The road of the farmer's fortune and the imperial examination

Chapter 380 Alchemy
Back then, when Liang Zhirui was the first assistant, Xia Qing was the second assistant.

The first assistant has the heaviest power, and presides over the cabinet affairs, especially the power of vote drafting, and the second assistant dare not compete with it.Drafting power is to formulate major political policies, and then the emperor will approve them with Zhubi.

If you don't enter Hanlin, you won't enter the cabinet.The cabinet is the place that every civil servant yearns for, it is the center of power.

"Teacher, what is the holiday between you and the current Xia Shoufu? Say it out, so that the students will know."

Of course, Gu Chengyu had to understand the details clearly, and if someone really came to deal with him, he would try to deal with it.

Liang Zhirui pondered for a while, and then said: "It's not just about one thing, political disagreements are common. However, the most unbearable thing for this old man is that the body of the holy dragon has been in poor condition before, but it has been fine."

Looking at the green hills in the distance outside the window, he sighed leisurely, and continued: "The treacherous minister recommended an alchemist to the Holy One, saying that he is sincere in alchemy, and taking alchemy can lead to longevity."

Having said that, his tone was urgent and heavy.

Gu Chengyu was very surprised when he heard that, he always thought that the emperor's dragon body was not in good health, which was caused by all kinds of daily affairs all the year round, and he was approaching sixty years old. It turns out that there are many things that ordinary people don't know.

"The Holy One is so addicted to alchemy that he takes it himself? Then where did the alchemist come from?"

Liang Zhirui nodded, "I don't know, the origin is very mysterious. According to Xia Qing, he was originally a hermit who is over a hundred years old this year. I saw him once outside the imperial study room. Healthy."

Gu Chengyu felt it was very absurd, not to mention whether Changsheng was real or not, the emperor was willing to believe that the origin of the alchemist was unknown?
Speaking of longevity, Gu Chengyu thought of Qin Shihuang who was obsessed with the elixir of life in his previous life.

Became an emperor with supreme power, he may not be willing to part with the throne until his death, pursuing longevity and continuing to enjoy glory and wealth should be the dream of every emperor.

This does not seem difficult to understand, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, they will not give up.

"The emperor wants to make alchemy, so who usually handles the affairs of the court?" Gu Chengyu didn't think the emperor had so much free time.

If the ancient emperors worked hard to govern, they must have spent a lot of energy.Alchemy does not happen overnight, it takes a lot of energy and time to make alchemy all year round, after all, research is still needed, right?
"When the old man was there, the cabinet ministers handled it. The old man looked at it and then presented it to the emperor. Now, it should be Prime Minister Xia Qing. When the emperor is not refining alchemy, he will review the submitted memorial. After the old man became an official, the situation in the court has changed a lot. Mobilization is frequent. Various factions, which are intricate."

Gu Chengyu frowned, that is to say, when the emperor concocted alchemy, it was Prime Minister Xia's assistant?He had also heard about the court in the capital, and heard that there were many officials from the Southern faction, so when the emperor was away, the court became his hall of speech?
"Is there any official in the court who can compete with Xia Qing?"

Gu Chengyu thought for a moment, but still felt that as an emperor, it was impossible to hand over the power sheet to one person with such confidence, and more checks and balances should be sent so that he could rest assured to make alchemy.

Liang Zhirui nodded, feeling a little relieved, as a disciple of his, he was always very keen on matters concerning the court.

"Of course that's impossible. Shen Shikang, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, doesn't buy his account. Xia Qing was a well-known talent in the south of the Yangtze River. He became famous at a young age and his family was well-off. A family of officials and eunuchs from a place in the south of the Yangtze River. Of course, there are quite a few people who disagree with him in the court, but who told him to be favored?"

"Which faction does Xia Qing support?"

Gu Chengyu first ruled out the second prince's faction temporarily, because Shen Shikang is the second prince's natal family, and the two are at odds.However, these cannot be seen on the surface. Some people are born politicians, and they hide it deeply!
Liang Zhirui shook his head, "On the bright side, he doesn't seem to be close to any faction, and it seems that they all have a little bit of trouble with him. He is narrow-minded and extremely greedy for money. In recent years, he has made money in Jiangnan and other places A lot of money, especially water transportation. I heard that the children of the clan are working as minions for tigers in the local area, and they are very arrogant."

Gu Chengyu bowed his head in thought, and then said: "Since he behaved perversely, why didn't anyone collect his criminal evidence and refer to him?"

According to the teacher, Xia Qing acted in such a high-profile way.There must be some people in the court who can't see it. Will those speech officials let these things go?Definitely want to join him, right?

"In the past few years, I was quite cautious in doing things. I didn't leave any clues. Even if someone intervened with him, the emperor was dubious about this matter, and most of them stayed in the middle. When he became the chief assistant, the memorial passed through his hands. He submitted it unfavorably? Even if he took advantage of the loophole and submitted it, he always has a way to make the emperor dispel his doubts about him."

Gu Chengyu finally understood how much Xia Qing was favored. Xia Qing's current power was so great that he was almost covering the sky with one hand.However, the emperor is not a fool.This is only on the surface, and he has to enter the court before he can slowly explore the rest.

"He wants to be a pure minister? According to his past style, it should be impossible."

The emperor's health is deteriorating, how could Xia Qing not plan for the future?Once the emperor and the courtiers, maybe the new emperor will take him first when he ascends the throne, and he will sit and wait for death?
"Maybe there is some action in the dark. This person has deep scheming. Back then, the old man didn't catch any clues, so he couldn't see what happened."

"How can the teacher know about this secret deed? Xia Qing is so high-profile, maybe it is his protective color? If he has no flaws, then the emperor would not dare to use him!"

These are still far away for Gu Chengyu!Even if he entered the officialdom, he was still a minor official of the Hanlin Academy, and those first and second rank officials would not take him seriously.

"Oh?" Liang Zhirui glanced at Gu Chengyu in surprise, then nodded, "It's possible!"

Liang Zhirui hadn't thought about it before, but now he actually felt that what Gu Chengyu said was very reasonable.

"This is just a student's random speculation. Before getting in touch with this person, it's better not to jump to conclusions."

In fact, Gu Chengyu still has doubts. Xia Qing wants so much money, isn't it just a proof of which faction he has joined?No, maybe he doesn't rely on any faction and wants to fight for bigger ones?

Gu Chengyu chatted with Liang Zhirui again, and Liang Zhirui was about to go to school.Gu Chengyu then went to the backyard and had to pay his respects to his teacher's wife.

"It's early today, can we have breakfast?" Ning asked with a smile.

"It's already been used, hasn't the teacher eaten yet?" Gu Chengyu saluted and sat down on the armchair next to him.

Yao Mengxian came outside the main room, and the girl who raised the curtain immediately stepped forward to salute.

"Meet the cousin girl!"

Yao Mengxian was a little surprised. Could it be that there are guests in the room?Otherwise, the girl must have saluted at the door and then informed the room.

"Grandmother is up?"

"The old lady is already up, but there are guests inside."

The girl is also in a dilemma. Logically speaking, if a foreigner comes, as a female relative, she should avoid it.But she is just a girl, and she has to wait for her master's orders.

　Thanks to mcj221 for the reward!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)