Brother Zhu Youxiao

"Mr. Ge, things in Sichuan can't be suppressed anymore."

Not long after Sun Chuanting's memorials arrived in the capital, the head of Gu's family rushed to the study and explained everything to Gu Bingqian who was still free to practice calligraphy.

Gu Bingqian's hands trembled, and the calligraphy that was not bad was suddenly flawed.

After only a moment of panic, Gu Bingqian calmed down and asked.

"What's wrong……"

"Liu Yuyou and Pan Shiliang didn't explain clearly, and Sun Chuanting is a hard-headed person. The matter not only involved the Yamen in Sichuan, but also the Yumajian, Jinyiwei, Dongchang, and Xichang."

The words in charge made Gu Bingqian stop practicing calligraphy, he put the pen on the pen stand, and walked slowly to the hall of the study.

The steward followed him, and the two walked slowly to the meeting hall.

Gu Bingqian sat at the main seat, picked up the tea and made it, then seemed to remember something, and suddenly said:

"How many people are there in Sichuan?"

"It's 4506 million people on paper." The director didn't understand why Gu Bingqian asked this.

"How many acres of land?" Gu Bingqian continued to ask, but the manager had no choice but to answer:
"There are 4506 million people on paper, more than 420 million mu of military farmland, and more than 470 million mu of civilian farmland. The total is less than 900 million mu."

"Hmm..." Gu Bingqian responded, and then said with emotion:

"With less than 500 million people, 900 million mu of land can be allocated, and so many refugees can be allocated. The gentry in Sichuan is really too powerful. Why don't Liu Yuyou and the others cry to the court?"

"This..." The manager was stunned by the words of his old man, and he thought to himself that the refugees were created by Liu Yuyou and the others?

It's just that when the words came to his lips, he immediately held back and thought about the deep meaning in the words. Then he remembered that Liu Yuyou and the others had only been in office for a year. Then he understood the words and said quickly:

"Liu Yuyou and Pan Shiliang have only been in office for a year, so they probably haven't had time to understand the local situation."

"Then what about the previous chief envoy?" Gu Bingqian pretended to be confused, and replied in charge:

"The last chief minister was Yu Gan. He died of illness and took office. At that time, he did ask the imperial court to exempt Sichuan from taxes."

"At that time, the imperial court was in a state of emergency and was short of money and food, so the eight prefectures in eastern Sichuan were exempted from taxes."

"The money and grain of the eight prefectures are only deposed, so the poverty of the people in western Sichuan is inevitable..." Gu Bingqian picked up his teacup and took a sip:
"Get ahead of the palace's decree, let Liu Yuyou and Pan Shiliang provide relief with work, and the money and food will come from the treasury."

"I understand, Mr. Ge, don't worry..." The manager understood what Gu Bingqian meant, but he still wanted to ask:

"The matter of money and food and the common people is easy to solve, but the matter of Sun Chuanting..."

Gu Bingqian slowly put down the teacup, cleared his throat:
"I can't take care of Sun Chuanting's affairs. It's so involved. Except for His Highness and Long Live, no one else can take care of it. Let them ask for their own blessings and solve the livelihood of the people as soon as possible."

"Yes...then I will retreat first." The manager probably understood how to operate, he opened his mouth to retreat, and Gu Bingqian also waved his hand.

Before the decree from the Hall of Mental Cultivation was sent out, Tang Qi from the Gu Mansion took a step ahead and rushed towards Sichuan.

On the contrary, after Zhu Youxiao's decree was sent to the cabinet, Yuan Keli was about to criticize it immediately, but Huang Liji and others stopped him and said:

"This matter is such a big deal, should we worry about everyone in the cabinet first, and then discuss the proposal?"

"You can wait, but the people in Sichuan can't wait." Yuan Keli sat upright, and refused Huang Liji politely.

Huang Liji was not angry when he saw this, and said still: "No matter what you say, this ticket still has to go through the process."

"Then call for a draft!" Seeing that Huang Liji insisted on drafting, Yuan Keli also knew that the other party was trying to delay.

However, it is impossible for him to lose the vote for such a thing.

Soon under Huang Liji's call, Sun Chengzong, Zhu Xieyuan, and Bi Ziyan rushed over.

Since Shi Fenglai and Gu Bingqian are at home on leave, there are only five people in the cabinet right now.

"Who were sent by the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple? Is this a proposal?"

Huang Liji looked at Sun Chengzong and others who came, raised his hand and said:
"I support Xu Keqiu and Cheng De to go."

"Chengde alone is enough." Yuan Keli only supported Chengde to go, and Sun Chengzong also raised his hand and said:

"Chengde alone is enough."

The votes were two to one, and the rest depended on the votes of Zhu Xieyuan and Bi Ziyan.

"The old man abstained." Bi Ziyan didn't want to get involved in this matter, because no matter how this matter was handled, people in Sichuan would die, and he didn't want to offend anyone.

As soon as he abstained, Huang Liji immediately looked at Zhu Xieyuan, but Zhu Xieyuan ignored his gaze, put his hand on the table, patted the table and said:
"The old man supports Chengde, he alone is enough."

"Three to one, red!" Yuan Keli glanced at Huang Liji, then picked up the ink pen, and gave the memorial red in front of him.

The memorials that had been approved were immediately taken away by the academicians of the Imperial Academy, and distributed after being backed up.

But no matter what, the news from the Gu family was the first to go, and the news from the Gu family also made everyone in the inner and outer courts focus on the two brothers Zhu Youjian and Zhu Youxiao.

Just before they waited for news from the inner court, Zhu Youxiao urged Gu Bingqian, Shi Fenglai, Feng Quan and other officials on leave to return to their official positions.

Obviously, Zhu Youxiao wants to call everyone out and let them all participate in this case one by one.

The idea of ​​Feng Quan and the other three wanting to be an ostrich was terminated by Zhu Youxiao, but for the three of them, it was okay not to be an ostrich, the main thing was not to be involved in this case.

Zhu Youxiao didn't let them pretend to be sick at home, but it didn't mean they were going to fork their hands.

Time passed little by little, and the busiest part of this period was the Ministry of Officials.

Officials with outstanding performance last year, especially those from Yanshan, were sent to Sichuan one by one.

Sun Chuanting alone, with the Jinyiwei Supervision Department, almost swept away Sichuan, and he didn't even have time to bribe others.

He sweeps fast, but the imperial court does not make up as fast as he does.

A copy of the transfer order was issued from the Ministry of Officials, and Yuan Keli was too busy.

No matter how busy he was, he still had to go when he was summoned by some people.

When Gu Bingqian and Shi Fenglai returned to the cabinet, the first thing they did was to read all the memorials that Yuan Keli had handled as a secondary assistant.

Yuan Keli had a clear conscience about this, but Gu Bingqian and Shi Fenglai still summoned him in order to prevent Donglin from making a comeback.

The seven senior scholars of the cabinet gathered in the main hall. Gu Bingqian sat at the main seat, and Yuan Keli, Sun Chengzong, Bi Ziyan, Shi Fenglai, Zhu Xieyuan, and Huang Liji sat on the left and right sides of the long table.

Looking at it this way, the Donglin Party has retreated, but it still has a lot of power in the cabinet.

Gu Bingqian and Huang Liji of the Gu Party, Yuan Keli and Sun Chengzong of the Donglin Party, Shi Fenglai of the Zhejiang Party, and Zhu Xieyuan who is called the Zhejiang Party but talks about things, and Bi Ziyan who is vacillating.

"Long live and His Highness have already sent someone to handle the Sichuan case, so I don't think the cabinet needs to get involved."

"That Chengde, withdraw it."

Gu Bingqian lowered his eyes and looked at the memorial on the table, but what he said was somewhat harsh to Yuan Keli's ears.

"Chengde went there on behalf of the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and the Central Committee, and did not interfere with it."

Yuan Keli knew very well why Gu Bingqian didn't let Chengde get involved.

In the final analysis, Cheng De is the temporary leader of the Yanshan School, once Yan Yinshao leaves, Cheng De is the sure leader.

There are too many people involved in this big case in Sichuan, and there will be a lot of credit for the rewards later.

Let Chengde go, then Chengde might reach the sky in one step and become the level of the minister of the six departments, and the Yanshan faction will have more say in the temple.

The Yanshan faction is already big, so it's not surprising that Gu Bingqian relied on his seniority to overwhelm them and wanted to hold on to the position of chief assistant for a few more years.

However, Yuan Keli just couldn't understand the situation where Gu Dang's family was dominant. Donglin was in decline, but it was a good choice to support the Yanshan faction against Gu Dang.

"Hmph!" Huang Liji snorted dissatisfiedly, and then said:

"Chengde has only embarked on an official career for a few years? Can he now represent the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and the center?"

"If you want to go, you should send people from the Imperial Academy. Zhou Yanru from the Imperial Academy is good."

"And Wen Tiren is also very good..." Shi Fenglai did not miss the opportunity to make merit.

Everyone can see that Gu Dang will lose many people in the big Sichuan case.

Huang Liji wants to support Zhou Yanru, and the Zhejiang Party is also preparing to support Wen Tiren.

These two were both editors in the Imperial Academy, but Wen Tiren was senior, in his fifties, while Zhou Yanru was only in his early forties.

According to Wen Tiren's qualifications, it is not a problem to go to Sichuan to earn pens this time, and it is not a problem to serve as a minister of six books, but Zhou Yanru can at most be a left and right servant.

Gu Dang lost the trust of King Qi, and sooner or later he would lose. This is what Shi Fenglai and Feng Quan thought together.

What they want to do is to support someone who can join the cabinet before Gu Dang falls, and Wen Tiren is this person.

Gu Bingqian and Huang Liji could see it clearly, but they didn't want to fall, especially Gu Bingqian. In his opinion, if King Qi wanted to let Gu Dang fall, he would first lose his position as chief assistant.

Since he didn't play it, it means that he doesn't want to "look back".

He could see that King Qi was tired of such things as turning down the party, and what he wanted now was stability.

If the parties don't look for trouble, he won't dump the parties.

Gu Bingqian will keep things in Sichuan if he can, and if he can't, he will add to the flames.

Although Liu Yuyou and Pan Shiliang are individual talents, the most indispensable thing in the world is talents.

Gu Bingqian would choose the position of chief assistant without hesitation if he really chose between the two of them.

Although he has sent information to Liu Yuyou and the others, can he survive?It's up to them.

Before he was sure that they would survive, Gu Dang had to prepare for the election of cabinet ministers in the next year, and Zhou Yanru was a good candidate.

In addition, the Yanshan faction is very powerful. If Chengde is allowed to rise, the momentum of the Yanshan faction's rise will no longer be suppressed.

Gu Bingqian knew it well, not only did he not want the Yanshan faction to be formed, but also the two sitting in the seats did not want the Yanshan faction to be formed.

"Chengde is not qualified enough, too young, how about letting Zhou Yanru, Wen Tiren, and Li Banghua go there on behalf of the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and the cabinet?"

Gu Bingqian chose to take a step back. He would rather let Li Banghua from Donglin take a share than let Chengde from Yanshan School take a share.

On Yuan Keli's side, when he heard Li Banghua's name, he frowned slightly, and didn't say anything about Chengde.

This is not to say that he was obsessed with party struggles and gave up his ideas when he thought he was gaining benefits, but in his opinion, Li Banghua was indeed a very good candidate.

"Okay, since no one has any objections, let's leave it at that."

Seeing that Yuan Keli did not refute, Gu Bingqian immediately settled the case without going through the drafting process.

A few of them made a case, and Chengde's position of servant was blown away by the wind.

After the matter was finalized, everyone didn't even mention the disaster victims in Sichuan.

Perhaps in their view, the outcome of the disaster victims in Sichuan is already doomed, and it doesn't matter whether they intervene or not.

The outcome of the disaster victims in Sichuan is in the hands of Zhu Youjian, not in the hands of the cabinet.

Everyone got up, but before they could walk out of the Hall of Lord's Respect, Wang Chengen led two eunuchs into the Hall of Lord's Respect, and bowed:
"His Highness summoned Mr. Gu Ge, Yuan Gechen..."

"Here we come..." Hearing Wang Chengen's words, the hearts of the seven cabinet ministers trembled, and Gu Bingqian and Yuan Keli also bowed in response:

"The old man is going to..."

"Please..." Wang Chengen turned his body sideways, motioning for the two to go forward.

The two couldn't shirk away, so they could only laugh and walk ahead.

The three of them walked out of the Lord's Hall of Respect and walked out of the palace, and Shi Fenglai who walked out of the Lord's Hall of Respect also saw Feng Quan.

Feng Quan glanced at Sun Chengzong and Huang Liji, didn't say anything, and only stepped forward to be side by side with Shi Fenglai after the others left.

They watched the backs of Wang Chengen and the others leaving, and finally Feng Quan confessed:
"Most of the disaster victims in Sichuan have to be subsidized with work to barely make ends meet."

"It's good to survive. Why do you expect so much?" Shi Fenglai is not interested in the life and death of the victims, he is more concerned about whether Wen Tiren can perform outstandingly in the next big case.

"Tell Wen Tiren, pack up and prepare to go to Sichuan with you."

"Okay..." Feng Quan's eyes lit up, he didn't expect things to go so smoothly.

After a simple answer, the two turned around and returned to the Wenhua Palace, while Wang Chengen and the others arrived at Prince Qi's Mansion after half an hour's trek.

A group of people walked into the side hall of Chengyun Hall. When they entered, Zhu Youjian was processing memorials under the "General Map of Kunyu of the Ming Dynasty".

The three of them sang the salute, and Zhu Youjian put down the ink pen, and motioned for the three of them to enter the hall.

The three of them entered the hall cautiously. Zhu Youjian put down the vermilion pen and picked up the tea. His expression didn't seem to change, but a depressive atmosphere spread in the hall.

"Den..."

The sound of the teacup being put down was not heavy, but it seemed particularly heavy at this moment.

Leaning back on the wooden chair, Zhu Youjian put his hands on the armrests, and said nonchalantly:
"Today we don't talk about political affairs, we only talk about family affairs."

"I went in and went deep into the people, and I often heard people say that the waves of the Yangtze River push forward the waves of the past, and the new generation is better than the old..."

"It's just that in this Prince Qi's mansion, Gu Du thinks that old clothes are better, and they are more considerate..."

"But these old clothes have been worn for a long time, so it is inevitable that they will not be able to withstand the cold."

"After mending, although it can be worn, it still looks a bit shabby."

"It's okay to let yourself see it, but let outsiders see it, and those who don't know will think that Gu and Long Live have become a lonely family."

"It should be noted that the river is continuous and the silk cloth is endless. Although it is difficult to wear new clothes, it is possible to wear them with hard work."

"Your Highness taught me..." Gu Bingqian knew who Zhu Youjian was targeting, and stepped forward to agree.

Yuan Keli stood on the spot, watching his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose, without saying a word.

Zhu Youjian glanced at him sideways and saw that he was silent, so he asked:

"Yuan Cifu, what's the matter? Is what Gu said unreasonable?"

"Your Highness is right." Yuan Keli bowed slowly in return, but then straightened his back:

"It's just that the lower officials think that the old clothes are really considerate, but sometimes, no matter how you mend the old clothes, they still can't cover up the glitz of the old clothes."

"Then according to what you mean, old clothes have to be changed when they become rotten?" Zhu Youjian smiled, and the evening sun shone into the hall, illuminating half of his face dimly, while the other half of his face was dim due to light problems. , a little cold.

"The lower official doesn't mean that. The lower official just thinks that the lint in the old clothes should still be taken out, and the money that should be spent should still be spent. They can't be allowed to hide in the clothes and rot and stink."

Yuan Keli pointed out something, and Gu Bingqian laughed quickly after hearing it:

"Yuan Cifu is right. The bad catkins that should be cut out still have to be cut off, but after cutting, if the white catkins in exchange are different from the previous white catkins, it will inevitably become hot and cold, which is not considerate."

"Your Highness, you are well aware that elderly people like Xiaguan and Yuan Cifu will inevitably need time to adapt to new things by chance."

What the three of them said was vague and secretive. Although they were not discussing government affairs, everyone could tell that it was not the same thing.

What Zhu Youjian wanted to ask was whether the big Sichuan case should continue this time, and he wanted the two of them to make a statement.

If this attitude is not correct, then change people when it is time to change, don't occupy the latrine and don't shit.

Although Gu Bingqian responded to Zhu Youjian's words, he didn't actually show any attitude, he just kept echoing, making people wonder what he was thinking in his heart.

On the other hand, Yuan Keli was satirizing Gu Bingqian in his words, but he was actually expressing his position.

His words were not only aimed at the Gu Party, but also at everyone in the court, including the Donglin Party.

The rotten flocs have to be replaced as they should, and the same goes for corrupt officials from various parties who corrupt the court.

Zhu Youjian supported Sun Chuanting's anti-corruption, and Yuan Keli also supported Zhu Youjian's policy on behalf of the Donglin Party. Even if the knife fell on him, as long as he could show evidence, Yuan Keli would not stand up and sing the opposite.

Yuan Keli expressed his position, so naturally Gu Bingqian couldn't be bothered.

It's just that in his words, although he also supports Sun Chuanting's anti-corruption, his subsequent words showed a new attitude.

Anti-corruption is necessary, but too much anti-corruption in one go will replace more than half of the people in the court or the local people. When the time comes, people will not be able to use it, and it will still hurt the court.

To put it bluntly, what Gu Bingqian means is to fight against corruption, but it must be controlled, and it cannot be like Sun Chuanting who kills and cuts all.

Even if he did this, Gu Bingqian didn't dare to stand up, because to stand up would be to speak against his own camp.

The words of the two were a little confused, but they all expressed the same attitude.

Sun Chuanting's work is very good, and they personally support it, but if they are too radical, the two of them will be divided into two factions.

Yuan Keli thinks that there is any evidence, because the Donglin Party currently has more than [-] members, no matter how the knife is used, it is difficult to harvest too many Donglin officials in one go.

Gu Bingqian doesn't think so. He thinks that the anti-corruption campaign should be done in a moderate manner, and that serious illnesses should not be prescribed harsh medicines.

The dose of medicine was too strong in one breath, not only he couldn't stand it, even the imperial court couldn't stand it.

This is the statement of the two of them. They don't know whether Zhu Youjian is satisfied with their statement, but they have expressed their attitude anyway. If not, they can discuss it later.

After the three of them finished guessing the same riddle, Wang Chengen glanced at Zhu Youjian vaguely.

He tried to see from his Highness's face whether he was satisfied with their attitude, but he couldn't see anything.

So is Zhu Youjian satisfied with their attitude?The answer is naturally unsatisfactory.

No matter what Yuan Keli said or Gu Bingqian said, it was not what he wanted to hear.

He couldn't directly tell the two of them what he wanted to hear, because he didn't know whether the two of them could accept it, or whether the forces behind the two could accept it, so he could only make indirect remarks.

However, none of the answers he got from such insinuations were what he wanted to hear.

The answer he wanted was very simple, that is, the two of them abandoned their camp, and the three of them stood on the same front openly and honestly.

It just seems that in their subconscious, their personal camp is their primary protection, not Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian can use this kind of person who cares about his personal camp, but only for maintaining stability.

"Hehe..." Laughter sounded, Zhu Youjian leaned back on the chair, and hid himself in the shadow of the sun:
"You probably understand what you mean. Sun Chuanting will go to Duogan after handling the big case. The imperial court will recover Wusi Tibet in the next year, and the center will be very busy at that time."

"After Zhengdan, the imperial court first grants each of you ten days off, so you can take a good rest temporarily."

Zhu Youjian is chasing away guests, which makes Yuan Keli and Gu Bingqian confused.

They thought that Zhu Youjian would express his position after probing, but now it seems that their answer is far from the answer Zhu Youjian wanted.

"The next official will retire..."

There is only one chance, and the two of them know that they have not grasped it well, and it is impossible to lick their skins before expressing their opinions. If they make a wrong statement, they will regret it.

In the officialdom, meritorious service is earned without fault, and the two were very satisfied with the answers they got, so they could only bow and leave.

They slowly exited the palace, and Zhu Youjian's expression gradually stiffened and restrained.

He leaned forward, picked up the tea and made the froth, and after a while he said:

"The matter of Yingzhou is almost finished, let Lu Jianxing come back."

"Yes..." Wang Chengen responded with a salute, knowing that this was Zhu Youjian's dissatisfaction with Lu Wenzhao's failure to control the overall situation.

But no matter what, Lu Wenzhao is still the commander, but the return of Lu Jianxing will make his power be divided.

For Wang Chengen, the separation of powers is not scary to him. Compared with the separation of powers, it is scary for him to make mistakes.

"It's okay, you can step back, send the broken tables and chairs in the palace to the inner court, and take Ran'er home by the way."

Zhu Youjian looked at the tea and did not look at Wang Chengen. Wang Chengen confiscated any bribes and felt frank, so he asked:

"Your Highness, Sun Chuanting, don't you want to give me a message?"

He asked tentatively, but Zhu Youjian's movement of making tea in his hand paused, and after a while he replied without raising his head:
"Let him figure it out on his own. Sichuan's military and government are all in his hands. He has already made up his mind on what to do."

"Yes" Wang Chengen got the answer, bowed back and left the palace.

After he left, the huge carrier hall became empty again.

Zhu Youjian sat alone in the hall, and there was no one around...