There are three things that a new official should do when he takes office. This has been said in all dynasties. Although Gao Pragmatic occasionally seems to be unique in reforms, he is still relatively "conforming to the trend" in these traditions. Therefore, as a great minister, he certainly has three things to do when taking up his new post. Make a fire.
Originally, Gao Pragmatic had a lot of flaws in Ming Dynasty's financial system and wanted to talk about it. However, he also knew that eating one bite would not make you fat. If you force too much into your mouth at one time, you would not only chew more than you can chew, but also easily choke. die.
When it comes to reform, it is of course necessary to have a high-level view, but when it comes to actual implementation, it must be done steadily and step by step. Therefore, three fires must be burned, but we cannot expect to raise the fire to the sky. Sooner or later, we can create a spark. The real key issue in starting a prairie fire is to ensure that this spark can be preserved.
There are many people who care about his three fires. In addition to the officials outside the palace, people in the palace are also concerned about him. For example, the young Ninth Five Emperor, Zhu Yijun, the current emperor of Wanli, is also concerned.
However, Zhu Yijun did not stay in Qianqing Palace today, but in Yikun Palace.
Yikun Palace is located to the north of Yongshou Palace, south of Chuxiu Palace, and east of Changchun Palace. The east and west twelve palaces of the Ming Dynasty are respected to the east, close to the central axis, and close to Qianqing Palace, so Yikun Palace It is a rather noble palace in the harem besides Kunning Palace where the queen lives.
The explanation of "Yi" is to assist. Since the Queen's palace is Kunning Palace, Yi Kun means to assist the Queen in managing the Sixth Palace.
Probably for this reason, the owner of Yikun Palace is the imperial concubine Zheng, the mother of the emperor's third son Zhu Changxun.
In addition, Yikun Palace is close to Changchun Palace where Princess Yongning lives. There is also an ulterior motive in this. The owners of the two palaces know it, but it seems that the two parties do not have much interaction because of this.
Zhu Yijun stayed in Yikun Palace tonight as he did most of the time, and Concubine Zheng was waiting by his side as usual.
At this time, the emperor was reading a picture album. The picture album was bought by Concubine Zheng's family as a gift to her. She found it novel and presented it to the emperor again.
This picture album is an imported product, said to be a Western product, but it is not a portrait, but a still life. Zhu Yijun looked at it for a while and felt that the painting skills were different from those of the Ming Dynasty, but he did not feel that there was any special benefit, and he was somewhat uninterested. lack.
When Concubine Zheng saw it, she had a charming smile on her face, and whispered something into the emperor's ear quietly, which made Zhu Yijun look surprised: "Qiu Zhen, there are... uh, that kind of picture?"
Concubine Zheng pursed her lips and snickered, tilting her head shyly, but she still replied: "How could it not be possible? All the Western paintings in the Ming Dynasty were obtained by his fleet. There are also rumors in the market. I also came to visit the bride the year before last. I only found out after my sister-in-law mentioned it privately. Your Majesty, do you think, since he got all the paintings, how could he not have them himself?"
Zhu Yijun looked stunned at first, but then shook his head and said: "No, just because his fleet sells these things doesn't mean he has them himself. I think he has little interest in these things."
Concubine Zheng was surprised and said: "Your Majesty, are you so sure?"
"I have been to his house - oh, I mean Baiyulou." Zhu Yijun shook his head and said: "Some people outside say that Baiyulou is like Lutai, but in fact it is just a stone house. Although the decoration inside is exquisite, it is not Something like a group of dancing girls. As for some people saying that there are many LUO statues inside, I have also seen them. They are all statues of little boys with wings on their backs. They are a bit strange, but they are not obscene at all."
Concubine Zheng pursed her lips slightly: "The emperor can trust him, how do you know that he didn't hide certain people because the emperor was gone?"
Zhu Yijun suddenly frowned, and his previously relaxed demeanor began to become stern. He turned to look at Concubine Zheng, and said slightly: "How can an important minister in the cabinet be criticized by the harem?"
He threw the picture album in front of Concubine Zheng and slammed it on the table in front of her. He didn't even look at it again, but turned to look at the picture album on the side and inlaid it with conch, agate, jade and Chinese jade.
He picked up a jasper cup on the rosewood coffee table with a picture of fish playing with colorful lotus, took a sip of hot tea, and sighed softly.
The atmosphere changed so quickly that the entire Yikun Palace, from Concubine Zheng to the maids and eunuchs, began to be on tenterhooks and did not even dare to make a big statement.
Concubine Zheng Huang was also a little panicked, but she knew that the reason why she was favored was that she did not follow the emperor in everything like other concubines. Therefore, she would not apologize immediately if she made a minor mistake, or would not do anything like other concubines.
Concubines usually say things like "I deserve death for my crime."
Generally speaking, the emperor didn't mind. Even if he was a little angry at the time, he gave up after a while. But something seemed wrong today. The emperor turned his head and ignored her for a while. The entire Yikun Palace was quiet.
This atmosphere even reminded her of the time she sneaked into her family's ancestral hall when she was a child, and how eerie and terrifying it was inside.
The rules in the harem of the Ming Dynasty were very strict. Not to mention that she was a concubine, even the queen was strictly prohibited from interfering in state affairs. However, this rule did not work particularly well with Concubine Zheng before. The emperor could always be quick to give in, but this was the only one.
Once, the emperor seemed to be really angry.
Only then did Concubine Zheng remember her family's warning that Gao Pragmatic had an extraordinary status in the emperor's mind, and might even be more important than Prince Lu.
Concubine Zheng originally wanted to keep her temper and continue the cold war with the emperor, but suddenly, Zhu Yijun gave a cold "hum" and stood up to leave.
"Your Majesty!" Only then did Concubine Zheng realize that something was wrong. She hurried forward and grabbed his sleeve as usual, and said aggrievedly: "I know I was wrong."
After all, the emperor really loved this unique woman in front of him. After hearing this, he took a deep breath and said sternly: "There is no such thing as childishness in national laws. The ancestral rules have been established for two hundred years. Even I must abide by them, let alone the harem? Being pragmatic is my child's fault.
I read with you every now and then, I know that you have a good character and a talent that is second to none in the world!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! His words were originally pretending to be harsh, but as he spoke, especially after talking about Gao pragmatism, he actually became really angry again, and his tone seemed to be filled with ten thousand things.
Jun Lei seems to be like the black clouds pressing down on the city when a heavy rain is about to destroy it.
The palace maids and eunuchs were so frightened by the emperor's roaring voice that they trembled all over. Many of them even subconsciously plopped down on the ground. Even the confidant maids around Concubine Zheng were silent and trembling.
Concubine Zheng was about to cry, her eyes were red, and tears were rolling in her eyes. But this time the emperor may have mentioned that Gao Pragmatism "was my companion when I was a child. He has a good character and is the best in the world. I know it well."
Thinking of the friendship over the years, it seemed that she was really angry, and she was still staring coldly into Concubine Zheng's eyes.
At this moment, Concubine Zheng was suddenly really scared. She saw something indescribable in the emperor's eyes. It was an indescribable feeling, but she clearly found that in the emperor's mind, her status was
Even she is not as important as being pragmatic.
What she saw in the emperor's eyes was not only friendship, but also a unique kind of trust, a kind of trust that could be trusted with everything without any other reasons.
Concubine Zheng suddenly felt regretful and felt that she should not have listened to some people to test the emperor's views on Gao pragmatism.
This is really a stupid temptation! In the eyes of the emperor, Gao Pingshi is as perfect as Confucius was alive!
He deserves to die, he deserves to die!
Concubine Zheng didn't know who she was referring to when she said she deserved death, whether it was Gao Pragmatic or the person who encouraged her to test.
"Your Majesty, I don't dare to do it anymore, please calm down." Concubine Zheng's tears fell, fluttering like broken pearls. Her face, which was either happy or angry, was like a pear blossom with rain, which made people look down upon her.
Most of the coldness in the emperor's eyes dissipated, but for some unknown reason, he just nodded numbly and said, "I will wait and see."
Then he turned his head slightly and said to Chen Ju: "Go to Qianqing...Kunning Palace."
Concubine Zheng's hand holding his sleeve loosened up as if she suddenly lost strength, and allowed the emperor to leave. She no longer had the energy and confidence of the past to step forward and pull him back with a sweet smile.
No one dared to advise, even Chen Ju was cautiously hunched over to lead the way, wishing that every step would be silent so as not to attract the emperor's attention.
But the emperor had just walked a few steps out of the main hall when he couldn't help but ask: "Chen Ju, are you going to be at Zhaohui Jinggongfang or Baiyu Tower tonight?"
Chen Ju hurriedly stopped and turned around, bowed and replied: "I am returning to Jinggongfang, Zhaohui."
Zhu Yijun nodded and said to himself: "That's right. He will officially take up his new post tomorrow. He will have to go to the Ministry of Household Affairs earlier than usual. If he goes to Baiyu Tower tonight, it will be a bit far."
Chen Ju accompanied him and said, "Yes, your Majesty is very accurate in seeing things."
Zhu Yijun took a deep breath, waved his hand, and said with some annoyance: "Tell me, will seeking the truth annoy me?"
Chen Ju said cautiously: "I will tell you what happened tonight. I will tell you later. Not a word will be leaked, and Da Sinong will definitely not know about it."
"That's not what I said!" Zhu Yijun suddenly became angry and even stamped his feet, saying angrily: "I seem to have fallen into a trap. Shi Xing is not one of the people who seek truth. If he does something evil, you
Will Qiuzhen think that I did this on purpose? Will he..."
Chen Ju hurriedly said: "Your Majesty!"
Zhu Yijun did not continue speaking, but just exhaled a rough breath.
Chen Ju swallowed and seemed to feel a little uncomfortable in his throat. He quietly cleared his throat and then lowered his voice and said: "Your Majesty, you also said that Da Sinong has a good character and is the best in the world. He is an old man.
With his intelligence, even if something really happened, he would definitely be able to see through the tricks behind it. There is no way for demons and monsters to hide, so how could he turn his anger on the emperor?
Furthermore, the thunder and rain are all the kindness of the emperor. With the loyalty of the great minister, how can he harbor resentment for it? Does the emperor still remember the time when the great minister was sent to Guangxi? How many people in the world thought that the great minister was going to do something?
Turn into the second Yang Sheng'an, harboring resentment and ridiculing others with literature, but not thinking about government affairs, and wasting all his abilities?
But what did Da Sinong do? In Guangxi, he not only governed the place on behalf of Zhang Ren, solved the problem of chieftains, but also helped the court regain Annan, and even did an excellent job in wealth matters. The slave heard that Guangxi last year
The taxation of Guangdong has reached 60%, especially the commercial tax, even surpassing Guangdong!
To tell you the truth, when I heard this news, my jaw dropped! Guangdong is so wealthy, how can Guangxi surpass it in terms of business tax?"
Zhu Yijun felt much better after hearing these words. He nodded and said: "It does happen. It is said that it is mainly due to the sugar tax and wood tax... Oh, by the way, Qiu Zhen also paid a lot himself. It seems that he has just said that.
What kind of vehicle and boat tax did he pay more than 50,000 taels?"
"Yes, yes, the emperor has a really good memory, it's the travel and boat tax." Chen Ju sighed: "It's interesting to say that this tax didn't exist before, and it was Da Sinong who proposed it at that time.
In fact, in Guangxi, apart from Jinghua, how many other people can meet the standard of paying the travel tax? His tax is almost set for himself. The slave also read several history books in the study room in the past.
I really can’t find anyone who has done this in the twenty-four histories.”
"Yes, yes." Zhu Yijun sighed with emotion: "Heaven seeks truth and helps me. In the past, the emperor's wisdom and discernment were so great that he simply abandoned me and left me. If I don't cherish it, won't God punish me?"
Before Chen Ju could answer, he continued: "But I was very angry just now and didn't have time to think about it carefully. Now when I think about it, Concubine Zheng's behavior today is very unusual..."
Chen Ju also felt that there was something wrong with Concubine Zheng's behavior today, but he still pretended to be surprised and said "ah".
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Youdao is to accompany the emperor like a tiger. As a person around the emperor, you can neither listen to such words without any reaction, nor can you continue to talk randomly, and Chen Ju is obviously a
The expert only used the word "Ah" with surprise to catch the words firmly.
Sure enough, the emperor followed these words and analyzed them. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "Concubine Zheng knows about my relationship with Qiuzhen. In the past, even when Qiuzhen was mentioned, she only congratulated me for having such a minister to assist me. It is really Sheji.
What a blessing. Why did she suddenly change her temper today and actually suggest that Qiuzhen would do something to me openly and secretly? Either someone taught her this, or someone instigated her...
Huh, that's great! Someone in the court plotted against Qiu Zhen, and someone in the palace actually extended a dark hand. I think some people are worried that Qiu Zhen has taken charge of the household department, and the local officials' three fires will burn them.
On their heads, they couldn't hold back anymore and jumped out one after another."
Chen Ju breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, but his face was extremely serious. He nodded repeatedly: "Your Majesty, Shengming Zhuzhao, how come you didn't think of this!"
After Zhu Yijun heard this, he couldn't help but criticize him and said: "You too, what does Dongchang do for food? You can only find out so much about such an important matter? Honorable ladies, send me to Qiuzhen Mansion.
Come on, what's the big deal about this? It's just something about the Beijing camp, but you sent more than twenty people to monitor it. What are you monitoring? With such a large group of people openly visiting, how could it be that they are plotting something evil?
On the contrary, the matter that should have been investigated earlier has been delayed. It has been more than half a month and no details have been found! Let me ask you, when did Shi Xing and... form a tacit understanding? Did they meet in private? Or should I say yes?
What kind of man?"
Chen Ju hurriedly knelt on the ground and replied quickly: "This slave is punished by death, this slave is punished by death. However, Dongchang and Jinyiwei have already found out a little bit. Please give me some more time to continue investigating, and we will definitely find out the truth."
Zhu Yijun took a deep breath and said, "Let me tell you what I have found out now."
Chen Ju said: "Since Dongchang and Jinyiwei usually don't dare to monitor the ministers, they can only take a roundabout way and use some disciples and other small figures to verify..."
"I'm asking about the results, not the process."
"Yes, yes." Chen Ju said: "Back to the emperor, there should be no private meeting. There must be an intermediary among them. Although it has not been found out yet, all the clues point to the palace."
Zhu Yijun's pupils shrank slightly and he said coldly: "Huh, it's just as I expected."
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