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Outside the noon gate. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

An old man stood outside the palace gate, standing with his hands in his hands, taking a deep look at the palace wall of this long-lost reunion, and did not move at all.

The eunuch on the side had already urged, and said in a low voice: "Lord Wan, Your Majesty is urgently summoned, it is better to enter the palace quickly." ”

This old man is Wantong, Wantong nodded lightly, then straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, and walked into the deep palace.

"Weichen Wantong, I have seen Your Majesty, long live my emperor!"

As soon as he entered the Zhengxin Palace, Wan Tongbai fell to the ground, and made a five-body bow, his head hit the carpet in the hall heavily, motionless, and the whole person seemed to be stiff.

There was a coughing sound on the side, but Wantong didn't know who made it, and when he came in, his eyes fell on his toes, so I don't know what the emperor's expression is now, but the more I don't know, the more Wantong is a little nervous, although behind his back he often curses that the emperor is a mongrel, but now when he is a real saint, he also feels an indescribable coercion that makes him a little breathless.

Time seemed to stand still, and Wantong only felt that his knees were already sore.

Finally, a hearty laugh came out, and Zhu Youjiao, who was sitting behind the imperial case, said with a smile: "Wan Aiqing is flat, and he has come all the way back from Liaodong, it is really hard, I am very worried in Beijing, come and give Wan Aiqing a seat." ”

Wantong's heart breathed a sigh of relief, and he said solemnly: "Thank you, Emperor." Then he stood up cautiously and sat down.

At this time, he went to see Zhu Youjiao, he hadn't seen him for more than ten years, Zhu Youzhu was much older than before, no one could have imagined that this son of heaven with gray sideburns had not yet entered his forties at this time, Wantong couldn't help but think in his heart, saying that this bastard was very diligent, and he didn't expect it to come to this point.

But then he couldn't help but think, he said that he was diligent in government, is this really the case, and who knows that when the first emperor was addicted to alchemy, wouldn't he also be old and decrepit?

He glanced at it, but saw that on the side of the hall, there was actually a young man sitting, and the young man seemed to be looking at him, his face was quite handsome, with a smile on his face, and the eyes under the sword eyebrows were quite attentive, like ospreys. If you only look at his face, you will mistakenly think that he is just a Confucian student, but if you look closely at his eyes, you will find that this person has a deep gaze and is very extraordinary.

"It is said that beside Zhu Youzhang, there is a young favorite minister who is on business in Jinyiwei, presumably this person is, this person is Liu Chengfeng? I can't imagine that I am so young. Wantong flashed this thought, although he was imaginative, but his face remained normal, and the whole person showed a little sluggishness, this sluggishness, quite a bit of deliberate clumsy intentions.

He put his hands on his knees, and after a moment of silence, he said: "How dare Weichen have the concern of His Majesty, the minister is in Liaodong, and he also misses His Majesty very much. ”

"Oh? Is it? Zhu Youzhu picked up the tea cup on the imperial case, raised it without drinking, and glanced at Wantong indifferently, revealing a few meaningful smiles: "But since this is the case, why do the Haixi Jurchens want to rebel, so it seems that my words of grace are really exaggerated, the world is so big, there are many places where the emperor's grace has not arrived, I dare not be complacent." ”

Originally, it was just a kind remark, but who knew that Zhu Youzhu bluntly pierced it, which made Wantong blush, but who is he, he has already practiced his face as pure as fire, just smiled faintly, and then restrained that embarrassment, and said: "Your Majesty, Haixi Jurchen, has always refused to accept Wang Hua, is sinister and cunning, takes the murder as a thing, does not know how to advance or retreat, does not follow the teaching, they rebel not once or twice, but in previous years, most of them were not large-scale, and the court did not care about it, which has nothing to do with Your Majesty, Muhua is only a good people, as for those barbarians in the poor mountains and bad waters, they can't rely on education alone. ”

Zhu Youzhu said with interest: "You have been in Liaodong for so many years, you must have a lot of insights, you said, I am listening." ”

Wantong licked his lips and continued: "Liaodong is rich in products, and it is a military town, for my Ming Dynasty, it is a fortress against the desert Yi people, a few years ago, it was better, every year there are a large number of displaced people out of the customs to reclaim the famine, and Your Majesty has repeatedly issued orders to encourage Sangzhi. It's just that in the past year or two, it has not been, not only have fewer people go out of the customs, but many people have returned to the customs with their families, and they all say that there are many more means to gain a foothold in the customs, but they don't have to go out of the customs to endure the cold and cold that day. As for the Haixi Jurchens, the imperial court has always divided and ruled them, and there are more than 30 Haixi Jurchens in total, scattered in the west of Liaodong and north of the Yalu River. But this time the rebellion was not caused by the barren tribes, but by the richer tribes earlier, does Your Majesty know why? ”

Zhu Youzhu nodded and encouraged Wantong to continue.

Wan channel: "In recent years, the imperial court has opened commerce, especially after the appearance of the Jubao firm, ginseng and leather goods from all over the country frantically poured into the customs, and most of the time in the Ming Dynasty, they only asked for leather goods, ginseng and other goods from the North Korea and the Haixi Jurchens, but now, even the tile thorns and Tatars have also traded with the Ming Dynasty, plus this Jubao firm is a monopoly, often the price of batches and medicinal materials is the lowest before willing to buy, after entering the customs, you can earn ten times or a hundred times the profit. Therefore, since the frequent trade and commerce, the Haixi Jurchens have not only become richer, but have become poorer. ”

Wan Tong babbled out, not at all the flamboyance of the domineering Wan Guifei and his younger brother more than ten years ago, but the words were more heavy and wise, he continued: "Don't say that it is Haixi, the price of the entire leather goods outside the customs is set by the Jubao Trading House, when there is no Jubao Trading House, a intact bear skin is purchased by the merchants for fifteen taels of silver, but now, but only nine taels of silver, not a penny more, those tribes consciously suffered a loss, naturally refused, and made trouble to the local Xuanhua Yamen, But it was just helpless, and finally it became this product. Weichen said this, not to say how the Jubao Firm, the Treasure Firm may not be a good thing for my Daming, but the impact on the Haixi and other clans is not small, please Your Majesty to check it. ”

What he said was so well-organized and well-founded that it would not have been possible to say it without an on-the-spot investigation.

Zhu Youzhu nodded again and again when he heard this, and he actually restrained his indifferent attitude, and couldn't help nodding and said: "Wan Aiqing's words are the words of seeking the country, I have been separated from Wan Aiqing for many years, I never thought that Wan Aiqing is familiar with a lot of things, and I understand your truth, but these Haixi Jurchens dare to rebel just because of the cheap price of goods, and I must not tolerate it this time, and those who instigate and provoke have also made a decree, all of them will be locked up and taken by the Beijing Division, handed over to the Ministry of War for questioning, and the Ming Dynasty will be punished." Although I don't know how to do business, I also know that the seller always wants to raise the price of his goods, and the buyer only wants to lower the price, which is common sense, and I don't want to ask anything. ”

Just kidding, let Zhu Youzhu go to clean up the Jubao Firm, and buy the leather goods of the Haixi Jurchen at a high price, if you nod this head, then do you still have to do the business of the Jubao Firm, but don't forget, Zhu Youzhu is also the major shareholder of the Jubao Firm, and now he has indulged the Haixi Jurchen, so what if the Koreans, Tatars, and Waspurs also put forward the same conditions? You must know that the caravans on the North Road mainly traded livestock, leather goods, and ginseng, and if this precedent was set, then the merchant house would have to lose money every year.

(To be continued)