Ming Dynasty 1566

Chapter 23

Zheng Michang looked at Gao Hanwen: "Gao Futai is aware of the Zhejiang matter in Beijing. The cabinet has already notified us of the strategy you proposed to the imperial court of 'reform and relief, and solve the dilemma'. Below me, my colleagues in Zhejiang are all in admiration. According to the strategy proposed by Gaofutai, we have planned for several days and finally came up with a proposal. Now you can take a look at the proposal. If there is no other objection, we will follow the proposal tomorrow. Execute." Speaking of this, he said to the clerk standing beside him: "Give the proposal to Gaofutai, and the two county magistrates will have a look."

The clerk immediately picked up three proposals from Zheng Michang's case, walked up to Gao Hanwen and handed them over.

Gao Hanwen accepted the proposal.

The clerk walked up to Hai Rui and handed a proposal, and then walked over to Wang Yongji to hand a proposal.

Gao Hanwen, Hai Rui, and Wang Yongji all looked at it seriously.

Zheng Michang was sitting intently, and other officials were also sitting intently with their eyes on the desk.Everyone was waiting for this moment, and when the new prefect approved the proposal, they asked the two counties to accept the order on the spot.

The so-called motion was actually a decision. There were six articles with more than two hundred words, and the three of them read them almost at the same time.

Hai Rui was the first to stand up.

All eyes turned to him immediately.

Before Hai Rui could speak, Gao Hanwen immediately stood up and looked at Hai Rui: "Hai Zhi County, sit down first."

Hai Rui also looked at him, and found Gao Hanwen's kindly dissuading look in his eyes. After thinking for a while, he slowly sat down again.

Gao Hanwen turned his head and looked at Zheng Michang.

Zheng Michang also looked at him deeply at this time: "Gaofutai, do you have any objections?"

"Yes!" Gao Hanwen's voice was not loud, but it made everyone in the lobby startled.

All eyes were on him, and the lobby was very quiet.

Then, Gao Hanwen paused almost word for word: "This proposal does not match the imperial court's strategy of 'reform and relief, and solve the dilemma'!"

Zheng Michang's face changed first.

The faces of He Maocai and those officials in Zhejiang changed.

Wang Yongji's eyes lit up, and he immediately looked at Hai Rui.

At this moment, Hai Rui's eyes were also shining, very bright.

"Where is the inconsistency?" Although Zheng Michang's tone was suppressed, his tone was already serious.

Gao Hanwen raised his voice: "This proposal only has the first four words of Fanglue, not the last four words."

He Maocai couldn't bear it any longer, and said loudly: "This is not the Imperial Academy, please speak clearly."

"Okay. Then I'll explain it more clearly." Gao Hanwen adjusted his speech speed and began to discuss, "Not long ago, someone asked me and proposed the strategy of 'reform and relief, and solve the dilemma'. Have you thought about it?" The rice fields have been changed, and the desolation of the victims this year seems to be over, but next year, the people in Chun'an and Jiande counties will sell their land at a low price, do you want to live?" At this point, he looked at the sea Rui.

Hai Rui was also looking at him deeply at this moment.

Gao Hanwen turned his gaze: "I was not happy at the time. A thousand-year-old field has eight hundred owners. There is no constant field, and there is no constant owner. Let the rich use their grain to buy the disaster victims' fields, and then replant them. Sang Miao, not only promoted the national policy, but also helped the victims. The national economy and the people’s livelihood can achieve both, but if it is partial, it will be abolished. This is my original intention of proposing "reform and relief, and the dilemma will be solved." At this point, he changed his tone , became high-pitched: "But after reading this bill, I understand a little bit. According to this bill, the people of Chun'an Jiande will not be able to make a living next year! Because the whole text of this bill is about how to get big silk merchants to buy their fields as soon as possible. Hurry up and switch to mulberry seedlings. As for whether the big households who bought the fields will take advantage of the disaster to lower the price of the fields, and whether the common people who sell the fields will be able to live after they sell the fields, there is no word here. I would like to ask Mr. Zhongcheng and your lords If there is a big land buyer who lowers the price of land, ten stones per acre, eight stones per acre, whether the people sell it or not, the government doesn't care? If it doesn't matter, the "dilemma self-solution" proposed by the imperial court will only be solved If it increases the difficulty of the national economy, it will increase the difficulty of the people's livelihood! And it will create a new source of chaos, so it is not a "dilemma that can be solved by itself."

Zheng Michang, He Maocai and all the Zhejiang officials present were stunned.

Hai Rui and Wang Yongji exchanged excited glances, and then turned their gazes to Gao Hanwen, with admiration and more support.

Gao Hanwen didn't look at them at this time, and said solemnly to Zheng Bichang: "Therefore, this subordinate believes that this proposal needs to be re-negotiated by Mr. Zhongcheng and all your lords!" He sat down at this point.

There was silence in the lobby.

Zheng Michang really didn't expect that Gao Hanwen would talk so loudly when he came up, openly challenging himself, in fact, challenging the official circles in Zhejiang.This kind of thing is absolutely intolerable, but the strategy of "reform and relief" was proposed by this person to the court, and it really matters how to explain it.Besides, this person was recommended by Elder Xiao Ge, why this happened, Elder Xiao Ge did not explain clearly to himself.I couldn't figure it out for a while, so I had to slowly look at He Maocai, and He Maocai also looked at him.The eyes of both of them are full of surprise.

In fact, the reason why Yan Shifan sent Gao Hanwen to Zhejiang at this time was because he had a deep discussion with Luo Longwen, Yan Maoqing and other confidants.Although Zhejiang officials are all their own people, these people have been here for a long time, and their accumulated habits are stubborn and stubborn.On the surface, he acts according to his own wishes everywhere, but when he does it, he thinks of himself far more than the court.To put it bluntly, as long as there is money, parents and fathers dare to sell it.The tofu fell into the pile of ashes, and I couldn't do it without patting, and I couldn't do it even if I took it hard, and I didn't have a headache for a day or two.Now that they are faced with the big national policy of changing rice to mulberry, plus a catastrophe, they really don't know what will happen.After much deliberation, he chose Gao Hanwen, who is in favor of changing rice to mulberry and is also a Neo Confucianist, to mix the sand, in order to let them not go too far.But Gao Hanwen met Hu Zongxian on the way, and the in-depth conversation between Hu Zongxian and Gao Hanwen was unexpected by Yan Shifan and others.In the end, Gao Hanwen had a rivalry with his boss as soon as he arrived in Zhejiang, which they never expected in advance.

Although they didn't expect it, now that this accident has happened, Zheng Bichang and He Maocai have to bear the brunt of it.Zheng Michang gave He Maocai a look.

Only then did He Maocai regain his composure, took Zheng Michang's gaze, and immediately turned to Gao Hanwen: "Buying and selling fields is the business of buyers and sellers, so does Gaofutai also take care of it?"

Gao Hanwen: "If it is a public price transaction, the government can of course ignore it."

He Maocai: "What is fair price trading?"

Gao Hanwen: "In a good year, there is fifty shi of rice per acre, and in a bad year, it is forty shi of rice per acre. When Chun'an and Jiande suffer disasters, they can't be less than [-] shi of rice per acre."

He Maocai was in a hurry, and blurted out: "If you have 50 stones per mu, you can't buy 30 mu of rice-to-mulberry fields in Chun'an and Jiande. Do you want to increase the [-] bolts of silk this year?"

Gao Hanwen immediately caught him off guard: "I don't understand why the 30 bolts of silk mulberry fields must be put in two disaster-stricken counties for reform! There are still so many unaffected counties, why can't they buy land for reform?"

He Maocai: "Those counties cost fifty shi an mu, who would buy them?"

Gao Hanwen: "Changed to mulberry fields, the income from producing silk per mu is already higher than that from paddy fields, why don't you want to buy it at fifty shi per mu?"

He Maocai was resisted by him.

Now I understand, this Gao Hanwen has cut off his fortune!The faces of Zheng Michang and He Maocai were suddenly uglier than dead people.

How could He Maocai be willing to do this? A subordinate disturbed what he had planned a long time ago, and said loudly: "You can decide this way. But now the relief food in the official warehouse can't be distributed for five days. If those buyers don't want to buy the land after five days , Is it you who is to blame for starving to death, or who is to blame?"

Gao Hanwen: "Who is guilty, the court will have its own judgment at that time!"

"Presumptuous!" He Maocai was so pushed that he couldn't bear it any longer. He slapped his palm on the case, stood up, and turned to Zheng Michang, "Master Zhongcheng, a magistrate is so unconscionable and disturbs the rules. My Ming Dynasty There are laws. Can you join him!"

Gao Hanwen: "No need to participate, you can remove me now."

This sentence not only resisted He Maocai, but also resisted Zheng Michang.

"And me." Hai Rui also stood up abruptly at this moment, "Please remove me from my post as well."

Wang Yongji also stood up slowly: "According to this proposal, it is difficult to carry out the humble post. Please, Zhong Cheng, remove the humble post."

What kind of meeting is this?The three officials at two levels newly sent by the Ministry of Officials all demanded to be dismissed when they first arrived. Zheng Michang had the power but did not have the guts to do so.

There was another deathly silence.

All eyes were on Zheng Michang, who slowly stood up.

Zheng Michang: "Since it is a bill, of course it can be discussed again. Gaofutai still has two county magistrates. It depends on them to do things, and they will naturally be able to do it. But you are new here, and many things in Zhejiang are unknown. For example, how many acres of land would it take to complete the 50 bolts of silk sold by the Weaving Bureau to the West this year? How much grain can be transported in the grain market by water transport now? How much money can those big silk farmers spend to buy grain? They are all difficult problems. How about this, Gaofutai and the two magistrates will find out the details tomorrow. We will discuss it in the morning of the day after tomorrow.”

"Then let's go!" He Maocai was already in a bad mood, and without waiting for others to say anything, he waved his hand and was the first to leave the front of the case and walked outside.

Half an hour later, Zheng Michang and He Maocai hurried to Shen Yishi's living room.Hearing that Shen Yishi was not there, He Maocai finally found an outlet for his anger.

"Go find him! If you break your leg, you have to find him!" He Maocai stood in Shen Yishi's living room and yelled loudly, "Tell your boss, if it doesn't work out, prepare [-] shi of rice to buy an acre of land!"

Shen Yishi's steward was still standing there with his hands down: "Master He, the little ones can look for it, but it's so late, and our master didn't say where to go. If you can't find it for a while, the adults are here again." wait..."

Zheng Bichang sat on the chair in the middle and continued, "We'll wait here. Go find it."

The steward had to go immediately.

He Maocai just sat down, but the anger was still churning in his heart: "What do you think Mr. Xiaoge and Mr. Zhao and Mr. Yan are up to? Who is not easy to send, and send such a person to disrupt the situation? Are they in the end? What do you think? And that Eunuch Yang, who burned his ass and stayed in Beijing! According to this, simply don’t change the rice into mulberry, and let them weave the 30 additional silks every year!”

At this time, Zheng Michang had countless answers in his mind, but he couldn't explain any of them clearly. He was at the helm, and the storm was created out of thin air. I got impatient: "Let's stop here! Why don't you change it? Why let them weave it? If you are so courageous, you can write a letter to Mr. Xiaoge and write all these words! Or, wait for Eunuch Yang to come back. , you tell him face to face!"

He Maocai's face turned red immediately, and his eyes opened wide, looking at Zheng Michang.

Only then did Zheng Michang soften his tone: "The whole of Zhejiang, except for me, is you, and you can't hold your breath when things happen. Let me tell you, I am the governor, and you are an official in Zhejiang. Things are messed up, and when it comes to the court, you and I are no different from Ma Ning!"

He Maocai felt aggrieved, but he was the boss after all, and he was at the helm of the boat, so he had no choice but to sit there and sulk after being scolded.But how can he hold back his temper, so he held back for a while, then immediately stood up again, rushed to the door of the living room and shouted loudly: "Do you still want to buy your boss's field? Everyone is dead, no Send more people to look for it!"

Zheng Michang sat there with a bitter face and could only shake his head.

In fact, the steward knew that Shen Yishi was in his other courtyard that no one else knew about, but he had been ordered not to disturb him, and he didn't have the courage to break in without authorization.

Walking lightly into the first entrance gate, the steward stopped.Because it is very quiet, you can hear the faint sound of the piano from the depths of the courtyard here.

The sound of the piano came from the piano room deep in the courtyard.

In the Ming Dynasty, in Hangzhou, no one would have imagined that there was such a house in this courtyard—five feet deep, nine feet wide, and the width was actually the area of ​​the Qianqing Palace!The height is only two feet, so that people outside the courtyard wall cannot see the illegal building inside.But there is one thing that the Qianqing Palace can't compare with, that is, the four walls of the room are all inlaid with a whole piece of red sandalwood that is one inch thick, two feet wide and two feet high.

What's even more strange is that the middle of such a large hall is completely empty, only a whole row of ebony clothes hangers are lined up beside the walls inlaid with red sandalwood on the north, south and west sides. Various styles of women's clothing made of silk with various colors, patterns and textures.

Against the wall at the east end, there is only a large flat bed with a length and width of one foot, and a mahogany piano table on the bed.

Shen Yishi was sitting cross-legged on the bed at this moment, sitting in front of the piano table.As usual, he was still wearing a coarse cloth gown; unlike usual, he even took off the cloth belt on his head at this time, and his long hair was loose, and the green smoke from the incense burner next to the guqin was blowing in front of him, his face It became paler.The slender ten fingers pressed the strings and played the strings at the same time, and the sound of music flowed out from between the ten fingers.

Slowly, a long silk gown as thin as cicada's wings floated up in front of a row of hangers in front of him on the left, and the long black hair on the silk with cicada's wings also floated up, off the hanger, to the piece in front of the desk. space.

Shen Yishi's eyes lit up, and the five slender fingers on his right hand quickly swung up.

The cicada-wing gown fluttered in all directions due to the rotation, and the slender and long female body was faintly visible in the cicada wings like a dream!
The hair is also spinning, that face is so lively at this time, it is Yun Niang!

The sound of the piano stopped abruptly.Shen Yishi picked up the jade flute next to the qin and played it.Completely different from the piano sound just now, this flute sound is so sad, the sound of the flute is like a whimper, and Shen Yishi's eyes are also full of sadness.

Yun Niang didn't dance anymore either, she stood there with a cicada-wing gown hanging gently on the ground and sang: "You and I are like geese flying in twos, and we form a flying phoenix. We were suddenly blown up by the storm and scattered Mandarin ducks. Bitter lovesickness, how can we be close to each other..."

At this point, Yunniang couldn't continue singing, she looked at Shen Yishi with tears in her eyes.

Shen Yishi also slowly put down the jade flute and sighed.

Yun Niang walked over slowly, climbed onto the big bed, sat beside Shen Yishi, and slowly stroked his long hair.

Shen Yishi let her touch it at first, but soon he gently grabbed her wrist and slowly pulled it away.

Yunniang looked at him deeply.

Shen Yishi didn't look at her, and asked: "That Li Xuan said when he was dying that you made his death worthwhile. How did you make his death worthwhile?"

Yunniang's flushed face just now turned pale.

Shen Yishi still didn't look at her: "To make an eunuch so ecstatic, it's not in vain that I bought you for 20 taels of silver."

Yunniang's complexion changed, and then tears slowly filled her eyes, before they flowed, she wiped them off immediately, got out of bed, took off the long gown she was wearing, and changed into her own clothes.

Shen Yishi sat there motionless.

Yun Niang started walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Shen Yishi finally spoke.

Yun Niang stopped: "Weaving Bureau, go back to the eunuchs."

Shen Yishi: "Do you know that Yang Jinshui's weaving bureau can only be weaving for one year?"

"Of course I know." Yun Niang slowly turned her head back, "You gave me to him at the age of 17, and I've been serving him for you for [-] days since you were [-] years old. He returned to Beijing a year later , if you still let me live, I will also go to Guzi Temple."

A fierce light flashed in Shen Yishi's eyes, and his voice was as cold as a knife: "Is your mother and your family going to Guzi Temple?"

Yun Niang trembled and stood there frozen.

"Look at this string." Shen Yishi's voice was still so cold, but it no longer had the murderous look like a knife.

Yun Niang had no choice but to lower her eyes and not look at his face, but turned to look at the qin that he was pressing with both hands.

With a sound of "collapse", Shen Yishi's slender index finger suddenly picked up the hooked string.

—the string snapped at once!

Yunniang's body trembled slightly again.

"From this moment on, I won't touch you again." Shen Yishi didn't look at her, "But you have to do how you served Li Xuan that night, let me see."

(End of this chapter)