Xing Long, the wrinkled Nanjing garrison eunuch, thought about it and spoke, this matter is not a secret, sooner or later everyone will know, and at that time, he wants to find someone to tell him, but no one listens to him-Xing Long arched his hand and said: "Don't hide it from Zhang Gongzi, my family is afraid that we will cause the disaster of death-" When he said this, he stared at Zhang Yuan intently, if Zhang Yuan panicked and cowered, then he would not say it further, but Zhang Yuan was silent, and said calmly: "Father-in-law, please speak." ”

This young prisoner is really extraordinary, this calm bearing alone is rarely matched, Xing Long said: "Our family has been in Nanjing for many years, anxious for justice and righteousness, quite a political voice, but it is inevitable to offend some people, a few years ago Nanjing supervised the imperial history Jiang Yaliang was negligent in 'not accepting the land, Fight for profit with the people' impeachment of our family, fortunately long live the grandfather is wise, but the Jiang Yaliang dismissed the official, but because of this, some officials in the southern capital regard our family as a revenge, and they can't wait to expel our family from Nanjing. Speaking of this, he let out a long sigh, and his face was wrinkled like an old orange peel.

Zhang Yuan asked: "What are the facts?" ”

Xing Long hesitated for a moment and said: "Actually, this was ten years ago, at that time, our family was still responsible for mining taxes, and our subordinates opened a road in the case mountain twenty miles south of Xiaoling for the convenience of walking. ”

Although Zhang Yuan is not familiar with Feng Shui, but read a lot of ancient books, some common sense is still there, this case mountain is the mountain between the tomb and the mountain, like the book case of the nobleman's office, the tomb of the general public is of course not so particular, there is a piece of land on the line, but the filial piety tomb is the joint tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang and Queen Ma, when Liu Bowen and Xu Da searched the cave to survey hundreds of miles, and finally found this feng shui treasure in the south of the Purple Mountain, the case mountain is twenty miles away from the tomb, it can be seen that the pattern is big, the sergeant opened a path opposite the imperial tomb to facilitate walking, if no one mentions this matter, Then there is nothing, if it is caught, it is to destroy the feng shui of the imperial mausoleum, and it must be dealt with great rebellion - Zhang Yuan asked: "Has the impeachment of my father-in-law arrived in the capital?" ”

Xing Long said: "The note surnamed Lou has not yet been handed over, our family still has some eyes and ears in Nanjing, but we are powerless to stop it, presumably only this month, the impeachment note will be sent to the cabinet." ”

Zhang Yuan pondered for a moment and asked, "Then how is Grandpa Xing going to deal with it?" ”

Xing Long saw that Zhang Yuan was still calm, and couldn't help but have a little hope for Zhang Yuan, hearing that Zhang Yuan was wise and scheming, if Zhang Yuan was willing to serve him as a counselor, maybe he could have a clever plan to resolve this misfortune, so he said: "There are only two ways to go, one is to defend himself, long live Grandpa knows that the old slave is loyal, how can he do it to destroy the emperor, and the other is to catch the sergeant who opened the way in the case mountain to ask for the crime, Zhang Gongzi can have a better way to teach our family?" ”

Zhang Yuan said: "This matter is very tricky, wait for the late life to say a few words to Gonggong Zhong, Gonggong Xing, please wait." ”

After that, Zhang Yuan pulled Eunuch Zhong away a little, and then frowned and said: "Why did my father-in-law involve me, what a big deal about the groundbreaking of this imperial tomb, and what way can I help Father-in-law Xing!" ”

Eunuch Zhong heard Zhang Yuan say this, and he was also a little remorseful, feeling that he was too enthusiastic, and it was not easy to meddle in this matter, and said: "Our family knows that you are resourceful, just ask if you can help Lao Xing, if you can save Lao Xing this time, it will be more useful than saving a stone pillar toast, not to mention that Lao Xing himself is a garrison eunuch, and he has a good relationship with Lu Shou, the eunuch of the master of ceremonies - if Zhang Gongzi is powerless, Xing Gonggong will not complain about you." Xin said: "He is too busy to take care of himself, how can he blame you for his leisure." ”

Zhang Yuan said in a low voice: "Gonggong Zhong, you and I are friends of Mo Zhi, Gonggong told me the truth, how is this Gonggong Xing, if his reputation is bad, no one can save him." ”

When Eunuch Zhong heard Zhang Yuan say this, his spirits perked up, and he said: "Zhang Gongzi, you know our family, if Xing Long is a notorious person like Liang Yong and Gao Yu, our family is afraid to hide, how can we care about his business, this Xing Long is actually a good person, he has a nickname." 'Reluctant eunuch', is because he is nosy, ruthless, and even more loyal to the emperor, some officials in the southern capital are jealous of him and want to drive him away, Zhang Gongzi must also know that the local officials and the foreign internal officials rarely get along, and the local officials do everything possible to remove our internal officials, just like Jiajing when he dismissed the eunuchs in various places, if Xing Long is really so disturbing the people, why has there never been any civil uprising in Nanjing in recent years? Zhang Gongzi can see from this impeachment that the soldier surnamed Lou has no other handle on Xing Long, so he will turn over the old things, if Zhang Gongzi has a clever plan, please help Lao Xing. ”

Liang Yong and Gao Yu are two notorious eunuchs in the Wanli period, Liang Yong dug up the graves of the emperors of the past dynasties in Shaanxi, and the tax servants under his hands almost robbed the people's property on the street, Gao Yu was even worse, and it was he who ate children's brains in a vain attempt to regain the yang path - Zhang Yuan nodded, and the teacher Wang Siren laughed when he talked about how he coaxed Xing Long, and did not mention that Xing Long had any bad deeds and evil deeds, as for the conflict with the magistrate, this is normal, Zhang Yuan said: "Then I will go and talk to Gonggong Xing." ”

Eunuch Xing had been looking at Zhang Yuan and Eunuch Zhong anxiously under the shade of the willows, and when he saw the two of them coming over, he hurriedly took a few steps and said, "Gongzi Zhang, is there a good way to deal with it?" ”

Zhang Yuan said solemnly: "Late Shengyuan didn't dare to meddle in such a big matter, this matter is not trivial-" Speaking of this, after a pause, the eunuch Xing's face was disgraced, and he said gloomily: "Zhang Gongzi is right, this trick surnamed Lou is too poisonous, Zhang Gongzi, you-"

Zhang Yuan continued: "But the late life also knows that Xing Gonggong is loyal and righteous, he has been in Nanjing for many years, and he has no trouble with the army and the people.

Xing Long's face turned pale, Zhang Yuan said this, he must have some idea, and hurriedly said: "If Zhang Gongzi can help our family get out of this calamity, then it will have the virtue of regeneration for our family, our family doesn't read much, and we won't say anything nice, so we know that there are four words of grievances and grievances - Zhang Gongzi said quickly, what is the best plan, our family is anxious." ”

Zhang Yuan said slowly: "Gonggong Xing said that the book is self-justifying, this is definitely wanted, the father-in-law can directly report to the emperor, and it should be submitted to the imperial review faster than the impeachment of the father-in-law, which has a preconceived impression, the father-in-law has been waiting in the palace, and the emperor will never believe that the father-in-law will do such a rebellious thing——"

"Yes, yes." Eunuch Xing said in a loud voice: "Our family's loyalty to Grandpa Banzai is palpable. ”

Zhang Yuan's words changed: "But the father-in-law's subordinates opened a way in the case mountain privately, this is always a fact, and it can't be hidden, even if the emperor doesn't investigate it strictly, but the father-in-law is sure to remove the official from idleness." ”

Xing Long suddenly lost his soul, he didn't know the stakes, he just held the illusion, but he heard Zhang Yuan say again: "The father-in-law may be able to save his life by defending himself, but the father-in-law severely punished the soldiers who opened the mountain at this time, which confirmed his own responsibility, after all, the father-in-law is the garrison in Nanjing, and he also mentions the tombs of the filial piety emperor, the imperial tomb is damaged, how can this crime not be borne by the people below, so once the father-in-law severely punishes those soldiers, it will give the impeacher more truth, and it is impossible for the emperor to be gracious at that time." ”

Xing Long was short of breath, his vest was in a cold sweat, Zhang Yuan's analysis was very reasonable, but what could he do if he didn't severely punish those sergeants, he couldn't pretend to be nothing, right?

"Please Zhang Gongzi teach me."

Xing Long was deeply concerned with this young prisoner.

Zhang Yuan hurriedly said: "Father-in-law, don't be polite, let others see it badly." After pacing two steps, he said: "The bell must be tied to the bell, the impeacher is not only making a fuss in the feng shui of the imperial tomb, but the father-in-law will respond in the art of public opinion, please ask the famous public opinion master to speak, saying that the case mountain is beneficial to the prosperity of the country, and the feng shui theory is inconclusive, and it depends on the master of the public opinion, after all, this is not the soil of the imperial tomb, but the case mountain twenty miles away, there is still room for relocation, and the father-in-law wants to buy people's hearts and do something beneficial to the people of Nanjing, and the people of Nanjing are most eager to solve it. Moreover, the father-in-law wants to ask the palace officials to speak well in front of the emperor and cover up the matter of the father-in-law's subordinates opening the mountain trail without authorization, after all, it has been ten years since this matter, and after the three major expeditions, the country is also considered peaceful - such a three-pronged approach, the late life does not dare to say that he will be able to keep the father-in-law's internal garrison, and the father-in-law's surname is absolutely worry-free. ”

Some things are better to admit than to deny, confession is not lenient, the same feng shui, different masters often have very different views, and Zhang Yuan firmly believes that the national fortune of the Ming Dynasty is by no means determined by a tomb feng shui - Xing Long savored Zhang Yuan's words, felt that Zhang Yuan was thoughtful, and it was indeed the best countermeasure at the moment, his face was happy, and he said to Eunuch Zhong: "Gonggong Zhong, if you didn't come to visit in vain, our family would have no reason to get to know Zhang Gongzi." He said to Zhang Yuan: "Zhang Gongzi, please get on the boat and talk about it in detail." ”

Xing Long got Zhang Yuan's words, and his heart was a little determined, and he had to ask Zhang Yuan for advice on how to do it, such as the self-defense note, so he wanted to ask Zhang Yuan to ghostwrite - Zhang Yuan followed Xing and Zhong to the lake boat again, and Eunuch Zhong didn't see the two Qin Huai names, and asked Zhang Yuan to send them away, smiled, and Xing Long said: "Today, I have encountered this incident, and I have lost my interest, and I can't let the two of you have fun, so I will call the two old courtyard girls to accompany me instead." ”

Zhang Yuan hurriedly said: "No need, the late students are studying in the Guozi Prison, the prison rules are strict, how can I bring the record to the banquet, although Xing Gonggong has something to order, if he calls the song, then the late student will not dare to come to the banquet." ”

Xing Long didn't have the heart to say more about the song, so after letting the attendants serve tea and fruit melons, he retreated left and right, and discussed the recital, the master and how to buy people's hearts, Zhang Yuan listened to Eunuch Xing begging him to write the recital, and after a little groaning, he agreed, a self-defense recital was written well or poorly, and the result was very different, since he wanted to help Eunuch Xing, then help to the end, but he had to first see what kind of tone Eunuch Xing usually wrote to the emperor, and asked Eunuch Xing to pick a few less important recitals for him to figure out, if you want to replace it, you naturally have to understand these, Xing Long hurriedly ordered the middle-aged staff to go back to the Inner Garrison Mansion to get it - Speaking of the famous Kanyu Land Master, Xing Long said: "The famous one in Jinling who is proficient in the Xuannu Mansion Sutra is Gu Qiyuan, the priest of the country." ”

Zhang Yuan was stunned, did Principal Gu turn out to be a master of feng shui, he really didn't know this.

Xing Long said: "Gu Saijiu once discussed Jinling feng shui with people, at that time, the predecessors of Kanyu said that the Jinling mountain shape is scattered but not gathered, the river flows but does not stay, and the Qinhuai River that passes through the city is the west note, and the Yanjing pattern" The sand pass lock is not corresponding, it is not suitable for the capital, Gu Saijiu thinks that this is all for the Yongle Emperor to move the capital to justify, Gu Saijiu has a different view of the feng shui of Jinling City than others, and thinks that Jinling is against the water and can be Yanjing, but compared with Yanjing, it is slightly less strong and stronger, this theory has a great impact, if Gu Saijiu is willing to speak for our family, then it is much more certain, and Gu Saijiu is a native of Jinling——"

Xing Long frowned, knowing that it was not easy to ask Gu Qiyuan to preach for him that the case mountain would open up a way for him to benefit the country, but no matter how difficult it was, he had to fight for his life, this was a fight for his life, Gu Qiyuan could agree to any condition - and talking about buying people's hearts, Xing Long pondered for a moment and said: "In recent years, Jinling has been on duty for editors, and has brought a lot of complaints to many shopkeepers, the imperial court's commercial tax is actually not high, but the local accumulation is amazing, Nanjing tax envoy Guo Zusheng is my righteous son, he is in charge of the customs affairs of Longjiang, If we put forward a proposal to relax business and reduce taxes, it will be welcomed by the people, but I am afraid that the collection of national taxes will be insufficient, and then we will be impeached by the officials——"

Zhang Yuan has a little understanding of the commercial tax of the late Ming Dynasty, the commercial tax of the late Ming Dynasty does not seem to be high, but there are many checkpoints for collecting taxes, there are the emperor's tax envoys, there are household officials, and local tariffs, a batch of goods from Hangzhou to Nanjing, to pass through many checkpoints, the commercial taxes add up to amazing, resulting in businessmen not good, the market is depressed, if some commercial taxes are appropriately reduced, businessmen are willing to come to Nanjing, boats and back, the tax received should not be less than before the tax reduction, and may even be more, which is a reason with small profits but quick turnover, Some commentators in later generations believe that the late Ming Dynasty did not raise the commercial tax and caused the heavy burden on the peasants to lead to destruction, this argument is completely hindsight, after the rise of the Jurchens in Jianzhou and the bad things in Liaodong, even if the commercial tax is increased, it will not make up for the huge military salary, and the Ming Dynasty will perish regardless of whether the commercial tax is levied or not, and he has forward-looking insight, of course, he understands that the most important thing is to prevent the rise of Nurhachi, as long as the battle of Sarhu is undefeated, the Ming Dynasty will not have to levy a huge three salaries, and it will not perish so quickly, do it first, and then Xu Tu other- After listening to Zhang Yuan's analysis that the tax reduction would not delay the national lesson, Xing Long deeply thought so, so he decided to reduce the tax by two-tenths, and announced this policy of relaxing business to the people as soon as possible.

Half an hour later, the middle-aged staff took three copies of Xing Long's notes to Emperor Wanli, all of which were reported to Emperor Wanli more than ten years ago, Zhang Yuan read them, and learned something from Xing Long, so he imitated Xing Long's penmanship tone, and resembled this note for Xing Long's generation, which did not focus on explaining the matter of opening a trail in the Xiaoling case, but mentioned this matter after saying some military and political affairs in Nanjing, and wrote that it was ten years ago, euphemistically exonerating Xing Long, as for how Xing Long asked the eunuch Lu Shou and others in the palace to say good words, How to ask Gu Qiyuan to discuss the mountain feng shui, that is Xing Long's business, this does not have to be Zhang Yuan's heart, Xing Long is in his fifties, he has been a eunuch in Nanjing for many years, and he has all the skills to communicate - at noon, a feast was held on the lake boat, and the eunuch Xing personally advised him to drink, although the outcome of the matter is unknown, but his gratitude to Zhang Yuan came from the bottom of his heart, Zhang Yuan made a request, and asked Xing Longmo to tell others that he was involved in this matter, Xing Long said repeatedly: "Our family knows, our family knows, our family will never cause trouble to Zhang Gongzi, And the less people know about this matter, the better, our family is not a fool. ”

The lake boat swung around Xuanwu Lake, and it was already afternoon when he returned to the original place, Zhang Yuan said goodbye to Xing and Zhong, the two eunuchs, saying that he would rush back to the country, and the eunuch Zhong could not have a long talk with Zhang Yuan in private, and felt a little regretful, he was ready to go to Beijing this time to serve the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Youxiao according to what Zhang Yuan said, and he was ready to live a bitter life - the farewell Zhong eunuch said to Zhang Yuan: "Zhang Gongzi, you will be able to go to high school in the township test next year, then you will rush to the capital at the end of the year, and you will definitely come to see our family at that time, but don't forget our family to the back of your mind." ”

The last sentence of the eunuch made Zhang Yuan very uncomfortable to hear, the eunuch spoke a bit like a woman, like a grudge, this was too chilling, and he hurriedly said: "How can this be, my father-in-law is kind to me, and when I go to Beijing in the future, I will ask my father-in-law for more advice." ”

Zhang Yuan didn't want Xing Long to send someone to send him, since he walked back to listen to the Zen residence with Mu Zhenzhen and Wuling, the third brother Zhang Cao must have been with the beautiful maid Lumei ** a few times, at this time he was satisfied to sit in the courtyard to study the telescope, Zhang Cao was reluctant to read, and was very interested in these so-called miraculous skills and silver skills, and often discussed with several mirror craftsmen to improve the mirror-making process when he was in the Shanyin Mirror Workshop, which was quite creative, and saw Zhang Yuan's master and servant three people coming back, Zhang Cao smiled and asked: "Jiezi, where did Eunuch Zhong ask you to play?" This eunuch has a good relationship with you, and you are really strange, you have friends with everyone, and the dismissed generals also went to stammer, and sent Mu Zhenzhen's father away. ”

Zhang Yuan said with a smile: "The third brother didn't go with me today, he will regret his death, do you know who I saw?" ”

Zhang Cao said: "Isn't it the Nanjing garrison eunuch, two eunuchs to accompany you." ”

Zhang Yuan said: "I met Li Xueyi and Wang Wei. At that moment, I saw Wang Wei's misunderstanding with him one by one.

Zhang Cao fell to his feet and laughed, and said: "Haha, Wang Xiuwei scolded Zhang Jiezi, scolded well, happy, happy." ”

Zhang Yuan saw the sunset and said, "Third brother, let's go, go back to the country." ”

Mu Zhenzhen wrapped two sets of newly sewn clothes and bottoms for the young master to take to the Guozijian, and sent the young master to the triple door, Yingying's blue eyes were affectionate, Zhang Yuan quietly shook her hand, whispered a few words, and the fallen girl's face suddenly turned crimson - a sedan chair came out of the gate of the Guozijian, several prisoners followed, Zhang Yuan and Zhang Cao retreated to the side, but the sedan chair stopped in front of the two, Gu Qiyuan called in the sedan chair: "Zhang Yuan, where did you come from?" ”

Zhang Yuan hurriedly crossed his hands and said: "The student said that he was released from prison with a license to rest today, and now he will return to prison." ”

Gu Qiyuan nodded, got up and left.

Zhang Yuanxin said: "Gu Saijiu, is this at the invitation of Eunuch Xing to go to the appointment?" ”

(To be continued)