The snowstorm at the end of the winter month was endless, and the sky and the earth were white. The temperature dropped suddenly, and people went out wrapped up tightly.

After Zhang Wen returned to Shenyang, the first thing he did was to meet Yuan Yingtai, who was still the governor of Liaodong, and it was still necessary to explain the etiquette. Also going to the governor were Liu Ling, Wang Xi, Zhang Zhao and other generals and officials in the army, who went to deliver the ranks, handed in the list of military merits, and rewarded the leaders with salaries.

Yuan Yingtai still greeted Yuanmen in accordance with the etiquette system, and said some congratulatory words and other scenes. Other officials and generals went to the governor to congratulate Zhang Wen and others, and Zhang Wen calmly entertained one by one. If you want to say that the most boring interaction, it is this kind of official occasion. A large group of officials talked nonsense as much as possible, for fear that if they said something with substance, they would be caught by someone and say bad things behind their backs, which would affect their careers; If you don't speak, you can't do it, it will affect harmony, so you have to learn some clichés and official words that should be said in various scenes. So the nonsense also becomes cookie-cutter, and it is more boring than the usual nonsense.

However, Zhang Wen still heard a very chewy sentence from a lot of nonsense.

Yuan Yingtai sighed and said: "Although the imperial court will cure the old man's sins, the old man is very pleased to be able to keep Liaodong." ”

After Zhang Wen heard Yuan Yingtai's exclamation, he immediately smiled kindly, recited it silently in his heart several times, and remembered it firmly.

In this war, it is not so easy to say who is guilty and who is meritorious. If you only follow the facts, Zhang Wen thinks that he only has merit and no fault; Yuan Yingtai lost more than 100,000 yuan (claimed), the credit must be no, whether there has been a bad say, Zhang Wen felt that the culprit should be the Donglin Party official who recommended Yuan Yingtai as the governor.

But facts do not mean that the verdict is final, and there is never a shortage of people in the court who open their eyes and tell nonsense; Similarly, Daming has never lacked unclear doubts. Some officials have their own ways of reversing right and wrong. Yuan Yingtai didn't realize the complicated struggle after this battle, so he said such things...... Why does Yuan Yingtai think he is guilty? Those who know know for themselves. Zhang Wen once again confirmed that Yuan Yingtai was really not good at this.

Zhang Wen didn't know what Donglin's officials would come up with, anyway, he knew that many officials were very good at this, and what they didn't have could be justified and evidenced, as if it were true.

So Zhang Wen kept the words Yuan Yingtai in his heart, which was very useful. Later, when the emperor asked about the truth, Zhang Wen couldn't say it clearly, he only told Yuan Yingtai's words to the emperor.

After Zhang Wen said goodbye to Yuan Yingtai, he walked out of the gate, and happened to meet Zhang Zhao who had also finished his work and came out of the yamen. Zhang Zhao said with a smile: "I heard that the governor was going to hold a celebration banquet, and the lower officials thought that the adults had gone to drink. ”

"...... with them I might as well drink with the heavens. Zhang Wen chuckled under his breath.

Zhang Wen thought that Zhang Zhao had not only supported himself on the battlefield, but also stood on his side after returning to Shenyang, and was a big person. And Zhang Zhao has a meritorious name, although he is just a person, but he can still make a difference by exaggerating his achievements in Liaodong and being promoted.

Thinking of this, Zhang Wen added: "In the bitter cold land of Liaodong, except for fighting and making meritorious contributions, I can't do anything. ”

Zhang Zhao's face was full of joy when he heard this, and he immediately changed his words to call himself a student: "From Suzihe to Qinghe Fort, students have always followed adults, and if they can follow left and right in the future, students will be satisfied." ”

Zhang Wen saw that he was about twenty or thirty years old, maybe a few years older than himself, and hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Don't dare to be, don't dare to be." Of course, it was just a kind word, Zhang Zhao wanted to claim that the student clearly positioned himself in Zhang Wen's camp, and Zhang Wen couldn't be reluctant not to.

Zhang Wen then invited Zhang Zhao to ride in the carriage together, and after walking for a while, the coachman in front shouted: "My lord, Tang Sanye is talking in the teahouse in front of him, and he is talking about the adult's business, do you want to go in and listen?" ”

"Okay, just park in front of the teahouse. You go buy two sets of clothes first, it's inconvenient for us to wear this official uniform. ”

The coachman immediately took the money to buy clothes, and after Zhang Wen and Zhang Zhao changed, he went into the teahouse to listen to the book, and Zhang Wen really wanted to hear what the storyteller said about himself.

On the black-gray wooden board at the entrance of the teahouse is a faded red paper, on which is written the name of the story in black ink: The surname of the country is the fifth war of the Jianbing soldiers. The national surname is Zhang Wen, and the emperor gave Zhang Wen the surname Zhu, so he is called the national surname.

Zhang Wen glanced up at the door, and the lattice wooden window above was still covered with broken cobwebs. It seems that this teahouse is not a place for people to recreation, and think about it, how much style can be in the place where the coachman often comes.

Zhang Wen and Zhang Zhao walked into the teahouse quietly, and Xiao Er immediately greeted them with a smile on his face, and saw that the two of them were dressed extraordinary, so they took the two upstairs to the elegant seat.

"I'm going to talk about the fifth game soon, but this last one is the most exciting, and it started soon, and the two masters came by chance. If you listen well, please be early tomorrow, and you can listen to the first four shows. Xiao Er said while serving tea and pouring water.

Zhang Wen smiled and echoed a few times, "good, good", and saw that the hall under the balcony on both sides was full of people, and there were many people standing on all sides; The elegant seats on the top are much empty, and it seems that the people of Liaodong have never been able to catch up with the wealth of the people in Jiangnan.

The two sat for a while, and then they heard everyone coaxing: "The third master is here, don't make any noise." "Third Master Tang, hurry up and tell me what is behind."

When Zhang Wen looked up to the stage, he saw a man in a cloth robe walking up, about fifty years old, with a thin face and a paper fan in his hand. Outside the wind and snow, naturally there is no need for a fan, the paper fan is just the head, that is, the elegant image needs.

Tang Sanye took a piece of wood on the table and snapped, indicating that he was going to start, and let everyone be quiet. Zhang Wen listened to such a voice, and first thought that it was the shocking wood used in the yamen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is a snowstorm in the sky today, everyone who is passing by, beating the sharp, or coming to listen to the little old man's storytelling, don't forget to add more clothes. As I said last time, when the dead branches fall in the old city, but the new Lan is full of long streets, and the battlefield has not yet reached the snow ......"

Zhang Wen listened to the beginning, turned back to Zhang Zhao and said: "Not bad, not bad, do a line of practice, Tang Sanye's voice has really been practiced." ”

Zhang Zhao said with a smile: "When the adults return to Beijing, why don't you call this Tang Sanye and go to Beijing to talk about it, so that everyone can also know what this battle of Liaodong is all about." ”

Zhang Wen was stunned, and then looked at Zhang Zhao with a smile: "Your idea is good." "All he wants is more people to know about it.

The two listened for a while. When Tang Sanye talked about the highlights of the story, everyone shouted "good, good", which was very useful; And when it came to the place where the master was abused and the country surname was tragic, everyone shouted loudly: Kill the boar skin, kill the braids, and kill the prisoners. The crowd is angry, what Tang Sanye wants is this effect, so that the officials will be angry first, and then when they talk about the great divine power of the national surname, they can be more happy and shout louder.

Zhang Wen also listened to it with relish, but when he heard Tang Sanye talk about the expression and actions of the national surname, Zhang Wen frequently heard the description of "the national surname smiled evilly", frowned, and said to Zhang Zhao: "Do I often smile evilly?" ”

Zhang Zhao also realized that this description was not appropriate, and said: "He has never seen an adult, and he relies on cranky thoughts." ”

Zhang asked to think about it, it all depends on hearsay, how can it be described everywhere, it is just a story, you don't have to take it seriously, so you continue to listen. But as soon as Tang Sanye mentioned the surname of the country, he had nothing else to say, so he smiled evilly, which made Zhang Wen uncomfortable to hear.

The story of Tang Sanye ended with the Ming army winning a complete victory and annihilating the Jianjian captives. The story itself is a cheerful story, Tang Sanye also said it very vividly, the audience was very satisfied, and felt that today's three cents of silver tea money was worth spent, and there were people who particularly liked Tang Sanye's storytelling, and at the end of the year, he also rewarded ten or one hundred additional silver. Tang Sanye said this once, and he gained a lot, and if he insisted on speaking all year round, he might be many times higher than the income of ordinary people in a year. Of course, it is the teahouse that gets the most benefits.

Zhang Wen also took out a piece of silver, called Xiao Er and said, "Mr. Storyteller is right, I also mean something." You tell Tang Sanye, don't let the country surnamed Ye always smile evilly, just laugh occasionally. ”

"Okay, the little one must bring the words of the guest officer!" Xiao Er answered, and was about to go down, but Zhang Zhao shouted to Xiao Er again: "Slow, I haven't rewarded yet, what's the hurry." ”

Xiao Er hurriedly turned around again, and saw Zhang Zhao take out a big ingot of fifty taels of silver from his body, Xiao Er was taken aback, and looked Zhang Zhao up and down, but he didn't expect this person to be a broad master.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhao only put the silver on the table and said, "I want to see Tang Sanye, let him come and get this silver." ”

Zhang Wen remained silent, just sitting and drinking tea, which made it better for Zhang Zhao to come forward.

After a while, Tang Sanye arrived at the private room, glanced at the silver on the table, and said with neither humility nor arrogance: "The old man tells the story, the guest officer listens to the story, and feels that it is well said, and rewards the two small money, and the old man is grateful." I don't know if the guest officer called the old man, it was ......" Tang Sanye saw the big silver ingot, and immediately understood that it was not just as simple as rewarding.

Zhang Zhao smiled: "Mr. sit down and talk." ”

Tang Sanye bowed, sat down, waited for Zhang Zhao's answer, and at the same time glanced at Zhang Wen, who had been silent, and thought that Zhang Wen was the one who made the decision. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sit, and he should have said two words while sitting.

Zhang Zhao smiled and said, "I don't know what price this teahouse gives to Mr. What is the income of the gentleman who is rewarded? ”

Tang Sanye glanced at the silver on the table with his spare eyes, thought about it, raised it several times and said, "The monthly income is about twenty taels." "Tang Sanye said in his heart, could it be that these two people are the proprietors of which teahouse and came to dig people? At the moment, he thought about it in his heart, and said: "In Shenyang City, the old decay has a little reputation. If the two of them want to let the old man change places, it will damage the reputation of the old man, and the old man can't spoil his own job. ”

Tang Sanye didn't wait for anyone to make a price, and put the words down first, which means that you have to really dig up the old decay, and the price can be raised to make up for the old reputation.

Zhang Wen immediately understood Tang Sanye's abacus in his heart, and he didn't open his mouth, smiling and waiting for the following. All kinds of people in the world always have their own goals, as long as you think through this, it is still easy to guess other people's calculations.

Zhang Zhao laughed, but he was not in a hurry to say the price, but only asked, "Where is Mr.'s hometown?" "He didn't want to bargain, but he wanted to get Tang Sanye to the Jingshi, and first ask about his nationality, so that he could better make a request.

Tang Sanye was stunned, and said in his heart that these two people are not allowed to open a teahouse, and the storyteller's monthly income of twenty taels is a bit high, so he immediately said: "The old man is from Jizhou, this ...... It doesn't hurt to change places. ”

Zhang Zhao said: "How is Jingshi? ”

"Jingshi?" Tang Sanye's eyes widened, and he didn't understand for a while. Zhang Zhao said: "Let's make it clear that I am from Jingshi, and I have to go back in a few days." If you are willing to go to Beijing to tell stories, I will arrange a teahouse restaurant for you, the teahouse and restaurant in that place are all big scenes, and the people who listen to your story are crowded. Zhang Zhao picked up the silver on the table and put it in front of Tang Sanye, "This ingot is a month's reward, and we don't take any profit from the reward given to you by the teahouse restaurant, it's all yours, how about it?" ”

"This ......" Tang Sanye's eyes widened, and he was very surprised by Zhang Zhao's generosity. He is a hundred willing, and besides, Jingshi is a good place, as long as there is silver, then he will not be happy to the sky. But Tang Sanye felt that he was an elegant person, paused, and pretended not to be shocked at the moment, "It's okay, the old man tells the story by himself, and it is also a great relief to be able to hear it by more people." ”

Zhang Zhao nodded and said seriously: "That is, everyone knows your script, maybe it can be passed down through the ages." Nacheng, we also have other things, if it's okay, just say it, these fifty taels will be counted as a fixed money, and at the end I will call someone to write a contract with you. ”