The news that Li Jiqing, the right attendant of the military department, was hanged outside the Chongwenmen camp was like a gust of wind blowing through Shenjing, and the matter suddenly caused a sensation in the whole city and became a hot topic after tea and dinner among the common people.

Just when the people of Shenjing were eating melons, the eyes of the officials all looked at the imperial city, and they all heard about Dai Quan being removed from all positions by the emperor and working in the noon gate.

What worries the cabinet and the six ministries the most is the East Factory, which has been held by Dai Quan for decades, will he hand it over easily? Are there still those disciples who wear power, are they willing to give up? But the actual situation was unexpected, Dongchang Fanzi did not react, Dong Shan successfully took over the position of the eunuch in charge of the seal, and Dongchang was unusually calm and did not have any commotion.

And Zhu Qinde, the emperor to whom Dai Quan was directly loyal, did not react, and many people speculated that it was very likely that the emperor had reached some kind of agreement with the present day.

There was heavy snow outside the window, and the doors and windows were open.

In the study, Li Jiqing, the Marquis of Jinxiang, stood by the brazier with his hair scattered, his face was red by the firelight, but the light reflected in his two eyes was cold.

A cold wind swept into the room with a few snowflakes, and the cold wind blew the cotton coat on Li Jiqing's body to float back.

After a long time, Li Jiqing threw the letter in his hand into the brazier, and with a sound of Peng, the fire broke out, and the letter burned!

Seeing this, the butler withdrew slightly.

"Come here." Li Jiqing had already discovered him.

The butler had no choice but to stop and walk over with bated breath.

Li Jiqing was still staring at the fire: "What's the matter?" ”

Butler: "Return, if the lord is there, someone from the military department will invite the lord to go to the office." ”

Li Jiqing didn't seem to hear what he said at all: "Go ahead." ”

Butler: "May I ask my lord, if the people from the military department come to urge again, how will the villain reply?" ”

Li Jiqing still stared at the fire: "Just say I'm dead." ”

The housekeeper was stunned, "..... Master. ”

"Get out!" Li Jiqing finally got angry.

The housekeeper hurriedly retreated, glanced at Li Jiqing from a distance, sighed, and turned around and walked to the front yard.

Li Jiqing was still in that posture, facing the brazier, standing there distracted.

I don't know how long it took, the housekeeper walked in again and said in a low voice: "Master, Lord Jia Yucun, the left attendant of the household department, is here." ”

Li Jiqing seemed to move, but he was still standing there.

Butler: "Old man....."

"Please come in." Li Jiqing's gaze moved from the brazier to him.

"Yes." The butler hurriedly withdrew.

After a while, the housekeeper invited Jia Yucun in, Jia Yucun took off the big hat, and the little servant of the Hou Mansion took it over, raised his feet and walked into the study.

At this time, Li Jiqing was already sitting in front of the book, the windows were closed, and the study was much warmer.

Without the etiquette of warm greetings and greetings, Jia Yucun walked straight to the chair under the window and sat down.

The housekeeper gave a bowl of hot tea to Li Jiqing, turned around and poured another bowl of hot tea for Jia Yucun.

"Let's get out." Li Jiqing spoke, "Close the door." ”

"Yes." The butler walked out.

Listening to the sound of the door closing, Li Jiqing slowly raised his head and looked at Jia Yucun, a kind smile appeared on his face.

Jia Yucun was stunned for a moment, and suddenly had a realization that Li Jiqing already knew the purpose of his coming.

"Your Majesty said that after the year, the national abbot will join the cabinet, and you will be the left squire of the military department."

Li Jiqing shook his head and sighed: "No need, I have already decided to resign and return to Jinling." ”

"Are you really willing to resign?" There was a mocking smile in Jia Yucun's eyes.

Li Jiqing smiled and said, "Why not! Marquis Zhongwu promised to take care of Li Gui, so why should I take the risk? ”

"And what is the oath you made in the Heart Cultivation Temple?" Jia Yucun asked reluctantly.

"Don't talk about that."

Li Jiqing waved his hand and said with a smile: "Since I promised Your Majesty, I will definitely do it according to the oath, let's talk about you!" Why don't you go to the Jia family? ”

Li Jiqing's last sentence knocked heavily on Jia Yucun's heart, this is the purpose of his coming to Li Jiqing, the emperor let himself rescue those Beizhen Fusi secret spies who were imprisoned in the Chongwenmen camp, and he didn't want to beg Jia Zheng, let alone crash into Jia Yu's hands, Li Jiqing had seen through the dilemma he was facing.

Since being beaten by Jia Zheng last time, Jia Yucun has carefully sorted out his current situation, and found that once he can't get support from the Jia family, he will be abandoned by the emperor, so he wants to run errands for the emperor to see if he can develop his own network and let the emperor see his value.

Li Jiqing was the first target he tried, thinking of this, he said in a deep voice: "I won't tell you, Your Majesty has become wary of the military in his heart, especially the Duke of Qi dared to confiscate the gold medal of the Emperor Taishang's troop transfer, which is a contempt for the imperial power!" No emperor can tolerate it.

Now that almost all of the most elite soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty are in the hands of the four kings and eight dukes, after this farce is over, His Majesty will definitely find a way to mix sand in the military and divide their military power. At the very least, the soldiers and horses of Gyeonggi and Jiubian cannot be in the hands of one force. ”

Li Jiqing took a sip of the tea bowl and said, "They are always more reliable than the Hu people!" ”

This one made Jia Yucun stunned, and he didn't know how to talk.

'Those who are not of my race will have different hearts!' This is a great truth, an irrefutable great truth.

Jia Yucun bowed his head and was silent, which was also the reason why the emperor did not dare to put this matter on the surface, but he also knew that if the imperial court wanted to completely control the Mobei grassland in its hands, it was not enough to just count on power and cultural transformation, but also to let the grassland people have a sense of belonging to the Ming Dynasty, which required the Ming Dynasty to recognize them and give them fair treatment.

Jia Yucun took a sip of tea and cleared his throat: "Now is not the time to argue. You must also know that once the royal family becomes suspicious of the military, there will only be two possibilities: one is to support the civilian clique to suppress the military. Another is to raise the butcher's knife and purge the honorable military. Either way it's not what you and I want to see, so it's up to you and me to work hard. ”

"Oh?"

Li Jiqing smiled, "I don't know if Jia Shilang still has this ability?" I don't have the ability to do that anyway! ”

Jia Yucun was not angry, and then said: "No matter which one it is, Your Majesty needs to change the military department and keep the military department in your hands, which will definitely attract the resistance of the military department, and at this time you need a person who can be accepted by both parties, just like Lin Ruhai, the governor of Yingtian, so we must strive to become such a person, not only to mediate the contradictions between the two sides, but also to obtain more rights, and no longer need to rely on others." ”

Li Jiqing glanced at Jia Yucun with a complicated expression, and at this time, he found that he couldn't see through this person.

Jia Yucun stood up, looked at Li Jiqing fixedly, and asked, "I wonder if there is still a correspondence between the Hou Ye and the Prince of Beijing?" ”

Li Jiqing was taken aback at first, and his face immediately turned ugly: "Talk about things, talk about things, what are you doing with all this uselessness!" ”

"I don't mean to offend Lord Hou, you also know that these families still have connections in the military, but they all keep a distance from Qi Guogong and them, we can draw them together in the name of His Majesty."

Li Jiqing's unhappiness disappeared, and then he was a little curious: "They have long stayed out of the matter, will they come to wade into this troubled water again?" ”

"This time, that time." Jia Yucun replied firmly, "They may not have been willing to do so before, but now they are different, and no one will refuse the rights that can be easily obtained, even if there is an abyss behind them." In a word, the right is charming! ”

"That's a good point." Li Jiqing immediately became wary, but remained silent, "What do you say we should do?" ”

Jia Yucun continued: "First use the connections in the hands of the Hou Ye to transfer those Beizhen Fusi secret spies who were detained in the Chongwenmen camp to the forbidden army prison, so that Your Majesty can see that without the Jia family, we are still valuable." ”

Li Jiqing was dumbfounded when he heard this, of course he understood what Jia Yucun meant, this is a smart person, but he is restricted by his vision, he doesn't know how powerful Jia Yu is in the military now, hehe, since he and the emperor have hearts, he will accompany them to make trouble, and he can't say that he can get some benefits before getting out.

Thinking of this, he smiled and said, "Okay, it's all up to your arrangement." ”

Jia Yucun never expected him to agree so readily, and gave Li Jiqing a deep bow: "Hou Ye is righteous!" ”

..........

Heavy snow is falling.

Outside the door of Daiyu's room, Jia Jue and Amber took off their big hats, and the mothers-in-law took them, and the two walked into the house.

Qingwen was sitting by the brazier embroidering, and there was a crackling sound of abacus from the abacus.

Qingwen raised her head, "The third master is here." ”

As he spoke, he hurriedly put down the needle and thread, "The girl is settling accounts in the middle." ”

Amber untied the cloak on Jia Jue's body, and Qingwen took off the cotton robe from the hanger, walked behind Jia Jue and served him to put it on, and then went around to the front to button him.

Jia Jue: "Are you making that sleeveless thick cotton robe?" ”

"The girl is done, I don't have time, I'll help fix it." As he spoke, he went around behind him and pulled it for Jia Jue.

The sound of abacus slowly thinned out, and Jia Jue lifted the curtain and walked in.

Daiyu sat in front of the book, where she was plucking beads with her left hand and calculating the accounts sent by the Chamber of Commerce with her right hand.

"You're here, sit down by yourself for a while, I still haven't finished a little yet."

Daiyu glanced at him and paused slightly.

Zijuan hurriedly turned around: "Third master." ”

Jia Jue pulled over a chair, sat down on the side, and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work!" ”

Daiyu glanced at Jia Jue with a smile, a bright smile appeared on her face, and the last page of accounts was finished, Zijuan put away the three account pages on the book and handed them to Jia Jue.

Jia Jue took it and quickly read the first bill, followed by the second and third bills.

"That, you're not mistaken?"

Jia Jue hesitated for a moment and asked.

Daiyu pouted and said angrily: "What do you say?!" ”

Jia Jue smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Sister, don't be angry, I didn't mean that." ”

Speaking of this, he asked strangely: "What's the matter with these 470,000 taels?" ”

Daiyu was stunned for a moment, and asked rhetorically, "You don't know?" ”

Jia Jue: "I, should I know?" ”

"Poof...."

Zijuan suddenly laughed, and Jia Jue glanced back at her, "What are you laughing at?" Come over and give me a thump on the shoulder. ”

Zijuan glanced at Daiyu aggrievedly, and had to walk over and beat him on the shoulder.

Daiyu pursed her lips and did not speak.

Jia Jue smiled and said to Daiyu: "Good sister, save me some face, tell me, how about it?" ”

Daiyu looked at him quietly, and after a while, she had to sigh: "Do you remember the second master of the Xue family?" ”

Jia Jue smiled: "What's wrong with him?" ”

"He went to Yangzhou, bought some salt in the name of the Jiajia Chamber of Commerce, and then resold it to Liaodong, and exchanged the salt for a large number of mountain ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum and deer antler velvet from the Jurchens, and sold these to the pharmacy ......"

"Wait."

Jia Jue's face sank: "What did you just say?" Who did he sell the salt to? ”

Daiyu: "Jurchens." ”

Jia Jue stood up suddenly, "He's too bold!" ”

Daiyu also stood up and pressed his hand: "Don't be angry, the imperial court did not explicitly prohibit doing business with the Jurchens, I have already asked Yun'er to tell him, there will be no next time." ”

Jia Jue hesitated for a moment, but had to sigh: "Alas, forget it, the Internal Affairs Government is making this money....."

Daiyu nodded, and then said: "The second master of the Xue family also said something, because the Liaodong Metropolitan Division continued to send troops into the mountains to encircle and suppress, many Jurchens fled to North Korea, and the Liaodong Army did not seem to have the intention of stopping it. ”

"This is a plan that the Ministry of War has long set." Jia Jue's face softened again, "The Ming Dynasty is leveling, you have to find something to do, otherwise the army will be abolished." You'll understand later. As he spoke, he went through the three bills again.

After reading these three bills, Jia Jue's heart is very calm, this is the feeling of having more money, it is like looking at a bunch of numbers, boring and boring.

He silently took stock of the assets, the Jiajia Chamber of Commerce, the scheduled shipping business, the mansion and manor grange in Jinling, and thousands of acres of high-quality paddy fields given to him by the king of Dongping County in Zhejiang, which are all big heads, and the others I can't remember, by the way, I also enclosed a piece of land at the foot of Hangai Mountain, which was specially used to herd sheep and cattle for myself.

I almost forgot that I still have a few coal yards.

After such calculations, half of the city can't compare to itself.

No need to struggle at all!

If this was in the previous life, not only did he achieve financial freedom, but he could also justifiably shout: I don't want to work hard. I can lie flat!

This life is as beautiful as it can be.

..........

The snow is falling heavier and heavier, the sky and the earth are silent, the snow and fog are boundless, and it is impossible to see the situation on the other side twenty paces away.

The officers and soldiers were wearing large-brimmed winter hats, carrying guns and knives from the city gate along the official road to the moat and standing upright in two columns in the flying snowflakes.

The people stood on both sides in astonishment.

Inside the doorway, Kong Qian and other officials came out in a line, neatly lined up outside the doorway, all wearing red cloaks.

The cold wind howled, rolling up clumps of snow flakes and hitting the faces of Kong Qian and the others, but they did not move, and there was silence in front of Guang'an Gate.

At this moment, the sound of horses' hooves and wheels of snow was heard. A lamp glowed dimly in the snow, drifting this way.

It was a carriage that stopped in front of Kong Qian and the others, and the old man who was driving the car dusted off the snow on his body, inserted a horsewhip, jumped down from the front of the car, and stood aside.

Then, under the suspicious eyes of the people, Kong Qian and other officials knelt down in unison.

Officials: "Students, wait to meet the teacher!" ”

..........

With a "snap", a blue and white tea bowl smashed on the ground, and fragments were scattered.

Chen Ruiwen walked angrily back and forth in the lobby of the military headquarters with his hands behind his back.

Niu Jizong sat on the chair and quietly looked at Chen Ruiwen who was scurrying back and forth.

Chen Ruiwen got angry and shouted loudly: "Wang Bin, this waste, he couldn't even find out about such a big thing!" Didn't he know why His Majesty had transferred him from Shanxi to Shandong? ”

Niu Jizong: "I can't complain about Wang Bin for this." ”

Chen Ruiwen: "He can't look at a person buried in the soil to his neck....."

Niu Jizong sighed, and then said: "Counting the time, Yan Shenggong got up and entered Beijing as early as mid-October. Along the way, there were so many state capitals and county governments, but none of them reported to ..... Hehe, there is no court in their eyes at all! ”

After a pause, "I'm afraid that this old thing will fight with us in the ring, and I can't fight or scold, it's not easy to do!" ”