In the West Warm Pavilion of the Yangxin Hall in the Forbidden City, the surrounding heaters are spraying hot air, and the lampstand on the imperial desk is bright, illuminating the stacked memorials clearly.
The emperor had changed into his regular clothes and was holding a bowl of golden bird's nest soup, slowly savoring the taste.
Wang Chengen's voice came softly, "This is originally from the governor's office of Datong. On the 28th, three thousand northern captives invaded. At Tunbeikou, Datong officers and soldiers arrived to kill Hu Xiaochang on the 29th."
Chongzhen shook his head slightly, and Wang Chengen put the memorial aside. The young emperor read a large number of memorials every day. If there was still a long time left in the evening, Wang Chengen would read it and then decide whether to read it or not.
There are already two very high stacks piled up there. They were all made by Chongzhen who did not read the content after hearing the topic. Either they were drafted according to the cabinet vote, or they were left in the middle and not dealt with.
"The deputy envoy of Zhejiang Tixue, the first assistant Wen Tiren... The governor of Fengyang was asked by the Kou Zhuzhou County this year to be exempted from eight and nine years of arrears of money and grain, and to be exempted from paying new and old wages for ten years... The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works each submitted a report
Originally, it is said that Taicang, Jieshencang is empty, and the chief secretaries owe more than their old salaries. Please use internal funds... The governor of Henan, Chen Biqian, broke into several thieves to lure other tribes, starting with Chen, Qi, Da, Xu, and Yu.
He ran to the west, taking the lead of the officers and soldiers, and then retreated from the center of the country, secretly, and ascended to a remote mountainous area to avoid the sharp edges of the army."
Wang Chengen had read more than ten books, but Chongzhen had no intention of reading them.
"Your Majesty, this book belongs to Liu Zongzhou..."
The emperor put down the small soup bowl and said, "There is no need to bring Liu Zongzhou's memorial in the future. There is also Zodiac Zhou's. As long as the cabinet does not have a vote, don't bring it."
"My servant understands." Wang Chengen put down Liu Zongzhou's thick book and replaced it with the one below, "Prime Minister Lu Xiangsheng is reporting, Li Zicheng and other big thieves are running to the south of the Han River, and the remaining thieves are watching Qin and Yu."
Chongzhen moved his body, turned to Wang Chengen and said, "Keep reading."
"Henan, Chu, Qinchuan, mountains are endless, and thieves come and go without reason. If you fight hard and pursue them, where can you rest? Wherever there are high hills, steep mountains, dense forests, and wooden cliffs, you can travel thirty or forty miles a day, but horses cannot advance.
People are suffering from climbing. At this time, the broken silver is useless, the original grain cannot be transported, and the carts and donkeys have nothing to do. It is inevitable that people must carry two measures of rice and go with the soldiers. One liter of the sun is eclipsed, one is for the soldiers, and the other is for self-support. Ten days
When two battles of food are used up, it doesn’t matter whether we encounter thieves within these ten days or whether we maintain a stalemate. However, if a thousand soldiers enter, they must be transported on the shoulders of thousands of people, and when ten thousand soldiers enter, they must be transported on the shoulders of ten thousand people. The food must be transported by soldiers and will be exhausted in less than ten days.
It's all over..."
"That's it." Chongzhen closed his eyes, put his hands on the imperial case, and suddenly said after a long time, "Since they are all entering the mountain, why can thieves survive but soldiers cannot? Thieves and horses can enter, and officers and horses cannot, and thieves and horses can't.
There is no shortage of food but the soldiers are short of food?"
"This..." Wang Chengen hesitated and said, "The thieves want to escape with their lives after all. I heard that they can eat human flesh in the mountains, so of course the officers and soldiers can't do it."
Chongzhen looked at Wang Chengen, "You are talking to Premier Lu."
Wang Chengen knelt down on the ground with a thud, "I don't dare, this slave. I only look towards the Emperor. I just feel that Prime Minister Lu has always done his job with all his heart, and he just won a great victory in Chuzhou, so he should not be a thief."
"Get up, I didn't say anything to him." Chongzhen reached for Lu Xiangsheng's memorial and said while reading, "The strongest among the bandits is the intruder. This time, all the bands of bandits were defeated in Chuzhou, and their power was gone.
In June 7th, Lu Xiangsheng was still able to do things. He still asked for full pay and merit. Some of the money and food were given from internal funds, and the rest was raised by the Ministry of Husbandry, Taipu Temple, and the Ministry of Works. He could not be allowed to send hungry soldiers.
Let the cabinet take care of the rest of the requests for credit."
"My slave has taken note of it."
Chongzhen closed Lu Xiangsheng's memorial and was about to put it aside when he suddenly picked it up and flipped through it again. After a moment, he asked, "In the book reporting the victory of Jiangpu in front of Zhang Guowei, is it also asking for a military attaché named Pang Yu?"
achievement?"
"Back to the emperor, it is indeed true." Wang Chengen wasted little time. There were 20,000 to 30,000 internal prisoners in the palace. He was able to win the emperor's favor because of his good memory. "This slave remembers that this man was alone during the civil unrest in Tongcheng.
He rebelled and killed more than 30 thieves in one night, and killed Wang Guohua, the leader of the thieves. Later, the thieves joined the bandits, and because of Quan Tong's contribution, he made an exception and was promoted to the post of Anqing garrison. After serving as a garrison, he defeated the thieves at Beixia Pass.
, beheading hundreds of people, this time Anqing rescued Puzikou and achieved victory, thus Nanjing was stabilized. Therefore, Zhang Guowei requested to set up an additional garrison with a force of 1,000 troops, and Anqing, Chizhou, and Taiping paid 31,100 taels, and Pang Yu added
With the rank of guerrilla, he still leads the Anqing garrison."
Chongzhen hummed, and after reading Lu Xiangsheng's memorial for a while, he said to Wang Chengen, "I also remembered that this person was the one who single-handedly quelled the chaos in Tongcheng. Lu Xiangsheng also praised him highly, but it was because of the Chuzhou battle, which shows that he was somewhat brave.
... However, both of them said that Anqing needs one thousand more troops. A few days ago, Liu Ruozai submitted a proposal to set up a battalion of Tongbiao Camp in Tongcheng with a strength of one thousand troops. This is a bit strange."
Wang Chengen did not dare to interrupt at this time. The emperor was most sensitive to the fact that his ministers secretly colluded with the party. Once there was suspicion, anything he said might implicate himself.
Thinking of this, Wang Chengen turned around and gave a few instructions to a small eunuch. The eunuch immediately took the people out and brought back a memorial after a while. Wang Chengen flipped through it and then handed it to Chongzhen with both hands, "Your Majesty, the book Zhang Guowei submitted contains
The cabinet vote has not yet been sent to the Sixth Section Langfang for copying."
Chongzhen took it and looked at it carefully for a moment, his expression gradually softened. Wang Chengen remembered the content, which was that Zhang Guowei impeached Liao Town and robbed the horses of the Anqing garrison, and it alluded to Lu Xiangsheng's connivance. This somewhat dispelled the emperor's doubts.
"After many military exploits, Zhang Guowei still only asked for the guerrilla title for this guard. He just felt that this person had made an exception and had been appointed to the guard for a short time, and his qualifications were still shallow. He still had the qualifications to employ people."
The emperor took up his pen and wrote in Lu Xiangsheng's notebook, "Since Pang Yu is indeed brave, he should be taught guerrilla warfare. He is allowed to increase the number of troops by one thousand, but no pay is allowed."
Wang Chengen put the annotated memorial away separately, then asked the eunuch to clear away the soup bowl on the table and serve another cup of tea.
"Is there any other important memorial?"
"It belongs to Mr. Cao. It was sent in at night. After verifying the news sent by Fang Yizao, there are indeed rumors among the Mongolians in the border areas. Jiannu has summoned Haraqin, Khalkha, and Chahar to ask all the ministries to announce their auspiciousness.
In April, I went to Shenyang to attend the ceremony, and the slave Huang Taiji was about to found the country."
Chongzhen was putting the brush back when he heard the movement slow down. Wang Chengen quickly caught the brush and gently placed it on the Wulong ivory pen holder.
After a moment of silence, Chongzhen finally whispered, "What is the country's name?"
"Yes...Qing."
After answering, Chongzhen did not ask any more questions. He sat silently behind the imperial desk. The dim yellow light shone on his thin face, but it still could not take away the trace of paleness.
After sitting there for a long time, I heard Wang Chengen whisper, "Your Majesty, someone from the Queen is coming to ask if Your Majesty has rested early."
Chongzhen raised his head and looked at Wang Chengen. His eyes were a little blurry. After a while, he shook his head and said, "Queen, don't worry, I can take care of it myself."
Wang Chengen knelt down and kowtowed again, saying, "The chaos of establishing slaves did not start today, and the world will not be safe for a day. I ask the emperor to cherish the dragon body. The days ahead will be long. With the blessings of our ancestors, the world will have peace."
Chongzhen sighed lowly and said, "Forget it, let's go to Chengqian Palace. Let's go to the Queen first so that she can feel at ease and I can feel better."
…
The sedan stopped in front of the Kunning Palace. The emperor got off the sedan and paused for a moment. He rubbed his face with his hands to soften his expression before walking into the palace gate.
The eunuchs and maids knelt down one after another, but out of the corner of his eye, Chongzhen saw a person kneeling in front of the steps of the corridor. He was kneeling and turned around.
Chongzhen had already walked past the man, but turned around and walked to the kneeling man. He was a teenage eunuch, with a look of panic on his immature face. Chongzhen lowered his head and looked at it carefully for a moment and asked, "Why are you being punished to kneel down?"
?”
"Slave... the empress taught me how to read numbers, but I didn't remember it." The little eunuch cried sadly. He was very nervous when he was asked by the emperor, and he was afraid of being punished by the emperor again. He looked pitiful.
Chongzhen was stunned for a moment. The little eunuch was filled with panic, but Chongzhen suddenly burst into laughter.
"Sir, if you don't remember carefully what you teach, you will be punished." Chongzhen stopped laughing, but still had a smile on his face, "Then, do you want me to help you ask for a favor from the master, so that you will not be punished to kneel down.
"
At this time, a gentle female voice inside the door said angrily, "Your Majesty, please don't mess with the school rules."
The emperor lightly kicked the little eunuch with his foot and said, "Your Majesty, please hurry up and thank Sir for not being punished."
The little eunuch rolled his eyes, kowtowed immediately to thank him, and stood up quickly without waiting for the queen's response.
The queen looked at the little eunuch with a half-smile but not a smile, "You must have caught the opportunity quickly. The emperor responded, but I didn't. If you can't write it tomorrow, I will punish you here."
"Slave, I'm going to practice now." The little eunuch kowtowed again and ran away in a mess.
Chongzhen laughed twice and followed the queen into the palace.
The surrounding maids lined up to help the emperor take off his outer robe. Seeing that Wang Chengen was still waiting outside, the queen knew that the emperor did not want to stay here.
"Your Majesty has just finished reviewing the memorials. You can't finish those memorials. Your Majesty still has to take care of yourself."
"Watch as much as you can. Wang Chengen said that the queen sent someone to ask, and she hasn't seen her for two days. Come and have a conversation with the queen." The emperor said with a smile on his face, "The queen is a mother to the world, and she even teaches and educates people.
It’s great, it’s just a bit strict.”
"I've taught him three times and he still doesn't remember it. Naturally, he should be punished. If it wasn't stricter, he wouldn't be able to learn anything." Empress Zhou picked up a pair of cotton hexagrams from the coffee table in the back and said, "I made it myself. It's cold at night."
, the emperor can wear it when he is not seeing his ministers."
After taking it, the emperor looked around and saw a spinning wheel in the corner. He couldn't help but smile and said, "It's the queen's skill. Twenty-four spinning wheels were sent from Jiangnan to teach the palace maids, but why only one was seen."
"It's still like this little eunuch. After all these days of teaching, no one is doing as well as he wants. I was so angry that I had people move away."
Chongzhen shook his head with a smile, but his mood was much more relaxed. Empress Zhou turned to look at him and said, "If your Majesty has some free time, you can talk to Concubine Tian more. She is from Yangzhou. A few days ago, thieves caused trouble to the north of the Yangtze River and were approaching.
When we were in Yangzhou, she thought about it day and night and was frightened. Yesterday I went to see her and she was a little thinner, which was heartbreaking."
Hearing this, Chongzhen stretched out his hand and took the queen's hand and said, "When I go to see Concubine Tian, I will tell her the queen's thoughts."
Empress Zhou lowered her head and said, "It doesn't matter whether you say it or not. I am from Suzhou. The bandits are approaching the south of the Yangtze River. I am equally worried. I compare my heart to my heart. Naturally, Concubine Tian is even more worried. I think of the beautiful and prosperous place in Yangzhou, so I have such a concern as Concubine Tian.
Such a lovely person, how can I bear to let the thieves do harm to me?"
Chongzhen nodded and said, "I have also heard about Yangzhou for a long time. When the world is peaceful in the future, I will go to Yangzhou with the Queen and Concubine Tian."
Queen Zhou suddenly seemed to be interested, and said slightly excitedly, "Of course that's good. I have heard about many strange things in Yangzhou. The emperor may not have heard of them in the capital. It is said that there are people there who collect beautiful girls from all over the country and teach them to be concubines."
There are also some women who are good at painting and playing musical instruments, named Shou Ma, who are far beyond the reach of women among the common people. I would like to take a look at that."
Chongzhen always had a smile on his face. Hearing this, he froze slightly and then returned to normal.
Wang Chengen, who was accompanying him, moved his eyes slightly and glanced at the queen secretly. He saw that the queen looked calm and could not see anything unusual at all.
…
When he came out of Kunning Palace, the emperor returned to silence and got on the sedan chair. The people in the palace lined up and walked to Dongchang Street. Chengqian Palace, where Concubine Tian Guifei was where the emperor wanted to go, was on Dongchang Street.
The Forbidden City is a bit quiet at night, with only the gentle footsteps of chariot and sedan bearers on the long street.
The team walked to a pergola covered with mats, and Chongzhen's voice came from inside the sedan, "Stop."
The leading sedan bearer shouted in a low voice, and the eight inmates carrying the sedan stopped at the same time. Wang Cheng'en was waiting outside, and Chongzhen supported his hand to get off the sedan.
The palace lanterns on the empty East Long Street are brilliant, and a lantern is hung in front of each concubine palace. The warm yellow light is projected on the deep long street, giving the grand palace walls an unreal illusion.
The emperor stood for a moment, walked slowly to the pergola, and sat on the bench where the palace residents rested. Wang Chengen quickly took a futon, but Chongzhen waved his hand, and Wang Chengen had to hold the futon beside him.
"Your Majesty, these are all seats for the palace servants. They are afraid of staining the Emperor's clothes."
Chongzhen ignored it and leaned on the bench and said leisurely, "These pergolas did not exist originally. The palace people who came and worked in the hot weather had nowhere to hide. After Tian Fei entered the palace, she had these pergolas built. From then on, the palace people had
A place to rest and escape the summer heat.”
Wang Chengen immediately said, "Concubine Tian has a bodhisattva-like heart and is praised by many in the palace."
"Xiuying has a good mind. She is originally from Shaanxi, but later moved to Yangzhou. She is very proficient in chess, calligraphy and painting, especially the piano art. Xiuying said that it was taught by her mother."
When Wang Chengen heard the word "qinyi", he didn't know how to answer the question. The few words Empress Zhou just said seemed to have planted the seeds of doubt in the emperor's heart.
The emperor changed his head position and changed the topic, "Cheng'en, do you know why I don't want to read Liu Zongzhou's memorial?"
"I think this is just too much empty talk."
The emperor said noncommittally, "If you want to say that the memorial really looks good, it may not be very many. There are thousands of words in the memorial on the table, but there are only a few dozen words that are actually useful. Cheng'en, you will have to join the imperial court sooner or later.
When the Supervisor of Ceremonies handles affairs, he must learn the law when reading memorials and cabinet drafts in the future, and do not be fooled by their quotations from scriptures. In fact, what they want to say are all three things."
"Your Majesty, please give me some advice, slave."
"It's nothing more than power, money and fame." Chongzhen rubbed his forehead, "Those who want power and money can use them if they have talent, but those who want fame cannot use them."
Wang Chengen said in a low voice, "I understand that this kind of people talk about righteousness in vain but have no practical experience. They even invent righteousness to claim their name."
"What is Chen Qixin's plan? What are the thoughts of the ministers in Jianji Palace today? I don't know whether I am an independent minister or whether I am a party member. But who else can I use?" Chongzhen let out a long sigh, "There is nothing inside or outside this memorial.
The word "scheming" may be nothing more than "scheming" both inside and outside the palace."
Wang Chengen rolled his eyes. Queen Zhou's words didn't say anything wrong with Concubine Tian, but they led Concubine Tian's style and piano skills in a suspicious direction. So at this time, he didn't know what the emperor's plan was.
Aiming at Queen Zhou or Concubine Tian.
"I don't know how to calculate. I only know one thing. As long as the emperor asks me to do something, I must do it well."
Chongzhen turned to look at him and slowly stood up.
"Go and tell Concubine Tian tomorrow that bandits have been raging in Jiangbei recently. I'm worried that her mother is anxious. Maybe she hasn't seen her for a long time, so I invite her mother to come to the palace to see her." There was no longer any smile on Chongzhen's face, "I issued the decree and Chen Qixin took office.
When the officials are in charge of matters, they can tell the truth without hiding anything."
Wang Chengen's heart trembled. The emperor never let go of his doubts. He invited Concubine Tian's mother to come to the palace. Naturally, he wanted to personally assess the piano skills to see if it was true that Concubine Tian's statement that the piano skills were taught to her by her mother.
What happened to Chen Qixin was even more astonishing. The official position was one of the most important positions among the officials. To get this position, it would take many years of hard work and a certain amount of luck. Unexpectedly, this
Chen Qixin was able to obtain a meritless martial arts examination just by writing a petition. However, as a result, he also became the enemy of the entire civil service team. I wonder if the emperor did this intentionally.
After Wang Chengen wrote it down, he carefully asked, "Will the Emperor still go to Chengqian Palace today?"
"I still have memorials to read. Let's go back to Yangxin Hall."
After saying this, Chongzhen walked towards the car.
Wang Chengen quickly found his subordinates and said, "Go to the various palaces and tell all the noble concubines, big promise, small promise, the emperor has returned to Yangxin Palace."
The sedan chair turned around and headed south slowly. The lanterns in front of the palaces on the long street behind it were extinguished one by one, and the lights of the Forbidden City gradually dimmed.