In the court, it was both wind and rain, Fang Congzhe dismissed the prime minister, Ye Xianggao came to power to preside over the cabinet affairs, and Donglin's Zuo Guangdou, Yang Lian, Liu Yixian and other important ministers took the initiative. Under Donglin's fierce offensive, following Fang Congzhe, the former secretary resigned, and Donglin elected Zhao Beixing, a party member, to serve as the secretary of the ministry, and the two sides were clashing. If Zhao Beixing becomes the secretary of the ministry, then it is very clear that the Donglin Party will completely replace the Zhejiang Party as the ruling party.

Zhang Wen couldn't care about these things, just waited and watched to see what Zhao Beixing would do. In the past few days, Huang Renzhi's fellow villager Shen Jing was picked up and lived with Huang Renzhi, so Zhang Wen invited the two to meet in the living room of the house, wanting to see what kind of person this Shen Jing was and what kind of official duties he could do.

Zhang Wen sat in the living room on the north side of the front yard and waited for the two, and only went out of the house to greet them. After a while, Huang Renzhi and Shen Jing walked in, Zhang Wen and the two of them made a farewell salute, and entered the hall to sit down with the guests. Zhang Wen sat in the north, Huang Ren sat in the east, and Shen Jing sat in the west. In the north, it is respected by the left, and Huang Renzhi came first, and he was Zhang Wen's first staff, so he naturally sat in the east. If it is in the Jiangnan folk, Huang Renzhi should sit on his right hand, and the customs are different.

Zhang Wen picked up the teacup, opened the lid of the cup and blew, observed Shen Jing, and saw that he was short, almost half a head shorter than Huang Renzhi, although he was only in his forties, his temples were already gray, his eye sockets were deep, his face was dark yellow, his face was angular and angular, and his bones were thick, so his face looked very little flesh. He wore a robe, but it was linen, and it was very old. It seems that I have been poor for some days, but fortunately the washing is relatively clean.

Zhang Wen put down the teacup and started with a random topic, "I remember that there was a cultivator who had the same name as Mr. Shen, by the way, his name was Shen Jing Boiling Stone." ”

Shen Jingqiang smiled: "I'm ashamed." The Shen Jing that the adults said is probably a folk fabrication. ”

Shen Jing boiled the stone It is a Taoist story, it is said that there is a person named Shen Jing in western Zhejiang, who learned Taoism since childhood, and later traveled to Zhongshan, met an old woman, and gave him a white stone, saying that it can be boiled into fairy fruit. Shen Jing boiled it for ten years and it was still a stone, and then he was discouraged and stopped cooking. Then the old woman came again, and said, "You have this stone, why don't you cook it with reverence and dispel doubts, and if so, it will not be eaten in ten years." If you have mixed doubts in your heart, even if you cook it for ten years, you still can't eat it. Then Shen Jing continued to cook, boiled into a fairy fruit, busily bathed and cleaned, ate the stone, and suddenly, he turned back into a childlike face, his beard was as black and bright as paint, his heart was clear, and his body was light. Became a god.

"Oh?" Zhang Wen deliberately probed, "The heart is pious, and it is not impossible to boil stones into immortal fruits, why is Mr. so sure?" The Tao and the Buddha both teach people to be good, and people are to be good, just like the downward direction of water. ”

Zhang Wen said that people's hearts are pious, and it is not impossible to be born, but in fact, he is testing Shen Jing, so as to understand his concepts, so as to judge his character and thoughts.

Shen Jing shook his head and said, "In my opinion, people are good, and the water is down, and it has nothing to do with it. ”

Zhang Wen smiled and was noncommittal. I heard Shen Jing say again: "Tao is Tao, things are things, and the two have nothing to do with each other, why should they be involved?" For example, if something is not done, it is because of the lack of talent and the wrong method, what does it have to do with high morality? ”

"The truth of things and the spirit of Zhuzi are the principles of the imperial examination. Mr. Shen looks at Jingyi like this, no wonder he didn't ...... the middle" Zhang Wen felt that Shen Jing was very right, but he couldn't help but be sarcastic. Zhang Wen had to admit that although he was also a person who came out of the imperial examination, those science were only used for examinations, and the concepts in his bones tended to be practical.

"Then the lord thinks that the spirit of Zhu Zi is the supreme principle of the universe?" After hearing this, Shen Jing's cloudy eyes were a little swollen and his eyes were very heavy suddenly looked at Zhang Wen very seriously. Listening to Huang Renzhi say that he usually drinks a lot, so Zhang Wen thinks that the puffiness of his eyes may have something to do with drinking too much.

Shen Jing looked at Zhang Wen's mouth, paying attention to Zhang Wen's answer. Zhang Wen understands that not only is he selecting talents, but also choosing employers.

If Zhang Wen and Shen Jing have different concepts, maybe Shen Jing would rather only write documents for Zhang Wen and other jobs.

Zhang Wen smiled and said: "The imperial court uses science to educate its subjects, and it is reasonable to understand etiquette, so it naturally has the truth of the imperial court." It's just that when it is applied to the world, many metaphysical theories may not be useful. ”

Shen Jing nodded, looked at Huang Ren on the opposite side and said, "Brother Huang really has a unique vision. ”

Huang Ren touched his beard and said with a smile: "Brother Xian can do his best to assist the adult with the old man in the future, and one day if the adult leaves a name in history, maybe you and I can also have a name, hehe." ”

Zhang Wen said: "Hearing Mr. Huang's words, Mr. Shen is familiar with military affairs and has traveled to Liaodong. What is the basis of military affairs? ”

"My lord's question is too general, and the specific things should naturally be concrete. If you talk about military affairs in general, I still recommend Sun Tzu, although Sun Tzu's art of war is thousands of years apart, it can still be regarded as a fundamental military science. Soldiers, the major affairs of the country, the way of survival. The difference between victory and defeat is that the five causes of Tao, heaven, earth, general, and law determine the winner. The Tao is in place, it is justice, it is the principle of heaven, and it is the heart of the people. Therefore, what adults ask should be based on the Tao. Shen Jing spoke eloquently, his words were calm, his language was simple, and he didn't have the slightest hint of pretentiousness.

Zhang asked with interest, and then asked: "Liaodong affairs, Mr. Shen thinks whose strategy is more reliable?" ”

Shen Jing said without hesitation: "If I have to choose one person, I will choose Xiong Tingbi, at least I can defend the land." ”

Zhang Wen heard what he said, and said: "Listen to Mr. 's words, I can only defend, not attack?" ”

"I can't attack the ......" Shen Jing shook his head and sat on the chair, but his lower body didn't move at all, "Defend the policy, the Tao is in the Liao people to protect their families and relatives and resist aggression; Where's the way to attack? Jianzhou was originally the land of the Ming Dynasty, and it was righteous to cut it down, but where is the people's heart, the road is incomplete. If you have to attack, it will not only involve military affairs. ”

Zhang asked young and strong-blooded, and felt that the soldier's strategy was enough for the king, and it was too aggrieved to defend it, so he couldn't help asking: "If you have to use offensive strategies, what should you do?" ”

Shen Jing said: "The land of Jianzhou is like a stubborn stone, which is tasteless, so the soldiers are unwilling to die, so there is a lack of strategy." There is no Word, but the Word can be created. There are two strategies for the Tao, one is for profit and the other is for the soul. ”

Zhang asked that he owed the body, and said with a thirsty look: "What is profit, what is the soul?" ”

Shen Jing half-squinted his eyes and said unhurriedly: "People's pursuit of profit is for the hearts of the people. As the saying goes, people die for money, birds die for food, although they can't be elegant, but they can't admit it, people are profit-seeking. There will be brave men under heavy rewards, and with recruitment, with high rewards, the battle will be brave. But there are two dilemmas, one is how to invest a lot of military spending? This involves the household finance and many officials and nobles, and it is by no means an easy task; The second dilemma is how to ensure that the money is used on the cutting edge, which in turn involves the bureaucratic structure and the efficiency of governance......"

“…… The second is the soul, why the soul? In the Eastern Weekend Year, the world competed for hegemony, the Qin army dominated the sea, whipped the world to unify the rivers and mountains, and was invincible and invincible, and it was a soul. Martingale to plough the strategy of war to offer the king of Qin, the whole people are martial, soldiers can be knighted because of their military exploits, and can even sit on an equal footing with scholars, so the warriors have souls. Looking at the Ming Dynasty today, you can stare at the first and second grade military attachés in front of the first and second grades, and the soldiers are being exploited layer by layer, like a group of slaves, where does the soul come from? Therefore, the war is weak. It is more difficult to gather souls than to collect wealth, Qi Jiguang of the former dynasty, who has devoted his life to armament, and he can't change the status quo, how difficult it is. ”

Zhang asked that it was difficult, but he was not worried, and said hesitantly: "There is nothing difficult in the world, but I am afraid of people with hearts." As long as you go in the right direction and do your best, maybe you can succeed? ”

Shen Jing said with a smile: "If the adults do such a thing, Zhang Juzheng of the previous dynasty will not be able to compare with the upper and lower levels, and the Qing history will never exaggerate the conclusion of the name through the ages." ”

Zhang Wen had a good conversation with him, and he slept and ate. The last few people felt that it was easier to first collect money to improve the efficiency of bureaucratic governance, and that any improvement in the status of martial artists would be attacked by various schools of thought, and it was estimated that they would turn themselves into demon parties as soon as they put it forward. Of course, to do things, first configure party henchmen, and having strength is the right way, I think Zhang Juzheng also unscrupulously allowed to use the interests of his official position to carry out reforms, and pedantic self-esteem and integrity cannot do great things.

Not long after, Zhang Wen encountered something good again. It was supposed to be a bad thing, but it was about his wife Zhang Ying. After Zhang Wen became a member, he gradually attracted everyone's attention, and now he and his wife Zhang Ying have the same surname, although there are no blood relatives, but according to the etiquette, such a marriage is not legal, and it should be punished with a cane and then divorced. But Zhang Ying's sister is the queen, and no one dares to ask Zhang Ying to divorce and become a widow too strongly, which is tantamount to openly making enemies of the inner palace, but it is necessary for the emperor to ask questions.

Zhu Youxiao also thinks that this is an obvious problem, and it doesn't make sense, but Zhang Ying is already married to Zhang Wen, and if they are forced to divorce, it will be tantamount to ruining the happiness of Zhang Ying's life. Zhu Youxiao said that Zhang Wen had a great contribution to Sheji, and he was the emperor's family and gave the country a surname, so that it was distinguished from Zhang Ying's surname, and discussed with the cabinet. Treat Zhang Wen without punishment and reward.

This method is really far-fetched, because giving the surname Zhu is just an honor, and it is not really changed in ordinary times, such as Zheng He, the eunuch of the previous dynasty, who was favored by the emperor and gave the country a surname, but his name is still Zheng He, not Zhu He. But there is no way to do it, this is a thorny problem, the minister is neutral and self-preservation, and the petty officials are fighting for impeachment. In the end, Zhu Youxiao issued an order to give Zhang Wenguo the surname, Zhang Wen married a wife surnamed Zhang, and some literati scolded Zhang Wen, but it was just a scolding.

Because Zhang Ying is the queen's sister and the wife of the official, when Zhu Youxiao gave Zhang Wenguo the surname, he gave Zhang Ying his wife by the way. Give four products to congratulate people, wipe the gold shaft edict document, jade chopsticks and seal weaving text, by the emperor personally ordered the Nanjing Weaving and Dyeing Bureau to weave.

Since Zhang Wen's favor reached a point beyond the reach of everyone, receiving such a gift, it was difficult for Zhang Wen not to stand on the emperor's side, and Donglin began to realize that Zhang Wen was very likely to become an emperor.

Zhang Wen took the opportunity to let Zhang Ying miss his sister in the book, and wanted to visit him in the palace, but the emperor allowed him to allow it and summoned Zhang Wen to enter the palace to face the saint.

He and Zhang Ying got off the sedan chair at the noon gate, and when they were about to enter the palace, they met Xiong Tingbi, who was returning to Beijing to sue for work. Zhang Wen and Xiong Tingbi greeted each other in front of their respective sedan chairs, and then walked together to greet each other. Xiong Tingbi had already gone to the ministry to hand over the business, and the emperor summoned him, and he happened to go in with Zhang Wen.

Now Xiong Tingbi is the governor of Liaodong, and he is a major official of Zhengerpin, much higher than when he was studying Taoism in Zhejiang, but his attitude has changed greatly. In the past, when Zhang Wen visited Xiong Tingbi in Zhejiang, his attitude was a little contemptuous, but at this time, he was very respectful and very polite.

Xiong Tingbi is wide and fat, with a round face and a high forehead, and a finger-length beard, at this time, he is modest, and he looks like a humble gentleman, who would have thought that this person often uses foul language to abuse others at will?

Zhang Wen hurriedly refused, and let Xiong Tingbi go ahead. He thought in his heart, this Xiong Tingbi must have watched the defeat of the Zhejiang Party in the imperial court, and was afraid that he would be attacked in the court after going to Liaodong, so he wanted to have some friendship with Zhang Wenpan, because Zhang Wen was favored by the emperor and now everyone knows it.

The two said kind words, under the guidance of the eunuch Wei Zhongxian, they entered the noon gate, passed the imperial gate, and passed the Yuehua Gate on the west side of the Qianqing Palace in front of the Qianqing Palace. Inside is the Heart Nourishing Palace. Zhang Wen thought that he would be summoned at the imperial gate or in the Qianqing Palace, but he didn't expect to be taken to the emperor's leisure heart cultivation hall. And Zhang Ying had already separated from Zhang Wen and went to Kunning Palace to see her sister.

The door of the dining room, directly opposite is the yellow glazed wall, and then it is the courtyard of the first east and west horizontal courtyard of the Yangxin Palace. As soon as he entered the courtyard, Zhang Wen saw Zhu Youzheng busy there with his sleeves and bare arms. Zhang Wen laughed secretly, Zhu Youxiao didn't endure it for a few days, and then resumed his hobby of carpentry.

And Xiong Tingbi had never seen the new emperor, and he was very surprised when he saw this, and he and Zhang Wen looked at each other, not knowing what was going on.

Wei Zhongxian walked up to Zhu Youxiao lightly and said in a low voice: "Emperor, Xiong Tingbi and Zhang Wen are here." Zhu Youxiao came in at this time, and pointed to the thing being carved in front of him and said, "Come and see, how is my carving?" ”

Zhang Wen and Xiong Tingbi stepped forward according to their words, knelt on the ground and shouted long live, Zhu Youxiao said: "Calm down, come and see." ”

I saw that there was a small screen of ten protective lamps, which was carved with "The Picture of the Cold Sparrow Fighting for the Plum Blossom", the image was realistic, and it was really a bit of attainment. Zhang Wen hurriedly said: "The emperor's cold sparrow is not only similar in shape, but also expressive, it is a god-like with lifelike, if you have a good face paint, it will definitely look even better." ”

Zhu Youxiao said happily: "Yes, not only carving, but also from ingredients to lacquering, I have to do it myself...... Xiong Tingbi, what do you think of my carving? ”

Xiong Tingbi stared at it for a long time, in the clouds, I don't know why, I only said: "The minister doesn't have much knowledge about this, but it looks really exquisite." ”

Zhang Wen breathed a sigh of relief, he really sweated secretly for Xiong Tingbi just now, this Lord Xiong sometimes doesn't like to speak, Zhang Wen is afraid that he will say the wrong thing. Unexpectedly, when Xiong Tingbi asked for help, his speech sounded so good.

It was the end of July, the weather was hot, and thin beads of sweat oozed from Xiong Tingbi's forehead, I don't know if it was because of the hot weather or because of nervousness, Xiong Tingbi spoke and behaved slowly and cautiously. You must know that being summoned by the Son of Heaven is a big thing, and the ups and downs are often in an instant.

During the Yongle period of this dynasty, there was a Jinshi surnamed Huang, who was summoned by Ming Chengzu, and Ming Chengzu asked him why he was dressed like that, and Huang Jinshi said that he read "Lu Lun", and the end must not be unknown. Ming Chengzu thought that he understood etiquette and reason, and was overjoyed, and directly sealed the political envoy of Shanxi. And another Jinshi was negligent when the Son of Heaven summoned the right, and got a completely different treatment, during the orthodox years, there was a Jinshi named Yue Wensu who was summoned by Yingzong, and splashed saliva on Yingzong's clothes when he spoke, Yingzong was very disgusted, angry, and demoted him to a concubine.

It can be seen that when you get along with the Son of Heaven, sometimes a detail will have a great effect.

Zhang Wen was also a little nervous in his heart, but he had seen Zhu Youxiao when Zhu Youxiao was the son of the world before, so now he was not as nervous as Xiong Tingbi, and Zhang Wen behaved much more relaxed. Zhu Youxiao compares the two and prefers Zhang Wen, maybe Zhang asks about his appearance, or he is very relaxed when he talks to Zhang Wen.

When Xiong Tingbi and Zhang Wen attached great importance to this summons, Zhu Youxiao showed an indifferent attitude, his sleeves were still rolled up high, and there was no etiquette at all. He only cared about studying his carving with everyone, looked left and right for a while, and said: "Zhang Wen is right, carving should not only be like, but also expressive. You see these two finches competing for plum branches to play a game, the little finch occupies one branch, and wants to fly up, should the big finch stand firm on the high branch, or should he jump down and drive the little finch away? ”

Zhang Wen looked at it very seriously for a while, thinking about the metaphor in his words, is the Emperor of Xindao a metaphor for the court situation, or a metaphor for Liaodong affairs? He thought for a while, and then said casually: "The emperor carved the two sparrows into such a posture, which is really intriguing and profound. The big finch doesn't seem to have stood firm, so the little finch dares to fly up the branch and tease the big sparrow, haha, wonderful, wonderful, and extremely expressive. Weichen thinks that the big finch has great strength, first stand firm on the branches, and then attack it condescendingly, what can the little finch be able to beat? ”

Xiong Tingbi also understood that this was a metaphor, what kind of big finch and small sparrow, didn't it refer to Daming and Jianzhou? And Xiong Tingbi is going to Liaodong, before going, the emperor summoned him, didn't he say what Liaodong was talking about? Xiong Tingbi couldn't help but say: "Back to the emperor, the minister thinks that the matter of Liaodong can only be fought by defending, and it is a long-term plan and a great strategy for Liao, and it must not be wasted." ”

After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao looked at Xiong Tingbi and said, "What we are talking about is the portrayal on the small screen of this lantern, how did you get involved in the Liaodong matter?" ”

Xiong Tingbi's palms were full of sweat, wet and very slippery, he hurriedly bowed to the ground, and said with a pale face: "Weichen...... The minister thought that the emperor was borrowing things to instruct the ministers, and the ministers stirred up the emperor Yaxing, and the ministers died. ”