The time has come to June, it is the hottest day of the year, the sun is scorching the earth, all life is retreating under the sun, whether it is the Daming Palace or the imperial city, it has become quiet near noon, everyone stays in the room, outside the street, the square will not see a person, but as the bell of the lunch break rings, there is a sparse carriage to the outside of the palace, this is the minister who went out for lunch, once upon a time every day at this time is unprecedented, the ministers you invite me to invite, three or five groups go to the outside to drink and party, and now that the weather is hot, most people are not happy to go out unexpectedly, so they simply stay in the court room and eat a simple meal provided by the imperial court.

Despite this, there are still a small number of officials who are not afraid of the heat, meet to eat at the Waifang Restaurant, in front of the office of the Imperial History Terrace of the Daming Palace, also laughed and cheered out of seven or eight officials, the first two, one is the ninth degree of Cheng Yan in the Imperial History, and the other is the new Imperial History in the Cheng Du Mei, the chief of the Imperial History Terrace is called the Imperial History Doctor, for the vacant position, regardless of the practice, the specific things are responsible for the Imperial History of the Imperial History, there are two Imperial Historical Platforms, the left Taiwan knows the hundred divisions, and supervises the military brigade; Chazhou County, the right Taichazhou County, the provincial customs, so there are generally two imperial history in charge of the left and right Taiwan, and the eastern capital Luoyang also has a royal history in the middle of the Cheng, purely symbolic, because Zhang Huan added a supervision room on the basis of the two imperial history after ascending the throne, so he simply removed Luoyang's imperial history Zhongcheng, and set up a third person in charge of the supervision office in the imperial history of the imperial history of the middle of the Cheng, three of the imperial history of the middle of the Yan Jiudu palm left platform, Li Hanmo palm right platform, Du Mei palm of the supervision room.

Today is Du Mei's third day in office, and he has been busy going through various formalities, and it is easy to officially settle down today, and several colleagues have made an appointment to go out for a drink to pick him up.

"Brother Du turned out to be a six-year jinshi of Qingzhi, I am a seven-year jinshi of Qingzhi, and Brother Hanmo is a five-year jinshi of Qingzhi, what a coincidence!" Yan Jiudu just read Du Mei's resume, and couldn't help laughing, Du Mei was born poor. Although he has been an official in Longyou, his official position is privately granted by Zhang Huan as a festival envoy, just a private staff nature, not recognized by the imperial court, and there is no record in the ministry, this time he was promoted to the imperial history in the first time he was an official in the real sense, but no one dared to underestimate him. He is one of the five tigers of Longyou, and the five tigers of Longyou refer to Hu Yong, He Lou Wuji, Pei Mingyuan, Du Mei, and Luo Guangzheng. During Zhang Huan's expedition to Anxi, the size of the entire Longyou group was decided by the five of them through consultation, and coincidentally, four of the five of them were tigers, so they were nicknamed the five tigers of Longyou by the imperial court, and these five people were definitely Zhang Huan's henchmen, in this great change in the imperial court. Except for He Lou Wuji, who was appointed as the envoy of Longyoujiedu, and Luo Guangzheng, who was appointed as the envoy of Shuofangjiedu, the other three people were all going to enter the court as officials, and no one in the court dared to underestimate them.

Du Mei was a court official at the beginning, and he was a little restrained, and it was interesting to listen to Yan Jiudu. Du Mei also hurriedly smiled and said: "It turned out to be such a coincidence, it's a pity that Li Hanmo went to Hebei, otherwise we would really have to get together for a drink." ”

"It's okay, having land is an opportunity, Hanmo is a famous drunkard in Chang'an, I'm afraid Brother Du can't hide from it."

"I am flat, and Brother Jiudu can just call me flat."

"Good! Brother Ping, please get into the carriage. Yan Jiudu turned his head and waved his hand, "Everyone set off separately and concentrated in persuading the farmer." I'm here for a treat today. ”

All the officials of the Imperial Historical Observatory got into the car one after another and walked together in the direction of Quannongju.

The proprietor of persuading the farmer is still Jing Niang, but now Jing Niang is no longer operating in the restaurant, but living in the East Market, she has been doing trade with the Western Regions since the business is very prosperous, and she has eaten a few shops in the East Market, so she simply opened a large trading firm, named Dream West Regions, and became one of the famous big trading houses in the East City. Exclusively for the powerful and wealthy. Coupled with her seven or eight years of hard work, she has become one of the richest women in Chang'an. After Zhang Huan ascended the throne, she should enter the palace once, nominally to deliver goods to the palace, but in fact to stay in the palace.

Now the shopkeeper of the farmhouse is also a young orchid, the Chinese name is Wang Meimei, who has followed Jingniang for many years, is very shrewd and capable, and has a superior memory, she can remember clearly all the officials who have come to her store to eat, and the next time she comes again, she can call out the other party's official title and surname, not bad at all, the weather is hot these days, most of the officials no longer come out to eat, and the business of the restaurants in Wubenfang at noon has become much lighter, and they have begun to think of attracting some ordinary wine customers to dine in the store, and persuading the farmer is no exception. Because you can meet many high-ranking officials of the imperial court here, there are also many ordinary diners who come to persuade the farmhouse to eat, and the whole Dali is full of diners, noisy and noisy.

The shopkeeper Wang Meimei is smiling and introducing the history of the farmhouse to several guests. Eye waves. And he saw four or five carriages outside the door. A few court officials got out of the carriage. She recognized Yan Jiudu at a glance. The people behind him are all officials of the Imperial History Terrace. It's the Goshidai group coming out for lunch. She immediately confessed. It flew out like a flower butterfly.

"Yan Zhongcheng is here! The small shop is really full of brilliance. Wang Meimei smiled softly. Holding Yan Jiudu's hand, he didn't let go. I'm afraid that as soon as he turns around, he will run away.

"Will the farmhouse flourish because of my coming? It's so uplifting to me. Yan Jiudu smiled. He pointed to Du Mei beside him and said, "Meimei." Let me introduce you to it. This is our new Du Zhongcheng of the Yushi Observatory. It turned out to be an official in Longyou. It's my predecessor. The first time I came to persuade you to live in a farmhouse. You have to be entertained. ”

Since the word Longyou has been said. How could Wang Meimei not know it. She immediately gave Du Mei a gift. "I hope that Du Zhongcheng can become a frequent visitor to persuade farmers to return. Meimei will definitely leave you satisfied. ”

"Tell me about it. How to be satisfied? Yan Jiudu glanced at everyone. Laugh out loud together.

Talking and laughing. Everyone humbly walked into the gate of the farmhouse. Although more than a dozen officials poured into the restaurant together. But it is too big to persuade farmers to live. There is little deterrence. Only a few diners sitting at the door looked at them in surprise. The rest of the diners didn't even notice their arrival.

Dali was still noisy and lively, everyone walked through the store, ready to go up to the private room on the second floor to eat, suddenly, Yan Jiudu seemed to hear a few diners talking loudly about a topic that should belong to the secret of the imperial court.

"You may have thought, how much money is in the imperial court now? Twenty-three million guan, I heard that this does not include the fine tax money in Guangling. ”

"Of course, I have copied hundreds of clans, and it should be no problem to get this money."

"Everyone. I have also heard that the imperial court is secretly storing gold and silver, and I am afraid that the price of gold and silver will skyrocket, so everyone who can afford it may as well save a little gold and silver. ”

Yan Jiudu looked back suddenly, and it was a few businessmen dressed as diners who were drinking, of course they were not officials of the imperial court, but what they were talking about was something that even he Yan Jiudu didn't know, and a professional instinct made him quietly have a trace of vigilance in his heart.

Everyone went up to the second floor, and the second floor quieted down suddenly, not only because most of the rooms on the second floor were private rooms, but more importantly, there were many private rooms that some high-level officials had chartered for lunch for a long time, and persuaded the peasant houses not to let ordinary people go in to eat. Yushitai also has a private room in the innermost part of the second floor, and Yan Jiudu and Li Hanmo used to come here to drink two glasses at noon almost every day. Other officials from the Imperial Historical Observatory also often came.

Two pretty maids led them to the front of the private room, Yan Jiudu smiled at Du Mei and said: "This room is where our Yushitai officials often come to drink, and over time it will become a special room for our Yushitai, and in the future, Brother Ping will come here to drink in this room." ”

Du Mei also nodded and said: "This persuading farmhouse is really good at doing business, and the Dali below is already overcrowded, but they would rather not entertain guests than let ordinary diners go up to the second floor." That's why I'll come here more often in the future. ”

"Brother Ping, do you know the backstage of this persuading farm?" Yan Jiudu squinted his eyes and smiled slightly: "Speaking of which, it has something to do with your Longyou." ”

As soon as the words fell, he suddenly heard someone behind him calling him, "Yan Zhongcheng, but are you?" ”

Yan Jiudu turned around. I saw a person leaning out in front of the door diagonally opposite, but it was Zhang Yansheng, the secretary of Taifu Temple, who was originally held by Fang Zongyan, and after Fang Zongyan was dismissed because of Chu Xingshui's involvement, Taifu Siqing was promoted by Zhang Yansheng, the backbone of the Zhang Party.

Zhang Yansheng was the first Honglu Siqing, Pei Jun demoted him to a living room after he came to power, and later he joined Yang Yan, Yuanzai and others to join Zhang Huan, becoming the first batch of backbones of the Zhang Party, he once served as the imperial history of the Zhongcheng for a period of time. and Yan Jiudu work together, and the relationship between the two is very good.

Yan Jiudu was very happy to see him, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "Brother Zhang, why are you here?" ”

"I'm inviting a few of my subordinates to dinner." Zhang Yansheng caught a glimpse of Du Mei, and asked with a smile, "Who is this?" ”

"Ahh I almost forgot, let me introduce you. Yan Jiudu hurriedly pulled Du Mei over, "This is our new Du Zhongcheng of the Imperial History Terrace, Brother Zhang should have heard of it!" ”

Zhang Yansheng is the famous minister Zhang Jiazhen. The word "reward" in his name was still given by Li Longji. In the era of Li Longji, he entered the palace as a guard officer, and was later recruited as a son-in-law by Miao Jinqing, the left minister. He is a famous family, he has always been arrogant, and an important reason for his good relationship with Yan Jiudu is that Yan Jiudu is Yan Zhenqingzhi, and he is the uncle of the current queen, and although Du Mei is one of the five tigers of Longyou, his family background is poor, how can Zhang Yansheng look down on him, plus he is nearly sixty years old this year, let alone make friends with these juniors.

So after Yan Jiudu introduced Du Mei, he just arched his hand very lightly and said: "I have heard the name of Du Xiandi for a long time, and when I see it today, he is really elegant and handsome, and he lives up to the rumor." ”

The coldness in Zhang Yansheng's eyebrows and eyes could even be seen by Yan Jiudu, he was slightly dissatisfied in his heart, and he didn't want to introduce Du Mei anymore, so he smiled at Zhang Yanxian: "Don't disturb Brother Zhang's drinking, we are also hungry." ”

After that, he led Du Mei into the room, but Zhang Yansheng grabbed him and said, "I have something important to look for you, can you take a step to talk?" ”

Yan Jiudu saw that his expression was serious, and it was indeed a big matter, so he said to a few subordinates: "You take Du Zhongcheng in to order food first, don't think about saving me, I'll come immediately." ”

Zhang Yansheng dragged him to a secluded place in a hurry, and when he saw that there was no one left and right, he said solemnly: "I heard someone talking about Zuozang's treasury money in several places today, and he actually said that the score was not bad. ”

Yan Jiudu suddenly remembered what he had heard in Dali just now, so he nodded, "I also heard someone talking about it, this should be a secret of the imperial court, how can these ordinary people know?" I couldn't figure it out. ”

Zhang Yansheng saw that Yan Jiudu had also heard about this, and hurriedly said: "Yan Zhongcheng doesn't know, the amount of money in the Zuozang Treasury was not counted until yesterday morning, and it is extremely confidential, and even the emperor has not had time to report it." How could these common people know? ”

Yan Jiudu pondered for a while and said, "Could it be that the person who participated in the inventory went home and leaked it to his family, so it was passed out." ”

"Impossible!" Zhang Yansheng categorically denied it, "There are more than 100 people who participated in the inventory, and they only know part of the amount, and the total amount is only known to me and the two Shaoqing, and everyone counted the silk horses overnight last night, and no one returned home." I'm still resting in the Curry, how can it be passed out. I suspect that the note I wrote to the emperor yesterday afternoon was leaked. ”

Yan Jiudu was taken aback, "How can this be seen?" ”

"Because the people of Chang'an are talking about the secret that the imperial court is reserving a large amount of gold and silver, which is also mentioned in my recital, I dare to assert that it must have been leaked from the recital."

Speaking of this, Zhang Yansheng was a little frightened and said: "It's okay to leak the money in the Zuozang treasury, but the secret of the reserve gold and silver has been leaked." It will inevitably cause the price of gold and silver to rise sharply, once the emperor is angry, who can afford this responsibility? ”

Yan Jiudu also realized the seriousness of the problem, and he pondered for a while and said: "This can only be checked from the way of yesterday's book, first the household department, then the door province, and then the Zhongshu province. There are a lot of places and people passing through, and it is really difficult to find out who leaked out. ”

Zhang Yansheng glanced at the corridor, and immediately lowered his voice and said: "I have secretly checked it just now, my book was brought back to the mansion by Pei Jia, the Chinese scholar, last night for review, it is a printed secret book, how can he bring it back to the mansion?" ”

Yan Jiudu immediately understood what Zhang Yansheng meant by talking to him about this matter, he wanted to impeach Pei Jia, but he was afraid of the power of the Pei family, so he wanted to let himself come out. That being said, this is indeed his own duty, Yan Jiudu pondered for a while and said: "This matter is very important, let me go back to collect evidence and then carry out the matter of impeachment." ”

Zhang Yanxiang was overjoyed, he hurriedly bowed and saluted, "Please ask Yan Zhongcheng for this matter, if necessary, I will try my best to cooperate." ”

Yan Jiudu smiled bitterly, he could impeach Pei Jia and bring it back to the house for approval. But accuse him of leaking secrets. But it is difficult to find direct evidence, after all, Pei Jia is not the only one who handles it.

He walked back to the private room with a heavy heart. The food in the elegant room had been ordered, and everyone was talking and laughing, and when they saw Yan Jiudu coming in, they shouted that they would punish him three cups first.

Seeing Yan Jiudu's solemn expression, Du Mei couldn't help but be a little surprised in her heart, so she quickly got up to stop everyone and asked Yan Jiudu, "Brother Jiudu, what happened?" ”

"Hey! Don't mention it. ”

Yan Jiudu waved his hand, sighed and said: "Envoy Zhang told me that the secret of the imperial court's left hidden money was actually leaked, and I heard it when I was old just now, I really don't know who leaked the secrets of the imperial court." ”

"Do you want me to help you?" Du Mei smiled slightly.

Yan Jiudu suddenly woke up, Du Meidi had the supervision room in his hand, that is, the emperor's former internal affairs department, how could he forget this stubble, he grabbed Du Meidi's wrist and said urgently: "This matter is very important, Brother Ping must help me this time." ”

After lunch, Yan Jiudu and the officials of the Imperial Shitai returned to the Daming Palace, while Du Mei drove towards the imperial city in a carriage.

Since the Department of Internal Affairs was officially renamed the Supervision Office and assigned to the Imperial History Terrace, it was also temporarily moved to the Imperial City by Chongrenfang, officially listed as the Supervision Office, and the Supervision Order was served by Cheng Dumei in the Imperial History, which is divided into three divisions: the Military Inspectorate Division, the State and County Division, and the Taiwan Provincial Division, as the name suggests, the Military Inspectorate is the supervision of the army system, when Zhang Huan's Longyou Army is slowly restructured into the government soldiers, the government soldiers and local supervision will be carried out by the Ministry of War, and the Military Inspectorate of the Supervision Office is responsible for supervising the border generals of each section; The state and county divisions are responsible for monitoring local officials and major local events; The Taiwan Provincial Department supervised the major events that occurred in the central court and Chang'an.

Different from the inspection of the Imperial Historical Observatory, the supervision method of the Supervision Office lies in unannounced visits, which is a supplement to the Imperial Historical Observatory, and there are a large number of people, if the Imperial Historical Observatory is equivalent to the current local Commission for Discipline Inspection or the Ministry of Supervision, then the Supervision Office is the current National Security Bureau.

The prefects of the three divisions are all from the six grades of the imperial history, although the rank is not high, but the power is very great, can use all means to obtain information, but there is a principle that can not be violated, that is, they absolutely have no power to dispose of officials, any major information must be reported to the imperial history platform, by Du Mei to write the impeachment seal, and then submitted to Zhang Huan alone, by Zhang Huan to approve the Ministry of Officials or Criminal Department for disposal.

The first servant of the Taiwan Provincial Department was Li Li's staff Huang Yunqing, who finally got his wish and became an official official of the imperial court, instead of being an undercover agent, which means that he will have the opportunity to be transferred to the Imperial History Observatory or someone else's department, and from then on he will be completely insulated from the secret agents.

In the hot weather, he stayed in the room to review the reports of the various branches, and then took out the major events among them, and prepared to report them to Dumay, and then handed over all the reports to the person engaged in filing for future reference.

In today's report, he drew out two more important things, one is that there was a fight in the military department, Wu Yuanheng, a member of the military department, was injured by Pei Mingyao, the young secretary of Guanglu Temple, the specific cause is to be investigated, and the other thing is that Chang'an City is rumored that the imperial court will reserve a large amount of gold and silver, which has led to a sharp rise in the price of gold and silver, of which the black market price of gold has reached 18 guan and 1 tael, and the price of silver has also reached 3 and 1 tael, and the gold and silver jewelry of the major jewelry stores in the east market have been withdrawn, affected by this, the price of rice has also risen by 10%, It is very likely to trigger a chain price increase effect of various materials.

Huang Yunqing was looking down to write a report, and suddenly he looked up, but he didn't know when Du Mei entered his room and was looking at him with a smile.

Huang Yunqing hurriedly got up and saluted, "The subordinates didn't know that Zhongcheng was coming, and they didn't welcome him from afar, so please forgive Zhongcheng." ”

"You're welcome, I'm here for official business." Du Mei smiled and waved his hand, he saw the two reports on the table, so he asked curiously, "What happened today?" ”

Huang Yunqing hurriedly handed over the report, "The subordinates are sorting it out, and one is that Wu Yuanheng, a member of the military department, was injured by Pei Mingyao, the young secretary of Guanglu Temple. ”

"Why?" Du Mei asked in surprise, how could there be a contradiction between the military department and the Guanglu Temple, and they had nothing to do with each other's official affairs.

"I don't know the specific reason, but my subordinates have ordered someone to investigate."

"Be sure to find out why." This matter involved the Pei family, Du Mei didn't dare to be careless, he took another book and asked, "What's the big deal?" ”

"The second thing is that a strange thing happened in Chang'an, the streets and alleys are full of rumors about the amount of money saved in Zuozang, and it is also rumored that the imperial court is stockpiling a large amount of gold and silver, which has caused the price of gold and silver to soar, and it has also affected the price of rice."

"I'm here for this, the stakes are high, and we must find out the source." Du Mei handed a note to Huang Yunqing, and said in a low voice: "Yu Shitai suspects that the news may have come from this person, and you have to send the most capable and capable subordinates to investigate this matter." ”

Huang Yunqing took the note and opened it slightly, only to see two words written inside: Pei Jia

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