The older generation of Yonghui officials all knew that this Commandery Prince Changshan was famous for his outspoken words. Even the teachers of Zhang Julu and Huan Wen had had the misfortune to experience Zhao Yang's spittle.
The young scholar still had a smile on his face and stopped arguing with Commandery Prince Changshan.
Wu Zhongxuan, who was watching coldly from the side, smiled. He sympathized with this old Commandery Prince who had outstanding military achievements but was born at the wrong time.
Jin Lanting hid her schadenfreude very well.
The former arrogant scholar of Imperial College Sun Yin, the current young phoenix of Hanlin Academy Song Keli, the tenth level Chess Saint Fan Zhanghou, and the white-robed poor scholar Lu Xu, who had appeared out of nowhere, were all viewed by the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites as serious problems in the future officialdom.
Qi Yanglong, Huan Wen, and Chen Wang all frowned at the same time. Especially Chen Shaobao, who had become the Welcoming Autumn Official again this year, had a rare angry look on his face.
During this period, only one person was truly frightened, and that was the former General of Qingzhou, Hong Lingshu.
Back then, the Lu family of Qingzhou had suffered an unexpected disaster. Only a young man, who had stabbed himself in the eyes, was lucky enough to survive because his official career was destined to be cut off. Later, it was said that he gambled chess in Yongzi Alley and worked as a musician in a brothel. He relied on these two lowly jobs to make a living. Later on, for some unknown reason, smoke rose from his grave and he became a clerk in the palace of the old King of Jing An, Zhao Heng. Then, he became the chief strategist of the new King of Jing An, Zhao Xun. However, the Lu family's tragedy was never overturned. Some worried people who were involved in the tragedy had probed the Jing An Palace several times, but they did not get an answer. In the past, Hong Lingshu did not pay much attention to this. Firstly, he and the Hong family did not participate in the tragedy. If they did, they would have eliminated the root of the problem long ago. Even a blind young man would not be left alive. Secondly, at that time, he was the General of Qingzhou who had held military power for many years. The small Lu Family was like an ant. If Lu Xu wanted to make things difficult for his enemies, it was tantamount to challenging the entire Green Party, who was used to huddling together for warmth. The two generations of Kings of Jing An Palace did not help the Lu Family. Most likely, it was because of this concern. A young strategist with no roots or the entire Green Party, who was more important, compared to the entire Green Party. it was obvious who was more important..
However, when Hong Lingshu saw the young blind man in this important place in the palace, especially when he said, "I have already communicated with the Ceremony Directorate and have not overstepped the restrictions of the palace," how could Hong Lingshu, who was now an official in the capital, not have wild and fanciful thoughts?
This blind man had suddenly become the teacher of a large group of Great Peace City's top nobles. If he harbored resentment and could not let go of the entire Green Party, to the point of taking his anger out on him, Hong Lingshu, the General of Liyang Ping, perhaps it would be difficult for him to cause too much trouble. However, in the end, it was definitely not a good thing. If Hong Lingshu had not entered the capital and remained in Qingzhou, far away from the Emperor, and continued to be a third-ranked general, then perhaps Hong Lingshu would have had hidden worries for the future, but he definitely would not have been as frightened as he was now.
Hong Lingshu sighed in the depths of his heart. In the end, it was because the Green Party lacked a voice in the court at the intersection of Yong Hui and Xiang Fu. Furthermore, Hong Lingshu was not as deeply rooted in the capital as Wen Taiyi. If it had been the old assistant minister of the Ministry of Appointments, Wen Taiyi, who was more deeply implicated in the Lu Family's tragedy, even if he were to face this young blind man face to face, he would not be so uneasy.
At this moment, Hong Lingshu greatly desired the title of Zheng, which was a level higher than his own title of Ping.
The four great generals of Liyang Zheng were Yang Shenxing, Yan Zhenchun, Ma Lulang, and Yang Jian. Among them, Yang Shenxing had already lost his title after the defeat at Guangling Road and was thrown to Beiliang Road as that comical Deputy Jiedushi. Yan Zhenchun had even died on the battlefield at Guangling Road. After his death, he received a high standard title, which could be considered a blessing to his descendants. Ma Lulang, who was most trusted by the court, had also died of illness. After all, Yang Jian was old and would withdraw from the Liyang army in at most five years. The three great generals of Zheng Ping were all officials with real power and were not empty titles. Therefore, when he retired, there was no such thing as standing in the latrine without taking a shit. Someone would immediately replace him. For example, the current Minister of War, Wu Zhongxuan, had replaced Yan Zhenchun to obtain the title of Great General of the Southern Expedition.
During Hong Lingshu's journey to the capital and Wen Taiyi's journey to the capital, after the death of Lu Feichi, the leader of the Green Party's troika, the two became more and more like grasshoppers on the same rope. Although they had not met, they had exchanged secret letters. Wen Taiyi, who was familiar with the inner workings of the capital, had confided in Hong Lingshu about the situation. In Wen Taiyi's view at that time, excluding the Great Pillar State Gu Jiantang, Hong Lingshu's future opponents were Lu Shengxiang, Tang Tieshuang, Xu Gong, Ma Zhongxian, the Deputy General of Ji Zhou, Han Fang, whose father was Yang Shenxing's Yang Huchen, the extremely lucky Song Li, and his father-in-law was Gu Jiantang's Yuan Tingshan.
Song Li and Yuan Tingshan had already destroyed their own futures and were in cahoots with Zhao Bing and Chen Zhibao, the two rebellious vassal kings. There was no need to pay attention to them.
The Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, Tang Tieshuang, was both a blessing and a curse. His success was because he cared about the country, and his failure was because he cared about the country. He seemed to be in the limelight in the Ministry of War, and even the Minister Wu Zhongxuan had to avoid him. However, in Wen Taiyi's eyes, he was less of a threat than Xu Gong. This General of Dragon Xiang, who was born in Gangnam-do, was not to be underestimated. As the representative of the Jiangnan scholars quickly elected after Lu Baijie lost power, no matter how bumpy his official career was, it would be difficult to stop his rise. As for Ma Zhongxian, who had both the support of his ancestors and the ability to lead, as long as he left the capital where his family was based, although Wen Taiyi did not say a word more in the secret letter, Hong Lingshu knew very well that the Jingan Road where the Green Party was located would inevitably be a muddy area for this deputy Jiedushi. They would not brazenly let him fall. In reality, the Green Party did not have the strength and boldness to do so. However, to slow down Ma Zhongxian's rise for three or four years was not difficult. As for the younger generation, Han Fang and Yang Huchen, compared to Hong Lingshu, who had been a general of a province for close to 20 years and now had the title of Ping in her hands, they were at a clear disadvantage. As long as these two rising stars did not make great contributions and Hong Lingshu did not make any major mistakes, it was believed that Hong Lingshu would reach the top one step earlier than them.
Wen Taiyi originally did not have high hopes for Lu Shengxiang. In the end, Lu Shengxiang, who was the commander of the southern expedition, only received the empty title of General of Piao Yi, similar to that of a civil official, the pillar of the country. In the capital's officialdom, he had become the biggest laughing stock. Looking back now, Lu Shengxiang's rapid rise and unfailing prosperity could no longer be hidden. Hong Lingshu could secretly compete with Tang Tieshuang and Xu Gong, but she would definitely not try to arm wrestle with Lu Shengxiang.
At the end of the secret letter, Wen Taiyi frankly stated that when facing the enemy on the battlefield, it was a matter of life and death. When it reached a certain height in the court, it was actually a different approach to achieve the same result. You go up, I go down. It was definitely not a matter of peace and light and everyone was happy.
There were some words that Wen Taiyi did not write in the letter. Instead, he had the trusted aide of the Wen family relay them to Hong Lingshu.
Do not become enemies with Chen Wang. Be friends with Yan Chiji. Remember to be careful of Lu Xu.
On the surface, Lu Xu's identity in the capital's officialdom was just one of the diligent teachers. At this time, he took a few steps forward and made a gesture of "looking around." He asked with a smile, "I heard that General Hong is also in the small court meeting today. I, Lu Xu, happen to be from Qingzhou.
Of course, the officials in the capital did not know about the tragedy of the Lu family. They only treated it as a normal reminiscence of old friendships between people from the same hometown. Furthermore, the Qingzhou officials in Taian City had a close relationship. Perhaps the two Qingzhou officials whose residences were in the east and west of the city would meet every ten days to exchange greetings. In the eyes of the other factions in the officialdom, this was an inconceivable and strange matter. The guildhalls in the capital of other provinces were usually deserted, but the four guildhalls in Qing Province were almost always full of guests. Regardless of their status, high-ranking officials, scholars, merchants, merchants, and rangers, all kinds of people, they were happy and contented. They never cared about the good or bad reputation of the officialdom and scholarly circles, and also never cared about being ridiculed for being a profit-seeking person. Therefore, when Lu Xu publicly proposed to "reminisce" with Hong Lingshu, none of the officials in the capital found it strange.
Only Hong Lingshu felt chills all over her body and her heart palpitate for no reason.
Once this "accidental" meeting was spread to Qingzhou, would Wen Taiyi, the most suspicious old fox, really continue to diligently pave the way for him without sparing any effort?
However, Lu Xu's smile did not allow Hong Lingshu to shed all pretense of cordiality and reject the invitation.
Hong Lingshu could only brace herself and walk side by side with Lu Xu, gradually pulling away from the others. Hong Lingshu then discovered that there was a middle-aged eunuch standing not far behind them. The distance was just right. He could see Lu Xu but could not hear their conversation. Judging from his clothes, the status of this eunuch in the palace was not low. The moment his gaze met with Hong Lingshu's, it was clearly because of Lu Xu. The middle-aged eunuch smiled slightly at Hong Lingshu, revealing some goodwill. This made Hong Lingshu even more shocked. How many people in the court could be treated so cautiously by a eunuch dressed in a python robe?
No wonder Wen Taiyi was so wary of Lu Xu and did not hesitate to use a large number of connections in Qingzhou to secretly obstruct Ma Zhongxian's official career in exchange for Hong Lingshu keeping a close eye on Lu Xu.
Lu Xu, who could not see anything in the world, walked slowly. He stepped lightly on the stone path. Every time he touched the edge of the path, he would immediately adjust his direction to ensure that the path ahead was unobstructed.
Seeing this scene, Hong Lingshu felt all sorts of emotions.
For such a young blind man to be able to achieve what he had today, was it due to luck?
Lu Xu did not speak, and Hong Lingshu was also unwilling to take the initiative to speak.
He and Wen Taiyi, as the leaders of the Green Party who had stood tall in the Liyang imperial court for more than twenty years, were indeed wary of this person, but it was not to the extent of being overly fearful.
This white-clothed scholar, one of the diligent teachers, finally said indifferently, "The Green Party has contributed greatly to my current situation."
Hong Lingshu was silent.
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