Liu Jun woke up from a shallow nap by the sound of hurried footsteps, and the bright sunlight was shining into the room through the window, he sat up from the bamboo bed, walked to the window and looked down.

A team of brocade-clothed guards dressed in flying fish costumes and admiring embroidered spring knives were escorting a few people to arrive on horseback. Liu Jun also saw Li Chunjiang, dressed in white.

White clothes, mourning clothes. Liu Jun was stunned and thought of a bad thing. Teacher Mei Zhihuan's health has been bad since the beginning of the year, and his condition has deteriorated more and more after the year, and the imperial doctor said that he could not last this year.

Liu Jun quickly went downstairs, Li Chunjiang was turning over and dismounting, and when he saw Liu Jun, there was no smile on his face.

"Is it the teacher?"

Li Chunjiang nodded, "Three days ago, the old man left, and I rushed all the way from the capital to Tianjin to the sea to inform you." ”

When the two entered the house, Li Chunjiang told him an even more shocking news, "My uncle also went." ”

"How is this possible, isn't the gentleman's body very tough?"

At the beginning of this year, when Li Chunjiang, who won the first place in the examination, was appointed as the champion by Chongzhen, and then selected Shujishi to enter Hanlin, which was the time when the spring breeze was proud. But now his face was only pale, and he sighed to Liu Jun, "Mei Gong died in Beijing three days ago, and the uncle lamented it after hearing the news, and made a poem to mourn, and then suddenly died that night." He walked peacefully, without the slightest pain. ”

Liu Jun still couldn't believe that Li Changgeng died like this, although he was the same age as Mei Zhihuan, both of whom were over seventy years old, but Li Changgeng's body had always been very tough before, and he suddenly left.

"Have you double-checked?" Liu Jun asked.

Li Chunjiang said, "The emperor has sent an imperial doctor to carefully examine him, and he died without illness, mainly because he is old." ”

"I'll pack up right away and leave for Jingshi immediately." Liu Jun said.

"Jiye!" Li Chunjiang shouted to him. "I came here at the behest of the emperor, and the emperor said that the war in Liaodong is now a critical time, and Liaonan is indispensable to leave the commander."

"But the two gentlemen are my teachers, and when they are gone, how can I, a disciple, not go?"

"Succession, national affairs are the most important. The emperor knows that after you entered Liao. I am very happy to have won one after another. The two teachers passed away, and the emperor was also very sad, and he had already issued an order to embellish the dynasty for three days, and chased Mr. Mei's master, my eldest uncle, and ordered the Ministry of Rites to personally select the name and give silver to preside over the funeral. ”

Liu Jun walked to the stone table under the big locust tree in the courtyard and sat down, stroking his head with his hand, feeling very sad. It's feelings from the heart. Mei Zhihuan and Li Changgeng not only helped him a lot in his career, but also did be teachers and friends, taking care of him everywhere. It can be said that without the support of these two people, he would not be where he is today.

At this time, he still remembered the first meeting with Mei Zhihuan, on the way to Liu's house in Suokouhe, the two met by chance, but they were like confidants.

"Nope. I want to go back to Beijing, and I'll be back immediately. Liaonan is here to leave me for the time being. It will be fine. I'm going to inform my sister. ”

Even if the emperor has a decree, Liu Jun also plans to resist the decree.

Liu Jun immediately asked people to prepare mourning clothes and filial piety clothes, although he was only a disciple of the two, but he was still wearing heavy filial piety and being a filial son.

Nanshan Fort in Jinzhou, Meiqing is now a thousand presidents. Responsible for garrisoning Nanshan Fort, she was inspecting the fort when she saw Liu Jun coming, followed by Li Chunjiang, and both of them were wearing mourning clothes. Immediately, his face changed dramatically.

"Senior sister, please mourn!"

"Clean up and go back to Beijing with me immediately." Liu Jun said.

Mei Qing nodded silently and went back to clean up.

Liu Jun called the officers of Nanshan Fort, gave them a brief explanation, and designated another officer to temporarily replace Mei Qing to take charge of the defense of the fort.

After a while, Mei Qing came out, and the three of them returned to Jinzhou first, Liu Jun said heavily to Fu Shan and other senior officers who rushed to hear the news, "Three days ago, the first assistant Mei Gong and the second assistant Li Gong passed away one after another, they are all my teachers, at this sad moment, I must return to Beijing to attend the funeral." I'll leave it to you while I'm away. ”

Everyone was shocked when they heard that Mei Li had passed away.

"Master Hou, please mourn."

"During my absence, the military affairs of southern Liaoning were presided over by Fu Shan, and Zhang Shan and Wang Qian were responsible for assisting. You are all experienced generals for a long time, and I don't need to mention that there are many of them. Let me start with one point, before I come back, you will send troops to continue to sweep the coastal islands as planned, defend Jinzhou, and do not rush north. ”

"If I don't come back within a month, then you will send some soldiers and horses to land in small groups along the Jinzhou to Yalu River, burn the crops that are about to ripen, and don't leave them to the Qing army. But remember, only a small group of raids, not hostile battles, everything is waiting for me to come back. ”

He had been prepared for Mei Zhihuan's death, but what he didn't expect was that Li Changgeng also died. In addition to the deep pain in his heart, he had to think about more.

With the death of Mei Lee, the DPRK and China will inevitably usher in a great change. This will have a great impact on Liu Jun and the nine-headed bird, and he must go to Jingshi.

The injustice is to mourn the two gentlemen, and it is also to quickly grasp the next changes in the DPRK and China.

On the same day, Liu Jun left southern Liaoning by boat from Jinzhou Bay and headed for Tianjin Port.

"Gongji, do you think that there will be a position of the first assistant of the cabinet in the DPRK and the Central Committee now?"

Li Chunjiang said very calmly, "I'm afraid it will be Zhou Yanru." ”

"Zhou Yanru? This person is not Donglin, now the whole dynasty is from Donglin, can he sit in the position of the first assistant? ”

Li Chunjiang said to him, "You are not in the court, and you don't know about the affairs of the court. Although the emperor used Mr. Mei Li Er to lead the cabinet and used a large number of Donglin, the emperor was always a little wary of Donglin. Now that Mei and Li have passed away, firstly, there is no sufficient figure in Donglin to take over, and secondly, the emperor will definitely not use Donglin to continue to preside over the cabinet immediately, so as not to make the court a hall of Donglin, after all, not every Donglin is as selfless as Mei and Li. ”

Liu Jun shook his head, things are indeed as Li Chunjiang said, and Donglin is not all gentlemen. In the early days, Donglin was indeed a group of gentlemen, but today, there are many speculators in it. There is also the self-proclaimed Restoration Society of Xiao Donglin, which is even better and worse, and many people in Donglin Restoration Society have completely become interest groups with the same party and different interests, except for empty talk and party strife. There is no real ability to be a director.

Some of them are called gentlemen, but gentlemen are not good officials, and they are not good officials or good officials if they only talk about morality. When a true gentleman and capable leader like Merlin died, where would the large and loose organization of the Donglin Restoration Society go? No one can say.

After Liu Jun arrived in Tianjin, he immediately heard the latest news from the DPRK and China.

"The secretary of the ministry, Zhou Yanru, Jin Shoufu, Shilang Wu Fu, Jin Jifu."

Hearing the news at this time, Liu Jun was not surprised at all. Chongzhen didn't use another Donglin Shoufu, he used a non-Donglin person who had served as the Shoufu, but now he has a good relationship with Donglin.

And Wu Fu's appointment as the second assistant is somewhat surprising but not surprising. Wu Fu is fifty-one this year, an out-and-out Donglin, and even his fame in Donglin is not inferior to that of Mei and Li. Born in Jinshi, he served as a magistrate. He has done imperial history, has been a patrol, and has also served as a prefect and a waiter, so it can be said that he has a rich resume.

And when he was doing the imperial history, he also had a death with Wei Zhongxian, so he seized the official, and was able to come back after liquidating the eunuch party.

Wu Fu is a powerful figure in Donglin, who is good at fighting, and is not only good at literary fighting, but also good at martial arts. belongs to people who can be as civil and martial as Mei Zhihuan. He was a Jinshi of Wanli time, and he was deeply involved in party struggles at the time of the apocalypse. not only fought with Wei Zhongxian, but later pinched with Wen Tiren.

In the early years of Chongzhen, the King James eunuch rebellion case originally came from his suggestion, and finally the emperor killed the Wei Zhongxian group, which was caused by him, so he won the name of murderous Wu Fu at that time.

However, Wu Fu is different from many Donglin Party members. He is not only powerful with a pen and a powerful mouth, but also has strong practical skills. During his tour of Henan, there were many bandits who rebelled, and as a result, he suppressed them fiercely and decisively. Later, he also served as a governor of Shanxi. The bandits were in chaos everywhere, turning Shaanxi and Henan into thousands of miles, but the Shanxi area he patrolled was peaceful, not only did not a large number of bandits enter the country, but there were not even local thieves.

He patrolled Shanxi, and for three consecutive years, no thief crossed the river into the country.

Later, he served as a squire in the military department, and he was a rare experienced cadre among the courtiers. This time, Chongzhen selected him as the second assistant, which can also be regarded as well-intentioned.

Use a non-Donglin first auxiliary, and use a Tiedonglin as a secondary auxiliary.

Wu Fuchao was promoted to the secretary of the Ministry of Rites and a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion as the second assistant of the cabinet, Donglin Zheng Sanjun was promoted to the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, and a scholar of Donglin Ni Yuan Road and Dongge University, and he was admitted to the cabinet as an auxiliary minister.

Yao Minggong, a member of the Cabinet University, begs for the bones to return to his hometown.

The six scholars in Mei Zhihuan's cabinet were replaced by three at once.

After landing in Tianjin, Liu Jun and his entourage changed horses and galloped into Beijing, and when he arrived in Beijing, Wang Zhixin, the commander of Dongchang, who succeeded Cao Huachun, personally led people there to greet him.

"Your Majesty heard that the Hou Ye had entered Beijing, and specially ordered our family to come to greet the Hou."

Liu Jun bowed to him.

"Your Majesty asked the Hou Ye to worship the two teachers before, and then enter the palace to see the driver."

"Okay."

The funeral of Mei and Li was very grand, and their departure also hit Chongzhen hard, although the two presided over the cabinet for a short time, they were extremely satisfied with Chongzhen, but the two only presided over the cabinet for less than a year, and both left, which made Chongzhen very sad. Even if the imperial court's finances were tight, Chongzhen still specially pulled out 200,000 silver dollars from the inner treasury and asked the Ministry of Rites to solemnly handle the funeral of the two.

The emperor adorned the dynasty for three days, and hundreds of officials worshipped.

Liu Jun knelt down in front of the spirits of the two for a long time.

"Condolences change!" Jin Yiwei commanded Liu Qiao to come over and offer the pillar incense, and sighed to Liu Jun.

The two of them left the mourning hall and sat down on one side.

"When you come back at this time, many people are going to pick on them again." Liu Qiao said, "As soon as Mei and Li left, the emperor sent Yao Ge Lao back to his hometown, and many people were speculating about the emperor's intentions, jumping up and down. Even many people have already set their sights on you, some people say that it is not in line with the ancestral system for you to be a military general, and that your appointment as a commander is unprecedented. ”

"What's more, you won a great victory in southern Liaoning, but they impeached you for abandoning the two states of Gaifu, which is the intention of raising thieves and self-respect."

"There are also people who say that you mint coins and seal coupons, are greedy for personal gain, etc., this crooked trend is very fierce, you have to be careful."

Liu Jun snorted coldly, "There are always some people who like to speculate about the holy will, these people are just some pathetic dogs, I don't have to pay attention to them at all." Liu Jun knew very well that he could stand here today, although he had the help of Mei and Li, but in the end, it was the ability he showed. He did not rely only on the official position of Huguang Admiral, but because he was able to recruit and fight well, he had the official position of Huguang Admiral.

Chongzhen now needs him to hold this official position, and he needs him to lead the Chu army. Especially at the critical moment of the war in Liaodong, Liu Jun's position is stable and worry-free. Even from a certain aspect, the death and departure of Mei and Li has more and more consolidated his position at this time.

Those who thought that he had relied on two auxiliary ministers to sit in his position today were mistaken.

"What will happen to the new first assistant and second assistant after they come to power?" Liu Jun asked.

Liu Qiao shook his head, "As soon as Zhou Yanru came to power, he was immediately busy making his eunuch friends Feng Quan and Zhang Jie and others come back. He hoped that Wu Fu could support him, but Wu Fu united with Liu Dao, Zhou Ministry, Shangshu Zheng Sanjun and others to obstruct him, and during yesterday's palace discussion, Zhou Yanru proposed to the emperor to appoint Feng Quan and others, but Wu Fu and Zheng Sanjun and others openly opposed.

Afterwards, Zhou Yanru was furious, and the first auxiliary had fallen out of harmony. Hey, this is another sign of party strife, how long has it stopped. ”

Liu Qiao said to Liu Jun, "Do you know, there are rumors in Beijing that there are two parties in the DPRK and China, the Jiang Party and the Chu Party. It is also said that there are three parties, the Jiangbei Party, the Jiangnan Party, and the Chu Party, and there are four parties, the Jiangbei Party, the Jiangnan Party, the Chu Party, and the Fushe Party, and there are five parties, the Jiangbei Party, the Jiangnan Party, the Chu Party, the Fushe Party, and the Eunuch Party. ”

"It seems that no matter how many parties there are, this Chu party is among them. Let me guess, I'm afraid that this Chu Party is only referring to us, right? ”

As early as before, the imperial court had the Donglin Party, the Qizhejiang Chu Party, and later the Qizhejiang Chu Party was attached to the Eunuch Party, and it became the Eunuch Party and the Donglin Party. Liu Jun didn't expect that after so many years, there are rumors about this party and that party.

The so-called no wind and no waves, there are such rumors in Jingshi, it must be spread by someone with a heart behind it. Eunuchs? There are still any eunuchs now, there may be some people who have stood with Wei Zhongxian in the past, but they should not hold on to that label for the rest of their lives.

Now someone is mentioning the eunuch party again, why? The drunkard doesn't mean to drink, it's obviously still the same old way of party fighting.

"Jiye, now you are the head of the Chu Party, on the cusp." Liu Qiaodao, as Liu Qiao's uncle, he naturally became one of the Chu Party.

"Zhou Yanru is the Jiangnan Party, and Wu Fu is the Jiangbei Party."

Liu Jun shook his head, "Well, if my guess is right, Zhou Yanru, the Jiangnan Party, is only afraid that it is mainly the backbone of the Restoration Society, right?" ”

Indeed, Zhou Yanru took the power of the Restoration Society to ascend to the position, and now he has become the spokesperson of the Restoration Society in the court, but there are also some people who are not satisfied with this situation, and they oppose Zhou Yanru and Wu Fu and some other Donglin people who are not in harmony. Hey, in fact, nowadays, how can you still distinguish between this party and that party, and the people are still those people, so you have to put a mark. Now, it is no longer clear who is Donglin, who is Fushe, and who is the Chu Party and the Eunuch Party. ”

"Of course, it can be clearly distinguished, the so-called party is the party that fights against differences, and a group of people hug each other for common selfish interests, that is, forming a party." In Liu Jun's view, today's party is indeed no longer the party of the past, and these people now are tantamount to a reorganized party. And among these new interest groups, whether it is Jiangnan or Jiangbei, there will be conflicts of interest with him, and among them, the Jiangnan party members will have even greater conflicts with him.

However, Liu Jun was not surprised by this, in fact, he had long expected such a day. When this day really came, when these so-called gentlemen finally wanted to meet each other, he was not afraid. (To be continued......)