Chapter 828: Wrath

Shuntianfu is located in Youyan, in winter it is cold and frozen, not like the capital of Jinling Six Dynasties of gold powder, the winter has passed, so since the first day of October, all kinds of braziers and earth dragons in the palace have begun to be used. For the emperor is the red basket charcoal, all produced from the Ministry of Industry Yizhou Mountain Factory, just for the charcoal, every year there are more than 20,000 people in the mountains to cut down and burn charcoal, the imperial dining room of the horse's mouth firewood is also produced here. These are all high-quality firewood, smokeless and tasteless, and the red basket charcoal used exclusively for Inshou Palace even uses a special process in firing, which has an indescribable fragrant fragrance, which is better than those rich spices.

At this moment, in addition to the warmth, the East Warm Pavilion of Renshou Palace is wafting with such a fragrant fragrance. Empress Dowager Zhang covered a homely azure small floral gown over her crow-blue robe, and was sitting at the desk looking at the letter that Zhu Zhanji asked Jinyiwei to bring, and only raised her head for a long time, slowly folded the letterhead carefully, and then stuffed it back into the envelope and handed it to the female official on the side, signaling for the record.

"Now it's out of Xifengkou, about four or five days to Daning, according to the half a month there, you should be able to rush back before the year, and you can also let the accompanying soldiers have a good year. It's just that this bitter cold weather is bitter for the accompanying soldiers, but fortunately, Zheng He's fleet came back, and the entry was abundant, and each person had two new jackets, plus plenty of food, and it was just a pour. ”

Zhu Ning knew that Empress Dowager Zhang did not approve of Zhu Zhanji personally leading the troops to patrol the border, so he continued to say: "The Empress Dowager, please relax, the emperor has been heroic since childhood, and has always managed the avant-garde of the government army. Only this time the Winter Solstice Dynasty is too late, whether this is a holiday, the Queen Mother can also mention it to the emperor. In addition, the winter solstice women will also come to Renshou Palace to see, according to the usual five grades below the palace gate to kowtow, five grades or more to stay at the banquet, the nobles and ministers of the cabinet before entering. Now that the emperor is not here, will the queen mother see more women besides this? ”

"I'm glad you reminded me." Empress Dowager Zhang has been in the East Palace for a long time, and she knows the hard work of the officials of this dynasty, so she immediately nodded, "In addition to the winter solstice, the yamen will keep people on duty, and the rest of the people will be given seven days off in addition to the three-day holiday, which is ten days, I told Zhan Ji that he will definitely agree." As for seeing more people...... That is the wife of the attendant, no matter how high or low, all attract the palace to see. ”

Since Empress Dowager Zhang said this, the female officer next to her hurriedly responded. After talking for a while, Zhu Ning saw that the Empress Dowager Zhang seemed to be a little tired, and looked at the time when it was already the time to take a nap, so she glanced at the two female officials, and saw that they had persuaded them twice, and the Empress Dowager Zhang stood up, and she retired with a smile. When she opened the curtain and went to the small room outside, she casually swept the two palace maids who were preparing tea and clothes, and walked out all the way without staying.

Although it was a cold day, the afternoon sun was good, standing in the wind and being illuminated by the sun, Zhu Ning stood for a while, until her maid hurried over from the side hall, she asked, "Is the prince okay over there?" ”

"Don't worry, the prince has just fallen asleep."

Knowing that the crown prince had fallen asleep, Zhu Ning remembered that a palace maid in Yongning Palace had passed some unclear words the day before yesterday, so he planned to go over to see Sun Guifei. So, she let a maid beside her cover her with a silver rat skin, and she slowly descended the steps, and before she could reach the bottom, she saw a few people hurrying over from the gate on that side.

"County Lord, County Lord, something is wrong!"

Seeing that it was Lu Feng, the overseer of Dongchang, Zhu Ning was suddenly surprised, and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"Today, Zhang Yue, the left attendant of the Ministry of War, quietly went to take a look at the annual competition for the selection of hereditary officers by the Military Election Department of the Military Department, and the result was that there was a mess at the end of the time, and he didn't know where the assassin came from, and he couldn't assassinate Zhang Yue, so he shot Shang Yong, the head of the Military Selection Division, with an arrow. Fortunately, Zhang Yue also brought a few more people and captured the assassin on the spot. At this time, Mu Ning and Jinyiwei's Fang Ling had already hurried over, and our family had to report to the Queen Mother first if they were thinking about such a big matter. ”

The more Zhu Ning listened, the more frightened he became, and his face unconsciously brought out palpitations. After taking a deep breath, she nodded at Lu Feng and said, "In that case, you are waiting in front of the palace now." The Queen Mother has just taken a nap, so I'll go and report it first. But let me remind you first, the Queen Mother will be furious when she learns about this, you are in charge of the East Factory, but don't ask three questions. ”

Seeing that Zhu Ning put down these words, he reflexively lifted his skirt and hurriedly went up the steps, Lu Feng secretly complained in his heart. When he first heard the news, he was a little confused, so he didn't go in person, but sent Mu Ning, who was in charge of the execution, to bring people over, and sent people to urge Jinyiwei, and he was repeatedly thinking about it in the yamen for a while, just because he was afraid that the queen mother would be angry and blame him. After thinking about it, he called his subordinates who were in charge of the news from all over the place to question him, but he didn't have too many clues, so he could only come over hard. Ben is still lucky, but Zhu Ning has already seen through this, how could Empress Dowager Zhang not question?

Sure enough, he shuffled up the steps with heavy steps, and didn't wait long outside when he heard a command from inside. Dressed and bowed his head into the Dongnuan Pavilion, he knelt down and kowtowed without even raising his head. Sure enough, the always kind voice above sounded very cold at this moment, and the first sentence fell like a sledgehammer.

"Such a big thing, you only know that the incident is reported later, and you don't get any news in advance?"

Empress Dowager Zhang was extremely angry at this time, and couldn't help but pat the armrest heavily: "Attacking and killing court officials in broad daylight, is this still the peaceful and prosperous era that you say in the general newspaper on weekdays?" ”

So far, Lu Feng can only kowtow and reply: "It's a small dereliction of duty." ”

"Did Zhang Yue come back?"

"Back to the Queen Mother, he just sent someone back to report the news first, and the person has not come back yet."

"A Ning, you send someone out to wait at the yamen of the military department, let him go to the Wenhua Hall as soon as he comes back, I want to see him!"

Seeing that Zhu Ning agreed to retreat and make arrangements, Empress Dowager Zhang looked at Lu Feng coldly: "The case of Li Maoqing in the first place is a headless public case, and now there is such a case, but there are so many people present, what will the people say, and what will the courtiers say?" I'll give you a half-month period, and there must be a result in the two cases, if not, you can simply go to the pension! ”

Half Moon Period! Lu Feng only felt bitter in his mouth, but he still had to agree. When he kowtowed out of the Dongnuan Pavilion, he patted his face vigorously, thinking that it was easy to get rid of the people who were secretly plotting against him, and after two days of peace, there was a bigger incident in the blink of an eye, could it be that this year is really unfavorable?

Because the news did not spread so quickly, when Zhang Yue returned to the city, whether it was the fire street under the city or the chessboard street, it was as usual, several major yamen personnel in Dongjiang Rice Lane were coming in and out, and the soldiers guarding the alley also had to yawn, and some looked around lazily, and the meaning of peace and leisure came to the face. Thinking that just two feathered arrows had almost caused a major stampede accident for a group of future court officers, he couldn't help but be more determined to ask the emperor to establish martial arts.

The group turned around in front of the official office of the Tai Hospital, and just arrived in front of the yamen of the military department, a person rushed out quickly, but it was Cao Jixiang. Before Zhang Yue could get off the horse, he saw that the other party stepped forward and hurriedly grabbed the reins, and personally held the stirrups.

"Lord Zhang, the Queen Mother is summoned in the Wenhua Palace."

As soon as he heard that it was Wenhua Palace, Zhang Yue was stunned for a moment. Although Renshou Palace is a forbidden place for ordinary officials, he has occasionally been to it once or twice, and when Empress Dowager Zhang summoned her, she had many encouragements to mention, and in the past, she summoned the ministers and nobles and never came out of Renshou Palace. Today, for the first time, it was moved to the Wenhua Palace, and I am afraid that even those ministers who are working in the Wenyuan Pavilion will also meet with them. After thinking about it in his mind, he jumped off the horse, called a soap who probed his brain and commanded a few words, and finally nodded to Peng Shisan and the others.

"Maybe the inner court has something to ask later, I asked them to find a room for you to sit and wait for a while, Xiao Fang is also waiting here for a while, and then let someone ask a doctor to take a look."

Seeing that everyone nodded, Zhang Yue planned to continue walking along the alley. This is the East Chang'an Avenue in front, and the left hand to the end is the left gate of Chang'an, which has always been the only way for civil and military officials to enter the palace. However, he hadn't taken two steps before he heard a noise behind him, and when he looked back, it was Cao Jixiang who was leading two horses to chase after him.

"My lord, now I can't afford to delay my efforts, the Queen Mother specially instructed that Lord Zhang should ride a horse to Donghua Gate and go straight to Wenhua Palace."

From the left gate of Chang'an to the noon gate, and then from the left gate to the Wenhua Palace, this trip takes two quarters of an hour, and the Donghua Gate and the Wenhua Hall are only a few steps. Knowing that the Empress Dowager Zhang must be eager to know what happened, Zhang Yue was not verbose, and galloped along the imperial wall after getting on the horse. When they arrived at Dong'an Gate, there were still officers and soldiers on duty in front of them, and Cao Jixiang in the back shouted, and the two of them still entered one after the other, and they did not dismount until they were in front of Donghua Gate.

When he arrived at the gate of Wenhua Palace, Cao Jixiang hurriedly went in to report, while Zhang Yue stood at the bottom of the stairs and waited. But after a while, there was a loud voice inside, and someone came out to wait. When he entered, Zhang Yue found that Yang Shiqi and Yang Pu, who were left behind in the cabinet, were there, and there was also Chen Mao, Marquis of Ningyang, who stayed in Beijing to take charge of the former military capital. met with the Empress Dowager Zhang, and he did not beat around the bush and told the truth about today's events. When he talked about the sudden two arrows, he heard a soft snort from behind the curtain from the Empress Dowager Zhang, and Yang Shiqi and the others on the left all had solemn faces.

After Zhang Yue finished speaking, no one in the hall spoke. After a long time, Empress Dowager Zhang was the first to break the silence: "Zhang Qing excerpted the list of the twelve people who escaped, but do you suspect that they are related to the assassins?" ”

"Returning to the Queen Mother, the ministers ordered people to pass the word, but they were knocked unconscious by Shang Yongzhi, and then there was a riot, which is suspicious; Wu Xuansi's competition is obviously just a false story, there must be corruption and bribery in the middle, but Shang Yong pleaded in front of the minister, looking at his demeanor, but there was a sense of guilt, this suspicious two. The assassin missed a blow and immediately fled away, but he took the trouble to shoot the second arrow, and he was in the middle of Shang Yong, the head of the Wuxuan Division, which was suspicious. Unless there is something hidden in this military election other than corruption, this sudden assassin is really strange. Fortunately, people have already taken the living mouth, and they can always interrogate some situations. ”

"It's really not what it used to be."

Empress Dowager Zhang didn't add a reference, but the four people present were all smart people, and everyone knew what they were referring to. Yang Shiqi pondered for a while, and then asked Zhang Yue, "Did you bring that roster?" ”

"Brought." Zhang Yue didn't hand it over directly, but said to the Empress Dowager Zhang behind the curtain, "The list of the twelve people has been relayed to Jinyiwei and Dongchang, so naturally they will check it, but the other people on this list, in order to appease them, so they mentioned the establishment of martial arts, but this is not a lie made up for a while, but something that the minister has been thinking about for a long time." ”

Seeing that Empress Dowager Zhang didn't speak, Ningyang Marquis Chen Mao was overjoyed, Yang Shiqi and Yang Pu were extremely surprised, Zhang Yue arched his hand and said: "Queen Mother, see the slight knowledge, the officers who inherited the military rank this year are like this, it can be imagined before." The minister was watching from the sidelines, and he was also angry, and he wanted to fill all these people, but after thinking about it, these were all meritorious ancestors, and if they changed drastically because of this, they might make those who had previously inherited military positions uneasy. In the past, the ministry discussed salaries, but in fact, it was not only the court officials, but also the generals in the army. A piece of rice has to support several people in the family, although there is no need to practice martial arts with pen, ink, paper and inkstone, but someone has to teach, weapons and sticks cost money, and the body needs good food, and if there is no incentive, this is always unsustainable. ”

"Therefore, today's matter, the Empress Dowager does not offend those officers who participated in the competition. As for martial arts, it is now useful for training military attaches who are new to the official career, and in the future, it will be used for those young children who want to attack the official ranks. Emperor Taizu once ordered the sons of Xungui to enter the country to supervise the study of Confucianism, and Confucianism was the foundation of his life, but if the heroes did not practice in the military strategy after the meritorious service, it was inevitable that they would not be as good as the previous generations. ”

"From Wu and Wen, there are 60 people in the two capitals, and there are 432 people in the rest of the prefectures and counties, in contrast, the Confucian students in various places are like a vast sea of smoke, not to mention 1,800, in addition to official learning, there are already more private learning. The four major academies of the Song Dynasty were once famous all over the world, but now some are in decline, while others have recovered. Emperor Renzong and the emperor in order to show the fairness of the imperial examination, the north and the south have set a ratio of scholars, but now that the capital has been moved for many years, the northern literature is still not as good as the south, because the north is not as rich as the south, and most of the gifted poor children cannot go to school, so private learning should be vigorously promoted......"

Empress Dowager Zhang was angry, but Zhang Yue turned the topic in another direction as she spoke, the annoyance on her face gradually faded, and finally she bowed her head thoughtfully, but she didn't say yes or no. At the end of Zhang Yue's words, she looked at Yang Shiqi, Yang Pu and Chen Mao, and saw that they didn't speak, so she said lightly: "Since Zhang Qing said so, the thousands of households in this selection will not be investigated for the time being, but according to the rules of the Hongwu period, half a salary will be given first, and the job will be tried for two years." As for martial arts and literature, you should prepare the inscription in detail according to what you have said today, and then forward it to the ministry after the cabinet discussion. Today's incident is tracked down by Jinyi Weidong Factory, and after a few of you go back, you will each appease and inform your subordinates. ”