Chapter 14 The will of God has been unpredictable since ancient times
Chongdefang is located in the southeast of the inner city, belonging to the first wing of the left army in the inner city of Kaifeng County. The northwest corner is where the palace city is, and going west to the end is the Imperial Street.
The inner city is a place where every inch of land is valuable, and the first wing is even more important. In later generations, the housing prices here are comparable to those of the courtyard houses next to the Forbidden City.
Money alone cannot buy it.
Even if the people who live here are not the families of important ministers, at least their ancestors have expanded there.
Today, Wang Zeng, a minister who is involved in political affairs and is ranked Zhongshu, has his home in Chongdefang.
Wang Zeng was a native of Yidu, Qingzhou (now Qingzhou, Shandong Province). His family was not in a good situation when he was young. His parents passed away when he was eight years old.
He was raised by his second uncle. If Wang had lived in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, or during the Five Dynasties period, I am afraid he would not have been able to reach where he is today.
Wang Zeng was a beneficiary of the imperial examination system. Although the imperial examination began in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the imperial examinations during the Sui and Tang Dynasties were still monopolized by wealthy families. It was almost impossible for poor families to ascend to high positions through the imperial examination.
If it had been at that time, Wang Zeng might not have even been able to become a Beijing official.
Therefore, Wang Zeng was very grateful to the dynasty. If he had not been selected through the imperial examination, he would not be where he is today.
If he hadn't been selected through the imperial examination, he wouldn't have met the noble person he was destined for.
There were two noble people in Wang Zeng's favor, one was Lu Mengzheng and the other was Li Hang.
In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the practice of writing papers was prevalent. The so-called writing papers meant that the examiner submitted papers to officials or celebrities at that time before taking the exam.
Submit your poems and essays to these celebrities to gain their praise, thereby improving your reputation and successfully getting admitted.
Wang Zeng took part in the provincial examination in the fifth year of Xianping (1002). Before taking the examination, he submitted his examination papers to Lu Mengzheng, the prime minister at the time.
Later, Wang Zeng took the provincial examination and passed the "Provincial Yuan" high school (equivalent to Huiyuan in the Ming and Qing Dynasties). This move not only made Wang Zeng famous in the capital, but also made Lu Mengzheng glorious.
Later, another prime minister at that time, Li Hang, fell in love with Wang Zeng and married his daughter to Wang Zeng.
With a prime minister-in-law, Wang Zeng's career was very smooth.
Although Li Hang died early and Li Hang passed away due to illness two years after Wang Zeng became his son-in-law, Li Hang's connections are still there.
In the same year as Li Hang were Kou Zhun and Wang Dan. All three of them were Jinshi in the fifth year of Taiping Xingguo (980), and Kou Zhun and Wang Dan became prime ministers one after another.
In the first year of Tianxi (1017), on the recommendation of Wang Dan, Wang Zeng successfully entered Zhongshu and became the deputy prime minister.
Although he only served as consul for less than a year, Wang Zeng was dismissed because of Wang Dan's relationship, but this experience also allowed him to successfully join the ranks of consuls.
Without this experience, he would not be able to return to Zhongshu and serve as a counselor for political affairs.
Prince's Mansion.
backyard.
In the small pavilion near the pond, there are tea-scented birds, the surrounding curtains sway with the breeze, and the warm pot on the side makes a gurgling sound from time to time.
At this time, there were only two people in the pavilion. The one sitting on the east side was the owner Wang Zeng, and the one sitting on the west side was a middle-aged man with a long beard.
"Prime Minister, please drink this tea."
The middle-aged man pushed a small azure lamp with a lotus-like mouth in front of Wang Zeng.
Wang Zeng chuckled and stroked his beard.
"Okay, let me try Tanfu's craftsmanship."
After a while, Wang Zeng put down the tea cup and nodded.
"Yes, I haven't seen you for a few days, and my skills have improved."
The middle-aged man smiled slightly and remained silent. His surname was Lu, his given name was Yijian, and his given name was Tanfu. At the same time, he was also the nephew of the late prime minister Lu Mengzheng.
Lü Meng was one of Wang Zeng's great men, and his father-in-law Li Hang and Lü Mengzheng were also colleagues of the same prime minister.
In this way, the Wang Zeng and Lu Yijian families can be regarded as family friends, and the relationship between them is naturally good.
"The Prime Minister came to see me today, but what happened in the palace?"
Emperor Daxing was enthroned not long ago, and he is still in mourning period. Although the country pays attention to changing the day and month, ministers do not have to mourn for the late emperor for twenty-seven months.
But he must also mourn for twenty-seven days.
Lu Yijian is now the de facto leader of Kaifeng Mansion (Quan Zhi Kaifeng Mansion), and can be regarded as one of the close ministers. He is still in mourning period. Although it is not against the rules for the two of them to meet, it will inevitably have a bad impact.
(PS: Lu Yijian still has an official title of "Longtuge Direct Bachelor", but this position is only a post, an honorary title for senior civil servants, used to indicate status, and has no specific assignment)
What's more, three days later will be the day of mourning (the end of mourning).
Therefore, Lu Yijian concluded that something must have happened in the palace.
Otherwise, Wang Zeng would not have been able to wait for three days and call him over in a hurry.
"Tanfu really has an unparalleled plan."
Wang Zeng sighed slightly: "Early this morning, I received news from the palace that both Zhang Jingzong and Lei Yungong went to Yong'an."
Upon hearing the news, Lu Yijian looked startled, and then he fell into deep thought.
That's all for Zhang Jingzong, Lei Yungong is not an ordinary chamberlain guard, this person also shoulders the responsibility of connecting internal and external affairs.
In addition, Lei Yungong and Ding Wei had a good relationship. Without Lei Yungong's help, Ding Wei would not have monopolized the power as he does now.
When Lei Yungong went to build the imperial mausoleum, was it the Queen Mother’s intention or his own?
If it's the former, I'm afraid Beijing will soon face a storm.
Transferring Lei Yungong was no less than breaking one of Ding Wei's arms.
Does the Queen Mother want to deal with Ding Wei?
Although the relationship between the Empress Dowager and Ding Wei was good before, but since ancient times, there have been many examples of birds disappearing, good bows hiding, cunning rabbits dying, and lackeys being cooked?
Don’t you hear about the drinking of wine to release military power during the Taizu period?
But if it's the latter, then it can only be Lei Yungong's greed for power?
For a long time, Lu Yijian sighed secretly. He felt that his eyes were covered with layers of fog. This fog not only covered his body, but also shrouded the sky above the imperial city.
It’s really hard to see what’s inside.
"Tanfu, can you get anything?"
Seeing Lu Yijian raise her head again, Wang Zeng asked unhurriedly.
Lu Yijian shook his head and sighed.
"God's will has always been unpredictable."
Wang Zeng smiled slightly. Although he knew more, there were some things that couldn't be said openly.
Lei Yungong went here because he begged for it.
But Wang Zeng could not tell Lu Yijian the news. He knew what happened in the Queen Mother's palace yesterday, so how could he tell others?
Even if Lu Yijian and he were allies and friends, he couldn't say anything about it.
If the news leaks out, his official career will definitely come to an end.
Although the chance of Lu Yijian taking the initiative to tell the truth was very small, no matter how small the opportunity was, he had to guard against it.
On the other side, seeing Wang Zeng sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, Lu Yijian suddenly felt something in his heart and had some guesses.
However, he did not confirm his guess to Wang Zeng.
The Prime Minister should know something, but the source of the information is a bit sensitive and it is difficult to say.