Twenty-eight, let the dough rise.

The festive atmosphere in Beijing is getting stronger and stronger. The sporadic sound of firecrackers makes people restless and irritable, making it impossible to work steadily.

At this time, all government offices began to take large-scale holidays. Although there were still some trivial matters to be finished, there was no need for the bigwigs to be in charge.

Even if they have something to do, the big guys are not at work today because they gathered at Shichang Street on the west side of Xiyuan to celebrate the 60th birthday of Gao Ge Lao.

In fact, Lord Gao's original intention was not to make it public. He just wanted to invite a few good friends to have a drink, and at most ask a few disciples to join them.

But with his current status, how can he keep a low profile just because he wants to? He doesn't need to worry about it, there are naturally many people who do.

For these leading cadres, the most difficult thing to control is their own family.

Although Gao Ge Lao has no son, he has four brothers. The eldest brother Gao Jie, needless to say, is being treated in Jiangnan Hospital... But Shao Daxia has already gone to pick him up and take him back to Beijing, and I don't know if he can make it in time for the New Year's Eve dinner.

The second elder brother, Gao Du, was promoted to the rank of Qian Hu of Jinwu Guard by virtue of his ancestors' influence. However, this man was not a good person. When his father, Gao Shangxian, died, he left a will that the family property would be divided equally among his five sons. At that time, his father's youngest son, Gao Jian, was only seven years old and the only son born to a concubine.

Gao Di had always disliked the mother and the two of them, and soon his stepmother died, leaving his little brother an orphan. Gao Lao Er then had evil intentions and wanted to kill Gao Jian so that there would be one less person to share the family property.

Fortunately, the Gao family has always been honest and kind, and the servants dare not do anything wrong. They secretly protect Gao Jian and write to their uncle Gao Jie, who is an official outside. Gao Jie rushes back at night, beats his own brother Gao Du so badly that he can't take care of himself, drives him out of Gaojiazhuang, and forbids him to enter the house again.

Gao Jie divided the family property equally according to his father's will, and took his half brother away to raise him, protecting him until he grew up, and teaching him until he passed the imperial examination. He is now the magistrate of Fengyang Prefecture.

Now, Gao Gong's fourth brother Gao Cai is by his side. Gao Cai got a military post thanks to his father's influence, and was promoted to the Rear Army Governor's Office during the Longqing period. His brother made a comeback the year before last, and Gao Cai also rose to prominence, and in just two years, he was promoted to the position of Assistant Governor of the Rear Army Governor's Office. However, the Governor's Office was no longer in existence, and he had nothing to do, so he moved his family to the back of Gao Gong's mansion, living next to his third brother.

Gao Gong was an honest official who was very strict with others and himself. Anyone who dared to come to him to ask for favors would be shooed away by him.

But people who use connections to get in are like muddy water that can penetrate any hole. If the front door is blocked, they will look for the back door. So they found Gao Cai's door. Gao Cai was also afraid of Gao Gong and did not dare to agree without authorization. He was also greedy for a large bribe, so he found Han Ji, Cheng Wen, Song Zhihan and other trusted disciples of Gao Gong to discuss.

Now Gao Ge Lao has absolute control over everything. He has the power to decide whether to promote or punish people in the court. These guys have been greedy for a long time, but they are afraid of Gao Ge Lao and don't have the courage. But there is a saying that the law does not punish the masses. As more people join in, they become bolder.

Everyone hit it off and formed a small group in which Gao Cai was responsible for accepting bribes and requests; Han, Cheng, Song and others were responsible for completing the requests, and the group would then divide the spoils on the spot.

This small group has a lot of power. They use the power of the tiger to deal with small matters, and they skillfully persuade Gao Gong to deal with big matters. Because Gao Huzi has a straightforward temper and is easily ignited like a firecracker, he especially cannot tolerate disobedience. Therefore, he is easily taken advantage of, especially by people he trusts.

For example, if they wanted to get someone a certain position, they would naturally ask the original official to move. So they would come to see Gao Gong during his lunch break or even in the middle of the night. Gao Gong was very bad-tempered when he woke up, and would scold them. They would first apologize, and then explain that the reason they were in a hurry to see the teacher was because "someone wanted to talk about my teacher, I knew it and tried my best to stop him. It was just a temporary stop, so it cannot be guaranteed."

That is to say, when we heard that someone wanted to impeach the teacher, we quickly persuaded them to stop and then came back to the teacher to call the police and discuss countermeasures.

Gao Gong would be angry and anxious when he heard this, because according to the rules, once he was impeached, he had to voluntarily suspend his duties and wait for his fate. Although he had been impeached many times, it was still a very uncomfortable feeling. It was an act that was not very harmful, but quite insulting... Gao Gong's anger would naturally turn to that person, and he would immediately order the selection officer to transfer that person to another job, without asking what the impeachment was about.

Because the position suddenly became vacant, Gao Gong naturally had no idea of ​​a replacement, so he would call his trusted disciples to discuss. At this time, those who had not participated in the complaint before could recommend their candidates, and Gao Gong would most likely agree without any suspicion.

As a result, Gao Cai's rewards and punishments became more and more unpredictable, which made people at home and abroad more afraid and disgusted, and no one dared to approach him. However, the small gangs around him could deceive their superiors and subordinates more easily and use him to amass money. They all became rich suddenly, with assets of millions. Gao Cai's house was crowded with people, and they received money until their hands were cramped.

Once people start to take bribes, their appetite will grow bigger and bigger, and they will never stop. How could these guys miss this opportunity to make a fortune? So they spread the word everywhere, and soon everyone in the capital knew that Gao Ge Lao was going to celebrate his 60th birthday.

It is said that Gao Gong was kept in the dark until he was 27 years old when he found out that they were going to hold a grand ceremony and hired a Kunqu opera troupe. Although Gao Gong was not very happy at the time, who doesn't have a little vanity? Moreover, Gao Gong attached great importance to fame. He had struggled for most of his life and finally reached the pinnacle of his life. He also made great achievements that will go down in history. It is not too much to celebrate his 60th birthday.

Besides, the housekeeper complained to him all day long that the household expenses were not enough and they had to rely on subsidies from their hometown in Henan. It would not be too much to collect a little gift money on his birthday to maintain the dignity of the prime minister's mansion.

I nodded in agreement reluctantly...

~~

So on the 28th, the Shichang Street on the west side of Xiyuan was filled with the sound of gongs and drums and the crackling of firecrackers.

The Minister of Personnel who was in charge of the Ministry of War Yang Bo, the Minister of Revenue Zhang Shouzhi, the Minister of Rites Pan Sheng, the Minister of Punishments Liu Ziqiang, the Minister of Works Zhu Heng, and Gao Yi, who was in charge of the Chancellery as the Minister of Rites, all came in casual clothes and rode in sedan chairs.

In addition to the Tongzhengshi Wang Zhengguo, the new Dali Temple Minister Chen Yisong, and the nine ministers, a total of eight people came. Only the Zuodu Yushi Ge Shouli did not join in the fun. Firstly, as the chief censor of the court, he could not do things that were inconsistent with his status. Secondly, he never fawned on the powerful.

Ge Shouli was qualified to do so, because when the cabinet was in chaos, he would rather resign than join in attacking Gao Gong. Naturally, Gao Gong would not hold a grudge against him now.

But who dares not to come? In the eyes of everyone, Gao Huzi is already a vindictive dictator who unites with his party to fight against dissidents. No one wants to be the target of his Paw Patrol.

Therefore, even the Duke Yingguo and the Duke Dingguo who attended Zhao Hao's wedding, and the Duke Chengguo who had suffered a stroke, all prepared generous gifts to celebrate the birthday with the help of their eldest son Zhu Shitai.

All the civil and military officials in the court were very tactful and prepared birthday gifts and came to congratulate in person. There were so many people giving gifts that Gao Chao, the butler of the Xiangfu, had been busy collecting gifts since before dawn. By now, there was a long queue outside the gate of the mansion, and they had been going back and forth in the alley of Shichang Street several times, like a snake that was about to finish its game.

Gao Chao was so busy that his back and waist ached, and he didn't even have time to eat or drink, but he was happy, very happy. The gifts he received today would take the family a hundred years to spend. Finally, he didn't have to worry about the family budget anymore...

Gao Gong's house was not as big as Zhao's, and it would be full with just a few dozen tables. Therefore, most officials presented their business cards and gift lists, kowtowed outside the house gate, and then returned. Only high-ranking officials and Gao Gong's favorites were qualified to have a drink at the house.

At this moment, the guests who arrived earlier were already seated, drinking tea and chatting animatedly.

"The Prime Minister's birthday is a great time. The New Year is coming soon. We can take this opportunity to get together. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to get together like this." At the main table, Yang Bo, who was looking increasingly old, said to Gao Gong and the other ministers with a smile, "In my opinion, we should make it a regular practice in the future, and we can get together on this auspicious day."

"Okay, I think it'll work!" Everyone cheered loudly. Duke Cheng had his mouth twisted and couldn't speak, but he was still trying hard to give a thumbs up.

"Alas, this time they caught me off guard. To be honest, I only found out about it yesterday." Gao Gong was wearing a Yuanqing Songjiang cloth robe with a dark pattern of the word "Shou" and a square Pingding scarf, looking like an old official. But when he opened his mouth, the whole room was silent, not even a cough. Everyone listened attentively, as if they were afraid of missing a word from the prime minister.

"I was very unhappy at that time. Everyone was very busy. Isn't this nonsense? But at that time, there was no time to notify everyone to cancel it." Gao Gong said seriously: "I had no choice but to shamelessly tell everyone this time. It won't happen again next time. It won't happen again."

"That's not up to you, Mr. Yuan. We will come here on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month next year. Do you have the nerve to turn us away?" Yang Bo was already running out of breath as he laughed.

In fact, he retired the year before last, not only to make room for Gao Gong, but also because his health was deteriorating and he had reached the age to retire. But who would have thought that his successor Zhang Siwei was so bad that he was impeached twice for low-level mistakes. For the sake of the overall situation of the Shanxi Gang and to give Xiao Wei a third chance to come out of retirement, Old Yang had no choice but to come out of retirement.

"Yes, we have to come." The ministers started to act shameless, and Duke Chengguo also gave them a thumbs up.

"Haha, you guys...you are forcing me to make a mistake..." Gao Gong smiled helplessly, but did not scold him as usual. He obviously enjoyed the feeling of being praised by all the civil and military officials in the court.

A real man should be like this!

The matter was settled.

The ministers chatted for a while, and Gao Gong suddenly asked Zhang Rong, "By the way, Lord, do you think today is more lively or the wedding banquet we had the day before yesterday is more lively?"

"Wedding banquet? What wedding banquet?" Zhang Rong was stunned for a long time, then he slapped his head and said suddenly: "Mr. Yuan is talking about the wedding of the son of Zhao Zhuangyuan."

"Yeah." Gao Gong nodded, obviously having noticed Zhao Hao's protest. He looked past the confused Duke of England and looked at the second chair to his left.

It was the only empty chair at the head table.

That belonged to Zhang Juzheng, the second assistant of the cabinet. At this time, Mr. Zhang had not arrived yet.