Chapter 167 Mr. Zhao, the Grand Master invites you
Chapter 167 Mr. Zhao, the Grand Master invites you
Teachable!
Inside the box, Han Zhou pressed the wine cup heavily on the table, feeling mixed emotions.
Before this, he had never thought that he would be persuaded by Zhao Duan.
No.
It is not persuasion, but an ineffective rebuttal of criticism, like a wake-up call from a Buddhist monk.
Just as Zhao Duan guessed, his purpose today was to try to persuade Zhao Duan under the pretext of "asking for advice" and bring him into his camp to assist in the implementation of the "Ten Strategies".
But who could have expected that the final result would be that I was the one who was convinced.
Ten strategies? Worse than shit!
Along with this, there are also doubts that follow one after another.
How could a military officer have such profound insights in these areas?
This profound theory was never mentioned by other scholars, including Master Dong.
But it came from the mouth of an "unlearned" warrior, which is unbelievable.
"Your Excellency's admonition today has given me a profound thought. Now it seems that I have indeed been away from the secular world for too long, just as Lord Zhao said..."
Han Zhou smiled bitterly, bowed respectfully and saluted him.
Then, finally unable to bear the doubts, he asked:
"But I don't know how Envoy Zhao came up with these ideas?"
Zhao Duan was calm and collected. He accepted the other party's greeting calmly. He was silent for a moment and said:
“Maybe I’ve seen too much.”
Han Zhou was stunned, and subconsciously thought that what this meant was that Zhao Duan had only a short time to gain momentum.
More than a year ago, he was just a foot soldier in the imperial guards and had not yet escaped from the bottom of society.
The feelings are naturally deeper.
In addition, compared with the nobles in the Hanlin Academy, Zhao Duan is also a person who does "practical things".
I'm used to seeing the intrigues and evil people...
Well, considering his reputation, he is a sinister man himself...
However, only Zhao Duan himself knew the true meaning of his sigh, which had been written too many times in the history books he had read.
"Is that so?" Han Zhou nodded, then looked dejected:
"As the envoy said, the court is in a predicament and there is no solution."
Zhao Duan said nothing. Is there no solution?
of course not.
Not to mention that Zhang Juzheng's reform method is more suitable, just take the word "money". If the court needs money, is the only way to do it is to plunder from others?
Do you know something about economics?
Wealth can not only be "distributed", but also "created".
However, there is no need to tell Han Zhou about this.
Zhao Duan himself also needs time to think.
After all, although Zhang Juzheng's plan was better, in reality, it was just as difficult to implement and had many drawbacks.
He had an idea, which was to add some economics to this plan.
Since it is a matter of money, the most direct solution is, of course, to make money.
In the private room.
Seeing that Zhao Duan remained silent, Han Zhou felt even more bitter and did not expect Zhao Duan to come up with any good solution.
It is easy to criticize and find faults, but it is difficult to construct and create.
Ultimately, it still depends on these scholars to find a solution.
Thinking of this, he cheered up again. If the ten strategies didn't work, he would think about them again. There is always a way out.
At this moment, footsteps were suddenly heard outside the box, followed by a knock on the door.
They both turned their heads at the same time, and Han Zhou said in confusion, "Come in."
When the door opened, the person standing outside was another familiar face.
"Wang You? Why are you here?" Han Zhou was stunned.
At the door stood a scholar who was about 28 or 29 years old, dressed in fine clothes, with fair skin and the appearance of a nobleman.
It was Wang You, who was ranked second among the scholars of Xiuwenguan, the son of the current Minister of Rites and also a child of a prominent family.
Zhao Duan's impression of him was that he was casual and relaxed during meetings in the museum, and that according to Mochou's information, he was arrogant.
"Oh, why can't I be here?"
Wang You looked arrogant, and glanced around the room with a half-smile:
"I was wondering why you drove after His Majesty's carriage as soon as you came out of the hall. I thought you wanted to stop His Majesty halfway and say something, but I didn't expect that you were secretly forming a clique."
Han Zhou looked embarrassed, stood up and said:
"Envoy Zhao and I are..."
"No need to explain," Wang You waved his hand, interrupting him and said:
"You want His Majesty to adopt your strategy? Are you worried that we will obstruct you, so you come to seek external help? No need to explain. Haha, I have underestimated you, Han Banshan, in the past. That's all. I'm just stopping by to take a look. You guys continue."
After saying this, the son of the Shangshu, a nobleman, turned around, went downstairs and left.
It seems like he came here just to confirm the situation.
"Sir, don't bother with him."
Seeing this, Han Zhou stepped forward, closed the door, turned around and said:
"I didn't know he would follow."
"No problem," Zhao Duan said casually, smiling:
"This Wang You...is indeed as arrogant as the rumors say."
Just now, apart from glancing at him at the beginning, the other party only talked to Han Zhou and didn't look at him at all.
There was no targeting, or rather, no one cared to target it, but it was completely ignored.
Han Zhou sighed:
"Wang You is indeed arrogant and has a strong sense of family background. When I first met him, he never even looked at me in the eye."
Later, due to her outstanding talent, she was recognized by Wang You and barely caught his eye... But it's not easy to say this directly.
Zhao Duan smiled and said nothing.
It was obvious that in the eyes of the Shangshu's son, he was not worthy of being on equal terms with him.
"The arrogance of scholars..."
Zhao Duan shook his head, stood up and said goodbye:
"I have eaten and drunk enough. Thank you for your hospitality. I will take my leave now."
He was also busy thinking about new strategies for improvement.
Han Zhou personally sent him downstairs, and after watching him leave, Han Zhou sighed softly while standing at the bottom of the restaurant, then turned around and got into the car:
"Go back to Xiuwen Hall!"
……
Wait for the carriage to return to the north gate of the capital.
Han Zhou stepped into the empty "office" skillfully and saw that Dong Taishi had not left yet. He was still flipping through the thick memorials in front of him.
"Han Zhou?"
The old man, who was in his 80s and had a face as red as a date and was wearing the robes of a university scholar, looked at him in surprise:
"Is something wrong?"
Han Xueshi, a modest gentleman, suddenly bowed and said:
"I have come here to request to take away the 'Ten Strategies' and make some revisions."
Master Dong was surprised and asked in confusion:
"What happened?"
He had already read the Ten Strategies. Although some of their contents were indeed radical, they were still effective ways to save the current crisis.
Not long ago, he was still telling the story passionately, but now he wants it back after just over an hour. There must be something fishy going on.
Han Zhou said with shame:
"I feel ashamed for not thinking carefully before. Only after being scolded by Lord Zhao did I suddenly realize that this method is inappropriate."
"You mean... Zhao Duan?" Master Dong was startled and pointed at the chair:
"Sit down and tell me in detail."
"Yes." Han Zhou sat down. He had nothing to hide, so he immediately recounted how he tried to win over Zhao Duan and how he was refuted one by one.
Finally,
"What Envoy Zhao said is thought-provoking. I am so shameless that I want to take back the ten strategies and make some revisions."
Opposite him, the old man sitting in a large mahogany chair was in a daze.
His eyes involuntarily fell on the stack of "manuscripts" left by Zhao Duan in his hand, which were written in a disjointed manner with many scattered sentences.
Thoughtful.
……
……
"Sir, are you here?"
At Lihua Hall, when Zhao Duan arrived, his men who were sitting around eating pears in the hall stood up one after another.
Confidential secretary Qian Kerou held up a cut pear soaked in ice water as if presenting a treasure:
"Please, sir. Hehe, the price of ice in Beijing has dropped sharply recently. We bought some to eat with iced pears."
"Yeah, not bad." Zhao Duan opened his mouth and the food came, feeling refreshing and cool.
"Sir, is Xiuwenguan interesting? What are they talking about?"
Shen Juan came over and asked with a grin, Hou Renmeng and Old Man Zheng also pricked up their ears.
Everyone knows that our master went to Xiuwenguan today.
"Oh, they are all a group of scholars, discussing things like governing a country, which is unspeakable."
Zhao Duan kept his mouth shut and abided by the confidentiality regulations.
Although in his opinion, what they discussed this morning was worthless...
Everyone seemed to understand what he said, but they didn't care. In their opinion, the things those scholars studied were strange and weird.
Even if we, the warriors, heard it, we wouldn't understand it.
As for the adults, they probably didn't understand much and just went there to join in the fun.
After all, civil officials and military generals are not the same group.
After everyone left, Zhao Duan sat alone in the main room, eating iced pears and writing and drawing with a brush.
He entered a state of contemplation, and as time passed, his ideas about the new policy became clearer and clearer.
……
Evening, Zhao family.
A family of three is eating at the dining table.
"Are you tired today, Dalang?"
Eugene Hua observed her expression and said considerately, "I'll get you some water later so you can take a bath."
"Nothing, just thinking about something." Zhao Duan said casually.
Next to him, Zhao Pan was trying to make conversation, trying to highlight his presence:
"Brother, I heard that the Xiuwen Pavilion will hold a meeting today? Did you know?"
The women in the family did not know that Zhao Duan had gone to Xiuwenguan today - Zhao Duan did not tell them about work matters.
"You also know Xiuwenguan?" Zhao Duan asked with a smile.
The girl puffed up her cheeks and remained calm:
"Now the scholars in the capital are talking about it. The servants can hear it when they go out to buy vegetables. It is said that it is the future cabinet. Those who can get in will be extraordinary in the future. For example, the great talent in the capital, whose surname is Han, has entered.
But you, brother, have never liked those scholars, so you probably don’t recognize them.”
I didn’t recognize him before, but I got to know him at noon… Zhao Duan said with an ease.
Eugene Ikebana:
"What's so good about scholars? Scholars are always unfaithful. Dalang has unparalleled martial arts skills, and he is a real man."
The beautiful stepmother was biased. Zhao Duan disliked scholars, so she hated them too.
Zhao Duan smiled and put down his chopsticks:
"It's hot, I can't eat, I'm going to the courtyard to cool off."
The stepmother called the servants and gave him some ice watermelon to eat, then looked at her daughter and said curiously:
"It's almost dark, why are you wearing that heavy hairpin? It might get damaged."
Eugene Hua didn't wear a hairpin tonight.
"Mom, don't you wear it every day..."
Zhao Pan's expression froze. He turned his head away silently and angrily took off the golden hairpin named "Yuye".
She wore it this time, but Big Brother didn't seem to notice at all.
Zhao Duan had just walked into the courtyard and was about to sit down when the doorman suddenly rushed in:
"Da Lang, someone is looking for you outside."
Huh? Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows, not understanding why.
Walking to the door, I saw a carriage parked outside the courtyard.
Next to him was a servant who looked vaguely familiar.
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be the person who had called him over when he met Grand Tutor Dong at the palace gate.
Master Dong’s men?
Zhao Duan's heart moved and he had a vague guess.
The man bowed respectfully:
"Master Zhao, the Grand Master invites you to go to Xiuwen Hall to discuss matters with the scholars."
(End of this chapter)