Zheng Guotai is twenty-one this year, he looks like a talent, wearing a royal blue robe, holding a gold-painted fan, standing in the small garden in the front yard of Shangshu Mansion, looking at a few lotus flowers in the small pond.

Coming to Shangshu Gaofu today, Zheng Guotai knew that he was shouldering a heavy responsibility, and he thought carefully about what he wanted to say back and forth many times, but as soon as he entered Gaofu, he became nervous, and many of the words prepared along the way seemed to have been forgotten.

Zheng Guotai's father, Zheng Chengxian, was favored by his daughter Concubine Zheng, and he was accumulated. However, Zheng Guotai only reached Double Ten last year, so he had to be awarded a brocade cloth and a thousand households.

Zheng Guotai's brocade clothes and guards are slightly different from ordinary relatives and officials, his thousands of households are real positions, that is, the official position is not preceded by the word "with a salary" - adding "with a salary" means that it only takes a fortune, and does not actually take office, Zheng Chengxian's governor Tongzhi is this category.

In other words, Zheng Guotai is now a full-fledged officer of Jinyiwei, and his fear of pragmatism is largely due to this.

Since the fall of Liu Shouyou, Jinyiwei has not had a governor, and the two major towns in the north and south are now in the hands of Wang Zhizhen and Gao Wuben respectively. Wang Zhizhen is a distant cousin of Gao Pragmatic, Gao Wuben is a close cousin of Gao Pragmatic, and Zheng Guotai is an errand boy under Wang Zhizhen.

Although Wang Zhizhen is the grandson of Wang Chonggu and the son of Wang Qian, he does not seem to have inherited the demeanor of many scholars, and he always acts with a bit of gangsterism, and the style of the emperor is also quite unique. In the brocade guard, he has both a harsh side and a side that mingles with his subordinates.

Zheng Guotai, who had just taken office, was tamed by Wang Zhizhen's "grace and power" at that time, and he didn't dare to take a breath when facing Wang Zhizhen. And Wang Zhizhen himself is a person who is very good at using the power of high pragmatism, so that the Fusi of Jinyi Weibei Town vaguely has a tendency to regard Gao pragmatism as the big boss behind the scenes - of course, this is also due to the fact that the superintendent of Dongchang is Chen Ju.

The characteristics of the Ming Dynasty's concubine selection are that most of the mother's family members are just ordinary people or Gyeonggi petty officials, and the origin of Zheng Guotai's family is the same.

As a result, under Wang Zhizhen's deliberate indoctrination, Zheng Guotai even has a clearer understanding of the pragmatic saints and power than his sister Zheng Huang Guifei. This understanding may even be excessive, because Zheng Guotai believes that Gao Pragmatic is not only as Wang Zhizhen said, "a word can decide life and death", and even the honor and disgrace of Emperor Zheng and Concubine himself are under Gao Pragmatic's control.

No one else would believe this, but Zheng Guotai believed it, because Wang Zhizhen had told him some "inside stories".

Wang Zhizhen is a master storyteller, and the things he talked about with Zheng Guotai have indeed happened, including the fall of Feng Bao, Zhang Whale and other palace leaders, including the removal of Zhang Juzheng, the dismissal of Ling Yunyi, and even the previous generation of Wei Duke Xu Pengju was forced to give way to his son Xu Bangrui and so on.

In Wang Zhizhen's mouth, not only are these things led by Gao Pragmatic, but they don't even have the slightest room for resistance under Gao Pragmatic's blow - this must be an exaggeration, not to mention anything else, at least the original battle between Gao Pragmatic and Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng was completely between life and death. If Zhang Juzheng hadn't been stopped out of the city gate that night, no one could say what the outcome would have been.

Where did Cheng know this in the past? Wang Zhizhen said it so vividly, Zheng Guotai, the first brother of officialdom, naturally believed it, so Gao Pragmatic was like an invincible god in his mind, and he only had the share of Gao Shan.

Moreover, this mentality of his was reinforced again before he was "ordered to go on an envoy" today.

In the afternoon today, Emperor Zheng's concubine passed Zheng Guotai into the palace under the pretext of asking about her father's well-being, not only asking him to come to visit Gao Pragmatic tonight, but also regardless of the loss of face, she told the only younger brother that the emperor had "treated her coldly" for several days because of Gao Pragmatic.

Although Concubine Zheng is a demon who helps her younger brother, she still knows her younger brother very well. She knew that her younger brother was a typical bully who was afraid of the hard, for fear that he would rely on his position in the palace and not know how to restrain himself, and offend Gao Shipra, so she had to tell the truth.

This made Zheng Guotai's fear of Gao pragmatic even heavier, so that as soon as he entered the Gao Mansion, he was so nervous that his legs and stomachs were spinning.

Gao Pragmatic saw Zheng Guotai in this situation - he gave up his hand from afar, Zheng Guotai had already trotted away, stepped forward quickly, "poofed and knelt", knocked his head down directly, and said: "Zheng Guotai, who is a small Qianhu in Weibei Town, has seen the local official." ”

The imperial relatives were so humble that even Gao Pragmatic was confused, and the hand that had been raised could only be withdrawn in embarrassment, so he changed it to a false support, helped Zheng Guotai up, and said with a smile: "You and I seem to be old, why is Brother Zheng like this?" Besides, this is my private house, so there is no need for such courtesy. ”

Theoretically speaking, judging from the comparison of the official positions of "Prince Taishi, Hubu Shangshu" and "Jinyi Weibei Town Fusi Thousand Households", Zheng Guotai's salute is not very exaggerated, but he is the emperor's brother-in-law after all, and if he doesn't look at the face of the monk and the face of the Buddha, this kowtow is a bit tasteless.

Zheng Guotai listened to Gao Shishi's gentle and elegant speech, and his heart was relieved, but he suddenly remembered Wang Zhizhen's words when he deliberately beat him when he was drunk, and he was secretly vigilant in his heart: Zheng Guotai, Zheng Guotai, this person in front of you is a guy with a sword in his mouth and a knife in his smile, no matter how polite he speaks, you can't take it seriously, you must not take it seriously!

"Lord Situ is really approachable, little ......"

"Eh, Brother Zheng calls himself like this, and he is ashamed to be pragmatic." Although Gao Pragmatic didn't know what Zheng Guotai was doing, he still quickly stopped him.

"Uh, that'...... Cathay Pacific trespassed. Zheng Guotai hesitated for a moment, and said while carefully looking at Gao Pragmatic's expression.

Gao pragmatic smiled: "Brother Zheng is serious, you and I can talk about each other as equals." Then without waiting for Zheng Guotai to say more, he had already stretched out his hand and said: "It's almost autumn, and the night is cold and heavy, let's go into the house and talk." ”

"Oh, good, good." Zheng Guotai still looked a little nervous, and after speaking, he felt that he was not polite enough, so he hurriedly added: "Situ first, please." ”

Gao Shishi is also a person, and at this moment, he also saw that Zheng Guotai seemed to be afraid of himself, so he was no longer too polite, bowed slightly, and Shi Shiran walked in front of him. Zheng Guotai bent down and followed him, if someone who didn't know saw it, he had to treat Zheng Guotai as a pragmatic subordinate.

When the two of them entered the flower hall, Gao Pragmatic ordered to watch the seat, Zheng Guotai took out his attitude towards his boss Wang Zhizhen, and carefully sat on half of his buttocks, his waist was straight, and he looked like he was obeying orders at any time.

Gao pragmatic looked a little puzzled, and then vaguely guessed that Zheng Guotai might have been beaten by Wang Zhizhen, although he thought it was a little funny, but after thinking about it, this is also a good thing.

Gao Pragmatic was a little solemn, and asked with a straight face: "Brother Zheng came to visit at night, I don't know what is important?" ”

In the end, it is "the world's first handsome", Zheng Guotai had thought of a lot of rhetoric before, but he forgot it all in an instant when he was a little pragmatic, and blurted out: "Sister asked me to ask Situ to help Chang Xun!" ”

Gao Shishi almost couldn't help but roll his eyes, adjusted his mood well, and then sank his face and said: "The third son of the emperor is only more than a year old, has he already been ordered to go out of the pavilion to study?" Even if the main department is the prince and the prince, it can't teach him anything...... Does Brother Zheng want to ask the headquarters to teach him to babble? ”

Zheng Guotai regretted it as soon as he said this, and when he heard Gao Shishi say this, he was even more anxious to sweat on his forehead, and hurriedly explained: "No, no, I'm ...... Small...... No, Cathay is ...... for a while."

Gao Shishi saw that he was really panicked, and couldn't help sighing, he didn't bother to care about his performance, and said directly: "What is the original words of the imperial concubine?" ”

Zheng Guotai also knew that he was in trouble, so he reached out and wiped the sweat on his forehead to calm down his nervousness, and then replied: "Sister said, as long as you are high...... Gao Situ promised that Chang Xun would call Situ his father one day. ”

Gao Pragmatic was stunned at first, and then laughed: "The imperial concubine wants to make my house on fire?" ”

He really didn't mean to learn from Cao Cao, because he really didn't expect that Emperor Zheng's method of winning him over was actually this.

Father? I don't plan to abolish the establishment, even if your son becomes emperor in the future with my support, I won't make myself such a terrible hat, okay?

There is a very interesting historical phenomenon in ancient China, that is, those powerful ministers who controlled the abolition of the power liked to let the emperor call themselves "Zhong Father" or "Shang Father". However, these two words were not related to such things as power ministers and abolition at the beginning.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was civil strife during the reign of the Duke of Qi in the State of Qi, and Gongzi Jiao and Gongzi Xiaobai were forced into exile. After the death of Duke Qi, the two competed to return to the throne and began a "race against time".

At that time, Guan Zhong assisted Gongzi Jiu, and in order to protect Gongzi Jiu's succession, Guan Zhong led people to intercept and kill Gongzi Xiaobai. Guan Zhong shot Xiaobai with an arrow, and thought that Xiaobai was dead, so he slowed down the march. Unexpectedly, the arrow only hit Xiaobai's hook, Xiaobai was in a hurry, pretended to be dead and avoided Guan Zhong's eyes, and quickly whipped up, rushed back to Linzi in front of Gongzi Jiao, ascended the throne, and was called Qi Huangong.

After Duke Qi Huan ascended the throne, he wanted to appoint Uncle Bao, who had assisted him for many years, as the prime minister. However, Uncle Bao resolutely refused, saying that his talent was not enough to take on this important responsibility, and instead recommended Guan Zhong to Qi Huangong. At the insistence of Bao Shuya, Duke Qi Huan welcomed back Guan Zhong from Lu and worshiped him as his prime minister. Entrusted with important tasks.

Duke Qi Huan and Guan Zhong worked together to create the hegemony of Qi. "Xunzi Zhongni" said: "Duke Qi Huan saw that Guan Zhongzhi's ability was enough to support the country...... So he thought he was the middle father. Yang Liang notes: "The middle one, the word Yiwu; The Father is like the Father. "The latter is used to call Guan Zhong. This is where the title "middle father" comes from.

It should be said that Gong Qi Huan respected Guan Zhong from the bottom of his heart and regarded him as his father, so he called him "Zhong Father", but the later imitators were different.

After the death of King Zhuangxiang of Qin, Yingzheng ascended the throne for the first time, and Lü Buwei of Xiangguo controlled the government. Lü Buwei was arrogant and domineering, "following the example of Duke Qi Huan and taking Guan Zhong as his middle father", so that Ying Zheng also called himself "middle father". Yingzheng, who was in an unstable position, had to swallow his anger at the powerful Lü Buwei at this time, and fulfilled his wish and called him "middle father".

During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Dao supported Sima Rui to ascend the throne in Jianye. Although the monarch and the ministers were harmonious on the surface, Wang Dao, who had the merit of supporting the emperor, did not take the emperor in his eyes at all. At that time, Wang De's Langya Wang clan was in power, and many courtiers were Wang henchmen, and he asked the ministers to write to Emperor Sima Rui, and asked Sima Rui to call him "middle father". Shi Zai: "The government and the opposition are devoted to it, and they are called 'middle fathers'." "Sima Rui had to come from.

Let's talk about "Shang Father" again. Zheng Xuan said: "Father Shang, Lu Wangye." Honorable Title". Lu Wang, Lu Shang, and Jiang Shang are actually the same person, that is, Jiang Taigong Jiang Ziya, who "Gongbao Zhou Dynasty for 800 years", is the ancestor of Qi Huangong.

Lu Zi said: Shang Nai is also famous, that is, Lu Shang; Father: The honorific title is also the same as the father's generation, and Lu Shang is the father-in-law of King Wu, so the honorific title is Shang's father. The "father" here is also an honorific title for the elders and important ministers. To put it bluntly, "Father Shang" is King Wu of Zhou's honorific title for Jiang Ziya. Jiang Ziya is not only a great hero who fought and founded the Zhou Dynasty, but also the father-in-law of King Wu, so King Wu called him "Shang Father", and no one thought that this title had any problems with Jiang Ziya since ancient times.

But then there were many imitators, and they began to "have problems".

For example, Dong Zhuo: "Three Kingdoms, Wei Zhi, Dong Zhuo's Biography": "Zhuo went to Xijing, was the Taishi, and was called Shang's father." ”

For example, Li Fuguo: "The New Tang Dynasty Book, The Eunuch Descended, Li Fuguo": "The emperor wants to get rid of it, but he is afraid of holding the army, because he respects his father." ”

For example, Guo Ziyi: "New Tang Dynasty Book: The Biography of Guo Ziyi": "The heir of Dezong, the edict is returned to the dynasty, the tomb is slaughtered, the mountain tomb is filled, and the name is given the name 'Shang Father'." ”

These powerful ministers who made the emperor bow to himself and put their authority above the emperor's authority almost all ended miserably:

Lü Buwei was poisoned by Ying Zheng's wine; Although Wang Dao was able to die a good death and was extremely grieved after his death, he secretly helped his brother Wang Dun to cause chaos in the dynasty, and controlled the government for many years, and his reputation was not good; Not to mention Dong Zhuo, who abolished and held the Han Emperor hostage, and finally the world was in turmoil, and he was finally killed by Lu Bu and punished the three clans; Although Li Fuguo supported the Tang Dynasty Sect, he usurped the imperial power, and was eventually assassinated by the Dai Sect, and even called it ugly.

Among these people, the only one with a better reputation and results is Guo Ziyi. Guo Ziyi does have the merit of recreating the Tang Dynasty, and it can be said that his merit is not inferior to Jiang Shang and Guan Zhong. Therefore, the emperor called him "Father Shang", and he could still afford it.

But the most important thing is that Guo Ziyi is not greedy for power and is humble and low-key. He never fought for power, and he has always been loyal to the imperial court. So in the end, I can have a good death.

Among the "middle father" and "Shang father", in addition to the person who created these two terms, only Guo Ziyi was able to die a good death, and Gao Pragmatic naturally did not have much affection for these two words.

Those who advertise themselves as the emperor's "middle father" and "Shang father" not only want to tell the world that they have the ability to Jiang Shang and Guan Zhong, but also to make the emperor regard him as a father, what is the nature of this matter? This is a naked challenge to the imperial power.

Gao Pragmatic has not considered what to do to change the dynasty, he just wants to transform the Ming Dynasty, protect the inheritance of Han culture, and not become conservative and complacent because of the invasion of wild boar skin, resulting in being bullied for a hundred years in the future.

In this case, why do you want this "Shang Father" to be in vain? What's more, this name is still a little ominous.

Gao pragmatic glanced at Zheng Guotai, who was a little stunned by the question, and said lightly: "The matter of the country's capital has its own ancestral law and its own fairness and people's hearts. I am a minister, but I am just a servant. Brother Zheng if there is nothing else to do......"

"Wait!" Zheng Guotai was in a hurry, but he couldn't be afraid, and hurriedly stretched out his hand to stop him.

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