The eight eunuchs trembled, thinking that they had made some mistakes, and knelt down together to please, Tian Guifei knew that they had misunderstood, and said with a smile: "It's nothing wrong with you, I want to taste what it feels like for a woman to carry a sedan chair today, you guys go!" ”

Wang Ruifen sent the eight eunuchs away, and quickly selected eight palace maids who were used to doing rough work, and carried the warm sedan chair to the Qianqing Palace. Out of the left door of Guangsheng, just into the east street, it attracted countless surprised eyes, since ancient times no one has ever seen a woman with small feet carrying a sedan chair, the palace guards, eunuchs, palace maids turned their heads to ear, chirping, watching the eight palace maids dance like a general walk, the fragrance is pervasive, for a long time, there are a few bold to follow out of the distance.

Chongzhen received an excerpt from Xiong Wencan, the governor of Fujian, and exterminated the pirates Li Kuiqi and Liu Xianglao, thinking of Wang Jiazhen, who took over as the prime minister of Lu Xiangsheng's military affairs in Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Huguang, and Sichuan. He wanted to use Xiong Wencan to replace him, summon Yang Sichang, a scholar of Dongge University, into the palace and give him a seat. In July of the ninth year, the Beijing division was soldiered, and the left servant of the army department was looking for the official and the right to the imperial history, and the prime minister of Henan, Huguang, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Jiangbei military affairs, and the thief on behalf of Lu Xiangsheng. Chen Biqian, the governor of Henan, will be ordered to do both. The governor will suppress the thief Ma Jinzhong is equal to Nanyang, and the repatriation troops will save Xiangyang, and the battle will be great. In the winter, the family made noise and burned the west gate. Jiazhen returned from abroad at night, gave a condolence reward, and sent it to Nanyang to ask for Tukou Yang Si. Yang Si, the thief of the dancing yang drama. At the beginning, the fourth and his party Guo Sanhai, Hou Yumin, etc. surrendered to Biqian, and then rebelled, so Jiazhen was sent. Later, Nanyang Tongzhi Wannian Policy and Tang Kaiyuan, the supervisor and discipline promoter, the generals Zuo Liangyu and Mou Wenshou broke four in a row, and the four were burned to death, and their party was also captured by the generals.

Yang Sichang said: "Xiong Wencan is a thirty-five year jinshi of Wanli, has been an official in Fujian for ten years, promoted from the governor to the governor of Liangguang, quite a lot of political achievements, recruited Zheng Zhilong, and now killed Li Kuiqi and Liu Xianglao, the trouble of Fujian Haikou has finally been removed, and the people live and work in peace and contentment, which shows his talent." But if he wants to be safe, the emperor can order someone to go to Guangzhou to test him. ”

"Hmmm! I also have this meaning, I know people and do things! Besides, the military affairs of the five provinces of the premier need capable talents, and they must not delay Hong Chengchou and cannot respond to coordination. ”

"The emperor is wise to see that the minister has been thinking about the strategy of suppressing thieves for the past few days, and he has a rough eyebrow."

Chongzhen smiled and said, "Let's listen to it." ”

Yang Sichang coughed lightly and said, "The minister thought that he had been suppressing thieves for many years and had repeatedly suppressed them, but in fact, he had taken advantage of the thieves. Since ancient times, thieves have made a living by looting, wandering around, and have no fixed place, so they must work together to encircle and suppress them, each guarding its own place, and waiting for the battle, so that the thieves are restrained everywhere, such as a vicious dog, there are four people around with sticks to besiege and kill, there are people who go east to beat with sticks, and there are people who flee west, and the same is true for the north and south, then the evil dogs are bound to have nowhere to hide, and there is no way to escape. The minister took a name for this strategy, called the four-positive six-corner ten-sided net. ”

Chongzhen nodded and said, "Four, six, ten-sided nets? It's a good name, it's bold! ”

Yang Sichang was praised by Chongzhen, his eyes were scorching, and he explained: "Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Fengyang are the areas with the most frequent activities of thieves. With Yansui, Shanxi, Shandong, Yingtian, Jiangxi, and Sichuan as the six corners, six governors can be sent to divide the defense and assist in suppression. The four corners and six corners are combined into a ten-sided net, and the two ministers of the three governors and the military prime ministers of the five provinces can be ordered to command in a unified manner, and the soldiers of the four corners can follow the thieves and kill them full-time, and the soldiers in the six corners of the land only need to hold on, and the thieves will naturally have nowhere to go. ”

"Good!" Chongzhen applauded: "This strategy is really clever, if you still go your own way and don't take each other, you will still be tired of running for the thieves, and you won't see the shadow of the thieves. Greeting "give tea", Yang Sichang got up and thanked him.

Chongzhen took a sip of hot tea and said, "However, Xiong Wencan is intent on appeasing Liangguang, and I am worried that the rogue is cunning and the thief is difficult to change, and once he eases up, he will make trouble again." ”

Yang Sichang never forgot the past when his father Yang He failed to deal with the situation and was convicted and killed, and every time he thought about it, he was heartbroken, he expected that the emperor would ask this question sooner or later, and he was prepared. Although Xiong Wencan had the merit of pacifying the pirates, he didn't seem to have the means of Hong Chengchou and Sun Guoting to use troops to see what he did, and replied: "Recruiting can be a strategy to delay the army, and you can take advantage of this gap to quit the soldiers and reorganize the armor to facilitate the re-fighting." ”

"It's very true. I have been thinking about waiting until the end of the Shaanxi military affairs, and transfer the governor of Hong Chengchou Ji Liao to confront the Dongyu and barrier Gyeonggi, so that the Dongyu will not dare to herd horses in the pass at will. ”

"If there is civil strife, if you have your hands free, you can make a big attack on the eastern captives."

"You go back and recommend a few competent candidates to take over as the governor of the ten places, and the post of prime minister still depends on whether Xiong Wencan is competent." Such a big move involves a lot of soldiers and horses, Chongzhen still wanted to discuss the salary, but Ma Yuancheng came in and said: "Tian Niangniang asks to see, the warm sedan chair has arrived at His Royal Highness Jiaotai." ”

Yang Sichang hurriedly resigned and returned to the cabinet duty. Chongzhen has not seen Tian Guifei for a few days, now that the major events in Shaanxi have been decided, he suddenly felt extremely relaxed, stepped out of the warm pavilion, and moved a few hands and feet at the palace gate, Tian Guifei's warm sedan chair slowly arrived, and saw that the sedan chair was actually a palace maid, he knew that Tian Guifei was very intelligent, and some things were often unexpected. ”

"What's new, it's still the same. If you want to talk about novelty, it is that the emperor has not gone for a few days, and he feels fresh. ”

Chongzhen listened to her words with a lot of resentment, shook her hand and said, "Isn't it a novelty to replace the sedan chair with a palace maid?" ”

"The emperor has been busy with state affairs for a while, how did he know that the eunuchs were unbridled, the little eunuchs in the Kunning Palace were actually adulterous palace maids, and the concubines were so angry that they couldn't do it, and they were afraid that the eunuchs in the Chengqian Palace would also learn badly, so they had to get rid of them, stay away from these bastard things, and they were not allowed to mingle with the palace maids."

Chongzhen Waner said: "Since the Han Dynasty, food in the palace has become a trend in the past dynasties, and the "Palace Ci" of the Sui and Tang dynasties said: Don't blame the palace people for praising the food, and most of the clothes are like Yuanlang. In the so-called palace, resentment and boredom are quenched to quench thirst, so this decision is made. The great grandfather once strictly ordered the ban, and the eunuchs who married wives and started a family were punished by skinning. After Yongle Ye, it was abolished again, and the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace couldn't help but come and go. Years of accumulation, no fuss. ”

"If they go back to their respective houses, it's nothing, the ancestors are merciful, and the emperor is not too strict. But now these minions are arrogant, and they are doing things in the dark room of Kunning Palace, and they have been shown to the eldest brother, and the emperor is afraid that he will not know it! ”

"What, it's in the duty room...... These goddamn idiots! In broad daylight, how dare you do this! Didn't the queen punish them? ”

Tian Guifei sneered: "It's punished, the eunuch Liu An went to Nanhaizi to grow vegetables, and the palace maid Liu Qingfen went to the Dagao Xuandian to be a Taoist aunt." ”

"Isn't Liu An the chief eunuch of Kunning Palace? How can you take the lead in doing such things? ”

"The concubines don't dare to guess, I'm afraid it's become a trend!"

"Let's go, I'll go to Kunning Palace and have a look!"

"The concubine should go back to the palace and wait for the emperor!"

"Well, I'll go alone, so that I won't have any tongue." Turning around, he shouted outward: "Xiao Chengzi, bring more people and follow me to Kunning Palace." ”

Chongzhen's warm sedan chair has been carried into the second gate of Kunning Palace, when Guozhen Shunmen, the eunuch guarding the door just wanted to shout the word "take over", he gave Ma Yuancheng to drink stopped, Chongzhen walked down from the warm sedan chair, Queen Zhou came out to kneel to welcome, Chongzhen looked at the many eunuchs and palace maids kneeling on the ground, without saying a word, and strode straight into Kunning Palace. Seeing that he was as cold as ice, Queen Zhou was at a loss for a while, so she got up and followed up. Chongzhen shouted: "Search carefully! ”

"What is the emperor looking for?" Empress Zhou smiled, she was confident that she had no handle in the emperor's hands, "It's not to find any puppets or spells!" Since the date of the emperor's ascension, there has been no entry and exit of any monks and witches in the palace.

"You don't have to defend yourself, you'll know the reason in a moment."

Sure enough, after a cup of tea, two eunuchs came in with a cloth bag, gently put it down and withdrew, Chongzhen smiled coldly and asked, "Queen, can you guess the contents of this cloth bag?" ”

Empress Zhou shook her head.

"I know that not only can't you guess, but you may not be able to recognize it when you show it." Chongzhen kicked the cloth bag over, and with a bang, rolled out of the cloth bag a mallet-shaped thing, of different sizes, some boxwood, some jade, some brass, some ceramic...... A variety of materials, everything you need.

Empress Zhou was surprised: "What is this, where did you find it out?" ”

"What do you look like? They were all searched from the hidden places around the Kunning Palace. ”

Empress Zhou looked at it carefully for a moment, blushed and said, "How can there be such pickled things in Kunning Palace?" ”

Chongzhen said with a cold face: "How can I know? ”

Empress Zhou looked at it carefully for a moment, blushed and said: "The concubine knows that she is wrong, she did not manage the harem well, and she added chaos to the emperor...... Her tone was astringent, and she couldn't help but say: "The emperor is anxious about state affairs all day long, and the concubines can't worry about the pope, really, really...... Please punish the emperor. ”

Chongzhen looked at her sad appearance, his heart softened, and he sighed: "Those who don't know are not guilty, I don't blame you, it's Hong'er who is worried." I have not had the eldest son of the queen in the Ming Dynasty for a hundred years, although he is young, as the prince is the son of heaven in the future, he can't be instigated by others, such as the emperor of the previous dynasty is as lascivious as the emperor, and the Ming Dynasty is not a successor? I have high hopes for him! ”

"The concubine will take care of it."

"Don't blame yourself, you don't want to do such a thing. But you shouldn't hide it from me. The so-called raising is not taught, the fault of the father, although I chose a famous Confucian Su to learn to be a master for Hong'er, but after all, the masters have saved the distinction between the monarch and the minister, and they dare not make a mistake, I can't let go! ”

"Which one played the emperor, and the concubines are confident and have the heart to change......"

"You may not have the capacity to tolerate people, you shouldn't ask that." Chongzhen got up and said, "Okay, don't dwell on this matter, you really have to go to see the excerpts." After Wen Tiren left, Zhang Zhifa took over the first assistant, and the shrewdness and ability were too far apart, and I had to pay more attention. ”

"Isn't Mr. Yang a great talent who has seen and practiced?"

"I've entrusted him with the affairs of the military department, it's enough for him to be busy, and I don't want to distract him." Chongzhen looked at the gloomy sky, and saw that it was about to snow.

In the wax moon, it snowed several times one after another. In the middle of winter, Beijing after the snow is extremely cold. The eleventh year of Chongzhen has arrived,

On the first day of the first month, Emperor Chongzhen worshiped his ancestors with Queen Zhou in the Fengxian Palace, according to the conventions of longevity, New Year's Day, and the winter solstice, the Son of Heaven should accept the congratulations of the civil and military officials in the Emperor's Palace, and then give a banquet to the clan and ministers here, in order to show farewell to the old and welcome the new, and the world is happy. Empress Zhou came out of the Fengxian Palace and returned to Kunning Palace to wait for the palace relatives to congratulate. The first person to come to Kunning Palace was always Concubine Tian, firstly, her Chengqian Palace was not far from here, and secondly, the palace dependents had an order in their hearts, and they did not dare to run in front of her. Tian Guifei sat on a small chariot and entered the Zhenshun Gate, the Kunning Palace was brightly lit at the moment, the eunuchs burned incense and set off firecrackers, and the palace dependents wearing gourd Jing Buzi and python clothes covered their ears and watched from afar. Wu Wanrong, the housekeeper of Kunning Palace, greeted her with a smile and said with a smile: "Niangniang, the slave maid will go and say goodbye." ”

Tian Guifei waved her hand and said, "What is it?" It's not my first time here, I know the way, you can go and get busy! ”

Wu Wanrong hurriedly said, "How dare the slave snub the mother? Keep in mind the rules of the palace and the number of respects and humilities! Rushing into the palace gate, Tian Guifei heard the word "etiquette", couldn't help but be shocked, when the footsteps slowed down, turning back often on the top of the palace with a thick layer of snow, at this time there was snow in the air, she stretched out her palm, caught a fluttering snowflake, the snowflake turned into water, the palm of the hand was cold, along the wrist straight to the heart, she hurriedly retracted her hand into the leather robe. Wu Wanrong had already trotted out, and said with a smile: "Niangniang, the queen is changing her crown clothes, and it will take a while!" Said please Niangniang and so on. The slave and maid are out of company, and they have to wait inside. With that, he turned and trotted in. Tian Guifei just sent Wang Ruifen and a few people to wait outside the Zhenshun Gate, but now she had to stand alone.

The snow became heavier and heavier, and the wind picked up again, whirling the flakes of snow on the ground and rushing in the face. Tian Guifei tightened the silver fox and walked into the eaves of the porch to avoid the wind and snow, it had passed a cup of tea, and she didn't see Wu Wanrong come out, she endured the unhappiness in her heart, listening to the sound of firecrackers from all over the distance, sometimes urgent, sometimes sparse, the feet were already cold, and after stomping a few times, it was numb, cuffs, back of the neck, and trouser legs...... The cold wind blew from everywhere, penetrating the bone marrow, and the body couldn't help but tremble, thinking about returning to the warm sedan chair to avoid the cold, but I was afraid to show people such an embarrassed look, and waited for it, it was really unbearable cold, and when I was in a dilemma, the eunuch guarding the door outside the Zhenshun door shouted: "Yikun Palace Yuan Niangniang drove to the ----"

"Please!" Empress Zhou's voice came from the hall, and Tian Guifei felt cold in her heart when she heard it, and her tears almost couldn't help but flow.

Wu Wanrong ran out, completely forgetting about Tian Guifei, who was shivering from the cold under the eaves, until outside the Zhenshun door, and won Yuan Guifei in. Yuan Guifei wore a scarlet coat, entered the door with a spring breeze on her face, and saw Tian Guifei with a blue and white color under the eaves of the corridor at a glance, stepped forward to give a salute, and said in surprise: "Haven't you seen the queen yet?" ”

"The emperor, the queen is here, and ...... changing the crown clothes" Tian Guifei, who is usually sharp and smiling, was so cold that she couldn't say complete words at this time.

Yuan Guifei only gave birth to two daughters, and she has never been able to give birth to a son, knowing that the emperor favors Tian Guifei the most, and the ranking of Yikun Palace is behind Chengqian Palace, how can she dare to arrogantly compete for power? Hurriedly said: "How dare I grab in front of my sister, let's go in first!" Tian Guifei agreed, and the two entered the Dongnuan Pavilion one after the other.

The red charcoal in the brazier of the East Warm Pavilion is burning vigorously, bubbling with blue flames. Tian Guifei only felt a heat wave on her face, as if she was a little burning, leaned down and bowed, but her legs and feet were numb and stiff, she stumbled, almost fell, and slowly gave a big salute, Queen Zhou said indifferently: "You and I are sisters, you don't have to be like this." Hurry up and bake the fire. His eyes were on Yuan Guifei.

Yuan Guifei was kind-hearted by nature, and Xun Xie said: "I just came out of the warm sedan chair, and there is not much wind and snow, but Sister Tian's face is so cold that her face is blue." Said that Tian Guifei was sour for a while, and secretly resented.

Queen Zhou was furious and scolded Wu Wanrong: "You slave, you are so bold!" How do you teach my sister Tian to be cold outside? ”

Wu Wanrong was stunned for a moment, and blurted out: "Fang Cai Niangniang is not changing clothes......

Empress Zhou said sharply: "Nonsense! When did you see me change? Didn't you wear this outfit a long time ago? ”

"This ......" Wu Wanrong was so smart and clever, and knelt down and said, "It's the slave who forgot." ”

"Forgot? You have been with me for many years, and you have experienced a lot of large and small careers, and you have never made any mistakes, you are clearly looking for excuses, dragging it down, and slapping your mouth for twenty! ”

"Mother's ......"

"Don't quibble, drag it out!"

Yuan Guifei glanced at Tian Guifei, quietly pulled the corner of her clothes, and pleaded: "Niangniang, this is a big New Year, don't be angry, these minions have made mistakes, and they will be punished after the New Year." ”

Queen Zhou pulled her face and said, "Then how can it be done!" Sister Tian is spoiled by the emperor, she is a slave who dares not to take it to heart, what kind of errand! If she doesn't punish her again at this time, how can she remember it for a long time? Call me! ”

Yuan Guifei pulled the corner of Tian Guifei's clothes again, Tian Guifei's cold body was excited by the heat in the pavilion, it had warmed up, her whole body was numb and itchy, and she couldn't say uncomfortable, she knew Yuan Guifei's thoughts, and wanted to do her own personal favor, since the matter was caused by herself, if she pleaded leniently, Queen Zhou would naturally not pursue it, but thinking of the wind and snow outside, the resentment in her heart could not be eliminated, she sneered and said: "Who dares to disobey the queen's decree?" Besides, Wu Wanrong is a person from Kunning Palace, and Kunning Palace is the head of the six palaces, and he has his own law to dispose of it, how can others influence it? If I have the heart of a bodhisattva, blindly plead with a soft heart, and don't say anything about the rules of the palace, it seems that the queen is not merciful, and this thing must not be done! ”

This was a big surprise, not only Concubine Yuan, but also Queen Zhou were a little stunned for a while, and the silence in Kunning Palace was as if there was no one. Wu Wanrong is so smart and clever, seeing that Queen Zhou is embarrassed and speechless, she kowtows and says: "It's all slaves and maids who are blind, no, they are dizzy, and they actually forgot Tian Niangniang outside, even if the queen doesn't punish them, the slaves can't let go of themselves, and the slaves and maids should die!" As he spoke, he slapped his mouth more than a dozen times in succession, beating a pink face red and swollen, and a trace of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, Wu Wanrong couldn't stop his hand.

Yuan Guifei's face turned red and white, and she caught a glimpse of Queen Zhou's body trembling, and silently looked at Wu Wanrong slapping her mouth again and again, and said in a sullen voice: "You can't do anything, Lord Tian Niangniang has a lot, just don't care about you, and teach how to be cautious on errands, go over and thank you!" ”

"No need, I'll come back next time, if I still catch up with such a snowy weather, just teach me to suffer less sin, these vains don't have to be formal. Fortunately, I still know the etiquette, although I am cold and cold, the queen is not rude here, my heart is also warm, and my body is colder and go back to the fire. Tian Guifei said goodbye.

Empress Zhou watched her walk towards the palace gate, turned her head to Yuan Guifei and smiled: "This cold day, I want you to come here, I can't bear it, sit down and roast the fire." I instructed the imperial dining room to add a few good dishes, and use the horse tag of Xingong to have fun. ”

"What's so bothering? I taught them to go back and prepare some flat food. Yuan Guifei felt a little uneasy in her heart.

Empress Zhou nodded and said: "How did I forget that the flat food of Liu Gongren is the first delicacy in the world, and the emperor has praised it several times." ”

Tian Guifei, who was stepping out of the palace gate, listened to the noisy laughter behind her, her warm body seemed to be a little cold, and a burst of distress quietly struck, and tears couldn't help but fall......