The emperor ordered everyone in the palace to come back to their senses, and the maids rushed in, serving food and pouring wine for everyone, and the palace was suddenly overflowing with the fragrance of wine. Chongzhen raised his glass and said with a smile, "It's rare for everyone to gather together, today I am very happy, today is a family banquet, there is no need to be limited to the number of etiquette, come and drink as much as you want!" ”

Everyone raised their glasses and said in unison, "Thank you, Your Majesty!" With Chongzhen's words, everyone was happy, and the hall was staggered, and laughter continued.

Chongzhen smiled and said to Liu Fan, who was sitting at the end of the banquet, "Jimin! I didn't treat you as an outsider, all of you here are my relatives or concubines, shouldn't you say anything when you meet them for the first time? ”

Liu Fan was a little confused, he didn't know anything about the banquet in this ancient palace, and he knew how to behave, for fear of losing his manners, so he had to say, "Your Majesty!" What should the minister do? ”

Chongzhen smiled: "Hmm! If it's not the court today, don't salute, just toast each of you with a glass of wine! ”

Liu Fan instantly broke out in a cold sweat, looking at the more than ten female dependents in the hall, he suddenly had a headache, this is not those low-degree wines in the Ming Dynasty, but the "Wuliangye" "invented" by Liu Fan, not to mention thirty or forty degrees. Now that the emperor has spoken, Liu Fan does not dare to refuse, "Okay!" Obey! ”

Chongzhen laughed: "This is Queen Yi'an!" Liu Fan's eyes looked in the direction pointed by Chongzhen, graceful and luxurious, slender and beautiful, the peerless woman sat there quietly, Liu Fan's heart trembled, and he bowed his head and said, "Liu Fan has seen Her Royal Highness Empress Yi'an!" ”

"Aiqing is exempt!" The sound is majestic and pleasant.

Starting from Empress Zhang, every time Chongzhen introduced someone, Liu Fan would have a drink, and after waiting for a lap, he was already dizzy, and his vision was a little blurred. When Liu Fan woke up again, he found that he was not at home, but returned to a side hall where he had lived in Dongnuan Pavilion. Looking at the familiar room and decoration in front of him, Liu Fan secretly smiled bitterly and staggered to his feet.

The palace maid in the house hurriedly supported Liu Fan and said, "My lord! Are you awake? Slave, this Liu will fetch water for you! ”

"Hmm!" Liu Fan covered his head and said to the other palace maid beside him, "Why am I here?" ”

The palace maid covered her mouth and smiled: "My lord! Did you forget? You drank too much last night! Your Majesty ordered you to rest here! ”

"Huh! I don't remember at all! Liu Fan thought about it for a while and found that he couldn't think of anything, shook his head and said, "When did the banquet end?" ”

"It's over in the afternoon?" The palace maid replied in a pretty voice

"What? What time is it? Liu Fan said with some surprise

"It's already Chenshi!"

Liu Fan said in surprise: "I slept more than a day?" ”

At this moment, the palace maid who had just gone out came back with a little eunuch and said, "My lord! Your Majesty knows that you are awake, and sends a message for you to come over! ”

"Good! I'll be there right away! Liu Fan washed his face indiscriminately and followed the little eunuch to the Qianqing Palace.

As soon as they met, Chongzhen couldn't help but smile and said, "Jimin woke up?" You were in the limelight last night! I didn't expect Jimin to have such a talent, which shocked me! Shuying, they think you're not bad! Hehe! It's finally a piece of hard work in vain! ”

"Talent?" Liu Fan asked suspiciously.

"Hmmm! Beat the drums and sing! Even I watched it with my blood boiling! Chongzhen sighed

"Drumming and singing? No way? Why don't you have a little impression? Liu Fan exclaimed

"Ahem! Maybe you've drunk too much! Chongzhen said with some embarrassment

Liu Fan's face turned dark when he heard this, and he muttered in a low voice: "That's not your fault!" ”

"What did you say?" Chongzhen was a little annoyed and angry

Liu Fan hurriedly said, "Oh! It's nothing! ”

"Jimin! The reason why I introduced my family to you is that I want you to get to know each other with them, and if the situation is really irreparable, they will ask you to take care of it! Chongzhen said in a heavy tone

"Your Majesty! Don't be so discouraged! We still have time! I believe we will be able to save Daming! Liu Fan hurriedly persuaded

Chongzhen sighed, "Recently, the situation has been getting worse and worse, and I feel more and more powerless!" Natural disasters and man-made disasters, treachery and evil are rampant in the DPRK and China, I want to reform but the ministers oppose it, and I can't find a henchman to rely on when I look around! I can only watch the Ming Dynasty gradually fall into the abyss, and I am ashamed of my ancestors! ”

Although Liu Fan has not seen Chongzhen's situation with his own eyes, it can still be imagined based on his own knowledge. To say that Chongzhen, the emperor, is really an enemy, before Li Zicheng captured Beijing, Chongzhen asked the emperor's relatives for help, and none of these nobles who were with the country were willing to help, even his two fathers-in-law only cared about their own selfish interests and ignored Chongzhen's request for help.

Liu Fan sighed and persuaded, "Your Majesty! The most fundamental problem of our Ming Dynasty is the lack of money, and the minister is working hard for this matter! Now that the situation has changed, I believe that the situation will get better and better! ”

"I hope so!" Chongzhen sighed, and then asked Liu Fan, "That's right!" Jimin: Are the two crops you mentioned yesterday really that high? ”

"Yes! Your Majesty! As far as the minister knows, a small amount of this crop has now flowed into the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty? But somehow it didn't spread! ”

"Why is that?"

Liu Fan explained: "According to the minister's guess! There were a number of reasons, one was that most of the peasants did not believe in this new crop, and the other was that the imperial court did not include them in the ranks of taxes, and in order to pay the taxes, the people did not dare to plant them in large quantities even if they knew that the yield of this crop was good. The main reason is that most of the land is in the hands of the landlords, and they do not want this high-yield crop to spread for the sake of profit, because once the tenants have enough to eat, they have less means of exploitation! ”

"What? Are these people disregarding the lives and deaths of the people of the Ming Dynasty because of such small profits? Chongzhen said angrily

"The hustle and bustle of the world is all for profit! People are selfish! And even more so with those landlords! For the sake of their own interests, they will not be surprised by what kind of things are done! Because they weren't good people in the first place! Liu Fan sighed

Chongzhen asked a little decadently, "Then can't I order compulsory promotion?" ”

Liu Fan smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty! Do you think those civil servants will carry out your orders? If they are really so obedient, why can't you collect even the most basic mining taxes? By now, the power of the Ming Dynasty has been concentrated in the hands of the civilian group! Strong branches and weak stems are irretrievable! ”

Chongzhen said with some despair: "Da Ming is finished, what good are they?" Don't they even understand the simple truth that there are no eggs under the nest? ”

Liu Fan said bluntly: "It's not that they don't understand, Daming is really not as important to them as you think, in their opinion, Daming is your Zhu family's country, even if Daming is dead, they are just changing masters!" For who the emperor is! They won't care! ”

"Jimin!!" Chongzhen shouted and interrupted Liu Fan's words: "Don't say it again!" I know it all! ”

Liu Fan looked at Chongzhen's depressed face and kept silent. Chongzhen waved his hand weakly and said, "Jimin!" You go back first! Tomorrow, I will send someone to release Sun Yuanhua! Take him away! Let's go back to Shandong! Don't worry about the affairs of the court! Just do your own thing! ”