After receiving an imperial edict from the imperial court, especially one that appoints an imperial envoy, the rule is to enter the palace to meet the emperor and listen to the emperor's "work arrangements."
Although Shen Yi is already very familiar with His Majesty the Emperor, he still has to go through the process. After all, he does have a lot of things that he needs to explain clearly to His Majesty the Emperor in advance.
After comforting his wife for a while, Shen Yi changed into his official uniform, sat in a carriage, and drove around in the late afternoon. After entering the imperial city, he did not stop at the imperial city, but went all the way to the palace gate. After the announcement, he was quickly taken to the gate of the Manna Palace.
When Shen Yi arrived at the entrance of the Manna Palace, His Majesty the Emperor was receiving ministers. Mr. Shen could only wait at the door of the palace. After waiting for about a cup of tea, he finally saw an old man walking out of the Manna Palace. When he saw the old man's appearance After that, Shen Yi hurriedly stepped forward, bowed his head slightly and held his hands.
"I've met Duke Ping An."
This old man is none other than Chen Jing.
Chen Jing looked Shen Yi up and down, and then showed a faint smile on his face: "Before Zi Henglin went to Huaihe Navy to serve as imperial envoy, I asked you to visit Zhongshu. When did you come back? Why did you come back? Don’t you want to go to Zhongshu to see me?”
"It's been several days since I came back."
Mr. Shen coughed and said, "I'm just a low-ranking official with a small position. I haven't been summoned by Zhongshu, so I don't dare to disturb Prime Minister Chen."
"Fourth grade Zhongshun doctor."
Chen Jing smiled and said: "No matter who you are, they can't say that your official position is insignificant."
At this point, he patted Shen Yi on the shoulder and said with a smile: "This time, after completing the errands for His Majesty, Ziheng may be able to go further. By then, it will not be a small official position, but a high and powerful position." .”
Listening to his words, Shen Yi couldn't tell whether he was talking about the situation or being arrogant, so he could only lower his head slightly and said: "I'm a lowly official. I just want to run the court's errands well. I don't want a high position..."
Chen Jing chuckled, reached out and patted Shen Yi on the shoulder, and left with his hands behind his back.
"Okay, come in quickly, His Majesty is already waiting for you inside."
Shen Yi then walked into the Manna Hall thoughtfully.
In the Manna Palace, His Majesty the Emperor was not dealing with official business. Instead, he was half-lying on the soft couch with his eyes closed, as if he was asleep. Shen Yi walked over cautiously. When he was hesitating whether to wake up the Emperor, his eyes were filled with tears. His Majesty the Emperor, who did not open his eyes, said directly: "Find a place to sit down and talk."
Shen Yi immediately bowed and saluted: "I have met Your Majesty."
The emperor slowly opened his eyes, rubbed his eyebrows, and said, "Have you seen Old Man Chen?"
Shen Yi lowered his head slightly and said, "Yes, I met Mr. Chen at the door just now."
The emperor snorted: "This old man."
"Not at all clueless."
The emperor gritted his teeth and whispered in a voice that could only be heard by the emperor and his ministers: "I will replace him sooner or later!"
Shen Yi hesitated for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, is it because Prime Minister Chen doesn't agree with this matter?"
"no."
The emperor shook his head, looked at Shen Yi, and curled his lips and said: "He didn't even mention this matter. I wanted to build a Buddhist hall for my mother in the palace and pray for her. This old man refused to agree and said that there are two religions. As long as you invite a god into the palace, you are not a real god."
"It's not a real god, it's useless to worship him."
The emperor rubbed his head and said helplessly: "It's really annoying that we can't quarrel with them. These scholars want to take care of everything."
At this point, the emperor saw Shen Yi's expression of embarrassment, and immediately coughed and said, "Except you, Shen Qing, except you..."
Shen Yi didn't pay attention, but asked: "Your Majesty, is this Buddhist hall to be built by you or by the Queen Mother?"
"I want to repair it."
The emperor stretched and said, "When I went to pay my respects to my mother a few days ago, I heard her mention it, so I wanted to build a Buddhist temple for her to make her happy."
Shen Yi nodded and said nothing.
But he understood very well why Chen Jing disagreed.
Because of this, problems are likely to arise.
Building a Buddhist temple in the palace is not a big deal. The Ministry of Revenue can use whatever money it can. Even if the Ministry of Revenue does not contribute, the palace's internal funds are enough. But building a Buddhist temple is equivalent to establishing a family temple. .
In Tianjia’s family temple, it is inevitable to invite a monk to be the abbot to give lectures to the Queen Mother...
You know, those monks are not engaged in production, and all they have is energy.
And the Queen Mother is not yet forty this year, and she has been living for a long time...
Although the Queen Mother's character is not like that of a promiscuous harem person, in order to prevent scandals in the royal family, "experienced people" like Chen Jing will naturally not agree to the construction of a Buddhist hall in the palace.
His Majesty the Emperor didn't take this matter very seriously. He just made a casual comment to Shen Yi after seeing Shen Yi. After seeing Shen Yi sit down, he smiled at Shen Yi and asked, "When are you leaving?"
】
Master Shen replied: "I am making some preparations now. When the preparations are almost complete, I will set off for Songjiang Mansion."
"I heard about it."
The emperor smiled and said: "I heard that you were in the Ministry of War and asked Jiang Jian to make 10,000 armor stomachs, right?"
Shen Yi nodded, sighed, and said: "To be honest with you, I wanted to ask Jiang Shangshu for 20,000 armor stomachs. I was just afraid that if I opened my mouth, he would kick me out of the military department, so I only asked him for it." Ten thousand pieces.”
"Your Majesty, you also know that the equipment of the coastal capitals is very poor. Some people do not have all the weapons on hand. They cannot fight with the Qi people without armor. They ask the Ministry of War for 10,000 pieces of armor, and the remaining 10,000 pieces of armor. I still have to find a way on my own."
The emperor smiled hoarsely and asked, "Have I given Jiang Jian to you?"
Shen Yi shook his head.
"Jiang Shangshu said that he needs a few days to think about it slowly. I estimate that it is not easy to give ten thousand pieces. I estimate that there are seven to eight thousand pieces."
"Xiaoli is stingy."
The emperor touched his chin and thought for a while, then said: "That's it, I'll go back and send a note to the Ministry of War, asking the Ministry of War to give you 10,000 pieces of armor, and the rest, um..."
After thinking about it for a while, he said: "I will transfer 3,000 pieces of armor from the Forbidden Army to you. As for the remaining 7,000 pieces..."
He looked at Shen Yi, smiled and said, "You have a lot of ideas, just figure it out yourself."
"My lord, I was about to tell His Majesty about this matter."
Shen Yi lowered his eyebrows and said, "Your Majesty, war is very expensive. This time, I would like to apply to Your Majesty to use Xu Fu's money when necessary."
Although Xu Fu is a big boss, his "start-up capital" is the emperor's money, which means that he is at best a general manager.
Regarding this point, the emperor was still very generous. He waved his hand and said, "When you have money, just use it."
At this point, the emperor smiled and said: "Just don't cooperate with Xu Fu inside and outside, and make false accounts to defraud me of my private money."
Shen Yi lowered his head slightly, not even daring to say anything.
After the monarch and his ministers chatted for a long time, Shen Yi lowered his head again and said, "There is one more thing I would like to ask your Majesty."
The emperor nodded.
"Don't be so formal. You are going to do something big this time. If you have anything to say, just say it."
Shen Yi nodded, took a deep breath, then looked up at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, what I want to ask is, is the coastal capital guarding the Huaihe River this time, only the Huaihe River? If the opportunity is right, I..."
Master Shen raised his head and asked a very bold question.
"Can I go to the north of the Huaihe River and have a look?"
This question immediately stunned the emperor.
His Majesty the Emperor sat on the chair and did not speak for a long time. After a long time, he looked at Shen Yi and even swallowed: "Shen Qing, you just..."
"What did you just say?"
Shen Yi spoke again, and his voice became firmer.
"I said that if the opportunity is right, I would like to go to the north of the Huaihe River to have a look and meet those Qi people?"
"Don't be too ambitious."
Your Majesty the Emperor, I feel a little unconfident now.
He coughed and looked at Shen Yi, with a bit of excitement hidden in his seemingly calm tone.
"Seriously...are there any chances?"
"I don't know now."
Shen Yi whispered: "I have only seen Northern Qi's cavalry in books, but I have never seen them in person. I don't know what the Qi army looks like now."
"According to my estimation, the Coastal Capital Division will have to defend itself at first."
Speaking of this, Mr. Shen's eyes were bright.
"But after fighting a few battles, I feel confident."
"I don't have to go further north. I just want to ask Your Majesty..."
Mr. Shen stood up, cupped his hands and said, "If the opportunity is right and I can definitely take advantage of it, can I...can you go?"
These words made His Majesty the Emperor very excited.
He also stood up, his breathing a little short.
"Since I am an imperial envoy..."
Having said this, His Majesty the Emperor swallowed secretly, then gritted his teeth slightly.
"You just make the decision on the spur of the moment!"
