Therefore, when the battle report of the eldest son Zheng Xin arrived in his hands, Zheng Rong just browsed it from beginning to end, breathed a sigh of relief, and handed the battle report to Qiu Yizhi, who was standing aside, and said to him: "Okay, I finally took down this kid Zheng Yu." If peace is just around the corner today, it is really a blessing for all the people! ”

Qiu Yizhi only swept the battle report from beginning to end, and saw that his brushstrokes revealed this joyful emotion, but most of them were clichés of good news, and there was nothing to read carefully, so he handed it to his master Zhong Likuang.

Zheng Xin's battle report was first sent to Zhong Likuang, and then he forwarded it to the emperor, and he had already read the content in advance, so he said: "Zheng Xin can still know how to kill cautiously when he wins a big victory, which is very rare." ”

Zheng Rong sneered, seemed to be a little noncommittal, changed his words, and said: "If you win, you will win, and you have to tell the world." What I mean is to have a prisoner sacrifice ceremony, don't make it too big, and don't have to run back to Luoyang to the Taimiao, just put it in Jinling. I wonder what Mr. Zhongli thinks? ”

Zheng Rong's idea has been more or less expressed several times, but at that time, the rebellion of the Lingnan Royal Mansion had not yet been completely quelled, and it was a little too anxious to put forward such an idea, so it was not officially mentioned until today.

Zhongli Kuang met with the emperor all day long, and of course he knew the emperor's thoughts, but he didn't express his opinion in person, turned his head and asked Qiu Yizhi: "What do you think of Yizhi?" ”

In Qiu Yi's heart, whether or not to hold this prisoner sacrifice ceremony was a trivial matter, and it was originally noncommittal, but when Zhong Likuang asked this, he replied truthfully: "This...... Now that the Lingnan Army has been wiped out, the news has spread all over the world, not to mention anything else, even the husbands, runs, and merchants in Jinling City are vying to praise and be happy. The ceremony to announce to the world has been done, of course, there is no harm; If you don't do it, you can save a few taels of silver...... In the end, whether to do it or not to do it depends on the emperor's own decision. ”

Zheng Rong nodded and said, "This rebellion of the King of Lingnan consumed a total of more than 20 million taels of silver in the national treasury. I worked hard to manage it, and the money I had accumulated over the years was almost wiped out. The silver deposited in the seized Lingnan Palace—I estimated it with Mr. Zhongli—at most four or five million, and it was necessary to keep it to reward the meritorious personnel, and it could not be squandered at will. However, in my opinion, the ceremony of sacrificing prisoners will not cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, but it can let the subjects of the four seas know what is called the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty, and this amount of silver is worth it. Gradually, the emperor changed the so-called "ceremony" of sacrificing prisoners to a "ceremony" of sacrificing prisoners.

Qiu Yi listened and nodded yes, but he was thinking in his heart: "Now in this Han world, there is no more than half a person competing with the emperor for the throne in the Jinluan Treasure Palace, why spend more tens of thousands of silver to fill the façade?" It's a waste of money, and it's not worth it at all. ”

But the emperor actually said twice that he was going to hold this "prisoner sacrifice ceremony", Qiu Yizhi thought that no matter how big this ceremony was, compared to other world plans, it was just a trivial matter, and there was no reason to continue to insist on his own opinions, offended the emperor, and he didn't tell the emperor what he thought in his heart.

Emperor Zheng Rong thought that he had persuaded Qiu Yizhi, and he was in a good mood, so he said: "Actually, this 'Prisoner Sacrifice Ceremony' is the icing on the cake, after the destruction of the Lingnan Palace, there are still a lot of things to do to deal with the aftermath." As he spoke, Zheng Rong swept Qiu Yi's eyes.

Qiu Yizhi was stunned by his cold eyes, and suddenly thought that the emperor had mentioned that he would go to Lingnan Road to lead the troops, for fear that the emperor would bring up the old things again today, so he quickly lowered his head and didn't dare to speak.

Unexpectedly, the emperor did not mention this matter, and asked rhetorically: "I remember that I told you that I want to incorporate Li Shengjie's fleet into the imperial court sailors, I don't know what Li Shengjie has in mind?" ”

This problem is no easier than letting himself go to Lingnan to lead the army, Qiu Yizhi has secretly broken out in a cold sweat, and said: "This matter, the minister has probed the bottom of Li Shengjie. Li Shengjie felt that the fleet was in the hands of his family, and it seemed that it was slightly better to do things for the imperial court than to be directly commanded by the imperial court. He can't be the master of this matter alone, so he has to send someone back to consult the old shipowner Li Zhi before he can make a decision......"

Halfway through speaking, Qiu Yizhi raised his eyes and saw that the emperor's expression seemed to be a little ugly, so he hurriedly added: "However, Li Shengjie feels that the dignified man does not have a sailor, and it seems that he is a little unpresentable. Therefore, he was willing to sacrifice a few warships under his command for the imperial court to imitate and build. As for artillery, he can also liaise in the middle and help the court buy it from foreigners. At that time, the emperor can also send skilled craftsmen to imitate, so that the imperial court can establish a large fleet of powerful ships. ”

Qiu Yizhi's words were so true, even he himself felt quite decent, his heart suddenly relaxed, and even the corners of his mouth raised a smile.

Unexpectedly, the emperor said coldly: "A thousand words, isn't he Li Shengjie unwilling to be adopted by the imperial court?" ”

Qiu Yizhi really couldn't figure out why Emperor Zheng Rong insisted on holding Li Shengjie's fleet in his hands, so he explained: "According to the minister's humble opinion, the Li family has a lot of prestige in the East, and it is indeed able to help the imperial court do something. Moreover, Japan has always coveted our Han Dynasty, and now it is better to let the Li family restrain it in its own name than to directly intervene in the imperial court. ”

"You know what?" Zheng Rong reprimanded, "Looking for your statement, Wei Chi Lianghong shouldn't go to the Criminal Department on an errand, wouldn't it be better to continue to be his martial arts alliance leader?" Your subordinate Zhao Chengxiao's guys, don't recruit An, or wouldn't it be better to fall into the grass on Funiu Mountain? 'If the name is not right, the word is not good; If you don't go well, you can't do anything; If nothing happens, then the etiquette is not happy; If the ritual is not happy, the punishment will not be successful; If the punishment is not successful, the people will be at a loss', these few sage quotations, how many times have you Mr. Zhongli taught you, and go back and read it. ”

The situation of Wei Chi Lianghong, Zhao Chengxiao, and others is different from that of Li Shengjie, so naturally they cannot be generalized.

Although Qiu Yizhi knows the truth of this, he also understands that arguing with the supreme emperor face to face is not arguing about who is right and who is wrong, but bent on seeking death.

Qiu Yizhi is not the kind of pedantic scholar who dares to risk his life for the sake of whether a sentence or word is correct or not, and after listening to the emperor's reprimand so seriously, he quickly apologized: "This is the minister's shallow thinking, and the minister will talk to Li Shengjie when he goes back." However, this matter cannot be forced, otherwise Li Shengjie will not be able to do things for the imperial court with peace of mind. If the minister can't persuade Li Shengjie, it's okay for the emperor to send others there. ”

Zheng Rong still seemed to be a little dissatisfied with such an answer, only nodded, and then asked again: "Li Shengjie is your sworn brother, and you can't persuade him." What about Uncle Lin who I want to take into my sleeve? I'm afraid it's even harder to convince, right? ”

"Well, when you talk about the aftermath of the Lingnan Wangfu Rebellion, how can you talk about Li Shengjie and Lin Shuhan?" Qiu Yizhi was a little suspicious, but it was not the first time that the emperor had been moody with himself since he went south.

Therefore, Qiu Yizhi could only reply tremblingly: "The minister has also talked to Lin Shuhan about this matter. He said that he was a person who was idle and wild, and he was overwhelmed, so he was unwilling to enter the court as an official. ”

"What do you mean?" Zheng Rong asked coldly.

Qiu Yi subconsciously waved his sleeves and wiped the sweat on his forehead, and replied: "Lin Shuhan is indeed a great talent, and it is a pity that the pearl is dusty. Minister's opinion...... If it is forcibly promoted, it is not impossible to force him to serve the imperial court. This is what it does, which does not seem to be in line with the style of the imperial court. I remember that the next scientific examination will be next year, and Lin Shuhan still has a reputation for raising people, so it is better to let him participate in the imperial examination, and then be appointed by the emperor as the champion and the first, and it will be justified when the appointment is made. ”

This approach can be regarded as very appropriate, but unexpectedly, Zheng Rong asked again: "Is this Lin Shuhan really the number one talent in the world?" Is the champion stable his? Even if this is the case, if this Lin Shuhan deliberately wrote some nonsense in the volume of the imperial examination, would I also name him as the champion? The champion scroll is to be announced to the world, and when the time comes, it is a trivial matter for me to lose face, and the scholars of the world say that the court does not know how to write good articles, who will be willing to take the exam in the future? ”

"This ...... This one...... Lin Shuhan is afraid that he is not the kind of person who doesn't understand the general situation, right? Qiu Yizhi was a little anxious when he was asked, and quickly peeked at the master Zhong Likuang beside him, and saw that his two eyes were calm like a pool of bottomless water, but he didn't know what he was thinking in his heart.

But I heard Emperor Zheng Rong say again: "Yizhi, are you thinking in your heart, how can the old man of the emperor hold Li Shengjie and Lin Shuhan today?" Are you deliberately embarrassing yourself? ”

These two sentences really reached Qiu Yizhi's heart, which made the tears in his eyes burst out, but he still had to lie in his mouth: "The minister doesn't dare...... The minister didn't dare to ......"

The emperor did not answer Qiu Yizhi's words, and continued: "Whether it is a battlefield confrontation or governing the country, the most important thing is talent. Then Zheng Gui lost and lost in Lingnan Province, and the talents withered. That's why I'm going to recruit talent on a big scale. Xu Rong, Zheng Tinghang, and Huang Wangang, the three people you talked to me before, I all issued a holy decree a few days ago, and they were appointed as important positions, you all know it, right? ”

Although Qiu Yizhi has not been a saint for a long time before today, he has many acquaintances in the court, and he is also a little well-informed, and he has heard of these two wills.

Zheng Rong said again: "Look, the two people you protected, I didn't hesitate to use them, Li Shengjie and Lin Shuhan, why can't you take care of me?" ”

This is even more strange, what is the relationship between the promotion of Xu Rong, Zheng Tinghang, and Huang Wangang and the enveloping of Li Shengjie and Lin Shuhan? Wouldn't it be possible to use Li Shengjie and Lin Shuhan to allow them to be promoted? Although these three were recommended by themselves, they were employed by the imperial court, do they really have such a big relationship with themselves?

Qiu Yi was puzzled in her heart, and could only say: "Most of the talented people in the world have a strange and withdrawn temper. Li Shengjie is still an arrogant young man, and Lin Shuhan is even more crazy. It is indeed not easy for such people to persuade them to come out and do things, but as long as they devote themselves to serving the imperial court, they must be talents who are in charge of their own affairs. ”

"Eccentric and withdrawn? I don't think so, right? Last month, you invited Liu Qing, Li Shengjie, Lin Shuhan, Zhao Chengxiao, Wei Chi Lianghong, and Zhou Cijing's surnamed He to have dinner in the 'Garden Outside Building'. This meal was eaten from noon to evening, and they all returned with fun, so why can't you see the eccentric and withdrawn temper? What have you discussed in the restaurant for such a long time, can you tell me about it? Zheng Rong said.