When Wang Xun rushed to Wanshou Xingguo Temple, he saw Liu Bingzhong walking out of the ancient temple.
In today's Yuan Dynasty, Liu Bingzhong served as Guanglu doctor, Taibao, and led Zhongshu Province's political affairs. It is not an exaggeration to call him the first civil servant, but he was still wearing the black monk's clothes.
The figure stood in front of the temple door, as if integrated with the temple behind him.
Wang Xun looked at this scene and felt inexplicably sad.
I can’t explain the reason for this sadness, but lately I’ve often felt a sense of frustration at failing to achieve success, and a sense of loneliness at the end of my career.
"Sir." Wang Xun stepped forward, bowed as a disciple, and then advised, "Sir, you shouldn't be here."
He is indeed a disciple of Liu Bingzhong.
Wang Xun was born in a family of officials in the Kingdom of Jin. He was smart and studious since he was a child, and he had a photographic memory at the age of three. When he was fourteen, Liu Bingzhong discovered his great intelligence and kept him by his side to teach arithmetic and calendar.
When he was eighteen years old, Liu Bingzhong recommended him to Kublai Khan and became Zhenjin's companion. The following year, because of his outstanding talent, he was promoted to Zhenjin's teacher.
Now Wang Xun is only thirty-two years old, and he has already worshiped the prince of the Yuan Dynasty and offered wine.
Besides Guo Shoujing, he is considered one of Liu Bingzhong's most outstanding students.
But what teachers and students talked about today has nothing to do with academics.
"Zhang Hongfan has found out that it was at this Wanshou Xingguo Temple that Dong Wenzhi and Dong Wenyi invited Zhang Hongji that day. Sir, you should avoid this place."
"There's no one left," Liu Bingzhong said.
He looked into the distance and saw that all the construction projects in the entire Yuan Dadu New City had stopped.
The lively scene of the past has disappeared, and all craftsmen and laborers have been conscripted into the army.
"Zhang Yi is dead and Zhang Rou is in prison. Your Majesty has come twice to screen out all the people with ulterior motives. Who in the new city of Dadu can still conspire with me? I came to Wanshou Xingguo Temple to worship Buddha.
of."
"The student understands, and your majesty must also understand." Wang Xun said: "But why would you, sir, offend your majesty at this time?"
This is a very simple official rule. The Dong brothers met Zhang Hongji in this place, and it turned out that Liu Bingzhong had just returned to Yanjing from Kaiping City and came here again. Of course Kublai Khan would be unhappy.
Liu Bingzhong said: "I am a Buddhist layman and a Confucian scholar. There are Buddhists and Confucians who have me. If I am afraid that Your Majesty will be displeased and don't even come to the temple, I will no longer be me."
"The students have been taught." After hearing this, Wang Xun bowed again and helped Liu Bingzhong walk out of the city.
They all come from the official families of the Jin Kingdom. Their ancestors surrendered to the Mongolian Kingdom. They must be greedy for life, afraid of death, and greedy for glory. However, they chose Kublai Khan instead of Ali Buge and Haidu, which was a compromise.
There is also persistence in it.
This persistence is the "I" element of Liu Bingzhong. He is a Buddhist layman and a Confucian scholar.
And Kublai Khan also respected and tolerated his persistence, so he had Dayuan.
There must be this kind of respect and tolerance between monarch and ministers in order to get along well with each other.
Therefore, Liu Bingzhong is still here today.
When I was going back, I passed by the city gate. When I looked up, I could see that the city was covered with heads.
Those were the heads of more than 250 members of the Dong family, as well as Zhang Xiongfei and others.
Although he had already seen them once when he came, Liu Bingzhong still stopped when he left, squinting his old eyes and recognizing the faces.
He knows too many people, and they are even his best friends.
After a while, Wang Xun talked about something casual and said: "Two days ago, Zhang Hongfan had a drink with his friends and wrote a poem titled "Sending Clothes for Recruitment". The poem goes, 'If you want to send me your clothes, you will not return them.
I send you my clothes and you are cold. Whether I send them to you or not, it will be extremely difficult for me.'"
Liu Bingzhong's eyes gradually turned red. After listening to this poem, he shook his head and said, "Is it difficult for me to be a concubine?"
This shaking of the head seems to express his disapproval of the word "difficult" in Zhang Hongfan.
Zhang Hongfan put the treason case entirely on Dong Wenzhi and others, but singled out the Zhang family. This behavior can only be described as "despicable" in the eyes of everyone.
The impact of this incident also caused the prestige of the Zhang family to plummet, making all princes in the north wary and despised by all scholars.
For Dayuan, the execution of the Dong family obviously deterred many people who were ready to move, and temporarily stabilized the situation in Yanjing. But some cracks seemed to have deepened...
"Is that Zhang Xiongfei?" Liu Bingzhong recognized it for a while and suddenly asked.
"Yes, he is also involved in Zhang Yi's case."
"Zhang Xiongfei is from Xuzhou." Liu Bingzhong said: "Zhang De, Daming and other Xuanfu envoys, You Xian, are also from Xuzhou."
"Sir, are you saying that Zhang Xiongfei and You Xian know each other?"
"After the massacre of Xuzhou, the only survivors were those twenty or so households. It's hard not to recognize them."
"Then since Zhang Xiongfei has rebelled, is it possible that You Xian will surrender?"
"I didn't expect Li Xia to advance the army so quickly. It's unexpected. I'm afraid he will arrive in Xingzhou soon." Liu Bingzhong just came back from Kaiping City and said, "Write a letter to my second brother and ask him to take the princes to Yan."
Take refuge in Beijing."
"Students will do it now."
When it comes to Xingzhou, Wang Xun's eyes are full of worry.
However, there was still one thought in his mind that he had not expressed.
He heard that Guo Shoujing had already surrendered to Li Xia and was highly regarded. With such an important minister from Xingzhou here, the Tang army would not cause much damage...
Continuing to move forward, they returned to the dilapidated old city of Jinzhongdu.
When they entered the city, they saw a sea arrest document posted on the wall next to the city gate. The person arrested was a person Liu Bingzhong knew - Bai Hua.
Liu Bingzhong glanced at the notice lightly, worry flashed in his eyes.
When he arrived at his residence, he saw another disciple standing there anxiously pacing. As soon as he saw Liu Bingzhong, he caught up with him in a few steps.
"Sir, something happened."
When Liu Bingzhong heard this tone, he immediately had a premonition. He twirled his long beard and asked, "Is Bai Wenju found?"
Although he was worried, in fact he couldn't save Bai Hua at all.
After all, Bai Hua committed a serious crime of treason, and the evidence was conclusive, so whoever got involved would die.
"No, it's Bai Hua's son, Bai Pu and Bai Taisu, who was escorted back to Yanjing."
"Taisu?" Liu Bingzhong was surprised and worried, and said, "Or is Taisu involved?"
When Wang Xun heard this, he immediately became anxious.
"Brother Taisu has always been aloof from political affairs. The recent major cases have nothing to do with him. What can we do with him?"
"Sir, please save Taisu, right? In our northern literary world, the only one who can inherit Mr. Yishan's legacy is Bai Taisu."
"Let's go."
Liu Bingzhong didn't hesitate much and hurried to Daning Palace.
~~
Daning Palace.
Kublai Khan was discussing with the Tibetan Sangge, the Hui Saidianchi, and the Mongolian political governor Ali, Kududaer and others about increasing taxes to expand the army.
Sang Ge was a Tibetan monk who used to be Pasiba's attendant. He followed Pasiba to the capital and met Kublai Khan. Because he was knowledgeable, could speak various languages, and knew how to please Kublai Khan, Kublai Khan then sent him to the capital.
He conscripted.
In the beginning, Sang Ge only served as an official of the General Manufacturing Institute. Now that the Yuan Dynasty was warring and there was an urgent need for military supplies, he made suggestions for Kublai Khan. He showed his talent in financial management and received greater importance.
Today, as soon as he opened his mouth, he made another suggestion that pleased Kublai Khan Longyan.
"Great Khan, I think that monks, Taoists, and Catholic priests who have wives and families and do not abide by canon rules should be naturalized as civilian households. In this way, the Great Khan can collect their taxes and make up for their missed payments in the past.
taxes."
Ali laughed when he heard this and said: "Brother Sang, the monk you are talking about has a wife, are you referring to Liu Bingzhong? Do you want the Great Khan to collect taxes from him?"
Hu Douda'er had already disliked these Han people. When he saw someone mocking the Han people, he immediately laughed and said: "Liu Bingzhong deliberately dressed in rags in order not to pay taxes, hahaha..."
Kublai Khan was not happy to hear these words.
Because it was he who issued the edict that asked Dou Mo to marry his daughter to Liu Bingzhong. The purpose was not to let Liu Bingzhong become a monk, but to be his minister.
But Sang Ge's proposal was indeed a good one, and Kublai Khan agreed.
At this time, Qie Xue came over and reported: "The Great Khan, Liu Bingzhong, and Wang Xun want to see you."
When Kublai Khan heard this, he was still happy. After all, Liu Bingzhong was a think tank who had been advising him since Qiandi. Now that the Yuan Dynasty was full of crises, it was time for these old Qiandi ministers to show their wisdom again.
"Haha, Secretary Cong of this Khan is here, please sit down. We are discussing the issue of increasing taxes and taxes to recruit soldiers. Secretary Cong is here to give us an idea."
Liu Bingzhong was very smart and did not raise his intention immediately, but followed the words and started talking.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. Since Li Thief entered the country, he has not achieved much victory on the battlefield. The reason why he attacked all the way to Hebei is that many defenders surrendered to him. To defeat him, what matters is not the number of troops.
, but the human heart..."
Following this topic for a long time, when Kublai Khan asked how to stabilize people's hearts, Liu Bingzhong once again proposed the idea of governing the country with benevolence.
But in the end, it was inevitable that he would make a request to Kublai Khan.
"I heard that Bai Pu has been escorted back to Yanjing. This talent is famous far and wide, and he is known as the number one songwriter in the Yuan Dynasty. If your Majesty kills him, he will lose the hearts of scholars in the world. It is better to recruit him as an official.
To show Your Majesty’s mercy?”
Kublai Khan's eyes gradually became cold and he asked: "Secretary Cong is here just for this one thing today?"
Liu Bingzhong had noticed his sullenness and was about to explain.
Suddenly, another timid Xue came forward and said: "Dahan, Dou Mo, Xu Heng, Zhang Wenqian, Hao Jing, Zhao Bi, Shang Ting and others are asking for an audience."
"Okay, all the veterans of Ben Khan's shogunate have come to plead for mercy."
Liu Bingzhong felt a chill on his back and felt Kublai Khan's anger getting stronger. He said quickly: "Your Majesty, I have absolutely no selfish motives. I am doing this entirely out of consideration for Your Majesty."
However, before the news that added fuel to the fire was over, before a sentence was finished, another messenger hurried in.
"The Great Khan, Wu Gu brought an urgent report that You Xian had defected to Li Xia, and the Tang army surrounded Xingzhou."
As soon as he heard the word "Xingzhou", Kublai Khan looked into the eyes of Liu Bingzhong and Wang Xun and asked again.
"Has Secretary Cong, a very smart man, thought about You Xianhui surrendering?"
"minister……"
Liu Bingzhong wanted to deny it, but he was not sure whether today's conversation with Wang Xun would be spread, so he was speechless for a moment.
"Why didn't you remind me?" Kublai Khan asked again: "You came to intercede for Bai Pu when you had time, but you didn't remind me to show your virtue, and your reputation would be lost. Is this what you mean by thinking about me?"
Hu Doudaer stood aside and looked at Liu Bingzhong, who was always chatting and laughing, with sweat on his forehead, and felt a rare breath of bad breath.
He couldn't help but lower his ear and said to Brother Sang: "Look at the ugly behavior of these Han people, they are all disloyal dogs..."