Like all the people who made a difficult trek on the eunuch journey, the news that Du Zhifu and Jiang Dingzhen wanted to inquire about from Lin Yan was nothing more than two important things: hats and silver.

With hats, there is silver. Without a hat, the silver will fly away in the purse. So the hat is the core, and the hat is the origin.

In order to ensure the full collection of this year's autumn grain, the provincial capital of the Ertai Domain issued strict instructions to the prefectures and counties of Sichuan. If you can't complete the tax collection, you are likely to be stripped of your official position. In a hurry, Governor Du hurriedly approached Jiangding Town, who had returned to his hometown, to discuss countermeasures. Jiang Dingzhen's idea for him was to connect with the Shu Wangfu.

Why is it recommended to take the Shu Palace? Jiangding Town has good reasons.

Chongqing is the largest dry and dry wharf in Sichuan. As the terminus of Sichuan's various waterways, Chongqing Prefecture is connected to Sichuan at one end and Jingxiang and Jiangnan at the other, and merchants from all over the world gather here.

When Jiang Ding Town was appointed as the official of Chuandong Province, he had the conditions to contact merchants from all over the country and obtained a lot of useful information. From this information, he was surprised to find that among the state capitals along the Yangtze River in Sichuan, the easiest place to live a life was Yazhou!

Yazhou was supposed to be the hardest of the Sichuan state capitals. In February, the city of Yazhou was occupied by the rebels, the population lost tens of thousands, and even the prefecture government was burned to a blank field, and the household registration and land books were wiped out, and the basis for taxation was completely lost.

But in the face of such a mess, the Zhizhou Kingdom is still alive and well. It is said that he is full of red light every day, and his small life is leisurely.

Not only that, a businessman friend in Jiangding Town once revealed that Wang Guochen once lost his words after drinking: Yazhou autumn grain is just a decimal! He can do it if he wants to, and he can't do it if he doesn't want to!

At that time, Jiangding Town had not long returned to Sichuan as an official, and he did not know much about the political situation in his hometown. The words of this businessman friend shook him greatly. The situation in the Ming Dynasty was difficult, and officials who were fined, demoted, and even lost their black yarn because the summer tax and autumn grain were not completed. How can the kingdom's ministers be able to collect so many taxes in a chaotic city in one state?

Jiang Dingzhen was good at eunuchs, and immediately began a secret investigation into what Wang Guochen had done. Soon he made a new discovery: the silver of the kingdom's ministers did not come from the land, but from the Shu Palace. The palace engaged in tea and horse smuggling through Yazhou and Tianquan Gaojia, and the three parties of Wangfu, Yazhou and Gaojia all benefited a lot, and a little autumn grain was indeed not a problem.

With this discovery, Jiangding Town followed the vine and immediately discovered a huge chain of interests. At one end of this chain of interests were the Shu Wangfu and the prince Zhu Pingjian, and at the other end were officials from all over Sichuan: the governor of Yazhou, the governor of Luzhou, Gao Dengtai, and some county commanders around Chengdu. With this chain of interests, then the people in this chain of interests are in difficulty, and the royal palace will come up with money to protect them!

In Sichuan, it is easy to decide whether a state-level official will stay or not, and in the three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, except for the first Shu king Zhu Chun, no Shu king has such a great political influence. It is true that the Shu Wangfu is the richest vassal king in the world, but silver is not omnipotent. Although there is a lot of money in the Shu Prince's Mansion, there are also many rich people in the world who are in the first province, but which vassal king can have the political energy of the Shu Prince's Mansion? The vassal kings interfere in politics, which is a big taboo in itself, and the vassal kings guard the silver, and they are even careful to say a word to foreign officials, who dares to interfere in politics?

Jiang Dingzhen pondered for a long time, and finally set his eyes on the actual rulers of Sichuan, Governor Liao Daheng and Governor Liu Zhibo. Soon, through his continuous observation of the Luzhou incident, he discovered the secret of the relationship between the palace and Ertai.

As soon as Gao Dengtai arrived in Luzhou, he used his Tianquan and the soldiers of the royal palace to massacre the officials and gentry of Luzhou and Naxi County. In addition to the family of the prince Fu Shu, there are very few families in Luzhou who escaped. But what is strange is that Sichuan Fujiao Ertai applauded Gao Dengtai's actions in unison, saying that Ma Yingjiao was a traitor and a thief, and the local gentry helped to abuse him, and even colluded with the thieves, and should be punished. Gao Dengtai not only killed people without mistakes, but also killed well and meritoriously!

Jiangding Town's career was cut off in the hands of the Chongqing gentry. He knew how powerful the gentry were. The bloody purge of the local gentry on such a large scale was something he wanted to do but could not do in the Chongqing Mansion. While he was happy in his heart, he gradually understood a truth: he had offended Zhou Yanru and Wang Yingxiong's party, and if he wanted to make a comeback, he could only use the power of the Shu Palace.

However, as a top scholar who has passed the 16th place in the national examination and a senior official from the fourth rank who has served as a senator and a Taoist platform, Jiang Dingzhen's political vision is very broad. He didn't see just one thing, not the rest.

The political energy of the palace is indeed very large, and there is a possibility of collusion with Ertai, but there are also many people in Sichuan who oppose them. The loudest opposition was raised in the two Zhili prefectures around the provincial capital: Qiongzhou and Meizhou.

The servants of the palace killed the Meizhou scholars, and the gentry of Meizhou jointly sued the palace through Wang Yingxiong, which caused a stir in the whole Sichuan. Just because Wang Yingxiong was waiting for his old superior Zhou Yanru to return to the throne, and Zhou Yanru failed to take the throne for a day, Wang Yingxiong could not come back for a day. At this critical juncture that determines the fate of politics, Wang Yingxiong is likely to have more than one thing, and he has not submitted the joint complaint of the Meizhou gentry for the time being.

The opposition in Qiongzhou is louder than in Meizhou. Because they don't need to go through Wang Yingxiong's line, they themselves have a political tycoon with enough influence: the former Ministry of Officials Wenxuan Shilangzhong, Yang Shen Yang Tianguan. Yang Tianguan entangled the local gentry, and while desperately trying to keep their spokesperson in the officialdom, Zhizhou Xu Kongtu, he rolled up his sleeves and went into battle in person, writing letters to the old relationship of the Jingshi everywhere, striving for a collective impeachment of the Shu Palace. If this impeachment is secretly supported by Zhou Yanru, the soon-to-be-appointed first assistant, then who can accurately predict how big the storm and destructive power of the gentry will be this time?

Ten years of hard work, overnight into a white body.

The experience of impeachment and loss of office made Jiang Dingzhen feel painful. Although he still has some lingering palpitations, he has already decided that he must make a comeback!

If he waited until that day, he would be like Gao Dengtai in Luzhou, and he would not hesitate to raise his butcher's knife to those arrogant gentry and completely break off his enmity with them! And before that, what he has to do is to find a way to get in touch with the royal palace!

It just so happened that the caravan was going to pass through Shunqing Mansion, which provided him with a golden opportunity; And Governor Du's invitation gave him an opportunity to try it out.

……

"Garrison, yes!" Du Zhifu seemed to understand whether he understood or not, and blinked.

Chen Yingguan is a general who leads the troops, and he is also a close confidant of the prince with one hand, how could he get drunk and unconscious after three glasses and two glasses, and talk nonsense when he opens his mouth? The garrison, the garrison that Chen Yingguan said three times must be a prerequisite for the magistrate to catch up with the palace! Didn't the ministers of the Yazhou Kingdom and the Luzhou Gao Dengtai all let the caravan guard of the palace station?

It's just that how to give the salary of the garrison, and you have to ask for details!

Zhang Zuokai, the deputy general of the garrison of Baoning Prefecture, originally had a strength of 5,000 troops, and when he entered Sichuan in October last year, he passed through Bazhou, and Zhang Zuokai was forced by Yang Sichang to be unable to fight. The sacrifice thief passed by all over his body, and Zhang Zuokai reported to Yang Sichang that he had a bloody battle with the sacrifice thief, and he lost a number of losses, and asked for at least how much to be supplemented; This year, Bazhou fell, and Zhang Zuokai shouted again, asking the Sichuan government to supplement him. Boryeong Province is just north of Shunqing Province, Boryeong is restless, and Shunqing is not quiet. Zhang Zuokai wants to add, and Shunqing Mansion is also forced to cooperate.

Assistance, assistance, endless assistance, making the Shunqing Mansion Treasury empty! The palace garrisoned Shunqing Mansion, the place was stable, and there was an excuse to refuse to pay Baoning Mansion, which is a great thing! But if the palace is also desperately asking for money like Zhang Zuokai, this garrison ......

Lin Yan didn't know what Governor Du and Jiang Dingzhen were thinking about in their hearts, so he just had to hurry up and eat food.

"You can't drink it anymore, you have to drink it in its original form!" Lin Yan's head was dizzy, and he told himself with what little reason he still had.

Du Zhifu and Jiang Dingzhen asked several questions in a row, but they were all confused by him with a slurred tongue. In the end, he really had no choice, so he had to clearly tell the two political speculators that the prince had an explanation, that he was a military officer, and that he was not allowed to intervene in local affairs. If Governor Du and Lord Jiang have anything to report to the palace, they can directly send someone to Chengdu.

"There are really a few tricky things to play in this mansion, but the court is forbidden, and the local officials and the palace are ...... This ......" Du Zhifu rubbed his hands, looking very embarrassed.

Maybe this Du Governor really has something important to report to the world. If you excuse yourself on behalf of the prince and miss something important, the prince will inevitably blame him!

Lin Yan thought of this, and said, "It's okay. Since the two adults have something important, they can send the text to Luo Jianjun. Luo Jianjun's real name is Luo Jingyun, and he is the younger brother of Miss Luo. Luo Jianjun received the letters from the two adults and sent them to Chengdu. Miss Luo received the letter, isn't it equivalent to ......"

"Oops!" Du Zhifu suddenly realized, "How did you miss the famous Miss Luo!" Miss Luo has not yet married the prince, and the letter was handed over to the Luo family, so she can't hook up with the palace! ”

After a lot of hard work, I finally found a way to get in touch with the Shu Wangfu!

Du Zhifu and Jiang Ding Town were in a very good mood. When the time came, the two winked at each other. Jiang Dingzhen stroked his palms very exaggeratedly and smiled: "Ornament the beast, sing and dance, both to the elf mansion (Note 1)." If we have wine and meat, how can we not sing and dance? ”

"Oops! But the old man was negligent! Snubbed Chen Yingguan! Du Zhifu looked very annoyed, and patted his head with his palm. He waved his hand at the door, and a small man immediately flashed out of the door.

Lin Yan was about to refuse, but Du Zhifu was already indistinguishable and opened his mouth: "Please Tu Shi come to cheer up Chen Yingguan!" ”

Not long after, a plain-clothed woman appeared at the door of the private room with a pipa in her arms. This woman is twenty-eight years old, phoenix-eyed cherry blossoms, light vermilion powder, light fragrance of idle flowers, dark frowning eyebrows, and beautiful eyes. Walking like willow branches supporting the wind, laughing makes the sinking fish fall into the geese (Note 2).

What a beautiful woman who captivates the country and the city! Lin Yan, a single dog, looked straight in his eyes.

Tao Xiansheng's wife Lin is Lin Yan's sister, known as Wei Hua of the left guard, but her appearance is not as good as one-tenth of this woman!

"My uncle is on top, and my nephew and daughter-in-law are polite!" The peerless beauty Wan Tingting came over and first gave Du Zhifu a blessing.

"This is Lord Jiang, your elder."

Governor Du then turned around and introduced the overwhelmed Lin Yan to the beauty with a smile, "As for this one, it is my famous caravan guard Chen Yingguan in Sichuan!" ”

Note 1: From "Yuefu Poems"

Note 1: There are historical materials that specifically record this Tu girl, which shows its beauty.