In the early morning of the twelfth day of the second month of the sixth year of Longqing, the city of Beijing, which was expected to be cold in spring, was still in a state of slaughter. In the second half of the night, there were a few spring thunders, and then the sky was full of cold rain, and the weather became more and more cold. However, it is said that after the five watch drums of the city towers were beaten, the bleak and deserted capital suddenly became noisy, and the sound of shouting, avoiding sedan chairs, horses' hooves, and singing was noisy and noisy. On the streets leading to the imperial city, official sedans of all sizes were hurriedly carried one after another. The old Beijingers who were reluctant to leave the hot kang after holding back a soak of urine knew that this was the day of the regular dynasty -- otherwise, these ministers who were dressed in fine clothes and fine food on weekdays would never want to suffer such hardships.

Ouchi carved the leakage room and reported the Yin card, only to see the cabinet yamen in the southeast corner of the noon gate of the imperial city, and the two heavy vermilion lacquer doors were slowly pushed open by Si Yan. Gao Gong, the first assistant of the cabinet, and Zhang Juzheng, the second assistant, walked out of the door. At this time, the light first dew and the freezing rain stopped, and the melodious and majestic bells and drums echoed among the red walls and green tiles. The civil and military officials who participated in the court meeting have come to the Huangji Hall to stand outside the prelude class under the leadership of the officials of Honglu Temple.

As soon as the two ministers left the gate, a cold wind blew in their faces, blowing the neatly combed beard of the high arch into a mess. Just because of this beard, coupled with his impatient temperament, the ministers and the eunuchs in the court called him a tall beard behind their backs.

"It's February, and the wind is still so biting." Gao Gong straightened his beard and said in his thick Henan accent.

"The spring breeze in February is like scissors." Zhang Juzheng, who was long and dignified, replied slowly. He also had a long beard, and it was only because he used a beard clip that he would not be blown by the wind.

Dozens of steps out of the cabinet gate, that is, the gate of the pole. Two small firefighters with ebony cards on their waists were wiping the foundation pillars of the Huiji Gate, and when they saw two auxiliary ministers coming over, they hurriedly avoided them and stood with their hands down. Gao Gong didn't even look at them, and just talked to Zhang Juzheng:

"Taiyue, today the emperor wants to discuss the rebellion of the servants in Qingyuan Mansion in Guangxi, and you are usually in charge of the military department, how are you going to play it right?" Zhang Juzheng said: "The mountains of Qingyuan Mansion in Guangxi are high and dense, and the servants live here, and they are already armed and aggressive, and the local officials have no virtue of making a good living, so they are exploited, which provokes the people's uprising. Its leaders, Wei Yinbao and Huang Chaomeng, were bold and reckless, leading the rebels to repeatedly kill the officials of the Son of Heaven, attacking the city and robbing the village, and it has been three years now. The local governor asked for soldiers and salaries for many years, and the court agreed to allocate them one by one, and now millions of taels of silver have been consumed, but the rebels are more and more. Yesterday, the alarm arrived in Beijing, saying that Wei Yinbao had captured Libo County, which had been recovered for less than half a year, and hung the heads of the county magistrates on the city wall to show the public. To capture the thief and capture the king, if you want to level Qingyuan and accumulate Kou, there is only one way to capture and kill Wei Yinbao and Huang Chaomeng, the two thieves. Gao Gong nodded and said: "This is the reason, but the thief is in danger, and the 50,000 officers and soldiers have been suppressed for three years, and they have lost their troops and generals, but they have not hurt Wei Yinbao at all." "This is an improper use of personnel," Zhang Juzheng said decisively, "and the governor of Liangguang should be re-appointed." Gao Gong asked vigilantly, "Who do you think should be chosen?" Zhang Juzheng replied: "I still recommend Yin Zhengmao." Gao Gong's face was slightly gloomy, this "Tianzi No. 1" cardinal, who also served as the secretary of the ministry, and the right to promote and employ people, was firmly grasped by him. At this time, he said coldly: "You have recommended him three times, and I have already said that this person cannot be used." Zhang Juzheng didn't care about Gao Gong's rude attitude, but sighed: "I really don't understand why Yuanfu has such a deep prejudice against Yin Zhengmao. Gao Gong said: "Although Yin Zhengmao has military talent, he is greedy and despicable, use him, don't talk about me, the emperor will not agree, and the ministers of the DPRK and China will not support it." Zhang Juzheng shook his head. He knew that Gao Gong had selfish intentions on this issue. Li Yan, the current governor of Liangguang, is the doorman of Gao Gong and has won the trust of Gao Gong. But it is this Li Yan who is narrow-minded and jealous and can not tolerate people. After Qi Jiguang was transferred north to serve as the chief soldier of Jizhen, another famous anti-Japanese general Yu Dayou took over from him to continue the task of suppressing bandits. This time, Wei Yinbao captured Libo County, and Li Yan not only did not blame himself, but instead folded his bullet to impeach Yu Dayou for delaying military affairs and suppressing bandits. The ministers of the DPRK and China, such as Yang Bo, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Ge Shouli, the Zuo Yushi, all knew about Yu Dayou's wrongdoing. But Gao Gong blindly favored Li Yan, and they were helpless. Zhang Juzheng privately consulted Yang Bo and Yu Dayou, and they both believed that if Li Yan was not replaced, there would be no day when the Qingyuan traitors would be pacified...... Zhang Juzheng pondered and stopped talking, and Gao Gong said again: "Taiyue, when you see the emperor later, don't take the initiative to change the governor of Liangguang." Regardless of whether Li Yan stays in office or not, Yin Zhengmao can't take over anyway. Besides, the cabinet did not make a decision, and it was stabbed to the emperor at once, if there was a dispute, what would the ministers think? ”

Gao Gongming is persuasion, and secretly is a threat. Zhang Juzheng replied with a wry smile: "You are the first assistant, and you still have the final say in everything." ”

While talking, the two walked out of the Huiji Gate. From here, to the north, it is the royal road in front of the Huangji Gate. Suddenly, there was a noise on the royal road, and the two followed the reputation, only to see that in the middle of the royal road near the Huangji Gate, there was Emperor Longqing's public opinion.

Gao Gong suddenly became suspicious, and said to Zhang Juzheng: "The emperor is not on the throne in the Imperial Palace at this time, what are you doing here?" ”

Zhang Juzheng was also puzzled. Vaguely, he saw Emperor Longqing standing in front of Chengyu and pointing fingers, as if he was losing his temper.

Yuansuke, the emperor seems to have something going on. ”

As soon as Zhang Juzheng's words fell, he saw the envoy carrying two small sedan chairs and rushing over, beckoning the two ministers to get on the sedan chair, saying that the emperor wanted to see them.

When the two ministers arrived, they saw Zhu Zai, the emperor of Longqing, walking around next to Chengyu. When he was thirty years old, he took over the throne from his father, Emperor Jiajing, and changed his name to Longqing. Zhu Zai is six years old Chinese New Year's Eve this year, and he is in his prime, but due to excessive wine, he is aging before he gets old. At this time, I saw that his face was full of anger, although he was wearing the chapter clothes of the Great Dynasty, but the crown on his head was not straightened, the symmetrical plate was crooked on one side, and the pearl jade hanging was shaking. A large group of close attendants of the Qianqing Palace knelt around Emperor Longqing, trembling one by one, looking extremely nervous.

"Your Majesty!"

Without waiting for the sedan chair to stop, Gao Gong jumped down, shouted quickly, walked to the emperor and knelt and kowtowed. Zhang Juzheng followed behind him and also knelt down.

"Ah, you're here, it's good to come, I'm going to sue you, I'm angry, angry, angry!" Emperor Longqing kept walking back and forth, nagging hatefully in his mouth. Although the rain stopped, the sky was still gloomy, and the north wind blew in a hurry. The two ministers knelt on the ground, their cotton robes soaked with water, and the cold and hard stone slabs made their knees ache and pain, and the cold air penetrated into the bone marrow.

This taste was very uncomfortable, but the emperor did not speak, and no one dared to get up. "Your Majesty, give the two old gentlemen a flat body." Zhang Gui, the steward of the Qianqing Palace who was serving on the side, reminded in a low voice, and Emperor Longqing bent down to pull the placket of the high arch and shouted loudly: "Get up." ”

"Your Majesty."

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng stood up in thanks, and the two exchanged glances. They didn't know why the emperor was suddenly angry. Emperor Longqing was still tugging at his high-arched sleeves. Another cold wind blew, Gao Gong's freshly tidied beard was messy again, floating on his face, Gao Gong was a little embarrassed, stretched out his hand to brush the long silver-white beard on his face, and said softly: "Your Majesty, the time for the early dynasty has arrived." ”

"Early dynasty, what early dynasty?" Emperor Longqing didn't seem to know about it at all.

Only then did the two ministers feel that the emperor's expression was in a trance, which was very different from the past. Gao Gong then asked cautiously: "If the emperor doesn't come to court early, what does he want to do?" ”

Emperor Longqing was silent, his two eyes staring at Gao Gong. Suddenly, he pulled Gao Gong aside and whispered: "You are Teng's teacher, and you are also the first assistant of my hand, and now someone is bullying me, do you care or not?" ”

Gao Gong asked cautiously: "Who dares to bully the emperor?" ”

Emperor Longqing was stunned for a moment, and continued: "You bring me back the slave Huahua." "This ......" Gao Gong was speechless for a moment.

When Emperor Longqing was talking to Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng asked Zhang Gui in a low voice: "What's wrong with the emperor this morning?" ”

Zhang Gui said: "Get up in the morning and wash, the emperor is fine, as soon as he got out of the Qianqing Palace, as soon as he sat in the sedan chair, the emperor shouted to come down." And then for some reason, I came here in one breath. ”

"Is the sores on the emperor's hands healed?"

"No," Zhang Gui shook his head, the lower his voice became, "Sometimes it itches, and I can't sleep all night." ”

"Have you called the Imperial Doctor?" Zhang Juzheng asked.

"Oh, not yet," Zhang Gui patted his head, and hurriedly said to a small fire man beside him, "Quick, go and call the imperial doctor." ”

The little flame man ran away like a fly, and Emperor Longqing, who had been holding on to the sleeves of his high-arched coat, raised his voice again: "One said."

Slave Huahua, you don't say anything, I see that you are not a loyal minister! ”

Gao Gong's face was red and white for a while, and he didn't know how to answer. Zhang Juzheng, who was standing on the side, stepped forward and waved at the emperor and said, "Please ask the emperor to return to the palace." ”

"Your Majesty, go back to the palace." Gao Gong also whispered a request.

After hesitating for a while, Emperor Longqing sighed and said, "Okay, you send me." ”

Gao Gong pointed to the door of the sedan chair and motioned for Emperor Longqing to get on the sedan chair. The emperor ignored it, he still grabbed the sleeve of the high arch, and walked towards the golden platform in front of the emperor's gate.

On the golden platform, Emperor Longqing stopped again, looked at the majestic Imperial Palace in the morning light, suddenly stomped his feet, and said hatefully: "The ancestors have been in the world for two hundred years, and today, the country has a long monarch, and the blessing of the society, why is the East Palace too small, how is it good?" ”

Just a few words, Emperor Longqing repeated it several times. Say it again, beat your chest. Later, it almost turned into a crying voice.

Seeing that the emperor was so out of shape, Gao Gong and Zhang Ju looked at each other. As ministers, they did not dare to interrupt the emperor's nagging. It wasn't until Emperor Longqing stopped talking that Gao Gong hurriedly comforted him and said, "The emperor has no borders, how can he say such a thing." ”

Emperor Longqing looked at Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng in a daze, and suddenly stopped talking. After a while, he rolled up his sleeves and said to the two ministers, "You see, the sore on my wrist has not yet scabbed. ”

Gao Gong said: "The emperor's illness has just improved, don't be angry, for fear of hurting the Holy Arms." ”

Emperor Longqing didn't answer, and after a long while, he sighed and said, "Nothing, it's just that the internal officials are broken, how can you know, sir." ”

After speaking, Emperor Longqing still held Gao Gong's hand, walked into the Huangji Gate, and got off the Danqi.

"Tea." Emperor Longqing shouted.

At this time, the sky was still low and the clouds were dark, and standing on the empty square inside the Imperial Gate, I still felt the chill in the north wind.

Outside the Imperial Palace, which was close at hand, hundreds of civil and military officials had already lined up and stood waiting for the court. Now, they all saw the emperor and the two auxiliary ministers standing in the square, not understanding what was happening, and couldn't help but talk to each other.

At this time, the chamberlain moved a chair and set it up in the north direction, inviting the emperor to sit down. Emperor Longqing refused to sit, and the chamberlain turned the chair in another direction, facing south, and Emperor Longqing sat down, but he held the right hand of the high arch, but he refused to let go.

The chamberlain brought the tea up again, and Emperor Longqing stretched out his left hand to take the teacup, took a few sips, and then breathed a sigh of relief and said to Gao Gong: "Now, my heart is a little calmer. ”

As he spoke, Emperor Longqing stood up, passed through the Huangji Hall and the Jianji Hall from the Dongjiao Gate, and walked to the Qianqing Palace Gate. The high arch that had been dragged by Emperor Longqing's sleeves stopped at this time.

"Let's go." Emperor Longqing urged.

"The minister didn't dare to enter." Gao Gong said.

The Qianqing Palace belongs to the emperor's life resting place, called the harem, also called the inner house. The concubines and concubines all live in it, and except for the inner servants, no court officials are allowed to enter.

Emperor Longqing said almost in a commanding tone: "Send me!" ”

Since the emperor insisted on this, Gao Gong had no choice but to act according to the order, and Zhang Juzheng accompanied Emperor Longqing into the Qianqing Palace and entered the dormitory. The emperor sat on the couch, his right hand still firmly grasping the high arch.

When the emperor was accompanied by two ministers and walked straight back to the harem without entering the palace and the early court, the officials felt that something was wrong. Zhu Xizhong, the descendant of the founding father of Chengguo Gong Zhu Neng, and the sixth generation of Chengguo Gong, was also in the ranks of the early dynasty. He was the highest knighthood of all officials. In order to find out, he chased after them, caught up with them at the gate of the Qianqing Palace, and entered the dormitory together.

As soon as Emperor Longqing sat down, Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Juzheng knelt down in front of the couch and kowtowed. Gao Gong couldn't touch the ground because he wanted to kowtow because he was being held by the emperor, and his body was crooked, looking cramped and uneasy. Seeing this, Emperor Longqing let go of his hand.

The three of them kowtowed to Anbi, and Emperor Longqing didn't say anything. The three of them retreated in good spirits, but they didn't dare to go away, just waiting outside the gate of the Qianqing Palace.

After a while, an attendant came out to deliver a decree to let the two cabinet ministers re-enter the Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Longqing was still sitting on the royal couch just now, his expression was much calmer, but his cheeks were still red, and his eyes were dull, and he said to the two ministers: "I was in a trance for a while, but now I am much better." Since ancient times, emperors and queens have to prepare in advance, and the Qing and others must be thoughtful and act according to the rules. ”

After speaking, he motioned for the two ministers to step down. Gao Gong hurriedly played: "The ministers obey the order, but there is one more important matter, and you must ask the emperor." ”

"What?" Emperor Longqing asked.

"Yesterday, the minister has sent the 800-mile express report from the Qingyuan front into the palace, and it was originally scheduled to be discussed by the court this morning, whether to appease or suppress the rebel leaders Wei Yinbao and Huang Chaomeng, whether the governor of Liangguang will be replaced, and whether Yu Dayou, the general soldier of Guangxi, will be responsible, and ask the emperor to make it clear."

Emperor Longqing waved his hand impatiently and muttered, "I can't control much, so you can draw up a decree for me." ”

"Your Ministers obey."

Gao Gong replied in a loud voice, and subconsciously looked at Zhang Juzheng, who was kneeling beside him, and then walked out of the Qianqing Palace together. Zhu Xizhong hadn't left yet, and when he saw them coming out, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked anxiously, "May I ask the two elders, what does the emperor command?" ”

Gao Gong replied gloomily: "The emperor asked us to consider the future arrangements. ”

Just when Emperor Longqing was still making noise on the royal road in front of the Huangji Gate, Empress Chen, who lived in Ciqing Palace, had also gotten up, and the palace maid who was close to her had just finished helping her freshen up.

Empress Chen walked into the warm pavilion next to the bedroom, and saw that Concubine Li's mother and son had already sat down and waited for her. As soon as she entered the door of the warm pavilion, Concubine Li Guifei hurriedly stood up and saluted her, then took a child beside her and said to him, "Greetings to the queen mother." ”

"Good morning Queen Mother."

The child's voice was as brittle as a silver bell, and he knelt down with a thud.

"Ouch, hurry up."

Empress Chen shouted lovingly, pulled the child up, and took her into her arms.

This child is the current prince, Zhu Yijun, who has reached the age of nine.

Empress Chen is 28 years old. When Emperor Longqing was still King Yu, he married Li of Changping as his concubine. Concubine Li unfortunately died of illness at an early age.

King Yu remarried the Chen family of Tongzhou as a concubine, and this Chen concubine is now Queen Chen. And Li Guifei was a palace maid who was elected to King Yu's mansion that year. Because of his cleverness, he was favored by Zhu Zai, who has always liked women, and after a drink, he pulled it ridiculous. Unexpectedly, just this time, Zhu Zai would no longer be able to leave this palace maid. This girl who is not a natural beauty, has a unique and extraordinary attraction on her body, she can make you full of joy with her nagging, and she can make you ecstatic when she goes to bed. Since having her, Zhu Zai only hates that the days are too long and the nights are too short. Not long after, the palace maid who had been in the Yuwang Mansion for less than a year became pregnant. Although Empress Chen has a high status, she has no choice but to have no children. And this palace maid gave birth to Zhu Zai's firstborn son. The mother is more expensive than the son, so she was promoted from a low-status Duren to the crown princess. After becoming a concubine, she gave birth to a second son for Zhu Zai, which was later King Lu. After Zhu Zai ascended the throne, Mrs. Yuan was naturally canonized as the queen, and the concubine who gave birth to the crown prince was also canonized as a noble concubine, whose status was above the concubines, second only to Empress Chen, who lived in Ciqing Palace.

Since ancient times, the harem has competed for favor, and it has often become a miasma. The emperor is just that, but the number of queen concubines on the register ranges from dozens to hundreds, and there are thousands of palace ladies. With so many pink beauties, where can the emperor take care of them? As a result, these young women, who needed to be gentle and considerate, were in that heavy forbidden, in order to win the emperor's favor and favor, they did not hesitate to do their best to kill their opponents. The war in this fat powder country, its cruel Cheng dù, is no less than the battle array designed by the great masters. The Forbidden City seems to be a pool of stagnant water, but in the spring flowers and autumn moons of the years, how many pink beauties should become fragrant and glamorous souls that can never be seen. Don't talk about it far away, let's just say that Emperor Longqing's father, Emperor Jiajing of the previous dynasty, was lying in the quilt of his beloved concubine Cao Duanfei one day, and was broken in by Yang Jinying, the palace maid next to Concubine Cao Duan, and strangled his neck with a ribbon. Thanks to Queen Fang, she came to the rescue, and she was lucky enough to avoid death. Emperor Jiajing was shocked and heard that Empress Fang had sent a decree to kill Yang Jinying and Concubine Cao Duan. Emperor Jiajing knew that this matter had nothing to do with his beloved Concubine Cao Duan, but Empress Fang relied on her own rescue and carried her rival in addition to herself, making it difficult for you to speak. Emperor Jiajing understood the cruelty of women, sighed, moved out of the Forbidden City, lived in Xiyuan, and never returned.

Most of the contradictions in the harem are concentrated on the queen and the concubine. However, Empress Chen and Concubine Li Guifei, who were beside Emperor Longqing, gave outsiders the impression that they respected each other as guests, like a pair of close sisters. Therefore, people inside and outside the palace praised them for their wisdom.

The key role here is still Li Guifei. At first, seeing that Emperor Longqing favored Concubine Li, Empress Chen's heart was still a little sour. When Concubine Li gave birth to the crown prince, Empress Chen's vigilance became even more obvious. Concubine Li Guifei had already seen Empress Chen's thoughts. She doesn't care, no matter who comes before or after, she never says a bad word about Queen Chen. After Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, it stands to reason that Empress Chen should live in Kunning Palace, but because she was sick, she asked to live in another palace, so she was arranged to live in Ciqing Palace in the East Courtyard. Concubine Li Guifei lived in Cining Palace in the West Courtyard. Year after year, every morning, Concubine Li Guifei took the crown prince to Ciqing Palace to greet Empress Chen. After a long time, in the face of Concubine Li's sincerity of being informed and reasonable, and keeping to herself, Queen Chen's little vigilance and jealousy disappeared. The two have really become good sisters, and they say everything together.

At this moment, Empress Chen took Zhu Yijun in her arms, held his little hand, and said distressedly: "It's so cold, you should let the child sleep a little longer." As I said a long time ago, you should be exempt from your courtesy this morning. ”

"If the rules of the old eight generations are removed from my head, won't the people behind me regard me as a sinner."

Li Guifei said with a smile. She is not the kind of bewitching beauty, but she has a charm, vivid eyes, a smile, and a look forward to life. At first glance, you know that she is a woman who is both attractive and assertive.

Empress Chen is two years older than Concubine Li, although she looks in poor health, she is dignified and beautiful, and has a graceful and luxurious temperament. Listening to Concubine Li's words, she smiled lightly, hooked her head again, and teased the little prince in her arms. Because he has no children, and the little prince is smart and cute, Queen Chen likes him very much, and loves him as if he were her own son.

"Jun'er, what book did you read yesterday?" Empress Chen asked.

"The Analects, I've read the last verse." Zhu Yijun felt that the queen's mother was much more easy-going than her own mother, so she was also willing to talk to her.

"Yo, the books of Sage Confucius, I have read the last verse."

Empress Chen sighed. On the coffee table in her hand, there is a copy of "Analects", which is specially prepared for Zhu Yijun.

"Jun'er, recite it to the queen mother." Li Guifei said on the side.

Empress Chen picked up the "Analects" and turned to the last section, Zhu Yijun left Empress Chen's arms and stood in the center of the room. Read it aloud:

Zizhang asked Confucius: "How can you be in politics?" Zi said: "Respect the five beauties, screen the four evils, Si can be in politics." Zizhang said: "What are the five beauties? Zi said: "The gentleman is benevolent but not expensed, hard work is not resentful, desire is not greedy, Thai is not arrogant, and mighty but not fierce." Zizhang said: "What does it mean to benefit without expense? Zi said: "Because of the interests of the people, it is profitable, and it is not bothering?" Choose to work hard, and who will complain......

"Alright, alright." Empress Chen put down the book, hugged Zhu Yijun, and praised: "You have memorized such a deep knowledge book, and I am afraid that you will not be a champion when you grow up." ”

"No, Queen Mother, I'll take care of the champion, whoever I want to call will be whomever I want!"

When Zhu Yijun said this, his eyes widened, although he was a child, he showed a noble and noble style.

Empress Chen was stunned for a moment, then understood, and laughed self-deprecatingly: "Oh, look at me confused, my son is the current prince, and he will be the master of Long Live in the future." No matter how good the champion is, he is only the one under you. Isn't it, Jun'er? ”

Zhu Yijun nodded.

"Good morning, Prince!"

Suddenly, there was a shout outside the door, looking for prestige, only to see a maid in front of Queen Chen standing at the door with a bird cage. Fang Cai's words were not said by the attendant, but by the parrot with pure white feathers in the cage.

This attendant was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and his name was Sun Hai, and he was in charge of the birdcage. Zhu Yijun likes this talking parrot very much, and every time he comes, he has to tease it.

"Big girl."

Zhu Yijun happily shouted the name of the white parrot and chased after him. Empress Chen also likes this bird very much, saying that it can amuse and relieve boredom like a close-fitting ring. That's why it was given such a sour name.

Zhu Yijun stuffed his fingers like tender shallots into the birdcage and poked the white parrot's head, but the parrot didn't peck him, just flapped its wings to dodge.

"Sun Hai, take the prince to the flower room and tease the birds."

"Yes."

Sun Hai agreed and left the warm pavilion with Zhu Yijun.

The careful Empress Chen had already noticed that Concubine Li seemed to have something in mind this morning, so she took the little prince away so as to give the two of them a chance to talk.

The little prince's leather boots walked away, and Concubine Li said, "Queen, look at your complexion, these days are getting better and better." ”

"I feel better at home, I used to be always empty, I couldn't keep up, but now my legs and elbows are not sore." Queen Chen said, shook her body, said that her body was much stronger, and then said: "The body is in recuperation, after the Spring Festival, I changed to a doctor's medicine, and after eating it for more than a month, it was obviously effective." ”

"However, the emperor's illness, why is it so rare to get better" The smile on Concubine Li's face disappeared, and she changed her face to a sad face.

Empress Chen glanced at Concubine Li Guifei, and seeing that she was preoccupied, there must have been a lot of hidden secrets, so she asked, "You mean, the sores on the emperor's hands?" ”

Li Guifei nodded and said: "During the Spring Festival, it was just one on the wrist, at first it was only the size of a pea, but a few days later, it was the size of a copper coin, and it was still flowing water, yellow and yellow, flowing there, and the sores grew there." When I watched the lantern during the Lantern Festival, there were more than a dozen sores on my hand, at first it was only on my right hand, and then my left hand also grew. Now, there are two on the buttocks, too. ”

Empress Chen understood that Concubine Li's sad face was for this matter, so she was relieved and said: "I also asked the imperial doctor yesterday, and he said that the emperor's sores have scabbed. ”

"That's a place for people to see," Li Guifei said, "in the armpits, on the buttocks, and still running water!" ”

Because of her poor health, Empress Chen has not slept for several years. Hearing Li Guifei talk about these private places of the emperor, it was inevitable that jealousy arose in her heart, but it flashed away, and then she said with concern: "You have to be careful, I heard that this kind of sores are called bayberry blisters, and they will be contagious if you have sex with you." ”

Concubine Li Guifei sighed and said, "Thank you for your concern, the concubine is worried about this matter." Last night, the emperor asked me to go, and I reasoned that I was inconvenient during menstruation, so I didn't go. "Wouldn't the emperor be sad like this?"

"yes, but what can I do?" Li Guifei said with tears in her eyes.

Empress Chen also frowned, half worried, half indignant and said: "Sister, you and I both know that the emperor can't leave a woman for a day, and he can't wait to eat fresh food every day." There are hundreds of concubines and concubines in the palace, and there is no second one like you who can please the emperor for a long time. At this time, he recruited you, in addition to having fun with him, he also wanted to talk about himself. If you can't satisfy him like this, Meng Chong's bastards will have another chance. ”

"You mean, the emperor may still go to Curtain Hutong?"

"What? Curtain alley? Empress Chen seemed to have been stung by a bumblebee, her whole body trembled, and she asked nervously, "How did you mention this filthy place?" ”

Concubine Li Guifei took out a silk handkerchief from her sleeve and looked at the tears in the corners of her eyes, and couldn't help but say hatefully: "Yesterday, Gonggong Feng came to me and said something to me. ”

"What's the matter?"

"One night in the month of Layue last year, Long Live Lord asked Meng Chong to lead him, dressed up in disguise, and sneaked out of the Forbidden City."

"Huh? Where to? ”

"Curtain Alley."

Empress Chen gasped. As early as when she was in Yuwangfu, once, Zhu Zai mentioned on her pillow that the curtain alley in Beijing was a place where men were happy and ecstatic, so she inquired. I don't know if I don't inquire, I was shocked when I inquired, it turned out that this curtain alley was full of some small prostitutes with beautiful eyebrows who were looking for from all over the country, and they were specially used for the boring princes and nobles, dignitaries and nobles to play secretly in the room.

"Meng Chong, this bastard, seduces the emperor to such a dirty place." Empress Chen couldn't help but scold hatefully.

Meng Chong is the palm print eunuch of the celebrant eunuch. The eunuchs in the palace are called eunuchs, and the institutions are huge, with a total of 12 eunuchs, 4 divisions, 8 bureaus and other 24 yamen, and the first one is the celebrant eunuch. And the palm seal eunuch is the first head of the celebrant eunuch, so he is also the chief of the eunuch. The status is prominent, known as the "inner minister". When Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, the eunuch with the palm print was Chen Hong. Chen Hong was dismissed due to ineffective work, and Meng Chong succeeded him.

"If this matter spreads, how should the Chinese military officials and the people of the world treat the emperor?" Li Guifei was angry and endured the inconvenience.

At this time, the palace maid sent two small bowls of hot ginseng soup, and Queen Chen took a cup and took a sip, and said slowly: "I don't know if the emperor is confused or instigated by Meng Chong to do such an obscene thing." ”

Concubine Li was angry, disgusted that the ginseng soup was too hot, and instructed the maid to make another cup of flower tea. Then responded to Empress Chen's words: "Meng Chong is a rootless man after all, and I don't know what it's like to be a prostitute, this must be the emperor's mind." Over the years, the emperor has played with all kinds of women, and it is inevitable that he will have the idea of prostituting children in his heart. ”

Empress Chen asked puzzledly: "What's so fun about prostitution, do you know it, girl?" Li Guifei's face flushed, and she was stunned for a while before she replied reluctantly: "I heard that the prostitute is doing the business of Gudao." ”

"Gu Dao, what is Gu Dao?" Empress Chen is still unclear.

"The valley is the anus."

Empress Chen suddenly felt nauseous: "This kind of place can also make the emperor happy?" ”

Li Guifei said: "After all, the emperor is also a man, how can we experience all men's affairs as women." ”

Empress Chen stared at Concubine Li Guifei with a puzzled look on her face, and muttered: "Look at you, this concubine, you have all the capital to be a woman." But why didn't the emperor make love to you, and go to find some prostitutes? Is it true that a man's valley is better than a woman's? ”

A few words made Concubine Li's face turn red, and she quickly diverted the conversation and said: "Then again, if Meng Chong is a decent person, the emperor will not be able to go to the curtain alley." ”

"I have long seen that Meng Chong is not a good thing," Empress Chen continued to scold, "but the emperor has taken a fancy to him. ”

"Your Majesty? The emperor didn't listen to the tall beard yet. "As soon as Concubine Li Guifei's silver teeth were bitten, her spicy energy became pink and blushing,"

As soon as the emperor ascended the throne, Gao Hu recommended Chen Hong, who was dumbfounded and couldn't take care of anything. The emperor was unhappy, and the bearded man recommended Meng Chong again, this person looks naïve on the surface, but in fact, he has a bad stomach, and he has trouble wherever he goes. No, he hooked the Long Live Lord into the curtain alley and caused this dirty disease. ”

"Ah, you said that the sores of the Long Live Lord were brought back in the curtain alley?" Empress Chen's surprise was not trivial.

Where is it if not? You, me, so many concubines and nobles in the palace, which one has this kind of sore? ”

Empress Chen nodded, and said: "I heard that syphilis is passed down from time to time during sexual intercourse between men and women, but I don't know if the prostitute also carries this evil poison in the valley road." ”

Speaking of this, a Tatar beauty with a high nose and sunken eyes immediately appeared in Li Guifei's mind, and she immediately bit her silver teeth again, and said hatefully, "Otherwise, it's that slave Huahua!" ”

As soon as she heard this name, Queen Chen was furious and said, "This sassy fox is fortunately dead." ”

"Just because she died, the emperor was unhappy and ran to the curtain alley to have fun."

"That's just as well." Empress Chen sighed, "It's a shame for Gonggong Feng to find out, otherwise we would still be in the dark." ”

"Alas, thinking of the emperor's illness, for such no reason, I was so anxious that I couldn't sleep, and last night, I watched it until dawn."

As she spoke, Li Guifei's eyes turned red again. Empress Chen's heart was also like a stone. Just as the two of them sighed, a steward in the Qianqing Palace quickly ran to say, "Empress Qiyu and the concubine, the emperor is sick again." Please come now. ”

Zhang Juzheng

Volume 1: Mulan Song

The second recounting of the condition, the imperial physician Zang Yin Quding, the governor of Quding, and the first assistant made a strange move

The Dongnuan Pavilion, which is close to the Qianqing Palace, is the place where the emperor criticizes and deals with government affairs. Although the shelves are full of volumes, they rarely seem to be turned. On the front wall after the huge case, there is a large blackboard plaque with four big characters, but it is the handwriting of Emperor Sejong, the father of the current emperor. According to the rules, the foreign ministers of the Dongnuan Pavilion are not allowed to trespass, but Emperor Longqing is sometimes too lazy to move, and occasionally summons ministers here to inquire about military and political affairs. Therefore, a duty room was also set up for the ministers in this East Warm Pavilion in case of emergency. Right now, this room comes in handy. Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, who left the palace of Emperor Longqing, were arranged to wait here. They were not allowed to leave without the emperor's will.

The Qianqing Palace had already burned the earth dragon for heating, and the eunuch on duty temporarily burned a copper basin charcoal fire, and the room on duty showed a warm and peaceful atmosphere. As soon as the two ministers sat down, the small fire in the imperial dining room put a table of refreshments, and there were dozens of kinds of them. After tossing the high arch all morning, he was already hungry. The one with the small fire added a bowl of two-rice porridge with dates and wolfberries and held it. He took it and was about to drink it, but at a glance he caught a glimpse of a picture of the spring palace painted on the small porcelain bowl containing porridge: a pair of young men and women were naked, the girl bent down and held a chair with both hands, turned around and smiled at the young man standing behind him, and sent Qiubo, the young man held ** against the girl's high white greasy and plump ass...... Gao Gong suddenly lost his appetite, put down the bowl, and said to the little fireman standing beside him, "Give me another bowl." ”

The little fire man thought that Gao Gong thought that the two-rice porridge was too hot, so he bowed down and replied: "Mr. Gao, the two-rice porridge has just come out of the pot, and it is all so hot, otherwise, you should drink a bowl of milk first." ”

According to the rules of the palace, the eunuchs collectively refer to the cabinet ministers as old gentlemen. Gao Gong knew that the little fire person understood wrongly, so he simply made a mistake, as long as he could change the bowl, he replied: "In it, then drink a bowl of milk first." ”

The one who made the fire added a bowl of milk and held it up. Gao Gong took the bowl and was dumbfounded again. The bowl is still painted with a spring palace painting, a pair of naked men and women rolling in a pile on the bed, kissing each other, the man holds the woman's ** with one hand, and holds the woman's lower body with the other hand, which is obscene. Gao Gong put the bowl down again. He looked at Zhang Juzheng, who was sitting opposite, concentrating on drinking two rice porridge. He suddenly became angry, and made a face at the little fireman: "Change me another bowl." ”

The little flame man felt that this Shoufu Lord was more difficult to wait for than the emperor, but he could only ask carefully: "Why don't you change a bowl of lotus seed snowflake soup for you?" ”

Gao Gong replied: "It's still two rice porridge, change a bowl for me." ”

"Change the bowl?" The little flame man stretched his neck and looked at the two bowls in front of Gao Gong, and asked in confusion, "What kind of bowl does Mr. Gao want?" ”

Gao Gong pointed to the Spring Palace painting on the bowl, spat and scolded: "Look at what Laoshzi is painted on this bowl, how can people eat." Well? ”

Only then did the little flame man understand the reason why Gao Gong was picky, and he wanted to grin, but seeing the black face of Gao Gong's black head was scary, he hurriedly smiled and replied: "Today's breakfast was specially taken care of by Old Man Meng, and it was given to the two old gentlemen according to the emperor's early specifications. ”

As soon as the little fire man explained this, Gao Gong couldn't say anything, so he had to soothe his tone and say, "You can find me a bowl that is not painted." ”

The little fire man was not surprised, shook his head and replied: "It's not that the slave refutes your old face, in this Qianqing Palace, I really can't find a bowl without paintings." You always look at the dishes on the table, and which one of them doesn't have a painting on it? ”

Gao Gong leaned over to take a look, and sure enough, all the cups, plates, and dishes, from jars to spoons, were painted with Spring Palace paintings. At this time, Zhang Juzheng was eating the second bowl of two-rice porridge with relish, and Gao Gonghu asked him suspiciously: "Do you also have that bowl?" ”

Zhang Juzheng smiled, stretched out the bowl to Gao Gong to see, and said: "My bowl is not only painted with the ecstasy of Wushan clouds and rain, but also inscribed a poem next to it: A moment of Spring Festival is worth a thousand gold. ”

"Can you eat it?" Gao Gong asked.

"The emperor can eat it, but as ministers, there is no reason why we can't eat it." Zhang Juzheng said, and stretched out his chopsticks to pick up a piece of jujube paste cake on the table and put it in his mouth.

Gao Gong had no choice but to abandon the milk and two rice porridge and not drink it, and stretched out his chopsticks to eat all kinds of snacks on the table. While eating, he asked the little firefighter: "You just mentioned Gonggong Meng, what about the others?" ”

The little flame man replied, "Gonggong Meng is in the duty room of the celebrant supervisor. ”

"Why didn't he come?"

"Back to Mr. Gao, without the emperor's will, Gonggong Meng can't come over."

Eating and eating, Gao Gong felt angry again. During the reign of Emperor Sejong, the current emperor was named King Yu. Gao Gong is Yuwang's teacher, and he has served as a chair for more than ten years, and the relationship between the two is extraordinary. King Yu ascended the throne and became the Emperor of Longqing, and Gao Gongzheng's career peaked and turned, and he entered the cabinet. However, because of his impatient temperament and aggressiveness, he was soon rejected by several senior ministers and abruptly left the cabinet, and it was not until the fourth year of Longqing that he was promoted to the position of first assistant. Emperor Longqing relied heavily on this teacher, and there were few constraints on his handling of large and small government affairs. Gao Gong was grateful for this kindness, and over time, he was favored, and he was at his discretion in major affairs. He knew very well in his heart that if he wanted to maintain the status of Tianzi No. 1 cardinal above 10,000 people under one person, he must ensure that the emperor is healthy in spring and autumn and the country will be long. However, this emperor is a hungry ghost. Just now outside the Huangji Gate, I asked him to ask for the Tatar beautiful slave Huahua, and now in this Qianqing Palace, I saw the Spring Palace paintings on so many tableware and utensils. Being in this kind of lewd environment for a long time, even if you are a god, it is difficult to ensure that King Kong is not bad. Thinking of this, Gao Gong slammed the chopsticks in his hand on the table, and said angrily: "These tableware should all be replaced." ”

Several small firefighters were so frightened that they retreated to the side, silent as cicadas, and Zhang Juzheng took a sip of Biluochun and rinsed his mouth. Ten years ago, he worked with Gao Gong in the Guozijian, and then served as a lecturer in the Yuwang Mansion, and now he is also an auxiliary minister in the cabinet, so he is very familiar with Gao Gong's temperament. "Yuanfu", Zhang Juzheng said slowly, "The 200,000 taels of silver for making this batch of tableware and porcelain were still allocated from the Taicang silver by you instructing the household department." ”

Zhang Juzheng reminded him like this, and Gao Gong remembered it. At the beginning of his tenure as the first assistant, the emperor ordered to open a kiln in Jingdezhen to fire a batch of special porcelain for the palace, and the internal affairs treasury made a budget report, which required a total of 200,000 taels of silver. Although Gao Gong felt that this move was too wasteful, the emperor had already spoken, and he had to do it, so he ordered the household department to allocate the full amount. As a rule, all kinds of objects used in the palace were directly supervised by eunuchs sent by the emperor, and the government was not allowed to intervene. So although Gao Gong paid for it, he didn't know what kind of entertainment it was burning.

"I'm going to find out whose idea it was to burn the Spring Palace painting on porcelain." Gao Gong said stupidly.

"Motosuke doesn't need to check." As Zhang Juzheng spoke, he called the eunuch on duty in the Dongnuan Pavilion and asked him, "I heard that in the Dongnuan Pavilion, there is a wall that displays porcelain fired in the fourth year of Longqing, but is there such a thing?" ”

The eunuch on duty replied: "Back to Mr. Zhang, it is true." ”

Zhang Juzheng said, "Can you take Yuanfu in and have a look?" ”

The eunuch on duty nodded. Dongnuan Pavilion was originally separated from this duty room, and the eunuch on duty pushed open the door and let the two auxiliary ministers in. The emperor summoned his ministers to discuss matters, and most of them were in the Wenhua Hall or platform. Although Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng have been in the cabinet for many years, it is also the first time to enter the Dongnuan Pavilion. Gao Gong first saw the plaque of "Night Clothes and Food". After glancing at the neatly arranged book volumes, he walked to a row of antique mahogany antique shelves on the north wall, and on the shelf near the emperor's review of the recitals, there were twenty-four shaku August pigment plates displayed in three layers, these plates were elegant and shiny, as thin as an egg membrane, and each plate was painted with a picture of a man and a woman intercourse. If you look closely, it is based on the long-standing folk "Su Nu Jing". The twenty-four spring palace drawings depict twenty-four methods of copulation between men and women. "The emperor just watches these plates every day to deal with state affairs?" Gao Gong couldn't help but ask questions in his heart, and suddenly felt that the artifact of the national society temple had been desecrated. Zhang Juzheng looked more carefully than Gao Gong, he reached out and flicked a plate, making a crisp sound, the whole plate seemed to be trembling, he picked up the plate and held it up in front of his eyes, the plate seemed to be transparent, he turned the plate over, from the bottom of the plate can still see the picture of the spring palace drawn on the plate - red men and green women, hair is visible. "This is the best of Jingdezhen porcelain!" Zhang Juzheng exclaimed.

The eunuch on duty stepped forward and replied, "I heard from the Lord of Long Live that for these twenty-four plates, the cost of firing the wages of silver was sixty thousand taels of silver. ”

"Huh?" Zhang Juzheng turned his eyes, looked at Gao Gong and said, "The annual tax income of Ningxia Province is only more than 20,000 taels of silver, and Guizhou Province is only more than 30,000 taels. This set of plates will cost two provinces a year's taxes. ”

Gao Gong couldn't wait to overturn these plates to the ground and smash them, but when he heard that Zhang Juzheng's words meant to ridicule him, he couldn't help but sink his face, and sneered: "The breakfast you and I just ate is enough for a small family in the countryside for a year, and there are small abacus everywhere, where is the emperor's blessing!" ”

While talking, the two returned to the duty room. The little flame bearer had removed the table and re-made tea for the two of them. Before eating breakfast, Gao Gong instructed that as soon as the imperial doctor had diagnosed the emperor, he would come over and report it. At this time, the imperial doctor left the dormitory and came to the duty room. After performing the official salute, Gao Gong asked, "What disease does the emperor suffer?" ”

The imperial doctor replied: "According to the diagnosis of humble duty, the emperor has had a stroke. ”

"Stroke?" Gao Gong was a little suspicious, "Anyone who has had a stroke, or is paralyzed in bed, or slurred speech, how can the emperor still run around the ground and lied?" ”

The imperial physician replied: "What Yuan Fu said is extremely true, ordinary people who have a stroke have this symptom, but the emperor's situation is different. The emperor usually eats too many tonics, and people are always in extreme excitement. Fang Cai humbly gave the emperor a pulse, the inch pulse was urgent, the guan pulse was suspended and the ulnar pulse was uncertain, which was exactly the image of the middle focus blocking the internal fire and attacking the heart. Illness from C, according to the five elements, C is fire, the first month is Yin, wood helps the fire, and the emperor's internal fire is a sore, which shows the weight of fire poison. Now that the moon has arrived, the evil fire is more vigorous, the surface is sore, and the heart is poisonous. The emperor's fire poison has gone from the surface to the inside, from the skin to the heart. Those who are on the surface, the sores and poison are rampant, and those who enter the heart, the fire will burn the spirit, and many delusions will be born. The so-called wind is fire poison. That's why he dared to assert that the emperor's illness this time was really a sign of a stroke. ”

This doctor is almost 70 years old, and he has been in the hospital for 40 years, and he is the chief of the hospital in terms of medical skills. Listening to his eloquent words, the analysis and understanding of the truth were sufficient, Gao Gong had to believe it, and his heart suddenly became heavy, he subconsciously twisted his beard, looked at the imperial doctor and asked: "In your opinion, is the emperor's illness serious or not?" ”

"Heavy!" The Imperial Physician replied in the affirmative.

"How heavy?"

Faced with Shoufu's questioning, the Imperial Doctor felt difficult. Because according to his pulse, the emperor is terminally ill, and he will only die within 100 days. But according to the truth, Shoufu was angry and convicted him of "bewitching the public and cursing the emperor". If he conceals it and does not report it, when the emperor really returns to the west with his life, he can also be convicted of "ineffective diagnosis and treatment, delaying his illness", and he can still be severely punished. After pondering in his heart, the imperial doctor replied: "The disease of stroke has been a serious illness since ancient times, not to mention the emperor's wind disease, which is more complicated than ordinary symptoms. ”

"How to recuperate?"

"Fang Cai has already said that illness comes from fire, and people come out of their mother's womb with fire poison, and as long as a person pays attention to reducing fire, he can ensure that serious illnesses are not born, and he will live all year round. Since ancient times, miracle doctors such as Bian Que and Hua Tuo, as well as Sun Simiao's "Qianjin Fang" and Zhang Zhongjing's "Treatise on Typhoid Fever" have all talked about the principle of dispelling fire and eliminating evil. And the first rule of the Dafa of dispelling fire and eliminating evil is to purify the heart and have few desires. As long as the emperor can do this, supplemented by decoction, his condition will definitely improve. ”

After listening to the words of the imperial doctor, everyone present was silent. The imperial physician presented the list of medicines prescribed for the emperor and asked him to look at them. Gao Gong looked at it randomly, but those spring palace pictures on the porcelain plate came to his mind. He knew that the first thing the emperor couldn't do was to be pure-hearted and have few desires. As a minister, he can solve problems for the emperor and handle military and political affairs, but he does not dare to speak casually about the emperor's private life. In the second year of Longqing, Like gave Hu Dakui a rule to advise the emperor not to indulge in women's sex, but to be virtuous in heaven and earth, to focus on state affairs, to enter the virtuous and pro-government, and to set an example for the world. As a result, Long Yan was furious, and he ordered Hu Dakui to be reduced to the people, and he would never be used. Since then, no one has dared to persuade the emperor. Gao Gong is full of reading the books of sages, and he can talk about the truth of misleading the country by car. But he ruled the country for two years, but he blindly adopted a conniving and protective attitude towards the emperor's greed for women. Only in this way can he, the head of the cabinet, be able to do the king's way, coerce the Son of Heaven to order the princes, and control hundreds of officials in the palm of his hand...... Now the situation has changed abruptly, despite the flickering words of the imperial doctor. But from his tone, it can still be heard that the emperor is terminally ill. Gao Gong looked at Zhang Juzheng, who was thirteen years younger than him, who was sitting opposite, and suddenly felt a huge threat. He waved his hand to let the imperial physician step down, and then called the eunuch on duty in the Dongnuan Pavilion, and said to him: "You go to the cabinet now, pass on my instructions, and let the cabinet secretary quickly prepare an urgent note to be sent to all yamen in Beijing." First, during the emperor's illness, all the officials of the yamen will be on duty at night in the yamen from today onwards and will not be allowed to go home; Second, from tomorrow, all the officials of the yamen will be brought into the yamen office to pray for the emperor for three days; Third, all officials are not allowed to talk about the emperor's illness, and those who violate the order will be severely punished; Fourth, all yamen must not derelict their duties under the pretext of dereliction of duty, work diligently as in the past, and report all major matters that they want to discuss and decide must be reported to the cabinet, and they must not make decisions without authorization......" Gao Gong cut through the categorical and finished his instructions in one breath. The eunuch on duty was ordered to leave the Dongnuan Pavilion and go to the cabinet. Looking at his back running away, Gao Gong remembered that Zhang Juzheng was sitting in the room, so he asked perfunctorily: "Taiyue, do you think there is anything else that needs to be added?" Although Zhang Juzheng was very slanderous about Gao Gong's practice of ignoring the second auxiliary storage zài, he couldn't see any resentment on the surface, and he said with a smile: "Yuanfu arranged it properly and thoughtfully, and all the officials agreed." ”

As he spoke, he saw another eunuch rushing in, kneeling in front of Gao Gong, and said in a loud voice: "The General Administration Department sent someone to send an eight-hundred-mile express to Mr. Gao. As he spoke, he handed over an envelope with fire paint that had been sealed with fire, and Gao Gong took it and saw that it was a report from the front line of Qingyuan Mansion in Guangxi.

The newspaper was sent by Li Yan, the governor of Liangguang. Since the rebellion was rampant in the winter of last year, Li Yan has been supervising the encirclement and suppression on the front line. The content of this report is that after Wei Yinbao attacked Qingyuan Mansion last time, a few days ago, he successively plundered Yishan and Tianhe counties, killing and wounding countless soldiers and civilians, and Tianhe County was almost burned to the ground. Gao Gong read it, handed the newspaper to Zhang Juzheng, and said angrily: "The Mongolian Tartars have not committed any crimes, and there is nothing to do in the north, but I didn't expect a few thieves in Guangxi to make more and more trouble!" After reading the newspaper, Zhang Juzheng said: "Li Yan does not play tricks and conceal it, and truthfully tells the military situation, and he is still an old man." He explained the loss of the county town in the newspaper, saying that it was a miasma in Lingnan, and the sergeants were stationed in it, and they were often infected with diseases, vomiting and diarrhea, and their bodies were sore, and it was still difficult to stand, not to mention killing the enemy. This is not a prevarication. Gao Gong smiled dumbly, and said teasingly: "An hour ago, you were still righteous and strict, and you said that the governor of Liangguang must be replaced, why did you change your tone now, and say good things for Li Yan?" Zhang Juzheng shook the Eight Hundred Miles Newspaper in his hand and replied, "What the servant said, Yuanfu may not fully understand. Li Yan has the government in mind and reports the facts, which is an advantage. But this person is really not a military talent, and he is a good hand at playing and writing, but it is not his strength to strategize and win thousands of miles. As for the victory and the remnants to kill, punish the murderer and torture, it is beyond his ability. As a governor and a governor, Li Yan has a lot of resources, but being the governor of the three armies of Weizhen is really embarrassing for him. ”

While the two were talking, the eunuch on duty in the Dongnuan Pavilion came in to reply to his life, saying that the cabinet secretary had prepared a message according to the instructions of the first assistant, and it could be transmitted to the major yamen of the Beijing Division before the end of the afternoon shift. At the same time, Meng Chong, the eunuch who was in charge of the seal of the celebrant supervisor, also sent more than a dozen copies of the recital that were urgently waiting for the "ticket draft", and asked the first assistant to read it. Gao Gong flipped through it, picked out Li Yan's previous report on the loss of Qingyuan Mansion and the notebook of Guangxi's general soldier Yu Dayou's self-impeachment and dereliction of duty to apply for punishment, handed it to Zhang Juzheng and said: "These two excerpts, the emperor asked us to vote, how do you think to deal with them?" ”

Zhang Juzheng thought in his heart: "Didn't you make your attitude clear a long time ago, why did you come to ask for my opinion at this time?" Dissatisfied is dissatisfied, but the answer is very measured: "In order to exterminate the traitors led by Wei Yinbao and Huang Chaomeng, the emperor has made two wills. The words of eradication within a time limit have not only been mentioned many times in the military department and cabinet advisories, but also solemnly stated in the holy decree. How can the flames become more and more intense? According to the servant's opinion, since the governor does not make changes, whether it is Li Yan or Yu Dayou, he should be punished with a little punishment. ”

"How to punish, whether it is a demotion or a punishment."

"It's better to punish a little than to punish you."

"What's the point of the penalty," Gao Gong smiled coldly, and said angrily, "The war is fought with white silver, and even if the governor has nothing, he can eat a rich character by eating a buckle." ”

Zhang Juzheng felt a lot in his heart, he heard Gao Gong's words and changed his usual attitude, so he asked: "According to Yuanfu's opinion, the punishment is too light?" ”

"Yes."

"Motosuke wants to demote them?"

"It's still too light!"

"So, in Yuansuke's opinion?"

Li Yan was dismissed on the spot and ordered him to return to his hometown to live idle. Yu Dayou, there is no need to punish him, and he will be punished for a few words, so that he will be guilty of meritorious service. ”

Gao Gong's face was angry, and he was almost blowing his beard and glaring at his eyes, which made Zhang Juzheng hesitate. Yu Dayou was originally wronged, and it was reasonable to deal with it like this, but his attitude towards Li Yan didn't know why he made a 180-degree turn in such a short period of time. "Yuanfu ......" Zhang Juzheng shouted, but there was no follow-up. He thought that Gao Gong was angry and wanted to persuade a few words, but when he was about to speak, he moved another thought: Gao Gong was impatient and anxious to go outside, and the actual city government was very deep, and he acted like this, there must be another reason. Therefore, he swallowed all the words he wanted to admonish back into his stomach.

"Taiyue," Gao Gong pointed to a few cases at the end of the duty room, and said angrily, "You can sit down now and vote according to what I just said." ”

"Motosuke, please think twice." Zhang Juzheng sat on a mahogany chair and tasted Biluochun without moving.

"Li Yan is my protégé, I know you have concerns, so I will draw up the ticket myself."

Gao Gong said, the person has sat down in a few cases, and the pen and paper are stretched, and a ticket is going to come out immediately:

Li Yanquan had no prudence and repeatedly missed military planes, was arrogant and defeated, and led the rebel leader Wei Yinbao and the Yellow Dynasty bandits to be rampant, and they fell into several counties in a row. The minister who has lost his land will not escape the blame. Gu Nian has no evil deeds on weekdays, and now he is ordered to be in situ, and he returns to his hometown, so he does not have to come to Beijing to thank him.

After the draft ticket was completed, Gao Gong read it twice repeatedly, and after thinking that the words were in place, he handed it to Zhang Juzheng and asked, "Where is Yin Zhengmao now?" ”

Zhang Juzheng knew that Gao Gong was knowingly asking, and still replied: "In the post of governor of Jiangxi." ”

Gao Gong nodded, a trace of imperceptible cunning flashed in his eyes, and said to Zhang Juzheng: "Taiyue, it's up to you to write the second ticket today." After Yin Zhengmao received the order, he couldn't stay for a moment, and hurried to the front line of Qingyuan, Guangxi, to take over the post of governor of Liangguang. ”

Zhang Juzheng was shocked again. He and Yin Zhengmao are the same scholars in Jiajing for 26 years, and they know that Yin Zhengmao is ruthless and has a great strategy, and he is really a talent of the feudal officials. Therefore, with the attitude of "not avoiding revenge from external actions, and not avoiding relatives from internal actions", he repeatedly recommended him to serve as the governor of Liangguang and put down the Qingyuan rebellion in Guangxi. How could Gao Gong know that Yin Zhengmao was the same year as him, and repeatedly found some reasons to prevaricate. Now that he suddenly took the initiative to open it, Zhang Juzheng should have been happy, but he felt that the change in Gao Gong's attitude was too abrupt and incomprehensible, so he didn't dare to take it lightly, and asked after some consideration: "Didn't Shoufu say that Yin Zhengmao is a greedy person who can't afford to take on this heavy responsibility?" ”

"I said," Gao Gong was not distracted by his inconsistent attitude, but cast a hot eye and said eloquently, "In terms of character, Yin Zhengmao is indeed inferior to Li Yan. But a good person may not be able to do great things, and a good person is not necessarily a good official, Li Yan is an example. He served as the governor of Liangguang and supervised the war on the front line for half a year, and he didn't even catch a mouse. You have recommended Yin Zhengmao many times, and the old man has also found someone to investigate, Yin Zhengmao has some talents, but he loves money too much, so he has a bad reputation for being greedy, so although Yin Zhengmao is not a good person, he is a capable person. This time, I had to use him as a last resort. ”

Gao Gong's remarks, Zhang Juzheng quite agreed. But at the same time, he felt that this was Shousuke's superficial words, and it was still a mystery why he suddenly changed his mind. Therefore, he stared and asked: "As soon as Yuanfu said this, Xia Guan naturally understood." But isn't Yuan Fu afraid that Yin Zhengmao will use the power of the governor of Liangguang to embezzle military salaries? ”

"As long as you can smooth out the accumulation, what are you afraid of corruption?" Gao Gong stretched out his finger as he spoke, and said with his fingers, "Since Wei Yinbao rebelled, Li Yan asked for soldiers and salaries, and spent millions of taels of silver in the imperial court before and after, and as a result, the rebels became more and more suppressed. It is not only a waste of silver taels, but also a waste of time. Looking at the problem now, it's fair to say that this waste is more terrible than corruption. After you let Yin Zhengmao take office, he immediately presented a fold, stating how long it would take to exterminate Wei Yinbao, how many taels of silver, and adding 200,000 taels of silver to the total amount of military expenses he needed. The old man can tell you clearly that the 200,000 taels of silver are ready for Yin Zhengmao to embezzle. If Yin Zhengmao can put down the bandits within a time limit, even if he is allowed to embezzle 200,000 taels of silver, he can still make it worth. ”

"What if Yin Zhengmao can't put down the bandits?"

Then it would be impossible for him to retreat like Li Yan. I will ask the emperor to punish him for a serious crime!" ”

The two auxiliary ministers shook their minds with each other, and then discussed the details of this issue. At this time, footsteps sounded in the hall outside the door of the duty room, and I saw Zhang Gui push open the hidden door and enter the duty room. "Grandpa Zhang, what's wrong with the emperor?" Gao Gong asked.

Zhang Gui's face was pale, and he obviously hadn't recovered from the morning fright. "The emperor is now with the queen and the imperial concubine," Zhang Gui said with a sad face, "The emperor is holding the prince's hand and crying and talking." ”

As soon as he heard this, Gao Gong was so anxious that he stomped his feet and said: "People who have had a stroke are the most taboo to toss, and the emperor can't see anyone now, so he must meditate and cultivate." ”

"That's not what happened," Seeing Gao Gong so anxious that the evil fire was rushing, Zhang Gui became more and more panicked and exploded, "The queen also said that she wanted to leave, but the emperor just wouldn't let her." ”

"Who's in front of you?" Gao Gong asked.

"Grandpa Feng."

"Feng Bao" was stung by a bumblebee as if he was stung by a bumblebee, and said hatefully, "Why is he there?" ”

Zhang Gui said: "Father-in-law Feng came with the prince. ”

"Accompany the prince, hum, I think he is a dog and a mouse - nosy."

Gao Gong was angry at Feng Bao, how dare Zhang Gui answer. Although he is also a big one, his status is a big step behind Feng Baolai, the eunuch of the ceremonial supervisor and the governor of Dongchang. And the bearded man in front of him is the head of the cabinet of the current dynasty, and he is also a figure who cannot be provoked. Neither end could be offended, so Zhang Gui waved at the two cabinet ministers and said, "I am here to sue the two elders, the emperor has not yet made a will, but I am afraid that the two elders will have to sit for a while." ”

Zhang Gui said that he was leaving, and when he turned around, another person came in outside the door, only to see that he was about fifty years old, medium height, slightly fat, wearing a small python Yuan blue silk trolling shirt, wearing a bean green cashmere jacket, wearing a bamboo silk tire, Qingluo face of the gang fork hat, up and down, revealing a sense of arrogance and wealth. This person is Feng Bao, who made Gao Gong angry just now.

Feng Bao is a native of Qinghe County, Hebei Province, entered the palace at the age of 12 and has been in the Forbidden City for nearly 40 years. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, did not allow eunuchs to interfere in politics, and violators were punished with capital punishment of skinning, and eunuchs were not allowed to read and hyphenate. With the passage of time, the imperial government was relaxed. Many of the decrees made by Ming Taizu have been abolished. Eunuchs interfering in politics have also happened repeatedly. After arriving at Wuzong and Sejong, the celebrant and the cabinet became two major power institutions that competed with each other, and it was not uncommon for the cabinet chief assistant to be removed from his post or even killed for offending the celebrant and eunuch. Feng Bao has a talent for reading since he was a child, and after entering the palace, he studied for a few years, and he knew how to play the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and was especially proficient in piano art and calligraphy. When he was still Emperor Jiajing, he was the eunuch of the ceremonial supervisor Bingbi and the governor of Dongchang. Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, and it happened that the eunuch of the palm seal was vacant, and Feng Bao should take over according to his qualifications. But somehow, Gao Gong didn't like him, so he recommended Chen Hong, who was much less senior than Feng Bao, to take over as the eunuch of the palm seal. Chen Hong resigned, and Gao Gong recommended Meng Chong to take over, and prevented Feng Bao from sitting on the throne of the palm seal eunuch. Therefore, Feng Bao hated Gao Gong to the core. Gao Gong, who is proud to be the emperor's teacher, has the emperor's support for everything, and is in the position of the first assistant who is the only one, and he doesn't take Feng Bao in his eyes at all. When encountering official affairs, he can avoid it, but he is also arrogant and does not have the slightest politeness.

"Ah, Gonggong Feng is here." Zhang Gui hurriedly ducked to the side and let Feng Bao in.

The two met face-to-face, and Zhang Gui took advantage of the situation to leave. Feng Bao walked straight into the duty room. He nodded to the two ministers, then walked to the empty chair next to Zhang Juzheng and sat down with a big grin.

"Two elders, have you had breakfast?" Feng Bao asked. As soon as he entered, he noticed that the atmosphere was a little off.

"I used it." Zhang Juzheng owed his body and smiled politely.

Gao Gong's face tightened, and he didn't say a word. Feng Bao looked at him and smiled coldly, and suddenly he stood up again and said in his sissy voice: "Gao Ge Lao, the emperor is here with my decree." ”

"Ahh Gao Gong was startled, looked up at Feng Bao, and saw the white and chubby face and the two cold and hard eyes. He couldn't wait to yell, "What are you!" Then he walked away. But this is the Qianqing Palace, and the eunuch said that he came to pass the decree, Gao Gong had no choice but to suppress his anger, lifted the corners of his robe and knelt on the ground, and replied coldly, "The minister Gao Gong asks for an order." ”

Feng Bao passed on the holy decree orally and said: "Gao Gong, I asked you and Zhang Juzheng to make arrangements for the future, and I wanted to borrow funds from Yin Jian, follow the body and keep the text, and take out the charter as much as possible, and write a book to play." ”

"Obey." Gao Gong replied in a stiff voice.

"Just obey the order," Seeing Gao Gong struggling to get up from the ground, Feng Bao felt a hint of happiness in his heart, but he still said with a solemn face, "The cabinet is convenient for you two elders to discuss." The emperor explained the aftermath, I hope you will think about it carefully. ”

"Is this also the emperor's will?" Gao Gong asked.

"No, it's contemptible Jianyì."

Gao Gong slapped a few cases, and shouted: "Gonggong Feng, the matter of the cabinet, I don't need you to build it." ”

Feng Baozhong sat back on the chair beside Zhang Juzheng, stared at the fruit box on the coffee table, and asked coldly, "Gao Ge Lao, where did you get such a big fire." ”

"The cabinet is the cardinal town of the imperial court to deal with national affairs, and you, a minister, dare to propose anything to the auxiliary minister. Can you afford this suspicion of interfering in politics? ”

The high arch lips are fierce and aggressive. Zhang Juzheng did not participate in the dispute between the two, but just blindly bowed his head and drank tea.

"Elder Gao Ge is right," Feng Bao said without hesitation, "the cabinet is the head of the government. But don't forget, this organ is still for the emperor. You do things for the emperor outside, and I do things for the emperor inside, the difference is only this. ”

"You!"

Gao Gong was speechless for a moment, stomped his foot, and sat back in his chair.

Zhang Juzheng put down the teacup at this time. He knew the character of these two people, Gao Gong had a fiery temper, and there was no mustard in his chest; And Feng Baomian hid needles in his mouth, spoke harshly, if the two were allowed to argue, what kind of consequences could happen, so he said: "Gonggong Feng, you are an old man in the palace, you have been in the master of ceremonies for more than ten years, and you have also dealt with Gao Ge Lao for four or five years, don't you know Gao Ge Lao's personality?" The emperor suddenly fell ill, and we, as courtiers, felt uncomfortable. At this time, as soon as you flirted with it, didn't Gao Ge Lao's angry words blurt out? After Zhang Juzheng's persuasion, Feng Bao's face was a little lighter. It's just a high arch, and I'm still so angry that my beard is curled up one after another.

Feng Bao shook his head, and suddenly said with some sadness, "I didn't expect to quarrel with Gao Ge Lao, everyone is an old minister in front of the emperor, so you guard against me, I stare at you, there is no harmony at all, what's the point?" ”

"It's like a human saying." Gao Gong said from the bottom of his heart, but the words he said were still hot and choking: "Doing things for the emperor, regardless of public feelings, where do you dare to talk about private feelings." What's more, there is a difference between inside and outside, and there can be no talk of harmony. ”

Hearing this, Feng Bao couldn't help but shudder. He subconsciously glanced at Zhang Juzheng, and Zhang Juzheng's eyes just moved from Gao Gong. The two eyes briefly touched, and then quickly separated. Feng Bao has always intended to satirize this domineering Shoufu, but now he has seized the opportunity, how can he let it go? At this time, I saw that he first sneered, and as the laughter fell abruptly, the words that came out of his mouth were like frost swords: "A good high-ranking old man who is the public in the world, he says that he is like a saint, but in fact, he is just like me Feng Bao, he is the emperor."

It's just a dog. The dog bites the dog's mouth, and of course there is no harmony. ”

"You, you, you get out of here! Get out—"

Angry that his lips turned black and his whole body trembled, he suddenly roared like thunder, if it wasn't for Zhang Juzheng to stop him, he wanted to rush over and fight with Feng Bao. Feng Bao hindered that the Dongnuan Pavilion was too close to the emperor's bedroom, and if he alarmed the emperor, he took the opportunity to get up and leave, walked to the door, and still did not forget to drop a sentence: "Whether you roll or I roll, it is still difficult to predict!" ”

Zhang Juzheng

Volume 1: Mulan Song

The third time, the main person drilled the camp to buy through the famous prostitute, and the housekeeper asked for bribes and said that he was unconscious

Just after the unitary hour, the sunset hanging on the eaves of the Confucius Temple has been collected one by one. The Qinhuai River is a blue wave, and it is gradually hazy. Hu Zigao sat in a four-person warm sedan chair and came to Yicui Building excitedly.

Since Zhu Di, the king of Yan, usurped the throne of his nephew Emperor Jianwen and moved the imperial city to Beijing. Nanjing, the capital of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, became the capital of Liu. However, because the imperial tomb of Ming Taizu is in Nanjing, Fengyang, Anhui Province, which is from the dragon vein, is not far from Nanjing, and the emperors of the descendants of the Zhu family still retain Nanjing's special political status out of respect for their ancestors, at least in terms of reputation. In addition to the cabinet, a number of government agencies, such as the Zongren Mansion, the Five Military Governor's Office, the Six Ministries, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the General Administration Division, the Dali Temple, the Zhan Shi Mansion, the Hanlin Academy, the Guozijian, the Taichang Temple, the Honglu Temple, the Six Departments, the Pedestrian Division, the Qintianjian, the Tai Hospital, the Five Cities Terracotta Division, etc., all have in Beijing, and Nanjing has also retained a set. The government where Beijing is located is Shuntianfu, and the government where Nanjing is located is Yingtianfu. However, the Beijing government is in charge of practical affairs, while the government in Nanjing, except for a few important posts such as the garrison of the military department, the right attendant of the household department of the governor's grain reserve, and the household department of the management of the Houhu Yellow Book, most of the official positions are in vain. Since the actual political power is in the hands of the Beijing government, most of the government officials in Nanjing are people who have been frustrated in their careers, or they have arranged to come to Nanjing to be a "bird raising scholar" or "flower imperial history" in order to take care of their rank. Although the two governments are of the same rank, the transfer of officials of the same rank from Beijing to Nanjing is a kind of derogation, and the transfer from Nanjing to Beijing is regarded as a welcome promotion. Therefore, a large number of officials who were excluded or had no backing gathered in Nanjing to enjoy the leisure and leisure of the officials who stayed in the capital.

Enjoy leisure and leisure, there are Zen scholars and scholars when you go out, and you can have delicious food and concubines when you enter the house. Playing the piano to the moon, sweeping snow and cooking tea, celebrities and gentlemen dividing rhymes, and beauties accompany wine, it should be said that it is the first-class pleasure in the world. But the people in the officialdom, except for the gray hair urging people to be promoted hopelessly, or the disease is entangled in the body and mind, who doesn't want to run for the future. In the spare time of official business, you can play as much as you want. Then again, if you don't get a fat shortage as an official, how can you have the capital to have fun. For this reason, most of the officials in the Nanjing government sharpened their heads and tried their best to get into the way to get along with the powerful ministers in the Beijing government, in order to have someone to help them talk during the provincial inspection. As the saying goes, if a person is a good official in the court, there is someone behind the chair, so he will not worry about the time when there is no time to operate, and when he is promoted to sit in the fat shortage.

At present, Hu Zigao, who walked into Yicui Building, is such a person. Tonight, he is going to feast here for a man named Xu Jue from the capital to eat flower wine.

Hu Zigao is currently the director of the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing. He was a thirty-five-year Jinshi of Jiajing. As luck would have been, as soon as he entered the official career, he was appointed as the ambassador of the household department. Don't underestimate this ambassador of Fucang, although the official rank is only nine grades, it is a big fat shortage. For example, the silver goods of Yong'an Nanyi and other states, the amber, treasure jade and ivory of Yunnan Dadian and other states, the Lingling incense of Yongzhou, the agarwood and Huoxiang of Guangzhou Prefecture, the stone green of Runliu Eheng and other states, the cinnabar of Chenxi Prefecture, the white powder of Nanzhou, the realgar of Yanzhou, the size of Yizhou yellow and white hemp paper, the rice paper of Xuanqu and other states, the thin white paper of 100 days of oil in Puzhou, the rabbit skin of Henan Prefecture, the raccoon skin of Jinfen and other prefectures, the bamboo pipe of Yuezhou, the candle of Jingzhou, the felt of Zhengzhou, the glue of Dengzhou, the Xi of Yuzhou, the hemp of Zhou, All the treasures and good things offered by the Quartet must be inspected and received by him, the ambassador of the transportation warehouse. He said that if the goods paid by various places are qualified, then there is nothing to do. If he picks the fat and picks the thin, and prefers to find the smell in the eggs, you will not be able to hand over the goods. It must be known that the governor of a state, in addition to his duty to guard the land and the people, is to pay the imperial court the treasures of these places every year according to the regulations. Once these goods cannot be paid in accordance with the quality and quantity, it is tantamount to disobeying the king's order, are you still wearing the black gauze hat on your head? Therefore, in order to hand over the goods smoothly and acceptably, each state capital must prepare a generous gift in advance to send it to the ambassador of the prefecture when it comes to delivery. Hu Zigao has worked on this fat shortage for several years, which is equivalent to opening a money village at home, and even the night pot for Xie Wei has been replaced with a silver one. If you have money in hand, you can take care of people. He used a lot of money to greet the heads of the household department and the officials into obedience. In the first year of Longqing, he was promoted to the position of judge of the Salt Transportation Division, which was another fattening errand. But there are unforeseen circumstances, just when Hu Zigao's official fortune is prosperous, he didn't expect his mother to die of illness. According to the law set by Ming Taizu, when both parents died, the official must resign from his post and return to his hometown for three years. Hu Zigao returned to the countryside to guard the system, and finally survived for three years, returned to the capital, and waited for reinstatement in the Ministry of Officials. I didn't want to do it at this time, the county magistrate in his hometown played a book for him, saying that he violated the rules of heaven when he was abiding by the system, and actually drank and had fun with the children of the clan, and he also played and beat a concubine. If you don't keep filial piety like this, where can you be reinstated? This is really a disaster from the sky, but the responsibility is still on Hu Zigao himself. He relied on his background as a Beijing official, and he had money, and when he returned to his hometown to guard the system, he didn't take the county master in his eyes at all. He didn't take the initiative to visit the county yamen, not to mention, the county magistrate came to see him, but he actually counted the county magistrate in front of the clansmen. If you are not afraid of the opponent, you are afraid of the opponent. Therefore, when he returned to Beijing, the county master played such a book. In the Ming Dynasty, which ruled the world with filial piety, this was a heinous thing. Pingkong fell into such a disaster, Hu Zigao had no choice but to admit that he was unlucky. At the time of the accident, the first assistant of the cabinet was Gao Gong. At the same time, Gao Gong also holds the official book, and its power has reached the point of covering the sky with one hand. Hu Zigao is also a master who is very good at drilling camps, others entrust people, protect the entrust, and actually know a person called Shao Daxia. This Shao Daxia is neither official nor Confucian, neither literary nor businessman, but for some reason, his friendship with the bearded man is very deep. He gave Shao Daxia a generous gift of 10,000 taels of silver, and Shao Daxia actually did it for him. Not only did it make up as usual, but it was also upgraded from six to six. It's just that the seat has been moved, and the judge of the salt transportation department has become the director of the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing. Although the official has been promoted, he is an idle official who is clear to the end. Where can Hu Zigao eat this, when he arrives in office, he enters the ministry to do things only as a point, and all his thoughts are used to tie up with the powerful officials in the capital.

The man named Xu Jue from Beijing arrived in Nanjing the day before yesterday. As soon as he came, he attracted the attention of the officials of Ying Tianfu, because he was not an official and had no fame, but he actually came with a survey of the military department. And on the day he came, Sun Chaoyong, the eunuch of the Nanjing garrison who leaned on one side, held a feast on the Daoxiang Tower. Such a mysterious figure immediately aroused Hu Zigao's interest, and after inquiries from all sides, he found out that this Xu Jue is the current eunuch of Bingbi and the chief butler of Feng Bao of the East Factory's palm seal - now he is also a hairpin person, and Feng Bao donated money for him to sign a brocade cloth from the sixth grade. Feng Bao's name, how can Hu Zigao not know? When he was admitted to the Jinshi, Feng Bao was already a eunuch with a pen, and after the Jiajing and Longqing dynasties, the palm print eunuchs on his head had changed five, but he did not move. Although I heard that he was at odds with Gao Gong, I didn't see him pour down the brand and move his seat, which shows the depth of the foundation. If you can climb this high branch, it may be a road to promotion. So he communicated with a steward of Nanjing's inner government who had some dealings, and exchanged names with Xu Jue. Tonight, I chartered this Yicui Building again, and asked the popular prostitute Liu Xianglan to accompany the big housekeeper of Gonggong Feng. The eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty each had their own set of work teams, and they were called "private ministers of each family". Each of these private ministers has a name and a name, and each is in charge of his own affairs. If you are in charge, you are really a supervisor. The housekeeper is responsible for handling the food and cashiering the silver taels. The upper room manages the lock key of the cabinet, and the secretary is responsible for the wholesale of documents and the transcription of documents. These private ministers can be eunuchs or normal people. For example, this Xu Jue is a character with a wife and children. In Feng's mansion, he held the position of head of the family and won Feng Bao's trust.

Nanjing is the former capital of the Six Dynasties, known as "the rouge of the north, the gold powder of the Southern Dynasties". Clothed cultural relics, a in the south of the Yangtze River, white under the green stream, peach leaf fan, smelting Yan Mingshu, endless in history. As early as the early years of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the construction of 14 floors such as light smoke, light powder, Mei Yan, and Liu Cui to accommodate official prostitutes. After one or two hundred years, in the Longqing period, the warbler industry on the banks of the Qinhuai River became more and more vigorous. From Wuding Bridge to Lishe Bridge, and then extend to Fishing Alley, and even to the area of Shuiguan River, densely clustered one by one, living in a famous prostitute in the south of the Yangtze River. The dwellings of these women were called river houses, also known as river houses. Fengge Luan Lou is built extremely delicate and gorgeous, carved railings and painted thresholds, silk curtains and windows, looks like the realm of immortals. Although there are dozens of famous river towers in this area, the most famous of them are none other than the three houses of Zhuyun, Qinghe and Yicui. is because the owners of these three buildings are all popular prostitutes with excellent color and art and excellent skills. The prince and grandson, the wealthy giant, when they arrived in Nanjing, they all wanted to visit and kiss Fangze. Therefore, if you want to get their favor, you have to make an appointment in advance. Just said that the owner of this Yicui Building, named Liu Xianglan, had a date with her for more than a month. Thanks to Hu Zigao's great ability, he forced him to squeeze in temporarily.

It was dark, and the bright palace lamps had been lit in the Yicui Building. Hu Zigao and Liu Xianglan sat upstairs in the hall, gossiping sentence by sentence. In order to hide people's eyes, Hu Zigao took off his official robe and changed into civilian clothes. However, from head to toe, one move and one style, it is still the style of officialdom. Liu Xianglan is seventeen or eighteen years old, her eyebrows are like a crescent moon, and her skin is like clotted fat. Wearing a white shirt and skirt made of Western fabric, she also combed a high bun with ingenuity, and a red rose was obliquely inserted on it, standing in front of the window, like a jade tree in the wind. A smile and a smile are all charming and moving.

Hu Zigao and Liu Xianglan also met for the first time, and when they started to talk, they were still a little angry, but after a cup of tea, the two talked unobstructed.

"Master Hu, what do you say is the surname of the master from Beijing?" Liu Xianglan asked in a coquettish voice.

"Hey, why did you forget what you just said?" Hu Zigao deliberately pretended to be angry, "I'll say it again, you remember clearly, the surname is Xu, Master Xu." ”

"What an official Master Xu is, he deserves to be scolded by Master Hu like this."

"How do you know I'm talking to him?"

"I don't need to ask," Liu Xianglan raised her two slender eyebrows lightly and giggled, "The people who come to me are all just concerned about their own souls, how can there be someone like you, who entered Yicui Building with a heart, but he helped the old man Xu from Beijing to play tricks." ”

Liu Xianglan was sharp and laughed while talking. Hearing this sarcasm, Hu Zigao didn't feel embarrassed, and laughed along.

"Yu'er, refill tea for Master Hu." Liu Xianglan shouted to the little girl ring standing aside.

Hu Zigao took a sip of tea and said in a sly manner: "Xianglan Female History, you think you are despicable, ah no, do you think you don't have the heart of pity and cherishing jade?" Then you are wrong. From the moment I walked through your door, I was stunned. ”

"Then why did you give it to someone else?"

"People are guests from afar, I should always be a bit of a gentleman"

"What a gentleman's style," Liu Xianglan smiled teasingly, "You are a six-grade official, it is not small to say that you are small, and you take a little woman to befriend the eldest lord from Beijing, this is also a gentleman's style."

"You?" After receiving this robbery, Hu Zigao's face was a little unbearable, and he said stupidly, "You visit with a lantern, the reputation of this official in Nanjing, how can you talk nonsense like this." ”

"Yo, look, the official is unhappy," Liu Xianglan learned Hu Zigao's tone, swept up like a warbler, walked up to Hu Zigao, bent down and saluted, and said, "The slave family is so offensive when he speaks, this is not a compensation." ”

Looking at Liu Xianglan's shy demeanor, Hu Zigao turned his anger into joy again, and turned around and said: "Just you, Liu Xianglan, a man who has the ability to do things, when you come here, your bones can't be called two pounds." ”

"Master Hu, the slave family can't hear it, what you say, are you exalting the slave family or belittling the slave family."

"Of course it's lifting," Hu Zigao said to Yu'er Yahuan, "You go downstairs and call my housekeeper up." ”

After Yu'er went for a while, she brought a half-old man up, carrying a gift box in his hand.

Hu Zigao took the gift box, sent it to Liu Xianglan with both hands, and said: "Here are a few pieces of jewelry, as a meeting gift to the female history, I hope to accept it." ”

Liu Xianglan took the gift box and opened it to see that it was a pair of jade bracelets, a pair of earrings, a chest, and the green glow and glow were all high-quality jade. Seeing such a valuable gift, even Liu Xianglan, who was used to seeing big scenes, couldn't help but be surprised.

"Master Hu, how can the slave family afford such a valuable gift."

"I thought that the building number of the female history was called Yicui Building, so I chose a few kinds of jadeite, which is trivial. There are also 1,000 taels of silver tickets here, which can be regarded as fat powder money for you. ”

Hu Zigao's shot was so generous, which really moved Liu Xianglan. She muttered and said, "Master Hu, you are so expensive, how can the slave family repay you." ”

Hu Zigao waved his hand, and the steward retreated.

"As long as you accompany Uncle Xu tonight and let him go back with joy, you will repay me."

"Who is this Master Xu?" Liu Xianglan asked again. This time, she was no longer flirting, but inquiring solemnly.

Hu Zigao groaned for a moment and asked, "Do you know Gonggong Feng?" ”

"Grandpa Feng, where is Grandpa Feng?" Liu Xianglan shook her head blankly.

"It is today's celebrant supervisor Bingbi eunuch and Dongchang palm seal Feng Bao."

"I don't know." Liu Xianglan still shook her head.

Hu Zigao looked at her and didn't know what to ask, and he felt a little angry in his heart. But thinking about it, it is normal for her, a woman in a green house in Nanjing, not to know the prominent figures in Beijing officialdom. So he raised his voice and asked: "Who is the emperor today, you should always know, right?" ”

"This is not difficult for the slave family, the current emperor is Emperor Longqing." Liu Xianglan replied seriously.

"This Gonggong Feng is the Bingbi eunuch next to Emperor Longqing, a big celebrity."

"Ah, the people around the emperor," Liu Xianglan's expression immediately became solemn, "Lord Hu, you said he was here tonight?" ”

"It's not him, I'm talking about Grandpa Feng, it's Master Xu who came up tonight."

"What is the relationship between Master Xu and Grandpa Feng?"

"Master Xu is Grandpa Feng's housekeeper."

Hearing that Hu Zigao had been around for a long time before he came up with this relationship, Liu Xianglan said in her heart: "In the final analysis, it is a shrimp on the dragon's tail." But on the surface, she complimented, "I said how Lord Hu is so pious, it turns out that he is a figure who has stepped on the imperial city and swayed." ”

"It's good to understand," Hu Zigao let out a sigh of relief and said, "At this time, Master Xu should also arrive." ”

Liu Xianglan regained her relaxed and lively demeanor, and she said, "Please rest assured, Lord Hu, tonight, I want Master Xu to have fun here at the slave house, but ......"

"But what?" Hu Zigao stared and asked.

"It's a scene with Master Xu, and the slave family really likes Master Hu now."

At this time, I could only hear a shout downstairs: "Master Xu has arrived!" ”

Hu Zigao stood up steeply, ready to go downstairs to greet the guests, and said to Liu Xianglan when he was about to go out: "If you really like me, you have to wait until this scene tonight is finished." ”

Hu Zigao hadn't walked downstairs yet, and Xu Jue had already rushed up to the staircase. I saw that he was five short figures, garlic nose, fish bubble eyes, and swaying like a duck when he walked. Seeing his respectful face, Hu Zigao couldn't help muttering in his heart, "The chief housekeeper of Gong Feng's family, how can he be so virtuous, he is a toad." But then he thought, "People should not be disgraced, but blessings should be on the side of ugly people." The person that Grandpa Feng fancies must still have some ability. Thinking of this, Hu Zigao shouted to Xu Jue, who was going upstairs: "Master Xu, the lower official Hu Zigao has been waiting here for a long time. ”

"You're Lord Hu?" Xu Jue came upstairs, but he didn't have time to enter the hall, so he shouted while panting, "I poured a few more mouthfuls of yellow soup at noon and overslept." ”

When I entered the hall, I first gave up my seat, and then greeted and saluted. Hu Zigao introduced Liu Xianglan to Xu Jue. Liu Xianglan bent down and squatted for a thousand blessings, and said:

"Master Xu, thank you for your face, and you are willing to go to the slave's humble house to talk."

Xu Jue stared at Liu Xianglan in a daze, and said with a snort of wine: "Listen to Master Hu, Miss Liu's flower wine has been ordered for more than a month. ”

"Thank you for your support." Liu Xianglan was tired of this father-in-law's big housekeeper in her heart, but because of Hu Zigao's affection, she had to force a smile, "Actually, the slave family is in vain." ”

"Well, that's a good idea." Xu Jue took the tea handed over by Yahuan, drank it in one goo, and then said: "In the capital, I have seen a lot of people who do what you do. Once it became popular, hey, he began to raise his arms and claim to be a saint or a sage. As the saying goes, the wife of the emperor's daughter, the same as Hanako's wife......"

Xu Jue's words became more and more rude, seeing Liu Xianglan's blushing and flying cheeks, and the two willow eyebrows frowning together, Hu Zigao knew that things were not good, so he coughed dryly and interrupted Xu Jue's words: "Master Xu, look, are you putting the wine on the table?" ”

"Let's have some more tea," Xu Jue took advantage of the wine, and deliberately said a burst of foul language, which was his usual trick to find flowers and ask willows, looking at the beauty's pink face, he had twelve points of happiness in his heart. He glanced at Liu Xianglan, who was still biting her lip and was angry, and pointed to the pipa hanging on the wall and asked, "Miss Liu must be a master in the song?" ”

"I can't talk about it." Liu Xianglan replied coldly.

Xu Jue laughed and said, "I Xu Jue has a big hobby in my life, that is, I like to see beauties angry. Today, it's another addiction. Miss Liu, you go downstairs for the time being to dissipate your anger, I'll talk to Master Hu about some serious things, and later, I will listen to you sing while drinking. ”

Liu Xianglan went downstairs with a sigh of relief.

Listening to Liu Xianglan pointing at Sang and scolding Yahuan downstairs, Hu Zigao said cautiously: "Lord Xu, your way of pitying incense and cherishing jade seems to be different from ordinary people. ”

Xu Jue blinked his eyes and said slyly: "No matter how good a woman is, she can't spoil her." Otherwise, she'll overwhelm you. ”

"Wow," Hu Zigao praised, "you are the art of war of Sun Tzu in the gentle township." ”

"Master Hu, I'm a fast-talking person, and I like to say things clearly, now please sue me, what do you have to do with me?"

Compared with the crazy state when he spoke to Liu Xianglan just now, Xu Jue was already like two people. Only then did Hu Zigao realize that this person is not an idle person. He subconsciously raised his eyes to look at the big butler, only to see that his two sharp gazes were also shooting towards him.

After all, Hu Zigao is a veteran of officialdom, so he naturally flashed that gaze, smiled slightly, and said: "Lord Xu is like this, but he looks like a trial case." ”

"Officialdom is complicated, I have to be careful. What's more, my master has always been clean and self-conscious, always abiding by the ancestral teachings of the Ming Dynasty, and not interacting with foreign officials, so he always warned me not to walk around in the officialdom. ”

Hearing Xu Jue's words, Hu Zigao thought in his heart: "If you don't walk around the officialdom, how did you get the survey of the military department?" But the words were numb flattery: "Gonggong Feng's high style and bright festival are well-known among the corporal people in the world." Master Xu has been by his side for many years, and his ears are life-threatening, and his realm is natural and elegant. ”

"You haven't said it yet, what are you looking for me?"

Xu Jue began to ask again. Hu Zigao looked at Xu Jue's domineering appearance, and he was already a little unhappy in his heart. I thought to myself, why is this person so ignorant of the rules, he is a six-rank official of the imperial court, how can you allow you to interrogate like this. But when he thought of Feng Bao, he had to leave his own use.

"There is nothing special about Xia Guan, he just admires the reputation of Gonggong Feng." Hu Zigao said.

"Although I met with Lord Hu today, I have already heard of it," Xu Jue said, "After the title of the gold list, all the way to the fat shortage, three years of guarding, although people played the book, but there was no danger, and it was still promoted to the sixth grade." You should also thank Gao Ge Lao for this. ”

The contradiction between Gao Gong and Feng Bao has long been heard of by Hu Zigao. Hearing that Xu Jue deliberately pointed out Gao Ge Lao, he knew that he was wary of himself, so he said lightly: "Xia Guan and Gao Ge Lao also have no friendship, but they just asked someone to ask him to intercede once." ”

"That's true," Xu Jue nodded, "A six-rank official like you has several seats in every room in the yamen of the capital." Gao Ge Lao can recognize him anywhere? You are not his protégé, and you have no friendship, how can he take special care of you? If something happens, take the silver against it, raise your hand to let you go, and send a favor, it's always okay. However, then again, as long as you are willing to spend money, you will not do it. Judge of the salt transport envoy, you will do it, and others will do it, it depends on who will do it, Lord Hu, don't you say? ”

"Yes, yes," Hu Zigao echoed, "Money can buy ghosts and grind, this is the truth of the ages." ”

"I don't think Gao Ge Lao will be willing to help you. Although he was promoted to the head of the Ministry of Engineering, he is still from Nanjing, what kind of official is this, he is so poor that even the rats in the house have run out. I don't know how much silver you spent, and I don't want to know. But spending money to buy a poor sour, isn't this obviously a trick on people? Speaking of this, Xu Jue paused, saw Hu Zigao thinking about it, and continued, "Master Hu, I want to remind you that I want to remind you, and I think of meeting for the first time, and it is difficult to speak. ”

"But it doesn't hurt to say it." Hu Zigao raised his head.

"Then forgive the contemptible and rude," Xu Jue looked out the window and said in a low voice, "Although you are also an old officialdom, you haven't yet figured out the Tao of the Tao." ”

"I don't want to hear about it." Hu Zigao became interested.

Xu Jue said: "Those who can use money will allocate a thousand catties in four or two, and those who can't use money will exchange a thousand catties for a dime." ”

Hu Zigao asked: "What is a person who can use money, and what is a person who can't use money?" ”

"Those who can use money will burn the cold stove, and those who can't use the money will burn the hot stove." Xu Jue saw Hu Zigao's puzzled expression, so he simply pierced through and said, "Let's say, you give a lot of silver to Gao Beard, this is the hot stove that burns, he has a blazing flame there, do you still need this fire?" You rushed to throw firewood, but people didn't appreciate it. It's those cold stoves, relying on your fire, fluttering and burning hot gas, people will remember you. ”

"This is the reason," Hu Zigao thought for a while, and said slowly, "It's just that people's hot stoves can do things, if it's a cold stove, it can't be cheapened after all." ”

"Lord Hu's words are wrong," Xu Jue smiled coldly, "Being an official is a lifelong career, how can you care about the success or failure of a moment." You burn the cold stove for three years, and it seems that you are at a loss, but in the fourth year, it may come to operation from time to time, and the cold stove becomes a hot stove. Didn't you also jump over the dragon gate with the carp and fall into the golden hole! ”

Hu Zigao heard that there was a sound outside Xu Jue's strings, so he simply copied it and said: "Master Xu, I still want to ask you for guidance, where to find such a cold stove now?" ”

Xu Jue saw that Hu Zigao was already on the road, so he no longer covered it up, and blurted out: "My master is." ”

"Father-in-law Feng, he?" Hu Zigao was stunned all of a sudden, "He is so powerful, is he still a cold stove?" ”

"There are a total of twenty or thirty thousand eunuchs in the north and south capitals, compared to those general steward brands, of course he is a big hot stove, but ......" Speaking of this, Xu Jue deliberately sold a pass, blinked his eyes, shook his head and said: "Forget it, forget it, it's better not to say it." The heart is separated from the belly. ”

"When Master Xu and I met for the first time, it was reasonable to believe me," Hu Zigao smiled leisurely, and then said, "However, if Master Xu swallows half of the words in his stomach, even if he doesn't say it, the lower officials can guess it." ”

"Really?" Xu Jue moved.

"What you want to say is that on Gonggong Feng's head, after all, there is also a eunuch Meng Chong who is the master of ceremonies."

This time it was Xu Jue's turn to be surprised. He stared at Hu Zigao and thought to himself, "You can't underestimate this six-grade official." He said: "Yes, the current eunuch Meng Chong, the current celebrant and eunuch with the seal seal, in terms of qualifications and talents, which point is comparable to my master." ”

Hu Zigao smiled and looked reserved: "Master Xu just asked me why I invited you, and I can answer now." ”

"Please."

"To burn the stove."

As soon as the words ended, the two of them laughed at the same time. After laughing, Xu Jue said solemnly: "Lord Hu, the gentleman has no jokes, can you speak seriously?" ”

"Seriously!"

"Good!" Xu Jue looked quite happy, his face relaxed, and his garlic nose also glowed red, "With your words, when I return to Beijing, I will definitely say a lot of good words for my lord in front of my master." ”

"Then thank you, brother," Hu Zigao changed his title and asked Xu Jue, "You don't mind calling it like that, right?" ”

"It's long overdue, it's much more affectionate." Xu Jue nodded in agreement.

"When does Brother Tai plan to leave Nanjing?"

"If things go well, I'll be back tomorrow."

"When you leave, I will prepare a generous gift, please transfer it to Gonggong Feng, and I will also prepare another Bo Yi at the brother's office."

"I'm exempt here, my master, you have to pay respect."

"How to be filial, please also ask my brother for advice."

"Since I'm not an outsider, I'll just say it directly. I came to Nanjing this time to find a treasure for my master. ”

"What treasure?"

"Do you know the person Bodhidharma?"

"I know", Hu Zigao nodded, and then he flaunted: "He is a great monk who came to China from India, and is known as the first ancestor of Chinese Zen Buddhism." ”

"I heard that when he came from India, he first went to Guangzhou, and then came to Nanjing from Guangzhou to meet Emperor Wu of Liang, the emperor of the Liang Dynasty at that time, and gave a Buddhist bead to Emperor Wu of Liang. This hanging Buddha bead is made of one hundred and eight relics of enlightened monks, and was regarded as a national treasure by Emperor Wu of Liang. More than 1,000 years have passed since the Liang Dynasty, but this hanging Buddha bead is still in Nanjing. ”

"It's a national treasure."

"Yes, this hanging Buddha bead is now in the hands of a master, I found him to discuss resale, he at the beginning of the bite to insist not to sell, saying that this treasure has been left in his family for five generations, can not disappear in his hands, leaving a reputation of a descendant. To put it mildly, even the Nanjing garrison eunuch Sun Chaoyong also came forward, and people saw that I had some backgrounds, so they relented and agreed to resell, but offered 50,000 taels of silver. It stands to reason that for such a national treasure, 50,000 taels of silver is not expensive, but my father-in-law, who is usually upright, can make up this large sum of silver taels. I still pulled kudzu vine with the master, bargaining, this afternoon was finalized, 30,000 taels of silver, tomorrow morning to go to the lotus root incense Zhai next to the Baoying door, one hand to hand over the silver, the other hand to deliver. ”

Listening to Xu Jue talk about the cause and effect, Hu Zigao sighed: "I didn't expect Gonggong Feng to be so devout in respecting Buddha. ”

"The Buddha is the root of his life, and every year he has to do a lot of good deeds." As soon as Xu Jue said "my master", he was respectful, "But this time, my master sent me 100,000 yuan to Nanjing to buy this treasure, but not for his own collection." ”

"Oh?"

"The emperor is sick today, do you know?"

"I know, a report from the palace has already arrived, and the cabinet has also sent a message, ordering all yamen to keep people on duty every night." Hu Zigao paused when he said this, and then said, "I was about to ask Brother Tai, how is the emperor's illness?" ”

"The emperor's illness is the top secret of the imperial court, how can my generation know the details. But judging from my master's deeds, I am afraid that the illness of the Lord is not light. I came back to look for that string of Buddhist beads, which is also related to the illness of Long Live Lord. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"The emperor's favorite concubine Li Guifei, who is the biological mother of the current prince, is a person who believes in Buddhism very much. I usually eat flowers, and in the Cining Palace where I live, a big Buddhist hall is also arranged. Copying scriptures and reciting Buddha every day, the palace maids call her Guanyin Niangniang. This time the emperor was sick, and she even ate a long fast. A few days ago, Gonggong Feng went to greet Concubine Li Guifei and inadvertently mentioned that there was such a string of Buddhist beads in Nanjing. Li Guifei immediately stared at the question, and then sighed, saying that there is still such a Buddha treasure in the country, which should be able to protect the emperor for a long life. The speaker has no intention, but the listener has the intention. When I got home, my master sent me to Nanjing as soon as possible. In any case, you must also get this string of Buddhist beads in your hands and pay homage to the concubine. ”

"Brother Tai doesn't have enough silver tickets?"

"Yes," Xu Jue pointed out Li Guifei's layer, originally wanting Hu Zigao to pay for the silver refreshingly. Seeing that Hu Zigao was still calculating, he deliberately provoked the general and said, "However, as long as I am willing to open my mouth, the 30,000 taels of silver is not a big deal. ”

Hu Zigao nodded, he admitted that Xu Jue was telling the truth, no matter how bad Gonggong Feng was, he had been rolling by the emperor's side for more than ten years, and he could still get 30,000 taels of silver. This time he sent Xu Jue to Nanjing, but he didn't expect to pay for the string of Buddhist beads by himself. He Hu Zigao was reluctant to spend this money, so naturally someone would rush out. Xu Jue was cunning, but he still held up the chassis. But then I thought about it, 30,000 taels of silver was not a small amount after all, if Xu Jue was deceived and smuggled in the name of Gonggong Feng, wouldn't he become a big fool. But if what Xu Jue said is true, 30,000 taels of silver to make friends with Gonggong Feng and take the line of Li Guifei is another big bargain. The emperor's illness has been tossed for a month or two, if those imperial doctors can't rejuvenate with their hands, once Long Bin goes to heaven and the prince takes over, Li Guifei will be a big hot stove. Thinking of this, Hu Zigao's heart was hot, and he said:

"Brother, I'm out of the 30,000 taels of silver!"

"Good!" Xu Jue slapped the coffee table, and a rare smile bloomed on his face, "Master Hu is really refreshing, I will thank you for my master first." ”

Although the silver came out, Hu Zigao still left a little caution, and then Xu Jue's words said: "When the string of Buddhist beads arrives tomorrow, I will send a person into Beijing with my brother Tai, and face Feng's father-in-law, in order to show a piece of filial piety." ”

Xu Jue was stunned, he knew that Hu Zigao was worried that he was doing something from it, and he was already a little unhappy in his heart. So he said angrily: "It's okay, although 30,000 taels of silver is not much, but since Master Hu values it, send someone to meet Gonggong Feng with me, and the contemptible person will be relieved of suspicion." ”

Hu Zigao heard the bones in the words, and hurriedly said with a smile: "Brother Tai doesn't need to be suspicious, the lower officials are just worried about the road, afraid that if there is a mistake." ”

Xu Jue smiled reluctantly, got up and paced to the window near the river, only to see that the red lanterns in front of the river houses everywhere had been lit, shining the Qinhuai River like day. The boats on the river are connected, and the pavilions on the shore are uneven. The incense mist is swirling, the candle shadow is shaking red, and the drums and zither are endless. He stretched his waist, and his lust was difficult to control, so he couldn't wait to ask Hu Zigao:

"Where's Miss Liu? Tell her to come upstairs. ”

After Emperor Longqing had a stroke, he took the decoction of the imperial doctor to dispel fire and evil spirits, and strictly forbade intercourse, but in ten days, the condition was significantly reduced, and on this day he also moved to Xinuan Pavilion to approve a few excerpts. When the news came out, the two auxiliary ministers who had been guarding the cabinet day and night and did not dare to leave for a moment were greatly relieved -- according to the emperor's intention, they were originally to be resting in the Dongnuan Pavilion. However, Gao Gong insisted on the distinction between inside and outside, and affirmed that the cabinet was also in the Forbidden City, only a stone's throw away from the Qianqing Palace. Now that the emperor's illness has been relieved, the cabinet has issued another message, and from today onwards, all yamen officials do not have to be on duty and can go home to rest. As mentioned earlier, Gao Gong is the first assistant and at the same time serves as the secretary of the ministry, and he works on weekdays

I used to work in the cabinet in the morning and go to the ministry in the afternoon to deal with the affairs of the ministry. Because the emperor was ill, he had not been to the ministry for more than ten days, and as soon as the message was issued that afternoon, he got up in a sedan chair and came to the ministry.

Wei Xuezeng, the left attendant of the ministry, had already been waiting at the door, and walked into the spacious and bright duty room with a high arch together. This Wei Xue was a Jinshi in Jiajing for 29 years, he was upright, had a mouth and no heart, dared to act, and had been out of Shanxi, Liaodong and other provinces, and had quite a political achievement, and was known as the "Wei Cannon" in the officialdom. Whether it is his temper or his capable style, Wei Xuezeng was deeply appreciated by Gao Gong, so he promoted him to serve as his deputy and preside over the daily government affairs of the ministry. said that the two of them sat down in the room, and Wei Xuezeng briefly recounted the affairs of the ministry in the past ten days. Gao Gong has always been concerned about big and small things, although he let Wei Xuezeng handle the affairs of the department, but everything must be reported to him to understand. At this time, Wei Xuezeng said a lot of miscellaneous things, Gao Gong took the trouble to listen carefully, and when he encountered ambiguity, he had to interject and ask clearly. After Wei Xuezeng finished speaking, Gao Gong asked: "Li Yan can have a resignation to the ministry?" ”

According to the rules, officials who receive orders must give an excerpt to say goodbye, and such an excerpt must be sent to the Ministry of Officials for forwarding. Wei Xuezeng shook his head and said: "I haven't received it yet, Guangxi Qing is thousands of miles away from the capital, and Li Yan's excerpt must still be on the way." ”

Gao Gong frowned, lowered his eyelids and thought for a while, and asked: "Qiguan, you and Li Yan are the same year, you say, this Li Yan suddenly lost the black gauze hat of the governor of Liangguang, what would he think?" ”

"Then what else will you think, one word, gas!"

Wei Xuezeng was straightforward and fast-talking, and he didn't look at people's faces when he spoke. Gao Gong was choked by him, forced a smile, and asked, "He was derelict in his duties, where did his anger come from?" ”

Wei Xuezeng replied: "Dereliction of duty can be punished, demoted, and replaced. What's more, Li Yan is still Yuanfu's protégé, and the punishment of the protégé is so severe, why can he restrain people's hearts? Besides, Yin Zhengmao, who replaced Li Yan, is not a good minister. Now this matter has been hyped up in the capital......" Wei Xuezeng was about to continue, but suddenly caught a glimpse of Gao Gong's face stretched for a long time, so he stopped talking.

In fact, Gao Gong's face was not for Wei Xuezeng to see. He was reminded of the porcelain painted with Spring Palace paintings in the Dongnuan Pavilion because the officials brought tea in, and when he saw the celadon tea cups, he thought of the porcelain painted with Spring Palace paintings in the Dongnuan Pavilion. Seeing that Wei Xuezeng stopped talking, he asked, "Why didn't you say it?" ”

"I'm afraid that Motosuke won't listen."

"What are these words," Gao Gong immediately retracted his mind and sat down, looking at Wei Xuezeng intently and said, "Go on." ”

Wei Xuezeng was "broken" because of this, his impulsive feelings were contained, and he suddenly lost the interest of the long grand theory, was stunned for a moment, and only said one sentence: "According to the opinion of the lower officials, Yuan Fu replaced Li Yan with Yin Zhengmao, and took a risky move." ”

Gao Gong laughed and said: "You simply said that it was a stinky move, I don't know you Wei Cannon, so I think so in my heart." Wei Xuezeng was noncommittal and smiled noncommittally. The light in Gao Gong's eyes flashed, and he continued: "I'm afraid there is more than so much public opinion outside, and everyone knows that Zhang Juzheng has recommended Yin Zhengmao three times, but I insist on not using it." To be fair, this person served as the governor of Jiangxi, arresting thieves and reassuring the people, collecting taxes, and working hard. Jiangxi's total tax and silver arrears rank third in the country, and Yin Zhengmao went to Nanchang to open a government office for only two years, and the ranking of this arrears has retreated by 17 places, and the performance is the most significant. However, this person is greedy, and after going to Jiangxi for two years, there are as many as 12 excerpts to impeach him. Of course, there are elements of local officials who are dissatisfied with Yin Zhengmao's harsh administration and who are angry with him, but according to my judgment, the bad deeds of Yin Zhengmao's greed for ink are not all things to chase after the wind and shadows, and this is the reason why I insist on not using it. I remember talking to you about this more than once before. ”

Wei Xuezeng nodded, it was precisely because he knew this layer, so he didn't understand why Gao Gong suddenly changed his attitude. The emperor's appointment of Yin Zhengmao as the governor of Liangguang was sent to the ministry, and when Wei Xuezeng complied with the order to quickly handle the commission documents and customs defense documents, he felt that the incident had changed suddenly, and he couldn't help muttering. When he heard the words from the eunuch Ouchi that the emperor had scolded Gao Gong, "I see that you are not a loyal minister", he thought that Gao Gong had fallen out of favor and promoted Yin Zhengmao was Zhang Juzheng's idea. Later, it didn't look like it, Gao Gong still sat firmly in the position of the first assistant, and this knot in his heart couldn't be solved. Now it is just time to ask a clear question in person and solve this mystery, so he said: "For Li Yan and Yin Zhengmao, Yuan Fu's attitude is like that of the two people, which is exactly what everyone is confused about. ”

"This time, that time, enlightenment, you should always understand this truth." Seeing that Wei Xuezeng was stunned and puzzled, Gao Gong then explained, "Before this decision was made that day, there were two variables in the matter, one was that the emperor suddenly fell ill, and the other was that Li Yan had a report from the 800-mile mansion where the city was lost. When the emperor was eighteen years old, he was crowned King Yu, and I was his teacher, and the affection between the monarch and the minister was not something that ordinary people could get by peeping at it. But the emperor was angry that day in Jintai, Huangji Gate, and actually scolded the old man for saying 'not a loyal minister', which is called unpredictable. Later, the imperial physician stated the emperor's condition in the Dongnuan Pavilion, and he vomited, and a bad omen rose in the old man's heart. In case the emperor is uncertain and Dingzuo changes, someone will take advantage of the troubled waters to fish and grab the position of the first assistant......"

"You mean Zhang Juzheng?" Wei Xuezeng interjected and asked.

"Who else could there be if it wasn't him?" Gao Gong gulped and drank a cup of tea in one gulp, stretched out his hand to wipe the remaining drops from the corners of his mouth, and said again, "In the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing, when I was the Guozi Supervisor of the Wine, Zhang Juzheng was promoted from the Hanlin Academy to the Guozi Supervisor, and as my assistant, he began to work with me. At that time, the first assistant was Yan Song, and we were both extremely dissatisfied with him, and we both had the ambition of Zaifu to discuss the Tao through Bangxie Li Yin and Yang, and soon we became good friends, and we expected each other to be in business. Later, he entered the cabinet one after another, and at the beginning of his appointment as an auxiliary minister, he and I could still have a heart-to-heart relationship. In many national policies such as the preparation of the border, the governance of Cao, and the marquis of Lulu, he and I responded to each other, cooperated tacitly, and accomplished some major things. But I have already seen that Zhang Juzheng is not a person who is willing to live under others for a long time. Since last year's cabinet Chen Yiqin, Yin Shidan and others have successively taken office, and only he and I are left, his desire to seize the throne has been seen day by day. He was as promised to me on the surface, but secretly he was gearing up and competing with me. The most significant manifestation is that whenever the country has the opportunity to use people, he tries to recommend his fellow villagers, the same year, and his protégés, which he has done since the beginning of his entry into the cabinet, but it is not as obvious as in the past two years. The recommendation of Yin Zhengmao came from his selfish desire to cultivate his friends. ”

The high arch pulled the vines and counted the radishes into the cellar, and told a lot of old things. Wei Xuezeng listened carefully and understood the general situation, and at the same time remembered a related past: in the early spring of the second year of Longqing, under the mention of Gao Yi, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites at that time, several scholars in the cabinet jointly gave Emperor Longqing a public fold, hoping that the emperor would establish Zhu Yijun's status as the crown prince as soon as possible. Emperor Longqing had two sons, both of whom were born to Concubine Li. Zhu Yijun was the eldest son, he was only five years old at the time, and Emperor Longqing liked this eldest son very much. He remembered that one day he was riding a horse in the palace, Zhu Yijun suddenly appeared on the royal road to stop the horse's head, and said to his father who was playing happily with his face: "Father, what should you do if you fall off a horse riding a horse alone?" Emperor Longqing saw that his son was so young and sensible, he didn't like it in his heart, so he hurriedly turned over and dismounted, picked up Zhu Yijun and really comforted him. When he received a request from a cabinet minister for the canonization of the crown prince, he immediately approved it, and in March he held a ceremony to announce it to the world. At that time, the first assistant of the cabinet was Xu Jie, a native of Songjiang, and as soon as Zhang Juzhengfu entered the cabinet, he caught up with this major event. The high arch who first entered the cabinet was impeached by the officials because of a falling out with Xu Jie, and was expelled from the cabinet at the end of the first year and returned to his hometown in Henan. Therefore, he can be described as "unarmed" in the major matter of canonizing the crown prince. At that time, the four cabinet scholars who were separated from each other are now left with only Zhang Juzheng. In all dynasties, when the crown prince ascended the throne, he would reuse the heroes who supported the prince. Gao Gong was the teacher of Emperor Longqing before he ascended to the pole, so he was favored by the emperor. Now that the emperor is suddenly sick, if there is an accident, the ten-year-old prince Zhu Yijun will inherit the unification. Habitually speaking, Zhu Yijun is naturally closer to Zhang Juzheng emotionally. Although Gao Gong is a highly respected minister of the country, but after all, he lost this book, as the saying goes, "once a son of heaven and a courtier", it can be said that the mystery is revealed. Wei Xuezeng knew in his heart that Gao Gong had lived in the government for a long time, and of course he knew how powerful it was. He has now suddenly changed his position to abandon Li Yan and promote Yin Zhengmao, which is a contingency measure at this extraordinary moment. But Gao Gong refused to say anything, and Wei Xuezeng was inconvenient to ask. However, he felt that Gao Gong's move was too dangerous, and after holding back for a while, he couldn't help but ask: "Since Yuanfu knows Zhang Juzheng's thoughts, why do you want to push the boat down the river to promote this matter?" ”

Gao Gong knew that Wei Xuezeng would ask such a question, so he couldn't help but smile proudly, stood up and stretched his body calmly, and then sat down and said: "I think Li Yan is also a stinky pig intestine that can't be supported, and he has received so many soldiers, horses and food, but he can't help a few thieves." After the Spring Festival, I wrote three Di newspapers, all of which were bad news, and if I didn't remove him, what would the world think of me? To be honest, if Li Yan had been removed a year ago, the situation would not have been so bad. This is also a little selfishness on the part of the old man, taking care of his protégé and delaying the military plane. Now that the emperor's illness and future are uncertain, if something happens, someone will take advantage of Li Yan's matter to make a big fuss and trap the old man in a passive beating. Instead of letting someone else wash this pot of water, it is better to clean it up yourself. As for using Yin Zhengmao, the old man also had a thought. Zhang Juzheng recommended him again and again, if I resist it, others will count the old man to block the way and refuse to enter the court for the court. What's more, Yin Zhengmao is a person who has a lot of disputes between the government and the opposition, and he is also between using it and not using it. I use him now, one can be used to kill the mouth of political opponents, and the other is to see the after-effects. If he really has the ability to exterminate the traitors, this reputation of knowing people and being good at their duties, is indispensable to have my high arch, if he is really a silver-like spearhead, I'm sorry, I have to salute first and then soldier, and the new account and the old account will be counted! ”

Gao Gong stretched out his hand and waved it, made a "chop" action, and his face also put on a murderous aura, Wei Xuezeng understood Gao Gong's true intention to deal with it like this, and couldn't help but admire this kind of scheming old spicy method of killing three birds with one stone. "Ginger is still old and spicy, worthy of being an old fighter in officialdom!" Wei Xuezeng sighed in his heart, and took advantage of the situation to ask again: "I heard that Yuanfu instructed the household department to add an extra 200,000 taels of silver to the military budget created by Yin Zhengmao, and clearly let him embezzle, is this true?" ”

"It is true." Gao Gong nodded in acknowledgement. D