I studied in modern times

Chapter 817 Pu Zongmeng's Performance
In the Dutang Lingling Hall, Pu Zongmeng was watching people decorate his own Right Prime Minister Lingling Hall.

Since Yuanyou, he is the third owner of this Right Prime Minister's Office.

The two people before him both had their own aesthetics.

When Han Jiang was the right prime minister, the prime minister liked elegance and pursued simplicity and elegance.

Therefore, his hall was filled with things that ordinary people could not understand but were priceless.

When Lu Gongzhu was the right prime minister, this "Zen prime minister" liked to meditate and was passionate about metaphysics.

Therefore, his Ling Hall can almost be regarded as an exhibition hall of the Buddhists in the Song Dynasty to some extent.

His hall was filled with various Buddha statues, Buddhist treasures and calligraphy works full of Zen ideas.

What kind of personality does Pu Zongmeng have?
You can tell from the things he ordered people to move into the hall.

In order to show his literary character.

Pu Zongmeng ordered his people to hang the calligraphy works given to him by his relatives in various places in the hall.

For a moment, the aura of a literary giant shone brightly in the command hall of the Right Prime Minister of the Capital.

The dazzling people can't even open their eyes!

Among these calligraphy works is "On the Love of Lotus" written by his late brother-in-law, Mr. Lianxi Zhou Dunyi.

There are also several sets of calligraphy pieces given to him by his relative-in-law Su Che, who was currently serving as an official in Chenzhou.

And in the most conspicuous position, hangs the poem "Poem Sent to Mr. Pu Chuanzheng, the Book Pavilion in Langzhong" written by Su Shi in Dengzhou!
All are authentic!
Any one of them, if put into modern times, would be a national treasure!
In addition to these copybooks, there are also a large number of precious stationery items.

Among these things, the most precious one is the [Fu Inkstone] given to him by Su Shi.

This inkstone is extremely precious!
Because it is a royal object!

It is the treasure of the study that the real temple loves.

During the Dazhong Xiangfu period of Zhenmiao, at the request of Zhangxian Mingsu, this inkstone was given to Liu Yongnian, the second generation of Liu's maternal relatives. After Liu Yongnian received it, he gave it to his uncle Wang Qiyu.

Su Shi was demoted to Huangzhou, and his relationship with Wang Qi became better.

After knowing that he had this precious inkstone, he tried every means to get it.

In this process, Su Shi used countless methods.

Including but not limited to the means used to cheat and steal the purple gold inkstone from Mi Fu.

I can only say that the bearded man is a repeat offender!
However, there is one good thing about the bearded man: he is obsessed with inkstones, but he never hides his knowledge.

He handled countless precious inkstones in his life, but he would give them away after playing with them for a while.

What we pursue is that happiness shared with others is worse than happiness alone.

So, after Su Shi played with this [Fu Inkstone] for a year or two, he gave it to Pu Zongmeng.

Because Su Shi loved this precious inkstone so much, he held a ceremony when he presented it to the emperor. He also engraved an essay he wrote, "Fu Inkstone Inscription and Narration", on the inkstone, which detailed the origin of this precious inkstone.

Therefore, this precious inkstone is an extremely rare and legitimate imperial inkstone with an orderly inheritance.

After Pu Zongmeng got this inkstone, he loved it very much and took it with him wherever he went.

This time, when he entered the capital, he carefully placed the inkstone in the main hall of his command hall.

Moreover, he decided to use this precious inkstone only when signing or writing letters from the Right Prime Minister.

If it were just this, Pu Zongmeng's position as the Right Prime Minister would probably be just ordinary.

The key point is that in order to protect these calligraphy works, he ordered people to mount them all in an extremely complicated and expensive way, and also used gold thread to weave patterns on the outside of the mounted objects.

All stationery items were placed in the finest nanmu boxes, and a layer of gold powder was applied on the outside of the boxes.

The main themes are luxury, boldness and extravagance.

Everyone inside and outside the hall, as well as those passing by, were stunned.

It’s not that the luxury of the decoration in Pu Zongmeng’s hall exceeded their imagination - in fact, decoration like Pu Zongmeng’s really doesn’t cost much money.

At least, for the prime ministers, this superficial extravagance is not worth mentioning!
Even if he used all means possible, he would only spend 10,000 strings of cash at most.

When Han Jiang was in office, there was a plate of flowers in his hall, the value of which might have exceeded five thousand strings of cash.

If it was the peony that Han Jiang loved the most and could bloom with the characteristics of [Golden Belt], someone would even be willing to pay 50,000 strings of cash for it!
But he would never sell it!

When he left office, he took it home carefully and hired someone to take care of the pot of peony.

He was just waiting for the peony to bloom with the characteristic golden-belt-shaped flowers again so that he could let his great-grandson wear them.

In order to ask for the chance to become prime minister!
As for the Buddha statues placed in the command hall of the current left prime minister, Lu Gongzhu.

It seems inconspicuous.

But each one of them has a great history!

The Tang Sancai made by the Tang Dynasty court is only the most common one.

The ones that are really valuable are those statues that are said to be brought out from Nalanda Temple in India by Buddhist monks.

Each one of them, as long as it appears on the market, is worth no less than one hundred thousand strings of cash!

Compared with these two prime ministers.

What Pu Zongmeng did can be considered performance art at best.

However, Pu Zongmeng's impatience and his unconcealed extravagant and lavish decoration made many people smell the smell of gunpowder colliding in the air.

Everyone knows that Lord Pu has always been a critic of Lord Sima Wen and Lord Lu in the past.

During the Yuanfeng period, Prime Minister Pu had sharply criticized Sima Wengong and Lu Xianggong in front of the late emperor many times.

After that, the story of Mr. Pu's extravagance became known to everyone.

Now, Prime Minister Pu has returned to the court and has been appointed as the Right Prime Minister.

In front of everyone, I used the most extravagant decoration to respond to the criticism and accusations of the past - yes, I am an extravagant person! You can scold me now! But your attacks have no effect on me!
Without a doubt!

This is declaring war on Zuo Xiang!

On his first day in office, the Right Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty had already made public his opposition with the Left Prime Minister Lu Gongzhu!
This is a silent political statement.

In the left prime minister's hall, Lu Gongzhu didn't even look at these.

"I thought Pu Chuanzheng would improve after a few years of hard work!" The left prime minister of the Song Dynasty said to his disciple Li Chang, "But I didn't expect him to be so impetuous!"

"He's...too impatient!"

Lu Gongzhu's political wisdom told him that no matter what, he could not publicly draw a line between himself and his opponents and define right and wrong right from the start.

If this happens, there will be no room for maneuver in the future.

but……

Li Chang, however, has his own ideas.

"Enxiang..." Li Chang said cautiously, "I think Pu Chuanzheng is not the kind of person who becomes arrogant when he succeeds..."

"Will it be?"

Lu Gongzhu's brows were furrowed.

Then he shook his head: "Impossible!"

"How could your Lord, who is kind and holy, resort to such tactics?"

He has served the young master for more than two years.

Although he was still not completely accustomed to the young master's frequent [sudden ideas], he was now familiar with them.

He knew that the young master was steady in his work and would consider everything carefully. He was not like the previous emperor who often rushed to implement various policies and measures. The most typical example was in the military.

Everyone can see that the young master and the late emperor actually have the same attitude towards the western bandits and northern barbarians - they must be destroyed this morning.

But the young master never said it, but he acted behind the scenes, which was much more vicious and cruel than the late emperor!

For example, the envoys from the Northern Barbarians now spend every day in the brothels and theaters of Bianjing with Xing Shu, and have long since refused to go to the capital.

As far as Lu Gongzhu knew, there were even envoys from the Northern Barbarians who already had wives and children in the Song Dynasty.

Is there any need to wonder what these people will become after returning to their country?
As for the Western Bandits...

Liang Yibu, the prime minister of the Western Bandit State, has been stranded in Nanmuhui since last year's war. He has been obeying orders but not announcements from the Xingqing Prefecture.

Faced with this situation, the young master played micro-management.

On the one hand, it allied with the Liao Kingdom and only recognized the small king of Xingqing Prefecture.

On the other hand, on Xihe Road, he was engaged in crazily trading with Liang Yibu.

In just half a year, Xihe Road opened three additional trading markets on the outskirts of Lanzhou and Huizhou in cooperation with the western bandits.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

During the peace talks between the Song and Xia dynasties, almost all of the increased number of market towns were placed in Xihe.

According to the information brought back by Lu Gongzhu's disciples and former officials who were working in Xihe.

Zhao Xie, Xiang Zonghui and Gao Gongji of Xihe are now openly importing large amounts of iron coins into the territory of the Western Bandits.

It was obvious that he was providing a transfusion to Prime Minister Liang Yibu, and even helping him consolidate his power.

Even so, the prime minister kept shouting every day that he wanted revenge and invaded the Song Dynasty.

But as for Xihe, it seemed as if he didn’t hear anything!

Obviously, this can only be an instruction from the highest level!
In the past, there were officials of the Song Dynasty who took advantage of the internal strife among the Western bandits and proposed to the court to cultivate powerful officials among the Western bandits and instigate a civil war.

But they were all rejected by the government.

As a result, the Song Dynasty missed the rebellions of the Western bandits Yeli and Mo Zang, and could only watch as the powerful ministers/kings of the Western bandits systematically eliminated dissidents and cleaned up the government.

Because, compared to killing the Western bandits, Emperor Zhao was more afraid that the civil and military officials in the country would follow suit.

But the current government has no such scruples, and judging by their methods, they have no taboos at all, and are completely aiming to ignite a civil war among the Western bandits.

Lu Gongzhu even had no doubt that the government had made all preparations to support the weaker party within the Western bandits when convenient.

Under such circumstances, how could Lu Gongzhu believe that the young master would deliberately support him in this capital to appoint a right-hand prime minister who would specifically be his enemy and hold him back?
Therefore, from Lu Gongzhu's perspective, there is only one answer - Pu Zongmeng is a jerk!

At this time, an official close to Lu Gongzhu came to him and reported in a low voice: "En Xiang, Feng Jing, the attendant of Funing Palace, has been summoned to the capital hall to convey the imperial edict to Xianggong Pu..."

As Lu Gongzhu listened, his expression became serious.

He looked outside, and through the door of the command hall, he saw a familiar figure wearing a purple robe and narrow-sleeved official uniform.

It’s Feng Jing!

He was walking towards Pu Zongmeng's hall.

Lu Gongzhu couldn't help but stand up and walked to the door of the Zuo Xiangling Hall.

Then he saw the newly appointed Right Prime Minister Pu Zongmeng, kneeling on the ground in his command hall, facing the direction of Baoci Palace.

And what was Feng Jing saying to him?
Lu Gongzhu frowned, but in his heart, he muttered to himself: "I should just come to inform Pu Chuanzheng that the personnel appointments and dismissals he submitted have been approved by the emperor..."

Yes, that's how it should be.

You can’t go wrong!
There will be no mistake!

Lu Gongzhu didn't believe that the young master in his mind would follow the old path of the ancestors of the Song Dynasty.

……

Pu Zongmeng knelt in the command hall, listening to the emperor's oral instructions read out by the emperor's close ministers in front of him.

He bowed again and accepted the order: "Yes! I will follow your teachings!"

When he stood up, his whole body was full of fighting spirit.

The emperor's support filled him with strength.

He is confident that he can achieve his goal!
Feng Jing glanced at Pu Zongmeng's command hall and frowned slightly.

This unrestrained aesthetic is really hard for him to accept.

The decorative style of this Ling Hall is totally different from what the scholars and officials like.

Instead, he looks more like a local rich man in the countryside.

Build your home as extravagant and luxurious as possible.

But in the eyes of people who truly understand aesthetics, this is too ostentatious and not beautiful.

True beauty should be integrated with the surrounding environment, achieving harmony between yin and yang, so that people can feel physically and mentally comfortable when they are in it, and at the same time allow visitors to see the owner's ambitions, pursuits and aspirations.

But in Pu Zongmeng's place, all Feng Jing could see was the luxury that was superficial and formalistic.

This puzzled him.

However, he did not say it in front of Pu Zongmeng.

When he returned to the palace, he told Zhao Xu what he saw in Pu Zongmeng's hall, and then said in confusion: "Everyone, Pu Xueshi is also a famous official..."

"Why is his command hall like this..." He thought for a long time but couldn't think of the right words to describe Pu Zongmeng's command hall.

After hearing this, Zhao Xu smiled and shook his head.

"Mr. Pu's brother-in-law is Mr. Lianxi! They are close friends!"

"Back then, when Mr. Lianxi was poor, Mr. Pu resolutely married his younger sister to him!"

"After Mr. Lianxi passed away, it was Mr. Pu who took his own wealth to sort out Mr. Lianxi's manuscripts, print his collections, and make him famous..."

When Zhao Xu said this, he looked at Feng Jing and said, "Feng Jing, have you ever read Mr. Lianxi's On the Love of Lotus?"

Feng Jing shook his head.

Zhao Xu said: "You should read more books when you have time..."

"Mr. Pu can become a bosom friend with Mr. Lianxi... He can be a bosom friend with Mr. Lianxi who wrote "On the Love of Lotus". How many contemporary people can match Mr. Pu's aesthetic taste?"

That’s what Ailian said!
This is an article that every modern middle school student has to memorize.

This sentence: Washed in clear water without being coquettish, emerging from the mud without being stained, has been passed down through the ages and fascinated scholars of all generations.

Not to mention, Pu Zongmeng was a former Hanlin scholar!

In the Song Dynasty, the cultural accomplishment and personal aesthetics of the scholar-officials who could become Hanlin scholars could not be bad!
In addition, Pu Zongmeng is Su Che's father-in-law!

Anyone who can marry Su Che must be pretty much the same in terms of personal cultural accomplishment!
So, Pu Zongmeng did it on purpose.

"Mr. Pu, you are quite politically savvy..." Zhao Xu commented in his heart.

He positioned Pu Zongmeng as a troublemaker.

He is also a path-breaker.

Before Zhang Dun's mourning period ended, he was responsible for cutting off the thorns and pulling out the nails.

Just ...

Will Pu Zongmeng cross the line?
Thinking of this, Zhao Xu called Feng Jing to his side and whispered a few words to him.

Then he ordered Feng Jing to find someone to convey this oral order to Pu Zongmeng.

(End of this chapter)