I studied in modern times

Chapter 801 The Beginning of Favor
Li Erhu carefully served Lu Huiqing and Li Kui their meal.

Just like a servant, he takes care of every detail and provides perfect service.

Lu Huiqing has been observing him for almost a month.

So, when Li Erhu took the wine pot and poured him wine again, Lu Huiqing put down his chopsticks and stopped eating. For the first time during the meal, he spoke to Li Erhu and called him very affectionately: "Erhu..."

Li Erhu reacted immediately and bowed his head: "I am..."

"If possible, would you be willing to be my guest?" Lu Huiqing turned his head and looked at him and asked.

How could Li Erhu refuse?
He immediately imitated the words he had heard from the storytellers in the brothels and bowed his head: "I, Li Erhu, am willing to be your servant, and I will serve you forever and ever!"

He knows it very well!
In this Bianjing city, this cannibalistic city.

Any industry, once it reaches a certain scale, must have a backer.

The bigger the scale, the greater the support needed.

For example, Sun Ci, the most legendary merchant in the city of Bianjing today, was able to enjoy his current glory and luxury, isn't it because when the new emperor ascended the throne and wanted to recover the loan granted by the previous emperor for the market trade, Sun Ci was the first to respond, and he repaid the principal and interest in full at the first opportunity, thus gaining appreciation. To the extent that nowadays, Sun Ci is vaguely known as the "Imperial Merchant" in the market?

Lu Huiqing looked at Li Erhu seriously, but did not express his opinion immediately. He just said lightly: "Good!"

"But I cannot accept you as my disciple for the time being..."

Li Erhu raised his head, not quite understanding.

As far as he knew, the person before him was a powerful figure who could cover the sky with one hand in the capital.

After seeing this person, his father-in-law was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly.

The people in Kaifeng Prefecture ran faster than rabbits just by seeing his figure.

Then why did he say "not possible for now" when he was clearly willing to accept me as an employee?
what reason?
Lu Huiqing did not explain, but just said: "I will arrange your fate after I ask for your instructions..."

Lu Huiqing's eyes looked in one direction.

To the east of Bianjing, where Kaibao Temple is located.

Of course, it is also the location of the Donghua Gate of the Imperial City.

"But..." The big shot in front of him handed him a jade pendant and said, "Whether it succeeds or not, you should accept this jade pendant. It can be considered as a fate!"

After saying that, Lu Huiqing stood up and took Li Kui and the Yuan followers who came with him and left the house that Li Erhu bought in Anjiefang.

Yes, Li Erhu has moved to Anjiefang now.

He only wanted to manage his own spinning mill nearby.

Li Erhu respectfully escorted Lu Huiqing and his party to the entrance of Anjiefang, and then walked towards home.

As he walked, he thought: "Who... is that person?"

He recalled the other person's face, appearance, figure and accent.

He was thin, had a fierce face, cold brows, and spoke with a distinct Hedong accent. When he was around him, Li Erhu always felt like someone was pointing a sword at him, and he didn't dare to relax at all.

Obviously, they are the powerful people who hold high positions and have the final say.

But in today's dynasty, are there still any powerful people from Hedong?
Li Erhu shook his head and returned home.

My wife and mother have already come out from the back house.

Li Erhu immediately threw away all the anxiety and sadness on his face, put on a smiling face, and went to greet him.

……

After entering the city through Dailou Gate, Li Kui finally couldn't resist his curiosity and asked, "Sir... why did you hesitate?"

"Are you talking about Li Erhu?"

"Ok!"

"He is not simple!" Lu Huiqing said slowly.

"Si Heke, do you still remember when we first met?"

"Um……"

"He was selling silk cloth at the time!" Lu Huiqing said, "But whether it was Kaifeng Prefecture, the Street Office, or the Investigation Office, there was no reaction at all!"

"Si He thinks, are they deaf or blind?"

Li Kui swallowed his saliva. This was something he had never thought about, nor dared to think about.

"My husband means..."

Lu Huiqing smiled and said nothing.

"Why are you here, sir?"

Lu Huiqing smiled: "A gentleman loves money, but he gets it in a proper way!"

"Since I started my career, I have always loved fame and fortune!"

"Now, seeing a way to wealth and fame, of course I want to participate in it in order to get a piece of the pie!" At this moment, Lu Huiqing was as frank as an innocent child.

Li Kui opened his mouth, but finally swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

Because he knew that his eunuch was such a person.

Love money and be greedy for profit!
However, he never hides it like others do. Instead, he is open about it and lets everyone know about this characteristic of his.

Including the emperor!

Back then, when Lü Huiqing lost his mother, the late emperor gave him 50,000 strings of cash for funeral expenses.

If it were an ordinary person, he would definitely express gratitude profusely and show loyalty in various ways.

But Lu Huiqing felt that 50,000 strings of cash were not enough to hold a funeral for his mother.

Therefore, he publicly wrote a letter to the emperor, requesting him to grant him another ten thousand strings of cash.

It caused quite a stir at the time, and the crows in the Censorate impeached him for this.

The late emperor kept all the impeachments in his palace, and then issued a special decree to grant an additional 15,000 strings of cash as funeral expenses.

Li Kui was also present at that time.

He was almost scared to death!

I thought Eun-sang was crazy!

It was not until the late emperor's edict arrived that he realized that Prime Minister En had expected the late emperor to agree. As for the impeachment of the scoundrel? He never took it seriously!
Now, is it also normal?

Li Kui asked himself.

But he couldn't understand why Eun-sang did this?
Isn't this a taboo and something that can easily be used as a handle to attack others?
however……

This is Lu Huiqing!

A pure, straightforward, aggressive, and sometimes even crazy important official of the Song Dynasty!
No one can change him.

Including the retired Prime Minister Jiefu!
But the irony is that this is how Eun-sang has come to where he is today.

No matter how crazy he is or how reckless he acts.

The officials in the palace are always tolerant and never take it seriously.

Whether it is the previous emperor or the current one, it is consistent.

This has been proven by countless facts.

It was even confirmed again with the head of a person from Yaojun - Zhang Zhijian's head is still hanging on the city wall of Taiyuan City, warning everyone!

Just as he was thinking about this, Li Kui heard the order from the Prime Minister: "Si He, go buy me a copy of today's Bian Jing Newspaper..."

Li Kui came back to his senses and nodded quickly: "Yes!"

At this moment, he heard the street newsboy's cry: "Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale!"

"Today's latest edition of the Bianjing Newspaper!"

"The emperor read through all thirty volumes of documents in Chongwen Academy in one day. His intelligence and talent are gifted by heaven!"

"Hu Feipan, a commentator of this newspaper, praised this: The world is lucky to have such a wise leader! The country is lucky! The people are blessed!"

Li Kui listened to the hawking voices, took out his money immediately, bought one, and handed it to Lu Huiqing.

Lu Huiqing took it, glanced at the title and content, and smiled: "Good!"

"How lucky are we, the scholars and officials, to be born under a wise ruler?"

"This kindness and grace will never be repaid by my descendants for generations to come!"

……

In the Funing Palace, Zhao Xu was also reading today's Bian Jing news.

While watching, he also made comments.

"Tong Guan..." "You should be bolder!"

“That’s an understatement!”

"I am so smart, handsome, benevolent and wise that I can be born in this era. It is a blessing for all people in the world!"

"You should let everyone in the world know this, let all the people know that although I am in the palace, I am always concerned about the welfare of the common people. I take the people of the world as my responsibility, so I work day and night and deal with a myriad of affairs!"

Tong Guan listened and kowtowed repeatedly: "I will keep your teachings in my heart. When I return, I will recite your teachings day and night, take your teachings as my purpose, and rise early and sleep late, without hesitation!"

Zhao Xu smiled, picked up the milk tea prepared by Wen Xunniang, and savored its flavor carefully.

After he finished drinking, he said to Tong Guan: "Good!"

"You should keep this in mind!"

"I want my descendants, a hundred or a thousand years from now, to know that I was able to understand astronomy and geography at the age of eight, was familiar with all schools of thought at the age of ten, and was able to see through everything at the age of eleven, and to appoint talented people to positions..."

In modern times, General Grandpa was able to shoot down the evil fighter planes of the United States with stones when he was only eight years old.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty was born with knowledge. He understood astronomy and geography at the age of eight, and was familiar with all schools of thought at the age of ten. He was benevolent and virtuous. Is there any doubt that he was the purest monarch in history?
No fool would doubt it, right?

After some time, it should be no problem to let Tong Guan change his style to that of readers, and specifically praise his own benevolence and frugality, diligence and love for the people.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu felt a little proud.

Because he knew that he could really do all the things he boasted about.

Even if he can't do it, future generations will probably whitewash it for him.

In the future, there will be the American Taizu's Fallen Cherry Axe and the German sewer conscience.

Today, there should also be an emperor of the Song Dynasty who can rule the world with benevolence and filial piety, gather the teachings of various schools of thought, and open up a new path for the people of the world.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu took another sip of the milk tea made by Wen Xunniang.

This milk tea is made from just ordinary milk.

Is there anything special about it?

The tea soup used is Jianzhou Tuan tea, which is more expensive than its weight in gold.

In addition, consider the Zhao family's ancestral cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Just in case, Zhao Xu didn't add sugar.

Therefore, the sweetener used in this milk tea is the cliff honey that was tributed by the Tian family of Sizhou and the Dali Kingdom.

In order to satisfy Zhao Xu's appetite and so-called food safety.

It is very likely that at this time in Sizhou and Dali, there were honey collectors climbing on cliffs hundreds of feet high under the scorching sun, risking their lives to pick cliff honey for Zhao Guanjia thousands of miles away.

But Zhao Xu drank with a clear conscience.

After he finished drinking, he even sighed: "How frugal I am!"

"There are only a few pieces of clothing for each season, only three meals a day, and only three dishes for each meal..."

"Throughout the ages, who can stand shoulder to shoulder with me?"

Tong Guan could only bow his head and say: "Your virtue far surpasses that of the Han and Tang dynasties, and can be compared with the three dynasties!"

……

That evening, the Tongjiansi delivered two letters requesting an audience with the emperor.

One was written by Pu Zongmeng.

This is what the title implies!

The other letter was written by Lu Huiqing.

After Zhao Xu finished reading the two men's notes, he smiled and ordered: "Mr. Guo, arrange for Mr. Lu to stay until tomorrow afternoon..."

"As for Master Pu..."

"Let's schedule it for the second day of May!"

"Yes!" Guo Zhongxiao bowed his head and accepted the order.

"Right!" Zhao Xu remembered something: "Mr. Guo, go inform Mr. Shen to come to the back hall of Chongzheng Hall to see the emperor tomorrow morning!"

"only!"

……

Today is Shen Kuo's day off.

Therefore, Guo Zhongxiao went to Shen Kuo's residence in person and informed him that the emperor wanted to summon him to the palace to see him tomorrow.

When Guo Zhongxiao arrived, Shen Kuo was in the boudoir in the back house, washing his wife's feet.

no way!
My beloved wife is now pregnant.

He took the initiative to take over all matters, big or small, inside and outside the house.

Even washing his wife's feet, which was something maids used to do, is now his personal responsibility.

Afraid that something might happen to his wife!
When he learned that Guo Zhongxiao had come to visit and had been invited to the living room, he was stunned for a moment.

After all, Guo Zhongxiao hadn't taken the initiative to see him for two months.

Then, his wife Zhang grabbed his ears and said, "Sir, what are you still standing there for?" Zhang had a stern face and was about to roar like a lion.

Shen Kuo hurriedly said: "Madam...Madam...be gentle..."

Zhang didn't actually use much effort.

All her thoughts now were on the fetus in her belly, and she was too lazy to argue with her husband.

She just stared at Shen Kuo and said, "Why don't you go and see Sheren Guo and see if there is any bad news in the palace?"

As she spoke, she gently stroked her belly, which was gradually becoming more and more pregnant, and said pitifully: "The prosperity of this concubine and the child in my belly all depends on you, sir!"

Zhang is obsessed with power.

It can be said that if it were not for Zhang, Shen Kuo might not have had such a strong motivation to be promoted.

Seeing his beloved wife's expression, Shen Kuo couldn't help but said, "Madam, don't worry... don't worry..."

"Shall I go and see Mr. Guo now?"

She called the maid and told her to serve Zhang carefully, then left the boudoir and went to the living room.

Guo Zhongxiao is already waiting here.

When he saw Shen Kuo, Guo Zhongxiao recalled the story of Shen Kuo that was now widely circulated in Beijing. He barely resisted the urge to ask Shen Kuo - Brother Cunzhong, I heard that you were beaten by your sister-in-law some time ago?
When Shen Kuo saw Guo Zhongxiao's expression, he knew what he was thinking.
He cursed Liu Jun a few times in his heart, and at the same time he blamed Su Shi for doing such bad things and for having to write poems to mock Chen Xu.

As a result, now everyone regards him as the second generation of Chen Xu.

His nickname, Shen Longqiu, can no longer be washed away.

but……

Think about it another way...

Shen Kuo felt that this might allow him to go down in history.

Just like Fang Xuanling from the Tang Dynasty!

If you think about it carefully, it seems not bad!

Then, his mood became brighter, and he bowed to Guo Zhongxiao and asked, "Why did you come to my humble abode?"

Guo Zhongxiao exhaled slightly, looked at Shen Kuo, cleared his throat, and then said solemnly: "The emperor has sent a message! I, the minister who is in charge of the military equipment manufacturing department, listen to your order!"

Shen Kuo immediately knelt down facing the direction, bowed his head and said: "Your servant Kuo respectfully listens to your teachings!"

"Orally announce to Shen Kuo: I will see you in the back hall of Chongzheng Hall tomorrow!"

"Yes! I will obey your command!" Shen Kuo bowed again, then stood up, approached Guo Zhongxiao, and asked, "Mr. Guo, the emperor has summoned me to the palace... What is this?"

Guo Zhongxiao shook his head and said, "I don't know the Holy Heart either."

"But it shouldn't be a bad thing!"

"It seems that there is another important task that needs to be entrusted to Brother Cunzhong."

"Oh..." Shen Kuo's eyes were burning, as if he was thinking about something.

After seeing Guo Zhongxiao off, he immediately began to rummage through boxes and drawers looking for his own documents, catalogs, and documents that recorded the ideas he and his craftsmen and officials had when they brainstormed.

You must be fully prepared when you meet His Majesty!

This is how many of the emperor's close ministers feel today.

Because the emperor of the time had a jumpy mind and often jumped from one thing to another, and in the end it was proved that the two were really related!

(End of this chapter)