The long ceremonial guard procession walked to the official road, and its scale was not inferior to that of the prime minister's ceremonial guard.
Among the team was a middle-aged man riding a strong horse, wearing a black gauze turban, a purple robe, and a gold fish hanging from his waist.
It was Lu Huiqing who returned to Beijing.
Lu Huiqing received the appointment to go directly from Chenzhou to Yanzhou to serve as magistrate of the state. The emperor did not want to see him, so he just took office directly without going to Beijing to report on his duties.
But when he was halfway there, he forced himself to go to Beijing to give a performance, so he turned here.
Lu Huiqing looked at the familiar scenery on Maxing Street in Bianjing with a slightly sad look. However, after not seeing each other for two years, it felt a little more strange.
All this is like a romantic lover secretly changing, and the old travel is like a dream and the heart is broken.
After twenty years of ups and downs in officialdom, Lu Huiqing thought she was calm enough, but at this moment she felt unnatural again.
Yes, although the prime minister of the Song Dynasty was not in danger of overthrowing, how could it be better to sit on the bench in Chenzhou? When he was in Bianjing, he was a powerful and powerful prime minister, supported by many Zi Zhu officials.
To be honest, it just happened over time. Lu Huiqing didn't take it that seriously, but as he said, climbing up may not be satisfactory, but falling down will definitely be painful.
Lu Huiqing was in Chenzhou and did not lose contact with Zhang Dun, Li Ding, Zeng Min, Liu Jing, Ye Tangyi, Zhou Chang, Xu Shen, etc. At the same time, he always tried to figure out the emperor's intentions, and finally allowed him to find an opportunity.
Looking back on the year and a half since he left Bianjing, he felt extremely tormented.
This time when he returned to Beijing, Lu Huiqing wanted to use his sharp tongue and ability to penetrate the Sacred Heart to see if he could persuade the Emperor.
Lu Huiqing's horse arrived directly in front of the palace gate, but was stopped by the palace guards. He was about to get angry, but Lu Huiqing knew that his status now was not what it was then, so he entered the palace gate on foot.
Finally Lu Huiqing met the emperor.
Seeing the emperor Lu Huiqing suddenly burst into tears: "I have been away for many years, and I almost thought I would never return to the palace alive to see your majesty again!"
After Lu Huiqing finished speaking, tears fell down. The officials were a little unhappy that Lu Huiqing was so insistent on meeting the emperor, but seeing him showing his emotions so openly, they thought they were afraid that they would not be able to see him again after he went to Yanzhou to take up his post, so he specially wanted to go to Beijing.
trip.
…
Zhongshu Province.
Bianjing still looks very cold in spring.
In front of the capital hall, several strong horses for the chiefs to ride were so cold that they smelled sweet.
At this moment, in the political affairs hall, the three prime ministers Wang Gui, Yuan Jiang, and Zhang Yue were sitting on their respective official seats.
Outside and below the political hall are the officials who receive the ministers who come to pay their respects one by one.
Just now, the official's servant came to send a message and asked the three ministers to discuss Lu Huiqing's new destiny.
Zhang Yue saw the official's intention and found it funny. Isn't Lu Huiqing's new destiny just to know Yanzhou? What else is there to know about Yanzhou?
It must be that Lu Huiqing begged after entering the palace. The officials softened their hearts when they remembered it, so they issued a decree to ask several Zhongshu prime ministers if they wanted Lu Huiqing to come back?
Zhang Yue looked at the faces of Yuan Jiang and Wang Gui. They were also afraid of Lu Huiqing's fierce reputation and did not dare to let him come back.
The emperor's chamberlain looked on.
Zhang Yue pretended not to know and asked, "Didn't Lu Huiqing go to Yanzhou to take up his post? Why did he come to the capital?"
Yuan Jiang said: "I'm afraid I'm thinking of returning to Beijing again."
"In fact, Yanzhou has a heavy responsibility and is the front line of Xixia. It is not enough for non-important ministers to advocate."
Zhang Yue said: "How can Lu Huiqing be called an important minister? This person has Zhang Tang's ability to detect deceit and Lu Qi's treachery. He is actually a traitor."
"It is a kindness for an official not to remember his past, so what else can he do about it?"
"It's really shameless to beg for a job so shamelessly."
Yuan Jiang smiled.
After Lu Huiqing resigned as prime minister, it was Yuan Jiang who stepped in. The first thing Yuan Jiang did after he entered the post was to formally abolish the manual method and the law of land allocation and recruitment, in order to express his sincerity to Wang Anshi.
Zhang Yue reprimanded Lu Huiqing so angrily that he raised his hands in agreement.
Wang Gui said: "In this case, it is better to report back to the official and not give him a new life."
"Exactly." Zhang Yue and Yuan Jiang said.
There are also conflicts within Zhongshu, but the opinions on Lu Huiqing not being included in Zhongshu are surprisingly unanimous.
…
Zhang Yue returned home the next day and learned from Huang Haoyi that Lu Huiqing had come to ask for an audience.
Lu Huiqing was demoted from the capital by him, but he still came to see him? He probably knew that he was still appointed to Yanzhou, so he had no choice but to do so.
Zhang Yue didn't refuse, he wanted to give face to others.
Zhang Yue asked: "How many people did Lu Jifu bring?"
Huang Haoyi said: "Only one attendant and several baskets of tea!"
In the living room, Zhang Yue was startled when he saw Lu Huiqing, who had a lot of white hair, and then said: "Brother Jifu, you are fine."
When Lu Huiqing saw Zhang Yue, he folded his hands and saluted, and said respectfully: "Lu has met Zhang Xianggong!"
"Don't be too polite!"
Lu Huiqing sighed: "I am no longer in a state of punishment now than I was then."
A body waiting for sin? You marched into Beijing today with hundreds of followers. This is also called a body waiting for sin?
Zhang Yue smiled, but quickly supported Lu Huiqing and said: "You and I have been friends for more than ten years, so we won't talk about this."
Lu Huiqing has a very strong self-esteem. If you are disrespectful in your words or attitude, he will immediately remember it in his heart. To deal with Lu Huiqing, that is what he said: speak softly and hold a big stick in your hand.
Zhang Yue and Lu Huiqing sat down side by side.
Thinking of the two of them having been friends and foes for so many years, I couldn't help but feel emotional seeing each other again after such a long time. They chatted about the past for a long time.
"Now my body and bones are not as good as before. How is Brother Jifu's health?"
Lu Huiqing said: "It's okay, but in the past six months, I have often suffered from insomnia all night long."
Zhang Yue said: "I have been like this recently. I have a few potions for treating insomnia. I'd like to give you some."
After speaking, Zhang Yue winked at Peng Jingyi, and he immediately went to prepare the potion.
Lu Huiqing said: "Thank you very much, sir. After so many years, I still miss you so much."
Zhang Yue smiled, waved his hand and said, "Brother Jifu, let's not talk about this now. Just play a game of chess with me."
The two men put down their cavalry and cannon.
Zhang Yue said, "I remember that when I was a banquet official, Zhang, Jifu, and Zixuan often sat together and played chess."
Lu Huiqing seemed to reminisce about the past and said, "Yes, it was when Quan Zhan was recommended by Duke Zhang to be the storyteller for Chongzheng Palace. Those were also the most comfortable and happy days for Lu in his official career."
You still have the nerve to mention this matter... Zhang Yue smiled slightly and said: "If you don't mention it before, come and eat the horse!"
After the meal was over, they both drank tea.
Lu Huiqing put down the tea cup and said: "Lu is going to Yanzhou to take up his post soon. Today, I would like to ask my husband to give me some advice in person, and I will give you my advice without any hesitation."
Nowadays, the general manager of the military and horse capital of Fuyan Road is a teacher. Therefore, although Lu Huiqing knows about Yanzhou, he has no military power and is not the official military envoy of Fuyan Road.
This arrangement shows that Lu Huiqing is still awaiting trial.
Zhang Yue asked: "I don't dare to take it seriously, but why did your majesty issue a letter to arrange for Brother Jifu to be the magistrate of Yanzhou?"
Lu Huiqing said: "Is it Lu who advised your Majesty to capture Yin and Xia Shuzhou?"
Zhang Yue weighed the chessboard, and for some reason he remembered the story about Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty who used the chessboard to smash people to death.
Lu Huiqing was also a very perceptive person, and he immediately said: "Mr. Zhang, Lu had no other purpose in going there. He just wanted a place to live, hoping to do his best for the country."
Zhang Yue didn't answer.
Lu Huiqing continued: "Lu still regards Zhang Xianggong as a close friend in his heart!"
"Mencius said, there was a man in the past. When the Yue people bent their bows and shot at him, he could talk about it with a smile. If his brother bent his bows and shot at him, he would cry.
If there is no other, it means being sparse. If his brother closes his bow and shoots it, he will weep and say it; if there is no other, it means he is sad). Because it is okay to slander someone who is distant from him, but it is different if he is close, so the reason for hatred is
Come here."
Zhang Yue heard what Lu Huiqing said, saying that I regard you as a friend, Zhang San, but you instigated Su Zhe to collect evidence of my crime and wanted to impeach me, so I hate you.
Zhang Yue was also moved when he heard this and said: "In the past, I was an official in the same court as my brother. Although we quarreled over state affairs, we never had any personal grudges. If it hadn't been for Feng's time, how could I have said anything to let him take the sword? Feng and I
Isn't it true that our closeness is better than that of a brother?"
"As for me letting Su Ziyou return to Beijing, I did have the intention of kidnapping brother, but I didn't have such intention in impeaching brother Jifu."
Lu Huiqing sighed after hearing this, and the two of them were silent for a while.
Lu Huiqing said to Zhang Yue: "Xianggong Zhang, although it is Lv who is the superior of the two states of Xia in taking silver this time, if you want to destroy Xia, how can you succeed just by going all the way out of Xihe? No matter whether you are the leader or the auxiliary,
We must send another group of troops from Hengshan."
"Even if Lv doesn't say anything, some people will. Lv has selfish motives, but he also has a public heart. If you are lucky enough to carry a group of soldiers and horses over the Hengshan Mountains and go deep into Yinxia, even if you die on the battlefield, you will be considered to have repaid your majesty's kindness.
Already."
Zhang Yue laughed secretly after listening to Lu Huiqing's words, but Lu Huiqing was right about one thing. Even if Lu Huiqing didn't mention it and Xu Xi didn't mention it, Zhonge would still mention it. Even if no one mentioned it, the officials would send troops from Hengshan to attack.
Xia, because this is the fastest and most efficient path.
At the beginning, Su Shi criticized the government officials for being "too eager to seek governance, too broad-minded, and too quick to recruit people." Now, after all these years, the officials are still like this.
I don't know whether Su Shi was smart or whether the officials didn't change at all.
Knowing that he couldn't be persuaded, he stopped. After being demoted once by the late emperor, he would no longer try his best to remonstrate with the emperor. He would just give the emperor a few words of advice and forget it if he couldn't be persuaded.
There is no need to verify your foresight, so what if it turns out you were right afterwards?
He was full of complaints and boasted about how smart he was, and in the end the love between monarch and subject was gone. Tian Feng's example is there.
And I didn't agree with the emperor's attack on Hengshan. The final result was that the emperor put other people in charge of the matter. Once the battle was defeated, he suffered huge losses, which was the worst. He won a reputation, but the court lost tens of thousands of soldiers' lives.
and the emperor’s many years of hard work.
Now that I am watching, Xu Xi and Lu Huiqing are in front of me. Do they dare not listen to me?
In the future, when the emperor knows that this road will not work, and he comes to advocate it, others will have a way out.
The most soft in the world is the most strong.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yue suppressed his smile.
Lu Huiqing also sat down to treat each other.
Zhang Yue said: "Jifu, you need to do two things first when you go to Yanzhou!"
"Please make it known to the public!"
Zhang Yue said: "The group of teachers practiced painting according to the pattern of Xihe Road, and combined the soldiers and horses of the Han Dynasty into an army. They imitated the general's military tactics. The most important thing is to set up a field with 5,000 people and be self-sufficient in food."
It needs to be 50%.”
"Secondly, Shaanxi has promoted kapok and made cotton cloth for trade with the northwest Tibetans. When you go to Yanzhou, you need to promote this and use cotton cloth for military supplies in the future."
"If we can accomplish these two things, we will go to Yanzhou tonight. If not, we should go back to Chenzhou!"
Lu Huiqing said: "Don't you know Mr. Lu yet? If Mr. Lu doesn't do it, he will do it. If he does, he will try his best."
