Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 1555 The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, Each Showing Their Abilities (Part [-])
In the scholar's mansion of Shen University, Wang Xijue was so angry that he almost lost his usual demeanor as a prime minister, gnashing his teeth from time to time to reprimand him.

Shen Shixing's face was as dark as water, and his face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. If it wasn't for his natural good temper, he would probably have to scold him now.

The servants had known for a long time that the atmosphere was not right, and each of them took the opportunity to slip away, for fear of hearing something they shouldn't hear, knowing something they shouldn't know, and now the entire study room is empty, only two people are left. The husband and wife are angry.

Wang Xijue turned around for a while, and couldn't help but said: "No, this matter must not be left as it is. Gao Rixin did not hesitate to embarrass us even before he joined the cabinet. We must not let him be so presumptuous! "

Shen Shixing sighed deeply, shook his head and said: "The reason is easy to say, but the matter is difficult! Now facing such a dilemma, one step to the left is a cliff, and one step to the right is a cliff. If you are not careful, you will end up in pieces. Why?"

"I just thought about it carefully, and I feel that this matter is still suspicious." Wang Xijue stood still suddenly, and said with burning eyes: "Yuanfu, think about it, Gao Wuben was his uncle and brother, and he followed his instructions to wear the crown and leave. It is understandable; the relationship between Wang Zhizhen and him is quite far away, so he just resigned, and he has not hung the crown. He is still waiting for the emperor's reply, which means that his resignation cannot be said to be very firm... This is also reasonable .

However, why is Yang Wudi so honest, and the majestic heavenly official just resigned?In the past few years in the court, although he had listened to Gao Rixin's greetings in everything and had no opinion of himself, so his expectations were greatly reduced, but at least he didn't get much impeachment.Since the position of Tianguan is still secure, how can Gao Rixin persuade him to leave at once?Isn't there anything tricky here? "

Shen Shixing pondered for a while, and asked, "Even if there is something tricky, what can I do right now?"

Wang Xijue was taken aback: "What do you mean by 'so what'? A dignified official resigned because of the tricky talk between him and Gao Rixin in private. This is a taboo in itself. Accept it!"

"How can there be a 'grant and accept'?" Shen Shixing spread his hands: "Did Gao Rixin say he was going to be this heavenly official? Or did he recommend his private person to be this heavenly official? Nothing at all.

He didn't express any opinion on the vacant position of Tianguan at all, and even coincidentally closed the door to thank guests because of a little impeachment.This move was wonderful, after he closed the door to thank the guests, no matter what happened in the court during this period, he could push it aside, pretending he didn't know it at all. "

"Three-year-olds will believe him and thank guests behind closed doors!" Wang Xijue said bitterly, "He has a Ministry of Internal Affairs in Jinghua. It is rumored that this department is even better than when the factory guards ran rampant in the past. Although there is no such thing as prison, But I'm afraid he's even better at inquiring about news and passing on tongues than the factory guards of the past... What's the difference between opening the door behind closed doors?"

"There is a difference. The difference is that as long as he does this, we can only treat him as if he really closed the door and thanked guests." Shen Shixing said with a bitter face: "The Ministry of Internal Affairs or something, no matter how fierce the outside rumors are, that's okay." There is no way to get it on the table to talk about things. He is doing everything according to the rules now, and even if we want to fight back, we can only follow the rules."

Wang Xijue snorted forcefully, sat down on his buttocks, stared at his eyes and said: "He is doing this now, because he would rather lose his own money than let others make a little bit of money. I can't swallow this breath. In my opinion , Yang Wudi’s resignation this time, the inside story, no matter what, we have to investigate.”

"I don't object to checking it out. The problem is how to check it, and what to do after it's over." Shen Shixing moved his butt slightly, changed his posture leaning slightly towards Wang Xijue, and said, "Brother Yuan Yu, you I also know that according to the practice of our dynasty, a high-ranking official like Yang Wudi, unless he has committed such serious crimes as treason and deception, can almost be settled by resigning from office.

Now that he has resigned, even if there were any mistakes or problems before, they are all settled now, and it should not and cannot be pursued.If we insist on pursuing it now, we are afraid that not only will no one respond, but we will be attacked by a crowd. "

Wang Xijue was momentarily at a loss for words.Of course he understands this truth. As Shen Shixing said, if something happens to a civil servant, it will not be a big deal. Unless there is a rebellion or something, it will be a major event and a small matter, and resigning is even more like avoiding death Gold medals are average, as long as the person involved resigns, you don't have to worry about everything, at most you can just pat your ass and go home.

Civil officials with lower ranks may be dealt with a little more severely, such as those censors, it is not uncommon to be demoted and dismissed from office, and what's more, they may be displaced for three thousand miles, but this is usually the heaviest punishment up.

Only a very few people were beaten to death by the emperor's scepter or imprisoned to wait for death in a very rare period.For example, there were more such things in the Jiajing period, and there were no such incidents in the Longqing period. Today, after the Emperor Wanli took office, there are not many people who were killed, but a few were imprisoned—and they were imprisoned because of their high pragmatism.

Compared with the founding period of the founding of the country, the nobles and military officials did not regard civil servants as human beings at all. Nowadays, such special treatment for civil servants is hard-won. Therefore, the entire civil servant group cherishes it very much and firmly maintains it.

Under such circumstances, if the dignified heavenly official begging for skeletons is still held accountable after resigning, or even be held accountable by fellow civil servants, it will undoubtedly cause an uproar in the court.Even if the person to be held accountable is a certain elder, he will not be forgiven by the civil officials.

This is the welfare of the entire civil servant group. As a member of the group, you do not cherish it, do not maintain it, and even take the initiative to destroy it. Where is your position?
This nature is no different from "self-isolation from the people"!

So when Shen Shixing said this, even Wang Xijue could only keep silent.But he was unwilling to be silent, thought for a while, and said: "No, after I find out this matter, I don't necessarily have to point the finger at Yang Wudi, why must I be attacked by a crowd?"

His eyes flickered, he pointed at the armrest of the Grand Master's chair, and said with certainty: "Based on what I know about Gao Rixin, this incident must be because he bought Yang Wudi with money, so that Yang Wudi would willingly give up the post of Heavenly Official. That being the case, as long as the truth is found out, it can be said that Gao Rixin secretly manipulated the civil affairs and pushed all the blame on Gao Rixin.

As for Yang Wudi, we can even hint at the person who is impeached by Shangshu, and help him to say something nice... Well, let’s say that Gao Rixin is powerful, and he knows that he can’t stop it, so he just let it go.In this way, even if Yang Wudi is somewhat responsible, but it is not enough to pursue it, and we will get rid of the adverse consequences. "

This idea is obviously much more reasonable, and Shen Shixing couldn't help but feel a little moved, and no longer expressed objection, but just asked: "But how to verify this matter? Such an important matter, the person who handles it will not say that it is not, even if it is, it must be very important." Few, and he must be Gao Rixin's confidant. I wait for Man Shuo to say that I don't even know who this person is, and even if I know, I'm afraid it will be difficult to learn any clues or inside stories from him."

However, Wang Xijue smiled and said: "Since Jinghua has the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it is naturally more difficult for us to find clues from Gao Rixin. However, even if we can't follow the vine, can we not follow the vine? Vine?"

"Follow the melon and touch the vine?" Shen Shixing was startled for a moment, but immediately came to his senses, and asked after thinking: "Brother Yuan Yu, you mean to get news from Yang Wudi?"

Shen Yuanfu frowned, and said hesitantly: "I'm afraid it's not easy, right? Yang Wudi is not a fledgling child. He was born on the Ding Wei Jinbang (that is, Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing), which is much earlier than you and me." The foot five subjects are from the same year as Zhang Jiangling. Not to mention his seniority, he has served as a foreign official for more than half his life. I have never seen such a big storm? I'm going to get news from him, I'm afraid..."

"Why must it be from his 'mouth'?" Wang Xijue spread his hands: "According to Gao Rixin's habit, he will either give money directly, or give some business dividends. The wealth of the family increased suddenly.

I do know a little about the situation in Yang Wudi's family, neither poor nor rich.His family owns [-]-[-] mu of land, which is quite well-ranked in the local area.But that's all there is to it, and it doesn't have much involvement in commerce, it's just that there are three or five shops in the prefecture and county towns. "

"So what?" Shen Shixing didn't understand what Wang Xijue meant for a moment.

As the richest man in Suzhou, Wang Xijue is probably also the richest man in the south. He is much more knowledgeable about these matters than Shen Shixing, so he smiled and said: "The rich family is rich in gold, and there is no difference between the top and bottom of the family and the past; If you get a windfall, you are afraid that the whole family, old and young, will suddenly become arrogant."

Shen Shixing suddenly realized: "Oh, brother Yuan Yu said, if Yang Wudi really received a large amount of money from Gao Rixin because of this, the whole family must be arrogant because of the sudden wealth... At least they should buy more farms and houses."

Wang Xijue just nodded, but Shen Shixing frowned again and said: "But what if Gao Rixin gave some dry stocks for trading? In this way, Yang Wudi may not get much cash right away, as Brother Yuanyu expected It might not be possible for that to happen.”

"Well..." Wang Xijue frowned, feeling a little tricky.

But Shen Shixing said: "Not only that, I also have another worry: Yang Wudi is old in the officialdom, and he is not known for seeking money, even if he didn't tell the tribe about Gao Rixin's money transfer.

Although he himself is famous for his poetry and prose, his descendants are all clumsy at books, and they are just mediocre.If he hides the money or the dividends, and only tells the whole story when he is old, sick and dying, I can't wait forever, can I? "

This was indeed a big trouble, but who knew that there was something in his words that reminded Wang Xijue, the latter's eyes brightened, and he said suddenly: "Thanks to Yuanfu's reminder, I might have wanted to go wrong just now! "

Shen Shixing said in astonishment: "Brother Yuan Yu, what do you mean by this statement?"

Wang Xijue immediately replied: "Yuanfu mentioned just now that Yang Wudi's descendants are all mediocre... Yuanfu, let me put myself in Yang Wudi's position and think about it: If I am seventy-five years old, but my descendants are unworthy, Everyone is mediocre, what should I do for my father and grandfather?"

Wang Xijue had a problem with this question, he forgot to consider the difference between Shen Shihang and his background.His family, Wang Xijue, is very rich. It's normal to think about his children and grandchildren. Generally, he tries his best to support his children and grandchildren to study and become an official. Anyway, the family has good fields and countless properties.

However, Shen Shixing is completely different from him. There is no "official" statement about his life experience. Shen Shixing himself has kept secrets and never talked about it, so that there are two kinds of theories circulating in the outside world.

According to the folklore, the Shen family is also a big family in Suzhou. Shen Shixing's father had a bad relationship with his wife. Once he accompanied his wife to a nunnery to offer incense. Unexpectedly, he fell in love with a beautiful nun in the nunnery at first sight. The two had an affair, and Shen Shixing was born.

After the nun gave birth, she wanted to send the child back to Shen's family to recognize her ancestors, but Shen's family is a big family anyway, even because of the family's reputation, it is impossible to recognize this illegitimate child.In desperation, the nun abandoned the child on the streets of Suzhou, and wrote the child's birth time and background in a blood book, and put it in the swaddle.

The child's crying was discovered by a well-meaning person, so he reported it to the official.When Xu Shangzhen, the prefect of Suzhou, heard the news, he was shocked and decided to try the case himself.However, as the old saying goes, it is difficult for an upright official to decide on family affairs, and there is no DNA test in this day and age, the Shen family insists on not admitting it, and the evidence alone is obviously insufficient.

There was no other way, after much deliberation, Prefect Xu felt that this child was the most pitiful, so he adopted the child as his adopted son and named him Xu Shixing.Later, Xu Shixing was the champion of high school, with such a high reputation that the entire Shen family was not "worthy" of him when tied together, so he was able to recognize his ancestor and return to the clan, and changed his surname back to Shen.

Let me say one more thing: Shen Shixing's recognition of his ancestors and returning to his clan is really not ungrateful in terms of the ethics and morals at that time, because recognizing his ancestors and returning to his clan is the most important thing for a person.In the same way, being kicked out of the house, not being buried in the ancestral grave, and not being able to offer the spirit tablet to the ancestral hall is the greatest punishment for a person, which is equivalent to "you bastard without father or mother, the sky hates it, and the sky abandons it!"

Moreover, it is said that the old magistrate Xu himself was also very broad-minded, and he was very supportive of Shen Shixing's recognition of his ancestors, so this incident was even a good story in Suzhou at that time, and everyone praised it.

In addition, the second theory comes from Shen Shixing's family tree. It is said that his grandfather adopted his uncle and changed his surname to Xu, which followed his uncle's surname. Therefore, Shen's grandfather and father were both surnamed Xu. Xing naturally also has the surname Xu.

But for the same reason, when Shen Shixing won the first prize in the examination, his status was completely different. According to the customs at that time, it was also reasonable to recognize the ancestors and return to the clan.

But no matter which statement is true, in short, Shen Shixing's childhood must not have been very satisfactory.Needless to say the latter, even if it is the former, it is not that the prefect Xu has no sons in his family, even if the prefect Xu is broad-minded and takes good care of him, but can other members of the family do the same?Therefore, his adopted son must have lived in fear.

Different family backgrounds lead to different ideas, so when Shen Shixing heard this sentence, he was just a little startled, and replied casually: "My children and grandchildren have their own blessings, so don't be a horse and an ox for your children and grandchildren. If they are not successful, I will not think much about it." usefulness."

Wang Xijue didn't expect him to answer this way, so he was taken aback for a moment, but immediately smiled wryly: "How many people are there in the world who is as open-minded as Yuanfu? Kuang Gongzi was born in Hanlin, so naturally there is no need to worry." [Note: Refers to Shen Yongmao, the eldest son of Shen Shixing, who was No. 11 in Jinshi Erjia in the 20th year of Wanli, and was selected as a good scholar to enter the Imperial Academy. ]
Speaking of this, Shen Shixing remembered a thorn in Wang Xijue's heart.Wang Xijue has only one son named Wang Heng, who is very talented and writes very well. In the 16th year of Wanli, he won the first place in the Shuntian Township Examination.

However, after that exam, he was inexplicably attacked, and it was said that his grades were because Wang Xijue was an important minister of the imperial court. Wang Xijue, who had a straight temper and a good reputation, was so angry that he went up to the sidelines, swearing to heaven and earth to refute, On the one hand, he ordered his son to give up the opportunity to continue to participate in the examination and continue to study behind closed doors.

Speaking of it, what happened to Wang Heng was somewhat similar to Gao Yushi's back then, except that Gao Yushi was more proactive and refused to try in order to avoid suspicion.

In the original history, Wang Heng did not take part in the examination in the 29th year of Wanli until his father became an official.It turned out that he was really talented, and he got No.2 in the exam. As a result, the Wang family "three Jinshi in one discipline, father and son double in the second place"-Wang Xijue's younger brother Wang Dingjue is also a Jinshi scholar, and he also did very well in the exam: will test Fifth, ninth in the imperial examination.

Therefore, right now is the period when Wang Heng is bored at home and cannot take the exam, so he is naturally in a bad mood, and even Wang Xijue is very angry when he thinks about this.

Shen Shixing hurriedly comforted him and said: "Chenyu (Wang Heng's character) is not inferior to you and me. Why don't you worry about winning the gold list in the future? As for now...Brother Yuanyu should be tempering his character. bad thing."

Wang Xijue sighed softly, waved his hands, and said: "Don't mention this matter, I will continue to say: Like this kind of family, the descendants are mediocre, but they have no major faults. If I were my father and grandfather, I would probably find a backer for them." .Even if you can't get into the officialdom, you will at least want to preserve the family business, so..."

"Oh!" Shen Shixing suddenly realized, and his eyes lit up: "Brother Yuan Yu means that Gao Rixin will take Yang Wudi's children and grandchildren under his family, whether it is studying or doing business, he will take care of him from now on?"

Wang Xijue stroked his beard and smiled, "Exactly."

Shen Shixing thought for a while, then frowned and said, "Who is the magistrate of Haifeng County now?"

Haifeng is Wudi. According to the history of the Ming Dynasty, all prefectures and counties were abolished in Hongwu, and in June of the sixth year of Hongwu, Haifeng County was set up (in addition to the old county annals: Wudi was changed to Haifeng on the fourth day of September in the fourth year of Jianwen in Ming Dynasty). Fengxiang, named after Haifengchang in the northwest, belonged to Binzhou at first, and later belonged to Le'an Prefecture.

In the first year of Xuande, Le'an Prefecture was changed to Wuding Prefecture, and it belonged to it.Because the name of this place was changed in the Ming Dynasty, and it was called Wudi since ancient times, so whether the locals or foreigners, they are more used to calling it Wudi.

But as soon as Shen Shixing opened his mouth, Wang Xijue immediately waved his hand: "It is definitely not possible to ask the local magistrate to investigate, not to mention that most of the scholars in the north of the northern district magistrate, even if the Nanbang scholars came to the northern district, there are still many scholars who have received practical education. Influencers are beyond belief.”

He paused for a while, narrowed his eyes slightly, twisted his beard and said, "Why don't you let Dongchang do this? Our supervisor Zhang Dachang is really full of anger and has nowhere to go."

Shen Shixing laughed when he heard the words: "Good, great good!"
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Thanks to book friends "Cao Mianzi" and "Xiaosheng is not very good" for their support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "Cao Mianzi", "Apodes", "Shen Ba Tian Xia 2", "Golden Hair 123", "Xiao Sheng is not very good", "o Shang Shu Ling" for their monthly support, thank you!
(End of this chapter)