A smile appeared on Zhang Keji's face, half admiring and half ridiculing, and said: "The lord thinks that Sanren is not superior or inferior, Weizi goes, Jizi is a slave, and he dies than admonishment, and the lord wants to learn Weizi to resign, learn from Jizi to seek perfection or learn to be loyal and brave and brave?" ”

Jiang Anyi was at a loss in his heart, and he was a little reluctant to resign and go into hiding; Learn to be a slave of the Son of Heaven, and to collect wealth and pleasure for him, but he can't; If Emperor Su is in power, it is okay to drain his courage and liver, but as for today, he can't do it himself, and he doesn't want to.

Zhang Keji said in a rambling voice: "Master Ziyun, the benevolent are benevolent, and the knower is benevolent." The lord shepherds the state, the people live and work in peace and contentment, the border is stable, and taxes surge, which is also a great benevolence. The lord has the ambition to protect the country and protect the people, how can he be blown away by a little wind and rain, the Son of Heaven is suspicious, but the people of Huazhou regard the lord as the Buddha of all families, and the people are the nobles and the monarch is light, so why hesitate to choose the lord of the light. ”

"Having said that, Jiang is a courtier, if the Son of Heaven intends to restrain his elbows, how can he protect the people." Jiang Anyi said sullenly.

"Those who know are benevolent", Zhang Keji said with a smile: "Using some means for benevolence does not damage the reputation of the lord. ”

Jiang Anyi said in a sullen voice: "Sir, you might as well say bluntly, what should Jiang do." ”

"The Son of Heaven has first ascended to the great treasure, and he is trying to establish power, and the lord must not be disobedient." Zhang Keji shook the folding fan, and said lightly: "The state capitals all over the world are offering silver to celebrate the birthday of the queen mother and repair the harem. What's more, Huazhou is a big tax state, and the eyes of the Son of Heaven are here, and this money cannot be less. ”

When he was in Xiangxueju, Fang Shishu also persuaded Jiang Anyi like this, it seems that this money cannot be saved. This year, the border city has received 1.6 million taels of taxes, so you might as well put forward 600,000 taels first, and then make up the shortfall at the end of the year with the output of the jade mine. Jiang Anyi did not intend to keep the income from the gold and jade mines as his own, and Zhang Keji proposed to use them to redeem the Zheng people scattered in the Western Regions, increase the military salaries of soldiers, build walled cities, roads, and canals, and provide relief to the affected people, support production, and make up for urgent needs.

"The Son of Heaven issued an edict to select beautiful women from good families to enrich the harem, and the lord needs to take it to heart." Zhang Keji said.

Jiang Anyi frowned, at the beginning of April this year, he received an edict from the Son of Heaven, ordering all state capitals and counties to select beauties from good families to enrich the harem, Jiang Anyi was very disgusted with this matter, and pushed it to Fang Shishu, Fang Shishu transferred the will of the court to the counties, let the people of the counties voluntarily sign up, choose to send their daughters to the palace, and the specific matters were handed over to Sima Yao Changfeng. This time, the Son of Heaven chose a palace maid, requiring her to be between thirteen and eighteen years old, with outstanding appearance and a good family, and the people reacted very enthusiastically to this matter.

Zheng Guo's harem has six bureaus to manage the affairs of the palace, and under the six bureaus, it is divided into 24 divisions, 24 canons, 24 palms, and officials such as Gongzheng, Tongshi, and Female History. Among the divisions, there are many female officials, these female officials are from the palace maids, once they become female officials, they are official subordinates, in case they are favored by the Son of Heaven, selected as talents, beauties and even concubines, then the whole family is soaring, if you can salivate the prince, at least it is also a county king, and the family also has a shade, and the whole family is an official.

Yao Changfeng is very concerned about the selection of palace maids, and after receiving the will, he began to inspect the counties, this is a beautiful difference, those who want to be selected have to go their own way, in case the palace maid sent to be favored by the Son of Heaven, he will also follow the light, at least he can hug a thick leg, maybe he will please the Son of Heaven, and from then on.

Zhang Keji stared at Jiang Anyi's eyes and said: "The lord should not underestimate this matter, if this matter is done well, the lord will have eyes and ears in the palace, and he can understand the true intentions of the Son of Heaven, and guard the building inside and outside, so that even if he is far away in Huazhou, he can also grasp the movements in Beijing." ”

Jiang Anyi was a little disgusted, wouldn't he become a courtier, and he was also a courtier who spied on the behavior of the Son of Heaven.

Zhang Keji said coldly: "Zhang just said that the knower is benevolent, although the lord acts like this, although it is a little clumsy, but what he does is for the people, not for himself, and the history books will definitely be denied by His Holiness in the future." ”

Jiang Anyi saw Zhang Keji's brows raised, and he was very angry, and sighed: "Even if Jiang has a heart, the palace maid selected may not obey Jiang's arrangement, and Mr. doesn't need to mention this matter again." ”

Zhang Keji said: "Please forgive the lord, Zhang is already working on this matter." ”

Jiang Anyi was stunned for a moment, and asked in surprise, "What did Mr. do?" Zhang Keji has not been out these days, and he is at home in Huiye Mansion. Zhang Keji's residence is next to his house, and he often comes over to drink tea and chat at night, why didn't he notice that he was meddling in the selection of palace maids.

Zhang Keji shook the fan lightly and said, "The lord is busy with government affairs, and Zhang will make the decision for the lord for some small things." Over the years, Zhang adopted the victims in the name of the lord, and the lonely boys and girls of that year have grown up, and they are deeply grateful to the lord. This time he came to Huazhou, Zhang not only brought Rao Ansi and other guards, but also selected ten beautiful women, and selected three of them, Zhang was confident that these three women could be selected into the palace. I sent for them to come and cook tea and play the harp, and the lord came to see them. ”

Jiang Mansion is adjacent to Zhang's house, and through the small gate opposite the alley, three young women with fragrant breezes fluttering in the wind and saying coquettishly: "Lou Xiaohua (Yun Ruyu, Gao Changlan) has seen adults, Mr. Zhang." ”

Zhang Keji smiled warmly: "You don't have to be restrained, Lord Jiang wants to hear about your skills, you might as well show your hand." ”

Jiang Anyi glanced at the three girls, all of whom were fourteen or fifteen years old, all of them were young and beautiful, and they were as beautiful as flowers. The girls showed excitement on their faces, and whispered a few words, Lou Xiaohua tuned the piano, Gao Changlan played the pipa, Yun Ruyu danced, and the three girls sang in unison "Pingshan Fence Leaning on the Clear Sky, Mountains Are in the Middle", the tune is melodious, the dance is graceful, and it is more delicate than Xinfei's chanting back then. This song was written by him to Feng Tingshi in the middle of the year, and more than ten years have passed, and it is embarrassing to listen to this song again.

Zhang Keji's whisper came from his ears, "Don't hide it from the lord, Zhang entered Beijing after receiving the letter last year, knowing that the prince likes women, and he wanted to give them to the prince when he brought them into Beijing, so that the prince could speak for the lord in front of Emperor Su, but the lord got out on his own, and this move was useless, so Zhang took them to Huazhou." These three daughters are all orphans, and they survived by the lord's upbringing, and their kindness to the lord is engraved in their hearts, and the lord orders them to enter the palace in response, and they will gladly go. ”

Jiang Anyi sighed secretly, Mr. Zhang acted like chess, took one step and looked at three steps, many things were planned in advance, these three women were, the carriage and horses were Xing, and so was Xuchanghua, and there may be many hidden chess that I don't know, with Mr. Zhang's help, I don't know where I will go.

The singing stopped, the sound of the piano dissipated, and the three girls got up and bowed again. Jiang Anyi said with a smile: "The song is good, the song is more beautiful, you have worked hard, go down and rest." ”

Lou Xiaohua bowed down and said in a firm tone: "We are blessed by adults, train singing and dancing, treat each other with courtesy, and often think about reciprocating each other." Mr. Zhang informed us of the adult's intentions, and we were willing to obey the arrangement to enter the palace. ”

Yun Ruyu and Gao Changlan also followed: "I am willing to obey the arrangement of the adults, please give orders." ”

The words are like a warbler, but they are as strong as a knife.

Jiang Anyi stood up, leaned over to help the three daughters, and said: "The palace is not a comfortable nest, and the battle is no less than the war, you have to think clearly." You are young, Jiang really can't bear to see you trapped in the palace in this life. ”

The three girls glanced at each other and said coquettishly: "I am willing to serve the Lord." ”

Jiang Anyi looked at Zhang Keji, who was sitting on the side, and didn't need to ask if Mr. Zhang taught him these words. Three pairs of eyes looked at me with admiration, excitement, and excitement, Jiang Anyi sighed in his heart, and said gently: "You are willing to recognize me as your father, and the Jiang family is your home." ”

The three girls were overjoyed when they heard this, kowtowed to Jiang Anyi and said, "My daughter has seen her father." The three daughters felt nostalgic for their life experience, and they all burst into tears.

Jiang Anyi asked people to call Xin Fei, the two entered the main house and sat down, the three girls saluted again, Zhang Keji as a witness, Xin Fei knew the reason, and ordered someone to prepare three generous gifts for the righteous daughter. Zhang Keji congratulated and said: "In order to prevent people's eyes and ears, the three of you can't be publicized to the outside world, you still live in my house, if you have any needs, just tell me, these days of diligent singing and dancing, waiting for September to enter the palace draft." ”

Waiting for the three girls to leave, Jiang Anyi sighed: "Although Sir's strategy is exquisite, I feel uneasy about pushing the three young women into the fire pit. ”

Xin Fei glared at her husband and said, "Jiang Lang is too weak, the Son of Heaven has already brought the knife over, do you still have to stretch your neck a little longer?" Tong'er's sister can't go out of Beijing, which shows that the Son of Heaven is wary of you, Mr. Zhang is doing this as a precaution, is Jiang Lang willing to waste all his hard work and return home to retire? If you return to your hometown, with the personality of today's son, I am afraid that the family's property will be snatched away, and when the time comes, will Jiang Lang be ready to enter the palace alone to reason with the Son of Heaven? ”

Jiang Anyi was speechless when he said this, and Zhang Keji said: "The lord thinks about everything, but how can he seek perfection in everything in this world, he is willing to give up, and he has to give up to get it, and the lord must have a weight in his heart." ”

Xin Fei said: "In this draft, all states in the world have heard the wind and selected beauties to participate in the election, although Lou Xiaohua and others are beautiful and talented, there are many beauties in the world, and the three of them may not be selected." ”

Zhang Keji said with a smile: "Yes, the decree says that twenty women from each state will run for election, and there are twenty-seven states in the world, that is, five hundred and forty people, this is only the number for the Son of Heaven to choose, and the number of women who really enter Beijing will probably exceed two thousand, and the officials of various states will use this opportunity to make friends with the powerful people in Beijing, and the chaos in Beijing can be imagined." ”

Feng Le had a draft in the sixth year, Xin Fei was already in Longwei at the time, and was almost sacrificed to the palace by Ning Wangjin, so he understood the draft and said: "The key is the draft." ”

Shoulou analyzed in the letter that there were three candidates for this draft, and the most popular was Taichang Shaoqing Cheng Mingdao, who was invited by him in this draft; There is also Shi Fangqi, the Shaoqing of Zongzheng Temple, this uncle of the Son of Heaven has won the trust of Shi Chongwei, and it is very likely that he will be responsible for selecting the palace maid; The third person is Shi Yu, who was transferred to the Shaoqing of Taifu Temple by the Donggong family order. No matter who is the elector, I am afraid that it will have to be recorded by gold and silver. Zhang Keji laughed sarcastically.

Xin Fei smiled: "To be honest, our family really doesn't lack money." ”