On the night of the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, in the Shen Mansion, two senior brothers lit a stove and a small stove for cooking wine, and talked while cooking wine.
Seeing that the wine was already warm, Shen Yi picked up the jug and poured a glass for Zhang Jian, and said softly: "Senior brother, if His Majesty really wants to reuse the Zhuhe faction, then there will be no anti-Japanese army, let alone that day...
"
There will be no conflict with the Queen Mother.
However, Shen Yi did not say these words.
It's not a good habit to expose someone's shortcomings behind their back, and it's even worse to expose someone's shortcomings behind their back, because if you're not careful, you may be severely beaten by the imperial iron fist.
Zhang Jian took a sip of hot wine, then shook his head: "That's what I said, but first Cui Yu came back, and then Yang Fan, all signs showed His Majesty's attitude. What should those who are on the wall in the court do?
He has turned to the side of the Yang family again."
"Just a minister from the Ministry of Industry."
Shen Yi said softly: "He is still the right minister. Among all the ministers in the six departments, he is at the bottom. He is just a perm for appearance, but of no practical use."
He toasted Zhang Jian and said with a smile: "Brother, we just need to do what we should do."
Zhang Jian shook his head slightly and sighed: "Zi Heng, you still think a little too shallowly. According to the current situation, if there is hope for us people in the Northern Expedition, this meal will naturally be the meal for the Yang family. But if there is no hope for the Northern Expedition in the future,
, or if you have been defeated repeatedly, then this meal is no longer a deprivation meal."
"The He faction in the imperial court will become stronger again."
The profession of emperor is a very special profession.
After working in this profession for a long time, as long as you are a qualified emperor, your own personality will slowly fade away and become something like a balancing machine.
This machine doesn't have much personal emotion at all.
For example, take the case of Chen Guo’s Northern Expedition.
In terms of personal emotions, of course His Majesty the Emperor is definitely on the side of Shen Yi, Ganquan Academy, or the "hawks". However, as an emperor, he cannot completely act according to his own will.
.
The emperor's most important task is to balance the forces in all aspects of the court.
The most fundamental role of balancing forces is to maintain the continued existence and operation of the imperial court.
If one day the imperial court encounters a situation that affects its existence, then as long as it is beneficial to survival, the emperor will not hesitate to abandon Shen Yi and the entire hawks, and re-employ the doves.
That is what Zhang Jian said, this meal of decapitation is no longer a meal of decapitation.
Shen Yi nodded in agreement.
He toasted Zhang Jian and said with a smile: "Senior Brother's words are so incomprehensible that I would like to toast to Senior Brother."
After the two brothers had a drink, Shen Yi looked at Zhang Jian and continued: "Because what the senior brother said is true, we have to work harder for the court. As long as our affairs are done, then this meal will be his."
The Yang family’s decapitated meal.”
When Zhang Jian heard this, the expression on his face was a little gloomy.
"To put it bluntly, it's you, Ziheng, who does things for the court and His Majesty alone."
"What can I, the Prime Minister of Taichang Temple, do for the imperial court?"
"Senior brother, there is nothing you need to do now."
Shen Yi squinted his eyes and said with a smile: "Senior brother, stay in Jiankang with peace of mind, do your job well, and be promoted step by step in the future. It will be the best thing for the academy and the Zhang family."
"My little brother is out on errands. To put it bluntly, it's just a casual move."
“It’s just as happy to win as it is to lose.”
Shen Yi looked calm and said softly: "My errands have not been done well. It will be very difficult to get promoted in the future. But the road is blocked on my side, and there is also the senior brother's side."
"There is always hope in the academy."
Zhang Jian exhaled the smell of alcohol, reached out to lift the wine bottle, and filled it with Shen Yi.
"That's all, no more talking."
"Let's have a drink, brothers."
After finishing a glass of wine, Master Zhang looked at Shen Yi with a sincere expression: "I hope you and I can be close friends like Master Zhao and Uncle Lu for life!"
Shen Yi smiled.
"I hope that senior brother will enter Zhongshu Province to worship the prime minister as soon as possible, so that I can go back to Jiangdu to teach and be happy."
Zhang Jian laughed.
"Perhaps in the future, Zi Heng, you will go to Zhongshu to pay homage to the Prime Minister, and Brother Yu, I will go to Jiangdu to teach!"
The two people looked at each other, with smiles in each other's eyes.
………………
While the two brothers from the Shen Mansion were drinking, the Yang Mansion, which was not very far from the Shen family, was also brightly lit.
Mr. Yang set up a big table in the back house of his house and invited a dozen people he knew well to celebrate his promotion to Minister of Industry.
Among them, Chen Yu and Chen Fengde, currently a member of the civil service department, were also invited to the scene. However, Chen Yu kept a relatively low profile at the wine table, basically only drinking and not talking.
Mr. Yang was very happy today. His face turned red as he drank. While drinking, he made a loud noise with a group of friends. Listening to the flattering words of the people around him, Mr. Yang flushed with excitement and loudly said: "Today things happened in a hurry.
, This meal is a bit simple. Tomorrow, tomorrow we will go to Yingyuelou. Yang will set up a three-table banquet and get some jars of thirty-year-old wine. Let’s all get together and have a good drink!”
Today, the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, is the last day of work for the imperial court.
Tomorrow will be the 15-day annual holiday starting on New Year's Eve. During this period, all the government offices will be closed and "suspended". The court will not resume until His Majesty holds court at Deqing Palace after the Lantern Festival.
Operation.
Therefore, today and tomorrow, these officials present can drink as much as they want without going to work.
More than a dozen people responded loudly, and the sound of laughter could not be heard.
After noisy for a long time, an elderly figure walked in. The old man glanced at everyone present, then looked at his son, with a hint of anger in his voice: "Have you had enough?"
With the old man's words, everyone present fell silent.
Finally, Mr. Yang smiled awkwardly, stood in front of the old man, lowered his head and said, "Dad, isn't this my son's promotion? Brothers are happy..."
"Are you getting promoted?"
Yang Xiangguo asked back without politeness.
Yang Fan lowered his head slightly and said softly: "Dad, my son was promoted from a fourth-rank casual official to a third-rank actual minister. Why isn't he promoted?"
"It's not just a promotion, it's an exceptional promotion."
"This kind of thing must be publicized. The bigger the noise, the better."
Mr. Yang lowered his head slightly and said softly: "It is best to tell everyone in Jiankang, so that this official promotion will not be in vain."
Mr. Yang is not a fool either.
He also knew that there was something strange about this promotion, but he also took advantage of it, and happened to use this promotion to regain the confidence of Yang Xiang and his family.
Old Man Yang glanced at his son, snorted, and did not continue.
Then he looked at Chen Yu, his expression softening slightly.
"Fengde, come with me, my teacher."
Chen Yu quickly stood up, came to the side of his old mentor, and then left the noisy place with Yang Xiangguo.
The master and apprentice were walking in the back garden of Yang's house when a cold winter wind blew in, causing Old Yang to tighten his clothes.
Chen Yu quickly walked to the old man's side, lowered his head and said, "Teacher, it's cold outside, please come inside."
"As you get older, you can clear your mind when the weather is cold."
The old man looked at Chen Yu and asked, "What does Fengde think of Fan'er's promotion to Minister of Industry?"
"It's a crisis."
Chen Yuanwai lowered his head slightly and continued: "But for my mentor and senior brother, it may not be an opportunity."
Old Xiangguo asked further.
"what chance?"
Chen Yu raised his head and glanced at the old man, then lowered his head silently.