"Xie Yuanlang, the autumn is clear and the weather is not that hot."

With the sophistication of the veterans of Hu Yi's four dynasties, you can naturally see Chen Yichen's subtle expression changes.

If Duke Cheng Guozhu Yong reached his personal peak at the beginning of this year, then Wang Zhen has become a ceiling-level existence in recent years, and all civil and military officials in the court have to avoid three points.

The consequences of offending him will be even worse.

"I went back to Da Zongbo, and I have been walking for a while, so I felt a little hot."

Chen Yichen found an excuse to cover up the past. Of course, he was not as good as an old official in the officialdom like Hu Yi. But he could not be scared by a mere sentence, so he simply let the other party see through what he thoughts.

At the same time, Chen Yichen felt that the possibility of the teahouse conversation leaking that day was not high, otherwise it would have been Hu Yi who was talking to him like this, but was found by the Jinyiwei.

"Since that's the case, Jie Yuanlang will go to the house to drink a little cold water to quench his thirst."

After saying that, Hu Yi raised his hand and signaled Chen Yichen to enter the main hall.

"Thank you, Master Da."

Chen Yichen bowed to thank him, followed Hu Yi and walked into the main hall to sit down.

The cold water in ancient times was not simply cold water in the modern sense, but also called ice drinks "cold water".

So after taking the seat, the servant quickly brought a glass of iced plum juice. This was the first time Chen Yichen had tasted the ice drink of this era in more than a year after he arrived in the Ming Dynasty.

He is worthy of being a minister of the Ministry. Even Hu Yi, who is known for his frugality, a casual cup of ordinary drink in the mansion is a luxury for the people.

"Xie Yuanlang, is it cooler now?"

“Cool and thorough.”

Chen Yichen put down the sour plum juice in his hand and returned to his usual calm expression.

Seeing Chen Yichen calm down so quickly, Hu Yi nodded with a faint smile on his face and said, "No wonder he dared to provoke Eunuch Wang, Jie Yuanlang is indeed a bit courageous."

"I am stupid, please let the government make clear."

This kind of communication method with unequal information gave Chen Yichen a lot of psychological pressure, and it also easily put Hu Yi in a control position.

If you want to break this situation, you have to understand the other party’s intentions straight to the point.

"I have learned about you in Yingtian Mansion and the daughter of Qiule (Liu Qiu's name)."

To be honest, when this sentence comes out, the sense of crisis brought to Chen Yichen is even greater than the teahouse leak.

After all, the teahouse cursed the "elebrity" and was heard by someone, at least they could know what was wrong. As for the relationship between him and Liu Wan'er in Yingtian Mansion, only Zhou Xu knew about the capital, except Chen Qingtong. How did Hu Yi know about it?

Seeing Chen Yichen's face solemn, Hu Yi warned: "Xie Yuanlang is still young, and everything in his heart is written on his face. In the future, remember to not express his emotions in the officialdom."

"You don't need to worry, Jie Yuanlang, I learned it from Zhou Hanlin."

"I asked a question with a slight gaze. I wonder why Lord Zhou told Da Zong Bo about this?"

Chen Yichen was not relieved because he could not think of the reason Zhou Xu wanted to tell Hu Yi. If it was just a big mouth, it would be even worse.

A big mouth knows his secret matter, which can be said to be endless.

"Although the Hanlin officials are noble, they do not have much real power. If you want to protect the daughter of seeking joy, Lord Zhou can only find me to take action."

Officials of the Hanlin Academy in the Ming Dynasty basically did some work of compiling books and writing articles before they had no title of Grand Secretary to enter the cabinet or the six ministries. They wanted to reach out to Yingtian Mansion to protect the daughter of a criminal minister, to be honest, but they were not strong enough.

Zhou Xu could understand when he asked his helper Chen Yichen, but he didn't understand why he looked for Hu Yi.

"I'm curious why I helped me, right?"

Hu Yi seemed to be able to see through what Chen Yichen was thinking at all times, and he said it himself before he could ask a question.

"Yes, I'm puzzled."

"Because Qiule is my disciple."

After saying that, Hu Yi smiled bitterly.

After hearing this, everything can be explained. It turns out that the two of them are teacher-student relationships.

At the same time, Chen Yichen's tense nerves also relaxed, at least this meant that Hu Yi would not be a threat to him.

In fact, Hu Yi and Liu Qiu are not just as simple as ordinary teacher-student relationships. The two have worked together in the Ministry of Rites, and Hu Yi is very optimistic about Liu Qiu and recommends him to serve in the lectures.

The so-called imperial lecture is the imperial lecture for the emperor to discuss classics and history, and can be called half of the imperial teacher.

You should know that being able to get close to the emperor is a good thing that many officials dream of. If you can teach the emperor and become half an imperial teacher, the benefits are not to be said. Once you leave a good impression on the emperor and get appreciated, it means that you have embarked on a super shortcut to success in your career.

In fact, Liu Qiu also relied on the lecture lecture to enter the Hanlin Academy, the "Captain Prime Minister" place, and became the Hanlin Academy. If he had not offended Wang Zhen, he would have been given the title of Grand Secretary in the future and entered the six ministries and even the cabinet.

It can be seen from this that Hu Yi attaches great importance to Liu Qiu, which has opened up a way for him to be successful.

"I am ignorant, and I didn't expect that Da Zongbo and Liu Hanlin were teachers and students."

"That's all the old things from the Yongle period, and it's normal for you to not know."

Hu Yi waved his hand and continued, "Actually, I should thank you. If it weren't for Jie Yuanlang's help, I might not know the specific whereabouts of Qiule's daughter."

"Liu Hanlin is a national scholar, this is what the younger generation should do."

"No, there are countless people who praise the people who seek joy. There are very few people who dare to face the power and help the people like Jie Yuanlang."

"In my opinion, Jie Yuanlang can only afford the four words "Haoran righteousness."

"The master of the country is too proud, but I can't afford it."

Looking at Chen Yichen's modest appearance, Hu Yi shook his head and continued, "I am trusted by the late emperor to assist the emperor. Now I am in my seventies, and I am gradually unable to follow the court affairs. At the beginning of the year, I would not agree to retire from the emperor. I don't know when I can still bear the responsibility of the late emperor."

"Now Yang Yuanfu (Yang Pu) is also in a state of begging for bones. After the old man retired, the only five officials who were entrusted with orphans at that time were the only British Duke, and he may not be able to support him."

"In the future, a literati like Jie Yuanlang needs to revive the court's principles!"

Hu Yi didn't name him, but he had already said it very clearly.

That is, with the death of the Empress Dowager Zhang, the cabinet minister "Three Yangs" passed away. Now Wang Zhen's family has become the dominant one in the court, and there is no more important minister to suppress him.

This is indeed the case in history. In the ninth year of Zhengtong, with the death of Yang Shiqi, the chief minister of the cabinet, Yang Pu was in a semi-retired state. Other cabinet ministers such as Ma Yu, Cao Nai, Gao Gu, etc. were all backward people who were not well-known and could not compete with Wang Zhen at all.

This led to the dominance of the eunuchs' power and formed de facto autocracy.

I believe no one understands the danger of eunuchs' autocracy better than civil servants. After all, these two major forces have fought for more than a thousand years in the feudal era.

To give the simplest example, after entering the dynasty as an official in the future, the civil servant group represented by Hu Yi submitted a memorial strategy, requiring efforts to suppress military generals and soldiers to ensure that the policy of valuing civilians and neglecting military forces continues.

As a member of the civil service group, should I approve or object?

Or we should protect the rights of the literati class and expand the quota for exemption from labor service and tax exemption from taxes. The vacant tax part will be squeezed out of Mud Legs. How should Chen Yichen face it?

Some people may say that since they have the goal of taking the world as their mission, they naturally have to oppose these policies.

But the problem is that if you oppose the interests of the gang you belong to, you will be labeled as a "traitor" and become the target of attacking the group.

To describe it in a sentence from later generations, heresy is more hateful than pagans!

Moreover, power is from the bottom up, and even if a lonely person is at the top, he is still an empty sceptic. Even if he wants to win over other forces to cooperate, he will avoid it because of his "reverse" label.

You can even imagine a more extreme picture. Hu Yi has not yet retired. As an old senior who has supported himself, if Chen Yichen stands up or refuses to say anything?

It is obvious that if you want to change the world according to your own ideas in the future, you will not be marked as any group, and you will not have a "Supreme Emperor" on your head.

Although Chen Yichen followed the civil servants' way, he was different from the civil servants' group in the Ming Dynasty and did not plan for each other.

"I am still young, so I may not be able to take on this important task. Thank you for your kindness."

When this sentence was said, he almost explicitly refused Hu Yi's favor, and Chen Yichen decided to give up this shortcut and rely on himself.

Hu Yi remained calm on the surface, but his pupils shrank violently, indicating the degree of shock he was in his heart.

He really never expected that Chen Yichen would refuse his own efforts to win over and support, which was obviously a good cooperation without any harm.

However, as he said this, Hu Yi, as the Minister of Rites, naturally could not show goodwill to a young junior again and again.

So his tone became cold: "It seems that Jie Yuanlang has his own ideas, so I won't force it."

After saying that, Hu Yi picked up the teacup on the table.

Chen Yichen understood the meaning of serving tea and seeing off guests, so he stood up, saluted respectfully and found an excuse to say goodbye.

Looking at Chen Yichen's departure, Hu Yi's expression on his face was extremely complicated. He had been an official for tens of years and had known countless people.

At the end of today, I didn’t see through what the young man Chen Yichen wanted.

After leaving the Shangshu Mansion, Chen Yichen breathed heavily. On the one hand, he rejected such a great temptation, and on the other hand, Hu Yi gave him a lot of invisible pressure.

You should know that Chen Yichen had a close relationship with the capital only Zhou Xu from the Hanlin Academy. In comparison, Zhou Xu was upright and had a traditional integrity in literati and officials. In addition, he was not obsessed with the power of the official career, so he did not have to be intrigue with him.

Hu Yi is completely different. Each sentence contains profound meaning, and there is even suspicion of deliberately tentatively tempting to exert pressure.

Moreover, Chen Yichen did not dare to offend an important official like Hu Yi, who was entrusted with the orphanage like the children of Xun Qi. He had to think carefully about every answer.

Even if you refuse to win over the party, you cannot let the relationship between the two parties be on the opposite side. Therefore, this conversation is not easy.

When he returned to Duke Cheng's mansion, A Niu saw that Chen Yichen's face was not very good, so he asked, "Brother Chen, how are you going to pay homage to Lord Shangshu?"

"fine."

Chen Yichen squeezed out a smile, but he couldn't be happy inside.

I was obviously thinking about rushing over and hugging my thighs, but I didn't expect to almost offend someone.
To be continued...