When Shen Yi saw these two "great talents", they were drinking face to face under the pavilion at the back of the magistrate's office. They were both drunk. One was lying on the stone table under the pavilion, and the other was lying on the stone table under the pavilion.
He had collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
It was getting dark now, so I couldn't see their faces clearly, but I could see that both of them had beards and were estimated to be around thirty years old.
Zhang Jian had been handling official business in the front office during the day and didn't know what was going on in the backyard. He was not only dumbfounded when he saw this, he looked back at Shen Yi standing behind him stiffly and smiled awkwardly: "Zi Heng, these two don't drink.
When I was there, it was quite normal. When I talked to them, they were all... um..."
Zhang Fuzun touched his nose and said: "The conversation is good..."
Mr. Shen put his hands in his sleeves and looked at the two people under the pavilion quietly. Then he smiled and said: "It's okay. Anyone with ability has a weird temper. I came here recommended by my teacher."
There will be no lies.”
After Shen Yi said this, he silently turned his head, looked at Jiang Sheng who was standing a little further away, and said loudly: "Go find a few people and carry these two gentlemen back to my imperial envoy's residence so that they can be entertained."
Jiang Sheng responded quickly and turned around to find someone.
Shen Yi pulled Zhang Fuzun's sleeve and said with a smile: "The two of them are drunk, but the senior brother is not drunk yet. Go outside and I will treat the senior brother to a drink."
"It's better not to go out."
Zhang Fuzun shook his head slightly and said, "I'll ask my wife to prepare a few side dishes, and we brothers will have a few drinks."
Shen Yi smiled and nodded, and soon the two brothers sat down. Mrs. Zhang personally served them food, smiled at Shen Yi and said, "Ziheng can invite those two drunkards away. Come to the government office for three or four days and drink."
After five drinks, how much is your senior brother's salary for a month? The two of them drank it all."
Zhang Jian's face was a little confused. He coughed and frowned: "That was recommended by Uncle Lu. What's the matter with how many meals we entertained them? Where's the difference in the money for the drinks?"
Mrs. Zhang did not directly talk back to Zhang Jian, she just put down the dishes and sighed: "Okay, okay, you are the head of the family, you have the final say."
After that, Mrs. Zhang turned and left.
After she left, Zhang Jian raised his wine glass, clinked it with Shen Yi, and said helplessly: "I was used to enjoying the blessings in Jiankang, but when I came to Huai'an I became a little more miserable, and I felt a little resentful. Women are short-sighted and talk nonsense. Zi Heng
Don’t take it personally.”
Mr. Shen looked at Zhang Jian curiously.
"People say that after three years of purging the magistrate's office, one hundred thousand snowflakes of silver will be paid. Senior brother, will he really not take any of it?"
Zhang Jian shook his head slightly and said, "If in front of outsiders, Brother Wei, I am willing to tell them with correct words, I, Mr. Zhang, am an upright and upright official, but Zi Heng, you are one of our own, I will tell you the truth."
Zhang Fuzun raised his head and took a sip of wine, and said quietly: "First, my family is not short of money, and Huai'an has been at war. If I try to get money from below at this time, I will inevitably have uneasy conscience."
"Furthermore, being the prefect of Huai'an for my brother is a bit harder, but if I can make some political achievements, I can pave the way for my future."
"What's more important is that there is a war in Huai'an. If I take money from it at this time, the officials at the lower levels will do the same, and there will be no end to the exploitation at all levels."
"An ancient book says that only the flawless can kill people."
Zhang Fuzun had a drink with Shen Yi and said, "At this time, brother, I have to stand upright so that I can ask the whole Huai'an to work together."
"In this way, I can help you more, Zi Heng."
The Zhang family is a prime minister, not only has a big house in Jiankang, but also has a lot of land in Yuqian, his hometown, and is a serious landowner.
If you are not greedy, you will not be able to save such a large family fortune by relying on the prime minister's salary.
Besides, if Zhang Jing didn't take any money, it would be difficult for him to stay in the position of prime minister for more than ten years.
Therefore, the Zhang family is not short of money, so Zhang Jian does not value money very much in Huai'an. For him now, what is more important is official reputation and political achievements!
Shen Yi accompanied him with a glass of wine and said with a smile: "Since Zhang Xiang left Jiankang, my senior brother has become more and more progressive. However, senior brother's progress is due to his improvement. My wife is also from a wealthy family, so I don't want to offend my wife too much."
To be able to marry the most promising grandson of the Prime Minister's family as a wife, one must first pass the Prime Minister's eyes. Mrs. Zhang's natal family must not be too young.
Master Shen looked around and coughed: "Tomorrow, I will ask Jiang Sheng to secretly send some money to senior brother to supplement the family income, so that senior brother can be able to live a healthy life."
Zhang Jian shook his head slightly, frowned and said, "Even if I'm not greedy, if my wife and children at home spend money lavishly and word gets out, no one will believe that I'm not greedy."
"Ziheng doesn't have to worry about my family's affairs."
Zhang Jian took a sip of wine and said, "Mother and son have never suffered hardship since they were born. When I came to Huai'an with me, they were not short of food and clothing. Compared to the poor families in Huai'an, they are a thousand times better.
If she can't bear this anymore, my brother will send her back to her parents' family and marry another virtuous wife!"
It's normal for brothers to drink and brag. Mr. Shen didn't take his words to heart and just smiled and toasted him.
"The granddaughter of Xiang Xiang's family is still unmarried. Last year, she promised to give her to my family, Zichang. Senior brother, if you really marry again..."
When Mr. Shen said this, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him. He coughed, his voice stopped suddenly, and he quickly raised his glass.
"Come on, come on, senior brother, let's drink and drink..."
After finishing the glass of wine, Mr. Shen carefully looked back and saw Mrs. Zhang with a smile on her face. She brought a plate of roasted fish and placed it in front of the two of them, with a smile on her face.
"It took half an hour to prepare this dish. It came a little late..."
The two senior brothers clinked their glasses silently and drank a glass of wine in a tacit understanding without anyone speaking.
………………
In the morning of the next day, the imperial envoy departed.
Mr. Shen sat on the main seat and looked at the two "talents" who had woken up with a smile.
"Are you two awake?"
At least one of these two people was pretending to be drunk last night, or even both of them were pretending to be drunk!
The intention was very simple, it was just to express my wild and uninhibited attitude, to raise my worth, and to see what the temper of Shen Yi, the future boss, was like.
After "sobering up", both of them became much more honest. They first looked at Shen Yi, and then bowed their hands in a polite manner: "Student Song Heng, please pay your respects to Minister Shen."
"Student Li Zhun, meet with Mr. Shen."
These two people look to be around thirty-two or thirty-three or thirty-four years old, but both of them are famous for being civil servants. When seeing Shen Yi, a second-ranked Jinshi, no matter how much the age difference between them is, they both claim to be students.
No problem.
Mr. Shen stood up with a smile, returned the salute to the two of them, and then extended his hand and said: "You two gentlemen, there is no need to be polite. Please sit down and talk."
However, the two of them did not sit down. They both took out Mr. Lu's handwritten letter from their sleeves and handed it to Shen Yi: "Senior Minister Shen, this is Mr. Lu's letter recommending me."
Shen Yi reached out to take it and said with a smile, "I've seen it."
The two men looked at each other, and Li Zhun was perhaps the more tempered one. He looked at Shen Yi and said, "How could Shilang Shen open the letters between us without our consent?"
Shen Yi looked calm and said: "The two gentlemen were very drunk yesterday, and their personal belongings were all kept by the people at the imperial envoy's office. They handed these two letters to my desk overnight. I saw
When I got the envelope, I recognized my mentor's handwriting."
He looked at Li Zhun: "Mr. Li, do you have any questions?"
Li Zhun opened his mouth, but had nothing to say.
Mr. Shen pressed his left hand again and said, "Okay, let's sit down and talk in peace."
After the two of them sat down, Shen Yi pondered for a moment and said: "You two, I, Shen Yi, am also an official of the imperial court. Because the things around me are heavy, I need help from people to deal with them. This is why my mentor recommended you to come."
"Both of them are academicians. They may not be any less educated than me, Shen Qi. It's just that I was more lucky and got the Jinshi first. I have learned a lot. Most of the books I have read have been read by both of them."
"So we agreed in advance that the story of the Ming Dynasty's visit to the wise in ancient times will not be blamed on the three of us."
"After all, Shen is also on errands for the imperial court."
Having said this, Shen Yi looked at the two of them and said, "Since you two are here, you might as well talk about what each of you is good at."
Li Zhun and Song Heng looked at each other, and Li Zhun was the first to stand up and hold his hands in his hands: "Senior Minister Shen, I have been interested in reading military books since I was a child. Master Lu said that students who have failed in many tests over the years have been ruined by military books.
, all the students who can read the military books and strategies of the past dynasties have read it. I heard Master Lu said that Minister Shen was in Huai'an to attack the Qi people and needed manpower, so the students came."
Shen Yi nodded and said, "Okay, then please ask Mr. Li to write a brief summary of the Northern Expedition for me in three days. I will take a look first."
Li Zhun looked confident: "The student can present it to Minister Shen tomorrow!"
He looked at Song Heng again and asked, "Where is Mr. Song?"
Song Heng was a little introverted, but he still stood up, cupped his hands and said: "Back to Minister Shen, my students are good at mathematics. Over the years, their academic careers have been neglected, and most of them have been ruined on this path."
Hearing his words, Mr. Shen's eyes lit up.
What a guy, math genius!
This must be kept. In the future, together with those Westerners, we may be able to develop basic science!
But for now, his position in the Imperial Envoy's field is still very clear.
Shen thought for a while and then said: "Mr. Song, my imperial envoy's account is complicated. Can you please try to take care of the account for me for a few days?"
Song Heng lowered his head slightly: "Students will naturally obey."
In this way, the interview is basically over.
Mr. Shen stood up, stroking his hands and said: "If I give you two gentlemen an errand, I will naturally give you two benefits."
"If the three of us get along, then Shen will give you two an official career in the future."
Li and Song were stunned for a moment, then no longer hesitated and saluted Shen Yi together.