The next day is the early dynasty.

Emperor Longwu, who had not slept all night, came to Fengtian Hall early to accept the worship of the civil and military officials, and the civil and military officials were divided into two shifts after shouting long live...... Huang Degong, the chief soldier of the Nanjing Naval Division of the Ming Dynasty, and Shi Lang, the garrison of Zhenhai, see ......"

The eyes of the civil and military officials turned to the entrance of the main hall in unison.

Wang Pu, who was standing in the military general's class, couldn't help but change his face, he really didn't expect that the young Emperor Longwu would actually come with him! Wang Pude admitted that Emperor Longwu's hand was very beautiful, and compared with the chief military officers of the Central Army, such as Scarface, Zhao Xin, and Tang Sheng, Huang Degong and Shi Lang were not Wang Pu's descendants, and they were easier to win over.

However, it is difficult to say how much effect Emperor Longwu could have in summoning Huang Degong and Shi Lang in Fengtian Palace.

In the sound of heavy footsteps, two majestic figures appeared at the entrance of the main hall.

Seeing that Huang Degong and Shi Lang actually wore the new military uniforms of the Central Army to the court, Wang Pu was stunned for a moment, but soon he came to his senses, and the corners of his mouth showed a subtle smile.

Obviously, Emperor Longwu's summons came very suddenly, and Huang Degong and Shi Lang did not have time to deliver the news to Wang Pu first, let alone refuse the emperor's summons, so they had to borrow two new military uniforms from the Central Army, trying to show their loyalty to Wang Pu in this way.

There is no doubt that Huang Degong and Shi Lang chose to be loyal to Wang Pu rather than Emperor Longwu.

In the eyes of Huang Degong and Shi Lang, only Wang Pu can give them a stage and opportunity to display their talents, but the imperial court can't give them anything! Both of them are smart people, and they know that if they leave Wang Pu, they will be nothing, even if they have Emperor Longwu to support them.

Huang Degong and Shi Lang turned over and bowed at the door of the hall, and after kneeling three times and knocking nine times, they sang: "Minister Huang Degong / Minister Shi Lang, knock to see my emperor, long live, long live, long live......"

Emperor Longwu happily stretched out his hand and said, "The two Aiqing quickly calm down." ”

"Long live thanks."

Huang Degong and Shi Lang thanked the emperor for his kindness, got up and stood up respectfully at the end of the hall.

Emperor Longwu said again: "Two Aiqing, please come forward." ”

Huang Degong and Shi Lang didn't dare to resist the decree, and hurriedly approached the hall with broken steps, and after seeing the appearance of the two clearly, Emperor Longwu couldn't help but be happy, and praised: "The real tiger will also." ”

Zhang Zi'an shook off the dust and shouted sharply: "Huang Degong, Shi Lang listens to the seal." ”

Huang Degong and Shi Lang hurriedly knelt down under the Didan mound, not even daring to gasp.

"Fengtian, the carrying emperor's edict said: Huang Degong, the general soldier of Nanjing of the Ming Naval Division, and Shi Lang, the Zhenhai garrison, managed the army in a good way, and killed the enemy...... Seal Huang Degong as Jing Haibo, Admiral Nanjing Sailor, give the first house, 500 taels of gold, 500 horses of silk, add Shi Lang as the general of Zhenhai, hang the seal of the general of Ping, give 100 taels of gold, 100 horses of silk, 500 horses of high-grade Songjiang cotton cloth, Qin this. ”

The aftermath of the hall was lingering, and the civil and military faces of the Manchu Dynasty looked at each other.

Zhang Zi'an walked in front of Huang Degong and Shi Lang with the holy decree, but the two were so shocked that they didn't dare to accept the decree for a long time, in terms of merit, such a reward was obviously excessive.

Except for Huang Degong and Shi Lang, who were kneeling on the ground, almost everyone's eyes were focused on Wang Pu, and Emperor Longwu also looked at Wang Pu with a smile, they all waited to see Wang Pu's reaction, to everyone's expectations, Wang Pu smiled slightly, and reminded loudly: "Huang Degong, Shi Lang, don't you want to thank you soon?" ”

Only then did Huang Degong and Shi Lang receive the holy decree from Zhang Zi'an, kowtow and sing: "The ministers thank my emperor Longen." ”

Emperor Longwu said happily: "The two Aiqing are flat. ”

At that moment, an attendant stepped forward to lead Shi Lang out of Fengtian Palace, and Huang Degong was directly led to the military general class, he had just been named Jing Haibo, and he was already a member of the imperial court, and he was qualified to attend the court meeting like Wang Pu.

Only then did Zhang Zi'an step forward and shouted: "Long live the purpose, play early if you have something, and retreat from ......the court if you have nothing to do."

"Long live the play, the minister has the music."

Wu Yingji, the director of the Ministry of Rites, rushed out of class first and knelt down on the Danqi.

Wu Yingji is a Confucian student of the Fushe Society, and he drafted the "Disclosure of the Rebellion Prevention in the Capital" that attacked Ruan Dacheng in his early years, and he is also a celebrity in Nanjing.

Emperor Longwu said: "What is it that you played? ”

Wu Yingji said: "Long live, the six ministries, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the thirteen departments and Taoist institutions are bloated, overlapping functions, so that people are floating and inefficient, I have been in the Ming Dynasty since the Wanli period, natural disasters have continued, [***] rampant, the five northern provinces are even more rampant, thieves are rampant, and now is the time to make great efforts to govern and save expenses." ”

Emperor Longwu frowned and said, "So how?" ”

Wu Yingji said: "The minister thinks that the staffing of the six ministries of the Metropolitan Procuratorate should be reduced by at least two-thirds, and the thirteen branches should be abolished, and its supervisory function will be exercised by the Metropolitan Procuratorate. ”

Emperor Longwu's brows tightened for a moment, there must be a behind-the-scenes promoter behind this matter, otherwise Wu Yingji, the small head of the Ministry of Rites, would never dare to put forward such a proposal to "offend the anger of the public"! The driving force behind this can only be the Donglin Restoration Society, or Sun Chuanting, whose purpose is nothing more than to squeeze out the newly added Enke Jinshi to Nanjing officialdom.

Counterattack, Emperor Longwu easily regarded Wu Yingji's proposal as a counterattack by Sun Chuanting and the Donglin Party.

"Joke!" Gao Hongtu retorted, "When the new dynasty was first decided, when more than 600 Donglin Party members were added to the six Metropolitan Procuratorates, why didn't anyone propose to reduce the staffing? Why is it that no sooner than 100 Enke Jinshi have been added to the various yamen, and some people have proposed to reduce the staffing? In the name of reducing expenditures, how much money can be saved by eliminating a few hundred officials? ”

Shi Kefa also came out and said: "The income of my Ming officials is extremely low, even if it is a first-grade official, it is only more than 1,000 taels of silver a year, and the annual salary of a seven-grade Beijing official is only 180 taels, even if all the seven or eight hundred officials in the DPRK and China are reduced, how much silver can be saved in a year?" ”

Shi Kefa said this deliberately, and said in a solemn tone: "Long live, my lords, all the officials of the DPRK and China have only 100,000 taels of silver for a year, which is less than the salary issued by a battalion of the Central Army for half a year!" ”

"That's right." Gao Hongtu said with a sad and indignant face, "What should really reduce expenses is the Central Army of Jingnanhou, and the current Central Army has become a heavy burden on the imperial court!" It is not enough for the imperial court to use all the annual revenue to support the 100,000 central army, and we can't do anything else at all. ”

Gao Hongtu clearly intended to steer the issue in the direction they wanted.

"Elder Sun Ge." Gao Hongtu's target suddenly turned to Sun Chuanting, and asked sharply, "After the lower official heard that the Central Army's Northern Expedition failed, each soldier will have a reward of ten taels of silver, and 50,000 troops will be 500,000 taels of silver!" After quelling Zuo Liangyu's rebellion, each soldier had another twenty taels of silver, which was another million taels of silver! The lower officials wanted to ask Sun Ge Lao, did the household department take out 1.5 million taels of silver to reward the officers and soldiers of the Central Army, but could not take out 100,000 taels of silver to distribute to the officials of the six officials, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Thirteen Branch Dao Yamen? ”

Sun Chuanting was speechless, he didn't want to argue about this matter and couldn't tell it, the central army had a lot of money and a lot of silver, and it had long been famous, in Wang Pu's words, silver was combat effectiveness, in ancient times when there was a lack of doctrine and consciousness, if an army wanted to have strong combat effectiveness, it could only use silver to smash.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the household has long been out of money!" Gao Hongtu said and suddenly burst into tears, "Long live the Lord wants to repair the dormitory, and he has to reach out to King Jian'an to borrow silver, ten days later, the palace of His Royal Highness the Marquis of Jingnan and the eldest princess, the wedding banquet expenses and dowry are still borrowed by the Duke of Wei, and the silver of the selected girl still doesn't know who to borrow?" The treasury is empty, and it is the sin of our courtiers! ”

"The national policy of reckless militarism must be stopped!"

In the end, Gao Hongtu almost roared in the end, "Negotiate peace, immediately send an embassy to negotiate peace with the Qing State, and greatly reduce the reward of the central army, and take out one million taels of it for the eldest princess's wedding, the big draft girl, the selection of chamberlains, the repair of the palace and other expenses, the top priority now is not to use the army, but to recuperate with the people, and recuperate with the people!" Ladies and gentlemen, we can't fight anymore, and if we continue to fight, Long Live Lord and all of you will have to go to the streets to beg! ”

Wang Pu's heart was cold, and Gao Hongtu finally couldn't help jumping out.

If Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu are the main battle faction, then now Gao Hongtu is the main peace faction with a clear banner, and then it depends on who joins Gao Hongtu's camp, and this group of people is the object that Wang Pu wants to clean up.

More than a dozen Enke Jinshi who were qualified to attend the court meeting came out one after another to echo Gao Hongtu, but Ma Shiying, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, did not say anything, and Shi Kefa, the secretary of the Ministry of War, returned to the court class without saying a word, looking at the expression on his face, it seemed that he was very dissatisfied with Gao Hongtu's proposal for peace.

Qian Qianyi looked at Wang Pu with an inquiring gaze, but Wang Pu shook his head imperceptibly.

The show has just begun, Gao Hongtu's camp seems to be far from enough to compete with the Sun Wang group, and those deeply hidden hostile forces do not dare to easily expose their political tendencies, if Gao Hongtu is cleaned up too early, there will be no way to wipe out these potential hostile forces.

stopped Qian Qianyi and Lu Daqi, but Wang Pu himself stood up unexpectedly: "Lord Gao, as long as the Long Live Lord is allowed to play, if you want to negotiate peace, you will negotiate peace, and if you want to send a condemnation mission, you will send a condemnation mission, this marquis has nothing to say, but if you want to cut the reward of the Central Army, there is no door!" ”

"Master Hou." Gao Hongtu said coldly, "In order to support the Northern Expedition of the Central Army and quell the Zuo Liangyu Rebellion, Sun Ge Lao allocated all the money and grain that the household had to the Central Army. What do you take to marry the eldest princess? And what to repair the palace room? ”

"I don't care about this." Wang Pu said arrogantly, "If anyone wants to cut the reward of the Central Army, he has to ask the 100,000 officers and soldiers of the Central Army if they agree." ”

"You ......," Gao Hongtu said angrily, "You are a threat!" ”

Wang Pu counterattacked: "Lord Gao, the officers and soldiers of the Central Army fought bloodily and killed the enemy with their heads, shouldn't they be rewarded with a mere thirty taels of silver?" If you want to cut your expenses, why don't you cut the money you spend on repairing the palace? Why not cut back on draft girls? Why not cut the expenses for the eldest princess's wedding? ”

"Wang Pu!" Gao Hongtu said angrily, "Do you still have a long live lord in your eyes?" How can this be cut by the royal family? ”

"Why can't the royal family cut it?" Wang Pu said hungrily, "The rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of the husband, and as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he should bear greater responsibility!" It's an eventful time now, and all kinds of expenses are extremely nervous, what kind of palace room to repair? And what palace maid to choose? Speaking of the princess's wedding and the selection of draft girls, Ben Hou also happens to have something to say! ”

Wang Pu's last sentence was to Emperor Longwu.

Emperor Longwu was furious in his heart, but he asked quietly on his face, "Aiqing, please speak." ”

"Hooray." Wang Pu waved his hand to Emperor Longwu and said, "The minister thinks that the age limit for the marriage of men and women contained in the Great Ming Law is extremely inappropriate and should be revised!" For example, the age of marriage should be raised to 20 years for men and 18 years for women! Also, the selection of draft girls can be rested, if the long-lived lord reaches the age of twenty marriage, he can naturally choose his favorite daughter as a concubine, as for the palace labor, it is completely possible to recruit secular women in Beijing to serve, so why waste the good youth of thousands of young women for this? ”

Wang Pu's words were earth-shattering, and Emperor Longwu and the civil and military officials were shocked and speechless at that time.

Qian Qianyi and Lu Daqi looked at each other with trepidation, according to the plan, these two proposals should be put forward by the Donglin pawns they arranged, and then they will launch the Donglin Party to build momentum, and finally the cabinet will decide, there is still room for buffering in doing so, in case the opposition is too fierce, if necessary, they can sacrifice the Donglin pawns who put forward the proposals to save the situation.

But now Wang Pu directly said these two proposals, not only disrupted the overall plan of Qian Qianyi and Lu Daqi, but also blocked his own retreat, from now on, things have become an either/or choice, either the collapse of the Sun Wang group, or Emperor Longwu was completely hollowed out, the Manchu Dynasty civil and military must make a clear choice, it is difficult to get through the confusion again.

Only Sun Chuanting, who was familiar with Wang Pu's surname, guessed Wang Pu's intentions.

Sun Chuanting rushed out of the class very tacitly, and said angrily: "Presumptuous! The law of the Ming Dynasty was set by Emperor Hongwu, and it has been almost three hundred years since the escape, how can you be allowed to blaspheme at will! Don't hurry up and shut up with the old man! ”

Sun Chuanting's fierce rebuke was a blatant protection in the eyes of Gao Hongtu and others, and its purpose was nothing more than to exonerate Wang Pu.

However, to the surprise of Gao Hongtu and others, Wang Pu didn't accept Sun Chuanting's love at all, and said extremely arrogantly: "Bullshit blasphemy, what's wrong with Emperor Hongwu?" Emperor Hongwu has lived to be almost 300 years old now, so he can predict today's situation? Are the words of the ancients necessarily the golden rule? ”

Wang Pu's words are already openly questioning Emperor Hongwu, which is simply disloyal, unfilial piety, and rebellious in ancient times when the monarchy was supreme and the three outlines and five constants were emphasized, Sun Chuanting was obviously angry by Wang Pu's rebellious words, and an old face was red, and he suddenly opened his mouth and spit out a mouthful of blood, fainting to the ground.

(To be continued)