After Chen Shangshu left, King Fujun walked out of the side room, saw the two distinct salts on the table in front of Emperor Zhengxi, and couldn't help but taste them separately. He tasted private salt first, and then official salt.

After the official salt entered his mouth, he said "bah" several times in a row, and said: "This official salt not only looks not as good as private salt, but also tastes astringent and bitter, and it is also more expensive than private salt." Complaining about private salt is rampant, as long as you are not stupid, you know which one to choose. ”

Emperor Zhengxi, who lowered his head and pondered, raised his head when he heard this, looked at King Fujun, and asked very calmly: "Why, you already knew about the existence of this private salt?" ”

Although Emperor Zhengxi's tone was flat and the content of the question was very ordinary, King Fujun still felt a sense of danger, subconsciously shrunk his neck, and said with a smile: "It's a joke, not to mention that I haven't divided the mansion yet, I live in the palace, and all the food and clothing are provided by the palace; Even if I divide the government, whether the things purchased in the house are from the government or private, I can't personally ask about it, as long as the things are bought and easy to use, where can I know about this private salt? ”

Emperor Zhengxi, who was originally a little angry, listened to his words, and his anger suddenly disappeared, and he sighed and said: "It's me who thinks about left, since I sat in this position, I have found that the people below have fooled me as a blind and deaf person. I thought that after I ascended the throne, you, like everyone else, began to deceive me. ”

King Fujun shook his head, "I don't have the heart to do this, and I don't have the guts." I have been following you since I was a child, and I know that Sixth Brother is the master who does not rub sand in your eyes, and I dare not do this if I lend me one hundred and twenty guts. ”

With a sigh, Emperor Zhengxi turned the topic to business: "Okay, I'll get down to business, I plan to let you go to Jiangnan and help me check the situation of Jiangnan's taxes," pointing to the salt on the table, "Now that there is another matter, this salt tax will also be checked." ”

Hearing this, King Fujun jumped up as if he had been stung by a scorpion, and his hands were shaking and about to ghost, "Sixth brother, even if you want me to help you, you can also give me some time, and let me do it little by little from easy to difficult." I've never been on an errand, and I can't do such a difficult job when you come up. Although I didn't ask about political affairs before, I also knew that the whole of Jiangnan was responsible for two-thirds of my Daqin's expenses. If I mess up, I won't be able to give an account of even the title of the king of the county. ”

Emperor Zhengxi smiled disappreciatively: "Don't worry, didn't I say it, I will stand behind you, so you can do it with confidence." ”

King Fujun continued to excuse himself: "Your Majesty, it's really not that I don't want to, but I know where I am." If you ask me to go to the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Households, or the Ministry of Industry, to settle accounts, do some work on measurement, and give a head officer a hand, there will be no problem. But as soon as you came up, you asked me to investigate the tax payment in Jiangnan, which is equivalent to pressing the position of 'Ji Xiang' on my head, this is the second-in-command of the imperial court, I can't even be a chief official, and your seedling pulling is too powerful. ”

Seeing his attitude, Emperor Zhengxi simply gave him the answer: "Don't worry, this time you go to Jiangnan, on the surface, it is mainly you, but in fact, there is someone else in charge of this matter, you just need to assist from the side." ”

When King Fujun heard this, he let out a long breath, and suddenly felt relieved, and said with a smile: "Then sixth brother, can I ask who this person hiding behind me is?" ”

"It's me."

"Oh, it turned out to be six," King Fukujun reacted, and wanted to speak, but suddenly choked on saliva, because he coughed for a long time, and tears came out of his eyes.

The waiter who was waiting on the side hurriedly brought him tea, he didn't even bother to drink the tea, pushed the hand handed over by the waiter to the side, looked at Emperor Zhengxi, and asked hopefully: "Your Majesty, I heard it wrong just now, right?" ”

"You haven't heard of it, it's me."

"Sixth brother, if you want to go down to Jiangnan, why do you sneak with me, you can be like your father, ...... open-minded"

"I want to look at the actual situation in Jiangnan, not the prosperous atmosphere made up by those local officials."

"However, you are the emperor, you left the Manchu Dynasty civil and military, and you went down to Jiangnan with me so secretly, what should I do with the court? I'm afraid it's not so easy to hide? Also, you also said that the third brother and the fifth brother are restless, if they know that you are out of Beijing, they don't know what they will do? At that time, if something happens, how will you let me explain to my father, the emperor, the queen's sister-in-law, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty? King Fujun felt that if this was the case, it would be better for him to go to Jiangnan alone.

Emperor Zhengxi said with a solemn face: "I hope that the third brother and the fifth brother will do it, if they have been so dormant and immovable, they just stumble on the court, and because of my father, I will really not be able to deal with them." As for the affairs of the court, you don't need to worry about it, I will arrange it before I go to Jiangnan with you. As for whether you can hide it or not, that's my business, and you don't have to worry about it. ”

King Fujun sighed helplessly: "Sixth brother, you really don't have a backache when you say this, you don't have to worry about it, and I don't have to worry about it, but you are the emperor and the king of a country, if you follow me out, if there is a case, I will die without redemption." ”

"Alright, that's it. Although I said that I would go to Jiangnan, I haven't gone yet, and when I have arranged everything here, I will send someone to tell you the itinerary. Emperor Zhengxi didn't care about King Fujun's embarrassment, waved his hand, made a final decision, took out a fold from the table and handed it to him, "Before you go to Jiangnan, give me this fold first." ”

"What excerpt?" King Fujun took it, looked at it, and when he saw that it was written on the proposal to abolish the "Guilty Silver", his face changed suddenly, he only felt bitter in his mouth, looked up at Emperor Zhengxi, and complained: "Your Majesty, you are putting your brother on the fire to roast." ”

This discussion of the guilty silver was a policy introduced by the emperor in his later years. If an official commits a crime, he doesn't have to worry about losing his black hat, let alone worrying about losing his head, as long as he pays a full amount of money, he can continue to be an official.

This measure is even more powerful than selling official beards, because the official titles and titles of the imperial court are numerous, therefore, most of the officials bought from selling official beards are fictitious, there is no real shortage, no money, just a good name; As for the title, it is impossible to sell the real high-level title, so what is sold is only the middle and low-level titles, this thing is just a title, even if the businessman buys it, although he can enjoy the same treatment as Xiucai, he does not kneel when he sees the official, but the businessman who has the ability to spend money to buy such a title basically has the capital to be able to deal with officials, such as the Xue family. Therefore, it is not necessary for them to buy this title or not.

But the existence of the guilty silver is different, as long as it is a person, there is no time to make mistakes, not to mention, as an official, even if he is as honest as Shui and Hai Rui, he has not been demoted to an official, so with this guilty silver, it means that this official can always go down. Most of the officials who can use the money to redeem their guilt are corrupt officials, so it is conceivable that after the officials pay the money, they will definitely try their best to snatch it back from the people with profits.

The queen also realized this, so although the existence of the guilty silver was not canceled later, there were certain restrictions, such as Jia Yucun's dismissal, because he had no backers, no connections, and offended his colleagues and superiors, otherwise, as long as he made the guilty silver, he would not lose his official position.

King Fujun was still dying: "Your Majesty, what did you say before that you didn't change your father's way for three years, and now that your father is still here, you will abolish this guilty silver, I'm afraid my father will be unhappy, right?" ”

Zhengxi smiled: "Don't worry, my father is not confused, in fact, he has realized the disadvantages of this guilty silver later, but at that time, he wanted to depose, there was no good reason, after all, he had rewarded the official who made this suggestion before, and it was very favorable; In addition, the court was indeed short of money, so he did not abolish this policy at that juncture. Now that the country is in my hands, and the courtier who made the suggestion offended his father not long ago, and has been driven back to his hometown by his father, I went to discuss this matter with him before, and he considered the overall situation and did not object. ”

King Fujun sighed when he heard this, "That's it, it's okay." I'll take the whole fold back and copy it again, and then when it's time for the pilgrimage, I'll take the fold. ”