Seeing the little fat boy Yang Pengju looking at him pitifully, Xu Yan felt a little soft-hearted.
He nodded and said, "In that case, Brother Pengju, please stay here for now."
Yang Pengju was delighted when he got the promise and said, "Big brother is really good to me!"
Xu Yan thought to himself, well, it’s just adding one more set of bowls and chopsticks for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
The purpose of celebrating the New Year is to create a festive atmosphere. During the national mourning period, forget about other entertainment activities. Just sit together and have a lively New Year's Eve dinner.
The Xu family’s New Year’s Eve dinner was truly sumptuous, with all sorts of delicacies from land and sea.
But what really made Xu Yan greedy was the bowl of wonton noodles.
Ever since he tasted this delicacy at Gushan Academy, Xu Yan couldn't get enough of it. He begged Mr. Qian to teach him the recipe and then taught his own chef to make it.
Although this wonton noodle is a little inferior to the original, its appearance and taste are already very good.
The three members of the Xu family plus Yang Pengju sat around a table, waiting for Xu Huaiyuan to speak.
Xu Huaiyuan raised his glass and said aloud, "Happy New Year."
The other three also said, "Happy New Year."
After saying this, you can officially start eating.
Xu Yan couldn't wait any longer, so he picked up his chopsticks and started eating noodles.
Yang Pengju was even more excited and started to eat voraciously.
Xu Huaiyuan couldn't stop laughing when he saw this scene.
"Brother, this is the last day of the 26th year of the Jiajing reign. Tomorrow morning will be the 27th year of the Jiajing reign. Don't you want to say something?"
The little fat boy didn't forget to make a joke during the meal.
"Well, life just goes on day by day."
Xu Yan really hadn't thought about this question deliberately. If he had to set a small goal, it would be to live a more exciting life.
After all, being alive and living are two different things.
"As expected of you, Big Brother. What you said is very skillful and impeccable."
Yang Pengju gnawed on a greasy chicken leg and grumbled.
"What about you? What are your goals for the 27th year of Jiajing?"
"I?"
Yang Pengju put down the half-eaten chicken leg in his hand, scratched his head with his greasy hands and said, "Eat more, sleep more, and live a happier life. The most important thing in life is happiness."
Xu Yan thought that although the little fat boy didn't have too many aspirations, he was telling the truth.
The most important thing in life is to be happy. If you want too many things, it will not be beautiful.
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Being a stranger in a foreign land, I miss my family even more during the holidays.
In an inconspicuous house in the western part of the capital, Zhang Juzheng stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the bright moon in the sky and sighing with melancholy.
The bright moon in Huguang Jingzhou should be exactly the same as the one in the capital, right?
Since he was born, he has spent New Year's Eve with his family for more than 20 years. This is the first year that he has traveled to the capital, thousands of miles away from his family.
As his parents grew older, Zhang Juzheng was unable to be by their side to fulfill his filial duty and serve them, which naturally made him extremely distressed.
Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety cannot be achieved at the same time. In order to fulfill his loyalty, he had no choice but to leave his hometown and stay in the capital.
One has to serve as a Shujishi for several years, during which time he is definitely not allowed to leave Beijing. Unless something unexpected happens, he will not have the chance to be appointed as an official after that.
I don’t know when I will have the chance to return home again.
During the six months in the Hanlin Academy, Zhang Juzheng's main task was to compile history and classics, and he had a lot of free time.
When people have free time, they will inevitably think more.
In Zhang Juzheng's view, the Ming Dynasty court seems calm, but in fact there are undercurrents.
In the twelfth month, Gansu General Qiu Luan was impeached by Governor Zeng Xin for obstructing military affairs, corruption and bribery.
Afterwards, the emperor ordered the arrest of Qiu Luan and brought him to the capital to be questioned.
Qiu Luan was subsequently imprisoned.
On the surface, this matter seems to be Qiu Luan's personal problem.
But anyone who knew a little about the matter understood that this impeachment was actually due to the discord between Governor Zeng Xin and Qiu Luan.
Discord is caused by differences.
This disagreement naturally arose from the recovery of Hetao.
Governor Zeng Xin was a staunch supporter of reclaiming the Hetao region and had petitioned the emperor several times to do so. In November of the 26th year of the Jiajing reign, Zeng Xin again petitioned the emperor.
Zeng Xin asked the generals of the military garrisons under his jurisdiction to sign a letter together. All the other generals signed, except Qiu Luan.
This unruly behavior and disobedience to the supervision of superiors completely angered Zeng Xin.
Although Zeng Xi didn't say it, he must have been extremely resentful in his heart.
This is also human nature.
After all, the governor is a civil official and the general is a military officer.
At the same level, military officers are like ants in front of civil officials.
How could he not be angry when Qiu Luan provoked Zeng Xin like that?
But Zhang Juzheng knew that the matter would not end there.
Because behind Qiu Luan was the cabinet minister Yan Song, and behind Zeng Xin was the prime minister Xia Yan.
Although Xia Yan and Yan Song had not yet completely torn their faces apart, everyone in the court knew that the two were incompatible.
Logically speaking, both of them are from Jiangxi, so they can be said to be fellow townsmen and should have a good relationship.
But there were constant small frictions between the two.
It is said that before Yan Song entered the cabinet, he once invited Xia Yan, who was then the Prime Minister, to a banquet, but Xia Yan repeatedly refused.
Yan Song was persistent and continued to invite.
Finally one day, Xia Yan was "touched" by Yan Song's persistence and agreed to attend the banquet.
Yan Song was overjoyed. He made all the necessary arrangements for bathing and changing clothes in advance, and also told his relatives and friends the news.
After attending court, Xia Yan returned home from the cabinet, using the excuse of taking a rest.
Yan Song naturally didn't dare to say anything and was eagerly waiting for the Prime Minister to arrive.
But he waited and waited, and even when the banquet was over late at night, Xia Yan still didn't come.
Yan Song had already boasted and lost face in front of guests and relatives, so he naturally held a grudge against Xia Yan.
In Yan Song's view, Xia Yan did not forget at all, but deliberately wanted to humiliate him.
After this incident, Yan Song vowed to be irreconcilable with Xia Yan.
Now that Qiu Luan has been impeached by Xia Yan's henchman Zeng Xin, how can Yan Song sit still?
Isn't this a slap in his face?
If it were before Yan Song entered the cabinet, he might have endured it because the difference in strength between him and Xia Yan was too great.
But now Yan Song is also a cabinet minister, and his power is comparable to Xia Yan. It can be said that Xia Yan has no advantage over Yan Song except for the title of Prime Minister.
Yan Song will definitely not let this matter go.
The key is to see how he fights back.
Zhang Juzheng was deeply worried about this.
Yan Song's struggle against Xia Yan was not just between the two of them, but involved almost the entire court.
They have countless disciples and followers. If the two of them really launch an attack, there will definitely be a bloody storm in the court.
This was something Zhang Juzheng absolutely did not want to see.
Unfortunately, he is just a scholar now, and no one will listen to his words because of his low status.
I just hope that the Holy Emperor can use his double pupils to see clearly, distinguish right from wrong, and prevent this dispute from happening in the first place.
The Ming Dynasty is no longer what it used to be and can no longer withstand any more turmoil.
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