All the peach and plum blossoms are in bloom, leaving only green grass.
With the confluence of snow water flowing down from the mountains, the original trickling stream has become cheerful, ding-ding-dong-dong composing the music of late spring, bumping against the rocks and winding eastward.
The leisurely fishing in this scene at this time should make you feel excited.
But Zheng Pu was obviously in a bad mood.
With one hand holding the fishing rod that had been taken away by the fish, and with one hand supporting his jaw, he frowned.
He thought about the request from Qin Mansion's nephew for a long time alone, but he couldn't find a way to have both sides.
He would not be foolish enough to recommend to Prime Minister Zhuge Liang that He Zhi should be appointed as the governor of Xiping; if he did not agree with the recommendation of other Yizhou officials, it would definitely hurt the feelings between the Qin and Zheng families.
It's not like losing a bad reputation.
But when others talk about it after dinner, it is inevitable that they will say that the Zheng family does not miss the friendship between their fathers.
Alas, that’s all.
I wrote a letter back to my brother and asked him to ask the Qin Mansion if any of his nephews would be willing to come to Longyou to serve. I will try to figure it out. Xiang Lang is still in charge of the Tianshui Prefect, and it is a small matter like recruiting more assistants.
, you will still be somewhat friendly with me.
Furthermore, after the Silk Road on the Western Front leaves the Huangshui River Valley, it is the sphere of influence of Xihai Shaodang Qiang. I would like to ask Qiang King Mangzhong to provide some conveniences to the Qin family caravan, which can be regarded as protecting the Qin family's affection in Mianzhu.
Already?
However, the two combined together only took care of the Qin family.
After this incident, other Yizhou officials will probably exclude me.
Ha~~~
Zheng Pu chuckled secretly, and shook his head helplessly.
He picked up the fishing rod casually, slowly put on the bait, and threw the hook into the stream again. Then he closed his eyes and rested his mind, feeling the tranquility of the spring breeze blowing by his ears.
The position of the Governor of Xiping is just like fishing bait.
All the officials in the imperial court who were involved in the interests of the Silk Road were caught fish.
So does he, but he doesn't want to take the bait.
Even from now on, we will isolate ourselves from other rural parties.
"Zi Jin closed his eyes when fishing, but he wanted to imitate Jiang Taigong when he fished with a straight hook?"
I don't know how long it took, but a smiley teasing came from the side.
Zheng Pu opened his eyes and looked sideways. It turned out that Qiao Zhou, who was serving as a wine worshipper in Liangzhou Academy, had arrived at some unknown time.
The two of them have known each other for a long time.
Even each other's families are used to visiting each other.
Based on this, the cousin Lu Huang, the owner of this place, did not send anyone to inform Zheng Pu when Qiao Zhou came to visit. He just asked Qiao Zhou to come to the creek to look for him.
"The joy of fishing lies in fishing, so what does it mean to imitate the ancients?"
Putting down the fishing rod, Zheng Pu did not get up. He just stretched out his hand to signal Qiao Zhou to sit on the ground. After glancing at the sky, he retorted, "It's getting late. Brother Yun Nan is here just to enjoy the evening meal, right?"
"Ha, Zijin's temperament is still so mean!"
Qiao Zhou, who already knew each other's temperament well, was not moved when he heard the words, but replied with a smile.
After he sat down inelegantly cross-legged on the ground, he slightly shook the small cloth bundle in his hand and said, "I brought some food here to prevent you from being stingy and noisy!" After a pause, he continued to add a sentence of contempt,
"Zi Jin's family is well-off, and the salary of General Pingbei is very high, but now he is even poorer than me! He is truly a prodigal!"
"Haha~~~~"
Hearing this, Zheng Pu did not refute, but just smiled helplessly.
He is indeed very poor.
Although the salary of a general with a heavy title is higher than that of a prefect with two thousand dan, and every time he goes out with an army, he returns with a great victory and captures a lot, and is rewarded with a lot of money by the court in accordance with the law, he still cannot make ends meet.
Just raising livestock and retinues completely depleted his salary.
As for the silks, money, etc. that were rewarded by the imperial court, they were all used to provide compensation for those who died in the battle, were injured and retired, and to take care of the livelihood of Paoze's orphans.
I have been an official for many years and have accumulated countless achievements, but I have never used half a five-baht coin to supplement my family income.
On the contrary, they often draw funds from home for daily expenses.
Even Zhang Bao, my wife's brother, couldn't stand it.
Aiwu Jiwu persuaded him to leave some of his salary to buy a house in Tianshui Ji County, so that his younger sister Zhang Yan would not have to stay in the Lu family's villa every time she came to Longyou.
Naturally, Zheng Pu turned a deaf ear to his persuasion.
After his late father asked his brother Zheng Yan to succeed him and split the family, his own family merged with his mother's family with the surname Lu, so why should they be separated from each other?
If you buy a house and move out to live in it, it would be inappropriate.
He casually picked up the wine bag on the ground and drank it. He wiped it with his sleeve and handed it to Qiao Zhou. He took the small bag and said, "I wonder what brother Yun Nan brought to eat? I happen to be a little hungry."
“You’ll know after you see it.”
Qiao Zhou didn't take it personally. He took the wine bag and took a big gulp. He belched loudly before answering slowly.
Why is eating so mysterious?
Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Zheng Pu opened the small cloth bag and took a look. It turned out to be several hard biscuits.
Pancakes are made from flour, and noodles are mixed together; Hu pancakes are made from large mangoes, and are also topped with flax (sesame).
Not a rarity.
Previously, Emperor Ling loved Hu cakes, so all the people in the capital ate Hu cakes.
In addition, there are many kinds of wheat and chestnuts in Longyou, and Hu cakes, which are made without any technical content, can be seen everywhere.
However, flax from the Western Regions is rare and expensive, and ordinary people cannot afford it.
For example, if you use Qiao Zhouzhou Academy to offer wine as a salary, you can't eat it many times either.
What we eat every day are "wheat cakes" without flax.
As for the common people in Li~~~
Living in the northwest, you are lucky to have a full stomach, so why don’t you expect hu biscuits!
He picked up a piece and tore off a small piece and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly and feeling the light fragrance of flax. Zheng Pu was a little confused, "Is Brother Yunnan greedy for ink or accepting a banquet from a wealthy family? Why is there such a thing?"
Bring the biscuits?"
Also let Qiao Zhou, who is reaching out to take the cake, have a meal.
He works as a government official in Qingshui Department, so where does he get the opportunity to be corrupt?
Oh no, with his character, how could he do such a thing as being greedy for ink?
Even though he knew Zheng Pu's temperament well, he still glared angrily and said angrily, "I actually bought it with a few days' salary and used it to feast with Zijin. This is how Zijin repaid him!"
"Hey, I won't be quick to talk today, I don't know when I will have the chance."
Still vague, Zheng Pu showed a smile on his face, "Brother Yun Nan is here, is it the Prime Minister's permission to come here?"
"Nothing can be hidden from Zijin."
After being slightly stunned, Qiao Zhou suddenly smiled, closed his eyes and let out a long sigh of relief before answering happily, "Yes, Prime Minister approved of me."
He will return to Shu.
Since the end of last year, he has been writing frequently to ask for answers after Liangzhou Academy went back to offer wine.
The reason is ridiculous.
It's not that he was negligent or made any mistakes, but that he did a great job.
It was so good that even he himself did not dare to stay in Longyou anymore.
He came to Longyou to take up the post. On the one hand, he took over the position of the aging archer. On the other hand, it was Zheng Pu's old plan: let him, who had a profound family education, come to preach the theory of destiny that "cao Pi who rebels against Wei Wei and usurps the Han Dynasty will be punished by heaven."
At first, when he preached, people were just skeptical.
However, the successive deaths of Cao Rui's heirs against the Wei Dynasty, the consecutive victories of the Northern Expedition of the Han Dynasty, the great epidemic in Xiaoguan, and the continuous heavy rains during Cao Zhen's attack on Hanzhong made people slowly begin to change their minds.
Perhaps, after four hundred years of accumulated power, the Han Dynasty really has a manifest destiny?
This is what people think.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain clearly the "coincidence" of so many things.
Things took a turn for the better in the spring of this year when Wei Cao Rui's daughter died at the age of one month.
This incident not only made the literate Qianghu tribe in Liangzhou and the people in Guizhou Province of Sanfu in Guanzhong become convinced, but even the aristocratic families in Guandong began to have vague doubts.
Some good people even claimed that Cao Rui's third son, Cao Yin, who is not yet one year old, should be born soon.
Inevitably, Qiao Zhou, who first proposed the destiny of heaven, was like a "sage" walking in the world in the eyes of the Lishu people in Longyou, who predicted the future!
Some Qianghu people who had been recruited to work in the fields and raise livestock, who had always believed in ghosts and gods, when they saw Qiao Zhou, they bowed their heads and worshiped Qiaozhou with words in their mouths, worshiping him like a god.
This is the reason why Qiao Zhou did not dare to stay in Longyou.
He is a human minister.
Some people dare not accept it calmly.
Therefore, after being worshiped several times, he began to pray to return to Shu.
In the land of Bashu, he can still be a normal person; if he continues to stay here, he may not even be able to be a human being.
At first, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang did not approve of him.
After all, with the Prime Minister's wisdom and broad-mindedness, he would not worry about what would happen to Qiao Zhou in the future.
But when Zhao Yun's condition became increasingly serious in the spring, the prime minister thought about it and agreed.
Some things seem to have nothing to do with each other.
But some people with ulterior motives can always find reasons to tie them together.
For example, Qiao Zhou was a Confucian scholar from Yizhou, and the dispute over the governor of Xiping revealed the entanglement of interests.
Moreover, this was not the first time that Qiao Zhou was "visited" by an assassin.
Cao Rui, who was against the Wei Dynasty, hated him to the core. Naturally, there was no shortage of people who wanted to flatter him. He spontaneously spent money to recruit assassins to take Qiao Zhou's head back to show his favor.
Zheng Pu, who has a good friendship, is aware of all these things.
Because when the two of them met in small groups on weekdays, Qiao Zhou often murmured that Zheng Pu was the instigator, and he himself suffered the consequences on Zheng Pu’s behalf.
"Then congratulations to Brother Yun Nan for getting what he wanted."
Zheng Pu put down the Hu cake in his hand, took the wine bag and drank, "I wonder what position I will be assigned to my brother?"
"It's still about culture and education."
Hearing this, Qiao Zhou closed his eyes and stroked his beard and smiled, his face filled with joy, "My job is to engage in classical studies in the Prefectural Mufu. However, the Prime Minister's letter said that he was allowed to enter the palace once every ten days to interpret ancient and modern allusions for the emperor. "
He is the first scholar in Yizhou to engage in classical studies.
This can be regarded as renewing the reputation of his father and ancestor as a great scholar, and it is equivalent to the honor given to him by the prime minister. No wonder his family is so poor that he is willing to buy Hu cakes!
However, Zheng Pu cared more about the honor of being "banned from entering the palace once every ten days".
The ban on entering the palace helped the emperor Liu Chan solve his doubts, and to a certain extent, he acted as the emperor's teacher.
Therefore, Zheng Pu, who had just listened, couldn't help but feel moved in his heart.
Putting down the wine bag, he stared at Qiao Zhou for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "Brother Yun Nan, coming here this time is more than just saying goodbye to me, isn't it?"
"Ha~~~"
Qiao Zhou, who was in a good mood, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why did Zijin say such a thing?"
Zheng Pu's answer was to give him a blank look.
Just pick up the wine bag and drink it yourself, occasionally sipping it, the old god is there.
"Boring!"
Lian Rong muttered, Qiao Zhou reached out to grab the wine bag, wiped the mouth of the wine bag with his sleeve, and said while drinking, "Although I don't pay attention to the affairs of the government, I also heard that the governor of Xiping is still pending. Yi Zijin I will definitely not be involved in this, but with Zijin’s status and current official position, I will inevitably be involved. Therefore, before I returned to Shu, I thought of asking if Zijin could be of use to me. ?”
really.
Father, like son.
Even Qiao Zhou, who was in charge of Wenjiao, had seen the whole story, while those who were extremely selfish were still busy trying to figure it out.
Zheng Pu couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
He turned away and headed towards the stream, his eyes falling on the weeds in the crevices of the rocks.
Human desire for power and profit, just like weeds, can explode with infinite power and grow endlessly over time.
Even if the person in charge of the country now is the prime minister who is obeyed by both the government and the public, he can only suppress it temporarily but cannot eradicate it.
If it gets hotter in the future, I'm afraid.
Now Qiao Zhou asked Zheng Pu if there was any need for him, because he saw that Zheng Pu would definitely be ostracized by others in the future because he did not contribute to the Yizhou system.
Throughout the ages, lone wolves who are not tolerated by the township party in their official career often end up having difficulty achieving anything.
Even being slandered and slandered.
After all, the prime minister was already over fifty years old, and he was appointed as a general with the title of general before he was even thirty years old.
Even though he married a daughter of the Zhang family and became brother-in-law with the emperor, there was still no shortage of people who could find ways to slander him, such as being accused of being the master of great achievements in the future, or being arrogant and unruly, etc.
Three people make a tiger, and a crowd of words makes a fortune.
He has been criticized a lot, but the emperor doesn’t doubt it, and he doesn’t doubt himself?
Even if he doesn't doubt himself, how can the generals who follow him from birth to death doubt themselves without feeling sad and angry?
Some things are better prepared in advance.
Otherwise, once it happens, there will be no time to prepare.
As for why Qiao Zhou wanted to help him, it was because the two had a really good relationship.
"There is no need to trouble Brother Yunnan now."
After being silent for a long time, Zheng Pu nodded and thanked, and said slowly, "However, after my brother returns, when he teaches his students, it would be better to recruit more people with both moral character and intelligence as disciples. If there is no one available for me in the future, I will find someone to help me." Brother, I want some disciples to serve as assistants."
"This is a great kindness!"
After hearing this, Qiao Zhou briefly thought about it, then raised his palms and praised him.
Since it is difficult for the current generation to be like-minded, we should simply focus on the next generation and cultivate like-minded people.
Just like now the prime minister has not decided on the candidate for the prefect of Xiping.
Taking this opportunity to see some people clearly will allow the belief and fighting spirit of "recovering the Central Plains and returning the old capital" to continue until the day of success.
In fact, what Qiao Zhou didn't know was that Zheng Pu had another layer of thought behind his words.
He wants to have some confidants of his own.
It's not to seek the power to "make decisive decisions" like the Prime Minister in the future, but to be able to concentrate more on myself.
He only wanted to lead the army in conquest, but he did not stop at leading the army.
In the future, if he encounters such disputes over rights, someone will be able to handle it on his behalf.
Although he now has a lot of help available for his career.
Such as the wife's family, the Xiang family who are about to become in-laws, the disciple Fu Qian, as well as Zhao Guang, Huo Yi and so on.
But some things cannot be solved by relying on external forces.