In the second year of Jiayou's reign, Lin Xi was not eye-catching, and even Zhang Heng did not leave much fame later on.
Cai Xiang was appointed Hanlin Bachelor and the Third Secretary of Power and Li. However, at that time, the Song Dynasty maintained annual tribute to the Liao Kingdom and Xixia. The people there were poor and had no money to collect, and the finances were in a dilemma of being unable to make ends meet.
Therefore, Cai Xiang was appointed as the Third Secretary-General with the intention of cleaning up the mess. At the same time, his good friend Ouyang Xiu was behind the scenes. He hoped that Cai Xiang could support him in the equalization of farmland tax.
However, because of Zhang Wangzhi’s previous incident, Zhang Heng and Cai Xiang did not get along happily.
It does not mean that it is better to offend a gentleman than a villain. Offending a gentleman is sometimes more terrifying than a villain. Although you will not be retaliated in person, you will be isolated and marginalized inexplicably.
Although Zhang Yue and Zhang Heng talked as usual, they secretly felt the loneliness. This was different from the confidence and calmness in his speech and the hesitation of success when he just returned to Beijing to serve as salt and iron judge last year. The mood is very different.
Zhang Heng stood up to change his clothes, Zhang Yue followed him with some excuse.
Zhang Heng knew that Zhang Yue had something to talk about and slowed down his pace. Zhang Yue told Zhang Heng about the situation Guo Lin was in at the Nanjing Imperial College and was plotted against by his classmates so that he almost missed the provincial examination.
Hearing this, Zhang Heng said: "In the examination room, you stepped on me and I stepped on you. Don't care about those who are jealous of the virtuous and capable. They will bring humiliation to themselves in the future. If you can't kill them, you will be remembered by the villain." alright."
“As for your senior brother Guo, he was acquainted with him when he was in the academy, so I have to help him anyway. Let’s see if he can pass the Ming Jing exam first. If he can’t, I’ll let him go to the North Prison.”
"These thirty old Ming Jing scholars and fifty young Jinshi scholars. Since you, Senior Brother Guo, have put in so much effort, if you give it a few more years, you will be able to honor your ancestors when you have a good background. Don't fall short of all your achievements."
Zhang Yue breathed a sigh of relief, and Zhang Heng just asked him to help.
“What else is there?”
Zhang Yue hesitated for a moment and said that he had talked about the equalization of taxes on square fields in the policy question. Zhang Heng's face changed after hearing this, and he immediately scolded: "Do you know that you are taking risks to gain fame?"
“In the Qingli New Deal, those officials were demoted and demoted, and their offices were seized. It has only been a few years, and you have forgotten it?”
Zhang Heng looked solemn, and then said: "I think your articles have made great progress in the past two years. I didn't tell you before because I was afraid that you would be complacent. I wanted you to be a high-achieving student and once again shine on the lintel of our Zhang family. Now you However, he takes risks to win fame. Although today's saints have this intention, we need to know that there are many officials in today's officialdom who oppose the equalization of taxes on square fields. What should you do if one of the three examiners is opposed to it?"
Zhang Yue said: "The chief is right."
Zhang Heng saw Zhang Yue's humble look, and then said: "But that's not necessarily the case. Then again, do you know why today's saints value our Zhang family so much?"
Zhang Yue said: "Please also ask the chief of the restaurant to give me some advice."
Zhang Heng nodded and said: "Taizu has an ancestral saying not to use southerners as prime minister, but Duke Xi is the first person from Fujian to worship the prime minister. Why? Because he is a lonely minister. When I won the number one scholar, I also worshiped him.
Legacy."
Zhang understands more and more.
He realized that he had made a conscious mistake.
I have been jumping back and forth between the old and new parties. I had hesitated repeatedly about Wu Chong’s marriage before, and I wanted to take advantage of Wang Anshi but failed. In fact, I have not figured out what the real secret is in officialdom.
That’s right, forming cliques is the norm for officials.
In the officialdom, if there is no one above you to speak for you, it will be difficult to move forward. Therefore, as an official entering the officialdom, you will always face the problem of taking sides. If you do not take sides, you will easily be marginalized. If you are excluded, there will be no one to speak for you.
say.
The two largest groups in the Song Dynasty were the New Party and the Old Party.
Zhang Yue was naturally inclined towards the New Party because he was familiar with history, so he inevitably had the idea of hugging others.
But actually this is a fixed error in thinking.
Who is the biggest leader of the New Party?
It was neither Wang Anshi of the first generation nor Zhangdun of the second generation, but Shenzong of Song Dynasty and Zhezong of Song Dynasty.
Speaking of which, why is the emperor so important?
Because he is a lonely minister.
Taking the memorial case as an example, Su Shunqin and others, as "gentlemen" who were demoted by Fan Zhongyan, wrote such disrespectful words during the banquet as "I was lying drunk in the North Pole and sent the emperor to help me".
However, as far as the real issues of entering the imperial court are concerned, such as eating and drinking with public funds and hanging out with prostitutes, this is not a big mistake.
But everyone in Su Shunqin was punished, and even Su Shunqin's father-in-law Du Yan was dismissed from the prime minister. Su Shunqin returned to Suzhou and wrote the Canglang Pavilion in a depressed mood. A few years later, Qu died of illness.
This punishment is too much.
Therefore, many people in the government and the public complained for them. Many officials wanted the prime minister, who was the head of the officials, to say a few words on behalf of the scholar-bureaucrats to defend Su Shunqin and the others. However, the history of the Song Dynasty records that the prime minister Zhang Dexiang, Yan Shu could not deny it (not
to speak).
Zhang Heng said: "In the second year of Jiayou's reign, the government's prime ministers held a group discussion to appoint a crown prince, and the officials were dissatisfied. They made me the number one scholar because they thought of Duke Xun, an old prime minister who had followed him for many years. He was always cautious in his words and deeds."
“The official’s selection of me as the number one scholar is to tell the officials of the Manchu Dynasty that they should learn from the Duke of Xi and be a solitary minister. Your second brother Zihou is also well versed in this theory.”
Zhang Yue understood that there was a reason for Zhang Dun to resign as a Jinshi.
Zhang Pin and his younger brother Zhang Di were awarded Jinshi in the same year. Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty issued an edict saying that as long as one of the brothers was awarded the Jinshi, it would be fine.
Zhang Pin didn't express any dissatisfaction, so he asked his younger brother to take the job. As the elder brother, he waited until six years before becoming a Jinshi. Zhang Pin's move was deeply appreciated by the emperor, and he was promoted to Secretary Provincial School Secretary (Beijing official) in his first official position. This is worthy of his reputation. The treatment is better than that of the top three Jinshi.
In the second year of Jiayou's reign, Zhang Heng and Zhang Dun both won Jinshi.
Although the official family did not say that only one of the uncles and nephews should be admitted to the Jinshi, Zhang Heng was already the number one scholar and was the most prosperous, so Zhang Dun withdrew immediately.
In the fourth year of Jiayou's reign, Zhang Dun took the exam again. Not only did he get the title of "Jie Yuan" from Kaifeng Prefecture, but the emperor also personally awarded him the fifth place in Jinshi.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, Wen Tianxiang and his younger brother Wenbi also passed the provincial examination. The two brothers discussed that one would take the palace examination and the other would not. In the end, the younger brother gave up his place and went home to fulfill his filial piety, and Wen Tianxiang won the top prize.
So from Zhang Heng’s words, Zhang Yue understood what a lonely minister is.
That is to always put the emperor’s wishes first in our hearts, and must put them above individuals, families, and colleagues.
"The words of the chief of staff have taught me a lesson. The so-called lone minister means that he does not form cliques (colleagues), is not selfish (family), and is not arbitrary (personality)."
Hearing this, Zhang Heng was very appreciative and said: "Of course, villains like to pursue selfish interests, and gentlemen like to be arbitrary. However, gentlemen and villains all form cliques and fight against each other. If you want to be an isolated minister, you don't have to do these three things."
Seeing Zhang Yue's expression of great enlightenment, Zhang Heng thought to himself, "Zi Hou is conceited and arrogant, but he dares to break the rules. As for being square and round, and being able to deal with people well, these two brothers will each have a bright future in the future."
After Zhang Heng’s words, Zhang Yue understood even more clearly in his heart. Although Gu Chen said it sounded nice, it was very difficult. As an official, could he truly be completely non-partisan and selfish, and not be arbitrary?
This principle must be put into concrete examples to be the truth, and it must be able to take shape according to the object.
But since Zhang Dexiang, Zhang Heng, and Zhang Dun have all taken this route, it is natural for me as a descendant of the Zhang family to take this route... I can only say that to a large extent, what route you take and what you pay for Friendships like this, or even marriage, are often already arranged by your family background.
This is momentum!
After Zhang Yue and the others left Zhang Heng's place, they were planning to find a place to have a drink. When they came to a remote alley, they suddenly saw a man running out in a panic.
Zhang Yue didn't care at first, but he recognized it at first glance.
The other party turned out to be Wang Kui.
Looking at the disheveled appearance of each other's clothes, everyone actually met in such an embarrassing environment.
Just when Zhang Yue was about to pretend not to know each other and say goodbye, Wang Kui stepped forward and said, "Du Zhi, please do me a favor and cover up for me."
Zhang Yue didn't know why, but he saw Wang Kui making a pleading look.
“Brother Junmin, why do you say this and want my help?”
But when Wang Kui saw him, he said, "You just said you didn't see me."
After saying this, Wang Kui took the road and walked away. Zhang Yue looked confused. At this time, an old man chased behind him, followed by several tough men.
The old man asked Zhang Yue: "Where did you see the scholar go?"
Zhang Yue said: “I haven’t seen you yet, so I don’t know what the old man is talking about?”
The old man stamped his feet and said: "This damned scum. Last month, my daughter went to the temple to offer incense. He met my daughter and coaxed her with sweet words, saying that he was a candidate for the imperial examination. How talented he was. Not only did he pass the imperial examination, he was also able to pass the imperial examination.
It’s no problem that I will be the first scholar in the future, and I will give my daughter the first scholar’s wife in the future.”
"My daughter is new to the world, and seeing that this man is really talented, she falls in love with him. He is good at smooth talk, and he is willing to give up money to deceive my female servant to cover for him. Therefore, my daughter has been in contact with him several times under the pretext of offering incense. I
He didn't realize it, and ended up doing such a shameful thing."
Zhang Yue couldn't help but be dumbfounded after hearing this.
The old man sighed: "When this matter was finally exposed, I wanted to beat her to death to rectify the family tradition. However, I have always loved this girl in my life and was reluctant to do such a cruel thing. I had to endure my anger and took advantage of their private meeting one day.
I brought all the people together and asked him if he would marry my daughter, and he agreed wholeheartedly. He also told him where he was from, where he lived, and what his last name was."
"I saw that he spoke politely, and he was a really talented person. I thought he was true to his word. Who would have expected that this guy has a human face and a beastly heart. Afterwards, I went to look for him at the address he gave me, but found that there was no one there. I was so angry that I was bedridden.
"My daughter couldn't stand this humiliation and wanted to hang herself from the rafter. Although she was saved by the female envoy, half of her life was lost."
"Didn't this boy want to take the imperial examination... These days, I have been guarding the left and right sides of the Gongyuan. I finally caught this guy. Unexpectedly, this guy was very smart. As soon as he saw me, he ran away with oil on his feet.
His whereabouts are unknown, and now I can’t catch him. I would like to ask the scholar to tell me, who is this person’s name? I am trying my best to lose my face, but also want to report this person to Kaifeng Mansion. I would like to ask the scholar to tell me, I am with him.
My little girls are all very grateful."
Zhang Yue was stunned after hearing this, why is Wang Kui such a scumbag?
Everyday I could hear the other party's remarks, but this was also a romantic affair among scholars, and Zhang Yue didn't care if he knew about it.
But it is really too scumbag to be able to do such things as seducing a good girl and ruining her reputation.
Ps: Thank you all for your monthly votes, and thank you for your enthusiasm. I feel that I can keep updating more, and it will only be a matter of time before I become a great person... There will be another update in the evening, and I am in tears.
