On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Gu Yun secretly sent envoys to visit Japan and the Nanyang Islands. Up to this point, the front line had been stalemate for more than three months. The existing front lines had been stretched and expanded under the constant tug-of-war between the two sides. The war spread from the south of the Yangtze River to the north of the Yangtze River.

Thirteen counties and even Guangdong and Guangxi were affected.

A large number of residents who were trapped in their homeland and refused to cross the river began to form their own militia. Although the civilian long-armed masters who lived in various places did not have purple gold, they found ways to use coal and earthen explosives instead, and also created a group of less fancy weapons in various ways.

Civilian armed forces.

To this end, Lingshu Academy announced the establishment of branches in various places to exchange and teach technologies other than highly confidential military industry.

And the more far-reaching effects of the war have gradually emerged.

Fang Qin never expected that it was not the Yanwang Party that broke the peace in the court, but the clear flow of the two houses——

This year coincided with the three-year autumn period of the Liang Dynasty, which was interrupted midway due to war, and was delayed for a long time. The Gui Bang was not released until the twelfth lunar month, and the entire list became a "Mei Bang", which was used by various places.

Scholars jokingly call it "the bad list".

Less than three days after the announcement of the results, a scholar in Shaanxi Prefecture committed suicide under mysterious circumstances. The officials below did not dare to cause trouble at this juncture and tried their best not to report it. Unexpectedly, within a few days, when the imperial meeting was dismissed, someone stopped him.

An imperial edict was filed at Shitai Gate.

The reason for this is a long story.

Prince Yan made two trips to the south of the Yangtze River, beheaded countless heads, and introduced the most stringent officialdom. This caused the corruption in Daliang that had been intensifying since the Yuanhe period to temporarily subside. After several years of war, even the imperial palace was tightening its control.

Expenditures and official salaries had to be reduced again and again. The war vote made matters worse, and it was closely linked to the official assessment... It was like closing the source and opening up again. The life of officials in Daliang has never been so difficult in a hundred years.

.

There is a saying that it is easy to move from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to move from extravagance to frugality. When it comes to a huge family fortune, no one will think that "everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the country."

But there is nothing you can do about it when life is difficult - no one dares to accept gifts. Everyone knows that behind the wealthy businessmen is King Yan. Maybe any gift received incorrectly is a reminder. No one dares to touch military expenditures. After the tax and fee reform, they will not be able to touch it for a while. Disaster relief

Not to mention, the heads of Yang Ronggui and others are probably not rotten to bones yet.

It happened that Qiu Wei was not taken seriously this time. The whole country was busy fighting wars and making money. No one cared about this bunch of useless scholars, so someone immediately started thinking about it.

As a result, he pulled out the carrot and brought it out of the mud, and was implicated in a major fraud case involving nine provinces, which shocked the whole country.

Fang Qin finally suppressed the many troublemakers around him. Just after two days of peaceful life, he was confused by the snowflakes from the two courtyards.

Special characters like Qingliu from both chambers are different from the Yanwang Party. The Yanwang Party has always been pragmatic and must have a purpose in everything they do. They fight for power in an orderly manner and many of their actions are predictable. But this group of people has higher eyes than the top.

The clear-minded people who regard fame, fortune, and wealth as nothing but dirt often do it entirely for the sake of participating. This is what they do, and their personal reputation is closely related to how many people they defeat.

Young masters with prominent family backgrounds rarely enter the two chambers, so most of these freaks come from poor families, and the fraud in the imperial examinations touches the interests of poor families.

The mad dogs in both hospitals, which had not bitten anyone for a long time, seemed to have had their tails stepped on collectively, and started barking like crazy. They yelled and cursed every day in different ways, forcing Li Feng to investigate closely.

Knocked to death on the dragon pillar in the main hall.

The short and false tranquility was broken.

I don't know how many intricate relationships among the officials of the nine provinces were involved, including even Fang Qin's incompetent brother.

The young son and eldest grandson are all the old man's destiny. Even the great scholar Fang, who has not been interested in worldly affairs for a long time, is alarmed. Fang Qin can treat everyone with humiliation, but not his own father. One head becomes two big ones.

But before Fang Qin could come up with a countermeasure, the emperor skipped Dali Temple and the Inspectorate directly this time and handed the case to the Military Aircraft Department. Jiang Chong took the lead in the investigation, and the others only cooperated.

It seems that the fire cannot be contained in the paper.

Although Fang Qin was born in a beautiful family, he always had some ideas that would shine through the ages and was unwilling to shamelessly join the others. For this reason, he first abandoned Lu Chang, who dared to coerce him, and then abandoned the purebred fool Wang Guo. Now he finally

It got to the point where I couldn't leave it anymore - my mother was still ill in the yard next door.

After Mr. Fang comforted this one, he had to explain that one. When he left the house, there was still a group of people waiting for him to make up his mind. He was very anxious. He had two blood blisters on the corner of his mouth overnight. He had just cried with his old mother.

On the scene, Fang Qin heard that someone came to the door again. He rubbed his brows with a heavy face and coldly ordered: "Just say I'm not at home and send him away."

The servant left in silence, and an aide quietly came up to him. Fang Qin whispered: "My lord, are you worried?"

Fang Qin glanced at him angrily. Fortunately, he was very good at cultivating qi. He quickly calmed down his gloomy look and said slowly: "It has been three years since the scholar's rebellion came to an end. This time, from the incident to the imperial edict in the capital, it happened too quickly."

It's as if someone is escorting him... Li Minming has such a bright face, but he only dares to stab people under the table. This kind of person with a dark face and heart can only deceive the emperor."

The staff asked again: "Does your Excellency have regulations in mind?"

Fang Qin was completely involved in a lawsuit - if he could know in advance, even just one day in advance, he would have some room for maneuver. But the matter broke out so fast. The emperor knew about it earlier than he did, so he directly let Fang Qin know about it.

Qin fell into a very embarrassing situation.

Fang Qin sighed: "It's difficult, King Yan is a tiger and wolf. Once he grabs the prey's neck, he will never let go."

The staff member smiled softly and said: "Sir, I heard that His Highness King Yan's reforms have not been completely completed, and there are still hundreds of disputes in the court. I think he is too impatient. This step was a smart one, but it was a wise one."

error."

Fang Qin stopped and heard that the people next to him were trying to show off. The Fang Mansion had a lot of staff, but most of them just played chess and talked with the old man, the great scholar Fang. Not many of them could speak in front of Fang Qin.

Of course, it is rare to seize an opportunity and stand out.

Fang Qin reached out and touched his beard: "What should I say?"

Seeing that the opportunity had come, the staff member hurriedly poured out the words he had prepared: "Now that the matter has come to this, I'm afraid there is no chance of overturning the verdict. Why not take a step back and find ways to abolish King Yan's new official law?"

Fang Qin thought he had some great ideas. Hearing this, he cut off his luck and said coldly: "Fraud in the imperial examination has been a serious crime in the past dynasties, beheading the head and banishing the army. What does it have to do with the old and new official laws?"

The staff smiled calmly and said: "Sir, if a person is greedy for ink, he is greedy for ink, and if a person cheats, he is cheating. But now nine provinces are involved, and countless important ministers are deeply involved. Is this a coincidence? The emperor will also think that there must be something behind it.

What is the reason? Why are these important officials of the imperial court so vicious? Because the past two years have been really difficult. The refugees dare not not settle down, the excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes do not dare not be paid, the military expenditures do not dare not be paid, and the beacon quota quotas do not dare not be fulfilled."

Fang Qin's eyebrows moved slightly: "The circulation of beacon tickets can be equivalent to gold and silver. What do you think of this matter, which was clearly stipulated after the Jiangnan incident?"

"Circulation can be equal to gold and silver, but it does not mean that gold and silver can be turned over to the court," the staff member shook his head and said, "Furthermore, many wealthy merchants in Jiangbei came from the south, and the people's customs were civilized earlier, but not in the Central Plains and even the northwest.

In the same way, if people don’t admit it, they don’t admit it. If the government forces it, the unruly people will cry, make trouble, and hang themselves. If something goes wrong, the court will hold them accountable. Who is easily to blame, walking on the ice? Your Excellency, I want to think about it.

Think about it, if you really go all out and fight, there may be room for change in this matter. Even if the third master is convicted and dismissed, as long as the power of the Fang family is still there, he may not be able to make a comeback in the future."

Fang Qin was silent after hearing this.

The staff whispered: "Sir, things are unpredictable. We hope to settle old scores after the war. Naturally, King Yan will not think of it. At this time, don't talk about 'fighting is fighting'. If you don't take the initiative to play chess, you can only

I was forced to death by them - the students talked too much today, please don't take offense, please leave."

On the 16th of the twelfth lunar month, when the governor of Shaanxi Prefecture, one of the masterminds involved in the case, was put on trial, he cried out loudly in court, crying that the land under his jurisdiction was poor and weak, and it was difficult to promote beacon tickets, so the local government had to buy them themselves, and three batches of quotas were issued in succession.

If it can't be completed, it can only be moved around and borrowed here and there, and there is really no income, which is unbearable, so it has to take this strategy.

As soon as these words came out, it was like a stone that stirred up a thousand waves. The guilty ministers all spoke with one voice, completely dragging down the Yanwang party who were watching the fire from across the bank. Even the hob-knife meat said nonsense: "To say that someone cheated on the imperial examination is to indirectly buy an official position."

Selling an official, what is the difference between linking the official administration assessment with the beacon votes and selling an official to win a title?"

This year's farewell to the old and welcome to the new year passed in a chaotic manner, and no one had a safe bite of dumplings.

At the end of the fight, the Military Aircraft Department had no choice but to submit a letter to plead guilty, officially announcing the abolition of the clauses in the new civil service law that were linked to beacon-fire tickets, and at the same time suspending the sale of beacon-fire tickets.

However, the war was raging, and it was inevitable that the imperial court would once again be in a situation where it had no money to use. The Military Aircraft Department took the opportunity to propose a stop to the imperial government's official silver minting, and imitated the Western policies in the occupied areas and the "Jiaozi" theory of the previous dynasty.

Long'an Bank issued special "silver coins" instead of gold and silver coins, and drafted a series of new rules and handed them over together with an apology note.

Long'an Bank is connected to the Canal Office, and it also falls within the scope of the Military Aircraft Department. As long as the new regulations are practical and feasible, everyone has no opinion on whether it is "tiejiaozi" or "paper treasure", but it must not be in the hands of the Military Aircraft Department.

So at this time, the steam railway track that was about to be formed unexpectedly ran into problems.

The north and south sections have been basically connected, leaving only the middle section. Once connected, it will be completed. However, the construction of this last section has been delayed for more than a month because the problem lies in the land.

Most of the land along the route has been reserved, but for such a long stretch it is impossible that all the land it passes through is unowned land. It was originally private, so the Canal Office will come forward and buy it from the original landowner at market price.

, and at the same time provided some other subsidies - such as tax exemptions, etc., and some people were unwilling to sell their ancestral property, so the court levied rent instead of tax, wrote a lease, and paid the rent every year.

Since the Yuanhe period, the Daliang court has emphasized benevolent governance, being strict with civil and military officials, but very polite to civilian squires. Precisely because it was too polite, there was a fatal omission in this lease - it only mentioned the lease period, not the lease period.

What should I do if the original owner no longer wants to rent the property?

He probably didn't expect anyone to break the court's agreement.

And the last remaining stretch of road happened to be a large piece of rented land. The original owner was a big landowner, and his family had other businesses. We had a good negotiation. Although the repairs didn't reach this point, the rent had been paid. Unexpectedly, this was the end of the road.

The man suddenly regretted and returned the rent in full. Although this man had no official position, he had a profound background and was related to Zhao Guogong's family. When he retreated, no one around him dared to slap him in the face.

The people coming from the canal office avoided seeing them, so it was too late for the steam railway to change its course, so it had to make a large circle to change its course.

Because the steam railway was stagnant, Gu Yun wrote several letters in succession asking for the completion date. In the end, he sent a letter directly to Li Feng, saying that the frontline supplies could not keep up and if this continued, he would be forced to shrink the front line.

Fang Qin's younger brother had not yet cleaned himself up. At this time, Academician Fang finally expressed his clear dissatisfaction with his son's "foresight and backwardness" and "insufficient skill" and took action himself.

This former half-chaotic master did two things at the same time.

First of all, he secretly met with the foreign affairs officer who was in contact with the Western envoys, and tactfully hinted that the national strength of Liang at this time may not be enough to support a protracted war with the Westerners. If such a war continues, it will waste people and money, and lose-lose. Among them, those who have made great contributions are not those who fight.

A butcher, but a person who can finally promote peace talks and restore peace and tranquility to the country.

The foreign affairs officer was once a student of Fang University, and asked cautiously: "Teacher, if the emperor is determined to fight, how can we, as ministers, facilitate it?"

"Then it depends on what you tell the Westerners." Academician Fang, who is dressed in an immortal style, said meaningfully, "What they want is nothing more than profit. Do you think they are willing to continue to fight with Gu Yun to the death, or are they willing to continue fighting with Gu Yun to death?

Take a step back and cooperate with the peace faction of our country to cease the war as soon as possible and promote mutual friendship? The emperor and the court want face. If the foreigners are really sincere and give up face, we will not be stingy with it. Don't you think so? There is no frontline war to worry about.

For the first time, I don’t believe that the emperor will let King Yan and the others continue to mess around in such a mess.”

After dismissing the foreign affairs officer who was just waking up from his dream, Grand Scholar Fang asked his wife to hire someone else - Emperor Long'an's nanny, who had been taken care of by Mrs. Fang for a time after she left the palace in her early years.

Li Feng was very affectionate towards his wet nurse. He was discussing business with Chang Geng when he heard that the wet nurse had brought a sign to the palace to visit the empress who had been ill for a long time. He hurriedly finished explaining to Chang Geng and rushed to the harem.

Chang Geng slowly left the palace and walked outside. The entire palace was shrouded in twilight. The golden light of thousands of glazed tiles disappeared, and there were still a few unnoticeable ice fragments hanging on the edges, making it look extremely inhumane.

The weather is so cold and Beijing is so hot.

Recently, the front line has become more and more tense, and Gu Yun's letters have also decreased. The endless chats have basically disappeared, and the occasional private letter is just a few words.

Chang Geng exhaled slowly and stood blankly under the high vermilion wall for a while, thinking to himself: "The day after tomorrow will be the sixteenth day of the first lunar month."

But the fog shrouding the mountains and rivers has yet to clear up.

Even though the result was getting closer and closer as he planned step by step, he still couldn't help but feel panic at times.

At this time, a group of guards passed by and saw him. They hurriedly stepped forward to greet him and said: "Your Majesty."

Chang Geng said nothing, and stared at the two guards for a moment, then suddenly walked away like a demon.
Chapter completed!