The hunchback Wucheng and his two sons Amao and Aliang held bundles of explosive poles that had been prepared long ago and began to throw them one by one into the fire at the gate.
Carefully selected and processed bamboo poles exploded in the fire.
Firecrackers sounded and sparks flew everywhere.
On New Year's Eve, the peach charms in front of the door are reflected, and the door god shines brightly.
"In Chang'an, your Shouyang Marquis Mansion is the first to make the explosion of bamboo poles." When Wei Zheng heard the sound from next door, he came out with his four sons and two daughters, carrying a small bundle of bamboo poles.
Because Wu Huaiyu successfully introduced a good marriage to the old Wei family, the marriage between the second daughter and Xue Shou's second son has been decided.
The affairs of the Wang family have not yet been decided. Although Wang Ji's nephew is still young, he still hesitates, saying that Wei Zheng holds the important position of Zuocheng, the Minister, and it will be criticized if he betroths Wei Zheng's daughter now.
"On New Year's Eve, what we want is to be happy, and we have to go to the palace for a banquet later." Huaiyu said with a smile, throwing bamboo poles in as he spoke.
On the night when the saint ascended the throne, Duan Lun and Xu Jingzong set off some fireworks, but Wei Zheng impeached them and implicated himself. If it weren't for Wei Zheng, Huaiyu estimated that fireworks would have become a standard New Year celebration for the nobles.
It's a pity that for a while, the people of Chang'an may not be able to see the splendid scene of fireworks and trees all night long again.
Even I can only burn this traditional bamboo pole now, and I dare not add any gunpowder to it.
"It's Chinese New Year, I hope next year will be better." The Wei Zheng family's explosive pole is much smaller and the sound is not as good as the Wu family's. The children of the Wei family abandoned their own and came to the door of Wu's house to follow suit and enlarge the explosive pole.
"Second Lady, have you met Xue Erlang?" Huaiyu asked Wei Zheng's second daughter with a smile. This girl is very quiet, but her handwriting is excellent.
"I've seen it before. Xue Erlang's calligraphy is also good." Wei Erniang seems to be quite satisfied with her fiancé, although she may not really understand the meaning of engagement now.
"The Wei family can form such a good relationship with the Xue family, and I would like to thank you, Erlang, for being such a great matchmaker." Wei Zheng also came over and said sincerely. When he faced Wu Huaiyu now, he felt quite guilty. They have such a big structure.
, I impeached him several times but didn’t take it easy, and now I helped him get this good marriage.
The Xue family in Hedong is an old gentry.
In the Tang Dynasty, those who can be called old gentry must be the famous gentry passed down for hundreds of years during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, which are also commonly referred to as county surnames among the people.
There were often only one or two families in a county, the kind that could only be called senior gentry.
Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Wen Yanbo and others can at best be regarded as new gentry. As for Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin, warrior Xun and others, they are classified as new nobles with military merit, and they are not gentry.
In fact, people like Wu Huaiyu can only be regarded as emerging small aristocrats.
Wei Zheng attaches great importance to the marriage with the old gentry, and he is very satisfied with the Xue family in Hedong. Although Xue Shou is deceased, his uncles and nephews are known as the three phoenixes in Hedong, with three bachelors. The emperor once lamented that if Xue Shou had not died young, he would have died
Worship him as Zhongshu Ling.
In front of the Xue family in Hedong, Wei Zheng could only look up.
"That boy Wang Yifang, have you really regretted it?" Huaiyu asked Wei Zheng.
Wei Zheng nodded, "The eldest son of the Wang family is indeed very filial, very talented, and has a very good character. He came to me to apologize sincerely, saying that he finally decided not to marry my Wei family because he is now
My family is poor and my position is low, but I am a prominent official. He wants to concentrate on studying in Chang'an and take the imperial examination in the future. If my aunt is not married by then, he is willing to propose to me again, and I promise to give him ten years."
Huaiyu was surprised when he heard this. Wei Zheng really liked Wang Yifang.
"This door god of yours is so majestic." Wei Zheng looked at the peach wood door god statue that had just been posted on the Wu family's door.
"Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong,"
Since Huaiyu painted two armored portraits of Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong on the palace gate for Li Shimin, not only are these two statues of gods posted on the palace gate, but many aristocratic homes have also begun to invite door gods to ward off evil spirits and control the houses.
However, only the door god statues painted by Wu Huaiyu, especially those painted on peach wood boards, are the most praised. However, it is not easy to ask Wu Huaiyu to paint the door gods. In the whole city of Chang'an, only Qin Qiongfang Xuanling Cheng Yaojin
Changsun Wuji, Gao Shilian, Duan Lun, Yang Shidao, warrior Xun Fanxing and a few other paintings were painted by him.
The two old door god statues of Shentu and Yulei still hang in Wei Zheng's house, and they are peach wood carvings that are bigger than a palm. They are really different from the statues of Wu Huaiyu's family, especially those of Huaiyu's family with bright colors and armored figures.
Riding a horse with great strength and majesty.
"I heard that some noble families now want to ask Erlang to paint their portrait, or ask the right door god, at least two BMWs?"
Huaiyu chuckled, "Last time Qian Jiulong, the Duke of Xi, asked Duke Wei to write an epitaph for his father. I heard that he paid 100,000 yuan?"
"Hahaha."
The two of them looked at each other and smiled together. The shadow of this man's famous tree, not to mention Wei Zheng's incorruptibility, but when he has enough fame, his name is also very valuable. Wei Zheng writes epitaphs for people and uses some thought and ink to add to them.
A little glory, a generous donation of hundreds of dollars, or even a plaque with just a few words can be worth thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.
And Wu Huaiyu's portraits of people, door gods, diagnosis and prescriptions were also very valuable.
"It's getting late, let's go to the palace together for a banquet?"
"good."
Wei Zheng's life has been really good recently. He used to ride a donkey, but now he wears a Qinghai horse with a Khitan saddle. With this set, he probably has dozens of horses.
"Why don't you take my carriage? It's warm in the carriage." Huaiyu invited, and Wei Zheng pondered for a moment before getting on the carriage without any further politeness.
Two people who had not dealt with each other some time ago were now sitting in the carriage drinking tea and chatting.
Huaiyu now has a thorough understanding of Wei Zheng. This guy has a good reputation and his personality is that of a lonely minister admonishing ministers. Of course, he is also a docile donkey, and he can still get along with others.
There is no personal relationship with such a person, let alone any exchange of benefits. If you dare to give something, he will dare to report it, but just treat it as a neighbor, which is fine. If you don't have desires, you will be just.
As for being impeached by Wei Zheng someday, Wu Huaiyu is not worried at all. It doesn't matter if Wei Zheng impeaches him, because he will not fabricate and frame you.
At the level of Wu Huaiyu, who can directly access the heavens, as long as he does not make a big mistake or is disgusted by the emperor, he is not afraid of being impeached by people like Wei Zheng.
Wei Zheng is a tool man, it would be good to understand this.
Chatting with Wei Zheng, one can find that Wei Zheng is actually quite knowledgeable and talented. If he were to become a historian, he should have achieved very good results. His calligraphy is also very good. Unfortunately, history has brought him to his current position as a remonstrating minister.
It's hard to get off when riding a tiger.
Wei Zheng was sitting in Huaiyu's luxurious carriage. He did not envy the luxury of his carriage, but he was a little envious of Wu Huaiyu, who was also a Taoist priest. His official career was so smooth at such a young age.
When he was only nineteen years later, he was about to be appointed as the governor of a state. However, it only took half a year after he came down from Zhongnan Mountain to become the governor.
"What a shortcut to the south!"
Wei Zheng lamented on the carriage that the term "Zhongnan shortcut" was not a good word.
There are many hermits in Zhongnan Mountain. From the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Han and Tang Dynasties, Zhongnan Mountain has indeed produced many famous hermits and masters. In the past dynasties, some famous Zhongnan hermits were often specially recruited to serve as officials in the dynasty.
Therefore, there will be some people who pretend to be anonymous and seek fame in order to take a shortcut to become an official.
For example, Du Yan, the imperial censor in the imperial court, planned with his good friend Wei Fusi during the Sui Dynasty, saying that Emperor Wen was good at using hermits. Prime Minister Su Wei was originally recruited as a hermit from Youzhou, and he worked all the way from official to prime minister.
The man then went to Taibai Mountain in Zhongnan, claiming that he would not be an official but a hermit, and wanted to take the shortcut to Zhongnan.
It was a pity that Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, the founding emperor of the country, saw through the little tricks of the two young men. Not only did he not recruit them for re-employment, he hated them and banished them to Jiangbiao, so he exiled them.
Therefore, the words "Zhongnan shortcut" must not be mentioned in front of Du Yan, the imperial censor, otherwise he will fall out, and the word has become a derogatory meaning.
Wei Zheng mentioned the shortcut to Zhongnan in front of Huaiyu. He undoubtedly felt that Huaiyu's current official position and title were promoted too quickly. He felt that Wu Huaiyu relied on his title as a disciple of Zhongnan Yinxian and his relationship with the warrior Xun.
And then he happened to become a close minister of the current emperor, so he was able to soar all the way.
This is a shortcut to the south, the road of a lucky minister, and an abnormal official career.
If it were anyone else, he might have fallen out with Wei Zheng and kicked him off the carriage. How could he scold the bald man in front of the monk? But Wu Huaiyu had also been dealing with Wei Zheng for a long time and knew this guy very well.
Emperor Li Shimin specially named Wei Zheng, "Old Man with a Sheep Nose", because Wei Zheng was as aggressive as an old goat.
"Wei Gongzi, old man with a yang-nosed nose, and I, Niu-nosed, have taken the shortcut to Zhongnan, but you still have to be strong in blacksmithing. If you don't have real ability, how can you last long?"
Furthermore, although there is a set system for recruiting and conferring officials, when it comes to employing people, if they are real talents, they can be used in any way, is Wei Gong right?"
Huaiyu's rebuttal left Wei Zheng speechless. Wu Huaiyu was indeed young and promising and held a high position, but he had indeed made a lot of contributions and done a lot of things along the way.
"When I go to Yanzhou in the next year, I hope you can do a good job," Wei Zheng said. "Since the Sui Dynasty, Yanchuan County has been abandoned and the people are in dire straits. I hope Wuhou can save them this time."
Sheep Nose said this very sincerely,
This old man is indeed full of the scholar's sense of moral mission, to regulate the family, govern the country and bring peace to the world, to transform the emperor and educate the people.
When Wu Huaiyu's carriage stopped in front of the palace gate, and Wu Huaiyu and Wei Zheng got out of the carriage together, many people looked at them in surprise.
'Junior Brother' Hou Junji also happened to arrive and happened to see the two of them getting off the car together. He stroked his thick beard and looked at him with a surprised look on his face. The old and young enemies actually got together?
"Brother!"
Hou Junji stepped forward and crossed his hands with a smile.
Seeing this guy's appearance, Huaiyu felt a little disdainful in his heart. His words of respect were not respectful, but rather teasing or even mocking.
What qualifications does a 19-year-old who was granted the false title of Sanhou have to be the senior brother of a general who was actually granted the title of Duke of Thousand Households?
He deliberately shouted it out in front of the palace gate in front of countless officials.
Huaiyu smiled and said, "Today's New Year's Eve palace banquet, why didn't junior brother go to Pingkangfang to pick up the teacher? It's freezing cold and snowy. As disciples, we must respect our teachers and teachers."
Hou Junji smiled but said, "Senior brother, why didn't you pick him up?"
