A jujube tree grows beside the side wall of the main hall with red walls and tiled roofs. Its age is unknown, and its lush branches and leaves almost reach into the window.
"I see—I see—"
The warm sun scorched the brown-skinned cicadas on the branches and kept chirping.
But it didn't disturb the people at the window at all.
Wow——
In the center of the table filled with papers, on the empty table, a pile of small wooden sticks of the same length were scattered.
They were frequently manipulated by the wrinkled palm of a hand.
There were constant clattering sounds, and small wooden sticks were being moved around.
It's not like playing, the old withered palms are playing with them very seriously.
Upon closer inspection, this pile of small wooden sticks is not messy, but has a vague pattern.
Next to this pile of small wooden sticks, there is a thick booklet.
The other one is holding a slender wolf-hair pen in his withered palm, slowly writing lines of regular characters on a certain page of the thick book.
The regular characters are neat and neat, one stroke after another, just like engraving, without any spirituality.
On the thick volume, the ink characters that have not yet dried are boring numbers:
[Millet, more than 2,357,000 stones],
[Silk, more than 3,719,000 feet],
[hemp, five hundred and fifty...]
etc.
The fat old man knelt down in front of the desk, bent over and lowered his head, his eyes very close to the pages of the album.
Habitually squinting eyes and registering accounts with dry hands.
It turns out that the pile of small wooden sticks in the fat old man's hand was a scheme.
It is similar to Ouyang Rong's abacus and abacus in his previous life, but it is more complicated and inconvenient.
The fat old man is settling accounts.
There are piles of papers on the table in front of me, and the back side of the table is painted in wine red.
The palms and wrists that had been manipulated by the old man were smooth and oiled, and were faintly reflective.
This fat old man in official uniform, with squinted eyes and wrinkles, seems to be working at his desk by the window, doing boring accounting day after day throughout the spring, summer, autumn and winter.
If you move your eyes upward, past the towering desks, you can see that the fat old man's work station is at the top of the entire hall.
In addition to him, there were more than ten officials in the palace.
They sat behind their desks and focused on their work.
There are young and strong men who are majestic, and there are old men who are as deep as a deep pool at dusk. They are all in official uniforms, with neat fish bags. Looking around, you can see a sea of crimson official uniforms, most of which are fifth grade or above.
More than a dozen officials were calm and composed, implying noble appearance.
On the corridor outside the hall, from time to time, officials in green robes rushed to the hall with documents in their arms.
But as they approached the palace gate, they unconsciously bowed their heads slightly, entered the palace, and presented official documents to the Feiyi officials. These foreign officials spoke in thin voices, appearing cautious, as if they were afraid of disturbing anything.
As a result, the main hall and the more than ten officials working in the hall seemed more serious and profound.
However, when the eyes of these officials in scarlet robes were cast on the work station at the innermost part of the hall, with a small green window in the background.
After seeing the figure of the ordinary fat old man quietly settling accounts, they all lowered their heads slightly, lowered their eyes, and continued to work with a flash of awe in their eyes.
Speaking of which, this solemn office hall, in terms of luxurious decoration, is inconspicuous in the entire luxurious palace city.
Not to mention competing with the Zichen Palace, not far away, where the Empress Wei went to the palace in the morning.
But it's called Zhongshu Province...no, it's called Fengge.
One of the highest authorities in the city of God.
At the simple workstation by the window, the fat old man was immersed in settling accounts. Occasionally he would hide his book and look at the green branches outside the window, murmuring with a frown:
"It costs money again..."
He shook his head and continued to work at his desk.
As the cicadas chanted desperately, the sun on the branches of the jujube trees gradually began to set towards the west.
"clang--"
The rhythmic sound of ringing bells resounded among the buildings of Ziwei.
The second quarter of the first lunar month is the next time.
In the main hall of Feng Pavilion, more than a dozen officials in scarlet clothes did not raise their heads, but kept their heads down while doing their work.
However, at the workstation next to the small window at the top, the fat old man put down his pen and folded the book, immediately got up, left the desk, passed by everyone, and walked out of the hall.
More than a dozen officials in scarlet clothes let out a sigh of relief, then stood up one after another, packed their things, and left the palace.
A Feiyi official had a smile on his face.
This is the good thing about this Feng Pavilion's top official who spends his days settling accounts tediously. He never delays the meeting and leaves when the time is right.
Even the last time the Queen passed by Feng Pavilion on a whim and entered the palace to offer condolences and inspection, the fat old man was the same way and did not allow His Majesty to occupy everyone's time on duty.
Ziwei City is the main palace of the Zhou Dynasty and a symbol of imperial power.
It is located at the highest point in the northwest corner of Luoyang, the sacred capital.
The entire Ziwei City is roughly composed of two main bodies: Ziwei Palace and the Imperial City.
Ziwei Palace, inside, is the residence of the Queen and the place where she governs and goes to court.
Outside the imperial city, there are five provinces, Santai and other central government offices inside, as well as buildings for receiving foreign guests.
Therefore, there are very few official offices that can be located in Ziwei Palace and are close to the emperor. Almost all of them are the highest institutions of real power or etiquette.
For example, this Phoenix Pavilion.
Feng Pavilion is located in the inside, but the fat old man who was the first to leave Feng Pavilion was the first official to walk to Yingtian Gate, one of the main entrances of Ziwei Palace, and waited for the door to open and leave the palace.
Everyone was left behind.
However, as time passed, a group of veterans and young officials who were at the core of the Zhou Dynasty gradually gathered outside Yingtian Gate and waited for the door to open.
Seeing the familiar figure of the fat old man in front of him, a small number of officials gathered and stepped forward.
Words such as "Master" and "Mr. Di" were spat out from the mouths of this small group of distinguished officials.
The fat old man, who was meditating in his sleeves in front of the city gate, turned around and bowed slightly in return.
The old man who stepped on the lower value was none other than Di Fuzi, the famous Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the respectful elder of the country in the mouth of Empress Wei.
The word "Master" is originally a title within the Confucian sect. It comes from the real name of a high-ranking scholar and is considered one of the highest honors in the Confucian sect.
It is conceivable that the old man has a high status in the hearts of scholars all over the world.
As most of the civil servants in the Manchu Dynasty were scholars, they naturally used the title "Master" more frequently, which was used interchangeably with the honorific title "Di Gong".
Gradually, people all over the world called him this way. As for Di Fuzi's real name, no one gradually knew it.
Under Ying Tianmen, facing his colleagues.
The fat old man smiled broadly.
The conversation was quite humorous.
With this being the case, the atmosphere is naturally harmonious.
After a while, the time came, and the imperial guards at the top of the city opened the city gate as usual.
All the ministers went out one after another.
As soon as they left the city gate, several palace servants who had been waiting for a long time came forward, with a luxurious sedan behind them. They respectfully handed over:
"Welcome to you, Master, please get on the sedan chair."
Master Di shook his head and declined, took the reins from the old servant, got on his horse, and rode away.
The palace servants who accepted the emperor's order had no choice but to pick up the empty sedan and follow the fat old man on horseback back to the mansion.
All around, the ministers who boarded the carriages of various houses opened the curtains and smiled at the sight, which seemed to be a habit, and some people were envious.
Sitting in a sedan chair is not something that ordinary Zhou officials can enjoy. Only senior ministers who are old and highly respected can enter and leave the court in a sedan chair.
It's just that Mrs. Di didn't seem to be used to the Queen's compassionate arrangement.
Master Di rode out of the city and went home along the street.
After bidding farewell to his colleagues, the smile on the face of the fat old man on the thin horse had long faded, and he was looking down and distracted.
He held the reins with his hand, his two withered fingers slightly bent, and tapped the mane on the horse's back rhythmically.
He muttered from time to time.
It's settling accounts again.
In the heart of the world's scholars, this famous prime minister of Zhou Dynasty, who was at the forefront of the fight against the Wei clan and was the pillar of the Liberation faction. In his daily life, he was not impassioned or cunning at all. Instead, he did the most boring things in the world.
Settle accounts.
The fat old man was calculating the rent and taxes of more than a thousand states and counties in the world, the deficit in the national treasury, and the budget for the coming year.
There are also Empress Wei and the nobles of the Zhou Dynasty, and the princesses spend extravagantly in Luoyang City.
By the way, there are also the handful of useless Qigong practitioners who are favored by the imperial court.
In the eyes of the fat old man who came from a Confucian family,
Forget about those who live in seclusion from the outside world, but those who can walk in the world, such as Confucianism and other sects that show the world, these Qi practitioners themselves are not engaged in production, and they are not able to govern and secure the country.
In addition to being the icing on the cake for the already fierce and fierce peripheral army on the battlefield, it is just a beautiful pendant.
Due to various restrictions such as the mythical cauldron pressure, these Qi practitioners outside the Confucian sect should have stayed away from the supreme imperial power, which is most likely to alienate the Taoist heart, and went to the world to become "lonely souls and wild ghosts". Life and death depend on heaven.
As a result, he took shortcuts, studied Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism for the sake of resource supply, and entered the world under the guise of cultivating his mind.
However, powerful families such as Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Wei's Mansion just like this kind of "beautiful pendants", or in other words, they themselves invest in and produce such "beautiful pendants".
It is nothing more than free rice, and it only increases the brutality of internal conflicts such as party strife and power struggles.
But the most helpless thing in the world is:
There are not many people who are willing to farm, and there are few cooks who cook well, but there are many people who climb on the table to eat dry rice, and they are also talking about big fish and meat, and some of them kick under the legs of the table after belching.
If you ask Master Di, what is the prime minister of the Zhou Dynasty?
He is the biggest cook at the top, and he has to prepare meals for the whole family. In the words of a young county magistrate, the economy determines the superstructure.
On the street, a fat old man on horseback looked ahead, very quiet.
A skinny old servant followed closely from the side. Seeing his master's silence, he was already surprised.
This old master who settles accounts and settles accounts with his short hair and gray hair looks like him in the court or in front of the crowd...he talks with humor and sharp words.
But when I'm at work or alone, I'm like that again... I'm taciturn and cherish my words like gold.
To leave the graceful Ziwei Palace, you still need to take the right door to leave the imperial city.
After leaving the imperial city, directly ahead in the distance is the endlessly flowing Luoshui River.
If you look at Luoyang City from a bird's eye view, it is almost square.
A Luoshui River runs through the central part, dividing it into two areas: North Luo and South Luo.
The Imperial Palace of the Zhou Dynasty is located in the northwest of Luozhou.
The royal family and nobles live in Lifang District, northeast of Luoyang.
Luonan Lifang District, separated from them by the Luoshui River, is where most ordinary people live and move.
Most of the officials and ministers of the imperial court also lived in Lifang District in Luonan.
However, most of them are close to Luoshui, because there are long bridges in Luoshui. In this way, they only need to cross a few bridges to directly reach the imperial city and go to the morning court.
Master Di's residence is located in Jishanfang, adjacent to the south bank of Luoshui River.
The group crossed Luoshui and as soon as they arrived at the main street of Dingdingmen, they bumped into a group of foreign envoys in strange clothes.
They seemed to be on their way to Beijing to pay tribute, looking here and there, looking at the colorful streets of Luoyang with novel eyes.
The entire city of Luoyang is filled with an open and prosperous atmosphere.
There are young men from Luoyang wearing Hu robes and hats, there are also bold young ladies wearing chest-high underskirts like ladies walking out of paintings, and there are also Taoist priests and monks walking slowly to observe the ceremony.
There is a saying that when the nine heavens open the palace, all the nations will wear their clothes and worship them.
Luoyang people on the street have long been surprised to see these high-nosed people coming from nowhere.
In the whole city of Luoyang, the most indispensable thing is the Hu people, the Hu merchants in the West Market, the Hu Ji in the wine shops, and the envoys of the vassal country. There are a lot of them, and they all speak fluent Chinese, and they are all mixed up in the daily life of the people of Luoyang.
In the business.
There were even many Luo people who looked at these newly arrived foreigners as if they were country bumpkins.
Master Di frowned slightly when he saw these foreign envoys popping up from nowhere.
"It costs money to return a gift."
After muttering, the fat old man rode away, but the empty car and sedan behind him revealed his identity.
On the main street of Dingding Gate, the people and envoys saw the prime minister's cars and sedans and gave way to see him off respectfully.
"It's Mrs. Di!"
"At this point, it should be the next court. Master still doesn't like to ride in a sedan chair..." Youluo people showed off their knowledge to their companions.
Those blond foreign envoys did not know that they were slightly disliked by the fat old man. The Dali Temple officials who were received quickly pulled the envoys aside and moved them to the side of the road. They turned and stared at the back of the powerful prime minister of the heaven.
Eyes filled with admiration and admiration.
Master Di rode back to his residence in Jishanfang.
This mansion is not big. When she first came to power, the Queen favored her and rewarded her with a luxurious mansion, but it was located in the Xungui District in the northeast of Luoyang.
He didn't go to live there because it was too far away from the imperial city and it would be inconvenient for him to go to court on duty.
This simple mansion in Jishanfang was close to the imperial city, so Mrs. Di often lived here and hired few servants, which saved money.
However, a small house also has its disadvantages. For example, at this moment, people from all over the country who came to visit and hand over subsidies were queuing up on the street, and the parked carriages almost blocked the street of Jishanfang.
The fat old man was very experienced. He whipped his horse quickly, threw away the clumsy sedan behind him, took a detour, and entered the house through the back door of the house.
The old steward had been waiting near the back door for a long time. He hurried forward and handed over the compiled post:
"Master, please take a look at today's delivery..."
Master Di got off his horse, led the old man into the stable, squatted down and sprinkled some fodder, clapped his hands and walked out of the stable, taking the invitation.
He squinted his eyes habitually, scanned it once, then suddenly took out the last copy, opened it and took a closer look.
The fat old man takes care of the rest of the stack recursively:
"Rejected."
After a while, he closed the invitation in his hand and said:
"Take Disciple Xie Xun to the study."
"Yes, sir."
About half an hour later.
A simple study room with books piled high on a wooden couch.
With a slight "squeak", the door opened from the inside.
A young man with a serious face and a Chinese character, who had rushed from Jiangzhou, Jiangnan Province, quietly walked out of the study, closed the door respectfully, and walked away along the corridor.
In the room, under the half-closed window.
Mr. Di sat behind an old koan with a book on the leg of a table. He casually opened the letters and...a picture album sent by Xie Xun.
The album is spread out.
A map of the county that is extremely familiar yet slightly unfamiliar comes into view.
Master Di raised his eyebrows.
Familiar, because this is Longcheng County where he was once demoted and served.
Strange, because this Dragon City lacks something and has something extra.
The fat old man, who was silent in private and unsmiling, narrowed his eyes and continued to look.
After a while, he suddenly said "Hey", covered his head, raised his head, and muttered: