After the Lantern Festival, the cabinet minister Zong Ze retired and returned to his hometown.

He has lived two and a half years longer than in history, and last year he was in poor health and was bedridden several times.

Three requests and three resignations, delayed until the beginning of spring, Zhu Guoxiang approved Zong Ze Zhishi.

The vacant cabinet seats were filled by Uncle Zhang.

"You two are resigning too?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

The seed master said: "Official, the minister is eighty years old this year. ”

Huang Shang said: "The official, the minister is already eighty-seven. ”

These two actually like to be cabinet ministers, but last year's rectification of the rule of officials was too scary, and their old hearts were a little unbearable.

After surviving New Year's Day, the big case was over, and Seed Master Dao and Huang Sheng resigned one after another.

Zhu Guoxiang muttered in a low voice: "I still want to retire." ”

Huang Shang said: "Official, if you don't become a leader this year, I'm afraid that I won't be able to return to my hometown next year, and the boat and car will be bumpy or I will die on the way." ”

"The same is true of the officials and the ministers, please retire." The seed master said.

Zhu Guoxiang sighed with emotion: "That's right." ”

According to the Book of Rites, officials can only apply for retirement at the age of 70.

The preferential treatment of civil officials in the Song Dynasty is also reflected in the retirement treatment. At the time of retirement, the official was promoted to one level, and all positions were retained, and the pension was paid according to the full salary (the pension was only after Song Shenzong).

The Ming Dynasty also retained the pension system, but only received half of the normal salary.

In fact, the pension of officials in the whole country is really not much, how many officials can live past the age of 70? How many years can I live after retirement?

There is no mandatory retirement system, and most officials are reluctant to retire unless they are really in poor health. The imperial court issued pensions, but it was encouraging officials to retire - you are all in your seventies, what are you still doing as officials?

After the discussion of the father and son, Li Hanzhang and Qian Chen were made up as cabinet ministers.

The cabinet members have changed significantly, namely: Zhai Ruwen, Liu Ying, Xiao Chu, Zhao Yan, Zhang Shuye, Li Hanzhang, and Qian Chen.

This marks that the younger generation has entered the cabinet to pay respects, and Li Hanzhang and Qian Chen are not yet fifty years old!

Pan Lianggui, who was on the same list as Zhu Ming, succeeded Li Hanzhang as the secretary of the ministry.

Pan Lianggui was the right waiter of the Criminal Department before, and he also tried last year's big case with Chen Dong. Now that he is a secretary of the ministry, I am afraid that he will tremble, for fear that promoting a bunch of corrupt officials will affect him.

raised troops to assist Li Bao to take Fang Mengqing in Huainan, and succeeded Qian Chen as the head of the household department.

This person's ability to do things is extremely strong, at that time, Huainan was close to Zhu Ming's territory, and he was the only one in Huainan who trained to resist the "Zhu thief".

The troops personally organized by Fang Mengqing were blindly commanded by Song Huizong, not to mention that this faint gentleman also ran away with the elite girl. was so angry that Fang Mengqing led the remnants of the army to join Li Bao, and half of Huainan Province was defeated by him.

……

Fan Lou.

Last year's case made business here bleak.

As long as they are the children of official eunuchs, they are all restrained by the elders in the family, and they are not allowed to go to high-consumption places, for fear that if they are not good, they will be targeted and investigated.

As a result, the price of Fan Lou's drinks has dropped, and listening to music and watching plays has also become cheaper.

"Why go to such an expensive place?" Zhang Jun stood in front of the Fan Tower and said. Although his father was a jinshi, he was too young when he died of illness, and he could only be regarded as a small rich man after the separation.

Min Zishun said with a smile: "Brother Yirong (Pan Lianggui) was promoted to Shangshu, so naturally I want to celebrate my birthday, today's rice wallet is on me!" ”

Pan Lianggui pointed at Min Zishun and said, "Is this considered to bribe Shangguan with wine and food?" ”

"Hahahaha!"

The crowd burst into laughter.

A few families are happy and a few are sad, and many officials who have not been investigated and punished have been promoted because of this.

Zhang Jun was transferred from Honglu Temple to Dali Temple and was promoted to Dali Temple.

Min Zi was transferred to the sixth ministry and was promoted to the left servant of the ministry.

There is also He Su, the champion who is on the same list as Zhu Ming, who was thrown to the local area for a few years of training and transferred back to the Ministry of Rites as the right attendant.

These guys have known each other since the former Song Dynasty, and now they are promoted together, and they meet again after a long absence, so they make an appointment to come to Fanlou to eat and drink.

The bartender was hospitable and led them to a private room on the second floor.

Fan Lou has five floors, and the higher you go, the higher the consumption, and they have chosen the second floor to be considered restrained.

After entering the private room and waiting for the bartender to leave, Min Zishun sighed with emotion: "When I traveled to Tokyo at night with the prince, I saw the brilliant lights of the Fan Tower, and I felt that it was worth it to eat and drink in the open." I don't really have much ambition, and I don't have any ambition to speak of, so I really didn't expect to be where I am today. ”

"Babble!"

The door was pushed open suddenly, and Li Hanzhang strode in: "You are untruthful. Back then, in Yangzhou Academy, I heard that at first glance, who would rather give up the exam than study this study? The virtuous brother has lofty ambitions, but he is just hiding them in his heart. ”

Min Zishun laughed: "It turns out that I am such a person, but Brother Zhen praised it falsely." ”

"Greetings to Li Xiang!"

Everyone stood up in unison and waved towards Li Hanzhang. There is also a sense of respect, but it is more of a teasing and playful expression.

Li Hanzhang said angrily: "This is not a yamen, we are all old acquaintances, and if you call me that, you have to leave." ”

There was another burst of laughter, and everyone sat down to drink.

Min Zishun said: "There are still a few people missing today, but they have important things to do in the local area. ”

Li Hanzhang sighed: "Bai Sanlang's errand is the heaviest, and it is very difficult for Henan to spread out the acres into the mu." And last year's big case was also caused by him, and I don't know how many people secretly hated him. ”

When it comes to the big case, the atmosphere is a little delicate, and this matter is particularly sensitive.

"Let's talk about something else," Min Zishun changed the subject, "I heard that Deyuan went to the country of Wa, what are the foreign customs there?" ”

Zhang Jun was admitted to the Jinshi examination one later, and he made friends with everyone through He Su: "Japan is a country that imitates the Tang Dynasty in everything, but it seems nondescript. The aristocratic women there are all dyed with black teeth, smeared with lead powder, shaved their eyebrows, and draped their long hair, which is terrifying to see at night. ”

Pan Lianggui was extremely surprised: "Why do you dye your teeth black, don't you feel dirty and ugly?" ”

"When I asked the Japanese aristocracy, they couldn't understand it," Mr. Zhang said, "and even the Japanese ministers and ministers imitated women's clothing." He shaved off his eyebrows, painted them in the shape of broad beans, and painted his face so bloodless that he looked up, and thought that such a costume was suave. ”

He Su said disdainfully: "Fanbang barbarians are like this, if you want to learn the Tang Dynasty, you can't learn the essence." ”

Min Zishun asked, "Is there really so much gold and silver in the Wa Kingdom?" ”

Zhang Jun nodded and said, "There is a lot of gold and silver, and it is estimated that the first batch will be shipped back this year." Moreover, it is also associated with copper mines, which can make up for the shortage of copper in the Ming Dynasty. ”

"This God gives me Da Mingye!"

Pan Lianggui clapped his hands in admiration, raised his glass and drank with everyone.

After a glass of wine, they asked each other about their experiences in the past few years, chatted and began to talk about state affairs.

Last year's major corruption case resulted in the liquidation of many officials and gentry. Although it caused turmoil in officialdom and stagnation in local government affairs, it also strengthened the prestige of the imperial court, and Zhu Ming took the opportunity to comprehensively promote the reform plan.

Starting this year, all provinces, including Sichuan, will have to take stock of their land, apportionment of land to acres, and reform of servants.

This is the best chance to kill all over again!

Li Hanzhang and others pushed the cup and changed the lamp, talking and laughing, but there were people in the upstairs room who were drinking.

Li Bangyan sat by the window, cup after cup.

In the past, he entertained guests at home, often dozens or hundreds of people, and the guests were either rich or noble.

Now he can't even find a drinking friend, and those guys who used to cling to flattery now avoid Li Bangyan like a snake and scorpion. He thought that he was very popular and had friends all over the capital, but now he realized that it was all an illusion.

The Qing people were babbling and singing in the room, and Li Bangyan suddenly fell drunk on the wine table.

Li Bangyan's hometown house was also raided, and the executor seemed to have a deep grudge against him. Li Bangyan couldn't redeem the old mansion with his own money, and he deliberately didn't sell it to him when he sold the property, so he didn't even have his own house now.

It's so boring to be alive!

The next day, when he woke up and returned to the rented place, Li Bangyan said to his wife: "Let's move to Hangzhou, I haven't been to Suzhou and Hangzhou yet." I'm less than sixty this year, and I can take a concubine and maybe have a son. When the time comes, be your sister-in-law, educate and train a good student, and let him do business in Hangzhou. ”

The wife said: "I asked someone to inquire that Xu Fuyan's eldest son was reinstated a few days ago. Will your concubines be pardoned one day? ”

Li Bangyan said angrily: "Can that be the same?" Xu Fuyan's eldest son and second son were innocently implicated. Your two sons, as well as a few concubines, are all corrupt and pervert the law. Even if the official family and the prince remember the old relationship, at most they will restore my origin text. If you want a son, you can only have one. If he really can't give birth, he will inherit one from his people. ”

Li Bangyan was born in a small family, his grandfather was a gold mining craftsman, and his father was a goldsmith who opened a shop. There aren't too many clansmen to speak of, but it's easy to pass on an heir.

The couple stopped arguing, Zhang Luo moved to Hangzhou, and changed his name and surname from then on.

Li Bangyan found a few familiar businessmen and exchanged all the 100,000 yuan returned by the imperial court into a bill of exchange in Hangzhou. These businessmen took advantage of the fire to rob, and they charged him a thousand yuan for the fee.

Although all relatives were exiled, the court did not pursue the servants.

Li Bangyan dismissed a large number of servants, selected only a few trustworthy and loyal servants, and took a boat all the way to Hangzhou.

After a long journey and emptiness and boredom, Li Bangyan began to write plays.

This time, he will no longer write any glamorous dramas, he wants to write about a rich and noble son of the former dynasty, who encountered joys and sorrows during the replacement of the society. It is written about the events of Tokyo City at the end of the Song Dynasty, with political battles in the court, wealth and luxury, and children's affection, showing the years of cooking oil and flowers in the fire.

There are also corrupt officials in Hangzhou, and many industries are in official auctions.

Li Bangyan bought a property by the canal, bought another 100 acres of land, and then took the household registration book to the county government to re-register, and changed his name to Li Guodong.

Then he found a tooth man and wanted to take a concubine.

Ya Po said to Li Bangyan: "Xianggong has too many requirements, he has to have a beautiful face, he has to have a big buttocks, and he has to be knowledgeable." Da Ming is not the former Song Dynasty, such a young woman is not easy to find, after all, there are really few people who sell their children and daughters. The government also strictly investigates people's teeth, and if they are caught, they will be imprisoned, and if they are not careful, they will be exiled and killed. ”

Li Bangyan said angrily: "I'm not buying a maid and servant, I just want to take a concubine and let you help find a suitable one." ”

"Then you look for a matchmaker, I'm a tooth woman!" Ya Po went straight back.

Li Bangyan was speechless for a moment, because what this tooth woman said was so reasonable.

Ya Po suddenly said, "Xianggong can buy a Silla maid as a concubine." ”

"Silla maid?" Li Bangyan became interested.

Yapo explained: "In the past two years, there have been fewer people selling children and daughters, and the deeds of maids and servants have also been strictly checked, and Silla maids have become popular in Suzhou and Hangzhou. I heard that in order to repay the debt, the ministers and nobles searched for beautiful women, taught them the etiquette of serving people, and then sold them to the Ming Dynasty to exchange money for food. Some scholars in Hangzhou said that Goryeo is Silla. When Silla was in the Tang Dynasty, only the powerful could afford it. These Goryeo women are called Silla maids, but they are very elegant! ”

Li Bangyan, who was born without love, didn't even bother to create dramas, and suddenly became very interested in Silla maids.

Li Bangyan smiled and nodded: "Silla is indeed elegant, and if there is a Bodhisattva and Kunlun slave, it will really catch up with the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty!" ”

(End of chapter)