The drizzle continued for several days, and the capital at the end of March in late spring was wet, light cold and compassionate, and the breeze was shearing. On 20 March, on the galloping road from Tongzhou to Beijing, two inconspicuous carriages were driving unhurriedly in the drizzle, and the sound of chess pieces falling on the board and the sound of talking and laughing were faintly heard in the carriage.

At this time, the carriage finally drove to the straight road into the city outside the Guangqu Gate, and the horseman who was driving the carriage said: "Two masters, you are about to enter the city." ”

The door curtain of the carriage was immediately lifted, revealing two middle-aged scribes who were cross-legged in the carriage, one of whom was Zhang Xuan, the head of the Nanjing Criminal Department, and the other was Gui Cao, whose official position was also the head of the Nanjing Criminal Department.

Gui Cao's words are true, Zhengde's six-year Jinshi, but his age is about the same as Zhang Xuan, the appearance of his forties, different from Zhang Xuan's square and thick face, Gui Cao's face is slender and the chin is pointed, and his eyes are cloudy, which is estimated to be in poor health.

Zhang Xuan looked at the tall city gate in front of him, his mood was indescribably brisk, and blurted out: "It's been two years in a blink of an eye!" ”

Gui Cao laughed and said: "It's been two years, and Zhang Lang is here again today!" ”

Zhang Xuan also smiled heartily, in the sixteenth year of Zhengde, he, a scholar of political affairs, published a book of "Great Rites", which set off the prelude to the "Great Rites Discussion" controversy, which made the city full of wind and rain, and since then, the silent Zhang Sheng has become famous.

Although he was finally suppressed by Yang Tinghe, the first assistant, and thrown to the Nanjing Criminal Department to sit on the cold bench, Zhang Xuan was not depressed at all, because he knew that he had successfully left an impression in the little emperor's heart, so he went to Nanjing to take up his post with peace of mind, and waited silently, waiting for the day when the little emperor would use himself.

Zhang Xuan was very confident that once the little emperor sat on the throne, he would soon use himself, and sure enough, in less than two years, the little emperor issued an order to summon him back to Beijing to take office.

Of course, the reason why Zhang Xuan was transferred back so quickly naturally also had the credit of Xu Jin's secret efforts, if it weren't for Xu Jin's desire to use his hand to deal with Yang Ting and the party, according to the real historical trend, Zhang Xuan would have to wait another year or two for his rise.

Gui Cao is undoubtedly also a political speculator, when Zhang Xuan came to work in the Nanjing Criminal Department, these two speculators naturally got together, and now, the invincible combination in the early years of the Jiajing Dynasty finally returned to the capital ahead of schedule, there is no doubt that the second round of the "Great Rites Discussion" is about to be staged.

As soon as Zhang Xuan lowered the curtain of the car, an official holding an oil-paper umbrella walked over quickly, and asked loudly: "Dare to ask if Gui Zishi and Zhang Bingyong are in the car?" ”

Zhang Xuan hurriedly lifted the curtain again, and said happily: "It turned out to be Brother Wei Xian!" ”

The person who came was Huo Tao, the head of the household department, Xu Jin's direct subordinate in the household department, this guy was also a representative of the opportunistic faction, and it was he who handed Zhang Xuan and Gui Cao's recital to Xu Jin "axe".

Huo Tao smiled and said: "Brother Bingyong, Brother Zishi, Huo is looking forward to the stars and the moon, and finally I have come to look forward to you." ”

Huo Tao's words are "sincere", it is no wonder that since Xu Jin was transferred out of Beijing on a business trip, Huo Tao, the initiator of the re-provoking the "Great Rites Discussion" dispute, has become a thorn in the side of the Yang Party, and the impeachment of him has been carried out one after another, and Mao Cheng, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, also reprimanded him in person, which scared him so that he could not sleep well, if it wasn't for the little emperor who suppressed all the impeachment notes, he Huo Tao may have been cut by a thousand knives.

Therefore, Huo Tao was looking forward to Zhang Xuan and Gui Cao returning to Beijing day and night, so that they could at least share the firepower of the Yang Party's attack, and now that Zhang Gui and the two had finally arrived in Beijing, Huo Zhu, who had found the organization, almost "cried with joy".

Zhang Xuan and Gui Cao got out of the carriage, and the latter joked with a smile: "These days, Brother Wei Xian is probably difficult." ”

Huo Tao smiled bitterly: "No, you don't know, the emperor's impeachment script is estimated to be a basket." ”

Zhang Xuan and Gui Cao looked at each other and smiled, the emperor is so protective of Huo Tao, it seems that he is indeed determined to respect his biological father as the emperor's exam, since this is the case, why worry about the big thing?

Zhang Xuan said with a smile: "Brother Wei, don't be busy complaining first, let's find a place to sit and talk in detail." ”

Huo Tao stroked his palm and said: "That's right, I have booked a banquet in the Xingchun Restaurant in front of me to wash the dust for the two of you, go, Brother Bingyong and Brother Zishi, please come with me." ”

The three of them got into the carriage again and entered the city, and after about two cups of tea, they came to the Xingchun Restaurant, and the three of them entered the restaurant and went straight to the private room on the second floor, but as soon as the door opened, Zhang Xuan and Gui Cao were stunned.

It turned out that there was a person sitting in the private room, who was richly dressed and looked at him with a pair of triangular eyes. Huo Tao hurriedly introduced: "Brother Bingyong, Brother Zishi, this is Uncle Guo Xun Guo of Wuding. ”

Zhang Xuan chuckled in his heart, this Guo Xun has a grudge against Xu Jin, and even his title of marquis was demoted because of Xu Jin, how could Huo Tao be so confused and get involved with this guy.

"Xiaguan has seen Uncle Guo!" Zhang Xuan and Gui Cao gave a silent salute.

Guo Xun actually stood up and returned the salute, and said with a smile: "Director Zhang and Director Ji don't need to be polite, sit down!" ”

Everyone sat down around the table, and Huo Tao said angrily: "Now the Yang Party in the DPRK is dominant, pretending to be the first of Tao Han in the Han Dynasty and King Pu in the Song Dynasty, forcing the emperor to enter the line of filial piety, and taking his uncle as the imperial examination, which is really against human ethics." Fortunately, Wu Dingbo understands the righteousness and argues with the Yang Party, so that we will not be alone. ”

Zhang Xuan and Gui Cao couldn't help but suddenly realize that this Guo Xun was a fellow believer, so it would be easy to do.

It is said that Guo Xun used to work against Xu Jin, but he was beaten everywhere, not only his son Guo Shouqian's leg was broken, but even he himself was demoted by the emperor to a knighthood, and in the end, the land occupied by the family could not be saved.

Even after being hit hard, Guo Xun actually got the hang of it, and understood that if he wanted to be prosperous and rich, he had to hold the thighs of the new monarch, so when Huo Tao re-provoked the "big etiquette" dispute, this product immediately jumped out to support Huo Tao, and persuaded other nobles to come forward to support.

It was precisely because of the support of the nobles that the little emperor Zhu Houxi withstood the pressure of Yang Tinghe and other courtiers, and ordered Zhang Xuan and Gui Cao to be recalled from Jinling to Beijing to take up their posts.

After three rounds of wine, the dishes served five flavors, and the atmosphere soon became warm, and the four of them talked and laughed during the banquet.

This is the case with politics, as long as political interests coincide, enemies will become allies, and vice versa, friends will become enemies. As the saying goes, a chicken dies and a chicken crows, and the party's unity and disagreement are always the main theme of political disputes.

This banquet lasted for nearly an hour before it was dispersed, and Zhang Xuan, who was drunk, was full of red face, looking at the misty light rain outside the car window with high spirits, and said with a whisker: "The heavenly light rain is as moist as a crisp." This spring rain, the next non-stop, there should be a good harvest this year. ”