In the Flower Hall of the Prime Minister's Mansion, the python robe and jade belt that Zhang Juzheng wore in the court have not been replaced, and he looks more and more tall and straight, and the momentum of the emperor's first assistant is extraordinary.

He paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, his brow faintly tinged with melancholy.

The Ming Dynasty is thriving, the implementation of the new policy is deep, and there are Qi Jiguang and a group of generals who can defend the country and defend the country, what else does Zhang Juzheng, as the first assistant, have to worry about?

Zeng Shengwu, the secretary of the military department, sat on the Taishi chair, leaning forward slightly, as if to explain for Zhang Juzheng: "The news from the third lady's side is not necessarily accurate, Altan Khan is not dead, Huangtai Jiyan dares to do this?" Let's strengthen our combat preparedness, and there are strong soldiers under Qi Shuai, why are you afraid of him knocking on the pass? ”

"If the Tatars are opposed, they will definitely end up in trouble," Zhang Juzheng sighed, and looked at Zeng Xingwu again: "Where the method of using soldiers, the whole country is the first, and the country is second; The whole army is the first, and the broken army is second; The whole brigade is the first, and the broken brigade is second; The whole pawn is the first, and the broken pawn is second; The whole army is the first, and the army is second. Therefore, a hundred battles are won, and the good ones who are not good are also; The soldiers who surrender without a fight, and the good ones are also good. ”

Zhang Juzheng's "Art of War" by the back, implicitly implies a warning, in the past, as the governor of Sichuan, he led Liu Cheng and other generals to suppress the rebellion of the servants who had plagued the Ming Dynasty for more than 100 years, which can be described as a great achievement; However, now, as the secretary of the military department who controls the overall situation of the whole [***] affairs, he has to raise it from the level of "winning a hundred battles" to the level of "a soldier who surrenders without a fight".

Zeng Xingwu's face turned red, and he arched his hand and said: "Shengwu, I am taught." ”

Zhang Juzheng smiled and nodded.

Altan Khan's power is not comparable to that of Tumen Khan and Dong Fox, this Khan king's surname is only a catty, but a descendant of Genghis Khan, a descendant of the Golden Family, and a powerful Saibei.

He commanded more than 200,000 people who controlled the strings, the soldiers were strong and the horses were strong, the land of grazing horses from Qinghai Lake to the Hulunbuir grassland, it has always been a strong enemy of the Ming Dynasty in the north, and finally Jiajing Dynasty, the Great Wall along the military disasters continued, and even in the 29th year of Jiajing, the Great Wall broke through the defense line of the Great Wall, and the soldiers came to the city of Beijing, which made the government and the opposition shaken.

It was not until the Longqing period that the grandson of Altan Khan lowered Hannaji to Ming, Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu Fang were at the border at the right time, and presided over the matter of Altan tribute, and the soldiers finally subsided in more than ten years, and the north was peaceful.

Unexpectedly, more than ten years later, bad news came again, and Zhang Juzheng and Zeng Xingwu were of course uneasy.

In addition, in addition to the overall situation of maintaining peace, Zhang Juzheng also has a little selfishness, when I replied that he was in charge of the center, if the fight starts again, this will undoubtedly become a powerful weapon for political enemies to attack him, and it will be too unjust to be splashed with dirty water of "fornication with Tartars".

At this moment, Yao Ba hurriedly walked outside the hall and reminded in a low voice: "Master, General Qin is here." ”

"Please, please," Zhang Juzheng did not hesitate.

Qin Lin strode up to the hall, Zhang Juzheng and Zeng Xingwu are old acquaintances, there is no need to be formal, Qin Lin asked straight to the point: "Is it coastal defense or something wrong on land?" ”

Zeng Xingwu stroked his black beard and laughed: "Brother Qin really knew the meaning of the song when he heard the strings, and when he saw the old brother's military department, he guessed three points first. ”

"And don't laugh panic," Zhang Juzheng instructed Zeng Shengwu to tell Qin Lin about the matter.

Zeng Xingwu was an optimist, and he didn't look sad when he encountered things, so he told Qin Lin in detail.

The words have to start from that year, the current "Zhongjin Hatun" Mongolian princess Sanniang is actually the granddaughter of her husband Altan Khan, who was originally promised to be married to Altan's grandson Hannaji.

Who knows, just like Emperor Tang Ming fell in love with Yang Guifei, Altan Khan, a guy with a heavy taste, actually fell in love with his granddaughter and granddaughter-in-law, snatched the third lady into his arms, and played the farce of a pear flower pressing a begonia.

turned Hannaji into a red face and simply surrendered to the Ming Dynasty.

Altan Khan turned around and regretted it, feeling that he was too sorry for his grandson, and was afraid that the Ming Dynasty would slaughter Hannaji, and tried every means to get him back from the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng, Wang Chonggu and Fang Fengshi and others took this opportunity to negotiate, and finally reached a tribute, the Ming Dynasty canonized Altan Khan as the king of Shunyi, opened the border trade, and sent Han Naji home, and Altan Khan handed over the group of Han Annihilation of Zhao Quan and Zhao Hengbei of the White Lotus Northern Sect.

Ten years have passed, the White Lotus Northern Sect has been wiped out, Altan Khan is in his last years, and the prestige of the third lady is getting bigger and bigger, almost ruling the grassland on behalf of Altan Khan, but she is very young - she is originally the granddaughter of Altan Khan, and several of Altan Khan's sons are older than her, so there is a power struggle.

The envoy who has recently been sent by the Altan side to pay tribute is none other than the eldest son of Alta, (that is, the uncle and stepson of the third lady, uh, chaotic enough) Huang Taiji, who has always been at odds with his stepmother and niece, the third lady, and has always been hostile to the Ming Dynasty, and belongs to the militants on the Mongolian side.

In comparison, the three ladies belong to the pro-Ming faction, and the relationship with the Ming court is quite close, and they strongly advocate maintaining peace between the two sides.

Just yesterday, Huang Taiji arrived in Beijing as a tributary envoy, and the letter of the third lady was also sent to the military department at the same time, telling the court that Huang Taiji took advantage of Altan Khan's old age and illness to connect several tribes in the steppe, claiming that once he inherited the throne, he would resume the war.

Because Sanniangzi was familiar with Zhang Juzheng and Fang Fengshi, the letter was sent to the Ministry of War, and Qin Lin's Beizhen Fusi was one step later when he got the news.

"According to the third lady, this Huang Taiji is very ambitious," Qin Lin pondered, and suddenly changed his words: "However, the information is really not true?" Zeng Shangshu seems to say that in order to compete for power, the third lady and Huang Taiji have a grudge, will she want to borrow our hands to deal with Huang Taiji, so as to provide false information? ”

"General Qin asked," Zeng Xingwu laughed.

Zhang Juzheng also nodded: "That's why we invited you to come, be sure to find out this matter, so that the imperial court can deal with the surname!" ”

Beizhen Fusi is the CIA, and it is Qin Lin's responsibility to find out the truth of this matter.

Zeng Xingwu said again: "And we don't look for Liu Shou and Liu Dudu, but for you, Brother Qin, there is also a reason." Recently, His Holiness Uszangzha sent his younger brother to meet with Altan Khan in Qinghai, and Altan Khan gave him the title of 'King of the Holy Knowledge, All Merits of Immeasurable Wisdom and All Merit, Tso Gyadavar Pintdi Welling', and this person gave Altan Khan the title of 'Our Kravardi Chechen Khan'......

"Holy" means a transcendent person; "Knowing everything" is the honorific title given in Tibetan Buddhism to monks who have achieved the highest attainments in sutras; "Dawalpindi" is a Sanskrit word meaning "holding vajra", and it is also the honorific title of Tibetan Buddhism for monks who have achieved the highest achievements in tantra.

Altan Khan's gift of the title of Dharma King of Jinding Monastery on Zha Lun represents the abandonment of the original shamanism in Mongolia and the complete respect for Tibetan Buddhism.

The Jinding Temple gave Altan Khan the title of "Wekravalddi Chechen Khan", which is Sanskrit and means "Wheel King"; "Chechen Khan" is a Mongolian word meaning "wise and wise Khan King".

This represents the recognition of Altan Khan's status as a secular ruler on the Tibetan Buddhist side.

It is clear that there is a tendency for the two sides to converge.

And this trend, of course, will not be a good thing for the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng frowned at first, but suddenly thought of something, slapped his hand, and couldn't help but smile: "In the old man's opinion, General Qin is the best at dealing with these guys who pretend to be gods, so this matter is up to you." ”

Isn't it, in Qizhou, in Nanjing, and in Jizhen, how many times did Qin Lin pretend to be a ghost? Ya herself is a big god.

When Qin Lin heard what the Dharma King was and what was the Dharma King, he remembered that the Grand Lama Delong of Longfu Temple also said that there was a junior disciple of the Dharma King Weide of Jinding Temple who was going to enter Beijing for the Hajj, and he must be this person.

Therefore, Qin Lin must try his best to find out the bottom of this guy in detail, and find out what the hell the Mongolian and Tibetan sides are doing.

"Mr. Zhang, Zeng Shangshu, you two can rest assured," Qin Lin patted his chest and packed the ticket: "This matter is handed over to the lower official, there is absolutely no problem, pretending to be a ghost, the lower official is a door, no matter what Dawal Pindi he is, he has to show his original form when he comes to me!" ”

Zhang Juzheng and Zeng Xingwu looked at each other and smiled, somehow, they were full of confidence in Qin Lin.

This ordered the wine to be set up and the family banquet to entertain Qin Lin.

"Accuse, accuse!" Qin Lin hurriedly said: "There are still a few brothers waiting outside, and they have said that they are going to the cheap shop." ”

The person who refused the invitation of the emperor's first assistant in person, maybe Qin Lin was the first one in recent years, you must know that the officials who have sharpened their heads and want to squeeze into the Prime Minister's Mansion can line up from Chongwenmen to Xuanwumen.

Zhang Juzheng didn't think it was wrong, and smiled encouragingly: "A gentleman is quick to say a word, since Qin Lin has said good to others, he should naturally do what he says." ”

Zeng Xingwu smiled secretly beside him, and said in his heart that he really loved the house and Wu, although the emperor's first assistant was often unpretentious to Qin Lin, in fact, he was very tolerant.

Watching Qin Lin leave confidently, Zhang Juzheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and said in a low voice: "It seems that I have found the right person this time." ”

Zeng Xingwu reminded: "Old gentleman, slow down, the lower officials can temporarily breathe a sigh of relief, old gentleman, you raise reward silver, you still have to be busy, now these vassals, Fugong is getting more and more powerful." ”

This is true, Rao is invincible Zhang Juzheng, and he is also a little depressed.

Qin Lin was not in a hurry to go out, because a little girl beckoned to him, so he turned a corner and walked to the warm pavilion next to the back garden.

The red charcoal fire baked Zhang Zixuan, who was wearing a fire fox collar mink fur, her delicate face red, and a pot of incense slices simmered on the small red clay stove, steaming, and her beautiful face was like a dream.

The deep eyes were a little mocking, and the eyebrows that flew obliquely into the sideburns were slightly raised, and the lips of the prime minister's daughter were lightly opened: "Brother Qin, haven't you seen you for a long time?" ”

Qin Lin leaned in with a wicked smile: "If you don't see each other, it's like every other autumn." ”

"I haven't seen you for more than a year, what should I do?" Zhang Zixuan's voice had a sour taste.

Well, Qin Lin knew why.

"The daughter of the prime minister's house, who never pretends to be sexual, also has times when she is jealous?" Qin Lin grinned and blew gently into Zhang Zixuan's pink ears.

Tickled by Qin Lin's ears, Zhang Zixuan was lightly angry: "Yes, yes, I haven't seen each other for more than a year, and even my little sister misses Chief Jin a little!" When will she come to Jingshi, and when will our sisters meet again? ”

The daughter of the Prime Minister is so smart that since the Hajj is approaching, she guessed that most of the golden cherry blossoms will enter Beijing.

From the beginning of the negotiations in Nanjing, Zhang Zixuan and Jin Yingji were opponents of each other, and thanks to Qin Lin's reconciliation, the agreement to recruit Wufeng maritime merchants, gradually lift the sea ban, and open the port of Hangzhou was opened.

Now the owner of the Wufeng ship, Jin Yingji, leads the fleet under his command to crisscross the East China Sea, and the business goes north to North Korea, south to Annam and Siam, which can be described as steaming; Compared with the powerful smuggling group represented by the Sea Shark Society, the Wufeng maritime merchants who represented the civilian maritime trade paid taxes according to the regulations, and the tariff revenue of the imperial court increased by 200,000 silver per year in Hangzhou alone, which became a new driving force for Zhang Juzheng's reform of the new policy.

But Qin Lin found that there was no reason for a woman to be jealous, even if it was a thoughtful and resourceful woman like Zhang Zixuan, it would make no difference.

No, when it comes to Jin Yingji, Zhang Zixuan's words have a strong sour taste.

"I want her to come, and some things are easy to explain," Qin Lin said while looking at Zhang Zixuan, deliberately making her frown slightly, before the words changed: "It's a pity that she still has a lot of things to do in the Southeast Sea, and she lacks skills, so she can't come this year." ”

The corners of Zhang Zixuan's mouth curled slightly, and her face suddenly sank, "Hmph, it turns out that you still want her to come, so why did you come to me again?" In your heart, what is the little sister, the little sister? ”

The more I talked, the more I felt sad in my heart, and the eyes of the prime minister's daughter were a little red.

Even when he was angry and sad, Zhang Zixuan was still so beautiful, if Qin Lin didn't believe in the beauty of Xizi's heart before, now he would definitely not doubt it.

"Yes, I, old man, mother," Qin Lin finished speaking word by word, cheekily kissing people's pink faces.

"Cheeky!" Zhang Zixuan glanced at him, his expression had eased a lot, the corners of his eyes smiled slightly, and he stretched out his slender jade finger and lightly nodded on his head: "How many wives do you have?" ”

"One, two, three," Qin Lin counted with his fingers solemnly, as the numbers increased, Zhang Zixuan's face became more and more unsightly, fortunately, this guy stopped counting to three, and looked at the daughter of the Prime Minister with a smile, which means that you are the third.

"Only three?" Zhang Zixuan looked incredulous, and thought for a while: "What about the golden demon girl?" ”

Qin Lin was calm: "Confidante." ”

A pillow smashed directly on his head, fragrant and soft, and it didn't hurt.

Zhang Zixuan gritted her teeth and waved her small fist: "Qin Lin, why are you so thick-skinned?" ”

"It's not thick, it's not thick, it's barely seven or eight inches," Qin Lin smiled evilly.

"Why did I fall in love with this guy?" Zhang Zixuan glared at Qin Lin hatefully, Rao is she is full of scheming, and there is nothing she can do when she encounters such an armored face as Qin Lin, there is nothing she can do about him.

After laughing for a while, Zhang Zixuan finally got back to business: "By the way, in fact, my little sister really wants the gold ship owner to enter Beijing, because this Hajj, there must be a lot of things in Fugong, and I hope she can share her father's worries when the time comes." ”

Fugong? Qin Lin only knew that pretending to be a tribute envoy to cheat the reward was called a tribute, so what was going on with this floating tribute?

Zhang Zixuan explained that in addition to the tribute, there are also indiscriminate tributes and floating tributes.

Excessive tribute, that is, there were only 100 tribute envoys, and 500 people wanted to come, all of whom had to be entertained by the Ming Dynasty for food, drink and travel expenses, and originally only carried tributes worth 10,000 yuan, but they wanted to bring 50,000 yuan, deceive several times the reward, or sell them along the way to make money, and they can escape tariffs.

For example, during the Chenghua period, the number of people who paid tribute every year reached 2,000, most of which were indiscriminate.

Floating tribute, is the overseas vassals saw the good face of the Ming court, indiscriminately offer treasures, auspicious rui, for example, a giraffe, from the coast of Africa to the Central Plains, the cost of the top of the sky is only hundreds of thousands of two silver, but the tribute envoy said that this is a "unicorn", extremely auspicious auspicious.

Okay, the unicorn is here, and the imperial court doesn't give back a few thousand or ten thousand handfuls of silver, are you embarrassed to call yourself the Central Celestial Empire?

The unicorn is there, the phoenix is also fast, what strange things, all pretend to be auspicious, in addition to the formal tribute and additional presents, the court can not refuse, so they have to laugh at all, and the cost of the reward is extraordinarily huge.

Zhang Zixuan didn't know about the three ladies and Huang Taiji, and thought that her father was looking for Qin Lin for the matter of indiscriminate tribute, so she wanted Jin Yingji to help find a market for the tribute.

"Damn, doesn't this regard our Ming Dynasty as a wronged leader?" Qin Lin slapped his thigh, "When the time comes, I'll think of a way to try to fool this matter over." ”

When it comes to the ability to fool, the Ming Dynasty is also the highest in Qin Lin, and he must have some way out of the old man.

"I believe that Brother Qin will not disappoint my little sister, then wait for the good news," Zhang Zixuan smiled, and lightly opened her lips, and sighed: "But Brother Qin, can you move your hand to a position?" ”

Oh? Qin Lin pretended to be stupid and looked down, and then slowly retracted his hand: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" ”

Dare to love this guy's shot just now, it was slapped on Zhang Zixuan's leg!

Shameless, shameless, shameless...... It had been a long time since Qin Lin had left him when he went out of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and the brothers were grumbling with hunger in the teahouse.

It just so happened that Liu Shouyou came with a group of Jinyitang officials, and they were full of wine and food, which made Lu Yuanzhi, Hong Yangshan and others angry, Xu Jin, who just said that he would go home to see his son, was also mixed in.

Ma Bin immediately got angry, even if he changed the court, he couldn't be so unruly, and couldn't help but stand up: "Lao Xu, what's the matter with you?" Didn't you go home to see your son? ”

Xu Jin smiled wryly, and several henchmen under Liu Shouyou's command all sneered: "Haha, what about following Chief Qin to the cheap shop?" Old Ma, where did you Chief Qin go, throwing you here to eat cold wind? ”

Before Ma Bin and Hong Yangshan could answer, it happened that Qin Lin walked out of the Prime Minister's Mansion with Shi Shiran in his hands, and Yao Ba followed behind with a smile on his face.

Qin Lin said with a smile: "Everyone, wait a minute, Mr. Zhang's there is a little delay, let's go to the cheap shop now." ”

What, how did Qin Lin get out of Zhang Juzheng's mansion? What's going on?

Liu Shouyou and his henchmen looked at each other, Xu Jin was even more dumbfounded, he was caught in front of him as an anti-bone boy, this is so ugly, he can't wait to dig a hole in the ground.

(To be continued)