The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Time passed quietly, and Nakata was still active in the capital.

For a wealthy gentleman who had only been active in Danyang before, there was no doubt that the first days were still a bit confusing.

After all, he comes from a small place, and where is the capital?

At the feet of the Emperor, the most virtuous place.

However, after some contact with the officials in the court, he gradually discovered that the seemingly unattainable officials in the capital were just like that, no different from the local officials in Danyang.

Except that the official authority is slightly heavier, the money-seeking eyes are the same.

As long as the gift is generous, you can quickly close the relationship.

As a result, Ning Fang became more comfortable. After all, in his hometown, he won a high reputation for fighting against the injustices of the villagers, but he offended many people. He also spent a lot of time with officials, and he had already developed a set of methods for dealing with the government.

In the capital, there was a flower hall in the residence of Chen Yiqin, the Second Assistant to the Cabinet. A sumptuous banquet had been set up here. Although there were only three people sitting around the table, they were important figures who could take charge of the political situation.

There is no doubt that Chen Yiqin only invited Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde to the banquet today.

"Come, drink this cup first. As for what Shan Loi is asking about, I believe you have heard about it.

It's still early, don't be in a hurry, drink the wine first, and then talk slowly. "

Chen Yiqin picked up the wine glass and saluted Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde. When he saw them also picking up the wine glasses in front of them, he raised his hand and put the glass to his mouth, covering his face with his sleeves and robe, and drank it all in one gulp.

Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde also followed the same example, both drinking down the wine in their glasses.

In fact, Wei Guangde didn't like Taoist robes, which were popular among literati and elegant people in this era. At home, he still liked to wear clothes with narrow sleeves.

It's just that you have to wear official uniforms when going to the cabinet, and when attending banquets outside, you can only attend in regular clothes such as wide-sleeved Taoist robes according to everyone's dress standards.

Taoist robes actually refer to two types of clothing in later generations. One is Taoist clothing.

Taoist robes refer to the outer robes worn by Taoists. They are divided into more than six types of clothing, including coats, deluo, ring clothes, dharma clothes, flower clothes, and robes. They are all fat and loose, with the meaning of covering the universe and separating the world.

He also wears a straight collar to show his coolness.

The orderly inheritance of Taoist robes has never been regarded as the authentic form of Taoist robes.

However, Wei Guangde was not a Taoist priest. The literati of this era wore Hanfu Taoist robes, which are a type of clothing "pleats" custom-made by King Wu of Zhou himself.

In the Ming Dynasty, pleats evolved into Taoist robes, which were outerwear for men at home in the Ming Dynasty. They could also be used as lining robes or wedding clothes for civilian men. They later disappeared under the policy of "shaving hair and changing clothes" in the early Qing Dynasty.

It is characterized by a straight collar, a wide lapel, slits on both sides, and a hidden hem. It is one of the most distinctive traditional costumes of the Han nation.

The shape of the Taoist robe is a straight collar, a large placket, a right hem, large sleeve cuffs, the collar is inlaid with a white collar, slits on both sides, and connected with a hidden hem. The hidden hem has three pleats or no pleats, and is tied with a tie. , it can be worn with silk sash, thin cloth belt or large belt.

The general evolution trend of Taoist robes in the Ming Dynasty was mainly that the sleeves continued to become wider, and large and long sleeves were favored by people. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the "big sleeves" of the robes had developed to the point of being somewhat exaggerated.

The idiom "clothes and sleeves fluttering" means clothes and sleeves, and "clothes and sleeves fluttering" means that the clothes and sleeves are fluttering in the wind when walking, as if they are out of the dust.

After finishing a glass of wine, the three of them picked up their chopsticks and took a few bites of the food, all of which were barely tasted.

At banquets, especially banquets where important matters need to be discussed, it is generally impossible to have a full meal. It is just a taste, and the main thing is to talk about things.

"Recently, a businessman from Danyang named Nakata came to the capital. He traveled up and down the country and got acquainted with many officials. Have you heard of him?"

Chen Yiqin asked.

Wei Guangde did not speak, but nodded slightly.

Xian Fang came to the capital in the name of doing business. When the merchants arrived in the capital, Wei Guangde, who had close ties with this group, would of course know this person.

As for the reason, it is because although he calls himself a businessman, he seems to know nothing about business. Instead, he likes to curry favor with the powerful and spends money everywhere to get to know the officials in the government.

Such an abnormal behavior will naturally make the shopkeepers of major commercial houses in the capital look at him twice.

"I've heard people say that he is very generous with his money. He doesn't know what kind of business he is doing, but he likes to praise and criticize the government."

Yin Shizhen laughed when he heard this and said, "I guess he was sent to the capital by someone to seek an official position, but it's a bit too high-profile, haha."

"It seems that someone from Zhengfu's side has already started walking around with him?"

Chen Yiqin smiled.

"Yes, a doctor under the Ministry of Civil Affairs has contacted him several times and mentioned this matter to me, but I am still not sure whether he is really sent by Xinzheng."

Yin Shizhen said, "One is from Danyang and the other is from Xinzheng. I really don't see how they got together."

"I came to you here to talk about this matter. He should have been sent by Su Qing, perhaps to test the current attitude of the court towards him. After all, his old enemy Xu Ge has been in office for more than a year. He has a problem. This idea is not surprising."

Chen Yiqin said with a serious face.

"Brother Zhengfu said that people are high-profile, but he doesn't know that this is where he is brilliant."

Wei Guangde smiled and said casually.

"It's really hard to touch him."

Yin Shizhen also smiled awkwardly. He just said it casually and it was indeed a slip of the tongue.

If the person is really sent by Gao Gong to test him, high-profile is the way to go. Putting it on the bright side will make it difficult for people like them to use any means.

It would actually be easier to handle if it were done secretly.

"Judging from the words he talked with those people and the way he acted, there is no doubt that he was sent by that person."

Chen Yiqin said.

After hearing Chen Yiqin's words, Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen also put away their smiles and became serious.

Of course they understood the power of it, and also knew that Chen Yiqin asked them to come for a drink, so naturally they wanted to discuss their attitude towards this matter.

"Zhengfu, what do you think about this?"

Chen Yiqin glanced at the two of them and then asked.

Yin Shizhen thought about it and then said: "Send someone to keep an eye on him, give some warnings to the officials he contacted, and even consider arresting the person and checking his route.

According to the news I heard, this man named Xingfang is not a businessman as the road guide says. "

Yin Shizhen obviously expressed a hint of worry, so he said.

Although Wei Guangde was a little puzzled, his attitude was not so serious at first, but he also thought carefully about the methods he could use against Xian Fang, and finally realized that there was really no good way.

Unless someone is sent to threaten him secretly, there is really no good way to do it openly.

Chen Yiqin shook his head. He had thought of Yin Shizhen's method for a long time, but it was not feasible.

If they were doing it secretly, it would be fine, but since Nao Fang came to the capital with great fanfare and moved around, taking action against him would only attract criticism from others.

"Shandai, what do you think?"

Not satisfied with the decision, he looked at Wei Guangde again.

"There is no good solution."

Wei Guangde shook his head and smiled bitterly, "We can only keep an eye on the person, watch him come into contact with those officials, and give them some warnings.

As for using the power of Shuntian Mansion, forget it, the impact will not be good. "

Wei Guangde's words made Chen Yiqin frown slightly, but he said in a calm tone: "Tell me, when he and Xu Jie had a fierce fight, if we just stood by and watched, would we be resented by him?"

"With Su Qing's personality, is it really possible?"

Yin Shizhen whispered: "He would only think that it was everyone else's fault and that he was being plotted against. He would not consider that it was actually his fault that led most officials to support Xu Jie at that time."

Wei Guangde just nodded slightly when he heard this, but he really didn't care about Gao Gong's return to court, because he only knew that Zhang Juzheng was awesome and Gao Gong was not.

Since it was Zhang Juzheng who laughed last, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Thinking of Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde chuckled and said, "Brother Yifu, brother Zhengfu, you don't have to worry too much."

"Why?"

Yin Shizhen asked.

“In addition to the three of us, there are also Li Chief Fu and Zhang Shuda in the cabinet.

If Gao Gong returns to the court, the one who will have the biggest impact will undoubtedly be Li Shoufu. Gao Suqing has always been unwilling to be subordinate to others. Once he returns to the court, he will definitely aim for the position of chief minister, and that is the person who should have more headaches.

As for Zhang Shuda, not to mention, why was he, Gao Suqing, forced to leave?

Although Mr. Xu Ge has become an official, it is recognized by both the government and the public that Zhang Shuda is the successor of Mr. Xu Ge. If Gao Suqing returns to the court, he will not vent his anger on him.

Looking at the six officials, who do you think would like Gao Suqing to come back and tell them how to handle government affairs?

The current court has not changed at all from when he was expelled. Except for low-level and frustrated officials who may have such thoughts, how many other people would be willing to let him come back? "

Wei Guangde analyzed the situation in the court. To put it bluntly, the several forces in the court were the special triangular relationship of the cabinet, plus the circles formed by the six officials.

After much thought, Wei Guangde didn't think anyone would be happy to see Gao Gong return, so even if he knew about it, he didn't take it to heart at all.

Moreover, Wei Guangde also thought about the inner court.

Based on Wei Guangde's understanding of Emperor Longqing, if Gao Gong returns to the dynasty, it will be a heavy blow to their circle. However, Gao Gong's influence on the emperor is too great. This will undoubtedly seriously affect the interests of another group of people, that is, Teng Xiang, Meng Chong and these eunuchs.

When Gao Gong was first overthrown, Li Fang had a strong voice in the inner court, so the power to overthrow Gao Gong at that time mainly came from the court.

It's easy to leave but hard to come back. Li Fang is no longer here, and the eunuchs in the inner court don't want Gao Gong to come back. This is too much of a threat to them.

It can be seen from this that the high-ranking officials and dignitaries who have access to the emperor actually do not want Gao Gong to return to the court. What can he fight with?

Chen Yiqin nodded slightly listening to Wei Guangde's words. He had thought of this, but being cautious by nature, he still called people together for discussion, hoping to pool their wisdom and find a way to completely eliminate the possibility of Gao Gong returning to the court.

However, Yin Shizhen clapped his hands and applauded at this time: "Shandai is right. The Manchu Dynasty was in favor at first, and it is still the case now."

Moreover, I don’t think Teng Xiang, Meng Chong and Chen Hong want Gao Gong to come back. After all, the influence Gao Gong has on His Majesty cannot be defeated by the three of us bundled together, let alone them. ’

Chen Yiqin turned a deaf ear to Yin Shizhen's words. Instead, he looked at Wei Guangde and asked, "In your opinion, we don't need to do anything because there will be no results in the end?"

"It's necessary to send someone to keep an eye on him to see what tricks he can pull off."

Wei Guangde said, but looking at Chen Yiqin's still serious face, he asked curiously: "Does Brother Yifu think there is another conspiracy behind it?"

"uncertain."

In response to Wei Guangde's question, Chen Yiqin shook his head, "I always feel that this matter will not be that simple. That person's approach is more like deliberately attracting our attention. Do you think it is possible?"

There are other people in Xinzheng who come to the capital for activities. Xingfang is active on the surface, so that we all pay attention to him, but in private, there are others who are secretly contacting officials? "

"Then let's investigate more carefully? Do you want to talk to Li Shoufu and Uncle Shu, and let's work together to investigate the people from Henan who have recently come to the capital?"

Wei Guangde felt that Chen Yiqin's analysis was reasonable. Although he felt that the overall situation had not changed and Gao Gong had no chance to return to the court, it would be better if there was a chance to kill this possibility.

"It's just a guess. It's hard to say much. We'd better send out our manpower to check first. If we find anything, we'll discuss whether we should discuss the matter with them."

Chen Yiqin set the tone.

So that night, after Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde returned to their respective houses, they ordered their servants to start investigating the whereabouts of the Henan people who had recently appeared in the capital, because Chen Yiqin's analysis even Wei Guangde found it reasonable.

Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle. If you don't find the person first, you won't be able to see through Gao Gong's plan.

So in the next period of time, their government mobilized the power they could influence and began to dig deep in the capital to find this person.

However, such a method is destined to be in vain. At this time, Nakata was listening to the report of his subordinates in the guest room of one of the most luxurious inns in the capital.

The first is to let him understand the current situation of the court, as well as the follow-up actions of those who contacted the officials, and of course the many suspicious people scattered around the inn.

"As expected of a pavilion elder, his analysis is really accurate."

After listening to the reports of his subordinates, Nafang sincerely admired Gao Gong's talent from the bottom of his heart.

In fact, Wei Guangde's analysis is generally correct. This is also Gao Gong's analysis of the current situation in the court. There are not many officials in the capital who want him to return, and most of them are his disciples.

Although he knew that he lacked a broad "mass" foundation when he returned to the capital, Gao Gong still tried hard to think of ways to break this situation.

One of them is to have Ni Fang come to Beijing in a high-profile manner and have contact with officials in Beijing.

He knew very well that even if Nao Fang quietly entered the capital and contacted officials secretly, his whereabouts would soon be discovered, and Zang could not hide it.

It would be better to come out openly and let the forces behind it become suspicious.

As long as a period of time passes and they realize that what he has done has not achieved any actual results, their attention to him will naturally decrease.

The real trump card is Gao Gong's "survival from death" kill.

Wei Guangde only thought that the inner and outer courts would unanimously oppose Gao Gong's return to the court because they were afraid of Gao Gong's influence on Emperor Longqing, but he forgot the meaning of the sentence "There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests."

In the hierarchy of seniority that he considers acceptable, there will eventually be people who can't help but want to challenge those in front of them and surpass them.

Whether it is cooperation or competition, in the final analysis it is all for profit.