Hearing Chongzhen spit out the words "Si Lijian" in his mouth, Rao was based on Wang Chengen's cultivation, and his breathing couldn't help but become short. If the highest ideal of the Ming Dynasty scholars is to become the first assistant of the cabinet, then the highest ideal of the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty is to become the chief eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, who is known as the minister of the interior. As a result, many people in the Ming Dynasty even believed that the celebrant rather than the cabinet was the real prime minister. Of course, this view may not be correct, but it can also be seen that the power of the celebrant was important at that time.

"Your Majesty!" Wang Chengen took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed his rapid heartbeat, and said in a deep voice: "As the old slave can see, Mr. Bi of the household department is also on the fold, Your Majesty always has to give an answer, as for Mr. Yang in Shaanxi, he is also an old man in the imperial court, and he can also understand His Majesty's difficulties, reprimand a few words, and then comfort a few words, Mr. Yang naturally understands." There is no right or wrong in this matter, and if you have to distinguish between right and wrong, it will be a bad thing! ”

Hearing Wang Chengen mention Mr. Bi of the Ministry of Households, Emperor Chongzhen's face also moved slightly, this Mr. Bi of the Department of Household was the then of the Ministry of Household Shangshu Bi Ziyan, this person Jing Zeng, was a famous economist in the late Ming Dynasty, he left many manuscripts after his death, such as "Shiyinyuan Collection of Manuscripts" eight volumes, "Leaving the Plan and Sparse Grass", "Supervising the Draft", "Four Libraries of the General Catalogue", etc., is a must-read material for later generations to study the economic history of the late Ming Dynasty. This person was kicked out of the core of power because of discord with Wei Zhongxian five years after the Apocalypse, and went to Nanjing (there was a set of government teams in the north and south of the Ming Dynasty, but the Nanjing set had no real power) to be the imperial history of the right capital of the Imperial Palace, and the following year he was reappointed as the head of the household department (also from Nanjing), and it was not until Chongzhen ascended the throne that he returned to Beijing to take up the post of the head of the household department (this time in Beijing). When Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, the treasury had been washed, in order to rebuild the three major halls and the war expenses with Houjin, Wei Zhongxian not only used up the central treasury silver, but even the local deposits were ordered to be transported to Beijing. If it weren't for Bi Ziyan's dedication to the study of the household department, when the Qing soldiers entered the customs in the winter of the second year of Chongzhen, when the Qinwang soldiers gathered in Beijing, there would have been more than those Qinwang soldiers in Shaanxi and Shanxi. At that time, Bi Ziyan was under siege for more than a month, and he was so tired that his mouth and face were swollen and he vomited blood. Chongzhen promoted him to the crown prince Shaobao, Wang Chengen mentioned this person, Chongzhen's attitude couldn't help but change, and said: "Since Mr. Bi has been excerpted, let's reprimand Yang He for a few words!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Chongzhen said a few words to Wang Chengen, and then began to bow his head again and read his recitals, and did not rest until the first shift. After serving Chongzhen and resting, Wang Chengen came out of the palace, and the little eunuch on duty greeted him and said with a smile: "My husband has worked hard, and the imperial dining room has prepared a hot snack, but do you want to use some before resting?" ”

"That's it!" Wang Chengen shook his head and suddenly asked, "You just said that I worked hard, but do I have the Lord's hard work?" ”

"This-" The little eunuch was dumbfounded suddenly, and only after half a sound did he smile bitterly: "Old man, what you asked is a bit too much, where can the villain say whether the saint is hard or not." ”

"That's not bad, I'm the one who asked!" Wang Chengen sighed, raised his head to look at the night sky, and suddenly said: "Three watches and three hundred and sixty days a year!" Even the cattle that plough the land have a few days to spare, not to mention the honor of ten thousand times? God, God, if you have a little heart, take care of this big tomorrow! ”

Wang Chengen's voice was not loud, but the wind in front of the Qianqing Palace was not small, and the little eunuch on the side couldn't hear it clearly, thinking that he was giving some order to himself, so he hurriedly sang a fat promise: "Old man, the little deaf man didn't hear clearly, please say it again." ”

"Didn't hear me!" Wang Chengen snorted: "If you don't hear clearly, you don't hear clearly, I just said that I just hope that tomorrow will be a good day, don't hang on the wind and rain, so that the saint and a few ladies can go to Xiyuan to have a good time and relax." ”

Maybe God really has a heart, heard Wang Chengen's prayer, the next day Beijing was really sunny and sunny, cloudless, and the dust in the past also stopped. Chongzhen took Empress Zhou and the two noble concubines of Yuan and Tian, surrounded by the eunuchs and palace maids of the brigade, out of the Xuanwu Gate and went west along the royal road on the north bank of the moat. Sitting in the car, Chongzhen was still there

Considering the military affairs in the northwest and Liaodong, when he walked near the regimental city, he also sent a eunuch back to the Forbidden City to pass on the edict to Cao Huachun, the eunuch who was on duty.

All the way to Jinao Yudong Bridge, Chongzhen saw the rippling water in the left and right Taiye pools, the peach and plum on the shore contending, the bridge and the breeze, the whole person was immediately refreshed. Chongzhen paused lightly, Wang Chengen, who was driving next to the car, hurriedly poked his head over, and Chongzhen said in a low voice: "Slow down, I want to see the scenery on this lake!" “

"Yes!"

The speed of the car slowed down suddenly, and Queen Zhou on the side saw that Chongzhen was in a good mood, and laughed in a low voice: "Your Majesty, everything in this Beijing city is good, but when the wind blows strongly in spring, I was reluctant to go out a few days ago." “

"You are from Suzhou, as the saying goes, there is heaven above, and there is Suzhou and Hangzhou below, naturally it is not comparable to Beijing, but the ancestor set his capital here, so he naturally has his intentions." Chongzhen replied with a smile, he and Queen Zhou can be described as a couple in distress, when Chongzhen just ascended the throne, the situation in the palace was unstable, Empress Yi'an (the queen of the apocalypse) warned him not to eat the food in the palace, so Chongzhen brought bread from the palace into the palace to ascend the throne, and even the meals were handled by Queen Zhou herself for a period of time after ascending the throne, so as not to be secretly poisoned. The relationship between the husband and wife is deep, far better than that of most heavenly couples in history.

"Yes! It's a shame that the emperor is traveling together today, otherwise I don't know what the weather is! Tian Guifei on the side said, she is a native of Yangzhou, and Queen Zhou is a small fellow villager, she has a good relationship on weekdays, her appearance is the most beautiful among the three, and she is the most favored by Chongzhen on weekdays.

"Oh! But what does this have to do with me? ”

"The emperor is the son of heaven, blessed by a hundred gods, you travel naturally and refreshingly!"

"How can you say that!" Chongzhen laughed when he heard this: "Although I am the Son of Heaven, the way of heaven is selfless, regardless of the virtuous and the foolish, Yao has nine years of water, and Tang has seven years of drought. These two people are the holy kings of the ancients, and they are not immune to floods and droughts, let alone widows! “

Chongzhen and his wife were talking in the car, and Wang Chengen asked softly about the next itinerary, Chongzhen looked at the queen and concubine beside him, and said in a low voice: "Go to the Great Light Hall to incense first, and after the incense, go to Tuancheng to eat tea and rest, and then go to Yingtai for dinner!" “

The Great Light Hall is the place where the Jiajing Emperor was quietly photographed, the second longest reigning emperor of the Ming Dynasty worships Taoism, and spends most of his life in the palace to practice the art of immortality, this Taoist temple has actually become the real power core of the Ming Empire at that time, it is not difficult to imagine how magnificent and gorgeous this Taoist temple was built. When Emperor Chongzhen's car arrived, more than 100 Taoist priests who had already been notified knelt outside the mountain gate to greet the holy car.

Emperor Chongzhen and the concubines entered the palace, and after a short rest, they came to the Jade Emperor's tablet to offer incense in turn. Outside, the bells and drums rang out in unison, playing solemn music, until the green words and yellow watches were incinerated. Chongzhen reverently knelt on the yellow silk mat and kowtowed, praying silently for a while before getting up and walking away. When the queen and the two concubines burned incense and prayed, Chongzhen walked out of the hall, stood under the pine tree, looked at the beautiful scenery around him, sighed softly, and said to himself: "When Emperor Jiajing was in power, he did not go to court once a year, and he cultivated here, but the state affairs were also peaceful. “

Zhou Hou and the two concubines burned incense and walked out of the hall, and saw Chongzhen standing under the pine tree, his eyebrows were full of worries, and Zhou Hou hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?" “

"Nope!" Chongzhen smiled reluctantly and instructed the eunuch: "Go to Tuancheng!" “

This group city was originally a small island in the Taiye Pool, the Yuan Dynasty built the Yitian Hall on it, the Ming Dynasty changed its name to the Chengguang Hall after the addition and repair, and built the city wall around the island, and there are battlements, so it was named the regimental city. Chongzhen and his party came to the city, and the eunuchs had already set up tables and chairs under the tree. After Chongzhen sat down, she was still thinking about state affairs in her head, and her face couldn't help but be gloomy, Queen Zhou couldn't help but look up and down in her heart, and remembered the words that her mother said in front of her when she entered the palace a few days ago, so she glanced at Tian Guifei who was standing behind her. Tian Guifei took a step forward and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the scenery is very good today, it is better to let the concubine play a song to entertain the sacred heart." “

"Your Majesty, the sister of the Tian family said that she has made progress in her quyi these days, why don't you ask Your Majesty to comment!" Empress Zhou hurriedly said.

"The concubine said that she has grown, and she must have grown!" Chongzhen said with a smile, he was in a depressed mood at this time, and he didn't really want to hear it, but he didn't want to refute the face of Queen Zhou and Tian Guifei. Queen Zhou saw that Chongzhen did not open her mouth to refuse, so she nodded to the eunuch on the side, she had already sent a few cases of guqin up, Tian Guifei sat down in front of a few cases, and played it after a little concentration, she learned the piano when she was young, and her young skills were good, and after entering the palace, she worked hard again, and a song "Pingsha Falling Geese" was played down and the surroundings were silent, and only after half a sound did I hear Chongzhen sigh lightly: "Shibei should be impressed for three days, and I can't imagine that I won't see my concubine's piano skills grow again!" “

Tian Guifei bowed, and replied with a slightly red face: "It's not that the concubine's piano skills have grown, but the emperor is worried about state affairs and has no intention of rewarding!" The so-called bosom friend is few, who listens to the broken strings? That's what it means. “

Listening to Tian Guifei's answer, Chongzhen couldn't help but smile bitterly, the resentment in Tian Guifei's words was about to come out, how could he not hear it. It's just that since he succeeded to the throne, the state affairs have been changing, and he saw that the Ming Dynasty was about to overturn in three hundred years, how could he relax and enjoy the beauty in front of him

What about affection? He subconsciously asked casually: "There are few bosom friends, who listens to the broken strings?" , that's right, but I don't know who the verse is? “

Tian Guifei glanced at Chongzhen in some surprise, I don't know why this son of heaven, who is very fond of poetry and books on weekdays, can't even remember who the author is at this time, so she hurriedly replied: "Tell the emperor, it is a passage from Yue Wumu's "Little Heavy Mountain". “

"I can't imagine that King Wumu has such fresh and magnificent words." Chongzhen Qiang laughed to himself, and then sighed: "How fortunate is that Song Gaozong, although the Jurchens are in turmoil, there are also Yue, Han, Li Gang and other famous ministers and good generals, Zhongxing Great Song Dynasty, but I don't know where my Ming Yue Wumu and Han Zhongwu are now." It is no wonder that Chongzhen sighed so much, the state at the end of the Ming Dynasty was quite similar to the Jingkang period, facing the Jurchen minority secession regime that started in the Northeast, the difference is that the Northern Song Dynasty and the four Zhongxing generals represented by Yue Fei, but Chongzhen's subordinates have never had a powerful and deep excellent general whom he trusts.

Seeing this, Empress Zhou hurriedly comforted: "Don't worry about the emperor, the concubine heard that Yang He, the governor of the three sides, has pacified the chaos in the northwest a few days ago, isn't this a good sign?" ”

"Well, Yang He is finally able to do a good job!" Chongzhen nodded: "If the west is not peaceful, and the east and west sides make trouble together, then the state affairs will be even more difficult." ”

Empress Zhou pretended to know nothing: "The concubine also heard that Yang He privately used salt to raise military expenses, but I didn't expect that this Mr. Yang was a decisive person." ”

Hearing his wife say this, Chongzhen couldn't help but think of the news that he learned from Wang Chengen yesterday that someone from the Zhou family had recently entered the palace to see the queen, and his heart couldn't help but chuckle. He is an extremely mean person, and the most taboo thing is to collude with inside and outside and bully himself, so he pretended to be impassive, and said casually: "Salt introduction is the country's financial route, Yang He must be wrong to do this, but this time he calmed down the chaos in the northwest, so he gave up." ”

Empress Zhou listened to Chongzhen's vague dissatisfaction with Yang He, remembered what her mother said to her that night, and gritted her teeth: "What Your Majesty said is very true, salt politics is the lifeblood of the country, if it is a temporary benefit or a bad plan for a hundred years, it is not done by a wise man." ”

Bang!

Chongzhen slammed the teacup on the ground and shouted: "The harem is not allowed to interfere in politics, are these words what you should say?" ”

Empress Zhou fell to the ground all of a sudden, and said in a trembling voice: "The concubine should die, it's just, it's just-"

"Just what?" Chongzhen sneered: "You also know that since ancient times, how can anyone in the harem have good results?" I can't imagine that you would do such a thing for your own selfish interests! ”

"The concubine didn't do it for her family—" As soon as Empress Zhou said this, her voice stopped, and there was an expression of fear and regret on her face. Chongzhen abruptly stood up from the throne, walked up to his wife, and asked sharply, "How do you know that I know that your mother came to visit the palace?" ”