In late autumn, all the flowers have withered, leaving only the brilliant chrysanthemums blooming all over the courtyard.
Yang Lin was waiting in the flower hall of Cai Jing's mansion. This old thief was old and always liked to sleep in.
The maid Ji Concubine in the courtyard, who has a head full of pearls and green hair, walks on tiptoes for fear of waking up Master Cai.
Yang Lin held a chrysanthemum, folded it gently, played with it in his hand, and looked around with a pair of ruthless eyes.
Cai Jing is already in his sixties, with gray hair on his temples, but the courtyard is filled with so many little girls in their 14th and 15th years, they are just like beasts, Yang Lin thought angrily to himself.
Sighing, Yang Lin felt deeply sad for their youth and wished he could personally comfort these poor Song Dynasty flowers.
After a while, a middle-aged man walked in outside the flower pavilion, wearing casual clothes.
This man's eyebrows were somewhat similar to Cai Jing's. When he entered the hall, the maids saluted and shouted: "Second Master."
Yang Lin also fluttered his sleeves, stepped forward and cupped his fists, saying, "Cai Shaobao."
It turned out that this person was Cai Bian, Cai Jing's younger brother, who was also a prime minister. His early official career was even more prosperous than that of his brother.
Cai Bian and Cai Jing are only one year apart, but they look very young.
Cai Bian laughed and said, "Yang Tiju, why are you looking for my brother too? Is my brother taking a nap again?"
This kind of big boss in the DPRK was not something Yang Lin could despise now, so he smiled and replied: "Prime Minister Cai is working hard on state affairs, so we should wait for a while."
Cai Bian found a place to sit down. After a while, a maid brought tea. Cai Bian smiled and said, "Come on, I have nothing to do anyway. I'm waiting for him. I'll have a chat with you."
Cai Bian and his brother Cai Jing were promoted to Jinshi in the imperial examination. The following year, they were appointed as the registrar of Jiangyin County, Jiangsu Province. At that time, the local rich man Gu Xinyuan and others took advantage of the lean period to lend grain to the common people at an interest rate twice as high as usual.
Cai Bian sympathized with the sufferings of the people and vigorously implemented Wang Anshi's Green Crop Law. He resolutely opened warehouses to borrow grain to meet the people's urgent needs, curb the arrogance of the unscrupulous rich to take advantage of the situation, and save farmers from the suffering of loan sharking. Therefore, he was highly regarded by Wang Anshi and recruited
He is the son-in-law.
Yang Lin sat under him, also took a sip of tea and said, "If Cai Shaobao can give me some advice, I would be very grateful."
Cai Bian had a hint of joy on his face and praised:
"I have carefully thought about the Cuju League you proposed. Such entertainment can actually add wealth to the country and is a real benefit to the country. Moreover, you did not lend a hand to the national treasury when building Genyue Shoushan, which is even more valuable.
.”
"These two show that you have a strategy to help the world and govern the country. People's livelihood and economy are the foundation of the country, but I don't know why you only use this skill on His Majesty. Whether it is Genyue Shoushan or Cuju League, you are all to win favor with the saints.
For the sake of the Lord, and by the way, we can benefit the Song Dynasty."
Cai Bian became more and more excited as he spoke. He stood up and asked, "If you have a problem in your heart, why don't you go on the right path and show your ambition!"
Yang Lin lowered his head and looked at the excited old minister in front of him. This was Cai Jing's brother and Wang Anshi's son-in-law. He was a reformist through and through. In order to reform and strengthen the country, these people had been fighting with the conservatives in the officialdom for so many years, but their bones had never been broken.
Too soft.
This is different from Cai Jing. Cai Jing used to be part of Wang Anshi's faction. As soon as Wang Anshi fell, he became Sima Guang's favorite general. Soon after, he became the reformist faction. Not only did he get along well with both sides, it was simply a miracle.
, which also shows its smoothness.
This Cai Bian is worthy of respect. Yang Lin decided to tell the truth to him and sighed: "For promotion."
Cai Bian was stunned on the spot
Yang Lin paused for a moment and then continued: "Cai Shaobao, I would like to ask, what contribution can a general of the eighth rank, a minor official of the eighth rank, wearing a green robe, unable to step into the temple, and unable to speak in a way that is heard by the saints, contribute to the Song Dynasty?"
After staring at Yang Lin for a while, Cai Bian suddenly laughed with his hands behind his back: "It's a worthwhile trip to come here today, Yang Tiju, the ups and downs of the officialdom are human nature, don't imitate the hungry eagle and fly when it's full. I hope you can remember it.
My state of mind at this time is that I have fulfilled my original intention.”
Seeing that he had turned around, Yang Lin got busy and said, "Cai Shaobao doesn't wait for the favor?"
"It's no big deal if I come to see him. It's just like coming another day."
After waiting for a while and changing the tea twice, Cai Jing finally woke up.
A maid, Pingping Tingting, came over and said, "The grand master invites you to come to the study for a talk."
Yang Lin nodded, and as she came to the study room, Cai Jing's face was sallow and his eyes were a little vain. It seemed that he had wrongly blamed him. This guy was really sick.
"Eun Xiang, what's wrong with this? You have to take care of yourself while working for the country."
Cai Jing's face turned red. He had just taken in a sixteen-year-old concubine a few days ago. She was very charming and beautiful, but he was a little restless when he was in love. He wanted her a few times and then she was empty.
If a person does not know how to maintain his health, he will be miserable in middle age.
Cai Jing smiled and scolded: "Don't be so glib and talkative. After all, what do you want from me?"
"Hey, there is a Ruan Xiaoqi in the Long Live Battalion of the Port of Michigan. He has repeatedly made military exploits, wiped out countless pirates, and captured and beheaded enough people. The students are brave and seek an official position as a naval officer for him.
This will prevent these men from having to suffer and work hard with the students and feel cold."
Cai Jing glared at him angrily and said, "I know that your kid never goes to the Three Treasures Hall for anything. When you have time, send someone his place of origin and resume."
Yang Lin said happily: "The student thanked Enxiang for him. Enxiang, this Ruan Xiaoqi is both civilized and martial arts, loves calligraphy and painting, and especially appreciates Enxiang's calligraphy. He asked someone to ask the student to ask for a calligraphy from Enxiang."
Cai Jing hummed and said, "There are a lot of my writings in the warehouse. You can ask the governor to ask for them."
Yang Lin and Cai Jing had a tacit understanding. Every time they offered bribes, they would do so in the name of buying calligraphy. This time, Cai Jing had to be given tens of thousands of dollars in exchange for a copybook.
It's definitely not worth it now, but in the long run, Yang Lin really won't necessarily suffer.
Yang Lin clasped his fists and bent down and said: "Enxiang, then the student will resign. Enxiang, please rest and recuperate."
Cai Jing waved his hand. Today is different from the past. His status has risen too fast, so he will definitely not get up to see him off.
Yang Lin walked out of the study and was about to leave Cai Mansion when a ball flew out from the inner courtyard and hit his feet.
Yang Lin was startled. He picked it up and looked back. He saw a little girl of twelve or thirteen years old walking out of the inner courtyard. She was decorated very delicately and had a pretty face. There was a red ribbon wrapped around her forehead, and her face was revealing.
Blush, obviously he is playing Cuju.
"Can you give me the ball?"
When Yang Lin saw how cute this little Luoli was, he said with a smile: "Catch the ball!"
After saying that, he raised his foot and kicked it. He didn't know how to play Cuju, so he kicked it with a football that would be later generations. The ball flew over and hit the little girl's cheek. He heard a scream and the little girl fell to the ground.
When she got up again, there was nothing in front of her. The little girl pinched her waist and was about to curse, but found that the other person had already fled without a trace. She was so angry that she clenched her pink fists, lowered her hands and shouted: "Don't let me see you again!"