Han Qi deeply despised people like Ren Shouzhong, who had given him eye drops in front of Emperor Renzong before.
However, Han Qi also felt unpredictable about the emperor's connivance towards Ren Shouzhong today. . .
When the emperor's biological father, King Zhao Yunrang of Pu, passed away, it was this person who was responsible for the funeral. Ren Shouzhong bullied Pu Wang's disciples and made tens of thousands of dollars, but it was still not enough.
Later, this person also supported Zhao Yunchu in competing for the throne with the emperor.
Zhao Yunchu's intelligence was mediocre, and the meaning of Ren Shouzhong's support for such a weak king is self-evident.
However, when the emperor ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Cao used Ren Shouzhong to check and balance Han Qi. Han Qi also asked the emperor to appoint Ren Shouzhong as the envoy of Xuanqing, and An Jingjun stayed behind and took charge of the throne of Prince Gou.
But Ren Shouzhong still refused to give up. He almost drove the emperor crazy by using Han Chong'er's fraudulent pregnancy. He also collected the emperor's words that were unfavorable to Empress Dowager Cao, which made Empress Dowager Cao even want to depose the emperor.
Now that Zhang Mao has returned to the court as a chamberlain, the relationship between the emperor and the Queen Mother has eased, and the voices of the court ministers saying that the Queen Mother will return to power are getting louder and louder. Now that Ren Shouzhong knows that the situation is over, he not only spends his many years of savings to bribe Gao The people around Taotao actually opened the Fengchen Treasury without permission and took tens of thousands of gold beads to bribe Queen Gao Taotao.
As for the emperor's intention, it was obvious. Seeing that Ren Shouzhong was able to do things, was well-rounded, and could figure out his intentions, he actually trusted villains like Ren Shouzhong again.
See Han Qi bluntly saying that Ren Shouzhong is a villain. The emperor was just stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "Ren Qing was just a little confused before. He told the whole story from beginning to end. I have forgiven him."
Han Qi looked at the emperor and thought, the emperor is confused, he and others secured his throne. But the emperor trusted a servant who was at odds with him and had harmed him before.
During the Han and Tang dynasties, there were countless calamities such as officials persecuting ministers.
As time went by, Ren Shouzhong instigated a relationship between the emperor and his ministers in front of the emperor and queen... Moreover, Ren Shouzhong encouraged the emperor to target Jiao Yinjian.
The emperor smiled and said: "The Duke of Wei has worked hard and made great achievements. I am able to ascend the throne thanks to the support of the Duke. I will definitely repay him generously in the future. As for Ren Shouzhong, the Duke thought that he would tolerate him because of his small merits when I ascended the throne."
Han Qi said, not far away but not near: "Your majesty was able to ascend the throne because of the late emperor's personal gift and the empress dowager's support. Your majesty wants to repay the favor of the late emperor and the empress dowager's support!"
The Emperor smiled and said: "I will never forget the late Emperor and Queen Mother, and neither will I, the Duke of Wei."
Han Qi had nothing to say. Seeing that the emperor couldn't put it down, "The Story of the Tower of Anguo Temple" written by Zhang Yue, Han Qi immediately gave this out-of-print article to the emperor as a gift to the descendants of the Han family.
The emperor looked overjoyed and actually accepted it on the spot without even refusing.
After Han Qi turned around and left the palace, Ren Shouzhong entered the palace.
The emperor said to Ren Shouzhong: "Korean Lord has promised not to hold you accountable."
Ren Shouzhong immediately knelt down and said, "Old minister, I thank you, Your Majesty."
The emperor smiled and said: "You are the person next to me, and I want to protect you so that you can work in the palace with peace of mind. I have discussed with the queen and plan to ask the queen mother in a few days to let you serve as the imperial minister." Everyone knows.”
When Ren Shouzhong heard this, he knelt down with tears in his eyes and said, "Your Majesty is kind-hearted, and I will repay the kindness you have shown me, even if I am a bull or a horse."
The emperor smiled and said: "What are you talking about? You just need to do things faithfully. Get up quickly."
Ren Shouzhong refused to get up and kowtowed loudly.
The emperor lamented that Ren Shouzhong and Han Qi were in the inner court and the other in the outer court.
Han Qi has the majesty of a prime minister and has contributed to his superiority, so he is very kind to himself.
What's more, according to the ancestral family law, civil servants should be respected, and as an official, he should not be respectful to the prime minister. When he spilled the medicinal soup on Han Qi, he was criticized verbally and written.
Therefore, facing Han Qi, the emperor was both respectful and afraid.
But Ren Shouzhong was different. No matter how noble his position was, the emperor could always call him around as a domestic slave.
The emperor knows what kind of virtue Ren Shouzhong has, but he is good at guessing the heart of the emperor.
After the emperor ascended the throne, what did he lack most? No one expected that they were short of money!
The emperor has no personal administration, and the Neizang Treasury is now under the control of the Empress Dowager Cao. The use of the Zuotang Treasury must be obtained by the Minister of Internal Affairs with a contract certificate, documented, and then reviewed by the Third Department.
The emperor sent his chamberlains to withdraw money from the Third Division, but the procedures were often incomplete. The chamberlains took the "Baizhazi" signed by the officials and said that they would complete the procedures in the future, but Cai Xiang returned them in the name of not being surrendered. .
The emperor condescended to seek accommodation from Cai Xiang, but Cai Xiang used the words of Cheng Lin, the former envoy of the Third Division, to reply: "The wealth of the three divisions belongs to the imperial court, and I cherish you for your majesty."
The waiter said all kinds of good and bad things, but Cai Xiang just refused to pay!
The emperor was so angry that Cai Xiang, the old ministers left behind by the late emperor, relied on their old men and acted like old men, without giving any face to their new king.
So much so that the imperial court had so much money that I couldn't even touch a penny, but I had no choice but to deal with Cai Xiang now.
At this time, Ren Shouzhong saw the opportunity. Not only did he donate all his wealth, but he also took the initiative to open the Fengchen Treasury for Queen Gao's use. Such a person must keep it, even if Han Qi is dissatisfied.
Ren Shouzhong knew the thoughts of today's officials. When he was a member of the clan, he had always lived in poverty. Now that he was the emperor, he was like a treasure trove, so he was naturally greedy for money.
It's like the poor suddenly become rich.
Ren Shouzhong said: "If an official wants to use money, he must go through the eyes of the Queen Mother and the Third Division. How can he be comfortable in this way? On the contrary, if he is handed over to the prison, the old slave feels that it belongs to His Majesty. In this way, it becomes a sealed treasury, and His Majesty wants to take it." Just take it, but the Prime Minister, the Privy Council, and the three departments are not allowed to interfere."
The emperor nodded and said: "You said that there is really a lot of money in the prison?"
Ren Shouzhong said: "Yes, it is like a mountain of gold and silver, inexhaustible. Not only the money of the capital, but also Luoyang and Chang'an were included. The veteran heard that Jiaoyin was imprisoned in Xijing, and the branch office of Jingzhao , even wealthy households in Luoyang and Chang'an competed to buy shares, and some wealthy businessmen even ordered people to deposit tens of thousands of dollars in front of their doors, but were turned away."
When the emperor heard this, he couldn't help but asked in surprise: "You can't invest tens of thousands of coins?"
Ren Shouzhong said: "Of course, this shows how far the prisoner has amassed money. He can spend 30,000 guan to hold a lantern festival, 50,000 guan to help the victims in Hebei, etc..."
The emperor said: "But if you hand me over to jail, you won't do it? Where can I put my face?"
It's okay to be slapped in the face by the Third Division before, but now he doesn't even take the emperor into consideration, so what should he do?
Ren Shouzhong said: "Your Majesty is about to take charge, who dares not to be wise!"
The emperor looked at the "Story of the Tower of Anguo Temple" in his hand. At the end of the chapter, there was a eloquent and heroic article. One of the sentences was "only the sword can make hundreds of mistakes, but the heart is not easy."
Anyone who can write such a sentence must have perseverance, which is really admirable, but can such a person be used by him?
The late emperor once told him that both Zhang Yue and Su Shi were talented people, and Zhang Yue was especially loyal and reliable. However, no matter how loyal and reliable the minister Zhongde was, he was the emperor's chair, not the person.
The emperor recalled that day when he was forcibly invited into the palace by Zhang Yue from the palace and couldn't help but thought, how easy is it for Zhang Yue to save him? It would be better to let Ren Shouzhong test how interested he is in me, if he is like Cai Xiang...
The emperor said to Ren Shouzhong: "The late emperor once told me when he was still alive that Zhang Duzhi has talents as prime ministers, so that I can cultivate them, but I am afraid that these people will not..."
Ren Shouzhong smiled disapprovingly and said: "Don't say he is a prime minister, he is a dignified prime minister and his majesty's minister."
The emperor nodded and said: "I heard that all the people in the world are not the king's soil, and the shores of the land are not the king's ministers! Then I will be handed over to prison..."
Ren Shouzhong agreed from the bottom of his heart: "All the people in the world depend on Your Majesty. Every penny of money in these thousands of miles of territory belongs to the officials, not to mention that this is a mere prison."
The official nodded and said: "I don't need those, but there are many places to spend money in the palace. The queen has been following me for many years. Even if I make a new Yan robe, it depends on the expressions of the prime minister and the three ministers. I am the emperor." You should be a coward."
"I am not greedy for enjoyment, but people in the palace must be rewarded, otherwise they will not do their best. Those old people who followed me when I was hiding in the palace lived a hard life with me. Now that I am the emperor, I can't even get a little There is no reward, how can I feel at ease?"
Ren Shouzhong was moved and said: "Your Majesty treats the people who follow you so kindly. He is truly a merciful king. I didn't know Mount Tai at first. If I had known this, I would have followed your Majesty a few years earlier."
The emperor smiled and said: "Ren Qing, there is no need to say that. Now that you have followed me, I will treat you well."
In the third month of Zhiping and Anian, Sima Guang, Lu Jie, Wang Chou and other admonishing officials came to the throne one after another, asking the empress dowager to return to the throne of the emperor.
But the empress dowager refused because the official's body had not recovered.
More than a month later, the emperor personally went to Xiangguo Tianqing Temple and Liquan Temple to pray for rain. The subjects of Kaifeng City had always heard that the official was in poor health. Now seeing the emperor go to pray for rain with his own eyes showed that his health was almost better. The people along the way were celebrating. .
The emperor's move also defeated Empress Dowager Cao's statement that his dragon body could not be recovered.
But when the emperor came and the people's hearts returned, Empress Dowager Cao still refused to delegate power.
However, as the emperor's body recovered, everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before Empress Dowager Cao returned to power. So officials kept discussing the matter and creating various momentum.
At the Exchange, Cai Jing encountered a difficult matter.
A eunuch who claimed to be the Huangmen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to the Jiaoyin Office, presented the "Baizhazi" signed by the emperor himself, and asked Cai Jing to withdraw 20,000 yuan!
Cai Jing was surprised when he heard about this. The other party didn't seem to be cheating, but the matter was too big for him to handle. So Cai Jing did not hesitate to leave the Huangmen at the exchange office, and then immediately sent someone to report it to Zhang Yue and let him handle it.
Now that Seventeenth Mother is about to give birth, Zhang Yue and Cai Xiang have taken leave of absence at home these days.
Suddenly I heard that Cai Jing had reported this matter, and I couldn't help but feel ridiculous. How could the emperor ask for money from himself?
When the emperor wanted to ask for money, he also went to the Third Division.
But when Zhang Yue thought about it, Cai Xiang and the emperor had already broken up, which seemed somewhat true.
Twenty thousand guan is not much for the Exchange, but I am afraid that the emperor will develop a habit of spending money on himself. But if he does not offend the emperor, his future will be in doubt.
