prosperous age

Chapter 241 Chapter 240

Under Chen Ju's leadership, Wei Guangde left Xiyuan without a word. Of course, he didn't know the conversation in Ziguang Pavilion after he left.

After leaving the door, he got into the carriage that was parked outside the door. At this moment, Chen Ju smiled and said to Wei Guangde: "Congratulations, Mr. Wei, you will surely be prosperous in the future."

"Don't dare, it's all His Majesty"

While Wei Guangde and Chen Ju were talking, the coachman drove the carriage away from Xiyuan, and along the way he came, the carriage drove away with the sound of wheels rolling on the ground.

But at this moment, a small yellow gate had already run out of the gate of Xiyuan. After showing his waist card, he entered the palace from Xihua gate. He trotted all the way without daring to stop, passing through Guiji gate and Huiji gate to the cabinet. Wenyuan Pavilion.

"Which elder is on duty today?"

When Xiao Huangmen arrived outside Wenyuan Pavilion, he asked the scribes who came up to him.

At this time, the cabinet was on duty, Yan Song leaned on a chair, and a pot of freshly brewed Longjing on the coffee table next to him wafted out a strong aroma.

At this moment, Yan Song was obviously in poor spirits. After all, he was already in his dozens of years old, and his mental state was not as good as before.

As for the daily work, in fact, he already feels a little powerless now, and the cabinet affairs are either handed over to Xu Jie, or let his son Yan Shifan, who is on duty to serve him, handle it.

The title Xiaoge Lao is actually not a lie, it is still true.

Although Yan Shifan didn't join the cabinet, he was serious about doing the work that only a cabinet elder could do.

At this moment, Yan Song was resting on the sidelines, while Yan Shifan after writing the case was looking at the various memorials on the case, and after reading it, he wrote down his handling opinions on a note, and then posted it on the memorial, that is, Commonly known as "ticket plan".

Afterwards, these written memorials will be sent to the Supervisor of Ceremonies for approval.

Of course, before sending these memorabilia away, he will also pick some important points and inform his father Yan Song, otherwise, if Yan Song asks about it in front of Emperor Jiajing, and Yan Song doesn't know what to ask, and makes the emperor feel old and useless, then Not good.

At this time, someone outside the door reported that Xiyuan sent a note.

Xiao Huangmen took the handwriting of Emperor Jiajing with both hands, Yan Song smiled and nodded at him, letting him go down, and then looked at the words written on the note.

"Look for chapters and excerpts."

The text on the note is as concise as before, just an idiom, which is another test for these cabinet ministers.

you guess?

I do not guess you guess guess?

I dare not guess.

He read it softly, but before he said anything, footsteps sounded outside the door, and Xu Jie came in.

After saluting to Yan Song first, he bowed to Yan Shifan who was at the side. Yan Shifan returned the salute perfunctorily, and the paragraph was over.

"Zi Sheng, look at this note, what does Your Majesty mean?"

With that said, Yan Song handed the note in his hand to Xu Jie.

Naturally, the cabinet affairs should be discussed by their cabinet ministers first, and then ask Yan Shifan if they don't understand.

"Looking for chapters and excerpts?"

Xu Jie was at a loss when he read the words on the note and couldn't figure out what it meant.

"Your Majesty is supposed to summon Wei Guangde this afternoon, and his words should have something to do with him, but I really can't guess what it means."

Xu Jie looked at the note in his hand, thought for a moment and shook his head, "Could it be that he is dissatisfied with what he has done in Xuanfu? Let us pick his faults?"

"No way, Xuan Mansion fought well in the first battle, so there's nothing wrong with it."

Yan Song shook his head and said.

"Hehe, I'd better invite the east building to take a look, I really can't think of what it means."

Xu Jie handed the note to Yan Shifan while talking and laughing.

Yan Shifan was not polite either, he stretched out his hand to take it, glanced at it and said with a smile: "Excerpt from chapters and sentences.
The words "Three Kingdoms·Wu Shu·Wu Zhu Biography" Pei Songzhi's annotation quoted "Wu Shu": "(Zhao Zi) envoy Wei, Wei Wendi was good at it, mocked Zi Zi and said: 'Wu Wang knows a lot about learning?' Zi said: 'Wu Wang Fujiang has tens of thousands of ships, with millions of armour. He is appointed by the virtuous and capable, and has aspirations and strategies. Although he has spare time, he reads the history of books and biography, borrows and collects strange things, and does not follow the example of others.'

Wu Wang Zangjia had great ambitions, but he still took time to read widely, instead of following the Confucian scholar An Xie's reading and only caring about a few words in the text without delving into its spiritual essence.

hiss."

When Yan Shifan said this, he couldn't help but take a breath. It was because Emperor Jiajing was so optimistic about this biography that he gave such an evaluation.

Thinking of this, Yan Shifan looked at his father, then at Xu Jie, as if he had realized something.

Being able to command troops and fight wars, but still need to study more, isn't that what Wei Guangde meant to stay in the Imperial Academy to continue his studies?

It was obvious that the note from the Ministry of War was rejected by the emperor, and he chose to let Wei Guangde stay in the Imperial Academy to cultivate himself.

Nima, this means recommending him to the cabinet.

That's right, among the elders in these years, it seems that there is no one who has sent troops outside.

Emperor Jiajing was overwhelmed by Altan Khan's raid, and wanted to install cabinet ministers who would lead troops in the cabinet.

Yan Shifan thought of a lot in an instant. Before that, he just guessed why the emperor picked up Wei Guangde, but now he is basically sure, that's all.

Thinking of this, the first thing Yan Shifan thought of was Hu Zongxian who is currently in Zhejiang.

Yes, after Zeng Mian's death, if there was anyone among the civil servants in the Ming Dynasty who knew military affairs, Hu Zongxian was the only one. Now he is still leading troops in the south of the Yangtze River to suppress Japanese pirates.

However, Hu Zongxian also has a problem, that is, he did not do well in the imperial examination, so he was directly sent to Shandong as a county magistrate after two years in the Ministry of Punishment.

Therefore, Hu Zongxian's entry into the cabinet is actually a little bit of an obstacle. He is not from the Imperial Academy.

However, Hu Zongxian started as a county magistrate, successively served as supervisory censor, inspector censor, governor, and governor of military affairs in Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Fujian and other departments, becoming a real frontier official.

However, the biggest obstacle preventing Hu Zongxian from entering the cabinet is actually his main job now, which is to exterminate Japanese pirates.

If he can complete the task of exterminating the Japanese pirates, joining the cabinet is a sure thing, but can the Japanese pirates be exterminated?

If the suppression is not eliminated, there is no basis for Hu Zongxian to join the cabinet, and it is impossible to succeed at all. The emperor will not nod, and the ministers will not agree.

This time, Hu Zongxian has offended a large number of Jiangnan officials because of the suppression of the Japanese and the collection of food and payment, not to mention his reputation in the local area.

Yan Shifan shook his head, Hu Zongxian seemed hopeless to join the cabinet.

Not to mention exterminating Japanese pirates, can that thing be exterminated?
At this time, both Yan Song and Xu Jie were looking at him. They all understood the source of the sentence he said before, but they couldn't understand Yan Shifan's gasping movement at the end, and they were all waiting. He gives the answer.

It seemed that Yan Shifan understood what Emperor Jiajing meant, and he was worthy of the title of "the number one ghost" in the mouth of Emperor Jiajing.

Then, Yan Shifan explained to them the meaning of Emperor Jiajing that he had analyzed.

No one asked, and sometimes they couldn't figure it out for a long time. When someone who understood gave a little advice, they immediately figured out what it meant.

"Then send that memorial in, and I'll send someone to inform Wen Wei so that he doesn't talk about it anymore."

Xu Jie said to Yan Song.

Emperor Jiajing had such a hobby. He liked to write notes to make people guess what he meant.

No matter how you say it this time, it is still an idiom, and there are a few dozen or so complicated words that are completely incomprehensible.

Fortunately, Yan Shifan, a master of riddles, was in the cabinet to help, and he could basically guess the emperor's mind.

This is also the fundamental reason why Yan Song can still stand in the court at the age of eighty. He can understand the holy will, not to speculate, but to observe.

Xu Jie naturally didn't have this ability, so he could only follow closely behind Yan Song.

Wei Guangde went back to the Jiujiang Guild Hall in a carriage, but this time when passing by the Imperial Academy, Wei Guangde got out of the car and went in first, wanting to see if Mr. Yintai Yin, who is in charge of the academy, is in the public house.

Saying goodbye to Chen Ju, Chen Ju still wanted to wait for him outside, but Wei Guangde said with a smile that he might not be able to leave for a while tonight because of a gathering of colleagues, so Chen Ju asked the driver to drive away.

Fortunately, luck is good, Yintai does not have Zhan Shifu today, and he is still in the Hanlin Academy. When he saw Wei Guangde coming over, he was slightly surprised and said: "I also said that I will send someone to inform you. I just came back and you can rest. I will give it to you first." You have five days off."

"The lower official has met Mr. Yin."

Wei Guangde hastily saluted, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty summoned you just now, and on your way back, please come in and ask for instructions to see when I will be on duty in the congregation."

"The Xuanfu did a good job this time. They were quite worried about you at first, but everyone in the capital was relieved when the battle report was sent back."

Yin Tai was talking to Wei Guangde with a smile on his face. After a while, all the bachelors from the Kung Fu Imperial Academy ran over, clamoring to see Wei Guangde, a great hero.

Just as Wei Guangde guessed, most of the colleagues in the Imperial Academy were alone in the capital, so naturally there was no need to take care of the family or anything, so they found a nearby restaurant to eat and drink that night.

Wei Guangde, who was drunk, was escorted back by Zhang Ji and Li San, and stayed in the Imperial Academy. Wei Guangde asked Lu Bu to go to the Jiujiang Guild Hall and told them to come pick him up later.

The next day, Wei Guangde did not stay in the Jiujiang Guild Hall to rest, but went to the famous temple and Taoist temple in the capital to find someone to count the time. He had to give priority to moving the house.

I can't buy a house, it's always been so empty, it's been two months.

As for where to find someone to take a look, Wei Guangde had already thought about it, and naturally he went to the famous Taoist temple in the capital to look for the master.

At this time, there were many Taoist temples in Beijing, and the incense was at its peak, and Lingji Palace was the best among them.

Lingji Palace is located in the inner city of Beijing, west of the Forbidden City, that is, on the north side of Xidan today. It just declined with the collapse of the Ming Dynasty until it disappeared. Up to now, there is only one place called "Lingjing Hutong".

But at this time, Lingji Palace is a well-known Taoist temple in the capital.

Wei Guangde had a few days off, but he cherished it very much. It was not easy, and finally he had free time.

Li San drove the carriage into Chongwenmen, and walked along the bustling street, which was still the same road that Wei Guangde walked yesterday.

When Wei Guangde arrived at Lingji Palace, Wei Guangde had also been here before, and that's where he bought the "Supreme Huanglu Dazhai Li Chengyi", and it is still in the Imperial Academy, but it has not been flipped for a long time.

After getting out of the carriage, Wei Guangde walked in with Zhang Jiqing.

The full name of Lingji Palace is "Hong En Lingji Palace". It is a large-scale Taoist temple built by Emperor Yongle in Beijing. In Lingji Palace, Erxu Zhenjun is enshrined.

Erxu Zhenjun was from the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, and they were more or less related to Li Yu.

Li Yu's grandfather, Li Min, was born in a humble family. Li Min's father, Li Rong, disappeared during the war. Li Min was adopted by General Xu Wen as his adopted son and renamed Xu Zhigao.

The second Xu Zhenjun is the fifth and sixth sons of Xu Wen. The two of them led troops to quell the banditry in Fujian and were worshiped by the local people after their death. , and very effective.

In the Song Dynasty, the royal family personally bestowed a plaque "Lingji Palace", which further promoted Erxu's "immortal status".

In the early Ming Dynasty, a temple Zhu Zeng Chensun of Lingji Palace took advantage of the opportunity to treat Emperor Yongle's illness and "introduced" Erxu Zhenjun to the emperor.

As for Emperor Yongle's illness, according to historical records, he had been plagued by rheumatism in his later years, which had a lot to do with the cold weather he suffered in successive years of expeditions to Mongolia.

The "prescription" used by Zeng Chensun is most likely an elixir refined by Taoist temples. After taking it, the body will heat up, but it will not cure the root cause of the disease at all.

However, Emperor Yongle, who got rid of the pain for a while, firmly believed that it was the power of heaven. Not only did he build a large-scale Lingji Palace in Beijing, but he also began to gradually form a habit of taking elixir.

Although Lingji Palace is well-known in Beijing, it actually does not occupy a large area, which is relatively narrow. After all, this is the inner city, very close to the Forbidden City.

There are not many buildings in Lingji Palace. After the mountain gate, there are Tianshu General Gate and Dashanwei Gate. Going further inside is the main hall Xuandu Hall and the sleeping hall Zifu Hall.

This is all the buildings of Lingji Palace. It can be said to be very simple, but because of the royal admiration, it is very popular here.

Among them, there is a hallway connecting the main hall and the bedroom hall, forming a pattern of "gong" halls, which is very similar to the Wenhua Hall, Wuying Hall and Fengxian Hall in the Forbidden City. These are all from the hands of Emperor Yongle, which shows his love for this place. favorite.

In the [-]th year of Jiajing, some officials proposed to terminate the sacrifice to the Erxu Zhenjun and convert the Lingji Palace into an imperial temple in Beijing. However, officials from the Ministry of Rites wrote a letter to oppose it.

But these are not important, anyway, after Wei Guangde came here today to find someone to look at, he also considered going to Chaotian Palace to have a look.

In fact, in later generations, people still have the habit of asking people to watch the deadline for major events such as moving, hoping that everything will be smooth and safe after moving into the new house.

Enter the mountain gate, go through the two inner gates and arrive at the main hall. When you come here, you must pay homage to Second Xu Zhenjun first, and then go to the master.

After the worship was completed, Wei Guangde found out after inquiring about the blessings of the temple in the main hall that the host was receiving distinguished guests in the backyard.

In Wei Guangde's view, the leader of the Taoist temple must have the highest Taoism, and the date he calculated must be the best.

Wei Guangde, who has been educated in materialism, naturally knows what this is, but he still can't help but want to seek peace of mind.

Turning around the main hall and walking along the corridor to the back, when Wei Guangde walked through the sleeping hall, he heard the voice of people reciting poems from the backyard.

"The land can attract pine cranes, and the source of immortality is here."

I didn't hear the first sentence, but Wei Guangde heard the second sentence clearly.

Turning around the corner, Wei Guangde saw the abbot of Lingji Palace, Master Xuan Jing, accompanied by an immortal Taoist priest, drinking tea and discussing Taoism under the big tree in the backyard.

(End of this chapter)