In August of the forty-fifth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, the noon gate of the forbidden city, the glazed tiles on the top of the heavy eaves hall were about to emit green smoke under the scorching sun. There was not even a trace of wind in the air, and the whole world was like a big furnace. It has not rained a drop of rain in more than three months now.

On the brick floor, a group of Donglin faction officials wearing cyan official robes were standing. There was also a row of eunuchs on the left, a brocade-clothed guard with embroidered spring knives on the right, and many jailers wearing shorts and holding wooden sticks stood behind them.

Zhang Wen, surnamed Zhang Mingwen, the word Liangjie, the expression Changyan, the year of the weak crown, the current complement on the belly is an emu, wearing a green robe, and the clothes of the young officials around him are all cyan, and he feels very safe mixed in it.

At this time, a eunuch Zhang wearing a python robe and a forked hat walked out of the corridor, walked to the north under the pier, and coldly glanced at the officials in front of him. After a while, the eunuch raised his head again, covered his forehead with his palm, squinted at the sun in the sky, and took out a handkerchief and wiped his beardless pine-chin chin.

There was no wind or sound around, and the young officials watched the eunuchs make those trivial movements, and their expressions became inexplicably nervous.

The python-robed eunuch paced a few steps, and finally walked up to an official at the front, and asked sharply: "Han Guo, our family will ask you again, why isn't it raining this day?" ”

Han Guoguo's face, with a righteous face, raised his head and said: "The mine tax supervisor is rampant, and the people are not happy; The villain occupied the temple, colluded with the powerful, and took the opportunity of Jingcha to expel Zhongzheng. Dry and angry, drought warning ......"

"Humph!" The python-robed eunuch had an angry look on his face, looked at Han Jing and said, "Who taught you to say that?" Who instructed you to come? ”

Han Guo had a straight face, and said word by word: "I am an official of the Ming Dynasty, say my own words, do my duty, and use people to teach!?" ”

Han Guo stood tall and righteous, standing straight, with a heroic and righteous spirit, even Zhang Wen felt that his figure was tall, and he was almost moved by his integrity. If you don't know the details of the Korean situation.

"Good, good." The python-robed eunuch took out his handkerchief and gently rubbed his chin, "...... The Scepter. ”

The jailer immediately pounced, pushed Han Guan to the ground, stripped off his official robe, tied his hands with hemp rope, and raised the vermilion lacquered wooden staff to begin the cane punishment.

Han Guan gritted his teeth and didn't shout, but Zhang Wen in the distance gasped, he was eighteen years old and a junior sergeant, so that one day he could get justice for his cousin Xiaowan, who was harmed by the Li family's children. But when he became an official, he found that this Li family was not only a big businessman, but also far more powerful than Zhang Wen thought. Zhang Wen believed that several families such as the Li family either had interests with many court officials, or that these families already had children who were officials in the court, and there were courtiers at the top, and local merchants at the bottom were attached to them. And those businessmen and landlords are involved in each other, intertwined, and deep-rooted, and this whole network of interests is still not transparent to him in his current position.

But at least, Zhang Wen can confirm that the upright Han situation in front of him is in the same group as those people. This time, the death of the noon gate was led by Han Guo, because the mine tax envoy seriously endangered the interests of the merchants, and it coincided with the drought, and they just took advantage of the sky to speak and denounce the tax envoy.

On the one hand, these two sides pretended to be upright and upright, and on the other hand, they pretended to be selfless, but Zhang asked that they knew what kind of medicine they were selling in their gourds. But he was still nothing. He can die under this court staff today, and he will die nameless after all, and he can't exchange the plaques of "proud bones" and "loyal and virtuous" that the world and even future generations will hang on Han Guo. At this moment, Zhang Wen understood that he was too naïve. In order to take revenge, the result not only underestimated the enemy, but also made the enemy Li wary.

"Second Ancestor be careful, don't step on dirty things." A strange voice interrupted Zhang Wen's thoughts.

The python-robed eunuch covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed twice, then walked over, and the little eunuch holding the dust next to him hurriedly supported the python-robed eunuch.

The python-robed eunuch said, "Zhang asked......"

After only saying two words, Zhang Qian collapsed to the ground, his face was pale, and his hands and feet trembled.

The python-robed eunuch couldn't help laughing, "Our family didn't say they were going to beat you, you can be scared like this......"

Zhang Wen looked frightened and couldn't say a word.

"Go home, what are you doing with them? It's not like this way to get promoted. The python-robed eunuch said with a sneer.

The official next to him scolded angrily: "Something that doesn't make a difference! "Greedy for life and afraid of death! Treasure of the World! ”

Zhang Wenzhan got up from the ground tremblingly, lowered his head, and left the noon gate in a vicious curse, and just a few steps away, he fell and fell on all fours. The eunuchs and others finally couldn't help it and burst into laughter.

He hurriedly got up in embarrassment, walked quickly, and walked out of the Forbidden City along the Duanmen and Chengtianmen. Outside the city gate, several people were urinating Han Qian, who had just been beaten, and it was said that urinating could wake up the person behind the cane.

When a young man saw Zhang Wen, he ran over, threw himself on the ground, and cried: "Boss, you can come out, the little one has found Langzhong, and the boy pees...... Boss, didn't they beat you? ”

Zhang Wen went straight to the sedan chair, so as not to be smelled by these subordinates, and laughed again.

"Hurry up, carry me back."

This attendant is called Laifu, and he is a person from the Li family, and it is precisely because Zhang Wen learned the details of Laifu by chance that he is sure that the Li family is wary of himself.

"Get up!" The sedan chair driver in front shouted, and the four of them lifted the sedan chair steadily.

Zhang Wen sat in the sedan chair, closed his eyes, and those faces with mocking and contemptuous expressions appeared in his mind again......

If he didn't guess wrong, he would soon be sent to the local government to be a petty official such as a county magistrate or a county magistrate, and the bigwigs of the Donglin Party would naturally not let him occupy the position of the court official, and for a reason of moral corruption, he could roll up and get out. In this way, you can get out of this troubled water.

Will the people of the Li clan remove themselves from the list of hidden dangers because of this? Zhang Wen shook his head, feeling that it was not enough at all.

After a while, he opened the sedan curtain and took a look at the scene outside, the street was very prosperous, with white walls and green tiles, bluestone floors, carved buildings and paintings, deep courtyards, and all kinds of stalls selling snacks, accessories, clothes, vegetables, lively and extraordinary.

This peaceful and lively scene made his mood seem to be happy.

The sedan chair turned into the bluestone alley and walked to the door of the house, the housekeeper Cao An was already waiting outside, and asked Laifu in a low voice: "How is the young master's injury?" ”

Laifu's voice said: "Fortunately, they didn't fight the owner." ”

Cao An's puzzled voice: "Oh......"

Cao An is an old slave left by Zhang Wen's father.

Zhang Wen walked out of the sedan chair, didn't say a word, and went directly into the courtyard gate.

"There's a lot of Lao, take it and drink a bowl of tea." Cao An took out the copper coin.

One of the palanquin bearers took the copper coin and said, "Haole, there will be a business in the future, and the owner will call someone to the mouth of the alley to speak as soon as he speaks." ”

These sedan chair drivers are not Zhang Wen's people, and they can't afford to raise them, and Zhang Wen walks to the yamen on weekdays. He studied all these years, and then became a powerless and powerless Beijing official, sitting on empty mountains and ruining his family's property.

Now there are a total of four people in the family, Zhang Wen and his stepmother Wu, a follower and an old slave.

Walking into the door, the courtyard house of the second entrance seems a little empty, and it is a scene of falling in the middle of the road.

The stepmother Wu was looking at Zhang Wen happily, "Quickly step over this fire and go to bad luck." ”

Wu was wearing an old Confucian skirt, with a melon seed face and a pointed chin. She is only in her twenties now, and she was still a little girl when she came to Zhang's house. I heard that there was a great drought in Wu's hometown that year, and the people were about to cook her, and when Zhang asked a friend of his father to pass by, he exchanged a bucket of rice for her.

Now there is only one man left in the Zhang family, Wu can't help but be very nervous, for fear that Zhang Wen has three long and two short, and loses his support, at this time seeing that Zhang Wen is fine, he walked in, Wu was overjoyed, urging him to take grapefruit to wash and wash it, dispel bad luck, and said that there was stew to eat at night.

Laifu, who was standing on the side, immediately smiled. Cao An smiled: "Little ghost, I see that you are happy, why don't you go and chop firewood?" Otherwise, you won't have your share. ”

"Hey!" Rifle walked towards the firewood room, he looked so innocent and easily satisfied.

Wu turned around and walked into the kitchen, and then Cao An said in a low voice: "When I went out to buy firewood this morning, I went to the Shen family's money bank. ”

"Shen Family ......"

Cao An reminded: "Shaoxing Mansion." ”

Zhang Wen immediately confirmed his previous speculation, even if he didn't have today's incident, he would also be demoted from the Jingshi.

After all, the killing of Yanguan has a greater impact, so he will be demoted out first, relegated to their territory, and killing someone in Zhejiang is similar to pinching an ant to death.

Today at the noon gate, Zhang Wen made it to the end. Zhang Wen hoped that they would not be in a hurry to kill such a cowardly person...... After all, it is not easy for a jinshi to be incontinent in public, and it is even more difficult to take the initiative to give up the talisman of the emperor without killing the official.