In this era, it is normal to play with the daughter of a colleague who was imprisoned. This can give the old guys a great sense of accomplishment.
Basically, everyone with rank three or above has been to the Jiaofang Division and selected more than one young woman, so the identity of the other party is naturally extraordinary.
Compared with the specially cultivated "Yangzhou thin horses", these ladies are not only superior in knowledge, but also have a natural temperament.
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Both Feng Quan and Zhong Yan immediately accepted the gift from the Crown Prince. You must know that a good thin horse costs as much as a thousand taels of silver. If you go to the Jiaofang Division to pick someone, you only need to pay some money. .
Being able to save a huge sum of money and get a good woman is their most favorite gift, and they don't have to worry about being reported by others.
Are any of those women unwilling?
Most of them don't dare. Jiaofangsi is equivalent to an entertainment venue opened by the imperial court. If they don't want to be picked, the end is not much better than that of those Lou sisters.
The down-and-out young ladies desperately longed to be picked up, but they couldn't say it out loud. They could only eagerly hope that such a good thing would happen to them.
Even if you are favored by a man in his sixties or seventies, it is a great blessing. It is much better than staying in Jiaofangsi, which is equivalent to the mine where male prisoners go.
A certain prince used this method to not only dampen the arrogance of his family members, but also to reward meritorious ministers and win over his direct relatives. It was a double-edged sword.
"Your Highness, three people came from Nandu, saying they were sent by His Majesty. This is a post asking for an audience outside Donghua Gate!"
"Oh? There is such a thing?"
A certain prince opened the post and took a quick look at it. The real owner was Zhang Pu, the author of "Five Tombstones". This guy's greatest ability was to mess around.
Although he was born into a poor family, he loved to cling to the powerful under the guise of expressing his opinions directly, and he also tried to use Dong Lin to influence the government and the opposition.
Because he was too arrogant and domineering, even his wild uncle Zhou Yanru looked down on him. It is said that he was poisoned to death just two years later.
Looking at the positions specified on the post, Zhang Pu actually managed to get a job as the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites. He didn't know whether he was tricked into being a scapegoat or whether he bought the official position with his own money.
It seems that this guy felt that he alone was not sure about this trip, so he also dragged Huang Zongxi, the eldest son of the famous scholar Liu Zongzhou and Huang Zunsu, the "Seven Gentlemen of Donglin".
Wu Weiye, one of the "Three Families of Jiangzuo", was working diligently at home to write the bound volume of "Secret History of the Passengers Outside the Pass". Although his official career was at an end, he was spared the disaster of beheading and earned a lot of money.
Qian Qianyi, who was good at flattery, actually became the elder of the cabinet. Although he was not the first or second assistant, it was much better than the previous lonely state. It also gave Donglin scholars hope to control the government.
Gong Dingzi, who was only twenty-four years old, was admitted to the imperial examination five years ago. He was originally in trouble when he was promoted to the military department, but was later transferred to Taichang Temple. However, he has not had any trouble now.
Zhang Pu was able to bring two losers to the capital to scold him. He probably got the help of Donglin boss Qian Qianyi. The dumper also acquiesced to this behavior in order to regain his face.
"My ministers Zhang Pu, Liu Zongzhou, and Huang Zongxi bow to His Highness the Crown Prince and wish him a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand years!"
"My dear friends, please excuse me. I come to Beijing from the southern capital. Why do you want to see me?"
Don’t give up without gifts!
That's right!
I asked you to come all the way here to make trouble, so just kneel down and answer first!
Feng Quan was on the left and Zhong Yan was on the right. They were all sitting on the Grand Master's chair, looking at the three colleagues in front of them as if they were interrogating prisoners.
"His Majesty heard that Jifu was captured and was greatly worried. He has sent part of the Yongwei Battalion to join more than 10,000 soldiers from the King's Division in the north of the Yangtze River to Xuzhou to station His Majesty in order to retreat from the enemy as soon as possible. I and my two colleagues went ahead and found out in Jining. The capital is in a critical situation, but I have no choice but to be a scholar, who has no ability to kill the enemy, so I can only look forward to the king's strength to resist the Eastern captives. Later, I heard that the capital had won a great victory, so I came as soon as possible to congratulate His Highness. It is really a blessing for the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhang Pu had heard all kinds of anecdotes about the young prince being struck by lightning before. After thinking about it, he didn't believe it at all. Emperor Chongzhen was driven to Nandu, which made him a little confused.
If it wasn't as magical as the messages in the market said, someone was deliberately manipulating the prince behind his back. In order to understand the truth and vent his anger on his majesty, Zhang Pu decided to find out.
There were only three important people in the house, one of them was the young prince of Huang's age, and he didn't know the other two, but in order to find out the truth, it was better to find an excuse to ask for directions.
"Oh? Is there such a thing? I would like to thank my father on behalf of the millions of troops in the capital! The king's army killed 40,000 enemies before and defeated Huang Taiji. The Donglu army has been repulsed. I have sent flying Riding south to report to Father Ming, we should probably have reached the southern capital by now."
Can marching into Xuzhou help relieve the siege of the capital?
There are only 20,000 people in total!
I'm afraid I can't even defeat Yiqi's braided soldiers!
He kept saying that he was going to help!
What about fooling two idiots?
In line with the principle of seeing through but not telling off, a certain prince also took advantage of the scheme and showed off his great achievements.
"...I congratulate Your Highness for your ability to resist the Eastern invaders. This great victory achieved by the King's Division must be the best in recent years!"
Even Jiangnan and even Donglin scholars have a very clear understanding of Donglu's combat power.
Zhang Pu and his party had arrived in Jining a long time ago, but they did not dare to continue going north after hearing that the capital had been surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Qing troops.
Later, he heard that the Qing army had been repulsed by the defenders of the capital. Naturally, he did not believe this explanation. After waiting for two days and hearing about it from passing merchants, he wanted to continue heading north.
When they arrived at the foot of the capital, they found no Qing soldiers, and the group of people breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, the gates of the capital were not opened yet, so they were able to enter the city with the help of His Majesty's post.
After entering from Zuo'anmen, I found that the situation in the city seemed to be normal, there were no signs of being destroyed by the war, and the people were living and working in peace and contentment.
This made the group of people even more strange. Due to the heavy responsibilities on their shoulders, they did not have time to contact Donglin colleagues who were on duty in the capital. Under the escort of the factory guards, they went straight to the East Palace.
"My dear friends, you are interested. I know it. If there is nothing else, I will keep you here soon. You can return to Nandu immediately and report to my father!"
Treat you to dinner?
Go ahead and dream!
You are just a bunch of white-eyed wolves!
To feed you good royal food, I might as well just feed the two wolf dogs raised by me!
If you really want to eat, you can go out to eat!
If you eat in the hotel, each person will be charged fifty taels of silver per meal, and there will be no discounts!
"...Your Highness, I have one more thing to do when I come here this time. I hope that Your Highness can answer the questions of the officials, merchants, and people in Jiangnan!"
Are you going to drive people away?
No face at all?
Zhang Pu was a little shocked and hurriedly gave another reason for staying.
"It's okay to speak frankly, my dear!"
A certain prince knew that he was trying to get in trouble, and he had already expected it, so let's see who stabbed the other to death first!
"When Your Majesty moved to the southern capital, people in the market left messages saying that His Highness was unfilial, and everyone was puzzled. The cabinet informed Your Majesty and sent ministers to come and listen attentively to His Majesty's answers to the questions of thousands of Jiangnan officials, merchants, and people! "
Zhang Pu came here this time to show off his abilities. After he returned, he could find an opportunity to join forces with Qian Qianyi and get himself the lucrative job of Minister of Rites.
In the next year or so, we will continue our efforts and let Qian Qianyi take the position of first assistant, while he will be the second assistant. In this way, the government of Nandu will fall into the hands of Donglin scholars.
"It's very simple. The King's army has been defeated many times in the past. I am worried that the capital will be besieged, or even be broken into by Donglu like this time. If my father can move to the southern capital, even if the capital is defeated, he can still conquer the capital. Nandu takes charge of the overall situation, mobilizes the army, and waits for the opportunity to make the Northern Expedition and regain the lost territory. The country cannot be without a king for a day, and I must not want to see my Ming Dynasty leaderless, and the Eastern captives take advantage of it, right? Therefore, I will garrison the capital and fight against the Eastern invaders. Prisoner, please ask your father to move to Nandu, this is not an unfilial act, but an act of great filial piety!"
Want to tease me?
Just ask Yang Shicong, Chen Biqian, Li Juesi and others!
I have no other ability except that I can turn black into white!
Is it annoying?
But what do you do to me? ? ?
When Feng Quan heard this, he felt very happy. He came all the way with these three people just to scold him!
They have not yet experienced what the Crown Prince is capable of, and when they are scolded until they are speechless, they will give up completely.
"I wonder why Your Highness abolished fertile farmland along the coast of Shandong and turned it into salt fields, and also sent people to arrest the salt merchants of Lianghuai and Huaihe? The salt affairs of Lianghuai are related to the livelihood of thousands of salt workers and their families! If it is blocked by the salt fields of Shandong, the world will The price of salt will definitely be unstable, which will affect the security of the country!"
In the past, Shen Xun caused chaos in Lianghuai and the salt merchants were all panicked in order to track down the case of missing 300,000 taels of salt tax money.
Although everyone was unwilling to cooperate with Shen Xun in investigating the truth, the other party came under orders and had a large number of factory guards who were like wolves and tigers.
After tracing the clues, they used this as a basis to threaten some salt merchants. Some people couldn't bear it and told the truth. As a result, more people suffered.
In the end, it was the salt merchants who jointly raised 500,000 taels of silver before sending the plague god away. Otherwise, if things went on like this, it would end up costing no less than a million taels of silver.
What's even more frightening is that the crown prince ordered the opening of salt fields along the coast of Shandong. For the salt merchants in Lianghuai and Huaihe, this was nothing more than a plan to draw out wages from the bottom of the cauldron.
When a large amount of relatively cheap sea salt comes on the market in the future, how can Huai Salt maintain high prices in the vast northern region?
Zhang Pu also received a lot of money from the salt merchants, so he took this opportunity to come to the capital to ask for an explanation.
"The price of Huai salt is high and the price of sea salt is low, which makes it more affordable for the people. This is one of the reasons. Sea salt contains iodine and can cure big neck disease, which Huai salt does not have. This is the second reason. The fields near the sea have long been destroyed. The penetration of sea water makes the land saline-alkali and there is no fertile farmland. This is the third reason. There is a severe drought in Shandong, and the imperial court launched a work-relief policy in the area. The establishment of salt fields can provide a large amount of relief to the people, and fishing can be used as food. This is the fourth reason. Love You don't listen to what's going on outside the window, and you only want to read the books of sages. Since you are willing to study, then don't be an official, but go to the Hanlin Academy and have a great time!"
Do you still want to stump me?
Go ahead and dream!
How did I quarrel with the courtiers before? Now I will quarrel with you the same way!
You have not seen the fierce scenes of court discussions in the past. If you saw it, you would be put out!
"Your Highness, I have something unclear. Your Highness previously severely punished merchants and imposed heavy taxes, which was extremely detrimental to business. There are also rumors in the market that His Highness took the opportunity to plunder the people's wealth and wealth, which was an act of extortion. Since the beginning of this dynasty, he has vigorously supported Instead of suppressing merchants arbitrarily, His Highness may lose the heart of merchants!"
When Huang Zongxi saw Zhang Pu's expression of embarrassment, he spoke out to help him out. Now that he was here, he couldn't be choked by a ten-year-old prince. That would be too embarrassing.
"Last year, the entire Zhejiang Province had less than one hundred taels of silver in tea classes! I calculated it as one hundred taels, and thirty taels of tea. In other words, the entire Zhejiang Province sold tea worth three thousand taels last year? Can Aiqing believe this? Result? Where did the extra part go? I'm afraid Aiqing doesn't know, right? I know, and I am willing to tell you that the difference was pocketed by merchants in collusion with local officials, but it did not enter Taicang, the Ministry of Household Affairs. Don't think that I The palace had no proof and made false claims. I found two books of accounts at the merchant's house in the capital. One was for the inspection by the court, and the other was the real account. This is true for tea merchants and all other walks of life. So! Does Aiqing know something? Is she still kept in the dark? Or is she like Zhang Pu, who has no ears to hear what is happening outside the window and only reads the books of sages? Since Aiqing is also willing to read, then just like Zhang Pu, Don’t even want to be an official anymore, but go to the Hanlin Academy and have a great time, it’s just a good companion!”
One is a quarrel, and the two are also quarrels. There is exactly one more!
If you dare to speak for a merchant like this, you must have received money from them.
That person's money can help others eliminate disasters!
If you just come to me to ask questions, then it means you made a wrong calculation!
"Your Highness, before moving to the Southern Capital, Your Majesty appointed His Highness the Regent, taking charge of the affairs of the eight regions in the north, while Your Majesty manages the eight regions in the south. The two courts in the north and the south manage two jurisdictions. If things go on like this, it may become two dynasties in the north and the south. Wouldn’t it mean to divide my Ming Dynasty into two parts?”
Liu Zongzhou was not willing to speak favorably for the merchants, but he also couldn't stand the young prince's sharp tongue. He could drive His Majesty to Nandu. This son should not be underestimated.
After thinking about it, Liu Zongzhou felt that it was more appropriate to ask the question from the perspective of the country. This was also a reasonable question.
"My dear, what you said is wrong. Our Ming Dynasty originally had two imperial courts in the north and south. The southern court was in charge of the economy, and the northern court was in charge of the military. The six departments are all ready-made. Now I am in charge of the northern court, and my father is in charge of the south. It's just the imperial court. Regardless of the northern or southern imperial court, the land under its jurisdiction is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. The language, writing, and flags will not change! After the palace moved the vassal king overseas, the imperial court took back the land of the vassal state. On the contrary, the management of the place is more in place than ever before. Since I am the prince, I will take it as my responsibility and obligation to share the worries of my father. If I don’t do this, who in the world can? Do you have more power than me? Today, I am leading the army and minions in the capital to unite and work together to defeat the Donglu, setting the best record since the Wanli period. Doesn’t this prove that this arrangement is very correct? I Although he is the regent, he is also the prince, and the prince is the foundation of the country! The fundamental purpose of those rumors that are unfavorable to me is to undermine the foundation of the Yao country! As a minister of the Ming Dynasty, Aiqing must defend the foundation of the country, right? ?”
Back then, for the sake of being the eldest son of the emperor and the crown prince of Prince Fu, didn't you idiots fight to the death to resist the will of Emperor Wanli?
It is said that the crown prince is the foundation of the country and cannot be changed. In order to keep the crown prince, you can be said to be working in succession.
Now it's good that they actually formed a group to cause trouble for the prince!
Are you out of your mind, or are you simply tired of living?
"..."
The prince is the foundation of the country!
This truth was recognized by Liu Zongzhou, but when it came from the young prince's mouth, why did it feel a little different?
It's hard for you to find an excuse to refute. Once you refute, you just want to disturb the foundation of Yao Kingdom...
