Chapter 114 The 23rd Conference on Current Politics

While the two were talking in the main room, Cangtou hurried in and out to pack his luggage.He took the time to burn hot tea and bring it over, and added some charcoal to the brazier.Jin Xue once poured out the residual tea in Li Shun's cup, refilled a cup of hot tea, and laughed at himself: "Han Ye guest comes to drink tea and wine, tonight is exactly the situation, Mr. Li, don't think I'm shabby." "You have a good morale, even if you are shabby, you are romantic. How can you look like me, a complete country bumpkin." Li Shun originally wanted to say something flattering to reconcile the atmosphere.But because of the bad breath in my heart, I still felt stiff when I spoke.Fortunately, Jin Xuezeng didn't mind, and started gossiping on purpose.I saw him teasingly asked again:

"Master Li, is Madam Sister-in-law's governance still as strict as it was back then?" "As always." Li Shunqian said with a smile. "You are responsible for measuring the land, but you reject so many gift boxes, you probably have to go home every day to set up a lampstand?" "Yes," Li Shun replied honestly, "Kneeling on top of a lampstand is better than accepting bribes. How can we feel at ease!" "Just say that to my brother, I'll toast you!" As soon as the two cups of hot tea were touched, the two of them really drank it dry.Li Shun wiped the remaining drops from the corner of his mouth, and said:

"Lord Jin, you haven't finished your words yet. I'm not afraid of making fun of you when I say it. It's the first time I've been to Beijing since I came out of my mother's womb. I really want us to meet the emperor. I don't even know the basics of etiquette. You give pointers to my brother." Jin Xuezeng pondered and said: "It doesn't matter if you don't know etiquette. The official of Honglu Temple will explain it to you carefully. In my opinion, the most important thing for you right now is to change your bad temper." Li Shun glanced at the bow placed on the wooden table, and asked:

"Are you still talking about this bow?" "Yes. I don't want to sing high-profile things with you now, and I want you to bear the burden of humiliation for the reform of the chief minister. I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart, you don't want to do good things, and sweep them away with another broom." "how do I say this?" "Brother, is it easy for you to become a sixth-grade fellow acquaintance from a master of money and food? You have to cherish it!" Jin Xuezeng's oblique reminder made Li Shun feel that something was wrong, so he simply said clearly:

"Brother Jin, if you have anything to say, just speak up." Jin Xuezeng gave a bleak smile, and immediately said with a blank face: "This time, you have a total of ten officials who have made meritorious service in Qingzhang Tianmu, who will be received by the emperor and rewarded. This list was finally delineated by the Chief Assistant himself." "We don't deserve this honor..." "It's up to you whether you should or not," Jin Xuezeng stopped Li Shun, "Tell me, if you want to reward meritorious service, who should be the officials who have made the most contributions to Qingzhang Tianmu?"

"This..." Li Shun fell into deep thought. "You must know the list of ten people." Jin Xuezeng added. "I know." Li Shun replied. "Then who is missing?" Jin Xuezeng reminded Li Shun still blankly, "Song Yiwang and Yang Ben'an are not on the list, right?" "That's right," Li Shun suddenly came to his senses, his drowsy eyes widened, and he said hastily, "During the time Mr. Song Yiwang was appointed as Yingtian's governor, no matter whether it was Qingzhang Tianmu or the implementation of the 'one whip', he was stern and selfless. , very popular with the people. There is also Governor Yang Ben'an, who took the lead in Qingzhang Tianmu in Shandong, and it was not an easy task to gnaw down the two hard bones of Yanshenggong Kong Shangxian and Yangwu Hou Xuebian. I heard that the local people in Shandong, They are talking about setting up a shrine for Mr. Yang. It's really strange, why are these two people not praised."

Jin Xuezeng let out a long breath, and said leisurely: "The reason why these two people were neglected is that they offended the chief assistant." "How did they offend?" Li Shun asked in astonishment. Jin Xuezeng replied: "Song Yiwang was the same year as Lord Shoufu, and both were Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing: since he was dismissed by Emperor Jiajing, he has been at home. , Lord Shoufu immediately appointed Song Yiwang, and let him serve as Yintian Fu Yin with great responsibilities. Song Yiwang and Ge Shouli have no personal enmity. ', hit the south wall without looking back. So I kept a close eye on Song Yiwang who spared no effort in promoting the "one whip" method. Song Yiwang would not be able to reinstate his post after he was in office for one day. Zhang Juzheng appointed Song Yiwang. His purpose was also to implement the "one whip" method Song Yi looked forward to resuming his post, and he lived up to expectations. Immediately, he implemented the "one whip" law in various prefectures and counties in Nanjing, and started clearing Zhang Tianmu. Yingtian Mansion is the place where Emperor Hongwu established his capital, and there are many honored officials and relatives: these dragon sleeves Jiaomin, anyone who sees them will go around the corner, and dare not confront them head-on. But Song Yi can't believe this evil, Qingzhang Tianmu starts with these people first. Whoever fights against him, should be arrested, should be impeached, okay There is Zhang Juzheng's support at the top. Therefore, it only took him two years to complete the clearing of the land in Yingtianfu, and immediately implemented the "one whip" law. Both reform measures related to the national economy and people's livelihood have achieved great success in Yingtianfu Shoufu also appreciated Song Yiwang. He said more than once that among his many years, there were three most capable people, one was Wang Guoguang, the other was Yin Zhengmao, and the third was Song Yiwang. Wang Guoguang is still in office today. Yin Zhengmao succeeded Wang Chonggu, who was old and became an official, and served as Minister of the Household Department for two years. He happened to be my immediate boss. This summer, Ding You also resigned and returned home due to the death of his father. Only this Song Yiwang, until he became an official last year, was still alive. There is no promotion in Yingtianfu Yin's tenure."

"Why?" Li Shun asked eagerly. "The cause was still that year when the first assistant seized love." Speaking of this, Jin Xuezeng couldn't help sighing, and then said, "At the beginning of the seizing of love, the public opinion of officials in the major yamen in the two capitals was fierce. Especially Ai Mu, Wu A group of people from the Bank of China turned against Duoqing, and there was an uproar in the capital. The first assistant was in this critical moment, and he desperately wanted the help of his old friends. Wang Guoguang, Yin Zhengmao, Li Yihe, etc., all agreed that the emperor wanted the first assistant Duoqing In Nanjing, a group of dignitaries and high-ranking officials offered to ask the chief minister to go home and guard the system. The chief minister hoped that Song Yiwang would come forward to do persuasion work. Unexpectedly, this Song Yiwang, in the whole process of the Duoqing incident In the middle, he never said a word. The first assistant became dissatisfied with him. Half a year later, when Mr. Song came to rule the Taiping Mansion, there was a supervisor named Wu Shiqi who not only invited dozens of students from the mansion to travel hundreds of miles , rushed to Zhenjiang to meet with Zou Yuanbiao, who was sent to Duyunwei, Guizhou by the imperial staff, and wrote an exposing post attacking the first assistant in the name of Hai Rui, which was distributed everywhere in the south of the Yangtze River. This alarmed the court, and the first assistant knew Later, he was very angry. Long Zongwu, the magistrate of Taiping Prefecture, figured out the mind of the first assistant, so he took Wu Shiqi into prison, and used various punishments on him, tortured to death. Secretly instigated the officials to impeach him. Song Yiwang's move was regarded by the chief minister as repaying virtue with resentment, and he has held grudges against him ever since. He will no longer have a share in such good things as promotion and reward. Last year, there was a man called Liu Yingqiu's speech officer spied on this psychological change of Shoufu, so he asked Song Yiwang to impeach him for a few trivial matters. Zhang Juzheng took the opportunity to draft a ticket for the emperor, and Song Yiwang was vacated to return home. Now, Mr. Song is at home. live."

Li Shun listened to what had happened, and sighed: "Last year, we read the news of Mr. Song's retirement from the newspaper in the mansion, and we were still wondering why Mr. Song was suddenly dismissed because of his outstanding achievements in Yingtian Mansion. Listen to your words." , I realized there was another hidden story. So, what about Lord Yang Ben’an, governor of Shandong, how did he lose his official position?” "His situation is similar to that of Song Yiwang," Jin Xuezeng replied, "Last year, the imperial court asked the provinces to recommend talents. Master Yang solemnly wrote a letter and recommended a teacher and a general judge. The teacher is an enthusiastic lecturer. The proponent, why did Xin Yinyu die in the Wuchang prison, and asked the emperor to investigate thoroughly. The other judge was not at fault, but someone wrote a secret note to Zhang Juzheng, saying that Yang Ben'an had accepted this person. Bribing money, talents are recommended to the imperial court."

"Isn't it too hasty to remove a big official of the frontier just for these two trivial matters?" Li Shun muttered softly. "This is just a pretext for withdrawing Yang Ben'an," Jin Xuezeng said, "The real reason is that Yang Ben'an did not agree with the first assistant to withdraw the private academy." "what?" "Using He Xinyin's incident, the chief assistant asked the emperor to order a deadline to ban seventy-five academies across the country, including two in Shandong. These two academies in Shandong." "In Qingzhang's field, Mr. Yang is the most powerful arm of the first assistant. In the purge of Xuezheng, he can't keep up with the first assistant."

"That's right, so Master Yang was also dismissed." "So, there have been some changes in Shoufu's employment strategy?" Li Shun cast a probing look at Jin Xuezeng.Jin Xuezeng looked nervously at the closed courtyard door, scratched his head, and answered the question irrelevantly: "Brother, I've said everything I need to say." "No, you haven't finished." Li Shun pulled the sparse goatee on his chin, and said suddenly, "When I saw you today, I felt a little awkward. Back then in Jingzhou, what kind of person were you? You are high-spirited, do things in a hurry, and don’t avoid dangers. Today, I feel that you look depressed and talk hesitantly. We thought it was because of your filial piety, but now it doesn’t seem to be the case. Brother, we see that you have Heart disease!" Jin Xuezeng immediately defended: "Master Li, don't misinterpret what I mean. I, Jin Xuezeng, will always admire the chief assistant's vision and extraordinary demeanor of courage to do things." "In addition to admiration, did you also add a little bit of caution?" Li Shun's questioning was sharper than an awl, Jin Xuezeng was "stabbed" so that his whole body trembled, he was stunned, Fang said again: "Since seizing love, the first assistant has undergone some changes, mainly in the employment of people. In the past, all the officials who were dismissed by him were either mediocre and incompetent, or greedy and selfish. None of them were handled wrongly. Now it is different, except Corrupt officials and mediocre officials can be dismissed by mistake, and some honest officials who have a slight disagreement with his political views have also been dismissed by him. It is a cadre who dares to act and is dedicated to the sake of the common people. Now it is not always the case. Although the cadre can still be promoted, some officials who slap their horses and watch their food can also be reused. The most typical Examples include Qian Pu, the governor of Zhending Prefecture, and Chen Rui, the governor of Hubei." "Shoufu is human after all," Li Shun said with a wry smile, "The head of a family is a father, and he also hopes that his son will be well-behaved, let alone such a huge court." "It doesn't matter if you follow your head, but I'm afraid of those little talkers who tell lies, talk about people when they see people, and talk nonsense when they see ghosts." "The problem is, this kind of person is very popular in the officialdom." "Shoufu has always hated this kind of person. For some reason, he can't tell the difference now." Although Jin Xuezeng asked this question, he knew the reason for the change of the first assistant: after nine years of bleak management, the first assistant has actually controlled the court situation, and no one in the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty can pose a threat to him. threaten.When the authority reaches the extreme, one often relaxes one's vigilance: one's conduct will not be as meticulous as it was at the beginning, as the line in "Book of Changes · Qian Gua" says "the dragon has regrets".This is what is expounded. Li Shun did not answer Jin Xuezeng's question, but said happily: "Brother Jin, Master Ling Ci's death just gives you a chance to escape unscathed." "Yes," Jin Xuezeng suddenly looked at the bow on the table again, and said with emotion, "Now, the Wanli New Deal that the chief minister wants to implement has basically become a reality. All the difficulties and obstacles in the reform have been safely overcome. A reckless man like me who has overcome thorns and thorns can retreat to the countryside and chant under the forest." The six words "The cunning rabbit is dead, the lackey is cooking" suddenly popped up in Li Shun's mind. Before he could say it, he suddenly heard someone knock on the closed courtyard door. "Who is it?" Cangtou quickly put down his work and ran out. The people outside the door shouted loudly: "Master Zhang, the chief assistant, is here, open the door quickly!" Upon hearing this sentence, Jin Xuezeng and Li Shun stood up at the same time, and they were stunned, but they saw Zhang Juzheng walking into the main room with a smile on his face. "Clover!" Jin Xuezeng knelt down with a bang, and Li Shun didn't have time to evade, so he immediately knelt down too. But it is said that Jin Xuezeng went to the cabinet to bid farewell to Zhang Juzheng yesterday. Because Zhang Juzheng was meeting with officials, Jin Xuezeng waited for a while, and when he saw no chance, he left and left a message for the secretary.In the first few days, Zhang Juzheng heard the news that Jin Xuezeng was going home to guard the system, so he thought of meeting him alone to show his comfort.After work today, I heard that Jin Xuezeng was going to leave Beijing tomorrow. After dinner, I took a sedan chair to find Jin Xuezeng's house. Seeing Jin Xuezeng kneeling, he said hastily: "It's not in the yamen, so why be so polite, get up quickly." As Zhang Juzheng said, he took off the cloak lined with squirrel fur and brocade, and handed it to Li Ke, the head of the guards. He dragged a chair and sat down by the brazier, and looked at Li Shun who was standing shivering at the side. , asked Jin Xuezeng: "Who is this?" Jin Xuezeng replied: "His name is Li Shun, and he is the magistrate of Nanyang Prefecture." "Oh, I got it," Zhang Juzheng patted the chair next to him, motioned Li Shun to sit down, and said cordially, "When you were the county magistrate in Yuan'an, you wrote a book to the emperor, saying that every year a county government would recruit How many civilians are serving, what is the difference between each civilian, where the money is spent, and the accounts are clearly calculated. What's more rare is that you pointed out that the service is too wasteful. These service costs are shared equally by the people of the county, and one more person is used Husband service. It adds an extra burden to the common people, so I hope to reduce the number of county government servants. I remember that I drafted a ticket for the emperor to approve your memorial, and rated the number of servants in county governments across the country. To reduce the burden on the people, you have done a lot. A real thing." Seeing Shoufu talking about the past like a treasure, and remembering this little thing about him so clearly, Li Shun was moved, and said: "That was still in the fourth year of Wanli, thanks to Shoufu still remembering it in his heart." "Why don't you remember that you were one of the ten magistrates selected and promoted from among the 70,000 magistrates across the country in the third year of Wanli." Zhang Juzheng said, "These ten county magistrates have all made achievements in office, except one The county magistrate went home and Ding You kept the system, one died of illness, and the remaining eight have all been promoted, you are the current magistrate of Nanyang Prefecture, aren't you?" "yes." "I came to Beijing this time because of your meritorious service in Nanyang Qingzhang. The emperor wants to see you and reward you with a banquet. When did you arrive in Beijing?" "This afternoon." "You came to visit Jin Xuezeng as soon as you came. Do you know that he is going back to his hometown to guard the system?" "I don't know, we met." Li Shun felt that it was inconvenient for him to stay here, so he said with interest, "Master Shoufu, I didn't know you were here, and it would be rude to stay at Jin Shilang's house. Please let me take my leave now." .” "Why are you leaving? I don't want to see Jin Xuezeng. I just want to have a heart-to-heart talk before he leaves Beijing. Why don't you stay and chat with him?" Zhang Juzheng changed his usual majesty, but lowered his status to condescend to come to talk with the subordinate officials.Jin Xuezeng was both surprised and grateful for this extraordinary courtesy.He winked at Li Shun and said: "Lord Li, didn't you just praise Shoufu's meritorious service in Sheji, and that Yi Yin is reborn? Why do you feel uneasy after seeing Shoufu?" Li Shun speculated that Jin Xue had said this to imply that he should not talk nonsense, so he quickly bowed his body and said with a smirk: "As I said. We are country bumpkins and don't know etiquette." "Bu Gu heard that Jin Xue once said that in order to refuse bribes, you had to go home and kneel on the lampstand: when you meet the emperor, don't forget to talk about this matter," Zhang Juzheng laughed loudly.He also said, "Among the officials, there are really very few people like you who are honest, honest, and self-disciplined." "Actually, there are quite a few," Li Shun replied, "Master Jin is one of them." "Yes." Zhang Juzheng raised his eyes to look at Xiao Ran's empty main room, and asked suspiciously, "Xue Zeng. You've always lived here?" "yes:" "Where's the family?" "I didn't bring it back home." Although Zhang Juzheng admired Jin Xuezeng, it was limited to official business in the yamen, and he had never been in private. Today, he visited Jin Xuezeng's house for the first time. What he saw with his own eyes touched him a lot. He sighed: "A third-rank servant in the capital, if you are in the cold, you are probably unique:" "Everyone has their own ambitions. I like to live this kind of life." Although Jin Xuezeng is high-minded and ordinary people don't pay attention to him, he seems awkward in front of Zhang Juzheng.At this moment, he rubbed his hands and said, "Master Shoufu braved the cold to come to the humble house. I can't receive you well in a lowly position. I hope Shoufu Haihan." "Who do you think I am?" Zhang Juzheng smiled, then turned his head and said to Li Ke who was standing beside him, "Take out the gift for Mr. Jin." Li Ke obeyed and shouted outside, only to see two servants of the Zhang family brought in a gift box, and Li Ke handed a gift slip to Jin Xuezeng, which read: Fifty taels of silver, and silk silk on the outside and inside A box of imperial ink in a leopard skin pouch A vertical scroll of poems gifted to the deceased Jin Xuezeng was holding the gift list, and his heart was overwhelmed.He has lived in the capital for a long time, and he has never heard of Zhang Juzheng giving gifts to others, and today's move is truly unprecedented.Jin Xue was overwhelmed by the flattery, and hurriedly didn't know whether to thank him or reject him.Zhang Juzheng probably saw Jin Xuezeng's ambivalence, and said: "Fifty taels of silver are the condolences dedicated by Bu Gujing to Lord Lingci; the two sides of the silk are made in the palace. They were given to me by the emperor in the past, and I will give them to you now. I want you to think about the king when you see things. Don't forget the kindness of the emperor; the ink stored in the leopard skin bag is also the royal collection in the palace. It is said that using the leopard skin bag to store the ink can make the ink bright and thick after a long time. Bugu knows that you have always had the hobby of reciting poems and prose. It’s not too short, just to write a poem in ink. There’s also this vertical scroll, which I copied a poem that Bugu used to send his old friend back to his hometown in Yijiang, and I’m forwarding it to you. The feeling of farewell in the poem is almost the same as the situation tonight. Of." After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he ordered Li Ke to take out the vertical scroll from the gift box and unfold it. He whispered: Youren Jiewu Donghuatou, Depressed pines and shades of autumn. A little cloud goes out into the sky, The wind and shadow of a piece of sail hangs on the river. The new tune of Guangling amazes the black crane, The Weishui River catches white gulls with a long pole. It's a long way to go home, The mountain is cloudy and the night is full of snow. Zhang Juzheng had just finished singing, and Jin Xuezeng's eyes were filled with tears, and he could hear the sadness in the poem.With the broad-mindedness of guiding the country and strategizing under the eyes of the chief assistant, he will never be so sad. Could it be that he has realized the danger of "being too cold at a high place", or is there still hidden under the authority of bossy and arrogant? The state of mind of a lonely minister who has no one to trust? Jin Xue never dared to think about it.In any case, he and Zhang Juzheng have a relationship of symbiosis and co-prosperity after all.This poem made him sensitively aware that Shoufu not only "said farewell" to him leaving Beijing this time, but even expressed his "farewell" emotion.The "Guangling New Tune" mentioned in the poem obviously refers to the famous Wei and Jin Dynasty scholar Ji Kang who played it before his death, while "The Long Pole on the Weishui River" is borrowed from the story of Jiang Taigong enjoying himself fishing by the Weishui River before he met King Wen of Zhou.There are two allusions, one is not tolerated in the secular world, and the other is underappreciated.As the saying goes, sad ears are afraid of hearing sad things, so how can such an indescribable ominous sound make him sad! "Master Chief Assistant, your kindness to the humble official is unforgettable," Jin Xuezeng said with a sob, "It's just that after Beizhi leaves Beijing tomorrow, Guanshan will be far away from now on, and there will be no chance to serve under the command of the chief assistant." "Xuezeng, how can you be so sad. Three years will pass in a flash, and then you will come back to take on important responsibilities." "Yes, Lord Jin," Li Shun interrupted at this time, and the scene of the two farewells also made him very excited, "How could the Wanli New Deal implemented by the first assistant be without you, who open the way across the mountains and meet the waters?" Bridge builders!" "Master Shoufu has been in power for nine years, and he has worked hard to make food and night clothes. Now that the land and acres in the country have been cleared, the 'one whip' law has been implemented, and the New Deal is on track. It doesn't matter if one more or one less is like a low-level pawn." Although Jin Xuezeng's words were sincere, they were not pleasant.Zhang Juzheng stared at Jin Xuezeng, and did not refute, but just started talking: "When Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty talked about the strategy of governing the country with his courtiers, he had very incisive insights. He said that governing the country is no different from curing a disease. The patient seems to be cured, but in fact he needs to be treated and maintained. If there is any violation at this time, he will die. The principle of governing the country is also the same If the world is in peace, you must be cautious. If you become arrogant at the sight of peace, you will undoubtedly be defeated. Although the safety of the world today depends on the emperor, my ministers are the eyes of the emperor, and the country is rich and strong. Soldiers also depend on the concerted efforts of my generation. Don’t think that the world is fine and the world is peaceful, so that you can be a courtier without worrying about it. This is tantamount to forgetting danger in peace and forgetting chaos when dealing with it. Learn from Zeng. Think twice!" What he said seemed ordinary, but there was a thunderbolt hidden in it. Jin Xuezeng seemed to have been slapped several times. He blushed and said embarrassingly: "Shoufu, the humble official said something wrong." "I know I made a mistake, and Benfu doesn't blame you," Zhang Juzheng coughed suddenly as he spoke.Seeing that Jin Xuezeng was at a loss for what to do, he motioned for Jin Xuezeng to sit down, breathed calmly, and said, "Bugu feels that his health is not as good as before, but he still dare not slack off when dealing with state affairs every day. Plan for the long-term stability of the country , Bu Gu has been thinking about it these days, and wants to recommend some young and courageous officials to the emperor. It's a pity that at this time, you, Jin Xuezeng, want Ding You to go home." "Shoufu..." Jin Xuezeng felt warm in his heart. "If you want to meet the needs of the court, Bugu would like to let you win the love, but this is something that can be imagined but cannot be done. Back then, the emperor asked me to win the love, which caused such a big disturbance. Therefore, if Bugu suggested If the emperor wants you to seize love, it is tantamount to harming you." "Shoufu, since the first year of Wanli, I returned to the capital from my hometown in Zhejiang for three years because of the loss of my father. I have not returned home once in the past nine years. This time I lost my mother Ding You, and I have made up my mind to go back. Guard the tomb for three years, in order to fulfill the filial piety of a son of man." Jin Xuezeng couldn't help crying while covering his face.Zhang Juzheng looked at him, his thin cheeks twitched, and said seriously: "Be as filial as a son of man, Bugu will not stop you. However, when you leave, the imperial court loses a capable minister who can handle big and difficult things. Bugu feels bad!" Zhang Juzheng spoke sincerely, and Jin Xuezeng was greatly moved.Thinking of the disrespectful topics that Li Shun discussed with Li Shun earlier, he couldn't help feeling ashamed.Feeling overwhelmed, speaking incoherently: "Master Shoufu, I, Jin Xuezeng, have been guarding the system for three years, and I will come back to repay you. At that time, even if you want me to be heartbroken, I will not hesitate." "Confused?" Zhang Juzheng smiled faintly, "Xuezeng, you are too serious. The government has long since stabilized, and now among the ministers of the six departments and nine ministers, there is not a single thorn in the head." "This is the chief assistant's control." Li Shun, who had been listening respectfully by the side, secretly watched Zhang Juzheng's words and expressions. He felt that Jin Xuezeng's judgment on the first assistant might be wrong, so he couldn't help but said: "Shoufu, a lowly position comes from the bottom. He deals with the common people every day. He knows what the common people love and hate best." "Tell me, what do they love and what do they hate?" Zhang Juzheng asked with great interest. "The implementation of the 'one whip' law, the common people applauded, but there is also a little..." As Li Shun said, he got up and went to the table to get the bow.Jin Xuezeng had sharp eyesight and quick hands, took a step forward and took the bow in his hand, and snapped it in half with a click. "You?" Li Shun was stunned. "What is this?" Zhang Juzheng asked, pointing at the broken bow. "The bow used by Qingzhang Tianmu." Li Shun replied. "You brought it?" "yes." Zhang Juzheng turned his head and asked Jin Xuezeng, "Why did you break it?" Jin Xuezeng replied: "Li Shun is a pedantic teacher. When he heard that he was going to see the emperor, he thought of bringing a gift to the emperor. After deliberation, he didn't know what to bring, so he brought this bow. He said he wanted to let the emperor know. Taicang has increased nine million taels of land tax silver every year, and the great credit is on this small bamboo bow." "Ah, that's a good idea," Zhang Juzheng said excitedly, "Why did you fold it?" "This bow was issued by the Ministry of Household Affairs, and there are still a lot of them in the warehouse. Wouldn't Master Li's actions make people laugh at others?" While talking, Jin Xuezeng kept winking at Li Shun.Li Shun knew it, so he had no choice but to swallow what he wanted to say.