41 Gods and Buddhas Chaos Week

It is said that a pot of begonias appeared on the windowsill of Jinghe Palace, and the lanterns will be reported to Zhu Xuanzhi in Taoyuan immediately by the people in the palace, and Zhu Xuanzhi will immediately arrange for people to go to the horse market outside the south gate to investigate. The next morning, Zhu Xuanzhi took the Jiang brothers to the place arranged by the Lantern Festival in the horse market to wait for the emperor.

The emperor also ordered someone to change his clothes in the morning, and brought Qincheng and a few powerful imperial guards and a personal eunuch out of the palace. After leaving the palace, I first went to the lively morning market. Then the horse was pulled out and went to the horse market outside the southern city gate.

After arriving at the horse market, it is already very lively, and the horse market outside the south city gate is the largest horse market in Chang'an. There are not only horses brought by horse dealers from all over the world, but also all kinds of precious dogs, rare birds and birds, rare bears and deer, and fierce tigers and leopards...... In short, there are all kinds of birds, animals, flowers, birds, insects and fish.

All the dignitaries and nobles in Chang'an City who like a living creature and keep a rare pet in captivity are frequent visitors here. The last time the emperor saw Zhu Xuanzhi, he was advised by him, saying that for the convenience of contact, please cultivate some hobbies, the so-called sound dogs and horses.

The emperor came to the side of a group of people, it turned out that this group of people were pointing and praising a horse, and I saw that this horse was handsome and powerful, with a healthy body, a thin head and a high neck, slender limbs, thin skin and fine hair, and a loud neighing sound.

The emperor walked over to take a closer look, it turned out that this was a bloody horse, and the emperor and Qin Cheng, who had fought on the battlefield in the past, were dazzled at a glance, and they did not hide their love for it at all. The emperor couldn't help but exclaim: "What a martial horse!" Then he stepped forward to pet it, but the horse was like a fire, and it was difficult for a living person to touch, and it also let out a long neigh. The Emperor laughed and said, "Good horse! Good horse! ”

At this time, a Tsing Yi chief came and saluted the emperor: "Be careful, this horse has a strong temperament, and it is difficult for ordinary people to surrender, don't hurt it." If Childe wants to buy a horse, my Boss Zhu is waiting in the small teahouse over there, why don't you ask Childe to move? When this person spoke, he deliberately accentuated the words "Boss Zhu", and after finishing speaking, he glanced at the emperor with a deep meaning. The emperor understood, and went with him.

Coming to the small teahouse, the chief of Tsing Yi casually introduced the emperor to a middle-aged man who looked like a horse dealer, and when this person saw the emperor coming, he got up and saluted: "The prince is invited, is it because of the BMW?" Why don't you sit down inside and discuss it slowly? ”

The emperor did not answer, but commanded, "Wait outside." So he stepped forward and sat down. But although this person is dressed as a member of the horse gang, he has sword eyebrows and long beard, a calm temperament, and a calm demeanor. It should be a person who practices martial arts. I wondered in my heart, what was going on, didn't Zhu Xuanzhi come?

At this time, the middle-aged man in front of him spoke: "Childe has a good eye, and he fell in love with my sweaty BMW at a glance, but the price of this horse is not low." But seeing that the son is richly dressed and has a good temperament, he must be a nobleman, and I think today's business will go very smoothly. After speaking, he glanced around, and saw that the emperor's entourage was waiting outside the house, so he lowered his voice and said: "The grass people have seen Your Majesty, and the people Your Majesty wants to see are behind the screen, and Your Majesty can just pretend to talk to the grass people." ”

The emperor was startled, and then looked around, and found that the teahouse was very small, and there was only a long couch in the hall, with a table in the middle, and a plainly decorated screen behind the couch. In other words, there were only the emperor and the middle-aged man in the teahouse, and the other seats were all under the improvised simple grass hut outside the house, and Qin Cheng and the others were all outside the house. The emperor pretended to raise his voice and said, "This horse is very heroic, I don't know where it came from?" ”

At this time, I could only hear a familiar voice behind the screen saying: "Chen Zhu Xuanzhi came by order, the situation is special, I can't pay full courtesy, and I hope to forgive my sins." ”

The emperor also whispered, "Sir, you don't have to be formal. I came here because I wanted to discuss something with my husband. ”

"It's the overrun of the treasury, and there is no silver to relieve the disaster, right?" Zhu Xuanzhi said.

"Sir, got it?" The emperor was a little surprised,

"Those two co-operative henchmen divided up the remaining silver, regardless of the lives of the people, it is indeed hateful!" Zhu Xuanzhi said in more detail this time.

"I wonder what Mr. thinks?" The Emperor asked.

"What's Yuwengo's reaction?" Zhu Xuanzhi asked rhetorically.

"It seems that there is no way out, but I just restrained my subordinates and told them not to do anything more corrupt, and then they were dispersed." The emperor was disappointed.

At this time, the middle-aged man on the opposite side suddenly said in a loud voice: "Childe, this is a veritable Dawan famous horse, I asked people to search the grassland to find out." ”

"Your Majesty, don't be in a hurry, from the minister's point of view, Yuwen Hu Bacheng has an idea." Zhu Xuanzhi guessed.

"What? What ideas could he have, Liang and wanted to increase taxes were refused. The Emperor was disappointed.

As if sensing the emperor's disappointment, Zhu Xuanzhi asked directly: "Your Majesty, does you know that Yuwen Hu sent Wuyu Supervisor Zhang Yue to Jingzhou to investigate the assassination of Shi Ruan Hong and colluded with the local temple to wantonly embezzle the people's fields, forcibly occupy the cultivated fields, and rob the people's daughters?" ”

The emperor snorted coldly: "This matter is really infuriating, but what does this have to do with replenishing the treasury?" ”

"The day of Zhang Yue's performance is the time of Ruan Hong's fall, and according to rumors, there is a lot of inventory in this Jingzhou assassin historian." Zhu Xuanzhi's banter.

"You mean, the Yuwen Protector Society raided Ruan Hong's home, and then took the copied silver for disaster relief?" The Emperor asked.

Zhu Xuanzhi said affirmatively: "I looted the people's money, so naturally I should return it." ”

"This ...... Is Ruan Hong really greedy a lot? Disaster relief is a lot of money, huh? The Emperor didn't seem to be convinced.

Zhu Xuanzhi was noncommittal, and said: "Your Majesty, think about it, Ruan Hong only went up after he overthrew his predecessor Wan Xiang, and Wan Xiang's crime was corruption, but when he raided his house, he only copied out more than 100,000 taels of silver and some soft things, and the rest should be in the hands of Ruan Hong and Yu Wenshen." The history of a rich and big state has only been 100,000 taels after being greedy for several years, and Wan Xiang is really wronged. ”

"Then will Yu Wenshen come forward to protect him?"

"Definitely, but it can't be saved, and whoever has the money to solve the treasury is in danger now. Shizi and Cui Shi both took the greedy money and squandered it, and if they rashly disposed of Shizi and Cui Shi, they would be implicated a lot, so they had to take a smaller role like Ruan Hong first. ”

The emperor pondered for a moment, and suddenly said loudly: "Since Sir has traveled to the Turks, can you tell me about the customs and customs of the Turks?" Then he asked in a low voice: "Hmph, Jingzhou is the most important place for my Great Zhou to pay taxes, and I actually let a corrupt official do the history of assassination, Jingzhou has paid less taxes in recent years than year by year, although there are occasional natural disasters, but now it seems that it is all embezzled by Ruan Hong and others." ”

"Not exactly." Zhu Xuanzhi denied the emperor's opinion and said: "The ministers have traveled to Jingzhou all the year round, and they also know a thing or two about the governance of their officials. Jingzhou has vast and fertile land, abundant water and grass, and the farmer's family is in excellent condition, with two to three seasons a year, but it is also a place of grain production. However, the tax paid by the imperial court was drawn to two and a half percent, and after it reached the hands of the local government, it was even more clever to set up a name, harsh and exploitive, and some places have already received forty percent. But the taxes paid to the treasury decreased year by year, because the land of the common people was swallowed up by the local officials and gentry. Under the old system, all the gentry paid very little tax on their land, so they did everything they could to encroach on the land of the people, and the most common method was to let the people borrow money against the land, and the moneylenders offered high interest to force the borrowers to be unable to repay, and eventually the land would come into their hands. In this way, the gentry forced the people to sell their land cheaply, and temples and Taoist temples also participated, and some people even placed their land under the gentry, temples and Taoist temples in order to avoid heavy taxes from the government. As a result, a large number of people have been displaced from their fields. As a result, less than half of the land in the hands of the people had to bear more than half of the land tax in Jingzhou. More and more people began to build temples and Taoist temples, colluding with the gentry to become an evil force, tyrannizing one side and oppressing the village in the name of gods and Buddhas. This Ruan Hong's case is just a case. ”

The more the emperor listened, the more shocked he became, and he almost became angry, but the middle-aged man in front of him pretended to be loud and said: "Yes, Gongzi, the local land and people's feelings are indeed like this, and they have been suffering for a long time. Don't be surprised, Childe,"

The emperor understood, calmed down, and said, "Even if you catch a Ruan Hong and demolish a few fake temples, the situation in Jingzhou will not necessarily improve." ”

"Of course not, such a huge accumulation of ills that are difficult to return to must be broken and new. The ministers advised Yu Wenshen to abandon Ruan Hong, and then suggested that he go up to investigate the embezzlement of Jingzhou's land. Zhu Xuanzhi said.

The emperor asked, "Will he listen?" ”

"No, because of the embezzlement of fields, the operation of temples, and the pursuit of personal gain, a small Ruan Hong can't do it, and the members of the imperial court, the emperor's relatives and relatives are involved. Yuwen Shenxian is famous, he will not be willing to offend so many people. "Take's analysis.

"What then?" The emperor asked.

"Eliminate the accumulated malpractices and implement the new policy, this is what Your Majesty must do in the future, but at present, we must first push one person to Jingzhou to investigate and handle a few major cases, curb this malaise a little, and ensure that there will be no chaos in the rainy season this year. And then there's ...... Stir up trouble for them, this pool of stagnant water, it's time to move. Speaking of this, Zhu Xuanzhi sighed.

"Who's going to be suitable? Didn't the gentleman say that he should send people with mediocre talents? Investigate such cases. There are some means that will not work. The Emperor pondered.

"Everything changes with events, as for who this assassin sends to go, how can he go? The minister hasn't planned everything yet, so let's talk about it later. "It seems that Takegenyuki doesn't want to talk about the future yet.

"Okay, since that's the case, it's all up to Mr. to plan, it's not appropriate to stay here for a long time, I'd better go first." The emperor heard that this year's disaster relief money had been settled, and he felt a little relieved. But I heard that Jingzhou had a bigger ill, and I was still worried.

"Your Majesty stays, that sweaty BMW should be a part of the minister's heart, please accept it Your Majesty." Zhu Xuanzhi wants to give away the BMW.

"That horse must be the favorite of the gentleman, how dare I take the love of others?" The Emperor excused himself.

"Your Majesty, please accept it, the minister is weak, the good horse is useless to me, the minister still has one thing to ask for, that is, please leave a personal thing for your majesty to contact, and your majesty will see this thing again in the future, and you will know that the minister sent someone." Zhu Xuanzhi said.

At this time, the middle-aged man on the opposite side said: "Yes, BMW is worthy of heroes, and the son is not a layman at first glance, so it is better to make a deal at this price." It's easy to get a thousand dollars, but it's hard to find this horse. ”

The Emperor said, "Well, but I didn't come out with any silver, and I only have one bead to fit, do you think it's worth the price of these horses?" He said. He took out a blue egg-sized bead from his arms, and suddenly the teahouse in the day was full of blue light. The middle-aged man's eyes lit up, and he said with great joy: "This is the tears of the East China Sea among the night pearls of the East China Sea?" Childe is generous. ”

"Is it worth this BMW?"

"It's worth it, it's worth it, it's so pointed!" The big man was ecstatic.

The emperor was speechless, so he ordered someone to take the BMW and go straight to the palace.