Chapter 325: Response

The so-called allusion of Wu Zetian smothering his baby comes from the "Zizhi Tongjian", according to the above records, Wu Zetian was originally a talented person of Tang Taizong, and after Li Shimin's collapse, he entered the Ganye Temple as a nun. Tang Gaozong ascended the throne, re-summoned into the palace and sealed it as Zhaoyi, entered the number of Concubine Chen, and traveled in the harem many times with Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu. At that time, Concubine Xiao was deeply favored by Gaozong and threatened the status of the queen.

As a result, Empress Wang formed an alliance with Wu Zetian, causing Concubine Xiao to be relegated to the cold palace.

But Queen Wang never expected that her ally, after bringing down Concubine Xiao, would aim her crosshairs at herself.

This year, Wu Zetian was twenty-seven years old before he gave birth to a princess for Gaozong. Only a month after Wu Zetian's eldest daughter was born, after Queen Wang came to see her daughter, she "strangled her" and suffocated her in infancy, and framed Queen Wang for the crime. Gaozong was furious, so he demoted the queen to a concubine. Wu Zetian also sat on the throne of the queen and stepped onto the political stage since then.

Jiajing was already narrow-minded and extremely suspicious.

In addition, he is extremely diligent, in Sun Dan's opinion, Zhu Houxuan, the boss of Daming Company, is alive and well as a Ming Dynasty version of Yongzheng. It's just that Emperor Jiajing didn't fall in love with the early dynasty very much after the imperial power was stabilized in the middle and late periods. However, not being in the early dynasty does not mean that he ignores government affairs. As an emperor, except for the fool of Emperor Jin Hui, he takes his own position very seriously, because the profession of the emperor cannot tolerate a little delay, and once the situation occurs, there is only a dead end. Unlike the ministers who lost power in the DPRK and China, they really reached the point of exhaustion, so it was a big deal to resign and go home to retire. The emperor's profession is not retired, it is like riding a crazy forward train, knowing the moment you stop breathing, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

The reason why Jiajing's evaluation in history is not as good as that of the later Yongzheng is because the political atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty is relaxed, and the ministers are tolerant of scolding the emperor, and the emperor is the original sin. And even the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, such as Jiajing, was a narrow-minded emperor who loved face the most, and he was helpless against public opinion. If it were replaced by the Qing Dynasty, it would have been a "chaos" and "chaos" killing a long time ago, and decades of writing would have been imprisoned, and it would naturally be the sound of ten thousand beaks, and a faction would have praised virtue.

Sun Dan also took advantage of the emperor's rare suspicion in the Ming Dynasty, so he said this leisurely.

This sentence is more powerful than saying that the lethality of a thousand ways and ten thousand.

In an instant, Boss Zhu of Daming Company spun around in his head for an unknown number of times, and immediately understood what was going on.

He stood up suddenly, looking at Sun Dan viciously, his chest rose and fell violently, and he no longer had the demeanor of the fairy wind bones in the past.

Sun Dan also knew that he was talking nonsense with his eyes open, and only in this way could he rescue Empress Chen from adversity, and also keep the safety of the political group headed by him, Empress Chen, and Bi Yun. Only in this way can the entire situation that has deteriorated be completely reversed.

Sun Dan is not flustered, the emperor now has an opinion on himself, if he 'shows' a strange expression on his face at this moment, he is afraid that something will be wrong.

He looked back quietly, calmly: "Your Majesty, the minister just thinks that there are many doubts in this matter, and he can't see through and think through it." ”

"Suspicious? Say! The Emperor shouted again.

Sun Dan: "Although the minister feels that there are many things that are a little strange, but this should not be said by the minister." After all, the criminal Lu Fang is a student of Chen, Lu Fang is the personal eunuch of the queen's mother, and the minister has recently been talking to Lao Zhuang with his mother. In order to avoid suspicion, the minister should avoid it. ”

"Avoidance, this is your Sun Dan's style? You got into trouble with Guo Xun's family in Fangshan, why didn't you know how to avoid it; You bypassed the government and went to the Fangshan Lane Weaving Bureau, why didn't you avoid it? The Emperor shouted again.

Sun Dan spread his hands, "The ministers have something to do, but they don't do anything." ”

The emperor suddenly laughed, but his face relaxed, and he sat back in his seat: "Okay, your Sun Dan is afraid of offending people, so he has played a trick, and I can see the suspicion you said." ”

Sun Dan: "Your Majesty Shengming, everything in this world is contained in Banzai's chest." ”

"Less compliments on me." The emperor snorted: "If you don't want to say it, I will say it for you." Suspicion 1, Lu Fang has only been with the queen for a few days, and in such a short time, it is not enough to be coaxed to the point of not even caring about his "sex" life to be this dead soldier; Suspicion 2, Lu Fang is the queen's person, and he gave "medicine" to harm Concubine Zhang, doesn't this make everyone think that this matter was instigated by the queen, the queen is not stupid enough to be like this; Suspicion 3...... "He couldn't go on, as soon as Lu Fang was caught just now, Huang Jin shouted and shouted to kill, and he was going to sentence Lu Fang to death on the spot, and he didn't mention the matter of interrogation at all...... Don't...... They want to silence them......

The more the emperor thought about it, the more shocked he became, and his eyes became 'confused'.

Then there was a burst of unusual anger, these people were all old people from when he was diving, and now they are rich, but they are fighting openly and secretly, and they will not stop for a moment. Who to do or who not to do is a difficult decision for him.

Although Emperor Jiajing was shrewd, he had three major shortcomings: narrow-mindedness, love of face, and protection of shortcomings.

Of course, he was extremely annoyed with several of his old people, whether it was Huang Jin, Sun Dan or the concubines of the two palaces. Who can be done and who not can be done, no matter how it is handled, let people outside the palace know, it will be a big joke, and it will be a great damage to the majesty of their own emperor.

Now, Emperor Jiajing is arguing with his ministers about the imperial examination, and naturally he refuses to lose face and spirit in household affairs.

Moreover, the concubines of the two palaces will not talk about it, they are their own husband and wife in distress. Huang Jin is his big companion from childhood to adulthood, and his personal feelings are excellent. As for Sun Dan, the first strategist of the emperor when he was diving, it can be said that without Sun Dan, there would be no current Jiajing.

The emperor is a very protective and longing person, and he also attaches great importance to feelings, these people are his confidants, so he naturally doesn't want to do anything with them.

It's just a muddled book. Although I knew that this must have been done by Huang Jin and Concubine Zhang, how could I get a dead hand?

Jiajing didn't feel sad in his heart, and he forced his spirit to ask: "Sun Dan, how do you think this matter should be handled?" ”

Hearing the emperor's words, Sun Dan felt a burst of ecstasy in his heart, knowing that he had succeeded in making the emperor suspicious of Huang Jin, this pass not only passed smoothly, but also planted the seeds of suspicion against Huang Jin in the emperor's heart.

He pretended to be cautious and replied, "Isn't Your Majesty already a holy judgment, isn't it the best way to deal with Lu Fang by handing him over to the Criminal Department for interrogation?" ”

The emperor nodded: "That's right, let the criminal department interrogate, and you don't have to ask about it." ”

In fact, family ugliness cannot be publicized, and now this case is full of suspicions, and the emperor does not want to investigate this matter without conclusive evidence, which is why he handed over Lu Fang to the Criminal Department. If it is handed over to Jinyiwei, with the means of Beiya, it will naturally be able to find out. Although Lu Bing is sensible, he is also his old man, and it is inevitable that he will not be affected. Sun Dan and Huang Jin are like this, the emperor is no longer willing to see it, if he lets his feet wet by the Xiaoluzi River again, wouldn't it be painful for the relatives and happy for the enemy.

Hey, let the Criminal Department toss, forgive the few people from the Criminal Department who didn't have the courage to enter the palace to investigate the case. As long as this case drags on for a year or two, everyone will forget about it, and find an auspicious day to kill Lu Fang, it will be just a matter of "color".

Sun Dan: "Your Majesty, the minister retires." "Just step down.

The emperor was sitting on his seat weakly, and when he saw that Sun Dan was leaving, he hurriedly lifted his spirits: "Wait, I still have something to ask you." Let's talk about Fangshan, so as to boost my spirit. "He's in a bad mood and wants to hear some good news.

Sun Dan probably said about the matter of Fangshan once, and said: "The minister's implementation of the idea of pro-business in Fangshan is somewhat in conflict with the national policy of focusing on agriculture and mulberry, and I hope that His Majesty will punish him." ”

Jiajing frowned: "I probably know something about your affairs in Fangshan, and I don't want to discuss with you about agriculture and business, let's talk about your tax reform." ”

Sun Dan said: "Your Majesty, the market in Fangshan is prosperous during this time, and this year's Xia Shuichen has been collected in advance. ”

"Ah, it's only the beginning of the year, and the summer tax has already been completed?" The emperor was a little surprised, and immediately became a little excited: "In previous years, the summer taxes in various places were not collected in advance, and there were many that could not be completed on time, and many provinces were in arrears last year. After the autumn harvest, the summer tax can be made up, but the autumn tax is owed. In this way, it is always necessary to pay half a year less, and the country's annual income is reduced by half. Sun Dan, you have done a good job, whether it is supporting business or rewarding agriculture, as long as you can pay taxes on time, just do it. I only look at your tax numbers. ”

After Jiajing took over the mess left by Emperor Wuzong, he never had a surplus on hand, and when he thought of money, his head was as big as a fight.

He rubbed his hands happily: "If all the magistrates in the world are like you, I don't have to worry so much." It's a pity, Sun Dan, you only have to make a name for yourself, if you really get into the Jinshi, with your talents, I will hand over a political envoy to you, and after half a year, I will be loose in hand. ”

Sun Dan was also a little happy in his heart, as long as he kept making money for the emperor, his weight in the emperor's mind would become heavier and heavier. As for the emperor's dissatisfaction with himself just now, it was nothing at all.

A king is not a normal person, especially for a shrewd emperor.

He can be dissatisfied with a minister, but as long as the minister is an operator, he can be reused.

Compared with the dignity of the state and the emperor, his personal likes and dislikes are not worth mentioning at all. Riddlers are all over the world, and as long as the emperor needs it, a large crowd of people will rush up like flies and stinks. However, it is not common for officials who are public, loyal, capable, and incorruptible.

Sun Dan thought that he was also a shrewd and capable man, and as long as he was given the opportunity, he would definitely become an indispensable assistant to the emperor.

Now is no longer the time to hide clumsy, you need to perform vigorously in front of the boss and reflect your own value. As long as the boss is not stupid, he will know the importance of employees like me to Daming Company.

Sun Dan: "Thank you for your trust, but there is another good news." If nothing else, Fangshan will be able to collect this year's autumn tax in advance next month. If His Majesty agrees, Fang Shan is willing to bear all the taxes of the entire Shuntian Mansion Jiajing for a year. ”

Jiajing was shocked in his heart: "You are willing to bear all the taxes of Shuntian Mansion, so to speak, your annual tax in Fangshan can be worth a remote political envoy, is this possible?" ”

Sun Dan nodded: "It's entirely possible, Your Majesty is in a hurry, and listen to the minister's report slowly." He said calmly: "The Weaving Bureau now has more than 3,000 branch machines, and each loom collects a fixed amount of three to five yuan per month in a machine tax, which is about 10,000 taels a month and 100,000 taels a year." This is still part of it, the woven silk is also subject to a commercial tax of 10% during the sale process, and 10% can be taken when buying raw silk. There is only one weaving bureau, and in a year, the minister can contribute 30 to 500,000 taels of tax revenue to the country. ”

Jiajing's eyes were green when he heard it, as far as he knew, the country was prosperous and stable since the Jingtai year in the Ming Dynasty, but after so many years, the country's annual financial income was only more than two million taels. These two million taels are only enough for the normal expenditure of the state, and if it falls below this figure, the "government" is in danger of not functioning.

By the time of Wuzong, because the state had used troops one after another, the financial deficit was very large, and it was gradually unable to make ends meet. Up to now, not only has it not even been able to keep the bottom line of two million taels, but the local government has also owed the imperial court taxes for several years. Fortunately, in the past few years, the wind and rain have been smooth in various places, and there have been no major disasters, if there are really a few droughts and a few floods, and the country is unable to provide disaster relief, will it not cause civil "chaos"?

This is also what Jiajing has been worried about since he ascended the throne, but he has never been able to think of a way to improve his finances.

In fact, in real history, in the final Jiajing Dynasty, the figure of Taicang in the imperial court has always remained at the scale of more than two million taels, and has been hovering above and below the warning line of two million. By the first year of Longqing, the year after Jiajing's death, this number was on the verge of deterioration. The annual income of the imperial court that year was 2,014,200 taels, but the expenditure reached an astonishing 5,530,000 taels. It can be said that the finances of the imperial court have completely collapsed.

This is also the origin of "Jiajing Jiajing, every family is exhausted".

It was only after Zhang Juzheng's reform that the state's fiscal and tax revenues increased by a large margin. In the fourteenth year of Wanli, it reached a gratifying 3.89 million taels.

It can be seen from this that the emperor of Jiajing for a year was so poor.

It can also be seen how much Emperor Jiajing is eager for money.

Sun Dan saw that the emperor's expression had changed greatly, and added another fire: "This is still the beginning, according to the minister, as long as everything goes well in the weaving situation, and the silk can be exported overseas, it is not difficult to reach the scale of Jiangnan weaving, and it is possible to earn one million taels a year." ”

"Good!" Emperor Jiajing patted the handrail excitedly: "Well done, I know that you Sun Jingyuan is a good financial manager, and you can do it to such an extent by handing over a county to you, but you have greatly grown your face for me." Those ministers regard themselves as national scholars all day long, and they entangle with me in the imperial examination, but what good is it for the country and the people? I'm going to report and reward you, so that they all can see what the real Peerless Warrior is/"

He got up from his chair and happily walked around the room, the big incident that had just caused the dispute between the concubines of the two palaces was no longer so important to him. The trace of unhappiness towards Sun Dan in his heart was also blown away by this astonishing number.

The emperor now looks at Sun Dan more and more pleasing to the eye, and said in his heart: I don't care who is right or wrong in this matter, as long as I can dig up silver for me, it is my humerus, and I will never fail him.

Sun Dan still had no expression, only bowed and said: "The glory of the minister is also the glory of His Majesty, but the minister only knows how to do things, sharing worries for the king and the country, as for the rest, I don't think much about it, the minister's 'nature' is Mu Ne, and he is a dull person." ”

Jiajing was in a good mood, helped Sun Dan up, smiled and praised: "What a person who only knows how to do things, there are many people in this court who talk about it, but there are not many people who may do things, don't worry, I look at it!" ”

Next, naturally, the monarch and the ministers got along, and after saying some words, Sun Dan retired.

The matter of Lu Fang's "medicine", because Sun Dan mediated from the side, did not involve Queen Chen, and it can be regarded as a satisfactory solution.

Looking at the emperor's meaning, Lu Fang has no worries about his life in the short term, and it is estimated that he will have to be locked up in the prison of the Criminal Department for a few years, so he can only slowly figure out a way.

It's a pity that Lu Fang, such a talented young man, withdrew from the political arena like this, and he will not have the opportunity to step into the position of the eunuch in charge of the seal in the future, which is a pity.

"Hey, it's useless to think so much now, let's save Lu Fang's life first." Sun Dan muttered: "This thing is really weird, it was obviously the musk that Chen Hong went to get, why did the one who gave the 'medicine' later become Lu Fang?" ”

No matter what, Sun Dan couldn't figure it out.

After leaving the Yuxi Palace, Sun Dan remembered the look that Chen Hong had handed him before, and knew that this kid had something to say.

Sun Dan was not in a hurry to leave Xiyuan, so he borrowed an excuse to go back to the inner study.

Now, Xiyuan has been under martial law, and if he goes out, Chen Hong will not find a chance to go out to find him.

Sun Dan can only guard in the inner study hall.

The students in the inner study hall have all finished school and returned to their residences, and only two teachers are on duty there. Seeing that Sun Dan came over and sat for a long time and didn't seem to have the posture of leaving, he felt strange, and stepped forward to serve carefully.

Sun Dan: "I'm going to take the exam next month, and I want to find a quiet place to study, so I'll be on duty tonight, so you can go back." ”

When the two teachers heard that Sun Dan was willing to be on duty for them, they were both happy in their hearts, and they gave in a few humble words, and left with a smile.

The so-called examination is the central examination of the imperial examination system in the Ming Dynasty, and only after passing this pass can the scholar be awarded the actual official position by the imperial court, and it can be regarded as a positive result. As for the later palace examinations, it is just to set the rankings for the candidates in the examination.

The test was held at the Gongyuan in the southeast of Beijing's inner city. The two chief examiners of the examination, a bachelor from Jinshi, and an official above the deputy capital of Shangshu and above, are invited by the ministry to fill up. There are also eight examiners in the same place, most of whom are served by Hanlin.

Of course, Jiajing's one-year examination was Enke, and the emperor himself served as the chief examiner.

According to the usual practice, the exam date is set for the beginning of February, and it is only a few days away.

Sun Dan doesn't pay much attention to the exam, and with his ability, it shouldn't be difficult to pass. However, it is still appropriate to review your homework in advance, I have been so busy lately that I haven't touched a book for many days.

As soon as I took a copy of "Zhu Zi's Annotated Analects" and couldn't read a few pages, Chen Hong really came.

As soon as he entered the door, Chen Hong knelt on the ground suddenly, kept kowtowing, and cried loudly: "Sir, the student should die, the student should die!" ”