Daming wolf ride

Yixing.

It has been four years since Zhou Yanru dismissed the cabinet in the fourth year of Chongzhen. Although the glory of the first assistant was no longer there, but his 20-year official career was the leader of Donglin, especially as the first assistant of the cabinet for nearly four years. His net worth can be described as astonishing, enough for him to be pampered in his hometown and live a life of a rich man in a paradise.However, Zhou Yanru was only forty when he resigned from the cabinet, which was the heyday of his life, but he suddenly fell from the peak of power. The visiting disciples had old contacts, and the mood of dismissing the Prime Minister had just calmed down. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Wu was seriously ill and returned home.

After the death of his wife, Zhou Yanru became more and more depressed, more sad than heartbroken, and lost interest in everything. After more than a year, his party member Wu Zongda in the cabinet also resigned and went home. Because Wu was Mrs. Zhou's uncle, the two had a relationship very close.His disciple Dong Tingxian recruited several masters of purple clay teapots for him. Zhou Jishan, Chen Tingsheng and other sandmakers brought their teapots into the mansion.

Yixing Zisha originated in the Song Dynasty. Since Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty, since the beginning of Jinsha Temple, famous masters have emerged in large numbers. Zhou Yanru saw that the pots made by these famous masters were ever-changing and wonderful.He also ordered the smart house slaves to follow them to make pots, and he went to check on it from time to time, just like an ordinary rich man.

After receiving the letter from Qian Qianyi in Jingzhong, Zhang Pu set off for Yixing after hesitating in every possible way to complete the important event of Donglin and Fushe.After arriving at the Zhou Mansion and seeing Zhou Yanru, Zhang Pu hurriedly went forward to pay respects. Zhou Yanru took his hand and sat down. You came here in person on a cold day, but what's the matter?"

Zhang Pu glanced at the little boy, Zhou Yanru shook his head inwardly, waved his hand and told the little boy to leave, and laughed at himself: "I've been a long-lost person, what else can I talk about, you're a bit mysterious."

"Teacher lives so comfortably and comfortably." Zhang Pu heard him guess his purpose, but there was a bit of self-pity in his words, and he wondered where to start.

"It's easy to be unofficial!" Zhou Yanru took out a volume of manuscript from his sleeve, handed it to Zhang Pu, and said, "Take a look at how the manuscript is written. There is a scholar in Jiangyin who heard that I am obsessed with purple sand, so he brought a copy of it." The manuscript asked me to write the preface, but I haven't finished reading it yet!"

Zhang Pu took it and flipped through it, and saw the inscription "Yangxian Teapot Series" on the cover page, meticulously written, clearly put a lot of effort into it, slowly put the manuscript on the table, cupped his hands and said: "Teacher Forgive the recklessness of the students, the sage said: A gentleman is not a weapon, the teacher is in his prime, and his life career is not as great as Zisha? The teacher once held the top position and was the most respected scholar in the world, but he was willing to associate with those craftsmen and lowly servants, and he was oblivious to everyone For the company, the students are really sad for the teacher."

Zhou Yanru smiled and said: "Tianru, there is a lot of fun in it, you just haven't understood it yet."

"Your heart understands, it seems that the beauty is hard to tell the students!" Zhang Pu smiled and said: "Teacher, do you know that the capital city has been full of people recently, and it is really lively?"

"I haven't asked about those mundane things for a long time. Tianru, eat tea. I planted this tea tree and picked the tea leaves by myself. How does it smell?"

"It's really good. The teacher is really a great talent. He has the experience of a line of work. He can master one method and master all methods."

"Hahaha... Now that I'm a farmer who hides in the countryside, I have to pretend!" Zhou Yanru laughed a few times, then suddenly withdrew his smile, and said, "The bustle of the capital belongs to others and has nothing to do with me." .”

"That's right to listen to it as a joke. The teacher's kindness is right, and there is no difference at the moment. The student has a ready-made pair. Can the teacher be right?"

"Tell me and listen."

"A member of Beiwei in this department wrote a couplet on the back of the test paper. It became popular in the capital and became a joke in the streets and alleys. The first couplet is: The Ministry of Rites reopened the Tianbang, and the number one scholar went to the second place. Some panic. The so-called 'panic' is" The homonym of Huang Kong', Huang is Huang Shijun, and Kong is Kong Zhenyun, the two of them happened to be in high school by chance. Can the teacher think of the second line?"

Zhou Yanru shook his head and said: "I can't think of it, these couplets are specific, there must be something to say, and it won't work just by working on words."

"The second couplet is the most exciting: the cabinet was turned into a brothel, and the tortoise king's eight strips always suffered from plague. The tortoise's eight strips always suffered from plague. The homonym of '吴鸟' means 'Wugui', alluding to Wen Tiren, a native of Gui'an County, Wucheng, Huzhou; 'Wang Ba' The homonym of "Wang Ba" refers to Wang Yingxiong, a cabinet minister from Ba County, Sichuan; How can it be a blessing for the imperial court to be so contemptuous of a cabinet scholar?"

Zhou Yanru stroked his slender beard and said: "This couplet is full of scolding, but it's just a scholar's opinion. As far as Wen Tiren's talent is concerned, it is indeed beyond the reach of mediocrity, and it is beyond the reach of outsiders." Seeing the suspicion on Zhang Pu's face, he continued: "I have worked with Wen Tiren for many years, and his talent is indeed superior to everyone. First, he is shrewd, capable, and good at scheming. Whenever the cabinet drafts decrees on behalf of the emperor, he often encounters criminal names, money, food, etc. Knowledge has a lot of items and is confusing. Other cabinet members often have sad faces, but Wen Tiren understands it clearly at a glance, and there is no mistake. I admire his dexterity.

Second, he did a good job on the surface, but he was impeccable.After he joined the cabinet, he was honest and prudent, and he never tried bribery.In all fairness, I don't have his strengths.Third, he worked hard, and the cabinet colleagues he introduced were all mediocre, just filling in, so he stood out from the crowd.Fourth, Wen Tiren is good at figuring out the emperor's mind, and is skilled at catering.This is all very within reach. "

"Fortunately, he was a treacherous and treacherous man, and finally the emperor found out. He heard the imperial decree. When he left Beijing, he had only a few disciples farewell. The situation was very embarrassing." Zhang Pu said while observing Zhou Yanru's expression.

Zhou Yanru's face trembled slightly, he was immersed in the reminiscence of the past, he made a big mistake that year when he ascended to Sun Yuanhua and recruited Kong Youde, Wen Tiren took advantage of others' dangers, fell into trouble, and eventually fell out of favor and dismissed from office. , did not see through his wolfish ambitions as soon as possible, and couldn't help but gritted his teeth and said: "This is his retribution! Wen Tiren looks like a loyal elder, but in fact he is narrow-minded, and he will retaliate, and he is the most unforgiving. He thinks he is good at dancing, but in fact he has too many enemies, like a dam blocking water , sooner or later there will be a day of collapse."

Zhang Pu knew what he was hearing, and quickly took the opportunity to test out: "Once old thief Wen left, the teacher lost a strong enemy, and it happened to make a comeback."

Zhou Yanru waved his hand and said: "I don't want to do these foolish thoughts anymore. I haven't experienced the fame and fortune that the world is chasing after. I studied for scientific examinations, won the first prize, and Lu Mingyan was the chief. What an honor it is to be promoted to the first position! It’s nothing more than a return to the sea, what’s the point? It’s better to lie on the bed, smell the aroma of steamed new rice, and play with purple sand pots! When I was young, Reading "Three Kingdoms", I saw Liu Chan talking about being happy here and not thinking about Shu, and secretly laughed at him for his lack of ambition. Now I think about it and feel ashamed. It is human nature to enjoy pleasure and enjoy happiness, so why should you wrong yourself!"

Zhang Pu had heard that Zhou Yanru had taken in a new concubine, a young and beautiful widow.Less than a year after her husband's death, she couldn't bear the loneliness of the girl in spring, and made an appointment to elope with someone.The man hired athletes to carry the bridal sedan chair to welcome the bride, and passed by the door with a flutter. The widow pretended to be a witness to the marriage, went out, got into the bridal sedan chair, and left in a hurry.The widow's mother-in-law was alarmed and went to sue the officials. The widow was afraid of being arrested by the Yamen, so she joined the Zhou mansion overnight. Zhou Yanru died of his wife. When he was alone, he lusted after her beauty and took her as a concubine.

Thinking of this, Zhang Pu smiled slightly, and said: "The gentle village is the most exhausting heroic ambition, it seems that the teacher is not exempt." He took out a Zhu Dan from his sleeve and gently placed it on the table.

Zhou Yanru picked it up and looked at it, he couldn't help being furious, and cursed: "That widow voluntarily stayed in my house, what's wrong, the government has no reason to come to this muddy water for what? It's so lenient, a small way Tai didn’t know how to hide it, and said such stupid words by name on the Zhu Dan. I lay down at home and waited with the door wide open to see how brave he is, how dare he come to arrest people!”

Zhang Pu laughed to himself, knowing that he had touched a sore spot, and said, "Teacher, don't be angry. If this matter disturbs the government, no matter which family the woman breaks with, if it spreads, it will tarnish the teacher's reputation. How honorable the teacher is, In the end, you still have to face the court in public? Such trivial matters should be left to the disciples." After taking the Zhu Dan, he tore it to pieces and threw it on the ground.

"You, how dare you tear Zhu Dan into pieces?" Zhou Yanru was astonished.

Zhang Pu said indifferently: "It's okay, that Daotai was originally a student of my disciple and a member of the Fushe. On the way, my disciple went to the Yamen, just in time to catch up with the widow's mother-in-law who went to the Yamen to make noise again. I saw that it was brought here. Don’t worry about trivial matters, but if the teacher indulges in the tenderness of his children and cannot afford to lie down, the students will be helpless if there is any disaster in the future. The teacher is in his prime, and it is reasonable to be feared by others , the cabinet ministers feel uncomfortable because of the presence of the teacher, for fear of being replaced, if someone is like the old thief Wen who framed Qian Muzhai, he will definitely be put to death and then quickly, how will the teacher deal with it?"

Zhou Yanru was startled, frowned for a moment, gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! I'll listen to you, as long as there is the emperor's will, I will never refuse."

"Students are collecting money to unclog joints."

"How much do you need? I have money here." Zhou Yanru has money. If the money can buy the position of chief assistant, he doesn't care about moving out. Anyway, as long as he becomes the chief assistant, the money will come back in a blink of an eye.

But Zhang Pu hurriedly said: "You mustn't do it. The teacher's tree attracts the wind, and there are so many eyes watching! If you let the Dongchang and Jinyiwei's scouts, it will be a disservice. The students have already persuaded a few like-minded people to get some money. After coming out, Mr. Muzhai, Laizhi, and Meicun raised 3 taels, and Feng Quan, Hou Xun, and Ruan Dacheng each contributed 1 taels."

"Tianru, you dare to use Feng and Ruan's money. This is why the Fushe is superior to the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party said that it was killed by Wei Zhongxian, but in fact it was a loss because of the views of the sect!" Zhou Yanru felt a little emotional road.

Zhang Pu nodded and said: "It can be used by me. Students can't ask for it. How can they refuse? Now I have pooled 6 taels of silver and am going north to Beijing. It's just that there are bandits in the Central Plains recently, and the Jianghuai River is not peaceful. The road is not peaceful. We have to wait." Some days."

"Internal troubles and external troubles, it's the troubled season!" Zhou Yanru shook his head and sighed. He had always been worried about being pushed out by Wen Tiren and went to the field. He had no chance before. My calm heart suddenly became hot again.

........

During Wen Tiren's four years as the first assistant, he suppressed the Donglin Party a lot. The reason was that although he was the first assistant, the important positions in the court were all members of the Donglin Party. Wen Tiren, who wants to do things, feels that if he wants to really make a difference, he must attack the Donglin Party. For this reason, he and his party members, Cai Yichen, the minister of the Criminal Department, and the Bingke, Xue Guoguan, have attacked many Donglin Party members in the past few years.Cao Huachun from Dongchang went to Gusu to renovate the Fushe. It was also because Wen Tiren played a copy of the Fushe in front of the emperor. The emperor wanted Cao Huachun to go to the south of the Yangtze River to investigate and renovate the Fushe, so as to prevent the Fushe from reappearing in Donglin.

Wen Tiren feared that Zhang Pu, who had retired to his hometown of Taicang, would "rule the government from a distance" like Li Sancai in Donglin back then, so he sent his cronies to serve as local officials in the Suzhou area to collect evidence nearby, so as to bring down Zhang Pu and restore the society.Therefore, in the past few years, there has been an endless stream of memorials from Jiangnan Shangzuo to Beijing Normal University's attack on Fushe.Wen's confidant Lu Wensheng had a feud with Zhang Cai, and after he became the prefect of Suzhou, he began to crack down on Fushe.He wrote a memorial to impeach Fushe, and Wen Tiren wrote a stern decree with a vermilion pen: "Taicang Fushe formed a clique and acted recklessly, arbitrarily in control, what is the job of the scholar minister? I am so arrogant!"

Censor Zhou Zhikui impeached Fushe for disordering water transportation regulations, forming cronies, and despising imperial edicts.Wen Tiren wrote murderously at the end of the memorandum that the Emperor Fuwang immediately inspired the court, broke the situation of the party, arrested Zhang Pu and Zhang Cai, and confronted his ministers face to face.If what the minister said is true, beg to execute Zhang Pu and Zhang Cai to thank the court; at the same time, execute the minister to thank the cronies.

A person named Xu Huaidan wrote an article denouncing the resumption of the society, accusing Zhang Pu and Zhang Cai of "disrupting the public opinion and shaking the country's affairs". Gathering cliques, hindering virtuous and establishing power, summoning bandits, corrupting public morals, slandering and arguing, corrupting morals, stealing positions and losing integrity, calling bandits to cause disasters.Under Wen Tiren's deliberate promotion, this memorial put enormous pressure on Fushe.

Fushe is actually a derivative of Donglin, and its roots are rooted in Donglin. Therefore, if Fushe is in trouble, Donglin is in trouble. Therefore, the officials of Donglin Party in the court spared no effort to attack Wen Tiren, and they did not hesitate to fight against Wen Tiren during the Chongzhen Five Years. There was a riot at the court meeting in [-], and the young emperor was so angry that he ordered Zhou Yanru, who was lurking in Beijing, to return to his hometown.But even so, Wen Tiren's life is still not easy. There are too many officials in the Donglin Party. One Zhou Yanru is gone and there are ten or hundreds of Zhou Yanru. It's a day that's not real Shoufu.

Wen Tiren finally resigned. On the surface, Cao Huachun found out that Zhang Hanru’s case was instigated by Wen Tiren, but in fact it was because of the ravages of bandits. Wen Tiren served as the first assistant for four years. From a little spark to a big fire.The burning of the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum was the last straw that crushed Wen Tiren. Chongzhen could no longer bear the fact that his chief assistant was helpless against the bandits.Besides, Shi Dayong, who can fight against the Eastern Captives, has also been Wen Tiren's heart disease in the past few years. Speaking of which, he also intended to win over Shi Dayong's Jinzhou Army with Cao Huachun, and for this reason he secretly competed with Zhou Yanru and Gao Qiqian, but who Knowing that Shi Dayong is really not a sensible person, he has done so many daring things.In the past few years, Wen Tiren has desperately suppressed the censors' memorials to impeach Shi Dayong. The series of meritorious deeds made by Shi Dayong in the Shenyang Great Victory were not rewarded, in order to dilute Shi Dayong's influence in the court, so as to avoid embarrassment for the court and the emperor.But the more this happened, the more incompetent he seemed. The dignified chief assistant couldn't even handle a warrior leading an army. Would the emperor be satisfied with him?If he is warm and benevolent and has a way to get Shi Dayong to come to Beijing obediently, the Donglin Party's 1 impeachments will not be enough.After all, Hou Xun of the Donglin Party did not know which tendon was wrong, so he took the initiative to intercede for Shi Dayong, and even persuaded the Liaodong Army to go to the Central Plains to suppress the bandits. If you can persuade Shi Dayong to lead troops to suppress bandits, then what are you doing as the chief assistant?Waiting for Wen Tiren to wake up with a start, the matter could no longer be stopped.

In fact, Wen Tiren is really unlucky. He is extremely clean and honest. The only house in Yuan Shiheng was ordered by the emperor. Apart from that, he has no money left. In comparison, Wen, the Chief Assistant, is really the most honest prime minister since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.Wen also wanted to do things, but his non-partisanship left him with only a few cronies who could help him, and what power could he do in the face of the people who were holding back the whole court.It's just that a business tax increase has been raised six times in four years, but none of them have passed the court meeting. To supplement this, what can he do.Daming is suffering from internal and external troubles, but his Wen Tiren is not from internal and external troubles.

..........

After Wen Tiren dismissed as Prime Minister, Wu Changshi immediately wrote to Zhang Pu, urging him to encourage Zhou Yanru to come back.His letter arrived after Qian Qianyi, only two days apart.In his letter, he said that Qian Qianyi, an upright gentleman, was slandered and dismissed from office, and Wen Zhenmeng was excluded after three months in the cabinet, resulting in continuous persecution of gentlemen in the southeast, and Zhou Yanru's comeback would not be enough to eliminate the disaster.Wu Changshi's letter also revealed that he has made friends with Cao Huachun, the eunuch of Dongchang, and has hooked up with Wang Dehua, and is sparing no effort to pave the way for Zhou Yanru's comeback.In addition, Hong Chengchou, Governor of the five provinces, and Lu Xiangsheng, Premier of the five provinces, expressed their support for Zhou Yanru's comeback. Hou Xun, who supervised the Liaodong Army, even paid for it.

On February [-]th, under the operation of Donglin Party officials, Chongzhen held a court meeting on the platform and ordered the court to introduce a new chief assistant. None of them satisfied Chongzhen.When the emperor was dissatisfied with the candidate, the Donglin party began to nominate the real candidate Zhou Yanru, but Chongzhen did not agree on the spot, as long as the courtiers nominated two more people to be against each other.

When Zhang Pu and Wu Changshi were involved in various activities for Zhou Yanru, Feng Quan in Zhuozhou, Hou Xun who was still in the Liaodong Army in Henan, and Ruan Dacheng in Tongcheng respectively contributed funds to raise 6 taels of silver to open up the joints. In the inner court, the eunuch Wang Dehua and Bingbi Wang Chengen They all expressed their support for Zhou Yanru. Cao Huachun, who was still waiting to see Zhou Yanru's comeback, finally spoke to support Zhou Yanru under the pressure of the two big bosses in the inner court.

Under the unanimous "voice" of the inner court and the outer court, on the [-]th, Chongzhen issued a decree to call the former academicians Zhou Yanru, Zhang Zhifa, and He Fengsheng into the court.On the night when Zhou Yanru received the imperial decree at home, he suddenly dreamed of his wife Wu Shi, who had been dead for ten years, and tried his best to dissuade him from going out of the mountain again.Zhou Yanru went with him, saw an old monk with a rope tied around his head and neck, and woke up with a start.This dream made him believe that the future was not good, and he was afraid of going to the post.

Zhou Yanru entered Beijing at the beginning of March, and his new official titles were Young Master and Prince Grand Master, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Grand Bachelor of Zhongji Hall.During his first pilgrimage to the Son of Heaven, Zhou Yanru stated his policy program confidently, and he spoke clearly and logically.The most urgent tasks at the moment are: reducing or exempting farmers’ arrears of grain and white grain, reducing or exempting tax arrears from the people over the years, reducing or exempting this year’s land tax in places suffering from wars and famines, pardoning criminals below the crime of exile, and recalling officials who have been dismissed because of appeals, etc.

Chongzhen was very satisfied with what he heard, and immediately approved them one by one, and gave him a banquet to wash him away.After Zhou Yanru left, Chongzhen suddenly turned around and said to Wang Chengen on the side, "It's still him!" The implication was that apart from Zhou Yanru, Chongzhen could not find a more suitable candidate for the cabinet chief assistant.

On the first day Zhou Yanru was reinstated as Chief Assistant, the first memorial he received was the impeachment of Shi Dayong, the commander-in-chief of Lvshun by the governor of Henan Province, who refused to suppress the bandits.