Chapter 8 The famous Chu Zifeng! Quanzhou Sheng Hong, the governor of the state, was looking at a letter from Yangzhou, reading it carefully and savoring it. [Breaking ice to catch carp], [Wearing reed clothes to obey mother]. Nothing! Sheng Hong hesitated a little. After all, they were both admitted as Jinshi in the same year, so they could be considered friends. In a short while, he would be promoted to the position of Tongpan of Yangzhou. If he didn't get the support of the local faction, it would be difficult for him to do anything practical. In that case, how about doing a favor? "Dong Rong!" "Yes, my lord!" Yuzhou In an empty field, Deputy Commander Zhao Zongquan was digging the ground with a hoe, sweat dripping from his red face. In Zhao Zongquan's mind, land and food are the most important things. With food, people will not starve and will not riot. Having enough food to eat is what people all over the world need. The world will naturally be at peace! "Father, father!" A man riding a fine horse galloped across the field, calling from afar, with a determined gaze and heroic spirit between his brows. It was obvious that he was a man with great ambitions.
"Ce Ying, why are you so anxious?" Zhao Zongquan wiped the sweat off his face and smiled at his eldest son Zhao Ceying who looked slightly happy. Zhao Ceying dismounted and handed over a letter, saying with a smile, "My uncle sent someone to deliver a letter from afar. It turns out that cousin Hong passed the imperial examination. He is less than fifteen years old. He is a rare talent even in the world!" "Oh?" Zhao Zongquan excitedly picked up the bucket beside him, scooped up some water and washed his hands, then wiped his wet hands back and forth on his clothes before taking the letter. After taking a closer look, he nodded repeatedly, unable to conceal his joy. "Hong'er, you are a promising child! When he passes the imperial examination and gets married, I will do my best to live up to your aunt's trust before her death!" "Father is right. Cousin Hong is a man who can read books. He will pass the imperial examination and have a bright future, whether he is an official in the capital or sent to the local area to govern the people." Compared with the mature and steady Zhao Zongquan, Zhao Ceying has more of the youthful spirit of a young talent. His smart and determined eyes show that he is a man with great ambitions and lofty ideals. Zhao Zongquan looked at his ambitious eldest son and smiled nostalgically. He was the same back then! The bloodline of Taizu, the true blood of the emperor, who doesn’t have some fantasies in his heart? Unfortunately, after Emperor Taizong's death, the throne fell to Taizong's lineage, and Taizu's bloodline became embarrassed. The more capable the Taizu bloodline is, the more people will fear it. unfortunately "Since Hong'er has become famous, we should also spread his good name in Yuzhou. The palace examination is a very complicated matter, and the role of reputation is unimaginable." Since ancient times, uncles have had a very high status and are extremely close blood relatives. Zhao Zongquan did not hesitate and immediately asked people to spread the good name Bianjing A luxurious, peaceful and clean street. These houses not only occupy a vast area, but are also decorated with great connotations. The door railings are exquisitely and elegantly carved, the stone beasts are meticulously carved with bared fangs and claws, and the plaques are majestic and lingering. Every move in the capital has corresponding rules, and the house must be suitable for the status of the owner. What kind of person can live in what kind of house, and a house of this level can only be inhabited by top officials and their families. This is one of the areas closest to the imperial palace in Bianjing.
Except for a few, most houses of this level do not have real fixed owners. Now, the owner of the house on the far left is named Han Zhang, who is highly trusted by the emperor. He once wrote a book to dismiss four prime ministers, and was promoted to the current cabinet minister, Zhaowen Palace Grand Secretary, and Guanglu Doctor. This was a high-ranking official of the first rank, and even in Bianliang, which was full of powerful people, he was a man who could keep his word. Coincidentally, today is a day off. In the elegant and quiet study, the smoke of incense curls and dances with the wind. Han Zhang sighed silently after reading several letters. Why were they all words of praise? Was there no recommendation for talent? In the first half of his life, Han Zhang served in several states, was the governor of a province, was sent as an envoy to other countries, and even presided over the imperial examination last year. It is no exaggeration to say that his students and former officials are all over the world. Under such circumstances, it is natural that students and former officials would write letters of condolences every once in a while, and this is not uncommon. But, who in this world doesn’t have troubles? Han Zhang has it too! No matter what you do, you need successors, and the same is true in the political arena. A glorious faction, promoted to the cabinet, the pinnacle of officialdom, promoting old officials, old officials taking over, the glory continues, enjoying a peaceful old age, and leaving a name in history! This was the idea of almost all the prime ministers, and also Han Zhang's idea. However, this kind of thing is really difficult to achieve. There is only one hurdle that makes this difficult to achieve: landing safely and not being liquidated! There is only one prerequisite for reaching this level: a strong faction heir. In the past few years, a friend of his who is slightly younger than him is about to wear the third-grade purple robe. Logically, he doesn't have to worry about the issue of succession. However, many of his friends died young due to excessive indulgence and occasional colds. Damn, that bastard has done so much harm to people. This caught Han Zhang off guard and he felt a chill in his heart. It is not so easy to cultivate a successor to a faction. It requires not only considerable political resources but also considerable talent! Everyone can be a minor official; it doesn't require any talent. But, being a high-ranking official requires talent. Especially from the third rank and above, the vision will be focused on the whole world, which is something ordinary people simply cannot handle. At this time, practical ability is no longer important. What is important is the height from which you look at things, the breadth of your thinking and the overall integrity of your perspective. The most important thing is that all the people above the third rank are the backbone of the faction, which means they have to withstand attacks and impeachments from other factions and often fight with people from other factions. Officials of this level compete on their talents for factional struggles. The talent required to do things is much lower than the talent required for factional struggles. Most people can do things, they just need to be proficient. But, factional disputes are not allowed! People are always more difficult to deal with than things. As the successor of a faction, he will face the prime ministers and ministers of other factions in the future. He has no talent and doesn't even know what others are saying in a subtle way. He can't get to the key points in an argument. He can't even comprehend the emperor's intentions, and can't grasp the initiative and political direction. Since everything is impossible, the decline of the faction is basically a foregone conclusion. It’s so tiring and difficult! In fact, he is already a cabinet minister, so the sudden loss of a faction successor will not cause panic among the people.
However, after a long time, it is inevitable that some people will have some uneasy thoughts. In particular, the only son of the official family died young some time ago, which made people's hearts easily moved. Difficult to handle! In the group of officials headed by him, he has not found anyone among the middle-aged and young generation who is good at political struggles, and there seems to be a sense of lack of experts. There is no way around it. When Fan Wencheng carried out the reform, he was one of the main forces of Fan Wencheng's reform. When Fan Wencheng's reform failed, many people were demoted or exiled. He was only reinstated a few years ago. How could he have the time to train more outstanding young people? Han Zhang took a deep breath and picked up another letter to read. This was his usual practice. No matter what, he had to read the letters from his students and former officials in person, so that at least he would have some impression of them when he actually met them. After taking a quick look, Han Zhang was a little surprised. He took a sip of tea and looked at it carefully. This letter came from the prefect of Yangzhou, whose official position was considered upper-middle class among his students and former officials. When I opened it, I saw that it first contained condolences and praises, nothing special. However, the content in the middle is quite different. Generally speaking, the middle part of the letter from such a former official would definitely talk about his own governance effectiveness over the years, and then he would implicitly say that he had not been promoted for several years and whether his position could be changed. But this letter was very different. It actually talked about offspring at great length, and the content of the discussion was extremely detailed, including his education, success, and reputation among neighbors. "Chu Hong? I have some impression of him. Is he the lively and intelligent kid?" "Oh? The son is kind and filial, the stepmother teases the son, the father and son hug each other and cry, and the fish is shared with everyone. Is this how you gain fame?" With Han Zhang's experience, he could naturally see that this act of chiseling ice to catch carp was a bit of a show. After all, the old official sent the letter thousands of miles away and specifically mentioned the gentlemanly deeds of his son in detail. Wasn't it just because he wanted to catch the eye of this elder? This kind of thing is just to gain reputation, which is quite normal. However, there is nothing wrong with improving one's reputation; it is something all scholars do, and the most common way is to give each other nicknames and boast about one's reputation. At that time, he had never actually thought that he could impeach and remove four cabinet ministers with just one memorial. In the beginning, he just wanted to enhance his reputation. However, it just so happened that the emperor also wanted to depose the four ministers, and it was just a matter of course. It has been accomplished, but my original intention was just to gain some fame. Everyone brushes, if you don't brush, you are inherently inferior to others What surprised Han Zhang was that Chu actually chose the first of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, "Lying on the Ice to Catch a Carp." Moreover, the taste is quite pure, yet quite sexy. You know, when it comes to gaining reputation, some people will definitely focus on those classic stories. But why gradually no one chooses [Lying on the Ice to Catch Carp]? Firstly, if you really lie on the ice, you might get a serious illness and die directly, but without lying on the ice, you won’t have that special feeling. Secondly, being too familiar with something will gradually make it impossible to talk about it, and without talking about it, there will be no point in imitating it. This is why students basically do not choose to [Lying on the Ice to Catch Carp]. Even if a small number of people imitate it, it is difficult for them to grasp the essence of it.
There is a point: without talking about sex, there won’t be any waves. But, directly stating that the stepmother is vicious, plays tricks on her children, and is ungrateful, is combined with [Reed Clothes Obey Mother]? This combined version of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars will certainly attract the attention and discussion of scholars. The son has the demeanor of a sage, but the mother is not the mother of a sage! The stepmother is not really sick, but she deliberately treats and teases her children harshly, and is not grateful for their filial piety. Even after pleading for her younger brother and offspring, the stepmother is still vicious and unwilling to live in harmony? The ending is different. It is not the classic filial piety of mother and son being grateful and harmonious, but it is combined with another allusion... interesting! "Has it spread throughout the three states?" Han Zhang was very happy. He had met this intelligent child several times in the past and now it seemed that he had become a successful person through his studies. In that case, cast a wide net. If you succeed, you’ll make money! "Sir, the Left Counselor wants to see you." "Oh? You just read the letter and the person is here right after? Let them entertain you well and don't neglect you!" "Yes." Ten days later, the story of "breaking ice to catch carp" spread to Bian Jing. Half a month later, all officials in Bian Jing knew about Chu Hong. One month later, Emperor Zhao Zhen learned about Chu Hong. half year later…… Chipping ice to catch carp, the ancient sage’s style, resounds throughout the world... …… (End of this chapter)