Chapter 203 Li Qing, how can I help you this time!
Li Huan's words made Yan Kai feel something bad in his heart, and at the same time he suddenly felt a little unsure.
You must know that he came here with complete risk, and was prepared to take Li Huan and die together.
After all, because of Li Huan, his heirs were cut off. Since then, the Yan family has been extinct. The key point is that he obviously can't hold on to his official position. With Li Huan's behavior, his family will definitely be exterminated.
In other words, no matter what, he is doomed.
In this case, Yan Kai made up his mind to drag Li Huan with him even if he died, so Yan Kai got thousands of kilograms of gunpowder and sealed them in wine jars.
Thinking about it, with so much gunpowder, if Li Huan approached Li Huan by offering wine, thousands of kilograms of gunpowder would explode within a few feet, and Li Huan could be completely destroyed if kept within a few feet.
But when Yan Kai looked behind him, his face suddenly became extremely ugly, because the servants who came with him actually ran away one by one.
He actually ran away. These were his servants who had been with him for more than ten years. Even several of his servants whom he trusted extremely had fled, leaving Tang Ren alone with a dull and helpless look on his face.
Yan Kai didn't even think about it. He came here just to drag Li Huan to die together. In other words, no matter what the outcome was, he was dead anyway.
Then the people who came with him would also have to die.
If at the beginning, relying on the loyalty in their hearts, they had deceived these servants into dying, perhaps few of them would betray them.
But along the way, they prepared gunpowder and rushed all the way. During this time, the blood in the hearts of these servants suddenly dissipated, and the fear of death in their hearts naturally surged up.
Especially when they came to the Xie Mansion and saw corpses all around, the panic and fear of death finally took over their hearts.
The servants were frightened when they thought that the gunpowder they had brought exploded and they all faked their own deaths and became part of the corpses on the ground.
I don’t know who was the first to abandon the car and run away.
As long as the first thing like escaping occurs, if it is not strongly suppressed or stopped, the second one will definitely appear soon.
So before Tang Ren could react, the dozen or so servants who came with them all ran away. Even the Jin Yiwei couldn't help but be stunned when they saw this scene.
Because Yan Kai's attention was focused on Li Huan, Yan Kai didn't even notice that the people who came with him had escaped.
Especially since he prostrated himself in front of Li Huan and was busy dealing with Li Huan. If Li Huan hadn't reminded him, he might not have even noticed this.
"Hahaha, okay, okay, I don't know people well, so I actually believed these ungrateful people."
Seeing that his plan completely failed, Yan Kai couldn't help but laugh angrily.
Tang Ren, who was far away, saw Yan Kai's crazy behavior, looked around again, with a somewhat crazy look in his eyes, and suddenly took out the fire stick from his arms and was about to light it.
However, at this moment, a Xiuchun knife flew out of the air and hit Tang Ren in the chest. The huge impact that penetrated his body directly carried Tang Ren's body and flew several feet away, and then fell to the ground.
Blood gushed out from his mouth. Tang Ren glanced in the direction of Yan Kai unwillingly, and his head drooped.
The embroidered spring knife was thrown by Lin Pingzhi when he saw Tang Ren's actions.
Although they were tens of feet apart, even if the gunpowder in the wine jars exploded, it might not be able to hurt them, but it was right to take precautions before they happened.
Li Huan glanced at Yan Kai and said, "Come here, take down Magistrate Yan!"
Two Jinyi guards immediately stepped forward and tied up Yan Kai.
Yan Kai reacted at this moment and couldn't help but yelled at Li Huan: "Li Huan, you traitor, you kill innocent people indiscriminately, you will die badly."
In the autumn and September of the third year of Zhengde's reign in the Ming Dynasty, two fast horses galloped along the official road, carrying flags of the Eight Hundred Miles Rush, and rushed directly into the capital.
In the cabinet, Li Dongyang, who is the chief minister of the cabinet, seems to be much older than before. If you only look at his spirit, he feels like an old man who is about to run out of energy and is in his final years.
At this time, Li Dongyang was sorting out several memorials and preparing to order them to be submitted to the emperor for personal review.
Suddenly, there was a burst of rapid footsteps.
Li Dongyang tightened his cotton-padded clothes and felt a chill coming over him. He looked up and saw a frightened and angry Yang Tinghe striding over with a document in his hand.
After all, having worked with Yang Tinghe for so many years, Li Dongyang still has some understanding of Yang Tinghe's temperament.
If this person has determined something in his heart, he will definitely stick to it and it will be difficult to change his decision.
Likewise, Yang Tinghe's character was also very resolute. He rarely saw Yang Tinghe so moody and angry.
So when he saw Yang Tinghe striding over with the urgent document, Li Dongyang sighed in his heart, maybe something big had happened again.
Otherwise, with Yang Tinghe's temperament, he would never react like this.
Taking a deep breath, Li Dongyang smiled slightly at Yang Tinghe and said, "Jiefu, what happened?"
Yang Tinghe stepped forward with a rather ugly look on his face. He handed the memorial in his hand to Li Dongyang and said: "First Assistant, take a look. This is an urgent official document submitted by Li Huan from Yuyao County, Shaoxing Prefecture."
Li Dongyang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard this.
Li Huan was ordered to go to Yuyao County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province to investigate Xie Qian's rebellion. Li Dongyang only learned about it from the emperor not long ago.
It can be said that Li Huan quietly left the capital with his people. It was not until the third day that Li Dongyang and the others realized that Li Huan was not in the capital. From the memorials reported by local officials, they discovered that Li Huan actually brought the Jin Yiwei with him and even went to Tengxiang.
Zuo Wei mobilized his elite troops and headed south.
At that time, Li Dongyang and others were panicked. Although the movement of Li Huan's dispatch this time was not that big, the scale was much larger.
In particular, the elite soldiers and horses of Tengxiang's left guard were mobilized. How could this not frighten Li Dongyang and the others?
What on earth was Li Huan going to do, and he actually had to mobilize troops?
For this reason, Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe and several important officials in the court went to the palace in person to ask for an audience with the emperor.
From the emperor's mouth, Li Dongyang, Yang Ting and others finally knew that Li Huan had actually followed the emperor's order and went to Yuyao County, Shaoxing Prefecture to investigate Xie Qian.
To be honest, Li Dongyang and others were very shocked when they learned that Xie Qian had colluded with Fei Hong and others to murder the emperor.
Although there was a vague guess that there must be a powerful person behind the scenes, otherwise it would be impossible to gather Fei Hong, Mao Ji, Liang Chu, Liu Zhong and so many important officials in the court at once, but I did not expect that this person would be
Thank you Qian.
After all, Xie Qian was a veteran of several dynasties, and he had been deposed by the emperor for several years. In addition, Xie Qian was already old, and he was already at an age where the loess was buried up to his neck. He might fall asleep when he did.
Never wake up again.
Therefore, from the perspective of normal people, it is impossible for a being like Xie Qian to have the energy and thought to do such a thankless task.
Since then, Li Dongyang has been paying attention to the Shaoxing Prefecture, but for most of the time, there has been no news.
However, Li Dongyang has been mentally prepared to a certain extent. After all, Li Huan personally went out and brought so many people with him at once, including the army. It would be fine if there is no trouble. Once there is any trouble, it will definitely not happen.
What a trivial matter.
At this moment, Li Dongyang lowered his head and looked at the urgent document in his hand. Even though he was mentally prepared, when he actually saw the content on the official document, Li Dongyang still couldn't help but shrink his eyes, and then his hand shook slightly.
, I only felt a sharp pain in my heart, and my eyesight turned faintly black.
Yang Tinghe was startled when he saw Li Dongyang falling forward. He quickly stepped forward to help Li Dongyang, and at the same time shouted to the officials on the side who had reacted: "My lord, the Chief Assistant is so angry that I need to go and fetch him."
Imperial physician."
While Li Dongyang was drowsy, he only felt a burst of noise coming from his ears. He didn't know how long it took before he regained consciousness.
"Wake up, Mr. Chief Assistant is awake!"
A voice with a bit of surprise sounded, and Li Dongyang slowly opened his eyes, and saw several figures standing beside him, and he was lying on a bed.
When Liu Yu, Wang Yangming, Yang Ting and several others saw Li Dongyang waking up, their faces could not help showing a bit of relief, but also a bit of worry.
Li Dongyang fainted, but he shocked them all.
After all, he was also the chief minister. If he died in the cabinet like this, and if it was really spread, I don't know how people would criticize the emperor.
The imperial doctor looked at Li Dongyang and said: "The chief assistant was so angry that his blood surged up, and he fainted. Therefore, it is best for the chief assistant not to get angry at will, otherwise, this situation will happen again.
"
Li Dongyang nodded towards the imperial physician. As the imperial physician withdrew, Yang Tinghe said with a somewhat annoyed look on his face: "If I had known that the chief minister would not be able to move his body, I would not have given him that official document."
The chief assistant watched it."
Struggling to sit up slowly, he shook his head slightly at Yang Tinghe and said, "Jiefu, please don't blame yourself. As the chief minister of the cabinet, how can I not know about such a big matter?"
As he spoke, Li Dongyang stood up and looked at Liu Yu. Wang Yangming said, "Have you all read the official document?"
After looking at each other, Wang Yangming cupped his hands and said, "I've just seen it."
Li Dongyang sighed and said, "I wonder what you think?"
Liu Yu said slowly: "In my opinion, although the Taifu said that killing is a bit serious, the powerful people in Yuyao dare to create civil unrest. If they don't kill, it won't be enough to shock people. They should be killed."
When Yang Tinghe heard this, he couldn't help but said to Liu Yu: "Master Liu's words are wrong. The Xing family, Mao family and other powerful families should indeed die, but the people are not to blame. They were just deceived by the people of these families. Taifu Li could have sent troops to generals."
Once they dispersed, why would they go on a killing spree, which would cost thousands of lives?"
Liu Yu just snorted coldly and ignored Yang Tinghe's meaning.
Li Dongyang coughed slightly and looked at Wang Yangming aside: "Yangming, what do you think?"
Wang Yangming glanced at everyone and said: "Taifu Li's methods are indeed cruel, but if Wang was in Taifu Li's position, he would still choose to kill those people."
Hearing Wang Yangming's categorical words, many officials were shocked and couldn't help but look towards Wang Yangming.
Since joining the cabinet, Wang Yang has obviously been quite low-key, very easy-going, and has not shown much of a strong side, so many officials regard Wang Yangming as a humble gentleman.
In particular, Wang Yangming's knowledge revealed in his daily life has made many people admire him and regard him as a Confucian master.
But what Wang Yangming said now suddenly broke everyone's understanding of Wang Yangming.
They never thought that Wang Yangming would have such a resolute and fierce side.
Everyone present had already known the contents of the official document. Li Huan went on a killing spree in Yuyao County. He not only killed hundreds of scholars studying in Yuyao County, but also massacred thousands of rebellious people. Only those in Yuyao County were killed.
The heads are rolling and the blood is soaring to the sky.
In the eyes of officials like them, who are traditional scholars, this kind of cruel behavior is completely the act of a madman and a butcher.
Wang Yangming didn't seem to notice the change in the expressions of the crowd. He glanced at everyone and said: "Since Suzhou Sukui, Xi Zhen and several people climbed up and shouted, gathering a group of market scoundrels to attack the government office, and even sent officials from the imperial court.
He was dragged out of the government office and beaten to death, but the court did not punish him severely, and the seeds of today's disaster have already been laid."
As Wang Yangming looked at Yang Tinghe, Li Dongyang and others sneered and said, "What kind of temperament do these people have? I'm afraid you don't need to tell me what kind of temper these people have. You should understand in your hearts."
Then Wang Yangming said disdainfully: "There is a first time, there will be a second time, that's why Fujian scholars imitated Su Kui, Xizhen and others' actions in Suzhou, and this time Su Kui and Xizhen are even more
They want to repeat what happened in Suzhou, which is the hidden danger left by the unfair treatment of the court."
There was a hint of ridicule in his eyes, and he heard Wang Yangming continue: "Even a few places in Yuyao County have mobilized a group of market rogues in an attempt to cause chaos and threaten the imperial court.
It’s because we are too accommodating to these rebellious people that the wealthy gentry are always ready to cause civil riots.”
His eyes fell on Li Dongyang, Yang Ting and a few others. Wang Yangming sneered and said, "This is the fault of the imperial court. Now Mr. Li just decides impartially and no longer accommodates them."
The officials around had confused looks on their faces. Could it be that they had really indulged those people too much in the past?
And Wang Yangming shouted: "So Wang thinks that Mr. Li killed well. Not killing him is not enough to shock people, and not killing him is not enough to warn those who come after him. Otherwise, where is the king's law and where is the majesty of the court? Not only must he kill, but he must kill openly and justly.
It makes some people feel so scared that they dare not have the same idea."
Yang Tinghe listened to Wang Yangming's words and became angry and anxious. He said angrily: "Wang Yangming, you are talking lightly. Thousands of human lives are nothing in your eyes. You are so bloodthirsty that you are not worthy of being a Confucian student of mine."
Wang Yangming couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. His elegance was fully revealed, and his demeanor as a great master was revealed: "Wang has read and been taught by saints, so how can he not be considered a Confucian scholar?"
Seeing that Wang Yangming and Yang Tinghe were about to quarrel, Li Dongyang felt a headache, and immediately coughed and said: "Okay, this matter is of great importance. I will go to see the emperor later and ask the emperor for instructions."
Yang Tinghe waved his sleeves and said: "Li Huan must not be allowed to act so wantonly. The emperor must severely punish Li Huan."
Wang Yangming just smiled indifferently.
Although he has not yet met the Emperor, Wang Yangming has a clear mind as to which side the Emperor will take.
He didn't even think about who Li Huan killed this time.
Either he was the local tyrant who was behind the rebellion, or he was a disciple of Xie Qian. Who was Xie Qian? He was one of the masterminds of the plot to murder the emperor. If these people should not be killed, who should be killed?
Forbidden City
Zhu Houzhao was currently in the Kunning Palace where Queen Xia lived.
In the Queen's palace, several palace ladies stood at the door of the palace with their heads lowered and their pretty faces flushed, while a faint and melancholy sound could be heard in the palace.
Zhu Houzhao came to the queen's palace not long ago. Not long after, several maids serving the queen exited the palace with red faces, and then there were strange sounds in the palace.
These maids felt weak all over as they listened to the melancholy sounds coming from the queen's palace.
The sound lasted for as long as a stick of incense before it stopped.
At this moment, Queen Xia was nestling in the emperor's arms in the palace, her exposed skin was like gelatin, her face was flushed and she said: "Your Majesty, today..."
Zhu Houzhao was lying there with a look of satisfaction on his face. He moved his big hands and laughed loudly when he heard this: "The Queen knows that Li Qing is coming back soon!"
"ah!"
The queen was stunned for a moment, with a confused look on her face, as if she didn't quite understand what the relationship between the emperor and Li Huan had to do with the emperor coming to see her in broad daylight to pay a grand ceremony to the queen.
Zhu Houzhao obviously noticed the look of astonishment on the queen's face, and immediately laughed and said: "Queen, do you know what Li Qing brought back this time?"
The queen's hair had already been wet with sweat and was scattered between her cheeks. She was very charming. Even though Zhu Houzhao was used to seeing stunning beauty, he couldn't help but feel moved when he saw the queen looking like this.
The queen seemed to feel something, and she said with a bit of shyness and worry on her pretty face: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid I can't bear it anymore, so I won't be summoned..."
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, just talk to me. During those days when I was in a coma, thanks to you being by my side, Queen, I just felt that I had neglected the Queen too much in the past few years."
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
Queen Xia couldn't help but sob in a low voice after hearing this.
She was the queen chosen by the late emperor and the empress dowager. Because she was upright and polite, and was unsmiling, she did not please Zhu Houzhao very much after she married into the royal family.
As a result, the relationship between the couple was very dull, and even Zhu Houzhao might not come to her palace for several months before.
Queen Xia felt miserable at the emperor's indifference, but what Queen Xia didn't expect was that one day, the emperor would be assassinated.
When Queen Xia heard the news of the emperor's assassination, she almost fainted from shock. She waited in front of the emperor's bed in full clothes and prayed for the emperor every day.
It was as if God heard her prayer. She originally thought that there was no hope for the emperor to wake up, but she never thought that Li Huan would rush into the imperial city like a god descending from heaven and rescue the emperor.
To this day, Queen Xia still can't forget the scene when Li Huan walked into the emperor's palace covered in blood.
Since then, the emperor's attitude towards him changed drastically, and he would come to her palace almost every three to five days, which moved Queen Xia deeply.
Naturally, Queen Xia was extremely grateful to Li Huan. It can be said that without Li Huan, she would not be where she is today.
Caressing Zhu Houzhao's chest with her slender hand, Queen Xia said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, didn't you just say that Taifu will be back soon? Seeing that Your Majesty is so happy, what did Taifu Li bring back to Your Majesty this time?"
Seeing that the queen changed the topic back, Zhu Houzhao flashed a bright light on his face and said: "Li Qing went to Yuyao County to capture Xie Qian, the rebel who plotted to kill me. He killed a group of rebels and brought back millions to me. Two pieces of gold and silver.”
Queen Xia lived in a deep palace and knew very little about the outside world. Even some palace maids and eunuchs knew more about the outside world than she, the queen, knew.
Of course, this is also related to Queen Xia's temperament.
However, Queen Xia paid the most attention to the news about Li Huan, so she also knew many rumors about Li Huan.
When he heard this, he couldn't help but said in surprise: "Mr. Li killed someone again?"
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but chuckle when he heard this: "What? Does the Queen think that Li Qing is bad at killing people?"
Empress Xia shook her head and said: "It's not that I think it's not good for Taifu to kill someone. I think that killing will hurt Tianhe after all. Li Qing wants to be a monarch and minister with His Majesty for life. If it hurts Tianhe and ruins his life, how can it be done? It’s not bad.”
As she spoke, Empress Xia took a deep breath, looked at Zhu Houzhao and said, "I only know that it was Taifu Li who risked his life to save your majesty. Taifu Li was loyal to your majesty, so he must be a good official, and those people Taifu Li killed must not be What a good man."
Zhu Houzhao burst out laughing after hearing this, reached out and touched Queen Xia's head and said, "If Li Qing knew that the Queen praised him so much, I don't know what his reaction would be."
The two emperors and queens were playing the harp and the piano in harmony, and the Kunning Palace was filled with an aura of peace.
At this moment, Qiu Ju, who was guarding outside the Kunning Palace, bowed and stood outside the palace, and said in a sharp voice to the palace: "Your Majesty, several pavilion elders want to see your Majesty."
In the palace, Zhu Houzhao, who was bathing and changing under the Queen's service, couldn't help raising his brows when he heard this, and stood up slowly. After the Queen helped him straighten his clothes, he smiled at the Queen and said, "The Queen must be tired too. I'm going to see some pavilion elders, and I'll come back to see the queen in two days."
Empress Xia, who was dressed in a moon-white tunic, remembered something when she heard this. Her pretty face turned red, and she saluted Zhu Houzhao and said, "I respectfully send you off to your majesty."
Outside the palace, seeing Zhu Houzhao walking over with a glowing face, Qiu Ju quickly stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, several pavilion elders are outside the palace gate asking for an audience at the moment."
Zhu Houzhao chuckled and said: "If my prediction is correct, Li Qing's official document should be sent to the cabinet by now."
Qiu Ju followed Zhu Houzhao and walked towards the outside of Qianqing Palace. He smiled and said: "Jinyiwei's channel is faster than the official channel after all. I think the cabinet has also received urgent documents at this time."
Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "There have been no major events in the court recently, so the reason why they came to the palace to see me at this time must be because of what Li Qing did in Yuyao County."
Qiu Ju nodded and said, "I don't know how they will criticize Brother Li this time."
Zhu Houzhao chuckled and said: "Send someone to invite several pavilion elders to Qianqing Palace. I will meet them at Qianqing Palace."
Qianqing Palace is not only the residence of the emperor, but also the place where the emperor handles government affairs on a daily basis. In the huge Forbidden City, it can be said to be the core palace.
The Qianqing Palace is where the emperor lives, the Kunning Palace where the queen lives, the yin and yang of the universe.
The two palaces were not far apart. It didn't take long before Zhu Houzhao, accompanied by Qiu Ju, returned to the Qianqing Palace on foot.
After taking a sip of tea, it only took a while before I saw several figures walking over under the guidance of a young chamberlain.
Entering the main hall, the four elders Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe, Wang Yangming, and Liu Yu stepped forward and saluted the emperor: "I will pay my respects to your majesty."
Zhu Houzhao chuckled and said, "You don't have to be polite."
As he spoke, he said to Qiu Ju beside him: "Qiu Daban, give some seats to the pavilion elders."
After Li Dongyang and others thanked the emperor and took their seats, Zhu Houzhao looked at the people with a smile and said, "I don't know how many Qing family members came to see me, but what's the matter?"
Li Dongyang coughed violently and his face turned pale. Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but said with concern: "Li Aiqing, what are you..."
Li Dongyang stopped coughing, took a few breaths, and then said to Zhu Houzhao with a wry smile: "I'm afraid my health may not be good anymore. I had a bit of wind and cold the day before yesterday and I feel exhausted. This has disturbed Your Majesty."
Looking at Li Dongyang, who seemed to have aged by more than ten years after a big change, with all his hair turning white, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but sighed: "Li Aiqing worked hard for my Ming Dynasty, he should have taken care of his old age early." , It’s only my fault that I forced my beloved to stay..."
Li Dongyang heard this and said hurriedly: "It is my blessing to be able to assist His Majesty Zuo and serve the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty has really defeated me."
Zhu Houzhao said to Qiu Ju who was standing aside: "Qiu Daban, go tell the imperial kitchen to prepare some ginger soup. Now that the weather is turning cold, several pavilion elders also drink some ginger soup to go away the cold."
When everyone heard this, they quickly thanked the emperor.
Li Dongyang looked at the emperor who was obviously much more mature than before, and he felt a little relieved in his heart. He took a deep breath and said to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, I wonder if your Majesty has ever seen the urgent document from Li Huan and Taifu Li."
For urgent documents like this, one copy is usually sent to the cabinet and the other to the imperial city.
Although Zhu Houzhao had the channels of Jinyiwei to get the news in advance, the formal documents would still be sent to the palace.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao nodded when he heard this and said: "If Aiqing is talking about the official document Li Qing submitted not long ago, I have indeed read it."
When Yang Tinghe heard this, his face became serious and he said: "Your Majesty, Li Huan only wanted to capture Xie Qian in Yuyao, but he actually massacred the people, and that was thousands of lives. Such an action is really shocking..."
Zhu Houzhao knew that someone would take this matter to impeach Li Huan. Only a few people in the cabinet knew about it. If it spread to all officials, Zhu Houzhao could guess without even thinking that the memorial to impeach Li Huan would come like snowflakes.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao was not surprised at all when Yang Tinghe opened his mouth to impeach Li Huan.
Zhu Houzhao smiled at Yang Tinghe, his eyes fell on Wang Yangming, Liu Yu and the others and said: "Where are your beloved ladies?"
Wang Yangming and Liu Yu immediately said: "Your Majesty, I believe that the rebellious ministers and traitors have no laws and should be killed."
Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he glanced at the two of them with great admiration.
Finally, Zhu Houzhao turned to Li Dongyang and said, "Li Aiqing, do you think what the Grand Tutor did this time violated the national laws and regulations?"
Li Dongyang shook his head. The emperor would favor Li Huan. Li Dongyang had long been mentally prepared for this. As a person with a soft temper, Li Dongyang had no intention of going against the emperor. He just sighed slightly and said: "After all, it is the number.
Once the news about thousands of lives spreads, the officials will definitely be excited, and the people will definitely criticize. I sincerely ask your majesty to punish Li Huan to some extent, so that Li Huan can restrain his murderous nature. There is no harm to him.
"
Zhu Houzhao glanced at Li Dongyang with relief and said, "What Li Aiqing said is very reasonable. I will consider it."
Yang Tinghe couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, is this the death of hundreds of students and thousands of people?"
Zhu Houzhao looked at Yang Tinghe with a straight face and said, "Does Yang Aiqing think those people don't deserve to die for what they did?"
Yang Tinghe's expression froze, and he sighed: "After all, they were deceived by others. Although they are guilty, their sins will not lead to death."
Wang Yangming sneered at the side and said: "If you don't know right from wrong, you will follow what others say, and you will be deceived by others. There is no way for good or misfortune, only people bring it upon themselves. Death is not a pity!"
Yang Tinghe snorted coldly, glared at Wang Yangming, and then said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, let's not mention Li Huan's indiscriminate killing of innocent people. The money he confiscated from Xie Qian and the Yuyao gentry's house should be put into the national treasury.
.”
Zhu Houzhao did not expect that Yang Tinghe would be interested in the money that Li Huan had confiscated.
Suddenly, Zhu Houzhao thought that the millions of taels of silver gained from the confiscation of the Fei family by the Jin Yiwei were about to enter the capital. Even the money confiscated from Fuzhou, according to the news from the Jin Yiwei, had already passed through Tongzhou and was not far away from entering the capital.
Judging from Yang Tinghe's posture, he might be a drunkard who doesn't care about drinking when he enters the palace this time.
Thinking of this, Zhu Houzhao took a deep breath and said: "Mr. Yang Ge, you have accepted the post of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Is it possible that the Ministry of Revenue is short of silver?"
As if waiting for the emperor's words, Yang Tinghe immediately raised his head and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, since the imperial court spent a lot of money last year, the silver in the national treasury has bottomed out..."
Upon hearing this, the emperor immediately said: "If I remember correctly, the autumn tax should have been collected and put into the treasury not long ago."
Hearing what the emperor said, Yang Tinghe was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting that the emperor still remembered this.
However, Yang Tinghe quickly came to his senses and said: "Your Majesty, although there is a supplement from the autumn tax, there is not much money in the treasury. In addition, hundreds of officials are discussing taking advantage of the autumn and winter to repair several sections of rivers in the Huanghuai area.
, those sections of rivers have been in disrepair for a long time and must be re-reinforced and repaired. Otherwise, if there is heavy rain in the coming year, there is a risk that the Huanghuai River will burst its banks and flood. This will require a large amount of money and food. There will also be a locust plague in Shaanxi this autumn.
, food production in several places has been reduced, and a large number of victims are waiting for relief from the imperial court..."
Soon, Yang Tinghe's words popped up. The expenses for each place were tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. It seemed like a small amount, but there were so many places where money could not be used. The total amount was
As many as millions of taels.
Zhu Houzhao wanted to refute, but everything Yang Tinghe said was reasonable at first and must be paid for. In the end, Zhu Houzhao looked at Li Dongyang, Wang Yangming, and Liu Yu in stunned silence.
Obviously Zhu Houzhao hoped that Wang Yangming or Liu Yu would stand up and raise objections.
However, this time Yang Tinghe came clearly prepared, so every item of expenditure he mentioned was reasonable and no one could refute it.
Therefore, even Wang Yangming and Liu Yu could only express helplessness to the emperor when they saw Zhu Houzhao's eyes.
As senior ministers of the Central Cabinet, they naturally understood that the expenditures mentioned by Yang Tinghe were not exaggerated in any way.
Of course, it would not be correct to say that there really is no problem at all.
It's just that this so-called problem is not a problem at all. It is nothing more than Yang Tinghe's calculation of some expenditures that the court had to postpone due to the shortage of money in recent years.
The imperial court had a shortage of money before. Not to mention other things, it was like some rivers in the Huanghuai area. In fact, they had already reached the level of repair two years ago. However, because the imperial court did not have enough money and food, it could only delay it again and again.
This kind of thing obviously cannot be postponed, so although they know Yang Tinghe's purpose, Wang Yangming and Liu Yu can't say anything, because these many expenditures are really urgent.
It's fine if there is no money, but now there is hope. No matter how Wang Yangming stands in Li Huan's position, but from the perspective of the entire Ming Dynasty, Wang Yangming also hopes that a batch of money can enter the national treasury to complete these urgent matters.
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Regarding the repair of the Huanghuai River alone, after Wang Yangming became a cabinet minister and came into contact with these important court events, he took it to heart and even planned to find an opportunity to look for Li Huan sometime to see if he could confiscate it from Fujian.
A portion of the money received was used to repair the Huanghuai River. This was a major issue related to the life and death of millions or even tens of millions of people on both sides of the Huanghuai River.
Yang Tinghe respectfully said to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, there is really no money in the court. It's not the old minister's idea of the money, but if these things are not done, once something goes wrong, it will inevitably affect countless people. I sincerely ask your majesty
Putting all the people in the world first and living beings first, let the money enter the national treasury."
Zhu Houzhao's face was full of embarrassment. He was not a foolish emperor after all. If he was, then that would be fine. He didn't need to worry about anything else. He only needed to put the money into the inner treasury.
But when he thought of the projects mentioned by Yang Tinghe that were related to people's livelihood, Zhu Houzhao was full of tangles in his heart.
On the one hand, it was the promise to Li Huan, and on the other hand, the court was in urgent need of money.
Under this situation, even Zhu Houzhao felt an incomparable headache. He wanted to open his mouth to refuse several times, but when he thought about the flooding of the Huanghuai River and the relief for the victims, Zhu Houzhao could not speak.
Yang Tinghe looked at Zhu Houzhao's tangled look, and couldn't help but bow to Zhu Houzhao and said: "Your Majesty, I am not doing this for myself, nor for Taifu Li, but I hope that your majesty can put the country, the country, and the welfare of all people first."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and suddenly said: "I know the loyalty of the Yang Qing family, but the money has already been arranged by the Li Huanqing family. I have promised the Li Qing family..."
Yang Tinghe kowtowed and said, "I hope your Majesty will think twice!"
Zhu Houzhao took a deep breath, looked at Yang Tinghe and said slowly: "In that case, the Yang Qing family will just go and discuss with Li Aiqing. If the Yang Qing family can convince the Li Qing family, I will agree."
Yang Tinghe couldn't help but said anxiously after hearing this: "Your Majesty..."
Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said: "Okay, if there is nothing else, I am tired!"
Seeing this, Li Dongyang coughed lightly at Yang Tinghe, then stepped forward and said to Zhu Houzhao: "Since your Majesty is tired, I will take my leave."
Wang Yangming and Liu Yu also saluted Zhu Houzhao and said, "Your Majesty, I will take my leave."
Yang Tinghe took a deep breath and bowed to Zhu Houzhao.
After watching several people leave, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but look at Qiu Ju and said: "Qiu Daban, what do you think Li Qing should do if Yang Ge Lao comes to Li Qing this time?"
Qiu Ju said with a wry smile on his face: "Your Majesty, I understand clearly from the sidelines that Mr. Yang Ge has great righteousness. Whether it is relieving the victims or repairing the river, it is a major event that benefits all people and is also a waste of time."
No, if Mr. Yang Ge went to find Brother Li under such a banner, it would be fine if Brother Li agreed, but if he didn’t agree..."
Zhu Houzhao and Qiu Ju looked at each other, with deep worries in their eyes.
If he is not careful, Li Huanke will really be ruined and be reviled by all the people.
This is not as bad as Li Huan's killing of scholars and officials. After all, Li Huan only targeted officials and scholars before and did not harm the people. Even if some people agreed with him, it was just a word of mouth.
But if people knew this time that Li Huan refused to use money to relieve the victims and repair the rivers, he would really be reviled by the people and be infamy for thousands of years.
There was silence in the main hall.
As he spoke, Zhu Houzhao suddenly said: "If I remember correctly, the silver confiscated by the Fei family will soon arrive in the capital, probably within the next two days."
Hearing this, Qiu Ju nodded and said: "The news sent by the Jinyiwei the day before yesterday said that the Jinyiwei had already protected the money and was on the way to Beijing. At most, in the evening of tomorrow, the big ship carrying the silver would dock at the dock of the canal."
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