Looking at Concubine Zhou in front of him, Emperor Longqing felt a little confused.
Don’t know what it is? He even went to the imperial study room to find himself.
Emperor Longqing was still very kind to his beloved concubine.
He waved his hand and said: "My dear concubine, please get back on your feet and come to see me. But what's the emergency?"
Concubine Zhou stood up, came to Emperor Longqing's side, stretched out her delicate hands, and began to massage Emperor Longqing's shoulders.
"Your Majesty, you need to pay more attention to rest, and don't wear out your body. I haven't seen you for several days, and I am worried about your Majesty's health, so I came to see your Majesty."
Emperor Longqing felt warm in his heart when he heard this.
He smiled and said, "Don't worry, my dear, my body is fine and I can still hold on."
Concubine Zhou smiled and said: "Your Majesty is in good health, so I can rest assured. Your Majesty, on the way here just now, I heard the young eunuchs talking, saying that Eunuch Xia was beaten and disabled, and he couldn't move in bed. .
I don’t know who he is, but he is so bold. He dares to attack even His Majesty’s people in the palace. As the saying goes, it depends on the owner to beat a dog. This is too disrespectful to His Majesty. Your Majesty cannot spare such a person lightly. "
Emperor Longqing couldn't help but frowned after hearing Concubine Zhou's words.
Xia Shouzhong actually let Jia Cong be beaten and disabled, and he didn't even know about it.
Jia Cong, this kid, must be too cruel. Is it true that he doesn’t take me seriously as he said to his beloved concubine?
After thinking about what Jia Cong had done over the years, he shook his head gently and gave up the idea.
In the past few years, Jia Cong rarely took the initiative to cause trouble, and he was relatively close to himself. Every year, he sent things to the palace as a tribute to himself, which were worth nearly one hundred thousand taels of silver.
Although this boy makes a lot of money, his filial piety to himself is unparalleled by others.
To say that Jia Cong didn't take him seriously, Emperor Longqing still didn't quite believe it.
Xia Shouzhong's matter was probably a mistake.
This guy is a practicing martial artist. If he strikes out in anger, he will definitely do it in a serious way. It is possible that he hits a vital part by chance.
Thinking of this, Emperor Longqing said: "I have known about this for a long time. Xia Shouzhong verbally contradicted Duke Ning Guo and was taught a lesson by Duke Ning. He probably made a mistake and Duke Ning has already asked me to apologize. "
Concubine Zhou said with a surprised look on her face: "Ah, it turns out that Duke Ning Guo was the one who hit me. No wonder. Duke Ning Guo has done great service for the country and taught His Majesty a slave a lesson. It's nothing. It's just that his attack was a bit too harsh. No mercy."
Upon hearing this, Dai Quan glanced at Concubine Zhou quietly.
It's been so long since this incident happened, but I didn't expect Concubine Zhou to bring it up again. This was a clear complaint to Jia Cong.
After saying these words, although His Majesty cannot blame Jia Cong, he will definitely feel uncomfortable and probably will plant a thorn in his heart.
What Jia Cong did in this matter was a bit reckless, leaving a bad impression on His Majesty, which was not worth the gain.
This Concubine Zhou is really vicious. She is making it clear that she is right with Jia Cong.
It seemed that he had to tell Jia Cong about this matter as soon as possible, so that Jia Cong could be prepared in advance.
Emperor Longqing had already realized that his beloved concubine was here to complain to Jia Cong.
Whatever you care about yourself is bullshit.
Could it be related to Xiang Hong's evil obstacle?
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel upset.
Emperor Longqing waved his hand impatiently and said: "Okay, if you have nothing to do, please leave first. I still have a lot of official business to deal with. I will really come to see you when I have time."
Concubine Zhou heard that Emperor Long Qing's tone was not good, so she did not dare to say anything more. Her goal had been achieved.
He bowed to Emperor Longqing and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will take my leave."
Seeing Concubine Zhou disappear at the door, Emperor Long Qing said to Dai Quan: "Dai Quan, how is Xia Shouzhong's injury? It's been more than a month, and it's still not healed?"
When Dai Quan saw Emperor Longqing asking about it, he felt a little nervous and decided not to tell Emperor Longqing about Xia Shouzhong's death for the time being.
After such a long time, His Majesty should have forgotten, but who would have thought that Concubine Zhou would be exposed again.
He cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to my master, Xia Shouzhong doesn't have many injuries on his body. He has already recovered. He just can't move his legs and can't walk. He probably injured his lumbar spine. He may need to recuperate if he wants to recover."
Emperor Longqing said: "Dai Quan, do you think Jia Cong deliberately deposed Xia Shouzhong, or did he do it unintentionally and by mistake?"
Dai Quan thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, based on my understanding of Ning Guogong, this old slave probably didn't do it on purpose. He might have been angry for a moment and made a mistake in his actions. He probably doesn't even know it himself."
Emperor Long Qing nodded and said, "That's all, take good care of Xia Shouzhong. I hope he gets better."
Dai Quan secretly thought to himself that Xia Shouzhong had already reported to the Lord of Hell, so there was no need for him to take care of him.
He said calmly: "I know Your Majesty, I will arrange for someone to take good care of him."
Emperor Longqing picked up a memorial and started reading it.
This memorial is from Shaanxi. The drought there is still serious. It is more serious than last year. People have already starved to death. They request the court to continue providing disaster relief.
Emperor Longqing sighed in his heart, this God was also against him.
Last year's drought was nothing more than a severe drought, but it has not eased this year and is actually getting worse. How can it continue like this?
Last year, thanks to the large amount of money Jia Cong obtained, he purchased grain from the south in advance and went to various places to provide disaster relief, no major incident occurred.
It seems that disaster relief is still needed this year, otherwise something big may happen.
It’s just that the price of food has risen a lot now, and there is not much money left in the national treasury. Thinking about this starts to give me a headache.
"Dai Quan, what is the price of food in the capital now? What is the situation in the disaster area? Do you have detailed information here?"
Dai Quan said: "Reporting to your majesty, the price of food in the capital has doubled, and one stone of food has exceeded one tael of silver. The price of food in the south of the Yangtze River is cheaper and has increased by 70 to 80% compared to before.
In Shandong, Henan and other places, the price of grain has reached 34 taels of silver per stone. The highest price in Shaanxi is 56 taels of silver per stone. Even so, if you have money, there is nowhere to buy it, and there are people selling their sons and daughters everywhere.
There are many unscrupulous grain merchants who refuse to sell the grain they have, and blindly drive up the price of grain. The price of grain is still rising. The poor people cannot afford to eat grain, so they can only sell their property, fields, or even sell their children. Get a mouthful of life-saving food. "
Emperor Longqing slapped the table hard and said angrily: "These black-hearted businessmen should really be killed. They are facing a national crisis. They don't want to share the country's worries, but they use it to annex the fields and make money from the country's difficulties."
Dai Quan stood aside with his head lowered and said nothing.
According to Xiuyiwei's information, the situation in Shaanxi is very bad. Not all the relief food has reached the hands of the victims, but most of it has fallen into the hands of unscrupulous businessmen and corrupt officials.
Otherwise, the disaster will not get worse, and if it cannot be improved, it may trigger a civil unrest.
These are things for which there is no conclusive evidence, but it cannot be brought to the table.
······
On the first day of the lunar month, all civil and military officials gathered in the main hall.
"I see your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live."
Long Qingdi sat on the dragon chair above, waved his hand and said: "My dear friends, please get down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Seeing the civil and military officials getting up, Emperor Longqing said: "My dear friends, Shaanxi has sent another memorial. The disaster there is still serious. We request the imperial court to provide relief. What do you think?"
Song Yan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, came out and said: "Your Majesty, last year alone, more than three million stones were sent to Shaanxi Province to provide relief food. It is supposed to be able to greatly alleviate the disaster, but why is it still so serious?
Now, food prices are skyrocketing. Although there is still some money in the national treasury, it is already stretched thin. Continuing to provide disaster relief will also be a burden to the country. Please think twice, Your Majesty. "
Hu Yong said: "Mr. Song, human life is at stake. No matter how tight the national treasury is, it can be released elsewhere, but disaster relief is urgent. If we don't care about it, it is very likely that a big disaster will happen. We must not take it lightly."
Emperor Longqing said: "What Hu Aiqing said makes sense. The disaster in Shaanxi is serious. The court must not leave it alone. This disaster relief work cannot be delayed. Song Aiqing, I have to help you with this matter of raising food."
Song Yan smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, the price of food has doubled now, and the little money in the treasury can't buy much food anymore. I am also very embarrassed. I can't let you change the money. I don't have Ning Guo." Such ability."
When Jia Cong heard this, he frowned. This old boy probably didn't have any good intentions in dragging him in.
He usually talks in a nice and amiable manner, but when something happens, he goes around trying to get people to talk to him. This is really not a thing.
Regardless of whether he wants to contribute money or food, this kind of calculation is not popular, let alone succeeding. Do you really think that you are young and can be fooled? It’s too taken for granted.
Jia Cong said: "Master Song, it's meaningless for you to say that. Your household department is in charge of the entire world's money and food, but you say there is nothing you can do. Then I'm a little confused.
As important ministers of the country, you are also in charge of the money and lifeblood of the empire. When the country is in trouble, you do not want to share the worries of His Majesty and do not solve the difficulties for the country, but just shirk it. This is not the way to be a minister. "
The second assistant, Yang Huai, looked at Song Yan with a look of gloating on his face.
It's not good for this old boy to mess with anyone, so why bother with this boy? He saw Jia Cong's ability to shift blame last time.
Now it's good, the big hat is on.
Song Yan didn't expect Jia Cong's reaction to be so big, and he didn't say anything yet.
Could this kid have guessed his intention?
Song Yan said: "Mr. Ning Guo, I didn't say anything. Did you have such a big reaction?
Yes, I am in charge of the money and food of the Ministry of Household Affairs, but the country uses money and food in many places. If someone is missing, no one will do it. You are not a householder and don't know that firewood and rice are expensive. How can you know my difficulties. "
Jia Cong said: "Sir Song, if you have a problem, just solve it. If you have a problem, find a way to solve it. Why are you bothering me when you have nothing to do? I am a military general. I lead troops to fight, and I am not in charge of money and food. If you come to me, you can't find fault. People."
Emperor Longqing said: "Okay, you two, stop arguing. With this free time, why don't you think of something to do? Song Aiqing, how much food is left in the treasury? Share some of it and buy disaster relief food first."
】
Song Yan said: "Your Majesty, there are still five million taels of silver in the treasury. Other places can slow down, but the military pay and grain on the Liaodong front line must not be wrong. Now that the price of grain has more than doubled, it is indeed necessary to buy grain again." It’s a bit stretched.”
Emperor Longqing said: "First prepare two million stones of grain and transport it to the disaster area, and then we will figure out a way later. My dear friends, do you have any good ideas? If you have any, you might as well tell me. Hu Aiqing, please tell me."
Hu Yong said: "Your Majesty, I have no good solution. I also tried emigration last year. When I heard about going to Liaodong, I would rather flee the famine. No one was willing to go to Liaodong."
Emperor Longqing also had a headache. He glanced at Jia Cong below and asked, "Ning Guogong, do you have any good ideas? Why don't you tell me so that everyone can listen?"
Jia Cong thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, this method of disaster relief is actually not very effective and has many disadvantages. It is estimated that less than 30% of the food actually reaches the victims.
Most of them have gone into the hands of unscrupulous businessmen through various channels. Rather than providing disaster relief from the state, it is better to say that the state has used money to enrich those unscrupulous businessmen and some corrupt officials. "
As soon as these words came out, many people couldn't sit still and started to reprimand Jia Cong.
"Ning Guogong, please don't talk nonsense. It's best not to talk nonsense without evidence."
"Yes, you are young and haven't seen much of the world, so don't be deceived and used as a weapon."
Song Yan said: "Ning Guogong, you have never been to Shaanxi, how could you know this? Don't talk nonsense."
Emperor Long Qing frowned. What Jia Cong said was a bit too hard to believe. Do those people really have that much courage?
Dai Quan turned to look to one side and asked, "Do the Shaanxi Embroidery Guards have any reports in this regard?"
Dai Quan whispered: "Reporting to the master, what Duke Ning Guo said may be true, but there is no real evidence, and the servant does not know the truth and does not dare to tell the master."
After hearing what Dai Quan said, Emperor Longqing believed 70% to 80% of the time. He took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart.
"Ning Guogong, since you said that, what should you do? Don't you want to provide disaster relief?"
Jia Cong smiled and said: "Your Majesty, we cannot ignore the victims. We can change the method. The food transported to the disaster areas will no longer be distributed free of charge, but will be sold to the public.
If the price of grain over there is 6 taels of silver per shi, we will sell it for 5 taels of silver per shi, or even 4 taels of silver per shi. Anyone who wants to buy it can buy it. Even if the merchants want to buy it, we will sell it to them.
When these grains are sold out and we have money, we are transporting the second batch of grain and the third batch of grain. We will continue to ship the grain there. If there is more grain, the price will come down and ordinary people will be able to afford it. Food.
If this method is followed, not only will the country not be in debt, but it will also make money. It will provide disaster relief and make money at the same time. Why not? "
Hu Yong said: "Mr. Ning Guo, this method is good, but there are still some victims who have no money, no property, nothing. Are they going to starve to death?"
