The emperor inspected the soldiers' archery skills as usual in front of the palace.
When I came to the verandah, I couldn't wait to release the falcon from the cage, put it on my arm and admire it.
This falcon is extremely majestic, with a gray back, white belly, short beak and sharp talons.
Although it is not big in size, it is a very ferocious bird of prey. Even an eagle is unable to defeat it, and it has no choice but to run away when it encounters it.
"This falcon is so handsome." Zhang Ananda admired.
"It was sent by Xu Luoren and presented by Warrior Xun, the governor of Liangzhou."
The emperor likes hunting, including eagles and dogs. As soon as this harrier was delivered to him, the emperor liked it very much. He would play with it for a long time every day. "The new year is approaching, and there is no time to take it out hunting. I can only wait until after the new year." Li Shimin
road.
While they were talking, Xu Luoren, the knight on the right, said loudly in the distance, "Wei Zuocheng, please wait a moment, I will inform His Majesty."
But Wei Zheng ignored it at all, "Your Majesty has a front porch, what else do you need to pass on,"
When Li Shimin saw Wei Zheng coming this way, he didn't have time to put away the harrier, so he directly hid the harrier in his arms and under his clothes. As soon as he hid it, Wei Zheng was already approaching.
"Your Majesty, Wei Zheng, pays homage to your Majesty."
Li Shimin saw Wei Zheng and said angrily, "What's the matter?"
Wei Zheng had just seen the emperor hiding the falcon in his arms, but now he just pretended not to see it. He seriously admonished the emperor and began to tell the story of ancient emperors who perished because of their ease and enjoyment.
Wei Zheng read a lot, and his eloquence in telling historical stories was better, and he could tell them endlessly.
Although Li Shimin looked unhappy, it was not easy to interrupt Wei Zheng's advice. A wise king must be able to accept advice.
The emperor held back, wanting him to finish speaking quickly, but Wei Zheng kept talking endlessly, talking about one king after another.
By the time Wei Zheng finally finished speaking, it had been more than half an hour.
The falcon in the emperor's arms was still moving at first, but later it stopped moving at all, and Wei Zheng finally stopped talking.
"Your Majesty, use copper as a guide to correct your clothes and hats, and history as a guide to know the rise and fall."
"Never forget the past, you will be the teacher of future generations."
"If your Majesty wants the Tang Dynasty to flourish for a long time, please give more advice and use the wise instead of indulging in pleasure..."
"I resign!"
Wei Zheng retreated.
Li Shimin took out the falcon. The majestic falcon had been suffocated to death by the emperor.
Looking at this majestic falcon, Li Shimin looked uncertain.
Zhang Ananda stood on one side with his sleeves rolled up, like a sculpture.
"This damn Wei Zheng."
Zhang Ananda didn't answer. The emperor was the emperor. He was young and vigorous. If he really disliked Wei Zheng, he would have just reprimanded and punished him. But the emperor suffocated his beloved bird to death. He only said this afterward. It was obvious that the emperor did not really blame Wei Zheng.
Meaning.
The emperor played with the kite for a while and found that it was indeed dead, so he reluctantly put it aside.
"Ananda, do you think I am afraid of Wei Zheng?"
"Your Majesty is not afraid of Wei Zheng, he just respects Wei Zheng. Although Wei Zheng offends Tian Yan, he speaks out and dares to give advice. His advice is all good advice and good advice. Your Majesty also knows this, so he does not blame him."
Li Shimin sighed, "I actually hate Wei Zheng, very much. He is just like a fly buzzing in my ears. But as you said, whether Wei Zheng is impeaching civil or military officials, he is very annoying.
It's still Yan Jin's remonstrance. What he gave and remonstrated was not for selfish gain.
Although some of these public-spirited remonstrances and impeachments are unreasonable, I cannot blame those who can give remonstrances and block the way of speech. Instead, I must praise and reward them.
I also hope that there will be an upright person like Wei Zheng, who can always be by my side to remind me, and who can always supervise and spur these honorable officials like a whip.
Since June, not only have I not killed Wei Zheng, but I have also given him promotions all the way from the Director of the Zhan Shifu to the Admonishment Officer and then to the Secretary Zuocheng. Precisely because Wei Zheng is the most daring and outspoken person in the court, he not only
If you can offend Yan Zhi and remonstrate with me, you can also impeach Wuji, Duan Lun and other relatives of prime ministers, ministers and ministers."
Facing the confidant manager beside him, it was rare for Li Shimin to say these words.
In a word, the emperor did not like Wei Zheng very much, but the emperor needed someone like Wei Zheng. To put it bluntly, the emperor needed a biting dog, but to put it nicely, he needed an admonisher who dared to speak out.
The more people Wei Zheng bites, the more the emperor will appreciate him. In the final analysis, whether Wei Zheng is impeaching Changsun Wuji, Wu Huaiyu, Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, Duan Lun, etc., his reasons for impeaching are all very correct, and they are all about safeguarding
Imperial power upholds the principles of the imperial court.
Just like the last time Changsun Wuji brought a knife into the palace, although Li Shimin absolutely believed in his brother-in-law's loyalty, someone had to stand up and severely impeach Wuji, and stand up to safeguard the emperor's prestige, especially for these people
Relatives, heroes.
There are some things that are difficult for the emperor to say, so people like Wei Zheng have to do it.
Wei Zheng impeached him severely, and the emperor came forward to forgive him. In this way, he not only gave a warning to these close followers, but also showed kindness again.
Zhang Ananda had served the emperors of four dynasties, so how could he not know this?
As long as Wei Zheng does not do anything to harm the emperor's reputation and authority, advises, or impeaches officials, the emperor will not abandon him. On the contrary, the more ruthlessly he impeaches, the more he can show his value.
Of course, such a minister must also be a solitary minister, so that the emperor can rest assured and must not form a party.
"I heard that Wei Zheng failed to get married to the Wang family last time, and he still owed a large debt to Wu Huaiyu?"
Zhang Ah Qian said: "Wei Zuocheng wanted to get married to the Wang family last time. Because the Wang family wanted a family fortune of one million yuan and a betrothal gift of one million yuan, Wei Zuocheng couldn't afford it for a while, so he used his house and three thousand volumes of books as mortgages and borrowed two million yuan from the Changsheng Hall.
millions of money,
Changsheng Hall was invested by Wu Huaiyu and his wife Fan, who is the granddaughter of Nugan, so I also invested some of the reward money and silk in my hand..."
Zhang Ananda did not hide the fact that he invested money in Changshengtang.
"How much money does Wei Zheng owe now?"
"Last time, Wu Huaiyu and Wei Zheng had negotiated privately. Due to the breach of contract, Wei Zheng will now pay back the principal of the loan, plus one month's interest, plus three months' interest for the default, plus some fees. The total is one thousand guan. This thousand guan
If the money is repaid within one year, no interest will be accrued.
If it is not repaid within one year, interest will be calculated on the remaining balance at the rate of ten cents per month..."
Li Shimin shook his head, "This Wei Zheng has a tongue and tongue like a sword, and a pen and paper like a knife, but when it comes to buying property, he is really bad at it. He tried to marry a woman with the five surnames of the old gentry, but he failed to marry him, and he owed thousands of dollars.
As soon as you go to the inner treasury and take out a thousand coins and send them to Wei Zheng's house, tell him that I know his situation and will give it to him as a special reward, so that he can pay off his debt to Changsheng Hall first.
I heard that his house was dilapidated and dilapidated, so I asked the general supervisor to send someone to repair it and renovate a few main rooms."
Wei Zhenggang suffocated the emperor's beloved falcon to death, but the emperor still rewarded him with a thousand guan of money to pay off his debts and renovated his house. This is really like buying a horse's bones for a thousand pieces of gold.
"Your Majesty is wise, in this way, with Wei Zheng as an example, all ministers will know that Your Majesty accepts advice humbly, and everyone will be able to understand everything and speak without hesitation."
Li Shimin took the falcon and buried it in a corner, "Xu Luoren, please write a letter to the warrior Xun. Don't offer any more eagles or dogs in the future. As the emperor, I cannot play with things and enjoy them."
Zhang Ananda went to Wei Zheng's house in Yongxingfang to reward him.
I made a lot of noise on purpose.
"Please ask Minister Zuocheng Wei Zheng to accept the order!"
At the gate of Wei Zheng, the prince of Shangzhu Kingdom, Wenshui County, wearing a purple robe and jade belt, and the eunuch Zhang Anan stepped out of the carriage, and were escorted by a team of hundreds of horses.
Wei Zheng was at home looking through the collection of books he had just redeemed from Changsheng Hall. Mrs. Pei was chattering beside him, "The agreed repayment date has come. One thousand guan will be repaid in twelve months, and more than 80 guan will be repaid every month."
, it’s time to pay back the money this month, but what can I use to pay it back?”
Wei Zheng was still reading his book and seemed not to worry about this matter at all.
"You're right, if you don't finish it within this year, there will be interest next year."
"We'll talk about it then." Wei Zheng didn't even raise his head.
"You," Mrs. Pei couldn't help it.
At this time, the old servant came to report that an angel had come to announce the decree, "This is Duke Ananda, the eunuch of the chamberlain."
"What's going on?" Pei was worried.
Wei Zheng put down his book and stroked his beard, "I went into the palace just now to report something. His Majesty was playing with an eagle and when he saw me coming, he hid the eagle in his arms. I deliberately remonstrated and smothered Your Majesty in his arms.
, are you coming to punish me?"
When Ms. Pei heard this, she was furious and said, "How do you think you can do everything?"
"Did I do something wrong? This country is in dire need. The emperor should be diligent in governing the country, not a hawk and a lackey."
"As long as you can!"
Mrs. Pei wiped her tears angrily.
Wei Zheng, on the other hand, went to greet the angel and receive the order with a calm face.
The expected punishment did not come, but a reward.
And it's not an ordinary reward.
There were several cartloads of money and silk, which amounted to a thousand guan.
"Wei Zuocheng, His Majesty said that you are outspoken, dare to remonstrate, and loyal. I heard that you are not good at buying real estate, which has led to a huge debt. Your Majesty thinks of your loyalty, and has given you this thousand dollars to repay the debt of Changsheng Hall. Your Majesty also said that marriage
When it comes to getting married, you should also do it according to your ability, and you must not borrow money to buy a marriage."
Wei Zheng looked at the money and silk and was stunned.
Hard to believe.
"Supervisor Zhang, is that bird your majesty?"
"It's suffocated to death and has been buried. His Majesty has issued a decree that no more eagles or dogs can be sacrificed from anywhere in the future."
Wei Zheng was so surprised that his heart was agitated and his face turned red.
"His Majesty also said that Wei Zuocheng had previously advised that it is very good to use copper as a lesson and history as a lesson. His Majesty said that he should also use people as a lesson and Wei Gong as a lesson to learn about gains and losses. He hoped that Wei Gong could continue to maintain his loyalty and progress in the future.
admonish."
Zhang Anan continued with a smile, "Why don't Mr. Wei go next door to invite the martial arts scholar and cancel the debt directly? From now on, he will be debt-free."
"good."
Wei Zheng finally took the initiative to visit the Wu family next door.
Wu Huaiyu was a little surprised when he heard that Wei Zheng was paying his respects. When he came out to meet him, he found out that the emperor had rewarded him with a thousand guan of money to repay the money, and Wei Zheng was here to repay the money.
Come to Wei's house together.
Zhang Anan pointed to the money and silk still on the carriage and said, "One thousand guan of money and silk."
Huaiyu smiled and said, "Wei Gong, God's grace is so great."
Wei Zheng took the rare opportunity to cross his arms and say thanks to the north.
Huaiyu accepted the money and wrote a note to Wei Zheng, and then the debt with Wei Zheng was completely settled.
Wei Zheng felt relieved, the matter was finally over.
Zhang Ananda stepped forward and said, "Wei Zuocheng, martial arts scholar, your majesty also asked me to tell you two that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. You two are ministers in the same palace. You are both ministers whom your majesty trusts and appreciates. I hope that you two can live in harmony in the future."
get along."
Wei Zheng actually nodded happily, "Thank you, Inspector Zhang, for telling Your Majesty that Wei Zheng has accepted the order."
"Yeah, so do I."
Wu Huaiyu chuckled.
I originally thought that Wei Zheng owed him a thousand guan of money and would not be able to pay it back for a while. Then he would have to be controlled by him, or at least disgusted with him. Now that the emperor has taken action, he will still have to stop in the future.
I just don’t know if Wei Zheng, my neighbor, can also stop.
