At the beginning of August of the sixth year of Tang Wude, when the imperial court had completed a court visit, everyone left the Taiji Palace. And just when everyone was about to return to their respective departments, Zhang Chao heard an interesting word.

"Wei Zheng washes horses, there are so many horses in the palace, how many have you washed?" A young man in his thirties asked.

When Zhang Chao heard this, he immediately knew who these two people were. The young man in his thirties is called Feng Shaoshi, the concubine of Li Yuan's daughter Princess Changsha, and Li Shimin's brother-in-law and Li Jiancheng's brother-in-law. However, they got married before Li Yuan became the emperor, so he never thought that he would marry a wife and become a princess in the future, and he would be a concubine for some reason. But now because of the husband's wife, he has achieved the position of the squire of the Ministry of War at a young age, which is the deputy minister of the Ministry of Defense in later generations, and the ancient Ministry of War has a lot of power compared to the Ministry of Defense in later generations, and it is not comparable to the Ministry of Defense in later generations.

However, since this period of time, Zhang Chao obviously knows that this Young Master Feng is Li Shimin's person, but he is indeed arrogant. He is actually ridiculing others now, saying that Wei Zheng washed the horse and asked him how many horses he washed, which was simply ridiculing the other party.

As for the other person, that is, the crown prince Xima Wei Zheng. Last time, Zhang Chaoyin Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng each took a look, and as a result, they each kicked out one of their important strategists. Because of this, Wei Zheng did not get the official position of the prince washing horses for the time being, but later Li Jiancheng actually proposed that the two princes in the East Palace Washing Horses were in charge of the Confucian classics, and the other was responsible for ordinary miscellaneous classics. This can well circumvent the reason that Zhang Chao said at the time that Wei Zheng was a Taoist priest, so that Li Yuan also agreed to Wei Zheng to serve as the prince in charge of non-Confucian classics. However, what is the inside story of the specific interior, this is not something that Zhang Chao can understand, what kind of deal did the prince Li Jiancheng and Li Yuan do, Zhang Chao doesn't quite understand, in short, Wei Zheng is just like in history, or he has become the prince to wash the horse.

And when Wei Zheng heard that Young Master Feng teasing him about washing a few horses, his face immediately turned red, obviously very uncomfortable. Because he has the word "washing horses" in his official position, which means that the "washing" in washing horses is a polyphonic word. And the word "wash" can be pronounced not only as "xian", but also as "xi". However, the meanings of these two pronunciations are obviously different, and now Young Master Feng used the pronunciation of "xi" as a joke and asked him how many horses he had washed, apparently deliberately spoofing him and saying that he was a groom who was responsible for washing horses.

The official position of the prince washing horses originated from the official position of "first horse" in the Qin and Han dynasties, but later I don't know which foolish historian wrote the word "first" as the word "washing", and as a result, the later dynasties also made mistakes, and directly used the word "washing" as the official name. But now that Young Master Feng is ridiculing Wei Zheng, he is obviously suspected of being disrespectful.

And Wei Zheng experienced this there, and he couldn't answer immediately.

"Feng Shilang, in fact, Wei Zheng is very simple in washing horses, he has already washed the big Sima, but the young Sima is still washing, and he hasn't washed it yet!" Zhang Chao took the initiative to help Wei Zheng answer.

"Hahahaha......"

Many people immediately laughed, and when Young Master Feng heard this, his face was like a pig's liver. Because Zhang Chao's words actually have a certain connotation, because the Ministry of War used to be called Da Sima, and now although there is no official position of Da Sima, the other name of the Ministry of War is Da Sima, and as for the soldier of the Ministry of War, he is also called Shao Sima. But these two official positions also have the word "horse", Zhang Chao helped Wei Zheng to reply that the big Sima had been washed, but the young Sima had not been washed, that is, he was scolding this Feng Shaoshi for being dirty, and as a result, of course Feng Shaoshi's face was like a pig's liver.

"Humph!" Young Master Feng immediately turned around and left.

Wei Zheng took the initiative to find Zhang Chao and said, "Thank you Zhang for your help, if I don't have you this time, I'm afraid I will have to go abroad!" ”

Zhang Chao took the initiative to answer: "Mr. Wei is already forty years old, but that Young Master Feng actually teased the elders like this, which I can't look past me, so I can't help but give him a look." ”

"Anyway, this time it was Director Zhang who helped me, then after I finished my official duties tonight, I will invite you to go to the inn outside for a meal!" Wei Zheng said.

"Mr. Wei's invitation, I don't dare to disobey!" Zhang Chao replied.

In the evening, after a busy day's official duties, Zhang Chao also returned to meet Wei Zheng. And Zhang Chao and Wei Zheng ordered two side dishes, and then began to drink a drink.

"Old Wei, how do you think the court will be able to go on after the court rules the world in the future?" Zhang Chao asked.

And Wei Zheng immediately said: "What else can I do, I hope to be able to assist the prince, and then I hope that the prince will be a Ming monarch in the future." ”

Zhang Chao then asked: "I heard that Mr. Wei was lonely and poor when he was young, and he also worked as a Taoist priest. Later, he took refuge in the Wagang Army, and finally came to my Tang Dynasty and became a subordinate officer of the prince? ”

"Yes, I grew up in a poor family, and then I studied in the Taoist temple, and when I grew up, I also became a Taoist priest for a while. Later, he joined Wagang and became a subordinate of Duke Wei. In the end, he descended to the Tang Dynasty with the Duke of Wei, and then became a subordinate official of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Wei Zheng replied.

And Zhang Chao then asked: "If, I say a word of punishment, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can't be the emperor, then what can you do?" ”

"Huh?" Wei Zheng hesitated.

Zhang Chao's words are actually very simple, that is, because the battle between Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng in the court is now open, so Zhang Chao's words are not a strange thing. Therefore, many people in the court are also thinking about what they should do if Li Jiancheng cannot become the emperor. At present, the relationship between Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin is very complicated, and their cooperative relationship is far greater than the relationship between monarchs and ministers, so the situation has become very complicated under this situation, making people unable to see the future trend. So when he heard Zhang Chao's words next, he was obviously asking what he was going to do if Wei Zheng stood in the wrong team?

"I think it should be based on the stability of Datang, and persuade Xinjun to be sympathetic to the people and do my part." Wei Zheng said.

Zhang Chao scolded secretly in his heart: "History is really a. I can't believe what the son wrote! It seems that an eternal puzzle has been solved by me, Wei Zheng is not a good bird! ”

Zhang Chao finally knew that Wei Zheng was definitely not a good bird, he was an out-and-out politician, and he was not the "mirror" in history who dared to speak out. Judging from Wei Zheng's words just now, he is definitely a politician who does not have much discipline in order to achieve his goals and be prosperous and rich, and he is not a person who sincerely serves the people. Since he took refuge in Li Mi in Wagang, he is obviously a person who struggles for glory and wealth. And now he has taken refuge in Li Jiancheng, obviously hoping to wait until Li Jiancheng becomes the emperor to make a profit from the dragon for no reason.

However, Zhang Chao knew that Li Jiancheng was killed during the Xuanwumen Revolution in history, and Wei Zheng also took refuge in Li Shimin and became a "three-surnamed house slave". However, Wei Zheng was actually famous for his outspoken admonitions, and then this is the weirdest part. Of course, if this is the case, then I'm afraid there is no problem, but there is also an incident recorded in history, which clearly shows that Wei Zheng's motives for his direct admonition are not pure, and it is by no means for the sake of the people for the good of the country, but has their own purpose.

Too many people in history think that Wei Zheng and Li Shimin are a Ming monarch and virtuous ministers who are straightforward and humbly admonished. But in fact, after Wei Zheng's death, Li Shimin once smashed Wei Zheng's tombstone, and even after Wei Zheng's death, history repented of marriage and did not marry his daughter to Wei Zheng's son. And there is definitely something greasy in this, which shows that Li Shimin is not a person with such a bad temper. He also had anger in his heart, but he didn't dare to send it out to Wei Zheng, and only vented it after he died.

And Wei Zheng obviously made Li Shimin angry, and after he died, retribution came, and he was pushed to the tombstone by Li Shimin and made his son unable to be a concubine. But why Wei Zheng was able to persecute Li Shimin so much is a surprising situation in history.

And Zhang Chao in later generations, because Wei Zheng was mentioned in the national propaganda, I hope everyone will learn the spirit of Wei Zheng, so Zhang Chao has looked for Wei Zheng's information. And he found that before Wei Zheng died, he took the initiative to burn all the exhortations he had given to Li Shimin for more than ten years, leaving no one. What he meant was that he didn't want to leave a calamity for his son, so he burned all the copies of the recitals that advised the emperor, indicating that they had been taken away by Wei Zheng's death, and that Li Shimin would not be left with any discrediting handles.

From this point of view, Wei Zheng actually kept a copy of those pieces every time he admonished, but his intention to keep the copy is worth scrutinizing. Wei Zheng was not the official in charge of archival history, but he actually left a copy of the cantata, and he specially left a copy of the recital that he advised Li Shimin. And these recitals are obviously Li Shimin's "handles". Of course, if these pieces are announced, then I am afraid that Li Shimin's identity as a Ming Jun will also be ruined. Because these are the mistakes that Li Shimin made back then, and Wei Zheng did this to record all the mistakes Li Shimin made for more than ten years, and then keep them in his own home as appreciation.

So Li Shimin had to compromise with Wei Zheng and chose not to kill Wei Zheng. Li Shimin didn't kill Wei Zheng, it wasn't because of Li Shimin's generosity, I'm afraid a big reason was that Wei Zheng had too many things that damaged Li Shimin's reputation. Although these recitals may not affect Li Shimin's status as emperor, they can greatly affect Li Shimin's reputation among the general public. What kind of person is Li Shimin, a person who wants to die to save face and suffer crimes. And Wei Zheng did this, completely using Li Shimin's reputation as a threat, if Li Shimin dared to kill him, then Wei Zheng would dare to publish these things.

As for Li Shimin, in order to keep his reputation, he will definitely "act" with Wei Zheng, and then Wei Zheng pretends to be a person who dares to speak out, and Li Shimin also pretends to be a virtuous gentleman, so the two sides have been acting like this for more than ten years. In the end, Wei Zheng was dying, and he knew that if he continued to keep these pieces, he would harm his son, and Li Shimin would definitely take revenge on his son at that time. His son was definitely not Emperor Li Shimin's opponent, so he burned all these copies, indicating that in the future, these things would leave this world with Wei Zheng, and no one would threaten Li Shimin.

"History is really not credible, Wei Zheng is a hypocrite, he is just a politician. In order to realize their ambitions, they will not compromise the means. Zhang Chao said.

"Okay, Wei Xima, I'll go first." Zhang Chao said lightly.

After Zhang Chao left, he met Liu Renliang, and he had just gotten off work at this time.

"How is Wei Zheng?" Liu Renliang asked.

Zhang Chao immediately said: "He and we are not all the way!" ”

"Why? Isn't he also from a humble family? Liu Renliang asked.

"Born in a poor family, he may not be a person who goes all the way with us, he is too greedy for wealth, so naturally he is not a person with us. We have lofty ideals, and we cannot tolerate these people who are full of selfish interests to join. We may be officials, but those are just means, means to allow our poor children to confront the scholars. But that Wei Zheng, he never cares about any means for personal gain, if this kind of person joins us, with his kind of politician thinking, I am afraid that he will sell us, and then go to those scholars to wag their tails and beg for mercy as a way to exchange for wealth. He didn't have any lofty ideals, Wei Zheng just wanted to save his life, and it was also to be able to get rich. Zhang Chao replied.

Originally, Zhang Chao thought that Wei Zheng could join his team and fight against the Shi clan together. But now I find that Wei Zheng is not a person who can be trusted, he is a politician, a hypocrite, and definitely not a person who can shed his blood for the sake of ideals, so Wei Zheng is not credible. If Wei Zheng joined them, then they would definitely betray them in the end, which Zhang Chao could not tolerate. Therefore, Zhang Chao also gave up the idea of winning over Wei Zheng, because winning over Wei Zheng not only did not increase his strength, but instead endangered himself and found his own death.

"Let's go, we will soon have the Mid-Autumn Festival in the next few days, let's get ready!" Zhang Chao said.

"Okay, we are going to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Festival soon, and the imperial court should also organize officials to celebrate the festival, after all, the world is about to be peaceful next, so I'm afraid the court will do a big job this time, after all, I'm afraid the emperor will have a good holiday." Liu Renliang said.