Hu Guangxu felt that he was in trouble, so he felt very depressed.
But then, he cheered up again, and the reaction of the princes showed that they were jealous of him. It can be seen that Hu Mu's title was really great and proud.
He felt sad in his heart, and his mood went up and down!
But seeing that Zhang Anshi was still there, he smiled dryly and said: "Is everything okay, His Highness King Song?"
Zhang Anshi said: "Yes, but not many. I think... we can expand and talk about the inn."
Hu Guang originally just asked politely, but he didn't expect Zhang Anshi to talk about this again.
"What?" Hu Guang was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Didn't His Highness just say... this inn..."
Zhang Anshi said: "Fang Cai is Cai Cai. That is a high-sounding thing to say to others. But there are no outsiders here, only Mr. Hu and me. Naturally, we want to reveal our true feelings."
Hu Guang did not expect that Zhang Anshi was really interested in this inn, and his interest seemed to be very strong.
Then he said: "Actually, this post station... is indeed getting more and more tired. Alas... in order to support the inn, the Ministry of Household Affairs allocates a lot of money and food every year. There are 140 prefectures, 193 states, and 1,100 people in the world.
Thirty-eight counties, there are 493 guards and 359 stations. There are inns and postmen everywhere to support tens of thousands of postmen, not to mention that every inn needs to tame horses.
, fodder is supplied.”
Hu Guang was obviously very clear about the situation at the inn. He could say that he had picked it up easily, and then continued: "But the effect... well... you have seen it, so much expense is just to convey news and receive contacts.
Officials, this expense is huge, and it can be said that the gain outweighs the loss. Now you know the amount of money and food in the Ministry of Household Affairs... Hey..."
Zhang Anshi smiled and said, "What Mr. Hu said is true."
Hu Guang looked at Zhang Anshi in surprise and said, "What happened to Your Highness today?"
He always felt that something was wrong with Zhang Anshi today.
Zhang Anshi said: "It's nothing."
Hu Guang felt that something was wrong with Zhang Anshi's reaction, so he said, "How rare is it that your highness can agree with me?"
Zhang Anshi said: "Actually, I agree with many of Hu Gong's ideas, but I just don't say them on weekdays. I have benefited a lot from Hu Gong's high opinion today."
These words made Hu Guang happy, so Hu Guang said: "Lu Yao knows that Ma Li has won over people's hearts over time, and His Highness is still honest."
At this time, Hu Guang felt a lot. Compared with other princes, he suddenly discovered that Zhang Anshi was indeed more powerful than others.
Zhang Anshi said: "Nothing, but..."
Hu Guang looked stunned and couldn't help but answer: "But what?"
Zhang Anshi said: "Since Mr. Hu knew the disadvantages of this, why didn't he report it to His Majesty?"
"Ah...this..." Hu Guang was stunned again, and then his face turned slightly red.
Isn't this nonsense? He, Hu Guang, knows a lot of ills. Is there anything he can do to report it? What if everyone really pays attention to it?
There are some things that cannot be said.
Zhang Anshi said, "Every year, the Ministry of Household Affairs wastes so much public money. Could it be that Mr. Hu just watched it disappear? If it were me, I must give a fair report and the imperial court must come up with a concrete plan."
Come up with a feasible solution. Mr. Hu is a great scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion and attracts the attention of the world. His words and deeds can change a lot of things."
Hu Guang was thoughtful, then raised his head and glanced at Zhang Anshi and said: "Will it cause any trouble? Your Highness, this inn... is not completely without benefits, is it?"
When Zhang Anshi suddenly proposed to lift the roof, Hu Guang became a little timid.
Zhang Anshi said: "One code equals one code. In my opinion, it is better to find a better way to eliminate the shortcomings. If not, wouldn't it look like we are living in a state of insignificance?"
Hu Guang became less and less confident and said hesitantly: "How about I ask Mr. Xia, the Minister of Household Affairs, to discuss it first?"
Zhang Anshi smiled and said: "Of course you can, but I said something I shouldn't have said. Mr. Xia is in charge of the household department and has always been disgusted with the New Deal. I'm afraid there are many people in this household department... who are benefiting from various inns."
,Did Mr. Hu hear about these things?"
Hu Guang stroked his beard, and he naturally understood what Zhang Anshi meant. It was hard to say that so much money and food from the household department had been allocated, and it was like plucking the geese's hair. As for how many people were involved, it was really hard to tell.
Hu Guangdao: "Don't worry, I will understand if you listen to me."
Zhang Anshi added: "If Mr. Xia is also sad about this...what are Mr. Hu's plans?"
Hu Guang seemed to be forced into a corner by Zhang Anshi and had to say: "How about... just submit a memorial?"
Zhang Anshi smiled and said: "Hu Gong is indeed worthy of being strong and strong."
When Hu Guang heard the word "iron bones", he shuddered and suddenly felt uneasy.
He muttered for a long time, and then suddenly said: "Isn't it possible that the time will come when your Majesty will be angered and His Majesty will deprive the Hu family of their title?"
Zhang Anshi couldn't help but smile and comforted him: "Your Majesty is not such a small-minded person."
"Oh." Hu Guang nodded. He began to think thoughtfully, silently deducing the consequences of this incident if it happened.
In fact, Hu Guang is not a person who is not responsible for the consequences, but... in his opinion, the matter at the inn is not so urgent.
This has been the case in all dynasties, hasn’t it always been this way?
What's more, where in the world can we get away from a post station? Without this, how can we rush to deliver goods and receive them?
But now that Zhang Anshi was encouraging him, Hu Guang thought about it and realized that there were quite a few shortcomings, so he thought why not make a fuss about increasing revenue and reducing expenditure?
In the value room on the other side.
Xie Jin was sitting in front of the desk, holding a pen in his hand, concentrating on drafting the votes.
At this moment, a housekeeper gently knocked on the door and then walked in quietly.
"Jie Gong... Hu Gong... met with Xia Gong, the Minister of Household Affairs."
"Oh?" Jie Jin raised his head and glanced at Shiren, nodded, and showed a somewhat meaningful expression. Then he put down his pen and looked serious, but said in an understatement: "What are you talking about?"
"It seems to be an inn."
"Inn..." Xie Jin murmured, then frowned with a thoughtful look on his face.
He had long noticed that Zhang Anshi's expression was a little unnatural when he talked about arriving at the inn.
After that, Zhang Anshi chatted with Hu Guang for a while, then turned around, and Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Household Affairs, came.
This can't help but make people think... His Highness the King of Song must have something going on... Zhang Luo.
Xie Jin felt a strong curiosity in his heart, and said with a smile on his face: "Our Highness, the King of Song, has never been able to get up early without profit. Of course, this is not a derogatory meaning. The world is bustling, isn't it all for profit? This is understandable.
."
He paused, thought seriously, and then said: "I understand, you go ahead."
Shiren nodded and tiptoed out again.
Jie Jin continued to sit upright. He closed his eyes gently, as if the old monk had passed into trance. Then, he remembered something, his eyes suddenly opened, he glanced at the table, and then took a piece of paper from the side.
I came over with a blank piece of paper, put my pen on it, and quickly wrote down a few words.
"railway."
"Inn."
"Zhang Anshi."
These three words came into view before Xie Jin's eyes. At this moment, Xie Jin's eyes opened slightly. It seemed that at this moment, he had expected something and immediately became excited. However, he seemed to have found some connection, so he took the matter seriously.
I picked up my pen and wrote two more words after this word: "Mail Ship".
Everything in the world is connected, and now, everything is suddenly clear.
The reason Xie Jin thought of mail ships was because, as far as he knew, mail ships overseas... were profitable.
It's just that in the Ming Dynasty, there was no need for mail ships to travel thousands of miles across the country, but if a railway appeared... then... wouldn't this railway... be just a ship?
Thinking about it this way... Xie Jin already understood everything. He immediately smiled and began to fall into the next thought.
………………
In fact, Hubu is not too enthusiastic about the post station.
This actually coincides with Hu Guang’s idea.
However, Xia Yuanji, who was the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, became interested in this.
As we all know, Mr. Xia has never been very interested in the New Deal. It was only because... this New Deal could indeed bring in a lot of money and food that he accepted it with a pinched nose.
Mr. Xia was like a woman who lived here and there, dreaming of sleeping with a handsome young man in the west of the village at night, and wishing to eat at the home of a wealthy man in the east of the village during the day.
Generally speaking, he has taken the most profitable elements of the New Deal, but he is not very interested in the background of the New Deal, and even rejects it.
However, as an orthodox scholar, Xia Yuanji has always believed in increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.
Hu Gong has come to talk, and Xia Yuanji feels that if he does not take this opportunity to greatly reduce the expenditure of the treasury, he will naturally feel sorry for himself.
Therefore, Xia Yuanji fully agreed with Hu Guang's words.
It is very sad to think that a large number of post stations cost a lot, and it is even more painful to have to support so many post soldiers, donkeys and horses every year.
Then we should make a fuss about open source. Anyway, it will allow the treasury to spend less or even no money, which is the best.
Xia Yuanji started to encourage.
Hu Guang then wrote a memorial after careful consideration.
Who would have known that when this memorial was published, it could be said that one stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the repercussions were not small.
Among them, Di Bao published it on the front page.
Not only that, the scholars who were originally frightened by the Jiangxi incident also reacted fiercely.
Scholars feel more uncomfortable when they hear that the court spends money than when they spend their own money.
What's more, exposing shortcomings is what scholars are best at.
Furthermore, at this time, he received the support of Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Household Affairs.
At the same time, many gossips also spread, mostly about how much money a certain inn spent on raising horses every year, but in fact, none of these horses... were seen.
Even the horses are eating empty wages.
Or maybe there was a Yi Cheng who actually saved a fortune of tens of thousands of dollars after serving for three years.
These many pieces of news are both true and false, and scholars talk about them with great interest.
At this time, the momentum suddenly rose, and soon people went up to heaven to listen.
Zhu Di looked at the memorial in front of him strangely. There were quite a lot of memorials. After Hu Guang's memorial, it was followed by Xia Yuanji, and then Baiguan.
Looking at the pile of memorials, Zhu Di was a little confused and couldn't help but said: "Why... they still want to cut down the inn?"
Yi Shiha stood beside him, with a sad face, and said: "I don't know how I can be so good... just..."
Zhu Di couldn't help but said: "Hu Guang, the leader, I thought of him a few days ago, but today I have to teach me a lesson and teach me a lesson."
Yi Shiha: "..."
This is something that Yi Shiha cannot accept.
Of course, Zhu Di didn't want Yishiha to give an answer. He snorted and said: "If the imperial court wants to operate, can it still leave the inn? It's really ridiculous..."
However, Yi Shiha thought for a moment and said, "Could there be someone behind the scenes who is plotting something evil and is using this to make a fuss..."
These words were like a stone being dropped on the calm lake. After hearing this, Zhu Di narrowed his eyes and suddenly became alert.
Relevant to the previous... In Raozhou, Zhu Di dealt with a group of officials harshly. It is difficult to guarantee that someone will not take this opportunity to deliberately vent their anger and give Zhu Di a blow.
Zhu Di's eyes were dark. For the emperor, there was always a problem they had difficulty grasping, and that was motivation.
There are so many things happening in the world every day, and many of them must be promoted by people with good intentions. The motives of those who promote these things are really something that the emperor in the palace needs to be vigilant about.
It was as if Zhu Di was in a fog at this time. He was in darkness, surrounded by many people. These people made voices one after another. These voices may have reasons, or they may have no ulterior motives.
What Zhu Di has to do is to identify them and use them as a basis for judgment.
But in the final analysis, this is so easy. Even with factory guards, it may not be able to completely dispel the fog. All that can be done is to grasp more clues.
Zhu Di closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wanted to find clues from the memorial.
At this moment, a eunuch came in a hurry and saluted: "Your Majesty."
Zhu Di was obviously a little irritable at this time, and he couldn't help but said with a livid face: "Say."
Seeing that His Majesty was in a bad mood, the eunuch was a little scared, but he still said tremblingly: "His Royal Highness the King of Song... is secretly reporting..."
After Zhu Di heard this, he became suspicious and said: "Get it."
A memorial was delivered to Zhu Di. Zhu Di opened it and looked at it carefully, then he showed a deeper suspicion.
However, he still kept his expression and closed the memorial, but then his eyes fell on the pile of memorials on the document, and he immediately said: "Let's discuss it tomorrow."
…………
At dawn the next day, the sky was dark.
Ministers of rank five or above entered the palace and began to discuss matters as usual.
What is discussed today is precisely the most popular topic at the moment, involving Hu Guang and Hu Bu, which is the inn that has attracted much attention from the scholars.
In fact, many ministers had a clear conscience before coming to discuss matters.
We can’t live without inns. Isn’t it a joke to abolish them?
But from another perspective, this matter is now such a big deal, so many scholars are paying attention, and there are a lot of discussions about it in the market. At this time... although I know that it is impossible to abolish it, if anyone does it, I am afraid that the first one in the palace will not be the one to do it.
promise.
It will be easier to handle once you know the bottom line in the palace.
Anyway, I, the emperor, would not agree, so I would simply... just show it off and show the scholars my unyielding character.
To be an official in the Ming Dynasty, in addition to being proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics, you also needed to know how to play both sides. At the same time, you also needed to have the training of a performing artist.
After all, no one wants to be infamy for thousands of years, and the pen is in the hands of scholars.
A court discussion like this that will have no results after it is started is actually a stage!
Since this matter won't affect the real national policy, then simply...just make the accusations yourself, there won't be any problem.
As a result, the officials taught Zhang Anshi a vivid lesson.
Zhang Anshi, as a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion, sat next to Hu Guang.
Immediately, the atmosphere suddenly started to heat up.
The first person to stand up was a city censor. The city censor beat his chest and fell down, and then began to curse the post station for wasting public funds every year. Then, he brought up a story about the Fujian post station last year.
"A mere Pingtan post is given seven hundred taels of money per year and twelve thousand shi of grain. In addition, there is also fodder and other extravagant expenses. How many post chiefs and post soldiers can be maintained? Four people... Sirs
...There are only four people. There are clearly thirty-seven people on the roster, but there are no extra people..."
Du Yushi spoke so excitedly that he cried as he spoke.
Someone said: "This Pingtan Station is pretty good, but the Wendeng Station in Shandong is even more ridiculous..."
Everyone spoke loudly and denounced him loudly.
When Hu Guang saw this, he was very pleased and said to Zhang Anshi in a low voice: "Your Highness... I don't know if I don't check this. If I check it... it's really... Fortunately, all the princes still have the country in mind. Look at them.
A man filled with righteous indignation..."
Zhang Anshi smiled and said: "A person who denounces others for corruption may not necessarily mean that he is clean, but it is very likely that he only appears to be clean by denounced by others."
Hu Guang was anxious and wanted to say something, but at this point in the atmosphere, he couldn't argue with Zhang Anshi, so he simply took a deep breath and sat upright.
This scolding continued until noon.
Everyone started to feel hungry.
Just when everyone was thinking about finishing the court meeting and going back to eat.
Suddenly, a eunuch sang: "Your Majesty has arrived."
Everyone cheered up and hurriedly picked up the driver.
Zhu Dixin walked into the hall, immediately took his seat, looked around, and asked: "How was the discussion?"
Hu Guang stood up in a hurry, bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, all the officials are dissatisfied with the post station, and they all think that it should..."
Zhu Di raised his eyebrows and said, "What should it be?"
"It should be abolished..."
Zhu Di looked around and said calmly: "Really?"
None of the officials objected. Although everyone said angry words, it didn't matter. Anyway, the position was established. Everyone was sworn in with the crime. But the question was, would the imperial court dare to abolish it?
Zhu Di sighed: "I didn't expect that in just a few years, the officialdom would have deteriorated to such an extent. It seems that... it is no longer possible without heavy regulations. If this is the case, then let's abolish it as the ministers have said!"
"..."
The sound of needle drops suddenly became audible in the hall.
People started to look at each other in panic.
Isn't this... a joke?
Your Majesty took the wrong medicine?
The result was different from what they had imagined before!