Imperial Palace, Qianqing Palace.
Yang Peng, the eunuch who temporarily supervises the Dongchang, presented a "dibao" obtained from the people to Zhu Youtang, while Xiao Jing, Chen Kuan and Wei Bin, the supervisors of etiquette around him, were all as silent as cicadas, even turning their heads. Dare to lift.
"Did the prince ask someone to seal this?" Zhu Youtang looked grim.
Yang Peng said: "Returning to your majesty, the newspapers printed by the prince are all content that demonstrates the prestige of the Ming Dynasty and states the facts. But this one was imitated by some people and secretly criticized the imperial court...especially for your majesty's use of Lai Guogong. , there was a lot of discussion, and the slaves sent people from Dongchang to inquire, and found out that this newspaper came from outside the capital, and was mostly circulated in Shandong, Henan and other places. It may also come from southern Zhili, Jiangxi and other places..."
"Snapped!"
Zhu Youtang slapped the table.
Yang Peng quickly lowered his head and stopped talking.
Zhu Youtang said angrily: "The seal shows the world that the prince is sincere and has his own opinions. How dare someone take this opportunity to cause trouble and criticize the government. Now even these people who slander me and Bingkuan are nowhere to be found." Do you know that?"
Yang Peng said: "We are checking."
"Cough cough cough..." Zhu Youtang coughed in anger.
Xiao Jing hurriedly comforted him: "Your Majesty, the dragon's body is the most important thing. What these evildoers say is untrue. I don't think the people will listen to it. Your Majesty, please calm down and let Dongchang and Jinyiwei investigate secretly."
Zhu Youtang raised his hand to stop the eunuch from coming over to caress his back. He said sternly: "I understand the principle of three people becoming a tiger. There are some things that I want to set a tone and silence others, but I never thought that someone would They seem to be more anxious than I am. When Bingkuan has made outstanding achievements now, they criticize him like this. Is this an attack on Bingkuan? That is a slap in my face!"
"Yes." Xiao Jing responded, thinking to himself, fortunately Yang Peng is doing all the errands in Dongchang now, otherwise I would have been blamed for this.
Zhu Youtang said: "Investigate thoroughly, and we must get to the bottom of it. Anyone who spreads such falsehoods will be jailed and interrogated, and the mastermind behind the scenes must be found!"
Wei Bin said: "Your Majesty, this matter is very involved. If it is related to the ministers of the DPRK..."
"No matter who it is! This move can be said to be an attack on me. They have no mercy. Do I still have mercy? Bingkuan will return to Beijing in less than a month. Is it possible that he who has made great contributions to Liaodong , after returning to the capital, will he still be criticized by others? Can I be worthy of him?" Zhu Youtang felt resentful for Zhang Zhou.
He had made so many contributions to the Ming Dynasty, but he was still secretly attacked, saying that he was a traitor, and that Zhang Zhou used alchemy to bring chaos to the country.
How could the emperor be willing to suffer this injustice?
"Remember, we will show no mercy to anyone we find, even important officials in the court!" Zhu Youtang seemed to be furious.
…
…
After the matter was over, Yang Peng followed Xiao Jing out with a flattering look on his face, asking for advice from Xiao Jing.
Xiao Jing had a stern look on his face, but he seemed to have an air of keeping strangers away from him, saying: "You can't even find the source of those tabloids attacking the imperial court? You don't even know whether they are from Jiangbei or Jiangnan?"
Yang Peng said: "I have tried my best, but it is indeed too difficult to check and the impact is too wide. It is said that these tabloids are also circulating in Gansu, Ningxia and other places."
Xiao Jing said in a cold tone: "The prince founded the Di Bao in order to highlight the merits of His Majesty and Duke Lai in running the army and the country. However, it seems that some people do not want to see such things spread. It seems to be attacking Duke Lai. , described Lai Guogong as a treacherous villain like Li Guang before, but in fact he was attacking His Majesty for his nepotism."
"Then Eunuch Xiao..." Yang Peng almost knelt down to ask for advice.
Xiao Jing finally glanced over and sighed: "The tabloids in the market are just like the rumors. If someone wants to use this to attack His Majesty, there must be a purpose. What do you think their purpose is?"
Yang Peng said: "Are you going to... create a gap between Your Majesty and Master Zhang?"
"You really have a long-term vision, and there is a gap? Don't you think that because of these tabloids, His Majesty has more trust in Duke Lai? Maybe someone wants to secretly cause trouble and instigate relations between Your Majesty and the civil servants of the DPRK and China?"
Xiao Jing's words shocked Yang Peng.
Yang Peng thought to himself, you Xiao, are you really good at finding new ways to think about things?
Don’t you mean to say that the person behind this is either Zhang Zhou himself or someone related to Zhang Zhou?
Yang Peng said: "Is it possible that someone is trying to cause trouble by attacking His Majesty and Master Zhang?"
Xiao Jing looked unhappy when he heard this.
I've been hinting at you for a long time, but you still haven't "enlightened"?
"You can understand it yourself." Xiao Jing was too lazy to tell Yang Peng and walked away.
Yang Peng stood on the spot, looking at Xiao Jing's back, thinking in his heart: "Is this Eunuch Xiao determined to stand with the civil servants? Or is the tabloid incident this time also related to him? This kind of thing How could it be possible to involve Duke Lai Guo? Doesn't he not understand this?"
When Yang Peng turned around to leave, he suddenly seemed to understand something and sighed to himself: "No wonder, he didn't want me to involve the civil servants in this matter, but who was he attacking from behind?"
Yang Peng thought he was extremely smart, but he had difficulties on some issues involving political stance.
…
…
Inside the Wenhua Hall.
Zhu Houzhao was temporarily added to three classes a day as a "punishment" for Zhu Youtang's son.
It's okay for you kid to say that you want to publish a residence newspaper. Now it's fine. Someone deliberately took advantage of the royal family's filing of a residence newspaper and secretly said that one was also compiled by the royal family to attack Zhang Bingkuan. Now you kid is indirectly helping the evil person.
I also know that your intentions are not bad, but you are doing bad things with good intentions. I cannot punish you openly, so I will use some unconventional means to let you concentrate on your studies and stop thinking about crooked things all day long.
"Who am I provoking?" Zhu Houzhao had been in class for a day and was about to have dinner. He was told that Zhu Youtang asked him to copy two more articles. He was not allowed to eat until he finished copying.
If you dare not follow the instructions, you will be grounded later.
Liu Jin said earnestly: "Your Highness, you'd better write it. I just heard the news that someone is secretly using the residence to report the matter and attack Your Majesty and Master Zhang."
Zhu Houzhao's eyes widened and he said: "Is it related to the Di's newspaper? Is it possible? I've praised them in the Di's newspaper. I've already read the second draft. Isn't there no problem?"
Liu Jin didn't know how to explain it, but he still tried his best to talk about it in simple and in-depth terms... It took nearly half an hour to let Zhu Houliang understand that someone was using Dibao as an excuse to attack Zhu Youtang and Zhang Zhou.
He also made Zhang Zhoucheng the biggest traitor since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.
"Hahaha..." After Zhu Houzhao understood, he was not embarrassed and just smiled.
Liu Jin was stunned.
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "Are those people not smart? Do some people believe this kind of nonsense? People named Zhang are almost crying to the sky now. Fight wherever you tell them and win wherever you fight. This kind of people can make great contributions. I haven't seen any famous generals throughout the history books. Even Zhuge Kongming and Champion Hou, are they as awesome as him?"
Liu Jin said helplessly: "Your Highness, even Champion Hou and Kong Ming are attacked by many people in the world. As for this person, it is impossible to gain everyone's approval."
"Damn it, are you so unreasonable?" Zhu Houzhao seemed to realize for the first time the sinister nature of people's hearts.
It seems that I also understand that if you want to govern a country, it is not enough to use only capable ministers in fact. You must also use capable ministers in the eyes of others, or "capable ministers" recognized by literati.
Liu Jin said: "Your Majesty is very angry now. The decent people from Dongchang are investigating. Some people are saying that this matter may involve Master Zhang's great contribution and his great achievements. It may be that someone secretly wants to remind Your Majesty to use alchemy to make suggestions." He is still an alchemist after all, and cannot be judged by his talent for governing the country."
"Why?" Zhu Houzhao looked confused.
Liu Jin smiled bitterly and said: "The general meaning is that there are always times when alchemy doesn't work. The more you rely on these unpredictable things, the easier it is to go awry in governing the country."
"Hey." Zhu Houzhao said with a smile, "That seems to make sense. Who knows if the person named Zhang will be so accurate every time in the future? What if it is not accurate and I happen to be recruiting myself, then... …Wouldn’t it be a disaster?”
Liu Jin was startled.
This analogy is really... profound! And use yourself as an example!
Even you think so, so it’s not too much for people outside to think so, right?
Zhu Houzhao said with a smile: "When my father finds the people who secretly spread lies, I will peel them off and have cramps. Then I will go and take a look myself."
Liu Jin said: "Prince, these two texts..."
"Write, why don't you write? I will go to my father later to admit my mistake. I will say that I acted recklessly and allowed young people to take advantage of it, so that my father's reputation was almost destroyed in one day. Even Mr. Zhang’s reputation has been greatly tarnished... Haha, I can’t make it up anymore, I don’t believe that people in this world are so stupid to believe those nonsense!”
Zhu Houzhao looked proud, as if he didn't think he had made any mistakes.
Liu Jin hurriedly said: "Your Highness, you must not say that when you meet His Majesty."
"Hmph!" Zhu Houzhao snorted, "Now that the outside world is facing an attack on Zhang, if we just stop the Di newspaper, does that mean we have to admit to outsiders that what they said is right? The more important it is at this time. , the more we write about Zhang’s merits, the more those treacherous villains will jump over the wall, and their true colors will be exposed.”
"Father has always understood the truth. I believe he will not be blinded. Bring me some paper and I will write a memorial to let him know what I mean!"
Liu Jin had one head and two heads, and he suddenly felt that he might be punished.
…
…
Zhu Youtang saw the memorial written by his son in the name of the article.
Although the content is still a bit incoherent, the general meaning is expressed, indicating that Zhang Zhou's contribution is to continue to be highlighted, in order to combat the rumors in the market, and to take the opportunity to find out the people who secretly spread the rumors.
Where is Kunning Palace?
Zhu Youtang took his son's letter and said to Queen Zhang with a smile: "The prince has grown up. In the past two years, I feel that he has understood a lot of truths overnight, and sometimes he is as knowledgeable as those who gave me advice." people."
Queen Zhang said: "Your Majesty, the prince has your style."
"Haha." Zhu Youtang said to Xiao Jing who was standing aside, "I told the people in Dongchang in the past that just as the prince said, print more Di newspapers, and print more. Governments in various places should also post notices to the outside world, so that Everyone in the world knows Bingkuan’s contribution to the Ming Dynasty.”
Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty, will this seem too deliberate? Will it be counterproductive?"
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "If you don't tell me, how can others tell the difference between right and wrong? In addition, we need to find some people to secretly help Bingkuan spread his reputation. There is no need to deliberately spread his ability in alchemy, just say His insights on military management and employment led him to be a wise minister. He was the number one scholar in the Ming Dynasty and had outstanding literary talents. I would like to take this opportunity to mention his literary name more. By the way, his spiritual studies were not in the Ming Dynasty. Is it widely spread everywhere? Let people from the Hanlin Academy come forward and recite it."
"Yes." Xiao Jing had a smile on his face, "Mr. Zhang is really capable. He has made outstanding achievements in both civil and military affairs. The world will respect him a lot. How could he believe those rumors?"
This sounded fine, and even Zhu Youtang and his wife didn't think anything of it.
But in fact, Xiao Jing was reminding Zhu Youtang both inside and outside of his words... Zhang Bingkuan is so awesome, it is easy for him to have a big tail, your majesty.
Everyone is like a rabbit to a dog. The more you use Zhang Zhou, the more evil you become. You have truly become a figure inferior to one person and more than ten thousand people in the Ming Dynasty. How can you let Wu Xun, a civil servant in the DPRK, fool around?
If you don't give him a way to survive, how can he not use all kinds of tricks to attack Zhang Zhou?
Zhu Youtang said: "It's best to check everything out before Bingkuan comes back. If he hasn't checked everything out when he comes back, let him do it himself! Now that the grassland is not flat, attacking Bingkuan at this time is tantamount to They are attacking me with ulterior motives, so they should be considered as treason! No mercy will be taken lightly!"
…
…
A lot of gossip about Zhang Zhou is circulating everywhere in the north of the Ming Dynasty.
But it didn’t have much impact on Zhang Zhou’s reputation... Those who were willing to believe these rumors were those who were envious, jealous, and resentful of Zhang Zhou’s rise, especially the literati of the Ming Dynasty. They couldn’t bear to see Zhang Zhou, who was born as a Gongsheng student. Within a year or two, he became a powerful figure in the Ming Dynasty.
Just because someone is secretly printing tabloids to attack Zhang Zhou, they will also add fuel to the fire during conversations in the market, trying to persuade more people to believe their views.
But the people in the market are more willing to see what is in front of them. Zhang Zhou’s military achievements in various places in Beiguan cannot be faked. In addition, the people themselves are superstitious about such unpredictable figures. They have no regard for Zhang Zhou’s Worship naturally spread from the market.
Zhang Zhou, who was in Shenyang, also learned from the scouts that he was being attacked by tabloids.
For a "celebrity" like him, he has long been used to it.
No matter how many attacks are made against him, are there any ministers whose attacks are more direct?
He originally relied on some special means to rise up in a short period of time and became an important figure in the Ming Dynasty. If he couldn't accept any criticism, Zhang Zhou thought that he would be very unqualified as a time traveler, because a time traveler must first have a big heart. , you have to be thick-skinned and don’t have a glassy heart.
The more people attack me, the more effective I am in changing the times.
You think you can't challenge me through formal channels, so you think of those shady methods... I'm sorry, I, Zhang, am just not affected by you.
"Tang Yin has already passed the North Korea Pass. According to time, he will reach Shenyang Zhongwei in two days. People have been sent to meet him. As for grain and grass, etc., it will take some time to arrive. Anbian Hou will arrive every day. Japan will send people to send messages back to be prepared at any time for possible disobedient actions by North Korea."
When Lu Wan came to see Zhang Zhou this time, the decision was already finalized.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Are you sure you want to come back to Beijing with me?"
"Yes." Lu Wan said with a compliment, "I am willing to do my best by your side."
"good."
Zhang Zhou smiled and nodded.
He did not expect every minister to be a "kind" person. In fact, the people he initially hired, including Zhu Feng, Wang Qiong, Wang Shouren, Lu Wan, etc., all had some "problems" in their bones. It was these people who More people tend to follow the trend, otherwise they would not be able to mobilize them.
Now that we know the faults of these people, it is a bit overwhelming to expect them to act in full compliance with the Confucian model of benevolent ministers.
People who don't do it for themselves will be punished by heaven and earth.
It is understandable that Lu Wan wants to protect his own future. He cannot be judged as unusable because of his selfishness or utilitarianism.
Zhang Zhou said: "In fact, Liaodong is not bad, but if you have to operate in a borderland for a long time, you will often encounter disasters. It is better to go to a comfortable place in the capital and stay at the feet of the emperor. No matter what you do, your majesty can see it." .”
Lu Wan said hurriedly: "This is not what I meant by the official."
"I know what you mean. We are ministers in the same palace and have similar ideas. I don't like staying in Liaodong. I have been tortured for the past six months. I can't even stay at home to give birth to a son. Now my son is born without even a name." Zhang Zhou looked very sorry.
"Mr. Lai Guo..." Lu Wan wanted to say, your son doesn't have a name, why don't you just give him one and have someone send a message back to the capital?
Zhang Zhou added: "His Majesty said he would give me a name."
Lu Wan was speechless upon hearing this.
Does it make any difference whether it has a name or not? A son born from your concubine will be given a name by the emperor... Even if you take a concubine, it will be a marriage granted by the emperor... With this kind of treatment, who can compare?
"I'm going to take it easy these two days."
Zhang Zhou stretched his waist and said, "Recently, the progress of Xinjian Bo has been very good. Most of the Jurchens from Jianzhou have migrated here. Some of their leaders and upper-class people have moved to the capital to live together. Let them live with me." Let's go. By the way, recruit 3,000 troops to accompany me... In addition, I will report to Your Majesty and ask Your Majesty to decide on the new governor of Liaodong as soon as possible. You don't have to go with me. After the handover is completed, you can return to Beijing. Not too late."
"yes."
Lu Wan handed over his hand to accept the order, and then said, "Mr. Lai Guo, there is one more thing that I don't know whether to talk about or not."
Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "What else can you and I have to cover up?"
Lu Wandao: "That's right. I heard that some people are criticizing you now. Although I am unable to investigate thoroughly, I vaguely know that the news may have originated in Jiangnan."
"Oh?" Zhang Zhou asked curiously, "How do you know this?"
Zhang Zhou thought to himself, are you, Lu Wan, more awesome than the people in Dongchang?
Lu Wan sighed: "It's because before I arrived in Liaodong, someone secretly sent a letter to try to win over you. It seems that someone has disloyal intentions towards Your Majesty."
(End of chapter)
