is everywhere and the crisis is everywhere, where is there a thin volume of "Sweet Potato Shu" useful for talking about moral articles, But these Shujishi in the Hanlin Academy obviously didn't think much of Xu Zanshan's lecture on "Sweet Potato Shu", so some Shujishi used Confucius's "I am not as good as an old farmer, I am not as good as an old garden" to protest against Xu Zanshan telling them these agricultural books, Xu Guangqi said: "You are all talents in the world, do you think this is a meaningless thing? The national code system must be examined in detail, the chaos and safety must be sought, the peace and stability are always smooth, and the power is changeable, all of which you need to learn. In this palace examination, isn't the champion Cewen hand-picked by the emperor able to stand out precisely because he cares about current affairs and has creative ideas? ”

"Sweet Potato Shu" can continue to talk - the officials of the Hanlin Academy and Shu Jishi are all in the courtyard dining room at noon, the food is provided by Guanglu Temple, during the lunch break, Xu Guangqi and Zhang Yuan talked about the lecture hall, Zhang Yuan said: "The selection is also poetry, teaching is also poetry, and what you learn has nothing to do with actual government affairs, so is it to cultivate a talent?" In addition to the senior officials of the Hanlin Academy and the James Mansion, the younger brother thought that the officials of the six ministries and the governors of the provinces should also be invited to give lectures on the government affairs and people's livelihood that they were familiar with, and arrange at least two such classes every month, so that this is the way to cultivate talents. ”

Xu Guangqi praised: "What the virtuous brother said is very true, I also think so, but it is extremely difficult to implement, most of the officials are content with the status quo, and the party strife makes people suspicious, if someone proposes any reform measures, the first thing others think about is not whether the measure is beneficial to the country and the people, but to speculate because of this reform, which party will benefit and which party will suffer, and attack each other whenever something happens, so that it is difficult to issue a reform decree." ”

Zhang Yuan said: "I will write a note to suggest to Dean Liu, and then let a few Jishi also make a request." ”

Xu Guangqi knew that Zhang Yuan was very influential among the new science and technology scholars and Shu Jishi, and said: "I also put forward this suggestion at the same time as the lecturer of the James Mansion, and Dean Liu is also in charge of the James Mansion. ”

Just as Dean Liu was talking, he suddenly saw a scribe hurriedly come in and say to Guo Shu, a bachelor student: "Dean Liu suddenly fainted and fell unconscious in the yamen of the Ministry of Rites. ”

Zhang Yuan and Xu Guangqi looked at each other, and Zhang Yuan said in his heart: "Dean Liu Chuxian looked at the heart and body, fat body, and red light, but it turned out to be high blood pressure, there was no brain surgery in the Ming Dynasty, and it was very dangerous if there was a cerebral hemorrhage, and it seems that there will be one less official from the six departments." ”

Two days later, the news of the death of Liu Chuxian, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Rites invited the Wanli Emperor to give Liu Chuxian as the crown prince Shaobao, Zhen Wendun, so far, the household department, the Ministry of Rites, the Criminal Department, and the Ministry of Industry are vacant, after Liu Chuxian died, the Ministry of Rites was represented by the right attendant He Zongyan - Liu Chu was the deputy chief examiner of Zhang Yuan's examination, and supported Wu Ge Lao to take Zhang Yuan, who was kind to Zhang Yuan, Liu Chuxian died suddenly, Zhang Yuan was quite sad, and thought that Wu Ge Lao was also sick and crooked, and Fang Ge Lao was in good healthIt's not a good prospect.

…… Mu Jingyan spent the Dragon Boat Festival in the capital, and set off to return to Yulin on the seventh day of the fifth month, this time he received 500 newly cast bird guns, 1,000 javelins, 1,000 rattan cards, as well as Ningbo bows, iron arrows, waist knives, two-handed long knives, sticks, armor, etc., fully loaded with ten cars, and was escorted to Yulin by the Ministry of War with ten sergeants - Zhang Yuan sent Mu Jingyan and his party out of the west gate of the outer city, he wrote a reply to Juniper, and gave back some of the capital's products, and said when he left: "General Du Shen should also send Uncle Mu to Beijing for business next year, By that time it should be possible to switch to a new flintlock pistol. ”

After Qi Chengjiao and Zhang Heming, the two soldiers of the Langzhong, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry discussed and tested, it was decided to gradually replace the arquebus with a flintlock pistol, but it is not so easy to manufacture a flintlock pistol, refining iron billet, boiling barrel, drilling the core, filing and grinding, making the spark door, grinding, drilling the fire door and so on, it takes two months, the first batch of fifty pieces for testing and improvement, the flintlock pistol really needs to be put into actual combat It takes a year, Zhang Yuan is already very satisfied with this, this is the first step to affect the battle of Salhu two years later, It is necessary to avoid the fiasco of the four-way march and the three-way total annihilation, only by changing the battle situation of Salhu, can he win time for other reforms, otherwise, the Ming Dynasty will be dragged down by the war in Liaodong, the Liao salary will be increased, and the people's resentment will be boiling, and no one will be able to return to the sky at that time - Mu Jingyan told his daughter Mu Zhenzhen some words, bid farewell to Zhang Yuan, and rode a horse to escort the ordnance west.

The sun was blazing in May, in the western suburbs of the capital, Mu Zhenzhen watched his father Mu Jingyan walk away, and suddenly asked Zhang Yuan: "Young master, don't women be allowed to go to the battlefield in the Ming Dynasty?" ”

Zhang Yuan said: "Of course there are no women in the army, what, do you really want to go out with your father to be Mulan?" ”

Mu Zhenzhen said: "The maid wants the young master to lead the troops to the expedition in the future, and the maid can't follow that, how can it be good." ”

Zhang Yuan smiled: "Yes, without real protection, I can't move an inch." ”

Mu Zhen said ashamedly: "Young master, the maid doesn't mean that-"

Zhang Yuan smiled and asked: "Then why do you really think that I, a scholar, can lead troops in the future?" ”

"My dad said that." Mu Zhenzhen said: "Dad said that they are all civilian officials leading the troops, and the young master is familiar with border affairs, and he will definitely be able to command the troops in the future." ”

Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "If there is really that day, I will try to let you follow me, don't I still have a female Xuanfu envoy in Daming." ”

Mu Zhenzhen hurriedly asked, "Who is it?" ”

Zhang Yuan said: "Shizhu Tusima's wife Qin Liangyu." ”

…… On the evening of May 13th, Mu Zhenzhen went to the north bridge of the Yuhe River with Wuling, Wang Dazhui, and Laifu as usual to wait for Zhang Yuan to leave the Hanlin Academy, at this time, there was an endless stream of officials who retreated from the yamen of various ministries and returned home, or by car, or by sedan chair, and there were many people on foot, and Yao Zongwen also rode through the North Bridge of the Jade River in the matter, and the tall white beauty with foreign charm Mu Zhenzhen who stood at the head of the bridge was quite eye-catching, and Yao Zongwen's healthy servant who accompanied the car hurriedly said to Yao Zongwen in the car: "Master, the little one saw the daughter of the military man who surprised our carriage in the lamp market street, Right at the head of the bridge. ”

Yao Zongwen looked at Mu Zhenzhen at the head of the bridge from the car window and said, "Since you are waiting here, it must also be the maid of a certain official, you go and inquire to see whose maidservant it is?" "While letting the carriage stop at the end of the bridge.

The servant quickly inquired, came back and said, "Master, that is Zhang Yuan's maidservant, no wonder I said that my lord's surname is Yao, and her father and daughter turned around and ran away, but it turned out to be a weak heart." ”

(To be continued)