Xian Sun of the Ning Mansion of the Red Chamber

"Imperial envoy Zuodu Censor Jin Dairen impeached local officials in Shanxi, deceived the emperor, colluded with officials and businessmen, concealed private interests and practiced falsehoods. Since the second envoy of the government and inspectors, dozens of officials, large and small, have colluded with border generals to cover up Shanxi merchant Fanhou Qukang Confucian merchants from six families privately sold firearms, salt and iron, communicated with barbarians, and bullied the market, so that our army was defeated and did not attack. When I first heard about it, my heart was chilled every day and night, and my sleep and sleep were restless. Every time I thought of the soldiers in front of me, I vomited blood. Don't dare to overdo it, and I will present it to the imperial court according to the facts, and I hope His Majesty will know."

Jin Dairen's danzhang was half a day earlier than Feng Hengshi's memorial. Once it was read out, not only the court was shocked, but soon it spread like a gust of wind across the north and south, and spread throughout the officialdom. Even in the market, there were traitors who sold it. rumor.

There are always traitors who want to harm grassroots people.

This is probably a savage and unreasonable popular idea in the hearts of simple people. The incident happened in Shanxi, but it was spread by someone with a heart to let the world know that our current assistant, Duke Donglai, came from Shanxi parents.

The common people will not ask why, let alone delve into the truth and falsehood. It is a matter of following the trend and eating melons, and the heartbreak is even more true. No one loves this land more than they do.

"Feng Hengshi, Minister of the Ministry of Rites and Governor of Shanxi and Shanxi, made a solemn statement. The minister arrived in Shanxi for more than a month, and the chief envoy Wang Bifu returned, claiming that he had colluded with local officials and sheltered Shanxi merchants and other big names in selling armies, preparing salt and iron, traveling inside and outside the border. A few days ago, when the Laoyingbao inspection incident happened, he knew that he had committed a serious crime and owed the grace of God, and he was in constant fear, so he surrendered himself, confessed to a total of 36 corrupt officials, and presented evidence such as previous customs documents and accounts. The army will not be defeated, and the case of firearms smuggling is thoroughly investigated in the court. Before the minister left, Fu Shi, a scholar of the cabinet, had earnestly entrusted him with the task of ensuring the stability of the rear of the army when he arrived in Shanxi. Hu Kou wrote, severely punished."

"I dare not be disrespectful to the command of the country and the entrustment of the community. If the crimes committed by the people are not severely punished, they will not be enough to bring light to the sun and the moon. However, if you think about it carefully, if you look at it to the end, it is inevitable that the big will be discarded because of the small. Corrupt officials, merchants, and businessmen are no more than rats in cages. However, three out of ten of the grain and grass escorts of the Northern Expedition Army come from six families, so Tianwei has to be suspended. Today, I have arranged for the three families of Chang, Wang, and Qiao to transport grain northward in exchange for the six families. What’s lacking, it may be able to replace it when it’s off.”

"In addition, according to Wang Bifu's confession, Fu Zhe, the prefect of Lu'an, Fu Ping, the prefect of Liaozhou, and Fu Haitang, the magistrate of Huozhou, are all involved in this illegal smuggling. All the people have been imprisoned in the Yamen for the time being, and I hereby ask for an order to make it clear."

Two consecutive memorials were directed at Shanxi officials and merchants. If everyone still had doubts about Jin Dairen's pamphlets, then Feng Hengshi's memorials did completely confirm the matter.

Fu Donglai entered the palace immediately to plead guilty, took off his gauze hat, and wanted to resign from office to apologize, but the emperor refused.

"It's already this time, Jin Dairen still doesn't forget to play tricks, this old loach." Yang Bi couldn't help making a voice of contempt after knowing the contents of Jin Dairen's bullets. Even he looked down on Jin Dairen and wanted to There is no one who doesn't pay for the Tao. Things have reached this point, and they still look forward and backward, and don't mention that person.

Mu Hong smiled and said, "You are still young."

Yang Bi glanced at Mu Hong, but did not refute.

"If it were me, I would do the same. After all, Fu Donglai is Fu Donglai. He is the second assistant of the court and is famous all over the world. I want to move to him." Mu Hong shook his head and said: "How difficult it is. In the current situation Before it becomes clear, the best thing to do is to do business in a business-like manner, not favoring any party, and you can advance or retreat."

"My nephew also understands this truth, but people like Jin Dairen will not be useful in the future." Yang Bi said.

Mu Hong nodded: "That's right, you want to manage the world, if everyone is like this, then your throne will not be stable, and to govern the world, you need someone like Fu Donglai, Ye Baichuan, Feng Hengshi, Trapped by fame, I bowed my head for the rest of my life.”

"But then again, if all the people in the court are Fu Donglai and Feng Hengshi, then you, the emperor, will not be able to sit still. Look at the current one, who reuses Fu Donglai, but does not give him a high position. A Yang Jing who does nothing is pressing him firmly, this is not only a warning, but also a precaution."

"Let's talk about Zhongshan Academy's party. The emperor really doesn't know that these sour and corrupt people don't know anything other than high-spirited talk? But he still moves to the Jin Dynasty to replace Ren, and he is still allowed to be the censor of Zuodu. This is also a kind of balance. Let Qingliu be between Between the old and the new, it can not only buffer each other's conflicts, but also move at will. Once you make up your mind to deal with one party, the Zhongshan Party will be the last straw to crush the other party. You, you still have to learn from your father. , although he is far from being called a saint in my eyes, it is undeniable that he is a qualified emperor."

"Nephew understands." Yang Bi responded humbly.

"The next step is up to Yang Jing and Wang Ziteng. Yang Jing inherited the legacy left by Li Endi, and all the officials of the old school have joined him. It is estimated that they are sharpening their swords at the moment. Once the old and new disputes resume Provoke it, and your foundation in the court will be established."

"Yang Jing." Yang Bi frowned and said, "My nephew always feels that he is not Fu Donglai's opponent. Moreover, he has been an answering man for seven or eight years, and then a clay sculpture for three or four years. How bloody and decisive."

Mu Hong motioned for peace of mind and said: "You don't have to worry about him, this matter cannot be left to him."

"Uncle seems to have other arrangements?"

Mu Hong shook his head and said slowly: "The best way to use a person is not how you control him. A rabbit will bite when it is in a hurry, but his selfish desires are constantly enlarged, and he has to follow the trend. Move forward."

"Li Endi, you may not know him well. He came from a lowly family background. Before he became an official, he used to write lyrics for singers in a brothel for a living. He even begged all the way to Beijing to take the exam. His reputation is really not that good. But However, this man is a dutiful son. In order to leave his family behind, he took 28 concubines and wives. Every year, he spends time going south to worship and sweep the tombs. His family's Li family's ancestral tombs are almost as magnificent as Huangling's. .”

"However, his old lady was dug out and whipped the corpse. Maybe he can bear the position of chief assistant being taken away, but he will never tolerate his ancestors being disturbed, and he is still indifferent. If you talk about this account, he will On whose head is it?"

"Fu Donglai." Yang Bi said lightly.

"Well." Mu Hong nodded: "It is said that the surnamed Fu killed decisively and never kept anyone under the sword, but Li Endi, the former chief assistant, was left after all. How many officials does the Li family hold? Even I don't dare to jump to conclusions about the criminal evidence, don't look at him being raised at home now, his heart has never left the capital."

"If that's the case, then why did he leave Beijing and return home in despair without even resisting?" Yang Bi was puzzled.

"Because there is no chance of winning."

"His defeat was not at the hands of Fu Donglai, but that the emperor no longer needed a chief assistant who could fight against the imperial power. If he didn't leave, he might not even be able to keep that single seedling. The people in his hands, It is impossible to help him secure the position of chief assistant, but it is really easy to deal with Fu Donglai and pave the way for us."

"So, no matter what Yang Jing thinks in his heart, he can't help him. Does he think Li Endi's legacy is easy to get?" Mu Hong was treacherous like an old fox who had gone through the world.

"As for Wang Ziteng, after this incident, he and Fu Donglai will never die. He will never dare to return to Beijing unless Fu Donglai is dropped from his position as the second assistant."

three days later.

In the eighth year of Jiade, the first day of October.

Great meeting.

Lu Daweng, deputy envoy of the Fujian Provincial Inspection Committee, said, "Fu Donglai, the second assistant of the cabinet, deceived his superiors and his inferiors, and took advantage of the new policy to control the government and suppress dissidents. Back to the center again."

It is also said that "the New Deal used the reason of opening the sea to amass money wantonly. For this reason, it did not hesitate to suppress the local people and compete with the people for profits. Once the customs were introduced, they were controlled by the officials of the New Deal. It is difficult to get a job, and the home is destroyed and the career is lost."

The magistrate of Xinchang County, Zhejiang Province cried blood and told, "Fu Sinian, the magistrate of Shaoxing, took advantage of his family uncle as the second assistant of the dynasty, imposed heavy taxes, and fished the common people. If any county officials in Shaoxing do not show "filial piety", they will be regarded as "filial piety". "Wai', anyone who uses financial resources to open the way must be called "brother", while "outside county" will pay more, or those who fail to pay dues and have insufficient funds will be punished by the court, and the officials will suffer unspeakably."

It is also said that "foreign officials have repeatedly made contributions, but they were all put aside and ignored. The uncles and nephews of the Fu family blocked the inside and outside, and deceived the saints.

The memorandum of the prefect of Xuzhou, Sichuan, stated that "Zhang Zichen, the chief minister, used the excuse of reforming the land to return to the exiles, and committed cruelty and massacre of the people. Only four of the Sichuan people in the ten villages of Xuzhou survived, blood was everywhere, and all the people fled from their hometown. , or go to the mountains to pick weeds for food, willing to be wild people."

At the court meeting, the emperor was furious and left in a huff.

On the same day, the decree came out of Huagai Hall.

"Feng Hengshi, governor of Shanxi, strictly enforces the law. All criminal officials in Shanxi do not have to be imprisoned in Beijing for retrial, but will be executed on the spot. Jin Dairen, the censor of Zuodu, will return to Beijing immediately."

He also ordered "Fujian's deputy envoy, the prefect of Xuzhou, and the county magistrate of Xinchang, not to report the favor of the emperor, but to criticize the important officials of the court, to immediately dismiss them from office and serve the people, and never to return."

Jiade wanted to suppress this matter with thunderous means, otherwise once it spread, even he would not be able to stop the impeachment of the officials.

Fu Donglai couldn't move, not because of the personal favor of the monarch and his ministers, but for the sake of the country and the country.

It's just that even though Jiade has made preparations and even gave Feng Hengshi the discretionary power of the camera, he still underestimated the determination and courage of the old school officials.

As soon as the decree came out, not to mention the other provinces, even the officials in Beijing were filled with righteous indignation. After all, there were only a few old-school officials who stayed in Beijing. Put on the hat of "traitor".

It is conceivable that once the decree is spread, everyone inside and outside must be shouting and beating. For a while, Fu Donglai's second assistant position seemed to be sitting on the crater of a volcano.

"Your Majesty has a protective heart, and the old minister is not very afraid of dogs and horses. Please also put the court affairs first, dismiss the minister's post, and go to prison for the crime, so as to give an explanation to the people of the world." Fu Donglai was about to cry. Said with a whimper.

Jia De was upset and said: "Ai Qing, why don't you understand, they are not here for you, they are here for the New Deal, and they are here for my century-old foundation. Once I step back, they will gain power And Jin, now you are forcing me to take back my order and let go of your official position, what's the next step?"

"Do you want me to make another edict against myself, to take action against the New Deal? You, Ye Qing, Feng Yankuan, and Yan Huasong, are you going to go one by one?"

"I can't retreat, but I want to see if they can still break into the palace and force me to abdicate!"

"Your Majesty!" The 58-year-old Fu Donglai knelt forward and kowtowed again: "Your Majesty can't understand. If the ministers don't die, these people will not let it go. If the old and the new are fighting in the court, the old ministers will be punished by the emperor through the ages." It is not a pity to scold and die, but His Majesty and Xinzheng really have no way out."

"If the life of an old minister is exchanged for the continuation of the New Deal, the old minister deserves his death, Your Majesty."

If at first Jiade had some misgivings about Zhou Xing's memorabilia, but at this moment, he is very clear in his heart. This is not a thorough investigation of the case of smuggling firearms. With such a big move, he and Fu Donglai were both included.

Wang Ziteng?
Jiade shook his head. Wang Ziteng and Fu Donglai had disagreements in politics, but he alone had caused such a big battle. I don't see that no noble person came forward in this matter.

On the contrary, those officials who were demoted from Beijing.
Xu Zhemu, Li Endi, Wang Ziteng, Shi Ding, Yang Yi, Jin Dairen, Yang Jing, Gu Chunting, the names of each and every one of them flashed through Jiade's mind, dead or dead.

When thinking of Li Endi, Jiade's eyes paused for a moment, but the former chief assistant was already old, no matter how powerful he was, and it is unknown how much of the incense he left behind.

Jin Dairen?
It wouldn't be him, at least he wasn't the mastermind.

It is also impossible for Gu Chunting, who has been working in the Imperial Academy before, and has always been less involved in the affairs of the court, and Gu Chunting's ability to teach bachelors for the servants is just a leisurely move after he ascended the throne, otherwise it would not be his turn to be promoted to the cabinet. Over the past few years, Gu Chunting has also been conscientious, and there is nothing suspicious about it.

Yang Jing?

Yang Jing.

Will it be him?

But besides him, who else?The reason why he was chosen as the first assistant was because he and Li Endi had worked together for several years, so as to balance the situation in the court, and it could be regarded as an explanation and appeasement to those old-school officials.

Yang Jing, Wang Ziteng, Jin Dairen.

Jiade's thoughts gradually became clear, but then he felt something was wrong.

"If I use the lives of my subjects to compromise with those who have ulterior motives, then I, the emperor, will really be ashamed of my ancestors, and I am even more sorry for Aiqing for letting Daqian reach the peak of today."

As for inviting people to buy people's hearts, Guardian is really all the time.

At this time, Dai Quan sent Ye Baichuan to ask to see him outside the hall, and Jiade signaled to bring him in.

"Your Majesty, the second batch of memorabilia of officials from various provinces has arrived in Beijing. I have sorted out and classified them, and presented the memorabilia of officials from both Beijing and China to His Majesty for a preview."

Fu Donglai was in a vortex. Ye Baichuan was in charge of the cabinet these days.

Jia De waved his hand impatiently and said, "I don't want to read it, so give me all these papers and burn them."

"Your Majesty." Ye Baichuan urged hastily, "Your Majesty, this time it's not all bullets."

"Oh? Tell me." Jade raised his brows.

Ye Baichuan paused and said: "In Beijing, dozens of officials headed by Yan Huasong and Lin Ruhai jointly called Mr. Fu Ge to intercede, and officials from various provinces also wrote their books one after another, saying that they have worked hard to prosper the countries today and initiated the new policy. He also criticized Fujian's Deputy Commissioner Lu Daweng for taking advantage of the party and government and using Shanxi's politics to criticize the new policy, which has ulterior motives."

"For another example, Shangben, the governor of the Zhejiang Customs Office, impeached Lu Daweng and other officials, used personal grievances to criticize the government, and took the opportunity to fight for profits for Jiangnan merchants. At the same time, he also attached a list of local merchants inspected by the Jiangnan Navy for smuggling shipping Most of these merchants are from Fujian, and there are all personal and material evidence, including the signature of Qi Yaozong, the commander of the Zhejiang capital and the commander of the Jiangnan Navy."

"."

After listening to Ye Baichuan's report, although the wind in the court did not show a one-sided situation, Jiade was still not happy. The dispute between the old and the new had faintly appeared, and the momentum of the New Deal to enrich the country was interrupted.

Fu Donglai is also worried about this point. No matter what happens now, it is justifiable for the court to implement the New Deal. If this continues, the fire will burn from him to the New Deal sooner or later. By then, even the emperor may not be able to control the court. Internal friction situation.

"Your Majesty, please resign from your post as a minister and put him in jail to appease the people's grievances. The New Deal will not stagnate just because there is no Fu Donglai. There are veterans like Ye Ge and Feng Hengshi in the court, as well as Yan Huasong and Lin Ruhai. The pillars of the government, and the officials from all over the country who were selected for the New Deal through the imperial examination three times outside the country, died more than halfway."

"Don't stop, Your Majesty!"

Jia De frowned, and said slowly: "I'm worried that they will make an inch of their progress, they will be linked internally and externally, and the situation will be unstable."

Even if he can suppress all parties, how long will he be able to suppress it? After a hundred years, when the new king ascends the throne, will he leave such a mess?
Fu Donglai said: "The Northern Expedition is over, and the foreign aggression has been eliminated. As long as the nine sides are safe, there will be no chaos."

"I'll think about it, I'll think about it"

In two more days.

The generals of Ningxia and Yansui towns jointly signed the book, asking for justice for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the frontier army.

Wang Ziteng finally made a move.

The next day, Zhou Xing, the commander of the Shanxi capital, and Yang Bin, the deputy general of Pianguan, went to the book again.

The dispute over the imperial court gradually spread to the Nine Sides.

Right now is the time for the army to march north, if the court cannot give an explanation, I am afraid of the consequences.
Liaodong guarding the mansion, Song Lv, the commander-in-chief, held a letter from Beijing, and fell silent for a while.

Ever since Jia Ying and Xungui pushed him to be the general of Liaodong, Song Lv had completely sold himself to Kai Guo, and they naturally had contacts with each other.

"Brother, there has been a lot of fighting in the court recently, and all parties have pointed their fingers at Mr. Fu Ge. I heard that Governor Wang is returning to Beijing this time, and his promotion to the court is imperative. I'm afraid this letter is his intention." Song Lun has already taken over. His elder brother's position as the commander of the Dengzhou Navy, this time he went north to Liaodong in order to open up the sea route from Dengzhou to Liaodong, but happened to encounter this matter.

Song Lv nodded and said: "It stands to reason that we should be on the side of the nobles. I can have today because I am on the right team."

Seeing that Song Lu was still frowning, Song Lun asked: "In this case, why do you see brother worried?"

Song Lv looked at his younger brother. He was not incompetent, but he was too honest.

"Let me ask you, how did we get in touch with Kai Guo?"

"Of course it's because of Governor Jia." Song Lun replied.

Song Lv nodded: "That's right, this team must first recognize who the master is, and it's not our master who has driven Xungui, if it's not for the sake of Mrs. Jia, how could they think highly of you and me? Take a look brother."

"To put it bluntly, Wang Ziteng is not our master, but Jia Ying is. I don't believe that the north side has not received any news of such a big incident in Beijing."

"Brother, what do you mean, what if Wang Ziteng is promoted to the court smoothly in the future?"

"Then if he wants to touch me, he has to pass Jia Ying's test, right?"

Seeing what his elder brother said, Song Lun didn't say much anymore. He knew that he was far inferior to his elder brother in terms of vision and foresight. When he went to Beijing to apply for an official, his elder brother fell in love with Jia Ying. Dare to privately transfer the warship to send him to escort Jia Ying and his party to the south, if not at the beginning, they would not be where they are today.

"Come on."

Song Lv shouted out, and the butler of the guardian mansion hurried in.

"Tell the people from Beijing that they just left the mansion to go out on patrol, and the return date has not yet been determined."

"Go quickly."

Back and forth, ten days passed.

On the tenth day of October, Fu Donglai issued a letter of guilt. In front of all the officials, the emperor had no choice but to dismiss Fu Donglai from his post as a scholar of the Huagai Temple and ordered him to go home and wait for the province, but he still refused to convict Fu Donglai.

Naturally, the old school officials will not quit.

Ningwu Pass.

In the courtyard where Wang Ziteng stayed.

Wang Xin walked into the room and told Wang Ziteng, who was bedridden, about what happened in Beijing.

"It seems that we need to add another fire." At this time, Wang Ziteng's face was a little sallow and pale, but his eyes were full of radiance, and he looked at Wang Dao: "Well, you go."

Feng Hengshi was also paying attention to the situation in Beijing. Due to exhaustion of his mind, he only felt the pain and itching of the old wound at night, and could not sleep for a long time. He simply got up in his clothes and sat on the armchair watching the fire in a daze. After a long time, Feng Hengshi woke up from a doze, and was about to go back to his room, but he heard hurried footsteps outside and the unreasonable words of refusal from the tattooed old servant.

"what's up?"

The old servant's voice came: "Master, it's a matter in the yamen, Lord Shen, please see me."

"come in."

Chen Xiang entered in a hurry, without even caring about greetings, he said directly: "My lord, people from Pingyang and Zezhou came to report that there was a sudden fire in many granaries in the two places. Most of these granaries belong to six families."

"Do you know who it is?" Feng Hengshi's face was ugly. Seeing that the weather was getting colder, the last grain and grass shipped to the Northland should be set off. What happened at this time, is it the six families who are declaring war on Feng Hengshi to the court? Or is someone trying to take the opportunity to muddy the water.

Chen Xiang shook his head, the spies of Embroidery Guards were not omnipotent.

Feng Hengshi paced back and forth in the room, thinking about the countermeasures in his heart, and now the investigation of the crime has become secondary, and he has to find a way to make up for the food.

But when he came to Shanxi, he removed 36 officials at once, and each of them held important positions. Not to mention whether the remaining ones would have any ideas, the key point is that no one is available.

"You go and invite Jia Lian, the co-prefect of the Jinyang Mansion, and the three heads of Chang Wangqiao's family. Remember not to let the wind go."

"Yes."