The Sage of Confucianism and Taoism

There are two stone lions in front of the Zhou Mansion, and a red lantern hangs high on the door, illuminating the surrounding area in red.

The door was locked. Fang Yun walked to the door, grabbed the copper ring, and knocked three times.

"Wait a moment." A voice came from inside, and then the door opened, and a middle-aged man in his forties appeared behind the door.

Fang Yun handed over the letter and said: "Xiaosheng Fang Yun. This is a letter that Cai He, the magistrate of Ji County, asked me to deliver to Master Zhou. I was supposed to come a few days ago, but something delayed me, so I arrived today."

When the porter saw that Fang Yun was wearing a boy's uniform, he immediately took the letter respectfully with both hands and said, "Wait a moment, I will give it to the master right away."

The concierge was about to close the door, but hesitated for a moment and instead of closing it, he hurried inside.

Fang Yun heard him whisper as he walked: "Fang Yun? I seem to have heard the master mention it."

After a while, I heard a shout from inside: "Fang Shuangjia is here? I'm so angry!"

When Fang Yun heard that the secret was not good, why was this man's firecracker smell so strong? Could it be that this man had a bad relationship with Cai He, or something had happened?

Fang Yun squeezed the thick manuscript paper in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and stood still.

Passing through the ajar door, Fang Yun saw a middle-aged man in casual clothes striding over.

When the man saw Fang Yun, his expression changed and he couldn't laugh or cry and said: "You Fang Shuangjia, how can you be so calm and calm when the whole court is in chaos because of you?"

Fang Yun looked confused, court? In the main hall where the king of the capital summoned his ministers? Are all the ministers in a mess just for themselves? Fake?

The man was amused when he saw Fang Yun's appearance and said, "Don't stand there, come in and talk. You!" He shook his head.

Fang Yun bowed his head and said, "Student Fang Yun has met Mr. Zhou."

This sixth-rank official with real power but no official authority, just like an elder meeting a junior, patted Fang Yun on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Since we are Shuangjia ordered by Cai He, we are a family. You are welcome, come in." explain."

Fang Yun knew that it was absolutely impossible for a powerful sixth-rank official to be so enthusiastic to the person he met for the first time. Something must have happened, so he thanked him and said as he walked: "Master Zhou, I have been busy these days and have not Contact the outside world, what happened?”

Master Zhou smiled and said: "What else could it be? Of course it is your poems. After Cai He got your poems about subjugating the country, he immediately sent the letter to the Lord of the Court. After reading it, the Lord was very impressed and then sent it to the Holy Court and Wen "Xiang, but my lord immediately regretted it and should have sent it later."

"And then there was a commotion?"

"It was calm that day, but something happened the next morning when I went to court. The chief academician of the Academy asked you to be knighted in the court hall, saying that you are not only the first double-A saintly child in Jingguo, but also the first child born in Jingguo. An article published in "Holy Way" is also the first among the ten countries to make a Tafu as a child. He is also the first person in the Ten Kingdoms to publish three poems with the same brilliance in the "Holy Way", and he is also the only great talent in the Ten Kingdoms who is so proud of his university morale that his literary courage is shaken despite being a child. You have made great contributions to both Jingguo and the human race, so you should be named the ninth generation county uncle."

Fang Yun was surprised. In Shengyuan Continent, although titles and grades are different, they are also related. The lowest country boy is equivalent to the ninth grade, and the highest prince is equivalent to the first grade. The county uncle is equivalent to the sixth rank, which means that if he is awarded the title of county uncle, Magistrate Cai must salute and greet him as a lower official when he sees him.

If he can really get the title of County Bo, then Fang Yun won't have to be timid in doing things, and life will be much easier in the future, and he won't have to recruit Fang's family to even open a bookstore.

Nine generations of county officials, that is, their descendants can inherit this title within nine generations, which can be said to be extremely prominent within a mansion.

"But things didn't go well?" Fang Yun asked.

"People from the Left Prime Minister objected. To be ennobled, one needs to be recommended by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel, and then decided by the cabinet and the monarch. But 90% of the Ministry of Personnel are from the Zuo Prime Minister, and the Minister of War is also from the Zuo Prime Minister, so the matter of the title is also decided by the Ministry of War. The minister is in charge. Therefore, if the left minister disagrees, no one can ennoble you unless the queen mother overrides all opinions."

"Why did the Prime Minister stop me?" Fang Yun said, and the two of them walked into the main hall and sat down on both sides of a table.

Master Zhou glanced at Fang Yun and said: "Of course the Zuo Prime Minister himself will not come forward. The one who came forward was Hong Shilang from the Ministry of War. His excuse was your song "Sui Mu", saying that you wrote this poem before you became a child. To write, if you make arrogant comments about government affairs at a young age and have no experience, you will definitely be useless in the future. "

"No one refutes this ridiculous reason?"

"Of course, some people refuted it, saying that you only wrote half of it in the examination room and then stopped. You didn't finish the poem until you got a degree. You know how to advance and retreat, and you know the rules. You must put them into practice. But no one on either side can convince the other. Some people praise you for your poetry. , Zuo Xiang first said that poetry is a minor way; there are People say that you have swayed the literary courage of the enemy's academicians, and they say that there is no evidence; some people say that you can have three poems with the same glory and you must be heavily rewarded. People who are from the left say that you are too young to encourage the growth, and you should be sharpened. Only in this way can you Only later will you know how to serve your country.”

Fang Yun sneered and asked, "Have you heard any rumors? In my opinion, there is no need for the left prime minister to target me because of a poem."

Master Zhou pondered for a moment and said, "Then I'll tell the truth. Prime Minister Zuo won't target you just because of a poem, but if you are the head of the double-A case ordered by Magistrate Cai, and Magistrate Cai is the prime minister of literature, student, and you are very likely to become a bachelor or even a great Confucian, then he has enough reasons to target you. What's more, you have a bad relationship with the famous Liu family? There were slight remarks, some of which were almost slanderous.”

"What did he say?"

"You are said to be lazy and lazy, and rely on women to support you. That's probably the case. In short, the reputation of you in the capital is very bad." Chief Zhou said without further explanation.

Fang Yun's face turned livid and he said, "Could it be that because he was born into a wealthy family, he can slander us and other children from a poor family?"

"Oh, there is no way. The left prime minister is so powerful that no one dares to offend the Liu family now. I suspect that someone deliberately talked about you in front of the left prime minister and deliberately associated "Sui Mu" with him, so the left prime minister will not speak against you personally. , but by not opening his mouth, it is equivalent to acquiescing to the criticism of you. "

"How did the Queen Mother react?" Fang Yun asked.

"The Queen Mother naturally wants to knight you, but now that the Left Prime Minister has the upper hand, she cannot offend the public. However, your credit cannot be taken away, so both parties will negotiate a result that is acceptable to both parties."

Fang Yun said: "You have been in officialdom for a long time, can you guess the final result?"

"Well, actually many people can guess that this kind of thing has never happened before."

"Tell me about it," Fang Yun said.

"First, give some gold and silver, antiques or silks and satins; second, posthumous titles for your parents. Third, turn your merit into literary merit. Once you are admitted as a Juren or Jinshi and officially become an official, your grade can be directly Improve. But as long as you are not officially an official, your literary skills are just a piece of paper."

Fang Yun asked: "Aren't Prime Minister Zuo and others afraid that I will be promoted repeatedly after becoming an official?"

Master Zhou said: "Once you are knighted, unless you commit major crimes such as treason and treason, the Left Prime Minister cannot punish you. But if you are only a civil servant, the Left Prime Minister has countless ways to target you, even if you have just become a Jinshi It's a fifth-grade official, so what? The minister is in charge, and he can assign you to a cold government office. And when will you become a Jinshi in ten years or twenty years? "

Fang Yun didn't understand the affairs of Jingguo's officialdom. When Chief Secretary Jing Zhou said this, he suddenly realized that he completely understood the sinister intentions of Zuo Xiang and his family.

Fang Yun lowered his head and said nothing, lost in thought. Even the Minister of Literature and Literature can't defeat the Prime Minister Zuo, let alone himself. Now that his civil status is too low, he can only endure it. However, the Prime Minister Zuo can only affect the official position but not the civil position. There is no need to be afraid of him. At most, he cannot be a civil servant. When the literary rank gets higher, I will think of ways to take revenge. Instead of remaining silent, it is better to take this opportunity to make a good name and unite those who are fighting against the left prime minister.

After a while, Fang Yun raised his head and said, "Master Zhou, can you write a memorial to express my feelings to the king and the queen mother for me?"

"Of course you can." Master Zhou looked at Fang Yun curiously.

Fang Yun said solemnly: "As a citizen of Jingguo, I naturally have to understand the difficulties of the princes in the court. I took the initiative to request that the merit be transferred to literary merit, so as not to damage the harmony of my people under the eyes of the barbarians. I deeply I am deeply grateful to all the adults who petitioned me to be knighted. If I have the opportunity, I will definitely thank you. But I am even more deeply grateful to the adults who prevented me from being knighted. They are truly serving the country, the public, and the human race. If I have the opportunity, I will do it a hundred times. Thank you!”

Master Zhou was secretly shocked. He didn’t expect that a young boy’s words could be so resonant. He was surprised by his decisiveness and choice. Since he knew that he could not be knighted, he took the initiative to give in and left a good reputation for knowing the general situation. At the same time, he also ridiculed the left prime minister. People fight among themselves at times like this.

"Isn't this wording too direct?" Master Zhou naturally knew the way Fang Yun would use to "repay a hundredfold".

"Then I can't say that I, Fang Yun, will take back the credit that belongs to me at a speed that they never dreamed of, and then make them regret for obstructing me!" Fang Yun said slightly angrily.

Master Zhou sighed softly and said: "After all, you became famous as a young man. After being humiliated like this, you should retaliate in kind. It would be strange if you remained calm. Well, let me write a memorial according to your original intention, but the wording Of course, if you change it a little, your momentum will not be reduced. After all, you have merit and fault."

Fang Yun took a deep breath and said, "Then thank Master Zhou first. By the way, since I have written so many good poems, will our Prefecture Academy of Literature give me some reward? How about a thousand taels of silver?"

Master Zhou laughed dumbly and said, "You want a double reward?"

Fang Yun immediately said: "If the liberal arts academy has difficulties, then I won't force it. I have written two novels recently and want to sell them to make money to support my family. However, publishing a book requires approval by the liberal arts academy, so I would like to ask you to make it easier. In addition, if you If you like it, why not write a preface to my novel.”

When Master Zhou heard this, he thought that Fang Yun was really smart. He came here to ask for approval in advance, but he first asked for a reward from the State Academy of Literature, and then settled for the next best thing. He had no choice but to agree. Hearing the preface, he was about to refuse, but something moved in his heart.