Liulichang Street, the right of the military department to the Ji Kaisheng mansion.

"Mr. Tan, how does this matter have anything to do with my father?" Ji Kaisheng finally sat down on the opposite side of Tan Qian honestly, and asked patiently with a serious face.

Just talking about the various situations of the imperial meeting last night, Ji Kaisheng, who was upright by nature, was simply anxious and restless because of the grace of Xiao Belle Ye Xuanye to save his life and the grace of knowing him. He knew that there must have been a major incident at such a leaking meeting, and the cause of this major event was that he and Zhang Suihan and others participated in the "undercover" North Korean businessman smuggling and selling royal horses. Since this is the case, he Ji Kaisheng can't be conscious, and he is even ready to return the favor and come forward, as long as he can protect Little Belle Ye!

But just now, the old fox who seems to have become his backbone, or the "shogunate master", talked about the move, but repeatedly persuaded himself not to worry, and even did not hesitate to bring out his father who was far away in Jiangnan's hometown! At this moment, Ji Kaisheng was even more "second monk", so he could only suppress his anxiety and ask carefully.

In fact, not only Ji Kaisheng became famous as a young man and had outstanding literary talents, known as the "Jiangnan Genius", but even his family also had a great background.

The ancestral home of the Ji family is in Jijia City, Taixing County, Jiangnan Province (now Jishi Town, Jingjiang City), and they are the prominent families of Jijia City. Ji Kaisheng's grandfather's name was Ji Sanqing, the word Minghuan, was a tribute of the Ming Chongzhen Dynasty [1], and he had four sons. The eldest son, Jin Yong, is the deputy tribute of the Wanli Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty. The second son Yu Yong, that is, the father of Ji Kaisheng mentioned by Tan Qian, the word is because of it. Tomorrow Qi in the first year of the move, the following year in the middle of the jinshi, the official Zhejiang Yuyao, Linhai and Henan Xiangfu (now Kaifeng City) county order, there is a political voice. Later, he served as the head of the Ministry of Officials, but because of disagreement with Wei Zhongxian's henchmen, he resigned and returned to Li.

After Ji Yuyong resigned and returned to his hometown, he ran the salt industry and became a wealthy man. At that time, those who said that they were rich had the saying of "North Kang and South Ji", that is, Shanxi rice merchant Kang's and Yangzhou's salt merchant Ji's. They are known all over the world. Due to the abundance of wealth. Ji Yuyong Zhiyuan is located in the east corner of Yangzhou City, called "Jiashu Garden". Ji Yuyong lives in the garden, reads in the spring willow thatched cottage, and entertains himself with poetry, calligraphy and painting. And spent a huge amount of money to buy a collection of ancient books of calligraphy and painting. [Interpolation: Ji Yuyong is a famous celebrity in the Chinese collection room.] in his collection. Even included the "Useless Master Scroll" in the latter part of the "Fuchun Mountain Residence Map", which was later greatly famous by the Prime Minister Mr. Jiabao. It's just that according to research, in the twelfth year of Shunzhi (1655), "Useless Master Volume" has not yet been started by Ji Yuyong. That will wait until the next year, that is, the turn of spring and summer in the thirteenth year of Shunzhi (1656), but it is not far off! 】

With a wealthy businessman who loves to read, write poetry, collect calligraphy and paintings, and have an official background, it is not surprising that Ji Kaisheng, the "eldest son" who is a "rich second generation" and a hidden "official second generation", can become a so-called "Jiangnan genius". What is strange should be that he can develop an upright and outspoken official character under such conditions, which is really commendable. However, this should also be partly due to his father Ji Yuyong. According to local historical records, even in the fifteenth year of Shunzhi three years later, when the family happened to be 70 years old, this old Mr. Ji Yuyong still contributed money and people to help Chen Di of Taixing Zhixian County resist the Haikou and deal with other troubles, which can be described as a model of a rich businessman who "loves the Qing country and is loyal to the Qing Jun"!

Not only that, Ji Yuyong's seven sons were very successful in their later lives. The eldest son Ji Kaisheng, who was twenty-eight years old at the time, needless to say, because of Xuan Ye's birth, this "first minister of the Qing Dynasty", who originally had only a short life journey of thirty-two years in the official history, will definitely shine.

Ji Yuyong's second son, Ji Zhenyi, was only twenty-six years old at the time, but he had a smooth career than his eldest brother, and became a jinshi as early as four years of Shunzhi! He was first appointed as the commander of Lanxi County, Zhejiang, and had political achievements, and was promoted to the head of the Criminal Department, and later served as a member of the Household Department.

The rest, if you "Du Niang", everyone will have many "whereabouts" of the "political world" and "literary world": Ji Kaisheng's third brother Zhen, the word Tianxiu, Shunzhi lifted, and served as the director of the Water Department of the Ministry of Industry; The fourth brother Shun You, the word Tianxuan, Shunzhi three years of deputy tribute, then Nanning Mansion Tongzhi; The fifth brother Jing, the word Renshan, the example of Gong, served as the chief of the Supervision and Arrest Department of the Ministry of War; Six brothers and eight scholars, the word Nangong, Ligong, Zhixian; The seventh brother Zhisheng, the word is good, and he should be appointed as the governor of Beiliu County. It's just that some of them are still young and have not yet stepped onto the stage of history.

In this way, the Ji family in Jiangnan can be described as "a hairpin, glorious township", and later generations have such a comment: "With Ji Kaisheng, Ji Zhenyi and others as the core characters of Yanling [that is, Taixing, known as "Yanling" in ancient times] Ji family, as a major family in Jiangnan in the Qing Dynasty, not only made great contributions in the fields of literature, academia and art, but also won the title for several generations, more than 100 years of romance, quite prestigious in the society, is the most influential and representative cultural family of Yanling in the Qing Dynasty"! It is no wonder that the "old fox" Tan Qian has set his sights on such a "tall" family that is "rich, powerful, and talented"!

At this time, Tan Qian, who lived in Ji Kaisheng's mansion, looked at the master in front of him with a smile, and pretended to say mysteriously:

"Tianzhong, the foolish brother has lived in Jiangnan for a long time, and he is respected and righteous, and it is well known. Now if I say something wrong, foolish brother, I still hope that brother Tai Haihan! ”

"Oh, when is it, why is Mr. Tan still polite? Don't say that my father, if my Ji family can do my best for my master, even if I exhaust my family wealth, or even be born and die, I Ji Kaisheng will never say anything! Please sir teach me! ”

Ji Kaisheng, who is also a cultural person, has no leisure and ease at this time, and he has moved to talk about the Shen Ke and misdeeds of those "foolish brothers and virtuous brothers". may be because he has been getting along with Xiao Xuanye for a long time, plus he has also lowered his price and pretended to be a master to deal with North Korean horse dealers, Ji Kaisheng has now become a lot more "pragmatic".

"Okay, okay, don't be in a hurry, listen to me slowly. Maybe before we finish speaking, someone in the palace will come out to spread the word......" Tan Qian smiled and shook his head, but he didn't care about Ji Kaisheng, who didn't have the inherent calm attitude of a scholar at this moment.

"I want to hear about it!"

"Ling Zun once held an important position as the head of the Ming Dynasty, and he was dedicated to national affairs. But unfortunately he was deeply persecuted by the traitor Wei Gelding [Wei Zhongxian] and his party, and the foolish brother I repaired "Guoyi", every time I talked about it, I sighed...... "Talk about relocation unhurriedly, start with the history major you are good at."

"Sir, Tianzhong is grateful for the righteousness of Mr. for my father!" Speaking of this history, it was the personal experience of the parties, and Ji Kaisheng had to get up and give a salute according to the practice of scholars, and thank others for his old man's relocation.

"It's a good day! This incident cannot be forgotten by the Chinese people! Not to be forgotten. After Ling Zun returned home. can still cheer up as usual, devote himself to business, and become the richest man in Jiangnan. The ancients often said that 'the rich are not benevolent', but Ling Zun adheres to the nature of a scholar. Caring for the family and the country, and caring for the people. Not only did he carefully cultivate the Tianzhong Brothers, but he also created such a talented pillar of the country. And even your sister Ji Xian is quite leisurely, has written a lot, and is extremely filial. Known as the Sage of Jiangnan! Over the years, Ling Zun has not forgotten to fund the Jiangnan fathers and elders and the Confucian holy school, and the style of reading in Jiangnan has become more and more prosperous, and he is very admired by Tan Qian! ”

Ji Kaisheng could only continue to nod his head patiently, thanking his old father thousands of miles away and his brothers and sisters scattered all over the country, but he was already restless in his heart. And talking about money was so upside down, I also found Ji Kaisheng's impatience, and finally changed the conversation and said:

"But in today's situation, Brother Fool thinks that the family business of Lingzun can be carried forward in the hands of Brother Tianzhong!"

"Ah...... This ...... "This turn is indeed too sudden, making Ji Kaisheng unprepared!"

"Heaven must also be responsible!" Tan Qian filled another handful of firewood, making Ji Kaisheng even more uncertain, so he was disappointed and unexpectedly said:

"Sir, do you mean to let me go back to my hometown to do business?"

"Haha, of course not! But that's pretty much it! "The negotiation is ready to tell the truth.

"How's that?"

"Ling Zun's family is rich, although you don't value it, Brother Tianzhong, but now you can use it to contribute to the imperial court, and it is still a good thing for a million benefits!" Talk about moving a confident look. But in Ji Kaisheng's eyes, he really never thought of seeing Mr. Tan Qian, an old scholar and a relic of the former Ming Dynasty, once he said the word "Li", it was also a grinning shape!

"This ...... I am an official of the imperial court, how can I go to the merchant and sell goods? Ji Kaisheng was a little helpless and even more disdainful.

"Definitely! Don't forget about the North Korean smuggling of horses, why did the meeting last all night? ”

"Uh...... Mr. Kaisheng! ”

"In my judgment, the Qing court will definitely open up trade with North Korea in the future."

"Why do you make this judgment?"

"Because, little Belle Ye has great righteousness in his heart!" Tan Qian's eyes emitted an unpredictable and profound light, and Ji Kaisheng couldn't figure out why.

"Oh......"

"If what I said is right, after Brother Tianzhong sees Lord Belle, he can ...... like this"

Without training, Ji Kaisheng knew that he had to bow his head to Tan Qian's mouth at this time, and the two of them had a secret discussion......

After a long time, Ji Kaisheng finally shook his head and said:

"Sir, how can I make such an abrupt mention that everything is as I wish?"

"Abrupt? Just mentioning this matter is naturally abrupt. However, Lord Lingzun's banner is very useful! Tan Qian had expected Ji Kaisheng to have such a reaction, and said more confidently.

"Sir, my father's banner?"

"Hmm. As we mentioned just now, Lord Ling Zun was a jinshi in the second year of the Great Ming Dynasty (1622), the same year as Meng Zhaoxiang, the right attendant of the criminal department of the Ming Dynasty. ”

"Exactly."

"Today, it's like this......"

After another exchange of words, for a long time, when the heads of the two of them retreated at the same time, Tan Qian had already been hearty, but Ji Kaisheng shook his head, and said with a smile:

"Mr. Tan, you are really a great talent for the shogunate!"

"Haha, don't laugh at Brother Tianzhong, I've wronged Lord Lingzun!"

"Where is the grievance? My father will be happy to follow this until this happens! Besides, this is also for the sake of protecting Lord Belle, and Kaisheng is naturally the best to do! That's it! haha！ ”

At this moment, the voice of Ji Fu, the steward of the house, came from the door:

"Master, Lord Mara, the imperial guard, and Lord Zhang Suihan Zhang, the pen post type of the firearms battalion, come to the door to meet you together!"

Tan Qian had already gotten his wish, and looked at Ji Kaisheng with a slight nod.

"Sir, it is really the reincarnation of Kong Ming! Kaisheng admires it! ”

"Haha, Brother Tianzhong, let's go, just according to what we have to say, talk to Little Belle Master."

"Good! Sir, wait a minute, later, Kaisheng will come back to Tongyu. ”

"Good!"

The two didn't say much, Ji Kaisheng straightened his clothes and went out with confidence......

"A limerick poem. Look at the first word of each sentence》

Looking at recent history, I am disappointed

I was saying that there was an opportunity back then

Outside the map, it has been sharpened

It's hard to know what you're going to do

I got up and wore Rokkazi

Point out the world's pain and joy

China's brilliant ten thousand idiots

The Wenwu Dynasty was the only Qing Dynasty

[1] Ligong? [lǐngòng], refers to the prefecture, prefecture, or county of 廪生 being selected as tribute sheng. It is also used to be selected as a tribute student based on the qualifications of the student. The "deputy tribute" below is one of the students who paid tribute to the national eunuch in the imperial examination system. Qing system, in the township examination admission name is additionally included in the reserve, can enter the country to study, called "deputy list tribute students", so referred to as vice tribute. The so-called "regular tribute" is also one of the students who paid tribute to the national eunuch in the imperial examination system of the Qing Dynasty. Because it is not selected by the examination but donated by the students, it is called a tribute, which is not the right way.

Under the imperial examination system, if you want to be qualified for the provincial township examination, you must first participate in the prefectural and county examinations, which are called county examinations. Candidates are called 'Confucian Tong' or 'Tongsheng', and those who are qualified are called 'Shengren' and 'Xusheng' (commonly known as Xiucai). A group of students will be selected from among the students, and those who will be promoted to the national prison will be called prisoners, and the others will be called tribute students. Gongsheng is divided into Bagong, Engong, Deputy Gong, Sui Gong, and Yougong, and these "five tributes" are the qualifications of the right path. There is another kind of tribute obtained through donations, which is called "regular tribute", such as: increased tribute, attached tribute and tribute. (To be continued......)