After looking at it, Jiang Anyi handed over the song to Li Mingde. After Li Mingde read it, his face was mixed with joy and sorrow, and he stopped talking.

Jiang Anyi asked in surprise: "Li Donghong is the Yushu Tingzhi of the Li family, such talents should spare no effort to cultivate, I see that Mingde has a difficult face, is there any hidden secret?" ”

Li Mingde sighed, invited Jiang Anyi to come to the back hall, and then spoke: "Donghong is the son of my fourth brother, born in Shuzhi, the Li family has a big business, and there will inevitably be differences between the concubines, Donghong's family background is average, but as a member of the Li family, there is still food and clothing." Donghong's child is talented, eighteen-year-old and talented, twenty-two-year-old middle-aged people, the clan also attaches great importance to him, and the public sponsors him to go to Beijing to take the exam, and the eldest brother Mingxing let him live in the house, take him to participate in the Beijing party, and help him pave the way for fame. ”

In this way, the Li family has high hopes for Li Donghong, why does he show a down-and-out appearance?

Donghong did not take the exam, the eldest brother persuaded him not to return to his hometown, so he stayed in Beijing to prepare for the exam, but Donghong's child was unlucky, and he failed to take the exam twice in a row. So, Brother Ming Xing asked him to help take care of some official affairs and familiarize himself with the officialdom system. Donghong got started quickly, and Brother Ming Xing handed over most of the official documents and correspondence to him to take care of, so today Donghong will soon be able to write this note. Li Mingde said.

"After trying for a long time, living in Beijing, Donghong, the child, will inevitably miss his family, and he will go outside to borrow wine to drown his sorrows after being depressed for a long time. In April of the seventeenth year of Fengle, he had a conflict with Shi Chongfang, the grandson of the king of Ningling County (the uncle of the Son of Heaven), in the restaurant, and afterwards Shi Fangqi, the prince of Ningling County, sent a letter to Brother Ming Xing, saying that Donghong's behavior was frivolous and reckless, resulting in the loss of the jade pendant worn by his son, which was given by the Son of Heaven and was of great significance. ”

Shi Qingguang, the king of Ningling County, is the younger brother of Emperor Xuan, when today's uncle is one of the few princes who have not been vassalized, although he is the king of the county, Shi Zhiguang's favor is far above Shi Qingfeng, the king of Anyang, Jiang Anyi heard that the Son of Heaven intends to favor the king of Ningling County to show the deep affection of the heavenly family, and this king of Ningling County is obviously a smart person, never mixed with political affairs, and only seeks to make a fortune. It is not an exaggeration to describe the wealth of Ningling Wangfu with a rich rival country, Jiang Anyi heard that the palace has 50,000 or 60,000 hectares of land, manors and private houses, one of the four major gambling houses in Beijing, Yunshan Fang, one of the four major gambling houses in Beijing, is his family, it is rumored that the famous wine Huang Su drunk also has shares, and there are thousands of other shop industries, Jiang Anyi can be called rich, but it is comparable to Yunni compared with the king of Ningling County.

Jiang Anyi's brows furrowed slightly, speaking of which, he still had a little holiday with the king of Ningling County, when he was ordered to go to the casino to scrape silver, he won 420,000 taels from Yunshuifang, and afterwards the Ningling palace did not have any reaction, thinking that he knew that he was instructed by the Son of Heaven, and did not want to quarrel with him, so he diluted the relationship with the Son of Heaven. However, Jiang Anyi heard that Shi Fangqi, the prince of Ningling County, found an excuse to find Cheng Xiquan in the Wenguo Mansion and took away 20% of the shares of the Cheng family's silk village from him.

This prince is not ostentatious, Jiang Anyi has not seen him, but from the matter of Yunshuifang, His Royal Highness the prince is a ruthless character, saying that he often purchases treasures from the north and south in the name of his father and dedicates them to the palace, and takes the initiative to hand over more than 10,000 hectares of land when he clears the acres of land, and there are 100,000 taels of uncollected taxes and silver, and the Son of Heaven issued a decree to commend him as "my good horse"

。

"Brother Ming Xing had to take Donghong to Ningling Wangfu to accompany the crime, and paid 10,000 taels of silver, that Shi Chongfang coldly threatened not to allow Donghong to stay in the capital anymore, and in desperation, Donghong had to give up the imperial examination and return to the clan." Li Mingde shook his head and sighed: "At that time, the Li family was strapped for income and expenditure, and lost 10,000 taels of silver because of Donghong's fault, and many clansmen were dissatisfied and wanted Donghong to pay out of his own pocket. Donghong has a wife and children, and the family is not rich, so I can only secretly subsidize some silver taels to make him make ends meet. ”

No wonder this Li Donghong is dressed in old clothes, with a haggard face, he originally didn't take money for just doing things, and he still owes a lot of debts, but he is a little similar to himself back then. Jiang Anyi was moved by compassion and said: "This Brother Li is a great talent, Jiang is willing to hire him with a lot of money, I don't know if Mingde Gong is willing?" ”

Li Mingde said: "It is his luck for An Yi to see that he is Hongzi in the Middle East, but he entered Beijing with An Yi, and the king of Ningling County is not easy to explain." ”

Jiang Anyi smiled slightly, Zhang Keji's matter could be settled back then, and Li Donghong's matter was insignificant.

After Li Mingde listened to Jiang Anyi's plan, he stroked his beard and smiled happily: "Donghong has to meet Anyi, it is his personal luck, and it is also the luck of my Li family, Donghong will ask Anyi to you." ”

Back in the front hall, everyone's recitals were almost finished, Jiang Anyi watched and selected, and a total of ten people, including Li Donghong, were selected. Li Mingde knew what to expect, encouraged everyone a few words, let them disperse, and secretly sent someone to call the candidate selected by Jiang Anyi to the study for tea.

Jiang Anyi said with a smile: "The Li family is full of talents, and the people who came to participate in the election are all one in a hundred, and you are the best of the best, so you have to follow the will of Jiang someone, and I can't wait to bring you all into Beijing." Not to mention being a staff member, with your talents, I am afraid that you will have to go to high school if you participate in one or two imperial examinations. ”

Everyone smiled reservedly, Jiang Anyi's words were good, everyone here could reach the top of their own talents, but only two or three hundred people were selected from the triennial imperial examination, how difficult it was. Not to mention others, Li Donghong wrote a thousand words, relied on horses, and was amazingly talented, and even Li Mingxing praised him, and he also failed to rank twice, hoping that it would be more direct to become Jiang Anyi's staff, and listening to the meaning of Jiang Anyi's words, he did not oppose his staff participating in the imperial examination.

Casually commented on a few good aphorisms in the recitals of several people, Li Donghong heard that what he wrote, "the ability of the soldiers to fight, the people can hold on" was praised by Jiang Anyi as a sobering person, and he couldn't help but smile on his face, it seems that Jiang Anyi is quite satisfied with what he wrote, if he can be selected, his embarrassment may be able to change. They are both members of the Li clan, they are all uncles and brothers, everyone knows each other, Jiang Anyi only needs two staff, and he can't help but feel a little nervous in his heart when he doesn't know who the flowers are.

"Jiang was transferred to Beijing this time, I don't know the depth of Beijing, and I hope that all the sages will speak freely about what is the point of being an official in Beijing? How to deal with yourself? Jiang Anyi asked.

As soon as the words fell, someone on the left side responded in a loud voice: "It is not easy to be an official in Beijing, the princes and nobles are all over the place, and the officials are intertwined, the relationship is complicated, and they are involved."

As soon as the whole body is moved, it is possible that there is a big man standing behind a small main matter. With all due respect, Dongliang said bluntly, although the Lord is favored by the Son of Heaven and is a high-ranking official of the fourth grade, his foundation is still shallow, and he has no strength to rely on except for Master Ling. ”

The person who spoke was Li Dongliang, who was the same age as Li Donghong, and he was also a lifter, seeing Jiang Anyi looking at him with a smile, Li Dongliang became more and more energetic, and he was the first to speak, and he must have left a deep impression in Jiang Anyi's heart.

"If you want to gain a foothold in the capital, in addition to following the Son of Heaven and the Prince, you must form alliances and lay a solid foundation in order to rise step by step."

Jiang Anyi smiled and asked, "How should I do it?" ”

"My Li family is one of the families, my uncle Li Mingxing is in the position of Jiuqing, and he is quite influential in the court, my Li family is the son-in-law of my Li family, and my Li family is naturally a solid support for adults; Secondly, the adults were born in Zechang Academy, and there are many officials in the Ze Party in Beijing, and the adults must integrate into it, and if they can become the leaders of the Ze Party within three or five years, great things can be accomplished......"

Jiang Anyi listened with a smile, Li Dongliang's ideas sounded beautiful, but Mr. Zhang and Fan Shi both warned him to be cautious of forming a party. Forming a party has always been taboo for the Son of Heaven, and the Chaozhongze Party and the Zhang Party seem to be powerful, but in fact they are just a means used by the Son of Heaven to check and balance the family; There are many princes and nobles in Beijing, and they have been intertwined with each other's in-laws for more than 100 years.

As soon as Li Dongliang's voice fell, a scribe on the opposite side shook his head and retorted: "Brother Dongliang's words are wrong, the way to be a minister lies in loyalty and diligence, and the year when the adults are established is the time to forge ahead, how can you learn to be a man and rest on his laurels......

Everyone spoke one after another, all impassioned, but Li Mingde noticed that Jiang Anyi's smile was a little stiff, and he knew in his heart that his own children seemed to be conclusive, but in fact they were just talking on paper based on hearsay, and such general remarks were really difficult to impress Jiang Anyi.

When the voice stopped for a while, Jiang Anyi's expectant gaze fell on Li Donghong. Li Donghong hesitated for a moment and said: "Donghong is good at writing notes, managing documents, and dealing with miscellaneous matters. The situation in Beijing is complicated, adults have just arrived in the capital, it is advisable to be quiet and not moving, you may wish to familiarize yourself with the situation step by step, and then try to develop after establishing a firm foothold; Brother Fang Cai Shiping said that being an official lies in the word loyalty and diligence, which is very reasonable, as long as the adults are loyal, they will naturally be valued by the Son of Heaven if they do more and say less, even if there are some twists and turns. Adults are only standing at a young age, don't be in a hurry, there are more than ten years of business, and a very good minister is just around the corner. ”

Jiang Anyi nodded, Li Donghong's words were secretly in line with Fan Shi, being a Beijing official is no better than a foreign appointment, and there are fewer restrictions on foreign appointments, you can make bold moves as you like, Beijing officials are involved everywhere, it is advisable to be quiet and not to move and to get to the point step by step, Li Donghong has stayed in Beijing, and his knowledge is better than others.

After Li Donghong finished speaking, Li Mingde said: "Come to Gao, you kid is left, you are usually articulate, why don't you speak today?" Li Mingde's tone was close, Jiang Anyi knew the rankings of the Li family: Shi, Ming, Dong, Lai, Shi, Li Laigao's ranks were on par with Dong'er's father, and he was Li Mingde's grandchild, I don't know whose child it was?