Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 88

Chen Dong had already received hints from his teacher Shao Wu that he would definitely be admitted in the provincial examination of the Ministry of Rites, so even though Qiu Wei was approaching, he was still running outside to contact Tong Guan about removing him.And people like He Fang, Zhu Sen, Zhang Bing, and Deng Su have all died down at this time, and they live in seclusion.Zhang Bing and Deng Su had always been friends, so they studied together.

And in the study room of Bianjing Li's Mansion, the maid rolled the curtain and looked at Zhao Xingde timidly: "My lord, what do you think of the taste of this pear paste?"

Holding a small porcelain bowl in his hand, Zhao Xingde carefully scooped up a spoonful of Fritillaria steamed pear paste, frowned slightly, and said, "It's a bit bitter."

"Ah?" Juan Lian was about to cry, and hurriedly said: "This is the ointment for clearing the lungs and relieving summer heat made by the young lady after looking up the medical books." The young lady specifically told her to ask the uncle's opinion. Bitterness" three words, but how can I tell her to go back and return to her life.

"Well," Zhao Xingde knocked on his head, ten days is the date of Qiu Wei. During this period of time, reading the scriptures made his head turn into wood. He ate the love pear paste in two mouthfuls, and then handed the empty bowl to Juan Curtain, smiled and said: "It tastes good, no, it's very good. "

Only then did Rolling Blind leave with a smile on his face.

Zhao Xingde smiled, and was about to continue reviewing his homework, when the servant came to report, and Li Rui, a classmate of the Taixue, came to visit.Zhao Xingde invited him to meet him in his study.

"The big exam is approaching, and everyone is busy preparing. Brother Dongyan, you are free." Zhao Xingde said with a smile after letting him sit down.

Li Rui smiled slightly, and said: "I have no intention of official career, and I have decided to travel to Xia Kingdom. This time I am here to bid farewell to brother Yuan Zhi." Gently blowing the foam on the tea, it seems that it is not for him not to participate in the current class , is such an insignificant thing.

"Yuan Zhisu knows that I love the way of astronomy and arithmetic. Private study of astronomy is prohibited in this dynasty, so I had to go to Xia Kingdom. I heard that the Tianji Academy of Xia Kingdom's scholar's mansion predicts the celestial phenomena very accurately, even the rules of the sun and the moon, the stars Whether it is big or small, there is a way to follow."

"If you want to leave, why choose this timing. Seeing that the current subject is approaching, it's better to wait after Qiu Wei, and I will buy wine to send you off." Zhao Xingde said regretfully, knowing in his heart that everyone has their own ambitions, and they can't be forced.Since then, there has been one less person in Bianjing who can speak.

Cai Jing rarely worked in Zhongshu Province for several consecutive days, and the bullets posted by several Zhao Party officials secretly quoted the contents of the post, which was seized by him.Censor Zhongcheng Qin Hui, Supervising Censor Shao Wu, Guozijian Jijiu Yang Shixian asked to meet the officials, but they were all stopped by the prime minister Cai Jing and the school inspector Liang Shizhong for various reasons.He had also heard that the bow and arrow clubs in Hebei and even Henan were organized spontaneously to stop Tong Guan from entering Beijing, but there was no definite news.If he hadn't known Tong Guan for a long time, Cai Jing would have even doubted whether the eunuch was scared out of his wits and absconded in fear of crime.

Just as Cai Gong had expected, after the scholars of the capital had posted the posters for a period of time, as the triennial world competition approached, Confucian scholars who were interested in official careers temporarily put aside their denunciations of Tong Guan and buried their heads in preparing for the exam.

However, this post is like a match thrown on the dead branches all over the ground.Due to Eunuch Tong's inexplicable disappearance from the world, the party struggle caused by him is far from over, but intensified.Under the guise of the "chaos" in Hebei, the court treated Tong Guan unfairly, the more the court exploited the place, the greater the rebound.The wealthy gentry and merchants in the southeast area had a close relationship with the Chaozhong Qingliu. Just three days ago, at the instigation of the gentry, more than 2 unscrupulous people rioted and smashed the Suzhou Consecration Bureau, killing and injuring many officials and subordinates. Bureau chief Zhu Wen escaped from the dog hole.Hundreds of thousands of catties of flowers and stones hoarded in the enshrinement bureau were also removed by the unscrupulous people, and the account books of the enshrinement bureau were also burned by them.On the same day, the Hangzhou Manufacturing Bureau was also besieged by tens of thousands of mobsters, and the Hangzhou regiment envoy mobilized the imperial army to suppress it.Some of the ships of the Southeast Water Transport were intercepted in the middle of the road, and the tribute grain and grass were robbed.

Cai Jing is also a master of contemporary articles. He used to take the posts passed down by his disciples, carefully figured out the omissions, and also let the officials under him find fault. other direction.As long as you grasp the slightest clue, you can ban it with great fanfare.But this article is really too old-fashioned, whether it is narration or scolding, everything is watertight, even if it is intentional, there is no place to exert force at all.

At this time of intermittent water transportation, businessmen in Bianjing took the opportunity to start hoarding, and many closed their doors. Fortunately, it is not winter, otherwise the charcoal cannot be transported in, and many people will freeze to death.The Kaifeng Mansion forcefully ordered the shops to open, barely maintaining the market.The waterworkers who went out of business due to the suspension of water transportation also showed faint signs of instability. Some Hebei natives were instigated and clamored to knock on the drum and report to the imperial court. The Kaifeng government arrested a few leaders and temporarily suppressed them, but The bottom is still around the corner.

Today, according to the news from the Bianhe Wharf, there was not a single water tanker docking for twenty hours, and the southeast water transport finally came to a complete halt after more than ten days of stagnation.This matter can no longer be covered up. It is conceivable that the bullets of Taiwan's remonstrance will definitely use the cut-off of water transportation as an excuse to flood the sky and cover the sky. When the officials ask the reason, they will draw out the responsibility for the "chaos" in Hebei and Tong Guan's deception. crime.Since Tong Guan could not rush back to the capital in time to cry and plead with the officials, Cai Jing had no choice but to give up on him.

"It seems that these juniors are trying to see each other. Temporary appeasement will eventually become a serious disaster." He thought bitterly, "If we had suppressed this revelation with thunderous means from the beginning, maybe the situation would not be so unmanageable." .”

"Forget it, the weak can beat the strong. Let these young people be rampant for a while." Cai Jing took the report of the severance of the water transportation, and prepared to get up and go back to the house with some desolation.Liu Yanqing of Hebei may be affected by Chiyu, but Mr. Cai himself cannot be involved.

Just when he walked to the entrance of the Political Affairs Hall, he was almost hit by a rushing scribe, Cai Jing's expression darkened immediately, and he shouted, "Why are you so panicked?"

The clerk was on duty in the Privy Council. He looked up and saw that the prime minister was asking questions. He was running out of breath. His face turned pale with fright, and he said in a trembling voice, "Mr. Cai, forgive me! The villain has no eyes."

The documents held in the hands of such a small official were also trembling, and Cai Jing was secretly sullen when he saw the pattern of the gold plate marked on the head of the document hurriedly handed over. Bang Yan didn't take himself seriously, did the gold-plated military plane go directly to the imperial court without going through the Zhengshitang?

"What's the panic?" Cai Jing asked in a deep voice.

"The southeast is reversed!" the scribe replied tremblingly.

"What?" The scribe stammered, Cai Jing suppressed his anger and shouted, "Bring me the military book."

The scribes did not dare to insist, and respectfully presented the general's letter to the prime minister.

Cai Jing glanced over and turned pale with shock.No wonder the water transportation was completely cut off. Just the day before yesterday, Fang La, the Mingjiao demon leader in the south of the Yangtze River, pretended to be the destiny, called himself "Shenggong", changed his name to "Yongle", led the people to revolt, and appointed a general.On the same day, the followers of Mingjiao raised troops in Su, Hu, Wu, Chu, Tai, Yue, Quzhou, Hu, Chang, Xiu and more than ten prefectures, and they are now attacking prefectures and counties everywhere.Hangzhou, an important town in the southeast, has fallen into the hands of bandits. Fu Bing and Huang Tan, the soldiers and horse officers of the Liangzhe Road, were killed by the bandits. In addition, many state and county officials have fled or even defected.It is said that thieves from all over the country are gathering in Jinling, planning to conquer Jinling and rule the river, and even take Bianliang to the north!

Seeing the back, Cai Jing's lips trembled slightly, and blue veins appeared on his forehead. According to the military book, because the people in the southeast thought that Hua Shigang was the one who instigated the officials, the Cai family's ancestral grave in Hangzhou was dug by the "disordered" people, and his father and ancestors were all dead. The bones were discarded.The Cai family's old house was robbed and burned down, and the rest of the Cai family disappeared.

At the back of this military book is Fang La's call to action. He didn't want to read it anymore, but the habit he developed in the political affairs hall for more than ten years is that he has to read all important official documents from beginning to end, so as not to be misunderstood. Misunderstood by others, just after reading the beginning, there was a cold light in his eyes, and he saw "In the past 30 years, all the old officials and officials have been demoted to death. All the major political affairs of the imperial court are sympathetic." After that, it is actually "Children and thieves caused the fall of Hebei, millions of lives and people were devastated, and the foolish king ignored the laws of the country and tolerated 'traitors'. Thousands of scholars and people posted public announcements and exposed 'exposed' "In the past, I denounced him as 'treacherous', and the world was 'sorry', but the foolish king's 'treacherous' ministers were unmoved. The people in the southeast have been suffering from exploitation for a long time! The disturbance of flowers and stones in recent years is especially unbearable. If you If you can stand up for righteousness, the Quartet will hear the wind and respond..."