Two hundred and sixty-five chapters should be done...
Chapter 265 It’s time to keep it...
After coming out of Wuying Hall, Li Zhongshu, who had won another vote, was about to go back inside. When he reached Guiji, he saw Mr. Lu, the Minister of War, standing in the corridor.
Li You hurriedly stepped forward and asked diligently: "What are you waiting for here, sir? Don't freeze. I'll find a brazier later."
"No need, I have something to tell you."
Li You then made a gesture of listening attentively.
Lu Shangshu frowned and said: "If someone else sat in your position, they would probably be satisfied and would not think of him again for the time being. But here, I only see that you are self-sufficient, fighting for power, eager for quick success, and full of mania.
"
Regardless of whether he liked what Lao Shangshu said or not, Li You could only respond respectfully and silently.
"My guess is that it's all because of your inferiority complex that caused you to act intolerantly. Could it be that you were just afraid of being looked down upon by others? Back then, you were just a small official, and even though you were flamboyant and wanton, you still managed to be free and easy. Now, in the past, you have suddenly become a small official.
Temples and palaces, I think you have the restraint and depression in your xon that cannot be shaken off, and you are restless and restless when things go to extremes..."
It's a pity that everything is inferior these days, except for the high level of education. Li You, who was born as a minor official and has no academic qualifications, is a miscellaneous person who has disappeared in the temples. When he met Lu Shangshu, he only dared to call himself a junior.
, but cannot be called late-born.
After banquets, court meetings, discussions, the surrounding academic qualifications are as high as at least the second-class Jinshi, and it is difficult to even see the low-ranking third-class Jinshi. If it were not for the noble princes, how could the spiritual pressure of Mr. Li, a grassroots person, be ordinary people?
Can you imagine? After all, his time on stage was too short, but his magnanimity needs time to settle. Even if his mentality is unbalanced, is he not trying every means to prove himself through various means, or is it the instinct of a little person to put up spikes to protect himself?
"It's common for people like you to become unstable after a sudden rise in wealth. But you are too exaggerated. I have been in office for decades and have never seen someone as kind as you."
A person who fights has actually fought hard to carve out a world. Now you have some qualifications, which are already beyond the reach of many people in their lifetime, so what else do you have in mind. So stop feeling inferior and angry, and calm down first.
It's better to live a mediocre official life."
Having said this, Li You spoke his true heart and said: "Most of the jobs that juniors hold are ministerial duties, and they do not hold the official position in the system. It is not an exaggeration to say that life is precarious. How can I call this junior?
Can you feel at ease?"
"You have to be at ease even if you don't feel at ease." Lu Shangshu said about others, "In the five-year competition of Jinghe, Chen Yingzhen was ranked second in the top two, and he was among the best, but he was not elected to the Imperial Academy as a commoner. You should know this?"
"
Chen Yingzhen is the old boss who brought Li You into the officialdom, and he is like Chen Xundao, the magistrate of Chen County, who is the template for the protagonist. He comes from a wealthy family. When he was a child, he chose a poor scholar to be his teacher and became the official minister twenty years later.
It is expected that he will be admitted. He won the fifth place in Jinshi at the age of twenty-three. If he promotes a younger brother in the county, he can dominate the world and unseat the prefect. At the age of twenty-five, he will have a good opportunity to serve as a fifth-grade minor officer... Even if
Li You, the true protagonist, is still ashamed of himself.
Of course, Li You had vaguely heard about the past of his old boss. The best way out for a Jinshi is to enter the Imperial Academy, followed by the six departments. Mr. Chen, the fifth Jinshi, did not enter the Hanlin or stay in the capital, but went to a local county to become a county magistrate. It is really embarrassing.
He said that he would not take the ordinary path. "It seems that he was too low-key back then, so others did not know his relationship with Xu Shangshu. When the palace was selecting concubines, he was replaced by others, so he left the capital and became the county magistrate out of anger."
Lu Shangshu asked back: "With the power of the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, can't Chen Yingzhen, who should have a legitimate name, be added to the Hanlin? Everyone in the world regards Beijing officials as noble, but why would Mr. Xu put Chen Yingzhen in Jiangnan, far away from the capital?" "
Li You still didn't understand why the old minister was talking about Chen Xundao.
"The past two years must have been troubled years for the imperial court. Mr. Xu asked Chen Yingzhen to stay away from the capital to avoid trouble. How many real officials have you seen? What is so powerful? Even Mr. Xu doesn't want to let his beloved disciple go. Yu Jingshi, you who jumped in by mistake, how dare you not keep a low profile and be patient? If I remember correctly, you came to the capital with the intention of being imprisoned."
Although what Lu Shangshu said is relatively obscure, if Li You couldn't even understand the warning, then he would have spent nearly two years in the officialdom in vain...
What else can Xu Tianguan, who is already a very popular minister, have any plans? Does he want to directly become the first bachelor? Think about it, it is not impossible. Now the two top candidates are Mr. Yuan and Mr. Peng. From Li You's perspective, It doesn't look very good, and it doesn't have the temperament of a chief assistant.
Among the civil servants of the outer court, Xu Tianguan has a high reputation and a high voice. If Xu Shangshu and Zhao Zongxian are to take advantage of the Beijing inspection plan next year, they will carry out a round of purges in the officialdom of the capital at all costs to exclude dissidents, and then rely on the election of the outer court to directly join the army. Jumping to the top spot and becoming the first assistant candidate in the future has a high probability of success.
All in all, the spirit of the boss's speech today is nothing more than: Xu Tianguan's plan is very big, and the risks associated with it are also big, and even the consequences for you are not small. Previously, you were considered a powerful miscellaneous person, and you took advantage of Tianguan's power to jump to the top. Unprecedented status. But it’s time to stop here. Considering your background and age limit, no matter how fierce you are in the future, can you still surpass your current status?
Under this general trend, every rational person should understand that of course not to do things that only bring risks but no benefits.
Just like Li You, who has finally seen the light of day, he has to be convinced that the pattern in his mind is indeed a little worse. We must also learn to be a person with a big picture.
Throughout the afternoon, Li Zhongshu sat inside and thought about his own path. From his own perspective, the pioneering and enterprising stage should indeed be over. Taking advantage of the situation has almost reached its peak. There is nothing left to make progress. The next step is to focus on defense... and keep a low profile. , be low-key.
When Li You returned to his residence in the evening, he saw Han Zong, who was guarding the house, took out a note and reported: "The Prince Consort of Guide has invited me to come over and have a drink."
Li You automatically replaced the word "Prince Consort" with "Eldest Princess" in his ears. He warmed up in the room and went out to the east of the city.
Li You didn't need to think about the reason why Guide Chitose summoned him. It must be related to the salt matter. Today he just presented the three salt laws.
When they arrived at the Prince Consort's Mansion, it was already dark. Li You nodded friendly to Prince Consort Lin and Wang Yannv, and walked into the warm interior to wait for the driver.
But it was strange today. Chitose Guide had arrived first. She was wearing an emerald green dark-patterned casual jacket and was reading a book inside, looking very engrossed.
"It is a sin to ask His Highness to wait for a long time." Li You bowed his hands in greeting.
"It might as well, I just happen to be here reading quietly."
Li You sat down casually and asked casually: "What are you looking at?"
"A compilation of the true records of Wuzong. I just saw that Liu Jin, a powerful eunuch, in the early years of Zhengde, specially presented the four salt laws in order to gain a reputation for being able to serve. As you said, history is always surprisingly similar." His Royal Highness Chitose said seriously. explain.
…
The other party was too noble, so Li You didn't dare to retort and ridiculed him, so he could only express his dissatisfaction with silence.
Princess Guide put down her book and got down to business again, "Can you introduce me to that man named Cheng?"
"Don't you have someone named Cheng in your hand?"
"Don't pretend to be confused, you know who I'm talking about."
Li You slandered, even if you are the eldest princess, you can't pick peaches so confidently, right?
Guide Chitose smiled slightly proudly and said: "It is no longer possible for you to deal with the salt matter. Instead of holding on to the one who is neither good nor bad, you might as well introduce the man named Cheng to me."
Having had close contact with each other several times, Li You was quite familiar with some of the expressions on the eldest princess's face. When he caught a glimpse of her unruly smile, his heart suddenly brightened up. He pointed and shouted, "It turns out you are the one who ruined my big business."
Today, the Empress Dowager in the Wuying Palace will tell the ministers secretly. She must be closely related to the woman in front of her. Maybe she coaxed the Empress Dowager to do this.
Princess Guide turned a blind eye to Mr. Li's finger, neither admitting nor denying it. She just commented: "I have been in the palace for many years, and I have never seen such a weird memorial. It actually slanders others with articles that may be circulated."
It was really eye-opening to write the black records together. But your three articles are very good, and you do have some experience. Even I underestimated you before."
Li You, who felt that he had been tricked, couldn't calm down. Could it be that even today, his face can't be compared to a little advantage? He said a little excitedly: "You are like this, and you are like this..."
However, in order to maintain the grand plan, the powerful woman in the palace must still have a good relationship. If Xu Tianguan loses unexpectedly, she will be a life-saving straw, so Li Zhongshu can only forcefully suppress his dissatisfaction.
Besides, the policy of keeping a low profile has been set. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get involved in those messy things that involve the interests of all parties. Anyway, you have successfully established your image by dedicating the three salt laws, so it is not a loss.
Thinking of this, Li You said: "Tomorrow I will ask Old Man Cheng to visit the princess mansion. You can do whatever you like."
The eldest princess was shocked in disbelief. Li You, who had always been cunning and difficult to deal with, agreed so simply and painfully? She prepared six plans to deal with Li You, but none of them took into account the situation of someone agreeing.
.
What conspiracy does this man have? Guide Chitose sat in a soft chair and thought hard, puzzled.
Li You had no choice but to drink a few sips of tea, then stood up without energy and said: "Your Highness, continue to think, I'll take my leave."
The eldest princess put aside her distracting thoughts and couldn't help but ask: "Why don't you ask me? Why did I stop you from handling the salt matter?"
"What's the point of asking? God knows and earth knows that you know and I know." Li You stood in the room and pretended not to care, and said with a strange tone of voice.
Guide's thousand-year-old pink face twitched a few times, then he gritted his teeth and said, "Do you know that Taizu has a law that people from Su are not allowed to serve as officials in the Ministry of Household Affairs? Therefore, our government does not use Su people to handle matters in the Department of Household Affairs.
If you really want to work with the Ministry of Household Affairs to handle the salt affairs, I'm afraid the memorial to impeach you will drown you in an instant. Do you know what's good or bad?"
Ah, so you misunderstood her again? Li You returned to the house in embarrassment. "Who told you to always do things that make people misunderstand. It's too cold outside at this time, so I'd better not leave yet."...