Traitors of the Manchu dynasty, why do you make me an emperor through the ages Chapter 195 The official seal is on annual leave! Cai Jing's special guest!
Chapter 195 The official seal is on annual leave! Cai Jing's special guest!
West Market.
On the second floor of a shop facing the street, Li Qian was standing behind the window, looking at the fiery scene on the street ahead.
There is also a big red Kongming Lantern in the sky that is swaying in the wind, getting higher and higher, as if it is really going to fly into the sky.
"This is a miraculous workmanship that gathers the creation of heaven and earth, enriches the brilliance of the sun and moon, captures the elegance of mountains and rivers, and exhausts the essence of rivers and seas..."
Although the old eunuch was illiterate and had never read any articles, he spoke like this: "Your Majesty is truly a divine gift from God. Such ingenious things are all at your fingertips."
"Contaminated by His Majesty's True Dragon Spirit, these magic lamps can fly into the Heavenly Palace and directly to the Immortal Cave..."
Li Qian ignored all of this and stared at the crowd below carefully, holding a portrait in his hand to see if there was anyone suspected of being Zhuge Liang in the crowd.
After looking at it for a long time, he slumped back onto his seat and sighed helplessly.
Still not.
The old eunuch hurriedly handed over a cup of hot tea, closed the window, and said with a flattering smile: "Master, in fact, it's okay to let the slaves handle such a small matter. This saves me from being exposed to the cold wind all the time."
Li Qian took a sip of tea and shook his head gently: "You don't understand."
Liu Daer visited the thatched cottage three times at the beginning, which shows that Zhuge Liang is also a man of integrity.
You also have to show that you value talents.
"Master, you are watching upstairs every day. It would be bad if someone with sharp eyes sees you from below and recognizes you."
The old eunuch looked at Li Qian timidly: "Also, sir, you have been waiting here for several days, but Zhuge Liang has not been seen..."
Li Qian also rubbed his brow. To be honest, he had no clue now.
"Just think of it as coming out to relax. From now on, I will stand back and close the window a little smaller so that those people can't see." Li Qian sighed.
Now, the battle between North Korea and China is gradually entering a fierce stage.
It is not easy to get rid of a minister-level figure, especially when the six ministries are working together. Today, Song Qiaonian is still sitting comfortably in the position of the right minister of the Ministry of Rites.
In terms of the overall situation, the six departments, which were almost combined into an iron plate, still had the upper hand. No matter what tricks Zhongshu and Menxia used, they could not open up the situation or open a gap.
Even if they had Guan Peng as their mole, Liubu and Cai Jing seemed to be on guard against him. In this case, Guan Peng could not influence the Ministry of Rites at all, let alone the selection of the deputy examiner.
Of course, in the current situation, Li Qian also played a lot of roles. He added fuel to the flames, fanned the flames... No, he personally went into battle to charge, but the results he achieved were not very satisfactory.
But Li Qian doesn't care about this. The current situation is exactly what he wants, as long as it continues to develop.
Now Li Qian is more concerned about Zhuge Liang's affairs.
Since the Kongming Lantern was made that day, Li Qian asked Lu Bu to find a busy street in the West Market and set up a stall on the street to sell these things.
Li Qian made people claim that this was a lantern that could go to heaven and was several times more expensive than ordinary lanterns.
Naturally, not many people believed him at first. Later, Li Qian asked the boys hired below to release a few of them on the spot and fly directly into the sky. At that time, many people exclaimed.
Then there was a period of popularity, but there were still not many people buying this thing, and only the rich could afford it.
Of course, there is no such thing as intellectual property protection in Daqian, and the structure of the Kongming Lantern is also very simple. As long as it is bought and dismantled, a smart person can study it carefully and conduct many experiments to imitate it.
Recently, imitation products have gradually begun to be sold on the market, and they are much cheaper than what Li Qian and others sell here.
Li Qian didn't care about this. His original intention was to let this thing spread throughout the city as soon as possible, and then proceed to the next step of the arrest plan...
After resting for a while, Li Qian stood up and said, "Let the people below take a closer look. If Zhuge Liang comes out, don't miss it."
"Yes, sir, I will definitely try my best."
"Okay." Li Qian nodded and walked downstairs: "Let's go back home."
~~
At the same time, Cai Mansion.
Since the twelfth lunar month, the Cai Mansion has been decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and celebrations continue every day.
All kinds of people come in and out every day, and some people are worthy of Cai Jing personally coming to the door to greet them.
Today, there is also such a banquet in Cai Mansion, and the standard is extraordinarily high.
The magnificent hall is as warm as spring. Thick peonies and deep purple carpets are spread out. The raging warmth rises from under the carpet. Behind the door is a pair of simple blue and white lotus plum vases that reach waist length. There is an adult-sized vase in the hall. The bloody jade coral, the dark black pear wood round table, the Yiyiyiya actor...
"Master Cai is getting stronger and stronger, and his complexion is getting better and better."
Sitting on the guest seat was a tall, strong man with a chin and beard. His black hair was tied up with a white silk square scarf. He was only wearing a dark blue singlet with a right gusset, and his chest was still half open, faintly visible. Exposing his chest covered with sword wounds.
It's winter now, and even in this greenhouse, it can't feel like summer.
But this strong man seemed to have a strong body and didn't care about this at all. While watching the actors laughing and cursing, he laughed and chatted with Cai Jing.
"Old, old..."
Cai Jing took a sip of the rice wine in the cup, shook his head with a smile and sighed: "I didn't think it was anything at first, but when I asked Mr. Zhu to compare it today, I realized that I am really old..."
Naturally, he did not dare to wear only single clothes like Mr. Zhu. Instead, he wore a cotton singlet and a purple light robe.
Also present were Song Qiaonian, Han Mulu, and Deng Xunwu. They all seemed to respect the strong man very much. They ate, drank, and enjoyed themselves for a while.
If there are outsiders here, they will recognize that this strong man is the Duke of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Neng.
He is one of Zhu Di's most trusted generals and a powerful general who is good at fighting. At the end of this year, it was he who was sent to the Daqian court to participate in the Zhengdan Dynasty of the imperial court.
"I heard that Mr. Cai will host the audition again next year?"
Although the Ming Dynasty was far away from the capital, it always paid attention to the news in the capital. Zhu Neng knew all about what happened here in recent days.
Although he has a rough face, his heart is very delicate. At this moment, he smiled and cupped his hands to Cai Jing: "I would like to congratulate Mr. Cai in advance."
"At that time, I hope Mr. Cai will take more care of the candidates of our Ming Dynasty in the examination room."
Cai Jing smiled and nodded: "I will do my best."
He had a clear conscience, and the care Zhu Neng said did not mean that he should recruit more students from the Ming Dynasty, but that he should reject more students from the Ming Dynasty.
Only the imperial court of Daqian could conduct imperial examinations, and the princely states did not have the right to conduct imperial examinations.
In this way, talents from the vassal states will continuously flow to the imperial court, gradually creating an effect of strong branches and weak branches.
Naturally, the vassal states were not willing to let their talents be sucked away by the imperial court. They were also constantly struggling to improve the recommendation system for selecting officials, and even secretly conducted small-scale imperial examinations, etc.
But no matter how perfect the measures are, there are still many people who slip through the net, or who are stubborn and insist on coming to the imperial court to take the imperial examination.
In this case, some special measures must be taken.
Bribing the examiners in the examination is an important operation. As long as the candidates on your side fail the exam, they will naturally consider returning to their country for development after being frustrated.
Zhu Neng was here to do this kind of thing at this time.
However, Cai Jing naturally would not help him in vain.
After hearing Cai Jing say that he should do his best, the others immediately understood what he was thinking.
Song Qiaonian put down the silver-inlaid ivory buckle in his hand, shook his head and said: "Mr. Zhu, if you want to leave it to previous years, we, Mr. Cai, are naturally obligated."
"It's just this year..." He paused and sighed: "I'm just afraid of being powerless!"
Several other ministers also nodded one after another, with approval on their faces, as if they were lamenting the bad luck.
Zhu Neng seemed to have expected their attitude. He chuckled and said, "Of course I won't make things difficult for Mr. Cai."
"I also brought some local specialties from the Ming Dynasty to Mr. Cai and other ministers this time. It was just delayed for a while on the road. They will be delivered to the capital before the New Year."
The smile on Song Qiaonian's face froze slightly, and Gao Xun on the other side said for him: "Mr. Zhu, this is not a special matter, but this time I really have more than enough intention, but a little lack of strength."
"Although our Lord Cai is the chief examiner of the general examination, the deputy examiner of the general examination is still pending."
"I see?"
Zhu Neng nodded, but there was a flash of doubt in his eyes: "Isn't the chief examiner more senior than the deputy examiner? Since Mr. Cai is the chief examiner, does it matter who the deputy examiner is?"
He didn't understand the secrets in the examination, he just acted according to Zhu Di's instructions.
This time, before the others could speak, Cai Jing said by himself: "Make Mr. Zhu laugh."
A look of helplessness flashed across his old face: "Now that the adults in the court and His Majesty have different views on the position of examiner, I don't know what to do."
Zhu Neng looked at these people and subconsciously sensed something was wrong.
Although he is a military officer, it does not mean that he does not understand the dark ways of civil servants.
Zhu Neng smiled heartily: "That's it. The examination is the imperial court's talent promotion ceremony, and it is indeed worthy of the attention of Your Majesty and all of you."
Zhu Di had warned him before coming here that now he didn't want to get involved with these things at all. After saying this, he didn't want to speak anymore and just ate his food.
Cai Jing did not want to let him go, but said with a smile: "The deputy examiner selected by the imperial court and many adults may be different from what the Duke and His Highness Prince Ming thought..."
"When there is an emergency in the future, I might ask my father-in-law for help."
The smile on Zhu Neng's face froze: "If Mr. Cai wants to help, no matter whether it is a subordinate or the king, he will definitely not refuse."
"It's just that I'm just like Mr. Cai. At this time, I have more than enough ambition but not enough strength. How can I have no say in the affairs of the imperial court?"
Cai Jing looked at him for a moment, and then nodded with a smile: "Don't worry, sir, I, Mr. Cai, have sense and will not make it difficult for you."
Zhu Neng seemed to be relieved, but he still said with a smile on his face: "It's not that I don't want to help Mr. Cai, but I have a special status. Please understand Mr. Cai."
Cai Jing nodded: "Of course I understand. Both the Young Master and His Highness Prince Ming are my friends. I will not embarrass my friends."
Zhu Neng smiled and nodded, affirming Cai Jing's reputation: "If I can help, I will definitely not refuse..."
~~
The nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Beijing.
In previous years, this time was the time when all officials were happiest and most expectant.
Because on the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, it is the day of sealing.
This seal is not about sealing evil spirits or demons, but it is an official seal.
The yamen seal is suspended except for major matters.
In other words, officials are going on annual leave!
Who can be unhappy with this??
Of course, the atmosphere this year is not as cheerful as in previous years. There is a shadow in the hearts of the officials. Even during the New Year, they will be thinking about the dispute between His Majesty the Emperor and Cai Jing...
The next day, Dong Nuan Pavilion.
Li Qian sat behind the table, his expression not very good, but he still looked at the people in front of him with a forced smile: "Prime Minister Qin, and several ministers, starting from today, all yamen have begun to seal."
"I don't force you to stay here anymore. It's better to go back and have a good New Year. Let's meet again at the big court."
The following people are Qin Hui, the left and right ministers of Zhongshu, and the left and right ministers of the door. At this moment, they are looking at each other, and their faces are not very good-looking.
They naturally knew the reason why His Majesty the Emperor was not in high spirits. During the recent confrontation with Cai Jing and the Six Divisions, they and others hardly took any advantage, but suffered a few small and medium losses.
As for the replacement of the deputy examiner, there is no hope at all.
It can be said that it was a complete failure.
The atmosphere in Dongnuan Pavilion was a little gloomy. After a while, Qin Hui took the lead and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." Several other people immediately agreed.
Qin Hui paused for a moment and then said: "Your Majesty, please forget about the current unhappiness for the time being and have a good year."
He thought for a while and added: "Old and decayed things must not be able to bear the scorching sun for a long time. Your Majesty, there is no need to be too anxious."
Li Qian smiled casually, but anyone could see that his smile was very forced: "Of course I won't be in a hurry."
Qin Hui secretly sighed: "Please excuse me."
"I won't see you off anymore..." Li Qian waved his hand, signaling them to leave quickly.
Several ministers exited Dongnuan Pavilion one by one, braved the cold wind, and went back to seal it.
Seeing that they were all gone and could no longer hear the noise coming from here, Li Qian directly performed a Sichuan Opera face change, from the mournful face just now to a cheerful and joyful face... well, a standard fake face.
“Finally, I don’t have to review memorials every day!
"
Li Qian almost jumped three feet high with excitement!
The door to the side room also opened with a creak, Wu Meiniang pulled Lu Fei, and the two girls ran out with excitement on their pretty faces.
"Your Majesty, are you ready?"
Li Qian raised his head and looked up. The two women had already dressed up. Wu Meiniang on the left was wearing a light gold flowered gown and a fiery red fox fur cloak. Her pretty face was exposed in the winter sun. Like beautiful jade, a pair of red and phoenix eyes make her even more charming.
Lu Pheasant on the other side was wearing a simple long blue dress, with a green jade hairpin tying up her hair. She had a pretty face covered with makeup, and looked at Li Qian with a bit of shyness, as if she didn't want to. Dare to look at him.
Li Qian was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and said with a smile: "Of course!"
"Every government office is busy sealing seals now, so we should take the opportunity to go shopping."