Six hundred and ninetieth chapters Ke Shao Jiqiu (5)
In the ninth year of Zhengde, it was also the year of the imperial inspection.
The last time he used the capital to go to war was in the third year of Zhengde, when Liu Jin took the opportunity to clean up the remaining members of Liu Xie's party.
Things are changing, and now everyone inside and outside the government thinks that this time the Beijing Police are going to clean up the remaining members of the Eunuch Party.
Sure enough, the Metropolitan Procuratorate's first shot of the year was to target people who had connections with Liu Jin.
However, this person is not an eunuch, but Prince Ning.
Luo Feng, the Censor of the Thirteenth Road in Nanjing, and others said: "King Ning became more arrogant and arrogant since he traveled against Jin, and begged to protect him. He conquered wealthy families, invaded fertile fields, and resorted to lewd punishments and torture to the point of annihilation. It started in the provincial capital.
As for the countryside, where the benefits are, there are hundreds of cages, merchants and travelers dare not come in and out, and boats dare not dock, so how can the people survive the misfortune."
He also said: "If you care about the three ministers as a bait, no one dares to take a breath. They would rather sit back and watch the people's troubles and betray the emperor's favor, and dare not criticize the troubles and disobey the clan."
The whole court was in an uproar.
Prince Ning has been creating his own image as a virtuous king. From his earliest wish to record his filial piety and understanding of etiquette in the records of the Xiaomiao Temple, to when the imperial court introduced the vassal regulations, he actively reported other sects' illegal acts and obtained instructions for sects' offenders.
Qualifications.
Just a few short months ago, many people in the court praised Ning Fan's young master, the wise king and the holy son.
And in this excerpt, every accusation is made that Prince Ning's crimes were extremely heinous, much worse than the Linzhang Prince's Palace where his family was confiscated and his title was stripped.
All the mouthpieces in the court who spoke for Ning Fan were mute. For such an impeachment, the only option was for Prince Ning to go to court to defend himself, or for the young master to defend himself on his father's behalf.
Not to mention how much a twelve-year-old kid can know about the palace, but the fact that the young master is now open to the outside world under the guise of "being seriously ill cannot leave the capital".
Once you appear in the main hall and reveal a little bit of flaws, it is the crime of deceiving the emperor.
And when the news reaches Jiangxi, it will take more than a month for Prince Ning's self-defense statement to be sent to Beijing immediately.
The situation of the young master of Ning Mansion suddenly became embarrassing.
Everyone knew very well that most of them were here for the young master. If he was not a virtuous king, why would he mention a holy son?
In the Xianyifang house, Mr. Li was so angry that he rushed to deliver the letter to Jiangxi and urged Mr. Miao to quickly find someone to fight this war of words.
However, no one dared to take this hot potato.
There are some things that sects will do by default, such as occupying people's fields and squeezing merchants.
Not to mention vassals, which local powerful people have not done this? Even ordinary wealthy families are bound to do this kind of thing.
Who dares to say that Prince Ning is really a saint and that he has never done anything illegal in the palace?
It doesn't matter if you think things are hot, the money is not hot, Ning Fan has repeatedly raised the money for "finishing the pen", just hoping that "there will be a brave man under the heavy reward".
This makes people feel itchy, and some people are ready to take action.
After all, the imperial censor's report will not be as conclusive as the Shen Chaojia report. It has the meaning of "reporting on hearsay", and there is still room for tearing apart.
But soon, they no longer have to worry about making a choice.
Lan Zhang, the right deputy of the Imperial Palace, said: "In the past, I went to the princes to ask for salt for only 200 to 300 citations, but now the official officials are asking for more than tens of thousands, and weaving and other items. Although the name is 20,000, it is really a lot. There is also tribute.
The ship went to the Changlu Transportation Department to buy private salt, acting unscrupulously and begging for a reward."
The Ning Mansion is indispensable in all the memorials listed, and among them is the Ning Mansion's guard commander Wang Qizong, who bought private salt from Changlu.
The names have been pointed out, so of course there is evidence.
And Lan Zhang has been in charge of Fuzhou Mansion in Jiangxi Province for many years, so he probably still has a lot of "evidence" of Prince Ning's Mansion.
Soon, the emperor issued an order and official notice to the people of Jiangxi. Anyone whose property or house had been occupied by the royal family was allowed to file a lawsuit. He also ordered the three governors of the province to pay an audience and order King Ning to "reform."
At the same time, he was promoted to Lan Zhang as the left minister of the Nanjing Criminal Department and the left deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and was ordered to clean up the Lu Salt Law of the Lianghuai Chang.
Subsequently, during the routine transfer of officials from the Chief Envoys' Department and the Inspection and Envoys' Department of each province, there was almost a major change of leadership in Jiangxi's top management.
Huang Zan, the right chief envoy of the Jiangxi Chief Secretary, was transferred to Huguang, Wang Huolin, the left political envoy, was transferred to Guangdong, Wang Zhi, the Jiangxi inspector general, was transferred to Yunnan, and Hu Shirong, the deputy inspector general of Jiangxi Province, was transferred to Fujian.
Only Zhang Yi, who participated in politics on the right, was promoted to envoy to the right and stayed in Jiangxi.
In addition, he was promoted to Sichuan Left Participant and Jiang was promoted to the right deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the governor of Tingzhang in southern Gansu.
The emperor's meaning is very clear.
No one dared to accept gifts from Ning Fan anymore, and those who had received gifts before could not help but feel panic.
It is true that in the past two years, the emperor has dealt with the vassals too much.
The vassals in Shandong have all been lying down quietly, the thorns in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan have all been eliminated until they are eliminated, and the vassal regulations have been beaten down one by one with big sticks. It is difficult not to think of the Xuande Temple during the Xuande period. A series of measures to reduce the vassal status.
No one can say whether this is to express dissatisfaction with Ning Fan's young master's desire to be a priest in the Taimiao Temple, or whether the next step is to clean up the Jiangxi clan.
Then there began to be heard in the court, saying that the young master of Ning Mansion came to Beijing in the name of sending money. Now that the money has been put into the treasury, the Hongde Hall has also begun to be repaired. There is nothing wrong with him anymore, and it is time to return. It's time to seal the land.
Ning Fan's staff in Beijing, after the emperor issued an order for Prince Ning to mend his ways, stopped all overt or covert visits to officials and dignitaries, and instead went to major medical clinics and even temples and nunneries to look for famous doctors for the young master.
Naturally, the young master's illness became "increasingly serious" and he was unable to leave Beijing.
Ning Fan even paid a lot of money to invite the eldest princess of Yongkang to come to the palace to plead for him, and asked the emperor to send Tian Liangzi to treat him and make elixirs.
The emperor agreed, but when the servant who delivered the oral instructions arrived at Tianliang Temple, he was told that Tianliangzi, the real person, had taken a boy to travel around to collect medicine. He had been gone for more than a month.
I don’t know where I went or when I would come back. It all depends on the old god’s wishes.
The emperor had no choice but to ask all the inns to pay more attention to this real person, and if he met him, he would be asked to return to the capital immediately. Here he would arrange for a dozen imperial doctors to treat the young master.
After all this turmoil, it was mid-March.
The triennial talent promotion ceremony attracts everyone's attention.
Your Majesty, "Looking at it from now on, it is like dividing the country into states, setting up officials and assigning duties, clarifying rituals and music, building schools, regulating calendars, ordering sacrifices, equalizing land taxes, promoting goods from springs, public elections, strict examinations, establishing a military system, careful "Criminal law means that when an emperor governs the world, it is certainly not without law." It is also quite thought-provoking that it was written into the palace examination questions.
However, despite the young emperor's earnest hopes, for the new scholars, more people still hope to stay in Beijing.
Especially during the Beijing inspection period, Liu Jin's party was once again purged in Beijing, and those who had some slight connections were not spared. As a result, many middle and low-level positions became vacant.
Not to mention that the new scholars are enthusiastic, the high-level bosses are also enthusiastic, taking the opportunity to win over the newcomers and install their own people.
In this regard, the little emperor could only complain to Zhang Hui: "It would be nice if there were two more Shen Rui's."
Zhang Huize said with a smile: "After all, the Imperial Academy is noble, and it is normal for scholars to hope to enter the Imperial Academy. But Shen Rui was at the local level, seeing that there were practical recommendations from the county magistrates and prefectures, and he was working hard to serve the emperor. How could it be so? Isn’t it more useful than those who don’t know how to farm and only focus on reading the books of sages?”
Brother Shou chewed "I don't know how to farm" twice in his mouth, sighed, and said: "In the future, we have to change the fundamentals bit by bit. We can't make all scholars develop the temperament of a censor, and there will only be one mouth left in the whole body." ."
Zhang Hui shrank his neck. The emperor could say this, but he didn't dare to accept it. He had been bitten by the censors ever since he took over the royal guards.
Recently, the Emperor has been talked about a lot, and has been annoyed. Fortunately, they all visited Prince Ning recently, and the Emperor is somewhat at peace.
As for Young Master Ning Fan, Zhang Hui only sneered in his heart...
The new wave of noise caused by the new Jinshi has not dissipated until April.
In April, the palace suddenly received the shocking news that Concubine Shen Xian was pregnant!
*
It has been more than eight years since I ascended the throne and seven years since I got married, but there has been no movement in the harem. The harem of the previous dynasty was always worried about the emperor's heir.
The late emperor had few heirs, not only because of the late emperor's physical weakness, but also because of the late emperor's special affection, and there was only one empress dowager in the harem.
Nowadays, she is skilled in bow and horse, keen on martial arts, and can be said to be in great health. There are many famous concubines in the harem. I heard that there are many beauties in Xiyuan, but there has never been an heir to the emperor, and there has never even been a concubine. The news of pregnancy has spread, which can't help but make people think a lot.
Especially in the past few months, he has adopted hundreds of adopted sons and has spread rumors of "falling asleep on Qian Ning's thighs", which makes people think a lot.
Now that the concubine is finally pregnant, although the gender is not yet known, the loyal ministers are half relieved.
Especially after the turmoil at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, this imperial heir became even more important.
The emperor was obviously very happy, and various rewards poured into Chang'an Palace and towards Concubine Shen Xian's natal family.
Originally, Concubine Shen Xian's maiden family was the last among the relatives. When the emperor gave any reward, she could usually only think of the Xia family, the queen's natal family. Even if Concubine Wu Def was not so favored in the palace, the Wu family was in-laws of the Zhang family of the Queen Mother's natal family. Concubine Shen I really can’t rely on anything at home.
Nowadays, the Shen family of the maternal relatives has become a bustling family, with countless people coming to add "firewood" (wealth) to heat the stove. The Shen family has also made a grand display of the eldest son's maternal family, and is so impressive that it seems to overshadow the Xia family.
Even though Concubine Shen Xian asked people to spread the word, she still didn’t know whether she was a princess or a prince, but she was a prince. Is it easy to be the eldest son of a concubine? The eldest son of a concubine also wants to call the queen his mother! Don’t rise up now, or fall even more when you look back. Cruel!!
It's just that the virtuous concubine is certainly virtuous, but there are cases as prominent as the Zhou family and Zhang family in the past - especially the Zhou family. The Empress Dowager Zhou was just a concubine at the beginning. When her son became the emperor, the Zhou family became rich and powerful. Three dynasties!
Now that the Shen family is being held in such high regard, with huge interests before their eyes, how many people can calm down and not be tempted?
Of course, such a high profile caused dissatisfaction among many people. However, one of the imperial censors tried to make excuses twice, but failed to respond, so everyone knew better.
After all, he was the heir that the emperor had been waiting for for many years. The Shen family had just begun to look up, and they didn't have time to do anything bad. The impeachment couldn't come up with any new tricks, so the censors gradually gave up.
More people are ready to beat up the drowned dog and drive the young master of Ning Fan out of the capital.
Now that the emperor has an heir, no matter whether he is a boy or a girl, as long as he can have children, if there is a first one, there will be a second one, and a third one...
The Emperor is only twenty-five, so he is still young and has a lot of time to spend having children.
Even if there is still no prince in another three to five years, it will be better to look for a younger child. At that time, the young master Ning Fan will be over fifteen, and there is no need for him at all.
Shangzhezi invited this man to return to the feudal territory to express his loyalty to the emperor and his maintenance of orthodoxy.
Facing the swarming censors and ministers, the young master of Ningfan chose to pretend to be deaf and mute, and "concentrated on recuperating" during the day, and from time to time there was news that he was critically ill.
Anyway, as long as he stays in Beijing and refuses to leave, there is nothing anyone can do about it.
*
When the news that Concubine Xian was pregnant reached Henan, Shen Rui naturally looked overjoyed in front of others, but his heart was extremely heavy.
In August last year, Brother Shou personally said that the Queen was pregnant.
According to the time, it has already been produced.
At this time, Concubine Shen Xian was pushed out. Was it because the queen had given birth to a prince and was hidden as a precaution - Xiaomiao had been hidden for six years when she was young, or had something happened to the queen's child?
The matter involved the inner palace, and even if Zhang Hui knew about it, he could not send out even a few words.
But no matter what the possibility is, the situation in Beijing must not be too good. Otherwise, there is no need to promote Concubine Xian to attract attention.
The emperor's moves one after another, no matter how you look at it, it looks like... he wants to force Ning Fan to rebel!
Without a hint of rebellion, it’s hard to cut it all off?!
Shen Rui frowned, but was the court really ready for a battle?
Our neighbors to the north are still watching with eager eyes because of the drought!
Although King Ning in his previous life was vulnerable to a single blow, his current teacher, Wang Shouren, is also the Minister of War in Nanjing. He has a large number of troops and a navy with great combat experience. It should not be difficult to defeat King Ning.
But what if the Tatars take advantage of the situation?
In the past two years, famines have continued in various places, and the national treasury has never saved much. If the two sides start a war, it will be too much.
The losses in the north will also directly affect the sensitive nerves of the Ming courtiers after the Tumubao Incident. What will happen then?
The good situation that has been created with great effort in northern Xinjiang will be ruined in one day. What is even more frightening is that once this inherent impression is planted, it may affect the Ming Dynasty's policy towards Mongolia for ten or more decades.
Ning Fan's pustule, just pick it open. It's better to do it early, but the north must be protected no matter what. Shen Rui thought through gritted teeth.
Then he locked himself in the study room alone and began to write a secret letter to his teacher Wang Shouren, to Zhang Hui, to Cong Lan, Shen Xuan, to Cai Song, Dai Dabin, Li Yanqing, to Jiang He, Gao Wenhu...
"You must hand the letter to Cong and Shen with your own hands," Shen Rui warned repeatedly when handing the letter to Tian Feng.
Tian Feng had been in Shanxi for several years and was the most familiar with people, so he was sent to the border to deliver the message. At the same time, he also sent a batch of veterinary drugs that Lan Tian had led people to rush to produce in the past two months.
Lan Tian had actually discussed it with his teachers Li Dongyang and Pang Tianqing in Beijing. On the way to Henan, he had found many simple prescriptions for medication in the Agricultural Books of the past dynasties and the Ox and Horse Classics, and had a preliminary pharmaceutical plan.
After obtaining Shen Rui's full support and cooperation here, Lantian, with experienced veterinarians drawn from Zhangde and Huaiqing Prefecture, selected a group of smart and diligent apprentices among the victims, and quickly established a The workshop was started and put into production.
Shen Rui's requirements for their products are the same as Tianliangzi's medicine - it doesn't matter whether the disease can be cured or not, but it must not be used to kill humans or horses.
The purpose of this batch of medicine is not to show off how effective the medicine is, but to remind the grassland that some things cannot be obtained by robbing, and will only be traded in the horse market.
"It's not for making money. It can be exchanged for cowhide, wool or anything else. Just let them know that horse markets only have these things." Shen Rui said to Tian Feng.
Tian Feng agreed repeatedly, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Second Master, I want to take Chen Li with me. If he needs to be used, I can let him stay there. If there are people like them here in the future, I can let him go."
past."
This Chen Li is the leader of a horse in Henan Prefecture. He has thirty or forty people under his command, all of whom are excellent at horseback riding and extremely brave.
Because he had a personal vendetta against the mining thief Li Cai, Wan Dongjiang persuaded him to recruit him, and helped Zhou Xian to eliminate Li Cai. He also brought in Li Gensheng, a local wealthy man who sold the stolen goods for Li Cai.
Although Chen Li and his gang had no lives on their hands, they had also committed many robberies, and it was not easy for them to obtain decent official status.
And for a landowner like Li Gensheng, there were many bandits, horse and mine thieves tied to his line. For a time, Chen Li became a "traitor" who "everyone can punish" on the road, and it was difficult to survive in Henan Prefecture.
Tian Feng wanted to take this group of people to the border to serve as a branch of Shunfeng Biaoxing, specifically to pick up escorts for the caravans going to and from the horse market.
With such an identity, you can slowly understand the situation in the grassland, and you can even cooperate with people from the Seiyi Pavilion. There will always be someone from an official family in the future.
Shen Rui waved his hand and said: "They are different from Wan Dongjiang. They are both masters whose swords are faster than their brains. At this critical moment, don't be impulsive and make mistakes."
He thought about it for a moment and then said: "They can't stay in Henan, so they can take them to Shanshan first and put them in Shunfengbiao to get familiar with each other and temper their temper. As for the Siyi Pavilion, ask us to borrow someone.
Help, if you don’t mention it, don’t get involved easily.”
After finishing the arrangements here, Shen Rui asked the Henan Province sub-inspector to be stationed in Ruzhou to prevent mining theft, and then set off for Zhangde Mansion.
It is almost May, there is still not much rain, and it is obvious that there will be another drought this year. The weather is really sad.
Although Changde Prefecture has vigorously promoted new seeds, new planting methods, and opened water canals, it is difficult to be affected by the weather.
The preparations for the Shanshen Temple Fair are almost complete, but under such circumstances, we still have to urge them to start the festival as soon as possible.
However, as soon as he arrived at Zhangde Mansion, another shocking news came.
On April 29, the Empress Dowager Wang passed away.
At the same time as the news was delivered, there was also an imperial edict from the emperor urgently summoning Shen Rui to return to Beijing to report on his duties.
*
The Empress Dowager Wang is the second queen of Xianmiao.
The first queen, Wu, was deposed by Xianmiao just one month after her canonization. After that, Xianmiao always wanted to make Concubine Wan Guifei the queen, but Empress Dowager Zhou refused, so she had to make Wang the queen.
In the years that followed, Xianmiao actually wanted to abolish the Wang family more than once. However, the Wang family was cautious and low-key and had no faults. No matter how arrogant and domineering Concubine Wan Gui was, she always treated her with indifference. There was really no reason to abolish her.
In the Hongzhi Dynasty, Wang became the Empress Dowager, but she remained as quiet as before. She still acted as her invisible person in the harem, and never got involved in the disputes between Empress Dowager Zhou and Empress Zhang.
Until the Zhengde Dynasty, this old lady stood firmly behind Brother Shou from the beginning, supporting his policies, cooperating with his actions, and solving many palace affairs for him. The latest time she came forward to serve Chong.
Prince Chengjue spoke and cooperated with Brother Shou's plan.
Brother Shou was also very close to this grandmother. He visited his grandmother's palace many times. In the fifth year of Zhengde's reign, he even gave her the honorific title of "Ci Sheng Kang Shou".
It is said that this old lady has always been in weak health, but she is not bedridden from time to time like the Empress Dowager Zhou did when she was old.
There was no news of her illness this winter. During the official holiday, she was sent to congratulate her along with the Queen Mother and the Empress.
His sudden death at this time was beyond everyone's expectations.
When the Empress Dowager passed away, the Emperor was still in Xiyuan. When he heard the bad news, he almost ran back to the palace all the way like crazy and cried until he fainted in Renshou Palace.
When he appeared in front of people again, his face was haggard and sickly, showing grief.
Queen Xia was so grieved that she immediately fell ill. Several strong palace servants forced her to go to the mourning hall, and her face was so pale that there was almost no blood.
It was the Queen Mother who sympathized with Queen Xia and the pregnant Concubine Shen Xian, and ordered them to have a good life and recuperate, leaving Concubine Wu to complete other etiquette on their behalf.
All the dynasties called the emperor and queen the most filial piety.
But at some point, word spread among the public that the Queen Mother, who had always been in good health, died suddenly, must have been assassinated.
The death of the Empress Dowager was indeed sudden, so some people really believed this, and there was a lot of discussion on the streets.
Soon someone said that the Empress Dowager had always been kind to others, and her relatives, the Wang family, were even more peaceful and had never made enemies with anyone. Although the Empress Dowager had a noble status, she had little authority. How could anyone assassinate her?
Then some people secretly said that maybe it wasn’t the little prince in Empress Shen’s belly that overpowered her great-grandmother...
It is also said with certainty that the Empress Dowager actually died after taking the elixir, which was given by Tianliang Zijin, the master of Tianliang Temple.
This Taoist also knew that the medicine was inappropriate and was afraid of being held accountable, so he used the excuse of wandering to escape!
However, the emperor should not have befriended the monk Yao Dao. After discovering that there was a problem, he allowed the Yao Dao to escape in order to cover up his family's mistakes, and refused to issue a wanted order to arrest him to avenge his grandmother. This was a great act of unfilial piety...
Digging deeper, who recommended this person to the emperor? I heard that it was the Shen Rui family! He seemed to be somewhat related to Shen Rui.
He also said that the emperor has been taking the demonic elixir all the year round, and he is afraid that he can no longer live without it. Shen Rui has such an elixir in his hands, and it is strange that he can rise to prominence. It is strange that the emperor allows him to drag a favored minister like Liu Jin. dismount!
Such remarks naturally attracted the attention of the court immediately.
Jinyiwei arrested several waves of people and locked up several teahouses and restaurants where people gathered to discuss Tianjia. However, they failed to catch the "chief culprit". After interrogation, he was probably a scoundrel who always used money to do things. He didn't even know who gave him the money. do not know.
It also failed to effectively curb the spread of rumors. No one would say anything publicly, but there was a lot of talk behind the scenes. The Jin Yiwei was not really powerful enough to monitor the conversations of every common person in the capital.
Especially when many officials, merchants and wealthy families have built secret rooms in their homes.
At this moment, in the secret room of the study outside Shouning Hou Mansion, someone was speaking words that would make his head fall off without any scruples.
*
"Now that the Empress Dowager has passed away, the Empress Dowager is the most noble in the palace. But how much of the mother-son bond between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor is left? Haha, I am afraid that this prince knows better than anyone else." The man said with a smile.
Zhang Heling had a dark face and said viciously: "What on earth do you want to say?"
"The Shen family has been too public recently, and the Marquis can see through it? What does the Shen family have? It's not just the piece of meat in Concubine Xian's belly." The man stared at Zhang Heling and said, "In this palace, the queen has also been pregnant, and now
Concubine Xian is also pregnant, but Concubine De has been silent. Your Majesty, this is to protect the Zhang family."
Zhang Heling's heart skipped a beat. It was not because of other reasons, but because the news about the queen's pregnancy and pregnancy had been blocked for a long time. No one outside the palace knew about it.
The Queen Mother only knew about it from clues after the child was gone and did not make it public.
How did this person know?! Thinking about it can't help but send a chill down your back.
"The Zhang family is prominent now because their nephew is the emperor. But in the future, if the son of a virtuous concubine succeeds to the throne... The queen mother will be as rich as the Zhang family for a day, but if the queen mother is a hundred years...
…Think about how prosperous the Zhou family was in the Chenghua Dynasty back then. Even in Xiaomiao, they were on par with the Zhang family. How about now?”
The man smiled and said: "The Zhang family has thought of this a long time ago. Otherwise, what would be the point of sending Concubine De into the palace? It is not for the sake of wealth for the next few generations! But the emperor is not close to Concubine De..."
Zhang Heling became a little impatient and interrupted him: "Why are you talking in circles? Just tell me."
"When the Empress Dowager Zhou was here, didn't she also keep a few younger brothers in the palace just in case." The man came closer and said.
This matter was also a thorn in the Zhang family's heart back then.
Especially when such words came out after the death of King Wei Miao, who was reported by Queen Zhang, it was hard for the Zhang family to bear it.
From this, the relationship between the Zhang family and the Zhou family became deeper and deeper.
Now, this person is going to use these words to persuade the Zhang family.
Zhang Heling said angrily: "Where did the little emperor brother come from to raise him now?"
The man smiled and said: "My young master, isn't it ready-made?"
Zhang Heling narrowed his eyes and said, "You are joking, there is such a difference in seniority!"
The man laughed and said: "They are all from the same family, seniority or something, and it is not a marriage, so what does it matter? The child is young, and you have seen me. The most honest and filial one, I recognize him in the name of the Queen Mother.
In the name of Empress Dowager De, it all depends on the Queen Mother and the Marquis."
He paused and then said: "There are also people of suitable seniority. The Crown Prince of Zhao and the Crown Prince of Zhou are both suitable. But, hehe, I just don't know if I am willing to listen to the Marquis. After all, those two people are members of the Shen family."
Take it out."
"If the Marquis is in trouble, he can discuss it with the Queen Mother. Why, the young master will stay until the Empress Dowager Zigong of Daxing comes to the mausoleum and gives her a ride before returning to Jiangxi. There is still time to think about it.
.”
Zhang Heling had an expression on his face that said, "You're trying to fool a fool." He didn't even bother to say a word.
The man said: "This matter is beneficial to both the Queen Mother and the Zhang family. My young master is the most obedient. He has no relatives in Beijing. If he does not rely on the Queen Mother and the Zhang family, who can he rely on? With him being so filial.
The sensible people compare themselves with each other, shouldn't others be more filial and sensible? Wouldn't that make the Queen Mother feel comfortable?"
"If Concubine De has a son or daughter in the future, she will be the best candidate for the crown prince. The rules are there, and the young master will definitely return to the feudal land.
"You must be thinking what good does this do to us? Lord Marquis, my young master is just a concubine, and he has three much older brothers above him. No matter how much the prince likes him, how much do you think the prince's palace can give him?
?It’s not his turn to choose a good place.
"If he is lucky enough to be raised by the Queen Mother for several months, no matter how much the prince gives him, no one else can say anything. If the Queen Mother can reward him with a good fief for the sake of his dedication and filial piety, then he will not be the only one.
If you benefit, your descendants will also benefit! Isn’t this a huge benefit?”
Zhang Heling never said a word, but there was no obvious look of disgust on his face.
Seeing that he was silent, the man said again: "I can guess a little bit about the thoughts of the Marquis. When the Marquis chose Xiao Shen Zhuangyuan as his son-in-law, wasn't he also looking for someone in the court?
There is no wiser way to lead the harem, but a loyal man like Xiao Shen Zhuangyuan cannot defeat his insidious and cunning brother."
"Master Hou, my father-in-law, also has a loving father's heart. This year is the year of the imperial inspection, so I guess Master Hou also arranged a position for Xiao Shen Zhuangyuan, right? Liu Jin used to have the most people in the General Affairs Department, but now most of it is empty. Xiao Shen Zhuangyuan went to do it.
A person who is in charge of political affairs, a proper fourth rank, and if he goes up the rankings, he might not be able to join the cabinet..."
Zhang Heling did have such a plan, and he had already spent a lot of money on the activities and was inseparable.
But the man changed the topic, "Little Shen Zhuangyuan has already delayed his future because of Ding You. If it happens again this time..."
Zhang Heling was stunned, and suddenly remembered that the eunuch from Qiu Ju had said the same thing to threaten him many years ago, and couldn't help blurting out: "Why is it like this again?"
The man was stunned for a moment, but then he realized what he was doing and couldn't help laughing. "It doesn't matter whether the trick is old or new, it just works."
He added: "Zhang Hao is also good, but after all, he is the son-in-law of Marquis Jianchang. The Marquis also knows that Marquis Jianchang's temper may not be able to be controlled by the Marquis."
Zhang Heling frowned when he heard the word "Zhang Hao".
He originally disagreed with this marriage.
He didn't care that Zhang Yuanzhen was his daughter's great matchmaker.
Back then, Zhang Yuanzhen helped him secure a match. It's not like he didn't help Zhang Yuanzhen. It was because he failed to live up to expectations and didn't become the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Who's to blame? He also wasted the favor. It's time for the two parties to settle down.
One thing I don't agree with is that Zhang Hao caused a stir in the city because of his relationship with Shen Li's daughter He Li. This reputation is really bad.
Furthermore, after all, it was Sister Ting who made the first move back then, and the feud was strong. It didn’t matter that Concubine De was raised by her own family. On the Yang family side, Li Dongyang and Wang Hua in the cabinet are now very old. Yang Tinghe saw that it was
Those who can move to the position of chief minister, and the girl's current husband is Shen Rui, who is a popular person around the emperor, so there is no need to offend them.
Sister Ting has grown up. If she really wants to get married, she can just send her away quietly and not call her back.
Now that Dala La has come back to arrange a wedding, and she has found such a popular person, are you afraid that people will not be able to remember the past?
——This can also easily involve his daughter, Sister Xian.
However, Zhang Yanling's wife brought this matter to Mrs. Jin's face.
Madam Tai always loved Sister Ting the most. The old lady got angry and insisted on bringing Sister Ting back to get married.
Zhang Yanling was the one who added to the trouble, and was very yin and yang, saying: "Why, you allow your eldest brother to have a son-in-law who is number one, but not me?"
Although Zhang Heling said at the time that there were plenty of new scholars, he also knew in his heart that with Sister Ting's condition, it would be difficult to find someone as decent as Tanhua Lang.
When Mrs. Jin made a fuss, the Queen Mother also said that she was a top talent after all, so Zhang Heling could only pinch her nose and admit it.
When Sister Xian and his wife found out about the marriage, Sister Xian said with disgust: "Second uncle is confused. This man used to be my niece's son-in-law, but now he has become my brother-in-law. What the hell is going on!"
Shen Jin even looked cold.
He knew the truth about Shen Li's resignation. Before Shen Li left, he repeatedly warned him and Shen Ying to be careful. He hated Zhang Hao deeply.
I didn’t expect that the Zhang family could do such disgusting things.
He suddenly felt deeply how Ruidi felt when he learned that he was married to the Zhang family...
Zhang Heling didn't know what his son-in-law was thinking at this moment, but looking at his expression, he also knew that it would be impossible for his son-in-law and his second son-in-law to support each other and be each other's arms in the court in the future. I'm afraid it would be nice not to criticize each other. Already.
I heard the man mutter in my ears: "Although Zhang Hao's rank is still low now, even if the general affairs department is a councilor position, he is still out of reach for a while. But if Xiao Shen is the number one scholar and Ding You has been worried for three years, or if Ding has been worried for six years..."
He said meaningfully: "Look, Lord Marquis, things in this world are fickle and unpredictable. How can a path be guaranteed? You still need to have an imperial heir who is close to the Zhang family, and a promising son-in-law, with two legs." This is the only way to be safe when walking. Don’t you think so, Lord Marquis?"
Zhang Heling stared at the person in front of him and remained silent for a long time.
*
Shanxi Datong, Shen Shen Government
In the same secret room of the outer study, someone was using the same old trick on Shen Xun, who was participating in politics.
A young man in his early twenties, with thick eyebrows, big eyes and a round face, he is very blessed. Especially when he smiles, his face is full of joy, which makes people feel happy just by looking at him.
Facing him, Shen Xun's hands began to shake slightly unconsciously.
If he hadn't mentioned this person, he would have completely forgotten it. When he mentioned it and looked at it again, he could vaguely find some of his appearance as a little boy back then.
Not to mention a little book boy, even his biological son and eldest son Shen Dong, he has almost forgotten what he looks like.
Washing Ink and Washing Inkstones was a pair of bookboys that I bought for Shen Dong in Beijing, and they followed Shen Dong back to Songjiang.
In that "Japanese disaster", after Shen Dong disappeared, Ximo sued Shen Jun for "colluding with Japanese pirates and kidnapping his nephew", and later died in prison.
However, the whereabouts of Xi Yan are unknown. It is not known whether the person who ordered Xi Yan silenced him or whether he ran away out of fear of crime.
It was such a chaotic time that no one cared about the whereabouts of a little book boy.
Now this little book boy is back, bringing the news that Shen Xuan least wants to hear.
"...The eldest young master has always missed me and his wife. Even now, even when carrying someone on his back, he will shed tears... The eldest young master's life is really hard, but the eldest young master never complains..."
"Now that I see the second young master, I can't help but think that if the eldest young master could always be with me, he would be like the second young master now. The eldest young master is so smart that he must become an official! …”
Xi Yan's round eyes were red and sparkling with tears. He looked like a loyal servant who felt aggrieved by his master, and he stabbed Shen Xun's heart with each sentence.
Shen Xuan took a few deep breaths before calming down, and asked Xi Yan coldly: "Now that you are back, where are Brother Dong and the others? Or, is there anyone who asked you to bring me a message?"
Immediately after washing the inkstone, his tears turned into a smile, and his tone was full of joy: "The eldest young master has returned to Songjiang. He is not with the old master. The eldest young master has to fulfill his filial piety for the old master and take up the responsibility of the eldest son for the old master. Our clan is the one who is here. As for the direct branch of the Shen family, only if the eldest young master is the patriarch can the Shen family be better."
Shen Xuan felt chills running down his spine.
Hearing Xi Yan say again: "The young master is the most filial, so I asked the young one to come and report to the master. He also gave the master a great contribution."
He came closer, his smiling face was particularly bright, "The Tatars are short of food and want to rob it, so let them rob it. If the food is lost, you can plant it again. You can't defeat the left and right, and you can't resist if you don't resist." It would be terrible if the city was massacred. The young master is merciful and cares about the lives of the people at the border, so I can just ask him to avoid it when the time comes."
Shen Cheng was so shocked that he could hardly sit still.
"Nonsense!" he couldn't help shouting.
Xi Yan rolled his big eyes and smiled again, "Master, don't be afraid. They can attack as far as they can. They can grab some food and then retreat. Then you can lead people back to kill them. You can easily retake the city and make meritorious deeds." , your official position also needs to be promoted."
"Now it is no longer the former dynasty. They can still seize the country! Moreover, the country and our prince are there. You will also make a great contribution in the future."
No matter how stupid Shen Xuan is, he still understands that Ning Fan is going to rebel.
Use the north side to attract the court's attention. If Ning Fan starts trouble in the south, and the court ignores each other, this will be Ning Fan's opportunity.
"Rebellious officials and traitors!" Shen Xuan yelled righteously, "Have you forgotten how you were captured back then? Now you are actually working for the tiger! You should go to the Yamen immediately and expose the traitorous acts to the court, and you can also be punished and meritorious service. Otherwise, the common people of Anhua will learn from their mistakes!"
At the mention of being taken away, Xi Yan's eyes were full of resentment, but he still smiled and said: "As expected, I called the young master, but the master is still so cautious. It's strange that the sixth master of Li and the second master of Rui can become a second-grade official. , I’m still here, unable to move up to the third level.”
Shame and annoyance flashed across Shen Xun's face, and he said sternly: "Asshole, what are you talking about?"
Xi Yan suddenly stopped smiling and said coldly: "Master, the young master said, don't use the words that the civil servants don't care about the generals' deployment. You have a way. If you don't want to, that's fine, then he will wait for the old man to go west. Let you return to your hometown Dingyou. The position here will naturally be filled by someone who can handle this matter. As for Dingyou three years from now, whether you will still be at the third level will depend on your luck."
"...bastard..." Shen Xuan squeezed out these two words through his teeth.
"Master, don't even think about annihilating a family in a righteous way, and use your own son's head to claim credit. If you say that you are annihilating a family in a righteous way, some people have to believe it. Don't you think so, sir? The young master has taught young people to endorse, so why do you say that Yi Ya of Fanzi? 'It is not the love of a man that he does not love his son, but how can he love his son for his forbearance?' Hey, when the time comes, you may not be able to get this skill, and you can't tell who will get the advantage."
He Shi Shiran leaned back on the chair, "Besides, you still need Ding You for three years..." He spoke out word by word, the word "Ding You" being especially heavy.
Shen Xuan has always placed the highest priority on his official career. He has been working hard all these years just for an official position!
now……
Shen Xuan stared at Xi Yan fiercely, his face uncertain under the candlelight.