At the beginning of June, the weather is getting hotter and hotter, and Hangzhou is still bustling, and there is no change on the surface. Zhang Wen often goes to the yamen for daily office these days, because at this time, the court is about to end up with the salt change in Zhejiang, and it is estimated that the result is almost contended, and it is not a way to drag it down, Zhang Wen needs to know the real-time trend.

One day, the head shop received two important official documents and passed them to Zhang Wen. Zhang asked to look at the postal symbols, one was from the household department, and the other was from the official department.

Zhang Wen first opened the official document of the household department, which ordered the Zhejiang Salt Division to stop changing salt and reopen the color in order to dredge the silt and salt lead. Zhang asked to look at it, handed the official document to Huang Renzhi and Chen Anshang next to him, and said, "Finally, the fuss is over, change it back to the way it was." ”

Huang Ren glanced at the other official document in front of Zhang Wen, touched his beard and said, "Then the other one should be the place for adults." ”

Chen An's eyes were full of admiration when he looked at Zhang Wen, more than half a month ago, Zhang Wen said that he had not been sitting in this position for a long time, and he was really accurate.

Zhang Wen nodded, tore open the lacquer seal, browsed the official documents of the ministry, and said, "I actually went to Liaodong...... Is this exile? ”

Huang Renzhi put down the official document in his hand, took the letter handed over by Zhang Wen, and said while looking at it: "I heard that the officials who were transferred to Liaodong cried bitterly and asked for external transfers...... The director of the military department, the military selection and clearing department, this is the official of the sixth grade, hehe, congratulations, my lord, I have only been downgraded by one level. ”

Chen Anshang also said: "Lord Hexi, Zhejiang's affairs have been smashed, and it is still one level higher than the lower officials." ”

Zhang Wen looked at Chen An angrily and said, "Is it my responsibility to change the salt office?" was demoted by one level, or go to Liaodong, or let's change, you go to Liaodong as an official of the sixth grade, how about I get oil and water in this salt department? ”

Chen Anshang touched his head, and said with an ugly face: "This official is not changed if he wants to." ”

Zhang Wen patted the seal box on the public case and said, "Okay, let this seal be used by others." Master Chen, go and ask someone to clean up the accounts and report to the household department, and I will go back to Beijing to complain. ”

Zhang Wen counted the official seals of the accounts, and then left the yamen with Huang Renzhi. After getting into the carriage, Zhang Wencai smiled at Huang Ren and said, "It's better than I imagined, at least the officials of the sixth grade are not." I have been in Zhejiang for nearly a year, and I haven't made any political achievements, and now I don't advance or retreat, and I am still a positive six products, which is fair and reasonable, hehe. ”

Huang Renzhi touched his beard and shook his head and said, "Liaodong is not a good place, otherwise everyone would not be fighting for external transfers." ”

"The main Liaodong affairs, it seems that it is still Yang Hao. Donglin really didn't have the confidence to fight this time...... It seems that I heard that Yang Hao's method is a four-way combined attack, does Mr. Huang think this method is easy to use? ”

Huang Renzhi half-squinted his eyes and said: "Whether it's easy to use or not, I haven't started to deploy troops yet, and now even people like adults who are far away from the court know about it, so everyone knows it, can it still be used?" ”

Zhang Wen sighed, thought for a while and said: "Among Yang Hao, Yuan Yingtai, Xiong Tingbi and a few others, I still think Xiong Tingbi is more reliable, but the court doesn't need him." ”

Huang Ren said straightly: "This person is not easy to get along with, and the ministers of the DPRK and China have no good impression of him...... I heard that as soon as he was transferred to Zhejiang to learn Taoism, he asked people to beat a few rich and related students, which angered the patrol according to the imperial Shi Jing Yangqiao, and the two were competing to write a book and scold each other. Everywhere he went, he always had a grudge against people, and he couldn't ......."

"I've heard Xiong Tingbi's name for a long time, I haven't seen him yet, why don't we go and visit him today?" Zhang asked.

Huang Renzhi was noncommittal, anyway, Zhang asked such a petty official, and he couldn't decide on military aircraft, and no one cared what point of view he held on Liaodong affairs. So the two of them went to Xuedao Yamen to visit Xiong Tingbi. Zhang Wen got out of the car at the door and asked someone to send the name post.

Xiong Tingbi was not high, and since it was a colleague visit, he went out to welcome Zhang Wen. Zhang Wen looked at Xiong Tingbi and saw that he was about seven feet long, wide and fat, with a wide face, small eyes, a mustache, and a look of being in his forties.

Zhang Wen said: "The lower official Zhang asked, to meet Lord Xiong, because the court was first called to be the head of the military department, he will be transferred to Liaodong in the near future, and he heard that Lord Xiong is good at Liaodong affairs, and today he took the liberty to bother, and wanted to ask for advice or two, so that he could use it and hope that Lord Xiong would give him more advice." ”

Xiong Tingbi smiled after hearing this: "It turned out to be Master Zhang, the old man has heard a little, a little bit, you can still be the head of the military department...... Not bad, not bad. ”

Zhang Wen listened to Xiong Tingbi's words, obviously sarcastic Zhang Wen had no way to govern in Zhejiang, had no achievements, and caused a fishy matter. Zhang Wenxin said, this person really didn't like what he said...... However, Zhang Wen was mentally prepared in advance, knowing that he was such a character, and he didn't bother to bother with him, so he was unhappy.

Zhang Wen reluctantly laughed with him, and together with Huang Renzhi, followed Xiong Tingbi into the living room. The three of them sat down and served tea with soap. Xiong Tingbi picked up the teacup first and asked for tea, Zhang Wen and Huang Renzhi politely picked up the teacup, and the polite set still had to be done.

Xiong Tingbi blew on the teacup and said with a big grin: "What is Lord Zhang going to Liaodong for?" ”

Zhang Wen listened to Xiong Tingbi's tone, and wanted to stimulate him in his heart, so he said: "There is Lord Yang presiding over major affairs, and the lower officials will naturally listen to Lord Yang's dispatch." ”

Zhang Wen mentioned Yang Hao, which means that you are not as good as Yang Hao, and people can do the scriptures at a glance, and you are still fiddling with those four books and five classics.

Sure enough, as soon as Xiong Tingbi heard Yang Hao, there was a look of displeasure on his face, he snorted, and openly said bad things about the same party member to an outsider like Zhang Wen, "His idea of a four-way joint attack is really whimsical, dividing troops and weakening oneself is a taboo for soldiers, Nurhachi will definitely concentrate his forces to eliminate them one by one, and the old man sees that Yang Hao is taking Daming's family background as a child's play." ”

Zhang Wen had long heard that Xiong Tingbi had always advocated defending as a war in Liaodong, so he said: "What does Lord Xiong mean, Liaodong can only defend and not fight?" ”

Xiong Tingbi sighed and said, "Isn't this very simple? Liaodong is vast and sparsely populated, it is really a barbaric place, and the army is transferred in the interior, and the soldiers have no fighting spirit, and no one wants to die in that place. Only by relying on the Liao people to defend the land, and the Liao people have the pain of the skin, can they bravely protect the land, and only then can they save the Liao plan. ”

Zhang Wen nodded after hearing this, feeling that Xiong Tingbi was to the point and had insight into people's hearts.

If you go to war, you may die, so why should people go to war? There is no way to take risks and rob, and it is out of this motive that Nurhachi is now suffering from famine; Some people were beaten to their homes, and they asked them to resist and protect their homes and property, and if they didn't fight, they would have to become slaves.

And these people transferred from the mainland of the Ming Dynasty wanted them to shed blood to attack Hetuala, what does Hetuala have to do with the soldiers? At least nothing directly related. There can be a reason for the lack of fighting spirit.

If you co-opt the local Han people in Liaodong, guard their hometown, and protect their own interests, they will have a close relationship, and it is no wonder that Xiong Tingbi has always advocated defending as a war, which is indeed much safer.

Zhang Wen thought for a long time, and then asked: "But Liaodong was originally the place of our Ming Dynasty, and now Nurhachi is openly rebelling, if you sit idly by, wouldn't it be a problem to raise tigers?" ”

Xiong Tingbi said: "Lord Zhang's words are also wrong, although Nurhachi is good at fighting, it is not enough to cause trouble. When the old man was in Liaodong, he heard that Nurhachi had captured the Han people, so he drove them into slaves, who wants to be a slave? If this continues, the population of Liaodong will only flee seriously and become less and less, and if we blockade it on all sides, it will only be a matter of time before the people of Jianzhou will kill themselves. ”

Zhang Wen agreed with Xiong Tingbi's point of view after hearing this, and felt more and more that Xiong Tingbi was still the master of Liaodong, but it was a pity that Zhang Wen said that it didn't count, so he could only look at Xiong Tingbi and sigh.

Because Xiong Tingbi had stayed in Liaodong, Zhang Wen asked for some information about Liaodong, so he said goodbye to Xiong Tingbi, went home to explain family affairs, and prepared to go north to Beijing.

Zhang Wen originally planned to let Zhang Ying stay in Zhejiang to take care of housework, but Zhang Ying was worried about Zhang Wen's safety and insisted on following. Zhang Wen also felt that it would be safer to have Zhang Ying by his side, so he asked Zhang Ying to disguise himself as a scholar and go north together. He went to say goodbye to Shen Biyao again, and at the same time handed over the Wu family to Shen Biyao and asked her to take care of it on his behalf.

At the beginning of July, Zhang Wen and others arrived in Beijing, and he hurried to the Ministry of Officials to hand over official documents, and then went to the Ministry of War to report, waiting for the dispatch of Liaodong. And Zhang Ying was at home Zhang Luo and someone cleaned up the courtyard of Qingshi Hutong, which was Zhang Wen's ancestral home.

The soldiers, horses, ordnance, grain, and grass prepared for the war in Liaodong have not yet been prepared, and the imperial court has not completely finalized the candidate for the Liaodong Economic Strategy, and is still arguing, so after Zhang Wen reported, he waited at home.

He has the official position of six grades, but he is not qualified to go to court meetings and other occasions, which is equivalent to being idle at home and occasionally going to the yamen of the military department to learn information.

Zhang Wen originally thought that what the imperial court was paying attention to now must be Liaodong affairs, but he didn't expect that the news he heard again and again was all about the red pill, and the minister who dared to love the ministers of the court was not arguing about Liaodong affairs, but the red pill refined by Honglu Temple.

Zhu Youxiao did search for a big pearl from Li Ruzi's mansion, I don't know if it was an immortal pearl, but he didn't dare to hide it, and after returning to Beijing, he handed over the bead to Emperor Wanli.

Emperor Wanli naturally didn't know him, so he found Li Kezhuo, the secretary of Honglu Temple, and asked him if he was an immortal pearl. Li Kezhi saw that the big pearl was crystal clear and had a dark red glow, which was indeed a rare treasure, so he happily told the emperor that it was an immortal pearl.

The emperor urgently ordered Li Kezhuo to refine the pill. Li Kezhuo used the longevity bead with other cultivation medicines, which contained mercury, so the elixir refined turned red, which was called the red pill elixir. Because the immortal pearl was very large, Li Kezhuo didn't dare to swallow it privately, so he had to make all the medicine and refine three pills.

At this time, the first assistant party learned about the pill from Zhe, and hurriedly wrote to the emperor to use the pill carefully. Wanli didn't listen, Fang Congzhelian played the book, and scolded the officials of Honglu Temple.

Later, Fang Congzhe was worried about Emperor Wanli, and said that since there were three pills, he would use one to test the medicine first, and then he would be offered to the emperor after it was okay. Wanli thought that the longevity bead was not easy to come by, so it was naturally very painful, but he still reluctantly agreed to Fang Congzhe's invitation.

Since it was a medicine refined by Li Kezhuo, he naturally gave one to Li Kezhuo to eat first. After Li Kezhuo ate it, Wanli and the ministers asked him how he felt.

Li Kezhuo said: "The ears are deaf and the eyes are clear, and the spirit is better." ”

Wanli was dizzy and aching, and he was about to try after hearing it, and Fang Congzhe and others repeatedly admonished him to wait for a few more days. Wanli saw that Li Kezhuo was in good spirits and was jumping around, and he couldn't bear the pain anymore, so he called someone to offer a pill and eat one.

The next morning, Wanli actually got out of bed from the dragon collapse, and said that his spirit was much better, and his head did not hurt or dizzy, and everyone was overjoyed, and Wanli rewarded Li Kezhuo generously. At this time, the prince was guilty of wind and heat, lying on the bed half dead, the imperial doctor was helpless, Wanli gave the remaining pill to the prince, and after the prince ate it, the wind and heat gradually eased.

Unexpectedly, on the morning of the third day, the emperor and the crown prince died together......

When the mourning bell rang, Zhu Youxiao, the eldest grandson of the emperor, was still sawing wood in a small courtyard of Duanben Palace. When he heard the bell, he hurriedly dropped his saw, ran to the door, and asked, "What happened?" ”

At this time, the eunuch Wang An ran over crying, fell to his knees with a thud, and said in a crying voice: "The emperor ...... The Imperial ......"

Zhu Youxiao hurriedly cried, and was about to hear Wang An say that the emperor had died, but Wang An said: "The emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince are both ...... All immortals went. ”

Zhu Youxiao was overjoyed when he heard this, and said in his heart: That red pill is too powerful, and soon I will be announced to inherit the emperor's throne. Zhu Youxiao cried bitterly while being happy: "This is not true...... It's not really ......"

Wang An hugged the crumbling Zhu Youxiao and cried: "Your Royal Highness, now is not the time to grieve, you have to hurry up and prepare to ascend to the throne and preside over the overall situation." ”

At this moment, I saw a gorgeous woman wearing white linen walking in, glanced at the wood behind Zhu Youxiao, and said coldly with red eyes: "It's all this time, you still do those things, come with me to the wake of the spirit." ”

That woman was Li Xuanshi, who raised Zhu Youxiao, and she looked at the immature Zhu Youxiao's thin arms and legs, and she was secretly happy in her heart...... It can be seen that the deaths of Emperor Wanli and the crown prince can also bring happiness to so many people.

Zhu Youxiao saw Li Xuanzhi, sighed in his heart, and secretly scolded the stupid woman, there are so many ministers and generals in the imperial court, what do you want to do?

Li Xuanzhi didn't care whether Zhu Youxiao wanted it or not, so he asked the eunuch next to him to drag him away, and Zhu Youxiao said angrily: "I want to see the minister, let me go." ”

Li Xuanzhi said coldly: "Your Highness's mother died early, and I will bring up Your Highness's hand, you don't listen to me?" ”

Zhu Youxiao said in his heart that his ascension to the throne was imminent, above tens of thousands of people, the country was unified, how could there be any reason to be controlled by her, and hurriedly shouted: "Come on, drive her away!" ”

"Drive me away?" At this time, a cold light flashed in Li Xuanshi's eyes, "You shout, who in this palace doesn't listen to me?" ”

Zhu Youxiao felt a chill in his heart when he heard this, and hurriedly ran back, shouting: "Wang An, put away the things I haven't finished." ”

Li Xuanzhi shook her head after hearing this, she wanted to laugh, but now was not the time to laugh, so she had to pull a face and say, "Why don't you take His Royal Highness the Prince of the World to guard the spirit?" ”

Soon Zhu Youxiao found that he had underestimated Li Xuanzhi's ambition and madness, and this guy colluded with Concubine Zheng Guifei to control the palace in his hands. Zhu Youxiao didn't go to the vigil at all, but was locked up.

Zhu Youxiao was upset, worried that they were trying to murder him and then welcome King Fu to the throne. But after thinking about it, even if he died, King Fu still couldn't be the emperor, because the first prince, that is, his father also had a son, that is, his younger brother Zhu Youzhen, but Zhu Youzhen was only a few years old, isn't it better to control?

When Zhu Youxiao was under house arrest, the more he thought about it, the more wrong it became, he didn't expect his grandfather and father to die together overnight. As long as one of Wanli and the crown prince is alive, how dare Li Xuanzhi and Zheng Guifei behave indiscriminately, so Zhu Youxiao was really wary of Li Xuanshi, but he didn't expect them to suddenly attack like this.

At this time, in accordance with the ancestral system, the ministers of the court and the central government hurriedly announced that the prince Zhu Youxiao would inherit the emperor's throne, and they could not see Zhu Youxiao. Li Xuanzhi listened to the government and received a letter of recital, replying that the emperor was young and his biological mother died early, so he should be taken care of by her.

The ministers did not follow, and gathered outside the palace gate to worship the coffin of the emperor. The officials gathered one after another, and Zhang Wen, who was at home, said to his family: "The great merit is in front of you, hurry up and go to the palace." ”

Zhang Wen put on his official robe, jumped on his horse in a hurry, and was about to go out, but Zhang Ying was worried about his safety and followed. When I arrived at the noon gate, I saw university scholars Fang Congzhe, Liu Yixiu, Zhou Jiamo, and others standing at the front, and a large number of officials were mixed with red and green in the back.

Zhang Wen secretly scolded that he was late, and the positions in front were robbed, so he hurriedly squeezed up to get a position.

The noon door was closed, and it seemed that he couldn't get in, and then Fang Congzhe roared: "The first emperor died, and the ministers couldn't even see the coffin, what do you want to do?" ”

The city responded: "We have been ordered not to open the door, and the ministers have something to do." ”

Fang Congzhe was so angry that his goatee was cocked, and he turned back to the officials and said: "There is an urgency, everyone will recommend the Liaodong Economic Strategy now, whoever dares to mess with the government, immediately mobilize the 470,000 troops of Liaodong Qinwang to kill the thieves!" ”

After hearing this, everyone recommended Yang Hao as the strategy of Liaodong, anyway, this candidate had almost been decided, and threatened to ask Yang Hao to rush to Liaodong immediately to transfer troops. After a while, the people in the palace were afraid, and then shouted: "There is an order from above, allowing the minister to enter the palace to worship the spirit." However, there are too many people, and it is afraid of causing confusion, so only the following ministers are allowed: Fang Congzhe, Liu Yixiu, Zhou Jiamo......"

After a while, the noon gate opened, and a group of guards with weapons blocked in front of them, making a gap open for Fang Congzhe and the others to enter. The other people who didn't read their names only stood and waited, but Zhang Wen didn't care so much, and took advantage of the chaos to squeeze in, and Zhang Ying also followed Zhang Wen. The guards didn't know who these ministers were, and the scene was a bit chaotic, but as a result, there were five or six more people who followed. The palace people didn't bother to investigate, so they hurriedly closed the noon door.