"One by one, they seem to be extremely sages, but in fact they are all profiteering."

In the yamen, Ji Gang held the document in his hand, with a somewhat sarcastic expression, I don't know if it was a ridicule of the people in the words, or all the civil servants.

"Did the news go to Li Zhigang?"

Ji Gang glanced at the people around him, and a military attache standing beside him bowed his head when he heard this: "Pass it to him." ”

"Okay, let's see what good things he can come up with, if he doesn't give enough things, then this document can only appear in Xie Jin's hands."

Ji Gang squinted his eyes, in his place, there is nothing that money can't do, if there is, it is that the money is not enough.

Along with his words, Li Zhigang, who was still in the Ministry of Rites, also got the news, and Li Zhigang, who was sitting on the main seat, also took the letter with trembling hands.

"Shangshu, this Ji Gang is too domineering, relying on your handle, he even openly asked for a bribe from you."

Standing aside, the head of Shangshu Mansion was angry, and Li Zhigang also forcibly suppressed his restless mood, and after a moment of silence, he calmly analyzed:

"Ji Gang will not suddenly attack me, this matter is either instructed by His Majesty or the Prince."

"That's... So what to do? Hearing that it was the two instructions of the court, the person in charge was also flustered.

"Don't worry." Li Zhigang raised his hand to interrupt, but he thought of a way in his thoughts:

"A martial artist is a martial artist after all, if he tells me the news, then I will solve the matter myself."

"Go, prepare an official uniform for me, and I'll go to the palace now."

"Yes!" Hearing this, the head hurriedly went to do it, and after a while, he served Li Zhigang to put on his regular clothes and sit in a sedan chair to go to Donghua Gate.

Before dusk, Li Zhigang appeared outside the Chunhe Palace, and said to the eunuch on duty: "Please report to your father-in-law." ”

"Li Shangshu waits." The eunuch on duty glanced at Li Zhigang, turned around and walked into the hall.

Even in the face of such contempt, Li Zhigang did not lose his temper, because he knew who he could provoke and who he could not provoke.

"Li Shangshu, please come in."

After a while, the eunuch on duty walked back to signal, and Li Zhigang also made a return salute to express his gratitude, and then walked into the hall, walked straight into the side hall of the Chunhe Palace, and saw Zhu Gaoxu sitting on the main seat.

"Minister, Li Zhigang, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, asks His Highness for ......"

As soon as Li Zhigang spoke, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but pause the red pen in his hand, but he put down the red pen unhurriedly, raised his eyes and looked at Li Zhigang who was kneeling on the ground.

"Li Shangshu, what is this doing?"

"The minister's father-in-law was inspecting the village two months ago, and unfortunately killed a tenant by mistake, and the minister just learned about it, so he came to ask for the guilt."

Li Zhigang knelt on the ground and appealed about the handle that Ji Gang used to threaten him, and his actions immediately made Zhu Gaoxu realize that something was wrong.

But it doesn't matter, in short, his goal has been achieved, and now it depends on what Li Zhigang wants to do.

"What do you think it should be?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked Li Zhigang unhurriedly, and Li Zhigang lowered his head deeper when he heard this: "The minister thinks that he should be punished according to law." ”

"In addition, the minister thinks that in the case of the minister, he should no longer serve as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and the minister begs to be raised."

In the face of Zhu Gaoxu's inquiry, Li Zhigang resolutely gave up the official position and power of the Ministry of Rites, which was a result that even Zhu Gaoxu could not imagine.

He narrowed his eyes, and only said after a while: "This matter is temporarily staying, and Li Shangshu will recuperate at home for a few days these days." ”

"The ministers beg, please return!"

Li Zhigang's voice rumbled, obviously ready.

Looking at this scene, Zhu Gaoxu was a little annoyed, he originally intended to exile Li Zhigang and the people around him directly, but now that Li Zhigang has just come out of the self-explosion, it is impossible for the matter to be on the scale he wants.

"I'll send someone to investigate this matter, you can step down."

Zhu Gaoxu said coldly, and his words were unquestionable.

When Li Zhigang heard this, he could only take off his official hat and put it on the ground, then slowly got up and saluted, and then withdrew from the Chunhe Palace.

Soon after he left, Zhu Gaoxu ordered someone to send a message to Yishiha, pointing to the official hat on the ground and saying:

"Go and find out, how did this old boy know I was going to clean him up."

"Yes" Yizha was also surprised when Li Zhigang had such a strong sense of politics, so he hurriedly took over the task and went out of the palace to find Hu Lun.

The Yamen of the West Factory is outside the palace city separated by a wall from the master of ceremonies, but the West Factory has been very busy recently, so even if it is also lost, he did not see Hu Lun at the first time, but waited in the study for a quarter of an hour before seeing Hu Lun who was busy returning.

Maybe he stayed in a place like Xichang for too long, and Hu Lun's expression was a little gloomy.

"What does Your Highness need to command?"

Hu Lun sat next to Yishiha, picked up the teacup and took a sip while asking.

Seeing this, Yisha also told Hu Lun the news of Li Zhigang, and Hu Lun slowly put down the teacup when he heard this.

"I don't need to check this matter, I know what the situation is, it's nothing more than that Ji Gang asked Li Zhigang for a bribe, which caused Li Zhigang to cut off his tail and survive."

"He dares to ask for bribes in the cases ordered by His Highness?" Yishu was stunned, although everyone in the capital knew that Ji Gang loved to ask for bribes, but even the things ordered by the emperor and the crown prince, he dared to ask for bribes from his courtiers, so his thoughts were worth pondering.

No matter how good a dog is, if it bars its teeth at the master's house, it can no longer be used.

"Who is he, you and I don't know, there are still things in this world that he doesn't dare to do?"

Hu Lun asked rhetorically, and Yizha frowned slightly when he heard this: "If that's the case, I'll go back to the palace and tell His Highness." ”

"Let's wait for me to find out what happened." Hu Lun interrupted, he still likes to rely on evidence to speak.

He is from Jinyiwei, and Jinyiwei knows better than anyone what he has to do.

Li Zhigang's matter, Ji Gang is absolutely inseparable.

"Then I'll wait for your news in the palace, and you can find out the matter earlier."

Hearing this, Yishiha also got up slowly, Hu Lun followed and got up to see him off, and after seeing Yishiha get into the carriage with his own eyes at the door, Hu Lun returned to the Yamen of the West Factory.

Not long after, more than 100 Xichang wrestlers in civilian clothes came out of the yamen, and they blended into the crowd in full view of everyone, and it was difficult to distinguish.

At the same time as the Xichang began to investigate the case, Li Zhigang also returned to the mansion, and ordered his subordinates to start packing up and preparing to return to Songjiang's hometown.

He told the matter to the master, but the director was puzzled when he heard this: "Shangshu, this matter is just Grandpa Yue's matter, why do you want to resign?" ”

"It was my father-in-law, but it was me." Li Zhigang saw things clearly, and said in detail with the master:

"If it's just Ji Gang who is targeting me, I naturally don't need to resign, but this matter is obviously not Ji Gang targeting me alone, but he is following the will of the palace."

"Ji Gang can't move me, but a word in the palace can determine my life and death."

"Seize this opportunity and retreat bravely against the rapids, so that you can save your life."

If the person in charge is Zhu Di, Li Zhigang naturally has no need to think about running for his life, after all, Zhu Di is still a little vanine, and he can save his life by patting his ass.

But the problem is that Zhu Di is now living in the Qianqing Palace, and all the affairs of the outer court are handed over to Zhu Gaoxu in the East Palace.

When the object changes, the way of doing things naturally has to change.

What kind of character Zhu Gaoxu is, Li Zhigang knows very well, if he doesn't hurry up and retreat, he will be caught by the tail and exiled to the frontier within half a year.

Although he was reluctant to have the power in his hands, he could only do so in order to survive.

In addition, if he does this, he can also pull this guy Ji Gang into the water.

Thinking of this, Li Zhigang also urged the master, and the manager understood everything, so he naturally accelerated the speed of packing things.

Soon, the news that Li Zhigang had just entered the palace and begged to return to his hometown came out from within the Li Mansion.

Upon hearing this news, the Jinyi Guards commanded Ji Gang in the yamen to be so angry that he smashed his favorite white porcelain cup.

"Old Zamao, you actually want to drag me into the water!"

Ji Gang scolded Li Zhigang angrily, and then thought of the leaked news, and immediately set his eyes on the military attache with him: "Clean up the tail, it is estimated that Hu Lun has already started to investigate." ”

"Yes!" When the military attache heard this, he responded, and then withdrew from the yamen.

In the next few days, the wrestlers of Xichang and Jinyiwei often haunted inside and outside the imperial city, one side searched, and the other side destroyed, so it was not lively.

However, no matter how Ji Gang destroyed it, his bribery was still found out by Hu Lun, and he asked people to go to the Chunhe Palace.

Zhu Gaoxu sat in the hall and read the contents, although he knew Ji Gang's personality early, he was still surprised by Ji Gang's boldness.

"With this book alone, I'm afraid this discipline will ask for no less than 100,000 bribes, right?"

Zhu Gaoxu casually threw the Chinese book on the table, and his eyes swept over the same seven or eight books on the side, obviously these were all evidence of Ji Gang's solicitation of bribes.

"A lot of evidence was destroyed by Ji Gang, and Hu Lun estimated that Ji Gang might not be able to ask for more than one million bribes."

"Your Highness, let's see if you want to ......"

Yisha asked cautiously, but Zhu Gaoxu raised his hand and said, "The dirty work hasn't been done yet, and now is not the time for him to die." ”

Zhu Gaoxu really doesn't look down on Ji Gang, but he won't be stupid enough to execute Ji Gang right now.

Xie Jin and Yang Shiqi have not yet dealt with the bunch of people, and the north and south holes are still active, and in this case, killing Ji Gang is really a decision that is fast for the enemy and painful for the relatives.

"Let Hu Lun stop and continue to look at Ghost Lichi's side, I estimate that Benjamin should be fighting Ghost Lichi soon."

Zhu Gaoxu did not continue to investigate, he only needed to know everything, and as for when to deal with what things, it was up to him to decide.

I believe that after this incident, Ji Gang will also restrain what he has done.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu rubbed his eyebrows, and at the same time, hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall.

Zhu Gaoxu and Yishaha looked up, only to see Hu Lun walking into the hall and coming from afar.

When he walked into the side hall, Hu Lun took a deep breath and said: "Your Highness, there is news from the Hundred Households in Japan that the Japanese lord Ashikaga Yoshimitsu died of a sudden illness a month ago, and his son Ashikaga Yoshinori took over the internal affairs of Japan. ”

"Here ......" Hearing this news, Zhu Gaoxu did not panic at all, but after pondering, he spoke:

"What is Ashikaga Yoshitori's attitude towards the imperial court, and is there a problem with Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's death?"

Japan is now an important part of the trading system of the Ming Dynasty, responsible for one-third of the output of the Great Ming Dynasty, and if something happens to Japan, it will undoubtedly disrupt Zhu Gaoxu's plans.

"Ashikaga Yoshishi held the assistant of the shogunate's old shogun, Yoshisho Spo, and others, who had previously tended to be conservative in their policies and felt that it was a shame to be a vassal to the imperial court."

"However, they are reluctant to accept the tax revenue allocated to them by the imperial court every year, but they do not want to continue to maintain the city department, which is very contradictory."

"Other specific policies have not yet been transmitted back from the Baihu Institute."

Hu Lun briefly explained what happened in Japan, especially the issue of Ashikaga Yoshitoshi's attitude towards the Ming Dynasty.

Compared with the practice of Ashikaga Yoshimochi in history who was very decisive in cutting off relations with the Ming Dynasty, Ashikaga Yoshinori in this life is obviously not as decisive as in history.

The tax on the trade of the Japanese market alone accounted for half of the shogunate's fiscal revenue, and if it were to cut off contact with the Ming Dynasty, this half of the tax would disappear.

In addition, the Kyogoku family, which actually controlled the islands, was also a beneficiary of trade taxes, and the taxes distributed by the shogunate to the Kyogoku family accounted for 20% of the Kyogoku family's fiscal revenue.

Even if the shogunate could cut off the Ming dynasty, the Kyogoku family was not so willing to give up such a large amount of taxes.

In terms of these two issues, it was only the problem of the shogunate and the Kyogoku family, and the trade with the Japanese market was not only a problem between the two of them, but also involved the protection of the entire countries in the region.

Once the Japanese market is closed, the Kansai countries will have to organize their own fleets to trade in Ningbo, which will not only make it more difficult to collect taxes than before, but also prolong the trade time, which is directly related to the finances of each country.

The Ashikaga shogunate could only control the Gyeonggi area, and if they resolutely shut down the port of the Japanese market, then what happened to the Kansai national guardian association, even Ashikaga Yoshinori himself was not sure.

Perhaps, at that time, the Kyogoku family will continue to maintain the Ming Dynasty's trade with Japan in the Hidden Islands, and the Kansai countries will also express their support.

In this way, the prestige of the Kyogoku family may reach the level of rivalry with the shogunate, which is unacceptable to Ashikaga Yoshinori.

"Let's take a look at Ashikaga Yoshitoshi's attitude towards the imperial court for the time being, and then go and pass on Ashikaga Yoshiji, and I'll tell him about it."

Zhu Gaoxu instructed Hu Lun and Yisha, and the two also responded.

As Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's favorite child, Ashikaga Yoshitsugu came to Daming in the sixth year of Yongle, and was studying in Nanjing Guozi Prison at this time.

Originally, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu asked him to come to Daming to study, mainly to gain the support of Daming, so as to facilitate Ashikaga Yoshitsu to inherit the throne of the emperor as an adopted son in the future.

However, he estimated that he didn't expect that Ashikaga Yoshitsugu would be able to return to Japan in less than half a year, and at this time, he didn't hold it up and took the first step.

But it doesn't matter, what Ashikaga Yoshimitsu wants to do is also what Zhu Gaochu wants to do.

Under Zhu Gaoxu's summons, about half an hour passed, and the sound of singing came from the gate of the Chunhe Palace.

"Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, the son of Japan, begging to see His Highness."

"Xuan!"

Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth to the door of the palace, and soon saw the eunuch on duty leading Ashikaga Yoshitsugu into the side hall.

I have to say that after coming to the Ming Dynasty, Ashikaga Yoshiji did not have those Japanese rules, and under the casual diet, his height was much taller than when he came.

From Zhu Gaoxu's naked eye, although Ashikaga Yoshiji is not yet five feet (160cm), it should not be a problem to reach five feet in adulthood.

Such a height is already a little giant in Japan, much taller than the shabby four-foot height he was before he came to the Ming Dynasty.

"Ashikaga Yoshiji, see Your Highness, may Your Highness Chitose Chitose Chitose Chitose......"

Ashikaga Yoshiji knelt down and kowtowed, and Zhu Gaoxu saw this, which also made him lose his seat.

After growing taller, Ashikaga Yoshitsugu finally did not have the embarrassment of sitting down with his feet hanging in the air, and the whole person was much more confident and generous.

Looking at his appearance, Zhu Gaoxu said slowly: "The imperial court just received news that your father died of a sudden illness a month ago. ”

Just one sentence, the smile on Ashikaga Yoshitsugu's face immediately stiffened, and the whole person was stunned in the chair.

After a while, he stood up at a loss and said, "Your Highness, I ......"

"Wait until I'm done before you make a decision." Zhu Gaoxu raised his hand to signal him not to worry, and at the same time continued:

"Your father said that he hoped that Ling would succeed to the throne after the completion of the Ming Dynasty and his return to Japan, which I promised your father, so I will naturally try my best to help you."

"At the moment, the situation in Japan is not very clear, and your brother Ashikaga Yoshinori has the support of many people, and there is considerable disagreement with the imperial court's policy of establishing a city division in the hidden area."

"I originally wanted you to return to Japan, but I was worried that your brother would attack you, and the imperial court would not be able to rush to protect you, so I wanted you to stay in Nanjing for the time being, and then send someone to escort you back to Japan when the situation in Japan was clear."

"The imperial court is also already working on it, preparing to send officials from the Ministry of Rites to the capital of Japan in the near future to investigate the cause of your father's death and test the authenticity of his edict."

"If your father is really ready to let your brother inherit the throne, then you don't have to worry, you can stay in Daming and continue to live, I will give you the third rank to ensure that you and your descendants have no worries about food and clothing."

"If there is a problem with the edict, then I will also help you recover the throne that belongs to you."

Zhu Gaoxu's words moved Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, he immediately got up and knelt on the ground, bowed five times and knocked three times, and couldn't help but cry: "Listen to His Highness's arrangement!" ”

When Ashikaga Yoshitsugu learned the news of his father's death, his mind was indeed blank and he was anxious to go home.

It's just that when he listened to Zhu Gaoxu's arrangement, he gradually reacted, that is, his eldest brother actually didn't welcome him, and even hated himself.

If you return to Japan, and don't mention whether you can have the strength to protect yourself, you won't have the ability to fight your big brother.

As soon as his father died, there were not a few people who wanted to die with him, and staying in Daming was the safest choice.

However, he didn't expect that Zhu Gaoxu would be willing to investigate this matter for himself, and promised to help him regain the throne.

For Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, who is only fifteen years old, Zhu Gaoxu's move is undoubtedly a bright light ahead of his road.

"You can go down and rest, take good care of yourself during this period, and when there is news from Japan, I will tell you the news."

"You can rest assured that I will not let you and your father down."

Zhu Gaoxu appeased Ashikaga Yoshiji, and Ashikaga Yoshiji also sobbed and nodded when he saw this, and finally slowly withdrew from the Chunhe Hall under the leadership of the eunuch on duty.

While he retreated, Yisha, who was standing aside and watching the whole scene, stepped forward and said:

"Your Highness, why do you need to take such care of this person, although he is still valuable, but if he cannot return to Japan to inherit the throne, then his value is ......"

"His value will always be there." Zhu Gaoxu interrupted Yishaha's words, at this time he did not think that the Ming Dynasty could conquer Japan by force alone.

No matter how bad Japan is, it is also a big country with a population of 10 million, while the population of the Ming Dynasty will not exceed 80 million at most, and it also needs to continue to migrate to ensure the actual control of the southwest and northeast.

It is easy to cross the sea and defeat Japan, but it is difficult to rule for a long time.

The geographical location of Japan was very important to the Ming Dynasty, as it was not only an important transit point for the Ming Dynasty to connect with the Americas in the future, but also an important silver mining place for the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, when it is impossible to actually control the local area, supporting a force to rule Japan for a long time is undoubtedly the best arrangement that Zhu Gaoxu can make.

Ashikaga Yoshitsugu is very suitable for this candidate, especially when he replaces the emperor's lineage that has been inherited for more than a thousand years, and he will undoubtedly become a "traitor" in the hearts of the Japanese people.

With such an identity, if the brains of Ashikaga Yoshiji are fine, then they will actively communicate with the Ming Dynasty and become the most loyal subordinates of the Ming Dynasty.

In the future, as the trade of the Ming Ocean Delta is on the right track, more and more Han Chinese will live in Japan.

With the increasing number of Han Chinese, it would be much easier for future kings to rule Japan directly.

Although Zhu Gaoxu could not see this scene in his lifetime, at least he could turn Japan into a Chinese dog, which was enough for him to write a big book in the history books.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu turned his head to look at Yishaha: "The Ministry of Rites sent officials to Kyoto to verify, and Xichang also went to the countries of Kansai to have a dialogue with their guards. ”

"If there is no Ming Dynasty, no matter how much silver they dig out, there will be no direction to sell, and once the Hidden Ambiguity City is closed, their losses will definitely be greater than the losses of the imperial court, let them weigh the pros and cons themselves."

"In addition, the intelligence investigation of Ashikaga Yoshinori needs to be deepened, and I don't want to see anything unexpected."

After ordering everything, Zhu Gaoxu watched Yisha walk out of the Chunhe Hall to do errands, and then gradually relaxed.

But just as he was relaxing his mind, footsteps were heard outside the hall.

Zhu Gaoxu looked up, but saw that the person who came was Zhu Zhanyan wearing a round-necked robe.

At the age of seven, he was very busy in whatever he did, either practicing archery in the front dormitory every day, or watching people shoot muskets in the square at the back door of the center left.

He was very interested in these military matters, but not very good at economic and political affairs.

It is precisely for this reason that Zhu Gaoxu plans to let him study in one of the few official schools in Nanjing at the beginning of spring next year to understand the lives of the common people.

"Dad, you're still busy!"

Zhu Zhanyan trotted into the hall with a big grin, and when he saw the mountains of music on the table, he stopped immediately.

Looking at his appearance, Zhu Gaoxu rubbed his eyebrows: "Are you back after playing?" ”

"No, I'm going to see my grandfather and grandmother in Qianqing Palace." Zhu Zhanyu cautiously walked to Zhu Gaoxu's side, his eyes did not dare to look at Song Shu at all, for fear that Zhu Gaoxu would think that he was interested in these things.

"How's your grandparents?" Hearing about Zhu Di and Empress Xu, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but flash Queen Xu's weak appearance in his mind.

"Grandma was sick, and grandpa was afraid that we would disturb him, so he asked me and my eldest brother to go outside to play, and my eldest brother took me to fight crickets for a day."

Zhu Zhanyu's eyebrows danced, but Zhu Gaoxu's face was dark.

Zhu Zhanji's little black fat man he has already seen, although he has not been cultivated by Zhu Di in history, this kid still falls in love with this kind of thing.

Zhu Gaoxu can't care about how he fights crickets, but he can't take Zhu Zhanyan into the wilderness.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu picked up Zhu Zhanyan, and explained while meeting his eyes: "It's okay to fight crickets and bow horses, but you can't fall behind in your studies." ”

"After the beginning of spring next year, I will ask Yida to take you to study at the official school in the imperial city, where you can meet many people."

"Huh?" Zhu Zhanyan's expression immediately froze, and he cried: "I don't want to study!" ”

"You don't count on that." Zhu Gaoxu chuckled lightly and teased him, and soon the hall was full of laughter.

Counting, this is also the day of the biggest laughter in the Chunhe Palace since Empress Xu was seriously ill......

(End of chapter)