Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Xu Hong and Gao Kui immediately looked at each other. Judging from each other's tone, they could tell that the other party was coming with bad intentions. The man with the black mole in the lead looked like he wanted to be beaten.

Judging from the clothes and attire of the other party, it is clear that they are several young students who have just prepared to take the academy examination, but where did they get the confidence to be so arrogant in front of the two non-commissioned officers?

Xu Hong turned to look at the man with the mole who had come to cause trouble, and couldn't help but ask with confusion: "Chief of the case? Song Fuyin is such a smart person, how could he name you as the head of the case? Are you lying?"

In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, apart from Wang Yue, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, who was a gentleman but not a party member, the one he admired the most was Song Cheng, the upright Yin of Shuntian Prefecture.

If Song Cheng names this kind of person as the head of the case, it can only be said that Song Cheng's talent selection ability and criminal investigation ability are two extremes. This kind of person will simply bring shame to Song Cheng.

"How presumptuous! Who doesn't know that the leader of this year's government examination is Li Shan, who came from a military household? Are you deliberately looking for trouble?" The dog-legger next to him immediately scolded him fiercely, as if his tail had been stepped on.

It turned out to be a misunderstanding!

Naturally, Xu Hong didn't know who the leader of this year's Shuntian Prefecture trial case was, but he felt a sense of relief when he learned that the leader of the Shuntian Prefecture trial case was not the man with the black mole in front of him.

Gao Kui looked at how a small county prosecutor dared to be so arrogant, and drank the wine in his glass bitterly.

The man with the black mole was somewhat of a city official, so he immediately reported his origin and said: "I am the first prime minister in the Wanping case. As my brother said, I did not get the first case in the Shuntian Prefecture, but I don't know what rank you got in the prefectural exam? "

Although judging from the other party's clothes, he did not come from a wealthy family, but he also remembered the lessons of his elders and found out the true and false of the other party first.

It's just that the imperial examination is like a thorn in his heart. Although he is full of knowledge, he is not favored by the famous Song Qingtian.

The other party seemed to be able to see through his own thoughts at a glance. No matter how humble and polite he pretended to be, Song Cheng never looked at him from the beginning to the end.

If his essay had not passed the test and his answer sheet was indeed better than other candidates, I am afraid that the Shuntian Governor would not have admitted him, even if he was the head of the case in Wanping County.

"According to the rules of our boy's examination, since Mr. Zhang has obtained the Wanping County case, he will definitely pass the college examination!" The scoundrel-like young man next to him explained triumphantly.

As soon as these words came out, the losers next to them were full of pride. After all, this has basically locked a place in this year's Shuntian Academy examination, and Zhang Xiang will be a student of Shuntian Academy.

"If we talk about the county examination results, he and I are both top scorers, and the government examination results are among the top three!" Gao Kui raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and pointed at Xu Hong and said proudly.

If we really want to talk about the proud sons of heaven, in fact, each of them performed well in the boy test.

For example, Haikuan is the chief case officer of Qiongzhou Prefecture, Weng Peng is the chief case officer of Chaozhou Prefecture, and Zhang Sui is Xiao Sanyuan.

These people are so proud of their first-class achievements in the county examination. They are as naive as a first-year student showing off to a group of Tsinghua and Peking University students with a perfect score paper.

Huh?

Zhang Xiang and others thought that their performance could steadily beat the opponent, but they found that this was not the case, and they couldn't help but look at each other in surprise.

But he didn't expect that these two inconspicuous people in front of him were actually the leaders of the county examination, and they had good results in the government examination. Suddenly, he felt like he had found the wrong person.

It's just that he is a young man with strong energy after all, so naturally he cannot be defeated easily.

"Haha... two poor people, what does it matter if you do well in the exam? I wonder if any of your elders will become officials?" The young bastard had already stared at the two of them and asked with disdain.

Xu Hong said nothing, silently picking up the flask and pouring wine.

I thought that after the last purge of the powerful people in the capital, these powerful children would be able to restrain themselves, but this idea is undoubtedly wrong. These powerful maggots are like this: the weeds cannot be burned away, but they grow again when the spring breeze blows.

Gao Kui finally realized the strength of these boys and said seriously: "Listen to what you mean, are you the children of officials?"

"Haha... I guess you still have some sharp eyesight! Brother Zhang's clan uncle is Zhang Peng, the former Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and his grandfather was the county magistrate of She County, Huizhou Prefecture. Several members of the Zhang family are officials in the court!" The young dog-legged figure He introduced it proudly as if he was showing off a big killer weapon.

When Zhang Xiang saw his background highlighted by his companions, his chin could not help but rise slightly, but he was ready to receive the surrender of these two outstanding students.

Huh?

Xu Hong, who had been silent all this time, couldn't help but put the wine bottle down gently when he heard the other person's background, and looked at this young man with a black mole on his eyebrow seriously.

Zhang Peng was a Jinshi in the second year of Jingtai. He was first awarded the title of censor of Shanxi Province, and then served as the inspector of Datong and the inspector of Xuanfu. Later, he was ordered to clean up the horse administration in Gyeonggi.

In the first year of Tianshun, Zhang Peng was involved in political struggles. Together with Liu Tai, Wei Han, Kang Ji and other censors, he impeached Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang. Many censors demoted their officials, and Zhang Peng was relegated to Tielingwei in Liaodong.

Although he fell from a high-ranking patrol officer to a side soldier, this abnormal experience was a blessing in disguise for Zhang Peng.

In the eighth year of Tianshun, Emperor Xianzong of Ming Dynasty came to the throne and granted amnesty to the whole country. Recommended by the court officials, Zhang Pengguan was reinstated, and then he rose to prominence and immediately entered the Ministry of War system.

In the 18th year of Chenghua, due to the close relationship between Chen Yue, Minister of War, and Wang Zhi, Wu Yuan and Xu Jin, the imperial censor, were impeached by the capital. Finally, Zhang Peng succeeded Chen Yue in replacing Chen Yue.

In the 21st year of Chenghua, Zhang Peng resigned due to impeachment, thus completely bidding farewell to officialdom.

This capital city can be said to be small, but it cannot be said to be big.

Although Zhang Peng, the former Minister of the Ministry of War, has been an official for many years, he is still the person who aspires to the peak of power. Now he has nurtured a group of clan members who have entered the official position one after another.

In fact, there are indeed not many officials in the Zhang family, regardless of the people in the collateral clan. For example, Zhang Peng's father Zhang Ju is the head of the Ministry of War, and Zhang Peng's grandfather Zhang Xun is the left chief historian of Prince Qing's palace.

The fate is so wonderful. Zhang Peng's nephew unexpectedly appeared here, and he seemed so arrogant. He even made arrogant remarks in the hall just now.

Xu Hong's focus was not on the identity of Prime Minister Zhang, but he asked very seriously: "Since you are a son of an official, did what you said in the hall just come from your heart, or did you, the Zhang family, think so?"

Originally, he did not intend to use his status to suppress a little boy, but since this boy showed his name as a former minister of the Ministry of War, and was also a member of the Zhang family with many people serving as officials, the matter was different.

There seems to be no partisanship in the court now, but in essence it is related to the concept of governance. In fact, the imperial party and Qingliu have already been on the same page.

If this Zhang family is an out-and-out advocate of peace and believes that the current Holy Emperor is a tyrant, then he doesn't mind pointing the finger at the Zhang family.

That's right. If it were just Prime Minister Zhang's arrogance, the matter could be handled gently, but I'm afraid...

"Haha... Such a strong tone, and I am not afraid of flashing my tongue! Let me tell you the truth. These words are exactly what my clan uncle taught me. Are you satisfied now?" Zhang Xiang despised Xu Hong from the bottom of his heart, so he directly revealed come out.

Huh?

Gao Kui stopped the wine glass he had just brought to his lips and looked at Prime Minister Zhang in surprise, but he did not expect that there was Zhang Peng, the former Minister of War.

In fact, for this storm of public opinion in the capital to reach this level, it is absolutely impossible to be just a spontaneous action by scholars. There must be heavyweights behind it fanning the flames.

But who would have thought that Zhang Peng, the minister of the Ministry of War who had retired as an official, would instigate this storm behind his back instead of taking care of himself at home.

Originally, he had already begun to investigate the matter, but he did not expect to find the source here. It really took no effort to find the source after breaking through the iron shoes.

Gao Kui put down the wine glass in his hand and asked very seriously: "Did Zhang Shangshu really say that?"

"Haha... My uncle is an upright and loyal man. Unlike the flatterers in the court now, he naturally dares to correct His Majesty's bad government. He attacked because of insufficient deer tendons. This is clearly an unjust king. As a result, no one in the court dared to object. ! If you ask me, the imperial court should revive my uncle. Only my uncle dares to directly remonstrate with the emperor!" Zhang Xiang turned to look at Gao Kui, his face full of pride.

Gao Kui looked at Xu Hong who was drinking and asked very seriously: "Brother Xu, I'm afraid this matter has something to do with Zhang Hong. What do you think?"

"This is a matter for your procuratorate. As a small chief of the Ministry of War, I can only wave the flag and shout for you! But Wang Yushi has already left for Liaodong. Is Bian Yong afraid to kill Zhang Hong?" Xu Hong took a sip of wine, but It goes straight to the core issue.

If Wang Yue is still in the capital, not to mention the former Minister of War, even Wan An, the current chief minister of the cabinet, will still dare to investigate.

It's just that Bian Yong, who was born in Juren, not only has position problems, but also does not have such great courage at all, is unlikely to agree with Gao Kui to initiate an action against Zhang Peng, the former Minister of War.

Gao Kui picked up his wine glass again and talked as if no one was listening: "Not to mention that our procuratorate's current style is to deal with the problem rather than the person. Now the top management has unified the tone on the Liaodong war, no matter who is shouting the anti-war voice. Yes, we must kill the chicken to scare the monkey! Think about it carefully, if a former Minister of the Ministry of War is caught and dealt with, will the public opinion in the capital dare to be so disrespectful to His Majesty? And dare to keep saying that millions of refugees are ignored for the sake of the empty people of the country of etiquette. ?"

"He... what are they talking about? I... I don't understand why!" The dog-legged man couldn't help but be dumbfounded when he saw Gao Kui and Xu Hong chatting as if there was no one around.

Prime Minister Zhang was also puzzled. Just looking at the other party's temperament, it was clear that they were two poor children. How could they be officials of the imperial court?

"Master Xu, Master Gao, this is the roasted fish you two like to eat, please try it!" Shopkeeper Zhang is a man who never forgets to dig a well when drinking water, and personally brought a plate of fish from the kitchen.

Since it was reported that Emperor Hongzhi liked fishing, not only fishing has become a new fashion in the Ming Dynasty, but now more and more people like to eat fish.

ah? Really an adult?

Zhang Xiang immediately opened his eyes and looked at Xu Hong and Gao Kui in disbelief, but they couldn't match the imperial officials.

How can it be?

The few scoundrels behind him thought that Prime Minister Zhang's background could defeat everything, but who would have thought that these two humble-looking scholars turned out to be officials of the Ming Dynasty.

"In that case, let's do it!" Xu Hong knew that Gao Kui was going to use the topic as an excuse, but it was really necessary to do so now, so he nodded gently.

After Gao Kui received Xu Hong's approval, he felt more confident and said calmly: "Shopkeeper Zhang, please call a few messengers over!"

"Okay!" Shopkeeper Zhang didn't know what medicine was sold in Gao Kui's gourd, but he immediately went to find the gong.

Today is a cloudy day, but there is still a sultry heat in the air.

"Who are you? What do you want to do?" Zhang Xiang asked in panic when he saw that the situation was completely different from what he thought.

"Weren't you just talking about them? These two adults are two of the six gods of wealth in our inn!" The waiter who brought the food made a grand introduction, and then said with a flattering face: "Master Xu, Gao Sir, your dishes have been served, please use them slowly!"

There was a sound of gongs and drums at the door of the inn, and then the sound of neat footsteps was heard.

After Song Cheng took office, he took the initiative to strengthen inspections in the capital.

When a team of government officials who had just come from the street heard the sound of gongs and drums, they rushed in. The leader turned out to be Zhao Dayan, the head catcher of Shuntian government office.

"Two adults, what are your orders?" Zhao Dayan, who had worked with the two of them before, asked politely.

Gao Kui pointed at Prime Minister Zhang, who was stunned, and said calmly: "Captain Zhao, I didn't bring anyone here. Please escort a few of them to the Metropolitan Procuratorate for me this time. Please invite Japanese officials instead." you drink!"

"It's easy to talk! Come here, take him away!" Zhao Dayan's eyes brightened slightly, and he waved his hand.

Zhang Xiang saw that the officials of Shuntian Mansion were trying to arrest him, and he immediately revealed his identity: "My uncle is Zhang Peng, the former Minister of War, let me see who dares to touch me!"

"Haha... I was just wondering! How could the Metropolitan Procuratorate catch Xiao Luo Luo? There is a big fish behind Daqing! Lock it up and don't let anyone escape!" Zhao Dayan suddenly became energetic and asked Prime Minister Zhang. Focus on taking care of the road.

Since I have been with Song Cheng for a long time, I no longer care about small cases, but I only like such earth-shattering cases. For example, when Sun Ming, the Marquis of Huichang, was beheaded earlier, that was true justice.

Now it is likely to be related to Zhang Peng, the former Minister of the Ministry of War. This is destined to be another major event that detonates public opinion in the capital.

A few losers wanted to fight to the death, but they kept saying: "This matter has nothing to do with us. We are about to take the college examination. You are obstructing the imperial court's promotion of talents!"

"You are so disloyal. If you don't want to serve the king, why do you still care about the scientific examination? Don't think about fame. Don't mention that Beizhili will definitely expel you one by one. If he really dares to admit you, I will The official will definitely be the first to go to court for impeachment!" Gao Kui could not give these people a life path and immediately stated his position.

The heads of Zhang Xiang and others were buzzing suddenly, but they finally understood the truth that disaster comes from the mouth, but it was already too late. Not only did they ruin their own future with their own hands, they would also implicate the former Minister of War, Zhang Peng, who was hiding behind and fueling the flames.

There are actually many similar cases. Although the public opinion in Beijing is unfavorable to Zhu Youtang, the mastermind hiding behind it will have to pay a bloody price.