……

……

Emperor Deqing listened attentively to the story told by the storyteller, and even applauded with the tea guests around him after the storyteller finished telling a paragraph.

However, at this moment, the discussion of the surrounding tea customers gradually reached the ears of Emperor Deqing.

"What a pleasure! The prince got rid of more than 100 corrupt officials in one go, and we, the common people, finally have more hope in our hearts! A tea guest said with an excited expression.

"Of course, it is very happy, but there is nothing to be happy about, just between the south and the north, there are so many corrupt officials, and I don't know how many corrupt officials in other places!" The other tea guest shook his head and sighed, and said slowly.

"Yes, although the original corrupt officials have been eliminated, those officials who have replaced them may not necessarily be Qingtian, and I am afraid that we ordinary people will suffer at that time." The third tea guest looked calm, frowned and analyzed.

"Alas! The court is now hiding dirt and dirt, but fortunately, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is upright, upright, and willing to eliminate harm for the people, otherwise the court doesn't know what to do, I'm afraid that corrupt officials will run rampant, right? We, the grass people, are even darker! Another tea guest smiled wryly.

"That's right! It's a pity that the prince is still just the prince, after all, he is not the emperor! I only hope that the crown prince can succeed to the throne as soon as possible, so that our Ming Dynasty will not be far from the prosperity of the Middle Dynasty! Another tea guest said softly with an expectant look.

"If you want me to say, there is still a problem with the emperor's employment, if it weren't for the emperor's connivance with corrupt officials, how could the court be dim like it is now? Truly. If only the crown prince could ascend the throne earlier, we can also get out of the sea of suffering earlier. A young tea guest said. Between words, look left and right. It seems to be expecting to be recognized by the people around you.

"Ahem! Everyone, be careful! Please be careful! Now that His Majesty is coming to Honshu, the timing is sensitive, and you must not discuss it......" At this moment, an elderly tea guest hurriedly said, looking slightly flustered.

With the reminder of the elderly tea guest, the teahouse fell silent for a while, and the tea guests either shook their heads or sighed. It's very different from the elated appearance they had when they listened to a book not long ago.

On the other side, hearing these discussions, Emperor Deqing's face became darker and darker, and he suddenly snorted coldly, stood up, and then turned around and left the teahouse quickly.

A smile flashed in Zhao Junchen's eyes, but his expression seemed to be extremely anxious, and he hurriedly got up to follow.

All of this was naturally arranged by Zhao Junchen in advance. It was also the last task that Zhao Junchen gave to Xu Qingyan last night.

According to Zhao Junchen's speculation about Emperor Deqing, it is believed that the reason why Emperor Deqing repeatedly suppressed the crown prince Zhu Heyu at the beginning was because Emperor Deqing was still in good health and did not want the prince to be too strong. On the other hand, the reputation of the crown prince Zhu Heyu is too good and too powerful, and many people even firmly believe that once the crown prince Zhu Heyu succeeds to the throne, he will be far better than Emperor Deqing. So Emperor Deqing, who has always been pretentious, is jealous.

However. Under the calculations of Zhao Junchen and several powerful ministers in the court, the crown prince Zhu and Yu have suffered repeated setbacks during this time. Even his reputation was not as virtuous as before, and Emperor Deqing forgot his previous jealousy, changed his attitude, and began to vigorously support the crown prince Zhu Heyu.

It is precisely because of the support of Emperor Deqing that although the crown prince Zhu Heyu has suffered repeated setbacks, the position of the prince is still as stable as Mount Tai.

And Zhao Junchen's arrangement this time is precisely to let Emperor Deqing recall his jealousy of Zhu Heyu in the past!

Now it seems that Zhao Junchen's plan is very successful!

…………

Such thoughts were just a flash, and then Zhao Junchen had already walked quickly outside the teahouse and caught up with Emperor Deqing.

When he came to Emperor Deqing's side, Zhao Junchen looked cautious and said softly: "Master Huang, the people are ignorant, they don't know the difficulties of governing the country at all, they are just talking nonsense, why do you want to be angry with them?" ”

Emperor Deqing snorted again and sneered: "The tea guests in this teahouse have all the three religions and nine streams, and their ideas are probably the common ideas of the people, right?" Hey! I actually hope that the crown prince will ascend the throne sooner, isn't that hoping that I will die sooner?! Also, do they think that after the crown prince succeeds to the throne, the Ming Dynasty will usher in Zhongxing? What is ZTE? After decay, it is ZTE to be strong again! Could it be that the Ming Dynasty was in decline under my rule? I am the Emperor! The prestige among the people is not as good as that of the prince, how can I not be angry! ”

Seeing that Emperor Deqing was angry, Zhao Junchen's eyes flashed with a smile again, and seeing that there were no others around, he also restored the rules of the monarch and ministers in his mouth, but he was relieved: "Therefore, the minister said that the people are ignorant and don't understand the deep truth at all, Your Majesty, how can they understand your great sage?" On the battlefield, there is a saying that 'those who are good at fighting have no outstanding merits', because those generals who are really good at fighting can always eliminate a hidden danger in the bud, so it is naturally peaceful and war-free, and in the eyes of the ministers, the matter of the temple is the same reason, in the past 30 years of my Ming Dynasty, the situation of the government and the opposition is extremely stable, so that the officials can do things with peace of mind, and the people can make a living with peace of mind, isn't this your majesty's merit? Throughout the ages, although there have been countless emperors, how many emperors have been able to do this?

As for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he is still immature now, and he doesn't understand these truths, although the affairs are vigorous and steal the limelight, but if there is no Majesty You stabilize the situation behind your back, the court still doesn't know what chaos will become, and if the court is chaotic, the government and the opposition are one, and the people will inevitably be implicated.

Your Majesty, don't look at the people, at this time, they can't wait for the prince to ascend the throne immediately, but Rong Chen said a presumptuous word, if the prince ascends the throne now, he will inevitably make a big move in the temple, and when the time comes, these people will inevitably be more or less implicated, and at that time, they will begin to miss your majesty's benefits. ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen's relief, Emperor Deqing's expression eased slightly, but he still said with some annoyance: "Hmph, these people. I even dare to question my appointment of people and officials, and listen to their meaning. It seems that the corrupt officials and corrupt officials of the Ming Dynasty were all connived at by me! It's infuriating! ”

Zhao Junchen smiled again: "In Yichen's opinion, the people now respect His Royal Highness the Prince. It may not be because of His Royal Highness the Prince's virtuous reputation, or because of the actions of killing corrupt officials, but just because the prince brought down many court officials and made them watch a lively scene! The people, there is always a hatred of the rich and the noble, now seeing that many people who were far more fortunate than them are unlucky, their hearts will be happy, now that the prince has brought down a group of corrupt officials, they will applaud, and if a group of Qingliu collapses another day, they will also applaud. But it has nothing to do with your majesty's appointment of officials. If you insist on saying it, it is the Ministry of Officials who is responsible for assessing officials, and the responsibility is even greater. ”

Emperor Deqing glanced at Zhao Junchen, his expression eased again, and he sighed: "However, there are only a few people with such insight as you, after all, there are only a few, whether it is a hundred officials or ordinary people, who knows my difficulties and considerations?" Is it really a good way to get rid of evil like the prince? Hum. How could I not have known that there were many corrupt officials in the court? But if you get rid of these greedy wolves who are already full, won't you have to make up another batch of hungry tigers who are even more hungry? How many people can be honest and self-disciplined? What's more, if all the corrupt officials are eliminated. Not to mention the shocks of the imperial court, not to mention the reputation of the imperial court, I don't know how many scholars will be in awe of the official career. Who else will help me rule the world in the future? ”

"What His Majesty said makes sense, and it breaks through the essence in one word." Zhao Junchen nodded again and again. Said: "Today's literati have long lost the simplicity and ambition of the ancients. The vast majority of them, the reason why they are willing to study poetry and books is just to gain fame and become officials, and the reason why they want to be officials is just to improve the lives of themselves and their clansmen and enjoy the blessings. ”

Speaking of this, Zhao Junchen was really moved, and shook his head and sighed: "There is a golden house in the book, Yan Ruyu in the book, a thousand Zhongsu in the book, and many cars and horses in the book...... Hehe, speaking of which, since Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng wrote this "Encouragement of Learning", the reader's mind has not been pure since then, and there are more and more corrupt officials and corrupt officials. ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen's words, Emperor Deqing was slightly stunned.

Emperor Deqing never thought that Zhao Junchen would have such insight in addition to his financial management skills!

However, Emperor Deqing was upset at this time, but he didn't think much about it, but said a lot of sincere words rarely: "Although these words of yours cannot be said explicitly, they are indeed the truth!" How can the country be stable? It is to collect the wise people of the world for the emperor's use! In this way, even if there are some twists and turns, without the leadership of those smart people, it is just a small mess!

However, how can we make the wise people of the world available to the emperor? Don't you need to be lured by wealth? Therefore, the officials of my dynasty have amassed a little bit of silver, and I have always turned a blind eye, because only by making the lives of the officials richer, will those intelligent people among the people want to be officials with one mind, and will recognize the road of the imperial examination, and they will be able to control it after becoming officials.

On the contrary, if the officials are poor, and because the emperor is strict and cautious, the smart people of the people are naturally unwilling to be officials, but they are not willing to lie dormant, and at that time, once there is any chaos, and there are smart people to help the trouble, my country will be really in danger! ”

Hearing Emperor Deqing's reasoning, Zhao Junchen nodded again and again, expressing his deep agreement.

In the past few days, Zhao Junchen has been concentrating on studying the legendary unfathomable "Imperial Mind Technique", and he has indeed figured out some truths during this period.

One of them is that in order to stabilize their rule, rulers often separate wisdom and wealth, so that the true knowers cannot have great wealth, so that the rich cannot become true knowledge, and once the two are combined, people will not be satisfied with the status quo, and will become the beginning of trouble—and the so-called imperial examination is essentially the practice of this concept, as for the confrontation between the clear stream and the corrupt officials in the court, it is also another practice of this concept.

However, in front of Emperor Deqing, Zhao Junchen's identity is a "courtier" and a "minister", such a person should not have too much insight, just now in order to comfort Emperor Deqing, Zhao Junchen has already shown some edge.

Therefore, after hearing Emperor Deqing's reasoning, Zhao Junchen was "stunned" for a moment. Then he nodded again and again, and praised: "Your Majesty is brilliant." This truth, throughout the ages, I am afraid that few emperors can understand it. His Majesty is indeed the Holy Monarch of the Ages! ”

On the other hand, Emperor Deqing already regretted a little, feeling that he shouldn't talk about these imperial scheming in front of Zhao Junchen, but seeing Zhao Junchen's appearance of "pretending to be stunned" at this time, he thought that Zhao Junchen didn't understand the deep meaning, so he didn't care anymore.

However, because of Zhao Junchen's ignorance, Emperor Deqing didn't talk about sex, but just shook his head. Walk in the direction of Li Yuan.

Seeing the direction in which Emperor Deqing was heading, Zhao Junchen was slightly stunned, chased after him and asked, "Your Majesty, aren't we going to Dasi Street?" ”

Emperor Deqing shook his head again and said coldly: "I don't have that interest anymore. ”

Seeing that Emperor Deqing looked unhappy, he knew that it was useless to be relieved at this time—in fact, Zhao Junchen didn't intend to really comfort Emperor Deqing—so he didn't say anything more, just summoned a carriage, and waited for Emperor Deqing to ride in the carriage and return to the temporary palace.

…………

On the way back to the temporary palace. The atmosphere inside the carriage was a little solemn.

Emperor Deqing had a calm face and didn't know what he was thinking, while Zhao Junchen sat cautiously on the side, for fear that it would cause Emperor Deqing to be unhappy again.

However, Zhao Junchen's mood is still good. Because according to Zhao Junchen's observation, Emperor Deqing at this time had once again developed jealousy and jealousy towards the crown prince Zhu Heyu, and this kind of love would occur at some point in the future. will set off a series of chain reactions!

And these chain reactions must be what the prince Zhu and Yu don't want to see!

It's just that. After all, Zhao Junchen is not the reincarnation of Kong Ming, and Emperor Deqing's mind is not easy to control. This time he miscalculated.

Because of Zhao Junchen's arrangement, although Emperor Deqing did have jealousy and jealousy towards the crown prince Zhu Heyu, at the same time, Emperor Deqing also began to examine himself.

Emperor Deqing was an emperor who was very happy and boasted of being extraordinary, and this kind of emperor often attached great importance to his century-old reputation and the evaluation of future generations.

In fact, after today's experience in the teahouse, Emperor Deqing suddenly felt a little worried, worried that after his funeral, the history writers of later generations would really describe him as a dumb monarch, which was intolerable to Emperor Deqing.

Although Zhao Junchen has been slapping his beard and calling Emperor Deqing a "saint of the ages", Emperor Deqing also knows very well that with his various exploits since he ascended the throne, he is still far from the evaluation of "saint monarch".

"Over the years, I have been bent on stabilizing the government and the opposition and consolidating the imperial power, and now it is time to consider my century-old reputation. However, what should be done needs to be carefully considered, throughout the ages, the so-called 'holy monarch' and 'Ming monarch', the path taken by the so-called 'holy monarch' and 'Ming monarch' is nothing more than three ways, one is to reform the bad government, the second is to create a prosperous era, and the third is to expand the territory and ......"

Emperor Deqing thought secretly.

With Emperor Deqing's single-minded pursuit of stability, let him reform maladministration, rectify the rule of officials, and punish corrupt officials, so as to create his own "holy monarch" name, but it is a little difficult, just look at the Song Dynasty after Wang Anshi's change of law for many years of turmoil in the government and the opposition, it is enough for Emperor Deqing to dispel such an idea, not to mention that this also negates Emperor Deqing's own previous policy path, so Emperor Deqing quickly denied such an idea.

As for the creation of the prosperous era - although the standard of the so-called "prosperous era" in the feudal era is extremely low, as long as the people can eat two full meals a day, it is considered a prosperous era in ancient times, but with the productivity of the feudal period, it is not easy to do this, especially now that the Ming Dynasty has been continued in the hands of Chongzhen, and has been stable for decades under the rule of Emperor Deqing, the population is close to 30,000, and it is extremely difficult to feed these 30,000 mouths - although Emperor Deqing prides himself on being extraordinary, But I also know that the current Ming Dynasty is still some distance from the "prosperous era", and the creation of the "prosperous era" is not only painstaking and laborious, but also not an overnight effort, so it was also denied by Emperor Deqing.

So, Emperor Deqing thought again: "In this way, I only have the road left to expand my territory...... However, the battle between swords and soldiers should not arise, otherwise it may cause chaos in the world and the people will not be able to make a living, not to mention that over the years, whether it is Mongolia or Jianzhou Jurchen, it is still peaceful, and I have no excuse to go to war...... And now the treasury is not full of silver and grain, but it is not sufficiently prepared......"

In a moment of thought, Emperor Deqing shook his head again, and also denied the third way.

In this way, Emperor Deqing found that under the premise of seeking stability, he wanted to become a "holy monarch" in the eyes of future generations, but it was not easy to take any road, and he couldn't help but be even more unhappy.

It's just that although the three paths were all vetoed by Emperor Deqing, the idea of wanting to do a big job has been hidden in the depths of Emperor Deqing's heart since then.

And at some point in the future, such thoughts will also affect Emperor Deqing's decision and lead the Ming Dynasty in an unknown direction!

And the person who caused this qiē by mistake was Zhao Junchen, who still thought he had a plan at this time!

…………

PS: During this time, there are a lot of things about bugs, work, family, and writing, and in the end I was a little overdrawn, sick, just recovered, and I couldn't update it two days ago, please forgive me.

Well, big chapters!

………… (To be continued......)