Chapter 442: Fortresses are conquered from within (Part 1)
"Old Huang, why is that eunuch named Wei still on the job? When will he return to Beijing?"
In Luoyang, in the palace of Prince Fu, thirty-eight-year-old Zhu Changxun lazily asked questions to his subordinate officials.
Huang Bingshi, the chief minister of Prince Fu's Palace, even though he had succeeded his predecessor and served as the highest-ranking civil servant of Prince Fu's Palace for three years, he still could not accept the title of the 200-pound prince on the bed.
"Your Highness, please invite me to your official position."
"Ah? Oh, Huang Changshi." King Fu Zhu Changxun didn't worry, he changed his tune when he said it.
After Zheng Guifei completely lost power in Beijing, she asked an eunuch named Lu Jiude to go to Fengyang to guard the imperial mausoleum. She then went to Luoyang and met Zhu Changxun. She told him that today is different from the past, and he must pay attention to the people sent to the palace by the imperial court.
The civil servants will treat you with great courtesy, and it will be fine to be a peaceful and wealthy Prince Xiaoyao in Luoyang.
Lu Jiude was Zhu Changxun's childhood companion. Zhu Changxun was willing to listen to Lu Banban's words, but with his lard-filled brain, he could never remember them.
In front of me, Huang Bingshi, who was born as a Jinshi and looked like an old scholar, would shed a bitter look every time he heard Zhu Changxun call him like the leader of his minions or the housekeeper of the inner palace.
Zhu Changxun doesn't think this is a big deal. His understanding of life has always been that it's no big deal to offend others. The emperor's father and the concubine's mother have offended the whole world. Isn't it true that he is still in the ancient capital of Zhongzhou and is as rich as the country?
Do you want to be a vassal king?
Huang Bingshi received the dignity that a royal official should have, and controlled his expression, and said solemnly: "Your Highness, Eunuch Wei, you have official duties, and you are not staying here to disturb the people."
"I know, isn't it just to choose the princess for my nephew," Zhu Changxun said disapprovingly, "That's why it's strange, isn't it? Shouldn't the beautiful girls from Henan Province be sent to Kaifeng for him to choose? What if he comes back squatting in Luoyang?
What's the matter? When the imperial court selects girls, weddings and funerals for girls between the ages of thirteen and sixteen are immediately suspended. Even singing and dancing singers are not allowed to be recruited. Why should my nephew get married and I have to be a monk for a year? "
When Huang Bingshi heard this, the fire in his heart suddenly surged up again.
This is not what a dignified prince should say.
It must be the "credit" of those rabble-rousing people in the government who only want to flatter themselves and make profits.
"Your Highness, please be careful what you say." Huang Bingshi was furious for a moment, but he could only come up with these few words.
Zhu Changxun still sneered unhesitatingly and leaned back on the brocade couch.
He is so fat that he feels tired after sitting for a while. He usually lies down even when watching a play. Today, when talking to Huang Changshi, he was able to sit down seriously for a while, which is a great honor for a civil servant of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Changxun, who was lying on his back, said to Huang Bingshi: "Huang Changshi, go ask Wei Zhongxian. Will he be able to leave Luoyang with the selected girls in one month?"
Huang Bingshi left the palace and turned around to look at the palaces and terraces where the imperial court had wasted 400,000 taels of silver. King Fu's words "Why should an uncle like me have to be a monk for a year?" rang in his ears again.
Huang Bingshi smiled bitterly.
Yes, His Royal Highness Prince Fu, who can mess up even the country's most fundamental salt policy at will, in his eyes, the country's draft girl system is nothing more than an ancestral family law.
There are 1,300 portions of Huai salt, and each portion can be exchanged for 300 jins of Huai salt. This 400,000 jins of salt every year was forced by the late emperor to give it to Prince Fu for free when he was still alive.
However, people from far and near Luoyang always came to eat Hedong salt, and most of the silver exchanged for Hedong salt was used to pay for the troops in the North.
In order to dump Huai salt, Prince Fu's minions forbade merchants from selling Hedong salt and beat them up whenever they saw it. The prefect of Luoyang went to Wanli's time to report it many times to no avail, and he was so angry that he almost hung up his boots.
When Huang Bingshi arrived at the palace for the first time, he also gave some advice to King Fu. King Fu only said one sentence: "Military pay is what the household department of the imperial court should think about, so why do you have to do it with me?"
Huang Bingshi really couldn't figure it out. Is it really a blessing to keep hoarding money, sleeping in different luxurious houses, and enjoying different women?
The majestic dragon lineage, the vassal vassal of the country, isn't the name of a "virtuous king" that will last forever more important than wine, sex and wealth?
At this time, Huang Bingshi was thinking while walking.
When the subordinates and officers who came and went saw him wearing official robes, they would immediately salute respectfully.
But Huang Bingshi only felt indescribably useless and lonely.
Looking at both inside and outside the palace, how many people can relate to him, a disciple of Confucius?
Perhaps, there is only one - Prince Fu's in-laws, Huang Qirui, the father-in-law of Zhu Changxun's eldest son Zhu Yousong.
Two years ago, the imperial court also sent Wei Zhongxian to Luoyang. At that time, he asked for money, but the offer was only one hundred thousand taels, but King Fu was only willing to pay 60%. Huang Qirui and Huang Bingshi persuaded King Fu together.
He donated some of the money he earned from coal production to the Ministry of Household Affairs, which amounted to tens of thousands taels. He also took the lead in clearing land and used ten thousand taels to rent out fields. Prince Fu really shouldn't be competing for a mere 50,000 taels of silver.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Changxun got even more excited when he heard about Shandong. He clamored that his four thousand hectares of fiefdom in Shandong had always been unable to pay the land rent on the grounds of famine years. Maybe Lu Fan was being used as a gunman by the new emperor Zhu Changluo.
, deliberately stumbling upon him, King Fu.
Huang Qirui had no choice but to secretly express his feelings to Huang Bingshi, hoping that Huang Bingshi would teach his son-in-law well: Zhu Yousong, King of Dechang.
Huang Bingshi returned to the duty room of the Palace Chief, still recalling these past events, and dealt with some chores in a depressed mood. Seeing that it was past the due time, he was thinking of going to Huang Qirui to play a few games of chess, and the clerk sent him a greeting card.
Eunuch Wei came from the court and asked him to speak.
…
Luoyang Guanyi.
Wei Zhongxian happily asked Huang Bingshi to take a seat and ordered the little fireman to take out the gift.
After taking the long wooden painting box and placing it on the table, Wei Zhongxian rubbed his hands and said, "Oh, Huang Changshi, our family is a rough man, and we are afraid that we will ruin the painting if we don't understand the rules. Otherwise, Mr. Huang will open the box?"
"
Huang Bingshi had heard Wei Zhongxian say a moment ago that this was the master of the current crown prince and King Xin. Hearing that the Huang family had asked Dong Qichang to give essays and paintings to the scholars in his hometown, he went to Dong Gong's office to ask for a painting of cold plums and proud frost, which happened to be in Luoyang.
c/o Wei Zhongxian.
After Huang Bingshi came to Luoyang and took office, among the candidates who had returned from Chunwei, they inquired about the current news in Beijing and learned that the "master" Wei Zhongxian was talking about was a woman named Zheng. Officials were mainly responsible for inspecting the customs and making recommendations to the imperial court. They were similar but different from the imperial officials.
But he had no friendship with this woman, so why did she give him this painting?
It's not as if Dong Qichang's asking price was unknown to the scholar circles. If they didn't let his apprentices ghostwrite, they would start with a thousand taels of silver for one painting.
Huang Bingshi carefully unfolded Dong Qichang's authentic works. After viewing them for a while, he finally asked bluntly: "Eunuch Wei, Mrs. Zheng, why do you give me such a generous gift?"
"Hey, Mr. Huang, don't be surprised," Wei Zhongxian said with a smile, "Zheng Siqing has always had this temperament. She especially respects the scholar-bureaucrats who are concerned about the country."