The weather in June is already very hot. Although it is not yet midsummer, the sun is already very bright. It has just been a little while since then, and the temperature is already frighteningly high. The hot sun is baking
The heat touched the earth, causing water-like ripples to ripple in the air. The birds and beasts in the mountains and forests were so hot that they hid in the darkness, but there was a large group of people and horses hurriedly rushing on the mountain road, with several flags.
Interspersed with avoidance cards and official title cards, looking at the words on them, it was obvious that the person sitting on the carriage in the middle of the queue was the current Prime Minister Gao Zhizhou who was on a patrol.
Gao Zhiannian is already seventy-six years old. He is fat and is most afraid of heat. However, he does not dare to stop halfway. Even though he is sweating all over his body, he just endures it. It is not for anything else but because of him.
Afraid of death, although there was no special explanation from the King of Yue, Gao Zhizhou had already suspected that this patrol was not as simple as it seemed from the moment he joined the escort team from Yan Wanshan and many other masters from the Yue King's Palace.
, there is definitely something fishy in this. Therefore, since leaving the capital, Gao Zhizhou has been cautious in his words and deeds wherever he goes. He will not leave the inn if he can, and even the inspection schedule that he has to do has been repeatedly compressed.
But if you can't go to a place where there are many people, you won't go. Even if you want to go, you have to bring all the experts with you. Otherwise, you will not hesitate to offend the local officials. Everything will be done.
Put your own safety first.
Face? Gao Zhizhou couldn't care less about this kind of mystery. After all, that thing can't be used as food. The most important thing is to finish the work quickly and return to Beijing. It's a pity that the inspection route was arranged early in the morning.
, it is really not up to him, Gao Zhizhou, to be the master. There are still six states such as Pu, Yun, Si, Cai, etc. that need to go. No matter how impatient Gao Zhizhou is, he can only go all the way according to the road map.
The trip went smoothly, but Gao Zhizhou still didn't dare to take it lightly. He always set off before dawn, and would rest early at the official post station before it got dark. As for sleeping in the open air, he would never want to. In a word, everything
Safety comes first.
"Well, what's going on? Why did it stop?"
While Gao Zhizhou was thinking uneasily in the carriage, he suddenly noticed that the bumpy carriage seemed to have stabilized. His face instantly sank. He opened the gauze curtain on the side of the carriage and shouted angrily at the guards outside.
.
"Your Excellency, the governor of Caizhou, Liu Daming, and the state's central officials are waiting for you at the boundary three miles ahead. In addition, the fourth prince is also among them. Please tell me where to go."
Gao Zhizhou's face was so downcast that all the attendants did not dare to reply randomly. However, Yan Wanshan, who was temporarily transferred to the guard commander, did not care and answered casually.
"Well, go and tell me what I've told you. Just say that I don't tolerate false etiquette. There's no need to greet you. If you have anything to do, we'll discuss it at the inn. That's it. Let's set off!"
When he heard what was going on, Gao Zhizhou's face became a little brighter, but his usual cautious attitude did not change. Even if Yan Wanshan carried out Li Chun, the fourth son of the Yue King, he did not want to show any mercy to him.
He looked around at the lush mountains and forests around him, frowned, and made a decision without any mercy. As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't care how ugly Yan Wanshan's face was. He shook his hand and put down the gauze curtain.
Come down.
"Let's set off!"
Seeing that Gao Zhizhou behaved like this again, Yan Wanshan couldn't help but feel so crooked. What he didn't say was that if others followed the imperial envoy on a patrol, they would reap a lot of benefits. However, Yan Wanshan walked all the way.
She just did some nannying work. It was a lot of work, but there were almost no benefits. For no other reason than because Gao Zhizhou was too cautious along the way. He didn't accept invitations or gifts, and he didn't care much.
When meeting local officials, the others even wanted to receive red envelopes but had no chance. However, Gao Zhizhou was the real owner of the trip. He had to be cautious. Yan Wanshan had no choice but to yell angrily.
With a sound, the driver was ordered to run forward again...
At four o'clock in the morning, the sun was already setting in the west. The hottest hour of the day had passed, but the temperature was still frighteningly high. A group of Caizhou officials had pavilions for shade, which was better, even though it was also
It's so hot that I'm sweating profusely, but it's still much better than the soldiers guarding the camp outside the post station. At least I don't have to bear the scorching sun. But even so, a group of officials who are used to being pampered can't help but complain. They just complain.
They all complained, but no one dared to leave the inn without authorization, because the current Prime Minister Gao Zhizhou was living in the inn at the moment, not to mention that his immediate boss, the Governor Liu Daming, was still inside to welcome the Imperial Envoy Prime Minister.
Of course, the official can only stay in the pergola and enjoy the "sauna".
"Hey, the governor is here, how come it's all over so quickly?"
"Look, Mr. Liu's complexion seems to be wrong. I'd better be more careful."
"Haha, they all say that the imperial envoy, Mr. Gao, is not easy to serve. It's true."
…
A group of Caizhou officials got up early in the morning and rushed to the state border to meet him, and then braved the scorching sun to return to the inn. After traveling for several hours, they had long been stifled by Gao Zhizhou's unkindness.
He was so angry when he saw that Liu Daming, the governor, had just accompanied Gao Zhizhou into the inn and was dismissed soon after. The resentment in his heart naturally became louder. Regardless of whether the occasion was right or wrong, he started muttering in a low voice.
"Ahem!"
Caizhou Sima Li Chun grew up in the royal palace since he was a child, and his demeanor is unmatched by ordinary people. Although he was sweating profusely due to the heat, his expression was very calm. When he saw this, his colleagues murmured a little inappropriately.
He pretended to cough twice to remind the subordinate officials to pay attention to their decency. Not to mention, even though Li Chun was not old, he was the Sima of the state after all. His status in the state was second only to the governor. In addition, he was the fourth son of the King of Yue.
Such a fake cough really made the officials of Caizhou dare not ignore it, and they all consciously kept their mouths shut.
"Master Liu, how is the situation?"
Li Chun ignored the embarrassment of the officials, straightened his official robes, strode out of the pavilion, and greeted Liu Daming. When he came closer, he bowed slightly and asked respectfully:
.
"Um!"
Liu Daming, the governor of Caizhou, was forty-five years old at the time. He was a Jinshi in the sixth year of Yonghui. He was also one of the North Gate bachelors. However, his luck was obviously not as good as other bachelors. He was promoted to a local official early. After many twists and turns, he relied on
Empress Wu was promoted to the post of governor of Caizhou just the year before last. In the impeachment case of the spring plowing envoy at the beginning of the year, he was one of the impeachers. Although he was impeached by Pei Xingjian who was ordered to investigate the case at that time, Empress Wu was
Under the protection of the police, he was not punished, so he escaped. However, because of his bad relationship with the spring plowing envoy, he did not do his best to promote overseas varieties, which resulted in the summer grain shortage in Caizhou.
The harvest was far less than that of several surrounding states. As soon as the data was reported, Gao Zhizhou pointed it out mercilessly. He lost face because of it. Now that he saw Li Chun, an authentic direct descendant of the Yue Prince's Palace, he couldn't help but feel angry.
As for him, he just looked at Li Chun's good cooperation with him these days, but he didn't want to be too careful, so he could only make a gloomy face and say noncommittally, which was regarded as an answer.
"Lord Liu, I have prepared some wine at my house, intending to cleanse myself of Gao Xiang's marriage. However, I am young after all, so I am afraid that I will not be able to suppress the situation. I would also like to ask Lord Liu to come and act as a guard. If you are allowed, I am very grateful to you."
Li Chun had been under the command of the King of Yue since he was a child, and he was very good at observing colors. As soon as he saw Liu Daming's expression, he knew that he must have been frustrated in front of Gao Zhizhou, and he had the intention to calm him down. After a while, he made a request very respectfully.
"Well, if it's convenient, I can just take a break."
Liu Daming was furious at this time. He was about to reject Li Chun's kindness, but then he thought about it. His political performance under his rule was worrying. If he couldn't get Gao Zhizhou to calm his cheeks in the court, he might not be able to escape the disaster of impeachment. Not to mention the original The enmity between the special envoy for spring plowing and the prince was impeached. I was afraid that the consequences would be bad, so I didn't dare to be tough. But I didn't want to lose my standing in front of Li Chun, a junior official, so I responded vaguely, He tossed his sleeves and left without looking back.
To save face and suffer the consequences!
Although Li Chun has a calm mind, he is still a young man after all. When he saw Liu Daming acting like this, he inevitably felt angry, but he did not want to show any disrespect in front of others, so he just shook his head slightly and cursed secretly in his heart. After making a sound, he waved his sleeves, raised his feet and walked towards the inn.
"The lower officials will see the high minister!"
Li Chunnai was the fourth son of the King of Yue. The post station, where most of the guards from the Prince of Yue's palace acted as guards along the way, would not be subject to much interrogation. He easily walked into the main room accompanied by Yan Wanshan. When he saw Gao sitting there Gao Zhizhou, who was at the head, hurried forward and saluted respectfully to say hello.
"You're welcome, young prince. Please get up. Please get up quickly."
Gao Zhizhou was an important minister of the Yue King's line. When he met Li Chun, his young master, he was extremely polite. He didn't put on any airs of being a prime minister. He stood up, raised his hands and shouted with a smile. .
"Thank you for your hard work all the way, Prime Minister Gao. My nephew has prepared some fine wine in the house to wash away the dust of the Prime Minister. I also ask the Prime Minister to give me a favor."
Li Chun behaved like a Yue king. He did not neglect Gao Zhizhou's politeness at all. He performed the ceremony meticulously. After the ceremony, he extended the invitation very respectfully.
"That's it, very good. I'm a little tired too, so I let the young prince make the arrangements."
Gao Zhizhou refused to accept the invitation all the way. Previously, Liu Daming, the governor of Caizhou, also extended an invitation to a banquet, but was rejected by Gao Zhizhou without hesitation. However, Gao Zhizhou did not accept the invitation from the young master Li Chun. It was hard to refuse, so he hesitated briefly and then readily agreed.
"Thank you very much, Gao Xiangcheng. I am deeply grateful to you."
Li Chun had received a letter from his father in the capital to give him some advice. He knew that Gao Zhizhou's journey would be full of risks and hardships. Now that he had come to Caizhou, he had the intention of arranging a scene for his good fortune. To relieve the pressure on him, he was very happy to see Gao Zhizhou agree to his request.
"Little prince, come, sit down and talk, sit down and talk."
Gao Zhizhou had been an official for decades, and he had just climbed to the position of prime minister when he was old. It was all thanks to the power of the Yue Prince's Palace. He was very grateful to the Yue Prince in his heart. Seeing Li Chun being so gentle and elegant, he naturally The more I looked at it, the more I liked it, so he walked down in person and offered his seat to Li Chun with a smile on his face. The old man and the young man started chatting all over the place, which was quite enjoyable...