Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and said seriously: "The loan proposed by you in the Wenhua Palace has caused too much noise. I have said that it is not appropriate to make it public at the moment. However, there are a group of refugees in the capital who are now starving and freezing. Many people died, and I saw quite a few of them along the way. These are my people and must be saved. Therefore, you can publicly report to the court tomorrow morning and ask the court to rescue the refugees!"
He was in the Forbidden City. If he had not come out incognito to find Xue Guoguan this time, he would not have known that there were still four to five thousand refugees in the capital who were on the verge of death.
No one mentioned this matter to him. Basically, it was because the lives of these refugees were of no importance in the eyes of the officials in the capital. Even Xue Guoguan was the same. His attention was more focused on the Manchu Tatars, political opponents, and the mountains of memorials and votes.
In today's troubled times, human life is like a piece of grass, and everyone is numb.
After listening to Emperor Chongzhen's words, Xue Guoguan remembered that Emperor Chongzhen had said that his memorial draft lacked a heart to make decisions for the poor people in some details. Didn't he just ignore the matter of contacting the refugees in the capital! Thinking this way, he couldn't help but feel very ashamed.
For Xue Guoguan, when he was inspecting Northern Xinjiang as the censor, he would be furious when he saw the generals deducting military pay, and the soldiers were worse than dogs. He would be furious when he saw the people in Northern Xinjiang were dying of hunger and the government did nothing. However, these refugees under the eyes of the capital were not within the scope of his duties, but he had accidentally ignored them.
"Your Majesty is kind and I am ashamed of myself. I will report this matter publicly tomorrow." Xue Guoguan quickly assured loudly.
Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this, and then pointed out: "The imperial court has no money and the ability to resettle all the four or five thousand refugees. Otherwise, I can directly solve the problem myself. Therefore, you may suggest that the capital should be responsible for the treatment." The noble princes, civil and military officials in China will each take some refugees home to help them work, so that we can feed these refugees!"
If the court had money, it would not be in this corrupt situation now. Of course, to take a step back, no matter how rich the court is, it cannot help sucking the blood of moths, big and small. So in summary, the corruption situation in the late Ming Dynasty was not just a matter of money.
When Xue Guoguan heard what Emperor Chongzhen said, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. This is because the method proposed by the emperor is actually similar to the loan proposal he made before. They are all aimed at squeezing money from wealthy officials and gentry.
Thinking this, he immediately bowed and accepted the order: "Wei ministers obey the order!"
Xue Guoguan actually didn't know that Emperor Chongzhen had another purpose for doing this, but he wouldn't tell Xue Guoguan. This purpose must still be kept secret.
After talking for a while and explaining some things to Xue Guoguan, Emperor Chongzhen recovered the eavesdropping seeds from him, and then returned to the palace with Xue Guoguan's respectful escort.
Seeing the Jin Yiwei leaving one by one, his master was completely different from the worries he had when he returned home. Even his wife seemed to be glowing with a second spring. This made the housekeeper very puzzled. He thought in his heart that this Jin Yiwei came to the door. Is there anything good that can happen?
He asked out of curiosity, but Xue Guoguan and his wife didn't say anything, because the fewer people who knew about the emperor's coming incognito, the better. The couple hid in the study again, one happily polishing ink and the other seriously writing a memorial.
At the same time, in another part of the capital, the street signboard was swaying in the whistling of the cold wind. Under the light of the lantern fixed on the side, the four words "Fan Ji Bank" could be seen written on the signboard. In the backyard of the bank, there was also a room with lights on. A figure hurriedly arrived at the room, knocked on the door a few times, spoke in a low voice, and then sneaked in.
In the room, there was a middle-aged man drinking tea, and there was a maid serving beside him. When he saw him entering, he waved the maid to leave.
"Second Master, I have heard that Dongchang has indeed received an errand to investigate the internal affairs of the Qing Dynasty!" The man said with a worried look, "In addition, there is also confirmed information from the Jinyiwei side, who also received this errand. "
When the middle-aged man heard this, he couldn't sit still. He stood up and walked two steps before asking the visitor, "Have you seen Eunuch Cao?"
"No, I've been in the palace all the time. I haven't seen him." The visitor immediately replied, "Even the steward who is usually responsible for collecting money from Eunuch Cao has not been seen. It seems that he is no longer in the outer house."
At this point, after hesitating for a moment, he added: "The villain found the news after finding the horse stall owner, and stuffed him with a small ingot before revealing the news, and he refused to say anything more. "
The head of the Dongchang who does the actual work, commonly known as the stall head. Give him a small ingot, which is five taels of silver. According to the usual price, it is already a lot.
After hearing this, the middle-aged man immediately asked: "What about Mr. Luo, the royal guard?"
"I haven't seen him either." The man also replied with a look of doubt, "The concierge of the Luo Mansion said that his master has not returned. The villain didn't believe it and gave him two taels of silver, but he still didn't change his story."
Hearing this, the middle-aged man frowned and said, "It's understandable that Eunuch Cao won't leave the palace, but Mr. Luo hasn't returned home for two days. This shouldn't be the case! Could it be that he is hiding from you?"
"Master, is it because they are short of money?" The visitor guessed, "Now that the war is going on, everything is expensive. Is it because the money in the past is too little?"
The middle-aged man said nothing after hearing this, and walked back and forth thinking about it. The only sounds left in the house were his faint footsteps and the sound of the cold wind whistling outside.
After a while, the middle-aged man apparently made a decision and said: "Since they are unwilling to cooperate and spend a good New Year with peace of mind, then no one can have a good New Year!"
Having said this, he said to the visitor: "You go to Liu Yushi overnight and ask him to unite with several colleagues to impeach Dongchang Fanzi. Let's test the situation first."
"Okay, Second Master," the visitor agreed. Seeing that there were no instructions, he turned around and wanted to leave.
At this moment, the middle-aged man stopped him again and said: "Fan Fu, don't be afraid of spending money, so that the censors can be more active, and be sure to divert the attention of the factory guards. In addition, Eunuch Cao and Mr. Luo We should also send someone to keep an eye on you, and if you see him, you must contact him. If necessary, I will go and see him in person."
Fan Fu obviously knew what the second master was worried about, so he nodded to express his understanding, and left in a hurry without any instructions.
The middle-aged man who was alone in the room kept frowning and murmured to himself: "Who noticed this situation? Who is targeting us? Lu Xiangsheng? Impossible, he is almost dead at this time, right? Then Who is it? Yang Sichang? Impossible!"
After thinking about it for a while, I thought of several people, all of whom were related to Xuanfu Datong, but I didn't think of today's emperor.
Finally, he made the decision to write a letter to his elder brother explaining the situation. In addition, the expenses for activities must also be explained. After all, those officials are all bottomless pits and greedy!
But it’s also the case, only when you have money can you let the ghosts push you around!
