"

"If you had had him make a decisive move, you would have been the prime minister by now."

Zhang Yue was scolded by Cai Que's words, and his face looked a little ugly. He was in a high position, and no one had spoken to him like this for a long time.

Cai Que said calmly: "You just lack the energy to kill decisively. That's right, you are the number one scholar, the imperial scholar, and your official career has been smooth sailing. You don't have to fight for anything, someone will pull you up from above.

It will naturally guide you further."

"But there is no reason to wait for the position of prime minister. If you don't go and tear yourself up, why don't you wait for this great benefit to be given to you by others?"

Zhang Yue said: "Others can do it, but Prime Minister Wang can't."

Cai Que said with a ridiculous look on his face: "Were you single-handedly promoted by Wang Jiefu? Do you have a deeper relationship with him than Lu Jifu? When you made great achievements in Xihe, how did Wang Jiefu instigate Wang Shao to replace you?

"

"So what if you return to the court this time and have no plot against Wang Jiefu? But the people under him, like Lu Jiawen, Deng Wan, Deng Runfu and others, are always on guard against you."

"When you were in Hebei, these people often made mistakes in front of you. If we hadn't protected you, how would you have made great achievements in Xihe?"

Zhang Yue listened to Cai Que's words and continued to say nothing.

Seeing that Zhang Yue did not adopt his opinion, Cai Que said again: "Du, I only have advice for you. If you really don't listen, then that's it. Then don't blame me for not speaking up first."

Zhang Yue was unhappy in his heart when he heard this, but he said on his face: "Thank you, senior brother, for your words."

Zhang Yue rarely argues with others these days. One person's argument hurts feelings, and another's argument is useless.

The two of them walked through the Royal Street, and saw many acrobatics being performed on the roadside. A drama club was performing. Many people gathered here, clapping their hands and applauding, their faces full of joy.

On the high platform, a vaudeville performer with a big painted face suddenly spit out a ball of fireworks from his mouth, lighting up the people around him and screaming.

The various scenes of life and the joy on the faces of the people were truly reflected in their eyes.

Cai Que suddenly asked: "Du Zhi, do you still remember Wu Bogu (Wu Chuhou)?"

Zhang Yue said: "I remember, I heard that his poetry is excellent, and my senior brother wanted me to study poetry under him."

Cai Que sighed: "Du Zhi, I still remember this. Yes, it turns out that my master had been kind to him at the time. Later, when I first arrived in the capital, I took refuge in his disciples and entrusted his care."

"However, Wu Zigu was very cold to me. He had many contacts in the court at that time, but he never recommended me to anyone. Although I learned poetry from him, he was very perfunctory."

"Afterwards, I passed the Jinshi examination and was so strapped that I didn't even have the money to travel to my post. I borrowed some money from him, but he didn't give me a penny. Instead, he sent me away."

"Now he has been an official for many years, and his official career has almost gone in circles. Then when he saw that I was doing well now, he would say to everyone he met in Beijing, how he helped me so much back then, and how much he valued me? Later, these words came to my ears.

When I asked him, he said he had never said that."

"But he also mentioned to me that his career is now difficult, and he hopes that I can take care of him and find a good job. Do you think I can help him with this?"

Zhang Yue thought about it after hearing this, and asked himself whether he would like to help Cai Que instead.

He knew something about Cai Que's relationship with Wu Chuhou.

The poems and poems written by Wu Chuhou are indeed impressive to read, and the articles are also quite interesting. There is no doubt that Cai indeed learned poems from Wu Chuhou at that time.

Zhang Yue said: "I can't help my senior brother in this matter. But since he opened his mouth, it's not good to refute him face to face. Moreover, this person talks about how he helped his senior brother back then. It can be seen that he is also a difficult person."

"If you offend this person, I'm afraid there will be trouble later. Senior brother will make his own plans. It doesn't matter if he doesn't help."

Cai Que smiled low and then said: "Du Zhi, do you know how I should answer? I said that when Chen Zhizhong was the prime minister in the past, a son-in-law asked for an appointment. Chen Zhizhong said, this official position belongs to the imperial court and is not something in the bedroom cage. My son-in-law is safe.

Do you have to have it?"

"And is my friendship with you better than that of my husband-in-law?"

After saying this, Cai Que burst out laughing, very happy.

Chen Zhizhong was the person Cai Que hated most in his life, but Cai Que used Chen Zhizhong's example to humiliate Wu Chuhou. It was really... There is a saying that character is destiny, and it is really true.

At this time, the Qianbu Corridor came to the end, and the two people bowed to each other on horseback and said goodbye to each other.

Zhang Yue watched Cai Que leave.

…

Zhang Yue headed back home.

As soon as I arrived at the mansion, I saw dozens of greeting cards. They all came to visit me today when they learned that I had just returned to Beijing.

In some cases, the invitation was received but the person did not arrive, so they agreed to come to the door on another day.

Some people have arrived and are still in the living room. They also estimate that after Zhang Yue meets the Holy Spirit, he will meet with his family, and they will definitely not have time to meet him, but they still stay here to express their sincerity.

Huang Haoyi on the side said: "Ms. sir, these posts are nothing more, but there is a person you have to meet!"

"who?"

"Xiang Qi!"

This person's name has not been mentioned for a long time.

Zhang Yue remembered a lot of things after looking at him, and immediately said to Huang Haoyi: "Invite him to my study."

Even if he no longer wants to socialize at this time, Zhang Yue still wants to meet the other party if he comes to visit him.

After arriving at the study, Huang Haoyi opened the door and led Qi into the room.

Zhang Yue and Xiang Qi looked at each other, and the other side said a little unnaturally: "Ms. Zhang, I'm going to give you a courtesy."

Zhang Yue said: "Qilang, please don't say that. You and I are just friends in common people, and we don't care about these things."

Xiang Qi smiled bitterly and said: "Hey, you are the only one who can tell me that. How can you be in the officialdom and not see someone serving you food?"

Huang Haoyi's expression changed after hearing this, Zhang Yue said this politely, but you actually took it seriously. Cai Que and Zhang Yue were dating as commoners, but in front of outsiders, the other party also respectfully called Zhang Yue Xianggong.

of.

You, Xiang Qi, don't have the slightest sense of propriety.

Huang Haoyi said: "Xiang Qi, I'm going out, so you can talk to your husband by yourself!"

Xiang Qi smiled and said: "Huang Si, you are Sanlang Yuansui, and you have also grown up."

Huang Haoyi was very angry after hearing this. When Zhang Yue signaled him to leave, he immediately closed the door and left.

After Xiang Qi took his seat, he said: "When we were in Taixue, we were said to be 'leading the Toutuo Academy and having no official Yushitai'. We lived a poor life and discussed important court affairs all day long."

"Nowadays, poverty is poverty, but we don't dare to discuss important matters of the imperial court."

Zhang Yue smiled and said: "Qilang, I haven't seen you for so many years, and I haven't heard anything about you. I remember you were Ding You for a while, right?"

Xiang Qi nodded and said sentimentally: "Yes, Xiang Qi's parents had a hard life and did not live a good life. Xiang Qi died of illness one after another. I rushed back to my hometown to mourn, and became an official one after another. My father-in-law also died of illness.

Without the care of Lao Taishan’s family, my career would have been wasted.”

Zhang Yue sighed and thought, Xiang Qi came to me today, could it be that he was asking for an official position?

Having said that, the powers held by those participating in politics and those held by privy deputies are different.

Zhongshu has a great power, which is to eliminate the court.

Once an official is included in the list of officials to be expelled from the palace, your personnel relations will be under the control of the prime minister, not the Ministry of Officials.

The value of removing officials from the Prime Minister's Hall is much higher than that of selecting officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Some important positions can only be removed from the Prime Minister's Hall. As a political advisor, Zhang Yue can decide the fate of many officials. Of course, it also depends on Wang Anshi.

Whether you buy it or not is up to you.

When Xiang Qi said this, he looked at Zhang Yue's face and immediately said: "Du Zhi, I'm not here to ask for an official position from you. But I'm in trouble and I want to ask you to help me!"

Zhang Yue was a little surprised to hear that Xiang Qi did not come to him to seek an official position.

Not to mention the current political participation, in the past when Zhang Yue was appointed as a Hanlin bachelor, seven or eight people came to his door with various requests, most of them seeking official positions.

Therefore, it was unavoidable that Zhang Yue's first reaction when he saw Xiang Qi's visit was to come to ask for an official position.

Now hearing what Xiang Qi said, Zhang Yue felt that he was also arrogant. At least for so many years, he had never asked him for anything.

"Whatever the difficulty is, just say it bluntly."

Xiang Qi sighed and said: "Du Zhi, I have offended Shen Cunzhong, and now I can no longer tolerate it. If I didn't have no choice, I wouldn't come to ask you to come forward!"

Have you offended Shen Kuo?

Zhang Yue almost laughed out loud.

Zhang Yue knew Shen Kuo very well. Even though he was a pedantic scholar, he always looked like he was kneeling on the washboard at home.

I underestimated people in this way. In fact, many scholars like Shen Kuo have quite vicious hearts and ruthless methods.

And sometimes you don't know how to offend him, he will make up a logic on his own, because his emotional intelligence is not high enough, so the first move will be a dead blow, leaving no room for you.
Chapter completed!