() Han Xu walked into the main hall of worship and found Emperor Chongzhen sitting there expressionless, with only Wang Chengen, the admiral of Dongchang, waiting on him.
Is he going to be caught and taken to Dongchang? No, there has been no sign of him in Dongchang for two years.
As he was thinking, he approached and knelt down on the ground: "Long live, long live, long live, long live!"
Originally, he was the chief minister of the cabinet and did not need to kneel down in such a grand manner. He just did it unconsciously because he had something in his heart.
Emperor Chongzhen did not ask him to get up immediately. He was also bored and did not want to see him. He just said: "Mr. Ge, have you ever calculated the losses in the capital?"
When Han Xu heard Emperor Chongzhen call him Pavilion Elder, he knew that the situation was not as serious as he thought. However, Emperor Chongzhen's question made him embarrassed again: "Your Majesty, the Jianlu have not retreated for a long time, so I cannot count them for the time being."
"Wherever the captives passed, it was like locusts passing through. My people were killed, their property was robbed, and their houses were destroyed. Forget about the distance, listen to the voices of the refugees in the capital who mourn every day. I am in the deep palace
You can hear it." Emperor Chongzhen's voice was cold and cold.
Han Xu lowered his head, and cold sweat began to loom on his forehead.
"When Jianlu committed his first offense, the words of the elder Ge were still in my ears." Emperor Chongzhen's voice slowly became louder and louder, and his voice echoed throughout the hall.
"The elder highly recommends Yuan Chonghuan, but how does your good student do? You saw it a few days ago!"
"I'm guilty!" Han Xu's cold sweat had formed into a stream, running down his face and down his long beard. But he didn't dare to wipe it. He bowed his head and replied.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw Han Xu's appearance at the top, he knew that the drama was almost over. So he changed his tone and said in a gentle tone: "The elder has been assisting me for two years. I have no credit but hard work. I am nostalgic.
I won’t forget it, Ping Sheng.”
Hearing the sage's tone softening, Han Xu breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Emperor Chongzhen said to Wang Chengen who was standing on one side: "Give Mr. Ge a seat."
Han Xu stood up slowly, wiped his sweat secretly, and sat down halfway on the stool. He was also a man who had been in the officialdom for decades, so he knew that things would not end like this, there must be more to come.
After Han Xu sat down, Emperor Chongzhen spoke again: "I remember the hard work of the elders, but some people don't know how to do it. When the Jianlu are defeated, people with family background in the capital may impeach the relevant personnel.
Including the Prime Minister. If there are too many people impeached by then, I will not be able to protect the Prime Minister."
Hearing what Emperor Chongzhen said, Han Xu couldn't sit still anymore. He knew that the fate of himself or his family depended on Emperor Chongzhen's thoughts. He knew the people mentioned by the emperor, and he usually fawned over him, but once
Those who harm their interests are the ones who will come to take a bite at all costs.
Han Xu stood up, bowed to Emperor Chongzhen and said, "Your Majesty, please judge."
Emperor Chongzhen did not answer his words, but continued his topic: "Mr. Ge must be sixty-seven this year, and he has a lovely grandson at home?"
As soon as Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he understood what His Majesty meant. Forget it, if I stay in the court and my family is ruined in the end, it would be better to retire and return to my hometown now. I listen to what His Majesty means. As long as I resign and do nothing, I will return to my hometown.
You should give yourself a break.
Therefore, Han Xu bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I am old, weak, and my eyes are dim. I am no longer qualified for my current position. I hope that your Majesty will allow me to retire and return home."
Emperor Chongzhen did not say yes or no, but asked Han Xu: "Wen Tiren, the Minister of Rites, I wonder what the elder of the cabinet thinks, whether he is qualified to join the cabinet?"
Han Xu finally understood what Emperor Chongzhen meant, which was to free up his position so that Wen Tiren could join the cabinet. So he replied: "Your Majesty, I think that Wen Tiren is honest, self-disciplined, and quick-thinking. He is a talented person for the country, and he is more than enough to join the cabinet."
."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded. This Han Xu was quite sensible and not an old fool: "I think so too. When Mr. Ge goes back, write a memorial and give it to me in the morning tomorrow."
Han Xu understood that this was the purpose why Emperor Chongzhen called him here today. Now that the transaction was over, the Emperor was satisfied, and he had also lost his heart. It was a win-win situation. After all, he resigned and returned to his hometown to live in retirement.
After Han Xu exited, Emperor Chongzhen said with emotion to Wang Chengen who was waiting on the side: "It's better for Mr. Zhong. You can stop fighting with these people and do what you want to do. But I can't do that!"
Wang Chengen quickly explained: "Your Majesty is the proud son of heaven, how can those ministers be compared with your Majesty?"
Emperor Chongzhen smiled, said no more, and read the memorial.
Besides, after Zhong Jinwei returned to the side hall, he met Aqi and told her about the side hall. He highlighted his fearless performance in front of the emperor and important ministers of the country, gave guidance to the country, and made the audience admire him. At the end, he sighed.
One sentence: "It's a pity that I don't have a goose feather fan."
Archie was a little curious: "Why do you need a goose-feather fan? It's December, and the weather is so cold, do you need a fan?"
"Zhuge Liang!"
Archie was speechless. It turned out that Zhong Jinwei's old habit had happened again. So, she used her delicate eyes to wink at him. Zhong Jinwei wanted to make him an earl. Of course Archie was happy for him. However, Archie remembered that the young master said that he would write it again.
Memorial, she was thinking about this and turned around to get the Four Treasures of the Study.
When Zhong Jinwei saw this, he remembered that he still had business to do, so he went to the blackboard and wrote down the key points of the military reform on the blackboard one by one while recalling it. Then he checked for omissions and filled in the gaps until all the places that needed to be added were added
, after feeling that nothing had been missed, he said to Archie who was ready: "Now I say, you write."
Archie nodded obediently.
Because of preparation, this memorial was written in one go. There were no mistakes in the punctuation marks. In fact, the sentences in this memorial were very simple, basically using only the most basic symbols such as commas, periods, and semicolons.
Archie is very clever and ingenious, so he can't go wrong.
Archi asked Zhong Jinwei to put the memorial away, and then solemnly said to Zhong Jinwei: "Master, I want to say something to you."
Zhong Jinwei saw that Archi was so solemn and knew that it must be a more important matter, so he calmed down his mentality and said solemnly to Archi: "Okay! Just say what you have to say, husband, listen."
Archi was speechless. The longer she stayed in contact with Zhong Jinwei, the higher her immunity became. Now such words would no longer make her blush.
"Sir, you will go to court tomorrow. Regarding the etiquette, I will tell you some things first. There should be a special etiquette officer coming to teach you later."
So it’s this, no problem, Zhong Jinwei thought.
"But what I want to tell you, the most important thing is that I think some of the young master's words and deeds are very strange to people nowadays. I live in the palace, and although there is no one to teach me, I know one truth.
The bird that stands out dies first. The young master is too different from ordinary people, so the Nu family feels that when the Young Master interacts with outsiders, especially those with ulterior motives, it is best not to behave too strangely. The Nu family has kept these words in their hearts for a long time.
If you don’t say I’m unhappy, please don’t take offense, sir!”
After Zhong Jinwei heard this, he knew that Archie was only thinking about himself. It wasn't that he didn't understand this, but he was in the middle of the game and never paid much attention to it.
I will definitely deal with many people in the future, although I am not very happy to deal with them. Now these civil servants have no ability to do things, but their skills in talking are first-rate. Even if Emperor Chongzhen protects them, they will not be afraid of death.
possible things.
Zhong Jinwei thought of this and said sincerely to Archie: "Thank you, Archie. I will definitely pay attention to it in the future."
When A Qi saw that the young master listened to his words and had a sincere attitude, he suddenly felt as sweet as honey.
The next day, at dawn, the morning dynasty began, with cabinet ministers, six ministries and supervisory officials leading the procession one by one.
In the Ming Dynasty, except for Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Chengzu Zhu Li, other emperors either did not attend court in the morning, or their early court proceedings became a mere formality. Later, it was generally established that the morning court only dealt with five matters.
On this day, when Emperor Chongzhen went to court, he announced one thing: "The man who saved me earlier has now awakened. I deeply feel that he sacrificed his life to save me, so I would like to grant him the title of earl hereditary."
, the annual salary is 3,600 dan according to Wang Guangyang, the loyal and diligent uncle. Do you have any objections?"
What, the legendary person has woken up? Although the ministers present are all Confucian ministers who are particular about not using strange powers to confuse gods, and they are not fooled by the rumors among the people outside, gossip is inevitable. There was a buzz in the court.
The sound was so loud that it couldn't quiet down for quite a while.
When the officials of Honglu Temple, who were responsible for maintaining court discipline, saw that it was too disrespectful, they went out to stop it.
Yuan Hongxun, the censor of the Inspectorate, came out and said: "Your Majesty, I don't know where this person comes from, but be careful."
"This man is a descendant of the Song Dynasty living overseas. He missed his homeland and came back specially to visit. On the way, he met Wen Tiren, the minister of the Ministry of Rites. Because of his broad knowledge and extraordinary words, he recommended him to me. When I summoned him, he happened to sacrifice his life to save me.
One life. Wen Qing can testify to this." Emperor Chongzhen had already prepared it, knowing that these people would ask.
Wen Tiren's cooperative departure proves that this is indeed the case.
When Yuan Hongxun heard that Emperor Chongzhen did not say that he suddenly appeared in mid-air, he stopped saying anything. Originally, if Emperor Chongzhen had said so, he would have been prepared to say it again. Your Majesty, don't be confused. There is no such thing in the world. If you have the ability,
Let him show himself in mid-air again.
Cheng Ji, the assistant minister of the cabinet, came out and said: "Your Majesty, although this person has contributed to the rescue, I think the reward is too generous. The title of the imperial court is a public weapon. Historically, it has only been awarded for military merit or by relatives. I think that he should be rewarded."
The count is inappropriate."
These civil servants want to make trouble in everything and don't think anyone is better than them. Emperor Chongzhen was a little angry, but he didn't show it. He just said in a deep voice: "You think my life is not worth the title of an earl?"
Cheng Ji didn't dare to accept these words. He glanced at Han Xu, the chief minister of the cabinet. Unexpectedly, he was motionless, like a clay Buddha in the temple. It was really strange today. He had no choice but to reply: "Your Majesty.
That’s not what I mean, it’s just that the country is in troubled times and the rewards are so generous that the court cannot afford them.”
This seems like a personal statement, but obviously I can't just seal it. Let's not talk about the rescue. Guangzhong Jinwei has helped me so much that he deserves to be named an earl. Look at the other princes and uncles, whoever is useful will be
They are worms who just take their salary and do nothing.
Several other cabinet ministers also stood up to support Cheng Jiming. The two sides bargained back and forth, and finally each took a step back and agreed to grant Zhong Jinwei the title of Zhongxing Bo, not hereditary, and with an annual salary of 1,100 dan.
Next, Zhong Jinwei was asked to go to the palace to receive the conferment. All civil and military officials became curious about what this legendary person looked like. Some people stretched their necks and looked outside the palace before they heard Zhong Jinwei's footsteps.