The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Wei Guangde, led by Chen Ju, left Xiyuan without saying anything. Of course, he didn't know the conversation in Ziguang Pavilion after he left.

After leaving the door and getting on the carriage parked outside, Chen Jucai smiled and said to Wei Guangde, "Congratulations to Mr. Wei, you will definitely prosper in the future."

"Don't dare, don't dare, it's all your Majesty"

While Wei Guangde and Chen Ju were talking, the driver drove the carriage away from Xiyuan. Following the road he came from, the carriage drove away with the sound of wheels grinding against the ground.

At this moment, a small yellow gatekeeper had already run out of the Xiyuan Gate, showed his waist badge and entered the palace through the Xihua Gate. He ran all the way without stopping and passed through the Guiji Gate and the Huiji Gate to the cabinet. Wenyuan Pavilion.

"Which elder is on duty today?"

Xiao Huangmen arrived outside Wenyuan Pavilion and asked the scribe who came up to him.

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

At this time, Yan Song was obviously not in good spirits. After all, he was an old man of several decades, and his energy level was already far worse than before.

As for daily office work, he already felt a little overwhelmed now. Cabinet affairs were either left to Xu Jie or to his son Yan Shifan, who was accompanying him.

The title of Mr. Xiaoge is actually not a lie, it is the truth.

Although Yan Shifan did not join the cabinet, he was seriously doing the work that only the cabinet elders could do.

At this moment, Yan Song was resting aside, while Yan Shifan, who was behind the desk, was looking at the various memorials on the desk. After reading them, he wrote down his opinions on a piece of paper, and then posted them on the memorial, that is, Commonly known as "ticket plan".

Afterwards, these memoranda with written votes were sent to the Supervisor of Ceremonies for approval.

Of course, before sending these memorials away, he would also pick out some key points and inform his father Yan Song. Otherwise, if he asked about it in front of Emperor Jiajing, Yan Song would not know all the answers and give the emperor a feeling of being old and useless. Something bad happened.

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

Taking the Jiajing Emperor's handwritten letter from Xiaohuangmen, Yan Song smiled at him and nodded, letting him go down, and then he looked at the words written on the note.

"Looking for chapters and excerpts."

The text on the note was as concise as before, just an idiom. This was another test for them, the cabinet ministers.

you guess?

I do not guess you guess guess?

I dare not guess.

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

After first saluting Yan Song, he then bowed his hands to Yan Shifan who was standing beside him. Yan Shifan returned the salute perfunctorily, and the whole thing was over.

"Zisheng, look at this, what does Your Majesty mean?"

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

Naturally, cabinet matters must be discussed by their cabinet ministers first. If you don't understand anything, ask Yan Shifan.

"Looking for chapters and excerpts?"

Xu Jie read the words on the note and was confused as to what it meant.

"His Majesty is probably going to summon Wei Guangde this afternoon. These words should have something to do with him, but I really can't guess what they mean."

Xu Jie looked at the note in his hand, thought for a moment and shook his head, "Is it possible that he is dissatisfied with what he did in Xuan Mansion? Let us find fault with him?"

"No way, Xuanfu fought well in the first battle, there is no room for fault."

Yan Song shook his head and said.

"Haha, I'd better ask Donglou 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, stretched out his hand to take it, glanced at it, and said with a smile: "Looking for chapters and excerpts."

Pei Songzhi's annotation of "Three Kingdoms·Wu Shu·Biography of Wu Zhu" quoted from "Wu Shu": "(Zhao Zi) sent Wei, and Emperor Wen of Wei was kind to him. He mocked Zi and said: 'Does the King of Wu know a lot about learning?' Zi said: 'Wu The king floats thousands of ships on the river and carries millions of armors. He appoints talents and talents, and is determined to have a strategy. Although he has some spare time, he has read extensively in books and history, borrowing and picking up strange things, and it is useless to find chapters and extract sentences from others.'

King Zangjia of Wu had great ambitions, but he still took the time to read a lot of books, instead of imitating the Confucian scholars who only paid attention to the fragments of the text without delving into its spiritual essence.

hiss."

When Yan Shifan said this, he suddenly felt cold. Emperor Jiajing was so optimistic about this legend that he gave such an evaluation.

Thinking of this, Yan Shifan looked at his father and then at Xu Jie, as if he had some realization.

He can lead the troops to fight, but he still needs to study more. Isn't that the intention of letting Wei Guangde stay in the Hanlin Academy to continue his studies?

Obviously, the note from the Ministry of War was rejected by the emperor, and he chose to let Wei Guangde continue to stay in the Hanlin Academy to cultivate his character.

Nima, this means to recommend him to the cabinet.

Also, among the elders in the pavilion these years, there seems to be no one who has led troops outside.

Emperor Jiajing was psychologically affected by Anda Khan's raid, and wanted to install ministers who could lead troops in the cabinet.

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

Thinking of this, the first thing that came to Yan Shifan's mind was Hu Zongxian, who was currently in Zhejiang.

Yes, after Zeng Xian's death, if there was anyone in the civil service ranks of the Ming Dynasty who knew military matters, Hu Zongxian was the only one. Now he is still leading troops to suppress Japanese pirates in Jiangnan.

However, Hu Zongxian also had a problem, that is, his grades in the imperial examination were not good, so he was directly sent to Shandong as a county magistrate after two years of observing politics in the Ministry of Punishment.

Therefore, there are actually some obstacles for Hu Zongxian to enter the cabinet. He is not from the Hanlin Academy. Although it is not a prerequisite for Hanlin to enter the cabinet, there will still be fewer supportive voices.

However, Hu Zongxian started as a county magistrate, and successively served as supervisory censor, patrol censor, governor and governor of military affairs in Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Fujian and other places, becoming a true feudal official.

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

If he can complete the task of eradicating the Japanese pirates, joining the cabinet will be a sure thing. But can the Japanese pirates be eradicated?

If the campaign cannot be suppressed, there will be no basis for Hu Zongxian to join the cabinet, and it will be impossible to succeed at all. The emperor will not nod, and the ministers will not agree.

This time in Jiangnan, Hu Zongxian had already offended a large number of Jiangnan officials because of the increase in food and salary due to the suppression of Japanese invaders, not to mention his local reputation.

Yan Shifan shook his head. Hu Zongxian seemed to have no hope of joining the cabinet.

Not to mention annihilating Japanese pirates, can that thing be annihilated?

At this time, Yan Song and Xu Jie were both looking at him. They all understood the source of what he said before, but they couldn't understand Yan Shifan's gasping movement at the end. They were all waiting. He gives the answer.

It seems that Yan Shifan understood the meaning of Emperor Jiajing again, and he was worthy of the title of "the number one genius" in Emperor Jiajing's mouth.

Then, Yan Shifan explained to them the meaning of Emperor Jiajing's analysis.

Sometimes they can’t figure it out for a long time without anyone’s guidance. But with a little guidance from someone who understands, they immediately understand what it means.

"Then send that memorial in. In addition, I will send someone to inform Wen Wenwei and ask him to stop talking about it."

Xu Jie said to Yan Song.

Emperor Jiajing had such a hobby, he liked to write notes and let people guess what he meant.

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

Fortunately, the guessing master Yan Shifan was helping in the cabinet, and he could basically guess the emperor's thoughts.

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.

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

Wei Guangde took a carriage back to the Jiujiang Guild Hall, but this time when passing by the Hanlin Academy, Wei Guangde got off the car and went in first to see if Mr. Yin Taiyin, the current head of the academy, was in the public room.

Saying goodbye to Chen Ju, Chen Ju wanted to wait for him outside, but Wei Guangde smiled and said that there would be a gathering of colleagues tonight and he would not be able to leave for a while, so Chen Ju asked the coachman to drive away.

Fortunately, with good luck, Yin Tai did not have Zhan Shifu today. He was still in the Hanlin Academy. When he saw Wei Guangde coming over, he was slightly surprised and said: "I also said that I would send someone to inform you that you have just come back. You can rest. I will give you some help here first." You have five days off."

"I have met Mr. Yin."

Wei Guangde hurriedly saluted and said respectfully: "His Majesty summoned me just now. On the way back, I asked you to come in and ask for permission to see when I will be on duty in the courtyard."

"The Xuanfu did a good job this time. They were quite worried about you at first. It wasn't until the battle report came back to the capital that everyone relaxed."

Yin Tai smiled and talked to Wei Guangde, and soon all the bachelors from the Kung Fu Hanlin Academy came over, shouting that they wanted to see Wei Guangde, the great hero.

As Wei Guangde guessed, most of his colleagues in the Hanlin Academy were alone in the capital and naturally did not need to take care of their families. So they found a restaurant nearby for a meal that night.

The drunk Wei Guangde was helped back by Zhang Ji and Li San. When he stayed in the Hanlin Academy, Wei Guangde asked Lu Bu to go to the Jiujiang Guild Hall and tell them to pick him up later.

The next day, Wei Guangde did not stay in the Jiujiang Guild Hall to rest. Instead, he went to a famous Taoist temple in the capital to find someone to calculate the time. He had to give priority to moving.

I can't buy a house. It's always been vacant for two months.

As for where to go to see someone, Wei Guangde had already thought about it. Naturally, he would go to the famous Taoist temple in the capital to see the master.

At this time, there were many Taoist temples in Beijing and the incense was flourishing, and Lingji Palace was one of the best.

Lingji Palace is located in the inner city of Beijing, to the west of the Forbidden City, which is now north of Xidan. It declined with the fall of the Ming Dynasty and died out. Until now, only a place name called "Lingjing Hutong" remains.

However, at this time, Lingji Palace was a famous Taoist temple in the capital.

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

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

When Wei Guangde arrived at Lingji Palace, Wei Guangde had also been here before. The book "The Inauguration Ceremony of the Supreme Yellow Urn" was bought here. It is still in the Hanlin Academy, but it has not been turned over for a long time.

After getting off the carriage, Wei Guangde took Zhang Ji and walked in.

The full name of Lingji Palace is "Hong'en Lingji Palace". It is a large-scale Taoist temple built by Emperor Yongle in Beijing. The Lingji Palace is dedicated to Erxu Zhenjun.

Er Xu 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 background. Li Min's father, Li Rong, disappeared during the war. Li Min was adopted as an adopted son by General Xu Wen and was renamed Xu Zhigao.

Zhenjun Erxu was the fifth and sixth sons of Xu Wen. The two of them once led troops to quell banditry in Fujian. After their deaths, they were worshiped by the local people. Later, people built ancestral halls and carried out sacrificial activities for Erxu. , and very effective.

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

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zeng Chensun, a temple consecrator of Lingji Palace, took advantage of the opportunity of treating Emperor Yongle to "introduce" Erxu Zhenjun to the emperor.

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

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

However, Emperor Yongle, who was freed from the pain for a while, firmly believed that this was the power of God. Not only did he build a large-scale Lingji Palace in Beijing, but he also began to gradually form a habit of taking elixirs.

Although Lingji Palace is famous in Beijing, it actually occupies a small area and is relatively narrow. After all, this is the inner city and is very close to the Forbidden City.

There are not many buildings in Lingji Palace. Behind the mountain gate are Tianshu General Gate and Dachanwei Gate. Going further in are the main hall, Xuandu Hall, and the dormitory hall, Zifu Hall.

This is the entire building of Lingji Palace. It can be said to be very simple, but because of the royal praise, it has become very popular.

Among them, the main hall and the dormitory hall are connected by a corridor, forming a "Gong"-character hall pattern. This is very similar to the Wenhua Hall, Wuying Hall and Fengxian Hall in the Forbidden City. These were all designed by Emperor Yongle, which shows that he attached great importance to this place. favorite.

In the 10th year of Jiajing period, some officials proposed to terminate the worship of Erxu Zhenjun and convert Lingji Palace into an imperial temple in Beijing. However, officials from the Ministry of Rites wrote a letter against it. The reason at that time was that the Lingji Palace was too narrow to build an imperial temple.

But these are not important. Anyway, Wei Guangde came here today to find someone and considered visiting Chaotian Palace.

In fact, in later generations, people still have the habit of asking someone to check in on big things like moving, hoping that everything will go smoothly and safely after moving into the new house.

Entering the mountain gate, passing through the two inner gates, you arrive at the main hall. You must first come here to worship Zhenjun Erxu, and then go to the master.

After the worship was completed, Wei Guangde inquired about the temple blessing in the main hall and found out that the host was receiving distinguished guests in the backyard.

In Wei Guangde's opinion, the top leader of the Taoist temple must be the one with the highest Taoism, and the date he calculated must be the best.

Wei Guangde, who had received a materialist education, naturally knew what this was, but he still wanted to feel at ease.

After turning around the main hall and walking along the corridor to the back, Wei Guangde heard the sound of people reciting poems coming from the backyard as he walked through the dormitory.

"The earth can attract pines and cranes, and the source of immortality can be found here."

I didn't hear the first sentence, but Wei Guangde could hear the latter sentence clearly.

When Wei Guangde turned the corner, he saw the master of Lingji Palace, Xuan Jing, accompanying a Taoist priest with an immortal style, drinking tea and discussing Taoism under the big tree in the backyard.