Rise From the Humble

"Hehehe, brother Nian, please come in quickly. Brother Nian's visit today has suddenly made the humble house shine. It's a great honor to be here."

Zhang Juzheng walked quickly outside the house. When he saw Yang Jisheng from a distance, he cupped his hands and strode forward while greeting Yang Jisheng with a smile.

Why is Yang Jisheng here today?

Regarding Yang Jisheng's visit, Zhang Juzheng felt a little abrupt and puzzled. He and Yang Jisheng were Jinshi in the same year, and both were disciples of Xu Jie, but they did not have close contact with each other on weekdays. If he remembers correctly, after so many years, this was still Yang Jisheng came to visit his house for the first time.

"Uncle, you are so polite. Sheng, I am ashamed of myself."

Yang Jisheng smiled and returned the gift. When he did so, a small piece of rice paper was exposed from his sleeve.

Zhang Juzheng saw a piece of rice paper in Yang Jisheng's sleeve, and his eyelids jumped. The appearance and shape of the rice paper looked like a memorial. So Yang Jisheng came here today for this memorial, right?

"Haha, brother Nian, please come in." Zhang Juzheng felt a trough in his heart, as if he didn't see the memorial flashing in Yang Jisheng's sleeves, he reached out his hand enthusiastically and made an invitation gesture, asking Yang Jisheng to come in. Mansion.

"Uncle please."

Yang Jisheng bowed his head, and then the two of them walked into Zhang's house together.

After Zhang Juzheng invited Yang Jisheng to the study, he personally took down a tin can from the museum shelf, opened it, took out an appropriate amount of tea leaves with a teaspoon, and brewed a pot of tea.

"Brother Nian, this is the Dahongpao grown in my hometown. It is said that the mother tree originated from the three Dahongpao trees in the Kowloon Nest behind Tianxin Yongle Temple. I can only give out one jar every year, and I would like to ask Brother Nian to taste it. One or two.”

After Zhang Juzheng waited for the tea to brew, he poured a cup of tea for Yang Jisheng, brought it to Yang Jisheng with both hands, and said with a smile.

Dahongpao was a new top-quality tea in the Ming Dynasty. The reason why Zhang Juzheng emphasized the three Dahongpao trees in Kowloon Nest was because of the allusion to Dahongpao.

Related: During the Hongwu period, Ding Xian, a scholar from Jiangnan Province, went to Beijing to take the exam. When passing by Wuyi Mountain, he fell seriously ill due to being unaccustomed to the acclimatization and sleeping in the open air, and he fainted at the foot of Wuyi Mountain. At that time, it happened that the abbot of Tianxin Yongle Temple on Wuyi Mountain, the old abbot, went down to beg for alms and saw Ding Xian who fell ill at the foot of Wuyi Mountain. Therefore, the kind-hearted old abbot asked people to carry Ding Xian to Tianxin Yongle Temple. The old abbot was proficient in medical science. Seeing that Ding Xian was pale, thin and bloated, the old abbot picked tea leaves from Jiulong Nest, brewed them with boiling water, and made tea for Ding Xian to drink. After Ding Xian drank the first bowl of tea, he felt that his abdominal distension had subsided a lot. After drinking the second bowl, he felt the effect was even more obvious and his energy was much better, so Ding Xian drank several bowls of tea in a row. After drinking tea like this, Ding Xian recovered quickly after a few days. After recovering, Ding Xian continued to Beijing to take the exam. Before leaving, he thanked the abbot: "The abbot saved me out of justice. If I pass this exam, I will definitely return to my hometown to express my gratitude."

Soon after Ding Xian entered Beijing, he was indeed the number one scholar in high school.

In fact, speaking of it, Ding Xian, the top scorer in high school, has some similarities with Zhu Ping'an, also because of a dream of the emperor. According to legend, when the scientific examination was completed and the scores were tallied, Ding Xian's score was not among the top three. During the examination, Ding Xian ranked fourth. During the palace examination, the rankings of the top three were exchanged. The first place was Hua Lun, but Ding Xian still ranked fourth. At that time, the officials were all gone. But on the first night of the roll call, Emperor Hongwu had a dream. In his dream, he saw a huge nail nailed in front of the hall, and two red ribbons hanging from the nail. Early the next morning, Emperor Hongwu took apart the results of the palace examination. After taking them apart, he found that the first place was Hua Lun. Emperor Hongwu found a reason to put Hua Lun at the back, and then started to look at the rankings, and then I saw Ding Xian’s name. Ding means nail, and the traditional character of Xian is "Xian", which happens to be the double silk under the sun. Emperor Hongwu suddenly realized that this was a reminder in his dream, so he promoted Ding Xian to the number one scholar.

After Ding Xian became the top scholar in high school, he asked Emperor Hongwu to allow him to immediately return to Tianxin Yongle Temple in Wuyi Mountain to repay his kindness. Emperor Hongwu appreciated Ding Xian's gratitude and gave him special permission to set off immediately. So, Ding Xian wore the red robe of the number one scholar and rode a tall horse straight to Wuyi Mountain. He rode fast all the way to Wuyi Mountain and thanked the abbot. Later, Ding Xian asked about the origin of the tea he drank at that time. The old abbot took him to the three big red robe trees in Kowloon Nest and told him that it was this tea. After Ding Xian learned about it, he took off his red robe and circled it three times around the tea tree. The Dahongpao was draped on the tea tree, hence the name Dahongpao.

Of course, Ding Xian later cured Queen Ma's illness by offering tea, which made Dahongpao even more famous. With a stroke of his pen, Emperor Hongwu positioned Dahongpao as an imperial tea. Every year, officials who go to Wuyi Mountain to pick royal tea wear Dahongpao. When they arrive, they undress and hang their robes on the tribute tea trees. Dahongpao becomes more and more famous.

…

"So, Sheng is really blessed, haha..." Yang Jisheng smiled and stretched out his hand to take the tea cup from Zhang Juzheng. In the tea cup, the tea was rich in fragrance, and the tea soup was orange, clear and gorgeous.

"The aroma is elegant, the rock rhyme is sweet and smooth, and there is a faint scent of incense when it enters the throat. It is even better than the most authentic Dahongpao in Wuyi Mountain. I think the legend from my uncle's hometown is true. This tea must be There is no doubt that it comes from the Nine Dragon Nest Dahongpao."

Yang Jisheng scraped the tea lid a few times and took a sip. After thinking about it for a moment, he was full of praise for the tea.

"A thousand cups of wine is too little to meet a close friend, and the same is true for tea. Later, Juzheng will divide half of the tea and take it back with Brother Nian to taste it." Zhang Juzheng said with a smile, as if he had met a close friend.

"That won't work. A gentleman doesn't try to win someone's love. I can see that this tea is deeply loved by my uncle. Hehe, Sheng, I won't be the person who tries to win someone's love." Yang Jisheng smiled and waved his hand, declining Zhang Juzheng's kindness.

The two chatted for a while, and the topic changed from tea to politics.

"Uncle, have you heard about Zihou's impeachment of Gao Botai?" Yang Jisheng took a sip of tea and asked casually.

"Well, Ju Zheng heard about Mr. Zhu's impeachment of Gao Botai this morning."

Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly, thinking that the memorial in Yang Jisheng's sleeve was the copy of Zhu Pingan's memorial. Is Yang Jisheng here to discuss Zhu Pingan's memorial with me?

"So, what do you think of Zi Hou's impeachment?" Yang Jisheng raised his head, looked directly into Zhang Juzheng's eyes, and asked softly.

"I already know the inside story of Mr. Zhu's impeachment of Gao Botai today. Gao Botai brought the blame for this on himself. If Mr. Zhu's memorial about Gao Botai's occupation of farmland is true, then Gao Botai's death is not a pity. Mr. Zhu's memorial is for the people. Eliminating harm is really a role model for our generation, and I feel ashamed to be upright." Zhang Juzheng first picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, then put down the tea cup and looked at Yang Jisheng calmly.