PDLP Chapter 268
Chapter 268
"You! How could you, Grand Secretary Yang, utter such disgraceful words?"
Chen Wanyan was speechless for a long time after being rebuked by Yang Shen's words. He never expected that the dignified Grand Secretary Yang would not give him any face at all.
"Disrespectful to scholars? Yet one must still maintain a certain level of civility. Lord Chen, a mere scholar with lofty ambitions but limited abilities, dares to discuss civility with me?"
Yang Shen showed no respect for Chen Wanyan and directly retorted.
If we were to ask who in the entire Ming Dynasty was most qualified to say this, it would undoubtedly be Yang Shen.
Yang Shen is now a towering figure in the literary world of the Ming Dynasty, unmatched by anyone. In the officialdom, Yang Shen entered the cabinet at the age of forty, a feat that surpasses that of more than 99% of officials.
In every respect, Yang Shen was second to none in the entire Ming Dynasty. Even Yang Yiqing, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, would not dare to say that he was superior to Yang Shen.
Other officials might not even take Chen Wanyan seriously, so why would Yang Shen give him a friendly look? Especially since it was Chen Wanyan who started the trouble.
"you you you!"
When it comes to verbal skills, let alone Chen Wanyan, even Yang Yiqing plus other officials might not be a match for Yang Shen. Yang Shen knows how to attack the opponent's weakest point with a single sentence.
Chen Wanyan's biggest fear was that he was over fifty years old, had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, and was still an old scholar. What he feared even more was that others would say he was ambitious but lacked talent.
If someone repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, they could say that they were talented but not appreciated, or that they hadn't encountered good examiners. After all, there were many talented people in the Ming Dynasty who failed the imperial examinations, such as the famous Wen Zhengming.
But when people say he's ambitious but incompetent, Chen Wanyan really gets defensive, because he really doesn't have much talent. Many of the articles he painstakingly writes are utter nonsense. In fact, he knows this in his heart, but he just doesn't want to admit it.
Lies don't hurt, truth is the knife.
Yang Shen glanced at Chen Wanyan, who was standing there pointing at him with trembling hands, and ignored him. He turned around and left Taihe Gate with Zhou Chu.
Xia Yan watched Zhou Chu leave, his expression complex. Jiangnan was now completely under the control of the imperial court. As a representative of Jiangnan literati, Xia Yan had lost his voice in the court, so he rarely expressed his opinions and tried to minimize his presence, fearing that the emperor might dislike him and make an example of him.
However, Xia Yan was very politically astute. He knew that the reason the emperor hadn't touched him was simply to allow him to balance the situation in the court. So, he either remained silent or refuted Yang Yiqing and Yang Shen, never taking sides and playing the role of a troublemaker.
While everyone else was praising Zhou Chu to the point of ruin, only Xia Yan was attacking and annihilating Zhou Chu. Xia Yan was well aware that Zhou Chu was already one of the most powerful forces in the Ming Dynasty, and the emperor's most important purpose in keeping him alive was probably this.
He was very clear about his position, so although his status in the court was not as high as before, it was still very stable.
Xia Yan sensed that Zhou Chu's current situation was not so simple, but he did not have enough information and could only see things vaguely. Therefore, he did not rush to kick Zhou Chu when he was down, which was not something Xia Yan could do.
Han Jie watched Yang Shen and Zhou Chu chatting happily and felt a little envious of Yang Shen's carefree attitude. This is the importance of a persona. Yang Shen can do whatever he wants without any scruples and doesn't need to care about other people's opinions.
Han Jie was different. Even though he wanted to drink and chat with Zhou Chu, he had to pretend to deliberately avoid him. Although he had spoken up for Zhou Chu in court, the officials were very familiar with his character. In their impression, Han Jie was the one who knew best how to seek advantage and avoid harm.
Although Han Jie couldn't quite figure out what the emperor was trying to do, that didn't matter. What mattered was that Han Jie had to pretend he didn't understand and cooperate with the emperor and Zhou Chu to finish this charade.
Given his consistent character, it was already more than enough that he spoke up for Zhou Chu in court. If he were to get too close to Zhou Chu like Yang Shen did, many people would see the problem.
"Hengqi, you really made great strides in Jiangnan. I felt very happy just hearing about many of the things you did."
On the way to Zuixianlou, Yang Shen smiled.
"It's all for His Majesty and for the Ming Dynasty. Without His Majesty's support, what could I have accomplished?"
Zhou Chu's words were not entirely humble. Without Jiajing protecting Zhou Chu from the pressure from the civil and military officials, how could Zhou Chu have acted so freely in Jiangnan?
"While this is true, your contribution to the weighing instrument is undeniable. What you have done is something that no one else could have accomplished. Looking across the entire Ming Dynasty, who else could be as unscrupulous as you?"
Yang Shen sighed.
It's unclear whether he was lamenting Zhou Chu's current predicament or the state of the Ming Dynasty in the past.
The two chatted and laughed all the way, and before they knew it, they had arrived at Zuixianlou.
Sun Qiang, who was still busy, immediately put down his abacus when he saw Zhou Chu.
"I have met two adults."
This is at Zuixianlou. Although Sun Qiang is Zhou Chu's cousin and can call Zhou Chu by his courtesy name in private, in a public place like Zuixianlou, Sun Qiang will not lack any of the respect and etiquette that are due.
In fact, Zhou Chu had already met with Sun Qiang two days prior. As for the sixth day of the lunar month, he went straight to Zuixianlou as soon as he returned to the capital. For him, Zuixianlou was his home turf. Although he had dominated various casinos in Suzhou and made a name for himself, the feeling of being surrounded by danger made him extremely uneasy.
Only at Zuixianlou, with Sun Qiang, did he feel truly at home.
"Prepare a table full of fine wine and dishes; I want to drink with Lord Yang until we're both drunk."
Zhou Chu smiled.
As soon as Zhou Chu finished his court session, Shen Lian automatically followed behind him.
Back in Jiangnan, Shen Lian had already been promoted to centurion by Zhou Chu. As for chiliarchs, the quota was fixed, and people were promoted one after another, so there were no vacancies at the moment.
Shen Lian had enough military merits and other achievements. In addition to the position of centurion, Zhou Chu also gave him the position of captain of the Tiger Legion.
However, Shen Lian didn't care about these things. He had followed Zhou Chu for so long, and his respect for Zhou Chu had grown stronger. He felt that if he were in Zhou Chu's position, he would be far from being able to do as well as Zhou Chu. In fact, Shen Lian felt that there was no one else in the entire Ming Dynasty who could do as well as Zhou Chu.
Even one's own teacher is not allowed.
After all, even Wang Yangming would have concerns and could not be completely without restraint.
Shen Lian now has a clear understanding of his role: to protect Zhou Chu's safety and not give those who want to harm Zhou Chu any opportunity.
On the other side, after being rebuked, Chen Wanyan felt increasingly uneasy. He remembered that Yang Shen had mentioned going to Zuixianlou. He had heard about the relationship between Zuixianlou and Zhou Chu. With this in mind, Chen Wanyan immediately had an idea and headed straight for Zuixianlou.
Today, Chen Wanyan is going to cause a ruckus at Zuixianlou!