After Lu Dacheng left, the little eunuch beside Wei Zhongxian asked: "Father-in-law, can the emperor agree to promise him two years?" ”

Wei Zhongxian said: "Seeing the emperor's intentions, the guard will not be moved within two years, and it will be moved after two years." In the future, this person will not be seen when he comes again, and let Wei Liangqing write a secret report to the emperor to explain today's affairs. ”

The little eunuch said: "Father-in-law, this is just a few of us, everyone doesn't say that the emperor won't know." ”

Wei Zhongxian sighed and said, "I don't know why, before I left Beijing, I felt indescribable fear when I saw the emperor for the last time, and I became more and more afraid as time went on. ”

The little eunuch said, "You are an old man next to the emperor, what are you afraid of?" ”

Wei Zhongxian trembled and said: "I can feel that the emperor may bury me at any time, I suspect that all the people around me are people sent by the emperor to spy on me, so I don't dare to talk nonsense and dare not hide money privately, sometimes even you kid I suspect that it is an internal guard." I don't have any ideas now, except that I and my brothers have 10,000 taels of pocket money to spend every month. ”

The little eunuch nodded and said with a gloomy smile: "The emperor asked me to inform my father-in-law that if you do a good job in the past two months, you will raise the upper limit by two thousand taels, which means that you can now leave a maximum of twelve thousand taels per month." ”

Wei Zhongxian opened his eyes wide and pointed at the little eunuch and said, "You...... You ......"

The little eunuch smiled and said, "My father-in-law guessed, I am also an internal guard, and I will return to Beijing immediately." ”

At this time, Wei Liangqing came in from outside the door, pointed to the little eunuch and said, "Go, sweep the leaves in the courtyard, and look weird and dirty." ”

The little eunuch bent down and agreed, so he went to take a broom and sweep the floor, Wei Zhongxian saw that the little eunuch was swept up, and he rushed up to get a broom, and ran to the little eunuch to sweep with him, seeing Wei Liangqing's surprised look, Wei Zhongxian said: "It's too cold, I will also sweep the floor to heat up, Liangqing will call your brother to me." ”

After Wei Liangqing left, Wei Zhongxian whispered: "Little brother, tell you the truth, how many internal guards are there around me?" ”

The little eunuch spread his hands and said, "I don't know, maybe there is no more, maybe there are no gatekeepers, including your two nephews." ”

Under the careful arrangements of the local government, people in the north who had lost confidence in the local area due to successive disasters embarked on the road of migration to the south one by one. They gave their fields and houses to the government, and took the receipts issued by the government to drag their families away from the land where they had lived for countless generations. Fortunately, there are many grass huts set up next to the post stations along the road for them to live, and the local government also sends troops to maintain order, and there are also temporary porridge sheds and medical halls, where you can exchange rice for food when you are hungry, and you can find a doctor to treat you when you are sick, and the old and weak can also take a carriage for free. After more than 20 days of trekking, everyone finally arrived in the south and lived in various resettlement areas one after another, looking at their new homes and familiar and unfamiliar neighbors around them, and then running out to see the fields leased to them by the government, everyone felt that there was new hope in life.

At the end of November, the cold wind raged in the city of Beijing, blowing away the remaining leaves on the trees, blowing away the dust on the ground, and blowing away the pedestrians and hawkers on the road, and the streets and alleys of the entire city were swept clean by the cold wind. Although there was a chill everywhere outside, the warm pavilion in the former first assistant and assistant minister Ye Xianggao's mansion was full of spring. This day was a day off for all the officials of the Winter Festival, and Ye Xianggao invited Han Yi, Zhao Nanxing, Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and other Donglin people to come to the house for a drink. Looking at the table full of cold wine and hot dishes and smoking soup, shuttling back and forth in the warm pavilion with tea and water, even Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and other people who don't have much money can't help but think: "It's good to have money." ”

Ye Xianggao got up and picked up the wine glass and said, "It's rare for everyone to get together together, this is rice wine brought from my hometown, come, let's drink and see how it goes." ”

After drinking a glass, everyone said that it was good, the wine was not strong, but it was mellow and long, and it was endlessly memorable. Zhao Nanxing, the secretary of the ministry, put down the cup and said first: "Brother Jinqing, won't it be just to drink your bar when you invite us today?" ”

Ye Xianggao said: "At the last court meeting, King Xin said that the Council of the Government Council would add people, and the emperor agreed to add one person. Later, King Xin privately asked who was the most suitable, and reported to Lord Zhao, Gao Panlong, and Gu Dazhang, but King Xin said that the emperor did not agree two days later. ”

As soon as Zhao Nanxing heard that the emperor not only did not agree to enter the government affairs but also did not agree to Gao Panlong and Gu Dazhang, he asked very strangely: "I will not say that I am about to return home when I am seventy-six, but the two of them fully meet the requirements of the emperor, have you asked the emperor why he disagrees?" ”

Ye Xianggao said: "I asked King Xin, and King Xin said that the two elder brothers have other appointments. ”

Zhao Nanxing said: "The emperor said that he would let the Government Council choose by himself, but he still has to say it himself, and you don't resist?" ”

Ye Xianggao sighed and said: "I also thought that several princes in the government affairs court were just decorations, and King Xin was not very sensible when he was young, and it was not up to Lord Han to have the final say with me. Who knew that the emperor threw the trivial things and troublesome things to us, but he still had the final say on the big things. It turned out that we could also use the ancestral system to advise, but last time we felt ashamed after being deceived by our family, as long as the emperor is not too out of line, we can't say anything. ”

Zhao Nanxing said: "I'm thinking about the affairs of the court when I have nothing to do, the emperor has thrown out the government affairs and military affairs, but the urgent matters are not completely let go, so he has time to grasp the officials." In the past six months, he first drove those speech officials of the six branches to the Metropolitan Procuratorate to let them scruple each other and not let them cause trouble, and then through Yang Wenru and Zuo Gongzhi and other brothers, he helped him cultivate two hundred innocent pre-election officials, and the next step should be to replace them. ”

Yang Lian saw Zhao Nanxing mention him and said: "The emperor made this clear from the beginning, he said that with these two hundred people who are innocent and have the ability to govern, he is not afraid of anyone who will carry the burden." ”

Zhao Nanxing said: "I guess that in the next two months, the emperor will adjust the officials of the six ministries, then the local governors, and then gradually adjust to the prefectures and counties, and implement his economic inspection system from top to bottom." ”

Ye Xianggao said: "I have seen that several things done by the emperor are all relaxed and have room for moderation, and they have copied the guest, Wei's house, and let Wei Zhongxian go to Nanjing to be a dog to steal and bite people, and the family of the ten major families has not killed a single person, so that they can be an example to deter medium and large households." If Lord Zhao's guess is true, it will inevitably harm the interests of all officials, and the system of selling lords will be implemented at the same time as compensation. ”

Zhao Nanxing turned his head and asked Yang Lian: "Brother Wen has been working with the emperor for the past two months, what kind of person do you think the emperor is?" ”

Yang Lian thought for a while and said: "Putting aside the identity of the emperor, I think the emperor is a deviant person, who despises all systems and all people in his words, and he often says that he only needs two kinds of people, one is a capable person and the other is an obedient person." He is also a cautious person in specific matters, he can listen to the right opinions on things that he does not understand, and he will use all reasonable or improper means for what is imperative. ”

Zuo Guangdou also said at this time: "I often think about why we lost to Wei Zhongxian, but later I slowly found that we lack flexibility in how we behave and do things, and we are either friends or enemies in our eyes, so there are more and more enemies, how can we be invincible?" The emperor is doing things in a strange way, which is what we should learn. ”

Ye Xianggao said: "Come, don't just talk, drink a few more cups." He stretched out his hand to beckon Yahuan to come in and add wine, and after adding wine, he waved them out.

Han Yi said at this time: "Does Lord Zhao know who the emperor wants to belong to? ”

Zhao Nanxing took a sip of wine and said, "What does Brother Xiangyun know about the inside story? ”

Han Yi said: "It must be Liu Yixie. ”

Zhao Nanxing asked, "Where do you know?" ”

Han Yi said: "Half a year ago, the emperor ordered to recruit people who were persecuted by Wei Gelding to return to the court, Liu Yixiao pushed his illness, as far as I know, the emperor sent people three times in half a year to invite, just a month ago Liu Yixiao agreed to come early next year. Liu Yixian is fifty-nine this year, won't he be exactly sixty next year? Do you think that the condition of 60 years old mentioned by the emperor is nothing? ”

Zhao Nanxing said: "Liu Yixiao is the minister of life, it seems that the emperor misses the old." ”

Ye Xianggao said at this time: "Since the emperor has a candidate, let's not sing against him, and besides, although Liu Yixiao is not from my Donglin Academy, he is also an upright person." Our goal is to be the officials of the six ministries, and this is the purpose of inviting you to come today. ”