I, Liu Bian, the hero

Chapter 20 Lu Zhi
After April, the weather is suitable, neither hot nor cold, even a foolish emperor like Lingdi can't waste government affairs anymore, it is rare to handle government affairs in Chongde Hall.

In Liu Bian's view, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but Zhang Rang didn't arrange for him to go to Chongde Hall for some reason, even though Liu Bian sent Zhao Chun to urge him, Zhang Rang didn't arrange it immediately.

Liu Bian was suspicious, and asked Zhao Chun pretending not to care, "... besides Father, is there anyone else in Chongde Hall?"

Zhao Chun hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth: "There is also Lu Shangshu."

Liu Bian's heart suddenly became clear, Zhang Rang didn't want him to meet Lu Zhi.

He snorted coldly in his heart, thinking in displeasure: This old thing still needs to be beaten, and now he still wants to influence me.

Thinking of this, he pretended to be eager and said to Zhao Chun: "I can't wait, Zhao Chun, you go to Chongde Hall with me!"

"Uh……"

Zhao Chun was a little hesitant, and wanted to say something, but Liu Bian stared at him: "Huh?"

Immediately, Zhao Chun changed his words: "Yes! I will arrange it immediately."

That's what I said, but in fact there is nothing to arrange. How can Zhao Chun arrange for Liu Bian to go to the Chongde Hall to meet the Ling Emperor with a house order?
Just go straight through!

After a while, Liu Bian took nothing but Zhao Chun and two young eunuchs, and went straight to Chongde Hall.

On the way, there were patrolling guards looking at him curiously. After all, Liu Bian's public execution of Fang Dian Ling Feng Yu also had a profound influence in the palace. On the contrary, Yongle Palace now says that he is "violent by nature" and "not a benevolent king".

Liu Bian didn't bother to spend energy to deal with it, after all, those people couldn't affect the general situation.

After about a stick of incense, Liu Bian, Zhao Chun and others came to the Chongde Hall, and the guards outside the hall stopped him and reported to the hall at the same time.

At this time, in the hall of Chongde Hall, Emperor Ling and Shangshu Lu Zhi were dealing with government affairs, and Zhang Rang and a young eunuch stood beside him.

Suddenly, a guard came into the hall and reported: "Your Majesty, Shi Hou is asking to see you."

Perhaps it was because of this period that his impression of Liu Bian gradually improved. Although Emperor Ling was a little surprised, he didn't say anything. He waved his hand and said, "Come into the palace."

On the contrary, Zhang Rang's complexion changed slightly.

After a while, Liu Bian led Zhao Chun into the hall, bowed to the Ling Emperor and said, "Father Emperor."

Emperor Ling put down the memorial in his hand and asked, "Bian'er, what are you doing here?"

Liu Bian replied seriously: "My son learned that my father is handling government affairs here, so I came here to visit."

Seeing this, even if Zhang Rang didn't want Liu Bian to come here at this moment, he could only speak for Liu Bian at this moment, and said to Lingdi with a smile on his face: "Shi Hou is filial, this is your majesty's blessing."

"Heh." Emperor Ling laughed, raised his finger and pointed to Shangshu Lu Zhi who was sitting in the hall, and said, "Meet Lu Shangshu."

Liu Bian turned to face Lu Zhi according to his words, and at this time Lu Zhi also stood up quickly, and took the lead in saluting to Liu Bian: "My minister Lu Zhi, I have met Shihou."

"Lu Shangshu." Liu Bian bowed his hand in return, secretly observing the other party.

According to his visual estimation, this Lu Zhi is nearly fifty years old, his hair, beard and temples are already gray, and his face is also covered with wrinkles, but his eyes are bright, and he looks quite energetic. The most amazing thing is that this Lu Zhi Shangshu is born with a sense of fortitude, firmness, solidity and gentleness, and he is indeed a model of contemporary gentlemen and Confucian scholars.

Speaking of which, this is actually not the first time he met Lu Zhi. As early as a month ago, he met Lu Shangshu in Dongguan, but at that time, in order not to arouse the vigilance of Shi Changshi, he did not meet with Lu Zhi. Lu Zhi had too much contact with him, and even showed disapproval of this Lu Shangshu.

But in fact, among the officials in the current court, Liu Bian respects this Lu Shangshu the most. He is familiar with this person's deeds, and he knows very well that this virtuous official is loyal, upright, and clean, and he is not afraid of power and not for personal gain. It is said that no one is perfect, but this Lu Shangshu can be called a 'perfect man', without any blemishes, even Zhang Rang can't do anything about it.

It is also because of this that Zhang Rang is so afraid of Lu Zhi and does not want Liu Bian to contact him.

It's a pity that Zhang Rang didn't expect that Liu Bian would not let him be at his mercy. No, today Liu Bian came to Chongde Hall without notifying Zhang Rang in advance, and caught Zhang Rang by surprise.

"Shihou."

While Liu Bian and Lu Zhi were observing each other, Zhang Rang walked up to Liu Bian and whispered, "Your Majesty and Lu Shangshu still have to deal with government affairs, why don't Shi Hou go to the side hall first..."

"You wanted to send me away just after I came here? 』

Liu Bian glanced at Zhang Rang without leaving a trace, and decided in his heart that he must beat this old thing well when he has the opportunity.

But at the moment, he has no time to argue with Zhang Rang, he turned to Emperor Ling and said, "Father, can I let my son see these memorials?"

"What do you want to do?" Lingdi asked puzzled.

I saw Liu Bian said seriously: "I want to learn how to deal with government affairs, share the worries of the father and the emperor, and contribute to my great man."

Hearing this, Lingdi, Zhang Rang, and Lu Zhi had different expressions.

Among them, the most puzzled one was Lingdi, who looked at Liu Bian suspiciously, showing some hesitation.

Seeing this, Liu Bian gave Zhang Rang a wink.

Under such circumstances, Zhang Rang could only speak for Liu Bian, and said with a smile: "Shi Hou is so filial to His Majesty, and it is His Majesty's blessing to share his worries. Why doesn't Your Majesty satisfy Shi Hou's filial piety?"

Emperor Ling thought for a while, then turned his head and asked Lu Zhi, "What did Lu Shangshu say?"

"I don't dare to talk about this matter." Lu Zhi glanced at Liu Bian, cupped his hands and said, "However, I feel that although Marquis Shi is young, he will be involved in government affairs sooner or later, and there should be no hindrance if he contacts him earlier."

After saying this, he and Zhang Rang looked at each other, and immediately they both frowned.

Obviously, these two people probably never thought that one day they would reach an agreement on opinions.

Seeing that both Lu Zhi and Zhang Rang agreed, Emperor Ling agreed, and immediately ordered someone to bring a small case, and asked Liu Bian to sit behind the case and read the memorials of the officials.

Of course, those memorials that have been reviewed by Emperor Ling and Lu Zhi are regarded as learning.

After thanking Emperor Ling, Liu Bian sat down behind the small case and read the memorials that Zhang Rang had personally moved to his case.

These memorials were all submitted by officials from the two capitals and localities, so what they said would naturally not be a trivial matter.

For example, the memorial that Liu Bian read first was written by Zhongmou Ling Xu Han.

The former Zhongmu Ling Luo Hao was killed when the Xingyang bandits attacked Zhongmu. Although the imperial court sent Liu Bian's second uncle, Yin Hemiao of Henan Province, to lead an army to defeat the Xingyang bandits, the local construction in Xingyang and Zhongmou was severely damaged. Zhongmu ordered Xu Han to present to the imperial court, imploring the imperial court to exempt the tax of the year, and at the same time hoped that the imperial court would send food relief.

Finally, it was Lu Zhi's approval, allowing the transfer of grain from Henan to Zhongmu.

The second one was played by Jing Zhaoyin, saying that a corner of a palace in Weiyang Palace in Chang'an collapsed due to disrepair, injuring several people, asking for instructions on whether to build the palace.

In the end, it was Lingdi's approval, ordering to renovate the palace immediately.

The third is impeachment. Xingyang ordered Yang Song to impeach the censor Zheng Tai for conniving at the servants and harvesting the land cheaply after the Xingyang bandits rebelled, causing disaster to the village.

Looking at it, Liu Bian suspected that this should be Shi Changshi's counterattack against the scholars. After all, Shi Yushi Zheng Tai and Shang Shu Lu Zhi were leaders of scholars, and Shi Changshi could not find anything to do with Zheng Tai. , it is not surprising that they will hit their relatives and servants.

In the end, it was Lu Zhi's review, and the censor thoroughly investigated the matter.

In the following time, Liu Bian read more than a dozen memorials in a row. To be honest, these memorials really made him feel a little boring, and at the same time he felt a little suspicious. Who made the biggest thing in these memorials be the renovation of Weiyang Palace and the impeachment of Shi Yushi? What about Zheng Tai?Is this world really so peaceful?

Liu Bian glanced at Zhang Rang without leaving a trace, suspecting that Zhang Rang had hidden some memorials in private.

Although Lu Zhi is a minister, Zhang Rang, as the favored minister of Emperor Ling, was able to get access to the memorials in these places before Lu Zhi, and even the memorials reviewed by Emperor Ling and Lu Zhi may still be "selected" by Zhang Rang passed.

Otherwise, why are there no local officials in these memorials to report and impeach the brothers and disciples of the ten permanent attendants?Why are there no natural disasters and military chaos?
In Liu Bian's impression, the four years of Zhongping was not a year of peace in the world. There were rebellions by Han Sui in Xiliang, Zhang Chun in Yuyang, Xing in Changsha, and the Southern Huns. Liang's rebellion happened two years ago, but the strange thing is that Liu Bian didn't see the report.

Just as Liu Bian was secretly guessing, Emperor Ling suddenly put down the memorial and made a stretching motion.

Zhang Rang quickly said: "Is your majesty tired? How about going to the inner hall to rest for a while?"

It can be seen that Emperor Ling, whose body was hollowed out by the wine, was indeed a little tired. He nodded in response to Zhang Rang's suggestion, turned around and saw Liu Bian was still reading the memorial seriously, and said, "Bian'er, I went to the inner hall to have a rest. , if you are also tired, go back to the hall and rest."

Liu Bian glanced at Zhang Rang who was standing beside Emperor Ling, and secretly rejoiced: Zhang Rang is not here, isn't this a great opportunity to get in touch with Lu Zhi?

So he quickly said: "Father, my son is not tired, and I want to watch it for a while."

Emperor Ling nodded without saying anything, got up and walked towards the inner hall, but Zhang Rang next to him frowned and glanced at Liu Bian and then at Lu Zhi, with an anxious expression on his face.

But in the end, Zhang Rang went to the inner hall with Emperor Ling.

After Emperor Ling and Zhang Rang left, Liu Bian immediately cheered up and turned his attention to Lu Zhi.

Although there is still Zhao Chun by his side, Zhao Chun can basically be regarded as his person, as long as he does not make it too obvious and make Zhao Chun suspicious-after all, Lu Zhi's name is too famous, and he is not interested in the eunuchs in the palace. The deterrent power is too strong, if Liu Bian's wooing is too obvious, Zhao Chun will inevitably become suspicious.

Perhaps feeling Liu Bian's gaze on him, Lu Zhi stopped the pen in his hand and asked curiously, "Why is Shihou looking at me like this?"

It has to be said that his impression of Liu Bian was actually not bad. Although he was very worried that this Marquis Shi was getting too close to the eunuch in the palace, he had been faintly aware since just now that although this Marquis Shi was young, But as Cai Yan said, he was very assertive, and even Zhang Rang seemed unable to control him, which made Lu Zhi inevitably have some ideas in his heart, and wanted to take this opportunity to get in touch.

He didn't even think about it, Liu Bian was annoyed at this moment: You Lu Zigan is a well-known Confucian in the world, and you can't even give the words you like?
"How to get the support of Lu Shangshu without arousing Zhang Rang and Zhao Chun's suspicion?" 』

Various thoughts turned in Liu Bian's mind.

Even though Lu Zhi is not a party member in the court, there are many people who admire him, especially the two disciples of Lu Zhi, Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei.

Leaving aside the former, Liu Bian is very familiar with the latter. If Uncle Liu Huang, and Liu Guanzhang can win Lu Zhi and Liu Bei under his command, why worry about the Luoyang Palace Change two years later?
(End of this chapter)