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In the end, Pei Mian kept the clock and returned all other gifts.
Several other prime ministers also returned the box, but they also left one or two things they liked.
In addition to these high-ranking prime ministers, Shang Bo sent gifts to officials above the minister's level in various ministries.
Of course, the emperor could not be left behind. Shang Bo personally delivered a set of gifts to the palace and was immediately praised by Li Heng.
Corresponding gifts were also given to the Prince's Palace in the East Palace and other princes' residences. Finally, Shang Bo also visited the outer residences of several eunuchs and secretly sent gifts.
This time the gift from Longyou Governor's Mansion aroused heated discussion in Fengxiang Mansion.
It's just that the gift-giving thing can't be mentioned on the table, but it still became a topic of conversation after dinner in Fengxiang Mansion.
Today is the day when the Fengxiang Prefecture’s government offices take a break. Although the war on the front line is urgent, it does not prevent the officials from taking advantage of the break to put on casual clothes and go out together.
In today's situation, it is still inappropriate to go on an outing outside the city. Most officials just invite one or two friends, either at home or in a teahouse, to talk about literature or talk about the situation in the DPRK.
Autumn is approaching, and Fengxiang Mansion is now very lively.
Gu Kuang and Wei Yingwu were sitting in the teahouse, looking at the flow of people below.
Wei Yingwu looked at the friend who was like old friends at first sight and couldn't help but ask:
"Brother Bu Weng, autumn is just around the corner. If you don't warm up your books at home, you insist on dragging me here to drink tea while I'm having a rest."
Gu Kuang, also known as Bu Weng, was a disciple of Li Mi, the current secretary-supervisor.
Now Li Mi and Yan Zhenqing have gone to Lingwu to investigate the Lingwu Auspicious Dragon Bone.
Autumn was about to begin, so Li Bi left Gu Kuang in Fengxiang Mansion.
Sitting opposite Li Mi, Wei Yingwu, whose courtesy name was Yibo, was a descendant of the famous Weishi Xiaoyao Gongfang in Gyeonggi Province.
However, Wei Yingwu already had an official position. He did not take the imperial examination but entered the official position under the influence of his family, and was temporarily appointed as a minor official in Honglu Temple.
Gu Kuang was going to take the exam this autumn. At such a critical exam time, Wei Yingwu didn't know why he wanted to ask him out.
Gu Kuang said coyly: "Brother Yibo, you are a member of a big family and have extensive knowledge. I would like you to help me with this matter."
Wei Yingwu was free and easy by nature. He said directly: "Brother Bu Weng, if you have anything to say, just say it directly. Why do you have to act like a little lady?"
Gu Kuang then said: "Brother Yibo knows about the gifts given by the Longyou Governor's Mansion to the court ministers a few days ago, right?"
Wei Yingwu nodded. Although he was a low-level official, he was well-informed and naturally knew about this major event that caused a sensation in Fengxiang Mansion.
Gu Kuang said: "Secretary is not in Fengxiang Mansion, so I sent the emissary who stayed in the backyard of the Dudu Mansion. However, I didn't expect that the merchant envoy who stayed in the backyard came to visit me very openly and said he wanted to give me a gift."
Wei Yingwu pointed at Gu Kuang and laughed loudly and said, "Brother Bu Weng, is he confused? The governor's house left the backyard to give you a gift?"
You must know that this time the gift-giving incident in the Dudu Mansion aroused heated discussion in the court. A simple gift-giving incident made everyone in the court look at this businessman with admiration.
Whether it was visiting the residences of court ministers or visiting in person to express gratitude, Shang Bo did everything impeccably.
Not only that, the Governor's Mansion of Longyou left the backyard to give gifts this time, which can also be said to be a hidden conspiracy.
For example, among the prime ministers of the Political Affairs Hall, Wei Jiansu and Shang Bo, who were good friends with King Guangping, did not give gifts.
In addition, the ministers and ministers of various ministries, as well as the chief officials of various supervisory departments of the imperial court, who were on good terms with King Guangping, did not receive the gifts left in the backyard by the Governor's Mansion.
Some young upstarts in the imperial court, or officials recognized as capable and talented, also received gifts from the Governor's Mansion.
There is even a saying in Fengxiang Mansion that those of the third rank and below who can receive gifts from the Governor's Mansion are the best choices of the imperial court.
This incident was enough to shock everyone in the court.
You must know that King Jianning was sent to Longyou after His Majesty Lingwu ascended the throne.
It can be said that King Jianning has no foundation at all in the court.
But how could King Jianning know the overall situation of the court so well?
Some of King Guangping's accomplices usually had a distant relationship with the East Palace, but this time they were singled out by Shang Bo by giving gifts.
Wei Yingwu couldn't help laughing when he heard that Gu Kuang had received a gift left in the backyard of the Longyou Governor's Mansion.
Gu Kuang took off a delicate pocket watch from his belt and pushed it to Wei Yingwu.
Seeing this pocket watch, Wei Yingwu's expression changed.
Most of the gifts sent by the Longyou Governor's Mansion to court officials were to suit their liking.
But only the clock is included in every gift.
The gorgeous clock quickly became the most coveted item among the high-ranking officials in Fengxiang Mansion.
There is no way, this thing is usually placed in the study room or the main hall where guests meet. With such a sophisticated and accurate clock, who would not be envious of it.
Those dignitaries who failed to receive gifts also asked acquaintances to buy clocks and watches.
What Gu Kuang took out was a gift left in the backyard of the Governor's Mansion for the junior official - a pocket watch.
Compared with clocks decorated with gold and precious stones, pocket watches do not use any precious materials.
Although the material of the brass watch case is not expensive, in terms of precision and compactness, a pocket watch is more complicated than a table clock.
Pocket watches can already be produced in Longyou's workshop, although with the current processing precision, it is impossible to produce a watch movement with a tourbillon structure that will be accurate every second in later generations.
However, this kind of pocket watch, which needs to be wound every day and adjusted every other day, is already a very precise timekeeping tool.
Seeing the pocket watch Gu Kuang took out, Wei Yingwu finally confirmed that Gu Kuang had really received the gift left in the backyard of the Longyou Governor's Mansion.
Looking at the exquisite pocket watch, Wei Yingwu was quite jealous.
He knew that a lowly official like himself would definitely not be able to receive a gift from the Governor's Mansion.
"Is this the only pocket watch?" Wei Yingwu asked.
Gu Kuang said: "In addition to the pocket watch, there is also a set of books."
"a set of books?"
Gu Kuang said: "A set of general histories includes "Historical Records", "Hanshu", "Later Hanshu", "Three Kingdoms" and "Jin Shu"."
Nice romance novel
“What a stroke of genius!”
Wei Yingwu couldn't help but admire.
If it were just the Four Books and Five Classics, most readers would have a set of them.
But history books are different. A set of history books contains many volumes, and just a set of "Historical Records" is worth a lot of money.
A complete set of history books is already a very valuable gift for a scholar like Gu Kuang who has no official position.
"Could it be that you want to send gifts from Brother Buweng to get close to Mi Gong in a roundabout way?"
Gu Kuang thought for a moment and said, "That's right. I'm staying in Master Mi's house now, and the gift I gave him was returned. It seems that the backyard of the Dudu Mansion is for Master Mi to see."
Gu Kuang said quickly: "I'd better return all these gifts."
But Wei Yingwu said: "The Governor's Office didn't give you gifts alone, and there were quite a few people who accepted them. Why did you return them?"
Gu Kuang said again: "But what if the Secret Master blames me?"
Wei Yingwu said: "Secretary is a Secretariat, and Brother Buweng is Brother Buweng. Besides, Brother Buweng is about to enter the officialdom in Qiuwei. If he wins the Jinshi, it is impossible to ask the Secretariat for everything, right?"
Gu Kuang said quickly: "Brother Yibo is wise! Let's go. After drinking tea today, you can go to my place to read."
"Brother Yibo, you don't know that this Longyou paper is really as white as snow, smooth as jade when applied to your hands, and there is still the fragrance of ink in the book."
Wei Yingwu wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth. For scholars like them, a set of exquisite books is really irresistible.
Gu Kuang said again:
"In addition to these sets of history books, the Governor's Mansion left a set of strange books in the backyard."
"Strange book?"
"It's a set of books called "Zizhi Tongjian", which is said to have been written by a great Confucian from Longyou."
A great scholar from Longyou?
This all made Wei Yingwu confused.
Is there a nationally renowned scholar in Longyou?
Isn't it?
Nowadays, everyone in the world knows that generals come from Longxi and prime ministers come from Hedong.
Jianghuai and Bashu are economically prosperous and have many literary people.
But where is Longyou?
To put it nicely, Longyou is a cultural desert; to put it badly, Longyou is a place where prisoners are exiled.
Which learned scholar would settle in Longyou?
Gu Kuang said: "This book was written from King Weilie of Zhou Dynasty to Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty. It takes time as the outline and events as the purpose. It is a book that connects the past and the present."
Gu Kuang recalled what the envoy who stayed behind said when he presented the book.
"King Jianning said that this book was 'in view of the past, it is useful for governing the country'. He also used Emperor Taizong's saying that he used history as a mirror, so he named this book "Zi Zhi Tong Jian"."
Wei Yingwu was dumbfounded now.
Although poetry, lyrics, and poetry are also literature, compared with writing history books, the workload and difficulty are not the same!
You must know that writing a history book really requires a thorough understanding and a lifetime of effort.
Among the chronological history books based on time, the most famous one is "Zuo Zhuan".
It is said that Zuo Qiuming spent half his life writing "Zuo Zhuan".
Moreover, writing history books does not mean that poetry, lyrics, and songs only rely on natural talent.
It is necessary to read a large number of history books and collect various scattered historical materials.
It can be said that this is the greatest achievement of ancient literature!
Is there anyone in Longyou who can write such a book?
Wei Yingwu didn't even want to drink tea now. He said to Gu Kuang:
"Brother Bu Weng, can you take a look at this wonderful book?"
Gu Kuang immediately said: "Of course, no problem, I will sweep the bed to welcome Brother Yibo!"
The two immediately rushed back to Gu Kuang's home. When Wei Yingwu saw the white Long You books on the bookshelf, he couldn't help but rub the books with an expression of obsession.
And when he saw a whole row of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", he was so excited that his breath stopped!
Just flipping through the catalog, Wei Yingwu couldn't take his eyes away from it. What a strange book! It's really a strange book!
He immediately said to Gu Kuang: "Brother Bu Weng, can you let me stay overnight and read this book at night?"
Gu Kuang said calmly: "Welcome!"
While Wei Yingwu was eagerly reading "Zizhi Tongjian", Shang Bo led his men and pulled a box to Wei Yingwu's house.
Although Wei Yingwu was born into the Wei clan, now that the capital was occupied, he was not the principal wife of the Wei clan in the capital.
Naturally, with his small salary, he couldn't afford servants. After Shang Bo knocked on the door, a woman said:
"My husband has not returned today. Please leave a greeting note and come back tomorrow."
Shang Bo asked someone to leave a box at the door, and then said to the woman inside:
"I am the envoy Shang Bo who stayed in the backyard of the Longyou Governor's Mansion. I admire Wei Lang's poetic talent, so I came to visit him."
"This is a gift from King Jianning to the talented people in Fengxiang Mansion. I will leave it at the door."
After saying this, Shang Bo turned around and quickly left Wei Yingwu's house, regardless of the sound of the door opening behind him.