Jinyiwei Yamen.
Jiang Wei sat at the top with a serious face, looking at the officials below.
In the past, at this time, he should be by His Majesty's side in the palace, but now, that is not the case.
Speaking of which, the assassination was the cause of the incident.
Although His Majesty and His Highness Taisun didn't say anything, Jiang Yu felt tremendous pressure. Half a month had passed, but not even a single clue about the mastermind behind the scenes had been found.
The biggest responsibility of Jin Yiwei now is to monitor all officials. It is obvious that the murderer behind the scenes must be under the supervision of Jin Yiwei.
This means that this person also carried out elaborate plots and assassinations under the supervision of Jin Yiwei.
From a certain perspective, this is equivalent to Jin Yiwei's dereliction of duty.
"There is news from His Majesty the Grand Sun that the direction of our current investigation may be wrong. The murderer behind this is not necessarily a warrior, but may also be a scholar who followed His Majesty in the early years."
"Even if you are a warrior, your literary talent must be extremely outstanding, so now we need to readjust the scope of supervision."
Listening to the words of the commander-in-chief of Jiangdu, the Jinyiwei officials below also had serious faces.
During this period, it can be said that I worked overtime every day. All officials who knew Hu Weiyong and Jiangxia Hou Zhou Dexing were investigated, reviewed, and even questioned.
It seems that there is not much fluctuation in the capital, but in fact it is loose on the outside but tight on the inside.
....
"Thank you, father-in-law, for conveying this."
In the capital county government office, Di Yusen bowed his hands and thanked the eunuch from Kunning Palace who came to deliver the message.
This eunuch of yours is the one who sent the grandson's decree to Di Yusen before.
Hearing this, he smiled and said: "Di Xian Cheng, although there seems to be no big fluctuation in the capital about His Majesty's assassination, in fact, even the young master is paying close attention to it."
"This is what the concubine came up with this morning. After I found out, I only told the news to two people."
"One of them is Jiang Wei, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, and the other one is Di County Cheng."
"It can be seen that I have high hopes for Di County Cheng."
After hearing the official's words, Di Yusen quickly raised his hands and bowed: "I will definitely live up to His Majesty's expectations."
"Okay, okay." The eunuch nodded and left.
Qin Lixue waited for the eunuch to leave, then came out and asked, "Husband, Your Highness the Grand Sun attaches so much importance to me, what if you can't find out?"
Di Yusen said angrily: "What else can I do?"
"Unfortunately, His Highness Taisun's analysis has reminded me that the Jin Yiwei has not yet found out the reason despite such strict screening. The murderer must have escaped."
"If that's the case, then we need to change our thinking."
At this time, Di Yusen already felt that he had vaguely figured out a direction.
....
A house somewhere in the inner city of the capital.
The courtyard door opened and Liu Renxiang walked in.
He is the head of the Ministry of Personnel, a sixth-grade official. Although he sounds respectable, he actually doesn't have much money on hand.
Just being able to buy such a small villa in the inner city has already spent all his savings.
However, with the crazy price increase of land in the capital, the price of houses in the inner city can be said to be rising every day, and it has never stopped.
At the beginning, he spent more than 500 guan of treasure money, but now the price of this house has increased to more than 4,000 guan of treasure money, and it is still rising.
There are more merchants in the capital, and there are more businesses. Relying on the dividends of this era, there are more and more wealthy people.
As for people, what they care about most now is land and housing. When living in the capital, it is difficult to deal with land. However, the price of land is not that valuable anymore, and housing prices have risen most brutally.
Liu Renxiang didn't hire any servants. He was the only one in the yard. With his salary, it was more than enough to support himself. If there were one or two more servants, it would be a little tight.
After making himself a pot of tea in the yard, Liu Renxiang planned to get something to eat.
After a busy day, it's time to take a break.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and a gleam flashed in Liu Renxiang's eyes, and he opened the door unhurriedly.
"It turns out it's Prime Minister Di. I wonder if Prime Minister Di came to my humble residence for something."
When he saw the person outside the door, Liu Renxiang recognized him immediately and said with a smile.
Di Yusen bowed his hands and said, "I don't have anything to do, I just came to have a chat."
"Don't be upset if you tell me, Mr. Liu. The higher-ups are now tightening their grip on the assassination of His Majesty and the murder of the commander-in-chief. This is not a hardship for us, but all officials in the capital must be questioned."
Liu Renxiang said with some displeasure: "Didn't Jin Yiwei just check it the day before yesterday? Why is it that Prime Minister Di County is here again today?"
Di Yusen explained helplessly: "I can't help it. Hey, Chief Liu doesn't know. He is under pressure now and has no clues. He can't just stay at home."
"If this is spread, wouldn't it mean that I will be reprimanded by the superiors, so I have no choice. Even if the Jin Yiwei has already run away once, I can only run away again."
Hearing this, Liu Renxiang smiled and said, "Please come into the room to talk. This matter is really stressful now."
"Di Xiancheng doesn't know about the morning court during this period. Everyone is trembling with fear during the court meeting. Who doesn't know that His Majesty is holding his breath in his heart and doesn't want to be the one who stands out."
"I'm afraid I'll offend His Majesty and get punished."
After Liu Renxiang finished speaking, he led Di Yusen into the courtyard, and then went to take the teapot and pour tea.
"It's a humble house, but the Prime Minister of Di County must not despise it."
It was the teapot pouring tea, not making tea. Obviously, Liu Renxiang didn’t even have the tools to make tea, so he was extremely poor.
After looking around for a week, Di Yusen replied: "Master Liu, you are very polite. Master Liu is the only one living in this house. I don't see any servants or maids."
Liu Renxiang paused after hearing this, and then said: "The salary given by the imperial court is only so much. It is good for me to eat alone, but if there are more people, I will not be full."
Di Yusen couldn't help but said: "Master Liu is one level higher than me. My husband and I can both have enough to eat. Chief Liu is only one person, so he should have more money."
Liu Renxiang smiled: "I am a good person who eats delicious food. I eat out every day. Naturally, I don't have much money when I go back and forth."
While chatting, Di Yusen had been observing carefully.
The house is very clean, incredibly clean, and the arrangements on the table are neatly arranged. Without servants, Liu Renxiang is obviously taking care of such a large house alone.
While Di Yusen was drinking tea, he ran his fingers down and found that there was no dust.
This made Di Yusen keenly feel the difference.
The cleaning is so clean, it can be seen that it has to be scrubbed almost every day. A person expending so much effort must be busy for at least more than an hour every day.
There was no fire in the kitchen, so the tea was hot and must have been freshly brewed.
The court did not care about dinner. After a busy day at the government office, the first thing he did when he got home was not to light a fire to cook, but to make tea first. This made Di Yusen feel that something was wrong.
I picked up the tea and took a sip. It was not as bitter as coarse tea, but surprisingly sweet.
"This tea tastes good. Mr. Liu can tell me where to buy it. It's so sweet, it should be called Mingcha." Di Yusen said with great appreciation.
Liu Renxiang paused slightly, and then replied: "The green tea bought in the market is not a valuable thing, but it made Prime Minister Di County laugh."
Hearing this, Di Yusen said: "Master Liu, this is not acceptable. Such good tea is exactly to my taste. Master Liu, can you tell me which shop you bought it from? I will also buy some."
When Liu Renxiang heard this, he paused for a moment and said, "It was a long time ago. Now that the capital is changing rapidly, I don't know if that store is still there."
Yes, I really can't remember the name of the store. When I have free time, I will take Di Xian Cheng with me to have a look. "
Listening to this, Di Yusen felt that there were no loopholes or flaws in what he said, so he stopped worrying about it and started talking about daily life.
Although Liu Renxiang kept chatting with Di Yusen, his tone was very tight. Many matters were basically discussed briefly, with no intention of going in depth.
Di Yusen knew that if he didn't come up with some key questions, he might have made another trip today in vain.
He came specifically to see Liu Renxiang today, naturally for a reason, so he said, "If I remember correctly, Chief Liu seems to have been elected in the fourth year of Hongwu."
"It's a pity that the examination was canceled by His Majesty that year. Otherwise, with Chief Liu's talent and knowledge, it shouldn't be difficult to become a tribute scholar."
These words undoubtedly opened Liu Renxiang's scars.
The Yuan Dynasty set its capital in the north, which led to differences in development between the north and the south. After all this was transferred to Zhu Yuanzhang, the difference became even more obvious.
Talented people in the north have had little exposure to the eight-part essays and other content frequently tested in the imperial examination system, while ambitious people in the south have no practical experience in politics, which creates an embarrassing situation. Officials selected through the imperial examination system have no The experience of sharing Zhu Yuanzhang's worries is a wealth of economics and poetry.
In addition, after establishing the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to stabilize the country immediately. Facing the powerful landlord class in the country, the first thing Zhu Yuanzhang had to do was to establish good relations with them.
The rigorous imperial examination is more difficult for the aristocratic class who want to be officials for generations, and it is relatively easy to become an official through recommendation. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang suspended the imperial examination and wanted to do it after gradually resuming production and life. Intend.
This also led to Liu Renxiang's unappreciated talent.
It was clear that he had been winning continuously and was about to pass the general examination and become an official after arriving at the palace examination, but at this moment it was cancelled.
The reputation of being a successful candidate cannot support him to get an official position, and the path of official career is monopolized by those high-ranking officials.
Liu Renxiang was born in a poor family, and his family was in a state of poverty, so he had no way out.
After hearing Di Yusen's question, Liu Renxiang seemed to have returned to the time when he was in despair.
"Looking back at the past, it makes Prime Minister Di Xian laugh." Liu Renxiang said in a low voice.
Di Yusen had been watching Liu Renxiang's expression closely, and when he saw this, he asked casually: "I heard someone said that later Director Liu went to see Hu Weiyong, and then he filled up an official position as a judge."
"I don't know if this is true or if it's just groundless."
Hearing this, Liu Renxiang immediately turned his head and stared at Di Yusen for a long time.
And Di Yusen showed no signs of weakness and looked at each other forcefully.
Finally, Liu Renxiang sighed deeply and said, "I thought Prime Minister Di County would definitely hear the result today. I didn't expect that someone would still mention what happened twenty years ago today."
"But Prime Minister Di County was wrong in one thing. I didn't go to Hu...Hu Weiyong to ask for an official position."
"Hu Weiyong was not the prime minister at that time, and he was a minister of government affairs under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. I went to him because I wanted to become a disciple."
Di Yusen couldn't help but ask: "He accepted you as his disciple?"
Liu Renxiang shook his head and smiled bitterly: "If you accept me as your disciple, do you think I can still stand here and talk to you today?"
Di Yusen was slightly embarrassed.
Although there was no suggestion of punishing Hu Weiyong's ten clans, almost all of his cronies and students were implicated.
Liu Renxiang can now serve as the head of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, so naturally he will not have anything to do with him.
After the atmosphere became slightly awkward, Liu Renxiang took the initiative and said: "At that time, Hu Weiyong directly kicked me out of the mansion and humiliated me on the spot."
"So I was unwilling to give up, so I continued to study hard."
"Finally, in the first month of the thirteenth year of Hongwu's reign, he committed the crime of treason and was executed by His Majesty himself. It was also in that year that after Hu Weiyong's death, I finally entered the official career."
After listening to Liu Renxiang's explanation, Di Yusen nodded heavily and stood up to bow.
He bowed and said, "I have offended Duo just now. Please don't blame Mr. Liu."
Liu Renxiang's voice was slightly deep, as if he was still immersed in memories. After hearing Di Yusen's words, he said, "It's nothing, it's just that after so many years, I didn't expect anyone to remember me."
"I think the Prime Minister of Di County hasn't finished his meal yet, why don't we come together?"
Di Yusen knew that this was an eviction order, and of course he would not ask for trouble, so he said: "Thank you, Master Liu, for your kindness, but I should have cooked the meal by now and wait for me in the house, so there won't be much trouble."
Liu Renxiang nodded and bowed his hands to see the guest off.
Di Yusen left directly.
After leaving the courtyard, Di Yusen turned around and took a look, only to see Liu Renxiang standing at the door watching him, as if to see each other off, and then bowed from a distance.
Liu Renxiang also bowed in return.
"I always feel like something is wrong."
Di Yusen did not look back, but walked towards his home.
Looking back, when Liu Renxiang first called Hu Weiyong, he obviously wanted to call him Hu Xiang.
This is the honorific title given to Prime Minister Hu Weiyong.
Of course, this is just Di Yusen's guess. There are people named Hu Xiang and others named Hu Ni. The guess is not enough as evidence.
He came to see Liu Renxiang because when he was looking through Hu Weiyong's files, a witness' testimony happened to mention Liu Renxiang.
The original words only mentioned that Liu Renxiang went to Hu Weiyong's residence, and did not say anything about the rest of the matter. Naturally, there is no evidence now, and Liu Renxiang is allowed to speak for himself.
But it doesn't matter, this is true, otherwise he would have been executed long ago.
