Good son-in-law of the Ming Dynasty

"It's still Xiaodie, your food is delicious. When I was in Cangzhou, my master thought about your craftsmanship all the time. I wish I could fly back to Beijing one day earlier, just to eat for one bite." After killing a table of dishes, Su Mu , took a sip of cabbage soup, and let out a long breath of happiness.

Look at Mr. Wu again, still burying his head in eating and drinking regardless of face.

Hearing Su Mu's praise, Xiaodie laughed until her eyebrows curved into crescent moons.Nothing makes her happier than being praised by the master for the fruits of her labor.

Xiaodie: "Master, Mr. Wu, today is your first day as an official in the General Secretary. Why are you so hungry? Could it be that the food in the imperial city is hard to swallow? He is an imperial cook. I am a country girl, how can I do that?" Compare them."

Hearing this, Mr. Wu raised his head from a plate of fried pork liver: "It's not that it's unpalatable, it's not at all. I and Su Mu have been hungry all day, and the weather is cold, so I can't bear it."

Xiaodie opened her mouth wide in surprise: "There is no lunch in the imperial city?"

Old Mr. Wu was displeased: "We are officials, we have our own salary. The so-called salary is the fat of the people, the fat of the people. The people are easy to abuse, but the sky is hard to bully. The country gave us a salary, so we have to pay for our own food."

As he spoke, he habitually wanted to extend it.

Xiao Die couldn't stand it anymore, so she hurriedly picked up the chopsticks, picked up a handful of sweet and sour pork ribs and put them on Mr. Wu's plate: "Master Wu, try this and see how it is different from what you made in the past?"

Wu Shiqi ate a small piece and nodded: "It's a little new, with an extra spicy taste. Well, the cornel is put in, and it should be the ancient method."

Seeing that the old man was focusing on the dishes, Su Mu said seriously: "Speaking of the imperial food, there is actually nothing delicious, basically it is rubbish, how can it compare to your craftsmanship. If it comes to eating, the emperor is actually quite miserable There are basically no modern vegetables, such as Chinese cabbage in winter, eggplant and kidney beans in summer. The fear is that once the emperor eats hard, and suddenly wants to eat cucumber in cold weather, the eunuchs in the imperial dining room will all go Hanging himself? Therefore, most of the meals in the palace are meat-based. And the imperial meals are all steamed vegetables, steamed in a cage for a whole day, so that they can be eaten at any time. Do you think this kind of food is delicious?"

Xiaodie heard it fresh, opened her mouth for a long time, and then said: "It's very pitiful, if you eat like this, won't you get sick?"

He refilled some water in Su Mu's cup, and said, "Master, don't worry, Xiaodie will prepare lunch for you from tomorrow, and I will definitely let you eat and drink well."

"Speaking of which, Master Ben is like a rice bucket."

After dinner, Su Mu and Wu Shiqi sat in the study and talked for a while.

It can be seen that the group of governors' contempt for Mr. Wu hit him very hard.The old man's mental state was very bad, he sighed for a long time, and then said: "I regret it at the beginning, it's really difficult to do the job of the experience department!"

He already regretted going to Cangzhou.

Su Mu: "Tomorrow at noon, I will ask your lord for a leave."

"Where are you going?" Wu Shiqi was a little unhappy.

Su Mu: "Go to Xiyuan, Your Majesty has an order."

Wu Shiqi: "That's the way to go."

There was nothing to say all night, and in the early morning of the second day, Xiaodie got up early and prepared lunch for Su Mu and the old man, which were packed in two lacquer boxes, which seemed to be a big portion.

Generally speaking, this morning is quite busy, the Qingshui yamen like the Tongzheng Secretary.If you want to eat and wait to die, you are really free.But if you really want to find something to do, it is enough to make you run without your feet.

It was still a complicated document exchange, and the group of governors deliberately tormented Su Mu, constantly asking Su Mu to send various documents and files to relevant departments, and they simply used him as an errand secretary.

If it was an ordinary scholar, he would have been too tired.

But Su Mu didn't take it seriously, he was always restless, if he really sat in the room all day, he would be suffocated.Coupled with good health, I ran all morning, still looking radiant.

Moreover, constantly going in and out of the yamen of the major ministries allowed him to have an intuitive experience of the operation of the entire Ming Empire government, which would also be of great benefit to becoming an official in the future.

It happened to be the day of editing this issue of the residence newspaper. Early in the morning, Zuo Tongzheng Huacha came back early and returned the residence report edited yesterday.A few articles were marked with a pen above, to the effect that there is a problem with the topic selection, and it cannot directly point out the shortcomings of the current government.

As for other places, he also gave instructions and asked the Experience Department to make revisions.

Shangfeng's opinion must naturally be implemented, and the governors headed by Duan Jiong began to select topics and revise the manuscript.

The Mansion Newspaper is a government publication and the mouthpiece of the imperial court. If it is done well, it can directly maintain public opinion.

As a model of a society governed by man, public opinion in the Ming Dynasty was mainly divided into three parts: the official opinion represented by the Dibao, the will of the civil officials represented by the officials, and the folk wind direction represented by the clear discussion of the scholar-bureaucrats.

In fact, the remonstrance and impeachment scriptures of the officials are only in the court.Public opinion is poor in timeliness due to poor information flow.On the contrary, because of the government's courier, the Di Bao can be spread all over the country in the first time. Basically, officials above the seventh rank will have a copy.

Therefore, mastering this propaganda tool is even half of maintaining public opinion.

As a modern person, Su Mu knows the importance of public opinion propaganda.Public opinion can save people, kill people, turn black into white and white into black, and do things you want to do but can't do. That's why the Queen Mother Zhang and the emperor sent him and Wu Shiqi to the General Secretary.

Therefore, after the sample was returned, Su Mu also joined in.

It's a pity that Duan Jiong and the others didn't have any good looks towards Su Mu, they were all full of vigilance.

They didn't answer what Su Mu asked, as if there was no such person in their eyes.It's not that Duan Jiong and the others have any prejudice against Su Mu, in fact, in their eyes, Su Mu and Wu Shiqi are on the same side.

The governors are all clean, and they all despise Wu Shiqi, a villain in their hearts, and they will dirty their mouths if they say one more word.The parties are the same, and Su Mu is naturally within their isolated range.

This made Su Mu a little anxious, seeing that there was not much time left before the emperor got married, if he couldn't seize the right to edit the residence newspaper as soon as possible.It’s okay if nothing happens, but I’m afraid that there will be impeachment papers from so-called honest gentlemen who don’t open their eyes, saying that "Hongzhi must first be righteous", "what should be done to be a king", or pick a bone in an egg and point directly at the emperor The nose scolds the mother and deceives the court staff.Once their glorious deeds are published in the residence newspaper and published throughout the world, they will immediately become famous all over the world.Is there any faster shortcut than such fame?

Su Mu had long read about Ming Dynasty civil servants' obsession with fame, and was not afraid to speculate about them with the greatest malice.

However, it was useless to be anxious, and instead let myself get confused first.

While running around in the imperial city, Su Mu became a postman while thinking about this question.

Judging from the current situation, he can only bear with it for now. This is his second day in the General Administration Department. He needs to find out the situation first and get familiar with the operation process of the entire Experience Department.

Secondly, find a way to get Duan Jiong and the others to hand over the work at hand. It is best to find another thing to divert their attention.

Or, get acquainted with them first.

After thinking for a long time, Su Mu didn't have an idea.

After a busy morning, it was finally time for dinner.

As soon as he returned with a document, Su Mu saw the two governors holding their lunch and chatting while heating it on the stove.

"Brother Weng, tell me, what do you think of Su Ziqiao?" one person asked.

Governor Weng: "To be honest, Su Ziqiao is very talented. I love his poems and articles to the extreme. When I am tired from reading and doing things every day, I always read a few to relieve my fatigue."

Another governor laughed softly: "I'm afraid you are reading his "Dream of Red Mansions", but you are fascinated by a girl in the book. That Fengyue book really relieves fatigue!"

Governor Weng said sternly: "Brother Guan, I don't agree with you. The book "Dream of Red Mansions" attracts everyone's attention. Some people read love between men and women, while others read love and affection. Brother Yu reads the world affairs and human relationships in it. Of course, for scholars of my generation, it is not easy to read this kind of leisurely books carefully, just take a quick glance. In my opinion, Su Ziqiao's poetry and novels are nothing more than nothing, but his stereotyped essays are very good. Okay. I happened to read a collection of Shiwen a few days ago, and read a few of his test-taking essays, which are really amazing!"

Governor Guan: "Why, Su Ziqiao can also write stereotyped essays?"

Governor Weng smiled and said: "Why can't I do it, otherwise how could he win Juren. Brother Guan probably didn't know that this Su Ziqiao only got a small three yuan in a year from the county examination, and won the title of scholar. It's easy He won Juren and passed four tests in a row. This kind of talent is rare in the world."

"so smart!"

"This God is really unfair. How could such good talent and luck fall on him."

Hearing this, the governors in the hall all whispered.

Su Mu was pleased when he heard it, but when he looked closely, he felt something was wrong. Not only did the five governors' eyes not admire, but they were full of jealousy.

Seeing Su Mu coming in, everyone shut their mouths at the same time.

After the words just now, not only did everyone not get close to Su Mu, but they became more alienated.

When Su Mu went to heat his lunch on the stove, he didn't come over either.

While warming up the lunch, while reminiscing about the conversation between the two governors Weng and Guan just now, Su Mu seemed to have vaguely grasped something.But what it is, I can't think of it for a while.

But he always felt very important.

What is it, what is it?

Just thinking about it gave me a headache, the five governors in the room were quiet for a moment, and then they all picked up their lunch and sipped their lunches while chatting.The General Secretary was originally a leisurely place for "a cup of tea, a cigarette, and a newspaper for half a day". After being an official here for a long time, people will become very gossip.

Governor Weng suddenly smiled and pointed at Duan Jiong and said, "Brother Duan, tell me the truth, where did you go for a drink last night? Hehe, we all had a party together and had a chance to eat and drink. Why didn't you call me my little brother? Aren't you looking down on people?" ?”