Princess Yongkang Mansion.

For a few days, the front of the house was very lively, and the people in the DPRK and China knew that Cui Yuan had made meritorious contributions in the northwest, or the great victory of "beheading two thousand", and they all felt that Cui Yuan was knighted, and Cui Yuan himself was a relative of the emperor, and many people, especially those who were related to the royal family, came to give gifts and climb relations.

Yongkang herself was very depressed, and she didn't go out for three days after closing the door, mainly because she hadn't figured out her brother's routine.

"Princess, there are more and more people outside asking to see you, and the gift list has been handed over, don't you want to take a look?"

Yongkang's nurse Guishi came in and saw that Yongkang was just sitting in front of the dresser in front of the mirror in a daze, and couldn't help but ask.

Yongkang asked: "Have you calculated, how many are sent?" ”

Gui said: "Many gifts can't be calculated, but when they add up, it is estimated that they are worth four or five hundred taels of silver." It's just that there are some things that can't even be accepted by pawnshops. ”

"Then go to the pawnshop and ask first." Yongkang Road.

"It doesn't seem good." Returning was also in a difficult situation.

People give you gifts, and you turn to the pawnshop to cash in the gifts, if people know about it, they may think that the princess's mansion is going bankrupt.

Yongkang said: "Then collect the rent of acres of land outside the city, and collect it in the next few years, explain to them that the rent paid in advance can be reduced by 20%, and then sell some of my jewelry, which will add up to almost 1,000 taels." ”

Gui asked, "Do you have to do this?" That Cai Guogong, I heard that he is not a greedy person. ”

Yongkang's face was a little not good.

She stayed at home for the past two days and didn't go out, just raising silver taels and preparing to give gifts to last week, of course, she didn't want to bribe Zhang Zhou, she had a deeper intention.

Yongkang said: "Whether he is greedy for money or not, I don't care, I just want people to know that I, an eldest princess, for the future of my own horse, do not hesitate to go bankrupt to give him gifts, if you sell and pawn something, you might as well tell outsiders directly, it is my dowry!" Don't be afraid to spread the word! ”

As soon as Gui heard it, he understood that this was to put Zhang Zhou on the stove of the "traitorous minister".

Didn't the imperial brother ask me to beg Zhang Bingkuan to reconcile?

Then I'll send it!

I have to let everyone in the world pity me, make people think that Zhang Bingkuan is taking advantage of the fire to rob, so that I can stand on the moral high ground, after the royal brother heard about the people's discussions, he will definitely sympathize with his sister's grievances, and then I don't need to beg Zhang Bingkuan.

Gui Shi is an old man in the palace, and she vaguely feels that this little hostess is playing with fire, but there are some things that she can't say clearly.

"Then the old body will arrange it." Gui can only do what Yongkang tells him to do.

……

……

Zhang Zhou's house.

Li Rong took the Jinyi guard to command Mu Bin to appear in the mansion again, this time to convey to Zhang Zhou about the emperor's intention to investigate Zhu Hui and other old ministers, Li Rong also made it clear that the emperor wanted Zhang Zhou to take the lead in handling the case, and Zhang Zhou did not need to go into battle in person, but he would be the person in charge, just like investigating the Liaodong Wo case.

Zhang Zhou sighed: "Father-in-law Li, if I have an idea, I will say it directly." ”

"Please." Li Rongdao.

Zhang Zhou said helplessly: "Protecting the country's merits and demerits, let me make a judgment in the name of the secretary of the Ministry of War, or it is acceptable, but if the factory guard investigates and deals with him, it will be difficult for me to come forward in this matter." It is not easy to investigate a Baoguo Gong, but there are so many meritorious generals in the DPRK and China, and there will be disagreements because of this. ”

In the meaning of Zhang Zhou's words, Zhu Hui alone is nothing, but there is this Guogong and that Guogong behind him, which one is not the old Xun?

I checked Zhu Hui, and others will think that my next target is them, and they will be in the same breath as Zhu Hui, and my checking Zhu Hui is tantamount to offending a vote.

Li Rong smiled and didn't speak.

I'm wondering in my heart, are you afraid of offending people now? When Your Majesty asked you to purge the military and political affairs of the Nine Sides, you gladly accepted it.

Zhang Zhou said: "Gonggong Li, why don't you tell Your Majesty about this matter?" ”

"Don't." Li Rong complained bitterly, "Without Mr. Zhang's mention, how can the people below have the heart to handle this matter well?" Our family will be embarrassed too. ”

Others?

Am I just someone else?

If you are not responsible, let me Li Rong do the things that offend people? If you are good, I will be your subordinate, and you Zhang Bingkuan will be on top of the sky when the sky falls, otherwise my half-naked old body will not be able to withstand it.

"Commander Mu, come on." Li Rong immediately threw the problem to Mu Bin.

Mu Bin Zhengse said: "Beizhen Fusi sent someone to thoroughly investigate what he has done since the ninth year of Hongzhi to protect the country's heir, especially after he led the 3,000 battalions and coordinated the management of the Beijing camp, he accepted gifts from the generals of the Beijing camp many times, plus the deduction in weapons forging and other matters, and embezzled and accepted bribes of at least 40,000 taels of silver. ”

Cha Zhuhui?

The Ming army has never shied away from corruption and perversion of the law, especially in the Xiaozong Dynasty, the emperor was lenient, and basically turned a blind eye to the misdeeds of the generals below.

Zhu Hui was previously the emperor's trusted general, but before Zhang Zhou, he was trained by Zhu Youzhu as the commander of the northwest of Pingjing, and the fourteenth year of Hongzhi's defense against the Tatar Koubian was also led by Zhu Hui, and the great merit was not rewarded by the emperor, which illustrates this problem.

Now if you really want to investigate the facts of Zhu Hui's violations and crimes, you really don't even need to investigate, the evidence is all on the surface, and one check is accurate.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Isn't this very clear? Still need me? ”

Mu Bin made up his mind and said: "Such a big case will be raised by Cai Guogong, and it will be easier to handle it at a low level." ”

"This ......," Zhang Zhou said, "do you want to report to Your Majesty immediately?" ”

Li Rong continued: "It's already reported." ”

Zhang Zhou asked: "The matter is so clear, how should Your Majesty deal with it, or should it be agreed in the court, with the current situation, the war has just ended, and the people who want to investigate the army are afraid that it will make the army disheartened." Ah...... I've never been very familiar with prison matters, so I should ask the people of the Judicial Department about this. ”

"Huh." Li Rong smiled, "Your Majesty will leave the matter to you, and you will decide." ”

Zhang Zhoudao: "That means, I said that I was going to raid Baoguogong's house, is it okay?" ”

Li Rong nodded and said: "Naturally, it is possible, but it is necessary to report to Your Majesty, and I believe that Your Majesty will also adopt this opinion." ”

Zhang Zhou smiled bitterly: "Is that for me to be this villain?" If I'm not mistaken, this is all good news in the northwest, even if the Baoguo Gong did not perform well in this battle, in the end, it can be regarded as holding back the main force of the Tatars, or confusing the eyes of the Tatars, so he directly raided the house and asked for the crime, will it ...... Too heavy? ”

Li Rong and Mu Bin glanced at each other.

I was thinking in my heart, or this Cai Guogong dared to say it.

You said that you came to be a wicked person, do you mean that Your Majesty asked you to carry the black pot? Even if this is the case, can you say it clearly in front of us, the emperor's envoys?

Li Rong said: "Mr. Zhang, you should know that Your Majesty is very resolute in the heart of the army. The battle was won in the overall situation, but because of the delay of Bao Guogong and others, which led to the loss of the fighter, it was obvious that it could achieve a great victory, but now it has also achieved a good news that is not up or down, His Majesty is not only happy about this, but also very annoyed. ”

"Oh." Zhang Zhou nodded in understanding.

The emperor was not satisfied with the results.

If you can kill 30,000 enemies, don't kill 4,000 enemies.

"So." Li Rong added, "Your Majesty wants to make the canonical punishment clear, if everyone is like the Duke of Baoguo, if everyone cowers when they encounter the enemy, no matter what the crime is, some people will follow suit in the future." Sir does not have to worry about other people's opinions, because as far as we know, there are many people in the DPRK who have opinions about him, and even the generals in the northwest have many complaints about him. ”

"Really?" Zhang Zhou's tone seemed to be gagging.

Li Rong continued: "Your Majesty's intention, since this battle has been won, for those who have the heart to fight for their family and country, but their ability is not enough, a small punishment can be given. But for those who are capable of doing so, but are afraid of it, they should be dealt with severely. ”

"For example?" Zhang Zhou asked.

"In addition to Baoguo Gong, there are also Ping Jiangbo, as well as An Yuanhou and others......"

Li Rong made a list of punishments.

Basically, they are all Zhu Hui's descendants, a small circle of people.

Zhang Zhoudao: "I heard that Marquis An Yuanhou has a strong background, will there be any trouble if you want to punish him?" ”

Li Rong was surprised: "Mr. is acting on the orders of the emperor, are you still worried about offending people?" I believe that as long as the gentleman opens his mouth to investigate, it will be ...... The nobles should also give in, this is to remove moths for the court, and there is no selfishness. ”

Zhang Zhou smiled but did not say a word.

You Li Rong really know how to pretend, you know that Liu Jing is the Empress Dowager Zhou, at the beginning, Liu Jing was only robbed of his title when he did anything wrong in Liangguang, and his life could be saved, and now he can even be restored, I checked if he was not making big trouble for himself?

No wonder you factory guards always want me to top the tank, this tank of feelings can really crush people.

"Let me think about it again, I believe that Your Majesty is not in a hurry, and I also bother the two of you to check the background of this case more, and let me be prepared." Zhang Zhou also knew that this kind of thing could not be refused, so he delayed it first.

"Yes." Li Rong understood at a glance that Zhang Zhou understood the "rules".

The case that the emperor asked to investigate was to punish the old ministers, and in this context, highlighting his prestige in the court, what reason is there to avoid it?

Afraid of offending people?

Is that your Cai Guogong's character?

Even if you don't do anything, you will offend the people who have a big ticket in the court, and there are many people who want to put you to death, and they will not deepen their hatred of you because you check a Zhu Hui, but may be afraid of you because of this.

Convincing people with virtue is not as good as intimidating people.

……

……

Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youzhu receives Li Rong's recital.

"Bingkuan accepted? Very good. Zhu Youzhu smiled and nodded, "He is right to worry about the errand of offending people, but I hope that he has prestige in the Governor's Mansion, others may not need to respect him, but they must be afraid of him." ”

When Li Rong heard this, he probably knew that the emperor had suffered the "loss" of civil officials for too many years.

has always been a benevolent monarch in the eyes of civil servants, and he is said to uphold the code of conduct every day, but in fact, Zhu Youzhi hopes that others will be afraid of him as an emperor, rather than others just respecting him in terms of etiquette as in the past.

Li Rong asked: "Your Majesty, how should Baoguo Gong and others be convicted?" ”

This is to ask to what extent it is to be investigated.

There are dismissals, seizures, imprisonment, raids, and exile to death, and Zhu Hui's crime of delaying the fighter plane has a lot of leeway, and even it is okay not to pursue it at all.

Zhu Youzhu continued to look at the music in his hand, and said casually: "Bingkuan has already taken over, why do I still worry so much?" He'll think about it. ”

It was for Zhang Zhou to consider for himself.

Even if Li Rong moved closer to Zhang Zhou's side, at this time, he felt that the emperor's trust in Zhang Zhou was a bit too much.

The disposition of one national duke is handed over to another national duke, the crime is not right, and others think it is revenge, obviously Your Majesty, you only trust Zhang Zhou in your heart, but why do you think that you are digging a trap for the people you trust?

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing."

"Say."

"The eldest princess of Yongkang has been selling her property in recent days, saying that she wants to give a gift to Cai Guogong, and everyone knows about it."

As soon as Li Rong said the matter, Zhu Youzhu only understood the intention of this imperial sister after a little pause, and frowned: "The eldest princess of the dignified house, sell her property to give gifts to others?" Is this a disgrace to herself, or is it a disgrace? Is she deliberately embarrassing me? You go to her and tell her that if you do what I don't like, you can go back and be his idler. I can't take it anymore! ”

"Yes."

Li Rong was also laughing secretly.

You Yongkang eldest princess, do you really think how clever your methods are?

Your Majesty is asking you to reconcile with Cai Guogong, every time you make trouble, you want to show that you are the emperor's sister, aren't you looking for trouble for yourself?

Li Rongxin said that there are a lot of troubles for women to be in charge.

……

……

When Li Rong went to Princess Yongkang's mansion, he was coming to inspect the goods, ready to cash out the gifts given by others.

When the princess's mansion learned that it was the celebrant and eunuch who arrived, she hurried to pass the word to Yongkang, and Yongkang also came out to greet him in person, and she thought that her imperial brother had changed his mind.

"Her Royal Highness the eldest princess, I made it clear, Your Majesty thinks that you are making trouble, and specially asked the slave maid to pass the word, if you don't want to think about how to release the suspicion with Cai Guogong, then after Cui Fuma returns to Beijing, at most he can only get some rewards from the field, and there is no need to think about it."

Li Rong was not polite.

With his identity, there is really no need to whisper to an eldest princess, at most it is polite in terms of etiquette.

Yongkang said: "What does this mean? When did I get an accident? ”

Li Rong shook his head and said, "What you lost was not your own face, nor the face of the royal family, but the heart of Your Majesty." ”

When Yongkang heard this, he instantly bit his lower lip and wanted to hit someone.

Obviously, everything was planned very well, just waiting for public opinion to take the bait, and evaluated Zhang Zhou as a villain who bullied the emperor's relatives and relatives, and asked the imperial brother to pity him, but before the plan was successful, the matter was revealed.

"Brother Huang asked me to reconcile with Zhang Bingkuan, how to reconcile? Let me go to him and beg him? Yongkang said sharply.

"You haven't tried, how do you know you can't?" Li Rongcai doesn't care about that.

You've already said the plan yourself, do you want me to teach you?

Yongkang said: "What about the face of the royal family? ”

Li Rong said with a smile: "This is your choice, in your opinion, the merits of the horse in this battle, is there Cai Guogong behind the help?" No matter what you think, at least in Your Majesty's heart, without Cai Guogong's great help, the horse would have no chance to make meritorious contributions at all. ”

"Is this to deny that the horse is desperately killing the enemy on the battlefield to serve the country?" Yongkang said angrily.

Li Rong shook his head and said, "The slave doesn't dare, the slave just tells the truth." If you think that the horse is strong, then you don't need to ask Cai Guogong, maybe with the horse's own ability, you will have a chance to stand out in the future? ”

Yongkang was speechless for a while.

Although she knows that her husband has the ability and courage.

But the key is that she also understands that Zhang Zhou is the leader of the military politics of the Ming Dynasty now, as long as Zhang Zhou "digs a pit", then Cui Yuan can only admit it.

"As for the gifts, you look at them, but if something is not very good, the slave will not be able to do anything." Li Rong said, "Farewell." ”

Yongkang didn't send Li Rong away, but looked at Li Rong's back and stomped his feet in anger.

She has been a princess since she was born, and she was born with a golden key, as if she had never suffered this kind of, which made her unacceptable.

……

……

At night, inside the theater.

Zhang Zhou was watching a play in the private room on the second floor, enjoying the petty bourgeois life, drinking tea and listening to music, and on the table next to him was a messy design draft, but none of them satisfied him.

On the side, Wang Mingshan was dressed in brocade clothes and guarded thousands of households, looking down at Zhang Lushui who was washing Zhang Zhou's feet, there was an indescribable hostility in her eyes, obviously in her eyes, this woman from Fanbang had ulterior motives and needed to be guarded against.

Through the screen, near the door of the private room, a lobbyist was arguing with Zhang Zhou.

“…… Baoguo Gong has long admired your demeanor, specially let the next to prepare a generous gift, there is a house in the capital, a Zhuangzi outside the city, plus 600 hectares of fertile land, all of which were prepared by Baoguo Gong early in the morning. In addition, Bao Guogong recently studied your art of war. ”

"Stop! I've never written about the art of war. ”

"It is summarized by outsiders according to your tactics, which is comparable to Sun Tzu's Art of War, and everyone in the military reads it. Bao Guogong also benefited a lot after studying. ”

When the lobbyist said this, he made Zhang Zhou laugh.

Liu Gui on the side smiled and said: "This, you are joking, there is really such a book on the art of war, why haven't I seen it?" ”

The lobbyist said: "Go back and send a copy to this official." ”

"Grandpa, he said that he wanted to send a book on the art of war to the little one, do you want to read it attentively?" Liu Gui asked for instructions.

Zhang Zhou said very politely: "After studying my art of war, I only studied how to avoid war, and how to keep myself out of the matter when I met the Tartars, so don't study it as soon as possible." If I say that this is based on my tactics, I can't afford to lose this person. ”

The lobbyist didn't expect Zhang Zhou to be so polite.

are all ministers in the same hall, how can this be directly ironic?

However, it also indirectly shows that the emperor may be a little impatient with Baoguo Gong, and it is likely that he is going to ask for guilt.

"Zhuangzi, houses, acres, as well as slaves, livestock, etc., are all ready-made, and Baoguo Gong also selected some singing and dancing concubines from Jiangnan, which are also prepared for Cai Guogong." The lobbyist continued.

Zhang Zhou said: "No need, keep him to enjoy it by himself." I, a cultivator, don't care about this, by the way, I may come to the house in person in a few days, and you can prepare for it. Don't think I'm rash then. ”

"Huh?"

The lobbyist was stunned when he heard it.

In person?

Do you think you don't want to accept the conditions I offered, and you want to come to the door in person to talk about the conditions for Baoguo Gong to be attached?

(End of chapter)