Chapter 53 Wei Zheng Certification: Faint Lord
The ninth year of Wude, the ninth day of June.
Changan, outside Jingfengmen of the Imperial City, Yongxingfang.
Prince Zhan Shifu chief secretary Wei Zheng brews wine at home, a large wooden basin is covered with a straw futon, Wei Zheng's wife Pei lifts the futon, revealing a basin of glutinous rice inside. She dipped her hand into the small wine pit dug in the middle of the glutinous rice wine lees, dipped some wine juice and tasted it.
"It's a bit sour." She shook her head and said to her husband, "The weather is too hot, it's hard to handle, this wine has gone bad."
Wei Zheng sat on the side, but he looked a little lost.
"The wine is sour, do you hear me?" Pei shouted.
Wei Zheng just hummed, "It's sour, at least I didn't lose my life."
"The crown prince is a wise king." Mrs. Pei said with some emotion.
"Not necessarily, I'm more worried that he will become a foolish king."
"Why, you suggested several times to the crown prince to kill him, but he didn't kill you now, and appointed you as Zhan Shizhu."
Wei Zheng sighed, "The prince was too benevolent, or a little indecisive, otherwise, if he listened to my advice and acted first, how could there be a **** change in the Xuanwumen court? How could there be brothers killing each other, and my son being imprisoned?" Father's matter?"
"You don't want to die, and you still say these things, you should burn incense to thank the prince for his kindness in not killing you."
Wei Zheng dipped his hand in some of the wine, and shook his head helplessly after tasting it, "It was only one step away, and the wine was sour, and the prince was only one step away, and the result was not only the end of the world, but also the end of my life. It's not the favor of the present prince, it's Qin Sanlang's efforts to protect it."
"Which Qin Sanlang?"
"It's Qin Shubao's son, the young man who was awarded honors to Shangzhu Kingdom and Duke Yi at the age of sixteen. He is really a formidable young man, but I am even more impressed by what he said to the prince in the East Palace that day. He can carry a boat and capsize it, that's very well said, if he hadn't urged the crown prince to pardon the world and pardon me and other Donggong party members, that person would have killed me long ago."
When Mrs. Pei heard that it was him, "It turns out that you are talking about Qin Sanlang who rejected two girls with five surnames. You may not know that this Qin Sanlang also rejected the marriage offer of his younger sister, Princess Danyang, from the new crown prince. The Crown Prince who is provoked now is furious, within one day, he won three positions in a row, and was demoted three ranks in a row, and now he is not the Duke of Yi, but the Duke of Licheng County, who is now at home."
"And this?" Wei Zheng heard it for the first time, "Look, this new crown prince doesn't have the slightest aura of a wise monarch. Qin Lang is such a confidant and hero, just because he refused his marriage offer, he was resigned and resigned." Doesn’t it mean that those who demote the nobles will chill the hearts of the heroes? Originally, the gift of marriage is to win over the heroes, but now it actually makes the heroes feel cold.”
"It is not the Mingjun's fault to allow others to refuse at all."
"It's too arbitrary for you to say that just because of this matter."
"This is not arbitrary, but well-founded. A historical record, two hundred years before the Han Dynasty, has told us countless truths. The emperor's posthumous title in ancient times, the founding emperor's posthumous posthumous title, and the successor's posthumous posthumous posthumous text. Why? ?Gain who started a new dynasty in the troubled times, all those who do not establish a country with force, is the so-called winning the world immediately. But you can win the world immediately, but you cannot rule the world immediately. Filling the national treasury, let alone making the country rich and the people strong can create a prosperous age. Therefore, it is inevitable that only military generals can conquer the world and civilian officials can rule the world. This is the foundation of politics since ancient times. Today, His Royal Highness has great martial arts skills, but it is true. But this is also the root of the reality that the country is uncertain, the national treasury is empty, and countless people are still displaced, living without food and clothing."
"Do you know why the emperor didn't choose the second child as the prince? Because what the emperor needs is a future emperor who can rest with the people and bring peace to the world, who can have the means to make the court stable, and who has clear politics. The new prince is good at conquest, but neglects political affairs. , do not know crops, do not know suffering, and do not know the tedious and difficult aspects of government.”
"Furthermore, those who lead an army to become a commander rely on decisiveness in killing and attacking, ordering and prohibiting, and paying attention to directness. But governance is different. You have to think about your own duties, and you need to be well-thought-out and even have a winding path. Yes, the new crown prince seized power with a palace change, killed his brother and imprisoned his father. If he won the throne, his heart must be evil. Even if he has the heart to accept advice, the incident on June 4 will be a thorn in his heart forever. When it comes to this, it is inevitable to feel guilty and suspicious.”
"With such an evil heart, how can he become a real Mingjun?"
Wei Zheng was eloquent, but Pei waved his hand and said, "You don't need to tell me about your art of assisting the emperor, I am a woman and I can't understand it. But since Qin Sanlang saved your life, now he is doing it again." Those who have been dismissed and demoted, you should pay a visit and thank them."
"That's right, don't brew this wine. You can't make good wine if you don't have the mind. You can pick me two jars of self-brewed wine that have been stored before, and I will go thank Qin Sanlang."
Pei Shi said, "Just two jars of home brew, isn't this a bit too shabby as a gift?"
"Why is it so shabby? In Chang'an City, although there are many kinds of fine wines, such as Xinfeng wine, San Lejiang wine, Gaochang wine, etc., the real good wines are not those. The real good wines are home-made private brews that are not listed , every jar of wine is made with great care, and is brewed by a real good wine expert. In Chang'an City, my Wei's home brew is the same as Shi Jiaoge's home brew of Tai Le Department, and is called first-class by Chang'an drinkers. one."
Ge’s wine and Wei Gong wine are indeed very famous, many people want to buy them but can’t get them. There is a saying in Chang’an that a bucket of gold is not as good as Wei Gong’s sip.
Wei Zheng and his wife were able to live in Chang'an as a small official, not because of the meager salary. The Wei Gong wine he brewed at home earned a lot of money for the family.
It's just that Wei Zheng wasn't thinking about it, so he didn't make much wine, and kept most of it for himself.
After carrying two jars of Weigong wine, Wei Zheng rode on the donkey and headed slowly towards Qin Lang's residence in Yong'an Square in the south of the west city. He carefully looked at the Chang'an City along the way. After several days, the Chang'an City has slowly It has recovered, and the east and west cities are also open for business in the afternoon every day.
City gates and square gates are no longer closed to martial law in broad daylight.
There are more pedestrians on the street, but everyone's expressions are still quite nervous.
The old prince’s department in the local area, the emperor Yuan Cong, will they all be loyal to the new prince? Will someone rise up to rescue the emperor?
Wei Zheng was also thinking about it. He never thought about being a loyal minister, and he didn't even think that he was that kind of pedantic Confucian scholar. He was an official, but after his father died of illness and took office, he didn't even return In his hometown, he was exiled in a foreign land since he was a child, living a poor life, and later became a Taoist priest in desperation. After the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, he went to the rebel army, and then followed Li Mi to the Tang Dynasty.
Returning to the Tang Dynasty for the first time, he was granted the title of Secretary Cheng from the fifth grade, and then he was ordered to appease Shandong. As a result, he was captured by Dou and transferred to Dou Jiande's palace. After Dou's defeat, he returned to Chang'an with Li Shimin. Please go to the East Palace to be a prince Xianma from the fifth rank, but after going around in circles, you become lower and lower.
Now, after Jian Jiancheng, who he admired very much and believed to be a benevolent and wise king in the future, was killed, he finally accepted the position of the seventh-rank prince Zhan Shizhu which was bestowed upon him by Li Shimin.
After thinking about it, he came all the way to Yong'an Square.
"Who are you looking for?"
The concierge saw Wei Zheng coming to visit.
Wei Zheng looked up at the seven plaques on the Jianguo County Government House in Licheng, and handed over his name badge.
The old servant at the gatehouse took it. He was able to read and write because he was guarding the gate, but he looked at it and saw that the badge was very simple, with only one name Wei Zheng on it.
Seeing that he was dressed simply, riding a donkey, and had no entourage, the servant thought it was just an old servant from some family who came to send a famous assassin to see him on behalf of the master.
"Wait here." The old servant went in with his name stabbed, but Wei Zheng was not allowed to enter.
Fuchu front hall.
Qin Lang, who has nothing to do, is playing chess with Ma Zhou, backgammon.
"Sanlang, someone stabbed me."
The door servant handed Wei Zheng the famous thorn. Since the palace change, Qin Lang has become a celebrity in Chang'an. There are countless people who come to pay tribute to the thorn every day. There are both wealthy families and down-and-out scholars, and even those who can't win. People with relationships often come.
Of course, ordinary people don’t see Qin Lang as soon as they want to. The servants and housekeepers will screen according to the famous cards they send.
When someone with status comes to invite them to visit and so on, the servants will come first to give them name stickers. This kind of name stickers is also a kind of name badge, but there are more content on it, often including the official positions of several generations of the family. Generally speaking, those with a lower status than Qin Lang would use a lot of honorifics, even write some of their own poems and the like, and some would directly state the purpose of seeking a meeting.
Since Qin Lang refused to marry and was dismissed from office, fewer guests came to visit today, otherwise this too simple wooden name card would not have been sent to Qin Lang.
Qin Lang glanced at it, and didn't intend to pay attention to it at first. If everyone really wanted to see him, he wouldn't have to do anything all day long. After seeing the name above, I was a little surprised.
Wei Zheng?
Ma Zhou also saw those two characters, "Could it be that the former Eastern Palace Prince Xian Ma Wei Zheng and Wei Xuancheng? I heard that this man has read the county books, is especially good at overlords, has great ambitions, and dares to advise. Sanlang knows him?"
Qin Lang shook his head, "I haven't contacted him, but a few days ago I pleaded with the Crown Prince on his behalf in the East Palace, and advised the Crown Prince not to kill Wei Zheng. Could it be because of this that he came here today? Go and invite Duke Wei to come in."
"Forget it, let me go and meet you."
Qin Lang and Ma Zhou personally greeted him at the door, and saw Wei Zheng standing at the door leading a donkey and carrying two jars of wine.
"May I ask your Excellency, but is it Duke Wei?" Qin Lang asked with his arms crossed.
"Wei Zheng Wei Xuancheng, you should be Qin Sanlang, right? I just heard that Sanlang once urged the crown prince not to kill Wei, so that Wei can survive. Today, I specially mentioned two jars of home brew to thank you."
Ma Zhou sniffed, "No wonder it smells so good. It turns out to be Wei Gong wine, which is well-known in Chang'an."
"Let's go, sit in the room, I'll have someone prepare some appetizers, just try this Weigong wine, drink and chat with Wei Gonghuai!"
It was also the first time for Wei Zheng to see such a guest before he entered the door, the host said he wanted to drink the gift brought by the guest, and he couldn't help but think it was very interesting.
"please."
"please."
As soon as he entered the hall, Ma Zhou eagerly took the wine, and hurriedly opened the wine seal, and suddenly a very good smell of wine filled the air. Ma Zhou closed his eyes intoxicatedly and felt the rich wine. fragrant.
Qin Lang also sniffed a few times, the wine smells really good.
"Ah Huang, let the kitchen prepare some appetizers."
(end of this chapter)