There was a crisp sound, and Zuo Yi raised his head in astonishment.

"Okay, I'll take a gamble with you."

On Shan Chao's flushed face, the blood color faded, leaving only a blue and white coldness.

"Tell me, what does Your Majesty want me to do."

Shan Chao, who had made up his mind, regained his usual calmness and calmness, turned the cup in his palm, and asked slowly.

Zuo Yi was secretly happy in his heart, he knew that this did not mean that Shan Chao believed him, he just had no way out of this.

Worried that the partition wall had ears, Zuo Yi leaned over to his ear and told him Liu Zhi's instructions.

As for the promises that followed, he hadn't taken them to heart for the time being, and if His Majesty couldn't take power, those would be empty words.

On the contrary, he also took a huge risk, and once it happened, it would be a catastrophe.

"This is easy, you reply to Your Majesty, saying that I will do it immediately."

For Shan Chao's ability, Zuo Yi has always admired it tightly, and when he heard his assurance, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then wait for your good news."

Zuo Yi arched his hand, "I shouldn't stay for a long time, I have to hurry up and get the medicine, and I will leave first." ”

"Go ahead, go ahead, be careful with yourself, since you are on the boat, you have to save your life first."

Shan Chao waved his hand, and said two words uneasily, Zuo Yiren is young and impulsive, he is really a little worried.

Standing by the window, watching the little candle flame fade into the darkness.

Sighing, Shan Chao closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there was only a cold and firm expression.

I saw that he quickly changed into the clothes of an ordinary little eunuch, took some turmeric powder and smeared it on his face, and walked out of the door with his back bowed.

After Liu Zhi sent Zuo Ye away, he acted as if nothing had happened on the surface, but he was anxious and uneasy in his heart.

After more than half an hour, Zuo Ye finally came back, the two looked at each other, and Liu Zhi immediately keenly caught the faint joy in his eyes.

I can't help but make up my mind.

Sure enough, after waiting for the screen to retreat, Zuo Yi immediately lowered his voice, "Your Majesty, it's done, Shan Chao said to reassure you, he will do it immediately." ”

Liu Zhi's eyes burst out with excitement, "Great, there is a chance, you bring Shan Chao to see me." ”

Being able to find a capable dark line in the palace is exactly what he can't ask for, so he is determined to envelop him in his hands.

He had not slept that night, he had done what he could, and the rest was out of his control.

When the rooster crowed, he had already gotten up, and he didn't dare to slack off at every five-day court meeting.

Put on a cumbersome and heavy formal dress, ride a six-horse horse-drawn feather covered car, cross the compound road, and drive to the Chongde Hall of the North Palace.

The sky was gloomy, and the three princes and nine secretaries who were waiting outside the hall entered in turn with solemn expressions.

The court etiquette of the Eastern Han Dynasty was not as strict as that of later generations, and there was no need to kneel three times and nine knocks, and you could also kneel in front of the desk to discuss.

It's just that before entering the palace, you need to untie your sword and take off your shoes to show respect for Your Majesty, and Xiao He was qualified to go to court with a sword back then, which was a supreme honor.

In the history of the Han Dynasty, there were also Wang Mang and the general Huo Guang, all of whom were powerful figures.

Under normal circumstances, only one person in the main hall is qualified to sit, and that is the emperor himself.

But now there is an additional queen mother who listens to the government.

Looking at the silent ministers in front of him, Liu Zhi had a vague expectation in his heart, will his actions bring a trace of change to today's court discussion?

Liang Ji sat on the right head in a big way, the expression on his face was as impatient as ever, and he couldn't see any difference from usual, and Du Qiao was also always serious and calm.

Damn, they're all old foxes, and they're all better than him, so it seems that they're still far from playing with them.

Both sides were calm, and they didn't slash and sword as soon as they came up, but threw out some inconsequential little things to kill time.

Time passed little by little, and it was not until the court discussion entered the final stage that Liang Ji stood up lazily.

Liu Zhi's heart tightened and came.

"Your Majesty's wedding is imminent, this is the bride price list invited by the ministers, and I hope Your Majesty will see it."

A silk gift slip was presented, Liu Zhi pretended to browse it, and then ordered Tang Heng to present it to the Queen Mother.

There was a crisp ding sound behind the bead curtain, and a moment later, the calm voice of the Empress Dowager Liang came.

"The family affairs of the Son of Heaven are the affairs of the world, and the state is always servant, read a thought to Zhuqing, and everyone will discuss it."

"Whoa."

Zhou Fu held the gift list, and his voice was not slow, smooth and powerful.

"A pair of white jade, a pair of green jade, and a pair of mutton fat jade......"

The imperial dowry has a solemn sense of ceremony, and many of the things are customary, long and cumbersome, and people are drowsy to listen to.

“…… 20,000 catties of gold. ”

The last sentence was deafening, and everyone came to their senses, and some people even looked at the people next to them in disbelief, thinking that they had misheard.

There was silence in the hall, and the pins could be heard.

Some people were shocked and couldn't come back to their senses for a long time, and some people knew the inside story early and deliberately pretended to be confused.

There are even more people who are high-spirited and eager to try.

"What do you think, just let me hear it."

Behind the curtain, the Empress Dowager spoke slowly, her non-statement was an unusual hint in itself.

"Dare to ask the general, is there an old precedent for this dowry?"

The first to speak was Han Xuan, one of the servants of Jiuqing, and the royal wedding ceremony was within his responsibility, and the problem was also decent.

"Naturally, when Emperor Xiaohui (Liu Ying) hired Empress Xiaohui, it was 20,000 catties of gold."

Liang Ji was naturally confident about this problem, and he ordered his subordinates to rummage through the history books, and finally found such a ready-made example, how could he let it go.

Han Xuan nodded and said no more.

Liu Zhi immediately sensitively realized that this Han Xuan must have secretly taken refuge in Liang Ji, and the question just now seemed ordinary, but it blocked the mouths of the people.

"The minister has something unclear, how much was the national tax when Emperor Hui, how much was left, how much is the annual tax today, and how much is the surplus money?"

In the silence, one laughed loudly, and he was also one of the nine Qings, Guangluxun Dong Liang. He is a military general, and no one can question if he doesn't understand this.

Liang Ji's face sank, obviously unable to answer, and the Queen Mother asked gently, "Who can solve Dong Qing's confusion?" ”

There was silence in the hall again, and the Queen Mother directly named Yang Shang, the chief farmer, who was responsible for the statistics of the country's tax revenue, and if he said that he didn't know, it would be a dereliction of duty.

At this time, he could only risk being hated by Liang Ji and replied hard.

"The taxes paid by Emperor Hui have been lost today, but when the ministers knew that Emperor Guangwu, the annual tax income was about 880,000 yuan, and the remaining money was about 130,000 yuan."

Cautiously glancing at Liang Ji, Yang Shang continued: "Last year's tax income was 750,000 yuan, and the remaining money ...... No. ”

Don't have any money left?

Isn't that the country running out every year? Many people were unaware of this information, and some people immediately raised their voices.

"Why is the expense so huge?"

Yang Shang paused, and saw that the Queen Mother did not say anything to stop him, so he could only continue to answer.

"In addition to the daily maintenance of the imperial court and the royal family, military expenditures are not small, plus the pacification of Xiqiang and Wuhuan, it will cost nearly 40,000 more yuan every year."

There was a lot of discussion in the hall, especially about this additional expense, most of them were not satisfied.

Liu Zhi had been secretly paying attention to Liang Ji's face, and it didn't matter at first, but when he heard everyone questioning the cost of Xiqiang's resettlement, he suddenly became gloomy.