Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 224: Killing in the snow, a hero dies!

The snow was heavy and the wind was strong.

It's not yet dawn.

A carriage came out from the prime minister's residence and slowly headed towards the city gate. The wheels made a creaking sound as they rolled over the snow.

The emperor's wedding and the New Year were not far away, so in order to prevent unrest, the Five Cities Army increased patrols.

The curfew was still in place, but a carriage was driving openly on the official road. Even though the wind and snow were blinding, it was hard for the soldiers of the Five Cities Military Department not to notice it.

The person who came forward to check was none other than Zhang Yuangong, the commander-in-chief of the Five Cities Military Division. After leaving Yuxi Palace, he took a short rest and then resumed the curfew work.

When the lantern swept across the shaft of the carriage, Zhang Yuangong recognized the driver as the one commonly used by the Prime Minister of the Cabinet.

Looking at the carriage, he narrowed his eyes slightly and asked with a smile: "Is the Prime Minister in the carriage?"

"Father-in-law, it's me." Zhang Juzheng lifted the curtain, walked out of the carriage, stood on the shaft, and bowed.

Zhang Yuangong quickly returned the greeting and asked, "May I ask why you left the city so late at night?"

"I heard that the plum garden outside the city has blossomed. It is snowing tonight and I am sleepless so I want to take advantage of the opportunity to pick some plum blossoms." Zhang Juzheng replied.

Plum snow.

It is the snow falling from the plum blossoms.

Its use is simple: melt snow into water to make tea.

When people drink tea, they are very particular about the quality of water, because the quality of water directly affects the color and taste of the tea.

Zhang Dafu said in "Meihuacaotang Bi Tan": "It is not easy for poor people to get tea, and it is even harder to get water."

In order to improve water quality, people even invented the terms "water cultivation" and "water washing".

There are many ways to conserve water, such as using stones to conserve water and using dew to conserve water. Due to inconvenient transportation and difficulty in storing water, people have come up with various methods of conserving water to prevent water from deteriorating and tainting taste.

There are three methods of "water washing": stone washing, charcoal washing, and water washing. All of them are aimed at making ordinary water or spoiled water cleaner and more odorless, thereby improving the quality of water when making tea.

In addition, people at that time were also keen on using natural water and ground water to make tea, which added to the fun of tea tasting.

Literati and scholars are keen on "brewing tea with snow water" and "brewing tea with rain water". They use tea brewed with water from heaven and earth, and recite poems and compose couplets, which are as wonderful as nectar.

Ground water is divided into mountain spring water and well water.

Spring water has always been regarded as the best water for making tea. Lu Yu's view on choosing water in "The Classic of Tea" is: "Mountain water is best, river water is medium, and well water is worst."

The mountain spring water, filtered through overlapping mountains and dense vegetation, is sweet, clear and transparent, and has been highly praised by literati and scholars of all generations.

Lu Yu believed that water from living wells was of inferior quality, but Song Huizong highly praised it in his "Daguan Tea Theory". He believed that it was difficult for ordinary people to travel through mountains and rivers to fetch spring water for making tea, so living well water could be used instead, which was better than river water that was smelly with fish and turtles and muddy and dirty.

However, the water in the capital city was alkaline and the well water in the city was bitter and hard to drink. The literati in the capital either used the spring water from the Western Hills to make tea or went to "get water from heaven".

Tianshui, also called rootless water, is divided into plum rain water, plum blossom snow water and dew water.

The people of Jiangnan have had the custom of storing plum rain water since ancient times. When the plum rain falls, clay jars are placed in the courtyard to collect water from the sky, which is then carefully sealed and stored, then buried underground, waiting to be used to make new tea in the next year.

There is a record in Compendium of Materia Medica: "During the rainy season, a large vat is placed to collect water, and the tea brewed is very delicious. It does not change color overnight and tastes good. It can be stored in a bottle for a long time."

The water from the south of the Yangtze River could not be brought to the capital, so scholars and literati could only use dew water or snow water at the end of the year to make tea.

"Snow water" is the essence of grains - pure white, clean, heat-clearing and detoxifying. "Boil snow to make tea" is an elegant act and is often recorded in ancient poems.

After it snows, people collect snow from plum petals in the plum forest, melt them into water, store them in jars, and bury them deep underground. They can then use them to make tea the following year, and the taste is extraordinary.

Zhang Juzheng wanted to go to the Plum Garden to pick plum blossoms. No one in the world could stop him from leaving the city with such an excuse except the emperor.

But Zhang Yuangong always felt that it was not that simple. He looked at the car curtain frequently, trying to see what was inside.

Zhang Juzheng smiled and said calmly, "Father-in-law, do you want to search the car?"

Searching the carriage of the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, not to mention being uncertain whether there was anything hidden inside, even if there was, the Five Cities Army and Marshals, at their level, did not have the authority to search it.

"No need, Yuan Fu, please."

Zhang Yuangong urged his horse on, and the soldiers behind him stood on both sides of the street, clearing the way for the carriage to pass.

After Zhang Juzheng bowed and thanked him, he got back into the carriage, closed the curtains, and the wheels started rolling again.

Watching the Prime Minister's carriage slowly disappear in the snow, Zhang Yuangong thought for a moment and said, "Go and inform Lord Lu Bing, the commander of the Jinyiwei, about this."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Bing's voice came from behind: "No need, I'm here."

Zhang Yuangong was stunned and asked, "When did Commander Lu come?"

"It's been a while."

"Then why didn't they intercept and search..."

Zhang Yuangong stopped talking before he finished speaking. The Jinyiwei also did not have the power to search the carriage of the prime minister of the dynasty.

He then asked, "Does Commander Lu know what is in Yuanfu's carriage?"

"Just two people." Lu Bing said without hesitation.

The names of Nie Bao and Xu Jie immediately popped up in Zhang Yuangong's mind. The discussion of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism was a pit. What Yuan Fu was doing at this moment was to send his master and mentor out of the pit early.

In the three-way debate, the Confucian school had two wins and one loss. Zhang Yuangong also saw that the Confucian school would lose half of its great sages in the capital.

For some reason, he felt that Nie Bao and Xu Jie must be on the list of great Confucian sages to be killed by the court, and what Yuan Fu did would surely not satisfy the emperor.

It was easy for Yuan Fu to send Nie Bao and Xu Jie out of the city, but the real test might be after they left the city.

Zhang Yuangong suddenly had a bad feeling and subconsciously raised his head, meeting Lu Bing's smiling eyes.

His heart and eyebrows suddenly began to beat wildly. He saw Lu Bing approaching and speaking in a voice that could be heard by both of them, "The emperor has issued an order that Nie Bao and Xu Jie left the capital safely once, which was already a great favor from heaven. Now that they have come back, they cannot be let off. I heard that there have been more bandits in the capital recently, and they stole the carriage of the prime minister. I have ordered the soldiers of the Five Cities Military Department to wipe them out as soon as possible."

The premonition came true.

The corner of Zhang Yuangong's mouth twitched.

Since the bumper harvest throughout the country, the people of the Ming Dynasty have felt at ease, and the number of bandits and other scourges reported from the two capitals and thirteen provinces has decreased significantly, and is even less harmful than the wild boars coming down the mountains to the people.

Especially in the capital area, the Jinyiwei are everywhere. Anyone who dares to do serious evil will be dealt with by the Jinyiwei secret envoys. I don’t know where the emperor heard that there is a problem with the security in the capital area.

Moreover, pointing out that the Prime Minister's car frame was going to be stolen was too targeted.

Zhang Yuangong accepted the order silently, and ordered a team of trusted soldiers to take a shortcut out of the city and "eliminate the thieves" on the only way to the south.

……

Sending you thousands of miles, you have to say goodbye in the end.

Ten miles out of the city gate, Zhang Juzheng and the coachman got off the carriage first, followed by Xu Jie.

Nie Bao was old, and the snow was getting stronger. Under the persuasion of his disciples, he sat in the car and opened the curtain. Realizing that the discussion of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism was a Shura field, Nie Bao chose to leave immediately. Xu Jie was reluctant to leave, but he was too cowardly to be driven away by a word.

Confucianism was so powerful and had made great contributions to the rule of emperors of successive dynasties. Xu Jie did not believe that the old emperor would easily give up such a useful doctrine.

But as Nie Bao pulled him, Xu Jie had to leave no matter how reluctant he was.

"My beloved grandson, after we part today, I'm afraid we may never have the chance to see each other again in this life, so take care of yourself." Nie Baohu's eyes turned red, tears welled up in his eyes, and he actually said take care to Zhang Juzheng first.

Born in the 12th year of Chenghua, Nie Bao lived through four dynasties, Chenghua, Hongzhi, Zhengde, and now Jiajing. He is exactly 73 years old this year.

At the age of seventy, his health is getting worse day by day. How long he can live depends on God's will. Zhang Juzheng has been in the capital for a long time and has no time to go elsewhere. This farewell will be forever.

"Master, please take care of yourself. You are a long-lived man and you can live for at least another 20 years. I swear to be in charge of the country for 20 years, and then I will return home to beg for my bones. I will go to Changzhou Prefecture to see you, wait for me." Zhang Juzheng said with emotion.

He acknowledges this relationship between grandparents and grandchildren.

I sincerely want Nie Bao to live another 20 years.

Nie Bao nodded, then shook his head, and scolded with a smile: "Silly child."

After saying this, he lowered the curtain of the carriage, blocking the view. The rest of the time was left to Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng, the not-so-decent master and disciple.

They looked at each other in silence. Zhang Juzheng had done his utmost to be kind and righteous, and Xu Jie had nothing to say.

After a long while, Zhang Juzheng bowed to the ground and took the initiative to say, "Teacher, take care."

Xu Jie wanted to say something, but when the words came to his lips, he couldn't say them. He sighed and said, "Take care!"

The words of thanks were never spoken.

Xu Jie is 57 years old this year. In his life, he values ​​life more than his reputation. He cannot bring himself to say thank you to his disciples.

Even if I were to be buried with the word "thank you" in my heart, I still can't do it.

Zhang Juzheng did not blame him. Instead, he helped Xu Jie get on the car and whipped the horse, and the wheels started turning again.

Zhang Juzheng bowed and politely saw the carriage off as it went farther and farther away, until it completely disappeared. Then he stood up and walked towards the city gate with the coachman.

When Zhang Juzheng walked back to the city gate, the sky was gradually getting brighter. He saw Yuan Fu Mu Xue returning. The guard hurriedly ran down from the city wall to inquire about the situation.

When he heard Yuan Fu say that the snow was deep outside the city and the cart might overturn, he asked someone to bring a horse over and take Yuan Fu back.

at the same time.

Southern suburbs.

Near the Royal Hunting Grounds.

Normally there were few people here, and even fewer when it snowed. From a distance, a horse-drawn carriage was seen approaching slowly, and the horse team that had been waiting for a long time immediately started moving.

Although this cavalry was dressed very similarly, with tattered clothes and deliberately messy hair and beards, their straight backs could be spotted at a glance.

These are definitely not ordinary bandits.

Nie Bao was driving the car, but he didn't avoid it and went straight towards it.

The carriages and convoys stopped at appropriate distances in tacit understanding.

Just one glance.

Nie Bao recognized that the leader of the cavalry was a former cavalry captain in the army, and he felt mixed emotions.

He was a Jinshi in the 12th year of Zhengde and was initially appointed magistrate of Huating.

In the fourth year of Jiajing, he was summoned to be the Censor, and he impeached the eunuchs and powerful officials, and was known for his ability to make remonstrances.

He was appointed as the prefect of Suzhou. After staying at home for ten years, he was recommended by Xing Rumo, Jia Zhun and others to be the prefect of Pingyang.

Because of his merits in repairing the pass and training soldiers, he was promoted to deputy envoy of the Shaanxi Censorate. Later, he was dismissed because he was disliked by the assistant minister Xia Yan.

Soon he was arrested and imprisoned, and was released a year later with the help of Yan Song and others.

In the 29th year of Jiajing's reign, because Xu Jie sued for injustice for him, he was summoned to be appointed Right Censor-in-Chief, but he did not go. He was then promoted to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, assisting in the military affairs of the capital camp, and later to the Minister of War. He was promoted to the Prince's Junior Tutor for his meritorious service on the frontier.

Later, he was dismissed and returned home because he opposed the lifting of the ban on coastal trade.

Nie Bao had outstanding military talent. When he was in Pingyang, he led his troops to repel the invading Mongolian army of Altan Khan.

When the Inspector General of Shuntian inspected the horse administration, he first created the horse breeding contract responsibility system.

When he was in the Ministry of War, he led the defeat of the Mongolian invaders who invaded Jizhou.

Together with other officials, he submitted a memorial proposing the construction of an outer city wall for Beijing, and directed and supervised the building of the city wall at the construction site day and night.

He implemented the method of military farming and solved the problem of transporting military grain to Xuanfu and Datong.

He also risked his life to submit a memorial to investigate the case of Yan Song's grandson Yan Xiaozhong claiming military merit.

When the Japanese pirates were rampant in the south of the Yangtze River, the army was deployed. Thanks to proper military strategies, Suzhou and Songjiang were as solid as a rock and the Japanese pirates did not dare to act rashly.

He recommended Nanjing Minister of War Zhang Jing, who shared the same military strategy as himself, to be the governor of the army and put him in charge of suppressing the Japanese pirates, which led to the "Wangjiangjing Victory."

At the same time, he also quelled the rebellion of the Miao people and punished the thieves in De'an, Jiangxi.

Nie Bao did not expect that his former subordinates, who had now been transferred to the Wucheng Bingmasi, would see him off for the last time today.

"Take my head in exchange for credit." Nie Bao said with a frank smile.

As he was about to die, Nie Bao had a deeper understanding of everything in the world, and also gained some insights into imperial power.

I heard that Zhang Yuangong's daughter was chosen as the imperial concubine of the Ming Dynasty. According to the ancestral system of Emperor Taizu Gao and the political tactics of the current emperor, Zhang Yuangong, who was promoted to the father-in-law of the emperor, seemed to have come to the end of his career as the commander-in-chief of the Five Cities Army.

The position of the commander-in-chief of the Five Cities Military Forces is a position of low rank but great power. The commanders of the military forces in the five directions of the east, west, south, north and center of the capital will all compete for it. If he is not mistaken, Zhang Yuangong has chosen the person in front of him.

The leader of the cavalry had never expected that after so many years, the old minister would still remember him, and he had never expected that the old minister would still speak so directly and so... embarrassingly.

However, military orders were as firm as mountains, and what had to be done had to be done. With a gesture, the cavalry immediately surrounded the carriage. After looking at each other, they simultaneously inserted their halberds into the various joints of the carriage and exerted force together, breaking the carriage into pieces.

One person is missing!

The leader's eyes were like lightning as he looked at Nie Bao, who was smiling faintly. He was an old minister after all. When the military of the Ming Dynasty was weak, he was able to defeat Altan Khan of the grassland and the Japanese pirates of Jiangnan.

Xu Jie, got off the car early!

The snow is still falling.

Human footprints can be easily covered up, so it is difficult to track them. This mission is only half completed.

The leader stepped forward and said in a barely audible voice, "Please, old minister, go to die!"

The long sword pierced his chest, causing pain. Nie Bao frowned slightly, then relaxed his brows and closed his eyes forever...

(End of this chapter)