In the warm pavilion of the inner palace, Princess Kunxing was looking at the mountains of songs, and the more she looked at it, the more angry she became. Most of these notes were impeached by Chen Yue, the king of Qi, for selling land.

"Ignoring the urgent need for food and grass supplies for hundreds of thousands of troops on the front line, always impeaching and opposing, impeaching and opposing, in the future, such bullets will be left in the middle, don't hand them to me again!" Princess Kunxing commanded angrily.

"Yes, Prisoner." Ma Xiang, the eunuch who was waiting on the side, hurriedly agreed, and instructed the little eunuch to come forward and organize and file a large pile of songs.

"Father is right, these civil officials are the least trustworthy! It's all a bunch of things that only care about selfish interests and ignore the country, and now they dare to target the King of Qi and try in vain to put the hundreds of thousands of troops of the King of Qi to death, they really deserve to be killed! Princess Kunxing said murderously.

Ma Xiang trembled when he heard this, he had never seen Princess Kunxing so angry.

"What are you doing? Go and pass on Shi Kefa, Lu Zhenfei, Qian Qianyi, Wang Yin, and Gao Hongtu to a few elders! Princess Kunxing commanded.

"Yes." Ma Xiang hurriedly ordered someone to go to the cabinet to invite a few elders.

Hearing that the princess of the prison country had summoned her, several pavilion elders hurriedly put down the things in their hands and came to the warm pavilion.

"Several pavilion elders are here, and the palace has summoned you here today to discuss the matter of the sale of land and salary offered by King Qi, and a decision must be made as soon as possible." After waiting for a few pavilion elders to see the ceremony, Princess Kunxing didn't talk nonsense and said straightforwardly.

Lu Zhenfei and Wang Yin glanced at each other, and Wang Yin took the lead and said: "The matter of the Northern Expedition is very important, it is related to the life and death of hundreds of thousands of troops, and it is also related to the survival of my Ming Dynasty. Selling land to raise wages is the best way to solve the shortage of grain and grass now! ”

Lu Zhenfei also said: "The minister also agrees with the King of Qi, the Northern Expedition is the biggest, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers must not fall into a shortage of food." ”

"I'm against it!" Gao Hongtu on the side stood up and objected loudly: "The Northern Expedition is important, but it is unheard of to sell land to raise wages. The land under heaven is the property of the owner, and what is the difference between doing so and plundering the land of the people? It is possible to solve a temporary dilemma by selling land, but it will inevitably cause the people in the north to deviate from morality, and even push them to the Manchurian side, and the gains outweigh the losses! ”

Wang Yin glanced at Princess Kunxing, and when he wanted to step forward to debate with Gao Hongtu, Princess Kunxing spoke directly.

"Gao Ge Lao does not agree to sell the land, then the palace asks you to come up with a way to raise food and salary as soon as possible." Princess Kunxing said with a cold face.

Everyone can see the anger of Princess Kunxin, but Gao Hongtu is not afraid at all, "The method of raising wages is very simple, you can levy more money from the people of the world, and send troops to the Northern Expedition to recover the country, which is a major event of the Ming Dynasty, but also a major event of the people of the world, the imperial court can issue an edict, and the tax of two cents of silver will be charged for each mu of cultivated land, and my Ming Dynasty's field is nearly 100 million mu, and this alone can add two million taels of silver, which is enough for the Northern Expedition." ”

Addition, this is the practice of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen ascended the throne for nearly 20 years, almost every year to increase taxes, and to suppress salaries, year after year. This is clear to all. Princess Kunxing was almost mad, she didn't expect Gao Hongtu to casually talk about this method of adding endowment. If it is empowered, why will the Ming Dynasty end up in the current situation, and why will the people of the world rebel one after another?

"Bong! Okay, it's okay to add endowment, this palace asks you, it's only a month now, and there are still a few months before the people's summer harvest, and now the people are in the green and yellow when they don't receive it, how do you add it? If you wait until the summer harvest, what will happen to the hundreds of thousands of troops on the front line in these months? ”

Gao Hongtu said: "Back to the princess, the old minister checked the account books of the household department, for the Northern Expedition, the taxes of the three prefectures of Yangzhou Fengyang and Huai'an were paid in the situation of grain, and the grain in Huai'an, Yangzhou before the army was sent to Huai'an, Yangzhou, amounted to one million quintals, enough for more than 100,000 troops for a year. Now that the army has been dispatched for less than half a year, how can it not be enough? Where did all the food go, didn't it all be eaten as empty wages? ”

Princess Kunxing has not yet answered, Wang Yin, who is in charge of the military department, said: "Gao Ge Lao does not know, when I sent troops, my army was only 120,000, but there are tens of thousands of people who transport grain and grass with the army, and the loss of grain and grass from Huaiyang to Shandong will be 10% along the way, and after the king of Qi conquered Shandong, he recruited 150,000 or 60,000 green battalion soldiers, and these newly surrendered troops also need to eat food." There are also years of war and famine in Shandong, and it is necessary to take out food to help the victims, and the grain originally prepared will not last long. ”

"It won't last long, that is, there is still food, and there is no problem in holding on until the summer harvest. Therefore, there is no problem with the policy of this cabinet's endowment. Gao Hongtu said disapprovingly.

When Wang Yin was about to continue arguing, Kun Xing spoke again, and she said with a cold face: "This palace summoned you today not to listen to your debate, but to come to a conclusion on the sale of land.

Although Bengong hasn't read many books, he also knows that the major affairs of the country of soldiers cannot be careless, and the front-line military rations naturally have to be lenient and generous, how can they wait until there is no food to find a way?

This palace has decided that the sale of land is very appropriate, and it can be carried out immediately, and there is no need to talk about it! ”

"I disagree!" Gao Hongtu was also angry, "Jianguo, you are competing with the people for profit, no, you are plundering the people's wealth!" In this way, the majesty of the court will be lost! ”

"You don't agree?" Princess Kunxing was almost angry, "I'm a prisoner, you're a prisoner?" Gao Hongtu Gao Ge Lao, I know that you are from Shandong, and your family owns a large amount of land in Shandong, although the sale of land will damage your interests first. Daxing Gaojia, as many as tens of thousands of acres of land, across the prefecture and county, there are thousands of tenants alone, how many of them are the income of the merger? And as soon as Manchu came, the Manchu government confiscated your Gao family's property.

I know that you still want to return to your own fields after recovering Shandong, and that's understandable. But Gao Ge Lao, you should never oppose selling land to raise money for your own selfishness. You are so favoritistic, what qualifications do you have to be in the center of the cabinet? ”

Princess Kunxing's words flew towards Gao Hongtu like a knife, making her trembling face change greatly.

"I, I'm ......" Gao Hongtu's body trembled, he didn't expect that the princess of the prison country would not give him face at all, so she went into battle shirtless and scolded him angrily. This made him lose all face, and what face is in the center again?

When Gao Hongtu was about to say more, Shi Kefa stepped forward and stopped him at once, bowed down to Princess Kunxing and said: "Jian Guo is cautious, Lord Gao is known to be honest and honest, and he is not a person who abolishes the public for personal reasons. ”

Things are developing too fast, Shi Kefa is still thinking about the gains and losses of selling land to raise salaries, and Princess Kunxing has already directly challenged Gao Hongtu, which caught him off guard. But Gao Hongtu is the backbone of the Donglin Party and the backbone of Shi Kefa's faction, Shi Kefa was afraid that Gao Hongtu would say other words in anger, and then anger Princess Kunxing, so he couldn't end the trouble, so he hurriedly came forward to play a round.

Princess Kunxing said lightly: "It is important to be honest and honest, but as a cabinet elder, the most important thing is to understand the general situation, and be able to come up with a way to solve difficulties when the court is in trouble, and solve problems for the king." If you only know how to oppose everything, but you can't come up with a solution to everything, what is the use of such a scholar? ”

After saying this, Gao Hongtu's face was discouraged, and even Shi Kefa's face changed greatly, he knew that with these words, it had been decided that Gao Hongtu's career in the future was completely over.

As a scholar of the Cabinet, the king is doubtful about his ability, and he is no longer qualified to be in the cabinet.

"The minister is incompetent, please beg the bones!" Gao Hongtu knelt down and kowtowed, took off his hat and put it on the ground, and staggered outside.

Princess Kunxing has no sympathy for the departing Gao Hongtu, and she has long been dissatisfied with such a minister who only knows how to talk about skin.

"The matter of selling the land to raise money is so decided, and after you go back, you will discuss how to proceed. Be fast, the military situation is like fire, you must not slack off, this palace limits you to discuss specific and feasible methods within three days! Princess Kunxing said domineeringly.

Shi Kefa opened his mouth, closed it helplessly, and walked out dejectedly. As the first assistant, he knew that Princess Kunxing had saved face for him, and the matter of selling land to raise salaries was so troublesome, and he, the first assistant, had a lot of responsibility, and it was his hesitation that made things bigger and bigger.

And now that Gao Hongtu has been dismissed, I don't know what the ministers outside will make when they know about it, it is conceivable that there will be another turmoil in the court.

"Motosuke, take a step to speak." On the way back to the cabinet, Lu Zhenfei pulled Shi Kefa's sleeve and said softly.

"What does Elder Lu Ge want to say?" Shi Kefa was a little impatient, because he knew that the reason why he was at this point was fueled by Lu Zhenfei and Wang Yin and others, otherwise Princess Kunxing would not have suddenly gone crazy.

And Gao Hongtu went down, and it was Lu Zhenfei and others who directly benefited. This is also the reason why Shi Kefa did not directly deny Princess Kunxing in Nuanhe, he was afraid that if he was forced to step down, no one would be able to contain Lu Zhenfei and the others, and then the entire court would probably be the King of Qi and his family.

"Yuanfu, things have come to the current situation, as the elder of the cabinet and the head of the ministers, we must pay attention to the overall situation at this time." Lu Zhenfei said.

Shi Kefa looked at him lightly: "What?" Does Lu Ge always think that this pavilion is a person who doesn't care about the overall situation? ”

Lu Zhenfei: "Xiaguan didn't mean that. It's just that now that the old Gao Ge suddenly dismissed the official, and the princess of the prison country forcibly implemented the sale of land to raise salaries, after the news spread, the ministers will inevitably be surging in the crowd, especially those officials of the imperial history, who will definitely not give up.

And the princess, as the king of the prison country, naturally will not compromise with them. So it's likely that things will get out of hand.

However, for the current Ming Dynasty, the Northern Expedition is at a critical moment, although the King of Qi captured Shandong, but the main force of the Manchu Eight Banners has no loss, and it may counterattack at any time. If the Northern Expedition is victorious, my Ming Dynasty is in sight to recover the old soil, and if the Northern Expedition is defeated, my Ming Dynasty is likely to fall into a crisis again. If the king of Qi fails, the people of the world will lose their confidence in the Northern Expedition. It is not yet known whether the imperial court will be able to favor the south.

As the elder of the pavilion, we are in the center, and we can't go into battle to kill the enemy and worry about the country, the only thing we can do is to stabilize the situation in the court, so that the king of Qi has no worries and can deal with the enemy in front of him with peace of mind.

Motosuke, did you say yes or no? ”

Shi Kefa didn't expect Lu Zhenfei to say this, and he actually persuaded himself with the overall situation to suppress the officials of the Donglin Party line, how could he oppose this?

Finally, Shi Kefa nodded slowly: "As the first assistant, this pavilion naturally understands the overall situation, don't worry, if there are officials making trouble, I will suppress them." But you must also know that although I am the first assistant, my energy is limited, and not everyone is willing to listen to me......"

Lu Zhenfei said with a smile: "Even the princess of the prison country doesn't want to listen to Yuanfu's words, what's the use of such an official staying in the imperial court?" Just drive it out of the court. ”

"You!" Shi Kefa's face changed, "Lord Lu, are you trying to set off a big mess?" ”

Lu Zhenfei shook his head: "It's not messy." The Ming Dynasty has the King of Qi, you and me, as long as we can work together, there will be no chaos. When the world is turbulent, when the Ming Dynasty is dying, only when the imperial court twists into a rope and makes a sound, can it form a joint force and everything is feasible.

If there is a noise about everything, and there are people who oppose everything, then nothing can be done. The reason why I Daming fell into the current situation is because there are too many people who speak out and too few people who do things!

The lower officials are not talented, I just want to do something in a down-to-earth manner under the leadership of the princess of the prison country under the leadership of King Qi, and do what I should do for my Ming Zhongxing and the people of the world.

Therefore, for those who only speak out and do not do things, the lower officials are not used to it, and they don't want to tolerate it anymore! ”

Looking at the calm face on Lu Zhenfei's face, Shi Kefa knew that a big storm was about to rise. Although he is the first assistant, the princess of the prison country really trusts Lu Zhenfei and Wang Yin. What Lu Zhenfei said now is probably the meaning of Princess Kunxing, and the meaning of Chen Yue, the king of Qi who is far away in Shandong.

Now that the Northern Expedition is in full swing, acting under the banner of the Northern Expedition occupies the great righteousness, although opposing the princess of the prison country at this time is ignoring the overall situation, and even the people of the world will not sympathize.

What a Qi king Chen Yue, he didn't purge the court officials when he was in Nanjing, but now he is doing it under the pretense of Princess Kunxing's hands! He himself commanded the army in Shandong, but he let Princess Kunxing and others set off a storm in the imperial court, eradicating the voices of dissent in the court, regardless of the danger of causing turmoil in the court.

What a spirit!

looked at Lu Zhenfei, who was calm and relaxed in front of him, and then thought about Princess Kunxing in the warm pavilion. Shi Kefa really wanted to just leave his hands and quit, resign from the position of first assistant and resign. But thinking about what Lu Zhenfei said just now, if he really resigned and didn't do it, wouldn't it be what he just said about ignoring the overall situation!

And what are the consequences? I am afraid that the Donglin Party forces have been completely purged in the court. If the Northern Expedition fails, it's okay, if Chen Yue really drives away Manchu and recovers Beijing, those who resign at the critical moment will never have a chance to turn over! On the contrary, it will be beaten into a traitor to the court by the court in the future, and when Chen Yue returns to the court in victory, and then cleans it with the power of great victory, I am afraid that the entire Donglin Party will no longer have room to survive.

Thinking about the terrible consequences, Shi Kefa knew he didn't have many options.

ps: 4,000 words, that's all for today.