When he first entered Beijing, he was unable to pay a private visit, and it was a big regret for Zheng Rong to revisit the style of the capital, and his words with Zhong Likuang last night made Zheng Rong dare not risk his life. However, after all, he promised Lao Xiangguo, how could he break his promise, so Zheng Rong not only wore a white dragon fish suit to cover people's eyes and ears, but also arranged many guards to protect them openly and secretly, abandoning the prosperous place of smoke and willow and walking alone in the alleys, and finally found Prime Minister Yang Cheng's mansion before the group was dizzy.

Yang's Mansion is an ancient house, located in the depths of the alley, which was originally just a small courtyard house, which is the legacy of Yang Yuanzhi's ancestors. In the five-year imperial examination of Xianzong, Yang Yuanzhi came out on top and was named the champion by Emperor Xianzong Zhao, and Yang Yuanzhi, as a veteran, relied on it even more, and repeatedly followed the precedent of Xianzong and bought a house with internal silver to give Yang Yuanzhi. In this way, in the 40 years that Prime Minister Yang Cheng has been an official in the dynasty and 30 years since he was a great minister, the original courtyard house of the Yang family's ancestral house has already expanded into a large manor with the same shape as the palace. It's just that Yang Yuanzhi used the houses and fields rewarded by the emperors of previous dynasties to help the same sect, and he still lived in the old house, which was a beautiful talk for a while.

Therefore, although the Yang Mansion occupies a vast area, the door is no different from the house of the middle family in Beijing, and the gate is closed in broad daylight.

In less than half a cup of tea, a crack opened in the gate of Yang's mansion, and a capable house slave poked out his head and said softly and forcefully: "Rude, the lord invites the prince into the mansion." ”

Zheng Rong was puzzled for a while, Elder Yang was extremely polite, how could he greet him in such a rude way; After thinking about it, after all, the guest is as he pleases, and the host is an old minister of the three dynasties, the prime minister of the two dynasties, and has been his own teacher, so it is really unreasonable to let him come out to greet him, so he dressed up and adjusted his mood and flashed into the prime minister's mansion through the crack in the door. It was a young man and a weak crown, and Xianzong saw that Yang Yuanzhi was a promising young man and a talent, and he liked it very much, so he ordered the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Officials, and the Ministry of Households to purchase a courtyard for Yang Yuanzhi. Yang Yuanzhi bowed and did not accept it, and said: The ancestral inheritance is unwilling to leave; The second said: The treasury of the household is the wealth of all the people, although the respect of the Ninety-Five cannot be privately given and received. Xianzong was even happier when he heard this, took out the silver in the private room from the palace, bought a mansion near the old mansion of the Yang family, and rewarded it to the new champion. Since then, Yang Yuanzhi has done his best, made outstanding political achievements, and was favored by the emperor, and by the time Xianzong died in the tenth year, he was already a secretary of the household department and a lonely minister. And Emperor Jingdi of Shenzong and the current emperor are right

Unexpectedly, as soon as Zheng Rong entered the courtyard, he looked up and saw a thin old man standing in front of him on crutches, and he didn't need to distinguish it to know that it was Yang Yuanzhi, the prime minister of the dynasty.

Yang Yuanzhi owed, with a smile on her face, and said loudly: "The prince is visiting, the little old man's burrow is really full of brilliance." It's just that it is taboo for officials to make friends with foreign vassals, so they should treat each other as masters and apprentices today, I don't know what the prince wants? ”

Of course, Zheng Rong understood Yang Yuanzhi's intentions, and immediately replied: "Naturally, students rarely have the opportunity to return to Beijing from Youyan, and this time they are here to visit the teacher. ”

Yang Yuanzhi was appointed as a young master by the first emperor more than 30 years ago, and served as the teacher of the current emperor and the three princes, the most important of which is Zheng Rong. ”

Zheng Rong frowned, Yang Yuanzhi was a strict teacher back then, and he hated the four princes for messing around the most, saying that he was going to play in the water, and it was too late for him to take the ring ruler to fight, so how could he propose to go boating on the lake and chant poetry? But after thinking about it, Yang Yuan was old, and he was afraid that there was a reason for this unwarranted sentence, so he agreed with a smile: "What the teacher said, how dare the students not listen?" ”

"Haha, it's just that I'm old and decrepit, and I still need to have Lord Lao this time."

There is indeed a lake in the Yang Mansion, but the length and width are only more than ten zhang, and it is more appropriate to say that it is not so much a lake as a pond. Zheng Rong immediately competed for more than ten years, and the level of rowing was really poor, and the two oars rowed indiscriminately for a long time before rowing the boat to the middle of the lake, and he was already sweating.

Yang Yuanzhi put the cane on the wooden boat horizontally, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, handed it to Zheng Rong, and said with a wry smile: "There are many people in the old mansion, lest they disturb the interest of the prince, so it is hard for the prince to prop up the boat to the center of the lake, and the old man is really ashamed." ”

Zheng Rong subconsciously looked at the surrounding environment, and saw that the lakeside garden was exquisite, and the winding paths were quiet, but there were always all kinds of people walking through it, which was indeed not a place to speak; However, if the boat is in the middle of the lake, the people on the shore can only see its shape, and cannot hear its words, which is quite a sense of quietness in the middle of the noise. So, Zheng Rong shook his head awkwardly and said: "The two princes are already incompatible, and there are also strict barriers between the emperor's relatives and civil and military officials, so the old prime minister has to work hard to support the crisis, this is really difficult to be a teacher!" ”

"Huh!" Yang Yuanzhi was alone in the atmosphere of competition, it was really very lonely, and now seeing the former students understand themselves like this, she was indescribably happy in her heart, "How dare you not die after receiving the emperor's grace in the old world?" However, King Youyan was entrusted by the emperor to guard the northern frontier and shield the Turks, and now he is in an unpredictable place, so he has to get out early. ”

"Students are children of the royal family, and the prosperity of the country and the safety of the people should stand up. However, at present, the political situation is complicated, and the whole body is affected, and the students are really powerless to do anything but to keep their duty. Zheng Rong said and couldn't help but sigh.

Yang Yuanzhi also responded: "Now the Zhongshu Province and the six party divisions are fiercely competitive, up to Cao and Zhang, the two Zhongshu orders, and down to the six non-mainstream members of the foreign lang have formed a dead party, looking for the opponent's fork all day long, busy demolishing the other party, the government order is not passable, and those who can barely pass often have to toss for a month or two, which is the fault of the old man who can't restrain the hundred officials!" ”

Zheng Rong didn't expect the political situation in the DPRK and China to be like this, so he hurriedly asked: "Does the emperor care?" ”

"Alas-" Yang Yuanzhi sighed, "I'd rather the emperor didn't care." To put it mildly, now that the saint is deceived by eunuchs and pursues immortality all day long, where is he still in the mood to deal with state affairs? The saint has not been to the court for several years, and most of the recitals handed over by the Zhongshu Province have not been sent to the court; Occasionally, there are military events and royal approvals, but ...... The words of the emperor and the princes are all taught by the old man one by one, how can he not see it...... If it is a ghostwriter, if it is an edict, then it is ...... Alas, what is the face of the old decay to see Emperor Xianzong Zhao under the Nine Springs, and Emperor Shenzong Jing......"

Yang Yuanzhi said and spoke, but she was incoherent and almost burst into tears. Zheng Rong saw it and hurriedly comforted: "It's also the student's fault." Students deal with barbarians all year round, but they don't know that this is already the case in the DPRK and China, if they knew it earlier, they will definitely be admonished to death, how can they allow villains to do trouble? ”

Yang Yuanzhi had no handkerchief, so she had to wipe her tears with her cuffs and said, "Speaking of which, there is one thing to ask the prince to come forward. ”

"If you have something to say, please don't hesitate, the student will definitely do it."

Yang Yuanzhi nodded, wiped her tears again, and said: "The great drought in Henan, not half a drop of rain has not fallen since the spring equinox, and now it is about to enter autumn. The old decay also played the emperor a few days ago, but it was still sunk in the sea; If it is handled according to the intention of the Zhongshu Province, then the officials will fight again, and it is not known when the relief money and grain will be delivered to the people. But ......"

"But what?"

"But at least for now, the court doesn't have to worry about corruption and bribery, because it's too late for hundreds of officials to be attacked by others out of nothing, how can they leave the handle of greedy ink? Hehe......" Yang Yuanzhi smiled bitterly, "Therefore, I also ask the prince to return to Youyan by land and preside over the relief when he passes through Henan." ”

"This ...... It is no longer an exception for students to lead the military and political affairs of Youyan, and now they want to interfere in the local government affairs of Henan, I'm afraid it's not appropriate, right? Zheng Rong hesitated.

"Alas-but there is really no one available at the moment, please think of the lives of the 2.2 million people in Henan, and it will be difficult for him!" Yang Yuanzhi said very earnestly.

Zheng Rong lowered his head and weighed it, nodded cautiously and responded: "Since the old prime minister said so, how dare the student have a reason to excuse himself?" The students then went up and asked the Holy Authority to provide relief for the disaster. ”

"No!" Yang Yuanzhi's eyes suddenly shot out of brilliance, "This matter should be written by the old minister, and the emperor has no reason." ”

Yang Yuanzhi was the champion of the previous dynasty, and in less than a stick of incense, he wrote a piece of music tightly and full of flowers, and handed it over immediately.

After Zheng Rong returned to the house, before he finished lunch, a eunuch came to pass the decree, not only entrusting the matter of relief to Henan, but also making the military and political officials of Henan under the control of King Youyan, and also giving Shang Fang the sword to grant the arbitrary power of the machine, and the prosperity of grace, although the emperor's younger brother and vassal king, is also unheard of since the Han Dynasty. Regarding the matter of the order to help Henan, Zhong Likuang thought deeply, according to his opinion - although there is a suspicion of making a big move, but he can go out of Beijing immediately after the order, he can use the emperor's order to deter the small group, and he has greater rights in the distance - the so-called advantages and disadvantages are really promising, so he didn't say anything strange in front of Zheng Rong.

Zheng Rong wanted to leave the capital as soon as possible, but now that he had received the holy decree, it was even more justifiable, and he immediately ordered the entourage sergeants to tidy up and prepare to set off.

In addition, Yang Yuanzhi's preparations were also unusually fast. This is not entirely without reason. First of all, the emperor personally ordered the matters to be done, and if he was still dragging his feet there, he would be guilty of the great crime of resisting the decree if he was not careful. The second is that there is an old prime minister in the middle of the command, and the errands are divided into details, and there will be no trouble of hindering each other. According to the news from the palace, King Youyan supported the emperor's eldest son to succeed to the throne, and of course there was no reason for the household and the second ministry to obstruct it. Fu Kui, the old secretary of the military department, was originally Zheng Rong's boss when he led the army, and later he was a general, and finally became a subordinate. Even the few departments mastered by the second son of the emperor were also thinking about currying favor with King Youyan, taking this opportunity to make the last effort to win over, and pull down their faces to cooperate with the household department and the Ministry of Industry. In this way, there was a concerted scene that had not been seen in a hundred years in the court. When Zheng Rong's mansion was ready, Yang Yuanzhi had also personally escorted the relief materials and came to Youyan Wang's mansion to hand them over.

Zheng Rong heard that Prime Minister Yang Cheng personally came to the house to handle the handover matters, he was both surprised and surprised, hurriedly tidied up his clothes, greeted the door, and began to greet from afar: "Just handing over mundane affairs, dare to bother the old prime minister to condescend, the students are really scared." ”

Yang Yuanzhi also clenched his fists and said unusually politely: "This matter was personally explained by the saint, no matter how stupid the old man is, it will not be delayed!" ”

The two greeted each other and let each other into the palace. Because the discussion was not a confidential matter, they sat upright, tasted tea, and talked freely in the main hall. Probably the household department has calculated that 1 million taels of silver will be needed to help the victims, but the household department can only allocate 1230,000 taels of silver at present, and together with the grain allocated by Henan and the surrounding states to the Yicang and the closing of the warehouse, there is about 700,000 taels, and there is still a shortfall of about 300,000 yuan. At present, it can only be filled when the money and grain sent by Jiangnan Cao arrive in the capital Luoyang, but it will take at least half a month. Zheng Rong said that he could start his journey immediately, the junction of Youyan Road and Henan Road, the military tun has bumper harvests year after year, and the grain, grass, bacon, etc. are enough for 100,000 elite soldiers for ten years, and it is very convenient to temporarily allocate them to supply Henan. Of course, Yang Yuanzhi knew that Zheng Rong would rather take out some money and food than leave Luoyang as soon as possible, so he immediately echoed it, said some empty words of praise, and asked Zheng Rong to count the supplies.

The Han Dynasty continued to use the disaster relief system of the previous dynasties, and set up Yicang and Pingcang to provide relief to the victims. Every year, the household department allocates funds to buy new grain, eliminate old grain, keep the storage full, and open the warehouse to release grain in case of drought, waterlogging, locusts and other serious disasters, so as to ensure that the victims can be half-starved and half-full to support the next season's grain harvest. The liquidation is managed by the state and the state pastor, and the rice is purchased at a high price in a good year, and sold at a low price in a disaster year to stabilize the price of rice; In the year of the catastrophe, when the Yicang was short of food for disaster relief, it was necessary to have an order from the household department to give relief free of charge to prevent corruption by officials. The two sets of warehousing systems make up for each other and restrain each other, which is an excellent system, but the former officials of the court were corrupt, and the officials of the DPRK and China conspired with the officials of the feudal territory to embezzle, resulting in the two warehouses having no name but no reality. Until the drought and flood for many years, unable to provide relief, provoked the people of several states, Emperor Taizu Gao took the opportunity to revolt, and the world immediately responded, which is why today's Han is today.

It is precisely because of this that Taizu attaches great importance to the two warehouses, there have been local officials and household officials embezzled the household department to purchase grain, resulting in the loss of the righteous warehouse, Taizu personally tried and presided over the cleaning of the national warehouse, after some combing and judgment actually Ling Chi, beheaded, abandoned the city, more than 100 officials were killed, and the rest of the army, exiled, and dismissed countless people, so far the world's disaster relief warehouse can be governed. Therefore, since Taizu, if the emperor wants to purge the officials in the court, he must start from Yicang, and the rectification of local officials must start from the liquidation, so as to ensure that the Han Dynasty can always provide timely relief in every disaster in the past two hundred years, and there has been no major civil upheaval. It's just that the first emperor and the current emperor are extremely tolerant of officials, and they have not counted the two warehouses for 30 years, and the operation of the two warehouses has been discounted.

In this regard, Yang Yuanzhi, as the head of the hundred officials, knew well, so in addition to the proposed plan for Zheng Rong, the king of Youyan, to take charge of the relief of the two warehouses, he specially allocated more than 100,000 taels of cash from the household department, so that when the storage was insufficient, he could buy grain from the rich households for disaster relief. However, after all, this point involves the face of foreign officials, even if the emperor occasionally asks, he must cover it up a little, and he needs to be careful to hint at the rectification of advice, and he cannot be the same as foreign vassals.

Zheng Rong couldn't think of these details for a while, he only felt that Prime Minister Yang Cheng was thoughtful, and he was secretly determined to do this errand well.

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PS. In the early days of ancient China, the emperor usually did not pro-government, but entrusted government affairs to the prime minister, so that the imperial power and the prime minister were opposed to each other. Generally speaking, the emperor is less capable but can inherit, while the prime minister is more capable but is a liuguan, but the emperor has the power to appoint the prime minister, so the prime minister's power is gradually swallowed up by the imperial power. This is one of the main trends in the evolution of Chinese history.