After the military meeting ended, Zhou Jun stood up and was about to leave. Li Guangbi came to his side, cupped his hands and said, "There is a couple in Waiyuan who want to see the Prime Minister."
Zhou Jun looked at him and asked, "Who is he?"
Li Guangbi hesitated for a moment, then replied: "It's Wang Zhongsi's daughter Wang Yunxiu, and her husband."
Zhou Jun paused and was quite surprised: "Wang Yunxiu and Yuan Zai are here?"
Li Guangbi: "I saw that the two of them were busy with work, and I must have been unhappy, so they came to Liangcheng."
Li Guangbi's words were cryptic, but the meaning between the lines was clear - the couple came to seek official status.
Zhou Jun vaguely remembered that when Chang'an fell, Yuan Zai and his wife should have gone to the south of the Yangtze River, but why did they come to the north?
After thinking for a while, Zhou Jun said to Li Guangbi: "Let the two of them go to the side hall on the right side of Zhongyuan. I will come later."
A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Jun entered the side hall and saw a couple sitting in the hall, talking with Li Guangbi.
As soon as Zhou Jun appeared, the couple stood up quickly, saluted, and said "Nao Nuo" again.
Zhou Jun waved his hand and motioned for the two of them to sit down.
When Yuan Zai saw Zhou Jun, he seemed to have opened up his chat box and talked endlessly. While laughing and talking about the interesting things he had met in Chang'an, he also talked about the latter's reputation, which was now well known in the Tang Dynasty.
dawn.
Zhou Jun knew Yuan Zai's nature, but remained silent.
Wang Yunxiu saw that her husband was beating around the bush but did not talk about the main point. She lost her temper and said directly: "The bandit general An Shouzhong captured the four states in Beichuan, Jiangnan West Road. The southerners are cowardly. Facing the bandit army, they either choose to escape or surrender.
My husband and I didn't want to choose between the two, so we came to Liangcheng to ask the Prime Minister for a job to fight against the bandit army."
Yuan Zai was a little anxious when he heard this.
According to the rhetoric, you should first praise the other party, and then gradually get to the point. How can you ask for an official position right away?
Zhou Jun asked Yuan Zai: "I remember that you were a Jinshi in the early years of Tianbao?"
Yuan Zai quickly raised his hand and said yes.
Zhou Jun nodded and said: "The imperial court is in short supply. Since you are willing to serve, I will not refuse."
When Yuan Zai heard this, he was dumbfounded for a moment.
He did not expect that Zhou Jun would agree to the appointment after his wife spoke so straightforwardly.
Zhou Jun asked again: "What are your plans for where to go as an official?"
Yuan Zai lowered his head, rolled his eyes, and said: "Everything depends on the arrangements of the Prime Minister."
Zhou Jun looked at Li Guangbi and said: "Jizhou still lacks a long history. When you return to Fanyang after the year, you will send Gongfu to take office along the way."
Li Guangbi called him.
Jizhou is Shangzhou in Hebei Province, which was known as Zhongtu in ancient times. The governor of Shangzhou is almost on the same level as the governor of Zhongzhou, but Yuan Zai is still a little dissatisfied.
Firstly, Jizhou is close to the front line, and the military situation is dangerous; secondly, although the governor of Shangzhou is not low in rank, everything depends on the eyes of his superiors, and he cannot be famous even if he has political achievements; thirdly, Yuanzai still hopes to be in the court in Liangzhou
After all, the closer a job is to the political center, the greater the hope for promotion.
But the deal was done, and Yuan Zai had no choice but to accept it, and he and his wife Wang Yunxiu saluted Zhou Jun to thank him.
After Zhou Jun arranged Yuan Zai's duties, he asked Wang Yunxiu: "Has there been any news about your father in these years?"
Hearing this, Li Guangbi also pricked up his ears.
At that time, Wang Zhongsi was framed by Li Linfu and suffered all kinds of torture in prison. After he was released from prison, he resigned and ran away, but was never heard from again.
Wang Yunxiu shook his head and said: "When my father left the court, he only returned to Qixian County, Taiyuan once to pay homage to his ancestors. After that, he traveled around the world and was never heard from again."
Zhou Jun sighed after hearing this.
According to historical records, Wang Zhongsi became the prefect of Hanyang after he was released from prison. According to unofficial records, Li Linfu was worried that Wang Zhongsi would gain power again, so he sent an assassin to secretly poison Wang Zhongsi and pretended to die of a sudden illness.
Now, Zhou Jun has persuaded Wang Zhongsi to resign, but he doesn't know whether the latter's fate will meet the same end.
Asking his servants to send Yuan Zai and his wife off, Zhou Jun remembered that when he was a clerk in the Ministry of Justice, he had followed Wang Zhongsi in Shuofang's army and went into battle for the first time to fight against the Turks. He felt a little emotional for a moment.
After gathering himself, Zhou Jun came to the living room in the side room of the mansion.
Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, Pugu Huaien, Li Siye, Shen Shugong, Sun Aying and other generals had already taken their seats. Seeing Zhou Jun enter, they stopped talking and looked over.
Zhou Jun came to the table, first ordered his servants to pour wine, and then said: "After this Lantern Festival, everyone here will take up their respective posts and lead the troops to fight. With this first glass of wine, I wish you all a successful start.
!”
All the generals thanked him and drank the first glass of wine.
After drinking the wine, waiters took the dishes and distributed them to each table, and the atmosphere in the table gradually became lively.
Li Siye himself was a loud voice, and he spoke like a bell: "The last general fought against the Turks, the Great Cannibals, and the Tubo people in Anxi, but it was difficult to find a chance to compete with the Hebei rebels.
, this time I finally got my wish!"
Guo Ziyi glanced at Li Siye and said, "I only hope to regain Chang'an as soon as possible, eliminate the traitor army, and restore peace and prosperity to the world."
Zhou Jun heard this, while drinking, he looked into the distance and said: "I still remember the Shangyuan Festival in the fourth year of Tianbao. Chang'an was celebrated with thousands of families, and the lanterns were like a sea, but it was a rare scene in the world... so many
Over the years, the people have been displaced, their families have declined, and the once prosperous scene has become devastated."
After Zhou Jun finished drinking the wine in his cup, he asked everyone: "We don't care about life and death, and we are fighting on the battlefield with our troops, but for what purpose?"
Everyone in the hall heard it, their voices gradually faded, they were lost in thought, and no one responded.
Zhou Jun stretched out his hand and pointed to the courtyard of the outer garden.
In the outer garden of the Prime Minister's Mansion, there are countless lanterns. The bright colors combine to dye the night sky into a bustling one. The faint sounds of laughter and play add a full flavor of fireworks to this scene.
.
Zhou Jun: "Fame and fortune are just passing clouds. We fight on the battlefield and maintain the right path. The only thing we protect is the prosperity of the country and the people living and working in peace and contentment."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Whatever is good for the country and the people is good and should be done; whatever is not good for the country and the people, then it is good.
If something is evil, it must be corrected. Not to mention everyone here, even me, if I act in a wrong way, have selfish motives, or deviate from the people, I should be condemned and even punished."
The generals at the table heard Zhou Jun say such words for the first time.
In particular, Zhou Jun revealed his true feelings, using the people of the country as a yardstick to measure the words and deeds of those in power, which was even more shocking to everyone.
Guo Ziyi glanced at the people around him, thought for a moment, and then said: "Since the Prime Minister took charge of the government, no matter the good or bad orders, the virtuous orders or the two tax laws, they are all for the benefit of the people of the world. When I was in Yanqi Town, I originally broke away from the Tang Dynasty.
The people of Hebei were willing to obey the decree issued by the Prime Minister."
Zhou Jun drank another glass of wine and said: "No matter how smart a person is, there will always be a day when he becomes old and dim. Even if he knows how to retreat bravely, there will always be a day when he dies. And when he dies,
No one can guarantee that the successor will be as smart as him. As long as the successor makes a big mistake, it will be enough to destroy the achievements of several generations. Just like those decrees issued, on the surface it seems to be my credit, but in fact
But it is the result of the joint efforts of countless people to verify it.”
These words of Zhou Jun, people present can naturally allude to Li Longji.
During the Kaiyuan period, Li Longji could still be regarded as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, after entering Tianbao, the emperor acted arbitrarily and became more and more foolish, eventually ruining the great land of the Tang Dynasty into what it is today.
Zhou Jun said to the generals: "A single tree cannot make a forest, and a single flower cannot make a spring. Although I hold a high position, I will always be aware of myself and should not be complacent, let alone arrogant. I hope you will be better in the future."
Let’s work together and achieve great success together.”
After saying that, Zhou Jun stood up with the wine glass, bowed in front of everyone, and drank the wine in one gulp.
Zhou Jun's actions during the banquet already had some special meanings in the eyes of discerning people.
This Lantern Festival night banquet became a meeting for unified thinking among the high-level officials of Northern Tang Military Town, and it was also a test of Zhou Jun's loyalty to his subordinates.
When the generals at the banquet saw Zhou Jun, they bowed and bowed. They left the banquet one after another and went out in line. They also bowed their heads and bowed down.
Guo Ziyi glanced at the people around him, sighed inaudibly, walked into the palace, joined the ranks of the generals, and shouted with others that he was willing to work with the Prime Minister on the great plan to restore peace and prosperity to the Tang Dynasty.
