As the North-South Lecture and Taoism Conference, which has been hyped up throughout the capital city, is approaching, many people in the capital city are suddenly eager to look forward to this grand event.
Whether it was the people in the scholarly community, the officials in the city, or the ministers in the court, they were all shocked that what was originally just two representatives of the southern scholarly community going north to give lectures at Qingtan Academy suddenly evolved into such a large scale and momentum. There is some expectation again.
Of course there are more complex emotions, which vary from group to group.
The scholars naturally cheered, thinking that this was a rare opportunity to discuss classics and meanings. The officials and gentry in the city were also looking forward to it. Such a grand event could also highlight the extraordinary nature of the imperial city under the foot of the sky. It was possible to have such an event a few years ago. The grand gathering was enough to demonstrate the flourishing literary style of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but the ministers in the court noticed something unusual here.
"Go and invite Mr. Chu and Mr. Wang to come over."
The dark purple-gold robe was wrapped in a gorgeous and exquisite fox armpit fur. The man was leaning on a large, loose bearskin chair and looking out the window in trance.
"See Your Highness."
Two old men, one fat and one thin, arrived hand in hand.
"Excuse me, Mr. Chu, Mr. Wang, you and I have known each other for decades, even when Gu was in power, but now Gu is just an idler, there is no need to be like this." The man stood up and walked down the steps, speaking softly road.
"The etiquette cannot be discarded." The old man surnamed Chu bowed his hands and shook his head, "I and Ke Zhen know the prince's good intentions, but we have known each other for many years, so we don't need to care about such false etiquette, and the prince doesn't need to care either."
"Well, if that's the case, then don't be pretentious. Sit down." The man's eagle-like eyebrows and tiger-like eyes were pointed, but his lips were thinner, which weakened his aura.
"His Highness invites us here so urgently. Is there something important?" The thin man surnamed Chu stroked his goatee and seemed to have expected something. "But the lectures of Qingtan Academy, Chongzheng Academy, Baima Academy, and Chongwen Academy Things?"
"Do you two gentlemen also know?" The tiger-eyed man nodded slightly, "Such grand events are rare, but Mr. Gu feels that this matter is not that simple. It is said that Qi Yongtai and Guan Yingzhen had invited Nanbang a long time ago, but It has been delayed for a long time, but you have waited until this time, sir, do you think there is something fishy in it?"
The expressions of the two old men became serious.
They had known the prince's thoughts for a long time. If they had not warned him in the past two years, they would have become more thoughtful.
Although they knew that this was a dangerous job to get chestnuts out of the fire, the two of them had already boarded the boat and could not get off the boat. Besides, after spying on something, they felt that the matter was not hopeless. Maybe this was the reason. Chance.
"Your Majesty, do you think there is something fishy?" The thin old man surnamed Chu pondered for a moment, "The Emperor is in good health now. Even if the Emperor has his thoughts, it is difficult for him to act rashly at this time, right? Don't you understand the Emperor's temperament? "
The tiger-eyed man sneered contemptuously, and gently rubbed the bear's skin with his thick palms.
"It is said that the fourth child has a forbearing temperament, and now he can live up to it, but the more this happens, the more restless Gu becomes. If not while his father is still here, how could Gu just sit here and wait for death? The fourth child is lonely in his mind. You know, he has a righteous status now, and as long as his father is brought to a safe death, it will be a matter of course, but my father is in such good health now, I am afraid that his forbearance may not last forever, right?"
This is not easy to answer.
The old man surnamed Chu and the old man surnamed Wang both bowed their heads and remained silent.
"I know what you are thinking. I hope that the fourth child will reveal his flaws. My father naturally has his intentions, but there are also experts around the fourth child."
The tiger-eyed man stood up, put his hands behind his back, walked around in a circle, returned to the bearskin chair, and pressed the back of the chair.
"I am afraid that the fourth child will use this silent way to slowly and quietly attract the support and devotion of these people. My father is still old and cannot see some things clearly. By that time, even if he has the intention , but he may not have that determination and courage, and..."
They didn't say any more, but both Chu Qi and Wang Zinian understood that by then, would the military heroes, as well as the ministers and generals in charge of the military power of the capital city, still listen to the emperor?
Do you still dare to take risks with the Supreme Emperor?
"Your Highness, the Emperor is very stable now and has made no other moves. Even if there are some moves, they are approved by the Supreme Emperor. Even the Supreme Emperor also approves of them. Under such circumstances, others may not..." Chu Qi couldn't help but say. .
"Then I can only stay in the house like this and count the days?"
Some vicious and violent aura almost surged out of his chest. Everything that once belonged to him, now he can only rely on others' charity, and even rely on others to make mistakes before he has a chance. Thinking of all this, he Unbearable.
"My lord, we still need to calm down." Chu Qi sighed softly.
"Hmph, keep him calm. I'm afraid the fourth brother wants me to keep him calm so that he can act calmly, right?" The tiger-eyed man sneered, "I gave Prince Teng the title of Right Minister of the Ministry of War. This is Should I show my favor to Wang Ziteng, or should I show it to my father? Wang Ziteng has been running around all this time. Does he feel uneasy, or does he feel that he needs to show off in front of the fourth child?"
"And the Zhen family, why hasn't their money been delivered this year? Do you think the fourth child is going to be more lenient with them and don't need to be alone?"
These words were so straightforward that both Chu Qi and Wang Zinian couldn't help but frown.
Wang Zinian was still in charge of the finances. He couldn't help but explain: "Your Majesty, the Zhen family is also in trouble now. The situation in Jiangnan is not very good. It is said that the sea trade has been blocked and there has been no progress in Ningbo. In addition, Lin Ruhai It’s very tight, and without the Supreme Emperor’s personal edict, the Zhen family can’t do anything.”
"This Lin Ruhai, it's in vain that I sponsored him in front of my father. Is this how he repays me?" The tiger-eyed man became furious, "If I didn't have this king back then, he should have been punished long ago for what he did. The ex-officer is in jail, is he tired of living?"
"Your Highness, this is not the time to consider this matter. Although Lin Ruhai has an average reputation among scholars, he still has a place in the heart of the Supreme Emperor, and he is not overly demanding of the Zhen family, but this Zhen family..."
Wang Zinian hesitated for a moment, as if he was weighing something.
"Perhaps Your Highness can send a carefully selected person to Jiangnan to find out the situation privately. I think there seems to be some problems with the Zhen family. Although I also know that life there is difficult, it is not that it is the case. The person sent was also vague. can not say it clearly."
"Oh?" The tiger-eyed man was suddenly startled and turned around to stare at Wang Zinian, "Mr. Wang, are you saying that Zhen Jingde is causing trouble? Or..."
Wang Zinian looked a little ugly. This was the area he was responsible for, but something went wrong. Although the responsibility was not his, the master was obviously dissatisfied.
"Your Highness, although the salt administration is very profitable, there are too many people watching. In the first half of the year, Yang He visited Zhejiang and passed by Qingjiangpu. It is said that he and Qiao Yingjia planned to impeach the Zhejiang Chief Envoy and the two Zhejiang governors. The Salt Transportation Envoy believed that the local salt administration was corrupt and the collusion between government and businessmen was causing great damage to the imperial salt administration and tax revenue..."
The Zhen family has great influence in South Zhili and the two Zhejiang provinces, but South Zhili is under Nanjing's nose and is also the foundation of the Zhen family, so the Zhen family still has some concerns.
The Zhen family on the other side of Zhejiang and Zhejiang didn't have so many worries, so this area has always been the area with the greatest profit. But they didn't expect that Yang He, who was inspecting the two Zhejiangs, would actually focus on this area.
"Why did Yang He focus on the salt administration?" The tiger-eyed man was Prince Yi Zhong. He glanced at Wang Zinian suspiciously, "The salt administration should be a matter of the two Zhejiang salt censors, right? When will it be his turn to inspect the place? Has the imperial censor gone to inquire?"
"Your Highness, how can censors like Yang He care about this?" Wang Zinian smiled bitterly, "He traveled from Jiangbei to Jiangnan and saw that there were no suitable targets in Lianghuai. Lin Ruhai still did a good job in this regard. Comparing Zhejiang and Zhejiang, Naturally, I want to find some trouble to make political achievements."
Prince Yi Zhong hesitated for a moment, "Could this guy be instigated by someone from behind? Who asked him to go out to inspect Liangzhe?"
"This is a routine inspection by the Procuratorate every year, but Yang He is serious and meticulous in his work, so..." Wang Zinian sighed.
"Then the income from Zhejiang and Zhejiang this year..." Prince Yi Zhong's face turned ugly again.
It costs a lot of money to go up and down, and it takes a lot of money to win people over. If not, why would people support you, a has-been prince? Even though he has the protection of his father, he is definitely not so enthusiastic.
"I'm afraid we can't rely on Liangzhe's private salt, but the Zhen family should have other ways." A sinister look flashed across Wang Zinian's face.
Prince Yi Zhong frowned and said, "Ke Zhen, just go ahead and do it. If the Zhen family is disobedient, then I will write a handwritten letter to them. Huh, don't just think about getting benefits. When they should do things, they should be ignored." I’m so confused, is there such a good thing in the world?”
Seeing that the prince didn't ask him what he knew, Wang Zinian felt a little sad. Naturally, he could only do such dirty things by himself, but if he didn't do it, who should?
"Mr. Chu, do you think there is some other flavor behind this scholarly gathering?" Returning to the topic, Prince Yizhong became more thoughtful.
Chu Qi already understood what the prince meant, but it was not easy to do this.
Scholars have never been very friendly with the royal family. Except for the emperor, other royal family members have always been unpopular with scholars and civil servants.
The biggest hobby of the Kedao officials is to criticize the royal family members and Long Jinwei. Even Long Jinwei is ranked behind the royal family members. Of course, they will hate the royal family members. As long as the emperor ignores them, it will naturally be boring. .
Prince Yitada wanted to get involved with this matter in order to increase his popularity, or reputation, and continue to build momentum for himself.
It should be said that this is a good idea. The world of the Great Zhou Dynasty is a world ruled by the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats, and the scholars and civil servants are one. If they can win the favor of the civil servants, it will undoubtedly open the door to do many things in the future.
But will civil servants or scholars accept this obvious approach? Will the emperor tolerate this kind of behavior again?
