Chapter 443: Fortresses are conquered from within (Part 2)
Huang Bingshi still maintained a sense of distance and said calmly: "How can Huang deserve this ridiculous praise? How can Huang, who is just a senior official in the palace, become a minister of the country?"
Wei Zhongxian, on the other hand, showed a hint of boastfulness: "Speaking of which, our family also played a part in letting Lord Long live and Mrs. Zheng know about Mr. Huang's character. Two years ago, although our family only raised money from Prince Fu,
After returning to Beijing with 50,000 to 60,000 taels of silver, most of what he said when he met the Holy Spirit was that he was glad that King Fu had a virtuous minister like Huang Gong beside him to advise him. Otherwise, I am afraid that our family would have returned empty-handed. Since then,
, Long Live Lord and Mrs. Zheng, just remember Mr. Huang."
Huang Bingshi was like scholars of all ages, he could keep a mental look down on women. How could he not be happy when he heard that the emperor was paying attention to him?
Generally speaking, among the prince's and queen's ministers, the highest ranking official is just a juren, because being the chief of staff to the prince means that his career in the Ming Empire has come to an abrupt end. How can he be a Jinshi?
Huang Bingshi was a special case. He was too old when he was selected as a Jinshi, and Prince Fu was the favored son of Wanli. After his predecessor, Chang Shi, died of illness, Wanli asked the Ministry of Rites to discuss with the Ministry of Personnel to select a Jinshi.
Huang Bingshi, who had just been recommended for office for a while and was not affiliated with any political party, was selected.
Therefore, unlike the minions of the servants or servants in Prince Fu's Mansion, Huang Bingshi has always been in the self-improvement of cherishing his wings. The so-called distant mind is self-biased, and he mentally shields those rats who are doing evil and greedy for money beside Prince Fu.
It seems like this, Huang Bingshi is still a respectable member of the imperial scholar class.
Now he feels even more refreshed, and everyone in the capital looks at him with admiration.
The wrinkles on Huang Bingshi's face unfurled, and he spoke warmly to Wei Zhongxian: "Then, Huang will be disrespectful and accept Dong Gong's painting "Wind Plum Blossoms and Frost"."
Suddenly he remembered what King Fu told him during the day, and he took advantage of the harmonious atmosphere to ask.
"Eunuch Wei, Huang heard from the government office a few days ago that a lot of the beautiful girls sent by Nanyang, Kaifeng, and Runing have been screened out. Is the draft here in Zhongzhou almost done?
"
Wei Zhongxian did not answer immediately. He poured two cups of tea slowly before sighing, shaking his head and saying, "It's a long way off."
"Father, what do you mean?"
Wei Zhongxian lit the tea cup in front of him, and then lit the tea cup in front of Huang Bingshi: "I invite you here today. I was about to talk about this second matter. The border is in a hurry. Hey, maybe it will continue to be in a hurry. Please ask King Fu, and then from his bowl
, divide the two hundred thousand taels of silver into the bowls of the household department."
Wei Zhongxian curled his lips and said, "Not too much, not too much. Everyone in the capital is telling you that every ten days Prince Fu holds a banquet imitating the Tang Dynasty, it will cost fifty thousand taels of silver. If you eat three banquets a month, it will cost you one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver."
"What banquet? Imitate the banquet of the Tang Dynasty?" Huang Bingshi was stunned.
Although Zhu Changxun spent a lot of money, Huang Bingshi had never seen this "imitation Tang Dynasty banquet".
Wei Zhongxian secretly sneered, no matter whether you held a banquet in Prince Fu's palace or not, Mrs. Zheng's real money was given to various singing troupes and storytellers. How could they not make the entire capital, from the courtiers to the common people, believe her?
Wei Zhongxian then added exaggeratedly: "It's just that King Fu made a big banquet of the famous palace dishes of Chang'an and Luoyang in the Tang Dynasty, cuanba. Alas, originally, the vassal king couldn't eat anything good.
What, which vassal prince in the Ming Dynasty didn't serve delicacies from the mountains and seas in his palace? But the rumors in Beijing became more and more detailed, saying that every time King Fu played the role of Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty at banquets, with twelve crowns and crowns added to his head. How could this vassal prince pretend to be the emperor?
"
Huang Bingshi was shocked, waved his hand and said: "Rumors, rumors, Eunuch Wei, Prince Fu does have ministers to advise him on a daily basis, but there is absolutely no imitation of the Tang Dynasty banquet with twelve crowns."
"Hey, I can't stand the civil and military officials and the common people. They don't believe it." Wei Zhongxian sipped his tea. "We don't believe it either. Our family has been squatting in Luoyang City for several months. Our children go to restaurants and eat meat."
I’ve asked around at the grocery store, and I know they cook well here, but I really don’t know about it.”
Listening to the gongs and drums, Huang Bingshi became more and more stunned.
Is this Eunuch Wei here to select girls for the Crown Prince, or is he here to conduct an inspection for the Long Live Lord?
However, Wei Zhongxian still did not put on airs and said in a consultative tone: "Let's do this. Huang Gong will go back and talk to Prince Fu first about two hundred thousand taels to solve the urgent need of the court. Whenever the money arrives, our family will
Leave Luoyang."
He added meaningfully: "You might as well report the rumors about imitating the Tang Dynasty banquet to Prince Fu."
…
"What imitation of the Tang Dynasty banquet! It's nonsense, it's nothing. What two hundred thousand taels of silver! Don't even think about it. I'd rather feed the dogs than give it to them."
In Prince Fu's Mansion, Zhu Changxun was furious.
On his face, the eyes that were usually squeezed into two slits by the fat were rarely visible because they were so wide.
Huang Bingshi winked at Huang Qirui, who was sitting under Zhu Changxun.
After Wei Zhongxian's confession that day, Huang Bingshi thought about it and asked Huang Qirui, who was close to him and was a relative of Prince Fu, to discuss the matter.
At this moment, Huang Qirui caught Huang Bingshi's gaze and comforted Zhu Changxun with gentle words: "I have heard that in recent years, the Tatars have robbed the west and have already reached outside Xuan Dakou. It is true that the Liaodong frontier army is not the only one who resists the Tatars.
The surge in the number has made the imperial court very rare. Your Highness, Shanxi is just to the north of us, so your Highness should be..."
"Okay, okay, it's my official job," Zhu Changxun's furious temper turned into sarcasm, "Your daughter became the orphan's daughter-in-law, and you were awarded a false title to direct everyone's affairs. How can you still
Do you really think of yourself as a court official? Are you like Huang Bingshi, who passed the Jinshi examination based on your ability? You have such a big face."
Huang Qirui's face suddenly turned red.
Huang Qirui was originally a scholar, but he was only selected as a scholar. According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, royal wives were found from small families, and Huang Qirui's daughter was selected.
But no matter how low his family background, Huang Qirui still had the pride and dignity of a scholar. Not to mention that Zhu Changxun was his equal in marriage, but between an ordinary prince and a scholar, how could the former speak so rudely when the latter was worried about the national crisis?
Unexpectedly, scolding Huang Qirui was not enough, and Zhu Changxun continued to direct his firepower at Huang Bingshi.
"Ah, yes, let's talk about you, a true Jinshi. You are quite capable, aren't you? You are far-sighted, aren't you? Three years ago, I was unwilling to pay for the fifty thousand taels, and you had to come up with some truth. Okay, I took out the money.
, and then look at today, people came to the door again to beg for alms. And the lion opened his mouth even more, 200,000 taels, was Dang Gu's money stolen?"
Huang Bingshi tried his best to restrain himself from breathing too heavily.
But questions clearly ran through his mind: How come your Prince Fu's money wasn't stolen from you? Should the Lianghuai salt quotation belong to a feudal prince? Should the merchant ships on the Heluo waterway pay taxes, should it belong to a feudal prince? These
Didn't you and your unworthy mother and concubine steal the Ming Dynasty's annual income that was supposed to be used as military pay from the Ministry of Household Affairs?
"Why, Huang Changshi, who always talks about benevolence, justice and morality, has nothing to say, right?" Zhu Changxun's voice sounded again, "Huang Bingshi, go and tell the eunuch named Wei that the person sitting on the dragon throne is not alone.
, it’s not Gu who is the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Gu can’t control the military pay of the Ming Dynasty. But Gu’s fiefdom is in Henan Prefecture, and Gu is the king here. He doesn’t want to leave, and in ten days, Gu will bring new people to the mansion.
, we also need to look for women for the music and dance troupe, specifically those between thirteen and sixteen years old."
After saying that, Zhu Changxun moved his bear-like body, suddenly showed a majestic smile, and said to his in-law Huang Qirui: "Huang Du commanded, and I turned around. Just when King Xuande Chang came, he asked him to choose two from among the women.
Take it back to the Prince's Mansion and give it to the Prince. You must tell your daughter not to be sour or jealous."
Huang Qirui was silent all the way out of Prince Fu's Mansion.
It wasn't until he left the palace and walked to the street that Huang Bingshi, who was standing side by side with him, said softly: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you here today, stupid brother."
Huang Qirui turned his head and stared at Huang Bingshi: "What do you think will happen to the court if nothing is done this time?"
Huang Bingshi sighed: "It's better not to eliminate the vassal, after all, it's not the year of King Ning."
Huang Qirui sneered softly: "Prince Ning really rebelled back then, and there were no rumors about Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty and his twelve crowns."
The two didn't dare to think too much about the real answer, so they simply stopped talking.
In today's current situation, the emperor is no longer Wanli, the Lu vassal vassal has cleared the land and returned it to the farmland, and the vassals of Dai vassal have all their clan members serving as frontier soldiers. King Fu thought that he was still the father's doting mother, who loved everything.
Aren’t you afraid of the first prince of Ming Dynasty?