"You mean, let me plead with the Holy One for Zhu Yunwen?"
Late at night, the couple discussed today's events on the bedside. Li Xiao seemed a little surprised by Ningyun's suggestion and frowned slightly.
"Well, yes Xiaolang."
Zhu Ningyun also thought about this matter for a long time before making this suggestion.
She leaned her head on Li Xiao's arm, looked up at the roof, thought for a while, and then asked: "What kind of person do you think the Holy Spirit is?"
Li Xiao pondered: "There are some people who are unpredictable. People always say that he is moody, but I think he is quite kind. But today I saw those princesses knelt down and begged me, which made me feel the same again. Variety."
Zhu Ningyun smiled and said: "Actually, the imperial grandfather attaches great importance to family ties."
Li Xiao shook his head and said, "Those princesses today said they wouldn't be able to see the Holy Emperor for several years."
Zhu Ningyun said: "Hey, I can't bear to say it. The Holy Lord has too many children, and he can't take care of all of them. In his mind, there are only four people who can be called his sons. Among these four people , and there is only one person whom he treats as his own son."
Li Xiao suddenly realized: "I understand, they are the four legitimate sons of Queen Ma, the former Crown Prince, King Jin, King Qin and King Yan"
Zhu Ningyun nodded, "Yes, although the Holy Emperor has many concubines, he only regarded Queen Ma as his wife throughout his life. They are a married couple who share joys and sorrows."
Li Xiao nodded, somewhat understanding what Zhu Ningyun meant.
For example, Li Xiao, if he finds a concubine in the future, he will be greedy for beauty or body, but he will always regard Ningyun as his true love, because the two met for the first time, they have the same ideals and goals, and their hearts come together Together.
Of course, this is assuming that Li Xiao cannot find a concubine.
Zhu Ningyun continued: "This is what makes the imperial grandfather appear to be unkind and ungrateful, but in fact, he only regards a few people as his sons. Even if I am his granddaughter, I receive countless more cares than those princesses." Times, my title of Yong'an was sealed by the Holy Emperor himself, and the titles of other princesses were finalized by the Clan Mansion and the Ministry of Rites, and the Holy Emperor can only look at them once."
Li Xiao held his wife's arm, and he said in his heart that husband and wife are the most concentric, and Ningyun would use all his ideas to help him.
Li Xiao said: "I understand. Among these four people, Zhu Biao is the best?"
Zhu Ningyun nodded: "Yes, Uncle Zhu Biao received more love and care than King Jin, King Qin, and our father combined, because he was the first son of the emperor's grandfather before he succeeded. When he was a father, he gave him the most hope and expectations. If my uncle hadn't passed away suddenly, do you think anyone would be able to shake him? After decades, do you think this relationship would dissipate so easily? "
Li Xiao shook his head: "No. Although the Holy Spirit is calm in front of everyone, I think maybe late at night, he will be unable to sleep thinking about his son."
Zhu Ningyun nodded: "Yes, Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yunxi have been personally cultivated by the emperor's grandfather, but now they have fallen to this point, and all civil and military officials are responsible for their sins. Even if the emperor's grandfather cannot bear it, there is nothing he can do."
Li Xiao suddenly understood: "So, Ningyun, you mean to ask me to beg for mercy, to follow the Holy Spirit's heart and make the Holy Spirit owe me a favor?"
Zhu Ningyun said: "Yes, for us, in fact, it is also for our father, because as long as the two grandsons are dealt with, as long as the father is still the prince, every time the Holy Master recalls the scene of teaching his grandson in that familiar scene, it will inevitably hurt his heart. Sad Qiu, recalling the past. Fortunately, I can help the Holy One to untie this knot. After all, he is the grandson of his favorite son. Even if he commits heinous crimes, he will always feel unbearable in his heart. "
"But."
Li Xiao said: "If Zhu Yunwen comes out, will it inevitably have an impact on his father?"
Zhu Ningyun analyzed: "It doesn't have much influence. Now my father is the prince who was personally conferred by the Holy Emperor. He was also recognized by the civil and military officials at the ceremony. He is destined to be destined and cannot be shaken."
Li Xiao smiled and kissed his wife: "Ningyun, you are really my good wife. This matter has been settled. I will plead with Zhu Yunwen. For the sake of safekeeping, he will be brought back to Peking and under our care." Let him be an ordinary person and he will not die in Yunnan. When the Holy One knows about this in the future, he will definitely think of us."
"Husband, thank you for your hard work."
Zhu Ningyun laughed, and the pear vortex bloomed, which was touching.
Li Xiao smiled mischievously: "Why is this hard work? The next thing will be hard."
As he spoke, he turned over, revealing his six-pack abs.
Zhu Ningyun's pretty face turned red and her face was full of shyness: "You are so annoying. Your mind is full of messy thoughts all day long. How did you learn so many tricks?"
Just when the two of them were having fun with each other.
There was a knock on the door outside, interrupting their interest.
A servant outside the room shouted: "Your Majesty, someone wants to see you."
This time, Li Xiao's mood was disturbed. He shouted impatiently toward the door: "See you, see you."
The maid said: "Your Excellency, I have already declined, but the man kept begging outside the house and refused to let me see you. He also said that he was an old acquaintance of you."
Old acquaintance?
Li Xiao asked: "What's your name?"
The maid shouted: "Yang Shiqi."
After hearing this, Li Xiao was stunned, why did this guy come here?
He shouldn't be the kind of person who clings to a dragon or a phoenix, right?
"Xiaolang, why don't you go and go."
Zhu Ningyun squeezed it with a smile and joked: "You have become smaller."
"Hey, this Yang Shiqi is really disappointing."
Li Xiao smiled helplessly, "Madam, please go to bed first. I'll be right back."
"go Go."
Zhu Ningyun watched her husband get up and leave, smiled beautifully, turned sideways and closed his eyes, thinking:
"I had a thorough talk with my husband today, and I feel that the relationship between us has taken a step forward and become even more different. Fortunately, the peace just now has not been destroyed."
After a while, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Outside the mansion, Yang Shiqi stood outside the door of the mansion, looking left and right. For fear of being seen, he shrank back inside and stuck himself next to the door.
It's a pity and it's unfortunate.
The theory Li Xiao told Zhu Yuanzhang today is that it is difficult for a poor family to produce a noble son. Even if a noble son is born, he will be bound by an invisible hand and be used by others, unable to display his talents.
Yang Shiqi is such a person.
He lost his father when he was one year old and became a homeless man. He made a living by teaching in private schools. He lived a very poor life. With the help of local gentry, he was able to go to Beijing to take the exam. After gaining fame, he only became a low-level official.
This time, he was promoted to a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Rites of the capital, all because of the list Li Xiao gave Zhu Di.
Of course, that list had been given to Zhu Gaochi a long time ago. Zhu Di was busy with government affairs all day and forgot about it.
Zhu Gaochi asked the officials to promote people to the capital.
However, Zhu Gaochi was just a grandson of the emperor, and he was obviously not easy to talk to.
In ancient times, even if you were an emperor and wanted to promote yourself and others, you couldn't just promote them.
The emperor cannot do whatever he wants. The imperial edict must go through the Zhongshu Province and be approved by the lower levels. For example, the promotion of a person must be investigated by the Ministry of Household Affairs to see if the person has made any achievements. If there is no achievement, he will probably ignore this greeting.
This is why in ancient times, powerful officials and treacherous officials often appeared in the court.
Even if the emperor knew that he was a powerful and treacherous minister, he was reluctant to get rid of him, but liked him very much.
Because powerful and treacherous ministers can really serve the emperor.
For example, Zhu Qizhen favored Wang Zhen. Why did he like Wang Zhen so much?
It was because Wang Zhen relied on his favor to recruit a group of officials for his own use and satisfy any needs of the emperor.
Want to build a palace? Then cover it! Want to recruit more concubines? No problem, all done.
Want to visit Jiangnan? Then play.
Even if Zhu Qizhen wanted to go on a personal expedition, Sanyang couldn't stop him, because Wang Zhen could let people from the Ministry of War mobilize troops and generals, let people from the Ministry of Household prepare military supplies, and let half the people in the court praise the emperor for his unparalleled brilliance.
Therefore, the emperor cannot do whatever he wants.
Zhu Yuanzhang discovered this and killed the prime minister because he found that the prime minister's power could affect the imperial power, which was intolerable.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di are both powerful, so there will be no situation of wielding power, but there will still be an invisible hand on the court.
For example, Yang Shiqi would not have been promoted originally.
It was a minister from the Ministry of Personnel who discovered that Yang Shiqi was a student his family had supported and could be used for his own purposes, so he brought Yang Shiqi to the capital.
Of course, he came to the capital as a small official.
Yang Shiqi found that he was a little out of place after coming to the capital.
When I was the county magistrate, I could still live in the county government office, but when I came to the capital, I didn't even have a place to live, so I had to find a house by myself.
Moreover, the clothes he wore were much worse than others. Fortunately, he had official uniforms to wear, otherwise he would have been too embarrassed to meet people.
These are all secondary. The important thing is that after arriving here, there is a hand grabbing him, pushing him, and letting him blend in. If he doesn't blend in, he will probably be eliminated and will always be a petty official. , cannot be reused.
No, in the evening, the Minister of Civil Service who promoted him came to him and asked him to oppose the mining tax collection in the morning tomorrow.
It was this noble clan who helped him in the first place, and now it is also officials of this noble clan who promote him, and they are also moved by emotion and rationality, saying that the country has just been settled and it is not suitable to start a war, and that if taxes are increased, the people who rely on them will be at the mercy of them. It was even harder to live. Yang Shiqi couldn't refuse, either emotionally or rationally.
But Yang Shiqi had a keen eye. He immediately conducted a private investigation and found that behind these mines and private kilns were the industries of these aristocratic families.
To make it clear, they are safeguarding their own interests.
Yang Shiqi sensed something was wrong. If he tells this tomorrow, he won't be beaten to death later, right?
Yang Shiqi found that he had no backing or background in the capital, but he was regarded as a gunman. He was worried about his backcourt. He might as well be a small county magistrate.
After thinking about it, he thought of Li Xiao, whom he had met once before and even helped him borrow a boat, which was considered a favor.
Li Xiao is now the Duke of the country and a popular figure in the eyes of the Holy Emperor.
While Yang Shiqi was thinking a lot, the door creaked open.
"I've met the Duke."
Yang Shiqi hurriedly handed over his hand, fearing that Li Xiao would ignore him.
"Come in and talk."
Li Xiao waved and called Yang Shiqi in.
Yang Shiqi felt happy and ducked in.
After bringing Yang Shiqi to the hall, Li Xiao said: "I am visiting late at night, maybe there is something important, right? I have also received a favor from you, so tell me, I can help you if I can."
Yang Shiqi cupped his hands and told what happened to him.
After listening, Li Xiao was a little surprised. He didn't expect that things happened so quickly.
Li Xiaodao: "To be honest, it was me who proposed the increase in mining tax. If you came out to stop it, the Holy Emperor would probably be angry. His Royal Highness is now bent on going on an expedition. The matter of raising military expenses is imminent, and it is impossible to give in." .”
After hearing this, Yang Shiqi said with a bitter look on his face: "Hey, I have to do this. If I don't do it, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to move forward in the officialdom in the future. Is there any way the Duke can help me?"
In fact, Li Xiao didn't have much to do. Although he was now named the Duke of the country, he did not form a party and did not know the officials in the court. This was the reason why Li Xiao could be trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang. He did not have many backers. , but very big, respectively the Holy Emperor and the Prince.
As the saying goes, the king of hell is easy to deal with, but the devil is difficult to deal with.
If Yang Shiqi was misled in the officialdom, he would not do anything.
And he will leave the capital soon.
A Duke who is not in the capital is almost the same as Tang He, the Duke of Xin who is in Fengyang. His face is not worth much.
Yang Shiqi sighed: "Hey, it's too difficult to get along in this capital. I, a poor official, can't survive at all."
This is the tragedy of poor students.
Li Xiao thought for a while and said, "How about I think of a way to transfer you to Peking to help me?"
Yang Shiqi's eyes lit up, "That's great. I'm still willing to be a small county magistrate. I'll be satisfied."
At present, Yang Shiqi still has an old mother to support. He feels that if he does not take corruption and bribery in the capital, he may not even be able to support his mother.
"Okay, let's just say it like this. You go back first and I'll think of a way."
When Li Xiao spoke like this, Yang Shiqi bowed gratefully and withdrew.
"It's hard to be a good official."
Li Xiao was also slightly emotional.
When they returned to the room, Zhu Ningyun had already fallen asleep. Li Xiao gently got on the bed and quickly fell asleep next to her.
Early the next morning,
Li Xiao then went to court with Zhu Gaoxu in court clothes.
The officials entered the palace in order according to their official positions. Li Xiao and Zhu Gaoxu, with their noble status, were naturally the first ones to walk in and stood at the front.
"See His Highness the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince is a thousand years old!"
Above the court hall, hundreds of civil and military officials stood on the left and right after their audience.
The dragon chair was empty, and Zhu Di was sitting on a small chair nearby.
Looking at the empty dragon chair, Li Xiaoxin said, My good brother Huang Ba is having an easy time, but his eyes are still a little dark after suffering from his father-in-law.
Zhu Di also looked at Li Xiao and smiled slightly, saying that your kid is here.
Zhu Gaoxu also felt Zhu Di's gaze, and then realized that he was actually looking at his brother-in-law.
Feeling uncomfortable and want to cry.
Father, love never disappears, but it transfers, right?
"If there is something going on, go ahead and leave if there is nothing going on!"
As the eunuch shouted.
The morning meeting began, with various officials reporting on matters.
Halfway through the morning session, Zhu Di saw that no one spoke, so he said:
"Dear dear friends, the rebellious party in the Northern Yuan Dynasty has always wanted to covet me in the Central Plains. A few months ago, when I was still the King of Yan, and I had only been away for a few months, there were thieves in the Northern Yuan Dynasty who dared to invade the frontier. I decided to gather troops and horses to personally What do you think of the expedition to Beiyuan?"
As soon as he finished speaking, countless officials came out to advise him.
"Your Highness, you must not do it. Your Highness is the current crown prince, and he also has the important task of supervising the country. He is responsible for the country, the country, and the country. How can he go out in person to fight?"
"That's right, Your Highness, your health is the most important thing, and Your Highness needs to be in charge of the government."
"Your Highness, the grandson of the True Dragon, has a distinguished status and must not take any personal risks."
"Now that the country has just settled down, we should not start a big war. We should start over with the people and recuperate."
Many officials came out to persuade them. There was almost no such thing as an emperor going on a personal expedition in the past dynasties. How could an emperor go on an expedition if he was rich and could not sit down in the palace?
Li Xiao stood with his hands down, looking at the scene in front of him. It seemed that Zhu Di's orthodox position had both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that he would not be accused of being a thief.
The bad thing is that these officials are not afraid of Zhu Di at all.
Of course, Li Xiao felt that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.
In the court, the officials were noisy and felt that this matter was not feasible. Some officials suggested that the national treasury was not rich now and should not be used for war, but should be used for people's livelihood.
"enough!"
After all, Zhu Di was Zhu Di. Although he did not break into the capital, the incident of killing Lan Yu with a knife that day was still vivid in his mind. His face turned cold and he scolded, making everyone silent.
"This matter has been decided. I am not discussing it with you. I am just informing you."
Zhu Di slapped the chair and shouted: "Just do as you are told. I will draft an imperial edict. The Ministry of War, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Ministry of Industry will work together to give me a plan. Even if I go on an expedition, I will still have my grandson to supervise the country and will not delay national affairs." "
No one can stop him, Zhu Di wants to sweep away Bei Yuan's heart.
Moreover, now that the country has Li Xiao, a sweet potato crop with a yield of 6,000 kilograms per mu is being cultivated, the people will be much richer. Soon, they will be richer. Zhu Di must fight this battle.
"Your Highness, you must not do it. The national treasury cannot withstand the torment. If this continues, it will only make the treasury empty." A Ministry of Revenue admonished the matter.
"Gu Zheng is going to say this."
Seeing someone starting to talk, Zhu Di took over and said: "I plan to levy additional taxes to use for military expenditures. Naturally, this tax cannot be taken from the hands of the people. I plan to levy additional taxes on iron ore and copper mines. My lords, What do you think?"
After the words fell, the entire hall fell silent.
This is the highlight of today.
Li Xiao's words yesterday made Zhu Yuanzhang pay some attention to this issue.
Are these officials who took the imperial examination to protect the interests of the nobles behind them?
Whether these humble bachelors are really being coerced by these noble families as Li Xiao said, we can see clearly today.
Li Xiao watched quietly, and sure enough, after a while, cannon fodder appeared.
First, a seventh-grade speaker walked out, knelt down and said:
"Opening mines and increasing taxes are competing with the people for profit. The common people will think that this is to plunder the people's fat and anoint them, which is detrimental to His Royal Highness's sanctity. You must think twice."
This seventh-grade speaker also said a lot of literate words, one after another.
Immediately afterwards, Yang Shiqi also came out with his hands in hand and began to advise.
Immediately, several more petty officials appeared and tried to dissuade him with their righteousness.
The hall became very quiet.
After all, most civil servants did not want to go to war. Once a war started, the military attachés won military honors and were granted the title of marquis or knight, which would overwhelm them again.
Therefore, no one came out to object.
Zhu Di, who was sitting on the chair, was slightly stunned. Unexpectedly, as Li Xiao said, those who came out to admonish were these bachelors from poor families who had just entered the court, and they were the first to stand out.
If Zhu Di didn't know this situation, he would probably be furious immediately.
However, after all the drama was done, Zhu Di got furious, scolded these people, and threatened to remove them from their posts.
Immediately afterwards, a group of officials such as Wang Xian, the Minister of War, Chen Sidao, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Yang Jing, the left minister of the Ministry of Households, came out to respond.
"Your Highness, calm down. Yang Shiqi and others have just entered the dynasty and do not understand the truth. The Northern Expedition to annihilate the Northern Yuan Dynasty is a major event and should not be taken lightly. However, what they say is not unreasonable. They easily increase taxes and cause complaints. The people are complaining. Need to consider again”
These people also said a lot of reasons with good reason. In short, the result is that raising taxes is not advisable. I hope Your Highness will think twice before taking action.
In the end, Zhu Di talked for a long time, and the following words were all objections. The morning meeting broke up unhappy and ended hastily.
He retired from the court and returned to Yangxin Hall.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat in the rocking chair and rocked and rocked.
Seeing the fourth child coming back with a miserable look on his face, he laughed and said, "Fourth child, what, the emperor's job is not easy, isn't it?"
Zhu Di said angrily: "Damn it, as Li Xiao said, poor bachelors are being taken advantage of. There is an invisible net in the court. Those officials who come out, although they have not formed a clique for personal gain, nor are they corrupt, but in their hearts I acquiesce and take the lead in safeguarding the interests of my own noble family."
The ancient gentry were very large, and often a large group could extend to one or two thousand people. Some were officials, some were doing business, and some were landowners. Maybe they were not closely related to each other, and some were even very close. They are distant relatives, but because their interests are entangled, their energy is very huge.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "We already know about this."
Zhu Di said angrily: "Father, I already know why my father wants to kill so many officials. They really deserve to be killed!"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Killing people can't solve the problem. You have to weigh it. In this regard, you are not as good as your elder brother. He can always do what he wants to do without any bloodshed."
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang had already begun to teach Zhu Di how to be an emperor.
"trade off."
Zhu Di seemed to understand somewhat.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Yes, you just came to power. You were very powerful in Peiping before, but your foundation in the capital was too weak and there was no one to work for you. You have to slowly promote some talents who can work for you. Of course, you can't To let them be arrogant and favored, we need to indulge a group of people and oppose them."
These are the experiences that Zhu Yuanzhang has pondered over the years.
"It turns out that being an emperor also requires promoting your own people."
At this moment, Zhu Di understood instantly, "My son seems to understand."
Zhu Di has always been a military commander and has been fighting wars. The balance of these courts is really different, and he has to slowly adapt to it.
He looked at Li Xiao and remembered that Li Xiao had given him a list.
Maybe it's time for me to slowly find a way to mention those people on the list, otherwise whatever I want to do in the future, someone will block it and make me a ghost.
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Xiao and said: "Li Xiao, you have seen clearly. It seems that everything you said has been confirmed, which surprises us. We want to give you another privilege."
(End of chapter)
