Zhu Fanghe was overjoyed when he heard this, and after serving three glasses of wine with a million dollars in gold, he said to Li You: "To be honest, brother, the emperor's southern tour this time is easy to explain. After all, it involves the dragon vein of his ancestors, but the biggest problem is that the money is not enough."
Fu. The emperor and his ministers mobilized troops and mobilized troops, which cost more than one million. I went south this time, obviously to grant a title to your family, but also secretly to raise money. But we, the scholars, are ashamed of this and don’t know what to do. Mr. Jin’s righteous act has been resolved.
My top priority is that I can at least return to Beijing to do business. Your Majesty will bear this in mind."
Jin Wanwan was also secretly happy. He didn't expect that he would have such an opportunity tonight. Under the sky of the Ming Dynasty, it is more cost-effective to bribe anyone than to directly bribe the emperor. With Li You's operation, it should be almost certain that his daughter will enter the palace. If a good thing comes true, in the second half
No more worries.
"More than one million? Isn't this half a million enough?" Li You asked thoughtfully.
Hearing what his son-in-law said, Jin Wanwan couldn't help but shrink back and drink again. No matter how much silver he had, he couldn't take it out, let alone couldn't take it out, even if he could take it out, he wouldn't dare to take it out.
In fact, Li You had no intention of continuing to blackmail Jin Wanwan, and said again: "There are many salt merchants in Yangzhou, and they are the richest in the world. With my father-in-law's initiative, it will not be a problem to collect another one hundred thousand taels, and the court will no longer have money."
No worries!”
Zhu Fanghe had a grimace on his face and said, "Brother Xian, I can rest assured that you are doing your job."
Of course Li You is not just sitting around making trouble, for two reasons.
First, it is now obvious that he is so good at jumping that the Queen Mother cannot calm down her anger. If she cannot calm down, she cannot untie the knot. If she cannot untie it, she has to invest in the future. Seeing that the emperor is getting married next spring, the wedding will be a big one.
After marriage, the matter of pro-government matters should be put on the agenda. At this time, of course, we must burn the hot stove together.
Secondly, the emperor is in the deep palace, far away in Yangzhou, except for the pilgrimage to Beijing once every three years. Only when the emperor takes the initiative to tour the south can he directly increase his favorability. Maybe in order to have a good omen for the early birth of the dragon son, the person in charge of palace affairs
Princess Guide will also tour the south with her royal entourage.
As for the talk of searching for money to please the emperor, it is just a temporary ridicule by rotten scholars, and will be forgotten in a few days. The emperor is touring the south for the purpose of the ancestral mausoleum and dragon veins, not for eating, drinking and having fun. He is also anxious for the court.
I'm anxious, just think about what the court wants.
That night, Zhu Fanghe stayed in the quiet garden beside Slender West Lake, which is where Li You first met Jin Wanwan.
The next morning, Li You and Jin Wanwan accompanied Zhu Fanghe on a tour of Youyuan. Facing the boulders, springs, and deep forest ravines, Zhu Fanghe praised: "The interest of this garden is different from the ordinary, like a hermitage in the mountains and forests."
.It’s really impressive, and the name “You” is worthy of its name!”
Jin Wanwan took the opportunity to request: "I have heard for a long time that Mr. Fanghe is a famous figure in the world. I dare you to ask him to write an inscription for this garden."
Zhu Fanghe looked at Li You, "It's easy to write, but I don't know what to write. Since I arrived in Yangzhou, my dear brother, very few good poems have been handed down from generation to generation. I only heard one song about the prime minister drinking and singing."
Li You sighed: "A prime minister who indulges in drunkenness and singing has attracted a lot of criticism... He has settled the affairs of the king and the world, and won fame both during and after his death. I have written many poems, but the world only knows the name of my poems, but does not know that my official reputation is clear.
, I am deeply concerned about it.”
"Young people should learn from this old man. His talent cannot be let down." Zhu Fanghe said with a big smile.
Jin Wanwan joked: "If Mr. Fanghe is interested, I would like to invite all the famous scholars who are currently in Yangzhou to hold a gathering for cultivating evil spirits here. It will be a grand event."
Zhu Fanghe cupped his hands and said: "It is indeed a pleasure to make friends through literature, but then I will bother my father-in-law."
Li You then said to Jin Wanwan: "Mr. Fanghe is expected to stay in Yangzhou for more than half a month this time. Mr. Jin must prepare carefully. Don't let Mr. Fanghe underestimate you Yangzhou merchants."
In the afternoon, Li You returned to the county government office. His biggest purpose of inviting Jin Wanwan to receive Zhu Fanghe was basically achieved, which was to further improve his status in Jin Wanwan's heart and increase his weight.
After sitting down and taking a few sips of tea, Li You began to write a memorial to complain about Qu. Others repeatedly made mistakes and gave the opportunity. If you don't cry out, it will be in vain. Of course, every sentence cannot be separated from the word ancestor.
"I am diligent in the king's affairs and dare not slack off in guarding the ancestral mausoleum. I did not return to Yangzhou for two months. However, I was framed and framed by the evil people. I took advantage of the situation and tried to make three people become tigers. At that time, I could not speak more words than my enemies.
Nothing can be done.
I have a clear conscience and always look north, thinking that the court must be innocent. Unexpectedly, the people who framed the trap suddenly entered. I don't know what is right and what is wrong. I don't know where my innocence lies.
I also feel that the actions of the imperial court are unpredictable, and there may be consequences. As for the merits of the ancestral mausoleum, I am brave and dare not accept the reward for the time being until I understand. If the imperial court accuses me of being wrong by impeachment, I am willing to bow my head and atone for my sin with a imperial edict!"
After writing this, Li You stopped writing and thought carefully for a while. To be honest, judging from the current situation, it would be best for Luo Xingye, who had been beaten to the point of losing all prestige by him, to stay in Yangzhou Mansion, which would help him seize power.
It may not be a good thing to come alone.
What's more, it is a foregone conclusion that Luofu Zun will be promoted to the third rank. The erratic promotion and demotion really makes the court look bad. Therefore, if you insist on this, it will easily be regarded as ignorance of the general situation and relying on meritorious deeds to threaten the court.
So he changed his pen and continued to write: "Also, there is no reason to change the imperial edict overnight. In order to preserve the dignity of the court, I think it is appropriate for Luo Xingye to stay in office unchanged and it is not appropriate to change it again."
However, it would be a big mistake to think that Mr. Li would just swallow his anger. Luo Fuzun is a fait accompli on the outside and cannot be touched, but the person behind him takes the initiative to provide excuses. How can he resolve his hatred without attacking?
He continued to write furiously: "Only those who promoted Luo Xingye deliberately stirred up unrest in the government and the public. This can be said to have ulterior motives and sinister intentions. He abolished public service for personal gain! I want to imitate Wu Mu, but there is Qin Hui in the court. This person cannot be ignored.
Punishment is to serve as a warning to others, to establish righteousness, and to inform the ancestors!"
As I was writing this, I suddenly saw Zhang San standing at the door reporting: "Master! Master Zuo has been released by the government!"
Li You stopped writing and said: "Please come to the flower hall!"
After visiting his brother, Li You looked carefully and saw that although his clothes were shabby and his expression was sluggish, he was not weak. It seemed that he had not suffered any hardship in prison, but he was just not free. At this point, he was completely relieved. If Li Zuo was in prison
If you have suffered a crime, it must not sound good if it is spread out.
After some words of comfort, he asked: "Brother, why did you come to Yangzhou? Do you dare to have someone from Xujiang County send you a mission?"
Li Zuo is just an ordinary person. He always feels a little ashamed in front of his overly outstanding younger brother. His words are very brief due to his restraint, "Father asked me to escort the white grain to Guazhou warehouse for delivery, saying that it would increase my experience."
Li You suddenly realized that now in the county, his father was the only one who dared to send drudgery to his brother.
He could guess what his father was thinking. He probably saw him flying higher and higher, gradually reaching a level that he could not even imagine before, so there was no need to keep the position of county official as a way out.
Although the position of a county official is very precious, he has earned the family fortune but cannot use it. If the wealth does not go to other people's fields, he can only pass it on to his brother.
But my brother's qualifications were too mediocre, so my father would try every means to increase his experience by trying to catch up. This was probably the purpose of transporting white grain to Guazhou this time.
The so-called white grain refers to the 200,000 stones of rice grains levied by the imperial court in the five prefectures of Su, Song, Chang, Jia, and Hu, in addition to the ordinary grain tax of several millions, specifically for the royal family.
"Then why exactly did the conflict occur in Guazhou?"
Li Zuo's face showed a bit of anger, "That warehouse official is disgusting! According to the imperial system, when transporting rice grains from the south of the Yangtze River to the Guazhou warehouse, each stone is only allowed to cost four more buckets. But when we arrived, we were charged a stone. Who would bring it?"
That many meters?"
Li You asked suspiciously: "You didn't tell me my name?"
"You were supposed to charge us six dou for extra expenses, but after telling us your name, you have to charge us one stone! This is too much bullying. We were all aggrieved and couldn't help but fight with Cang Ding. More than a dozen people in our group were arrested.
!”
"Bastard! This prison deserves to die!" Li You was furious and slapped the case and cursed. As the saying goes, wealth cannot be returned without repayment, just like walking at night in brocade clothes. If the prison supervisor treated him differently, it was like deliberately slapping him in the face in front of his hometown people.
"You and your group will rest in the county government hotel for a while, and wait until I seek justice for you!" Li You decided.
Originally, Mr. Li felt that in terms of status and power of the three families joining forces, the Salt Transport Department must be in the middle and the small prison was just a pawn, so he didn't take it seriously. Now it seems that this
The pawns are also very ignorant.
After returning to his room and continuing to write the memorial, Li You, who felt wronged, filed a serious complaint against Gu Shanhe, the prison director of Guazhoucang.
In fact, it is very common for warehouse officials to increase the loss without authorization when collecting grain. As long as it does not delay the official payment to the court, it is often regarded as the welfare of warehouse officials. If you don't check, it will be fine. Even if you are accused, it will not be checked.
It's hard to say, even if you are investigated, it will definitely be fine if you have insurance.
However, unspoken rules cannot be brought to the surface after all. If you are investigated for various reasons, it will be hard to say that you will not be insured.
If Lord Li files a complaint against Guazhoucang, will the court investigate? Most likely, it will. Of the three people who impeached Lord Li, the Salt Transportation Department is too important, and Luo Fuzun is not easy to move. If the court wants to step down, the only way is
Taking Guazhoucang for surgery. This can be regarded as a strong hint that Li You deliberately gave to the court - this is the scapegoat.
Also, Envoy Zhu is now in Yangzhou. The imperial court will not be so extravagant as to send another imperial envoy to Yangzhou to investigate the warehouse case, so it has to let Envoy Zhu handle it by the way.
Zhu Fanghe is doing things, and Li You is relieved.
As soon as they finished writing the memorial, the masters came to talk to Mr. Li one after another. Mr. Hu, who was in charge of local human relations affairs, said worriedly: "Although the people are glad that you will stay in office, the salt merchants still rumor that you will not last long, which is not good."
Ordinary people can't think so much and have little knowledge. They are just happy that Li Qingtian continues to be in Jiangdu County. However, the well-informed wealthy families, including officials from various government offices, are naturally more knowledgeable. After analyzing various signs, they can make far-sighted judgments.
: Li You was awarded the reward because his merits were too great, so the court had no choice but to give it to him. As for the court's true attitude towards Li You, it can be seen from the promotion of Luo to the prefecture.
Li You was promoted after being impeached, which shows that in the court, Li You's enemies have the upper hand, and all they lack is the opportunity to destroy him. As long as he is impeached over and over again by his political opponents, the public's opinions will turn out to be worthless.
Steel-making has become a chore, and even the heroes will be wasted away.
Merit can be preserved for a while, but it cannot be preserved for a lifetime. If nothing else, how many meritorious officials did Taizu kill in the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China?
This kind of insight is very far-sighted and to the point...but it's a pity that it's all based on wrong information. Apart from Li You, Zhu Qinchao, the only one who understands, is also pretending to be confused.
At this time, Qianliang Master Zhou Jiexi also worried: "Almost all the birth and support bank collections for the resident population were collected last month, but this year's real estate bank collection for the resident population suddenly slowed down..."
Li You sneered a few times, "Don't say that I am causing trouble for nothing, then let the people who deserve to be remembered be remembered."