Xing Long, the wrinkled Nanjing garrison eunuch, thought about it and spoke. This matter was not a secret. Sooner or later, everyone would know it. And by then, no one would listen to him even if he wanted to talk to anyone——
Xing Longgong cupped his hands and said: "To be honest, Mr. Zhang, our family may have caused a fatal disaster -" When he said this, he stared at Zhang Yuan intently. If Zhang Yuan was panicking or shrinking, then he would not
He would continue talking, but Zhang Yuan remained calm and said calmly: "Father-in-law, please speak."
This young prison student is indeed extraordinary. His calm demeanor alone is something few can match. Xing Long said: "Our family has been in Nanjing for many years. We are eager for justice and have a strong political reputation, but it is inevitable that we will offend some people. In the past few years, the Nanjing Supervision Bureau
The imperial censor Jiang Yaliang impeached our family for "unjustly accepting territory and competing with the people for profit." Fortunately, Long Live Grandpa was wise and dismissed Jiang Yaliang from his official position. However, due to this, some officials in Nandu regarded our family as bandits and wished they could
It would be nice to expel our family from Nanjing. We have just learned that the Nanjing Ministry of War's Minister Lou Xing has come to our family. The charge this time is "digging up treasure mountains to hurt the emperor's spirit". If this charge is proven, our family will
It's definitely a dead end." At this point, he let out a long sigh, and his face became as wrinkled as an old orange peel.
Zhang Yuan asked: "What are the facts?"
Xing Long hesitated for a moment and said: "Actually, this happened ten years ago. At that time, our family was still responsible for the mining tax. In order to make it easier for our subordinates to walk, they opened a road in Benshan, twenty miles south of Xiaoling. Our family never knew about this.
How did those military households know the taboos in the feng shui of the imperial mausoleum? They thought there was nothing wrong with opening a trail in the mountains dozens of miles away from the Xiaoling mausoleum. They had been living peacefully for so many years. How could they have expected that this old issue would be raised again today?
Come out, you are deliberately planning to kill our family!"
Although Zhang Yuan is not familiar with Feng Shui, he has read a lot of ancient books and still has some common sense. The case mountain is the mountain between the tomb and the court mountain, just like the desk for the noble's office. Of course, the tombs of ordinary people are not so particular, as long as they have a piece of land.
Yes, but the Xiaoling Mausoleum is the joint tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma. At that time, Liu Bowen and Xu Da searched for caves and explored hundreds of miles around, and finally found this Feng Shui treasure land in the south of Zijin Mountain. The mountain is twenty miles away from the tomb, which shows how big the pattern is.
, the sergeant opened a path on the mountain opposite the imperial mausoleum to facilitate walking. If no one mentions this matter, nothing will happen. If someone catches it, it will destroy the feng shui of the imperial mausoleum and be punished as a great treason——
Zhang Yuan asked: "Has the memorial to impeach my father-in-law arrived in the capital?"
Xing Long said: "Lou Xing's memorial has not yet been handed over. We still have some eyes and ears in Nanjing, but we are unable to stop it. I believe that this month alone, the impeachment memorial will be sent to the cabinet."
Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "How will Eunuch Xing prepare to respond?"
Seeing that Zhang Yuan was still calm, Xing Long couldn't help but have some hope for Zhang Yuan. He heard that Zhang Yuan was very resourceful. If Zhang Yuan was willing to advise him, he might have a clever plan to resolve this disaster, so he said: "There are only two ways to go.
The first is to defend himself, Long Live Grandpa, who knows the old slave is loyal, how could he do anything to destroy the emperor? The second is to capture the sergeant who was the one who opened the way in the crime mountain and hold him accountable. Does Mr. Zhang have a better way to teach our family?"
Zhang Yuandao: "This matter is very difficult. I will wait for Wansheng to say a few words to Eunuch Zhong. Eunuch Xing, please wait a moment."
After saying that, Zhang Yuan took Eunuch Zhong and walked away a little, then frowned and said: "Eunuch, why did you bother to involve me? The groundbreaking of the imperial mausoleum is such a big event, how can I help Eunuch Xing!"
Eunuch Zhong felt a little regretful when he heard what Zhang Yuan said. He felt that he was too enthusiastic and it was not easy to interfere in this matter. He said: "We know that you are resourceful. I just want to ask you if you can help Lao Xing. This time If Lao Xing can be rescued, it will be more useful than rescuing a stone pillar chieftain. Not to mention that Lao Xing himself is the guard eunuch, and he has a close relationship with Lu Shou, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony. If Mr. Zhang can do nothing, neither can Mr. Xing. I blame you." He thought to himself: "He has too much time to take care of himself, so he has no time to blame you."
Zhang Yuan said in a low voice: "Eunuch Zhong, you and I are sworn friends. Eunuch, please tell me the truth. What kind of person is Eunuch Xing? If his reputation is ruined, no one can save him."
When Eunuch Zhong heard what Zhang Yuan said, he perked up and said: "Master Zhang, you know our family. If Xing Long were Liang Yong or Gao Cai, a person with a notorious reputation, our family would be afraid to hide away. Mind his own business, this Xing Long is actually a good person. He is nicknamed "Ao Eunuch" because he is nosy, ruthless, and loyal when serving the emperor. Some officials in Nandu are jealous of him and want to drive him away. Let's go. Mr. Zhang must also know that local officials rarely get along with expatriate internal officials. The local officials try every means to get rid of our internal officials, just like how they abolished the guarding eunuchs in various places during the Jiajing period. If Xing Long is really so disturbing to the people, why? There has never been any civil uprising in Nanjing in recent years. Mr. Zhang can tell from these impeachment memorials that the Minister of War named Lou has no clues to arrest Xing Long, so he dug up old things. If Mr. Zhang has a clever plan , please help Lao Xing."
Liang Yong and Gao Cai were two notorious eunuchs during the Wanli period. Liang Yong dug up the tombs of all emperors in Shaanxi, and his tax servants almost openly robbed people of their property in the street. Gao Cai was even worse, eating the brains of children in an attempt to rebuild He is the one who grows the penis——
Zhang Yuan nodded. His teacher Wang Siren laughed when he talked about how he coaxed Xing Long back then. He did not mention any bad deeds by Xing Long. As for conflicts with local officials, this is normal. Zhang Yuan said: "Then I will go and talk to Xing Long again." Let’s talk, father-in-law.”
Eunuch Xing kept looking anxiously at Zhang Yuan and Eunuch Zhong under the willow shade. When he saw the two approaching, he hurriedly walked up the steps to greet them: "Mr. Zhang, do you have any good strategies to deal with this?"
Zhang Yuan looked solemnly and said: "Wan Shengyuan did not dare to interfere in such a big matter. This matter is not trivial -" After saying this, he paused for a moment, and Eunuch Xing's face turned gloomy, and said sadly: "Master Zhang is right, Lou Xing is such a big deal." The move is too poisonous, Mr. Zhang, you——"
Zhang Yuan continued: "But I also know that Eunuch Xing is loyal and loyal. He has been in Nanjing for many years and has no trouble with the army and the people. Although he is not talented, he still has to work hard for Eunuch Xing——"
Xing Long's face suddenly turned pale. Since Zhang Yuan said this, he must have some idea. He hurriedly said: "If Mr. Zhang can help our family escape from this disaster, it will be a good thing for our family. Our family doesn't study much. I don’t know how to say nice things, but I know that grudges can be clearly defined - Mr. Zhang, please tell me if you have any good ideas, our family is in a hurry."
Zhang Yuan said slowly: "What Eunuch Xing said is that he must submit a letter of self-defense. Eunuch-in-law can directly report to the emperor. It should be submitted to the emperor faster than the memorial to impeach Eunuch-in-law. This gives a preconceived impression. Eunuch-in-law once Waiting in the palace, the emperor will never believe that your father-in-law would do such a treasonous thing——"
"Yes, yes." Eunuch Xing said repeatedly: "Our family's loyalty to Long Live Grandpa can be expressed every day."
Zhang Yuan changed the topic: "But my father-in-law's subordinates secretly cleared the case. This is always a fact and cannot be concealed. Even if the emperor does not pursue the case severely, it is certain that my father-in-law will be dismissed from office and live in leisure."
Xing Long suddenly lost his mind. He didn't know the stakes. He was just holding on to illusions. However, he heard Zhang Yuan say again: "My father-in-law may be able to save his life by writing a letter of self-defense, but now my father-in-law severely punishes the sergeants who founded the mountain. This will make it solid."
My own responsibility for the crime, after all, my father-in-law was a guard in Nanjing, and he was also responsible for the filial piety to the emperor's mausoleums. The imperial mausoleums were damaged. This crime could not be pushed to the people below. Therefore, once my father-in-law severely punished those sergeants, he would be impeached.
To be honest, it would be impossible for the emperor to be merciful at that time."
Xing Long's breathing was rapid and cold sweat broke out on his vest. Zhang Yuan's analysis was very reasonable, but what could he do if he didn't severely punish those sergeants? He couldn't just pretend to be nonchalant, right?
"Please Mr. Zhang teach me."
Xing Long bowed deeply to the young supervisor.
Zhang Yuan hurriedly said: "My father-in-law, please don't be too polite, otherwise it will be seen by others." He took a few steps and said: "The person who tied the bell must untie the bell. Since the impeacher is making a fuss about the feng shui of the imperial mausoleum, father-in-law.
It is necessary to respond in the field of Feng Shui, and ask the famous Feng Shui master to speak out, saying that opening trails in the mountains is beneficial to the prosperity of the country. The theory of Feng Shui is inherently vague and difficult to draw a conclusion. How to say it specifically depends on the Kanyu master. After all, this
It is not the soil of the imperial mausoleum that has been disturbed, but the case mountain twenty miles away. There is still room for change. Also, the father-in-law wants to win people's hearts and do something beneficial to the people of Nanjing. It is the most urgent matter that the people of Nanjing want to solve.
, Furthermore, the father-in-law wants to ask the palace officials to speak kindly in front of the emperor and cover up the incident of the father-in-law’s men arbitrarily opening the mountain trail. After all, it has been ten years, and after the three major conquests, the country has
Taiping - with such a three-pronged approach, Wan Sheng can definitely keep my father-in-law's position as an internal guard, and my father-in-law's life will definitely be safe."
There are some things that it is better to deny than to admit, and there is no leniency when confessing. In the same feng shui, different geotechnical masters often have completely different opinions, and Zhang Yuan firmly believes that the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty is by no means determined by the feng shui of a tomb——
Xing Long savored Zhang Yuan's words carefully and felt that Zhang Yuan was thoughtful and indeed the best countermeasure at the moment. His face showed joy and he said to Eunuch Zhong: "Eunuch Zhong, if you hadn't come to visit in vain, our family would have no way of getting to know Mr. Zhang."
Zhang Yuandao: "Master Zhang, please get on the boat and talk in detail."
After hearing Zhang Yuan's words, Xing Long made up his mind and asked Zhang Yuan for detailed advice on how to do it. For example, he wanted to ask Zhang Yuan to ghostwrite the self-defense memorial——
Zhang Yuan followed the two eunuchs Xing and Zhong on to the lake boat again. Eunuch Zhong did not see the two famous Qinhuai prostitutes and asked if they were sent away by Zhang Yuan. He smiled, and Xing Long said: "What happened to me today?
I have lost my interest and cannot let you two have fun, so I will call the two girls from the old courtyard to accompany you some other time."
Zhang Yuan hurriedly said: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no, no no, no no, no no, no no, no no, no no, no no, no no."
Xing Long didn't want to talk too much about the singing prostitutes. After asking the attendants to serve tea and fruits, he retreated and discussed the memorial, how to serve as a mentor and how to win people's hearts. Zhang Yuan listened to Eunuch Xing's request for him to ghostwrite the memorial. He pondered for a while and agreed.
Well, whether a self-defense memorial is written well or poorly, the results will be very different. Since he wants to help Eunuch Xing, he will help him to the end, but he must first see whether Eunuch Xing usually writes memorials to the emperor.
What kind of tone? Please ask Eunuch Xing to pick out a few less important memorials for him to ponder. If you want to represent him, you will naturally need to understand these. Xing Long hurriedly ordered the middle-aged staff member to go back to the inner garrison to get them——
Speaking of the famous Kanyu Geomaster, Xing Long said: "The most famous person in Jinling who is proficient in the scriptures of Xuannvzhai is Gu Qiyuan of the Imperial Academy."
Zhang Yuan was stunned, was Principal Gu actually a master of Feng Shui? He really didn't know this.
Xing Longdao: "Gu Jijiu once discussed the feng shui of Jinling with others. At that time, the senior Kan Yu said that the mountains of Jinling are scattered and not gathered together, and the rivers flow without leaving behind. The Qinhuai River that passes through the city is in the west, which is incompatible with the layout of the imperial capital.
Gu Jijiu believed that this was all an excuse for Emperor Yongle to move the capital. Gu Jijiu had a different view on the feng shui of Jinling City than others. He believed that Jinling could be used as an imperial capital because of the strong force against the current. However,
Compared with Beijing, it is slightly less powerful and powerful, but this theory has a great influence. If Gu Jijiu is willing to speak for our family, we will be more confident, and Gu Jijiu is a native of Jinling——"
Xing Long frowned, knowing that it was not an easy task to ask Gu Qiyuan to advocate for him that clearing the way for the case would be beneficial to the country and society, but no matter how difficult it was, he would fight for it. It was a life-and-death effort, and Gu Qiyuan would not raise any conditions.
He can agree to it——
Speaking of winning people's hearts again, Xing Long pondered for a moment and said: "In recent years, Jinling has been on duty for editors, which has caused heavy losses to many shops. There have been many complaints. The imperial business tax is actually not high, but the local level by level is astonishing.
Guo Zusheng, the Nanjing tax collector, is my adopted son. He is in charge of the customs duties up and down the Longjiang River. If our family proposes a proposal to relax business and reduce taxes, it will be welcomed by the people. I am afraid that the national taxes will not be collected enough and we will be impeached by the officials again——
"
Zhang Yuan has some knowledge about the commercial tax in the late Ming Dynasty. The commercial tax in the late Ming Dynasty does not seem to be high, but there are many checkpoints for tax collection. There are tax envoys from the emperor, tax officials from the Ministry of Revenue, and local customs duties. A number of
When goods are transported from Hangzhou to Nanjing, they have to go through many checkpoints. The commercial taxes add up to a staggering amount, causing merchants to fail and the market to be depressed. If some commercial taxes are appropriately reduced, merchants will be willing to come to Nanjing and travel by boat.
It should not be less than before the tax reduction, and it may even be more. This is the same principle as small profits but quick turnover. Some commentators in later generations believe that the failure to increase commercial taxes in the late Ming Dynasty caused farmers to bear a heavy burden and led to their demise. This argument is completely hindsight.
, the rise of the Jurchens in Jianzhou, and after the Liaodong incident, even the increase in commercial taxes could not make up for the huge military pay. The Ming Dynasty would perish regardless of whether commercial taxes were levied or not. And since he had forward-looking insights, of course he understood that the most important thing was
To prevent the rise of Nurhachi, as long as the Battle of Sarhu is undefeated, the Ming Dynasty will not need to levy a huge three-level salary, and will not perish so quickly. Do this first, and then figure out the rest——
Xing Long listened to Zhang Yuan's analysis that tax cuts would not delay the national education, and he believed it, so he decided to reduce taxes by two-tenths. He would announce this policy of relaxing business to the people as soon as possible. Businessmen everywhere will be happy and excited. Xing Long won people's support
The effect is obtained.
Half an hour later, the middle-aged staff member brought three copies of Xing Long's tax report to Emperor Wanli more than ten years ago. After reading it, Zhang Yuan learned some things from Xing Long.
So he imitated Xing Long's writing style and tone, and wrote this memorial for Xing Long. The memorial did not focus on explaining the Xiaoling case, but mentioned it after talking about some military and political affairs in Nanjing, and stated that it was
I politely excused Xing Long for what happened ten years ago. As for how Xing Long asked the palace eunuch Lu Shou and others to speak kindly, and how he asked Gu Qiyuan to discuss the case and feng shui, that was Xing Long's business, and Zhang Yuan did not need to worry about it.
, Xing Long is in his fifties. He has served as a garrison eunuch in Nanjing for many years and has good communication skills——
At noon, a grand banquet was held on a boat on the lake, and Eunuch Xing personally persuaded him to drink. Although the outcome of the incident is still unknown, his gratitude to Zhang Yuan came from the bottom of his heart. Zhang Yuan made a request, asking Xing Longmo to tell others about him.
The Imperial College Supervisor was involved in this matter, and Xing Long said repeatedly: "Our family knows, our family knows, our family will never cause trouble to Mr. Zhang, and the fewer people know about this matter, the better. Our family is not stupid."
The lake boat took a circle on Xuanwu Lake, and it was already afternoon when we returned to the original place. Zhang Yuan said goodbye to the two eunuchs, Xing and Zhong, saying that he would rush back to the Imperial College. Eunuch Zhong was not able to have a long private talk with Zhang Yuan, and he felt a little regretful.
, when he returned to Beijing this time, he was going to serve the emperor's grandson Zhu Youxiao according to Zhang Yuan's request, and he was going to live a life of poverty——
The eunuch said to Zhang Yuan before leaving the clock: "Mr. Zhang, you will definitely pass the high school in the provincial examination next year. Then you will rush to the capital at the end of the year. You will definitely come to see our family then, but don't forget our family."
The eunuch Zhong's last words made Zhang Yuan very uncomfortable. The eunuch's words were a bit similar to those of women, and he sounded like a resentful person. This was so disgusting. He hurriedly said: "How could this be? My father-in-law is kind to me."
, I will have to ask my father-in-law for more advice when I go to Beijing in the future."
Zhang Yuan did not ask Xing Long to send someone to see him off, so he walked back to the Zen Residence with Mu Zhenzhen and Wu Ling. The third brother Zhang E must have had sex with the beautiful maid Lu Mei several times. At this time, he sat contentedly in the courtyard and studied the telescope.
, Zhang E was unwilling to study, and was very interested in these so-called miraculous skills. When he was in Shanyin Mirror Workshop, he often discussed improving the mirror-making technology with several mirror makers, and he was quite creative. When he saw Zhang Yuan's three masters and servants coming back, Zhang E
He asked with a smile: "Jiezi, where did Eunuch Zhong invite you to play? This eunuch has a good friendship with you, but you are really strange. You make friends with everyone. You even go to curry favor with retired generals, and even give Mu Zhenzhen's father a gift."
gone."
Zhang Yuan said with a smile: "Third brother, I will regret not going with me today. Do you know who I saw?"
Zhang E said: "Isn't it the Nanjing garrison eunuch? Two eunuchs will accompany you."
Zhang Yuandao: "I met Li Xueyi and Wang Wei." When he met Wang Wei, he explained all the misunderstandings he had with him.
Zhang E stumbled and laughed, saying: "Haha, Wang Xiuwei scolded Zhang Jiezi, he scolded him well, happily, happily."
Zhang Yuan saw the setting sun and said, "Third brother, let's go back to the Imperial College."
Mu Zhenzhen wrapped two sets of newly sewn clothes and underwear for the young master to take to the Imperial College, and then sent the young master to the third door. With his blue eyes filled with affection, Zhang Yuan quietly shook her hand and whispered a few words.
Sentence, this fallen girl suddenly blushed -
A Xiaoyao sedan came out from the gate of the Imperial College, followed by several eunuchs. Zhang Yuan and Zhang E stepped aside, but the Xiaoyao sedan stopped in front of them. Gu Qiyuan called from the sedan: "Zhang Yuan, where are you from?
?”
Zhang Yuan hurriedly crossed his hands and said: "The student took a license to leave the prison today to rest. Now he will return to the prison."
Gu Qiyuan nodded, got up the sedan and left.
Zhang Yuan thought to himself: "Is Gu Jijiu attending the appointment at the invitation of Eunuch Xing?"
——————————————————————
The 5,000-word update has arrived. Please ask book friends for a monthly pass. There will be more exciting stories tomorrow.