The master replied with a smile: "It's just the two of them, and today is a private banquet, so I didn't invite the celebrities in the county." ”

Qin Mo nodded, glanced at Gu Meng, and they walked into the gate together.

There was a hearty laugh in the back hall, and there were seven or eight dishes on the table, which were full of color and flavor, no delicacies from the mountains and seas, all ordinary home-cooked dishes, but slightly more refined in terms of production.

This shows that Xu Hao did not treat Qin Mo and Gu Meng as outsiders, otherwise it would definitely not be such a dish, and he would not have feasted the two of them in the back hall.

There is a bookcase under the window next to the dining table, Xu Hao is splashing ink, a brush is flying left and right on the paper, coupled with the frustration penmanship, the words written are strong and powerful, and the turning point shows the pen power of Hanlin before the test.

He Chang's gaze followed the pen, and from time to time he let out a sound of admiration, although he was almost twice as old as Xu Hao, but the difference in writing was a whole level, and being able to see a high person writing was a rare learning process for him.

"The county's penmanship is mature, and the handwriting is hideous, and it seems that it won't take long to form his own style. He Chang said sincerely.

Xu Hao finished the last word, raised his head and said: "He Xuezheng praised, this official is just a pre-test Hanlin, there is still a long way to go from becoming a sect of its own, the cultivation of Wendao is extremely difficult, and my generation needs to continue to work hard to gain something." ”

He Chang nodded: "What the county lord said is right. ”

Footsteps sounded, Qin Mo and Gu Meng walked in, the two of them clasped their fists together and saluted, and said, "Meet the county lord, the master of Xuezheng." ”

Xu Hao put down the brush, waved his hand and said, "It's not an outsider, don't be polite, since the people have arrived, let's hurry up and sit down, the food will be cold in a while." ”

The servant came in with a tray on top of which were placed two delicately shaped celadon jugs.

When the pot was placed in front of Qin Mo, he had already smelled the smell, and it was filled with liquor.

Xu Hao instructed his subordinates: "You can go down, and you didn't tell anyone not to disturb." ”

"Yes. The servant turned and departed.

No one was waiting for him, and the task of pouring wine naturally fell on Qin Mo, a junior, who picked up the pot and poured out the clear and transparent wine into Xu Hao's cup first, and the aroma of wine wafted out.

Xu Hao said with a smile: "This wine is brewed according to Ziyi's steaming method, and now it is not only popular in Nanjing, but also in Tokyo and Xijing. The Xu family is very happy about this, and they also attach great importance to it, and have opened four new breweries one after another, and are negotiating cooperation with other businesses, and the prospects are very good. With this achievement, Ziyi has made a lot of contributions, and this official will thank you on behalf of the Xu family. ”

With that, he raised his glass.

Qin Mo also raised his glass and said modestly: "The junior just provided a method, the main credit lies in the Xu family, if there is no Xu family's business ability, no matter how good the recipe is, it will be in vain." ”

He Chang smiled and said, "The two of you are still so polite. ”

Gu Meng changed his normal state and said: "It's all their own people, too polite but makes people feel uncomfortable, it's better for everyone to have a drink together, one is to celebrate the rising sales of liquor, and the other is to wish the county Zun and Xuezheng a smooth trip to Tokyo." ”

Xu Hao agreed: "Then drink this cup together." ”

After three rounds of drinking, he showed a little worry on his face and said, "Actually, going to the capital at this time is not a good choice. ”

He Chang was stunned for a moment, Gu Meng and Qin Mo also felt puzzled, of course, the sooner the better, why is it not a good choice to upgrade this kind of thing.

Xu Hao smiled bitterly and explained: "Recently, a major event happened in the court, His Majesty suddenly proposed to be canonized, without any warning, which caught the ministers and officials off guard. ”

With Emperor Zhao Ji's attainments in calligraphy and painting, he is indeed qualified to be promoted from a saint to a saint.

Under normal circumstances, very few people can be canonized during their lifetime, unless their strength reaches an extremely high level and clearly surpasses that of the sub-saint, they can obtain the qualification for canonization.

In Chinese history, in fact, there are many people who meet the requirements for canonization during their lifetime, but for various reasons, very few people take the initiative to canonize.

The reason is very simple, because once you canon, you can't be nostalgic for everything in the world, and isolation from the world is the most basic requirement.

Zhao Ji's serious profession is the emperor, if he is canonized, he must give up the throne to the crown prince, he doesn't even have a chance to be the emperor, and then find a place where birds don't, and the ministers will naturally not agree.

Xu Hao continued: "If you go to the capital now, you will inevitably be involved in this matter. Of course, He Xue is a scholar, and it won't have any effect on you. ”

The Xu family has a great business, and dozens of children of the clan are officials in the court, and this turmoil cannot be avoided.

Gu Meng opened his mouth and said: "The emperor wants to be canonized, this is a good thing, why are the ministers unwilling?"

In his opinion, the emperor was a guy who did not do his job, except for the recovery of the Qingtang region a few years ago, whether it was against Liao, Western Xia or Tubo, the Song army basically did not achieve major victories, and in most cases was the side that was bullied.

On the other hand, the crown prince Zhao Huan, although he is not yet in the age of the weak crown, has already shown extraordinary political ability, even if he can't become a peerless monarch in the future, at least he is stronger than his father Zhao Ji.

Xu Hao shook his head and remained silent.

He Chang also shook his head, obviously disagreeing with Gu Meng's opinion.

I have to admit that Gu Meng lacks a political mind, let alone understands the sophistication of the people in the officialdom, and he thinks things too simply.

Qin Mo opened his mouth and said, "Dr. Gu's opinion is very wrong. ”

Gu Meng was puzzled and asked, "What's wrong?"

Qin Mo Zhengse said: "The prince is indeed good in terms of ability, as long as he is assisted by famous ministers, it is not impossible to become the Ming Jun of the Zhongxing Great Song Dynasty." But once the son of heaven and a courtier, the emperor and the prince ascend the throne, they will inevitably use their own set of teams, where should these ministers go now?"

Gu Meng frowned, as if he understood the key.

"Especially those who are deeply trusted by the emperor, and suddenly change masters, who can guarantee that they will continue to enjoy the holy family?" Qin Mo continued to analyze, saying: "Just like Cai Jing, Gao Yu, and Liang Shicheng, in order to keep the glory and wealth in front of them, they will definitely try their best to prevent the emperor from being canonized. ”

Xu Hao nodded slightly, his eyes showing a gratifying light.

Qin Mo raised his head, looked at him and said, "If the juniors are not mistaken, the ministers must be working against the emperor on the grounds that the living are not canonized, is that so?"

"That's right. Xu Hao nodded, but he didn't plan to reveal more content, but waited for Qin Mo's next analysis.

Qin Mo smiled and said: "Not only the hundred officials, but also the crown prince and his supporters are opposed, although they are very reluctant to do this, but whether it is out of filial piety or ministers, in order not to be attacked by other ministers and scolded by the people, they can only grit their teeth and oppose it." ”

Xu Hao nodded again: "That's right." ”

He Chang opened his mouth and said, "In this way, the emperor's wish for canonization will be stillborn. ”

Qin Mo nodded first, then shook his head, and said, "It's impossible to be canonized, but with the emperor's character, he will never give up." ”

As the saying goes, even if the emperor is wrong, the ministers should fully support it, but now the ministers are opposed, and the emperor has to adopt the suggestion and give up his ideas, how aggrieved.

The emperor felt that he had lost face and was bound to find it from other places, and you didn't make me happy, and I didn't make you comfortable.

Xu Hao asked with great interest, "Ziyi thinks His Majesty will react?"

Qin Mo thought for a moment and said, "It's nothing more than a big construction project, revising the era name, and other moves...... Well, that's basically the kind of thing, which is more in line with the emperor's character. ”

Xu Hao frowned, obviously not believing his analysis, and said: "It is possible to change the yuan, because the Zhenghe era name has been used for eight years, and Your Majesty has changed it several times before;

It's not realistic, after all, next spring is the triennial exam, and there is less than a year left, is it necessary to add an extra subject?

As for the large-scale construction of construction, it is even more impossible, last year, heavy snow fell in the northern part of Huaibei, the cold and the ground froze led to a catastrophe, plus the Liao country went south to burn, kill and loot, and the foreign army was used to provide disaster relief in various places, the treasury has already been empty, what to build a building and palace?"

Qin Mo insisted on his opinion and said: "As long as the emperor gives an order, there are many people who are willing to run errands before and after the saddle, it doesn't matter if the treasury is empty, just stretch out your hand with the people, has this kind of thing been done less before?"

Don't forget the reason why the ministers refused the emperor's canonization, since the emperor was left in the mortal world, he naturally wants to continue to enjoy glory and wealth, and only a large construction project can achieve this goal, isn't it?"

Xu Hao frowned, he only thought that the emperor would find the unhappiness of the ministers, it was nothing more than to choose a few unpleasant guys to demote the officials and release them, so as to express the dissatisfaction in his heart, and never thought about it deeply.

Historically, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty ordered the construction of a Gen Yue, which later became the Long Live Mountain, which concentrated rare stones, precious flowers and trees, and various precious animals from all over the country.

The infamous Huashi Gang appeared for the purpose of building Mount Gen.

Originally, it was just to collect strange flowers and stones, but in the end it evolved into a means for officials to use their power for personal gain, forming a huge interest system, resulting in the people's misery, Song Jiang, Fang La and others gathered to rebel, and in the case of foreign enemies, it became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Although Xu Hao didn't fully believe Qin Mo's inference, he was still impressed by him, at least his previous analysis was all correct.

Xu Hao was able to make a similar judgment because he got the news from all sides, but Qin Mo was not, he was just a little boy, and he didn't even know what was going on in the court before the banquet.

Xu Hao had a trace of expectation for no reason, feeling that this judgment was not unreasonable, and when he arrived in the capital, the elders of the family would test themselves on this matter, and when the time came, he could throw out these inferences, and he would definitely surprise the elders.