In order to make the capital a better place, the Song family's residence is often brightly lit recently.
Many young people also pretend to be wealthy and walk around the streets.
On the other side, the emperor's dynasty will gradually return to normal.
Next, there will be an even more lively event in the capital - the arrival of beautiful ladies in the capital.
According to the regulations formulated by the Ministry of Rites at the beginning of the year, a major event in the first year of Zhengde was to select a woman from a good family as the queen for Emperor Zhengde.
This incident was actually previewed in the 17th year of Hongzhi. At that time, Emperor Hongzhi had already ordered the Ministry of Rites and the Qintian Supervisor to determine the auspicious date. However, Emperor Hongzhi's poor health happened halfway through the matter.
In the eighteenth year of Hongzhi's reign, the new king ascended the throne and held a large funeral, and happy events naturally followed.
But this year, no matter how many reasons there are, they can't stop this matter. If it continues, the emperor will be older. If he doesn't get married at an older age, it will be embarrassing for the court if this happens to the emperor.
According to the post-election process of the Ming Dynasty, all unmarried women of the appropriate age (13-16 years old) across the country were required to participate in the selection. After the first round, 5,000 people would gather in the capital.
With so many people, the capital will soon be lively again.
In addition, the current situation has also changed from that in the 17th year of Hongzhi. To put it simply, the year before last, it was only necessary to choose a princess. But this year, as the reigning emperor, Zhu Houzhao actually has to choose three people.
One queen and two concubines.
This number of people makes it difficult to have any emotional expectations. You can't love three people at once, right? Various procedures and etiquette will also eliminate all thoughts.
Of course...it doesn't mean that Zhu Houzhao has lost interest in this,
When the Ministry of Rites reported it, he listened carefully to many details.
At the same time, Gu Zuo had actually encountered such a thing in Yangzhou.
There is actually a polarized attitude among the people towards the election of the emperor. Some families try their best to send their daughters away, while others are afraid of separation.
After leaving the capital and walking among the people, Gu Zuoneng realized this deeply.
After he arrived, all the major salt merchants in Yangzhou Prefecture came to visit one by one. Not only did they prepare a luxurious house for him to stay in, but they also took special care of his daily life.
I also heard that he came here to protect the salt merchant, so people were more enthusiastic about him than Gu Zuo imagined.
Before he had time to rest, people gathered outside the house on the first morning.
He was accompanied by his own people from the capital, two agile young men and a girl who was relatively good at serving others.
"Is the salt transporter Zou Cheng here?" Gu Zuo asked while wiping his face.
Liu Da replied: "He's here too, he's very early. And you can tell at a glance that he's here."
"Why?"
“All businessmen look up to him.”
Gu Zuo paused briefly. Before meeting these people, there were some things he had to think clearly on his own.
The purpose of the salt transporter must be to join him and not report too many problems. The salt merchants are simple. They just want more salt, faster salt distribution, and better distribution of salt from the salt field. In the final analysis, it is money.
The purpose of his coming here is to get to know the basics of the salt transporter, such as how much salt the salt field under his management can produce, and how serious the phenomenon of private salt production by kitchen households is.
The other one is also trying to understand the salt merchants. If the court wants to conduct an auction, what will their attitude be?
Of course, we must not forget the basic responsibility of the salt patrol - to bring back some salt tax to the emperor.
"Let's divide our work. I'll stay here to attract their attention. Liu Da and Liu Er find an opportunity to go out and go to the private sector to understand the specific situation of private salt and salt prices. What's going on with these salt merchants and salt transport envoys? Whether it's good or bad, only the people know best, and you should also understand these. After you understand everything, you can come back and report to me."
Liu Er was a little worried, "Master, we are all gone, what about your safety?"
Gu Zuo was not worried at all, "I am the imperial envoy of the Salt Patrol Censor. I neither kill people nor cheat on goods. What danger can there be? Just go and don't worry about the rest."
"yes!"
In fact, Gu Zuo hid his words. He was a person who hated evil very much. If he was willing to be complicit, he didn't know how many opportunities he would have to do so. Now that he has this status and is patrolling the salt, he will not let those corrupt officials go!
He had already thought it through on the way from the capital to Yangzhou.
Others said he would not be an official, but he admitted it.
But what he does is an official that is different from many others.
After a trip to Yangzhou, if there is nothing worth presenting to the emperor, then it is worthless for him to care about Zuo!
】
In fact, it is not difficult to think clearly about this problem. You only need to think about His Majesty.
When it comes to people's hearts, the emperor is an expert. Doesn't he know who he is? But the emperor relied heavily on him. Why?
So when he comes to Yangzhou, he must turn things upside down. Even if the emperor wants to hide, he must bring out the facts and unfold them in the Qianqing Palace!
Establishing a destiny for the sake of the people. What does it mean to establish a destiny for the sake of the people? So much salt tax from the imperial court fell into the hands of this group of people, and he turned a blind eye. If this happened, then where is his character?
Snapped!
Gu Zuo threw the towel into the basin, "Let's go meet them!"
Before Gu Zuo came, the three major salt merchants in Yangzhou City had already discussed with Zou Cheng. This time the imperial envoy came with no royal guards, no imperial edict for investigation, nothing, just two followers and a maid, so it shouldn't be a big deal.
But be careful, because after all, Gu Zuo is not easy to deal with. He has a good reputation and cannot be faked.
It's really a headache for the emperor to reuse this person.
So they had no choice. They could only feed the famous man in front of the emperor with good food and drink. Don't offend him. They could just get him as much as possible and send him back to the capital as a gift.
As for leaving Gu Zuo's life in Yangzhou, that's a joke.
What is the character of today’s emperor?
The emperor hasn't paid much attention to Yangzhou and the salt merchants now. If something like this really happens, I guess he will transfer the first-class guards from the Beijing camp. In the seventeenth year of Hongzhi, similar incidents happened.
So there are still some rules to follow.
When it was said that he could enter the mansion, Zou Cheng hurriedly took the three people behind him and trotted all the way. He left the others outside the mansion. It was inconvenient to have so many people talking, but these people were worried and had to come, so that was Nothing can be done.
After entering the gate and going down the stairs, I saw someone coming towards the main door.
"Oh, Ambassador Zou, I actually asked you to stand outside the door for so long. Gu has already reprimanded the people around him. Even if you are tired from traveling, it is really too much to ask you to wait outside the door. Please forgive me, please Forgive me."
Zou Cheng thought about many possibilities, but he didn't expect that he would be so polite, "It's okay for us to wait for him to be promoted."
Gu Zuo saluted the three people behind him again, then stepped aside and said, "Come on, please come in, please come in."
"Please come first if you're going to be on duty, please come first if you're going to superiors."
Gu Zuo is actually not tall, but Zou Cheng is not a big guy either. He has a small head and small eyes. I don't know if that is the reason why he smiles here all the time. In short, he looks a bit flattering.
After some polite greetings, we sat down in the room.
Zou Cheng began to speak, "Shang Chao, how did you sleep last night?"
"Okay, the fireworks are going down in Yangzhou in March, and Gu got a good job. Since it's a good job, it's natural to sleep well."
"If there is anything unfinished, please let me know clearly, and your subordinates can arrange it. Hehe." He added a laugh at the end and gave the three salt merchants a look.
The three people understood and immediately added: "It's a hard journey on a business trip. You must have a good rest when you first arrive in Yangzhou. There is no other city in Yangzhou. There are still some good food, good sights, and fun things. Although it is not as prosperous as the capital, But the young ones must also try their best to make the trip worthwhile."
"Ah, yes, yes, it's a worthwhile trip."
Gu Zuo pursed his lips and smiled, "Don't worry about the delicious food. Gu has some errands to attend to, so eating and drinking can't distract from the business. This is what His Majesty cares about the most today."
"We have also considered this matter, don't worry, superior." Zou Cheng continued to say with a smile: "Your Majesty has restored the national policy, and the military supplies required must not be a small amount. How can I not be considerate of my position as the salt transport envoy of the Huaihe River? What do you mean? In addition to Young Situ’s inspection of salt, we will collect a sum of tax money no matter what and ask Young Situ to return to Beijing for business!”
Gu Zuo was slightly surprised, "Destroying people's money is like killing their parents. What I do is also an errand for the Ministry of Finance. Silver is the most rare thing in the world. Ambassador Zou and everyone...are you really willing to give it away generously?"
Zou Cheng looked serious and had the consciousness to sacrifice his life for the country. "I serve as an official in the Ming Dynasty, so my loyalty to the emperor and father must be my first priority. Otherwise, how can I be worthy of the word loyalty?"
Gu Zuo couldn't deny it, "What about these three people? What do you think?"
"Oh, don't worry, sir. We have no objection to what Ambassador Zou said."
Gu Zuo thought briefly,
If this is the case, then his errand... is actually over.
But how is it possible?
This time he is the one who is here to 'cause trouble'.
So in front of them, Gu Zuo took out something from his sleeve, a lens, white.
"My maid is also troublesome. On the way here, she said she was going to buy salt, but what she bought was private salt."
Zou Cheng and the three salt merchants' hearts trembled as soon as the words of Private Salt came out.
"Gu sat in the capital and looked at Yangzhou, but he couldn't understand many facts. For example, the problem of salt merchants' defense became more and more serious day by day. It was clear that they could not get salt from the salt field, but on the other hand, illegal salt was rampant. Damn, Ambassador Zou, you said that I should be able to report to His Majesty. How can I report to His Majesty on this matter?"
They really don't understand Gu Zuo's tricks. Why did you say all this when you first came here? It was also because of this that the air was somewhat blocked for a while.
"Oh, maybe that's wrong. In fact, the main purpose of my trip is to solve problems for you. Of course the court needs salt tax, but your Majesty, the next generation of holy kings, always has to solve more critical problems. Keep the branch It’s one of them.”
Zou Cheng and the three major salt merchants were unable to answer for a moment, Emperor, what does this mean?
Gu Zuo was wondering, how much of the court's salt tax was lost?
