Although the three of them didn't know what was going on with the Daming Royal Academy of Sciences, they understood that they could leave this place now and start their own careers.
After encouraging the three of them, Zhu Yijun took a tour of the school before returning to the palace with his men.
After returning to the palace, Zhu Yijun was relieved. The manpower issue had been dealt with for the time being. It seemed that he had to deal with another matter, which was the issue of the soldier's silver.
"Let's discuss the matter of the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet first!"
Zhu Yijun took a look at the sky and ordered Chen Ju, "Send the decree to the six ministries of the Cabinet. We will hold a court meeting tomorrow."
At dusk, a carriage drove into the capital at the gate of the capital. A man in his fifties sat in the carriage.
The man raised the curtain of the carriage and sighed as he looked at the streets of the capital outside.
"Master, why are you sighing?"
On the other side of the carriage, a woman with a delicate face couldn't help but ask when she saw the man sighing.
"Master, although the title of the Minister of Works has been changed to the Minister of War, you have a real position now.
When you were in Nanjing, although you were the Minister of Works, you didn't have anything to do without the title of the Governor of the River Channel. "
The middle-aged man took a look at the woman and said with a bitter smile, "Madam, I want to go to the capital and do something."
"But the situation in the imperial court is unpredictable. Something big will happen if we aren't careful!"
The man sighed and said, "Minister Zhang suddenly passed away. Since the Emperor suddenly took over the government, this has happened a lot."
"How many people has the imperial court killed in such a short time?
Not to mention other things, just the Arsenal Department alone has killed dozens of people! "
"I'm now in the capital to take charge of the Arsenal Department and the Armaments Department, but I don't know what to do!
Especially the Armaments Department. This yamen has just been established. If I don't manage it well, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it to the Emperor! "
The woman was silent for a while before she said, "But I don't think His Majesty is someone who would kill indiscriminately. Which one of those people didn't deserve to die?"
The man shook his head. He felt that it was better not to tell his wife about this.
The carriage quickly arrived at the relay station in the capital. To everyone's surprise, the relay station's deputy arrived the moment the invitation was sent in. He walked to the carriage with a smile and bowed. "I'm Chen He. Greetings, Minister Pan!"
Pan Jixun looked at Chen He and nodded. "Chen Yicheng, what business do you have with me?"
"Minister Pan, the palace has already issued an edict. After Minister Pan arrives at the capital, you don't need to stay at the relay station. The Emperor has already prepared a residence for you.
Oh right, it was given to Minister Pan by His Majesty. This lowly official can bring Minister Pan there. "
Pan Jixun was startled. Since it was a residence personally bestowed by the emperor, he had to live there!
This was a sign that the Emperor appreciated him. If he didn't accept it, then he didn't know how to appreciate favors and didn't give the Emperor face. Those who didn't give the Emperor face probably wouldn't have a good ending. Anyway, Pan Jixun felt that he had to give the Emperor face.
Under the guidance of the relay official, Pan Jixun quickly arrived at the residence that the emperor had bestowed upon him.
What Pan Jixun didn't expect was that his residence wasn't far from the Southern Court. If he went in that direction, he would arrive at the Southern Court.
"Lord Pan, this is the residence that the Emperor has bestowed upon you!"
Chen He smiled as he pointed at the residence in front of him. "This lowly official was only responsible for bringing Lord here. This lowly official will take his leave now."
Pan Jixun nodded and bid farewell to Chen He. Then, he turned his head and saw that this was a very large gatehouse.
On top of the gatehouse, there were two words written on a large signboard: Pan Residence!
Pan Jixun's wife looked at the residence in front of her and said with a smile, "This concubine has never lived in such a large residence in my life. It seems that His Majesty really thinks highly of husband!" As she spoke, she instructed the old servant to open the door.
Pan Jixun felt a headache coming on as he looked at his wife's excited expression.
The better and more important the Emperor was to you, the more difficult this task would be!
However, Pan Jixun didn't have any conflict with this task. He was someone who had repaired rivers and had seen all sorts of situations. It was just manufacturing military equipment, so how difficult could it be?
He had organized tens of thousands of people to repair rivers, so how could he not be able to handle a military equipment workshop?
The key was the current situation in the imperial court. Pan Jixun knew how deep the waters were. If he really got involved, it would be hard to say what the outcome would be.
However, now that the Emperor thought so highly of him, it would be impossible for him not to get involved.
The door was quickly opened. The gatekeeper was an old man. When he learned that Pan Jixun's family had arrived, he quickly smiled and said, "Greetings, Master. This lowly one is the gatekeeper of this residence. Please take good care of me in the future."
Before Pan Jixun could figure out what was going on, he heard the jingling of ornaments. A woman in her thirties walked out.
Not only did the woman have a graceful figure, but she was also very beautiful. She wore a long dress and had a unique elegance when she walked.
When she saw Pan Jixun, she bowed and said, "This concubine is Qian 'er. Greetings, Master, Madam."
"You are?" Pan Jixun's wife looked at Qian 'er and asked expressionlessly.
"Replying to Madam, Qian 'er is a palace maid who was released from the palace. Because I have no parents, the palace couldn't bear to let Qian' er grow old alone in the palace, so they sent Qian 'er to serve Master and Madam!"
Pan Jixun coughed awkwardly. Even concubines had been prepared.
The Emperor probably thought that he wouldn't bring his family over.
Madam Pan glanced at Pan Jixun and then at Qian 'er. She nodded and said, "That's good. In that case, show Master and I around this courtyard!
We're not familiar with this place. "
"Master, Madam, this way!" Qian 'er bowed and said, "This is a three-sectioned residence."
As an old palace maid, Qian 'er naturally had no problem serving people. Her tone and attitude were impeccable, and her etiquette was even more thorough.
When she did things, it made people feel comfortable no matter how they looked at her.
Madam Pan glanced at Pan Jixun and said, "Master, you're lucky this time."
Pan Jixun became even more embarrassed. He could only pretend that he didn't hear anything and looked around the house as if none of this had anything to do with him.
Hubei, Huang 'an.
Li Zhi expressionlessly walked into a small tavern. Looking around, he discovered that there were no customers in the tavern, causing him to stare blankly.
One had to know that there were many people here on weekdays, especially at night.
Looking around, Li Zhi discovered that there was only one table with customers. It seemed that this person was the person he wanted to meet.
"Sir Li, please sit!"
Seeing that Li Zhi had arrived, the person smiled and stood up to greet him. After Li Zhi sat down, the person picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Li Zhi. He then smiled and said, "First, let me introduce myself."
"I am Huang San. This is my token!" As he spoke, Huang San took out a token from his waist and placed it in front of Li Zhi.
Li Zhi was slightly taken aback. He extended his hand and picked up the token. He discovered that it was a token that he had never seen before.
It was a slightly blackened piece of wood. It was impossible to tell what it was made of. On the two sides of the token were two flood dragons, and in the middle were two large words: Inner Faction!
On the back of the token were written: Huang An, Deputy Inspector Huang San.
Inner Faction?
Li Zhi looked at Huang San and hesitantly asked, "Inner Faction?
Is it Liu Jin's Inner Faction? "
Liu Jin's Inner Faction was really too famous. When Li Zhi heard this name, his expression couldn't help but change.
Huang San waved his hand and smiled. "We have no relationship with the Inner Faction. Sir Li, please don't misunderstand. We are called the Inner Faction. What we do is not the work of the factory guards. Factory guards are the Dongchang and the Imperial Bodyguard."
"Then what do you do?" Li Zhi looked at Huang San and asked warily.
In the face of such a mysterious person with unclear motives, Li Zhi really couldn't relax.
"Our Inner Faction understands Sir very well. We know that Sir is an upright person. In order to make a living, Sir would rather teach at the home of a good friend than wallow in the mire of officialdom. There are not many people like Sir."
"Our Inner Faction cherishes talented people. With Sir's talent, it is a grievance for you to stay here."
"What do you want me to do?"
Li Zhi looked at the Emperor and sneered. "Don't be delusional. I would rather not be an official than wallow in the mire with them. Do you think that I would be willing to join the even more unbearable Factory Guard?"
Although Huang San refused to admit it, Li Zhi still believed that the Inner Faction was the Factory Guard.
Huang San did not get angry. Reaching out, he picked up the cup of tea in front of him and took a sip. Smiling, he said, "Sir Li, just now you asked what our Inner Faction does. I can tell you that searching for talents for the court and the Emperor is our Inner Faction's responsibility."
"We do not wish for Sir to enter the Inner Faction. Rather, we wish to present Sir's talent to His Imperial Majesty."
"His Imperial Majesty is very interested in Sir's talent and hopes that Sir will be able to enter the capital.
Tomorrow, someone will go to Sir's home to invite Sir. He hopes that Sir will be able to follow him to the capital. When the time comes, Sir will understand. "
"Could it be that Sir does not wish to display his knowledge?
In ancient times, there was Dong Zhongshu. Could it be that Sir cannot exist today? "
No matter what Li Zhi's thoughts were, he was still a scholar. Naturally, Li Zhi was very familiar with Dong Zhongshu, a person of special status.
Hearing Huang San's words, Li Zhi's heart was stirred.
Dong Zhongshu?
"Sir, the person to be invited to the capital tomorrow was sent by Xu Wei, Xu Wenchang. Presumably, Sir still does not know what Xu Wenchang is doing?"
"Xu Wei, Xu Wenchang, currently the Left Councilor of the Office of Transmission. Every day, he attends to His Imperial Majesty's side, offering advice and suggestions."
Smiling, Huang San said to Li Zhi, "Sir once said, 'I hope that one or two people who pity talent will appear.' However, has Sir ever thought that the greatest person in the world who pity talent is the current Emperor?"
Li Zhi stared blankly. He truly had not thought of the Emperor. However, would his theories truly be accepted by the Emperor?
"His Imperial Majesty is very interested in Sir's theories. Sir Xu Wenchang is also very interested in Sir's theories. The Inner Faction is only here to convey Sir's wish to enter the capital.
Once you enter the capital, it will be time for Sir to display your abilities. "