Jiuxi

Chapter 496 Chapter 494 [Little Follower]

This court meeting was ordinary yet extraordinary.

The content of the political discussion was basically expected by the ministers, such as the supply of food and grass for the Jiangbei frontier army, the pilot implementation of the economic boundary law, and the appointment, dismissal and transfer of officials in some state governments. These are also the main issues that civil and military officials have been worrying about recently.

What's unusual is that the emperor's state today is unexpected.

Although the court meetings have been held normally, the emperor is rarely absent, and there are no problems in the operation of the court, most of the important ministers who can enter the Duancheng Hall, especially those close to the imperial court, can find that the emperor does not look very good in the past month or two. , that is visible fatigue and weakness.

In addition, the prince was granted the power to supervise the country and assist the government, and the six Fus and subordinate officials in the East Palace were all important officials in the court. These actions will inevitably arouse people's imagination.

Until today when we saw the emperor who was as calm and full of energy as ever, everyone's hearts that had been hanging on him were finally put back in their stomachs.

In fact, some people in the government and the public were panicking during this period. Enemies were invading from the north and the south at the same time. No one was sure that the Daqi army could achieve the final victory. If the emperor could not manage the government normally at this time, it would obviously be a war that could shake the foundation of the dynasty. disaster.

Now seeing the emperor's dragon in good health, people's hearts instantly calmed down.

Therefore, when Li Duan decided to further expand the area where the Jing boundary law was implemented, from Lishui Prefecture in Jiangzhou south of the capital to the entire Jiangzhou, he was somewhat unexpectedly given the full support of the Manchu civil and military officials.

The court meeting ended successfully, Li Duan returned to the harem, and the ministers exited Duancheng Hall one after another.

The capital has been overcast with clouds for many consecutive days, and today we can finally see the sun. Although the winter air is still cold, the warm sunshine always makes people feel happy.

Lu Chen looked at the ministers in the broad square in front of him, and looked up at the bright sunshine with a complicated expression.

Of course he knew why the emperor's illness disappeared.

"Marquis Lu."

Suddenly an old voice sounded from behind.

Hearing this increasingly familiar and cordial voice, Lu Chen quickly adjusted his emotions, turned around and saluted, "Good morning, Mr. Xiang."

Li Daoyan was obviously used to this young man's occasional playful temperament, so he joked: "Young people who are as observant of etiquette as Marquis Lu are now rare."

Lu Chen was just about to say that he was a barbarian from the border, but suddenly he remembered that the old man's third grandson was still exiled in the bitter cold land of the southwest border because of him, so he changed his mind and said: "How can you not know in front of the old prime minister? present?"

Li Daoyan smiled and said: "In that case, please follow me at home. Some time ago, the juniors from my hometown sent some jars of fine wine Dihuayun. You can try it and take it back if you like it."

"It is better for me to be respectful, junior, than to obey my orders."

Lu Chen agreed with a smile, and then accompanied the old man out of the palace. After he got on the carriage, he told Qin Zilong who was waiting outside the palace, and followed the prime minister's carriage with more than 20 soldiers.

This time, Li Daoyan did not choose to entertain Lu Chen in Jinlin Hall, the main hall of the Li family. Instead, he chose to entertain Lu Chen in the rather quiet Huating Banshui Pavilion in the northeast corner of the mansion.

There were no servants or maids here, and they were all dismissed by Li Daoyan.

"Old Prime Minister, the name of this wine is Dihuayun. It sounds quite unique. I wonder what the allusion is?"

Lu Chen looked at the wine jar in front of him. After removing the lid, he felt the aroma of wine overflowing. It was indeed a rare and fine wine.

"There is no allusion to it, it's just a name randomly chosen by a poor scholar from the countryside."

Li Daoyan smiled and then said: "If you are patient, I will tell you a story related to this wine."

"The story is good. Juniors like to listen to stories the most."

Lu Chen made a gesture of listening.

"This story is some years old, and the specific time, dynasty and place are unknown. It is said that there was a young man who was unappreciated for his talent. His family was poor and he had no relatives. He couldn't even pay for the expenses of going to Beijing to take the exam, and he was depressed all day long. Later. Later He learned that there was a philanthropic wealthy businessman in the local area, but he couldn't bear to go and pray for help. This young man was not the kind of pedantic person who studied hard. He usually liked to delve into some things, and he accidentally thought of a way to make wine, so he came up with it. The appearance of the first pot of flower clouds.”

"The reason why he chose this name is because the wealthy businessman's name has the word "cloud" in it, and Dihua is a flower that the locals love very much. Although the young man brewed Dihua Cloud, the taste of the wine is It was mediocre and not very fragrant at all, so it naturally couldn't attract the attention of others. In desperation, this young man knocked on the door of the wealthy businessman with the best jar of Ogi flower clouds. "

Speaking of this, Li Daoyan suddenly paused and asked, "Guess what happened next?" Lu Chen said unhurriedly: "I guess the young man didn't see the wealthy businessman at all, and was kicked out by the door of that family. When he got out, the wine jar fell to the ground and broke into pieces, and the clouds of flowers created by his hard work were mixed into the mud. "

Li Daoyan was startled, then laughed and said: "This is a common thing. But the fact is just the opposite. The doorman of that house politely invited the young man in, and the wealthy businessman directly bought the altar of Dihua for one hundred taels of silver. Yun. With this money, the young man went to Beijing to take the exam. A year later, he was awarded the gold medal and finally became a high-ranking official. After the young man became successful, he helped the wealthy businessman several times to repay his kindness. I once asked a wealthy businessman why he spent one hundred taels of silver on that jar of wine."

Facing the old man's interested gaze, Lu Chen said calmly: "For a wealthy businessman, one hundred taels of silver is not worth mentioning, but if this money is exchanged for the gratitude of a talented young man, it will be extremely valuable to him. Good deal.”

"Yes, but not entirely."

Li Daoyan smiled and said: "The wealthy businessman refused to say anything at first, but in the end he couldn't deal with it, so he could only answer honestly. It turned out that he had known about this young man's situation for a long time, and had been waiting for the young man to take the initiative to visit. He said, if this young man He didn't even have the courage to sacrifice his face, so why didn't he take a hundred taels of silver to drink wine? It was better to throw it to the brothel courtesans and hear a few sweet sounds than to waste it on a timid scholar. "

Lu Chen's heart moved slightly and he said with emotion: "This wealthy businessman is a very interesting character. Although this story does not have the dramatic twists and turns, it still has a unique charm. Old Prime Minister, that young man must be the ancestor of the Li family?"

"Yes."

Li Daoyan leaned back in his chair and said calmly: "That is a story hundreds of years ago. It has been passed down orally from generation to generation of the Li family. It may have deviated from the truth of the matter, or it may be that future generations are far-fetched and want to make this Ogi Huayun sold it at a high price and deliberately made up such a story. "

Lu Chen understood the idea and nodded: "Yes, the ancestors of the Li family exchanged a jar of Dihua Cloud for a hundred taels of silver. Now the price of this jar of Dihua Cloud must not be higher than the price of the ancestor's brew, but it cannot be too low either. The ancestors were shamed. I guess the current price of a jar of Dihuayun is ninety-nine taels?"

Li Daoyan couldn't help laughing, raised his hand and nodded at him, and said more relaxedly: "Don't worry, I won't accept your money. I once heard His Majesty joke about you, a young man who obviously has a rich family, and the Lu family business is growing rapidly. When it comes to fighting for money, I have the habit of being blinded by money.”

"Now that I am also a prince, I can't keep asking my father for money."

Lu Chen smiled and then said: "Back then, the ancestors of the Li family exchanged a jar of Dihua Cloud for hundreds of years of Jinlin Li family's foundation, establishing the foundation of the most prominent family in the south of the Yangtze River. Now the old prime minister has taken out this jar of Dihua Cloud, I wonder what price the juniors will have to pay?”

"The price is too high. I just want to ask Marquis Lu to do a small favor for me."

Li Daoyan was still calm and his eyes were bright.

Lu Chen said calmly: "Please tell me directly, Mr. Xiang."

A tall and thin young man walked into Banshui Pavilion and saluted Li Daoyan when he came near. Then, encouraged by the old man's eyes, he turned and saluted Lu Chen and said, "Young man Li Gongxu, I have met Lord Lu."

Lu Chen raised his eyes and saw that the young man had a childish look on his face. Although he looked like he was fifteen or sixteen years old, his actual age was definitely younger.

He was worthy of being a young man who was personally trained by the left prime minister. In front of Lu Chen, a martial artist who had killed countless people, he showed neither cowardice nor fear, nor was he arrogant and arrogant. He was not even remotely similar to Li Yunyi and Li Sanlang.

At this moment, Lu Chen had vaguely guessed the old man's intention, but he still found it a bit unbelievable, so he looked at the other person and said, "Old Prime Minister, I am Wu Xun."

The implication is that as the leader of a clan in the south of the Yangtze River and the civil servant leader of the Manchu Dynasty, isn't it a bit of a joke to have your most proud grandson here?
Li Daoyan said: "He is the little grandson of an old man, nicknamed Jiaoyu'er. Although he looks very weak, he has been studying and practicing martial arts since he was five years old, and he is now considered to be thick-skinned. Of course, His meager skills are definitely not comparable to those of Marquis Lu, and he is not even qualified to serve as Marquis Lu's personal soldier. I mean, Marquis Lu doesn't have to worry about being pampered. He can follow you through thick and thin, and I guarantee that. There won’t be any complaints.”

Lu Chen hesitated and said: "Old Prime Minister, you know that I know nothing about poetry. The young master is at the age where he is studying hard. It is really not good for him to be with me."

"There are enough people studying in the Li family, and there is no shortage of him."

Li Daoyan's eyes were deep at this moment and he said slowly: "A large family that has been passed down for hundreds of years looks like flowers and brocade cooking oil, but in fact it is full of decay and decline. The children of the Li family either spend their days delving into things like flies and dogs, or they are full of life. The brain is full of intrigues, and the signs of defeat are becoming more and more obvious. The young fish is still very young, only fourteen years old now. It is precisely because he has not been contaminated by the decadent atmosphere in this mansion that the old man sent him to Marquis Lu. He can see the vast world outside and see what the world is really like.”

"In this way, maybe we can achieve something."

Lu was silent.

Li Daoyan looked at the jar of Dihuayun, with a hint of pleading in his tone: "Marquis Lu, this jar of wine is just a gift, I will definitely not let your hard work go in vain."

For the prime minister in charge of the court, this sentence was no longer in line with his usual style, so it became more and more sincere.

Lu Chen looked at the old man's complicated eyes and finally nodded.

Li Gongxu immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Lu Chen, and a clear voice sounded.

"Disciple Li Gongxu, greeting sir!"

(End of this chapter)