Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 741 The Dragon Gate Finally Falls
The setting sun shines obliquely, and the afterglow falls on the glazed tiles of the Hanyuan Hall, which looks particularly bright. Inside the hall, incense smoke lingers, and jade feather fans sway gracefully, driving away the stuffiness in the air.

Hanyuan Hall,
Zhang Jinyu led his men to inspect the area, but nothing else happened. It was unknown whether the punishment in the morning had deterred others, or whether it was because the children of officials were all elegant gentlemen, of course, hypocrites were also included. Everything was stable, and most people had entered, so that there were only a few candidates in the hall.

Zhang Jinyu led Ning Bian and others out of the main gate of the hall and stood on the jade steps of the porch of Hanyuan Hall. They could overlook the entire garden, with green trees and the fragrance of flowers.

The air after the rain was indeed fresh, but it was almost evening. Your Highness, are you not going to come back? It has been so long, and the food that was just prepared is almost cold. Suddenly, I thought that although Your Majesty and the three princes are the monarch and the minister, they are also father and son. Maybe they have eaten and drunk enough together.

Thinking of this, Zhang Jinyu suddenly felt a toothache. He had forgotten about this, but he couldn't be too serious. As long as things were done, it would be fine. Tomorrow's test should be in the early morning. It doesn't matter whether the three princes come back or not. It's better if they don't come, as there will be less burden. I just don't know what kind of test questions His Majesty will give. I guess it should be about the chaos in southern Beijing. After all, most of the prefectures in southern Beijing have been lost. Can the county city be saved? What about the other two?
Speaking of the government troops in various cities south of the capital, the 30,000 troops under the command of the general of south of the capital, plus the general of the county garrison, there are at least 100,000 soldiers and horses. Even if it is 100,000 pigs, it will take many days to kill them. Now, there is no news from the court and the Imperial City Bureau, which means one thing, that all the officials in south of the capital cannot be trusted. I am afraid that Wang Ziteng will listen to slander and fall into the trap.

Just as he was thinking about it, here comes the Cao Cao. At the front gate, three sneaky figures began to hide along the corner of the wall. Zhang Jinyu saw it all and found it a little funny. Looking at the backs of the three princes, he saw large and small bags on their backs, obviously they brought good things.

"Ningbian, bring the three princes here,"

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

Ning Bian looked up and saw the three princes. He waved and asked the soldiers behind him to go over and bring them back.
After a while, three princes, still wearing eunuchs' clothes, hurried over. When they came close, they all bowed and saluted.
"Meet the Commander-in-Chief,"

Why are they so polite? Seeing the three princes being so respectful, Zhang Jinyu felt uneasy. Could it be that His Majesty was causing trouble again?
"Your Highnesses are too polite. This is embarrassing for me. I wonder if Your Highnesses are ready to eat. There is still some food left for Your Highnesses in the tent."

What needs to be said must be said. Zhang Jinyu clasped his fists and returned the salute. He then glanced at the eunuch who was following him. He thought that this must be the emperor's spy.
"Well, in reply to the Marquis, I have already had dinner at my father's place, so I am a little late. Oh, and I also brought back some cakes for the Marquis."

The second prince, Zhou Long, actually burped, took off the package on his back, and was about to hand it to Marquis Luo Yun.
Seeing this, Zhang Jinyu said in his heart, "As expected."
Your Majesty's love for your child is truly enviable.

"It's not too late, and I'm not hungry. Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. Now that you're full, may I ask you something?"

Everything else was a small matter, but the test questions were a big deal. She didn't know what kind of questions His Majesty had set. If they were too difficult or too remote, that would be troublesome. As for the package handed over to her, Zhang Jinyu would never take it. She thought that they were snacks prepared by His Majesty for the three princes. If she accepted them all at once, His Majesty would know and would not know how to ridicule her. She quickly stretched out her hand to push the package back. The second prince had a good heart, but was a little reckless, probably because he was still young.

Listen to the Marquis's question,
The eldest prince Zhou Ding quickly took out a memorial from his arms and was about to hand it over, but Zhang Jinyu raised his hand to stop him and replied;

"Your Highness, don't worry. You can hand the memorial to me tomorrow. Today, I won't do that for the time being. We still have to follow the rules. Your Highnesses can go back and have a good rest. You don't have to worry too much. Today, I would like to thank your Highnesses for helping me. I am very grateful."

"You are too polite, Commander-in-Chief. This is all for the court."

Zhang Jinyu bowed to the three men, but they were unwilling to accept. The eldest and second princes, one on each side, helped Luo Yunhou up.

Zhang Jinyu also pretended to stand up and persuaded the three princes to go back and rest, and then instructed Ning Bian;
"At sunset, the gates of Hanyuan Hall must be closed. Three days later, the gates cannot be opened until the exams are finished."

"Here!"

The eldest prince Zhou Ding hesitated a little. Seeing that the Marquis did not take the memorial, he thought of the rules of the imperial examination and had to put the memorial back into his arms. The second prince also put the cakes and food back on his back. At first glance, it seemed that he was going on a long journey. It was the third prince Zhou Long who asked;
"My Lord, since the examinees have all gone to the back hall to rest, why did you leave so many people behind to guard?"

"Haha, good question, Your Highness. Although most of the candidates are sons of officials and noble families, I also think they are all gentlemen. But Your Highness, there are so-called gentlemen and hypocrites. So, instead of relying on the gentleman's agreement, it is better to treat them strictly according to military law. I think that only by combining the gentleman's style with the strict military law can we ensure safety. Otherwise, if one person makes a mistake, it will not be a trivial matter. Last year's imperial examination is a lesson for us."

Zhang Jinyu did not play tricks and spoke rather tactfully, saying that what he meant by gentlemanly conduct was all nonsense. If there really was an answer and no one was watching, you think they would copy it or not.

"My Lord, you are so talented, I have said too much."

The Third Prince thought about it and realized that it was true. He clasped his fists and apologized.

Zhang Jinyu waved her hand and smiled.

"Your Highness, there is no need to be polite. The examination questions will be read out tomorrow morning when the candidates take their seats. Your Highness, do not worry. Tonight, the three of you can relax a little and go for a walk in private. However, Your Highness should refrain from going to the back hall. Those censors are not easy to deal with."

Zhang Jinyu also had the intention of fooling the three princes, and winked at them, which made the three princes smile and responded in unison;

"Here!"

With a shout of thanks, the three princes, led by their eunuchs, returned to their own tents.

Zhang Jinyu raised his eyes to take a look at the sky. There was still a ray of afterglow of the setting sun hanging in the sky. It was just before the Dragon Gate fell.

suddenly,

But behind him came the voice of Master Chu Nian.

"My Lord, I have finished the meeting. Most of the students should have come in. I counted the number of people and there are about 1,120 of them, including students from the four major academies, Qinglian, Qiuhu, Yiyong, and Bailu, as well as most of the students from the Imperial Academy. All of them have arrived."

Master Chu Nian, exhausted, came closer. After a day of inspection, he was finally done. Zhang Jinyu turned around and immediately walked over to help him.
"Thank you for your hard work, Brother Chu. You should have a good rest tonight. According to the plan, after landing at Longmen, except for a few people who are on patrol, everyone else can have a good rest. Dinner has been left for you in the tent."

"Thank you, my Lord. I deserve it."

Mr. Chu held onto the wall pillar, his body still a little unstable, and he felt quite powerless.
"Someone, help Master Chu back."

Upon seeing this, Zhang Jinyu quickly called two of his personal soldiers to help Lord Chu back. After they had said a few words, the remaining light in the sky finally dimmed, and the voice of the captain guarding the gate came from the courtyard.

"It's time! Close the gates. Do not open them without permission."

"Here."

With a creaking sound, the door of Hanyuan Hall finally fell down!

Not only did the people in Hanyuan Hall breathe a sigh of relief, but even the imperial guards outside breathed a sigh of relief. Many of the imperial guards on duty seemed to have lost their strength and leaned against the wall to rest.
"General, we are finally done. Damn, there were so many people, the brothers were exhausted."

Captain Sun Shan almost sat down on the ground and rubbed his stiff legs, which were numb from exhaustion.
As for the Imperial Guards, Yu Dingzhi no longer had the dignity of the past, and he also collapsed against the wall, thinking about the hardships he had suffered in the past, which he had only endured in the Imperial Guards' training grounds. Since he came to the palace to guard the city gates, he had never suffered such hardships. Looking at the crooked Imperial Guards brothers around him, he felt the same way. However, he took a look at the Chongwen Gate, which was still open, and immediately shouted;
"Don't worry, let's close Chongwen Gate. It won't be open for three days. Let's take a good rest, brothers. Close the city gate first."

Following General Yu's order, the imperial guards guarding the city gate came down from the city wall, closed the gate of Chongwenmen, bolted it, and it opened with a loud bang.

The heavy weight in their hearts finally fell.
"General, can we go back to the mansion and rest?"

When Sun Shan saw that the door was closed, he thought that everything was fine and wanted to know if he could go back home to rest. So he asked on impulse.

"What are you thinking about? Tonight, we can't go anywhere. No, we can't go anywhere in the next three days. We can only rest after the examinees leave the palace. If you want to go back to sleep, you are dreaming."

Yu Dingzhi slapped the brim of Captain Sun's hat in annoyance. This kid didn't do a good job and was very sneaky. If it weren't for the fact that they had worked together for many years, he would have kicked him back long ago. "Okay, who are you crying for? Change your clothes, go out the side door, buy some food and wine, and have a drink. That's fine. Oh, I forgot, just buy the food, the wine is ready."

I was just thinking about taking some time off to have a drink on the top of the city wall, when I suddenly remembered that the Marquis had sent me a cart of good wine, so I might as well try it first.
Sun Shanben still looked listless, but when he heard the general say he wanted to have a drink, he immediately perked up. He looked around and found that his brothers had all gone back and no one was paying attention.

"General, don't worry. The new dishes from the Youlai Restaurant in the west of the city will be served on time tonight."

It didn't mean Dingzhi was talking. He just stood up and rushed to the top of the city wall.
"You kid, change your clothes."

In the north of Beijing, beside the Qinghu River,
The residence of Prime Minister Li Chonghou,

In the main hall,

There was actually a banquet set up, which was prepared by all the gentlemen to congratulate the eldest son Li Chaosheng.

Not many people came, only Lord Chang from the Ministry of Justice, and several disciples of Lord Prime Minister, including Master Yang, Sun Boyan, and Luan Gongfu, who came to the mansion with gifts to congratulate the eldest son.

Time is fast,

The maids and servants of Li's mansion followed the instructions and set up a banquet in the hall. Everyone was chatting and laughing, and when they saw that it was almost time, they went to the table one after another and waited for everyone to sit down.

The first to speak was Master Yang, who picked up the wine cup and praised:

"Everyone, our teacher is resting in the back hall, so we should not disturb him. We are here today to congratulate the eldest son and hope that our teacher is in good health. I will drink this cup first as a sign of respect. Come on! Drink!"

Master Yang was full of heroic spirit. It was unknown whether it was because his mentor had recovered his composure in the court or because his son had passed the imperial examination, so he was in high spirits. He drank the wine in his hand in one gulp.

Then, he filled up another cup of wine and continued;
"This second cup, congratulations to the eldest son for getting his wish and entering the cabinet. I think soon, the eldest son will have a seat in the cabinet. The title of the young cabinet minister will be in his hands. Come on, drink."

He raised his head again and drank the whole cup of wine.

Sun Boyan, a good friend of Yang, had never seen Yang lose his composure before, so he stretched out his hand to stop him.
"Brother Yang, how can you drink like this? You can't be so blatant even if you want to drink too much. No one here has drunk a single glass. Sit down and take a break first."

Without waiting for Master Yang to speak, he pulled Master Yang back to his seat by the sleeve. The eldest son, Li Chaosheng, who was sitting in the main seat, smiled.

"Brother Sun, look at what you said. Brother Yang is able to congratulate me. I am grateful to you. I will toast to all the brothers with the third glass. Come on, drink!"

The eldest son also drank up the wine in his hand. He was not hiding his skills as usual. Instead, he showed his talents, which was very surprising.
"My Lord, in today's court, the teacher has taken the first step. How should the other steps be taken?"

Just when everyone was rejoicing, Luan Gongfu, who was sitting below, suddenly asked, since the Li party had returned to the court again, what should they use to compete with the northern and southern factions? If these people did nothing, wouldn't it be a waste of the mentor's hard work?

But the court has so many implications, what can be done?

For a moment, the atmosphere, which should have been lively, suddenly became cold, and everyone was silent and thinking.

The eldest son, who was sitting at the first seat, stroked his wine cup, suddenly smiled and asked;
"So, fellow students, do you have any good ideas? Today, the imperial examination begins. All eyes in the capital are on that. We have no chance."

Li Chaosheng sighed. He had wanted to start from Ningguo Mansion, but he never had the chance. Even if he had the chance, it would be too difficult to find another excuse. After all, no one could figure out His Majesty's intentions.
Only Chang Zuo, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, who was sitting on the other side, disagreed. He believed that the court had just stabilized and it was not appropriate to stir up more waves. Moreover, the nobles had always been patient, while the civil officials themselves were showing their edge and being aggressive.

"Master, three brothers, I have a different opinion?"

"Oh. Brother Chang, what do you think?"

Everyone's eyes fell on Master Chang.

Chang Zuo put down the wine cup in his hand, bowed to the people around him,
"My dear senior brothers, although we have helped you to enter the cabinet temporarily with the help of our teacher, you are not really in the cabinet after all. We need to work together to help you move up a little bit. When you really enter the cabinet, then we will have the strength to fight. Otherwise, we are nothing but duckweed without water."

"Well said, Junior Brother Chang, you have a keen eye. Ningguo Mansion is a place where civil and military forces clash. We are not strong enough to shake it. As for the chaos in the south of the capital, Luan asserted that the southern and northern factions played an unknown role in it. It seems to be a problem of the Ministry of Revenue, but I think it is the Ministry of Personnel who is causing trouble. If we want to make some achievements, we can only get out of these two places and benefit from Jiangnan."

Luan Gongfu didn't say a word all night, until this moment, he opened his eyes and pointed at the land of Jiangnan in a stern voice, saying that he had to jump out of the court and intervene in the local area to restore the prestige of the Li Party.

Everyone was very excited when they heard this. Li Chaosheng was confused. He seemed to understand, but also seemed not to understand.
"Brother Luan, do you mean Jiangnan?"

"Yes, young master. Jiangnan has always been the domain of the Eastern Palace. But since your majesty ascended the throne, many officials have been replaced. Also, when Marquis Luo Yun went to Jiangnan, many were killed. Now Jing Cunliang and Wang Mengshan are both in Jiangnan. This time, it's our chance."

An inexplicable look flashed across Luan Gongfu's face. Some things can be done but not said.

Everyone's face was uncertain. There were too many people watching Jiangnan. Lu Wenshan, that old fox, was not easy to fool. This was a risky move.
For a time,

Everyone was silent, even the eldest son Li Chaosheng had a gloomy face. Although his father asked him to let go of Jiangnan, how could he really let go of the chess pieces that had been arranged long ago? The world is so big, there is not much room left for the Li party.
Outside the Great Wall belongs to Marquis Luo Yun. The north is the territory of the eight dukes of the border army. There are the Gong family in the northwest, the Lang family in the southwest, and the governors and princes of various places in the south. The remaining few large counties are full of aristocratic families. Only in the south and north of the Yangtze River, although there are noble families, those people are exposed. If you avoid those people, it is undoubtedly a piece of fat meat. If you don't bite it, others will.
"Brother Sun, what do you think?"

When Sun Boyan heard the eldest son's question, he paused, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke;

"My Lord, Jiangnan is a good place. Everyone wants to go there and everyone wants to take a bite. However, when there are too many people who want to eat, there will be conflicts. Lu Wenshan looks harmless, but he has been able to suppress the Ministry of Revenue until now. Some of his methods are admirable. If you want to snatch food from his mouth, you must be very careful."

"You are just trying to boost others' morale and destroy your own prestige. You are not afraid of the people in the Ministry of Personnel."

Young Master Yang glared and scolded him. He didn't like what he heard.

"Brother Yang, please be patient. We have already made our moves. As for how to make them, we have discussed it."

Li Chaosheng knew that Brother Yang meant well, so he comforted him. As for the inner matters, once a move is made, there is no way to regret it. Now they are both in the first position. As for what to do next, he thought of his father's words. Gu Ping in Jingnan is a hidden piece. There are both obvious and hidden pieces, and Jiangnan is the obvious piece. Thinking of this, Li Chaosheng had a general idea in his mind.

The court now wants to increase taxes on the Weaving Bureau in Jiangnan, and that can only be done by increasing the output of raw silk. However, in the end, it still has to go that far, as the bargaining chip for converting farmland into mulberry trees is not an easy matter and involves many people. Wouldn't it be better if the government offices of various prefectures in Jiangnan could also be involved? As for the Weaving Bureau, it is too important. Thinking of what my father said, the words of Yang Chi, the eunuch in charge of the Sishejian in the palace, this person wants to enter the Silijian, but I'm afraid he can't. If he goes to Jiangnan and takes charge of the Weaving Bureau for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, can he be used?
"Hmph, don't be afraid, my lord. We will definitely support you in the court."

Young Master Yang was still a little angry, but he had nothing to say about how he treated Li Chaosheng.

Just as the eldest son was comforting him, Chang Zuo suddenly spoke again.
"My Lord, it is not impossible to make a move in Jiangnan, but the bargaining chips we have are not enough. As the saying goes, those who are righteous will have many supporters, while those who are unrighteous will have few. Why can't we unite some people and share the profits in Jiangnan?"

Li Chaosheng's eyes gleamed.
"You mean"

(End of this chapter)