As the North-South Lecture and Taoism Conference, which has been hyped throughout the capital city, is approaching, many people in the capital city are suddenly eager to look forward to this grand event.
Whether it was the people in the scholarly community, the officials in the city, or the ministers in the court, they were all shocked that what was originally just two representatives of the southern scholarly community going north to give lectures at Qingtan Academy suddenly evolved into such a large scale and momentum.
There is some expectation again.
Of course, there are more complex emotions, which vary from group to group.
The scholars naturally cheered, thinking that this was a rare opportunity to discuss classics and meanings. The officials and gentry in the city were also looking forward to it. Such a grand event could also highlight the extraordinary nature of the imperial city under the foot of the sky. It was possible to have such an event a few years ago.
The grand gathering was enough to demonstrate the flourishing literary style of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but the ministers in the court noticed something unusual here.
"Go and invite Mr. Chu and Mr. Wang to come over."
Wrapped in a dark purple-gold robe and covered with a gorgeous and exquisite fox armpit fur, the man was reclining in a large, loose bearskin chair, looking out the window in trance.
"See Your Highness."
Two old men, one fat and one thin, arrived hand in hand.
"Excuse me, Mr. Chu, Mr. Wang, you and I have known each other for decades, even when Gu was in power, but now Gu is just an idler, there is no need to be like this." The man stood up and walked down the steps, speaking softly.
road.
"The etiquette cannot be discarded." The old man surnamed Chu bowed his hands and shook his head, "I and Ke Zhen know the prince's good intentions, but we have known each other for many years, so we don't need to care about such false etiquette, and the prince doesn't need to care either."
"Well, that's the case, don't be pretentious anymore, sit down." The man's eyebrows were eagle-like, his eyes were sharp, and his corners were pointed. Only his lips were a little thinner, which weakened his aura.
"His Highness invites us here so urgently, is there something important?" The thin man surnamed Chu stroked his goatee and seemed to have expected something, "But the lectures at Qingtan Academy, Chongzheng Academy, Baima Academy, and Chongwen Academy
Things?"
"You two gentlemen also know?" The tiger-eyed man nodded slightly, "Such grand events are rare, but Mr. Gu feels that this matter is not that simple. It is said that Qi Yongtai and Guan Yingzhen have invited Nanbang a long time ago, but
It has been delayed for a long time, but now it comes at this time, sir, do you think there is something fishy about it?"
The faces of the two old men became serious.
They had known the prince's thoughts for a long time. If they had not warned him in the past two years, he would have become more thoughtful.
Although they knew that this was a dangerous job to get chestnuts out of the fire, the two of them had already boarded the boat and it was difficult to get off. Besides, after spying on something, they felt that the matter was not hopeless. Maybe this was
Chance.
"My lord, do you think there is something fishy?" The thin old man surnamed Chu pondered for a moment, "The current emperor is in good health. Even if the emperor has his own thoughts, he may not be able to act rashly at this time, right? You don't understand the emperor's temperament, my lord?"
"
The tiger-eyed man sneered contemptuously, and gently rubbed the bearskin with his thick palms.
"It is said that the fourth child has a forbearing temperament, and now he can live up to it, but the more he is like this, the more restless he becomes. If his father is still here, how could he just sit here and wait for death? The fourth child is lonely in his mind.
You know, he has a righteous status now, and as long as he brings his father to a safe death, it will be a matter of course, but my father is in such good health now, I am afraid that his forbearance may not last forever, right?"
This is not easy to answer.
The old man surnamed Chu and the old man surnamed Wang both bowed their heads and remained silent.
"I know what you are thinking. I hope that the fourth child will reveal his flaws. My father naturally has his intentions, but there are also experts around the fourth child."
The tiger-eyed man stood up, put his hands behind his back, walked around in a circle, returned to the bear skin chair, and pressed the back of the chair.
"I am afraid that the fourth child will use this silent way to slowly and quietly attract the support and devotion of these people. My father is still old and cannot see some things clearly. By that time, even if he has intentions
, but he may not have that determination and courage, and..."
No more words were said, but both Chu Qi and Wang Zinian understood that by that time, would the military officers, as well as the ministers and generals in charge of the military power of the capital city, still listen to the emperor?
Do you still dare to take risks with the Supreme Emperor?
"Your Highness, the Emperor is very stable now and has made no other moves. Even if there are some moves, they are approved by the Supreme Emperor. Even the Supreme Emperor also approves of them. Under such circumstances, others may not..." Chu Qi couldn't help but say.
.
"Then I can only stay in the house and count the days like this?"
Some vicious and violent aura almost surged out of his chest. Everything that once belonged to him, now he could only rely on others' charity, and even had to rely on others to make mistakes before he had a chance. Thinking of all this, he felt
Unbearable.
"Your Majesty, we still need to calm down." Chu Qi sighed softly.
"Hmph, keep him calm. I'm afraid the fourth brother hopes that I will keep him calm so that he can act calmly, right?" The tiger-eyed man sneered, "I gave Prince Teng the title of Right Minister of the Ministry of War. This is
Should I show my favor to Wang Ziteng, or should I show it to my father? Wang Ziteng has been running around all this time. Does he feel uneasy, or does he feel that he needs to show off in front of the fourth child?"
"And the Zhen family, why haven't they received this year's money yet? Do you think the fourth child is going to be more lenient with them and don't need to be alone?"
These words were so straightforward that both Chu Qi and Wang Zinian couldn't help but frown.
Wang Zinian was still in charge of the finances. He couldn't help but explain: "Your Majesty, the Zhen family is also in trouble now. The situation in Jiangnan is not very good. It is said that the sea trade has been blocked and there has been no progress in Ningbo. In addition, Lin Ruhai
It's very tight, and without the Supreme Emperor's personal edict, the Zhen family can't do anything."
"This Lin Ruhai, it's in vain that I sponsored him in front of my father. Is this how he repays me?" The tiger-eyed man became furious, "If I didn't have this king back then, he should have been punished long ago for what he did.
The ex-officer is in jail, is he tired of living?"
"Your Highness, this is not the time to consider this matter. Although Lin Ruhai has an average reputation among the scholars, he still has a place in the heart of the Supreme Emperor, and he is not overly demanding of the Zhen family, but this Zhen family..."
Wang Zinian hesitated for a moment, as if he was weighing something.
"Perhaps Your Highness can send a carefully selected person to Jiangnan to get a feel for it privately. I think there seems to be some problems with the Zhen family. Although I also know that life there is difficult, it is not that it is the case. The person sent was also vague.
can not say it clearly."
"Oh?" The tiger-eyed man was suddenly startled and turned around to stare at Wang Zinian, "Mr. Wang, are you saying that Zhen Jingde is causing trouble? Or..."
Wang Zinian looked a little ugly. This was the area he was responsible for, but something went wrong. Although the responsibility was not his, the master was obviously dissatisfied.
"Your Highness, although the salt administration is very profitable, there are too many people watching. In the first half of the year, Yang He visited Zhejiang and passed by Qingjiangpu. It is said that he and Qiao Yingjia planned to impeach the Chief Envoy of Zhejiang and the two governors of Zhejiang.
The Salt Transportation Envoy believed that the local salt administration was corrupt and the government and businessmen colluded, which caused great damage to the imperial salt administration and tax revenue..."
The Zhen family has great influence in Southern Zhili and the two Zhejiang provinces, but Southern Zhili is under the nose of Nanjing and is also the foundation of the Zhen family, so the Zhen family still has some concerns.
The Zhen family in Liang Zhejiang didn't have so many worries, so this area has always been the area with the largest profit, but they didn't expect that Yang He, who was touring Liang Zhejiang, would actually focus on this area.
"Why did Yang He focus on the salt administration?" The tiger-eyed man was Prince Yi Zhong. He glanced at Wang Zinian suspiciously, "The salt administration should be a matter of the salt censors patrolling the two Zhejiang provinces, right? When will it be his turn to inspect the place?
Has the imperial censor gone to inquire?"
"Your Highness, how can censors like Yang He care about this?" Wang Zinian smiled bitterly, "He traveled from Jiangbei to Jiangnan and saw that there were no suitable targets in Lianghuai. Lin Ruhai still did a good job in this regard. Comparing Zhejiang and Zhejiang,
Naturally, I want to find some trouble to make political achievements."
Prince Yi Zhong hesitated for a moment, "Could this guy be instigated by someone from behind? Who asked him to go out to inspect Liangzhe?"
"This is a routine inspection by the Procuratorate every year, but Yang He is serious and meticulous in his work, so..." Wang Zinian sighed.
"As for the income from Zhejiang and Zhejiang this year..." Prince Yi Zhong's face turned ugly again.
It costs a lot of money to go up and down, and it takes a lot of money to win over people. If not, why would people support you, a has-been prince? Even if you have the protection of your father, you are never so enthusiastic.
.
"I'm afraid we can't count on Liang Zhejiang's private salt, but the Zhen family should have other ways." A sinister look flashed across Wang Zinian's face.
Prince Yi Zhong frowned and said, "Ke Zhen, just go ahead and do it. If the Zhen family is disobedient, then I will write a handwritten letter to them. Huh, don't just think about getting benefits. When they should do things, they should be ignored."
I’m so confused, is there such a good thing in the world?”
Seeing that the prince didn't ask him what he knew, Wang Zinian felt a little sad. Naturally, he could only do such dirty things by himself, but if he didn't do it, who should?
"Mr. Chu, do you think there is some other flavor behind this grand gathering of scholars?" Returning to the topic, Prince Yi Zhong became more thoughtful.
Chu Qi already understood what the prince meant, but it was not easy to do this.
Scholars have never been very friendly with the royal family. Except for the emperor, other royal family members have always been disliked by scholars and civil servants.
The biggest hobby of the Kedao officials is to criticize the royal family members and the Long Jinwei. Even the Long Jinwei has to be ranked behind the royal family members. Of course, they will hate the royal family members. As long as the emperor ignores them, it will naturally be boring.
.
Prince Yitada wanted to get involved with this matter in order to increase his popularity, or reputation, and continue to build momentum for himself.
It should be said that this is a good idea. The world of the Great Zhou Dynasty was ruled by the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats, and the scholars and civil servants were one. If he could win the favor of the civil servants, it would undoubtedly open the door to many things in the future.
But will the civil servants or scholars accept this obvious attempt to get closer? Will the emperor tolerate this kind of behavior?
