At the beginning of August in the fifth year of Wanli, it was the season of early autumn tonic. In the lobby of Shunfu Mutton House in the capital, three well-dressed young people came in.
"Sir, please come inside!"
"Young masters, please take a seat~" The waiter in the shop didn't know where he was from. After welcoming the guests, he shouted in the direction of the counter. The word "oh" was raised high, tactfully and high-pitched, like singing. A smile appeared on Shen Maoxue's lips.
He smiled and said to the people around him: "Brother Daiyu, brother Changqing, and brother Yu are very fond of the authentic mutton in this restaurant. Today we are here to conspire to get drunk."
The Daiyu brother mentioned by Shen Maoxue is Zhang Sixiu, the second son of Zhang Juzheng. He was named Daiyu after taking the high school examination in the fifth year of Wanli.
The other brother Changqing is Tu Long, a weirdo among the five sons of the late Ming Dynasty. Tu Long's nickname is Changqing, and his nickname is Hongbao Jushi - except that the name is more normal, this and the nickname are simply deliberately funny in the eyes of later generations. .
Shen Maoxue invited Zhang Sixiu to dinner today just to take care of his friend Tu Long. Tu Long was well traveled, erudite and proficient in folk arts. He once wrote and directed a play that had no music at all, which was the prototype of later dramas - in the northern part of the empire at that time, His reputation is even higher than that of Tang Xianzu.
This Tu Long is also a Jinshi this year. He is in the same class as Shen Maoxue. He is only a top three, so he should be selected as an official. However, although Tu Long is highly talented and well-off in his family, he is a typical romantic talent and a super scumbag. , the kind who specializes in hooking up with married women and married men - yes, this guy is still a double plug.
After he entered the capital, in just six months, he already had three lovers in brothels in the capital, had an affair with a marquise, and had two wives. Tang Xianzu, who came with him to participate in the Ding Chou test but failed, once gave him a gift Two lines of my friend's poem: "How can a witch interpret the beauty of spring, how can a bright boy interpret a poem." This exposes his dissolute and indulgent temperament.
In the late Ming Dynasty, prostitution was rampant, and it was a period of chaos in which "the peace lasted for a long time, and the people's ambitions were lost." From the emperors and princes to the civil and military officials, from the literati to the traffickers, from the secret recipes of aphrodisiacs to the erotic palace picture albums, from the songs Ji Chengqun's Taoism was full of brothels - the people were full of thoughts of adultery and individualistic indulgence, which also laid the social foundation for the emergence of thinkers such as Li Zhi, Luo Rufang, and Wang Gen.
Tu Long had too many good friends in the capital, so he was unwilling to be sent to other prefectures and counties. He was too tired to go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to select officials, and he wanted to stay in the capital to observe politics. Because he had a good relationship with Shen Maoxue, he asked him to leave. If he follows Zhang Sixiu's path, after all, he is in the same department in the Prime Minister's office, so he would be a fool not to use this relationship.
...
Shen Maoxue got the secret information from Ding Chou Ke and was really talented and learned, so he got the first place in high school. Zhang Sixiu also got the second place in high school in undergraduate. Both of them were outstanding undergraduates, and they were both selected as Shujishi and were awarded the imperial editorship. Zhang Sixiu's elder brother Zhang Jingxiu, the same Zhang Siwen mentioned above, lost his reputation - this can also be evidence that Zhang Juzheng did not manipulate Ding Chou's examination.
Ding Chouke postponed the examination for two months because of the imperial reform, and the examination was not held until April. Zhang Juzheng, as the Prime Minister of the Reform Movement, served as the chief examiner as he should. As the emperor's representative, Zhang Siwei served as the deputy examiner.
Because Zhang Sixiu participated in the undergraduate palace examination, Zhang Juzheng avoided suspicion without anonymizing his name. Zhang Siwei led the Jiuqing officials to death from exhaustion, and Zhang Sixiu was originally ranked first in the second class. After Zhu Yijun looked at the list, he wanted to make it clear The emperor showed favor to Zhang Juzheng and raised Zhang Sixiu's ranking to the second place - the top three were no longer required to take the test of common people, and were directly ranked as editors of the Hanlin Academy.
Among the three people traveling with him, Tu Long was ranked lower, but his literary name was already well-known to the world at this time, so the three of them had similar identities, and it was not against their will to eat together in a small area.
The three of them entered the upstairs seating area of Shunfu Restaurant. The waiter served the capital's recently popular mutton-shabu hot pot, along with some vegetables, tofu, and a sesame sauce dish. Shen Maoxue picked up his long chopsticks, pointed at the hot pot and said, "Dai Brother Yu, do you often eat this flavor at home?"
Zhang Sixiu and his brother Zhang Jingxiu have different personalities and are somewhat funny. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "This is the flavor of Jiuqing - now it is also popular among the people."
Shen Maoxue and Tu Long were surprised when they heard this. They thought that they had learned a lot of information about this inheritance. Shen Maoxue smiled and said, "I would like to hear the details."
Zhang Sixiu said with a smile: "This is a variation of 'strike the bell and set up the cauldron and eat', 'a man is born to eat five cauldrons', and the emperor eats nine cauldrons."
After hearing this, both Shen Maoxue and Shen Maoxue clapped their hands and laughed. Tu Long said: "Brother Daiyu explained it wonderfully! Not to mention, after hearing what you said, this copper pot looks particularly pleasing to the eye. Haha! Please, please!"
The three of them talked while eating and drinking, and the first thing they talked about was the imperial edict on reform that was about to be promulgated.
Although Zhang Sixiu was able to receive some edification from Zhang Juzheng's side, Zhang Juzheng was busy with everything and did not spend much time on his son's education. He could only revise eight-legged essays to practice writing, and relieve the pressure accumulated in the court.
Therefore, Zhang Sixiu's emotional intelligence was not even as good as Zhang Jingxiu's. Although he felt that it was inappropriate to show off, it was rare for him to show off in front of his colleagues, so he opened up the conversation and said: "Although my father did not talk to us about the government affairs when he came home, he has been chatting with his staff in recent days. Much more, I actually heard a little bit."
Seeing that both of them stopped and listened carefully, Zhang Sixiu smiled and said: "On the 15th of this month, the imperial edict will be issued - the general outline of the reform has been decided."
"I heard from my father that this edict of reform was actually drafted by the emperor himself, and the officials, attendants, etc. just polished it a little. The first paragraph talks about the general outline - describing the hundred-year vision; the second paragraph talks about the plan - divided into fifty years and thirty years. Years, ten years, and five years will clearly plan the reform policy; the third paragraph only talks about this year and next year - we will first start the reform in fields, soldiers, postal services, horses, ships, etc."
After hearing this, Shen Maoxue and Tu Long were dazzled. Shen Maoxue sighed: "This is really a big-hearted and generous move! Only someone as experienced as your father can realize the emperor's plan!" After saying that, he gave an exaggerated thumbs up.
After hearing this, Zhang Sixiu felt a little proud, and then he suppressed it. He smiled and said to Tu Long: "Brother Changqing intends to stay in Beijing, there is really a chance." At this point, he lowered his voice and said: "Will the officials from Beijing come out next year? Less vacancies – that’s all I know.”
When Shen Maoxue saw that Zhang Sixiu had pointed out the purpose of the meal, although he felt a little embarrassed, he immediately said: "Where can Brother Daiyu have a say in choosing the person in charge of the lawsuit? If it is convenient, I will help you." Knowing that it was difficult for Tu Long to open his mouth, he accepted the favor, which was regarded as a debt he owed to the Zhang family.
Zhang Sixiu was in the yamen of the prime minister's office. Of course he could hear that Shen Maoxue had promised the Zhang family a favor. He didn't even frown and said with a smile: "What's so difficult about this? Tan Zili always wants to give Yudi some face - don't worry about this." Okay." Directly record this matter on Shen Maoxue.
This meddling between the two is actually a small investment by the Zhang family in Shen Zhuangyuan's future. Tu Long is nearby, but he is not even qualified to participate - he is a top three, unless he is as defiant as Hai Rui. What value does it have to the Zhang Juzheng family to reach the fourth rank?
Shen Maoxue knew this well, and when he heard Zhang Sixiu referring to the newly appointed Heavenly Official Tan Lun by his name without giving him a title, he was secretly speechless, and he had a deeper understanding of the Xuanhe power of Zhang Juzheng's family.
After talking about the main business, we can talk about the casual topic. The three of them talked about some test questions of Ding Chou. Tu Long said that these questions can be guessed, and it is nothing more than a change. Unfortunately, although I won the question, I didn't get into the second grade. A, there are too many monsters this year.
Shen Maoxueruo said to Zhang Sixiu thoughtfully: "Brother Daiyu, your eldest brother failed in this subject, but you passed it first, and your father didn't take care of him?"
Zhang Sixiu laughed after hearing this and said: "There is no reason why this matter in the examination room is guaranteed! My father will not blame my second brother for this matter." He pointed out that Zhang Jingxiu was the second brother in the family - there was an eldest brother in front of them, Not raised.
Tu Long took over the conversation and said: "Brother Daiyu, why did your brothers change their names this year? Do you have any explanation?"
After hearing this, Zhang Sixiu laughed and said: "There is no explanation. This is the decision of the ancestors of this family. Because someone got the first prize, my second brother and younger brothers all learned the word 'xiu'. Haha!" After saying this, he was extremely proud.
It turned out that in the spring of this year, Zhang Juzheng's father fell ill and wrote to the capital to talk to Zhang Juzheng about the affairs of the Zhang family in Jiangling.
Zhang Juzheng's family belongs to the military family, and his grandfather Zhang Zhen was a guard of the Liao Prince's Palace, and was drunk to death by the young Liao Prince. This is why the Zhang family spent a little money to seize the Liao Prince's Palace after the Liao Prince's defeat. The antecedents of the earth.
After the death of Zhang Juzheng's grandfather, the Zhang family barely managed to make ends meet before Zhang Juzheng became a scholar and became famous. Therefore, naming according to the genealogy list was a bit crude.
Zhang Juzheng's father's name was "Zhang Wenming", but he named Zhang Juzheng's eldest son "Zhang Siwen". His grandson's name violated his grandfather's taboo. Zhang Wenming had no idea at the time, but now he told Zhang Juzheng that he would be laughed at.
Because Zhang Juzheng is the eldest son and the heir to the ancestral lineage, Zhang Wenming’s letter meant that Zhang Juzheng should re-edit the character list and make it more regular starting from the generation after Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng is a scholar of heaven and man, so he doesn’t care about this at first, but it is no bigger than one. After removing the word "filial piety", I had no choice but to change all the names of my existing children and compiled a new list of characters.
And because the second son was in high school, the court had already engraved the three characters "Zhang Sixiu" on the Jinshi inscription tablet, and could not change it any more. Premier Zhang had no choice but to take out the character "Xiu" from the second son's name and compile it into a new character list.
Since then, Zhang Sixiu's eldest brother Zhang Siwen has adjusted his name according to the word "xiu" in his younger brother's original name and changed his name to Zhang Jingxiu - Zhang Juzheng means that I respectfully gave the character list of my branch to "xiu" according to your grandfather's wishes. After reading it again - Zhang Sixiu's younger brothers Zhang Maoxiu, Zhang Yunxiu and others also used the word "xiu" at the end of their names, which means that the old Zhang family began to rebuild the family tree from this life on. [Note]
Zhang Sixiu should be most proud of this thing, because he won the Jinshi first, and he did not change his name or surname in this job - he could brag in front of Zhang Jingxiu for a lifetime. Shen Maoxue and Tu Long were very interested in seeing him, and surrounded him Zhang Juzheng played a few words at home.
After all, Shen Maoxue was the number one scholar. Although he was cited as Zhang Dang, he couldn't lose his status too much. Therefore, after eating a few chopsticks of mutton, he pointed to the hot pot and started the topic: "I heard that Zhangde Mansion reported to the imperial court that Zhen was destroyed. Anyang's 'Dingming' pseudo-dynasty, I wonder if the pseudo-emperor can use 'Jiuding' to eat?"
After Zhang Sixiu heard this, he laughed and said: "It's just a civil uprising, and the stupid people in the countryside are making people laugh. However, Zhangde Prefecture and Anyang County made great efforts to repay their merits. I heard that the emperor was not very angry with the rebels, so he imposed additional taxes on Anyang County." The money to repair the river was very angry if it provoked a civil uprising, and it was said that an imperial envoy would be sent to investigate."
After hearing this, Shen Maoxue took a breath and said: "The imperial envoys sent out in the past two years almost never come back empty-handed. At least they have to return an official hat to the court. It is rumored that the inspectorate needs to return it every day. There are assessment indicators for how many official titles you have - is this true?"
Zhang Sixiu shook his head after hearing this and said: "The imperial envoys are only seeking truth from facts when investigating and handling errands. They can also make false accusations..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhang Sixiu stopped talking when he saw a young man wearing a Ge robe and a boy's scarf at the door peering in. Tu Long stood up and asked, "What's wrong, little brother?"
The young man blushed and whispered: "Are you the second son of Premier Zhang's family? Alas, there is evidence of illegal abuse of people in Anyang County. Can you hand it to the imperial envoy for me?"