Yanzheng Yamen, in the garden of the inner residence.

The Yamen is not only an official office, but also a private residence with a garden behind it.

The moon-shaped garden gate has various bamboo branches and leaves on both sides, which complement the forehead of the gate. The white fruit peaks are interspersed in between, like strong spring bamboo shoots.

This scene is quite characteristic of Yangzhou gardens.

In the pavilion at the end of Langfang, King Zhongshun was sitting upright, with a black and white chessboard in front of him, holding a white piece in his right hand, thinking about how to make the next move.

Opposite is Lin Daiyu, dressed in plain clothes, playing chess with King Zhongshun, while the maid Zijuan stands beside her.

As for Jia Yun, he leaned against the pillars of the hall and closed his eyes to rest.

Originally, Lin Daiyu gave her food and left. Zijuan turned around to find Jia Yun and muttered a few words. After hearing this, King Zhongshun made his decision and invited Lin Daiyu to hang out in the garden in the name of his elders to relax his mood.

After wandering around for a while, I found a pavilion to play chess.

As for Jia Yun, he knew only a little about chess and lost interest.

King Zhongshun saw Jia Yun's lack of interest and suddenly said: "I think you are too lazy, kid."

Lin Daiyu raised her eyes and looked at Jia Yun, then lowered her head and ignored him.

Originally, Lin Daiyu didn't have the intention to play chess, but she couldn't refuse, so she reluctantly started playing chess.

As a "lady in the family", Lin Daiyu was interested in playing chess, calligraphy and painting. When she was in Beijing, she was influenced by her sisters in chess, so she was naturally able to play chess.

On the other hand, Zicuckoo, who was standing there, felt better after seeing this situation. It was better to find something to do than to think wildly. There was someone taking care of the master, so it wouldn't hinder anything for a while.

When Jia Yun heard this, he looked indifferent and said casually: "If you don't understand the way of chess, why should you show your ugliness and be arty? On the contrary, it will be looked down upon."

Since coming to this world, Jia Yun only thought about studying and becoming an official when he was young, and did not delve into other aspects of things.

When he was older, Jia Yun was sent to a bitter and cold place at the border. Most of them were old and rough, and they didn't have the opportunity to be elegant. It was good that they didn't learn their foul language.

King Zhongshun laughed when he heard this, and asked Lin Daiyu with great interest: "What do you think of niece Lin?"

Although Lin Daiyu was surprised that King Zhongshun would ask her, she still said: "The four good qualities of an elegant person are" playing the piano with a leisurely mind, playing chess with wisdom, writing with virtues, and painting with art. How can it be arty?"

Playing music, chess, calligraphy and painting are the so-called "Four Good Things for Scholars", or the "Four Friends of Scholars", which are essential for the cultivation of literati.

"Hahaha...niece Lin is absolutely right." After praising Lin Daiyu, King Zhongshun turned his head to Jia Yun and joked: "You have to listen carefully to what your aunt says."

Jia Yun didn't take it seriously. Elegance was really not Jia Yun's style. Jia Yun understood a few years ago that Jia Yun was not from that circle at all, whether it was his past life memory or his personality. If that was the case, why bother with being elegant...

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty asked me to come to Jiangnan on errands, and it was not a matter of elegance."

Jiangnan was having trouble raising money, but as an imperial envoy, King Zhongshun was not in a hurry and leisurely strolled around the garden and played chess, which was really funny.

In response to Jia Yun's disdainful look, Lin Daiyu frowned when she heard this and wanted to say a few words, but she thought she was unfamiliar and endured it.

With a smile on his face, King Zhongshun took a tea cup from the table beside him and took a sip. He said meaningfully: "Jia Shenling, just say what you want to say. There is no need to hide it, and I don't need to hide it."

It will block the flow of speech."

When Jia Yun heard this, his face darkened and he remained silent.

Lin Daiyu was thoughtful and knew that King Zhongshun and Jia Yun were going to discuss official matters, so she stood up and said goodbye: "Uncle, my niece will leave first."

I thought King Zhongshun would agree, but King Zhongshun waved his hand and said: "It's okay, it's not a shameful thing, there is no need to avoid it."

After saying this, King Zhongshun made a move.

Lin Daiyu sat down after hearing this and continued playing chess.

When Jia Yun saw this, he thought it was not a big deal. After thinking for a moment, Jia Yun said: "Your Majesty, your Majesty's intention is to ask me to come to Jiangnan to ask for money. Whether I give alms or not depends on other people's faces. Now the prince's dignity is just

It’s worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and I’m afraid it’s useless to sell your face. If you want to raise money for disaster relief, I’m afraid you’ll have to agree to “extra money”.”

Prince Zhongshun frowned when he heard this. Jia Yun looked like he was hesitant to speak before. He thought there was some way, but he still had to compromise...

"If such a precedent is set, how can the court lose face?"

Donating money requires getting benefits from the court. Once such an example occurs, wouldn't it encourage those businessmen to the point of getting out of hand?

Secondly, if word spreads, it will really bring disgrace to the court and the royal family.

"Introduction" can only be a matter of grace, not a transaction.

Jia Yun naturally knew the relationship. In addition, if he agreed to the "additional introduction", to put it bluntly, he was competing with the country for profit. The extra salt would not be taxed, and it would not be using the court's money to provide disaster relief.

, if this is the case, why does the Holy Spirit need to make a pledge?

In Jia Yun's view, asking the salt merchants to pay for their money seemed like the court's "free prostitution" to the salt merchants, but in fact, the court's "sympathy" for the merchants was not for free.

In the nearly 100 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, these businessmen have made a fortune relying on the preferential policies provided by the court. Now that the court is short of money, it is really ridiculous for these businessmen to talk about transactions.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Now that you have received a "dividend", you should make an effort.

After a pause, Jia Yun said: "We and these people only have this amount of money that they can "beg" for. In that case, let's ask more people to beg for it. There are tens of thousands of victims outside the city waiting for food..."

"Hiss..." King Zhongshun took a breath when he heard this and said in surprise: "This is not letting the disaster victims enter the city. If there is a riot, this will be a huge trap."

Jia Yun sneered and said: "Your Majesty, there will be no chaos. There are nearly ten thousand soldiers and horses in the Yangzhou camp. Before leaving, Your Majesty gave the prince the power to control the Yangzhou camp. As long as the control is proper, there will be no big chaos and the victims will enter the city."

, I think those salt merchants can still sit there!...

If Your Majesty has other ideas, just pretend that I never said this."

King Zhongshun's eyes flickered, as if he was considering the pros and cons. If there was a riot, the job would be a failure. Even if he was a prince, this punishment would be inevitable.

However, it is really hard to get money from these salt merchants. If the money is not raised all the time, the victims will not be resettled. If they are not resettled, more people will starve to death. It is already autumn. If

If the victims are not prepared for the winter in time, not a few will freeze to death until winter...

Improper handling of disaster relief will undermine the dignity of today's emperor...

After pondering for a moment, King Zhongshun said cautiously: "Tell me carefully..."
Chapter completed!