Li Shimin closed his eyes and pressed his eyebrows, looking distressed, "So now the news about Red Mansion has spread throughout Guanzhong?"
Li Chengqian replied: "Father, at first I thought that Red Mansion could only print hundreds of copies, and people in the public reading this book were just for entertainment. However, some people copied this book and some people circulated it. Now this book has been circulated for a long time."
Out of Guanzhong."
"How is Mr. Li Gang's health?" Li Shimin didn't want to talk about the Red Mansion anymore, and instead asked about Li Gang's situation.
"The old gentleman has been bedridden for several days. My son and I have been visiting him every day. He said that he doesn't have much time left. It's just these few days."
Li Shimin sighed: "Having lived for more than eighty years, his life is not easy. You and Xuan Ling can go visit him on my behalf."
Li Chengqian bowed and said, "Here."
The sky was very gloomy and it started to drizzle.
Apart from the liveliness and prosperity of Chang'an City, the elite circle in Chang'an City today seems very silent.
A platform was built on the roof of the house, which was made of sand and gravel. Zhang Yang walked into the room carrying a pillar, because the roof had to be rebuilt these days, and the house was a mess of piles of wood, with no place to stay.
nothing.
The rooms in the home were also divided into several rooms and a load-bearing wall was added.
"Brother-in-law!"
Li Yue was tidying up her home when she heard Li Tai's shout and looked outside.
"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law!" Li Tai ran over in a panic, "Something happened."
It was raining lightly outside, and Li Tai was wet.
Li Yue frowned and said, "What happened?"
Li Tai took a breath and said, "Mr. Li Gang has passed away."
"When did this happen?"
"Last night."
Before he could recover from the news, another person came to the door of his house, and it was the guards from the East Palace.
After looking at Li Tai's somewhat panicked expression, Zhang Yang walked to the door of his house and said, "I wonder what they are here for."
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that Mr. Li Gang left something for the consort and the princess before he left."
Zhang Yang looked back at Li Yue and Li Tai.
After looking at each other in silence for a while, Zhang Yang said to the guard again: "Please wait a moment, we will pack up and go over."
"Here."
Li Yue returned to her room and changed into a plainer coat.
Zhang Yang chose a white robe.
Let the two aunts take care of the little bear, and the couple took Li Tai out of the house.
Follow the guards of the East Palace all the way through Zhuque Street, and walk through houses one after another at the back of Zhuque Street. All the powerful people live along Zhuque Street. Not far from here is the Zhao Guogong Mansion, and a few steps further is the Zheng Guogong Wei Zheng's Palace.
Mansion.
Arriving in front of Li Gang's house, there were many people standing in front of the door.
Following the guards into the mansion, the couple met Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian wore mourning clothes and personally paid tribute to Li Gang.
"My condolences, His Royal Highness."
"My condolences, brother emperor."
The couple salutes.
In the mourning hall, there were still the cries of Li Gang. Li Chengqian closed his eyes and whispered: "The teacher spoke highly of you during his lifetime, and your Mr. Red Mansions also saw it. It was also because you said that there is a road to the mountain of books, and diligence is the path.
I appreciate the artistic conception of seeking knowledge and inquiry in the words "learning is boundless and working hard on a boat".
Those words were written to encourage his daughter-in-law to study, and they are words that everyone will recite when they study in future generations.
Zhang Yang saluted from a distance towards the mourning hall, "The old gentleman is so complimentary."
Li Chengqian took out a volume of letters and said, "This is what the teacher asked me to give to you before he died."
Zhang Yang took the letter from Li Chengqian and remembered that he had met him a few days ago before going to Chongwen Palace. In the blink of an eye, the old man had passed away. It was as if he had seen his serious expression just yesterday.
He had no interaction or conversation with Li Gang, and the other party actually gave him something before he died.
Open this letter and read the contents above.
Li Yue whispered: "What did the old gentleman say in the letter?"
"Let me be His Royal Highness's companion." Zhang Yang just glanced at it and put the letter away.
Li Yue froze in confusion and took a quick look at the letter. There was a lot in it. It was not just such a simple arrangement. Looking at her husband's expression, there must be a lot of explanations in the letter, but her husband didn't want to say it at this time?
According to Li Gang's last wish, the funeral will be simple.
Many people came to pay their respects, and they also met Gao Shilian, Yan Shigu, and Yang Shidao.
Li Gang's relatives held the coffin in their arms and lifted the coffin to see him off. There were many people seeing him off along the way, including Qin Qiong and others.
Everyone saw him off until they arrived in front of Chang'an City, where Li Shimin's decree also came from Chang'an City, granting Li Gang the title of "Zhen", the third division of Yitong in the Kaifu.
Ever since Li Shimin recruited Li Gang into Chang'an City, he has been teaching Li Chengqian.
At this point, Li Gang was given the title of Kaifu Yitong and the Third Division, and was given another posthumous title. This was a treatment that only the prime minister of the dynasty could have.
Those who saw Li Gang off were all his old friends and relatives, as well as His Highness the Crown Prince. The couple had no choice but to stop and not see off the procession.
The crowd didn't disperse until the farewell team was out of sight.
Looking back, he saw that the little fat man Li Tai had gone. When the couple returned home, Li Yue wondered: "What did Mr. Li Gang write in his letter? Why did he leave a letter to his husband before his death?"
Zhang Yang handed her the letter and sat aside with a frown on his face.
Li Yue read the letter for a long time, "Nine out of ten scholars in the world have five surnames. The prince is the crown prince, and he should support the students from poor families..."
After reading the contents of the letter in a daze, Li Yue took a sip of tea thoughtfully, "The old gentleman hopes that the prince will keep a distance from the five surnames, and he will always remind the prince when he is in the East Palace. The speed of circulation in the Red Mansion is unheard of, and the content is bound to be
Not tolerated by the noble family."
Zhang Yang held his forehead and said distressedly: "The old gentleman tied me to a chariot to fight against those big families."
Li Yue smiled bitterly, "There are so many things to do at home, and we have to deal with five surnames and seven looks..."
"Our small family and small business are no match for other aristocratic families." Zhang Yang slowly put down the tea cup in his hand, "Maybe the old man knows some clues about our printing of the Red Mansion, and maybe Mr. Ouyang Xun has also figured it out.
"
"Husband, you mean papermaking and printing?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Well, we can't go to visit Mr. Ouyang Xun another day. We can't know everything. The more information we have, the more confident we will be, and we should know what we want to do.
Do what needs to be done.”
"Um."
Li Yue nodded heavily.
Glancing at the messy home, Zhang Yang said, "Let's tidy up the house first."
No matter what, it is still too far to face things like the five surnames. Things like printing and paper will definitely attract other people's attention.
Those who have been scholars and writers for most of their lives, can’t they see that this kind of paper is different from the ones on the market?
Don't underestimate people in the world. In this era of lack of entertainment activities, there will always be some people who devote themselves wholeheartedly to a career and then rack their brains to do a good job in this career.
On the third day after Li Gang's death, everything was as usual in Chang'an City. The old man's death did not cause much commotion and he passed away quietly.
Entering the Zhuque Gate again, Zhang Yang bypassed the Secretary's Prison and hid as far as he could from the Secretary's Prison, especially since Tang Guan was guarding the door all day long.
Arriving alone in front of Chongwen Hall, Zhang Yang pushed the door open and entered.
There are also records about Li Gang in some pre-Sui books. I thought that I and Li Gang had never crossed paths and there would not be too many entanglements.
Open a record. This is the record of Li Gang by the former Sui Dynasty official.
From the time of Yu Wenxian when he surrendered to the army, and then when he was falsely accused, he never gave in. When Yu Wenxian was killed, he followed the Sui Emperor and served as the crown prince. However, at that time, Yang Yong, Yang Su and others made things difficult for him.
Until Yang Jian came to power, Li Gang was always marginalized and targeted.
This old man was very strong and never gave in.
In the former Sui Dynasty, when I was an official, I was always targeted by villains.
It wasn't until Li Shimin called the old man back to teach Li Chengqian that the days were better.
Putting away the eucalyptus scroll, Zhang Yang raised his eyes and looked outside the door of Chongwen Palace. Wei Zheng was standing under the eaves. He looked worried at the rain all over the sky.
"Mr. Zheng." Zhang Yang saluted.
"Li Gang passed away, and his eighty-year-old age was worth it." Wei Zheng said slowly.
Standing next to Wei Zheng, Zhang Yang said puzzledly: "Mr. Zheng, I have something that I don't understand."
Wei Zheng stroked his beard and said, "You don't need to ask me about the things you don't understand. I just want to hide and be quiet when I come here."
Zhang Yang brought a small stool and asked Wei Zheng to sit down. "Mr. Li Gang and I have never interacted or even spoken. Now he suddenly entrusts me with something. What do you think I should do, Mr. Zheng?"
"Is what is handed to you a good thing or a bad thing?"
"It's a good thing. Besides, he delivered it before his death, so I can't shirk it. Should I give the letter to His Majesty and go to the East Palace to serve as the prince's housekeeper, and read it as the prince's companion?"
Wei Zheng breathed the air here and was silent for a long time, "I only act on the basis of right and wrong."
Zhang Yang smiled bitterly and said: "You are always frank."
Wei Zheng nodded understandingly, "You should be frank."
"At that time, Duke Zheng was also a son of a poor family. He was lonely and poor since he was a child. He was good at reading and writing articles when he was young. He did not become an official in Wuyang County until the Daye Year." After Zhang Yang finished speaking, he looked at Wei Zheng's expression and explained: "These are all Chongwen.
It is recorded in the Sui Dynasty books of the palace."
"How many books have you read here?"
"I always read with a purpose. I read whatever book I want to know."
Wei Zheng nodded, "You are a studious child."
"What does Duke Zheng think of the five surnames and seven hopes?"
Wei Zheng put his hands on his knees, sitting upright and looking at the rain scene, "Your Majesty vigorously promotes the imperial examination system in order to contain these aristocratic families and bring balance to the court. Now there is no advantage among the aristocratic families in the court, and your Majesty has always
They are all avoiding them."
Zhang Yang stood aside, "Are there any high-ranking people who despise the scientific examination system and uphold the old aristocratic concepts?"
Wei Zheng nodded slowly.
Zhang Yang asked again: "Is it shameful for all students to follow the country's endowment, dislike scientific examinations, and especially dislike Jinshi?"
Wei Zheng let out a long breath, "How do you know all this?"
Zhang Yang continued: "When the southern gentry declined, at that time there were northern gentry represented by the four surnames in the Wei Dynasty. They still prided themselves on their family status. This was a accumulation of hundreds of years. Except for the Li family in Longxi, the gentry represented by the four surnames
The high-ranking families still did not take the Khans seriously. In order to maintain their status, they used internal intermarriage and refused to marry with foreign surnames. "
Wei Zheng frowned and said, "These are all what you saw in the book?"