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Objectively speaking, once Shen Changmao made up his mind, his work efficiency was still very high.

Under his secret operation, in just two hours, the news of the alliance between the crown prince Zhu and Yu and Zhao Junchen has spread all over the capital.

This news was like thunder on the ground, and it immediately caused an uproar in the government and the opposition!

No one expected that Zhu Heyu and Zhao Junchen, who have always been incompatible, would be so easy to release their past suspicions and work together!

Especially those clear streams, they are unbelievable and unacceptable, and they only feel that their faith has collapsed for a while.

Indeed, after the Shaanxi-Gansu War and the turmoil of the Cultural Disaster, Zhao Junchen's reputation as the government and the opposition has been reversed a lot, but this change will take a while to change imperceptibly, and the hostility of the Qingliu towards Zhao Junchen has long been deep-rooted, and the prejudices in their hearts still cannot be completely eliminated!

Especially not long ago, Zhao Junchen used despicable means to persecute Guo Tang, one of the young masters of Qingliu Qingliu, and Qingliu was also disgraced and embarrassed during that time - for Qingliu who are big-eyed, how can such old hatred be easily resolved?

Therefore, in the eyes of most Qingliu, Zhao Junchen is still their enemy! And the sudden alliance between the crown prince Zhu and Yu and Zhao Junchen is tantamount to a complete betrayal for most Qingliu!

On the other hand, as Emperor Deqing's idea of appointing another crown prince became more and more explicit, the Qingliu people did waver in their position, and did not have a firm attitude to support Zhu Heyu, but gradually leaned towards Zhu Hejian, which can be regarded as actively betraying Zhu Heyu, but the active betrayal of the Qingliu is excusable, didn't Mencius also say that "gentlemen do not stand under the dangerous wall"? But how can your crown prince Zhu and Yu betray Qingliu?

Therefore, on the night of this day, the gate of the Prince's East Palace can be described as a busy traffic and people coming and going, all of whom are Qingliu who have come to the Prince Zhu and Yu to personally confirm the truth of the news, and this situation has continued until the evening without stopping.

In the Prince's East Palace, Zhu Heyu was also aware of this situation, and when he faced the questions of the Qinglius, he did not hide it, and calmly admitted that he had formed an alliance with Zhao Junchen.

After the Qingliu people got a positive answer, they all fiercely opposed and heartbroken, but Zhu Heyu still insisted on his own opinion and did not intend to change his mind at all.

In a way, the crown prince Zhu and Yu still retain the stubborn character of not hitting the south wall and not looking back.

In the end, the prince Zhu and Yu and Qingliu also had a very unpleasant quarrel, and Qingliu who waved away with a cold face did not know how many.

That is, from this night onwards, the Qingliu and the crown prince Zhu and Yu can be regarded as completely broken.

*

"Your Highness the Prince! Please think again! Who is Zhao Junchen? And who are his friends? They are all corrupt officials and traitors who are despised by the world, and they are destined to be left behind for thousands of years! You are the crown prince, you have always been upright, and you have a good reputation, how can you cooperate with such a person? ”

When the attendant of the Hanlin Academy gave a speech to the bachelor Wang Bo, it can be described as impassioned and beating his chest!

"Yes, because of the slight success of the Shaanxi-Gansu war, Zhao Junchen's recent reputation has certainly improved slightly, but his foundation is too poor, and his disciples are all insatiable stupid worms, and there is absolutely no possibility of reforming the evil and returning to the right! And the prince, you will be the ninety-five lord sooner or later, how can you be in the same stream with them? If these corrupt officials and traitors are reused, wouldn't I want the country to be the country!? ”

On the other hand, Li Zhengchun, the secretary of the Guozijian Department, also looked distressed and tried his best to dissuade him.

Seeing the outspoken persuasion of these two people, Prince Zhu and Yu's faces were full of helplessness and exhaustion.

For more than an hour, similar scenes have been repeated in the Prince's East Palace.

Zhu Heyu was also very aware of the follow-up development of such a scene, but he still patiently explained: "I naturally understand the concerns of all the virtuous people, but my top priority is to stabilize my position as the prince!" Judging from the current situation, my father has become more and more disgusted with me, and it is absolutely impossible for me not to do well and succeed to the throne safely, I must make some achievements and change my father's mind! Looking at the government and the opposition, only Zhao Junchen can help me succeed! That's the only option I have right now!

Although Zhao Junchen was born as a corrupt official, his style has indeed changed a lot in recent times, and he has even personally disposed of the corrupt officials under his own hands many times, which shows that he really wants to change his evil and return to the right! Moreover, after I cooperate with him, I will closely urge him to make further corrections, and I will never delay state affairs and damage the government's program! ”

Zhu Heyu's bitter words are obviously unable to convince Wang Bo and Li Zhengchun.

Wang Bo was still unwilling, and asked again: "Your Royal Highness the Prince, have you forgotten that the young master Guo Tang was tragically framed by Zhao Junchen and finally broke his family?" Over the years, we have been repeatedly humiliated by Zhao Junchen, doesn't His Royal Highness the Crown Prince care about it? ”

Zhu Heyu sighed and said, "These are all things in the past, after all, we have to look forward!" Moreover, Zhao Junchen also promised me that he would not embarrass Guo Tang's family in the future. ”

Seeing Zhu Heyu's reaction, Wang Bo couldn't help but be disappointed, Li Zhengchun's expression was even colder, he stood up directly, and bowed his hand to Zhu Heyu: "Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't listen to good advice, I have nothing to say!" Leave! ”

As soon as the words fell, Li Zhengchun didn't wait for Zhu Heyu to stay, so he turned around and left directly.

On the other side, seeing Li Zhengchun's resolute departure, Wang Bo's expression hesitated slightly, and he also got up and arched his hand: "Prince, you ...... Do it for yourself! ”

After speaking, Wang Bo also went with Li Zhengchun.

Seeing Li Zhengchun and Wang Bo leaving one after another, Zhu Heyu's expressions became more and more tired and helpless.

Zhu Heyu has seen such a scene several times today, and the Qingliu people are waving their sleeves away, which also means that Zhu Heyu has gradually lost the support of the Qinglius.

After sighing again, Zhu Heyu turned his head to look at the last two guests in the main hall of the East Palace.

These two guests are also the two most important supporters in the hearts of Prince Zhu and Yu - Lu Chunxiao, the right capital of the Imperial Palace, and Bao Wenjie, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites!

Seeing that Lu Chunxiao and Bao Wenjie were just sitting on the side expressionlessly, without taking the initiative to speak at all, Zhu Heyu asked in a bitter voice: "The two of you also don't agree with Heyu's approach, do you plan to abandon Heyu and leave?" ”

Lu Chunxiao and the crown prince Zhu and Yu are both the personal disciples of the former crown prince Xiao Wenruan, and they have the closest relationship, so he naturally can't bear to abandon Zhu and Yu like this.

However, Lu Chunxiao also has his own difficulties, he is the right capital of the Imperial History, the Metropolitan Procuratorate has always been the base camp of the Qinglius, if Lu Chunxiao has a firm position and clearly supports Zhu Heyu, I am afraid that he will not be able to sit firmly in his official position.

Therefore, Lu Chunxiao also smiled bitterly and replied: "I actually agree with some of His Royal Highness the Prince's views, but I will still be in charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate in the future, and more than half of the officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate are from Qingliu, if I make a clear statement, I am afraid that the imperial historians will rebel, so I am afraid that I will not be able to make a clear statement, so that I can help His Royal Highness the Crown Prince relieve the excitement of the Qinglius." ”

Zhu Heyu also understood Lu Chunxiao's difficulties, and after nodding helplessly, he turned his head to look at Bao Wenjie, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites.

Seeing Zhu Heyu's faintly pleading gaze, Bao Wenjie's expression was full of contradictions.

In fact, since Bao Wenjie accompanied Zhao Junchen on a trip to the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, some of his ideas have gradually wavered, and he has begun to doubt whether some of his past insistences are correct and necessary—he has been thinking about this matter for a long time, so he has no time to care about other things, and his behavior is quite low-key.

After learning about the cooperation between Prince Zhu and Yu and Zhao Junchen, Bao Wenjie's thoughts were also extremely contradictory, on the one hand, he thought that Prince Zhu and Yu's approach was to give up the bottom line and principles, but on the other hand, he felt that this was the best way out for Zhu and Yu in the future.

Under such contradictory thoughts, Bao Wenjie hesitated for a long time, and finally chose to wait and see for the time being.

"Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, forgive me! This evening, I have just received a decree from His Majesty that I will leave the capital for a period of time in the future and go to Shaanxi and Gansu again...... Therefore, I can't reply to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for the time being, and I can't support His Royal Highness the Prince, so I can only wait until I return to the capital after completing my holy order. ”

Zhu Heyu was a little disappointed by Bao Wenjie's temporary non-statement, but he was not surprised, but after hearing Bao Wenjie's explanation, he couldn't help but be curious: "This is the third time you have traveled to Shaanxi and Gansu in the past six months, right?" The Hetao war is currently at its most intense, and the rewards and punishments of all parties in Shaanxi and Gansu are still uncertain, why is his father so eager to confirm it? Isn't it enough to have Liang Ge Lao in Shaanxi and Gansu presiding over the overall situation? ”

Bao Wenjie shook his head and said: "The sacred heart is unpredictable, I don't know what Your Majesty thinks, the holy decree I received is a little vague, just let me cooperate with the factory guards, but it is not clear how to do it." However, it has been winter for many days now, and the climate in northern Xinjiang is getting colder and colder, so I estimate that when I reach the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, the Hetao war should be over, right? ”

Zhu Heyu faintly felt that this matter was not simple, but he couldn't think about it clearly for a while, so he didn't study it in detail, just nodded and said, "Since Master Bao hasn't thought it through yet, I won't force you...... But as long as you are still willing to support me in the future, I will still regard Lord Bao as a humerus! ”

*

Next, Zhu Heyu, Lu Chunxiao, and Bao Wenjie said a few more words in their hearts, seeing that these two were not willing to talk more, they did not forcibly keep them, but personally sent them out of the Prince's East Palace.

When Zhu Heyu returned to the main hall of the East Palace, he found that the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian had already greeted him with a worried face.

It turned out that long before the Qingliu people visited the East Palace to question Zhu Heyu, Zhu Hejian had already arrived at the East Palace first, wanting to find out about Zhu Heyu's change of attitude.

However, before their brothers could talk a few words, Qingliu had already visited one after another, interrupting their conversation, and Zhu Hejian hid in the side hall in order to avoid embarrassment.

Because the Qingliu came and went, one after another, Zhu Hejian didn't have a chance to come out until this time.

Seeing Zhu Hejian's face full of worry, as if he was extremely worried about his situation, Zhu Heyu's heart was full of complicated thoughts, but he still forced a smile and said: "Let the seventh brother wait for a long time, I heard that you have been in poor health recently, and after waiting for such a long time, do you feel unwell?" ”

Zhu Hejian shook his head and said: "My physical condition is very good, and I don't feel unwell, but I hid in the side hall and listened to the Qingliu people arguing with the third brother, and I was a little worried about the future situation of the third brother." ”

After a pause, Zhu Hejian asked, "Third brother, have you made up your mind to unite with Zhao Junchen?" I'm not against the third brother's decision, it's just that Zhao Junchen is by no means a good person, and he must not be trusted, I am worried that he will betray the third brother sooner or later, and you will suffer a big loss. ”

On the other hand, after today's conversation with Zhao Junchen, Zhu Heyu has made up his mind to stabilize his position by all means, which means that Zhu Hejian will become Zhu Heyu's political enemy in the future, and will be vigorously suppressed and deliberately targeted by Zhu Heyu.

Now, seeing Zhu Hejian so worried about his situation, Zhu Heyu only felt that he couldn't face Zhu Hejian's "deep brotherhood", so he avoided Zhu Hejian's "worried gaze", shook his head and said: "Don't worry, I also have a back hand, and I will never let Zhao Junchen betray at will...... These things are all related to the temple party dispute, and the most dirty is extremely dirty, Seventh Brother, you don't care, it's better to pay more attention to your body. ”

This remark seems to be somewhat suggestive.

Hearing this, Zhu Hejian was full of panic and grievances, and said repeatedly: "Third brother, do you still blame me for being too showy and threatening your storage position during this time?" …… Third brother, you know my thoughts, I never thought of fighting with you, all because my father's holy order is difficult to disobey, and I have also argued with my father repeatedly, how can my father ...... him"

"I understand! Of course I understand! Zhu Heyu waved his hand and said, "I have always believed in you!" It's just that...... I'm afraid that you and I will be involuntary in the future......"

Speaking of this, Zhu Heyu suddenly looked up at Zhu Hejian, and said: "Seventh brother, don't worry, no matter what, you and I are brothers whose blood is thicker than water, and no matter what the third brother does in the future, he will not let you be wronged!" ”

Hearing Zhu Hejian's statement, a hint of understanding and relaxation flashed in Zhu Hejian's eyes.

Zhu Hejian could feel that Zhu Heyu had an escape mentality when facing him, but he didn't have too much hostility and disgust.

This also means that Zhao Junchen did not tell the truth, Zhu Heyu still does not know Zhu Hejian's true face, Zhu Heyu is currently only determined to compete with Zhu Hejian for Zhengshuo and try his best to stabilize his storage position.

This also means that when Zhao Junchen cooperated with Zhu Heyu, he was still hiding his selfishness and would not do his best.

In this way, Zhu Hejian is also at ease.

But on the surface, Zhu Hejian's face was also full of sincerity and emotion, and he nodded vigorously: "That's good!" You will always be my third brother, and my opinion of you will never change! ”

Then, the two brothers who looked like each other held each other's hands tightly, and the scene was quite touching.

*

I won't talk more about the turmoil that happened in the East Palace this night.

However, it was said that at the end of the next day, with the arrival of Emperor Deqing in the Taihe Palace, the day's court discussion officially began.

In this court meeting, there will be two things that everyone is looking forward to.

The first thing was that the crown prince Zhu Heyu was officially appointed by Emperor Deqing as a messenger to investigate the chaos and discipline violations of the feudal kings in various places.

The far-reaching impact and extensive implication of this incident are in no way inferior to the Hetao battle on the front line, and it has naturally attracted the attention of hundreds of officials.

The crown prince Zhu and Yu have also prepared their bags, and after accepting the official appointment, they will leave the capital immediately after the end of this court meeting, and first go to Luoyang to investigate the most popular and problematic Fu Wang in recent years, who is already the head of all the vassal kings!

It's just that when the crown prince Zhu Heyu was entrusted with important tasks by Emperor Deqing in the past, there would always be a large number of Qingliu who stood up to sing praises and wave flags to cheer, but after Zhu Heyu was appointed by Emperor Deqing this time, the entire Taihe Hall was deserted, and no one spoke for a while, most of the Qingliu were expressionless, and the officials of each faction also looked like they had nothing to do with themselves.

If it were an ordinary time, there might be people who would stand up and say a few words, but the matter of the feudal king is too sensitive, and all factions are unwilling to get involved too deeply, and just in time for the breakdown of the relationship between Qingliu and the crown prince Zhu and Yu, it is naturally cold.

Under the indifferent treatment of the officials, Zhu Heyu was also expressionless, but he received the holy decree in a deep voice, and said that he would definitely thoroughly investigate the chaos and chaos of the feudal kings in various places

Seeing this situation, Emperor Deqing looked at the crown prince Zhu Heyu with a trace of pity in his eyes.

In the heart of Emperor Deqing, this is the last time he has entrusted Zhu Heyu with a heavy responsibility, he knows that Zhu Heyu is very likely to mess up this matter - with Zhu Heyu's character, the investigation will inevitably involve too much in the end, which will attract backlash from the vassal kings everywhere - so he will hand over this matter to Zhu Heyu, so that he can justifiably depose Zhu Heyu, and by the way, he can also beat the vassal kings of various places.

But in an instant, Emperor Deqing had already restrained the pity in his heart, and his expression did not change at all, as if he didn't feel anything wrong with the cold scene at this time.

As for the second major event between the Heavenly Dynasty and the Imperial Council, it was the preparation of military rations for the Hetao War.

In the end, when Zhao Junchen temporarily sat in the household department a few days ago, he put forward the controversial "three strategies for raising grain", which were "the autumn tax and grain collection in Shaanxi and Gansu directly handed over to Huamachi Ying", "expanding the quota of grain donation for Guozijian" and "converting rice into silver in the national treasury"!

Although these three grain requisition strategies can prepare a large amount of grain in a short period of time, they also touch the interests of all parties in the government and the opposition, and the household officials dare not agree, and then there is a drama of "Zhao Junchen fainted in the household yamen after being angry".

In the end, it was Emperor Deqing who saw that there was no other way, so he forcibly forced the Hubu Yamen to adopt Zhao Junchen's "Three Strategies for Raising Grain", and also made the Hubu Yamen bear the hatred of the government and the opposition.

By today's early dynasty, the three strategies for raising grain should have achieved initial results, and the first batch of grain should also be transported to the front line.

After Emperor Deqing appointed the crown prince Zhu and Yu as the Qincha, he quickly diverted his attention and turned his attention to the two household servants, Hong Zhengshuo and Ma Sen.

"Hong Aiqing, Ma Aiqing...... How is the food raising of the household department going? How much food can be collected and sent to the front? Emperor Deqing's tone when he asked was very polite, but there was an unquestionable taste.

Hong Zhengshuo hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, after two days of overnight calculations, the household department believes that the autumn tax and grain collection on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu should have been about 1.1 million stones, but because of natural disasters and wars, there are deficits and losses in various places, and Your Majesty has also pardoned the money and grain in many places, and the actual income is only less than 400,000 stones. It's just that the distance between Shaanxi and Gansu is far away, and it will take time for the official document to be conveyed, and it will be a month before the autumn grain is delivered to Huamachi Camp in various places, but I am afraid that it will not quench the thirst of the near water. ”

Emperor Deqing nodded and said: "This is also a helpless time, but after the imperial court recovers the Hetao, there will be matters such as building a city, tuntian, garrisoning troops, etc., and this batch of grain and grass can also be sent over for emergencies." ”

"Your Majesty Shengming!" After hurriedly complimenting him, Hong Zhengshuo said: "In addition, the household department and the Guozijian also issued an official document together, saying that the Guozijian will have 200 'donation prisons' places this year, and the local gentry only need to donate 500 stone of grain to arrange a child to enter the Guozijian to study, and the places outside the capital have not yet received a response, but there are already eleven merchant gentry in the capital who are willing to donate grain, and a total of 5,500 stone of grain has been raised, which can be collected into the treasury and sent to the front line within the next two days." ”

Hearing this, Emperor Deqing frowned, only feeling that the amount of this batch of donated grain was too small.

But this is also something that cannot be helped, the imperial court has been open to the people for several years in a row to "donate prisons", but the number of places has never been as large as this year.

Therefore, there are very few business gentry who have the ability and need to "donate to prisons", and the potential of the capital is especially overdrawn, and it is already very good to receive such a large amount of grain donations in just two days, and the remaining "donation prison" places can only be expected from all over the country outside the capital.

Seeing that Emperor Deqing was a little unhappy, Hong Zhengshuo hurriedly said: "However, after the overall calculation, if the household department converts all the rice of the vassal king and the hundred officials in the next three months into silver, there will be an extra 650,000 stone of surplus grain, and this batch of grain can be transported to the front line soon......"

Hearing Hong Zhengshuo's words, everyone in the Taihe Hall was unhappy.

Over the years, the price of grain has become higher and higher, after the rice is converted into silver, the officials can often only buy half of the amount of grain, this means of raising grain makes the officials all lose their interests, naturally no one is happy, but the court has encountered insurmountable difficulties, this is the only means that can quickly raise food, but no one dares to oppose it loudly.

On the other hand, after Emperor Deqing heard the amount of grain, he was both happy and distressed.

This batch of grain is as high as 650,000 stones, which can naturally solve the urgent needs of the front-line war, but after the interests of hundreds of officials are damaged, Emperor Deqing also needs to find a way to appease one or two.

The most important thing is that after this exchange of rice and silver, the household department must take out the same value of silver as a fortune to distribute to the vassal king and the hundred officials, which is 1,950,000 taels of silver at the market price!

However, before this year's autumn tax revenue from the treasury, the household department was also short of silver, and this silver needed to be temporarily borrowed from Emperor Deqing's private funds, and Emperor Deqing was naturally a little worried and distressed, afraid that the treasury would default on his borrowed silver.

"The public is public, the private is private, the treasury of the imperial court and my private money have always been clearly distinguished, and I lend the money with private money to the household department this time, and the interest must also be calculated...... Well, this matter is not suitable to be brought up at this time, and after the end of the early dynasty, I will have to discuss it with the household officials......"

While thinking in depth, Emperor Deqing's expression was full of solemnity, and he nodded: "This batch of grain is as high as 650,000 stones, which is enough for the front-line war, and the household yamen must hurry up and transport it to the front line as soon as possible, and it must not affect the war of the imperial court to recover the Hetao!" ”

"Obey! Please rest assured that the first batch of grain will be ready for the front line before noon today! ”

Under the cold gaze of the officials, Hong Zhengshuo wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with his sleeve, and hurriedly took the order.

When the two important things came to an end, the atmosphere in the Taihe Hall was a little lighter.

But at this time, another household servant, Ma Sen, suddenly came out of the queue and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the minister has something important to play!" ”

"Say it."

"Your Majesty, the luck is not smooth, and the grain and silver deposits of the household department are all in an emergency! Now that the household department has sent all the grain and treasury money to the front line, I am afraid that the remaining money and grain will not last until next month! ”

With Ma Sen's report, it was suddenly a change of rules for hundreds of officials, and Emperor Deqing felt that his scalp was about to explode!

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