Brocade clothing as the country

Chapter 166 Playing Chess and Chatting, Intentionally or Unintentionally
On the night of October [-]th, the capital was still singing and dancing, and no one seemed to know that the father of the first assistant Zhang Juzheng had passed away.

Since Zhang Han, the new Minister of the Ministry of Officials, has kept a low profile since he took up this position, he refused all invitations from his colleagues, relatives and friends, and stayed at home in his spare time, staying behind closed doors.

Those who are familiar with Zhang Han in the capital know that this official official likes to talk by hand, and he doesn't want any treasure from the gift giver, but if it is a high-quality sandalwood and silver silk chessboard, jade chess pieces, etc., then he will gladly accept it.

When it got dark, Zhang Han's butler walked around the master's study, chasing away all the servants who were still here.Because my master has to be quiet when playing chess and doesn't like people walking around.

In the study room, the lights have been lit, the best sandalwood incense has been burned, and the chess pieces on the chessboard have been set up. Zhang Han is holding a roll of chess records and reading, posing on the chessboard from time to time, quite engrossed.

"Dong Weng, thank you for waiting!"

There was a loud laugh outside, and a middle-aged Confucian scholar came in. Judging by the robes he was wearing, he should be a man of honor.

Zhang Hanhe, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, got up when he saw this person coming in, nodded and smiled:
"Mr. Qian is here, but after dinner, he only lost three games five days ago, so he must win one game today."

The middle-aged man unfolded the folding fan in his hand and slapped it lightly a few times. On the fan were written four characters in flying and phoenix dances. At first glance, it was the famous handwriting of "the fifth in the world".

This middle-aged man is Zhang Han's chess friend. His surname is Qian and his name is Chunping. Well, Qian Chunping is no longer the material for the imperial examination. He won the exam until he was 35 years old, and then he didn't make any progress.

He failed to study, but this Qian Chunping is proficient in one thing, that is, Go. At the age of 30, he was already known as the number one player in the North. Coincidentally, the best chess players in the world are either in Hangzhou or Songjiang. The land is this Qian Chunping, he also went to Jiangnan to play with those people, but he was a small loser, so he asked someone to write this "No. [-] in the World" fan, and he took it every day.

His family was rich and famous, and he lived a carefree life. He often had high-ranking officials and dignitaries who liked to play chess with him. To put it bluntly, this Qian Chunping was one of the high-level pursers of the capital.

Zhang Han liked to play chess, and the two became friends after coming and going. Qian Chunping never begged for anything from his master, that is, playing chess or drinking and having fun, he also tried to relax.

The new Minister of the Ministry of Officials is afraid of being close to people and asking for an official. If he does not refute his face, if he does, he will make a statement. This Qian Chunping has been around everywhere, and he can see it clearly, but he doesn't ask for anything. Naturally, it goes without saying that he is good at chess. Zhang Han admired him more and more. The housekeepers in Zhang Han's mansion just bowed their hands when they saw Yuanwailang from various ministries, but when they saw Qian Chunping, they had to be polite and called him "Master Qian".

The jade zi luo sandalwood plate is the most particular, the sound of luo zi is crisp and melodious, which adds to the elegance. Qian Chunping plays chess with excellent control, which makes the other party feel that the fight is fierce.

When the two played chess, they were also used to talking about interesting anecdotes in the capital. Although Qian Chunping was born in Juren, he could not stand seeing a lot, and his ideas were flexible. nice opinion.

After playing more than twenty moves, Zhang Han felt that he had a clever move. After making the move, Qian Chunping also thought about it for a while, and couldn't help feeling better, and asked with a smile:

"Is there any interesting anecdote in the capital now, let Mr. Qian tell it."

Qian Chunping seemed to have figured out a way to deal with it, but he hesitated again, pondered for a while and said:

"The peace in the capital is tight now. It's nothing more than some girl who came to that brothel, who won a big prize in the gambling house. By the way, there is a incident. The shopkeepers of several toy shops in the East City and West City had wine. During the banquet, they said The promotion map needs to be changed, otherwise it won’t be realistic to play.”

The map for promotion is a game, roll the dice to get points, and determine the promotion and path according to the size of the points. It is roughly a road map drawn according to the current official rules. There are Jinshi, Juren, Jiansheng and so on.

There is such a set of pictures for promotion. When children are playing, they have a general understanding of society and officialdom. This set of things is nothing more than a picture, a set of cards, and a few dice. People with a decent family will buy it. The last set is ready.

Hearing this, Zhang Han also became interested, and asked with a smile:

"This is new, how to change it, the official system of the Ming Dynasty has not been changed!?"

Qian Chunping bowed his body and said:

"It's no wonder Mr. Zhang, this matter has something to do with his official position?"

This statement made Zhang Han, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, even more interested, and urged him repeatedly:
"But it's okay, it's just a child's plaything, and there is the chief minister of the cabinet in it, and I haven't seen Zhang Ge ban this thing below."

"Dong Weng, the original plan for promotion, if the idea is correct, you can go up step by step, and when you get to the position of Minister, there will be a fork, whether you will be a minister, or you will be an imperial envoy, or you will join the cabinet."

Zhang Han picked up a cup of tea at the tea table next to him, sipped his mouth with a smile, and said:

"It's a child's play, but there is something real about it."

"All the routes have reached the top, and this top is also divided into high and low positions. The first is naturally the chief assistant of the cabinet, and the second is the second assistant. However, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials is in charge of the world's official affairs, and is often tied with the second assistant or even slightly higher. The Minister of the Ministry of Officials is equal to the Minister of other ministries."

Zhang Han shook his head and said with a smile:
"I remember that I played with it when I was a child. It was so well behaved. It brought back a lot of memories. Mr. Qian continued."

Qian Chunping showed some embarrassment, and said again:

"The shopkeepers of those plaything shops said that now that Mr. Zhang Ge is in power, no matter whether he is a scholar in the cabinet or ministers of various ministries, they are all officials of Mr. Zhang Ge's family. How about changing this fork and leveling the following... "

The smile on the face of Zhang Han, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, gradually disappeared. Seeing the change in Zhang Han's face, Qian Chunping hurriedly stood up from his seat, cupped his fists and apologized:
"Student talked too much about Meng Lang, please forgive me, Lord Shangshu!"

Zhang Han waved his hand and said calmly:
"It's the truth. There's nothing wrong with it. Come, come, play chess."

It wasn't until the Baizi fell that he realized something was wrong. Even though he had only played more than twenty moves, Zhang Han's move was a big foolish move. There was no need to play the next move, and he would definitely lose.If they won, it must be Qian Chunping who gave way too much. Zhang Han sighed and reached out to mess up the chessboard.

Qian Chunping got up again, clasped his fists deeply, and blamed himself:

"The students are talking too much, adults are confused, so don't play this game tonight!"

Zhang Han nodded, took a look at the chess record, sighed and said in a low voice:
"No one can take this matter seriously...Mr. Qian, remember to be cautious!"

There was already a hint of warning in Zhang Han's words, Qian Chunping chuckled a few times, and said freely:
"Qian has no interest in officialdom for a long time, and there is no shortage of food and rice at home, and he is not hindered. Naturally, he will not go out and chew his tongue. Qian and the adults have played chess for almost a year. What the adults and Qian said, has it ever been rumored? ?"

"Mr. Qian, don't worry too much. I'm just a few words of advice. Jing Wen, send Mr. Qian out of the mansion and come back later."

Zhang Han raised his voice to greet the butler to come in, sent Mr. Qian out, and waited for everyone to leave the study. Zhang Han stood up and walked to the bookshelf, picked up a book and read a page by the light, then threw it aside irritably, and sat in the study. After walking a few steps, the butler has come back, Zhang Han said in a low voice:
"For Daquan who came back in three days, let him stay in his house, don't talk to others, and don't go out. You send 100 taels of silver and a trustworthy person there. The money will be used for his food and clothing. Afterwards, there will be rewards. The person who went made him keep an eye on Daquan!"

The housekeeper hurriedly bowed and agreed, Zhang Han knocked on the bookshelf, and said in a deep voice:
"Send two words to Song Chanchan, speak carefully."

After the butler agreed, he quickly left the room.

******
The capital in mid-October can be described as turbulent undercurrents, but on the surface it is extremely calm, and everyone feels that it is too peaceful.

Wang Tong's life in the martial arts hall can be described as boring. The only thing that impressed me was that Emperor Wanli told him in a puzzled way that one day when he went to say hello to Empress Dowager Chen, he pulled him away. hand said:
"Your Majesty, this Ming Dynasty belongs to our Zhu family..."

Rensheng Empress Dowager Chen is the empress of Emperor Longqing, and she was the concubine when she was in Prince Yu's mansion. Although she was not the birth mother of Emperor Wanli, she was very kind to Emperor Wanli, and the little Emperor Wanli has always been quite filial.

Wang Tong was also confused about this, thinking that the Ming Dynasty was originally the world of your Zhu family, so it is necessary to emphasize it separately, but Wang Tong would not go deep into such a topic, that would be causing trouble for himself.

He is now more interested in the blacksmith's shop. On October [-]th, the wealthy businessman led him to the shop to deliver the goods.

The blacksmith shop Wang Tong's plan was to move to his own village first, and then make arrangements. When he went to the blacksmith shop, the first thing he did was to ask Zhang Shiqiang to pay a month's salary in advance. When the case was settled, the craftsmen and apprentices in the blacksmith workshop were panicked. Now that someone with official status took over and paid the money, everyone felt at ease.

After the delivery was over, Wang Tong told Tan Jiang the details of how the blacksmith shop was moved to Zhuangzi, and then called several experienced blacksmiths together.

Wang Tong untied his baggage, put the short-fired blunderbuss on the table, and asked:
"This, can our shop be built?"

*****
On the afternoon of October 26, the newspapers sent to the capital from Huguang Prefecture mentioned that the father of Zhang Juzheng, the elder of the court, died of illness on September [-].
-
Seeing that the gap is getting bigger and bigger, Lao Bai is speechless. I still want to thank everyone for their support.
(End of this chapter)