Chapter 315 The Stars Are Lower than the Eyes, and All Living Beings Are Deep in the Clouds.

The story in the Linjing Hall continued, and Chen Heng's perspective was always based on himself. Only in the side introduction in the middle, he borrowed other information channels to let Li Zhi and Wei Yinghong have a more comprehensive understanding of the overall situation.

The experience of the witnesses is naturally more colorful than the cold words in the military newspaper. After listening to the enthusiastic fighting of the civilians and Mao Daqing's last words before his death. Li Zhi sighed: "He is a good man, but it's a pity that he didn't join the army early."

Judging from the second half of the sentence, Li Zhi did not intend to let Mao Daqing off easily. Chen Heng was not surprised by this result. The country has its own laws, and the family has its own rules. Without rules, there will be no order, and without laws, it is difficult to reward and punish.

Not to mention treason, which has always been the reverse scale of the superiors, and touching it means death.

Chen Heng did not intend to waste energy on Mao Daqing, and only focused on the bandits who surrendered.

Li Zhi's reaction to these common people who became bandits was much more generous. With Wei Yinghong's quotations from classics, he quickly agreed to change the death penalty to exile.

Now that the New Party has become a mother-in-law, it is precisely to show the world its benevolence and righteousness. To warn the world of the difference between their faction and the old party. The people became bandits because the old party controlled the court, which led to the rampage of corrupt officials.

The New Party, which upholds justice and corrects the chaos, is just going to use the excuse of forgiving the bandits to issue an official document criticizing the old party and completely nail them to the guilt of the country.

The people's hard life back then has nothing to do with our New Party. It was all the fault of the old party. It is precisely because the old party was wrong that our New Party can stand in front of the stage and show leniency to the world.

Chen Heng naturally saw Wei Yinghong's calculations, and he also knew the doorway in his heart. The operation of politics, no matter what beautiful name it hangs, the core essence cannot escape interests.

Seeing Chen Heng talking for a long time, Xia Shouzhong hurriedly brought a cup of tea and handed it to him. This attitude made the former a little flattered.

The other party was almost the next prime minister of the palace. How could he accept this empty courtesy?

Chen Heng was about to resign, but Li Zhi had already ignored this trivial matter and asked aloud: "Who did the traitor entertain in the camp?"

Chen Heng's hand holding the teacup shook subconsciously. What his father-in-law was worried about finally happened.

Wei Yinghong also showed a nervous look and paid close attention to Chen Heng's next words.

He was afraid that this young man would get angry and turn the officialdom of Dayong upside down.

Now that December has arrived, the New Party already has the card of "making up for the deficit". There is really no need to make trouble and implicate others.

Chen Heng was only a sixth-rank Tongzhizhou, and he was also a newly-ministered Hanlin. The other party opened his mouth easily and exposed several people involved. The infamy left in the end was borne by the actual operator-Wei Yinghong.

Chen Heng was not aware of Wei Yinghong's concerns, and he did not dare to keep Li Zhi waiting for a long time. He spoke directly and told everyone he saw in the camp one by one.

Chen Heng had discussed this matter with Lin Ruhai last night. The father-in-law and son-in-law had different ideas on whether to conceal the list.

But their purpose was surprisingly the same as Wei Yinghong's. At present, the court had just been in turmoil, and everything was mainly for maintaining stability.

Once a major prison was launched, regardless of whether Li Zhi had the intention behind it. It would give the third party in the court and the old party involved the impression that the new party had just taken control of the court and excluded dissidents.

Since the purpose was the same, Lin Ruhai was even more puzzled about his son-in-law, why he insisted on telling the truth.

"Father-in-law, does our Dayong really not have Jinyiwei?"

Facing his son-in-law's question, Lin Ruhai also understood the child's concerns.

Dayong naturally did not have a supervisory agency similar to the former Ming Dynasty, but no one knew whether Li Zhi had such an agency in private.

But everyone knew in their hearts that there must be one. If an emperor doesn't even have this little means of ruling and governing his subordinates, wouldn't that be underestimating Li Zhi's political accomplishment?

"I said, if there are any false accusations in the future, I can come out to testify and prevent innocent people from being implicated."

Lin Ruhai soon agreed with Chen Heng's idea.

Indeed, if the New Party rashly chooses to conceal it. In the end, if there is a discrepancy with the list in Li Zhi's hands, only all the people in the New Party will be affected and hit.

It's not because of the promotion to the prime minister that you have to focus too much on the relationship between subordinates and colleagues.

On the contrary, it is precisely because you have already controlled the court that you have to be more cautious and deal with Li Zhi's changeable temperament.

Throughout the ages, the most difficult position is the deputy position. You can't do nothing, and you can't do too much.

In the whole world, there is only one person who really holds power. Others are lucky ones who are favored by the afterglow, so how can you get the order of priority wrong?

It's not that Wei Yinghong didn't understand, but the joy of being promoted to the prime minister made him temporarily unable to see that the main person he was responsible for was still Li Zhi, and his colleagues in the court were only secondary.

Lin Ruhai figured it out, and he was happier for his child's growth.

Wei Yinghong, who became more and more anxious as he listened, secretly winked at Chen Heng beside Li Zhi.

That's enough, let's talk about it. The relatives and former officials of these people are involved in one place. It's one of the major cases since the founding of the dynasty.

Li Zhi, who was at the top, was very satisfied with what he heard. Until Chen Heng finished speaking, he didn't ask for verification of the list.

Judging from this reaction alone, His Majesty obviously has his own channels. After all, the first thing he asked was, "What do you think Chen Qing should do with these people?"

Lin Ruhai also asked this question. Chen Heng gave the same answer and replied to Li Zhi, "Your Majesty, do you want to be a wise monarch or a sage monarch?"

Perhaps these words sounded interesting. Li Zhi sat upright on the throne, raised his head and asked the courtier, "What's the difference?"

"If you are a wise king, you should judge based on the facts. If there is any, you will be punished, if not, you will be exempted. Major crimes cannot be forgiven, and small crimes are mainly committed by people." Chen Heng put down the tea cup, stood up from his position, straightened his clothes, and said while bowing, " If he is a holy king, he should not be tolerated by ordinary people. Cao Mengde burns his letter in front of the battle, because he has an extraordinary magnanimity."

Li Zhi wanted to laugh when he heard this, and asked deliberately: "In your opinion, Cao Mengde, who plans to usurp the Han Dynasty, can he also be a saint king?"

"No." Chen Heng admonished, "A gentleman does not care about his heart when he talks about his deeds. I only said that on this matter, Cao Mengde behaves like a benevolent king. But being a human being is just like writing an article. Everyone has one or two wonderful things. But you need to Only a few people can do it from the beginning to the end.”

Looking at the minister in front of him who had just made a great contribution, Li Zhi said in an incomprehensible tone: "What if I insist on killing him?"

"I am not talented, but I am willing to be your majesty's swordsman." Chen Heng, uncharacteristically, directly requested the order.

At this time, Li Zhi finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He slapped the case and laughed and said: "Why, Chen Chixing, who is known as the great master of Qingtian, also wants to help the emperor do evil? I thought you wanted to imitate the masters in the mountains and abandon your official position."

These words were heartbreaking, but Chen Heng was not afraid at all and just responded calmly.

"No, I am willing to show my kindness on behalf of Your Majesty and save people under the sword."

Chen Heng's answer is also called a straightforward one.

Li Zhi was stunned for a moment, and then he reached out and pointed at Chen Heng, and said with a smile: "It's a good idea to send you out. You have more character than before, and you have more confidence in speaking and doing things."

Chen Heng, who had just stood up straight, had to bend down again and said gratefully, "I am fortunate to have received your kindness. Your Majesty should be your top priority in every thought and deed."

"That's all." Li Zhi waved his hands and said helplessly, "If I ruin anyone's reputation, I can't ruin yours."

The person in front of me is the minister and assistant minister that I will leave to the prince in the future. How could Chen Heng use his hard-earned reputation to take the blame for himself?

"Tell me about your reward." Li Zhi suddenly changed the subject, "You have done a lot of credit this time. Tell me, what do you want me to reward you for?"

Why did you suddenly say it to me? Chen Heng was stunned, looked at Wei Yinghong with a guilty conscience, and said sensibly: "I don't dare..."

"I know you don't dare to say it." Li Zhi also knew that in front of him, it would be difficult for the No. 1 Scholar to do anything to favor him.

He simply asked, "I might as well ask more directly, do you want to return to the capital, or continue to stay in Songjiang?"

After hearing this, Chen Heng immediately fell into thinking. But Li Zhi waved his hand and said directly: "No rush, you go back and think about it first. It's rare to come back to the capital this time, so you can spend the New Year with me in the capital first."

Seeing that Li Zhi left room for negotiation, Chen Heng quickly stood up and thanked him. He knew that Li Zhi and Wei Yinghong had important matters to discuss, and he did not dare to stay for long, so he quickly stood up and left.

He was sent out of the palace by Xia Shouzhong.

After Dai Quan was destined to be buried with the emperor's mausoleum, the time for the other party to confer the title of eunuch was just around the corner.

Along the way, Chen Hengduo called Xia Shouzhong "father-in-law".

Eunuch Xia is a wonderful man. He doesn't dare to take what he says seriously, but his subtle expression shows that he is somewhat complacent.

The two of them had walked a long way, and when they were about to part, Eunuch Xia said unexpectedly: "Master Chen, are you going to the Prince of Jin's Mansion next?"

Why do you even know my itinerary? Chen Heng blinked and had no choice but to nod.

He knew that if Xia Shouzhong chose this time to start talking, he must have something to convey to him.

Xia Shouzhong looked at the No. 1 Scholar with a smile, and mumbled: "Your Majesty told me to read more books these days, so as not to miss the important events in the palace. I am not talented, but I was lucky enough to see the saying: 'The trees are tall and the trees are crowned, and the birds are like birds. If you succeed, you will fly'.

I am a young man with little knowledge and I don't know the profound meaning of this sentence. I would like to ask the number one scholar to answer one or two questions, so that your majesty will not be embarrassed when he tests. "

There is nothing difficult to answer. Chen Heng thought for a while and just explained the original meaning of the words. Xia Shouzhong listened to the last part with a smile, and thanked Chen Heng again and again for his advice, before adding: "Master Chen, I would like to send my regards to His Highness on behalf of the little one."

People close to Li Zhi said so, so Chen Heng had no choice but to socialize.

Nothing happened after that. He arrived at the Meridian Gate and got on the carriage of the palace. Chen Heng arrived at the gate of the palace unimpeded and saw Li Jun, the grandson of the emperor, waiting here early.

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When the two of them walked into the palace side by side, Li Jun picked up the affairs in the palace and started talking.

"How was your conversation with Grandpa Huang?"

Chen Heng looked for some small things to say and said half of them.

Li Jun is still young, and under his growing body is his personal will that keeps emerging. It is a pity that the prince and his majesty have not discovered this yet and rarely listen to Li Jun's thoughts.

At this moment, he could get a response from Chen Heng after just a few words of gossip. Li Jun was really happy inside.

He pulled Chen Heng to stand at the door and whispered: "My father is discussing things with Mr. Cao. Please be careful when you go in later."

Mr. Cao? That thorn in the side of the Hanlin Academy? Why did Mr. Cao Tingshou, who had been raised in the imperial court for several years, suddenly come to the Jin Palace?

Chen Heng was very surprised by this news.

"He once served as his father's husband for a period of time." As Li Jun opened the door, he quietly told Chen Heng about this interpersonal relationship.

This was his intention to sell it well. After all, this news will be learned from Master Lin when Chen Heng returns.

Chen Heng thanked Li Jun for his advice and walked quickly into the lobby. I saw Li Xian and Cao Tingshou sitting together at a round table. There were melons, fruits, snacks and other items on the table. The dishes were not so exquisite and were very ordinary.

With this kind of reception, it seems that the relationship between Mr. Cao and the prince is extraordinary. Chen Heng made a judgment in his mind and came to Li Xian to salute the two of them together.

"Sit down quickly." Li Xian was very enthusiastic and directly pulled Chen Heng to his right side and sat down face to face with Mr. Cao on his left.

This old man is still the examiner of his own provincial examination. How dare Chen Heng trust him? After sitting down, act like an honest and humble monk.

He only answered Li Xian's questions and was even more respectful to Cao Tingshou.

Li Xian specially summoned Chen Heng here, naturally not just to care about the safety of a civil servant. After half the conversation, Li Xian asked about Linjing Hall.

Li Xian's reasons are also very convincing. He is worried that Li Zhi's violent temper will lead to a killing spree and lead to instability in the court.

Now that the Supreme Emperor has just left, the imperial mausoleum has not yet been properly repaired. At this time, the emperor's coffin is still in the palace, how can he start a big war?

Chen Heng didn't know how true or false these words were, but he knew one thing. Someone must have come to Li Xian to plead for mercy.

The prince's reaction on this matter is really hard to comment on.

I really can’t figure out why there has been such intrigue over royal affairs in all dynasties, and why outsiders have been involved in it!

Chen Heng didn't understand, so he had to be more cautious in his words and actions.

But when the future Emperor Yong inquires, it will be difficult to explain without providing some real information.

Chen Heng had no choice but to repeat what he said, and deliberately omitted what Li Zhi said. In doing so, he not only revealed his attitude, but also concealed Li Zhi's words.

Chen Heng temporarily managed to get through the difficult situation at hand.

Li Xian didn't embarrass him too much and kept saying that the other party had worked hard.

Chen Heng responded carefully and sat with him for a long time before Li Jun came forward to send him back to Lin Mansion.

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When Lin Ruhai learned about what happened to her son-in-law in the palace, she gave an extremely accurate guess.

"I'm afraid Cao Tingshou wants to join the cabinet as a second assistant."

Chen Heng was perked up after hearing this. Master Cao is finally going to move up? But listen, why is it so weird?

"Can this be done?"

Going straight from the Hanlin Academy to the cabinet is an understatement.

"He has presided over many provincial examinations in the Hanlin Academy and trained many Hanlin Academy officials." Lin Ruhai pointed out, "Do you think he can't do it?"

Chen Heng thought for a while and asked doubtfully: "Your Majesty is already preparing to divide the new party?"

When Lin Ruhai heard this, he raised his hand and knocked on his son-in-law's forehead, "Confused, there will be no new party in the future."

This sentence confirmed Chen Heng's guess in disguise. He hurriedly stuck out his tongue, stood behind his father-in-law, imitated Daiyu's technique, pinched his father-in-law's shoulders, and asked, "Dad, Your Majesty asked me whether I should stay in the capital or in Songjiang? What do you think?"

In private, Chen Heng would avoid such overly literal terms as 'father-in-law'.

"What do you think?"

Looking at her increasingly mature and steady son-in-law, Lin Ruhai did not directly make a decision for Chen Heng, but instead paid more attention to the other person's thoughts.

"I want to go back to Songjiang." Chen Heng said without hesitation to his closest family members, "I feel that the rest of the court will not be very stable."

"Why? If you take this opportunity to stay in the capital, you will be able to serve as the Minister of the Six Ministries within five years."

With such a smooth road, even a discerning person can see the benefits.

Chen Heng gave a bitter smile and sighed: "First of all, I feel ashamed of the people of Songjiang and want to take care of them for a few more years. Secondly, the shipping matter involves the fate of Dayong. Songjiang is the gateway to the north and south. At this time, I really want to leave it to outsiders. Don’t worry.”

The shame in his mouth was naturally those civilian husbands who died in the war. Chen Heng was able to persevere until the end, and the civilian men led by Yangzhou and Songjiang really played a decisive role.

The former is his own township party, and the latter is the people in his own jurisdiction.

They sacrificed their lives and blood for themselves, but Chen Heng didn't want to pat his butt and leave. Even if he goes back to face the people's accusations, he is willing to accept it calmly.

"Then go." Lin Ruhai nodded and said solemnly, "It's not just you, I'm going to let Jue'er go back with you."

"What's wrong with him?" Chen Heng was a little confused.

"Confused." Lin Ruhai scolded with a smile, "At his age, it's time for him to return to Suzhou and take the college examination."

Time really flies by at a rapid pace, and in a blink of an eye, my brother-in-law is about to take the college examination.

Chen Heng smiled secretly and shook his head. The two sons-in-law still wanted to talk about some trivial matters in depth. Jia Min, who was outside, came over to urge people to go over for dinner.

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In the Rongguo Mansion, there had been a lot of excitement in the past two days because of the safe return of Master Bao, but soon the atmosphere became solemn again because of Aunt Xue's cry. It's just that in this solemnity, there is more nervousness.

There have been so many regular customers coming to visit me lately. They had different names. Some said they came to see Mr. Bao, and some said they came to see Mrs. Jia.

The latter's health has obviously improved since his precious grandson came back, and he can already eat half a bowl of rouge rice as before.

It is a good thing that the elders in the family are in good health. I don't know if he was infected by the atmosphere in the mansion, but the look on Jia Zheng's face was still solemn.

He didn't care about Aunt Xue's pain of losing her son. He just called Baoyu to the study and asked about everything in Ping'an Prefecture.

Baoyu himself was confused. He talked for a long time, which made Jia Zheng even more confused.

The former saw that he could not explain it clearly after talking for a long time, so he hurriedly suggested: "Dad, if you really want to know something, why don't you invite my brother-in-law to come home and sit down?"

"When did you get so close to him?" Hearing Baoyu mention Chen Heng on his own initiative, Jia Zheng asked back in surprise.

Baoyu smiled and scratched his head and said: "I can't say either. I feel that I used to be like a frog in a well.

Dad specially called me here today, it must be very involved. Instead of asking me, Dad is still worried. It's better to call my brother-in-law directly. You will definitely agree with what he says."

"It's great that you think so." Jia Zheng said with great comfort, "It's right to let you go out and take a look. A real man should not be confined to the backyard."

Baoyu still disagreed with this. How good is the backyard, with so many sisters to accompany him to play.

He thought so in his heart, but he didn't dare to say it. Baoyu probably knew that he would be scolded by Jia Zheng if he said this.

"It's a pity that there is a funeral in the mansion now. What reason can I use to invite him?"

"I will go there." Jia Baoyu volunteered.