As the saying goes, don't speculate for more than half a sentence, and after Tang Hu refused Yang Sichang's offer to buy grain, he didn't stay long, stood up and said goodbye to a few people.

Looking at Tang Hu's distant figure, Yang Sichang became silent, while Cheng Guoxiang looked pensive, the two stopped talking, but Guo Yan, who had been a spectator just now, spoke.

"Elder Yang Ge, this soup guard is really not good for oil and salt, it seems that some people are going to be disappointed."

Yang Sichang reversed the angry face just now, his face miraculously returned to normal, but showed a faint smile and said indifferently: "What is expected, Yue Yang, this official still knows very well, this person's characteristic is that he will do what he says, he will definitely do what he promised you, but if anyone sees him as good at talking and wants to take advantage of him, then he must be prepared to be counterattacked by him." ”

Guo Yan laughed, pointed at Yang Sichang and scolded with a smile: "In this case, why are you still here today, you are not afraid of offending the Marquis of Zhongyong, and being remembered by such a person Even if you are the first assistant of the court, it is not comfortable, right?" ”

Yang Sichang smiled bitterly, and said a little unwillingly: "Although Yue Yang is arrogant, but his mind is not so narrow-minded, even if today's events reach his ears, he will only laugh at most, but if the old man doesn't come to such a show today, if those people are embarrassed in the future, the old man will be enough to drink a pot." ”

Guo Yan also sighed lightly: "These people are too much, now the capital is full of starvation, and the people are struggling to make a living, but these people are still hoarding food to make a lot of money, and the old man doesn't know what to say about them." ”

Cheng Guoxiang on the side also interjected: "Yang Ge Lao and Guo Saijiu, according to the lower officials, this matter is not something we can control, it is better to hand over the matter to the emperor and let the emperor deal with it." ”

Yang Sichang and Guo Yan could only sigh softly after hearing this, and then stopped talking, although Yang Sichang can be said to be the most powerful person in the Ming Dynasty except for the emperor, but there are some things that he will not touch unless necessary, after all, this kind of thing is not good for him.

"That's it. Anyway, the old man's meaning has arrived, and then this matter has nothing to do with the old man, if they don't give up, they will fight with Yue Yang, there is only so much the old man can do......"

Not to mention the reactions of Yang Sichang and others, after Tang Hu left the Guozijian, he looked back at the two ancient locust trees at the gate of the Guozijian, his eyes narrowed, and his eyes were so small that they could barely be seen against the backdrop of that big fat face. Nan Nan said in his mouth: "Hmph...... Hou Ye is really good, Yang Sichang and these people are purely people who will only seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, but he will not get involved in anything that is unfavorable to him. It's just that now that you're the first assistant, are there some things that you don't want to touch? ”

When Tang Hu walked out of the country not far away, a servant dressed in a short shirt led two horses to him and stood respectfully, Tang Hu took the reins from his hand and said lightly: "Go back to the grain store headquarters immediately, and inform you that from tomorrow all grain stores will start selling grain." With that, Tang Hu stepped onto the horse's back, gently pinched the horse's belly, and the horse trot forward......

It was late at night, and the Warm Fragrance Pavilion was still brightly lit. Chongzhen still sat in front of the dragon case as in the past, and when Chongzhen didn't raise his head and got a book that was obviously different from the usual fold, his eyes habitually looked at the fold and immediately found that the paper used in this fold was different from the ordinary fold, and his spirit was suddenly shocked.

There's a reason why this piece is different from the others. The paper industry in the feudal era was already very developed, but the output of good paper was still not much, so the following officials used all kinds of paper for the emperor's recital, and the most ridiculous one even used toilet paper as a recital (don't laugh. This is true), even Emperor Chongzhen used just some ordinary paper in order to save money. But only in the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, there is only one person who uses the most special paper, and this person is Yue Yang.

Since coming to the Ming Dynasty, Yueyang has been full of slander about the paper of this era, the general paper is either too poor in water absorption or not white enough, or too thin or too thick, and the price of good paper such as rice paper is too expensive, so Yue Yang got a batch of high-grade A4 paper for printing from modern times, whether he is writing letters in the office or dealing with documents jiàn is used in it, and later even the official documents to the imperial court and the folds written to Chongzhen are used in this kind of paper, and over time this kind of Yue family "self-produced and self-used" The paper is jokingly called "Yue paper", because Chongzhen has also received several times written on this kind of paper, so he is very impressed by it.

Zhu Youzhen is a diligent emperor, which is recognized in history, no matter how big or small things in the court, he has to read it again, otherwise he is not at ease, write a brief introduction on the cover of each fold, it is estimated that this is also his "first". When Zhu Youzhen saw the paper used in this letter and the name indicated on it, his heart suddenly became a shock, and a feeling of joy and some worry suddenly surged into his heart.

The person who wrote this memo is naturally Yue Yang, he first reported the situation to Chongzhen in the memo, although Yue Yang did not explain in detail how fierce the battle to capture Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou was, but Chongzhen saw that Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou had killed nearly 50,000 enemies in total, and his heart couldn't help twitching. Zhu Youzhen is distressed, these dead people were originally the most elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, but now they died at the hands of their own people because of the greed and selfishness of some people and their own orders. It stands to reason that there are a lot of soldiers in the Ming Dynasty, more than two million, but due to well-known reasons, there are definitely no more than one percent of the current combat effectiveness, and this success also includes the Xuan army in Yue Yang's hands.

There are only so many armies that Daming can fight, but now forty or fifty thousand people have died all at once, and Zhu Youzhen feels that his heart is dripping blood in distress at the moment. When Zhu Youzhen saw the sentence written at the end of the fold, "At this point, the land of Liaodong has been fully recovered, and the ministers should defend the territory and open up the territory for my Ming Dynasty", Zhu Youzhen's heart first swelled up with a burst of joy, and then a trace of fear surged deep into his heart. Is there anyone in the current Ming Dynasty who can balance Yueyang?

Feeling that he couldn't stand it anymore, Zhu Youzhen stood up and strode to the door and pushed the door open.

"Squeak......"

A piercing sound sounded, and with the opening of the gate, a cold north wind flew in with pieces of snowflakes, and immediately woke up the two little eunuchs who were standing by the door and dozing off, when they saw Chongzhen actually pushed open the door and wanted to go out, the sleepy insects of the two suddenly flew out of the clouds, and a little eunuch was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and cried: "Your Majesty." It's late at night, you can't go out, if you are frozen, the prince will have to skin the slave. ”

Seeing the two eunuchs kneeling on the ground trembling, Chongzhen couldn't bear it even if he wanted to get angry, he lowered his voice and said: "What are you two slaves crying about, I'm just upset and want to go outside, what are you afraid of?" ”

"Your Majesty, you can have a golden body, and your safety is in danger of the world, how can you go outside when it is so cold and freezing. If you really want to go out, you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning! The two little eunuchs banged their heads in the face. Just don't let Chongzhen go out.

Looking at the eunuch who was kneeling on the ground and knocking his head bruised, Chongzhen smiled self-deprecatingly: "Others envy me for being the Ninety-Five, but who knows that I can't even go out to enjoy the night view, what's the point of this emperor?" ”

The two eunuchs didn't speak, they just knelt on the ground and kowtowed vigorously, the lives of the subordinates in the palace are really worthless, and there are many eunuchs and palace maids who die every year for various reasons, and they don't want to become the next unjust ghost to be killed.

"That's it, get up!" Seeing the pitiful look of the two eunuchs kneeling on the ground, Chongzhen sighed lightly and said, "You all get up." I can't get out. ”

"Thank you for your grace!" Hearing Chongzhen say this, the two little eunuchs quickly got up, and then worked together to close the door.

Chongzhen was about to walk back to the dragon case to continue to review the folds, when he suddenly turned around and asked, "Where is Wang Daban?" ”

A little eunuch hurriedly stepped forward and replied earnestly: "Go back to the emperor." The prince has gone back to rest, and if you want to summon the prince and the slave, go and call him over. ”

"Oh...... No need! ”

Only then did Chongzhen remember that Wang Chengen's energy began to decline due to his age. I can't stay up late at night. It's just that he was accustomed to Wang Chengen waiting on the side, and he suddenly saw the familiar figure behind him, but he felt very uncomfortable, but fortunately, today's folds have been almost approved, and Chongzhen hurriedly read the remaining few folds. I found that it was not an important matter, and hurriedly gave instructions a few times and put it on the table.

After finishing a day's work, Chongzhen stood up and stretched. The little eunuch next to him had long been paying attention to the number of recitals on Chongzhen's table, and when they saw that Chongzhen had finished his work, they hurriedly trotted up and said attentively: "Your Majesty, do you plan to spend the night in the Nuanxiang Pavilion or go to which lady to rest?" ”

Chongzhen thought for a while and said: "I haven't been to the queen for a long time, let's go to Kunning Palace tonight, as for the dragon, there is no need to pass it on, let's go all the way over and carry out activities by the way." ”

"Yes!"

The two little eunuchs answered, one brought a thick cloak for Chongzhen and wrapped it around him, and the other ran to open the door.

Kunning Palace is not close to Nuanxiang Pavilion, it is a mile away, and when Chongzhen came to Kunning Palace, it was already two quarters of an hour later. Queen Zhou, who had already slept, hurriedly got up and welcomed Chongzhen in, and instructed the palace maids around her to close the door and bring the brazier, and after getting this qiē, Queen Zhou stood behind Chongzhen and helped him shoot off the snowflakes on his body, and then took off his cloak.

Pulling Chongzhen to the brazier and sitting down, Queen Zhou complained and said: "Your Majesty, it's time now, you should rest early at such a late hour, why do you still come to the concubine here, you must know that you will have to go to court early tomorrow." ”

Chongzhen smiled: "I haven't seen Zitong for a few days, and I want to see you after reviewing it tonight, so I came over." Are you just so unkind to see me? ”

Empress Zhou glanced at Chongzhen with disgust: "Your Majesty is talking nonsense again, you are the true son of the dragon, how dare the concubine not wait to see you!" ”

"True Dragon Heavenly Son?" Chongzhen couldn't help but be silent for a moment when he heard this word, and after a while, he smiled bitterly: "The life of the true dragon emperor is very sad, sometimes I really hope that it is not the true dragon emperor, I just want to live a good life with Zitong for a few years in the ordinary people's family, and I don't have to criticize those twists and turns that can never be watched every day." ”

Listening to Chongzhen complaining, Queen Zhou didn't speak and just looked at her husband silently, she knew that what her husband needed at this time was just an audience to listen.

After talking for a while, Chongzhen looked at Queen Zhou and then smiled: "Zitong, aren't you annoyed to hear me complain so much?" ”

"Where." Empress Zhou smiled softly: "Although Your Majesty is the co-lord of the world, she is also the husband of the concubine, and it is also a blessing for the concubine to be able to hear the complaint of the king of a country." ”

"Huh...... You! Chongzhen stretched out his finger and pointed at Queen Zhou, with a warm smile in his eyes.

Empress Zhou is a native of Suzhou, her father Zhou Kui, and her mother Ding are Zhou Kui's stepfamily, and her family is poor, and Queen Zhou took care of housework when she was young. After moving to Beijing, Zhou Kui made a living by reading fortunes in the downtown area of Qianmen Street.

After marrying Chongzhen, she also adheres to the traditional virtues of thrift and housekeeping, and the relationship between her and Chongzhen can be said to be deeply friendly, and Chongzhen has always respected this wife, and the two get along very casually on weekdays.

Enjoying the rare warmth between husband and wife, Chongzhen sighed after a while: "Zitong, I just received a fold, but after I saw it, I was happy and worried, and I was in turmoil for a while, so I wanted to come to you to sit here." ”

Empress Zhou's beautiful big eyes rolled and chuckled, "Don't say it yet, Your Majesty." Let the concubines guess, this letter must have been sent by Yue Zhenghong, the loyal and brave marquis, right? And the matter of Liaodong has been quelled by him, right? ”

Chongzhen flashed a trace of astonishment and nodded: "It seems that nothing can be hidden from Zitong's eyes, it is the twist sent by Yue Zhenghong, Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou have indeed been taken by him, but Wu Zhuang, Zu Dashou and others are stubborn and tried to resist the imperial army, and tens of thousands of Liaodong soldiers have been killed and injured in this battle, these are the elite of my Ming Dynasty, can I not feel distressed!" ”

Empress Zhou looked at Chongzhen and said softly: "Your Majesty, I really can't think of anyone else who can make you so out of shape now except for the loyal and brave marquis concubines." ”

"yes!" Chongzhen sighed lightly: "Zitong is worthy of being my wife." I know my heart! ”

Queen Zhou gave Chongzhen a roll of her eyes with beautiful eyes, and for a while the charm was infinite, which made Chongzhen look a little stunned.

Seeing Chongzhen's appearance, Queen Zhou was overjoyed, and said eloquently: "If the concubine's expectations are good, the emperor is worried that Yue Zhenghong will not be able to fall in the future, which will bring hidden dangers to the Ming Dynasty." ”

Chongzhen smiled bitterly: "Then Yue Yang is already big now." Now I know what the Ming Dynasty is like, Zitong must also know, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is stormy, if those ministers in the DPRK and China start to do moral articles, it is naturally more powerful than the other, but they can make ideas or share worries for me, but none of them can do it. The only Yang Sichang is also lonely now, and I am too tired. ”

Looking at her husband with a tired look on her face that could not be concealed, Queen Zhou felt distressed in her heart. He sat down beside Chongzhen, stretched out his hand to wrap his arm around Chongzhen's waist, put his face in her husband's arms, and said softly: "Your Majesty, the concubine is a woman, and I don't know what the principle of governing the country is, but the concubine often thinks about why a military general from a talented military general in Yue Zhenghong District can train from a regiment to today's loyal and brave marquis in five years, and he can kill the enemy and soothe the people on the horse, and it only took five years to turn a barren Shanxi into today's western Jiangnan, But so many talented people who read poetry and books in the DPRK and China are sent down to the bottom, and even a county cannot be governed well, how can it be explained? Why can't the emperor let Yue Zhenghong come to the court to share the emperor's worries? ”

"Yue Yang?" Chongzhen's heart moved, and a trace of bitterness appeared on his random face and shook his head: "Zitong said that he laughed, Yueyang is unruly, how can he be willing to enter the dynasty to share my worries, even if he is willing to enter the dynasty to share my worries, but how dare I reuse such a person?" ”

Chongzhen's words expressed the worries in the emperor's heart, for any person or force that is not controlled, they will regard it as a threat, and they will never really use it with confidence, which is why since the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese dynasties have implemented a policy of emphasizing literature over military force.

Empress Zhou's beautiful eyes turned, and she immediately thought of an idea, "Your Majesty, the reason why you don't dare to reuse Yue Zhenghong is that Yue Zhenghong is unruly and disobedient. I'm afraid that he will pose a threat to my royal family after he takes power, isn't that so? ”

Chongzhen nodded silently after hearing this, which can be regarded as a tacit acquiescence.

Empress Zhou was also silent, this is an unsolvable problem, the ministers in the court are all wastes who only eat and can't do things, and the capable Yue Yang Chongzhen doesn't dare to use it, which has to be said to be a great irony.

Empress Zhou, who was a little distressed, couldn't help but sigh: "Alas...... It would be nice if this Yue Zhenghong was a family with us, so that you could use him with confidence. ”

"Hmmm......"

The speaker had no intention of listening to the heart, but Queen Zhou's words in Chongzhen's ears immediately made his heart move. His mind twirled a few times, his expression was happy for a while, and he was depressed for a while, and finally sighed softly and muttered: "Alas...... Still doesn't work...... It's too small. ”

"What's too small?" Empress Zhou asked a little strangely.

Chongzhen was a little stunned and said: "I was just thinking about which princess in the palace to be married could be married to Yueyang, but after thinking about it, I found that there was no suitable one, so I said those words." ”

Empress Zhou's eyes lit up, but soon dimmed: "This is a good way, but the first emperor did not leave an heir, even if there was a princess, she would have been married a long time ago, and now there is really no princess of the right age who can marry him." (To be continued......)