Recreating the prosperous Tang begins with summoning players

In the end, Pei Mian kept the clock and returned all other gifts.

Several other prime ministers also returned the boxes, but they all left one or two things they liked.

In addition to these high-ranking prime ministers, Shangbo sent gifts to officials above the ministerial level.

Of course, the emperor couldn't be left behind either. Shang Bo personally delivered a set of gifts to the palace, and was immediately rewarded by Li Heng.

Corresponding gifts were also given to the Prince's Mansion in the East Palace and other princes' mansions. Finally, Shang Bo visited the outer houses of several great eunuchs and secretly gave gifts.

This time, the Longyou Governor's Mansion's gift-giving has aroused heated discussions in Fengxiang Mansion.

It's just that the matter of giving gifts can't be put on the table, but it still became the topic of conversation in Fengxiang Mansion after dinner.

Today is the day when Fengxiang Mansion official yamen rests. Although the frontline battle is urgent, it does not prevent the officials from taking advantage of the rest to change into casual clothes and travel together.

In the current situation, it is still inappropriate to go out for a trip outside the city. Most officials just invite one or two friends, either at home or in a teahouse, to discuss literature or talk about the situation in the court.

Autumn is just around the corner, and now Fengxiang Mansion is quite lively.

Gu Kuang and Wei Yingwu sat on the teahouse, looking at the flow of people passing by below.

Wei Yingwu looked at the friend who had hit it off before him, and couldn't help asking:

"Brother Bu Weng, autumn is coming, you don't study hard at home, you insist on dragging me to drink tea while I'm resting here."

Gu Kuang, nicknamed Bu Weng, is a disciple of Li Mi, the current secretary supervisor.

Now Li Mi and Yan Zhenqing have gone to Lingwu to investigate the Lingwu Xiangrui keel.

The autumn was about to begin, so Li Mi left Gu Kuang in Fengxiang Mansion.

Sitting opposite Li Mi, Wei Yingwu, courtesy name Yibo, is a descendant of the well-known Jingji Wei's Xiaoyao Gongfang.

However, Wei Yingwu already had an official position. Instead of taking the imperial examination, he entered the official position with the shadow of his family, and temporarily got a small official in Honglu Temple.

Gu Kuang was going to take the autumn exam this year, and Wei Yingwu didn't know why he asked himself out at such an important exam juncture.

Gu Kuang said coyly, "Brother Yibo, you are a member of a big family and have a lot of knowledge. I need you to give me a detailed look at this matter."

Wei Yingwu was free and unrestrained by nature, so he said directly: "Brother Bu Weng, just say what you want, why bother to act like a little lady?"

Gu Kuang then said: "A few days ago, Brother Yibo knew about the Longyou Governor's Mansion giving gifts to the court ministers, right?"

Wei Yingwu nodded. Although he was a small official from Sesame Mung Bean, he was well-informed, so he naturally knew about this major event that caused a sensation in Fengxiang Mansion.

Gu Kuang said: "Master Mi is not in Fengxiang Mansion, so I sent the envoy who stayed in the backyard of the Dudu Mansion, but I didn't expect that the embassy who stayed in the business was very open and came to the door, saying that he wanted to send me a gift."

Wei Yingwu pointed at Gu Kuang and laughed and said, "Brother Bu Weng, are you confused? The Governor's Mansion left you a gift in the backyard?"

You must know that this time the Dudu Mansion's gift-giving has aroused heated discussions in the court, and the simple matter of gift-giving has made the whole court look at this business empress with admiration.

Whether it is visiting the residence of the court ministers or personally visiting the door to thank the gift, Shangbo has done everything impeccably.

Not only that, but the gift-giving in the backyard of the Longyou Governor's Mansion can also be said to be a hidden scheming.

For example, among the prime ministers of Zhengshitang, Wei Jiansu, the prime minister who had a good relationship with King Guangping, did not give gifts at Shangbo.

In addition, the ministers and ministers of various ministries, and the chief officials of the various supervisory divisions of the imperial court, who had made good friends with King Guangping, all did not receive gifts from the Dudu Mansion's backyard.

And some young upstarts in the imperial court, or officials recognized as capable and talented, also received gifts from the Dudu Mansion's backyard.

Even now there is a saying in Fengxiang Mansion that those below the third rank who can receive gifts from the backyard of the Dudu Mansion are the elites of the imperial court.

This incident was enough to shock the whole court.

You must know that King Jianning was sent to Longyou after His Majesty Lingwu ascended the throne.

It can be said that King Jianning has no foundation at all in the court.

But how could King Jianning have such an understanding of the overall situation of the court?
Some of King Quang Binh's henchmen, who had a very distant relationship with the East Palace on weekdays, were all pointed out by Shangbo by giving gifts this time.

When Wei Yingwu heard that Gu Kuang had received a gift from the backyard of the Longyou Governor's Mansion, he couldn't help laughing.

Gu Kuang took off a delicate pocket watch from his belt and pushed it to Wei Yingwu.

Seeing this pocket watch, Wei Yingwu's expression changed.

Most of the gifts given by the Longyou Governor's Mansion to the court officials were just what they wanted.

But there is only the clock, which is included in every gift.

The gorgeous clock soon became the most coveted thing for the dignitaries of Fengxiang Mansion.

There is no way, this thing is usually placed in the study room or the main hall where visitors are seen. With such a delicate and accurate clock, who would not be envious of it.

Those high-ranking officials who failed to receive gifts also asked acquaintances to buy clocks and watches.

What Gu Kuang took out was a gift from the Dudu Mansion's backyard to the little official—a pocket watch.

Compared with clocks decorated with gold and precious stones, pocket watches do not use any expensive materials.

Although the material of the brass case is not expensive, pocket watches are more complicated than desk clocks in terms of precision and compactness.

Pocket watches can already be produced in Longyou's workshop, although with the current processing precision, it is impossible to make a tourbillon-structure watch movement that is accurate to the next generation.

But this kind of pocket watch, which needs to be wound up every day and needs to be adjusted every other day, is already a very precise timekeeping tool.

Seeing the pocket watch that Gu Kuang took out, Wei Yingwu finally confirmed that Gu Kuang had really received a gift from the backyard of the Longyou Governor's Mansion.

Looking at the exquisite pocket watch, Wei Yingwu was quite jealous.

He knew that a small official like himself, with sesame seeds and mung beans, would definitely not receive the gift from the backyard of the Dudu Mansion.

"Is this the only pocket watch?" Wei Yingwu asked.

Gu Kuang said, "In addition to the pocket watch, there is also a set of books."

"a set of books?"

Gu Kuang said: "A set of general history includes "Historical Records", "Han Shu", "Later Han Shu", "Three Kingdoms" and "Jin Shu".

"Good job!"

Wei Yingwu couldn't help admiring.

If it's just the Four Books and Five Classics, most readers will have a set.

But history books are different. A set of history books has many volumes, and a set of "Historical Records" alone is worth a lot.

A complete set of history books is already a very precious gift for a scholar like Gu Kuang who has no official position.

"Could it be that you want to get a gift from Brother Bu Weng so that you can get close to Bi Gong in a detour?"

Gu Kuang thought for a while and said, "That's right. I'm currently staying at Mi Shi's house, and the gift I gave to Mi Shi has been returned. It seems that the backyard of the Governor's Mansion is for Bi Shi to see."

Gu Kuang said hastily, "I'd better return these presents."

Wei Yingwu said, "It's not like the Governor's Mansion gave you a gift alone, and there are not a few who accept the gift. Why did you return it?"

Gu Kuang said again: "What if the teacher blames me?"

Wei Yingwu said: "Master Mi is Master Mi, and Brother Bu Weng is Brother Bu Weng. Besides, Brother Bu Weng is about to enter an official position in Qiuwei. If he wins Jinshi, it is impossible to ask Master Mi for everything, right?"

Gu Kuang quickly said: "Brother Yibo has insight! Let's go, after drinking tea today, go to my place to read."

"Brother Yibo, you don't know that this Longyou paper is really as white as snow, smooth as jade when rubbed on your hands, and there is a scent of ink in the book."

Wei Yingwu wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth. For scholars like them, a set of exquisite books is really irresistible.

Gu Kuang said again:
"In addition to these sets of history books, the Governor's Mansion also sent a set of strange books in the backyard."

"Strange book?"

"It's a set of books called "Zizhi Tongjian", which is said to be written by a great Confucian in Longyou."

Longyou Great Confucian?

This made Wei Yingwu puzzled.

Longyou also has a well-known great Confucianist in the whole country?
isn't it?
Everyone in the world now knows that Longxi is a general and Hedong is a prime minister.

Jianghuai and Bashu are economically prosperous, and there are many scholars of literature.

Where is Kelongyou?
To put it bluntly, Longyou is a cultural desert, but to put it bluntly, Longyou is exiled prisoners.

Which erudite Confucian would settle in Longyou.

Gu Kuang said: "This book was written from King Weilie of Zhou to Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty. It takes time as the outline and events as the purpose. It is a book that connects the past and the present."

Gu Kuang remembered what the posthumous envoy had said when he was donating the book.

"King Jianning said that this book is 'in view of the past, it can be used to govern Taoism', and based on Emperor Taizong's saying that history is a mirror, he named this book "Zi Zhi Tong Jian"."

Now Wei Yingwu was dumbfounded.

Although poetry and poetry are also literature, compared with writing history books, the workload and difficulty are not the same!

You must know that writing a history book is really going to take a lot of money and spend a lifetime of effort.

Among the chronological history books based on time, the most famous one is "Zuo Zhuan".

It is said that Zuo Qiuming spent half his life writing "Zuo Zhuan".

Moreover, the writing of history books does not mean that poetry, song and fu depend on talent.

It is necessary to read a large number of historical books and collect various scattered historical materials.

It can be said that this is the greatest achievement of ancient literature!
How could someone in Longyou write such a book?

Wei Yingwu didn't even want to drink tea now, he said to Gu Kuang:

"Brother Bu Weng, can you take a look at these wonderful books?"

Gu Kuang immediately said: "Of course there is no problem, I will sweep the couch to welcome Brother Yibo!"

The two rushed back to Gu Kuang's house immediately. When Wei Yingwu saw the white Longyou books on the bookshelf, he couldn't help rubbing the books, showing an obsessed expression.

And when he saw a whole row of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", he almost stopped breathing with excitement!
Just flipping through the catalog, Wei Yingwu couldn't take his eyes off, strange book!It is really a strange book!
He immediately said to Gu Kuang: "Brother Bu Weng, can you let me stay overnight and read this book at night?"

Gu Kuang said casually, "Welcome!"

While Wei Yingwu was eagerly reading "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", Shang Bo led his men and pulled a box to Wei Yingwu's house.

Although Wei Yingwu was born in the Wei family, but now that Gyeonggi has fallen, he is not the principal of Wei's family in Gyeonggi.

Naturally, his salary could not afford to hire servants. After Shang Bo knocked on the door, a woman said:
"My lord hasn't returned today, you can leave a greeting card and come back tomorrow."

Shang Bo asked someone to leave a box at the door, and then said to the woman inside:
"I'm Shangbo, the posthumous envoy of the Longyou Governor's Mansion. I admire Wei Lang's poetic talent, so I came to visit."

"This is a gift from King Jianning to the talented people in Fengxiang Mansion, so I will leave it at the door."

After saying this, Shang Bo turned around, ignored the sound of the door opening behind him, and left Wei Yingwu's house quickly.